Everyday Systems

finallyfull

The best thing about my skillet is that it's heavy enough but not too heavy, its always handy and right where I need it, it does double-duty as a thing to cook with, so no storage problem, it doesn't clutter my living room, and best of all: it's IN MY KITCHEN so when I'm poking around for a snack an...

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I agree with you Wosnes -- if I eat light during breakfast and lunch, and especially if the event is late, I'm most likely going to eat two days worth of food at that last meal! I would almost think adding an additional meal before the event would still make me come out ahead.

finallyfull

21 days!!!!!!!!!! That means 63 good, healthy meals that I was hungry for, and that I felt satisfied for hours afterward. 21 days of not fearing that my habits will cause me to be 10 pounds heavier next year without even trying. 21 days of not thinking up how to diet without feeling like I'm on a di...

finallyfull

vanilla?

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I've learned the hard way that counting calories, for me anyway, just turns No S into a diet -- I lost, then gained it back. But now I have a new way to count -- just for fun, and not always -- I count the calories that I don't eat! It's been eye opening so far. 300-500 yesterday and 400 so far toda...

finallyfull

Day 16!! I remember now why I picked the name "finally full" -- because without real hunger, I never felt the very pleasant, satisfied fullness that comes from going from fully empty to full. And without a huge amount of food. It's hard to describe, and I had forgotten the feeling, but I really like...

finallyfull

So I have stumbled across a good trick when I find myself poking around the kitchen between meals. It's my take on "Shovelglove" except with a cast iron skillet. When I'm in one of those nibbling moods, I have stopped and done a bunch of reps with the heavy iron skillet (row the boat, rock the baby,...

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In case this works for anybody else (and I've had my ups and downs), I tend to think of my urge as a part of me that needs love, and it is like a kid who throws tantrums or rebels or sneaks when it does not get attention or love. It always thinks of food first, because that's the easiest most conven...

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Liz, I didn't think you sounded snotty at all -- I do the same thing. I realized what it is, I think: stupidly, I sometimes equate No S with a Diet (okay it's called the No S diet, that's part of the problem) and I know I can't be on a diet all my life, so in my weak moments, when I want a donut wit...

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I'm curious about the "I'm above this" statement -- it sounds like it may be familiar to me -- what do you mean? That you, when feeling like breaking the rules, decide that you are above having rules because you are not overweight, or is it something else?

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I want to give it a year -- I want to give it all my years. I gave it many months in a row, but somehow decided it was "too hard" to pass up some crumb or other and one bite leads to another.... I think part of it is that our culture is now perfectly designed to lure us to at every turn. Maybe I sho...

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Okay, hopefully I'm now really, finally convinced to stick with it. I've had some success, but I seem to always fall back on my old ways by rationalizing one way or another. But over time my weight is creeping up, and I am 100% sure it's the bite "here and there" that is causing it. So I'm on vanill...

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Yes, I am a girl, and I've been thinking alot about this since I tried and failed with the sledgehammer -- I'm kind of weak and it was too much. So, call me sexist, but I suggest an alternate program for women using a cast iron skillet instead of a sledgehammer. Its kind of heavy, but it's something...

finallyfull

true, the scale is faulty at best, but my clothes are telling me the same thing. I've only had a handfull of red days (and not wild, either) in five months. What I do know is that what I'm eating is more than I need (might be explained by my "finallyfull" name, huh?) so I can figure out what I can l...

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I've been no s'ing -- just vanilla - for 5 months and have gained five pounds! I know it's a real five pounds, too, I made sure before I posted. The great news is, with No S I can at least see what the heck I'm eating without having kept a diary or anything, so I can now tweak without freaking. A fr...

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In regard to the question of the plate of toast, and how might feel or look "greedy" to take an extra portion and put it on your plate straight away -- this, to me, is part of the education that comes from having the "one plate" rule. I have learned so much about my feelings about portion size, and ...

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Bella, I have also, pre-No S, eated when I was upset, bored, or frustrated. Since No S, I look at the real problem and work on real solutions. For instance, if I'm upset, I pray, journal, talk to a friend or my husband, or work on the problem causing the upset. Unlike my food "solution", which someh...

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Badger, I have had this happen many times. I'm in my 5th month of No S, and it has greatly reduced and almost disappeared. I guess the panick was my brain's way of keeping my bad habit going. What helps me is to hear those thoughts, and then to reassure myself and take pleasure in the certain knowle...

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I think the reason people freak out about the no snacks idea is because it IS the problem. We love them, we love the freedom to munch all day, it's cheap, it's fun, we don't want to stop. To paraphrase Mr. Heston, you will have to pry these Cheetos out of my cold, dead hands! Or in this case, my dea...

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Something that really helps me is that I try to make sure I still eat three full meals on S days. Three complete, regular sized meals, at the usual times, too, when possible. This is hard, because my diet-head tries to get me to skip meals or eat less to "make up" for the treats. But the more I do t...

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Keriamon, I love the stand-up desk idea! Since you are clearly into trying "unconventional" (but traditional and rational) ideas, you might be interested in barefooting or minimal footwear to help your feet. If you google around, you will find tons of information about the footwear debate. Of partic...

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If you're still experiencing this, here are some of my thoughts: 1. One of the most helpful things I read on these boards is that often you will feel "hunger" about 3 hours after a meal, but once you know to expect it, and you hold out, you will notice that it goes away, and you can last a few more ...

finallyfull

I have found that delaying breakfast till about 9:30 or 10 makes a huge positive difference for me. I am never hungry before then, so there is far less pleasure in eating. It allows me to delay lunch until mid-afternoon, which is a gigantic help (actually a cure-all) for my mid-afternoon snack habit...

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I totally agree -- I love that No S will wait patiently for every time I may decide to go try something else, like "try to eat less" or whatever I come up with that inevitably seems to slowly pack on pounds, even if it starts out with loss. I am back after about a year, totally vanilla this time, an...

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Eight and 1/2 weeks on strict vanilla, I have noticed some great changes. These changes did not happen last year when I lost 12 pounds with a calorie counting mod. I have decided to give vanilla a good long year to see what really happens. I just wanted to mention two good changes: I used to eat unt...

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I think if No S doesn't work for you, it doesn't work for you. Nobody would fault you for quitting. It sounds like you have gone through some very stressful times lately -- sorry to hear about that! Maybe a two-week vacation from No S would be a good way to just reboot. Myself, I wouldn't throw the ...

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bjala - It just SEEMS like these things happen more on No S (or actual "diets") but I really think they happen all the time, we just don't notice because we are wired to minimize the frequency of snacks and treats to hide from ourselves the fact that we eat so much. For me, I've noticed with No S, h...

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I think mods too soon (less than a few months in) may keep you focused on food and weight, which defeats the purpose of moving into a more natural way of eating that doesn't include obsessing and therefore eating more. That's my experience anyway. I think if you've lost half a pound, that might not ...

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I have taken to drinking my coffee black (with an ice cube to cool it) every weekday, and milk on the weekends. This has led to me waking up Saturday morning thinking "yay!" every weekend. Something I previously took for granted is now an exciting treat. Also after the first sip or two I rarely thin...

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I have told tons of people about this over the years, but I use stealth tactics. My weight is a bit up now thanks to going off vanilla, counting calories, and having the predictable bounce back. But when I have been thin, anytime anyone asks about my eating habits, I say "I don't eat between meals, ...

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This is my fourth week back on No S, and it is very interesting to see what this reveals about my moods. I am kind of a nibbler, usually, and there are times when I definitely want to eat between meals. I have noticed several things. First, that I snack when I am bored. Now that I can't snack, I can...

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Well I'm back after about a year -- in week 2 -- I fell off after losing about 15 pounds by doing non-vanilla (I cut calories on N days) and lo and behold I had the rebound effect and gained a few extra for my trouble. I always knew the only sane thing would be to do No S vanilla, but I tried and fa...

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I am never hungry when I wake up, and it often takes me two to three hours to feel hungry. Who cares? I call "breakfast" my first meal of the day, and I usually eat it at 9 or 9:30, when I feel hungry but not starving. (If I wait till starving I find myself getting into a bad pattern.) I think most ...

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Uh oh! I've been No S'ing for about three months, happily, with only two minor red days, but I am noticing a frightening by-product. Now that everything tastes better, N days are great, and I may be finally overcoming my snacking and seconds habits. I know, the S days gone wild fear is quite common....

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KCCC, that was an excellent post! I think the phases are a really great way to introduce the plan. Especially Phase II, and the fact that for many of us we have to very, very slowly move through the phases naturally instead of forcing them. Someone here once had a post that used the image of a puffe...

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Nope -- it was Barnes & Noble. At least they told me it was Godiva. It was superdelicious.

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As I was sitting down to an amazing slice of Godivah chocolate cheesecake today, which I enjoyed thoroughly, I realized that I could have had one teeny snack every day and it would have added up to about the same calories. But the little snacks (say, a bag of 100-calorie dried out cookies) would hav...

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Reading so many posts about the difficulty of No S made me want to share what has made it easier and easier for me. I've been No S'ing for 15 weeks. The first 10 I counted calories to lose my muffin top (after finding out last year that No S vanilla is my "maintenance" level), but it's been about fi...

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I'm curious from reading through posts about wild S days and huge plates -- this is something I haven't found much on. Has anyone had experience actually gaining weight on Vanilla No S? (I'm NOT talking about those who claim to have "gained" several pounds over a weekend because of the amount of foo...

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Oolala said: "I have no doubt that housework done consistently would trump formal exercise done sporadically. Maybe instead of having a Habitcal for shovelglove, you could set the timer for 14 minutes and sweep, scrub, straighten briskly instead. Do it for a 21-day streak and see what happens." I am...

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I sometimes wonder if house and yard work adds up much. I never get out of breath doing it, so I wonder if I'm getting the cardio/aerobic workouts of our forebearers. I am terrible about cleaning and boy would my house love it if I spent more time cleaning and doing yard work. Every time I go runnin...

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Divahat, Drastic = Temporary. I think your sign off note about being kind says more about you than any stupid scale. What you need is faith. Realize that No S will help you calm down and learn to nurture yourself so you won't need the small bites here and there every day that are adding up to pounds...

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This is my second go-round on No S and I am calorie counting, and actually lost weight this time instead of maintaining. I know many people think of counting calories as the road to obsessing, but when you're only eating three meals a day, I have found it much, much easier and non-intrusive compared...

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After ten weeks on No S, my husband noticed that I regularly exclaim how delicious food is at dinner time. It didn't dawn on me what was going on until the other night, when I sat down to dinner and said "Boy! These beets are really good!" -- beets? That's not at all like me to sing praises of beets...

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I think the reason the bread basket and the chip basket SEEM so delicious and tempting is because a person is hungry before a meal. But why do we think it's a good idea to eat... before we eat? I think the suggestion to keep the basket away until the meal comes and include it on your plate is the be...

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I think that being "on and off" the No S diet is a signal that it's being used as a "diet" -- meaning too much deprivation and "short term" thinking. I too went "off" it once, and I think I did that by tricking myself into thinking I'd eat less if I could snack. Hah! This time I'm 8 weeks in (and lo...

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Over43 writes "When does one 100 calorie snack become two 100 calorie snacks, etc.?" -- for me, the answer is "immediately." -- Without No S, 100 calories is very, very rarely the end of my snack. It would almost without fail sneak up to at the very least 200, if not 3 or 4. Easily. And I'm not a bi...

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Over the years I have spent plenty of time asking myself this inane question, and often arguing with myself over it, both before and after eating. Am I really hungry? Duh! With No S, I never, ever, ever have to ask myself this stupid question again. The main reason is, of course, that I'm always hun...

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I think there could be a whole cartoon strip called "You know you eat too much everyday when...." and this one would be "You know you eat too much everyday when you have to cut calories at Thanksgiving dinner" or "You know you eat too much everyday when you resort to blaming one-day holidays for tho...

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I have always been annoyed at the articles that crop up every holiday in magazines and newspapers that have all of these "slimmed down" or "light" versions of holiday favorite foods. Even before No S, it drove me nuts because doing this encourages the notion that to be slim, people have to watch the...

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After six weeks, I don't spend much time thinking about snacking, because I am very used to not doing it. But when I start to feel hungry an hour or two before a meal, I make sure to remind myself that the hungry feeling is a happy anticipation of a meal, not some important signal to eat something n...

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Oolala53 said "Somehow it seems getting hungry also contributes to greater appreciation of satiety without getting stuffed." -- I think this is more important than at first glance. I definitely have a feeling of satisfaction that I never had (or never noticed) before because I was such a stranger to...

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I can easily see now why I didn't lose the first time (although it should be noted that I maintained my weight) -- it's because I was so freaked out by the fear I'd get hungry between meals that I loaded up too much food at mealtimes. (Note: I believe this would have cleared itself up in time, just ...

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I have never posted on a bulletin board, but this plan deserves a few words! First of all, I tried No "s"ing a year ago and "quit" after about two months because I didn't lose any weight and I guess giving up snacking didn't seem worth it. But heading back into snackville gained me 10 pounds in a ye...

Everyday Systems

Search found 354 matches

fun counting calories!

check-in

nibble alternative

back again - duh!

sexism!

gained five pounds

good changes

moods revealed

perfect tweak

scared I'm changing

great trade-off

easier

gaining?

calorie counting

deliciousness

eating before eating

am I hungry or not?

"trimming" holiday indulgence

back and losing this time