Everyday Systems

Hi -

I found this site in a link from "Eat Like A Normal Person." That approach really resonates, as does the S diet. I'd like to jump in today as Day 1 (and tomorrow and the next day are S days ), so here I go.

This seems like a nice place...

Welcome, Emmama/Marisa!

You are in the right place--it's a great group of people with lots of experiences to draw upon.

welcome, emmama!

i also started on a friday! eased into noS! it is a great day to start!

Welcome, Emmama...jump right in!

Thank you for the welcome.

Day 1 is a Success.

No snacks, sweets or seconds.

Here we go!

This is an S day, so already a success I guess.

Noting some extras, because of the day:

one chocolate candy my son gave me
guacamole and chips as an dinner appetizer
hot fudge sundae

Another S day, so all good.

Extras because it was an S:

1 cookie
extra piece of brisket after dinner

Hi Emmama, I'm new as of last week too, started Tuesday. So this is my first No S Monday. I did some shopping over the weekend and feel pretty prepared for the week. Glad you enjoyed your weekend, and let's No S this week together!!

knitapeace wrote:Hi Emmama, I'm new as of last week too, started Tuesday. So this is my first No S Monday. I did some shopping over the weekend and feel pretty prepared for the week. Glad you enjoyed your weekend, and let's No S this week together!!

Excellent thank you! Yes, let's do this.

I was a little apprehensive just because any kind of restrictive eating triggers all kinds of emotions in me. But today was a SUCCESS yay - no snacks, sweets, or seconds. I'm doing no mods for now, so I had a piece of pizza for lunch, with some strawberries, and I'm not going to stress about it lol.

I don't think a piece of pizza is as bad as some people like to make it out to be. I live in New York and even one of our gigantic cheese slices is only about 400-450 calories, so that plus some strawberries is not an unreasonable lunch! As long as it keeps you full til dinner and makes you feel satisfied so you don't crave a snack, then it sounds good to me!

I completely concur with knitapeace about the pizza! I think pizza's bad rap starts coming into play when too many slices are consumed. One or two slices aren't bad at all, and you can't beat it for tastiness.

ha! pizza on this thread, too!
yes, im all for pizza too... in moderation, like with anything!

I'm a BIG fan of pizza. Too much pizza (along with too much of anything) not good, but pizza is NOTHING to feel bad about!! I eat pizza for lots of meals & it's never been a problem for me (:

Thanks everyone for the pizza props! One decent-sized piece with a salad or fruit has always seemed reasonable to me...

Today, so far, so good. Funny thing is that every once in a while I'll think, "Oh no, what should I eat?" and then I remember that I can eat anything within reason and that's such a relief.

The exception is sweets, and that's a good thing for me because I tend to overdo sweets. I recently logged my food for a few weeks with no restrictions whatsoever...and what I noticed was how many sweets-as-snacks that I ate. It feels good to just put that option to the side until the weekend.

Today was a SUCCESS.

Way to go!!!

I am going to count yesterday - Wednesday - as a SUCCESS.

No sweets or seconds, for sure.

Last night, I went out to dinner with a big group of friends to celebrate a birthday. I didn't want to count it as an S day, because she is a friend, but not a close friend lol. But I was freaking famished and it took a long time for everyone to show up and we ordered six plates of appetizers for a party of 9. So I had 6 fried pickle slices and 2 cheese fries, then ordered a salad for dinner.

I was all ready to count it as a FAIL day but once the salad came I only ate the chicken off the top, and some of the greens, and that was it. I was full. And so since it was all at one sitting, and everything I ate could easily fit on a plate, I'll say it was a success. There was cake later, but I passed that up easily.

yep, that was definitely a success... one meal/plate in one sitting... no snacks, no sweets, no seconds...
and also a great way to handle social situations without much fuss
thanks for sharing that

Great job, Emmama! That is a perfect example of making NoS work for you.

That would be a TOTAL success in my book!! I worry more about the overall amount of food during a dinner out!! More of a virtual plate (:

Thank you all so much for your kind remarks

And today was a SUCCESS. 3 meals, no sweets, snacks, or seconds. But I was sorely tempted by a crusty baguette - I put three thin slices on my plate, and would have typically gone for a few more once I finished my meal. Decided to save a couple slices with my egg in the morning instead.

That's 7 days. Woot.

I weighed myself this morning and I had gained 0.8 pounds in a week. Probably not even worth mentioning, but the scale gets in my head.

So I promised myself that I wouldn't freak out until I am 21 days in lol. Today is Day 8.

And a SUCCESS: no sweets, snacks or seconds.

Maybe after 21 days I will start logging food, to stay mindful, but for now just focusing on the three meals etc.

It's hard to tell what makes the scale do stupid things. Sometimes if I've had an alcoholic drink the day before, or too much salt, i retain a little water. Great reaction to let it go and focus on the 21 day goal! You're doing a great job and having lots of success days, and long term it's going to show on the scale.

knitapeace wrote:It's hard to tell what makes the scale do stupid things. Sometimes if I've had an alcoholic drink the day before, or too much salt, i retain a little water. Great reaction to let it go and focus on the 21 day goal! You're doing a great job and having lots of success days, and long term it's going to show on the scale.

Yes. For me it's salt and/or pop. I weigh daily, and the scale can jump around quite a bit. This morning I was 2.5 lbs. more than yesterday! I know I didn't gain 2.5 lbs. of fat in a day. Earlier this week I had two days in a row where I dropped a pound per day--and I knew I didn't drop a lb. of fat each day either. Late April & most of May I was at a plateau for almost 6 weeks before I finally broke through.

All that to say--don't let the scale throw you off, but keep focusing on habit. Once you have habits in place, then you can take a closer look at them and whether you need to tweak anywhere. Hang in there!

Thank you...yes, I have promised myself that for the first 21 days I am going to *only* worry about the no snacks, sweets, seconds part and let the pieces fall where they may. After that first 3 weeks are over, I will take stock.

Funny how incredibly powerful the number on the scale is though...like it can make or break my day, which is ridiculous. At any rate, I won't weigh the rest of this week...too crazy-making for me.

Today was a SUCCESS. So there's that.

Yesterday was a FAIL. The entire day went to plan, until later in the evening when I met up with a friend for a glass of wine. Another friend brought us each a brownie, freshly made. I did ok with that, just pinched off a couple bites and left the rest (offered it to my friend finally, after she finished hers lol). But that must have used up all my willpower because when I came home my husband offered me the rest of the ice cream and I had that. So, la.

Today: so far so good.

I think you're doing great. Congrats on the Monday success, today is a new day!

Freshly made brownie, that's brutal! I think you did great with it .

Here's to getting back to N days

Ok, boo. Either today is a FAIL or I declare it an S day, my monthly get-together with the neighborhood women. We went wine tasting. That part was fine...I had the equivalent of two glasses. I didn't eat the food, except 2 crackers that I nibbled on between tastes.

But I got home hungry, and maybe a smidge tipsy, and had a mini-binge on brownies and chips. Total FAIL, actually. Phew. Fell apart on days 12 and 13. I must reflect on what's going on, see if I can get some insight other than "welp, I give up."

just mark it and move on!

to me it looks like your fails were just circumstantional... you have been tempted, litterally offered to eat... plus a little bit of vine...
hey, it doesnt sound like anything worth worrying about to me...
focus on the habit formation... not a stumble or two or three or four...
you are on the track...

kaalii wrote: focus on the habit formation... not a stumble or two or three or four...
you are on the track...

Thank you that's what I am focusing on...just 3 meals a day, no snacks, sweets, seconds and if I get off track..just hop back on.

So today was on track, 3 meals, no sweets seconds or snacks.

B: egg, cottage cheese, toast, coffee
L: pasta, 1/2 orange
D: half single-size pizza, 3 oz wine, a pc focaccia

Heavy on the carbs today, but still a SUCCESS.

Hi Emmama! My meals have been quite heavy on the carbs too. Mostly bread, pasta, rice etc. with the occasional whole grain like oatmeal or quinoa. I feel a bit guilty about this because of all the low carb diet pressure out there. I'm curious to see how it will work out for me in the long run or if I will have to limit them at some point. Time will tell...

Congrats on your green day!

I'm having some struggles this week too, let's hang in there together! S Days are coming!!! (<--tiny Game of Thrones reference there LOL)

e-lyn wrote:Hi Emmama! My meals have been quite heavy on the carbs too. Mostly bread, pasta, rice etc. with the occasional whole grain like oatmeal or quinoa. I feel a bit guilty about this because of all the low carb diet pressure out there.

I have felt so much better about eating carbs since doing No S - the joy of enjoying sandwiches again! In fact the McDougall recommendations (which I got interested in) are all 'starch-based' meals. I have found that I do have to limit things like bread and pastry - but can enjoy them as part of my meals. For example, if I have a weekend when I've eaten a lot of bread, my weight will go up and I feel bigger - I've proved to myself that it's definitely bread/pastry that does this to me. I now have Burgen sliced bread, which I don't like enough to overdo!

I spent two years on the McDougall diet and I enjoyed all those yummy starches! Potatoes, rice, and especially those purple yams. I lost plenty of weight too, but I had to count Weight Watcher points to do so. I don't believe it was the carbs that had me gaining the first couple of months. It was just too many calories overall for me. The most frustrating thing was that my husband did not lose any weight on it...and he's a big guy with plenty to lose. We just could not figure that out.

Thank you for the support and yes, S days are here! Plus 4th of July, which will probably mostly be smoked meats, so---

Today was a SUCCESS. Yay!

B: egg, cottage cheese, bacon, toast, coffee
L: pizza (other 1/2 of yesterday's dinner), cucumbers, dill dip
D: steak, caesar salad, avocado, mac and cheese, wine

Three S days in a row...I didn't go too crazy. Mostly I had a few sweets...and French toast for breakfast on Saturday, mmmm...

Today was an N day, and a SUCCESS

B: eggs, toast w.butter, raspberries, coffee
L: pad thai, veggie chips, bite of beef rib
D: homemade hamburger, tots, rose

Glad you had a successful holiday weekend! I did okay the first two days, but totally lost it at a picnic on the 4th. btw..I like your menus.

e-lyn wrote:Glad you had a successful holiday weekend! I did okay the first two days, but totally lost it at a picnic on the 4th. btw..I like your menus.

Thanks! I hesitated to post them at first because I don't want to get all judgy about what I'm eating, as long as it's at a meal time and moderate. But it's helpful for me to just note what I eat, I think.

I thought about the 'judgy' thing too, but journaling keeps me honest about my overall food intake. Someday I hope to have this down to where it's second nature and I'm eating like a normal person, no recording necessary. I'm not there yet.

e-lyn wrote:Someday I hope to have this down to where it's second nature and I'm eating like a normal person, no recording necessary. I'm not there yet.

Me, neither.

But today was a SUCCESS.

B: coffee
L: french toast, eggs, sausage, tea
D: sausage pasta, green salad, wine

Sausage pasta sounds so good!!! Congrats on the success, keep building on it!

SUCCESS

B: bacon, eggs, toast, coffee
L: apple, cheddar
D: pork chop, watermelon, roasted broccoli

SUCCESS

B: french toast, eggs, sausage, coffee
L: triscuits and cheese
D: grilled chicken salad, beer, wine

SUCCESS

B: egg, cottage cheese, toast, coffee
L: plate with spoonfuls of: watermelon, potatoes, chicken, crackers, dip
D: Taco ring (don't ask), green salad

There's a package of mint oreos in the pantry calling my name, but I am going to resist. Oreos are my big diet-breaking weakness. I don't even like them that much, but anytime that I am restricting sweets, I *crave* them.

I hear you on the Oreos! I don't care for the filling, only the chocolate cookie and not even that much. But if they're in my house I want them. Maybe you can put a few aside for the weekend and get rid of the rest, haha.

Emmama wrote: There's a package of mint oreos in the pantry calling my name, but I am going to resist. Oreos are my big diet-breaking weakness. I don't even like them that much, but anytime that I am restricting sweets, I *crave* them.

It's amazing what power sugar has over us. It is much harder to quit sugar than nicotine in my experience. Be strong and resist! Don't let the sugar win!

Thanks e-lyn and Moonbat! I did not eat the Oreos I just tell myself that I can have whatever I want on Saturday. I doubt it will be Oreos. Probably ice cream lol.

SUCCESS today. It's amazing how quickly I can drop the habit of eating a sweet after dinner. My new habit is to take a bath and watch Netflix. It's relaxing and nurturing and non-food related. Just finished up Mad Men.

B: eggs, cottage cheese, toast, coffee
L: salami and cheese sandwich, cottage cheese, raspberries, milk
D: chicken thighs, roasted cauliflower, bread, wine, cucumbers

I also bought the No S book on my Kindle because I need to stay focused. I am definitely changing my habits but my weight is staying put. Reading the book will keep my on track, hopefully.

SUCCESS

And it's Wednesday. I think I care more about being successful during the week than I do about being able to eat anything on the weekend. So when I think "2 days to the weekend" I am more excited about decreasing the opportunities for failure than I am the reward. Ah well...my food issues will subside eventually.

B: egg, cantaloupe, toast, coffee
L: 1/2 chicken salad sandwich, potato chips, strawberries, milk
D: pork tenderloin, cauliflower, caesar salad, pasta, wine

Plus a beer while I was swimming in the pool this evening.

Beer and a swimming pool....sounds really good to me right now! We're in the middle of a heat wave.

Congrats on your green day!

I have the same feelings about the weekend as you, Emmama. When we talk about how many days to the weekend at work we always say "I'm wishing my life away." A little funny but a little sad at the same time because it's kind of true! I hope one day we can come to the point that we relish the N days as much as the S days, because they are the "normal" we get to come back to.

Congrats on those yummy meals and the wonderful success!

e-lyn wrote:Beer and a swimming pool....sounds really good to me right now! We're in the middle of a heat wave.

We are, too. I've been quitting work around 4:30 each evening (I work at home, part-time) and getting in the pool to read and paddle around.

knitapeace wrote:I hope one day we can come to the point that we relish the N days as much as the S days, because they are the "normal" we get to come back to.

Yes, and just to live in the Now and all that. Plus even though I haven't lost a lot of weight (maybe a pound or so), what is slowly dawning on me is that eating this way, I will not *gain* weight and that's such a relief...soothes that panicky part of me that freaks every time I eat something that's not steamed veggies.

SUCCESS

Success today...sad about the situation in France, though. Don't feel the urge to comfort eat, but then again my eating hang-ups are pretty unimportant at the moment.

B: egg, bacon, toast, cantaloupe, coffee
L: cheese, salami, crackers, nectarine
D: pizza, caesar salad, wine

SUCCESS

B: french toast, egg, sausage, coffee
L: cheese, crackers, salami, cantaloupe
D: pork tacos, cold slaw, beer

Nice menus, Emmama. It reminds me of how well we can eat on NoS. Moderation, not deprivation.

Coming up on a month! Nice to hear eating hangups feel abated for now.

Thank you, e-lyn. The scale hasn't budged (note to stop excessively weighing myself) but I haven't gained either. I bought the kindle version of the NoS Diet to read through and give me some moral support and I came to the line, "Maintenance is an improvement" and so there you have it. It's tempting to start engineering what I'm eating and make up some more rules, etc but I think I will wait at least 3 months to see if I need to make some changes in diet composition outside of NoS. Patience.

Thank you oolala53 too for the reminder. I hadn't realized it was almost a month! Working on strict adherence to the NoS guidelines and only that...coming up close to 21 days success!

Closing in on 21 days SUCCESS in a row!

B: egg, english muffin, cantaloupe, coffee
L: steak, avocado, tortilla chips
D: chicken salad sandwich, cantaloupe, strawberries, 4 potato chips

No alcohol today...hmmm...this is probably good. I have set the 2 glass ceiling that is advocated, but have been drinking 2 glasses most days. I think I use alcohol as a treat, instead of sugar. So it is probably a good thing to skip the drinks here and there.

Go go go!!! You can do it!!

Day 20 in a row

SUCCESS

B: coffee, migas, black beans, rice, tea
L: bowl of cereal
D: tofu and fried rice, wine

Yesterday sounds like it was delicious! Keep on truckin'!

Ok - officially 21 days of success! Yay!

No weight loss yet, but I feel really good about maintaining, knowing that this level of eating will not cause me to gain, and starting to shed just a little craziness around food.

I lost 65 pounds a few years back. When I was maintaining that loss (for a few years, until it crept back on), I noticed that I stopped seeing food as the centerpiece to all my activities. In the past, whenever we did something as a family, or I went out to run errands, or I met up with a friend...it was all an occasion to eat. And if a meal was not explicitly part of the function, I would make sure to stop and get a bite before I came home. Honestly, I was pretty obsessed with food.

I notice that with the 3 meals a day thing, I've again become much less focused on food. I went to the park with my boys yesterday evening (to chase pokemon), thought briefly of suggesting we go get ice cream, dismissed the idea since it's an N day, and the boys never even knew. To them it was all about goofing around in the park, no food required. It's nice.

Anyway...SUCCESS today.

B: coffee, fish tacos
L: rice and tofu
D: grilled chicken salad, some chips and queso, tea

Yay, fish tacos for breakfast! I love non-traditional foods for breakfast.

Awesome job on the 21 days! I'm looking forward to food becoming less of a focus. It's amazing how much time I spend thinking about what I do or don't put in my mouth...

osoniye wrote:Yay, fish tacos for breakfast! I love non-traditional foods for breakfast.

I go to lunch meetings a few times a week, and when I do, I tend to schedule the lunch early and then have that be my first meal of the day. Then around 3 or 4 I will have a light "lunch," and then dinner...makes for some interesting breakfasts.

ekat: it's so easy to get obsessed with food, and even more so when you are trying to lost weight! I want to let go of that obsession, so I have more time and energy to focus on other things.

SUCCESS

B: eggs, cantaloupe, english muffin, coffee
L: cheese and crackers
D: smoked chicken, asparagus, pasta, wine

You're doing SO well, great job!

Thanks, Cindy. SUCCESS today and I am ready for something sweet tomorrow.

B: egg, toast, nectarine, coffee
L: shrimp tempura, miso, bit of rice, sushi, iced tea
D: pizza, salad, wine

Have a great weekend!

I have to say that I think that hitting 21 days of success did something to me on some psychological level and after a moderate S weekend, I had two back to back FAIL days.

Monday:

B: egg, grapes, toast, coffee
L: pimento cheese, bread, salad
D: pasta bolognese, caesar salad, wine
S: 3 chocolate chip cookies that my husband evilly made while we were watching the DNC

Tuesday:

B: sausage and egg breakfast taco, coffee
L: 1/2 hamburger, onion strings, sangria
D: 1/2 hamburger, raspberries, milk

I did NOT eat any more cookies today (I put them in a baggie to save for later) and I thought today was a green day, and then reading someone else's post I realized that while we were out shopping today, I grazed on several samples of jellies and dips and such. Totally forgot that I had even done that.

So, boo. But tomorrow is another day!

Emmama, today was a FAIL for me too. I got a little over confident and tried to cut down on my meals just a bit. About two hours after dinner I got very hungry. It wasn't too terrible, just some leftover pasta salad and about a bit of fruit crisp, but disappointed in myself. Like you said, tomorrow is another day! I'm sure we can get back on track....

But you are still PRACTICING No S! I still can't get over that saying, I believe it was moonbat who coined it. Because one of my favorite sayings from meditation is a response to the tired old "practice makes perfect" and it's this: It's all practice; there is no perfect.

Chills. Keep going, you're all good.

Thanks, e-lyn and Cindy! And our fails seem to be fairly mild, so that's an improvement as well

Today: SUCCESS

B: egg, toast, grapes, coffee
L: hamburger, lemonade
D: chicken thigh, corn on the cob, pasta, wine

Out of town and SUCCESS

B: eggs, toast, raspberries, coffee
L: Pimento cheese, chicken thighs
D: mixed tempura, 3 sushi pieces, sesame chicken

Good job on the comeback!

Liked what you said about "goofing around in the park, no food required." We can so often do without!

Well, you've found out that this is not a linear process! New habits rarely are. It's the trend that is important and it's way too soon to have enough data for a trend. No matter. The time is going to pass.

You are right on track!

I was out of town for a four-day weekend, the extent of our vacation plans this year because we took a very long, extended trip to Europe last year and now I have to put kid#2 through college. Now that we have that out of the way, lol, I will add that I took Friday as an S day, just to justify some bruschetta that I snacked on with our wine-tasting.

Saturday and Sunday were decently in control...I don't snack more than maybe a couple bites over the weekend, or do seconds, but man do I love my sweets. So I had a cupcake and three cookies that I hid in the freezer from earlier in the week.

On to a new month! Thank you for your encouraging remarks! For August, I am going to start noting exercise. I am healing a broken elbow so no sledgehammer, but walking and some yoga should be A-ok.

A cupcake and a few cookies sounds quite moderate. Well done!

I'm trying that freezer trick this week too! Sounds like you had a very enjoyable weekend!