Everyday Systems

My husband had surgery yesterday and will be in the hospital for up to 10 days so most of my meals will be eaten away from home. At first I was like OH no....I'm thinking. Then I thought, okay this will give me the opportunity to stick to my 3 squares and to experiment with foods other than my normal healthy fare.

I know most of you might think worry about your husband, trust me my focus is on my husband, just wanted to share how my diet mentality can plague me any where, or at any time

Yesterday I had a bagel and yogurt from Tim Horton's (which I would never had eaten both for breakfast), very freeing, lunch I had a few fries and 1/2 of a chicken finger wrap, no way I thought, guilt free.., dinner I had a Tim's chili and roll, with some cherries for dinner.

It really felt good not to grab for the salads because I'm suppose to eat that, or no way, too much fat in Tim's chili.

I'm loving the freedom of choice without the guilt...counts as a green day, now how cool is that.

I hope to eat healthier sooner rather than later, but for now I'm living life, isn't that what No S is all about. Guilt free eating..

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When you are dealing with a crisis, the last thing you need on your emotional plate is guilt and anxiety over whether or not your food is good enough. Our community is experiencing flooding and for about two weeks it was all hands on deck to get everything sandbagged. My eating was not the best those weeks - I even ate a burger and fries. But the world did not come to end and I did not keel over dead. In fact, I even lost 2 lbs but I attribute that to the hours and hours of sandbagging.

Great job. It's good to see No S doesn't add to a already stressful situation.

First, my best wishes to your husband for his recovery. And please do take care of yourself during this stressful time. (It's that "oxygen mask" analogy...)

Second, glad to hear that No-S is reducing stress rather than adding to it. I had a similar experience when my mom was in the hospital for an extended time. I ate as well as I could under the circumstances, and let it go. (And actually, the fact that I didn't turn to the vendo's and try to comfort myself with food probably helped me cope much better than I would have otherwise.)

Again, hope recovery is quick and all is well in your world.

Hi!

Just popping in first of all to wish your husband a speedy recovery and send my thoughts to you and yours at this time.

Also - many congratulations on your very successful No S Days! Isn't it great that us no S-ers can eat ANYWHERE stress-free? As long as we stick to our basic rules, no food is off limits! Good going, hon!

PS: Sorry I don't post very often on the No S Board but that doesn't mean I have forgotten you all. Some days I just like to lurk and read over others' posts and get all my inspiration and helpful advice! In fact, this message goes out to all No S-ers incase they think I'm overlooking them etc. I read everyone's posts and think ALL of you guys are awesome!! THANK YOU ALL!!

Hoping that your husband is well on the road to recovery... and so glad you discovered NoS! as you can see from these posts, many of us have found Nos helpful in times of stress. Be gentle and kind to yourself as you add the job of nurse to the list of duties you already have. The less stressed you are, the more energy you can give to other things! Best wishes!

First thanks to everyone for the well wishes for my husband and me. This is day 3 of his recovery and he is in a lot of pain. We found the epideral did not work and the pain meds they were giving him were not enough..he had the worst night of his life the day of surgery. They finally figured it out after he kept asking for more pain medication.

And you are all right, one little less stress to worry puts my focus where it is needed most...my poor husband.

Life sure has it way about it.....

Thanks again everyone....

I am so sorry that you are both having such a hard time, and hope that things get easier soon.

I wish you both the best of luck!

When I read your post, debrabuf, the first thought that popped into my head was, "Why is she eating out? That's so expensive! She could just bring her own food from home." I'm from Germany, and something I still don't get about US culture is them eating out all the time. To us, eating at a restaurant is something really special, like when it's someone's birthday or summer break starts etc. I've heard of people who get their dinner from restaurants four days a week although they're perfectly capable of making their own food.
Not trying to critisize you - just a suggestion: Why don't you have breakfast at home, pack a sandwich and some fruit and maybe nuts for lunch and then a bento (that's a compact, balanced, visually appealing meal packed in a box, see http://lunchinabox.net/) for dinner. You wouldn't have spent a cent and you'd get to eat what you want and it'd probably be healthier, too. But if you don't want to add the stress of preparing food every morning, that's fine, too. It's up to you

Hope things will start improving for your husband, best wishes to both of you!

I didn't realize you guys had Tim Hortons down in New York, it's kind of a Canadian staple! As far as lunches and dinners go, Tim's actually isn't a bad place to eat as far as fast food goes. The soup and sandwiches are reasonable portions, and the chili is good. The doughnuts are pretty terrible, but the breakfast sandwiches and parfaits are okay.. and the coffee rocks!

Oh ya, Timmy's has been around quite a few years now, well at least 10+ I believe. Of course I'm sure someone went to Canada and loved it so much brought the idea back here!

When I used to smoke I went everyday, but since I quit smoking I don't go as often.

Yes, I recently discovered their breakfast sandwich....very good...

Anoulie wrote:I wish you both the best of luck!

When I read your post, debrabuf, the first thought that popped into my head was, "Why is she eating out? That's so expensive! She could just bring her own food from home." I'm from Germany, and something I still don't get about US culture is them eating out all the time. To us, eating at a restaurant is something really special, like when it's someone's birthday or summer break starts etc. I've heard of people who get their dinner from restaurants four days a week although they're perfectly capable of making their own food.

I'm British but have American in-laws and family so have visited the US a lot. I know what you mean but I think the key difference between the US and Europe is that it is INSANELY cheap to eat out in the US. Where I work (central London), if you want a takeaway lunch with a drink, it's virtually impossible to pay less than £5 - that's $7.50 - and you'd be lucky to find something that cheap. When I visited NYC recently, I got a really nice takeaway with a mix of middle eastern mezze and salads for $3. I can totally understand why Americans eat out so much at those prices.