Everyday Systems

TexArk

Kathleen said,
"Maybe I can do what reneew did and just focus on a 21 day perfect compliance."

How about focusing on a one day perfect compliance?
Seriously.

TexArk

I really understand the paper grading issue. I retired from teaching after 40 years in order to take care of elderly parents. My husband is a university professor who teaches mostly composition courses. We have both commented that in our next life we will become Scantron teachers or teach a subject ...

TexArk

I think you are on the right track, Kathleen. It is hard to change bad habits and start up good ones. It takes TIME and there will be failures along the way. Failures if we mean missing perfection. But as you have noted, one failure is not a license for binge behavior. I agree that whatever you can ...

TexArk

The following quote is from The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal. I certainly could recognize my "old self" in her description of the "false hope syndrome." It is a trap! Resolving to change is, for most people, the best part of the change process. Itâ€™s all downhill -after that: having to exe...

TexArk

I think you have a good plan...but you have actually had several good plans. We are all here with you and want to see you stay with a plan past the "honeymoon" phase and get through the tough "withdrawal" phase. I look forward to checking your thread and seeing that you are working your plan and not...

TexArk

Time to report in and hold myself accountable. I gained 3 lbs over the last 2 weeks. Why? I didn't weigh daily, I didn't log my food in every day, and I did not get my regular exercise in. Answer: Do all of the above! I started back with the exercise yesterday, weighed this morning, and will log in ...

TexArk

Thanks for stopping by my daily thread We are all really different and it is our task to find what works for us. Moderation never worked for me. One cookie? After one, I couldn't get it out of my mind. I really do think that for me anyway, there is something chemical or hormonal going on that messes...

TexArk

"I know that I certainly feel better when I'm grain free and eating lots of protein." I find your statement above quite interesting. We are all different and as far as I can tell there is really not one "paleo" diet. I do eat rice and sweet potatoes, and some full fat dairy (yogurt), but it has cert...

TexArk

YEARLY UPDATE October 15, 2010 added calorie counting to NoS December, 2010 eliminated S Days as weekend events; S Days must be really â€œSpecialâ€ January 1, 2011 began â€œpaleoâ€ diet added to NoS (no wheat, sugar, or seed oils) September, 2011 added sweet potatoes and rice to diet December, 2011 ...

TexArk

May I also suggest again that it helps to practice environmental control. Get the binge foods out of the house at least until you have built up some habits. There is no need to keep Toll House cookies (your last reported fall from diet) in the house. Who in your household needs this stuff? Don't put...

TexArk

I started eating 2 meals a day a few months ago. I eat a large protein/fat breakfast and am not hungry again until 5:00 or so. I am satisfied and I have actually lost a few more pounds after thinking I had reached my natural weight and was at maintenance.

TexArk

I updated my first page...getting close to year 3 on this board. I check in every day even though I don't post often.

TexArk

It has been a wild and crazy month. I have been away from home since October 18...moved Dad from assisted living to hospital, then to skilled nursing care with the goal of moving back to assisted living. I have been sleeping and eating in makeshift bedroom/bath apartment with a microwave, induction ...

TexArk

I think keeping a food diary for awhile to find out what foods work for you is a great idea. You will learn what you can eat at breakfast that will last 4 or 5 hours and the same for lunch and dinner. You also will quickly see what foods you have troubles with that might be trigger foods. From what ...

TexArk

I started NoS at the end of 2008. I loved the concept and was able to kick the snacking habit or as we called it in my family, "grazing." I had to work at it, but I got my N days down pat. The S Days were another story however. So after two years of gaining weight and not conquering binge behavior o...

TexArk

Do what you need to do to keep from bingeing. I just meant as you read his articles try to put aside the editor and planner in your head (which sometimes works overtime!) Don't try to work up another "plan" as you read. Just absorb the information. It will not conflict with your Novena Diet because ...

TexArk

Again, Kathleen, I beg you to go to gnolls.org (note that is not .com) and read all the series on Hunger. He has just added Part 6 this morning. I have printed them all out and put them in a notebook that I have read and reread and underlined several times. I really think you will find some answers ...

TexArk

There is a website at blood sugar 101. I have just recently looked at it because I heard a podcast interview with the author. She has put the info on the website into a book. The following is copied from her site: Blood Sugar 101: What They Don't Tell You About Diabetes by Jenny Ruhl distills the ma...

TexArk

I will quit pestering you, but I think you should know that a normal fasting blood sugar (which is also the blood sugar a normal person will see right before a meal) is: 83 mg/dl (4.6 mmol/L) or less. Many normal people have fasting blood sugars in the mid and high 70 mg/dl (3.9 mmol/L) range. Thoug...

TexArk

Kathleen, I agree that there are some documented health benefits of short fasts such as you are doing...basically eating one meal a day several times a week. I think there is evidence that this can help with inflammation issues. However, I have to point out that you are completely sabotaging any hea...

TexArk

I am still staying the same weight even though I would like to be 10 lbs. lighter. What I like and what my body likes may be a different number! I have been able to add exercise back in this month after being dismissed from therapy and I have lifted heavy weights 2 X a week, done HIIT on exercise bi...

TexArk

@Bright Angel: It certainly helps to have the data. I started keeping records after I gained weight on NoS having perfect N Days. I have been keeping records since last October and it has been quite revealing as I have studied daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly averages. I have learned that I wil...

TexArk

I agree that on NoS we have no diet police to answer to. We are free to declare any food we want OK and make up our own tweaks. Our results will speak for themselves. My personal definition of a sweet has to do with the nutritional makeup of the food. J Stanton in an essay on the subject of breakfas...

TexArk

Kathleen, I am still following your journey with concern. I, too, have a daughter that I am worried about, my husband's family has a history of diabetes, and I have had to battle weight and eating issues all my adult life. Therefore I have been searching out everything I can to answer questions I ha...

TexArk

I am holding my own and waiting to see if I can drop a few more pounds. I am within about 3 pounds of normal BMI I have been keeping records since October mostly for information purposes. I have lost over 40 lbs. but have stayed the same weight and size for months. My daily calorie average for the l...

TexArk

Thanks. I never knew this was available and have looked all over for a way to get quickly to the bottom of a page. You do have to be logged in to see the orange arrow. Most of the time I just read the forum without logging in so it took me awhile to find this jewel!

TexArk

I must say that low carb doesn't have to look like your description. I am a NoS low carber (actually gluten free). My co workers have drooled over my lunches in the past...nice green salad with avocado slices, leftover fajita steak or chicken slices, olives, and homemade blue cheese dressing..with m...

TexArk

Kathleen said: Day 10 â€“ Thursday, August 18, 2011: I sailed right through yesterday feeling great about getting below 200, and then I made an error in deciding to stretch the diet to allow Italian ice as a liquid. The result was a binge after dinner, interrupted by Ellie being dropped off after be...

TexArk

I think I have a consistent, accurate scale now. I have been using 3 different scales in the household and 2 of the 3 are just not consistent. I did not like the one that was consistent because it always weighed the heaviest...even when checked with doctor's balance scale. However, I used iron weigh...

TexArk

One pound down this week. Completed last week of therapy and able to use exercise bike as much as I want. Goal is a minimum of 30 minutes. Still using cane to walk, however. S Day calories were up...otherwise weight loss would have been two pounds for week. Need to watch the excess cheese and dairy ...

TexArk

I have been stuck for about 4 months. After losing 40 lbs. steadily I got spoiled. Now that I am about 10 lbs. from goal, I have just stopped. I have monitored my calories and carbs to see if I was overeating. I don't think so. Past Quarter averaged 1351 calories and 35.2 carbs. As my foot injury is...

TexArk

I am so glad that your sore throat issues didn't derail your performance. I was eagerly waiting to read your report. A beautiful voice is a gift. I grew up in a musical family (father was a band director) and my daughter was a music major in university. There is reward in enjoying music individually...

TexArk

I haven't used my daily check in for a food or exercise journal, but I am going to try that for the month of July. I have come to a standstill even though I know I have a few more excess pounds to shed. Maybe going public will help keep me on track. So I will keep a running average for the month upd...

TexArk

I guess the answer depends on your definition of "Plan." No I don't plan out a week's menus any more. I have done that it in the past, but it reminds me too much of Weight Watchers. Also, I tend to eat more when I plan! It keeps me focused on food way too much. On NoS my planning for S Days got me i...

TexArk

Over a month ago I moved into the tip top of the healthy weight BMI range...still about 10 pounds over where I think I need to be. I am a 64 year old woman who is limited physically from walking or swimming for aerobic exercise due to an injury. I have been experimenting to see just how much I can e...

TexArk

Kathleen said: I had a bowl of cereal for breakfast but still feel unsatisfied I am always unsatisfied with a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Eat more fat and protein for satiety. You were on the right track with the self talk you had going last week. "I like feeling light. I do not like feeling stuff...

TexArk

I have essentially stayed the same weight for 2 months...about 10 pounds away from the high end of my goal. And I am actually very close to a non overweight BMI. My clothes fit well. I actually don't feel fat, and I am not wrinkled yet (pretty good for a 64 year old). I either have hit a plateau aft...

TexArk

I think stilton is cheese, right, but what is marmite?

TexArk

Kathleen, I have also read through your posts from the beginning and have been following your attempts and restarts and I agree with the poster who said she was exhausted. I am sure you are, too. You and I fundamentally disagree on definitions...specifically what is portion control and what is a bin...

TexArk

Ah yes, home baked goodies. I had to give up baking because I would spend all week planning my baking for S Days....and then...yes, I would scrape the batter, eat warm stuff as it came out of the oven, even out the slices if you know what I mean. It was just too much. I even tried giving it away, bu...

TexArk

I am not a scientist, but I think the term n=1 refers to an experiment with one subject...that would be me. Because of injuries (broken heel, followed by metatarsil break) I have been immobilized for months. First wheelchair, then walker, then crutches, boot, cane, etc. I have also been 9 1/2 hours ...

TexArk

I think that the beauty of NoS is that it takes away lots of decision making. We don't have to think how we are going to spend our points or whether to share in the goodies in the teacher lounge, etc. When we add on I think we have to be careful that we are not making a simple plan complex. For me, ...

TexArk

7 months after committing last October and going strong

I want to ever be watchful. As Scripture says, "Take heed lest you fall."

But I am thankful to have found peace with food and the binge demon seems to be bound for now...to use another Biblical reference.

TexArk

You will have to render your own lard though, because the lard at the supermarket is hydrogenated. But yes, it is one of the "good fats" All those seed oils that we were told to substitute are turning out to be not so good after all. Again, just go back to Great Grandma. (before Crisco, corn oil, ma...

TexArk

SOMETIMES is a very important part of NoS for me. I read the book and listened to podcasts so I should have known better, but S Days became free eating binges for me. I forgot about the SOMETIMES. I know some people do not have this problem, but I had to make myself aware of what I was doing on S Da...

TexArk

Thanks, Thalia. That's what I wanted to see. You have lost, had a setback, and regrouped without regaining it all back plus more and now you are headed down again. NoS is not like other diets where we lose, regain even more, and then move on to another "promising" diet. I think these testimonies are...

TexArk

I would like to see some members of this board reporting successful weight loss (even if it took a long time) or successful maintenance as encouragement to those who are starting. I am afraid that many of our successful folks just leave the board and we are more inclined to post when we need support...

TexArk

Officially out of the overweight range and now at the tip top of the healthy range...that is assuming you take stock in BMI numbers. I am going to consider this as another success marker.

Best of all, I feel great, and the trend is downward.

TexArk

Good news/Bad news Well, I dipped into the 50s decade again this morning. That's twice. Maybe I will stay there this time. And, in my quest to try new foods, I have discovered coconut milk. OMG! It is too good. After consuming one can in a day, today I froze a can in an old fashioned aluminum ice tr...

TexArk

I have been stalling in my weight loss for over a month. Why? because I am within 10 lbs. of goal? because I am letting my portions creep? because my body is taking an adjustment period? Who knows? I am not going to do anything different except pay closer attention to porton...I am away from home an...

TexArk

How to Make a Rat Obese (another interesting posting from the same blogger as the chocolate Ensure experiment) Rodents are an important model organism for the study of human obesity. To study obesity in rodents, you have to make them fat first . There are many ways to do this.... However, the most ...

TexArk

from wholehealthsource.blogspot.com a report on how rats become obese when they're given chocolate Ensure, the "meal replacement drink" has this interesting tidbit: ...neither [obesity-prone] nor [obesity-resistant] rats will overeat on either vanilla- or strawberry-flavored Ensure. The only meaning...

TexArk

I am not really scale obsessed because I know the number goes up and down. The trend has been down though and I am pleased. But this morning is the first time in a long while I have seen the 150s and it was rather exciting. I usually dip down and then up before I stabilize so tomorrow will be a bump...

TexArk

It was the 100% chocolate and coconut oil and macadamia nuts that I froze in muffin pan that I kept going back to ...LOL I had my weekly portion all in one day. I have also been working with Greek yogurt and sour cream as mayo substitutes. I don't want to make my own mayo either, but tuna needs some...

TexArk

Last month I only lost a little over 1 pound and I think I lost it over and over. Maybe this was just a little rest on the journey. Yesterday was an over the top day as far is calories go...too heavy on the fat, but still no sugar or wheat. Macadamia nuts just need to stay out of my way and I eviden...

TexArk

I am enjoying reading your posts and the photos, too. I am sort of an anglophile so I love the expressions and the spelling. My favorite breakfasts are similar to the ones I enjoyed in England--eggs, bacon, tomatoes and tea with lots of cream!

TexArk

Kathleen said: What a shock! After more than 3 years of not allowing any sort of portion control, I tried portion control. I measured out 1 cup of cereal for breakfast and had one small slice of pizza for lunch. When I got home, I ate and ate. This is not going to be easy. I feel like I am starving ...

TexArk

I am thinking of you. I, too, have been taking care of elderly dad and stepmom...Dad will be 95 in July, stepmom is 88. Dealing with stroke for one and dementia with the other. I have been away from home since the middle of January. I thought this was just going to be a few weeks since they are in a...

TexArk

So sorry to hear about your break, but glad it is not your dominant arm. I managed to go 63 years without a broken bone and have had a spate of them the last year...all stupid accidents...need bubble wrap I guess. Hope this is your first and last!

TexArk

I have stayed pretty much the same weight all month. This could be a plateau, or it could be that I cannot lose on 1300 calories daily. I check my average every week and I used to average 1200 and now 1300. Maybe the extra 100 is keeping me from losing??? 42 lbs. in six months does average out to 7 ...

TexArk

Thanks for the info and interesting nutrition site, Vicki. I have tried to grow my own herbs several times and have been a dismal failure. I am ready to try again! They are sooo expensive in the markets. And yes, we all need to be reminded that vitamin supplements must be taken with food to be absor...

TexArk

I have had this debate with myself most of my life. My mom forced iron tonic and multi vitamins down me as a child (I was anemic). I have friends who are over the top and keep the health food stores in business changing from drinking barley greens to juicing to enough horse pills to choke a horse. Y...

TexArk

Another foot injury and back in the boot for awhile. Someday I will get to get in some exercise again, but I have proved tht you don't have to exercise to lose weight. Foods I have added this week: ghee and pastured butter Actually found both at the supermarket. I also ate fresh water fish twice. I ...

TexArk

Totallly agree that weighing is a personal decision. From reading posts, obviously some are really affected by the number and eat when they lose and eat when they gain :roll: The number affects their entire day. However, I have learned over many, many years that it is best for me to weigh daily, rec...

TexArk

Congratulations! You have been good to share what you have gleaned on this journey and now this is another way to give back what you have learned. And you have real data not just "feelings." I think the Registry is going to be an important part of the research bank of information for a long time to ...

TexArk

Congratulations to you! I just hit 64 and finally feel like you that I have made the life changes I needed after battling this issue for most of my life. I guess better late than never, right? I also see that you joined the NoS forum the exact date I did, and I didn't start losing until October 2010...

TexArk

I have been trying new foods the last month, and this week the featured food was Kale. I had never eaten kale before, because I thought it would be too bitter. But I made Bobby Flay's creamed kale recipe (yum) and I made kale chips yesterday. Of course it helps to be over the saturated fat phobia......

TexArk

I agree, Noel..Putting a name to the behavior helps. Now I plan to use the term "extinction burst" when I talk to myself about my behavior. As in, "Ok, dear, you are just experiencing an extinction burst. It happens to the best of us." I have taught educational psychology to college students and sho...

TexArk

I think this is an excellent article that helps explain what goes on when we change habits and form new ones. Stay with it until the end...a short course on classical and operant conditioning with the main point for us dealing with extinction of unwanted behavior. http://youarenotsosmart.com/2010/07...

TexArk

How about changing to "perfect commitment" instead of "perfect compliance?" This is a different relationship than the marriage bond, but it is a commitment. Even in marriage there is more to "perfect compliance" than not committing adultery. There are surely other areas of your marriage that are not...

TexArk

10 PM: I remember now why I set up the Exception Day system. For some reason, I cannot manage without "perfect compliance." What to do? I think I need to have this system with no failures. One failure ends the diet. Kathleen, you have been letting one failure end the diet and you were also using ex...

TexArk

I don't know if this is true or not, but I just read this on another forum. Until very recently in human history (the mid 1800's), sugar was such an exceedingly rare and expensive commodity that only the wealthy had any access to it at all - and it was treated like the precious substance that it was...

TexArk

Here is something to think about posted on the 3FC forum: Concentrated sources of sugar/carbohydrates, fats, and salt (and possibly even calories in general) are very rare in a natural world, and finding foods that combine all three (four) would be the equivalent of winning the ecological lottery. S...

TexArk

WOW New Low...Sure hope it is not an April Fool's joke

TexArk

March has been a slow losing month. Maybe it was just time for a slow down or maybe I have not been as focused on measuring and weighing some high density foods as I should. I have been away from home since the middle of January except for one week. I have survived broken foot, living in motel for a...

TexArk

"I am counting yesterday as a failure except for the lesson I learned." Kathleen, this is a HUGE success. You did not declare an "exception day" and START OVER. You actually used the word "failure." And I think that you have learned that you have expected too much of yourself from the frequent fast...

TexArk

Graham, I think you might find reading Kurt Harris very interesting. His blog is PaNu. I don't have the link at hand, but he is easy to find. He has not written a book, but there is much good reading on his site. Here is a quote that sums up his philosophy: I eat a VLC nearly carnivorous diet. The m...

TexArk

Bright Angel gives some good advice here: Your proposed plan...if followed...COULD be an appropriate way-of-eating. Occasional fasting periods, followed by moderate eating periods, with very brief overeating periods is simply another one of the many methods of portion control. A binge/fast cycle wil...

TexArk

I updated my first post in this thread from last October which outlines my philosophy, WOE, and what I am learning on the journey. This month's weight loss has been slow, but I have lost 15 lbs. since the first of the year and I am now wearing my size 12 pants....down from size 18 last fall. Last go...

TexArk

Most of us can relate to the S Day EatFest/Binge. I still need to structure my S Days and I think that is OK. Here is something from the book, "The End of Overeating" that applies to us I thilnk. Intervention begins with the knowledge that we have a moment of choice - BUT ONLY A MOMENT - to recogniz...

TexArk

Here are some interesting notes from David Kessler's book, "The End of Overeating" posted on an Amazon review of the book. I have not had a problem with overeating and bingeing since I started eating low carb and omitting sugar and wheat while also using the NoS structure. I find some of his ideas m...

TexArk

Meal timing is still portion control. You are just limiting the opportunity to eat which will result in controlling portions eaten unless...you binge eat. And, I think you have your answer here and yet you still must make a choice: Anne told me she decided to go back on The No S Diet... Now's my cha...

TexArk

BrightAngel, I'm looking for a method of weight management that does not include Portion Control. It may be a fool's mission. Kathleen Kathleen, It seems to me that you are saying that controlling the amount of food you eat is the equivalent of starvation. As an English major I am sure you do recog...

TexArk

My weight has gone up and down the last few days. Could be water retention or possibly an uptick in calories even though carb count is low...or choice of carbs which caused water retention or just the usual up and down of the scale. By the way, that is why I weigh every day...I can follow trends and...

TexArk

Just bumping my thread up....

A side note...today is my birthday and I did meet my birthday goal weight.

I am now just 15 lbs. from the upper limit of my maintenance weight.

TexArk

Kathleen, I think you have a good plan. You are making it simple to follow and setting up some good habits. We are all cheering you on. Please stay with this for the month of March without changing plans. You do realize that you have started one plan after another and never followed through. That is...

TexArk

Kathleen, I have to take exception with the following post in your journal: If you want to measure calories precisely, there's lots of subjective judgment involved if you are cutting a piece of a chocolate cookie bar from an entire pan. You may be able to calculate the total for the entire pan in a ...

TexArk

Weight is bouncing up and down these days, but I have stayed in the 160s. I may be experiencing a plateau..not sure...don't care really. I have my eating pattern down and am satisfied. In less than an week the kitchen should be back in operation (remodel stuff going on) which will make food prep eas...

TexArk

I am praying that your son can get relief from a low to zero carb regime and more importantly that he will take ownership of his health and give this a long enough trial to see results if they are possible. My lifetime best friend and college roommate had Type I diabetes. We went through it together...

TexArk

Kathleen wrote: I ate a lot last night after having dinner, and I'm thinking that's OK. Why? Well, I ate less than I had the night before, and this morning I had a stomach ache. .... It would be great to have a diet that was simple and easy to follow that allowed "unconditional permission to eat" w...

TexArk

A shocking new low on the scales...not sure why, but I will take it!

TexArk

Enjoyed way too many almonds today. I have counted them out for months, but today I started eating out of container. So now I remember why I have to count them out!

TexArk

Thanks, Eileen. I knew it went somewhere.

I deleted it.

TexArk

A Bright Angel post that is a keeper. I thought I saved it before, but it is lost in cyber space or on someone else's thread. Kathleen wrote: Chapter 18 â€“ Nature of a Healthy Diet My eyes glaze over when I read through anything scientific. There was a lot in this chapter that just flowed right ove...

TexArk

posted in wrong thread. sorry

TexArk

You are way ahead of me so you are probably already aware of Dr. Jay, but here is his blog. Be sure and check out the my story section. He is a doctor in Canada who had type 2 diabetes himself, put himself on a low carb diet, works with a native peoples who have diabetes epidemic and tried to get fu...

TexArk

Kathleen, As to your faith: Some argue that we only eat food God gave us. That would not be sugar or refined grains or macademia nut chocolate clusters. :D It is a real stretch to say that these manmade foods are "good for us" as we might say about some medical advancements or other technological bl...

TexArk

Congratulations on your success. I, too, believe that Gary Taubes is a life saver. Everyone always says that you need to find a "diet" that you can live with. It is not a diet, but a lifestyle. etc. etc. But those of us who have kept strict calorie control and suffered hunger know that it is not a l...

TexArk

Gary Taubes just may have saved my life. However, otherwise rational & sane people get very irrate when discussing (limiting, reducing, lowering, etc...) carbs. However, I as an individual, do not need to wait. I have close friends who are living with diabetes, Crohn's, and celiac disease in their ...

TexArk

Today marks 4 months since I started NoS + calorie counting. I simply ate my three meals and recorded into DietPower what I ate. I did not try to stay or reach a certain daily calorie average, but I could see easily what that average was. No more over the top S Days undoing all the work of the N Day...

Search found 804 matches