Everyday Systems

So = I get the No Snacks, that's easy. And the No Seconds - check. The No Sugar - is that only choosing sweets or all foods with sugar in them? For instance... for breakfast - cheerios? Bran flakes? Oatmeal? All are ok as long as they're eaten without sprinkling sugar on them? (Is there a number to watch for on labels or do I just stay away from candie, cookies and cakes??) Thanks for the clarification!

It's no sweets, so if it tastes sweet to your tongue, you probably should skip it. Sugar in your coffee, etc. is ok as long as it's not heaps.

noswett wrote: (Is there a number to watch for on labels or do I just stay away from candie, cookies and cakes??)

Yup, candy, cookies, cakes -- anything that would be a dessert or sweet snack.

The grownup cereals you mentioned would be fine eaten as they traditionally are, with a spoonful of sugar or two. Ex-DH used to demand about a half cup of brown sugar on oatmeal; I'd say that's pushing it.

Also, sugary kids' cereals that you'd eat straight from the box in place of say, caramel corn -- pretty much an s food.

It's easy -- if you consider it a dessert or a sweet treat -- it's a sweet, so avoid it except on S days. You can use sugar in your coffee or tea or on your cereal. You can use foods with sugar in them -- like jams or jellies.

Sounds like all the other posters have pretty much got it covered

Blueskighs

I still enjoy cereals like Honey-Nut Cheerios, and Frosted Flakes, and Frosted Mini-Wheats... because to me, they're not "sweets". They're not "problem foods" for me, either.

But, i save the FiberOne bars for the weekends, because they're SO YUMMY (the peanut-butter ones are like eating a Reese PB-cup chocolate bar treat!), and I would eat them just as a "snack"... But, on the weekends, "S Days", they are "breakfast" for me.

I've decided to allow the fake, instant coffee (French Vanilla) during the week, 'cause it's my "coffee". Though, at first I wondered if I should because it's awfully "sweet"... BUT, I don't have more than the morning cup of it, so it's not a "problem" for me.

So, I guess my personal "rule" is that, if it tastes sweet, but isn't usually labelled a "dessert" food (like instant coffee, or FiberOne breakfast bars), it's really a matter --for me-- of whether I'd snack on it (if it's a "problem food") throughout the day. If I can't control myself with it, then it has to be relegated to "S Days" only.

Of course, the *obvious* sweets (cakes, cookies, ice cream, popcorn, etc) are all allowed only on S days.

The rule isn't actually "no sugar," -- it's "no sweets."

Sweets are foods that have enough sugar in them to actually taste very sweet. A good rule of thumb is, "is it sweet enough to be dessert?" If so, skip it. If not, don't worry. You don't have to read labels or drive waiters crazy.

People will draw the "sweet" line in slightly different places. Be careful of obsessing to much about this. The really obvious stuff, about which there can really be no disagreement (ice cream, cookies, candy bars, sugar-soda) are most of the problem. You'll get much more bang for your willpower buck by focusing on these.

Reinhard