Everyday Systems

leafy_greens

This weekend SO and I went on a trip and could not find a healthy restaurant. We ate at a pancake house and had to split a meal because his omlette came with a "side" of 3 pancakes! And a large scoop of butter. I just ate the pancakes as my meal off his plate. I would estimate 90% of the population ...

leafy_greens

Welcome, this is the best diet there is. It doesn't cost a thing beyond your normal grocery bill.

leafy_greens

The fewer snacks I eat, the more picky I get and the less appealing those work place snacks become. My big downfall is cake, if someone brings in a really thick one with lots of icing. Occasionally I will eat some cake anyway, and it never tastes as good as I thought it would. I'm finding that usual...

leafy_greens

After eating a bunch of chocolate due to finals and the associated stress (yes, I'm 20) on Tuesday, I got back on track pretty well on Wednesday. This morning, however, I got frustrated studying again and ate a bunch of chocolate again. Screw this. I'm so frustrated with it all. I've spent more tim...

leafy_greens

I'm surprised a company would provide something that causes weight gain. At some companies, you have to go through a yearly weigh-in at a doctor's office to keep their insurance costs low. Providing snacks is so counterproductive.

leafy_greens

I was looking at Michael Pollan books and one of the recommendations at the bottom of the page was this: My Virgin Diet CookBook:: The Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free, Peanut-Free, Corn-Free and Sugar-Free Cookbook. :shock: Apparently this is a compliment book to the JJ Virgin diet. I'm ...

leafy_greens

I recall in Brian Wansink's book "Mindless Eating" that those frequent decisions to say "no" can eventually use up your willpower reserves and make you say "Well, maybe this time." That's what I did. Is there a way to prevent a "maybe this time"? Or did Wansink say it's inevitable? How to you overc...

leafy_greens

Yes, I agree. What if I said to Diet Person, "I want a square of dark chocolate every hour, or I may over-indulge." They would say no that's not allowed.

leafy_greens

I noticed in the past that if I am craving something sweet and I eat a regular meal (e.g. rice and vegetables), even if I have a big portion, it still doesn't satisfy. How do you deal with this? My appetite really needs to be re-trained... Also, another question...does peanut butter and jam toast c...

leafy_greens

Not eating what you're craving isn't going to harm you in some way. It also isn't true that the craving wont go away until you satisfy it. Cravings are thoughts and, like all thoughts, will eventually go away even if you don't do anything about them. What do you think about the typical diet advice,...

leafy_greens

It was frustrating to read about Karen's futile attempt to change her child's daycare menu. I don't have children but I will glance over the kid's menu and see that they are only offered chicken nuggets and burgers. No wonder kids grow up to hate vegetables. They are not even offered vegetables on t...

leafy_greens

Wosnes I agree. The more I cook the less appealing that bag of factory made cookies is. Maybe you will still eat the whole pan of home made cookies on the weekend, but they will have been less prevalent and a lot harder to produce. The side effect is that you are less and less likely to reach for th...

leafy_greens

I started No S within about 10 lbs of my goal weight. While I would still like to lose it, I find that following No S makes me a lot less panicky to lose those 10 lbs. If I don't, I guess that's ok. I believe that No S removes some of the weight obsession.

leafy_greens

People who have fasted for religious reasons or lack of food access, did not do it for weight loss. Religious reasons are temporary and for the glory of something other than yourself. Those who have lack of access to food could probably care less about their weight and are just worried about survivi...

leafy_greens

Yes I struggle with after dinner snacking. For the most part I have found if I just try really hard, the urge goes away. I get on the computer, read or go to bed early. I also remind myself how good breakfast will be if I don't snack. What is hardest for me is afternoon snacking at work. It is so ha...

leafy_greens

Oh, this is definitely true. I remember summer breaks just laying around eating while my parents were at work. It was a free for all (not in a good way.)

leafy_greens

Looks good (and easy.) I'll try it.

leafy_greens

In fact, when my thin friends feel hungry between meals, they will many times just put up with it until the next meal anyway. That's one of the beauties of No S. You're not a slave to hunger or desire. I wish there was more discussion about how thin people's hunger feels to them. There is such conf...

leafy_greens

I don't believe in fasting. As someone mentioned a while back, if Reinhard had called the 6 hours between meals "fasting," maybe his system would be more popular. On the surface, fasting sounds like a quick fix (and very virtuous) but it's not sustainable.

leafy_greens

I think the tendency among snackers is to ignore any evidence to the contrary, since the Metabolism Myth is so ingrained. And, what a fun myth to have ingrained! You can eat all the time. No wonder people are hesitant to give that one up.

leafy_greens

Snacking is optional by Nutrition Diva "Going longer between meals can have some very beneficial effects on your blood sugar and other aspects of your health." Note: author prefers not snacking at all but recommends some "good" snacking choices for those who cannot commit. http://www.quickanddirtyt...

leafy_greens

Interesting article, of course; it makes sense. I do have a problem with this, though: " [Elisa] Ziedâ€™s rule: Eat when youâ€™re hungry, stop when youâ€™re satisfied, and plan ahead." This person apparently has not had any eating issues. Are my eyes open? I'm hungry. Am I leaning back on the couch...

leafy_greens

Has anyone experienced weight loss when you remove diet soda or artificial sweeteners from your diet? I read somewhere that sweeteners will only make you crave for more sweet food. Any truth to that? I used to drink a lot of diet soda and use sweetener for my coffee/tea. But zero calorie drinks did...

leafy_greens

It's the height of magical thinking to believe that somehow you'll eat less of that delectable calorically-dense whole foods meal because your body "senses" the nutrition in it and therefore "stops" you from overconsuming. People actually believe this. :lol: :lol: :lol: Bingo, that's the whole food...

leafy_greens

Just returned from vacation myself and followed No S. Mine was a bit different than yours because it fell on a Friday - Monday. So I had two N days and two S days. For the N days I used the following techniques: 1) Realized that the food I wanted probably wasn't very good. i.e., Ice cream is ice cre...

leafy_greens

My healthy weight husband loves food and cooking. He reads cookbooks and thinks about meals... but only when he's planning a meal. In this respect he's quite functional about it. And when he's done eating, he's done thinking about food... until the next meal is due. I have a great time observing hi...

leafy_greens

I'm wary of the "unprocessed" phase. Snacking all day is bad even if it's unprocessed. Yes. I think "processed" food may be the new "bad" food, where it's supposedly OK to eat as much as you want as long as you avoid the "bad" food. You know, kind of like fat in the '80s or carbs in the '00s. Exact...

leafy_greens

I'm wary of the "unprocessed" phase. Snacking all day is bad even if it's unprocessed.

leafy_greens

MerryKat wrote:If you snack between meals, acknowledge it and have the next meal as if nothing happened.

This is the hardest thing to do of all, IMO.

leafy_greens

even I, after years of practice, brimming over with founders zeal and all, am tempted to stuff food in my mouth when I'm home alone with the kids for any length of time. Well, this is not good. I guess there really is no point where No S obliterates the cravings. I believed that this magic moment w...

leafy_greens

They do have increased muscle mass, but not obsessing like women do has got to count for a lot. Not obsessing is a huge reason why people do No S, and the side effect of that is weight loss. I think most men just do this naturally because they do not have as much societal pressure.

leafy_greens

This is just anecdotal in my dealings with men, but I think men "appear" to burn calories better than women and lose weight faster than women simply because they don't obsess as much about food, they eat real food, and don't think about snacking that much.

leafy_greens

Are you actually hungry a few hours later or just wanting to eat? I always wanted to binge in the first three hours after a meal. Me too! :oops: I'm not alone... I find it so hard to STOP eating after a meal. I went to OA nearly 30 years ago when their recommendation was three moderate meals a day ...

leafy_greens

I don't think the wisdom was homespun. The homespun advice would have likely been, "Don't eat that; it will ruin your appetite!" But, leafy, you're right that the attitude was pushed on us-from myopic views, IMO. "Let's look at this reaction out of context," i.e., the ability of people to have acce...

leafy_greens

Even if it was a 3 course dinner I would count it as "one plate."

leafy_greens

I was a sugar "addict" long before the low-fat admonitions. My older brother is a sweet freak and has always been slim, never followed any fad. But yeah, low fat didn't help. But I don't believe the majority really stuck to it. I think they were mostly like I was: eating compliant meals and then ov...

leafy_greens

Is it anything like Weigh Down? I did not have success with that program, only with No S. Good luck.

leafy_greens

oolala53 wrote:Can I get a witness!!

leafy_greens

Our low-fat phase hasn't helped. When fat is removed from foods, many times "modified food starch" is added to make the texture similar to the higher fat version of the food. Many of these foods are eaten quite liberally because they're "low-fat." Ugh! I wish I never went through this phase. It rea...

leafy_greens

Thanks for the book recommendation.

leafy_greens

The only "mod" I might second is whether you're getting reasonably legitimately hungry for your meals. If you read the book, it's implied that you will experience hunger. It may be hard to gauge, but about an hour of hunger for a couple of meals a day I say is reasonable to tolerate. I have noticed...

leafy_greens

osoniye wrote:I figure it's maybe a few fat cells pitching a fit because they're at the tipping point of shrinking

That's a good way to look at it...

leafy_greens

Yes. It is possible to lose weight without exercise. I used to have a neighbor who couldn't exercise as the result of an injury and she lost about 100 pounds through diet alone. While I've done the (very) occasional exercise program, the only exercise I've ever done consistently is walking. Yes, it...

leafy_greens

Yep I can relate. I still feel rebellious in trying to cram in all those sweets that I can't have during the week. I don't know why or how to stop it. Other than being busy, staying out of the house, and planning public desserts. But that hasn't solved the wildness completely, because eating sweets ...

leafy_greens

vmsurbat wrote:Hi! I also voted to stick to Vanilla NoS with no mods.

Since NoS is a lifestyle diet--something you'll do for the rest of your life, 10 weeks in is way too soon to be modifying.

Yes, I agree.

leafy_greens

wosnes wrote: I don't think she realizes that American women don't eat candy (or other sweets) as desired without guilt. There's plenty of guilt, but most do it anyway.

Yep.

Thanks for sharing.

leafy_greens

I reserved it at my library. I also reserved a book called The French Diet: Why French Women Don't Get Fat by Michel Montignac. Although this second one appears to focus around the "glycemic index" which sounds very diety so I don't have much hope for that one.

leafy_greens

I read from the reviews that the French Women book was condescending? I hope not because I appreciated the self-deprecation of the French Kids book.

leafy_greens

It doesn't work for me either, lol! But to each his own.

leafy_greens

Being a slave to the scale has not helped you lose weight, so get rid of it. I don't see a problem with having one in the house, but only if you aren't obsessive. Are you afraid you will gain more than 10 lbs if you get rid of the scale?

leafy_greens

I think it is really hard to avoid the diet industry if you are a woman in this country. There are many exhortations I have gotten more used to ignoring, but even after my years of involvement here on NO S, I still feel prone. I'm not sure I will ever be cured from some curiosity as long as I live ...

leafy_greens

http://www.slate.com/id/2300578/ There's actually no evidence that antioxidants have beneficial effects in humans. Even more reason to believe that you have no business worrying about antioxidants when you're 50 pounds overweight. :lol: One of my favorite quotes from the book... There was a time wh...

leafy_greens

All of my S days have been wild for the past 4 months. Mondays feel like, I don't know how else to describe it, but hungover. My whole body feels fat yet hungry, tingly, and shaky. I want to eat more and more, but when I do, I feel disgusting. As unpleasant as this sounds, I still have not reached t...

leafy_greens

Just finished the "French Kids" book and it was great! When I read about the whiney-ness of the author's daughters while they were being trained how to eat, it was so humiliating because it reminded me of myself! I have the eating habits of a North American 2-4 year old. Such as, no self-control, th...

leafy_greens

http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic ... 290#133290

leafy_greens

especially when you fail repeatedly... what do you do to keep yourself going back to NoS? Just wondering... because i expect this will come up for me. Last time I got so frustrated I quit after only 1.5 months. But I was curious for those of you who have done this for a long time, what is the most ...

leafy_greens

finallyfull wrote: a directive from god to immediately eat half a sleeve of saltines.

My S-avoidance affirmations are something like "You'll regret this later." I also remind myself that "Wednesday is almost Saturday."

leafy_greens

I was reading the reviews of The Fresh 20 Cookbook and one of the reviewers wrote that the food wasn't kid-friendly. I think we're one of the only cultures, if not THE only, that think kids need different foods from their parents or that food needs to be "kid-friendly". Apparently this 12-year-old ...

leafy_greens

Slightly OT, but I developed chronic heartburn out of the blue. It was so bad I was throwing up after every meal. Went to docs, was tested, given meds, avoided the typical food culprits etc. Nothing helped. About one year later, it went away and I haven't had it for years. I looked at what was going...

leafy_greens

I just ordered the "French Children Eat Everything" book. I am not a parent but I am hoping to learn more about where my own eating patterns got messed up along the line.

leafy_greens

@Leafy Greens -- The longer I'm on No S, the more I notice what you said about not wanting frozen pizza or other things like that. I think having three spotlighted meals a day makes me value them much more, and over time, this is only growing. I want each meal to be delicious and good for me. When ...

leafy_greens

Having an S-opportunity every day (after 6pm) is still too dangerous for me.

leafy_greens

I think there are people who don't want to eat more than a handful of chips or a couple of Oreos. It's not even a matter of self control; it just doesn't occur to them to have more than a taste of something. I'm not sure if it's the way they were brought up or if it's some internal mechanism or if ...

leafy_greens

Interesting, but too strict (diety) for me.

leafy_greens

I really enjoy a cookbook I found in the discount area of B&N that is all vegetarian slow cooker recipes.

leafy_greens

"never trust a diet book that has recipes.â€

â€œTelling obese people to â€˜eat less and move moreâ€™ is like telling someone with depression to cheer up. Itâ€™s not that easy."

Amen!

leafy_greens

I get full pretty fast, so grazing is how I gained weight. I take after my mother. She goes out to eat with her two thin friends now and then and they can't believe that she's unable finish her meals at a restaurant as chubby as she is. But she is a grazer. I can relate. I was a grazer, and got ful...

leafy_greens

Just a side rant - nothing against Cliff - but I'm always suspicious of anyone who says they eat "as much as I want." I think that is just a nice way of saying they can control themselves and stop before feeling gluttonous. I doubt anyone of a normal weight ever eats as much as they really want as i...

leafy_greens

Great idea! Sounds interesting.

leafy_greens

Mark Bittman's cookbooks are great for giving you easy, no-fuss recipes that you can customize for your own tastes. I have The Food Matters Cookbook, his fish book (OUTSTANDING!), and How to Cook Everything Vegetarian -- they're all good, although the vegetarian book is the weakest of the three IMO...

leafy_greens

Congratulations. My weight loss has been about 1 lb a month.

leafy_greens

L A wrote:I'D PREFER TO HAVE A SMALL DESSERT DAILY THAN CHANGE MY EATING PLAN AT WEEKENDS. IS THAT OK?

No.

leafy_greens

You can save the pdf's and use them later. Sometimes I don't make every week's recipe plan, but I have a stockpile on my computer to use later.

leafy_greens

clarinetgal wrote:That Fresh 20 sounds great! I stink at menu planning, so I will certainly look into this.

I'm a member of their website and it's good stuff! The ingredients list has the average price for each product next to it, so you shouldn't be spending more than $50-60 a week. Also, look for groupons.

leafy_greens

Thanks Andrea, very helpful.

leafy_greens

Thanks! Good find. I hate cooking myself, but the alternative of a frozen pizza becomes less appealing the longer I'm on No S.

leafy_greens

Good point. Why do we let the urges become so magnified? In the scheme of things, it is just food.

leafy_greens

One of the reasons I committed to No S was that I noticed that I would feel the urge to binge for the first three hours after I ate. Eating snacks did not stop me, and now I think it made it worse. Much research shows that eating itself, and especially overeating, can be paired with bingeing so tha...

leafy_greens

Amy3010 wrote:I also like where he says if you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you're not really hungry.

I always have thought this too! Previously, in my bag of grazing snacks at the end of the day, the apple would make it home while the chocolate would be eaten...

leafy_greens

In my experience, WW tries to promote healthy eating, but the meetings end up being completely focused on which processed substitute foods have the lowest point values. Everyone was using their points to eat Skinny Cows and No-Pudge Brownies and sugar-free fat-free instant pudding instead of fruit....

leafy_greens

I have always found that if I eat a substantial breakfast, I'm more likely to want to graze all day long. Not only that, I will eat more at meals. Me too, but I have to stop myself from grazing, just as I have to stop myself from eating chocolate. I would rather eat breakfast, and force myself to n...

leafy_greens

I guess honey was the chocolate of Biblical times.

leafy_greens

What are your dinners like? Many people who originally weren't hungry for breakfast grazed all day eating greater amounts into the night. Then the cycle repeated. After eating regular meals and just a moderate dinner, they start waking up hungry. That happened to me for the first two years. Now I p...

leafy_greens

leafy_greens

Nobody would comment if I ate one crappy little "100 calorie pack" of dried out sad little cookies every single day of the week. In fact, they might think me virtuous. But if I eat one big fat delicious 700 calorie cookie thing once a week, I look like a glutton to the untrained eye. I definitely k...

leafy_greens

In response to your question, Oolala, I lost the biggest chunk of my weight more than a decade ago. Since then I haven't bounced up more than 10 or 20 pounds at a time - and I've always been able to go back down. For example, a couple of years ago I was up to the mid-160s, but, by curtailing my min...

leafy_greens

I realize that 2/7ths of the week of overdoing it is way better than potentially 7/7. When I eat bountiful sweets on the weekend, and get comments from my personal detractors, I'm like, do you know how much I was eating in private every day of the week, before? This is an improvement. also if you t...

leafy_greens

Observation - Packing my lunch is weird now, and brings a slight anxiousness. Previously, I would have to pack enough courses for lunch, and pre- and post-lunch grazing consisting several snack bags and a couple of options for emergency chocolate (my chocolate emergencies are all day long.) Now, I h...

leafy_greens

mackinac19 wrote:But - maybe I would still have that issue even if I WASN'T having chocolate every day...

Never know until you stop doing it!

leafy_greens

On Mondays I usually feel a dual anger - from the between meal hunger and because I ate so much the day before. By Friday I'm usually ok again.

leafy_greens

Weight loss on No S is slow. I have seen NoS'ers talk about losing 10-20 lbs in a year. If you have 10-20 to lose and haven't lost in a year, some may suggest that you start tweaking your plates to be a little bit smaller. But don't give up on No S all together. Might I also suggest that if you have...

leafy_greens

I eat more when I'm alone.

leafy_greens

I am sort of in your situation. At a normal weight but with food addiction. I started No S with a bang in early 2010, then fizzled out after only one month due to my chocolate addiction. I too could not go a day without sweets. Nothing could convince me. After three years of soul searching and choco...

leafy_greens

Thalia wrote:If it's dark and high quality enough, one square is actually enough.

For non-addicts... Not me..

leafy_greens

Good point. You also can't sell No S as a diet system, because it's free!

leafy_greens

maryashley wrote:or justify two bits of candy before dinner by not having a glass of wine or something.

I really hate this "diet advice." Have a square of dark chocolate per day for flavinoids and antioxidants! Yeah right, try stopping at one square...

leafy_greens

They aren't a sign that your metabolism is screeching to a halt, the way some other diets might claim. It is normal and OK to have cravings, and it is not going to harm you to not fulfill the cravings. I wish the fitness magazines would admit this, rather than saying you should have a yogurt, a str...

leafy_greens

"One and done."

leafy_greens

finallyfull wrote:I always notice that so many women's magazines are filled with fatty recipes and on the next page, weight loss plans.

I notice this too. It's rather ridiculous. "Lose 20 lbs this week!" Then a recipe for cupcakes. Ok...

leafy_greens

Mackinac, I am a chocolate/sweets addict and have not had it on a weekday in over 10 weeks. If I can do it, anyone can. Also listen to Reinhard's podcast on the importance of strictness (#13).

Everyday Systems

Search found 426 matches

Re: Ditto what the others have said!

Re: Dangers of free workplace snacks

Re: Resources which support No Snacking

Re: Any weight loss when you eliminate artificial sweetener

Re: diet switch experiment

Re: No evidence antioxidants are a "miracle" food

Re: when you fail...

Re: CAN I HAVE A SMALL DESSERT AFTER EVENING MEAL

Re: Delighting in strictness