Everyday Systems

Wednesday SUCCESS

Phew! Overnight oats with chia at 5.30am; lentil soup, bread, cheese, banana at midday; spaghetti, onion, mushroom, peas in a peanut sauce, apple, glass of red wine at 7pm.

There will be a cup of hot chocolate before bed tonight!

Thursday SUCCESS

Friday FAILURE
This evening I had a real 'Friday' feeling - with a day off tomorrow to look forward to, I had a few raw truffles after dinner, a half-glass of wine, then some (home made) popcorn.

A completely carb-filled Saturday with no real food at all!

Sunday was an oasis of nutrition green smoothie, salad, raw energy balls, chickpea & veg stew.

Monday was a sweet SUCCESS

I did look longingly at a chocolate caramel biscuit bar (like a Twix) that someone left unattended in the staff kitchen...... I even picked it up and considered it........ then I put it out of site in the 'staff cupboard'. It didn't get me this time - ya!

Nice work Cookie! And next time it will be even easier

excellent, rawcookie!!
sweet success, indeed!

RAWCOOKIE wrote:Sunday was an oasis of nutrition green smoothie, salad, raw energy balls, chickpea & veg stew.

Sounds like a nice, healthy S day- good for you, Gill!

Thanks for stopping by my thread - I hope your Tuesday was green, too!

Yes, it was! Thanks

Tuesday SUCCESS
That chocolate caramel biscuit bar was still there - I laughed when I saw it! Ha!

Wednesday SUCCESS
This morning I was at a meeting (book group type thing) and left on time at 12.30 so that I could get home and have lunch, instead of staying for coffee and having to resist cookies and stuff.

Thanks for stopping by my check-in. Well done on your recent successes

Thanks!

Thursday SUCCESS

Today was extraordinary - I went for a run first thing, had oatmeal/chia porridge with stewed apples for breakfast at about 8.30am - then went to spend the morning with a friend. Got home about 1.30pm and got busy doing things - it was almost 4pm before I ate lunch! And even then it was a big bowl of homemade mushroom soup and a packet of 'baked' crisps.

Friday SUCCESS which makes the first whole green week since 1st January - finally!

another great day for strengthening my habit-muscle!
tea in a cafe with a friend who ate a huge flapjack while I just had tea
cooked a batch of peanut butter & oat granola bars - smelling divine - no licks, no picks - they are for S-aturday and S-unday

oh, that sounds delicious!
do you maybe have a link to the recipe for those treats? that sounds like something i could actually enjoy on S days, too...

I don't have a link - it's from the book Forks Over Knives Cookbook. Peanut Butter Granola Bars

It was 1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup of liquid sweet stuff - they say half maple syrup and half rice syrup - I used Sweet Freedoms' fruit syrup
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups oats
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

melt peanut butter and liquid sweet stuff in a pan
remove from heat - add vanilla, then add oats, salt and cinnamon
mix very well
wet hands, press into a lined 8" pan
press firmly
bake 18 mins at 350F - or until edges are browned
leave 10 mins to cool in tin
lift from pan on the paper, leave on cooling rack (with the paper underneath) until competely cool
cut into 8 bars - cut firmly, don't saw
Store in air-tight container at room temperature.

The recipe worked perfectly, They cut into 8 very nice, firm bars. Not too sweet - with a nice sweet-salt balance

Here's a link to another recipe you might like - oats, peanut butter, dates
http://minimalistbaker.com/3-ingredient ... nola-bars/

sounds yummy, thanks for the recipe!

thank you, rawcookie!!!
that sounds so delicious! exactly my kind of treat for Sweekends!

Yes, they're very yummy - not too sweet, and they are filling. I'm trying to do this kind of thing/making instead of buying packaged cookies. These definitely met the 'cookie' craving space in my brain. I'm making a batch again next week!

ooh, this looks likely. I have granola bars for breakfast on Sundays, because they are portable for taking to work and eating at my desk. I'm going to give this a try when my current stock of store bought granola bars runs out

I'm definitely making another batch for next weekend.

Monday SUCCESS

Didn't feel the need to eat a snack after my mid-morning (post work) run - I went in the shower, then made lunch

Tuesday SUCCESS

Today I was actively aware of being OK with feeling hungry on my way home from work.

Yummy!! I think I'm going to make these for my daughter's lunchbox!!!

Wednesday and Thursday SUCCESSES

Yes, those bars are really nice in their simplicity.

Friday SUCCESSFUL WEEK except for Friday evening, late, when I chose to test-taste those cookies! So, Friday was a FAILURE!

I've got my oatmeal cookies in the oven ready for the Sweekend!

Great weekend - very moderate.

Monday ended up having to be counted as a FAILURE because I ate a couple of handfuls of salted peanuts mid-morning - with the hot-chocolate I had to try to avoid eating a snack! Whoops!

Back story - I'd been up from before 5am - I waited until 7.30am to have breakfast (porridge with chia, dried apple, walnuts, oatmilk). Then I took part in a parade in town - so I was marching in the wind and rain from 9.30-10.30am. I scuttled home afterwards, peeled off my wet clothes, made a mocha drink.......... but still felt I 'needed' to eat something. Maybe I did? Maybe I didn't? Was it emotional? I don't know. Oh well, mark it and move on. I was glad I'd eaten something when I was dancing for half an hour before lunch.

Tuesday SUCCESS

Wednesday FAILURE

This afternoon, at work, I munched a bag of cheesy puffs, had one chocolate, and ate the apple that I'd taken for lunch but been unable to eat at lunch-time (I was full). Again, it was an up at 4.50am for an early work day.... maybe on those days, I need a second breakfast!

Thursday SUCCESS

Friday, fine until 10pm, then FAILURE I had one of the Peanut Oat bars I'd baked for the weekend - this time it was only one, but I was still a bit mad with myself.

Saturday

I have noticed that I'm not buying my S-day treats for the last couple of weekends....... I made a batch of peanut butter granola bars on Friday evening which, although I succumbed to testing them on Friday evening, keep me going all weekend - unlike a purchased packed of cookies which I can demolish in one go! I've made a big bowl of popcorn - sprinkled with some sea salt and a drizzle of Sweet Freedom fruit sugar - it makes a wonderful 'salted caramel' kind of flavour. Today I made some raw chocolate brownies (nuts, dates, cocoa, vanilla).

So, I haven't bought cookies, or crisps, or salted nuts, or chocolate....... and this is a step in the right direction I think......

You're braver than I am to bake. But you're also basically holding your own, so onwards.

I've never been much of a baker at all - but I do like making food!

Monday SUCCESS

ooh, homemade granola bars! I'll have to get on the ball with that...but I'm with you: Best to bake them on an S day, cuz I know I'll "taste test" them.
But it's a great idea. making your own.

Nice work managing food at work!

That's a tough one for me sometimes. One of my officemates was offering up cookies once. I said no thanks, but he insisted, and literally placed them on my desk when I wouldn't take them (!)

I just laughed it off. Then during my break, picked them up and threw them away in the hall. Sheesh.

bunsofaluminum wrote:ooh, homemade granola bars! I'll have to get on the ball with that...but I'm with you: Best to bake them on an S day, cuz I know I'll "taste test" them.
But it's a great idea. making your own.

I know - the reason I've been making them on a Friday night is because I have an early start on Saturday - either for work, or to go to Park Run. I think I'll just have to keep baking them on Friday night, and practice not testing them!

Tuesday I took as an NWS day - Valentine's Day - I had a couple of treats.

Wednesday SUCCESS

Thursday SUCCESS

Oh, right, it's a Friday FAILURE again!

It's my Friday baking for the weekend. Three Friday's in a row now, I've baked some goodies for the weekend (because I'm usually out the door early on a Saturday and I want to take some with me!) - but each Friday I've lost out to the temptation to have a couple of them.

I think I will have to stop baking on a Friday. Maybe I can bake on a weekend, for the following weekend (or get up very early on a Saturday!)

Baking is my nemesis too (:

It seems to be a common probem! Home baked goods are just so much better than anything you can buy

I have no will power around good baked treats. I typically buy donuts for my staff every Friday, but can't on No-S, as the 45 minute drive from the bakery to the office with fresh, sometimes warm donuts in the car is too much for me to not have at least one. We'll see if there is widescale mutiny.

Your home made bars sound fantastic!

Thank you Prodigal and Raw Cookie for your encouragement. I have been at this weight management thing for a long, long time. It has consumed my life for over 50 years.

I have lost and maintained for a few years at a time, but when I relax I fall off big time. I absolutely cannot trust my hunger or satiety because I can eat a lumberjack under the table and not feel stuffed. I also like to bake and when I do, if I don't give it away immediately, I can consume embarrassing quantities. The same is true for snacking. I have had most of my success with losing weight by counting calories and counting WW points and used NoS for maintenance. I have been working at NoS for 8 years or so. I never lost any weight with NoS and most of that is because I did not treat S days with caution. This time is different. Sweets can be enjoyed on S Days, but for now, I cannot "keep" them in the house. And I am not thinking all week long about what I am going to bake over the weekend! It is time to finally establish these habits at a ripe old age.

Oh, I love you all, I really do! I am 62, and only discovered No S in 2015 - so glad I did. Before that I was constantly victim to different ways of trying to curb my intake. I've never been really overweight, but was getting tubby with the years and sliding up a size. No S has truly saved me from myself.

People who don't have a problem with sugar/flour/fat combos just don't understand, do they? One of the most helpful things I ever read was The End of Overeating by David Kessler - that explained why some of us just cannot be around that stuff!

Sigh - I am trying to get away from buying S-foods at the weekend (because I do WANT them!) and one way of doing that is try making my own. I had some chocolate yesterday evening - now today I want more chocolate! I've toasted some nuts......... I'm not sure it will hit the spot! Roll on Monday!

Accepting that I just cannot have these foods in the house, or even in my environment! is getting easier, but, addict-like (I think) it will never go away completely.

About the eating and not feeling full - I read something about how people who don't struggle with self-discipline around food portions have an area of their brain that lights up when they've had enough - like a satiation monitor. People who have difficulty stopping once they start - that area of the brain doesn't light up. They are starting to think that this might be the reason that so many people are becoming obese - there is something neurologically different in the brain. So - we, on No S, are like well-controlled 'addicts'! Which is why this forum works so well for us as somewhere to get support and be accountable. HabitCal is a neat tool.

Yes, the satiation monitor, that is something that I have experienced, but rarely. And the only time I've experienced it is after being on either No S or a diet that restricts carbs and sugar. I think for me, carbs tends to override that switch and under their sway I don't stop eating when I'm full (to paraphrase the comedian Jim Gaffigan), I stop eating when I hate myself.

I did experience it last week once, while eating my barbecue dinner. I literally felt something almost pop in my core that said "enough". Since I'd been out fo the carb haze for several days, listened to it. It was empowering.

Wow, that's really great Rawcookie that you started changing your diet, as soon as you saw the problem. A lot of people (me included) wish they hadn't waited so long.
Certain foods, especially high protein (meat) and chocolate, I just never feel like I've had enough. If I wait 30min. I'll start to feel full, so I end up fighting myself for a half-hour and hope it happens. And 90% of the time it does.

I often hear that willpower/self-discipline can get stronger, with practice. So I'm really hoping that's true.

Raw Cookie, I am doing the same. This weekend I made 6 small cookies (from frozen dough) on Friday for a family game night. I did not have any at that time. So today on Sunday, I made 6 more and had 3 small cookies and a glass of milk for dessert. If I had made up a whole batch of cookies they would be calling my name until they were gone. The plan is to make a little something if I am in the mood and then give away to neighbors and friends. I can't even trust myself to put sweets in the freezer. They will thaw you know and then there is always the microwave. They just need to be out!

Prodigalsun wrote: I think for me, carbs tends to override that switch

Oh, yes! Of course! Thanks for putting that into words - so the switch is there, but for some of us carbs/sugar disables it - that is such a helpful way to think about it!

Heliz: Interesting that meat can do that too (I don't eat meat, but I can imagine that the salt/fat might have that effect). 90% is pretty good. I think it's worth the time and effort to build the strong 'habit' - because that becomes enough to make self-discipline/will-power more or less redundant.

TexArk: You're doing really well to manage your cookies like that!

Monday SUCCESS

and I didn't have any more chocolate on Sunday

Darn it - cookies again! Tuesday FAILURE

These cookies had been ignored by me in the team meeting at 11am. But I couldn't resist them at 9pm at work when I put the kettle on........... darn it!

Here's a cute blog from Stephan Guyenet - here he showcases waffles as a model example of high-reward food that our brains find it hard to resist.

http://www.stephanguyenet.com/food-reward-friday

Re: your comment on adjustment to some meals, would you have more fat? Or just have a freggie meal?

Wednesday SUCCESS

I haven't worked it out yet, but, yes, I probably would have some kind of plant-based fat/protein with the low-carb meal. (lunch yesterday, for example, was raw cauliflower with a peanut satay dip)

Thursday SUCCESS

Way to go. The more days in a row we can rack up the better. One more N day and then we can have a calm weekend. What are your S Day strategies?

Friday morning, and I really fancied a second bowl of granola - but I didn't

Friday SUCCESS

This was a good success because I was really hungry at lunch, and really hungry at dinner - ending the day with a hot chocolate and the promise of marmalade on my Saturday breakfast toast! (6.30am bus to catch to work)

My S-day strategies have changed over time - at the moment, they are mainly to stick to the basic three meals a day - and add in a couple of treats; the time I eat them depends what I'm doing. If I'm going for a Saturday morning Park Run, I'll enjoy a flapjack or something after the run, with a coffee. If I'm at work, then I'll wait until lunch-time but maybe add in a dessert of some kind. If I'm working late into the evening, I might take something to snack on mid-evening (popcorn is a favourite, or home-made granola bars, sometimes chocolate).

My best S days are when I have a social event and can feel FREE to say 'yes' to everything I fancy!

Pancakes and waffles led me astray a fair amount over the years. I used to keep baking mix around, but I finally gave that up. I have some less refined alternatives in the cupboards, but I still rarely make them because honestly, I don't really like just a small amount. They are so refined that it's easy to WANT more. You can get a lot of those particles in a small space in the tummy. Brad Pilon says we don't have the same feedback mechanisms in the body to limit carbs, as we do with protein and fat.

I actually chose not to have anything sweet on Saturday - no chocolate, no cookies etc. I did have some marmalade on my breakfast toast, and I did have a hot chocolate drink with some fruit syrup in it at bed-time, but during the day I had nuts and some savoury snacks instead. I had a bag of savoury taco snacks made with black beans, flax and stuff like that. Later I had two small bags of cheesy puffs. But, as it was Saturday, AND I was avoiding chocolate and cookies, I was OK with that.

Sunday - I've made a few 'sweets' using marzipan with an almond pressed into the top. I will buy take some peanuts to work in case I get the Sunday snack munchies.

"I actually chose not to have anything sweet..." Good job and something to remember for me.

I am beginning to learn that this is the key. We have a choice. We have to believe we really do have a choice. So I have chosen to keep N days vanilla and I have to make that choice each day. And each S day I choose my options. Along with choosing come the consequences of course. Sometimes the tradeoff is just not worth it and othertimes it certainly is. So, I am in a battle often, even at 70 years of age, with immediate gratification issues! But if I can stop and choose, usually my rational side will lead. That is why I keep my environment free of those stimulating sweets. If they are around, then my lizard brain takes control!

Way to go. I have drastically reduced my sweets this weekend as well, given that it tends to throw me all out of wack. I don't feel the pull to go all nutso on these S-Days as a result.

Yup, I totally agree - if I eat sugar, it throws me off whack too. I've been inspired by listening to a podcast by Stephan Guyenet about the neurobiology underpinning the craving for rewarding foods etc
http://sigmanutrition.com/episode166/ and I have his book The Hungry Brain on my wish-list for payday! It goes farther than my current favourite book on the subject (David Kessler's End of Overeating).

My strategy worked, this time, for me!

Monday SUCCESS

I think you will like the Hungry Brain book. He goes deeply into the research instead of just giving you his summary, but at the same time he explains well for those who are not ready to read the professional journals.

I wonder if he is similar to Doug Lisle, who wrote the book The Pleasure Trap.

I'm listening to the podcast now.

I just read about a Pacific Island that is starting the process to prohibit the import of any junk food on their island. Their diabetes rate has climbed to 24%. In the States, different sources say different things, but I think the cap is 11%. They feel the import of these foods constitutes an unfair advantage in competing with local foods.

I like going on vacations that take me away from excess!

Wednesday SUCCESS

First day of having a low-carb dinner (deliberately) - feels OK, but I'm wanting a nice coffee to finish the evening off!

What does a vegetarian low carb dinner look like?

Vegetarian low-carb recipes tend to depend heavily on eggs and dairy. I'm doing vegan low-carb dinners. I am only excluding bread, pastry, pasta, rice. I'm not going to totally exclude carbs in pulses, corn, fruit (but will avoid bananas and dried fruits).

Last night I had sweet potato mashed with some tahini & soy sauce with vegan (soya-based) sausages, carrots and herbs, BBQ ketchup on the side, and a pear.

Tonight I'm having a huge plate of stir-fried veggies with a Portabello mushroom, topped with tomato and vegan (coconut-based) cheese.

Maybe I'll post my meal every day for March, to give you an idea.

It still seems like most of your calories are coming from carbs. Sounds like you're limiting mostly the refined carbs, like ones made from flour, though the rice would be an exception.

I'm getting a little hungry reading this.

I don't have a problem with eating carbs - but I do notice a difference when I eat bread, potato, pastry, pasta, rice. If I'm cutting out those carbs from one of my three meals a day, then I'm reducing overall (refined) carbs by a third. Also, when buying packaged foods (with nutritional info on) I am choosing foods that are within a 1:5 protein/carb ratio. Without making sweeping changes that would be hard for me to sustain, I am tweaking my diet gently away from a tendency towards higher carbs.

Thursday SUCCESS

Tonight's meal will be a baked sweet potato filled with a 'Mexican' mix of black beans, corn, peppers, onions, tomatoes, avocado, vegan cheeze + green salad. No deprivation there! (but I'll be missing the tacos!)

Saturday was lovely - I had a slice of a very nice home-made carrot cake at coffee-time, and a hazelnut flavoured coffee. It had been 5 hrs since breakfast and I really enjoyed it!

My lower-carb dinner today was a quinoa curry (very nice) and some frozen berries with plain soya yoghurt + a dash of cinnamon, ginger, cocoa - pure indulgence and no sugar!

http://vegangela.com/2013/11/19/quick-e ... ry-quinoa/

Sunday was lovely too!

Dinner was my low-carb one: spinach & red pepper tofu 'quiche' (basically tofu baked with veggies into a slice-able quiche-like thing), with a load of steamed Brussels Sprouts, and a pear.

Monday SUCCESS

Tonight's low-carb meal was a carrot soup and some peanut butter muffins (made with flax seeds and peanut butter!) They were a very new experience for me - very rich-tasting as they're mostly peanut butter inflated by flax and baking powder - quite fascinating!

https://lowcarb-vegan.net/savory-peanutbutter-muffins/

Tuesday SUCCESS

my low-carb dinner was the other half of the tofu quiche, eaten cold with a salad

Wednesday SUCCESS

my low-carb dinner was stir-fried veggies with smoked tofu, and mango

Thursday SUCCESS

My low-carb dinner was a salad jar with quinoa, black beans, cucumber, avocado, green leaves, chilli dressing + a peanut-butter 'muffin' (made with flax and PNB), plus raspberries with soya yoghurt. Yes, a big meal! - it would all fit on one plate though (messy but possible)

Friday SUCCESS

Today's low-carb meal was a lovely vegetable curry (carrot, green pepper, mushroom, broccoli, spinach, peanuts, black beans), pineapple and soured cream.

I have a bar of chocolate for the Sweekend - haven't had chocolate in a while. This is 56% with orange oil - nice.

Well done on your successful week and enjoy you chocolate 🍫

I like your low carb meals, one a day is such a good idea. Is it normally supper? Do you feel hungry afterwards? I am thinking about something similar but a bit nervous about it as I have never got on with my short attempts at low carbing in the past, but that was when I was addicted to sugar.

I've been having my evening meal as the low-carb one. No, I am not feeling hungry afterwards at all; it seems to be suiting me well - I'm not feeling as hungry in the morning, or the next day. This may be because I am eating more fat/protein with my evening meal, where before, those calories must have been coming from carbs. I've also adopted a 'soft' rule that I won't buy anything packaged that's not at least 1:5 ration of protein:carb. This has led to making more nutritionally valuable choices too.

My past experiments with low-carb vegetarianism left me feeling constipated and sluggish - didn't suit me at all - far too much concentrated protein for me!

It's Saturday afternoon and I haven't opened the chocolate yet! That's a first too!

Today's low-carb dinner (yes, even on an S day) will be smoked tofu and a big plate of salad - followed by berries and soured cream. I have also made some 'keto' ginger muffins using just flax seeds, peanut butter, milk, baking powder and ginger spices. They are just out the oven and smelling great! Put the kettle on, Grommit!

Having a bit of leisure time on my hands today - I went back and read the first few pages of my check-in thread here. I read about so many different challenges people have on No S and am so amazed that this system just 'clicked' with my brain and totally works for me. Here's what I posted 13 days into No S (2015).

RAWCOOKIE wrote: I have gone from being a 6-mini-meals a day person, to being a 3 proper meals a day person - in just under two weeks! I would not have thought it possible!

Sunday

A lovely S day with moderate treats

My low-carb dinner was homemade hummous, radishes, cucumber, celery; berries, pear, soured cream, a few walnuts.

I'm sorry I missed what the stimulus was for the "low carb" push. It sounds like you are still eating more than 100-150 grams of carbs a day, which I thought was the upper limit of low carb. Is it certain starches you're actually decreasing or leaving out? Was it that you wanted to see if eating differently more of the time would protect you from the urges to overeat on S days or at work?

It's not more weight loss you want, is it?

Isn't it possible you might have gotten the same effect earlier on if you had cut down the flour-based foods, including most packaged items, using a bit less cooked whole grains, and added a bit more fat to your meals?

Not that the meals don't sound scrumptious. Or that I haven't been experimenting with combos on my plates and decreasing certain foods over time, mostly to see how appetite is affected.

Keep up the good work!

Monday SUCCESS

The impetus came from joining a site called Darebee.com which is about strength-training, and the diet suggested www.darebee.com/mealplans/modern-hero-diet.html suggested has a pattern of three meals a day, at least one of which is low-carb. I've kind of taken what I wanted from it and decided to try having one meal a day without major carbs. I'm not trying to be a 'low-carber'. I'm certainly not measuring or counting anything. I'm just experimenting.

So far, it's suiting me well, and I'm making better choices for my evening meal.

This evening's low-carb meal was vegan sausages, stir-fried cabbage with coconut, turmeric and cashew nuts + a pear.

I was curious because I've been experimenting with single low carb meals as well but for appetite correction. I'm not vegetarian, though I've cut back, and have wondered how real people do it without animal sources. I see single recipes on the net, but I like better when I see everything people have at the meal because most of the recipes, though they look good, also look a little lonely... But I"ve noticed I can be okay with that sometimes, too.

Hey, is there a chance you'll ever come visit the States? If you go to Cambridge, I'll come, too, and we can beg Reinhard to have lunch with us.

There is very little chance of me ever visiting the States - but it's a nice idea!

Tuesday SUCCESS

Tuesday's low-carb dinner was a salad jar: hummus, chickpeas, avocado, tomato, celery, mixed salad leaves, vegan cheeze

Wednesday SUCCESS

Wednesday's low-carb meal was a spinach & green pepper tofu 'quiche' with fried mushrooms and some black olives; + soy & coconut yoghurt with tinned manarins and a few walnuts

Thursday SUCCESS

tonight's low-carb meal was tofu 'quiche' with steamed broccoli and carrots, spicy mayo - then some berries and soya/coconut yoghurt.

wow, rawcookie, your cuisine sounds sooooo delicious to me...

Thank you - I'm enjoying eating and preparing nice food at the moment (I go through phases!)

Friday SUCCESS

This evening I didn't have a low-carb meal - it was a Spanish Chickpea stew which had new potatoes in it, and I had a mini-naan on the side. The reason for this was that I had a big breakfast about mid-morning, and then didn't feel hungry until 7pm - so effectively I had my lunch for dinner - so as not to waste it.

I only had two meals - gosh! that's a first!

I created some Sweekend foods today: raw truffles (hazel, macademia, dates, cocoa, vanilla), marzipan balls with an almond pressed into the top - then rolled in cocoa powder. I haven't felt the need to 'test' them today - but am looking forward to having them on Saturday and Sunday. It's a work weekend for me - and I know I will 'need' some treats!

Nice Saturday - good food, good 'snacks'

low-carb evening meal curry - all veggies and lentils, followed with two small pots of strawberry coconut yoghurt (sweet - but not starchy carbs - so an S day treat!)

Nice Sunday too! Not a low-carb day, but a good day. Snack moderate, and enjoyed.

I'm off to work this afternoon - overnighter - I've packed some oatcakes, some walnut pate and vegan cheese, pickle, radishes, green pepper strips - that's my dinner tonight. I've got a couple of raw truffles to eat, and a hot chocolate mix to drink late evening. I have overnight oats in a jar for Monday morning breakfast at work - oats, chia, dried apple, cranberries, sunflower seeds, a bit of cocao, soy yoghurt, rice milk, mixed spice, grated carrot! yup - it's like a kind of carrot-cake dessert - lovely!

See you on Monday!

Way to be prepared! Enjoy your day.

Hi! Audrey - thanks!

Monday FAILURE

I was really tired this evening, long shift at work, haven't slept well for a couple of nights. After dinner, I really 'wanted' something else, so I had a couple of raw truffles (dates, nuts, cocoa), then an Alpro soya dessert. So not too 'bad' but was definitely 'sweet' and was more than my one plate.

My low-carb plate of food (before the dessert episode!) was vegetarian sausages with a stir-fry of cabbage, onion, carrot and peas with ginger, garlic and soy sauce.

Tuesday SUCCESS

I deserve a super-green today because I had to battle hard to keep the 'fence around the law'! But I did it - and that feels good!

This evening's low-carb meal was raw cauliflower with a peanut 'satay' style sauce/dip, and a pear.

Wednesday SUCCESS

I took a risk today and ate my lunch early - at 11.30am. It was OK - I lasted until dinner time at work at 6pm.

my lowish-carb meal was: butter beans in smoky tomato sauce; peanuts; soya yoghurt and berries.

Thursday FAILURE

After a good day, I went and ate 100g dark chocolate in the evening whilst watching a DVD. I think this was partly because I'd bought the chocolate (for the Sweekend!), partly because I'd been reading about going 'cold turkey' on all sugar. Perverse, I know, but that's how it often goes! (thank god I only had 100g in the house!)

My evening meal was cheese, peanuts, carrot, pear: it didn't end up feeling like a proper meal, which probably also contributed to eating the chocolate later!

ah, i know that feeling... (but i dont believe in going cold turkey with sugar)
luckily you like dark chocolate which is actually good for you...
if i want something sweet it is definitely not dark chocolate, it should be a donut, ice-cream or any chocolate that is not good for you...

I agree, Kaalii, No S system of having some sugar at the weekends works for me over 90% of the time - I'm aiming to stick with it!

Friday SUCCESS

Saturday - a nice, sane, S day

evening meal: lentil bolognese with steamed kale, grated cheddar; soya fruit yoghurt.

Sunday was sane until the evening at work, when I indulged in a few chocolates, a handful of savoury rice-crackers - nothing terrible.

Evening meal was a big, very green, mixed salad with some cheese added to it.

Monday SUCCESS

I didn't get home for lunch until 2pm, but I waited!

evening meal: veggie soup with some butter beans in, a few salted peanuts, a pear
(it's getting near the end of the month and I'm short on supplies!)

Kaali, (hope it's okay I talk to her here, Gill!) dark chocolate can sit in my house for a loooong time. I don't even buy it anymore. I just don't enjoy it very much. I don't buy much milk chocolate, either, but for different reasons. I do use good quality cocoa powder in drinks and yogurt.

Gill, at the philosophy class I go to, they serve snacks and rice crackers are one of my favorites. But I don't find them as satisfying as other starches for my regular meals, so they are mostly "out of the house/ event" foods.

Do they keep foods like that available for staff at your work? Sorry if you've explained that.

We have a front office staff of quite attractive secretaries. In their back room, there's almost always an array of starchy sweets. Most of the women aren't heavy, though.

I have a feeling there's no food sitting around in French offices, or didn't used to be.

Tuesday FAILURE

This was such a small fail - but it was a habit-fail, so I'm not ignoring it! I broke the very edge off a specially tasty cheese and ate it between meals.

Wednesday SUCCESS

No, we don't have any food provided for us at work - we have to bring all our food in from home each day - but there is a cupboard where staff keep tea/coffee etc, and sometimes there are other things left in there which are snack-like.

I meant just that, that there is stuff that people have around. The food in the secretaries' little office is just stuff other people have brought in. It's not provided by the school.

So everyone assumes if something is left, it's meant for anyone to help herself. That's sweet, but tempting, too.

I wonder what it would be like to be a person who would just never even entertain nibbling on such food? Not because it's terrible or anything but just out of habit? I rarely do it at work, but I DO do it sometimes. I imagine that Reinhard never does.

But it's really fine tuning. Your basics seem pretty darn solid.

Do you have any fear that you might go back to old habits or that things could get really out of hand?

Yes, the possibility of going back to old ways is ever-present; I feel I have to be quite emotionally and mentally strong to keep 'on habit'.

I have to say that the food left in the cupboard is NOT 'help yourself' - it usually belongs to someone!

Thursday SUCCESS

my evening meal was a big vegetable curry, with mini-poppadums; plain yoghurt with grapes

It was a slightly celebratory meal - as my first grandson was born on Thursday morning! I wanted to celebrate with chocolate, or something like that - but I had long enough to think about it - and decided that the poppadums would do it!

Oh, there have been some people at my work that have lost some ice cream (from big 5-gallon tubs) that they probably didn't realize was gone- nor expected anyone to take...

I think I felt pretty vulnerable at a couple of years in, too. It fits with the stats: 50% of people relapse and apparently don't recover at that point. (Makes getting through 21 days seem like a sneeze.)

Maybe your habits weren't that severe and you like the idea of being more ideal, which is completely fair. It really sounds like you've made big, big progress.

I've never been a binge eater - but I was what I call a 'chaotic' eater - and I certainly thought about food ALL the time and ate every 2 hrs or so.

I like the feeling of 'control' that No S gives me. And I like not thinking about food ALL the time!

RAWCOOKIE wrote:I have to say that the food left in the cupboard is NOT 'help yourself' - it usually belongs to someone!

This is hilarious! I just saw an old episode of "Friends" where the whole focus was on Ross's anger, because someone ate his sandwich at work.

Rawcookie, I'm like you. I don't think of myself as a binge eater. I've had weight issues all of my adult life but after early stints with dieting, I've spent the last 20 years more focused on lifestyle solutions, having made up my mind from extensive reading that harsh restriction is not the greatest idea. So I'm grateful that I don't usually have the urge to stuff. But I don't process refined carbs all that brilliantly, so I was often "hungry" even when I KNEW there was enough food on board. I was hypoglycemic as a teenager and my dad is diabetic (though well controlled-- he's 81 this year and doing pretty well). NoS is really good for me because I think my body is figuring out when it needs to dump a load of insulin without having to cope with random snacking. There is a theory that obesity is a form of disregulation, rather than just plain "greed", and I really incline to that. With all the disincentives to be fat, why wouldn't people be able to resist the urge to eat excessively? Because their bodies are telling them they need food when they don't.

Well said, Larkspur - I saw a talk on the internet somewhere recently which showed how 'slim people' had an area of their brain which lit up when they'd eaten enough; the same thing just did not happen in the brains of 'overweight people' - they just didn't seem to have the regulating mechanism that tells us when we've had enough to eat! That really stuck with me!

Friday SUCCESS

tonight I had cauliflower in cheese sauce with a pile of green beans; tinned peaches with half-fat creme fraiche.

This completes one whole month of eating a lower-carb evening meal - excluding bread, pastry, potato, rice, pasta. It feels good, so I think I shall continue.