Everyday Systems

jw

I know -- my S day eating is sometimes actually worse than before No S! but my overall habits are better. I'm not sure we should think of our S day eating as disordered -- it's just a little bit of "anything goes," and by the time we've had all the things we've been missing, there's not a lot of roo...

jw

If you haven't had meat for a while, then eat it, it can cause trouble -- your stomach is no longer producing the digestive enzymes needed. I enjoyed quorn on my visits to the UK and was disappointed to find that it isn't available in the US. So enjoy your quorn and don't take up smoking again!

jw

Sounds like that presenter was a kindred spirit after all, oolala! Glad to hear it! And yes, it's not really a struggle not to overeat stuff that will make you feel dreadful in the short term. With me, knee and ankle pain kicks in about four days into a sugary diet. The trick is finding out that tha...

jw

"Someday this will be just part of who I am"

You are closer than you think! Hang in there!

jw

"Through with 18s" -- music to my ears! well done, Linda!

jw

Kookie, I had a similar experience with S day treats -- old stand-bys just weren't good enough any more! You are really rocking No-S! Congrats!

jw

"But I can do something about my health and well being, and I can make sure I get well enough to stick around." Yes! the black hole you describe can't be filled with food. Do something to honor your dear friend, as Hippy Dippy recommends, and honor yourself as well by taking good care of yourself, T...

jw

Crazy day of grabbing odds and ends of food on the run yesterday, then an evening reception -- I know it was an S day, but I realized how much I want regularity now, even on S days! This old pattern just doesn't suit me any more! There were fantastic napoleons with a pumpkin filling at the reception...

jw

yes, I agree, oolala, it would take health issues that moderation did not resolve for me to return to restriction. Restriction can be a recipe for disaster, and I enjoy my pie! For example, I have had arthritis since my 20's -- arthritis that does not really trouble me unless I overdo sugar. It used...

jw

Hope you and your family are feeling better, OK -- what a way to lose your appetite

S days ahead -- hope you can enjoy!

jw

Thank you for the reassurance, Linda and Tessy -- the film is part of an oral history project by the neighboring college, so the cameraman was a pro (at least, he was on faculty) -- he just didn't use his "skinny filter" :D . I do think I am more or less on target and most days I feel great about th...

jw

Oh no!

Chicken soup with garlic time. Please take care of yourself, clarebear.

jw

It's the one plan I have never tried -- and I will take your advice, tobiasmom! Glad you are back!

jw

Tessy, I was wondering about that. You posted early on that you had gone through a bereavement. In my experience, it will get easier but it takes a long while -- and that doesn't really help right now. You just have to feel the feelings

My heartfelt sympathies, Tessy dear.

jw

Yay, Linda! 70 days! Time to celebrate!

jw

Rough self-image week: I saw myself on a dvd made back in 2009 but just issued and, believe me, the camera added lots and lots of extra pounds! I suspect I weighed about the same then as I do now -- I was not yet at my heaviest! Sigh. So then of course I had to weigh myself (this was on Monday, afte...

jw

glad to see you back, Hippy Dippy -- I missed your posts. They are so fun and encouraging, and I love your "humor instead of guilt" philosophy!

jw

Rule of thumb, if it's not dessert, it's OK, Kookie. That milk probably tastes sweeter now because you haven't been eating sweets -- your sweet receptors on your tongue are just looking for something to do! When I did low carb, I drove myself crazy looking for hidden sugars in the horseradish sauce ...

jw

Thanks for posting, Over43. I was sugar- and artificial sweetener-free for several years and noticed immediate improvements in joint pains, complexion, and energy levels, as well as weight. I am seeing some of the same benefits now from No S, which minimizes sugar intake without imposing unbearable ...

jw

Welcome aboard, wirth! Yes, No S is very helpful in restoring the things that used to come naturally -- appetite, hunger signals -- and keeping things like craving and binging under control within a very gentle, doable structure. It's a real place of balance for me! Glad you are having a similar exp...

jw

Automated has created a really thoughtful list of strategies, Tessy -- what I kept thinking as I read it was, some of these are strategies that you used successfully to get through the day within the last month or so. But I don't know if you ever used them again. That's where WIDR comes in -- if you...

jw

PS The recommendations you made on Tessy's thread were so good!

jw

automatedeating, so glad to hear your extra pounds have disappeared! I got on the scale Monday -- what a mistake! -- after two S days, plus an extra S day last Wednesday, I was up five pounds! But it was very muggy here, and my S day snacks were salty -- by today, four of those pounds are already go...

jw

what a fun S event coming up! Enjoy it -- you'll have the best (the first bite) of the best. And congrats on your ten weeks, clarebear!

jw

So sorry, Tessy -- be kinder to yourself, go with a drink late in the afternoon -- it's allowed, why not try it? And think of WIDRT!

jw

Sounds like you're having trouble making yourself eat regularly and then feeling ravenous by the end of the day. If you don't eat at all, you'll be food-obsessed -- it's your survival instinct kicking in, nagging you to "eat, eat!" But eating lots just before bed is hard on your body. I think once y...

jw

Welcome and well done, blueskieslover! One day at a time can grow into a strong habit!

jw

You've caught the wave this time, Linda! The time was right and you were ready, unbeatable combination!

jw

Two steps forward, one step back is frustrating, but it's still progress, Tessy. Today, it's a step forward!

jw

Great idea, eschano! -- I used to be a dedicated Filene's basement shopper -- no dressing rooms -- so people just wore a leotard and tights under their clothes. That could work, too, Linda!

jw

Congrats on the calm weekend, Linda! I think it must be your reward for sticking so faithfully to your N days. Have a great week!

jw

"day to day and week to week it seems like I keep losing and regaining same amount"

That is so true! I only weigh once a week at most for that reason. Glad you are seeing the overall downward trend, Kate! Congratulations!

jw

If you are getting too hungry between meals, make sure you eat enough at each meal to tide you over to the next one. It's fine to really fill your plate at the beginning until you develop a feel for how much is needed. Also, I learned a valuable lesson here on these boards: that feeling hunger befor...

jw

wow -- the internet ate my reply again! Recap: Moderate S day yesterday -- and I compared my recurring desire for midnight snacks to a stray cat -- feed it once and it will be back!

jw

Another No-S October baby! Happy birthday and best wishes!

jw

The internet ate my post -- just to say that sweets don't always sound good when you've been ill. I always want salt, myself -- I almost never eat fast food, but when I've been ill for a few days, I deeply crave MacDonald's fries for some reason. Listen to your body! Have a great weekend!

jw

Well, what go-eth before a fall? Late Friday night the rest of those addictive Indian spicy nibbles got me -- I had had a late snack of them on Wednesday, an S day for me, and on Friday night I wanted to repeat the pattern (how many days does it take to form an Indian snack habit?!). I couldn't wait...

jw

Yay, eggs for breakfast! Like you, when I try anything else, I am starving a few hours later. But I love breakfast foods for dinner, too -- and you can eat anything for any meal, really. In Germany, people used to have sausage and cheese for breakfast and it didn't seem strange at all after a while.

jw

Listen to your body -- sweets are nice, but not always what you want! Our Dairy Queens all shut down on Labor Day, so a blizzard here won't be an option until Memorial Day (May 31-ish) of next year!

jw

Well done! enjoy your S days!

jw

channeling the inner Bob Newhart!

jw

How are things going for you? My first few weeks of S days looked like binges, but they quickly settled down without my taking any extraordinary action. The important thing is to keep the N days going!

jw

You have the best of transferable skills, oolala: zen and No S. Hope this weekend is fun!

jw

Thanks, ok! Just in time for an S day!

jw

I had ten days behind me before I opened an account, and I didn't start a personal check-in until after I had hit the 21 day green mark, Tessy -- so my first challenges went unrecorded! Doesn't mean they didn't happen! And even today, pie for breakfast (on an S day, of course) sounds appealing . . .

jw

Happy Birthday, fellow October baby! I was thrilled to see that I shared a birthday with the founder -- this diet is made for us! Enjoy your day!

jw

No such thing as too much as long as it fits on the plate!

jw

Grumpy is a great reaction -- by tomorrow you'll be right on track again and next time you'll have a strategy for the chocolate crackles (what are they? they sound delicious!)

jw

You're doing great, Kookie! isn't it fun to eat forbidden foods? eventually you get used to the idea that there are no forbidden foods. And yes, ketchup is allowed on N days! it's not a dessert!

jw

Oh, Tessie -- my first weekend I shopped for treats on Friday night, then woke up all night long thinking of them! I had pie for breakfast that Saturday! That's when I decided not to keep treats in the house on weekdays for a while. These were things that came mail order, and so I ordered several at...

jw

Let me add some encouragement -- digital scales drive me nuts! All scales fluctuate from day to day and even hour to hour, but seeing that little .04 when yesterday it was .03 is just depressing! My mother gave me a great old-style scale a few years ago -- really big numbers for my myopic eyes and n...

jw

Good for you, Clarebear -- you posted here instead of giving in to the snack! Glad you are feeling better!

jw

You are wisely not weighing, Linda -- so you won't need to get into worrying about plateaus for a while! Keep drinking your milky drinks and enjoy them -- you're having such good success with your current regimen!

jw

An eye-opener, for sure! Thanks for posting this!

jw

Tessy and Linda, thank you for the birthday wishes! It was my first mid-week S day and it was strange. I didn't feel like an all out splurge, but I didn't want the day to go unmarked either -- a chocolate-marzipan bar after lunch and some spicy Indian snackies after dinner was a great compromise. An...

jw

Don't put yourself into a fearful state about it, oolala -- just be open. Use your No S "calm curiosity," as you like to describe it, applied to a different part of life! Things happen, opportunities appear that you only notice if you've been peeking over the edge of the current rut anyway. Play wit...

jw

You are so right, it's a kind of insanity! I think some of the European modeling agencies/fashion houses have actually instituted a ban like that. I don't do much comparing myself with others any more -- and rural PA is not judgmental about weight in the way that Boston was -- or probably the west c...

jw

Eat enough, Kat! -- I love a hearty soup for lunch, but I have a bowl that holds a good 3-4 ladles full and I put it on a plate that leaves room for both bread and a piece of fruit. If I did without any of that, I would be hungry, too. Good luck!

jw

two green days coming up and an S day on the horizon!

jw

Well, you've bought the tickets -- go, and if the workshop is really awful, find a kindred spirit (sitting in the back of the room looking handsome and ill at ease) and play hooky, explore Minnesota! But seriously -- you've mentioned not loving your job and you're going to retire one way or another....

jw

Oh no, Linda -- by "baggage," I meant pounds! I am still at 215 and not yet sporting that enviable chiseled look around the jaw line! Luckily, I have some great clothes that I can feel and look good in for as long as it takes -- that makes such a difference! But it will be a while before I am gettin...

jw

The easiest thing for me is just not to have the stuff around during the week. I buy single serving treats and have them finished by Sunday night. Now, four months in, I can buy a treat and keep it for an S day, but in the first weeks, I would wake up in the middle of the night knowing it was there ...

jw

Really? We share a birthday (sort of -- I am a lot older)! No wonder this system makes so much sense to me! Many Happy Returns!!!

jw

Glad you are starting to feel better, OK -- feeling sick works to curb the appetite, but we'd rather see you enjoying your food!

jw

I'm with you, Linda -- I don't like to talk about diet in real life, especially with people who are not dieting! The great value of these boards is filling that need to compare notes and talk about our difficulties and triumphs. It's wonderful that people are starting to notice your new, trim self! ...

jw

Do eat substantial meals, Kookie, enough to carry you over to the next meal -- but don't buy bigger plates just yet. My experience has been that I am satisfied with less as time goes on, and those overfilled plates from my first weeks were overcompensation for hunger that I thought I might feel if I...

jw

I do my habitcal right after dinner, to rule out evening snacks -- works like a charm! I might try your method, Kat . . . it makes it that much harder to slip up..

jw

i put my fruit in a little bowl and put that on the plate. I also don't want my flavors mingling!

jw

http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=9660

jw

You know, Bright Angel says the same, so you're not alone here! Do what works for you. I've never done calorie counting myself (amazing admission :oops: ) so it would be cumbersome for me and maybe even a reason to chuck it. But there was a time when I could tell you the carb values of everything on...

jw

Missed the party -- but Happy Birthday and welcome to the "I've earned it" decade! I second and third all the thanks for being a role model on these boards.

jw

Oops -- just noticed you are taking a break from S days, Imogen. I was still on the Vanilla train in my comment! You have been doing this for a long time and have earned some tweaks, but I am better off with clear cut heaven or hell scenarios, at least in these early months.

jw

But it was an S day, and you are pretty much maintaining your weight, aren't you, Imogen? Your body has learned that it doesn't like to binge, and your instincts are just a little slower catching up with it, that's all. I LOVE Scottish shortbread -- I am feeling a little envious of that right now! H...

jw

Sinnie, it sounds to me like you had the shopping list from Healthy Eating for a midnight snack on an S day -- it also sounds like you know why (blood sugar drop, due to all carbs for dinner). But it was an S day, it was all really healthy foods that can't harm you or your baby, and it was an opport...

jw

Stay well, Linda! I am also really primed for S days this week -- something about the change of season, maybe? Anyway, enjoy!

jw

I actually do read it, reneew -- I love both the double meaning of your screen name and your tagline ("I guess this doesn't work unless you actually do it!"). I haven't posted because you seem to be in such good hands and there was little I could add to oolala's recent posts -- but I enjoy reading y...

jw

Tessy, if the pressure of posting is weighing on you, here's a No S Diet blog by Blueskighs. It's so thoughtful and inspiring, and there's no pressure to respond -- she hasn't updated since 2009, though I think she drops in on the boards now and then. She's a No-S alumna we can all learn from! www.n...

jw

Thanks, everybody, and agreed, oolala! I love the reliability of the No S habits we are all building!

jw

Welcome, Kookie! Clarebear says it all -- this is a really sane way of eating, and you will find lots of support on these boards. Best wishes!

jw

Welcome, butterfly7! It's a very sustainable plan -- and you've already got the exercise habit in place! Good luck to you!

jw

Another pound down, for a total of 15 since June 29. Painless and amazing! Doc appointment this morning, she'll be astounded. I went into a meeting yesterday that had plates of mini-muffins scattered around the room and I used the brilliant "just for decoration" mental strategy I learned on this boa...

jw

Yes! What a good list! Add that I feel a little thinner when I am not full of food -- that gently hollow feeling is subtly flattering!

jw

Excellent, Tessy!

jw

Is your Punjabi outfit a salwar kameez? two piece kind of dress over balloony pants? I have some of those and wear them all summer long -- people don't even stare any more and this is small town America! Enjoy your time off work --

jw

I love your posts, Clarebear! They always cheer me up! I was just thinking last night how much I loved being able to have a banana or some potatoes occasionally -- things I hadn't eaten for years on low carb.

jw

I know that fear, Linda -- that's why I was so bent out of shape last week when the dog ate my brunch and I ended up with a red day! It was my first (except for vacation, which I didn't really count). But you really do just get up the next day and start all over again. In a way, breaking the spell w...

jw

Congrats, Linda! You're the poster child for "Just do it!" I am sure you'll make it to 100 and beyond -- but even more rewarding, you have a brand new strong habit to sustain you!

jw

Sorry this is hanging on so long, OK. Drink your chicken soup and take care of yourself for as long as you need to!

jw

"I am also going to stop having any food in my room . . ." Yes! This is how you play on your own team! Try this at home as well -- assume that if there are sweets or snacks, you will eat them, simple as that. It's too early in the process to demand restraint of yourself when the food is right there,...

jw

I am so sorry you have to deal with this, eschano -- it may feel that way now, but you are not the one who has lost something here. And what a testimonial to yourself and to No S you have written! Bravo!

jw

Listen to OK, Linda -- it's a process and it will all settle down eventually. I can already feel the S Day crazies receding a little after about three months -- Saturday I ate N-normally all day, then jogged myself to go buy a treat so that I wouldn't get all resentful by Wednesday! My main S-thing ...

jw

Welcome, lderoc! A lot of us struggle with immoderate S days -- it can take months for them to settle down, and some people just bite the bullet and impose structure on S days as well. If you already had a habit of weekend binges following relatively calm weekdays, an "anything goes" S day can look ...

jw

Yes, it becomes a question of healthy people's premiums rising to cover for ill people who might not be so ill if they only changed their habits. But I guess I see that somewhat in the same light as school taxes -- I don't have kids, I don't benefit directly, but I am certainly willing to pay school...

jw

Ha! then I guess your dad is my role model! you did have a long stretch of tacos and pico de gallo for lunch, though. And I am continuing my automated routine of a weekly soup for lunch -- this week it's pinto beans, veg and sausage in a beef/tomato broth. Whatever makes the routine work, I say! Hav...

jw

I also read Kathleen's thread a few weeks ago -- I noticed she did lose well when she stuck with No S and she ran into trouble when she changed things up. She has many interesting insights, but most of the time she's not doing No S, as her online friends have pointed out to her. Don't be discouraged...

jw

I can't even begin to say how impressive that is. Congratulations x 100, and thank you for the ongoing inspiration!

jw

Found this in my facebook newsfeed this morning and thought how appropriate it was to this diet journey, Tessy: "Our reality is entirely shaped by our beliefs...operating for or against us. Trick yourself into a lovely day!" You broke the letter of the law but kept the spirit with your marshmallows ...

jw

Thanks, Tessy and Linda -- I like to think of myself as flexible, but when it comes to this diet, I want my routine! I want to cook and sit down and eat three times a day, not grab odds and ends on the fly. Luckily, my schedule usually allows for it. As for Crockett -- he has never stuck his nose in...

jw

sorry you're not feeling well, Linda. Hope you're recovered in time for an enjoyable S-weekend!

jw

very healthy attitude, ok! You know you were in control, and that little lapse won't take over your newfound habit.

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