Everyday Systems

It was nice to have an S day after a 7-day stretch of work, and a 5k run this morning! I had a bar of hazelnut chocolate after my run (eaten on the bus journey home) - the cool thing was that the high nut content meant that the protein:carb ratio was 1:5 which was within the standard I've adopted for snack/packaged foods.

I had a few shortbread cookies with a cup of tea this afternoon - they were really nice too.

Hooray for S days!

This was where I was at the end of March 2016

RAWCOOKIE wrote: I've been following the No S diet for about 10 months now: this has regulated my weight (reducing it very slowly) and my appetite.

What I am finding now is that when, at the weekend, I introduce baked goods, sweets, chocolate, cookies into my day - then my system gets clogged up, I don't have an appetite for my 'proper' meals, and I begin to crave more junk (sugar, salt, baked carbs). I also find my weight can go up 3-4lbs over the weekend, that I then lose again by about Wednesday back on the normal eating plan.

I am starting to feel that I don't want to feel so out of kilter at the weekend.

So the bar and cookies felt good, no clogging? Neato torpedo!

Rawcookie- love seeing the progression with S daysand your continued success!

Sounds lovely! Gratz on the 5K run !

Congrats on the run!

Monday SUCCESS

I nearly failed (slightly) on Monday - someone gave me a heart-shaped shortbread biscuit at about 8pm. It was so cute - so emotionally-loaded! I took one small nibble of it - it was not good at all - I threw it away! Phew!

Tuesday FAILURE

I didn't eat much today, but I chose to eat some things I hadn't planned, and at the wrong time! It feels more like an orange than a red

I love the orange! There is a difference isn't there. I had about a 1/4 cup of tiny semi sweet chocolate chips today and that was the red. Now that is just not the same as a big piece of chocolate cake! But we know the difference and the key is not to say WTH and drive off the cliff.

I think some people even have a habitcal strictly for WTH.

You are so right TexArt - we know the difference!

oolala53 wrote:I think some people even have a habitcal strictly for WTH.

I like this idea!!!

Wednesday A REAL FAIL!

I think this has been brewing since Monday - the resistance was less yesterday, and today it gave way completely!

This was evening meal redness - I had seconds, then I had frozen yoghurt, then I had some oatmeal cookies with my coffee. I'm so excited because I am going to go and see my new (first) grandchild next week - so excited it led to me celebrating by eating! Oh well! It won't be happening very often! I think maybe it was a special occasion

I still often get a little surge of desire to eat when I feel light-hearted. Food used to "puncuate" the day all day.


Sounds like you might want to use a NWS day next week
Get ready, Grandma!

oh, congratulations, rawcookie!
everyone tells me (and i notice) that to become a grandma is sooo amazing! can't wait (or at least i hope to become one eventually)...
enjoy the little one!!

Congrats and enjoy the new little one!

RAWCOOKIE wrote:I'm so excited because I am going to go and see my new (first) grandchild next week...

Oh, that's great, Gill!!! Hearty CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!

Thank you for the good wishes everyone - it has surprised me to feel so very emotional about having a grandchild - I'm sure I shall cry when I see him!

oolala53 wrote:I still often get a little surge of desire to eat when I feel light-hearted. Food used to "puncuate" the day all day.
Sounds like you might want to use a NWS day next week
Get ready, Grandma!

Thanks for sharing that oolala53 - I hadn't thought about having a NWS day next week - but that's a good idea!

I managed to get back on-track today Thursday SUCCESS

Friday SUCCESS

and looking forward to SATURDAY!! Cheese on toast for breakfast - for starters! Eating more calorific foods are part of my S-day treats. I haven't got any 'sweet' things lined up - perhaps I'll make some sort of cookie.

I had a carboholic weekend and it's nice to get back to normality!

I am currently relishing my plain oatmeal - with dates and walnuts.

Congratulations on your grandchild! I remember my first one, 13 years ago. I was very happy for my daughter, but unlike many new potential grannies, I was hardly talking about it, and some friends would say to me, "Aren't you excited?!" "Yes, but remember, I still have a three year old hanging on my leg." I do now understand the excitement of a new grandchild when all your own children are grown, though!

Monday SUCCESS

Yay success!

Tuesday I was visiting my son & daughter-in-law, and I basically ate three meals, except for three cookies I ate before dinner (because I had to wait until 8.30m to eat and I did get too hungry!) I decided to call it a NWS day.

Wednesday started well, with just breakfast and lunch. But when I was travelling on the train home I ate one lot of food at 5pm, then when I got home at 8pm, I 'needed' more to eat - so I had some oatcakes with Marmite on, then some nuts. It's quite a small FAIL but the evening eating could have been avoided.

RAWCOOKIE wrote:Wednesday started well, with just breakfast and lunch. But when I was travelling on the train home I ate one lot of food at 5pm, then when I got home at 8pm, I 'needed' more to eat - so I had some oatcakes with Marmite on, then some nuts. It's quite a small FAIL but the evening eating could have been avoided.

A little bit of a wobble with such a huge life change is understandable. You may not be around your grandson all the time, but your identity in the world has changed in a significant way and you have a relationship with this new little person who is closely related to you. I think a little food confusion is in order!

You are so kind, Sonja! It's true, it IS a big life-change for me.

Thursday SUCCESS

I ate well today - I'm not at work, so I cooked myself a veg & Quorn curry at lunch-time, with a mini-naan bread. Then I baked some chickpea/corn/sweet potato burgers for dinner, with a big serving of salad, then some grapes + coconut cream & vanilla. I've finished the eating off with a decaff coffee.

I will say, though, that I've been aware of food all day! I went to the Farmer's Market to get my salad, and I bought a walnut & horseradish scone (for lunch tomorrow with some soup), and I also bought two Hot Cross Buns, which are in the bread bin for Saturday & Sunday breakfasts.

Oh lor' looks like today will be another NSW day - my good friend has invited me to join her and her family this afternoon for a 'Prosecco Cream Tea' as it's her birthday.

I've just made more 'treats' for the weekend (both are in the freezer now) - oh, roll on Saturday!

Two medjool dates cut in half, each half filled with some marzipan, an almond, then covered in a coconut oil, vanilla and cocoa 'chocolate'.

'Ice cream' made with frozen banana, coconut cream, frozen berries - all whizzed together to make a really pretty dessert.

Easter proved to be more difficult for me than I had anticipated last year (I checked back!) it is more of a four-day feast than Xmas in some ways! Maybe it's because of being kind of the start of Spring too - and people being out in the street eating and stuff? I don't know. There's a holiday atmosphere. I've got more blushing red faces on my habitcal than I'd like - even though they are not BIG reds, they still feel a bit, well, red!

My weight is OK, so I don't have to panic about it, but, well, any kind of accountability system like HabitCal really makes the deviations show up!

RAWCOOKIE wrote:Easter proved to be more difficult for me than I had anticipated last year (I checked back!) it is more of a four-day feast than Xmas in some ways! Maybe it's because of being kind of the start of Spring too - and people being out in the street eating and stuff? I don't know. There's a holiday atmosphere.

That's a good analysis. Maybe you can plan for it next year, as a 4 day Spring "feast". That certainly seems OK and even a good thing! As you point out, it doesn't have to be a free-for-all, but just some special days' flexibility!

Monday SUCCESS

Back to normality - hooray!

Tuesday SUCCESS

1st day back at work - 10 hr shift, 1 hr travel in each direction - and I stayed on habit! Phew!

Wednesday and Thursday SUCCESS

Friday SUCCESS

A green week! Hooray! It's been a while since I had a solid, No S week!

An interesting S day for me - I had breakfast, lunch, dinner. After dinner I had a jelly with coconut cream, then 2 oatcakes with some cheese and pickle, then about 30g plain tortilla chips, and about 1TB salted peanuts.

Was was interesting was that I went all day without having any snacks, sweets or seconds (oh, I tell a lie - I had two dates stuffed with marzipan at lunch time).

Usually Saturday is my EATING day - if I want cookies, chocolate, cake, chips - that kind of thing, then Saturday is usually the day. This week I didn't feel the need for anything during the day.

Maybe food is starting to become a little less 'novel' for me. I don't know.

Monday SUCCESS

Tuesday FAILURE

Wednesday FAILURE

I had breakfast at 5.30am, and by 10.30am (mid-morning at work) I was hungry, I ate two chocolates, and then decided to eat a bit of my lunch - an apple and some cheese.

Thursday SUCCESS

I pulled it back today - breakfast at 9am (at work), lunch at 2pm (at work), dinner at 7pm.
Phew! Shift work really messes up meal-time regularity.

Friday SUCCESS

The end of another month - just the Sweekend to go!

I had a few tricky days this month and am now experimenting with a new way of timing my meals. I work irregular shifts which really messes up mealtimes. I've decided to determine what time my evening meal will be, then making lunch 5 hrs before that, and breakfast 5 hrs before that.

This means that some days I will have breakfast at 10am, lunch at 2pm, dinner at 7pm. This also means that I will be getting about 14hrs overnight 'fasting' period. I'm hoping I will train my brain to expect food every 5 hrs once I break my fast.

I've only done this for two days so far, but will keep going and see how successful it is. I've also found benefits in keeping my evening meal free from grains and potatoes.

It's almost 2 years since I began No S. It has become a way of life for me and I can't see that changing.

I have decided to stop visiting this forum daily, but to track my daily success and failure on the No S team on Spark People, where I hang out most.

I'll come back from time-to-time and post an update. Perhaps monthly.

oh, congrats on 2 years!
and i will miss you here rawcookie!
but i understand the need to manage the time and focus spent on internet!
tons of hugs from this side of the screen!

Just stopping by to let you know that I'm still going strong. My S days have become so much more moderate than they used to be. Yesterday I had one ice-lolly outside of my three meals (and even that was after my lunch), and a few peanuts in the evening. So one sweet, one snack.

I find I can stick to my three meals very nicely when I'm in my own environment - just recently I went to visit family for a couple of days - and quickly got out-of-synch and a bit chaotic as my meal times were not regulated by me. I often think it's much easier for me because I live alone - I don't have other people's eating to attract me!

Good to hear from you! I don't live alone but I find the same thing--it's easier to be in a routine at home than when I'm visiting others. Still, that's not so bad, as we can get back to routine when we're back home. Anyway, glad to hear you are still going strong.

Did anything in particular contribute to your S days becoming more moderate? That's somewhere I'd like to get eventually, LOL!

Yeah, visiting can be a bear, but you're doing great Gill!
How's that grandson doing?

Merry, I think the S day foods just stopped being such a big crave - the N days rubbed off on me. I can still eat (like today) a whole bar of chocolate or a packet of cookies - but I'm not looking forward to them all week like I used to. Also, if I eat chocolate or cookies now, it's instead of a meal, not as well as a meal.

Sonja - the grandson is coming along fine - he's 12 weeks' old now (seems longer!) and starting to take notice of everything, try to turn himself over, lift his head ready for crawling, copy sounds etc. All is well.

Just checking in!

I'm still going strong with NoS - my weight is around 113lbs and I'm really happy with that. I discovered Darebee.com for fitness, which suits me better than shovelglove - and that's been working really well for me too.

My S days no longer show up like a party every weekend - and the chocolate and crisps are now occasional, not regular. I gave up sugar completely for the whole of October, and have re-introduced sweetness using Sweet Freedom (fruit syrup), coconut sugar, lucuma, and dates. It feels much better.

I've enjoyed planning my Xmas menu this year, with sugar-free foods, and not thinking in terms of packing in as many treats as I can. Maybe this year will be the year when the mountain of chocolates and mince-pies in my work and social environment will not derail me!

Congrats on your continued success!

Thanks for your support.

I'm amazed at how much I've changed since adopting this lifestyle. The reduction in consumption of sugar and junk foods has been a gradual process, but now it's settled at a low point. I'm still susceptible to sugar in cakes, sweets, biscuits etc, but I'm now much better at either not even starting, or in actually binning them! I know that not eating sugar etc is not the essential point of No S, but the secondary effect, which Reinhard talks about when encouraging us to focus on 'building the habit' has indeed manifested.

I'm making a cake for Xmas - it's a vegan poppyseed cake, using millet and oats for the flour, and dates and applesauce for the sweetener - I'm really looking forward to it!

Yum, Merry Christmas Rawcookie!

Glad to hear your updates and fantastic that you are doing so well.

I had six RED days in January - all minor transgressions, but RED all the same.

February has started much the same - with small snacks creeping in - all for 'good reasons' each time!

I don't know why this is happening. I must be consciously giving myself permission to eat between meals.............. part of this is me thinking that I'm an OK weight, that I'm not over-eating calorie-wise, so it doesn't matter.

1st Feb - I ate a little portion of trail mix at 11.30am at work - I'd packed it as part of my lunch. Why? I think it was boredom and stress at work.

3rd Feb - at work, 6pm - after a 10hr shift, I found I had to stay an extra hour due to staff shortages - I ate 4 rice cakes with peanut butter (supplies from the staff cupboard). This ended up being 'half a meal' aka 'snack'!

6th Feb - training session at work, with a table spread with cookies, I chose to eat a small bag of lentil chips at mid-morning break. This was damage-limitation.

7th Feb - dark chocolate late afternoon - I'm home, it's dark, cold, I bought the chocolate for the weekend.........silly me!

I think I'm going to start using the Habitcal again. I've been doing this for over 2.5yrs now and have maintained a good weight - I really don't want my habit to slip away!

I hope that one day I am where you are now, maintaining but aware of what needs to be done to nip bad habits in the bud. My reading of the posts here has convinced me that maintenance often requires ongoing vigilance.

Hi, Gil! You know I've had bumps along the way.

Ladybird, I believe it takes a little bit of luck to have the habits completely do all the work in this food-rich environment. People in slim cultures make some efforts, too.

I've also read from some long-timers that they are actually compliant only 85-95% over the course of a year. They still think of themselves as No S-ers.

But it does feel better when I'm not spending any time deciding if something is worth eating out of whack. I always am glad when I don't.

ladybird30 wrote:. My reading of the posts here has convinced me that maintenance often requires ongoing vigilance.

it sure does!

Thanks for your support, Oohlala! I am confident I will always be a No S-er.

One thing I know now - I don't ruin the rest of the day if I slip on loose rules! In fact, without even thinking about it, it usually gets balanced out by the next meal.

Today I had to go to the dentist - had toothache for a week - and this meant a 2hr bus ride each way. After the dentist, I had a coffee from my flask and a Nakd bar at about 1pm. I hadn't anticipated being able to eat much, so took the Nakd bar with me. It was part of my lunch plan - the rest of which I was able to eat when I got home.

In terms of 'when' I ate - this was a fail - but it doesn't feel like a fail: I've counted it as a sick day (yellow).

It's two hours to see the dentist? Do you live in Portwenn?

That makes me want one of the few meal bars I have stashed away...

Keep up the good work! Your blips are minor.

You are right, my blips are minimal.

I had a minimal blip today too - I was working; taking a woman I support out to town - we had a coffee in Costa, she had a cake, and I picked up a small packet with two tiny gluten-free, vegan cookies (24g total). That was all.

Yesterday was more of a blip - I got lazy and just picked up a pizza on my way home from work, I had half of it - then went back and ate the other half. It should have fed two people!

I think this time of year is harder (for me anyway).

Because it’s winter? I hope things feel like they ease up soon.

Yes, winter = a need for comfort, more time spent indoors, cold, dark, gloomy.........

Today was OK, even though I was at work, and even though it was Valentine's Day.

We could have been each other's Valentine!

It's almost embarrassing to say that it's been only a few years since I didn't cave and eat a LOT of chocolate on V day, or the day after with all the sales. And I still feel a tug for it. But the neural net is finally strong enough to save me. I wonder if it will never sound good to me? Will I have to give up stevia to get there? It's okay. I'll live with a little longing.

Very interesting thing happened to me this year. Firstly this was the first Valentine's Day when I didn't feel sad or left out - it really didn't matter. I needed no special presents, or cards to myself, or chocolate hearts.

The next morning, someone asked me out on a date! I'm meeting him for coffee on Sunday.

My body has dropped a couple of pounds too - it really feels quite a dramatic effect! Perhaps I am shedding layers of 'protection' I was holding on to - who knows! I've been eating just the same!

Hurrah! That’s great news, Rawcookie! Hope the date goes well!😃

I think this was my first year absolutely not planning a raid on the day-after discount chocolates. I haven[t done oit for a few years, but I think I fantasized about it. I didn't feel much about it romantically, either. But no date! And just about all my relationships happened when I was at higher weights. That's actually good news for you: there must be a vibe he's responding to, though I'm sure he likes what sees. I doubt very much men notice a few pounds up or down. Their radar is tuned to more general attributes, though different ones when they're older. At least the evolved ones. They like companionship, too. Sure, there'll always going to be the ones still ruled by the sex urge. I bet it's a rare man that has that actually pay off.

I've seen more than one report that men think women are attractive a few sizes bigger than women do. (Fallon and Rozin in 1985, verified by Peter Prevos in 2005, though he found women idealized and even thinner shape.) Many studies have show a strong correlation between body dissatisfaction and lowered self-esteem. Women are often unconsciously dieting and dressing to be admired by other women. I suspect this is because nearly all women in any one woman's sphere can compliment her weight or attractiveness, while males cannot.

Boy, I've been at this too long.

Thanks Octavia - the date went really well.

Interestingly, Oohlala, it turns out we both have about the same BMI (around 20) but it was eye-to-eye connection that brought us together. He's a bus-driver, and had only ever seen me bundled in my winter coat and wooly hat, with a rucksack on my back. So whatever the 'radar' is - it's certainly very sensitive.

He sounds lovely! 😊

Oh, what fun! Enjoy every second 😄

Sweet, on more than one level!

Thanks, sweet friends.

our next date is tomorrow.

Three green days in a row this week so far. All set for two more.

Another green day

Another sweet date we went for a walk, had a coffee, no food involved - love it!

Oh my goodness, I'm 2yrs 9months into this system and cannot believe how much I have changed.

My Sweekends are no longer an opportunity to eat sweets and stuff (although I still can if I want to). I've more or less dropped sugar generally. I occasionally indulge in a package of crisps (potato chips), but not often.

I'm more of less eating three meals at the weekend - probably a bit heavier than N days, and you know one of the 'freedoms' of an S day I enjoy most? I enjoy being a bit messy with my food prep and licking my fingers and the spoons!


Today I made myself a little batch of cookies for afternoon tea - literally 1/4 cup flour, margarine, coconut sugar, ginger, ground rice. Totally worth it. And totally worth the effort of making the small amount.

I'm going to visit my son and his family for four days this week - I am going to do my best to stick to No S.

I'm also eating 'earlier, lighter dinner' which is a challenge on an Ayurvedic website. It's working well for me. I'm almost progressing to having just a soup or similar for my evening meal. And eating a bit more at lunch.

Continued kudos!

BTW, the marketed offerings at the bottom of you page today include two packaged meals that both included meat. They often include items related to something I searched for in the last few days. I have no idea where those came from! I'm amazed to think they make enough sales off that tactic that they keep doing it.

I managed to stick to three meals a day pretty well whilst visiting family - but boy, oh boy, did I suffer from the drop in quality of the nutrition I was getting! I stayed off sugar which was good. Said no to all the desserts and cakes.

I have been sick for the past 24hrs or so - since I got home - think it was something I ate. It was amazing to see the number on the scale this morning - 108!!! I know it's just fluid, but it was still amazing!

Boyfriend thing going strong........ he doesn't eat much, and only if he's hungry. Helpful. I still need my three meals a day, most days, sometimes only two.

It's the weekend, and I'm frankly hoping my appetite is back so I can eat some nice food!

Boyfriend seems to have got cold feet and run away

But my weight is still down. I'm having a sick day today - got a cough, sore throat, lost my voice - hell, I just need a bit of nurturing! Not a lot - just a little extra foody things. I have some 100% BLACK chocolate for example.

I'm so jaded on boyfriends that I don't even think of them as boyfriends until after four months. A psychologist whose work I decided to agree with said that it takes about that length of time to shake out whether something was what he called infatuation or not. There's no shame in it on either side.

And a week without contact isn't necessarily a death knell, though it probably isn't worth figuring it out now. Time will tell.

At least you didn't eat over it!

I've been fighting the cold rumblings all week. Hope we both get well.

Sigh. This is the first 'date' I've had in several years - - - - I felt really excited and hopeful. I'm not 'looking' for anyone - but it was nice to be noticed.

As well as No S, I've recently started following seasonal recommendations for eating from www.lifespa.com (John Douillard - aryuvedic nutrition). My appetite has changed dramatically. This weekend, I can't even bring myself to buy any crap to binge on! Where is the girl who liked cookies, shortbread, ice-cream, sweets? Well, it's all good! My weight is down - and I'm liking not feeling so drawn to food. I'm not going to count my chickens before they're hatches, so to speak, but I'm hoping I can continue to view food as something to be eaten because it's nutritious and 'needed'.

I noticed that even on the weekend, I've stopped 'street eating' - this is a change for me too. Again - I guess this might be a temporary change........... who knows. But I've noticed it.

Maybe BF is under the weather too. Hope he turns back up if that's the right thing.

I think our societies are not very good at bringing potential couples together. not to mention that our individualism does have this backlash making it harder to find like minds. But the alternatives have their problems, too.

I'm shocked sometimes how much the teeniest hint of being attracted to someone or thinking that a desirable person might be attracted to me will set of surges of chemicals pinging the pinballs in my body. Much like it used to be finding a stray Hershey's kiss in the back of a shelf or drawer. Thank you, Evolution!

Yeah, chemical urges - we definitely both encountered that one!

He's been texting me - but very brief messages like 'hows u' - not sure what it means, but at the very least it means he's thinking about me! At least it has given me time to let the chemical urges die down a bit!


I've just had a week of being full of cold/cough etc, and coped OK until two days' ago when cough sweets came onto the scene. They threw my habit right out of the window - well, mainly in the evening when I found myself feeling screamingly 'hungry' and grazing around the carby stuff.

I have the 'fence around the law' back up and solid again today.

I used the lozenges, too, and they were worth any aftermath to me. They are such a relief and with that singing event, I wanted that. I knew I'd get back to it. You always do, too, and even more refined.

Green week! Yay!


I'm eating much less than I used to. Got interested in Ayurveda and eating an 'earlier, lighter, dinner'. I've also been delaying breakfast so that I'm usually eating it between 9.30-10.30am. This gives me about 14-16hrs 'intermittent fasting' phase each day. Not every day, but most days.

This kind of evolved without me consciously deciding to do it.

Great to hear from you. I keep thinking to extend the overnight fast but I love my morning coffee so much. Well, if it's meant to be, it will evolve, as just about all the adjustments I've made to timing and meal content have.

I don't count my morning coffee as breaking the fast. The first thing I do, pretty much, is have my coffee. I just don't eat food until later.

I'm feeling down at the moment. The 'bloke' seems to have drifted away - and my interest in him has dropped significantly as a result. Feeling rejected and disappointed to be honest. All my motivation is kind of on the floor.

I know this is temporary - I'll get back up again. I've just worked a very long shift at work too, so I'm tired.

I ate crisps and a Nak'd Bar mid-morning. I tried to save them for lunch, but failed.


It's been quite a chaotic month in terms of my Habitcal - with 4 reds and three 'sick days'. Never mind! It's nice that Easter is a weekend!

Not sticking to being calorie-free on a fast may work for calorie reduction but I think it interrupts the other processes I'm attracted to. But not enough attracted to to not have my creamy coffee!

It's so programmed in to us to feel it's a personal comment on us when someone doesn't feel the same attraction we do. Maybe it's significant that his interest was stimulating yours, rather than your just been straight up fluttery about his essence. Or maybe your mature instinct not to let yourself get caught in futile efforts is protecting you . I'm fond of saying to myself when it comes to men or even women that I don't need to elbow my way into anyone's life. Feeling rapport with another person is so individual. It doesn't mean much about the value of either one.

But I bet part of the disappointment is also that you would have some fun times together, just doing stuff with delightful company, and you've "lost" that. Unfortunately, I don't feel that feeling with a lot of people. It's not their fault. I'm just hard to please. So, when there is someone I'd like that with, the air can go out of my spirit, too, when he/she moves on.

I dunno why I"m dissecting this. You probably know it all anyway. All it all means is hugs!

Hey, March is nearly over! You'll be able to start a new Habitcal month. Green will a a great color for what I think of as the real first month of spring.

Sorry RC to hear about your disappointment. Hopefully since you wrote that post you were able to sleep and feel better when you wake up. From the time I was a little girl my mom would tell me -- you'll feel better after a good sleep. She's usually right, although the situation was still there. Being refreshed helps me tackle my painful emotions better.

Take care.

Thanks both of you. I agree with what you said, OOLALA - I can relate to all of that.

and I am off to have a good sleep now! (no sleep emoticon!)

Easter is more or less over now. I bought raw chocolate as my Easter 'chocolate' - which doesn't have the same brain-bending effect on me as the regular stuff.

Still - I'm looking forward to a sane Sunday - pancakes for breakfast, with berries and coconut cream. A lentil bolognese for lunch with non-wheat noodles (buckwheat and sweet potato I think they are!). Carrot 'thai-style' soup for dinner with some rye sourdough bread.

I'm looking forward to having a greener month in April too.

Green so far and feeling good.

I decided I will make payday a non-weekend S day! Pay day is nearly always red because I feel like having some food reward. So I'm just going to embrace it as my extra NWS day.

Aikido of eating,

I've had small red events on a weekly basis this month so far. It bothers me a little, because it's like the No S habit is under threat. My weight is as low as it's ever been, and I'm maintaining it - it's like my brain thinks 'it's ok, it won't hurt'. Of course, long-term, it would hurt.

I need to get back to 'vanilla' No S with all green weeks, and only one or two reds a month.

Well, I'm still here, doing three meals a day. I having heartier breakfasts and making lunch my main meal. Then a light evening meal.

Saturday seems to be programmed in as a 'permission to eat!' day.

My current concern is the occasional episodes of random unplanned eating - usually non-nutritious snack foods that are just there for the taking - at work.

Finally boiling things down to this, I have just bought a book about binge eating, to see if that can help me stop this behaviour.

I have recently read a book about eating addiction called The Dry Drunk. Their mantra is there meals a day with complete abstenance from any between meal or random eating. No S fits the bill, right?! Yes!

I am going back to using the habit cal for a while. I need to see the pattern. Weight ok, back up a few pounds - about 114.

Hi Rawcookie, great to see you back posting.
I looked into that book (The Dry Drunk) and ended up buying it..very very interesting and very no s compatible for sure. Its given me lots to think about..I've always hesitated to call myself 'addicted to food' but the way she describes it, the obsession with food, weight, body image and diets..basicly trying to control life through these subjects then yes I guess I am🤔. 3 meals a day, no eating in between meals no matter what actually does feel freeing to me..like no s but i guess no S Days..
Anyway, thanks for the mention of the book im learning alot!

Hi RawCookie!!!
Nice to see you on the boards!

There is always unexpected junk at my work. For years now I just consider any food in the copy room is not an option. Just, nope. I sometimes, when super tempted, have to tell myself, "I will be glad later that I resisted" and "I know that I will regret this if I eat it". Definitely easier to deal with those temptations when I am well-fed already with my own lunch (brought from home). My few fails are always when I didn't take the time to pack my lunch.

I like the sound of that book. Might have to purchase a copy. I too think I'm obsessed with food, dieting, the scales and the all or nothing approach. I wish I could just turn off the constant chatter in my brain sometimes

Here I am again - on a windy, chilly, February afternoon - it's a Sunday, and it's my 'junk food' day!

I'm still No S-ing. Oh yeah! Three meals a day. All my meals have become smaller (I'm 64yrs old now and don't need as much food to be honest!). I go 5-6 hrs between meals. My last meal of the day is around 6pm, so I get 12-14hrs 'intermittent fasting' period overnight. I've read that this is good for so many things, but with me it started with getting interested in Ayruveda and having an 'earlier, lighter, dinner. At first I grieved the loss of a cooked evening meal, but now I've got used to having something very light, like fruit & yoghurt, or oatcakes and hummus, or peanut butter on Ryvita. Just a snack-size meal really.

I've also started spacing my S days out more - so that I have one S day every two weeks, instead of two S days every week. This came about because I read that success in maintenance only really comes from having about 90% of days on plan. I've been having one day in every 14 days - and allowing myself to eat things like chocolate and crisps. I am steering clear of potatoes and wheat and dairy - so my chocolate is dark and vegan, my crisps are lentil or quinoa chips. This afternoon I've had vegan ice-cream and fruit salad as my treat food. Booja Booja (cashew based ice-cream).

I participate in a No S team on Spark People, where I record my 'habitcal' in a 21-day streak thing - so not going to use habitcal here as well.

The layout of this site has changed since I was last here.........

Yep, it’s all new! Something to do with Reinhard tackling the spam problem.

Sounds like you’re doing great, Rawcookie. I like the idea of the light evening meal - a sort of ‘tea’, as we Yorkshire people might call it. I think I too could do with spacing my S days out more, but I’m not quite ready for that yet. Thanks for sharing your progress with us. So many ideas that I feel I will try in future.

Hi RawCookie! I had no idea you were 64! I've always thought of you as an energetic 20-something! Guess you are an energetic 60-something!

So nice to see you posting here.

HI again! Yeah, things look different. It was to help cut down on the SPAM< but now there are some features that don't work, I don't know when people I used to follow post. In fact, I get NO emails from the Reinhard address anymore.

I thought I'd never want to to have a lighter dinner but I find now that I tend to either have a lighter one or earlier one or both. I held out for so long because I wanted to preserve the ability to share dinners with others, but that happens so seldom for me that it became moot.

Thanks for letting the folks here know you're still at it. (I already know from Spark!)

Hope you’re not getting too battered by the stormy weather, Rawcookie! My running has fallen by the wayside. Argh!

Just checking in!

My weight is maintaining around 115lbs at the moment.

I'm mostly compliant with three meals a day. My 'red' days are usually very minor transgressions; the other day at work I was hungry mid-morning (because I hadn't really eaten enough for breakfast) and decided to have something from my lunch-box.

I'm starting to get more savvy about the macros really - I need to have a chunk of protein with my breakfast to see me through to lunch. Lunch is my biggest meal. Dinner is when I can do just fruit and yoghurt, or soup, and be just fine.

I was motivated to check in here because I read that there was not much activity here.

I'm still committed to No S and successful most of the time (about 90% actually).

My S days have calmed right down: I used to think of them as an opportunity to eat something I had been craving - like ice-cream, crisps, marmalade on toast, chocolate, cakes etc. Now I am more or less on three meals at the weekends too, with some allowance for a little treat which I often now eat with my meal, instead of in-between meals. I've changed a lot!

My weight is a little up since Xmas, but still maintaining at around 116 lbs.

Hey there RawCookie! Wonderful to see you on the boards, and I'm delighted that things are going so well for you these days.
Happy 2020!

That’s a very inspirational update. Thank you!