Everyday Systems

leafy_greens

I have been using the Fresh 20. Check it out. They send a menu for five meals made with 20 fresh ingredients on Fridays. It comes with a make ahead guide for the week so prep is easier during the week. They have a vegetarian option too. The meals have been healthy and yummy! This is a good idea. I ...

leafy_greens

Does anybody have any tips for EASY meal planning? I am so lazy when it comes to cooking, plus I have vegetarian restrictions. Recently I bought a slow cooker cookbook which seems promising, but I want to make sure I have enough variety, as a slop stew every night for a week will get boring. My prob...

leafy_greens

If children have smaller stomachs doesn't that mean they expend fewer calories, thereby needing fewer calories? I still don't buy that they "need" a snack. It may be what they are used to, so they will complain if they don't get it. Parents probably feel guilty that they are starving their children,...

leafy_greens

I kept sweets in the house for decades because of the suggestions of the intuitive eating crowd and their theory that if you know you can have it, it takes away the compulsion. It did not work. Good Lord, the brownies, ice cream, chocolate, etc., I binged on! Ugh.. This made sense to me, at the tim...

leafy_greens

Aren't chips allowed during a meal?

leafy_greens

diets appear as this golden ticket to a perfect solution to cure the past or present. They lure you in and actually tap into those potential obsessive characteristics that women often have (due to ever increasing pressures in society on women to look skinny). ...women need silly self discipline lev...

leafy_greens

But isn't the idea at first to not focus on losing weight but to fix your food issues? If you don't eat enough, you will be hungry between meals and dreaming about food. So I would say not worry about filling the plate with lightweight stuff until you have mastered eating 3 meals a day.

leafy_greens

If you're sleeping, you're not eating.

My psychologist told me one of her binge eating patients kept a "farmer's schedule" by going to bed at 8:30 and getting up at 4:30, to prevent late night binging.

leafy_greens

Pushing snacks on children - It's all about placating your children so they don't cause a scene. If they're forcing something down, they're distracted and less likely to yell, cry, wiggle, hit anyone, or run off. I think kids and adults metabolisms are different--they seem to get more famished witho...

leafy_greens

So, snapshot: First year NoS: 4 desserts every weekend. Today: 1 small serving on Sunday. Why? Because that is what I *now* enjoy most! :-) I admire this and wish I could get to this point regarding sweets. That is my problem area, not plating. I can virtual plate non-sweets to my heart's content a...

leafy_greens

People probably do it because it's acceptable to be obese, to graze, and to eat huge portions.

leafy_greens

But do you have to fill the rest of your plate with fruit? Can it be the footlong? Fries? Potatoes? Apples seem too "diety" to me.

leafy_greens

my body tells me: Eat Sweets Now (every ten minutes or so) 'I am listening to my body and I hear ......I WANT CHOCOLATE! My body says this also. The first time I tried IE (after reading Weigh Down), I grabbed a plate and filled it with three types of chocolate cake for dinner. My life has never bee...

leafy_greens

I don't know if shopping everyday (like the French) is a good idea. Going into a store is like a trap, for me. I can go in with good intentions, but somehow end up in the "bad" aisle. I would rather just stay out of there, if possible.

leafy_greens

I agree - Naturally thin people just don't *think* about food, no matter what it is they are eating. Once you start to think too much about your eating habits, it has the opposite effect of making you eat more because you're thinking about it all the time. As No S'ers, we should get to the point whe...

leafy_greens

I totally agree about the 21 days not working for everybody! The impression I got, from Reinhard and others in the forums, is that you just have to stick it out for that amount of time, and then the habit will be ingrained and no more cravings. I certainly would not have tried it if Reinhard had sai...

leafy_greens

I'm curious if I'm the only one who has this problem. When I eat, I have a food taste in my mouth that makes me want to keep eating. It's not the hunger, it's that new food helps cover up the old food (sweets usually are my coverup food of choice.) Ok, so "brush your teeth". Well, brushing, flossing...

leafy_greens

For food changes, it actually takes two to five years. Many people have gone 45 days or more without certain foods or without overeating only to have the pattern reignited quite quickly. And there are so many food cues! This must be why my one straight month of No S didn't work for me. I was hungri...

leafy_greens

Actually, a waist of 23 is part of being curvy because it's the difference between the waist, hips, and breasts/shoulder girdle that contributes to that effect. I also think voluptuous connotes a sense of softness, though that could be changing. I haven't looked at a Playboy centerfold in years, bu...

leafy_greens

I remember reading that the Marilyn Monroe size 14 dress was a French size 14 which is like an American size 6/8, and besides her waist was like a 23. Not exactly "curvy." LOL @ "special children's cheese." Parents pacify their kids with food because food = love. My mom said she did it to me when I ...

leafy_greens

I think people of previous generations just didn't spend their every waking moment (starting from when parents stick a sippie cup and a handful of goldfish crackers in a kid's hand every time they leave the house) thinking about what can I eat next???? It starts young and it doesn't stop. How many ...

leafy_greens

I have gotten a hungry at bed time feeling from no-s too, and I agree, it's not carried through till morning--I notice no difference upon waking. It's also associated with weight-loss phases for me. When I feel that hungry at bed time feeling, I seem to be losing weight. It's not a terrible hunger ...

leafy_greens

They would forget to eat or go all day without because it was too much trouble to stop for lunch. Ugh!! I wish this was me. The comments on that story are also very interesting, some which rang true to me. The fascination with celebrity meals is sexist, because women have to be thin yet eat "like m...

leafy_greens

Is 10 packets of ketchup for fries pathological?

leafy_greens

Of course it makes it less likely that people will go for seconds, but what about food they're already planning on eating? A plate, bowl, glass and cutlery, along with belongings that you brought into the cafeteria with you, makes a tray necessary. I sense there will be a lot of broken dishes and sp...

leafy_greens

My first attempt at No S was horrible. I had the worst sugar withdrawals imaginable, shakes, headaches, and just feeling plain awful. It was so bad that I've yet to go more than one day on No S again. It was scary. Maybe one day I'll make my body obey me and not the other way around, hence why I toy...

leafy_greens

Looks like I fit within the majority 63% of people who have problems with sweets or snacking on sweets.

leafy_greens

This article is great. I'm sick of actresses lying about what they eat. You know it's complete BS.

leafy_greens

"Going trayless" seems like it will make everyone's lives more inconvenient. It is purely a cost-saving measure for the school, and they try to sell it to everyone by making you think you'll lose weight by going along with it. I "virtual plate" my meals, where if you get a salad it's obviously not g...

leafy_greens

Could you be restricting your S days too much? There should be some time when you can have cookies and cakes with your boyfriend. No. This is the first S day in about a year that I haven't gone overboard. We (I) have cookies and cakes so much, that I haven't had an N day in over a year. The last is...

leafy_greens

The holidays are actually the easiest time for me to stay vanilla. It must be because there's so much energy/activity and things to look forward to, that it's just easier not to eat. There's also so many sweets and goodies around, that I find it easier to say "no" to everything but the really good s...

leafy_greens

I actually had a pretty successful S-weekend, and I did it by telling myself that they were N-days, but I could have a little bit of wiggle room. So I had a truffle and 2 pieces of chocolate on Saturday, and a cookie from the bakery and 2 pieces of chocolate on Sunday. It wasn't planned, I just trie...

leafy_greens

wosnes wrote:
leafy_greens wrote: I can't just let it go and then get back on track for dinner.
Yes, you CAN.

Ugh, darn you!

It probably is boredom. Knowing why is one thing, but figuring out how to forgive yourself is another.

leafy_greens

I read so many articles like this - many in woman's magazines like All You - about how families are putting a stop to snacking. "Great," I think, "people are catching on." And then the article goes on to say that the family is still snacking, but just with vegetables, fruit and "healthy" things. Hel...

leafy_greens

A 31-year-old teacher from Midtown Manhattan who had barely touched a banana in six years wanted to know if she could really consume them with impunity.

leafy_greens

Let's look at how messing up ruins the 3 meal structure. I typically eat a late breakfast around 9 am and then fall off No S by grazing until lunch. If I eat too much for breakfast, I don't want to eat lunch. But if I try to not eat until dinner, to make up for the fact that I've eaten 2 meals befor...

leafy_greens

Hi Blithe Morning :-) Unfortunately exercise seems to make me more hungry rather than less. I joined the gym a year ago, hoping that I would naturally lose a bit of weight, but instead put on about 15 pounds. I still exercise quite a bit and always notice that on days I go to the gym I'm quite a bi...

leafy_greens

Another strategy: before you eat a snack, take a few seconds to ask yourself if you really want or need it. If the answer is "yes", you know you made a decision to eat it and accept the responsibility for eating it. If the answer is "no", you avoided eating a snack. My problem is that the answer is...

leafy_greens

One one end is you, your rational self, and on the other are your current, extremely powerful bad habits. It's like you and some ravenous lion are sharing the same body. Don't feel guilty that the lion is dominating you -- it's a lion after all. One on one it would tear you or any human being to sh...

leafy_greens

Maybe I was unclear but I'm not "on" No S right now, I just think about everyday how I wish I was, but can't make myself. The huge deterrent is how bad I felt while I was "on" it, so that's holding me from trying again. I did have 21 days of perfect compliance, a.k.a. perfect torture! Not exactly so...

leafy_greens

I realized that I wasn't trying to lose weight while on No S, but I did anyway. I just didn't notice because I don't weigh myself. Since being "off", I have gained it back, probably 5-10. Anyways, I have come to the conclusion that exercise doesn't do much for you, as far as burning calories goes. W...

leafy_greens

Thanks guys, I'll keep that in mind.

leafy_greens

In case anyone cares what I've been up to... I have been doing with somewhat regularity, breakfast and lunch with no snacks, and dinner with whatever I want afterwards (even if it's a whole bag of M&M's.) I'm not happy about this, but I find it a lot more bearable to make it through work knowing I c...

leafy_greens

The point of the 100-calorie packs is so you will know that you are eating exactly 600 calories when you eat the whole box.

leafy_greens

Sinnie - thanks for sharing your experience. Honestly, the past few weeks that I've been on vacation from No S, my bingeing has been a lot less than it was historically. I feel pretty good about that. But I don't "feel" skinny - that's the "euphoric" feeling I've alluded to - where you are on a high...

leafy_greens

I'm in an "I don't care" mode. Eating whatever I want, whenever I want. Don't know if I can come back to this.

For one week I did dessert every night after dinner. I binged a lot less on the weekend.

Thanks for the well wishes - I'm just so overwhelmed.

leafy_greens

After thinking more about KCCC's advice, I have decided to tailor No S. I think that it's do-able if I have 3 meals a day with no snacks, but after dinner I will have one plate of dessert. That way it doesn't give me the fear of having a "small" dessert - it can be big - but I can only have one. Thi...

leafy_greens

1) A lot of people "phase in" to Vanilla. It's quite common. I did that, though snacks were my issue. 2) The big message of No-S systems is MODERATION. Doing what YOU can do, and is best for YOU. It's not all-or-nothing. This could be helpful. The appeal for No S to me was that it wasn't a diet, ye...

leafy_greens

- Can you do 2S's, which means dessert at each meal, but not between? That might work... I'll give it a try but it's very hard for me to "stop." While this would be a more sustainable option, it makes me feel like more of a failure because that's not how it's written "in the book" and therefore not...

leafy_greens

I too have a stockpile of nuts and diet bars that are just sitting there. I really want to throw them away but think "one day I'll get around to them." I added crackers though, due to the suggestion of someone on here who was eating crackers and cheese with their lunch (can't remember who it was - W...

leafy_greens

You all are lucky - my boyfriend is a natural No S'er and never craves anything - I really hate him sometimes! When I had to explain I was "going on" No S he was like "what's the big deal? Why is it so hard for you to eat 3 meals and no sweets?" :evil: It's really hard to feel support from someone w...

leafy_greens

I have had 7 days in a row of red days (11 days including S days.) But what good are S days if they're the same as red days? Everyday is a "new" day that I try to start over, but it never works and ends in failure. I try to remind myself of the "euphoria" I felt when going to bed hungry and waking u...

leafy_greens

I think it's hilarious how the government is trying to regulate salt, fat, sodas - Hello, NONE of it is working! How about giving more subsidies to fruits and vegetables instead of milk and meat, for starters... And have the food pyramid say NO SNACKING.

leafy_greens

Speaking of driving off the cliff, that's what I did all week. I'm on vacation from No S, hope I can get back on tomorrow, or this No S experience might be over for me.

leafy_greens

While I don't do strict no-s (I eat planned snacks!!), I think that it took me a few years of research and gradual habit changing to form my current way of (mostly) healthy eating. If you are starting out with really bad habits, I think it takes a major and gradual shift to get where you want to go...

leafy_greens

If you read my personal thread you will see how much trouble I've been having for over 5 weeks now. 21 days has done absolutely nothing for me. Reinhard said something like, 21 is a completely arbitrary number, with significance applied only by our society. It worked for him so he must think it work...

leafy_greens

Jillian reminds me of those people that died in the sweat lodge, or those kids that died at "boot camp." One day someone's going to drop dead from a heart attack, her show will be cancelled, and she will lose all credibility. Not only that, but she always looks like she smells something bad.

leafy_greens

The only other diet I've really done is intuitive eating, where you get to eat whatever you want. That wasn't torture as much as it was depressing because I went overboard all day long when I thought I was hungry but wasn't. Yes, I may have to do 2 S's for a while, but I know myself. It's not going ...

leafy_greens

I couldn't take it anymore. I had my first red day after over one month of perfect compliance (and after 3 straight Memorial day weekend S days.) I don't know how I can keep doing this. It was supposed to become easier by now. It hasn't. I'm ready to throw in the towel and just have as many red days...

leafy_greens

http://glo.msn.com/featured/so-bad-its-good-1533372.story?GT1=49006 Now would this be breaking No S rules? It does have one calorie. But you would inhale it, not eat it! It's been an age-old problem: Love the chocolate; hate the calories. But Harvard biomedical engineer David Edwards seems to have ...

leafy_greens

It's easier in the aspect that I don't have headaches and shakiness, but mentally it's still very, very difficult.

leafy_greens

I have had almost a month of perfect compliance. I haven't had the shakes since about the first week. I only have a headache about once a week now. I still want to eat chocolate 24/7. That hasn't gotten any easier. I sit here, night after night, absolutely dying for Saturday morning to get here. Lit...

leafy_greens

Julia was my distant cousin! Never knew her though.

leafy_greens

"Junk" (whatever that means to you) is allowed on No S, however. As long as it fits within the three S's. Whether diet coke fits within sugar vs. sweet is another topic altogether. I would say that if you can control your diet coke consumption, just like regular meal foods, it's fine. The problem co...

leafy_greens

I wouldn't be so strict with the actual food items you are eating, as long as nothing is a sweet. The most important thing at first is doing three meals a day (of any kind of food), before getting restrictive. Reinhard also mentions that it takes an average of 12 failures before getting a diet right...

leafy_greens

Dave, I agree. My totebag is so lightweight now with just lunch in it and not the extraneous snacks.

leafy_greens

Kathleen, I sure hope you're right. Today is my 23rd day of perfect compliance. According to everyone, something magical is supposed to happen after 21. I feel nothing but the same chocolate cravings I felt before. I have stuck to the three meals and no longer have headaches (yay...?), but I'm afrai...

leafy_greens

Sadly, this is the new weight loss orthodoxy. YOU HAVE TO SNACK. FEELING HUNGER IS BAD. SNACK SNACK SNACK. We have such an idea nowadays that feeling hunger is a bad thing and if you do not stop that hunger feeling, you will starve to death or something like that. Anytime I mention to people that I...

leafy_greens

Zone bars are definitely sweets, and definitely not enough to constitute a meal.

leafy_greens

I can't bear the thought that I will not have an S-day for 5 more days! At this moment I want to crawl in bed where nobody can judge me, with a bag of M&M's and cry, like Kirstie Alley did on Fat Actress where she stayed in bed for 2 weeks eating twinkies. I'm not even looking forward to dinner, no ...

leafy_greens

I'm with you on this - I can't wait to collapse into food on my S days. I have a list of food I want to eat planned out, so I don't forget anything that needs to be eaten before the weekend is over. I also have a giant bag of M&M's waiting for breakfast tomorrow. I'm still a new No-S'er, so I'm just...

leafy_greens

(I found it easier to deal with the eating first, then the emotions, rather than trying to handle the emotions first.) This is precisely the disconnect I had with intuitive eating. Emotions are so out of control that you can wallow in them forever and never even get to the eating part. I like how y...

leafy_greens

Graham, you are likely to overdo it at first with piling up your plates, but this is to be expected and normal. The most important step is getting the habit of planned meal times. Once you get this under control, you can tinker with how much food on a plate will be satisfying and enough. Punishing y...

leafy_greens

I'd be curious to see the percentage of maintenance in No S dieters vs. other dieters.

leafy_greens

Week 2 seems harder than Week 1. I feel like I'm going to collapse into sweets at any moment. Two more days til I can binge

again.

leafy_greens

Here's a recap of the show. It seems like it was more touchy-feely stuff ("love yourself") rather than the proper way to eat. Geneen gives her guidelines here , but some are very nebulous things like "Eat when you're hungry" without explaining what hunger really is. Some of us are "hungry" all the ...

leafy_greens

I agree, eat what you want at meals, but peanut butter between meals, even off the floor, would count as a snack. I personally don't count calories, but I'm on week 2 and still learning. It's better to do one thing at a time. Get the habit down first. If you try to do too many restrictions at once, ...

leafy_greens

This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode where he eats out of the garbage can. And the Special K commercial where it's 5pm at work and she almost eats the cake out of the garbage. This weekend I almost ate a brownie out of the garbage but was able to stop myself. It was tough though. I also am in wee...

leafy_greens

Fitting everything on a plate can be a bit legalistic, unless you like eating everything piled on top of each other and smooshed together. It's ok to eat what would have fit on the plate, but on a separate plate so your food isn't colliding. For example, I have my fries and grilled cheese on separat...

leafy_greens

Of course I appreciate my sweets more, but I even appreciate my regular meals more. I made a delicious home made grilled cheese and fries yesterday. This morning I had my egg white and cheese on a bagel (horror: carbs!) I never used to allow myself a real food meal. There was always a caveat: some f...

leafy_greens

After starting No S, I've decided to sell my Roth books on Amazon. I'm done with carrying around a food bag.

leafy_greens

Here's an article called 10 Secrets of the Effortlessly Thin. 1. They don't diet. 2. They keep track of their weight. 3. They exercise regularly. 4. They don't solve problems with food. 5. They stop eating when they're full. 6. They don't surround themselves with temptation. 7. They allow themselves...

leafy_greens

Elspeth, I think we are conditioned to EAT! NOW! because we are falsely told that our metabolisms will slow if we wait for a stomach growl. Now that I have seen the light I just roll my eyes at all these diet articles that tell you that you have to graze all day.

leafy_greens

So is not dieting Oprah's latest diet? I'm skeptical. But it will be interesting to see what she says on the show. I just hope it doesn't involve intuitive eating.

leafy_greens

Get the habit down first and then consider things like nutrition and portions -- if they turn out to be a problem. One of the things that no s does for you--one of the most important things is to get you out of the diet mentality. This was the same advice given to me on another thread, and I found ...

leafy_greens

Yeah, I'm constantly drinking water to get the food taste out of my mouth. Even brushing and mouthwash don't help. The past week I've been waking up at 3:30 am to pee, even though I pee before bed anyway. It's ridiculous. Maybe the food taste will die down and I won't need as much water? Who knows. ...

leafy_greens

I agree, 4:30 is the hardest. All I can do is chew gum and suffer through it

leafy_greens

Phase II: Over-the-top S-days don't "feel" good. Mondays are almost a relief. People are perhaps frustrated with their lack of control on S-days. Almost without noticing, the "binges" get a bit smaller because the person is starting to recognize that they DON'T GIVE PLEASURE. The contrast between N...

leafy_greens

... but I'm 5'5" and 118 lbs., Seriously? Your BMI is 19.6 - that's so not obese. Or was that a typo? I have no idea what my BMI is, but the height and weight I mentioned are correct. I'm a women's size 4 or 6, so I definitely consider myself pretty "medium" sized. While I've never been obese, I wa...

leafy_greens

I think B&N gets their cheesecake from CF. Anyhoo, I hate those dried out 100 calorie packs! So unfulfilling.

leafy_greens

If last week was a 10 in difficulty, I'd say this week was a 9. Slightly easier, but still VERY difficult. My S-days weren't fun. I planned all week that I was going to go buy and make a box of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate brownies and make them into ice cream sundaes with caramel, nuts, and whipped c...

leafy_greens

These are some wonderful, positive tips. If you snack in between, your meal isn't going to taste as good. It will be helpful to remember when my stomach is growling, that I will get to eat something really good in a few hours.

leafy_greens

Prapad you make an excellent point. Why are diets with no snacking termed gorging?

leafy_greens

Well thanks for sharing Kathleen. It's good to know you've been there, and overcome. I'm trying so hard to comply perfectly, but it's taking way too long to accumulate these green days...

Don't think I'll ever make it to 21...

leafy_greens

About to lose it. Sitting here thinking about how easy it would be to eat just ONE sweet... Some of my s'mores trail mix... I would feel so much better... :twisted: My physiological symptoms are still lessening, but mentally I'm not doing so well at all. Still obsessed as much as ever. Still have mo...

leafy_greens

Not having food issues means there's no "work" involved in resisting, and you don't think about food obsessively.

leafy_greens

Makes sense...

leafy_greens

Or a few at full price...?

Ok so 5-6 weeks... still a few more weeks of torture to go...

leafy_greens

Thanks for the specifics, Shannah. I probably would have got the cupcakes anyway, and TRY to save them for Saturday...

leafy_greens

I would like to hear from the people, like Kathleen, who claim to no longer have food issues. How long did it take to get to that point? etc.

Everyday Systems

Search found 426 matches

Re: Fresh 20

Meal planning ideas?

Re: Criticisms for Intuitive Eating?

"Food taste" in mouth = Real, or insanity?

Re: How do you overcome screw-ups?

How do you overcome screw-ups?

Breathable chocolate?

Re: Phases of No-S (as I see them)

Re: Relax and keep it simple