Everyday Systems

Posted: **Thu May 01, 2008 3:47 pm**

...start of month two.

I lost 4 pounds the first month. Of course, I wanted it to be 5, but that's way better than 0. My clothes are fitting better and I'm starting to see muscle definition again (realistic muscle definition for a 53 year old nonathlete).

My arthritis was in great shape until today.

I did not binge once. I never tended to snack, so that was not a problem. Seconds are always a problem for a binge-er, but I never had a problem with them either. There is a WHOLE pecan pie and half a pint of pecan praline ice cream left in the freezer and I haven't craved either of them once. I no longer eat in the evenings after I get home.

I would like to reach my goal, which the software says I should be able to do, of 100 pounds by 19 June, when I go on vacation, but I'm not going to cry if I don't.

My coffee limiting habit (I can't give it up; cystitis or no cystitis, I just can't) is on target.

Even my anger toward my mother-in-law has calmed down considerably since I figured out that I could approach her as a hallucination or a bad dream.

THANK YOU REINHARD.
THANK YOU REINHARD.
THANK YOU REINHARD.

Three very large deep bows,

f

Posted: **Thu May 01, 2008 3:53 pm**

fkwan wrote:There is a WHOLE pecan pie and half a pint of pecan praline ice cream left in the freezer and I haven't craved either of them once. I no longer eat in the evenings after I get home.

Someone likes pecans! Same here about the sweets, by the way. I have a 1/2 pint and Ben & Jerry's in the fridge and while I'm looking forward to it, I'm not really craving it.

But congratulations and I'm so glad that you're feeling well!

Posted: **Thu May 01, 2008 4:08 pm**

Someone likes pecans! Same here about the sweets, by the way. I have a 1/2 pint and Ben & Jerry's in the fridge and while I'm looking forward to it, I'm not really craving it.

Someone likes sugar.

It's more the brown sugar/caramel praline flavor than the pecans. There's also a whole large Dijon mustard sized jar of pecan praline sauce in the fridge.

f

Posted: **Thu May 01, 2008 4:10 pm**

fkwan wrote:
Someone likes pecans! Same here about the sweets, by the way. I have a 1/2 pint and Ben & Jerry's in the fridge and while I'm looking forward to it, I'm not really craving it.
Someone likes sugar. It's more the brown sugar/caramel praline flavor than the pecans. There's also a whole large Dijon mustard sized jar of pecan praline sauce in the fridge.

f

MMMMMMMMM. I eat so much chocolate for my sweets, I forget about the finer things like what you just described. Thank god it's Thursday!

Posted: **Thu May 01, 2008 4:16 pm**

fkwan,

sounds like you have had a great month!!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS!

and interesting threads you have started the past few days!

Yay You!

the not binging thing is the real deal!

Blueskighs

Posted: **Thu May 01, 2008 7:58 pm**

Congratulations!

You are very welcome -- nothing gives me more pleasure (not even a good amazon sales rank

) than to see people succeeding on No-s.

4 pounds in a month is actually exactly in line with the "half a pound a week"
that Brian Wansink advises people to expect for sustainable weight loss.

Reinhard

Posted: **Thu May 01, 2008 9:18 pm**

Thanks Reinhard!

Trust me, this will be sustainable. I never ever want to go down into the pit of hell again.

I er, even dared to mention this on the McDougall board. They have a ton of binge-ers there. (I can't type "bingers". Reminds me of bangers and mash, even though I am (a) not a Brit and (b) can't eat 'em even if I were.

)

f

Posted: **Thu May 01, 2008 11:23 pm**

fkwan wrote:
I er, even dared to mention this on the McDougall board. They have a ton of binge-ers there.

f

I am surprised about this! I get his newsletter, though I've not done his diet. I thought his diet was all about health (though I think he has other motives also for promoting veganism), so I wonder why there are so many "binge-ers"!

Posted: **Fri May 02, 2008 12:41 am**

Jesseco wrote: I am surprised about this! I get his newsletter, though I've not done his diet. I thought his diet was all about health (though I think he has other motives also for promoting veganism), so I wonder why there are so many "binge-ers"!

Bingeing has nothing to do with the food, it's all about addiction and stress. You can binge on potatoes, or corn tortillas, or dates, or other lovely calorie-dense low fat foods.

Also, because it's low fat, it's hard to stay on that part of it forever, and folks binge because of that.

He seems to be a good guy and the diet is overall terrific, except much too low in fat to sustain over long periods, but it does work. They need to merge all those people into one diet: McDougall, Fuhrmann and Ornish (low fat high starch; low fat low starch; medium fat almost vegan).

I do vegan moderate starch moderate fat.

f

Posted: **Fri May 02, 2008 1:30 am**

Jesseco wrote:I am surprised about this! I get his newsletter, though I've not done his diet. I thought his diet was all about health (though I think he has other motives also for promoting veganism), so I wonder why there are so many "binge-ers"!

Why do you think he has other motives for promoting veganism? Of all the docs promoting a vegan diet for health, I've always thought that he was one of the few whose viewpoint was based entirely on health and not at all on other agendas. I don't think he practices veganism in other areas of his life -- just diet.

There's a theory in the medical community that those who binge and/or have other disordered eating patterns gravitate to vegetarianism/veganism because it could "mask" the disorder.

Posted: **Fri May 02, 2008 10:46 am**

wosnes wrote:
Why do you think he has other motives for promoting veganism? Of all the docs promoting a vegan diet for health, I've always thought that he was one of the few whose viewpoint was based entirely on health and not at all on other agendas. I don't think he practices veganism in other areas of his life -- just diet.

There's a theory in the medical community that those who binge and/or have other disordered eating patterns gravitate to vegetarianism/veganism because it could "mask" the disorder.

I just had impressions from things he wrote that his veganism also came out of concerns for animals. I could be wrong about that. Now I'll have to look at his writings again to see why I thought that!

My sister is a vegan, not for health reasons at all, but for animal rights. I've seen some vegan "junk" food that surprised me, because it was pretty much junk!

I didn't know veganism could mask disordered eating. I do know that one can binge on just about anything, but it does seem to me that most people who binge concentrate more on the sweet/fat combination.

Posted: **Fri May 02, 2008 11:57 am**

Jesseco wrote:I've seen some vegan "junk" food that surprised me, because it was pretty much junk!

I didn't know veganism could mask disordered eating.

It's about as easy to be a junk food vegan as it is to be a junk food omnivore.

fkwan wrote:Bingeing has nothing to do with the food, it's all about addiction and stress. You can binge on potatoes, or corn tortillas, or dates, or other lovely calorie-dense low fat foods.

I agree. Some of the people who follow McDougall (and other vegan plans) eat HUGE quantities of food, especially the grains and starches. Actually, it's encouraged by Dr. McDougall and many of the followers of the program. "Eat as much as you want as often as you want" -- as long as you eat the "right foods." Binge-ing on sweets/fats is a lot more obvious than binge-ing on rice or corn or potatoes. A whole foods binge looks "healthy." But it's still a binge.

In describing No-S

Reinhard wrote:Pseudoscientific forbidden foods diets that pretend that you can go on being a glutton as long as you confine your gluttony to a particular class of foods while completely excluding others (no agreement on what these particular kinds of foods are, of course).

On the vegan programs it's easy or easier to be a glutton (and lose weight and regain your health) because the food eaten is far less calorie dense. It works for a lot of people. It also doesn't work for a good number of folks. Only one of those programs that I'm aware of encourages "no snacking."

I think Dr. McDougall is very knowledgeable when it comes to diet and nutrition, but I don't agree with a lot of his conclusions or recommendations. I don't think there's a thing wrong with a vegan diet if that's how one chooses to eat, but I also don't think it's the only healthy way to eat. I also disagree with the professionals who say that vegans must be very careful about their food choices so they get enough protein. If a vegan -- or anyone -- is eating a variety of whole foods in reasonable quantities, they'll get more than enough protein. Protein deficiency is never a problem for people eating sufficient quantity of a variety of whole foods.

Most protein deficiencies are seen in people who just aren't eating enough food for whatever reason, not those who aren't eating enough "high quality protein" (animal products).

Posted: **Fri May 02, 2008 2:32 pm**

My coffee limiting habit (I can't give it up; cystitis or no cystitis, I just can't) is on target.

Well done you for a successful month!

I have been plagued by this problem for years too (in my case, interstitial cystitis aka doctors can't find a cause of the pain/inflammation so give it a fancy name LOL), but I have found that coffee doesn't aggravate it, in fact moderate coffee seems to be helpful as long as the coffee consumption is in addition to plenty of water. I thought caffeine in general was something that aggravated my cystitis issues, but I did an experiment and gave up all forms of black and green teas, but continued drinking coffee, and I've been almost 100% free of cystitis issues

I get a return of symtpoms if I have tea, and especially if I have too many sugary foods. Though of course what works for me may not be universal. But I'd say if the coffee isn't an obvious cause of problems for you, don't beat yourself up about having it, as it does have health benefits too

p.s. I tried quitting coffee completely in the past, but have had more success just sticking to a "glass ceiling" of 2 day, but sometimes I allow a third

I also have a rule that it has to be good quality, freshly made coffee, if I'm going to use my "allowance" it has to be worth it!

Posted: **Fri May 02, 2008 3:11 pm**

bonnieUK wrote:
p.s. I tried quitting coffee completely in the past, but have had more success just sticking to a "glass ceiling" of 2 day, but sometimes I allow a third I also have a rule that it has to be good quality, freshly made coffee, if I'm going to use my "allowance" it has to be worth it!
Bonnie,

My glass ceiling is 3 cups, and I make all three of them.

f

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