Everyday Systems

so far noS works for me on so many levels...
it actually makes maintenance enjoyable...
liberated me from calorie counting...
i even continued losing - so i have to consider upping my already decent meal sizes... but staying vanilla noS, it works perfectly for me...

shovelgloving is also in my life and i couldnt be more grateful for it since strengtht training (nor any gym going) ever seemed like fun thing and, honestly, such a waste of time and money for me... i was always more of a urban ranger of a sort, dancer, cardio, yoga, hulahooping, juggling, forest walking, swimming, mountain hiking, bike riding, children playing, friend helping type of person... weights are boring to me... even body weigh exercises most of the time...
wielding my 4kg/8.8lbs sledgehammer is fun and empowers me on a deeper level than just muscles...

the last measurment is showing that i got half a kilo back... but had a drop in body fat percentage again!!
awesome!

here is my first 21 day challenge thread:
https://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=10935

having guests (with sane eating habits, luckily)...
so green, no problem...

ooops! friday evening fail...
just had to taste buckwheat flour crepes with spinach and rochefort cheese friend made...
worth it...
there goes my june challenge... but i can still make one more 21 days maybe...
lovely Sweekend everyone!

Sounds yummy Kaalii and a worthy fail

oh, yes, definitely a worthy fail!

this friend is a big fan of french cuisine and the next time he is going to france to buy some good (and cheaper than here in switzerland) dijon mustard, cider,mayonnaise etc... he will bring me couple of kilos of buckwhat flour... i want to make them also...
also, i love roquefort cheese... it has a very strong taste and has to be used in moderation... not everyone likes it... i absolutely love it...
i stuff dates with it and bake it together for 20 min. approximately.. yummy...
like this:

What an "s" worthy picture that is Kaali! Dates and Roquefort cheese -- yum mm

My vacation will be in Switzerland this year. Looking forward to some great cheesy events there!

kaalii, those dates look so good! Are those herbs sprinkled on top? And buckwheat crepes with spinach and roquefort...sounds amazing!

Glad to hear you're having success with shovelgloving. You're inspiring me to give it a try!

librarylady, oh great you are coimng to switzarland! the cheese here is realy sublime! gruyere is my favourite... and no autumn/winter season passes without couple of fondue and raclette dinner parties.. yum!

e-lyn, yes, it is so delicious! i dont sprinkle herbs on it but i guess you can do it... italian or provencal mix, i guess, would be the best...


havent had time to check in... i had the visitors and lots of socialising in the past days... s-days were nice... and monday and tuesday green... noS is really social friendly, i find... and not to be exploding from food/seconds/dessert after a grill or dinner party is so great...

i weighted today and i got half a kilo more... so i regained a kilo in the last 2 weeks... that is good!
haven^t had the time for other measurments...

i have had some walks/runs in the forest... and shovelgloving, too... a lot of bike driving while doing the errands...
good times!

Oh, those dates look AMAZING! Roquefort is my favorite cheese, my daddy introduced me to it when I was a child. I always ask for Roquefort dressing on salads at a restaurant BUT...mostly now it is simple Bleu cheese. Real Roquefort is uncommon in the US. I found some at a grocery store and bought a little square of it for myself. Crumbled over a baked potato...who needs any other embellishments.

well, you are lucky to live where Roquefort is more available. Happy for you on the fitness and ease of living that this No S/shovelglove way of life has brought you.

P.S. I would have eaten the crepes, too!

oh yes, roquefort over baked potatoes! thanks for the idea!

i have tried to make the baked dates with gorgonzola cheese, too... not bad but nowhere near the real experience with roquefort...

wednesday was green !

everything is smooth...
the guests are gone...
getting excited about holidays upcoming in july...

Good on you Kaalii. It's nice having visitors but it's also very nice to have your own space back to yourself..enjoy xx

Just stopping by to say hi, kaalii. I'm new here, and have been reading your posts with interest. I'm very similar to you in that I much prefer more cardio-oriented activities and straight out strength training bores me to tears. I would love to find a routine that I could incorporate into regular daily activities. I notice that you Shovelglove--I'm a little leery of that due to potential house damage that I could inflict lol, so I was wondering if you have tried any other strength routines that you could recommend?

hi, cedar and lifeisablessing!!

LifeisaBlessing wrote:I notice that you Shovelglove--I'm a little leery of that due to potential house damage that I could inflict lol, so I was wondering if you have tried any other strength routines that you could recommend?

i have to say that shovelgloving is by far the most interesting and effective strength training i have done so far... i am actually more afraid to hit myself with it in the zeal of "killing the orcs" or similar exercise... but im trying to keep it slow and careful... most of the shovelglove movements are pretty controled so i think there is no real danger of it flying off to the computer screen... (and i do wear fitting gardening gloves that i've cut off the fingers to... for better grip until my grip strength improves)
the videos of guys wielding 16lbs sledgehammers like crazy are almost always outdoors... and i couldnt do that, anyway...

otherwise, i dont have much experience in strength training...
however, i did use yoga all my adult life, on and off... and it can be pretty well adapted for stength, too... i mean, one of the best bodyweight strength exercises - plank - comes directly from yoga...

also - the parkour in the forest where i walk/jog has in 3 different places - bars, double bars and rings ... so i often pause there and make myself suffer a bit... the fun part is if im going with my son and/or bf and then we challenge each other or just play like monkeys...

im sorry i dont have much more to offer...
but, please, do let me know when you find something interesting...

oh, but now that i think of it... i can recommend 2 things some of my friends find interesting...
1. pole dancing - apparently it is super interesting, you can find classes for all ages and body types around and it does seem to spice up a relationship/marriage as well as improve acceptance of body image of oneself... but to me it just seems too hard...

2. silk/rope/trapeze classes - creative, fun and beautifull to do and see... too intense for me, as well... not sure if it is so easy to find where to do it, though... i have friends who do it professionally and semi-professionally and even with that i havent got myself into it...

thursday was green !

with the help of my, now neglected, "cronometer" account i have retroactively checked past couple of days the daily calorie values of the food i ate...
it confirmed what i had felt and results showed, anyway - im eating almost precisely at my maintenance level on n-days!! great!

the extra activity (everything i do outside of work activities which are calculated in my maintenance calories needs) then makes it up over the whole week to break even with my relaxed, but never really bingeing, Sdays...
with the posibility of weghtloss or fatloss even at this quite lean BMI...

let's see it to the end of this months...
and then how i do on 6 weeks of vacation with rhythm changed for the habit to be so easily implemented...
but i feel more confident and relaxed about it with every day on noS!

oh, and made the whole 14min. shovelglove workout with my sledgehammer, whitout having to change to my weigted broom in the middle part of the SG that usually gives me a bit of rest... im becoming stronger! yay!!
i feel my muscles but im not sore...
im not expecting to do it like that every day from now on but this was a first 8.8lbs weighted 14 min workout and im happy about it!

Hi kaalii--Thanks for all your recommendations for strength training. I know I'll find something, someday, that will fit into my lifestyle--it's all a journey of learning and gathering information.

yes, and when you, like me, find strenth training tedious - the journey is not necesarily easy...
knowing how strength training is important, especially as we age and lose muscle and bone density slowly but surely, helps to motivate us...

today, friday - green


i have been tempted to snack on peanuts when visiting friends, sitting outside and drinking tea... but i didnt!
it is getting easier to stop the temptation to snack... but it is still there... ( i dont want to stop myself from everything delicious coming my way on the ndays... but, for my mind, in this particular situation i would have to eat a hefty portion of it and call it a meal/dinner... and then either fail with real dinner afterwards or be hungry till the bedtime... so, i realised it wasnt that tempting!)

Sweekend tomorrow!
friends, music, outdoors, children...
i have bought yesterday snacks for the Sweekend - roasted salty almonds and curry cashewnuts... and dried cranberries and mango slices...
cant wait!

been walking and biking today but still no shovelglove...
i'll do it now... not going to sleep yet and full of energy...

You're so right, kaalii, about the importance of strength, especially as we age. I wish there was a strength equivalent of the 10K steps--that has been so wonderful to easily include in my day! I was heartened to realize that I must be doing okay, though--today, I helped my husband lift an old TV into the car to take to the recycling center. Didn't feel any weaker or stressed even though I haven't been doing any formal strength training lately.

Good for you with the green days! Friday's used to be very hard for me because it felt "weekendy" to me but it really wasn't. That is cool that you are doing the shovelglove. I am not doing that but I started strength training with weights a couple of weeks ago and I feel much better! I also agree its important as we age.

again a weekend where i actually ate less than on ndays...
on sunday i even had just 2 meals (i was less active, slept in and not hungry)...
had some snacks (nuts and dried fruits) on saturday... no sweets...
there's been some socializing on saturday that had no food/snacks offered...
shovelgloving, bike, walking, dancing...

monday, green

it is raining again/still... i want real spring/summer!! the lake season should have already started!
im grumpy and tired... took a nap and will go to bed early...

tuesday, green!!

all is well... i feel light and energized...
except it's still rainiiiing!

tomorrow morning i'll do my weekly weigh in/measuring.. and then i will really try to do it every second week... and then every third... untill i forget all about it like i used to, hopefully...

Hi kaalii - I certainly hope it stops raining by the end of July, early August - because that's when I'll be visiting Switzerland (and I want to SEE the Alps!)

librarylady, you are going in the hottest part of the summer for switzerland and it should definitely stop to rain this much by then... it will be very pleasant... and for sure you will see the alps!!

lost again some weight, body fat and waist size...

Excellent results

yes, truly amazing... not expected...

i have been very hungry today before dinner...
so i made myself a fuller than usual dinner plate (was even ready to fail and go for seconds if i was still hungry) and in the end couldnt even finish it all...
so, sucess , after all...

lots of walking, lots of stairs, badminton and:
shovelgloving - i feel strong like rambo!

Thanks for the hopeful words on the temperatures and my chance of seeing the Alps!

and congratulations on all your progress!!

thursday - green !

all is good!

friday - ooops!! red !!

it was an ice-cream while doing some errands in the city with my son... we stopped to listen to a street pianist busker playing magnificently... eating our ice-creams...
it was great...
but after i felt a bit of a sugar rush...
thought i will not be able to eat anything for 2 days... and an hour later i was already hungry... sugar crash!
sweets just make me hungry in a way i dont like it!
but had to wait till dinner because i was in no opportunity to eat something "real" until dinner time...

this actually fell on friday when i dont work and my routine is different... like weekend but not really because i have to do a lot of stuff: laundry day, bureaucracy, cleaning...
i had a super late breakfast that was actually lunch (nice big plate of mac and cheese and salad)... so that ice-cream fell in time of late lunch... i had my dinner after and i think im calling it a day because i feel finished for today as far as eating is concerned...

this habit is stronger than i thought!
or maybe it has just awaken my thin and healthy old self...

Hm, interesting about that sugar rush and crash. Interesting because, you NOTICED IT ha!

for me, anyway, I'd mindlessly munch it and then say "Dang, what's wrong with me" not associating it to the food. Amazing how this makes us mindful of our bodies.

true!
this is why i love so much noS - im starting to be more mindful about the food im eating and its effects on me... althought i never cared so much about mindful eating beyond simple appreciation and respect of food, i am (again) more in tune with my body's signals, especially with how much to serve myself and/or when to stop...

i was not eating much sweets all my life and now on noS even less... i mean, my last processed sweet was also an ice cream with my son - a month and a half ago!
so that sensation of sugar rush/crash was not like a mild sensation it was like a punch in the face... im not used to it at all...

but for example, right now im stuffed with my Sdays cherries... and im not having a sugar rush at all... and im generally not eating much fresh fruits either, im a veggie person... nature really knows how to serve us with sweet treats: packs it with plenty of fiber and vitamins... how cool is that!

and lovely sweekend again...

on saturday i had cherries for snack and seconds of dinner (but hours later, so is it a snack? yeah, more like a snack)...

and today i had again a bowl of fresh cherries for snack...

monday - green!!

the sunny days are finally arriving!
cant wait for the lake and the swimming season to start!

tuesday- success!

it has been a stressfull day... bureaucracy... getting the new passport for my son for our travels in 2 weeks... had to do it together as parents with his father, my ex... we both had to take some time off our jobs to do it... luckily we stayed (or became again) really good friends so during the driving around and these endless waitings we had some pretty interesting conversations and good laughs, too...
i knew how much i hate bureaucracy so i made sure to eat an early breakfast before going, not to be hungry and impatient in those situations... and it worked... i was just impatient...
it all ended well, we were efficient and lucky...
and the rest of the day went as usual...

im doing shovelgloving 3-5 times a week... but in no specific pattern... on S days, as well... in the afternoons or evenings mostly... im just not really into exercising, nor eating, early in the morning... never was...
for the moment im just doing it as it feels right/pleasurable... but im not working on building a habit with SG yet... first, because i want to establish habits one-at-a-time... and secondly because i have already pretty active lifestyle and exercise habits that i practice cyclically, so i dont think it is urgent to insist on anything... plus, i love it and see the results of it on my abs and waistline, so im not afraid to abandon it anytime soon... but yeah, you never know...

so, measurment day and a decision of a mod:

vanilla noS is working a bit too good for me and i have again lost a half a kilo (all in all 3kg/6.5lbs in 2 months)... when all i wanted is to maintain... i have a small frame and have been naturally thin and skinny all my life untill 35... but i dont want to be thinner than this...

so im introducing a mod with something that i feel i miss on noS and that will, i feel, not spoil my appetite for dinner nor ruin my habits:
- a portion of nuts and/or dried fruits
or
-a portion/piece of fresh fruit

why im not just adding them to my meals?
from the pleasure point of view, i really dont enjoy eating them with/after my meals... and i like to get comfortably full with my meals and not stuffed till it hurts...
in addition to that, eating fruits/nuts on S days is just not enough for me, even if the quantities are bigger (and then they mess up my regular meals appetite)...

wednesday - green!


first day on my mod...
had a 2 slices of cantaloupe melon around 4pm...
couldnt finish my dinner plate... it was quite big, though...

it became suddenly very hot here... and i was sweating so much while shovelgloving... wow!

to add:
at night i had a, probably pms induced, anxiety surge, sadness, felt like heartbreak almost... i made 3 sets of suryanamaskar in almost complete darkness of my room, just a shade lamp on... suupeer slowly, with relaxing music... like moving the pain with the breath... wow! it helped! yoga is so healing for these type of things...

thursday - green!!

second day on my mod...
handfull of dates around 4pm...

i baked mini-pizzas for my son's school party, tempted to eat immediately but didnt...so i left a small piece for myself to be eaten later with the dinner of steamed and sautéed cauliflower and smoked tofu in soy cream with olives on the side... left nothing...

SG soon...
i have yoga idea in my pocket in case pms (or whatever that uncomfortable mix of feelings was, im not sure i absolutely believe in pms) hits again late in the evening...

Hi kaalii, I use the YouTube channel "Yoga with Adriene" for my morning yoga sessions, and I know she has at least one that is themed "yoga for PMS." If you ever want to try something new, I find her teaching to be very generous and kind for all levels, advanced to beginner like me.

oh, thank you, knitapeace...
actually, now that you mention her i think i have heard/read about adriene's videos somewhere... maybe here on noS boards? i will check out those videos...

for the current episodes of pms im really ok, immediately tuned into what i needed from yoga as i started my favourite set (suryanamaskar)...doing the practice/style of it that i developed when it got me through the roughest years of my life... for the moment i need to do it in solitude and dark...

i have been doing yoga on and off since i was 17... it accompanied me in the many different stages of my life... but, thank you so much, since i will never stop learning from/about it!

Hi kaali--just wanted to say great job on your mod and adjusting the plan to suit your goals--one of the many things I love about NoS!

And ugh--what is it about pms and the emotions? Fine one minute, down the next. That's where I'm at now too, so I hear you on your struggles!

kaalii wrote: ...so i left a small piece for myself to be eaten later with the dinner of steamed and sautéed cauliflower and smoked tofu in soy cream with olives on the side... left nothing...

I'm new to all this, but I love the idea of setting aside something to be enjoyed with a meal...so you're not depriving yourself, but rather choosing to nourish yourself instead of indulge, all by just waiting for a mealtime. Or something like that...

And I am just going around and drooling over everyone else's dinner, but yours sounds *so* lovely!

LifeisaBlessing wrote:Hi kaali--just wanted to say great job on your mod and adjusting the plan to suit your goals--one of the many things I love about NoS!

thank you for the support! the truth is, nothing better/simpler came to my mind... i told myself to wait and do vanilla until habit is well formed but this was getting a bit urgent as vanilla is working too well for me and at this point too good is not what i want nor need... i hope it will work out and not mess up my habits, though... i dont see why not, at the moment, but let's see... this is why i find this board and habitcal helpfull during this process...

LifeisaBlessing wrote:And ugh--what is it about pms and the emotions? Fine one minute, down the next. That's where I'm at now too, so I hear you on your struggles!

yep, that episode was pretty hard.. didnt come back after that yoga session and some "soul searching"... but yes, i get the mood swings sometimes, too... being tired is the worst trigger for that... and having to multitask too much, as well... no wonder women have more mood swings as they generally have to multitask more...

Emmama wrote:

kaalii wrote: ...so i left a small piece for myself to be eaten later with the dinner of steamed and sautéed cauliflower and smoked tofu in soy cream with olives on the side... left nothing...

I'm new to all this, but I love the idea of setting aside something to be enjoyed with a meal...so you're not depriving yourself, but rather choosing to nourish yourself instead of indulge, all by just waiting for a mealtime. Or something like that...

And I am just going around and drooling over everyone else's dinner, but yours sounds *so* lovely!

haha, thank you, emmama!
this was the first setting on the side for later for me, too...i see another idea, "virtual plating", as an emergency/slippery-slope measure and this was not emergency, but i did want that piece of pizza asap... some people do the setting aside thing especailly with the nice cakes and sweets that come across on the n-days... they freeze a piece for themselves and enjoy them on Sdays...

knitapiece, i have skipped through adriene's videos... i really like them... for my situation from couple of days ago the "yoga for bad mood" would be the best one... since i never have pms cramps... just occasionally sense emotional "disturbances in the Force"...

thank you all and let's enjoy this day wherever we are at at the moment... geographically and otherwise!

Kaalii, so happy to hear your mood is rising. I'm also glad yoga helps you. Starting yoga was the best thing I ever did for my body and my mind. I'm doing Adriene's 30 Days of Yoga program during the month of June, and today was a very restorative practice day. Left me feeling very open and zen.

oh, so cool to hear that, knitapeace! yoga is amazing!

friday - green!

not a really active day just bureaucracy work at home, so not much hunger, plus the heat is not so appetizing...
so i didnt take my fruit/nut snack today...
just 3 meals... left some of the luch uneaten, it was not really delicious/succesful...

a walk in the forest...
SG later, when it cools down...
if i get hungry later i'll take that snack...

Sweekend was lovely...
my appetite is a bit down, got my period...
had loads of fruits though (watermellon season, yum!!), nuts... and regular meals...
2 beers on sunday...

today - green!
although we didnt have the dinner yet...
zero hunger between meals, but pleasure to eat them...

tuesday - green!

vanilla today... didnt want to spoil my appetite for dinner with my fruits and nuts snack since i wasnt hungry at all between the meals and i had nuts and dried fruits for breakfast, anyway...

lots of usual walking and a bit more than usual to/from/at work...
plus biking around town doing shopping for holidays...
plus sg...

got myself a great bikini and a beach hat for a great price... looking forward to leaving to our summer travels on friday!!

also, not so afraid of the vacations and losing the habit any more...

this answer from the vacations thread resonates with me the most... so im quoting it here to have it on my thread if needed:

r.jean wrote:

What works for me is to take it one day at a time. Every day starts as an N day. I try not to snack and try to maintain the three meal one plate structure. I allow S events as they happen. If a special dessert that I want is offered, I have it. If mealtimes get disrupted, I sometimes end up having a snack. I do not worry about beverages; I just try to keep alcohol to a reasonable amount. Lastly, I find there is rarely an excuse for seconds.

Exercise is also a key part. Our vacations tend to be active.

Every day starts as an N day. Wonderful way to approach prolonged times outside of routine. Glad to see you're clicking along so well.

thank you, bunsofaluminium! i actually love your insights of how noS is addressing amazingly overeating issues... who would have thought something so simple could be so effective... maybe because it is so simple... we are so lucky to have found it...

wednesday - green!!

measurements day and everything is the same, stable...
im happy with the way i feel and look, and the levels of energy i have...
i guess i wont be measuring myself during the next 6 weeks of holidays... im guessing i will gain some weight but now it feels that i even might not... but if i do, every kilo in these upper 50s is good... or even more if some of it is muscle weight...

for the snack i had a big piece of watermellon today...

still zero hunger but good appetite...

today we had over 2 hours to use the sports hall at work, since kids had no homework to do for tomorrow... been showing them and doing a lot of gymnastics fun with them today (hanging upside down and turning on the rings, against the wall handstands, bridges... amazing how not all kids can do these things nowadays) plus some badminton fun, hulahooping... im even a bit sore which didnt happen in a long time...
but im right now getting ready for my sledgehammer fun... i never thought id love strength training so much...

thursday - green!!

packing an preparing the van for 6 weeks of holidays and adventure in italy and croatia...
i hope to post here when i can but it will be less regularly...
ill try to keep my habitcal on paper...
and bringing my sledgehammer with us...

bye everyone!

The sledgehammer might be interesting going through customs/border control

Have a great holiday!

thank you, rawcookie!
haha, yes, let's see... although most of the times they dont check anything at the borders any more...

Hope you have a great holiday!

And I never could do a handstand against a wall--not just kids today I guess!

kaalii...enjoy your holiday adventures!

thank you!

our trip is so far so good... friday green and a lovely Sweekend...
sledgehammer passed the border, no controls...

italian food is just awesome...
had a sublime gelato this weekend...
but that was it...
i am having some drinks every evening so far, that is a difference...
all in all moderation and fun...

cool - so happy to hear you are having a good time.

Oh how cool. You just drive into Italy. I love it!

sounds like a lovely weekend.

still in bologna.. last night we went to faenza motocross night track to watch friends train... my son loved it so much... going up to gardaland and lago di garda area in the next few days...

moday - green!
tuesday - red - had another famous gelato artigianale... not missing out on those while here...

wednesday - green!

had 2 meals and a big portion of cantaloupe at the beach (this is not a meal for my mind but it filled me up pretty well)...
playing volleyball with my son in the water...

thursday - red!!

with some butter cookies...

gardaland amusement park and sea life park today...
this will be an S day... floating family holiday... although i have prepared nice meals for us not to have to eat much junk there and frankly not to spend too much either... but i might have a soda drink or some junky treat...

Just wishing you a wonderful vacation, kaali. Hope you enjoy it to the fullest!

thank you, lifeisablessing...
after italy we arrived to croatia... at my mum's place.... oh what delicious homemade food she is preparing... veggies and fruits from local producers, grandmas selling their garden produce on the market...

monday - green!!
tuesday - red! had seconds for dinner, french toast and russian salad... it was just irresistible...

swimming in the lake, playing ball games with my son, walking quite a bit, going to an awesome open-air fitness park with my mum...

wednesday - green!

2 sessions of fitness outdoor park with my mum and son, what a great place... and so great to see my mum advancing in fitness and working on her health and having so much fun with it... and 3 generations in the family exercising together is so nice...
no swimming today...

thursday - green !!

2 fitness sessions with mum and son again... i feel all my muscles... lovely...
otherwise lazy relaxed day...
no swimming for the next few days the weather is not so good...

friday - green !

going to the 2nd daily outdoors fitness session with the family and a walk...
mum's food is sooo delicious and healthy at the same time, tons of homegrown veggies and salads... im spoiled...
soon we are leaving mum's house in croatia and going for a roadtrip to the adriatic coast...

I'm really enjoying hearing about your adventures.

thank you, knitapeace!

have a great Sweekend!

I imagine the crowds at the coast right now... Still, hope it will be a very enjoyable trip!

oh, yes, it already is... thanks!
and i know roads, people and places that protect u from the usual turistic madness...

Love reading about your trip updates kaali! Hope all is going well!

Chiming in to say I love your updates, too.

kaalii wrote: going to the 2nd daily outdoors fitness session with the family and a walk...
mum's food is sooo delicious and healthy at the same time, tons of homegrown veggies and salads... im spoiled...

you really are!

thank you lifeisablessing and emmama... i wish i had time to write more... it would not be about food so much, haha...
like about getting to play one of the oldest organs in a church in italy... and pianoforte from beethoven times... my bf's father is ancient music researcher... and whow, he can play!!
adrenaline fun and screaming on many rollercoaster rides in gardaland... seeing sharks and lots of wonderful sea creatures in sea life aquariums...
driving my old van on the beautiful mountain roads and lake roads and coastal roads... my bf driving the motorbike in front of us... opportunity to talk, sing and spend so much time with my son that school work routine allows less and less as his schedule is getting fuller... getting to rest and eat well at my mums... having fun with old friends from university days... friends from switzerland coming to visit at my mum's and staying couple of days... taking mum on a part of the coastal roadtrip with us... loving it...

going to be offline for some days but for now it is not so bad regarding to sticking to the noS inspite of some red days... staying at mum's makes it as easy as when at home in switzerland...
but otherwise it is also not as hard/chaotic as i thought it would be... lost another half a kilo, but that is on mum's scale so maybe imprecise... at least i know im maintaining and nothing is changing drastically yet... i feel and look good.. i feel also strong, the outdoor fitness routine with mum and son is so much fun, healthy family connection and i feel stronger... i told mum about noS... i think she is a bit scared to try it, permasnacker as she is... not pushing it, she is doing so good exercising and biking... and looking happy and good... just a bit worried about her blood sugar readings, we had diabetes in the family, grandfather died of it...
but after some days observing me she says she really likes my nice full plates and how satisfying it looks to see me eat "a lot" even though i smstms refuse, or postpone her constant food offerings...
la vita e' bella!

so, for the record:
monday and tuesday - green !!
nice Sweekend.. had some mum's delicious cherry pie... seconds... two pieces of chocolate...
a beer and a half with my uncle on saturday...
and party with friends on monday went overboard...

It all sounds wonderful...

la vita e' bella!

yes, it really is.

Love your description of your vacation. Sounds so lovely & carefree! So important to have those times of rejuvenatation.

Your S days sound good too. Pie--yum!!

Enjoy all of it!

Linda

one more red day on friday (one ball of ice-cream during the evening seaside walk)... otherwise all success... weight still the same... feel great...

noS seems to be pretty vacation/holidays/roadtrip/camping/festival/eating at mum's friendly...
yay!

Yay! Terrific!

kaalii wrote: noS seems to be pretty vacation/holidays/roadtrip/camping/festival/eating at mum's friendly...
yay!

Yes, it really is! Enjoy the rest of your trip .

back from another coastal roadtrip and camping and 2 festivals...
i didnt keep detailed track of failures but there were quite many...
main reason was that i have had wine after dinner almost every day and i have often added a bit of cola in it to make it tastier and alcohol-lighter...
the food was also not home cooked and more carbs and less veggies and salads... i actually miss lighter and more nutritious foods now...
but i was pretty good at sticking to the 3 meals a day and no seconds...
and it was fun...
lots of swimming in the sea, jumping from the rocks, walking around...
carrying stuff around while helping for a festival...

i think i will weight tomorrow morning... or on wednesday... i feel i might have gotten a kilo or 2... but i just might feel bloated now, too because i have eaten beans and lentils yesterday and today... or it is both..
let's see...
all in all, even though im not back to switzerland yet (we will pick one day this week to go back when there is the least traffic), the off-routine part of the holidays is over... it was magnificent, fun and reset and recharged me in so many ways... and im also glad to go back home to my work, home friends and routine...
mum is coming with us again for a visit... so streams of nice mum-cooked meals will continue even though ingredients will not be directly from her garden or local croatian maket...

what a lovely disaster this month was!

:arrow::arrow::arrow::arrow:

:D

:oops::oops::oops:

today already red - chocolate ice cream after mum's delicious meal that was 75% made of veggies...

and weighted today - 58kg... means i got 2 kg in this stream of red days/weeks... still perfect, 19.2 BMI... dont have calipers with me to check the body fat percentage, but feels like i have gotten a bit there, too...

6 weeks of holidays are almost over...

the results are waaaay better than expected with all the eat/drink fun i wanted and more...

now i have to see how smooth the transition to streams of green days will be...
and to my exercise routines...

im so happy that not only did i not forget about noS during the holidays but that i actually stick to it by eating 3 plates a day most of the days... and failed in the sweets (soda) departement mostly... which is easy to get back to since i almost never drink soda unless with some alcohol... and i dont drink alcohol daily nor regularly, except on holidays...

ice cream is also smthng that popped up occasionally... i never have it at home, we just take it when out, walking etc... this should also work out well within S-days framework...

Hi kaalii!

Welcome back! And great job with your results even with all the treats--it sounds like you stayed basically within the NoS framework that you had planned, so well done!

Can't believe how fast the time this summer has flown by though!

thank you, lifeisablessing!
yes, seems like i didnt stry too far off.. but time to get back to some green days...

that being said, i failed another 2 days... driving through 5 countries: croatia, slovenia, austria, germany and switzerland - and eating sandwitches and sncks... no sweets... i didnt binge, nor even eat much more than usually but it was not noS...
i was the only driver in the van so i guess these were special circumstances... but i dont mind marking it as red because i know i am capable of preparing myself both with food and mentally to make it with 3 meals in those circumstances... i just didnt...
now we are back home and im ready to move on...
mañana, mañana...

Great that you're not making excuses but I did find it awfully hard to stick to NoS on our road trip.

Wb though! Things should be much easier once you get into a normal routine again.

Linda

thanks, linda!

yes, hard to keep the n days green, maybe, but having the stabilising effect of 3 plates a day principle was beneficial and easy for the most part of the trip...
easier than calorie counting, i mean...

and first green day on friday...
this Sweekend is going smoothly... saturday 2 meals and a sweet treat... slept in so basically no time for 3rd meal...
sunday like a normal Nday so far... but i had mum's vegetable soup as entrée for lunch so it is a 2nd plate...
yes, routine is taking over slowly...

also, i immediately lost one of 2 kg i gained during the holidays, back to 57... no way i cut down 3500 calories in couple of days... so must have been something to do with water retention...

monday - green!

felt a bit hungry between meals...

stressfull first day at work, as always at the beginning of the schoolyear... reorganisations and fine-tuning... but nothing so extraordinary... and lovely to see again the kids... and meet the new ones and that they liked it...
also, my son is going to the same school i work in as of this year... that is nice...
summer showers stopped mum and me going to the forest...
sg later this evening...

oh and my new, although temporary, work schedule will allow me to accompany my son while he is having his swimming training on wednesdays... yay swimming once a week!!! for free!!
im hoping it stays that way...

Glad things are going well! You always have such a great attitude about things.


Thanks for the encouragement on my thread!

Linda

thanks, linda

i have my ups and downs like all of us... but i like to chose and share those that do to me/us good, imho... but then again, i know nothing...
we are all in this together...
lots of love!


tuesday - green! 3 one-plate-meals...
handfull of grapes to add to my no-more-losing-weight mod...

forest walk-jog and biking around town...

i love tis forum...

Oh awesome!

Not me, I share it all the good, bad & the ugly but that's mostly because I need a place to let go of it. In irl I play my cards very close to my chest. Besides I figure nobody has to read it if they don't want to.

Anyway glad you had a green day!

Linda

of course, linda, it is also nice to write as well as read different angles to life... much to learn... much to connect with... empathise with... rejoice with... we are all different and also often different from our own selves in different points in time/day/life... i like that

today another - green!!

biking around town...

and i remembered that i have been tempted by peanuts last night... which would be ok if i didnt already have my grapes during the day... this was one of the moments where marking days as green or red did make a difference in making the choice not to have some...
the temptation passed super quickly with peanuts still in front of me and i'm glad that i have almost totally forgotten about it... but now that i have remembered im writing it down...
today no temptations...

thursday - green!!

friday - green!!

did a double of my fairly regular walk-jog session... one round with mum... after that she couldnt any more and i needed one more... actually to be alone in the forest, i feel a bit down last couple of days... so it helped clear my head a bit...

kaalii, I'm inspired by your dedication to staying physically active! I'm not a couch potato, but I'm not as active as I'd like to be. I used to walk regularly with friends, but no one is available and it's hard to find the motivation to go by myself. Glad to hear your walk in the forest cheered you up a bit!

im glad you feel inspired, e-lyn...
yes, i have a habit/need to be physically active... plus a non-sitting job... and by next spring when i move im getting a dog again, finally (cant wait)... that will add to it even more...

this saturday was the craziest Sday... so far, i've never worried about Sdays, found them ok... but this one felt a bit too much... let's see:

-granola cereals+almond milk+raw cocoa powder
-toasted sandwitch with melted cheese + tomato salad
-around 1/2 cup pistacchios
-2 quorn salami+melted cheese sandwitches
-and one more of that bit later
-granola cereals+almond milk+raw cocoa powder
-1/2 cup cashewnuts

so, 4 sandwitches, 2granola cereal cups, and a cup of nuts all in all... yep, too much and not really nourishing but i think this is still not crossing into the "idiot zone" (from "dont be an idiot" part of noS basic instruction)... or?

today, it is noon and i still feel full from yesterday...

easy sunday... 2 meals so far... but breakfast included 2 small crèpes with homemade strawberry jam from my mum...
i will have a dinner soon...
later than usually because breakfast was in the a-noon...

lots of walking/jogging today in the forest with mum, double than usual again... she is slowly preparing for walking pigrimage in 2 weeks back in croatia so she is trying to keep up with me... she is doing good... i love her spirit...

monday - green!!

morning and evening walk/jog in the forest... with mum... she is really going into the preparations for her thing...
and quite an active day at work...
im beat...
feels good...

Go Mum! are you two competitive (in a mutually beneficial way, of course)? sounds like it's working well!

Good job on the green Monday

RAWCOOKIE wrote:Go Mum! are you two competitive (in a mutually beneficial way, of course)? sounds like it's working well!

haha, noooo! not competitive...
it is funny, though, how it looks when we go together on our walks: we walk together but she walks way too slow for me so i, like a dog that you throw a stick to, run ahead of her for 2-300 meters to up my heart rate and then turn and run back and meet her again and we go on walking and talking together, my heart rate slowing down to normal... untill i feel the need to up my heart rate again... so in the end she is doing optimal cardio for her age/fitness and im doing something like HIIT... plus some mother-daughter quality time...

and tuesday - green!!

active day at work (lots of stairs climbing and descending) and forest walk/run...

wednesday - green!!

been a while since i used my mod of portion of nuts or fruits... now that my weight is not below ideal im relaxed in vanilla noS...
but my body fat dropped to 18.7% again according to this morning's measurment... sweet...

swimming during my son's swimming training...
and now off to evening walk/run session with mum in my forest...

kaalii wrote:wednesday - green!!

been a while since i used my mod of portion of nuts or fruits... now that my weight is not below ideal im relaxed in vanilla noS...
but my body fat dropped to 18.7% again according to this morning's measurment... sweet...

swimming during my son's swimming training...
and now off to evening walk/run session with mum in my forest...

Enjoyable activities like walking in a forest are easier to maintain. I often wanted to live in a town with forest in the back of my house to do that, but the wife isn't the "wild outdoors" type I am.