Everyday Systems

wosnes

I decided to make Wednesday and Saturday my S days. Actually, those will be more like 'S events' - something sweet after dinner. If I include a lot of S's in the same day, I don't feel good. Is anyone else doing something similar? There's absolutely no reason for you to include a lot of S's in the ...

wosnes

No, it's not a snack. You're allowed to have coffee, tea, milk or juice between meals and they don't need to be sugar free. However, you don't want them to have a tablespoon or more of sugar, either.

wosnes

mainemom wrote:When you say "vanilla" you mean staying strictly with the No S rules, right? I'm sure it is spelled out on this site somewhere but I have seen this phrase come up often and want to make sure I understand.

Yes, following the rules with no modifications.

wosnes

It might help you to know that throughout the world and throughout history, most populations have based their meals on carbs. Whether it's rice in Asia, corn (maize) in South and Central America, or wheat in the Mediterranean and Europe, and potatoes in Europe and parts of South America, meals have ...

wosnes

this is true milliem... but "sweet tea" which is offered mainly at fast food places, is not just with sugar.. it pretty much has as much sugar as soda... Ooh really? We don't really get that over here in the UK :) I don't even have sugar with my cuppa! Is it like iced tea? Sweet tea is iced tea -- ...

wosnes

r.jean wrote:Transitioning from low carb could definitely explain it.

I agree. The first weight you lose when starting low carb is water; the first weight you gain when you go off low carb is water. Give this time, it works!

wosnes

It's not at all unusual, especially if you were restricting the foods you ate prior to starting No-S or are loading your plates at meal time to avoid being hungry between meals.

wosnes

Does that mean no snacks and no seconds but sweets are okay? Yes, that is what it means. When I started No-S, I didn't realize there was a one plate rule. I thought "no seconds" meant no extra servings. So I ate whatever was being served at a meal, even if more than one plate was involved. It worke...

wosnes

If that's meals as well as snacks/treats, I don't think it's too bad. If that's just snacks/treats -- well, it's not at all unusual, especially if you've been on numerous diets. How to stop it? My way was to give up (most) processed foods. I occasionally indulge (I LOVE potato chips), but not often....

wosnes

:D I have joined a couple of times but feel guilty if I don't log all my food, exercise, water, motivations, etc. But I basically exercise everyday, always drink tons of water a day, eat pretty well, am highly motivated. It seems silly to constantly update. But then it looks like I am a slacker if ...

wosnes

When it comes to motivation -- whatever works. Now, I think jealousy to get your friend to gain weight again will be wrong!

wosnes

gratefuldeb67 wrote:what's up with the cursing in the title of this thread?

I have to admit that I didn't "get" the subject of this post.

wosnes

I think it's possible to exercise 60 minutes daily -- as long as about half of it is incorporated into your lifestyle. It could be walking to do errands, walking the dog, mowing the lawn, scrubbing floors, vacuuming and so on. We tend to think of exercise as something you have to set aside time to d...

wosnes

I think tasting is a necessary part of cooking, but I don't think it takes more than a couple of tastes to make sure a dish is properly seasoned.

wosnes

I wouldn't give up S days, but the thing to remember is that S days, with rare exceptions, aren't a license to go wild. If you do tend to go wild, don't keep treats in the house, don't make treats, but buy one or two special things for the S days. Not a box of cookies (my favorite), but ONE good coo...

wosnes

I appreciate the posting even though I'm not here to lose the most weight I can in the least amount of time or any of the usual goals. Besides, for me, 60 minutes is moot until I'm doing 30 consistently. I'd like to see who is still working out at a similar rate two years later. Unless I misunderst...

wosnes

Having said what I said above, I'm not typically a breakfast eater. I generally eat lunch and dinner. Occasionally I'll have breakfast type foods for lunch. If I do eat breakfast, it's usually just toast and some kind of seasonal fruit; usually berries in the summer and citrus in the winter along wi...

wosnes

I'd go ahead and eat a late breakfast. I suppose that ideally our meals would be spread out a little more throughout the day, but our circumstances aren't always ideal. There's no rule about when meals have to be taken.

wosnes

This article appeared at pbs.org and is based on the book Why Calories Count: From Science to Politics by Marion Nestle and Malden Nesheim.

wosnes

I've learned that anytime you eliminate a food group from your diet, you're going to lose weight. Depending on the food group, it might be a lot of water weight, not "actual" weight. When (and if) you resume eating that food, you're going to gain weight. So that could be at least part of your weight...

wosnes

Where are the menus you posted?

wosnes

Welcome! My first suggestion would be to not worry about anything else but establishing the habits. Once you have the habits under control, you can make modifications (if desired or needed). Second, don't worry about wild S days initially. I think most of us have had wild S days at the beginning and...

wosnes

There's a store here that has 16/21 or 21/25 wild caught American shrimp on sale about every six weeks or so. When they do, I buy a pound and divide it up into individual portions and freeze. Shrimp defrost quickly and cook even more quickly. In addition to being quick to cook, they're endlessly ver...

wosnes

What's the best way to get yourself to 'pay at the pump' for gas so as to avoid going in to the dangerously evil snack and sweet filled convenience stores at the gas stations?... Don't carry cash. Only a credit or debit card. If you must go in, focus only on the cash register. That's one place I ra...

wosnes

Hi TFK. Welcome back!

wosnes

I drink very few calories. I don't drink milk and only occasionally drink juice. I have wine or other alcoholic beverage rarely. When I drink alcoholic beverages, I have a two-drink limit, but usually drink only one. I cook with wine more often than I drink wine. I often have a regular Coke on weeke...

wosnes

Don't make the bumps mountains -- either physically or emotionally. What is it they say about bad habits -- they're easy to make and hard to break. So expect that it's going to take some time to get back in the groove. I think it's only when you've been practicing these habits for a very long time t...

wosnes

Exactly what it is about processed foods is still a mystery. Is it the carbs, the fat -- or the type of fats and carbs? Or, is it the chemical additives and dyes used in the foods? Is it the high level of omega-6 fatty acids -- which we need, but not in the levels currently in our food supply. My t...

wosnes

2. Can you review The Perfect Health Diet by Dr. Paul Jaminet? I'm in the fence as to whether or not to buy it. Yet another one I'd never heard about. I googled it and read some at their web site and on Amazon. I won't read the book. First, everything you need to know to follow their eating plan is...

wosnes

That sounds like such an easy question! To be honest, I don't remember but I think it was about a year into it. I have found that feeling a need to eat between meals is dependent on what I eat. I don't mean that a meal must have protein or fat or carbs. I mean that if I eat processed foods it's much...

wosnes

on the milk and honey idea... I've been putting ginger in my cereal lately to help with inflammation and OH MY GOD, that ginger really makes the milk taste amazing. It's almost like eating super expensive and bad for you ice cream... (it also really helps to make the flax seed that I put in there n...

wosnes

I'll have to say that I think setting a number goal (either goal weight or amount of weight to lose) isn't wise. It's probably one of the biggest ways to fail at weight loss. Make your actions your goal; you have control over those.

wosnes

Congratulations!

wosnes

Interesting will look her up. I understand about the popcorn. I kept buying this Greek yogurt veggie dip and it doesn't seem to fit in with meals right now. I guess I can have veggies and dip during the winter with my soup. For the most part I have stopped snacking during the weekends unless I'm bi...

wosnes

New Age woo woo and veganism seem to go hand-in-hand. The only food I can't figure out when to eat if snacks are eliminated is popcorn! Although my step-mother told me that when she was growing up it wasn't uncommon for them to eat popcorn like cold cereal for breakfast. But it was leftover from a s...

wosnes

I used to be a big fan of Victoria Moran, but she's gotten too New Agey woo-woo for me in recent years. However, I think Fit from Within was written before she got New Agey.

I've been thinking about never snacking -- or at least very rarely. Snacks are what seems to be where I overeat.

wosnes

Wosnes and Jethro have it right. We are all made differently. Some of us crave more protein and feel deprived without it. (Like me.). Others crave carbs. It is important that you feel satisfied or you will not stick with it. I believe you will find that you naturally begin to eat healthier as time ...

wosnes

Actually, I'd recommend that you forget about carbs, protein and fat and think about food.

wosnes

A lot of plant foods are high in protein and fiber and if you eat them in combination you get complete protein. Many groups of people have survived on these for very long times without problems. It's my understanding that fiber doesn't act or react with anything else. It just provides bulk and is go...

wosnes

For me thinking about weight loss is a non-issue. I do think about food frequently, but for me it's something pleasant to do.

wosnes

The French were more likely to report food behaviors that suggested that they used internal cues of meal cessation rather than external cues of meal cessation. More so than Americans, the French reported that they stopped eating - when they started to feel full, - when they wanted to leave room for...

wosnes

Now, for me, this three day weekend is also the weekend my daughter is getting married and it all starts Thursday evening. There is something going on every day through Monday. Several of us are already looking forward to next Tuesday when life gets back to "normal." :D CONGRATULATIONS wosnes. http...

wosnes

The only time I feel stuffed after meals is on Thanksgiving and maybe Christmas. I don't overfill my plates in order to not feel hungry and I very rarely feel hungry between meals.

wosnes

Now, for me, this three day weekend is also the weekend my daughter is getting married and it all starts Thursday evening. There is something going on every day through Monday. Several of us are already looking forward to next Tuesday when life gets back to "normal." :D CONGRATULATIONS wosnes. http...

wosnes

Just to prove that scientists can see the same thing in different ways: The process of turning sugars into fats is known as de novo lipogenesis. Some animals, such as pigs and cows, can efficiently convert the low-energy, inexpensive carbohydrates found in grains and grasses into calorie-dense fats....

wosnes

Plan on getting back to the strict diet and excercise really soon... Not sure if I will this weekend or will wait til next week. Kinda hard to start something like this immediately with this upcoming weekend being a three day weekend, lol. Well, that's the best time to start because you can't fail....

wosnes

I just can't bring myself to quit coffee. If it's true and I really do gain energy it would be worth it. I'm just not there yet. I'm not there either and I don't want to quit it. Actually, except for reading about the negative effects in the media, it's never been suggested to me for any reason. An...

wosnes

My dog is a mixed breed and while we know there's some Chihuahua in her, we're not sure what else. I'm sure there's a herding dog in there. When she's really excited and wants me to take her out, she nips at my heels and points me towards the door. If I go the other direction, she gets in front of m...

wosnes

Welcome aboard!

wosnes

I'm not much of a breakfast eater, but when I do eat breakfast, cereal is never a part of it. The one exception is that I make my own granola and occasionally I'll have that with Greek yogurt and fruit. My usual breakfast is whole grain toast with butter and some kind of seasonal fruit (generally ci...

wosnes

Enjoying all these salad ideas. I like a good vinegarette. Just olive oil, vinegar (either balsamic or red wine or combination of both) sometimes I'll add mustard and then I always add sugar not much but a teaspoon for a cups worth. Sugar makes a huge difference. Process butter, a little garlic, an...

wosnes

A summertime favorite -- especially when it's hot out: Chop a tomato or cut grape or cherry tomatoes in half. Add some chopped onion, whatever you have on hand or like Add some chopped bell pepper (I like to use green) Add some peeled, seeded and diced cucumber Add some feta cheese if you have it Fi...

wosnes

If it weren't for my dog, I'd probably get very little exercise! We go for a long walk twice a day and sometimes one or two shorter ones in between. I don't know how far we go, but we're usually out for 30 to 45 minutes. We often walk through a neighboring apartment complex (where I used to live) an...

wosnes

My go-to quick meal as of late is Simple Crispy Tacos . Wosnes, I tried the recipe you linked to above for my dinner the other night. I added some fish that I had sauteed with cajun spices. They were absolutely delicious! And cooking them in the fry pan like that made it very easy to do. Thanks for...

wosnes

Congratulations on your success!! I think that new No-Sers fall into four groups: 1) those who lose weight and find it easy initially 2) those who either don't lose weight or gain and find it a struggle initially 3) those who find it easy initially, but still don't lose or gain weight 4) those who s...

wosnes

My go-to quick meal as of late is Simple Crispy Tacos . They're great as written, but I've also added shredded leftover beef, pork and chicken (not all at the same time!). I think shrimp would be a good addition, too. I've been using a locally produced cheddar cheese, but you could use Monterey Jack...

wosnes

Very interesting! I think that the response to a multitude of choices is to make a decision and stick with it or make a decision and only review it periodically. Senator Joe Lieberman wrote a book called The Gift of Rest: Rediscovering the Beauty of the Sabbath . He carves out a day per week withou...

wosnes

What you experienced is pretty normal. Sometimes it happens the first week, sometimes not until a few weeks into No-S, but it's not at all unusual. Just get back on track with the next meal.

wosnes

TUK, I'm confused. From what I've heard and read from people who have traveled to or spent extended periods of time or live in France, portion/serving sizes there are smaller than they are here. Even though the French eat meals in courses and eat a wider variety of foods at meals (as evidenced by th...

wosnes

Heddi, I had seaweed salad with my sushi at lunch, and it was delish! Not cheap in Canada, either, but I'm finding that my meals are getting smaller, so I can finish the container tomorrow at lunch. And you're 1000% right that life is too short to eat bad food! Noni, your story reminds me of the Se...

wosnes

Scary, isn't it? This is equally as scary. This is from The American Way of Eating by Tracie McMillan More than two centuries after Jefferson wrote of the inexcusable divide between the meals of the poor and the rich, we've yet to solve what food historian Harvey Levenstein has aptyly dubbed the "pa...

wosnes

You can stop snacking, even at night. You just haven't done it yet. Make it difficult to snack at night. Change your routine. You're more likely to gain a ton of weight by snacking in the evening, not by stopping it.

There is no good reason to continue snacking in the evening. So stop it.

wosnes

Technically, coffee, tea, water, milk and juices are okay between meals. If your mocha isn't sweet enough for you to consider it a sweet or dessert, it's okay for you to have.

wosnes

I have seen obese people taking Boot Camp classes and looking so bad that you weren't sure whether you should call the paramedics. I think this is an effect of the "Biggest Loser" mentality. People begin to think that to lose weight, you should be killing yourself. Whether it be in terms of various...

wosnes

I meant that none of the kitchens had large ovens like we do.

wosnes

As you may already know, I'm French, so I belong to the nation of "thin" people that Reinhard compares to the US nation. I am on the NoS diet, trying to comply to the 1 plate rule, but some discussions make me wonder whether size plates are the same in France and in USA. So I took my fingers and me...

wosnes

I think a lot of people have undiagnosed heart problems that suddenly become lethal during the stress of exercise. These aren't necessarily the high cholesterol/heart attack sorts of things, but structural problems within the heart or with conductivity. There are any number of documented cases of at...

wosnes

I already posted but I'll add that at least formerly, I think the French kept hardly any food in the house, never mind sweets. They shopped daily, had small fridges, few cabinets, and cooked to avoid leftovers. What we would call dessert they had once a week and bought only enough on the day of the...

wosnes

I think it's both. Some bodies are built for shorter bursts of energy and some are built for endurance events. Plus, if you're running distance events, muscle weighs more. Lots of muscle mass would make it more difficult to run long distances in shorter periods of time. I've heard athletes say that ...

wosnes

I agree with the statement someone once made "They ALL work if you do 'em!". It's that (short or) long term compliance that's the problem! I think most of them are impossible to stick with in the long term. You're always being deprived of something. Most people can't deal with that for the long ter...

wosnes

Most of us need to learn -- or relearn -- that we can have it all. We just can't have it all any time we want it, in any quantity we want it.

wosnes

I was disagreeing with the fact that we're supposed to feel sick after having treat foods. Actually, given the quality of our foods, we should probably feel sick after eating any food. To add insult to injury, many of us get the cheapest food available instead of the best quality we can afford. We t...

wosnes

You made a mistake. No big deal. Mark it and move on. Don't dwell on it. You're not the first to do this and you won't be the last.

wosnes

In my view, we are supposed to feel sick after eating food like that. It's just that our bodies adapt to it if we eat it all the time. Don't give up S days. Just choose your foods more carefully. Go for quality foods instead of the "favorite" foods. I couldn't disagree more! What pleasure is there ...

wosnes

The marshmallow study was mentioned in Bringing Up BÃ©bÃ© by Pamela Druckerman. In fact, Walter Mischel now lives in Paris and she interviewed him. They don't talk about waiting to eat the marshmallow in terms of "willpower," but in terms of delaying gratification and being patient. This is somethin...

wosnes

This excerpt from French Kids Eat Everything mentions limiting variety.

wosnes

No, don't cut back on S days. Just choose your S's carefully. Do you have a problem with dairy? Having said that, I find that if I avoid any food or food group for a period of time, I don't feel well, or at least as well as "normal," when I eat it. I generally don't consider either pizza or ice crea...

wosnes

I posted a link to this a couple of years ago! I hadn't thought about it in terms of dieting/weight loss. It seems to me that in places where there is more of a food culture and not so many options, people generally don't have the problems with gaining weight and if you want to lose weight -- you ju...

wosnes

Think of failures in terms of excess.

wosnes

I would say don't worry about it. Nowhere does it say that No-S consists of 3 meals daily. There are several of us who routinely eat two meals daily -- I'm one of them. I usually don't eat breakfast, but occasionally I do. I don't consider it a failure if I eat breakfast. ...If you look closely at t...

wosnes

Funny, I was thinking about losing weight by cutting calories vs exercise this morning while I was walking my dog. I know more people, myself included, who have lost weight, sometimes significant amounts, by calorie cutting alone than by exercising. I've always been a walker, even before I had my do...

wosnes

I agree with Who Me?, Blithe Morning, and Rachelocity. If I used Habit Cal, I wouldn't take a red for a berry or a cherry tomato -- or a taste of anything. I think there's a huge difference between a nibble or taste of something and a snack or serving of the same thing(s).

wosnes

Almost no-longtermers cut out sugar, especially not early on. Some of them find they don't eat it very often, but it's not out of denial. I agree. I don't abstain from sugar or sweets. Just because you're stressed or have a craving doesn't mean you have to give into it. Over the years I've come to ...

wosnes

I think the nausea of early pregnancy is probably an S (sick) day. You do what you have to do. However, it will end. Then you really don't need to do more than eat three meals daily and possibly a snack if you're really very hungry. The baby doesn't want cheesecake or nachos or anything else. It onl...

wosnes

I'm 63. Basically, I eat anything I want. Years ago I read that as we get older, we need to eat less. I remember thinking "I won't be that way," but once I passed about 55, I found that it was true. It wasn't only about weight (maintaining, not gaining or losing), I felt better when I ate less. I'm ...

wosnes

I like the part about coffee! WHEEE!!!!! That said, I have been making a special effort to make sure I am drinking more water, as coffee is a diuretic, and the last time I went to give blood, the Red Cross guy was almost in tears trying to find my vein. It's bad enough at the best of times, but if ...

wosnes

Welcome back to No-S and dietary sanity.

I also love potatoes and they're a big part of my diet.

wosnes

I've never liked milk as a beverage. I think I drank my last glass when I was in kindergarten, and that wasn't willingly! I'm of retirement age now. Contrary to what the American Dairy Association says, there's absolutely no need to drink milk. I usually drink water, tea or coffee at meals, (iced in...

wosnes

Technically it would be a red, but in reality it isn't going to hurt you. If you forget to put it on your plate, you could think back and ask yourself would it have fit on your plate if you remembered? Also, I wouldn't worry about it. I know it isn't vanilla No S but no eatig plan should make you f...

wosnes

While they are sweet, I've never considered liqueurs a sweet. Don't over think things.

wosnes

It's easy to resist temptation because diets don't work.. Besides, according to Dr. Oz (and I take anything he says with a grain of salt), cellulite isn't a fat problem, it's a skin problem. I've known plenty of skinny women with cellulite.

wosnes

JayEll wrote:I'd say, No, it doesn't. That's kind of a myth, not a "requirement." You could time your workouts to just before meals if you want--but in the old days, people did physical labor all day but still only ate when it was mealtime.

I agree.

wosnes

I think it is quite normal to be thinking about food a lot of the time. Historically, much of life revolved around getting food on the table. Gosh, it seems that much of my life (family of 7 with a hospitality ministry which means I'm currently cooking for 14(!) people on a daily basis) revolves ar...

wosnes

I think I have failed on No S before because I have been dieting my whole life and Iâ€™m stuck in that mentality â€“ I was seeing No S as another diet, either being â€˜onâ€™ it or â€˜offâ€™ it. I resented even the mild restriction of the plan because I was (am) totally fed up of being told how to e...

wosnes

REad my last comment and it sounded snarkier than I wanted. I'm actually VERY glad it was mentioned and regret only that it was just in passing. It needs to be a regular feature, though I think Reinhard's whole point is that it isn't that complicated. However, time has shown that implementation is ...

wosnes

Unfortunately, I am also influenced by the bodies in the media. It's not the burden it used to be but I still seem to spend mental energy fighting the expectation to be thinner or firmer and that gets mixed up with food. Those bodies in the media are not only rare, they're not "normal" and the peop...

wosnes

oolala53 wrote:They don't have bread or potato at dinner? I thought bread was a staple. I always heard about the bakeries where the people get it fresh for meals.

According to the sources I've read, bread is a staple at every meal -- and the children's afternoon snack.

wosnes

i think also the fact that in the USA it is encouraged to snack all day, eat all kinds of things like desserts just randomly because 'someone brought it' etc, is just so acceptable here. it really shouldn't be but it is. crazy how that works. anyway, would love to know others' thougths on this. Las...

wosnes

I wrote here about the eating habits of the French. Most of this was directed towards how they teach their children to eat, but adult eating habits were mentioned as well. Most adults don't snack. Sweets may be eaten during the week, but dessert is usually fruit. The only thing that I read that diff...

wosnes

I put "low blood sugar" in quotes in my last post, because I'm skeptical of a lot of people's claims to have it. In many cases, they're not diabetic, they've never been diagnosed with a blood sugar problem by a doctor, and they have no evidence of having low blood sugar other than being hungry and ...

Everyday Systems

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Re: S Days Wednesday and Saturday

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