Everyday Systems

Thalia

Agreed -- you can make something special and lovely and time-consuming for dinner, and still just eat one plateful with no snacks or sweets. Having a day off work is not a ceremonial eating occasion, like Easter or Christmas or your birthday ...

Thalia

One of the beauties of No S to me is that you don't need to explain it if you don't want to. Because the diet doesn't require weird eating habits or a ten-minute instruction list to the waiter when you eat out, or picking things out of your food, or drinking your meals, or other bizarre behaviors, n...

Thalia

Soups are usually good choices at restaurants, if you avoid cream-based soups. At CPK I usually get the "smashed pea" soup. I find that eating three meals a day with no snacks gives me an excellent sense of what and how much I eat, WITHOUT keeping a food diary or tracking in any way. I came to No S ...

Thalia

Anne Barone has always struck me as kind of a nut, and as not having a particularly realistic image of France. However, everyone seems to agree that people just don't eat all the time in France (or most places). They don't snack outside of formal meals.

Thalia

In addition to undermining the "I don't eat between meals" habit, eating a piece of fruit or some vegetables as a snack makes it easy to move produce off of your regular meal plate, leaving room for less nutritous, higher-calorie items to take its place -- because you don't need fruit in your lunch,...

Thalia

Some favorite cooking gear: LOVE my Vollrath skillets - and the larger sizes weigh a ton, so it's an upper-body workout into the bargain. http://www.amazon.com/Vollrath-Tribute-Natural-Finish-TriVent/dp/B002OWYPQM/ref=sr_1_7?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1302545914&sr=1-7 I've been happy with everything...

Thalia

I agree with many of the posts above! Cookbooks (REAL cookbooks, not diet ones) Kitchen gear Walking shoes and socks (I have merino wool hiking socks that I love ...) Bike gear, especially utility biking accessories like panniers and baskets that turn biking from an amusement into "purposeful moveme...

Thalia

One false start, in 2008, and then I came back in 2009 and got serious. I've maintained the "three meals, no snacking" habit, but but last summer and fall got into other bad habits (not plating meals, buying lunch out) and regained some of my lost weight. However, I never totally veered off the rail...

Thalia

Very good points! Artichokes are a great reward, beause they're so ridiculously expensive for a vegetable. Or just making a fussy and gorgeous elegant meal.

Thalia

Rewards: Planning a really nice meal, which is also a good reminder that No S does NOT mean you don't eat anything that tastes good, unlike some diets. New music, new book, or just making an effort to listen to the music I've already got. Call a friend. Force friend to go event of some kind. Trip to...

Thalia

I love having popcorn at the movies -- but I only go to the movies on weekends usually, so I have my small popcorn and don't worry about the calorie count. No matter how "execrable" the popcorn may be, a small bag once or twice a month is not going to kill anyone!

Thalia

It's totally allowable to just have fruit for lunch, as long as it fits on a plate -- my big concern would be that too light a lunch would lead to ravenous eating at dinnertime, but it sounds like you're not getting excessively hungry. I would be aware of the possibility that you're undereatng in an...

Thalia

I love a glass of wine (or hard cider, in the fall!) with dinner. It's good for your heart, and it's good to add pleasure, satisfaction, and elegance to your meal.

Thalia

Yeah, there is not a young girl in America who is overweight and does not know it. And half the ones who AREN'T overweight still think they're disgustingly fat.

No one needs to be told "Wow, you're fat. I really disapprove and here's how I think you should fix yourself."

Thalia

Yum, Easter! We'll have brunch with hardboiled eggs (of course!), sausage, and coffee-cake. Probably leg of lamb and asparagus and some kind of starch, and jellybeans and chocolates sprinkled through the day.

Thalia

I love the "you're not a baby" quote! That's almost as good as the "a man doesn't want to clutter up his stomach with a lot of candy" one someone used to have as a signature here -- it was from a hardboiled noir author, I think, maybe Dashiell Hammett?

Thalia

Thank you, everyone! It's always embarassing to come back and go "I've been slacking and gained weight," but at least I know exactly what to do about it, and this is SUCH a supportive atmosphere, it means a lot to me.

Thalia

I'm in! My goal is to bring lunch to work, and stop "virtual plating" purchased food. Also, 14 minutes of exercise -- walk, bike, what have you. 1 Erm, well, we went out for sushi and it is hard to judge whether everything I ate would have fit on a plate. I ate a fair amount of sushi, edamame, and s...

Thalia

I used to post here a lot, but haven't been around for ages. It's great to see so many familiar screen names still here! In the meantime, although technically sticking to No S (It's become second nature; by this point, it would feel downright WEIRD to snack or have dessert during the week!), I'm up ...

Thalia

The more you read packages, the more you realize that packaged "foods" are pretty nasty! Although there are occasional pleasant surprises -- many potato chips are just potatoes, sunflower oil, and salt, making them actual food. Most prepared stuff, though, is full of things you wouldn't choose to eat.

Thalia

I've lost 23 pounds -- not even close to their requirements. I do think I look much better than I did and I have a couple of GHASTLY before pictures ...

Thalia

I have decent hiking boots for trail walking, but I do most of my day-to-day walking in my neighborhood running errands or window-shopping, and I want to wear reasonably cute, light shoes. My solution has been Sketchers -- super-comfy and light, and they provide enough support for the type of walkin...

Thalia

I started No S in 2007 and lost around seven or eight pounds pretty fast, and then just drifted off. I don't even know why it happened! I think a big reason was that I just wasn't willing to pack lunches, and so I'd eat out all the time and they were not really one-plate meals so my whole approach w...

Thalia

I don't think it actually is helpful advice, though, because it doesn't help people see what "not too much" looks like. And people DO say that now, all the time, usually in pretty rude ways.

Thalia

My kid would LOVE an ultra-dark-chocolate Easter bunny. She likes the really dark, bitter stuff.

Of course, she also likes chicken McNuggets, and she won't eat anything I cook that has more than two ingredients, so she's not exactly Little Miss Perfect Foodie ...

Thalia

I've read a lot of things that I think mesh well with No S, although most of them aren't "diet" books. French Women Don't Get Fat -- I find the author insufferable, with her sniffing about those horrible, horrible fat uncultured Americans -- so I kind of hate big sections of this book. but her appro...

Thalia

I know I haven't checked in for a while, and now I feel like I need to share the reason. I'm afraid that I have bad news -- eating food that I enjoy and not spending all my time and money on my diet is getting really boring, and I feel like I need to spice things up a bit. So, sadly, I'm saying good...

Thalia

I haven't posted for a few months, I think, but I'm still No-Sing. I really don't think I will ever NOT be No Sing! I started 11 months ago, give or take. I am now down 21 pounds from my starting weight, and I haven't been posting here because it really has become second nature for me not to eat bet...

Thalia

I'm resolving to have more fun in 2010!

Thalia

I like whole yogurt with maple syrup or honey and fruit. So delicious!

Thalia

They are very active little critters, if they are given enough room.

Thalia

OMG, where did you even find that picture?

Thalia

A scale is great for recipes that require weight measurements (I think that's mostly important if you bake a lot, I just eyeball most regular cooking stuff), and also to amuse small children because you can see how much your guinea pigs weigh. I control my portions by eating no more than three meals...

Thalia

I'm still boooorrrrring. I had kind of an excessive weekend -- stress eating, I guess -- but my N days are all green, so I'm letting go of the weekend and looking forward.

Thalia

Tuna, you rock!

Thalia

That passage sums up everything I liked and everything I hated about "French Women Don't" in a nutshell! Americans, especially women, have come to accept being overweight as the norm. Many are not the least bit self-conscious . What PLANET has this woman visited? She seems to think that if people do...

Thalia

Wow, it's just government-funded advertising for heavily processed foods. They're not going to be putting check-mark stickers on apples, but I'm sure they will put them on Fruit by the Foot -- it's just more encouragement to let manufacturers choose what's "healthy" instead of eating actual foods.

Thalia

I like wine with dinner, so I do have a glass almost every day. Doesn't seem to cause any problems.

Thalia

I think there's a whole class of sweet drinks that are more dessert than they are beverages -- appletinis and white russians and so forth. Soda as a mixer seems more gray-areaish to me, But I'd probably either use diet soda (which I like) or make a screwdriver/Cape Cod type of thing with juice, or j...

Thalia

Pasta's not as hard as you'd think, but it IS a lot of work! I can rarely be bothered.

Thalia

One to two pounds a month is a good, real loss. Add that up and you're losing 12-25 pounds a year! You've got a five-month-old, right? Congratulations! You are still pretty much immediately postpartum, and your hormones are still wacky -- especially if you're nursing. It might take a few more months...

Thalia

Baking mixes in particular are an incredible rip-off. I was astounded the first time I made cornbread and muffins -- it is literally no harder than opening the box! In addition to bread, phyllo pastry is darn hard to make yourself. And homemade pasta is yummy, but it's a huge production and I don't ...

Thalia

As of this morning, I have officially lost 10% of my starting bodyweight -- I'm down 19 pounds! I've been No S-ing since the begining of January, so almost eight months. It has not been fast, but it has been incredibly easy. Reinhard, I can't thank you enough for making No S available to the world. ...

Thalia

Hmmm, mostly leftovers. can you reheat? Or soup in a Thermos, or bean or grain salads -- those can be really hearty.

Thalia

Green salads, or any kind of salad? Our green salads might include different greens and lettuces, olives, tomato, bell pepper, artichoke hearts, avocado, cucumber ... lots of stuff. Many people include apple, pear, figs, or persimmon in salads -- I don't like the sweetness myself, but if you do that...

Thalia

Congrats, Nichole!

Thalia

I agree that portion sizes matter. For me, the "one plate" rule seems to keep them reasonable without further tinkering, providing that I make sure that most of my plates include a solid amount of real estate devoted to fruits and vegetables.

Thalia

Yep, that's me! I just copied over my Goodreads review.

Thalia

Why eat ANYTHING, really? We'd lose much faster if we didn't! Deb, could you maybe try using plain Dutch-process cocoa powder in your coffee and a little sugar, instead of the instant hot-chocolate mix? that way you're only getting the pure cocoa flavor and the sugar you choose to add, without the o...

Thalia

I don't go through and mark non-weekend S days in advance, but I easily could. For me, it's pretty cut-and-dried: major holidays, family or close friend birthday parties (and friends almost always celebrate on the weekend, anyway, so I don't need a special day for that), or some kind of massive cele...

Thalia

I haven't read anything this summer that has totally blown me away, but I did enjoy "The Seance," which is the second novel by John Harwood. It's a faux Victorian novel with plenty of seances, spiritualism, dastardly deeds, mesmerism, and electrical experiments, and it's very well done and a lot of ...

Thalia

Reinhard, that reminds me -- I saw this in the Los Angeles Times, and of course I thought of Everyday Systems! http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-rangers16-2009aug16,0,1867379.story these people are using the "urban ranger" name (I wonder if you can sue :lol:) and treating the urban lan...

Thalia

I used to make "sandwiches" on Weight Watchers with "light" bread (which is full of pencil shavings or something, as far as I could tell from the texture), fat-free "mayo," and "light" pasteurized-process "cheese" food slices. Those were pretty dire.

Lunch should not require irony quotation marks.

Thalia

I think I posted -- the interface is a little confusing.

Thalia

I would not consider eating three full meals a day to be fasting. There is plenty of evidence that No S is a good way to lose weight, in the form of results, but it's not because of some arcane metabolic effect -- it's because it limits us to an appropriate intake of food!

Thalia

LOL, I can't believe "does not offer a day-to-day eating plan" is considered a drawback!

Thalia

Yeah, we always freeze leftovers.

He does it with a whisk, because honestly it's more trouble to wash the mixer than it is to do the whisking by hand. You just stir until the ingredients are mixed, it's not like a cake where you're beating in air to give it volume, so it's pretty easy.

Thalia

My husband makes homemade pancakes all the time, as a weekend treat. They really are very easy! He is not a big "project" cook, and if it was a hassle, he would never bother. There's nothing unhealthy about having a few homemade pancakes with real maple syrup! Yum. Are you going to do buttermilk or ...

Thalia

some of these sledgehammers are striking me as kind of ... METAPHORICAL.

Thalia

Dressing is really easy! Vinaigrette: One part vinegar or lemon juice Three or four parts oil, or to taste Any herbs or seasonings you wish to add -- minced shallot, red-pepper flakes, poppy seeds, the sky's the limit really. Salt and pepper Add the flavorings to the vinegar, then whisk in the oil (...

Thalia

I am losing, although not quickly -- after the initial months when it came off faster, I have settled down to losing 1 1/2 pounds every month. Just a data point that it's not a hoax, people do lose on this! I know that we are supposd to focus on the habit and on sane, healthy eating patterns rather ...

Thalia

You need the fat with the vegetables to help you absorb the fat-soluble vitamins they contain, if you need even more reason to eat it.

Thalia

Well, in the past that has always been me too! Or actually, I gave up on the scale because I knew I wouldn't like what it said BECAUSE I had given up on everything else. But on No S -- do you think you'd change your eating habits if you weren't weighing? I feel like, for me, this is something I can ...

Thalia

I think two pounds, especially it appears, disappears, and reappears in the course of a few days, is normal fluctuation, yeah. If you keep going between the same high and low weight, I would count your weight as stable. Would it be possible to put the scale away in a closet and just try living your ...

Thalia

The Mark Bittman no-knead bread that was sweeping the Internet a while back is pretty similar, I think, and people raved about that. Let us know how your bread turns out! I might have to try it myself.

Thalia

I agree -- the only problem I see with that meal is the fake salad dressing.

Thalia

maybe the whole point is to just eat what I want and not record and second guess myself.

You've got it! Isn't it wonderful?

Thalia

Nichole, I'm working on writing a children's book -- you can illustrate mine!

Thalia

Nichole, you're remarkably talented! Do you use your art skills professionally?

Thalia

Very inspiring, Bushranger! Congratulations.

Thalia

I have so many cookbooks, but this conversation is making me want to buy more.

Thalia

I would not use the Slimfast. It's billed as a "meal replacement" -- you want an actual meal. Do you use it because you're afraid real food will be too fattening, or because you have texture issues or something that make eating instead of drinking difficult, or some other reason like that? I bet we ...

Thalia

mimi, you have done such a good thing by pushing through all the court hassle -- you've made everyone who walks that street a little safer!

For the fear? I don't know, would carrying pepper spray or something help, so you don't feel defenseless?

Thalia

hearing about how dieting doesn't work Well, long-term, most diets don't work. I don't think any of them has a good track record for producing long-term weightloss. Which is why, before No S, I had decided to never diet again. I could ALWAYS lose weight -- I could never keep it off, and more than 9...

Thalia

There is nothing unfortunate about loving pie!

Thalia

I think that Mastering the Art of French Cooking might be a little on the intiidating side, but a great teaching tool. Many of the recipes are complex, but she explains EVERYTHING! But there's just a lot of stuff you aren't going to want to make unless you are very comfortable in the kitchen -- past...

Thalia

I don't think it's an excuse -- he's saying that exercise, alone, is not going to lead to weightloss. Not that there are no other benefits to exercise, or that people who want to become athletes or run marathons shouldn't do it. They just shouldn't expect it to be the magic key to weightloss, which ...

Thalia

Frozen yogurt tends to be even more heavily sweetened than regular flavored yogurts (whch are already pretty sweet). For me, no question that that would be an S day food.

Thalia

you look really fit! Congratulations!

Thalia

I find being sick kind of kills my appetite (for disgusting mucus-related reasons), but that if I don't eat because of it, I feel weak and light-headed and take longer to get well. Fighting infection is hard work -- I'm surprised that fasting works for you, but can't argue with success.

Thalia

I felt that way pretty often during the first month, but I tried to just tough it out and get used to not eating in the afternoon. And now I don't really get hungry until about half an hour before dinner -- we eat pretty close to the same time every night, and I think that really helped me learn to ...

Thalia

Nuts, cheese, and almost every food contain more than just one nutrient -- and nuts and cheese are good sources of protein. I think the whole "protein" thing is really oversold at the moment; why not just try eating foods that you find satisfying and enjoy? I don't know -- I like meat OK, but I don'...

Thalia

I think you were smart in that you were very mindful about what you were doing, stopped, and worked out a plan to compensate. And I don't think you're crossing the line into cheatsville because you didn't lie to yourself about what you were doing -- you recognized a violation, stopped, and figured o...

Thalia

Congrats, Marc!

I've been sick since Tuesday with a yucky summer cold. So, I'm here, boring, and sniffly. I wonder if coughing is one of those activities that burns a lot of calories?

Thalia

Yeah, I'm not sure what people in, for example, the upper Midwest are supposed to do. I guess almost anyone can put in a garden and do some home-canning, which improves your diet. I, myself, would probably eat McDonald's if that and home canning were my only choices, but probably some people would a...

Thalia

Five really is a great age -- you're going to have such a fun year!

Thalia

Yeah, in regard to Cassie's post -- I think it's pretty normal and appropriate for toddlers to eat often. They're very active, they're growing like crazy and developing their bodies and brains, and they aren't likely to overeat if offered appropriate foods (fruits, veggies, full-fat dairy -- not Twi...

Thalia

Oh heck yes! I bake on weekends and I certainly do eat the results. I made strawberry shortcake on Sunday, in fact. And it was GOOD.

Thalia

I like homemade soup for lunch, but not so much in August when it's so flippin' hot! I usually bring leftovers of some kind -- pasta, or chicken and veggies, or hearty salads like bean or grain salads.

Those cookies look fantastic!

Thalia

No S doesn't dictate what to eat -- but common sense certainly does, and I think that French fries are a wonderful, delicious treat, but not a great staple food in anyone's diet. Setting some kind of limit, like only eating them if you make them at home, sounds very sensible to me!

Thalia

Oh yes, cheese and nuts and chocolate are all wonderful and delicious. And butter and olive oil.

Thalia

not only are you NOT cooking -- you're making an edible food-like substance.

I'm not actually positive about hte "edible" part.

Thalia

My favorite thing about Lidia is that her kitchen is so messy, and her pots and pans are so beat up. You just know she cares more about what the food tastes like than she does about interior decorating!

Thalia

Pancakes are easy -- and super-delicious! My husband makes them a lot on the weekend.

Thalia

You can get Julia Child's "The French Chef" on DVD! I got the first disc in the series from Netflix because I had just read "My Life in France," and although I was just watching to see Julia it actually improved my knife technique. She gives a little tutorial on knifework in the French onion soup ep...

Thalia

Even though they don't have the slightest idea what a healthy choice IS.

Thalia

I think everyone uses some short cuts -- we're none of us milling our own flour! Of course, there's a point where you're smooshing together Cool Whip, Jell-O Instant Pudding, a Duncan Hines cake mix, and a can of Diet Coke and calling it "a homemade dessert," but there's a wide spectrum of what I wo...

Thalia

That sounds like a really tasty dinner!

I don't think a little jam or marmalade violates the No Sweets rule, but it makes sense that it might keep your sweet cravings going.

Thalia

I'm in. I suppose my challenge is to do something about exercise -- it's too hot to walk at lunch, the pool is closed after work, not sure what I'll end up doing. I have gotten better about taking the stairs! Update -- all green on No S. I was sick the whole first part of August, which did my exerci...

Thalia

I agree -- I find I don't overeat at dinner as long as dinner and lunch consist of FOOD.

Everyday Systems

Search found 569 matches

Getting Back in Good Habits

Quitting No S

Checking back in ...

Goodbye, 10%!