Everyday Systems

r.jean

Oh my! Two crazy days in a row. I know it is the weekend, but I usually keep some semblance of order to my weekends. I was super busy, no formal exercise but on my feet most of the day yesterday and got very little sleep. Also prepared and ate a lot of food and enjoyed the company of friends and fam...

r.jean

I did not think through my 21 day challenge to spend half an hour each day on decluttering. I failed the last two days for good reasons, for one thing, I was barely home. So, I am going back to a weekly goal. I will get rid of 3-4 bags or boxes each week. This includes shredding. Today I packed a bo...

r.jean

I watch my salt intake for health reasons but I eat chips as part of a meal occasionally. I love the brand Food Should Taste Good and also a local brand in the health food section. These chips are more expensive, but I eat less of them. I splurge on sweet potato chips, multigrain chips, and blue cor...

r.jean

Day 1 of 21: Yesterday I spent my half hour (and then some) going through some "paper" that I saved during the school years of my three children. (Newspaper articles, report cards, programs, cute projects, etc, etc.) it was very sentimental. I managed to get rid of a lot of it. Maybe I can eventuall...

r.jean

You are getting there! After dinner snacking is a hard one to give up.

r.jean

Personally, I will have a piece of my favorite homemade desserts when offered regardless of the timing. Usually it is offered during some sort of special occasion, even if that special occasion is just a dinner with friends. I do not give in to everything, but a small piece of Texas sheet cake or ho...

r.jean

Thanks Tessy and Over43 Over 43, I also tend to weigh when I am doing well and avoid the scale when I know I am overeating. When I was gaining in Feb and March, I avoided. Since May, I have weighed weekly. Guess I need to keep that up. I have not had an Otter Pop in years. I remember them fondly, bu...

r.jean

Thanks aspencer! You are right; it is hard to be objective about the scale or the measurements. It is easy to say the right things but hard to actually internalize those feelings. Yet, I will continue to use the scale as a method of accountability. It does help me gauge progress....as long as I do n...

r.jean

After gaining and then losing some winter weight this year, I made a renewed commitment to losing the last 25 lbs I need to lose to get to an average BMI. In 7 weeks, I have lost 7.2 lbs. of that weight. After no loss last week, I lost 1.8 lbs. this week. 17.8 lbs to go for a "normal" BMI (currently...

r.jean

I have been reading your posts since starting No S and also find your posts humorous and down to earth. It is refreshing to read posts that strive for moderation but not perfection. And with real meals and a dash of humor...

r.jean

I made a resolution when I retired in Jan 2013 to get through the clutter in our house. A fair share of it came from things left behind by our adult children. I have made tremendous progress, but I stalled. I think I need a 21 day challenge to spend at least half an hour each day working on old clut...

r.jean

If u do not make the 21 days, do not be discouraged. I rarely go 21 days without a red. I have lost over 50 lbs. I just seek to keep the reds to a minimum rather than try to be perfect.

r.jean

Weekly weigh in today was the same as last week. I am very happy with that. I struggled a bit this week. I pushed the limits all week and had one blowout day. So....needless to say...staying the same is a great result.

r.jean

I love Leslie Sansone's dvds as well! I have used them for years, mostly just in the winter. However, this year I had many excuses in addition to the harsh winter. We had broken pipes from freezing, and our basement was flooded. That was my area to sew, craft, exercise, etc. A lot of my stuff was ru...

r.jean

I have been inspired by your posts to step up my decluttering. A bag of shredding in recycle and a bag for charity in my car today so far. I still struggle with the feeling that there is no end in sight, but I know I have made progress the last 18 months.

r.jean

I was talking about photographs but I also have some art as well. I have given some away to family but have not been able to get myself to donate any....yet. I have scanned some photos but still kept the originals. Not a good idea. Sounds like you have a good handle on the photographs. There are jus...

r.jean

Thanks Imogen! I know now that I cannot let go of the exercise regimen. This winter was so long and hard that I was unable to exercise outdoors for months. It was not the cold, it was the ice and snow. I gained weight quickly and my general mood suffered. I now belong to two different gyms (with dif...

r.jean

Interesting. Thanks for the article.

r.jean

I run as well and while training for a half last fall, there is no way I would have maintained my running regimen at 1500 calories a day. I agree with Gingerpie on monitoring yourself and increasing if you need to as you train harder. Of course I have no idea of your size or age or other factors so ...

r.jean

Thanks eschano!

I weighed in yesterday and lost 1.4 lbs even though I ate a lot this past week. The only real blow out was the family reunion day which was a potluck and included some ongoing grazing throughout the day. I also exercised a lot so I guess that saved me.

r.jean

Interesting reading. I have been working on the clutter issue since I retired in Jan 2013. Every week I concentrate on filling at least one bag that goes out the door and never comes back again. The bag can be shredding or donations or garbage. I often end up with more than one bag. If I get rid of ...

r.jean

The size of the plate does not matter as far as I am concerned. It is the types of food you put on the plate. The more vegetables I eat, the bigger plate I need. If I have 3 slices of pizza, it will fit on a large plate. If I have one slice and a mixed green salad, it fills the same plate.

r.jean

Weekly weigh in today. Down 0.6 lbs. Down 4.6 lbs in July. I ate out a lot this past week so I am very pleased to lose anything! This coming week I have a birthday lunch, a family reunion with a night out of town, a bridal shower, a lunch date with an old friend, and a day trip out of town. I am str...

r.jean

I agree with the posting accountability. I slipped badly earlier this year and went in and out on visiting this site. I am now doing well, and I visit the site almost daily although I do not post every day.

r.jean

We all do have our nemesis! Right now eating out is my biggest challenge. But the positive thing is we are moving forward slowly, very slowly.

r.jean

Good for him! And good for you two together!

r.jean

I have been reading posts more, and it is helpful. I see how many people have struggled for years to stick with No S and then I see others who "got it" pretty quickly and have maintained for years. I am in the middle. I have stayed with No S for 3.5 years. I have had some success but have not achiev...

r.jean

Great job! It is great that you have been able to maintain so well!

r.jean

I am amazed how hard it is to stop eating sweets once I start. Because of this, I eat my sweets carefully. Even on S days, I assess whether I really want that certain sweet, and I reserve my sweets for only the favorites. I know this could be considered a mod, but to me it is just my way of practici...

r.jean

So true!

r.jean

Tremendous progress! Half a pound to a pound a week is the perfect way to lose. Keep it up!

r.jean

With the exception of my blowout on last Saturday, my Thursday to Thursday week went well, and I lost 0.8 of a lb. this week. I try to stick to weekly weigh-ins only, but I got on the scale Wednesday and the number was up 2.2 lbs. Today I weighed 3 lbs less than yesterday. This would have thrown me ...

r.jean

Good points! I do have a problem with overeating if I let myself get too hungry, but with No S, I have adjusted to appreciating normal hunger. Food tastes so much better if I am at least a little hungry.

r.jean

Starting again tomorrow just gives you an excuse to eat poorly the rest of today. Start again right now.

r.jean

The app I use is MyFitnessPal. It is free and it is okay. After I spent some time with it, it seems easy, but it took a little time to build my skill with it. Yesterday was the first day since I started tracking 2 months ago that I gave up trying to figure out what I ate in order to plug it in the f...

r.jean

Great job!

So good to hear, "Food has lost it's control over me."

And remember "maintenance is progress." You are losing more slowly, but as long as you do not go backwards, you are making progress!

r.jean

It has been a beautiful summer after such a terrible winter! Good to see you are still around.

r.jean

One pound lost this week. Knowledge is power is my new saying. The knowledge I have gained through the fitness app is helping me to make very "doable" changes to my eating and exercise patterns. I do not obsess with a daily calorie count, but I do look at the weekly nutrition numbers and try to be m...

r.jean

Just when we think our own lives are tough, we are always reminded to count our blessings. Best wishes for you and your son. I hope you have a good support system around you.

r.jean

Good luck!

r.jean

I am not sure why I was finally able to lose weight starting No S at 54 with a life time of poor eating habits behind me. Like others, I urge you to just stick with the basic rules and stay away from the scale. Bring sanity to your eating. Pile those plates high if you need to. Once you get the habi...

r.jean

Good job! Remember those positives regularly and keep on going! We sometimes forget that we really are different in good ways even if the scale does not always reflect it.

r.jean

Congrats on your success! Maintenance is progress! I am a Vanilla No S person who recently realized I was never going to achieve my weight goal if I did not add a little discipline to what I put on my plates. I am an anti-tracker. I generally hate it and when I try to track, I quit within days. Howe...

r.jean

Great! Keep with it!

r.jean

You can do it!

r.jean

Hello! I have been doing No S for 3.5 years. I bop in and out on this site these days but I read more than I post. I have been trying to post a little more because I think being more active on this site does help keep me on track. Today I read a lot of your posts. I was reading just new posts but ac...

r.jean

I have decided to weigh in every Thursday and come back to this post and record the weekly weights so I can see the weekly progress. I weighed on July 1 just to get a monthly figure and then changed back to Thursdays. July 1: +0.6 over maintained weight/25.6 lbs to goal July 3: -0.4 this week/25.2 t...

r.jean

Sounds like you have settled into a great set of habits but also look for ways to improve. Good job!

r.jean

No words of wisdom here, just encouragement. Hang in there. Many of us have been exactly where you are at right now! Giving up is not an option.

r.jean

I stumbled onto No S 3 1/2 years ago, and it has been a miracle for me. I lost a decent portion of the weight I wanted to lose in the first year, but more importantly I came to peace with my weight and how I got here. It is hard to say what is happening for you now without knowing all the details, b...

r.jean

I relearned a hard lesson yesterday. It is important to not under eat. Yesterday was super busy for me. It started out with household chores and shopping and went on to 5 vigorous games of volleyball in a hot gym. Next was dog care for a friend and working on some curtains at her house. This is more...

r.jean

I did not but only because nothing special came up that I wanted. We were out camping, and our eating is generally healthier then because it is self prepared. Now if anyone had wanted to go to the fish fry at the camping center that day, I would have probably (over)indulged for at least that one meal.

r.jean

I agree that the trick is to adjust your meal amount gradually to satisfy for several hours but let hunger creep in as the next meal approaches. It can be hard to figure out at times especially when vigorous activity is involved. However, I would warn against being too strict. Too much deprivation c...

r.jean

Oooh. I sympathize on the hair. Recently got a chopped up mess of too short layers instead of my normal long light layers. No fixing that!

r.jean

Good for you! Staying with it no matter what is a good choice. No S is not known for rapid weight loss, it definitely promotes a peace of mind about food!

r.jean

SUCCESS! After 3-4 months of relapse and struggle to get back on track, i finally got a grip on my eating habits during May and June. I mostly avoided the scale this past 6 months, but I am sure I gained (and lost) 10-15 lbs. i was only able to squeeze into a fraction of my wardrobe by early May. To...

r.jean

I agree that posting, especially at the beginning is important. I also find habit cal useful. Good luck!

r.jean

Good Luck!

r.jean

Do you keep a habit cal? If you do three calendars instead of one, you can track your compliance for each S. If you have good compliance for snacks and seconds then compliance for sweets will not matter as much. A separate calendar might keep you in check mentally without making you feel like a fail...

r.jean

I generally eat at 8 am, 1 Pm, and 630 pm. I am okay flexing breakfast and lunch, but if I eat dinner too early I am hungry by bedtime. Just figure out what works best for you and then stick with it.

r.jean

I am such a true believer in Vanilla No S that I am conflicted by a couple mods I have developed. In mid January, after 3 years of No S, I started to gain weight. I lost 45 lbs in year one and maintained the loss in years 2 and 3. Year 4 started okay but quickly deteriorated. Various life challenges...

r.jean

I have continued to use the fitness app to track my exercise and eating habits. I have done pretty well until this weekend. It has been crazy busy and eating out has been the norm. Nonetheless...no reds....just yellows....!!!

r.jean

I played around with the fitness app I have been using and found it has many useful charts. It is increasingly easy to use as well now that many of my usual foods are programmed in. I feel like I am back on track with No S, but this could be a useful tool to use while I try to lose the last of my we...

r.jean

I understand your experience. Thirty years ago I went to Weight Watchers after my first two children. I successfully lost my "baby" weight getting down to about 147. At the time, WW said I should weigh a max of 143 lbs at 5 ft 6 in. The only way that they would let you go through maintenance and bec...

r.jean

Taking stock of May: Getting back to Habit Cal helped. No S and exercise calendars look pretty good with only one red on each category. Alcohol calendar has 4 reds, but I keep changing how I govern alcohol usage. I was trying to restrict alcohol to two days a week this month. I am not worried about ...

r.jean

Going for no reds for Vanilla No S and exercise 1-Green x 2 2-Green x 2 3-Green x 2 4-Green x 2 5-No S Yellow; Exercise Green 6-Green x 2 7-Green x 2 8-Green x 2 9-No S Yellow; Exercise Green 10-Green x 2 11-Green x 2 12-Green x 2 13-Green x 2 14-No S Yellow; Exercise Green 15-No S Yellow; Exercise ...

r.jean

I agree automatedeating. It was tedious to get online every evening to do the habit cal so I also started marking it on my calendar. However, the different visuals provided by habit cal are unique and helpful, especially since my calendar is drab...not creative at all. So I still mark it in my calen...

r.jean

Doing okay. I started doing Habit Cal again. I am not sure why I quit, because it is a useful tool for me. No reds for exercise or No S, but I have two reds on my alcohol calendar.

r.jean

I have been doing well this month, but I fell apart on Sat and Sun. Technically this is okay. It is not a fail; however, I never feel good after wild S days. Today was okay though. I was hungry (or craving) a lot but stayed on track.

r.jean

Heather wrote: In my opinion my weekend eating patterns are mostly N-days with some treats thrown in; don't know whether you want to call that a mod. I am far from "perfection" but I tell myself then that "I cannot fail on S-days!" I could have written this myself. I start everyday the same way with...

r.jean

Congratulations!

r.jean

I was actually just thinking about you the other day as I wondered about some of the people who were regulars on the board when I started. It is great to hear that you are maintaing the No S habits and the weight! Keep it up!

r.jean

If my body was desperate for more food, the simplest and fastest way to deliver more energy was to devour all sweets in sight. ! I totally agree. I learned early on that if I feel deprived, I will cycle back and forth between eating too little and eating everything in sight. So, the key for each of...

r.jean

Woo Hoo!

r.jean

For what it is worth, I believe that my set point is different than it was before No S. I am strictly Vanilla No S. I have also increased my exercise and become much more consistent with daily exercise. I continue to be an indulgent eater but indulge less frequently than before. Also, I enjoy eating...

r.jean

Wow you are a tracking pro. I tracked my finances a lot more when I was younger, and we were raising three children. You will be happy you did this when you are comfortable in your retirement.

r.jean

You are so right automatedeating. My time came after 3 years of pretty smooth sailing with No S. My rough time was from August to January with numerous stressful life events. I actually did okay during those months. I kept up my exercise and ate okay. I do not know if it was the extremely cold and d...

r.jean

Still tracking and gradually doing better. I have a goal for May to not have any Red days in the three areas that I track. (Exercise, Alcohol and No S compliance) For exercise, the goal is simple: 30 mins of any type of exercise with one Yellow day weekly if needed. For alcohol. No alcohol 5 days a ...

r.jean

There is no magic. I was 54 when I found No S around Christmas 2010. I had 70 lbs. to lose to achieve a normal BMI. I was also very discouraged with how I let myself go. I started immediately even though I had doubts that it would work. I was very strict with the rules. I tried to add some healthier...

r.jean

I have been tracking in a notebook instead of online, but I try to check in and read posts on this site as often as possible. The tracking is pretty much like doing habit cal, but I have added some daily tasks in addition to food and exercise. This seems to be working at getting me back on track. I ...

r.jean

It is hard to figure out who to listen to! Good to hear you are doing better.

r.jean

So sorry to hear about the shoulder. It sounds a lot like my rotator cuff injury. Mine was caused by a fall, but I have also had similar but milder shoulder symptoms from exercise. And when I say milder, it still hurts a lot either way. Google rotator cuff tendonitis or tear and look at uptodate.com...

r.jean

Thank you for the positive comments! It has been a busy few weeks so I have not been on the computer much. I am continuing to slog along getting back on track with No S. I am staying away from the scale, but my clothes continue to be tight. Like Oolala, I am not giving up on No S which has worked we...

r.jean

Could there be a medical reason for the lack of appetite?

r.jean

I just read this after posting on my own daily thread. You may want to read it. As you know, I have also been struggling, but I am seeing some improvement now. Hang in there. Hopefully things will settle down for you soon!

r.jean

I fell Friday getting tangled up with a big rambunctious (and lovable) dog I was caring for and have a rotator cuff injury. I guess this type of injury takes awhile to heal. A few weeks ago, this would have totally derailed me; however, this time it did not. I had moderate S days on Saturday and Sun...

r.jean

I also favor the liquid snack if you need it. It still trains you to not eat between meals when you can only drink your snack. Milk or tomato juice are my choices, but you may need something more substantial.

r.jean

I missed this testimonial when you first posted it. I love how you have gained insight into your own particular situation. While all of our situations are different, there are some common threads, and it is helpful to hear how others have worked through this process. Congratulations!

r.jean

You do have to do what works for you! I just wanted to pose the question as something to think about.

I tried the Friday/Saturday thing for awhile and have tried other small mods now and then. I always end up back on Vanilla No S, but many others on this board are successful using mods.

r.jean

Thank you for the positive comments automated eating! It does help. I continued this week to see signs of progress and remembered to put habit first rather than weight. I somehow forgot that the No S plan got me to a sane if not perfect weight, and when I follow the rules,the weight takes care of it...

r.jean

I am posting my daily habits this month on a post from the beginning of the month but may change back to the habit cal in April. It is probably easier. I am still struggling with some reds and many barely compliant days, but I feel that my attitude is changing. I am exercising more and getting more ...

r.jean

"The Systems are your baseline. So never do less, but do sometimes more." Well said by German Herman. I really think this statement embodies the spirit of No S! Obviously I am catching up on posts because Herman's post is from almost a week ago, but it just really struck me. I have found that follow...

r.jean

"I realize one of my complications has been that I thought by now I would be living a little differently...." I completely understand this realization. I thought the same thing. In year one I made some big changes in exercise and eating habits. Some positive changes in other personal habits seemed t...

r.jean

I had two wild S days followed by a red over the top Monday. Today was better but loaded up my supper plate to the brim!

r.jean

Interesting. Thanks for posting it!

r.jean

I have always preferred the idea of adding a task rather than taking away a food item. I was raised as a Protestant, but I took classes and became Catholic after my marriage. The Catholic school our children went to encouraged them to add a daily task such as adding a devotion or doing an extra chor...

r.jean

Today I read an article about the benefit of a support network when trying to lose weight. It was really nothing new, but it served to remind me that I do better when I check into this site daily. The article talked about having to report your behaviors online to a group as a deterrent to straying f...

r.jean

My rough week turned into two rough months. I am doing better since the first of March and hope the same will happen for you!

r.jean

My goal is to just do better than last month. I am tracking on my daily check in but will summarize weekly progress here. Week one: 3 S days (one NWS day) and 4 green days Plates were full and food choices were not great; but that is okay. I am going for reestablishing habit right now. Exercise was ...

r.jean

Thanks for stopping by my thread. The fact that we are struggling after 3 years of No S just shows that it takes work to maintain good habits. There are a lot of things to blame... I think for me it was the sheer volume of life stresses over the last 7 months together with the worst winter in many y...

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