Everyday Systems

jw

Brunch in a bag was dee-licious -- just ask Crockett the dog, who stuck his nose in my bag and ate it all up minutes before I had to leave the house. I ended up throwing together a slice of bread, about 5" of kielbasa, and a block of cheese and eating that for breakfast at 8:30 after the labwork in ...

jw

Another disrupted day tomorrow -- fasting in the a.m for blood work, then intern interviews from 11 - 2:30. If I don't have breakfast until 9:00, I won't want lunch before 11:00 -- but I may be starving by 2:30. Very poor planning on my part. Oh well . . . I have made myself a bacon and egg sandwich...

jw

Thanks for posting that, Bright Angel. It's funny -- by nature I resist any kind of regulation of my personal habits that is not self-imposed -- I started smoking when the surgeon general declared it was dangerous, way back when, and I hate to wear seatbelts in the car! But I sometimes wish it was e...

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Thanks for posting, Grace -- maybe the rest of the country is catching up with No-S!

jw

"in being as kind and patient with yourself as you are with all of us" --
Hear, hear!

jw

ghofurA7, arrumtalk, jomblolicious and jilid 7 have all posted topics/ads for British kitchen furnishings on the general discussion board.

jw

Tessy, so sorry this is such a struggle. I second Linda and Sinnie, please don't beat yourself up. No-S is meant to be a support and a gentle structure, not a hurdle. Somehow I feel you're fighting against yourself instead of playing on your own team . . . giving food more power than it should have,...

jw

I thought that would go away in time . . . I am in my third month and I have had a few moderate weekends, but many more of the kind you describe, Finallyfull. It's a relief when Monday comes -- I never feel overfull on N days. I have noticed that high fiber foods, healthy though they may be, can sne...

jw

"Pizza and brownies, here I come! Oh, man, I feel stuffed and gross. Fantastic S day (sarcasm, of course). I'm GLAD tomorrow is an N day, can you believe that?"

Yep! I had pizza and brownies yesterday, too, went to bed feeling too full, and I am glad today is an N day! Have a great week, automated!

jw

Happy Monday -- we get to not overeat . . . I feel the same, Linda! Good luck this week!

jw

Thanks for posting these, wosnes. Food for thought! I thought the observation that any change in habit leads to weightloss was really interesting -- people who never ate breakfast lost weight when they started; people who always ate breakfast lost weight when they stopped. Is change the answer? Is t...

jw

Thanks, Kittykat and Tessy, here's to better food next time!

jw

"It's only food" -- words to live by! Good luck this coming week, Tessy!

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Thanks for stopping by my thread, Kittykat -- your Sunday evening sounds like mine! The jeans triumph is really something to cheer about -- congrats and have a great week!

jw

First big event of the season is behind me -- thanks for your good wishes, Linda and Tessy! I have been lurking, as promised -- it looks like you are both keeping the faith! My job involves lots of receptions and events, all with their own food challenges, but this one was luckily on a Saturday! Sti...

jw

welcome, csv! Vanilla No S is No S exactly as described by Reinhard: No snacks, no sweets, no seconds, except for sometimes on S-days. Some people tweak the diet or introduce modifications, but I follow Vanilla No S and will do so without tweaks until it stops working (it's not quick, but it is stea...

jw

I am headed into a busy season, so may not post much for a while, but I'll lurk/post when I can on my way to habitcal. I have more weight to lose, but I think the foundation is laid now. I am so grateful for this whole concept and for the support on this board -- I finally feel in control and comfor...

jw

Welcome, Tyh! It's fine to eat some pretty big plates at meals if it helps you to resist snacks. Later, you learn to adjust amounts to what you can comfortably eat and what will hold you over to the next meal. But in the first stages of habit building, that's the focus: one plate of food, no seconds...

jw

Alton, most recent entry on the Diet Blog sticky -- non-sequitur plus link?

jw

Also -- check out the sticky, "Stages of No-S." It's very enlightening about how we progress!

jw

The compulsion to splurge will eventually fade, partly because it leaves you feeling so yucky. Don't force it. Just trust the process. For me the development has been: at first, wild S weekends, then wild S Saturdays, tamer Sundays. It was only this past weekend that I felt for the first time I wasn...

jw

Thanks for the reinforcement, Kittykat! So far, I only see positives --

jw

I weigh very irregularly, once or twice a month, when I am feeling very empty! Enough to keep track, but not enough for it to become a daily obsession. It's only a perceived loss of control anyway -- the real control is what you exercise at every meal. I think your instincts are good -- good luck!

jw

I am giving your method a try this week, automatedeating -- it is genius! I really like eliminating all the "now what do I want?" food thoughts for breakfast and lunch. I've been eating from the same pot of soup all week at lunchtime and it is very satisfying. Thanks for the idea!

jw

Something clicked for me reading automatedeating's plan to have the same default meal every day for one or two meals, and I have been trying it out this week. It's brilliant! For breakfast I basically have the same thing every day anyway -- one or two eggs and a strip of bacon or some mushrooms. I d...

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It's been a long time, Annie -- hope all is well with you!

jw

I've taken courage from lots of maintaining No-Sers who have gone down to the middle of their recommended BMI -- just browse the daily check ins and especially the testimonials a little. But it didn't happen overnight for anybody! I have about 40 pounds to lose and have lost 12 between the end of Ju...

jw

Houseguests fall into the same category as vacations, I think -- just enjoy them, finish off the pralines, and then get back on the wagon!

jw

I had a red week on vacation and knew I would -- I was able to stick to the 3 meals a day and only had a few sweet treats, but my traveling companion is one for a late night drink and snack and I went right along with that! I waited three or four days to weigh in after my return and found I had lost...

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Your name was one of the first I noticed in the comments and stickies when I joined, Deb -- it's so great to see one of the founding No-S-ers showing up in the Daily Check-ins again.

jw

I think you will get to the point where picking up the discipline is when it feels like the load is lighter! Maybe that only happens to those of us who have more extravagant S-days -- but when Monday rolls around here, it's something of a relief to slip back into the habit again. In fact, I marked t...

jw

I also had a red week this month, Kate -- vacations are for indulging! don't worry too much about it! I think our preferences really do change -- I know I can't eat the way I used to, even after only two months. And I am getting pickier about treats, too. It's all about habit, and it's so exciting t...

jw

Thinking about my weekends -- I haven't really tried to impose much S-day structure, but they seem to have naturally fallen into a pattern: Saturdays I indulge, to the point of being an idiot sometimes, Sundays are more sedate. This is the first 3-day S weekend I am encountering and I find I am just...

jw

It was something like that that got me started on Atkins -- a rival co-worker who suddenly looked so thin and good in her summer clothes, I couldn't let her get away with that! There's no denying the low carb diets work -- Protein Power even allows you some fruit, if I recall. But constant math, con...

jw

Linda, I think it's great you went all out and found what you really like -- and what you don't! I know what you mean, it's almost like we have lost the capacity to enjoy eating non-stop the way we used to. But that's a good thing! Maybe we never really enjoyed it, we just did it! My weekends are fa...

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You gave me such good advice about enjoying my holiday -- now you do the same, Tessy! Enjoy the peaceful walks and the S events and let go of all the stress. This is about taking care of yourself!

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Welcome back, Foxtrotter -- it sounds like you are well on your way toward healthier eating! The longer I do No S, the more I love it -- it is just comfortable. My goal is to get to the point where I am a reasonable weight and don't even need to think about it any more. In the meantime, I derive lot...

jw

Oh dear -- you chose the wrong day to weigh, music lover! Is it very humid where you are? Did you have a salty dinner? That can make several pounds difference with me. I can always feel when I am retaining fluid and refuse to weigh on those days. The day after an S weekend is also taboo. I weigh in ...

jw

I second wosnes' recommendations: fill up your plates No S style, but look at what you fill them with. Half a plate full of non-starchy veg, plus some protein, plus a little starch (bread OR potato, not both, for example), mostly unprocessed, works for me and may get things moving for you without tr...

jw

One full week green -- congrats and welcome! You'll find this community very supportive. I think you might especially like the sticky on intelligent dietary defaults -- it is exactly what you describe as "automated eating." Best wishes!

jw

After I posted this, I thought, wow, maybe this was something really obvious . . . but it did make a difference to my motivation. Glad you also find it helpful, clarebear and okbyxmas!

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eschano, I just watched that one in its entirety on youtube -- it's broken into about ten segments, but it's all there and totally legal! It was an eye-opener!

jw

All of them, Germanherman! -- my favorites were Dreikornbrot and little rolls called "Voegele" (I lived in Baden). I also liked Sauerteig. Here in the US, I can get black Vollkornbrot from Aldi sometimes -- it's a treat!

jw

I just noticed you have a blog! good for you -- put it up on the main page sticky, most of the blogs listed there are no longer maintained!

jw

Hoping your visit to the doctor today brought you good news, Tessy!

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The plumbing is all sorted, thanks, Tessy -- but I will have to find someone to repair the walls and ceiling now. And I want to wait to find out the bill from the plumber before I call a contractor . . . I can't take any credit for willpower -- it was my unruly dog who saved me from going out and tr...

jw

Rea, one of the first low carb books written was by a German named Wolfgang Lutz, "Leben ohne Brot" (Life without Bread) in 1967. If you eat only the wurst and leave out the bread at breakfast and supper and the potatoes at midday, you're good to go! German bread is so good, though -- aren't we luck...

jw

Two days of chaos -- when I got back from my vacation, I found water coming through the dining room ceiling, and yesterday I learned that all (ALL) the pipes in my ca. 1920 house were galvanized and had rusted through. Holes in the wall, holes in the ceiling ("oops, wrong place, let's try over here!...

jw

good luck on your move, Andi -- lots of new beginnings for you! How exciting!

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Congratulations, Sinnie! You're giving that little girl baby the best possible start!

jw

http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic ... 785#136785 --

Lorilee, non-sequitur plus book recommendation?

jw

"while your conscious self is busy hating you for not fixing your bad habits, your subconscious self is secretly doing everything it can to sabotage any efforts to correct them, because self-indulgence -- not self-improvement -- is what it actually wants." Conscious self is an overweight adult serio...

jw

School, scorpions, and feeling fat -- yikes! what a combination. You're a hero not to "reward" yourself for the bad day you've been having. Good for you! Tomorrow will be better --

jw

Oh dear! :( It's hard to have food you love lying around in the cupboards, waiting for the weak moment that is bound to come. It's also hard to be "good" when you are worried and used to fending off worries with treats. But you are capable of change -- don't let one slip derail you. My doc also told...

jw

Welcome, OK -- this is a great board with lots of collective wisdom to share. Best of luck!

jw

Some people like to write down what they eat every day in their daily check-in posts. For me, personally, that is the kind of thing that makes me fall off a diet -- it's just too much work and it keeps the focus too firmly on food, food, food. I do use and like the HabitCal, though -- just a simple ...

jw

Best wishes on the No S lifestyle, Misha -- this is a wonderful, supportive community and we're all trying to build better habits together!

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Ruamgirl, you are here for all the right reasons! Best of luck with No S and with the new semester!

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I saw this when it first appeared, then lost it -- so glad you have posted it here! A former insider reinforces what many of us have experienced with diets. Thank you!

jw

You are doing so well -- why be hard on yourself for eating sugary desserts on S days, Tessy? Only a few short weeks ago, we were all overdoing sweet treats seven days a week! Having five sweet-free days a week is a huge improvement. I usually make it a point to do a little shopping expedition on Sa...

jw

All my vacation days were red, too, Sinnie -- and I didn't have the excuse of Italy! Don't be too harsh with yourself, just get back on the horse and enjoy the ride!

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You've taken to this like a fish to water, Kate! It just feels natural, doesn't it? Keep up the good work!

jw

Missed this club until now! I opened a check-in thread when I hit 21 days, back on July 19. I actually had 50 no fail days until I went on vacation last week and had an entire 5-day run of red! Anyway, no harm done and happy to be back on the No S wagon again --

jw

Belated welcome, Andi -- I also missed your joining the board while I was on vacation, racking up a lot of moderately red days. Back on the wagon now, I am particularly happy to see you are doing a blog -- a lot of the ones on the sticky are no longer maintained. It's inspiring to see each other's p...

jw

Anca, I've had one day when I seriously overloaded my plate and one day when I ate way too little -- I am getting better at judging amounts and you will, too! I was also a serious low-carb true believer for a long time -- it works, but what's the point, if you can't do it long term? We need to get t...

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21 days is a great milestone, Lpearlmom -- and tomorrow is an S day when you can properly celebrate it! Yay, you!

jw

Just remembered my first diet, way back in my 20's -- I was living in Germany and it was in a German women's magazine, the apple-and-egg diet. For breakfast and lunch you had an apple and an egg prepared any way (apple omelet, apple soufflee, apple and egg salad anyone?) and for dinner two apples an...

jw

Last night I dreamed I was eating popcorn by the fistful! and I panicked and thought, wait, this is a snack, I can't do this -- I have already colored my habitcal green for today! What a relief to wake up and turn over!

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Welcome, B -- it sounds like you have come to the right place! This is a very supportive board with a lot of collective wisdom, and we are all on the same road. Best wishes!

jw

Annie, thanks for reminding me about flaxseeds! They are a wonderful help. I get terrible lower back pains from dairy -- every Memorial Day I would work all day planting the garden, then suffer back pain. Then one year, I didn't plant the garden, but got the back pain anyway. Turns out it was also t...

jw

Welcome, Carolyn! It's also more in my nature to lurk, but these are the best diet boards I have ever seen: positive, kind, and sane! Glad you are here!

jw

Well, I finally weighed in to check the damage of the five red vacation days last week -- one pound down, for a total of 11 since I started on June 29! I feel like I dodged a bullet there! But it took three days to get rid of the puffiness from the salty snacks and alcohol at night -- if I had weigh...

jw

You had 20 solid green days! That's an achievement, Tessy! Don't discount all those successes because of one off day --

jw

I understand about compulsive weighing! I am tempted to peek, too. Did you notice in the BBC doc the one expert who said that the adrenaline rush at seeing success at the beginning of a diet was addictive, because we just want to keep getting that little hit? Well, the down side is when we eat somet...

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Finallyfull, you are such a role model! I love the way you approach this -- and as for being normal weight on the boards, isn't that what we all aspire to? to be normal weight with normal eating patterns? You are where we all want to be, and it is so encouraging to see you there, beckoning us on! Co...

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Cheer up, Tessy, it's only terrible if it's a weekday -- on a Saturday, anything goes! No need to forgive yourself or beat yourself up -- it was allowed, no matter what it was.

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Thank you, Annie and Tessy! I did enjoy a very relaxing time. I was not very strict with myself this vacation -- no huge portions, though, no seconds, and only a few sweets over the period of a week. But as I anticipated, late night snacking went on every evening with a glass of wine, and I was guil...

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Thank you for finding this and posting it, Bright Angel. I was very curious and watching it confirmed a lot of my thoughts about dieting!

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Hi Tessie, thanks for stopping by my check-in -- it sounds like your week went very well! Enjoy those flapjacks!

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enjoyed reading about the siren song of the Turkish Delight, Keriamon. You were so good to hold out! Tomorrow is the day -- enjoy it!

jw

well, I hopped on the scale again, though the month is still young -- 2 more pounds down for a total of 10 lost and no red days since June 28. I am headed into a week of vacation tomorrow, armed with Reinhard's dubious reassurance that we wage slaves can't do much damage in a week no matter what we ...

jw

So you got through your mom's visit without a snack? Congrats! It sounds like you have figured out some strategies that really work! Enjoy your S-day anniversary and the two S-days to come -- you deserve it!

jw

"REALLY?! Or are you being silly? :shock:" Welcome! Like me, you must be coming off a low carb regimen of some kind! I know, when I first started No-S, I was very, very careful about potatoes, noodles, bread, etc. because those were the foods to avoid if you wanted to lose weight, according to all m...

jw

I have been surprised to find how motivating those little green blocks are on habitcal -- and I have tricked myself more than once now: I am more likely to think of snacks in the evening than at any other time of day. So I fill in my habitcal for the day after dinner, at around 7:30 pm. It's yet ano...

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you are where I want to be, Kat! congrats!

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Great attitude, clarebear! 90 minutes before your dinner is when you are supposed to start getting an appetite. After a few weeks, you will have lost the snack urge -- you won't even think about it any more! You are off to a wonderful start!

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Also, a new thing over the last few days: I notice that I am starting to leave white space between the items on my plate.

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This is an awe-inspiring story, Imogen! Thank you for putting your metamorphosis into words for us!

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Welcome, Lpearlmom! It sounds like our goals are similar, both in how much we would ideally like to lose and in wanting to find a sane way of eating. No-S gives just enough structure and not too much -- I wish you the best!

jw

Welcome, littlelion, nice to meet you! I think you'll find that No-S only gets better as you go on. And this board is really interesting and supportive!

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Welcome to No S, K -- it's a calm, sane place. Sounds like that is something you might appreciate right now! I can't imagine all you've been through, but your instinct to take care of yourself now is very healthy and you'll find this is a very healthy way to do it!

jw

A new month. I am going to begin weighing myself only once a month. My first losses have been satisfactory, but I think (from past experience) things will start to level out now -- and I don't want my days to be about the 0.5 lb of water weight that goes up one day and down the next. . . Also, I hav...

jw

welcome, Kate! I have been doing No S for about a month and it is both simple and sane. Enjoy the ride!

jw

maybe you could have a project you are working on during the visit -- take up counted cross stitch, or needlepoint, or crochet or something else that involves both hands and can be done while chatting, watching tv, etc. (heavy "snack" times). That's a great diversion and makes it not so much about f...

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El Fug, that is exactly what happened! Dhack, I think we have had the same experience: unintentional fasting is not a problem for us, because at the time of the fast, our focus is not on food or self-denial. All respect to Bssh, who is feeling comfortable and getting great results with something I w...

jw

"The second you overcomplicate it is the second it becomes the thing for which it is a corrective." Nice! Re: IF -- I used to never want breakfast, back when I was a skinny young thing. Automatic 17-18 hour IF. Uncomplicated! Natural! Felt great and I did it for years. But when I tried a low carb IF...

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Day one of a new month -- hang in there, Snapdragon, and thanks for your kind words visiting my check-in!

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Emily, that's pretty much what I am doing: anything goes on S days, though I do try to make sure I don't go to bed full of sugar Sunday night -- it just makes Monday harder! Imogen, I love the idea of planning a super special dessert/sweet on Sunday, rich enough to satisfy and make you really feel i...

jw

I will be 62 soon, started No-S exactly one month ago and have seen good success so far: 8 pounds lost, and an increasingly calm attitude toward food. I also had doubts when I started, but many successful No-S posters seem to be in the late 50's - early 60's, which gave me a lot of courage! Just jum...

jw

This poem is wonderful -- that deep hole can be anything. There are a few areas in my life where I would do well to go down another street . . .

Everyday Systems

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