Everyday Systems

sophiasapientia

Yes, The quote holds true for me. Some of the ways I plan? Making a meal plan and grocery list every week, based on what is on season, on sale and what sounds good. This way I don't need to stress out at the last minute on what to make for dinner. I plan easier meals, pull somehing from the freezer ...

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Monday and Tuesday were Successes , both in terms No S and my step count. With DD home for the summer, I am finding that I am sometimes needing to be a little creative about getting those steps completed if I don't get up early to get a good walk in ... which is my preference. I've been successfully...

sophiasapientia

Congratulations on hitting that milestone! So exciting!

sophiasapientia

SUCCESS for the weekend, what other way can you rate it? It was a success in that my portions were reasonable. I did eat sweets and snacks, but I didn't feel an urgent need to suck down as much S as I could which was kind of nice! Best weekend so far on No S! I've been reading the posts the last co...

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The last week was really crazy in terms of scheduling. Everyone is tired and a bit out of sorts. We were out a lot and even the dog has been a bit anxious/not eating because the rest of us were gone so much. I'm relieved that we should be into a summer-edition of our normal routine this week. I real...

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Friday was a green SUCCESS, though I ate out twice. The first time was planned. DD and I were running some errands in preparation for Father's Day and treated ourselves to a girls' lunch out at Olga's. Then one of DH's leg braces -- which he needs to walk securely -- cracked in half while he was at ...

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MamaMia -- Yes, yay No S! :D If I wanted to cc, I suspect that some of those apps would make the process easier but it is a relief to have an alternative. I'd just like an App for that :lol: and I guess Reinhard is working on it. Berry -- Believe me, I completely understand! I'm getting it too. This...

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(((Sue2))) I suspect that many of us understand about being people pleasers. Congratulations on standing your ground with your family even though it wasn't pleasant or easy. And perhaps changing your user handle would be appropriate, symbolically speaking. I'm not sure how that works but, if you are...

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Sue2 -- Wow, thank you so much for your very kind words! I am completely flattered. I just want to clarify, lest anyone be mistaken, that like everyone else, I am a work in progress and there are many areas where I do not feel all that centered and a couple where, frankly, some major self-improvemen...

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I get what you are saying, too. There was a point in my life when I spent a lot of time reading diet books and I felt rather smart about nutrition and could spout off all kinds of information about calories, carbs, or whatever the latest diet trend. I think it made me feel like I was doing something...

sophiasapientia

How long of a gap do you have between dinner and bedtime? ... I eat dinner fairly early (5:30) and sometimes get hungry later in the evening. It was hard at first but eventually I got used to it. Now, the hunger barely registers and if it does, I remind myself that I can eat whatever I want for brea...

sophiasapientia

Welcome Laura & congratulations on all the happy upcoming events! So exciting! I'm delighted to meet you and hope that you find as much peace and sanity via No S as so many of us have.

sophiasapientia

Wow! You are on a roll! Kudos to you for hanging in there even on tough days! You are doing great ....

sophiasapientia

Way to go with the flow! Your special day with friends sounds just lovely!

I too love the introspection and insight in your posts.

sophiasapientia

My condolences as well. She sounds like a remarkable lady.

I also want to say: you go girl! I had been away from the boards for some months and it really sounds like you have your groove/ a sense of peace with No S. You are doing great & I am so happy for you!

sophiasapientia

How cool is that?! Enjoy every moment of your concert!

sophiasapientia

Hang in there WT! Don't let a bad day or two derail you. You can do this! ... One of the things that makes N days easier is to make sure that you are eating foods that you enjoy at your regular meals. If you are eating enough and are truly enjoying your N day meals, it will be that much easier to st...

sophiasapientia

Wednesday 6/15/2011 -- N Day -- SUCCESS B --1/2 bagel w/ cream cheese, coffee L -- PBJ, pepper/cucumber slices, blueberries, Cheez-Its D (Noodles & Co. to celebrate DD's last day of school) -- Mac & cheese w/ steamed broccoli, unsweetened iced tea w/ splash of low-cal lemonade *** I like the mac & c...

sophiasapientia

Oh yay! I'm really excited about this and will definitely be in line to purchase once the iphone application is available. Thanks Reinhard!

sophiasapientia

I'm with Wosnes on the low fat products. I much prefer the "regular" versions of cheese/most products and use butter, olive oil, etc. I buy 2% milk for the family and for cooking, though I'm not a milk drinker myself. We do some whole grain products but not always. Just depends. I figure if we are e...

sophiasapientia

Hi Roxy -- Just wanted to say that I'm cheering you on with your 21 days!

I'm actually finishing up my own 21 day cycle today and think that it can be helpful motivator for building habit and staying accountable.

(Thanks, too, for your kind words on my testimonial thread.)

s.

sophiasapientia

Tuesday 6/14/2011 -- N Day -- SUCCESS

B --1/2 bagel w/ cream cheese, coffee
L -- Pizza, blueberries, grapes, small serving Munchos
D -- Beef stroganoff over egg noodles, red pepper slices, cucumber slices

Exercise -- Over 15,000 steps, including mowing front lawn

sophiasapientia

The rest of Sunday went by without any major consequence. Had a 9" plate of food for dinner, including a 1/2 slice of the leftover banana bread, and was done for the day. Monday 6/13/2011 -- N Day -- SUCCESS B --1/2 bagel w/ cream cheese, coffee L -- Slice of pizza, sugar snap peas, 1/2 minneola D -...

sophiasapientia

I think having a general idea of calories, without specific calorie counting, is good, even for someone like me who balks at doing the math to count calories. If you eat at one particular restaurant often, for example, it might help you to have a general idea of which things that restaurant serves ...

sophiasapientia

Welcome FiberMama! It's lovely to have you here & I hope that you have a good 1st week on No S.

sophiasapientia

Have a fantastic week, Roxy!

sophiasapientia

Congratulations on your new home!

Moving is right up there on the list of "stressful life changes" and I agree with Grammy about not being hard on yourself. Your plan to focus on Green days and not sweat it sounds like a good one.

sophiasapientia

Welcome & hope that you have a terrific 1st day!

sophiasapientia

Saturday June 11, 2011 & Sunday June 12, 2011 -- S Days -- SUCCESS S Days haven't been over the top. Saturday was 3 squares, including a slice of homemade whole wheat chocolate chip banana bread for my breakfast, plus one small dessert later in the day. Sunday is panning out to be the same. I had o...

sophiasapientia

Lots of the above!

The dog, my pedometer (and personal goal to get in over 10,000 steps everyday) and audiobooks too.

Also, just the reality that my overall well-being -- mentally and physically -- is significantly better when I'm an active person and, for me, that means walking.

sophiasapientia

Graham -- I just wanted to say that I appreciate your candor. I've read your posts over the last year and I know that this journey has been a near constant struggle and that you are not where you want to be. Even still, it is obvious that you have made strides -- moving out of the overweight BMI & i...

sophiasapientia

We love Frances here too.

As a kid, I always thought her lunch sounded so *fancy* ... DD is partial to bread and jam and I sometimes sing "Jam on biscuits, jam on toast, jam is the thing that I like most... " when I'm fixing it for her.

sophiasapientia

Friday 6/10/2011 -- N Day -- SUCCESS B --1/2 bagel w/ cream cheese, coffee L -- Pizza, cucumber & red pepper slices, minneola D -- Taco salad w/ grilled chicken, tortilla chips w/ queso Exercise -- Over 12,000 steps Should be a fun weekend! We are going to see Taylor Swift in concert tomorrow night....

sophiasapientia

I agree with the others about eating more/adding more fat to curb hunger. Does anyone have a sense of how many calories they take and/or what the optimal amount might be? Like I said, I understand this is not supposed to be about counting calories but it is something I have been thinking about since...

sophiasapientia

Technically, if you want to go by the No S book -- pages 76-77 -- hot chocolate is a sweet ... Although drinking unsweetened Aztec cocoa is fine. :wink: I know that some folks drink hot chocolate on N Days with success and ultimately each individual has to decide what works for themselves ... Person...

sophiasapientia

Congratulations on your happy news! So exciting!

sophiasapientia

Thanks so much for the well-wishes, KCCC! My mom is hanging in there and feeling a little better today. As for myself, I think I'm doing a decent job of putting on my oxygen mask first. I've given myself some deadline grace on a couple of projects that I had originally intended to finish this week a...

sophiasapientia

I ran into the same issue with my now 8 year old DD a number of years back. She would graze/snack and then not eat at meals. :roll: It wasn't a weight issue at all for her either. What we've done is establish a set snack time. I gave it to her straight that we were concerned that she was snacking al...

sophiasapientia

Welcome! Can No S work with a chronic pain condition? Yes! Due to a chronic pain condition, I have to be very careful about the type of exercise I do -- nothing that puts major stress on my problem region or I end up with a major flare up -- so I walk everyday. That's it. To date, I haven't been abl...

sophiasapientia

Hi Erialicia, Just wanted to pop in and say that I'm cheering for you! Please be gentle with yourself. I know how overwhelming it can feel to have a large amount of weight to lose. What helped me (several years ago I was 70 lbs heavier than I am now) was to focus on mini goals -- like 5 lbs -- rathe...

sophiasapientia

Wednesday 6/8/2011 -- N Day -- SUCCESS
B --1/2 bagel w/ cream cheese, coffee
L -- Slice of pizza, sugar snap peas, fresh pineapple
D -- Lap salad, fresh pineapple

Exercise -- Over 13,000 steps

sophiasapientia

Thanks so much for your prayers & well-wishes! I went to bed at 8 last night and feel refreshed and energized. The main thing is that my mom will be fine . The whole ordeal had been rather scary and I'm so relieved that she's on the mend. Grammy -- I *love* your sage advice to "Always do your best.....

sophiasapientia

Hi Starla -- Believe me, I completely understand not wanting to check-in after getting off track. :oops: But the reality is that none of us are perfect, we all slip-up from time to time and it is soooo much easier to readjust when the damage is relatively minor and we are self-aware of what is going...

sophiasapientia

Tuesday 6/7/2011 -- N Day -- SUCCESS B --1/2 bagel w/ cream cheese, coffee L (Qdoba) -- Naked taco salad w/ grilled chicken D -- 2 slices of pizza, sugar snap peas, fresh pineapple Exercise -- Over 13,000 steps My mom was released from the hospital today so I brought her home, picked up her meds and...

sophiasapientia

Hi Karen -- I hope that tonight is better and that you (and your DS) are able to get some rest! Those "nights-up-with-kid(s)" are rough :P .... Your goals for your first month sound very sane and kind and important. It sounds like you are right on target and the fact that you are feeling better abou...

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Sonya -- Thanks so much for sharing your update! I completely agree with the others that gaining a mere 3 pounds in a year after coming off a strict low-cal-carb diet, etc, is a tremendous success and it sounds like you are in a great place all-around ... Just awesome!

sophiasapientia

Welcome Nicki! It is lovely to meet you & I love your approach to No S!

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Nichole, I believe.

http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=4002 She did a modified form of No S during pregnancy with great success.

sophiasapientia

Welcome & congratulations!!!

I know that there are at least a couple of other expectant mommies on the Boards and hopefully they will be able to chime in. (No S is certainly do-able during pregnancy, though some find it helpful to add a 4th or 5th healthy "mini meal" to help with nausea, etc.)

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Welcome Junebug95!!!

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Welcome! I completely agree that it is most important to stick to vanilla No S and build habit when you are starting out. Over time, if you don't exercise already, adding some moderate exercise, like walking or anything active you enjoy, can certainly help too. But building habit is the place to foc...

sophiasapientia

Check-Ins for the Week of June 5, 2011 Sunday 6/5/2011 -- S Day -- SUCCESS B --Small slice of lemon poppyseed breakfast cake, coffee L (festival) -- Piece of injera bread with samplings of spicy lentils & cabbage, vegggie samosa, bite sized dark chocolate raspberry mousse cup, bite sized cupcake, o...

sophiasapientia

Mamamia, you certainly don't have to give up baking if it is something you enjoy! Like Wosnes, I find that I'm cooking and baking more than ever. In fact, I baked 2 goodies for S day breakfasts and treats just this weekend. :wink: 8) If I've made more than can be eaten, I either freeze baked goods f...

sophiasapientia

Welcome DaintyCow! ... Aren't the podcasts the best?! I listened to them many, many times when I was first building habit and still listen to them once in awhile for inspiration.

Hope to see you around the Boards ...

sophiasapientia

Thanks so much to everyone for all of your kind words and support!!! It is hard to put into words how much I've been impacted not only by the No S plan but also by reading all of your posts with all of their wisdom, wit and just the day to day reality of trying to make this plan work in our individu...

sophiasapientia

Yes, Sienna! WOW! That's absolutely fabulous! You're doing great ! :D And to chime in to the OP, unfortunately I didn't know about No S when I lost the bulk of my excess weight -- I'm down 70lbs from my highest weight -- but I wish that I had. It would have saved me so much mental agony and money, a...

sophiasapientia

Starla -- You are such a wonderful inspiration with the tremendous success you've had with No S and thanks so much for your support! ... Yeah, it was a bit of a revelation to me recently when I realized that I had gotten sloppy/gone off course and need to get back to the basic simple plan ... The tr...

sophiasapientia

Hi Who Me -- I totally agree with what the others have said. There's a world of difference between the pleasant twinge of hunger that one feels when mealtime is approaching and shaking and feeling like passing out from hunger. It doesn't have to be all or nothing. You just need to figure out what wo...

sophiasapientia

Roxy -- PMed you. :D ***** I went ahead and posted my testimonial and Clarica shared her great success in reaching her 10% goal. :wink: FWIW, I think the lack of overall responses on these testimony threads might deter folks from sharing their stories. There are quite a few threads with TONS of view...

sophiasapientia

Thanks so much for your kind words, Jellybeans! It means a lot. :D I know what you mean about the binge behavior. On the LC plan I was on, I could have a (non-LC) dessert everyday and I developed an unhealthy binge mentality about sweets, some that I never had before, even when I was obese. :? It to...

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Clarica -- Congratulations on reaching your 10 % goal! That's fantastic! You have a good sense of what is working for you and it is definitely paying off. I'm inspired by your determination, your persistance and your attitude. Thanks for sharing your success story!

sophiasapientia

It has been one year and five months since I restarted No S and I feel like celebrating! A little background information: I'm 36 years old, just a smidge under 5'3" and weight had been a challenge for me for many years. I grew-up in a household where, once my parents' divorced in my preteen years, n...

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Just for today I will follow the No S rules, with a small exception if kindness and love is involved. Sounds like a very wise plan! .... I think that is one of the best things about No S. We can plan for such special times and enjoy them, guilt-free, without it being an "isssue." I hope that you ha...

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KCCC -- It sounds like you are having a glorious, well-deserved vacation! Major kudos for your biking outing yesterday! What a terrific success!!!! (Spoken by someone who grew-up in inner city Detroit & never learned how ride. :wink: ) I hope that you continue to enjoy your time away. It sounds just...

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Roxy -- Hey there! Thanks so much for the well wishes & right back at you with 'em... It so, so nice to "see" you and it sounds like you are doing so well with you your consistency level and exercise! You'll have to let me know how the added walking works for you ... I'm committed to being "around" ...

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Thanks so much for your kind words Jellybeans & CONGRATULATIONS your little one on the way .... So, so exciting! :D ... Looking back to last year, I think it took me just over 5 months to drop 20 lbs. I've maintained that loss since then but I did drop as low as the high one-teens at one point and h...

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I love reading them too. I guess I should actually write one at some point.

sophiasapientia

Tightening up those N Days and focusing on toning sounds like a great plan. No need to add mods unless they are really necessary.

sophiasapientia

Hi! Welcome and congratulations on 6 successful weeks on No S. That's fantastic! Reinhard has a fantastic podcast series on Mods & Tweaks which I'd highly recommend giving a listen. The recommendation, and I think it is a wise one, is to pick one tweak, if needed, and give it a try for awhile to see...

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Check-Ins for Week of May 29, 2011 Sunday 5/29/2011 -- S Day -- SUCCESS B -- 2 small homemade pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, coffee L (Salsarita's) Bean taco, steak taco, tortilla chips w/ salsa & queso, Coke Zero Sweet (Coldstone) -- Kiddie-sized dish of dark chocolate ice cream w/ cherries D -- ...

sophiasapientia

Hey Denise! Good to see you, too! PMed you ... =)

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Welcome Marolua! (I totally agree that this wonderfully supportive -- and free! -- community is a huge benefit of No S.

The prospect of having to fork over the weekly $$$ to WW got old pretty quickly for me, too. )

sophiasapientia

Hi! I just wanted to chime in with the others and say welcome! =) I agree, too, with the input others have given. Many of us with "less to lose" have found that we need to be a little more intentional in order lose weight or maintain a lower weight on No S. I keep things in check by using smaller pl...

sophiasapientia

Check-Ins for Week of May 22 Thursday 5/26/2011 -- N Day -- SUCCESS B -- 1/2 bagel w/ cc, coffee L -- Egg salad sandwich, banana, Munchos, Coke Zero D -- Pigs in a blanket, a few small slices of extra sharp cheddar, strawberries Exercise -- Over 12,000 steps, including daily walk Friday 5/27/2011 -...

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KCCC -- Hi! It's great to "see" you, too! =) ... How fun about entertaining thoughts about getting a dog! ... I've certainly found our pup to be a wonderful companion for DD ... and the rest of us, too. Dogs are certainly a lot of work -- and it took awhile before were ready to make that commitment ...

sophiasapientia

Wow! It has been ages since I last visited the Boards. Life is good. I've continued with my No S and pedometer wearing habits and have been making strides with some other personal goals. My weight is currently up a little higher than I would prefer. Partly, this is because I got a little slack durin...

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Welcome back Fun!!! :D 8) :D I copied the following from the first page of my thread. With the exception of the food journaling, which I no longer do, it is still my basic plan. **** Vanilla No S -- I do plain, good 'ol vanilla No S with unrestricted S Days. I also rarely drink anything with calorie...

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good to touch base with you Shannon. It's unbelievable how low your weight has gotten. That really is so great. Are you still sticking with the same structure. Vanilla NOS for a short lady? Denise Yes, I'm sticking with the 'ol same "Vanilla No S for a short lady" structure. It seems to work for me...

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The calorie counters here tend to keep most of their discussions to their individual threads, unless a question like this comes up. I will say I am very glad they do that because I come to No S because of its different orientation. I can choose to check in with those threads or not. There are many ...

sophiasapientia

Hi Denise & Oolala! Thanks so much for your kind words and Thanksgiving wishes! I hope that you are both doing well & had lovely holidays! I miss catching up with everybody's ongoings. :D We spent last week in NJ to celebrate Thanksgiving with my DH's family & to throw a baby shower for my sister & ...

sophiasapientia

Thank you KCCC and Tobiasmom. I appeciate your kind words. Related to living a purposeful life, I found a cool site called "RescueTime" which helps you see you where you are wasting time online and helps you cut back. Given that and given that I have found my groove with No S and it is a well engrai...

sophiasapientia

Two acquaintances who, at 28 and 34, were both younger than me, have died within the past couple weeks. One was killed by a drunk driver on her way home from work. The other went to bed two night ago and just didn't wake up. I didn't know either of these ladies well but they have been on my mind a l...

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I love No-S. But I think I'm gonna have to make some tweaks. I dunno. I guess it's not exactly tweaking it. I just need to eat my three meals at home more and try to eat more natural healthy food. Changing plans won't change that. My body needs nutrition, period. Hi there, Just wanted to stop in an...

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I wear a pedometer and have a goal to stay active during the regular course of my day. If I get over 10,000 steps on a given day -- and my daily average step count is about 13,000, give or take -- I call myself good. My current "bread and butter" exercise looks a lot like Marygrace's. I walk my ener...

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My weight continues to slowly drop. It was at 117ish and slightly below all week. Normally, homemade veggie soup is my dietary default for lunch during cooler weather but I made other choices this week/ate out twice for lunch due to special plans. Last night I did share a small slice of lemon loaf w...

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It is a major insurance company and DH works for a huge corporation (which also offers a "WW at work" program) and I'm sure that they have an agreement with WW ... For the past few years, the insurance policy has been that, if your BMI is above normal weight, you & your doctor have to sign a waver, ...

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Thanks for posting the link! The obesity rate really is shocking. Companies are beginning to use scare tactics to prod folks to get this under control. It is Benefit Enrollment period for my DH's employer and he was telling me that, in order to qualify for the preferred health insurance policy anyon...

sophiasapientia

You're doing fantastic Tobiasmom! You'll be out of the 200s before you know it!

sophiasapientia

Way to go, Sinnie! You're doing great! I think the contract sounds like a terrific idea and it is helpful to have an accountability partner too.

sophiasapientia

Thanks KCCC! ... No S has truly been revolutionary for me and I am, indeed, very grateful to Reinhard, for the plan and for the wealth of knowledge and support on these Boards. It has been a good week in terms of No S. My weight this morning was 117.8, with TOM, and the switch from nordic walking to...

sophiasapientia

Sure, I agree. Reinhard's podcast on strictness, the "Mark it Red & Move On" catchphrase and Bethenny Frankel's audiobook on "Skinny Girl Rules" have been very helpful to me in thinking about this matter. The truth is that any way of eating that creates a calorie deficit -- be it No S or calorie cou...

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Hi Sinnie -- Thanks you for the encouragement! I hope that everything is going OK and that you are hanging in there as well. I'll just say that Friday was bad. My worst day on No S ever . I ended up polishing off the blondies. I was stressed, sad and tired -- I'm on a much earlier schedule with the ...

sophiasapientia

Unless you have a medical condition that prohibits weight loss, it sounds like you just aren't creating enough of a calorie deficit to lose weight with your current habits. Are you exercising at all? How big are your portions? Are your S days out of control? I'd start by looking at one area that you...

sophiasapientia

A couple of No S failures to report. We went out for dinner last night. We wanted to try the French Onion soup and I shared a bowl with DH and DD. Since I ate less than half of my entree -- sent the rest in with DH for lunch today -- this could probably be considered "virtual plating" but I baked a ...

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Thanks so much everyone! He is a lot of work but truly a joy. :D And yesterday I had 19,000 steps on my pedometer. I think I'm going to try to add some ab work and light strength training to my routine. The nordic walking really worked my core and toned my arms and mid-section and I'm worried about ...

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It has been a while since I've read the chapter on holidays. I need to reread that. :wink: My rule of thumb is that if it is a major holiday -- like Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, my birthday, etc -- I generally have an unrestricted S Day and eat what I want. I do try to take a nice walk if it works o...

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Thanks so much Tobiasmom! He's a very sweet, cuddly & energetic pup and we are so happy to have him as part of our family. We definitely have our work cut out for us, though, since he hasn't had a lot of training. :wink: It looks like having a dog will be good for my step count. I had over 17,000 st...

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This morning's weight was 117.8 ... I am a little surprised since, while not "wild" exactly, my S days were high cal and my step count -- at 6,000 to 7,000 per day -- was much lower than usual. I was active/busy but didn't get a walk in. It could be that my body had shed some of the excess mid-cycle...

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Big changes on the horizon. It looks like we're adopting an energetic 1 year old Cockalier -- Cavalier King Charles/Cocker Spaniel mix -- on Monday. 8) Exciting but it will likely mean some adjustments to my exercise routine. Nordic walking, which has some nice calorie-burning and toning benefits, h...

sophiasapientia

Very cool!

I hope that you enjoy yours as much as I have enjoyed mine.

Everyday Systems

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