Everyday Systems

Trying this out, not committing quite yet to this one! Think this will help with some upcoming.. let's say challenges.. with food temptations next week.

Jul 5: Failure. Started good, sabotaged by a bag of Bugles. Then it was game over.

Jul 6 (today): SUCCESS! Had some fuller plates but all is well.

Good for you! Keep it up.

Thank you Emmama!

July 7: Success! All average sized meals and healthy enough. Had a little too much coffee.. and milk as a result of that. Otherwise feel great and about to relax with a gin and tonic!

You're off to a great start!

Thanks! Today: success! Except I think I'll go 1 over my glass ceiling tonight. It's the first day of vacation and I feel like celebrating. Is it cheating? Maybe.. but this will be a temporary liberty.

Road trip and temptations abound. It's an S day thankfully, but I wonder how I would do if this was an n day on a road trip where a lot more willpower is needed. Had dessert and a couple small snacks, but not totally overboard. Fairly proud of not going to overboard at the buffet dinner, probably at 1.5 plates tonight plus dessert.

The great thing about No S is that you don't even need to worry about 'what if it was an N day' - just enjoy the freedom of the S day

My suggestion for N days when on vacation/road trip etc, is to make sure that each of your 3 meals is BIG enough/interesting enough to satisfy you. Keep going!

I agree with Rawcookie: Keep your three meals satisfying and large enough to get you through to the next meal. Maybe temporarily do a mod where you can eat anything for those three meals? That way you won't have to worry about too many S days.

I don't "DO" No S, I practice No S.

I like to look at it this way. A 50% failure rate with No S, is still a 50% improvement on my lifestyle without No S.

Best wishes!

WOW moonbat, just WOW. That's some gold right there. Liveitup I hope you're having a fantastic week!

Pure gold.. I agree!

I did not so bad last week considering we were on vacation and confronted with a buffet 3x a day! Mostly 1 plate for breakfast and lunch, but admittedly just gave in to having dessert most nights. Thanks for the reminder to not feel too guilty about it, I instantly feel better now.

Back to practice tomorrow.

Yesterday: success.

Breakfast: egg, cheddar, soy sausage, guac, and salsa on a medium whole wheat tortilla.

Lunch: veggie burger with lettuce, tomato, guac, thousand island, bowl of watermelon

Dinner: soy chicken on whole wheat english muffin with avocado and tomato, side of tots

Alcohol: white wine, gin on the rocks

Today: success

Breakfast: Whole grain porridge with feta, crushed cashews, and sauteed mushrooms

Lunch: Grilled veg sandwich with cheese and caramelized onions, bowl of diced watermelon

Dinner: Scrambled eggs with avocado, sour cream, and salsa, veg bacon, and tots

Forgot to say thanks to raw cookie for the great advice. Thank you!

Your lunch sounds good! I have a 10-hour drive coming up in a couple days for our vacation, and I'm not very confidence in my ability to avoid snacking...I feel like I'm hungry all the time when I travel.

Today: SUCCESS

B: Scrambled eggs, soyrizo, guac, salsa burrito on a whole wheat tortilla
L: Tortilla chips, 2 veg tacos on corn tortillas, mexican brown rice, arugula and tomato salad
D: Spaghetti w/ field roast sausage, 2 pieces whole wheat bread w/ olive oil, green beans
A: Glass of white wine, Campari on the rocks

Oops, forgot yesterday's A: White wine, Rye on the rocks

Good luck on the drive ekat! Maybe just plan on making it an S day so you don't have post-travel guilt? Something to consider.

SUCCESS

This week so far has been a little easier than others.. hope it keeps up.

B: Shredded wheat w/ whole milk, DanActive, black coffee
L: Mizuna, endive, and grilled peach salad, potato croquette with green goddess, 1/8 whole wheat pita with a half spoonful of tapenade, (an amuse bouche, was eating w/ co-workers and didn't feel like opting out socially), stewed farro in tomato sauce.. still one plate equivalent.
D: Basically same as yesterday - spaghetti marinara w/ field roast, green beans, and 2 slices whole wheat bread with butter this time
A: Germain Robin brandy, neat

Okay your food looks amazing! Another person who likes to cook I presume? Glad things are going so well. Enjoy the ride!

Linda

My wife is the dinner chef 99% of the time. She is really good! The decadent sounding lunch on Thursday was in a cafe, but I'll bet she could do it just as well.

Last Friday: FAILURE

B: Egg, spinach, cheese, mushroom on everything bagel
L: Potato samosas, eggplant, chana masala, brown rice

<so far so good... then>

D: Fried green tomato burger, fries, slice of veg pizza, and way too much truffle butter popcorn
A: 2 Boulevardiers, 1/2 a Lava Bowl at the Tonga Room.

So we had an amazing date night in SF. We stayed at the Fairmont, took BART down to the Alamo to catch the new Ghostbusters, and had (too much) food and a couple cocktails, then "snuck", (we tried to pay but the driver just shooed us off!), on a cable car back up Powell to the Tonga Room for a tropical drink and live music. No regrets on the drinks, (although the second Boulevardier was probably unnecessary, but it was fun!), even though it was a little above the glass ceiling, but ugh writing out the food I ate for dinner is a little painful.

One great thing I've noticed is that Glass Ceiling really helps me with special nights out. I think I've said this before, but having 1-2 drinks most nights during the week tones down the weekends and special nights a LOT. In fact now I sometimes use our normal weekends to take a break, since the stress levels are a lot lower and the drinks don't feel as appetizing. Last Friday was a special night and before NoS I would have imbibed a lot more (I think ~5 was my night-out limit, but now that's definitely WAY too much).

Today: SUCCESS

B: Quaker Life with whole milk and a delicious soft juicy peach, black coffee x 3
L: Greek style linguine with tomatoes, olives and feta, mushroom, red onion, and mozzarella flatbread, pesto farro, roasted spicy zucchini and yellow squash, ginger kombucha
D: Greek salad, 2x cheddar and zucchini quesadillas with salsa verde, small bit of both leftover Mexican rice and refried beans, (was too full, could have easily skipped the rice and beans) :/
A: None today

Doing couch25k again. I was up to 5 miles 2-3x a week 2 years ago and want to build up again. Very excited!

Sounds like you had a great time in SF! We were also there this past weekend visiting our son. Our food wasn't nearly as exciting as yours, though. We spent the afternoon at the DeYoung museum and had burritos and beer at a little taqueria in the Haight. I do enjoy reading your menus!

Today: SUCCESS

This is getting a little easier. I don't really expect it to always get easier but for the last couple weeks, and maybe it's because I indulged so much over vacation, have been going well. I'm starting to sort out in advance what kind of dessert to look forward to over the weekend. The idea of eating a bag of Bugles and all the kids leftovers isn't as appetizing as it normally would be. I'd like to plan more intentional and smaller indulgences/rewards for the weekend. I'm thinking some freshly made cannoli sound amazing. We'll see.

B: Breakfast burrito with scrambled eggs, pan fried soy sausage in stewed tomatoes and onions with melted provolone rolled up in a whole wheat tortilla, 2x black coffees, and a vanilla nutmeg latte mid-morning
L: Baked tofu, tomatoes, and mozzarella with stir fried green beans and smoked paprika, steamed brown rice, and a slice of whole wheat bread with lemon aioli
D: Soy meatballs sauteed in a lemon butter sauce, whole grain couscous, steamed green beans drizzled with olive oil
A: Fernet, white wine

Glad you like reading the menus. Food can be fun and interesting at least to revisit at the end of the day. The cafeteria at work has some great stuff -- that's where a lot of my breakfasts and lunch come from.

The de Young is a beautiful space. Sounds like you had fun in SF too.

liveitup wrote:The cafeteria at work has some great stuff -- that's where a lot of my breakfasts and lunch come from.

Wow! I wanna work where you work, just to have access to the cafeteria!!

Today: SUCCESS

B: Plain whole yogurt with watermelon, honeydew, dried cranberries, honey, and granola, whole milk latte, 2x black coffees
L: Veggie burger w/ garlic aioli, arugula, tomato on brioche, 3-bean chili cheese steak fries, ginger kombucha
D: Vegetable ratatouille with tomatoes, onions, red bell peppers, eggplant, squash, and a parmesan crumble, side of greens with lemon vinaigrette from a little casual french take out here
A: 2 white wines

The portions at the little French place are perfect normal plate sizes, and believe it or not it's one of the few places that are both affordable and have simple, relatively healthy food for the family. Definitely NoS friendly with human-friendly portions. The best croque madames with brie and obviously amazing fries.. or uh frites I guess. Plus it's steps from my train stop so I can grab it on the way home and bring it back for the fam. It's a great value at $24 for two.. for French around here at least. We are loving it but still prefer to cook at home for most dinners.

Also day 2 of couch25k. It's on a 3x per week schedule and it feels great to start practicing a low-bar exercise habit. I'm a runner at heart otherwise Shovelglove would be my go-to.

Today: SUCCESS

B: Quaker Life with whole milk, 1x black coffee, latte
L: Toasted gnocchi over zucchini and yellow squash in a light cream sauce, tiny bite of focaccia with green onion cream cheese (probably 1/2 of one bite, probably can skip this but the focaccia was so good), and stewed lentils in tomato and celery, iced vanilla green matcha with milk after
D: Veggie meatballs sauteed in lemon butter sauce, leftover from earlier, and a tomato, cucumber, and feta salad, 2x King's Hawaiian dinner rolls
A: 2x sidecars

The sidecars are actually over the glass ceiling a little bit, based on DMV standards, since I made them to spec (1.5oz brandy, .75oz Cointreau, .75oz lemon juice), but really not by much. Plus I don't want to obsess over it too much.

Toasted gnocchi is a wonderful thing. Slightly crispy puffy potato balls are amazing!

The tomatos from tonight's dinner came from my father in law's garden. They were so sweet and juicy. Absolutely delicious.

Today: SUCCESS

This Friday I thought ahead about establishing a good default today with Amici's -- penne pasta with marinara, and that felt great. Normally I would have suggested we get a large pizza for the family, but the penne was a healthier option and it was sized for one person (maybe a bit on the large size, but it was one plate). Next time I might get a personal pizza because that's portioned out properly. So hard to control the urge to have "just 1 more slice"!

B: Scrambled eggs with salsa, tater tots, and sauteed rainbow chard, 1 black drip coffee, 1 double americano
L: Brussels sprouts, zucchini, and bell pepper tacos with cotijo and guacamole on corn tortillas, black beans, roasted broccoli and cauliflower, ginger kombucha, 1 black drip coffee
D: Just penne pasta with marinara from Amici's
A: 2 drinks at cocktail hour: 1 Fernet, 1 St. George's Absinthe

Jogged and walked 2.1 miles on day 3 of couch25k!

I do enjoy your menus--very inspiring!

Thanks Marianna. I'm really inspired by others too and really enjoy reading them.

Busy this week!

Monday: failure
Tuesday: success
Today: success

Monday was tough. We made chocolate chip cookies out of desperation for some reason. Probably was feeling deprived since admittedly breakfast and lunch was way too light. Oh well!

Yesterday and today were great.

Today: success!

Been good this week, getting back in the habit of getting good sized plates in so I'm not tempted by junk. Still in the process of measuring whether the portions are too big, but they fit on a plate, I feel full, and it looks fairly normal to me so I'm happy for now. Also am sticking to my weight and don't appear to be gaining. We'll see how it goes long term.

B: Granola with soy milk, 1 pluot
L: Portobello mushroom sandwich with hummus, pesto, spinach, and tomatoes on focaccia bread with a small handful of zen party mix (peanuts, sesame crackers)
D: Penne pasta w/ cauliflower alfredo sauce, side of steamed broccoli, carrots, and tomatos
A: 1 glass white wine

2 mile walk/jog today

Note to self: Don't read liveitup's check-in when I'm hungry!

With glass ceiling, I think Reinhard says a glass is a glass is a glass. So the limit is 2 glasses, not 2 shots/drinks. I'm not doing glass ceiling yet, though I'll probably start at some point, but that was my understanding of it from the podcast.

Hah, read it before you eat then!

I hear you with the glass is a glass thing. I mean it would be hard to justify having two big glasses of 110 proof whiskey, and that's not what you're saying. The idea is not to sweat it right? Thanks for the reminder.

Today: SUCCESS

B: Quaker Life w/ whole milk, 1 apple from our tree in the backyard
L: Soy buffalo chick'n patty, tomato, lettuce, hummus, balsamic reduction, and ranch dressing wrap in a flour tortilla, 1/2 a fuji apple (from the grocery store, just picked ours and getting through last week's shopping) w/ peanut butter
D: 2 slices Amici's cheese pizza and a kale, quinoa, toasted pine nut salad w/ vinegar and olive oil dressing
A: Cocktails! 1 Negroni w/ Aperol swapped in for the Campari, and 1 Bourbon Boulevardier w/ Campari. I made my wife lemon drops with Titos and fresh lemons from our backyard.

It's Friday!

FAILURE

Dentist this morning, couldn't eat breakfast. Lunch was alright, healthy. Then dinner came and I was feeling stressed out and famished. We also had some leftover apple crisp so I went for it. Admittedly I felt like I went overboard and then had a don't-care-anymore attitude, which I regret.

Tomorrow is another day and I'm looking forward to it.

Sounds like you were just thrown off by the weird schedule. You've been doing great.

Just mark it & move on!

Linda

Thanks for the encouragement!

Today was an S day. It didn't start off that way but as soon as I remembered we were having company I made sure to make it one rather than try to stick to an N day, (I am practicing minimizing guilt and reducing stress). We had my wife's niece and her parents over for dinner. My mother in law made an amazing Russian apple cake from the apples from one of our trees. My wife made enchiladas, rice, and a salad. I was in charge of cocktails, made Negronis and poured wine. I stuck to one plate per meal still but had a delicious and not too sweet dessert. Also stuck to glass ceiling but didn't intend to, just had enough.

B: Scrambled eggs with red salsa, sauteed crimini mushrooms, roasted sweet potatoes
L: Blue cheese buffalo style veggie burger with lettuce and tomato and Frank's Red Hot on a brioche bun, small fries, unsweetened iced green matcha tea latte
D: Black bean and jack cheese enchiladas with green sauce, rice, and green salad with tomatoes and shredded carrots with Champagne vinaigrette
Dessert: 1 big slice of the best Russian apple cake
A: Negroni before dinner, white wine after exercise

Jogged/walked a little over miles after cleaning up.

Mostly I stop by your thread to read your delicious menus but wanted to say I think deciding to call it an S day was a good decision. I always try to be realistic about what I'm actually willing to do rather than beat myself up later.

Linda

Ps do we get the Russian apple pie recipe?

I appreciate that lpearlmom! I hear you. Thanks for the encouragement there.

I'll post the recipe when I hear back.

Today: Success

B: Nature's Path Heritage Flakes w/ soy milk, 1 whole juicy and sweet peach, 1 small probiotic drink
L: A bite of flatbread w/ ricotta and sweet potato dip, (we shared an appetizer), a kale, strawberry, and feta salad, barley and farro with a cream sauce, and mushroom kufteh with avocado salsa, with 1 ginger kombucha to drink
D: Cheese and black bean enchilada, bowl of cauliflower soup, 1/2 a soy "pig in a blanket (I could have done without that, but we had this little guy leftover from the weekend and it fit on the plate -- although it is hard to virtually plate 1/2 plate and a bowl of soup, I'm considering it No-S compliant today).
A: None today

2.5 miles today of walking/jogging

That apple cake sounds fantastic. It's probably not a good idea to say no to things your mother-in-law makes, especially when visits are rare! I'm not vegetarian but your meals sound so delicious! I'm sitting here in 100+ degree heat and dreaming about soup weather...

Okay thanks! No worry if it's a family secret though or something.

Apple cake

9 tablespoons of butter, melted
11/2 lbs. apples, peeled and sliced
1 lemon, juice and zest
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
4 eggs
3/4 C . powdered sugar
11/4C. flour, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
salt
Preheat oven to 350. Butter a springform pan with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter.
Put the apples in a bowl and pour the lemon juice over the top. Add the lemon extract and stir.
In a separate (mixer) bowl, combine the eggs, sugar . Whisk until mousse-like (5 min). Stir in the zest.
Combine half the flour with the baking powder and salt. Sift over the egg mixture. Pour remaining 8 tablespoons of butter down the sides of the bowl. Fold in. Sift the rest of the flour over the top of this batter, and fold it in. Add the apples and fold them in.
Pour into springform pan. Bake 50-60 minutes until toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Let sit in pan 10 minutes, then remove the ring.

Aww you're the best--thank you!!!

The last two weeks have been completely off the wagon. Some days worse than others but all the bad habits I had before are back in full force.

Today was not so bad but still had seconds at dinner. It was soo good but I need to think of ways to savor, to stop, and to appreciate it. I know I can do it, and yes it is hard sometimes.

B: Oatmeal w/ apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, whole milk
L: Tofurkey, cheddar, lettuce and tomato on sliced multigrain, potato chips, green tea
S: Oops -- snack today: Raisins and whole wheat and honey pretzel sticks (shared w/ the kids today)
D: Pasta w/ (this is good..) capers, raisins, cauliflower, garlic, olive oil, butter, sauteed in a pan, this is why seconds. It was too much though, I'm stuffed in a bad way. Should stop when things are good.

A: Sidecar, slightly sweeter this time using a 2 brandy, 1 lemon juice, and 1 simple syrup ratio.

So snacks and seconds today. That's been the norm for the past two weeks.

Exercise has been pretty good though. Biking to work 3/5 days or more (short 5 mile round trip w/ like 114 feet elevation, but it's just enough to get my ~30-35 minutes of exercise in and I'm not paying for gas. So win-win here.

FAILURE

B: Toast w/ peanut butter and banana, 1 veggie sausage patty
L: Leftover pasta, cheese pizza slice, apple, potato chips
S: 2 pop tarts
D: Homemade quinoa cakes w/ zucchini, cheese, corn, side spinach salad
D: Ice cream sandwich

Sugar today was the spark that caused the fire. I had that once I fail I might as well fail hard mentality today. I have to save this for the weekend. Oh well, tomorrow is another day!

I've decided High Glycemic foods are like kryptonite for me. Once in, my will power is shot (:

Better luck tomorrow (:

Yes so true. Pop tarts are both so terrible and go against everything I believe in food and are such a guilty pleasure. I think I remember reading in the No-S book that thinking about food this way though is pretty bad, and this is probably a case in point. If I don't think of it as bad, and embrace it as a treat to be had in moderation on S days, I'd probably be better off for it and won't be thrown so far off course.

FAILURE

B: Roasted eggplant and zucchini wrap with veggie sausage and remoulade
L: Pho noodles in vegetarian broth w/ tofu, cabbage, jalapenos, basil, cilantro, and hoisin
D: Grilled veggie quesadillas with cheese and black beans, sour cream, taco sauce, and rice pilaf (we didn't have mexican rice but this worked out just fine)
A: 1 manhattan (but I'll have another after this). Took a mixology course a few weekends ago and adjusted my ratios, now it's 2 oz rye, 0.5 oz sweet vermouth, and 2 dashes of bitters. Stirred, not shaken, and it's so much better now.

Failure because I ate our older daughter's quesadilla leftovers while doing dishes. Otherwise today was great and easy going. Whoops!

Rode to the train station today for about 45 minutes of exercise round trip.

SUCCESS

B: Granola with soy milk, nuts and dried fruit
L: Same thing as yesterday - veggie pho
D: Leftover quinoa patties, scrambled egg, spinach salad with pecans, cranberries, and dressing
A: 2 manhattans

Really wanted a snack today but resisted!

Rode my bike to work today and yesterday.

Success!

B- eggs, chard, sweet potatoes, coffee
L- bok choy, chow mein noodles, roasted squash, nitro matcha cold brew
D- cobb salad, dinner roll with butter, sangria

Well, hello!

My son, Challenger12, has a poptart almost every day with his lunch.

Automatedeating, oh well that's quite a treat! Nowadays if I have one, I won't stop until I eat the other one in the open package too. That's why No S helps me so much, LOL. It also just occurred to me why they package them in twos now - I'm sure I'm not the only one that eats both!

SUCCESS

B- Scrambled eggs with salsa, steamed cauliflower w/ capers, sliced tomato and onions, roasted potatoes, coffee x 3
L- Brown rice, vegetarian chili, steamed green beans, and sauteed mushrooms
D- Vegetable and pasta soup, cobb salad, beer

Almost tempted by snacks this afternoon, instead I logged onto this forum, and soon I forgot all about it!

Love the look of your meals!

Thanks automatedeating!

SUCCESS

B- Scrambled eggs with salsa and avocado, broccoli, hash browns, black coffee, cappuccino
L- Coconut curry squash soup, teriyaki tofu over coconut rice and chow mein noodles, unsweetened matcha latte
D- Morningstar chicken burger with grilled onions, pickles, lettuce, and tomato, fries, beer x 2

Portion was a little big at dinner, (lunch was actually small even with noodles AND rice lol!). Full.

Yesterday: SUCCESS

B - Broccoli, eggs + salsa, 2 sausage patties
L - Sauteed gai lan, red coconut curry soup, drunken noodles
D - Side ceaser salad, gnocchi w/ mozzerella, broccoli and ranch

FAILURE

B - Everything bagel w/ olive oil, cottage cheese, raisins
L - Tortilla bowl with black beans, lentil soup, toast w/ olive oil
D - 2 1/4 servings of pizza, broccoli w/ ranch

Fail because I had seconds of that danged pizza! I had 1 1/2 servings on my plate, and went back for more. It's OK, though, the rest of the day was pretty good.

Pizza is nearly impossible for me to moderate.

I know, why? I guess I should try to be more on guard with foods that trigger overeating.

Random leftovers lunch though

Those kind of meals are so unsatisfying! I've found that behavior was naturally correcting - I avoided that happening too often - it was a built-in response to the negative feeling after that kind of meal.

Weird, I think I lost my last post. Yeah, I agree, I find them so unsatisfying. If the leftovers are a complete wholesome meal, it's fine. It's when you have to supplement it with random snacks and other leftovers when it's regrettable!

Success

B - eggs w/ salsa, hash browns, cauliflower, cheddar biscuit
L - roasted potatoes, hard boiled egg, sauteed greens, coconut curry soup
D - falafel, rice, pita, Greek salad

Dinner was waaaay too big

You kept it Green though, so you’ll win in the end, Livitup!

Yeah, too-big meals sometimes is just part of the learning process. It is fun to see over time as we find experientially that normal-sized meals satisfy us EVEN though we were quite hungry when sat at the table.
But I most definitely wouldn't force it. Fill that plate at first.

Aw that made me feel great, thanks for the encouragement!

B - chilaquiles and sauteed kale
L - soyrizo burritoand chips
D - chilled relleno burrito, cheesecake for dessert

Friday dessert was planned, but I realize right now that I don't like making an n day part s day, and making Sunday part n. It makes it hard to be clear about success and failure, and success becomes a promise I have to keep later.

Also, two burritos in one day is kind of ridiculous. The lunch one was small (work cafeteria wants us to be healthy, so ingredients and portions are reasonable). Dinner one was a big old taqueria burrito, and therefore much more indulgent. Maybe I wanted that because the lunch burrito missed expectations? Still sort of ashamed to say publically that I had two burritos in one day! I guess that this forum helps keep me honest.

SUCCESS

This weekend I had snacks whenever I wanted and some homemade cookies, but I didn't need to go off the rails and I feel great about it. Sunday evening was a successful N day like I promised, but I resented feeling like I was making up for Friday's dessert.

B - granola w/ milk, plain yogurt, banana
L - roasted broccoli, sauteed cabbage, tofu and veggie stir fry
D - spaghetti w/ pesto marinara, meatballs, Ceaser salad

Tonight I was tempted by seconds, but I resisted!

SUCCESS

B - scrambled eggs w/ salsa and guacamole, sauteed chard, mini bagel w/ butter, mini lemon scone
L - sauteed vegetables, tofu w/ soy sauce, Asian style cole slaw, roasted squash, rice
D - grilled cheese w/ pear, pumpkin soup

Breakfast was big, but it fit on the plate, and I was famished this morning. Lunch was pretty big too. I'm still feeling great though, and happy I stuck to it today.

Well done

Jx

you are on a roll!

nice avatar! love owls

Aw thanks for all the support! I've got the hang of it this week.

SUCCESS

B - Filipino breakfast - garlic rice, fried eggs, coconut braised green beans, so good
L - Cheese tortellini, sauteed chard, roasted eggplant
D - Soyrizo tacos, refried black beans

8 day streak, shooting for the 21 club.

SUCCESS

B - chard, scrambled eggs w/ salsa, hash browns
L - saffron rice, spinach paneer w/ yogurt sauce, roasted squash, chapati bread
D - ramen, broccoli

It's been easy recently. So easy in fact that I sort of wonder if I'm eating too much. I know I'm not, because my pants are fitting better (after 2 weeks I can tell a difference!), and my workouts are getting a little easier, my heartburn is less frequent, and I generally feel better. During these times though I wonder when it will get hard again, and how will I manage it? I've definitely struggled in the past.

I've been a lot braver about giving myself a portion that lasts me to the next meal. Some are definitely large looking, but then I look at other naturally thin folks plates, and I realize I've been probably way under-portioning myself anyway, and making up for it by going crazy with snacks.

SUCCESS

B - roasted kale, scrambled eggs w/ salsa, chilaquiles
L - seitan fajitas, beans, rice, chayote squash
D - sub sandwich

Felt great today. This week was no problem. I think the bigger plates make me obsess a lot less about food. Before I restarted no-s a few weeks ago, some days I'd just grab a bunch of snacks and just eat them until I was full, but I'd have a plate of lunch that was much less than what I get now. Then I'd be full, and dinner would come around, and I'd eat a big old plate of that, and since I was used to eating until I was stuffed, and I was feeling guilty, I'd also eat the rest of the kids dinner too. Hasn't happened at all this week!

Tomorrow I'm getting cannoli and ice cream with the fam.

I like that you have a nice planned dessert with the family!

During these times though I wonder when it will get hard again, and how will I manage it?

I do not have a solution here, but I can SO SO SO relate. Throughout my years on NoS, I've voiced this same concern. I guess I can encourage you by saying - we all just keep going. If there's a bad spell, we mark it, discuss it, problem-solve it, and then find our groove again. NoS always keeps things from going off the rails. Also, there's a cyclical pattern to our overeating temptations, and I've had to repeatedly accept that some times of the year (and quarter, in my case) are going to be harder than other times, and I just ride those times out as best as I can. I try not to be hard on myself, and remind myself that over many years, moderation wins out over giving up, going wild, and then looking for a new easy solution. What I'm still working on is enjoying the easy times instead of waiting for the other shoe to drop.

So good luck with this in your own journey. As we stay the course and don't expect perfection, we find peace with moderation.

Success

B - grape nuts, banana
L - PBJ, lentil soup
D - loaded baked potato

Thanks for the pep talk auto. I appreciate it.

Oops, I counted my chickens before they hatched. Fail today! I didn't eat nearly enough for breakfast and lunch, and after dinner I had a couple peanut bars and a bunch of grapes.

I had an 11 day streak too! Oh well, starting over again and looking forward to tomorrow.

Success

B - roasted kale, scrambled eggs w/ salsa, roasted sweet potatoes, mini sesame bagel
L - sauteed bok choy and mushrooms, garlic rice, stewed tofu
D - Impossible burger, fries

Dinner was too much. I should have stopped when I was full. The food was delivered in a to-go container, and I ate the whole burger and all the fries they included with it, which I know for a fact was way too much. Also technically it wasn't served on a plate, but in the container, which is more of a giant bowl. Next time I'll transfer it to a plate so I can visualize the portions better.

But it feels good to have 3 good size meals. No problems with hunger today; it was easy again.

Success

B - eggs, garlic rice, sauteed chard
L - frittata, couscous, broccoli
D - chicken patty, rice pilaf, salad

I made the salad in a medium salad bowl, then thought about last night, and then I transferred it to my plate. I had made way too much. So I filled up half my plate with salad and left the rest in the bowl. One normal plate of food! Not that salad would've hurt that much, but the principle should get me in the habit of doing this with all things, like fries.

Success

B - eggs w/ salsa, hash browns, roasted carrots
L - sauteed chard, celery root gratin, 3 bean chili
D - sausage and olive pizza, salad

So happy I resisted pie at work today! It was an accomplishment for sure, but it wasn't that hard for some reason, and I am so surprised by it. I think I'm still running on the good feeling of success from last week. I had one failure in the last 16 days, and it's alright, I know exactly why, I didn't have enough. I'm also down two pounds from when I started, nightly heartburn is all but gone, and I haven't felt gross or guilty. Very happy today!

Oh, and I conquered pizza. This time I was cautious and put it on a plate. I had 3 slices and salad, all fitting in the plate and not looking gross.

Failure

B - eggs, sauteed chard, chilaquiles
L - Korean bibimbap
D - super veggie burrito, tortilla chips

I went for a handful of chips after dinner while I was cleaning up, and I had a bite of my little kiddo's bean and cheese burrito, so today was a fail. I'm not beating myself up about it. I'm actually happy to admit that it was a failure today, and I like the idea of the strict rules. Other than that though, I am happy with everything else today. Good portions (burrito was big, but I didn't eat it all), pretty well balanced today and for the last couple weeks, and generally feeling good still. I still want to overcome those moments of weaknesses.

Oh I realize now why I went for more than was on my plate. We were so hungry at dinner time because we ate almost an hour later than usual! That's the other key to success I think here: eating at regular times.

sounds like a very tiny fail. And yes, I think "grades" of fails is entirely reasonable!

Alright, then I agree! I'll call it a tiny fail next time. But I still mark it as red in my calendar.

Today, we had a pie auction after church, and I had a small slice of both pies we got. That was delicious, and entirely worth it. But, then I discovered the left over pizza and whoosh, it took over my S day, and 3 pieces of pizza went down the hatch unnecessarily, and it's not even clear to me that I enjoyed it! Even on S days I want to make sure I appreciate the lack of rules completely by making those S's enjoyable. Auto, you mentioned pizza as a weakness too, and honestly I thought my main issue was Mexican food, but I've come to realize the real trigger food!

Fail

B - grape nuts w/ soy milk, Greek yogurt, banana
L - sauteed kale, stewed okra, roasted potatoes, egg pancake
D - TACO BELL

Had the rest of my kids food, and then I had a slice of pie to "balance it out".

That pie auction is the gift/charity donation that keeps on giving!

We have two slices left!

Success

B mini - egg spinach wrap from Starbucks
B - poached eggs, potatoes, zucchini bread, pastry
L - grilled tofu, veg, rice pilaf, sourdough rolls
D - croissant sandwich

I went to Seattle today. Flight at 6am and now waiting for my flight back at the airport. It's been a really long day. So I had a mini breakfast early this morning to get me through the morning. Today really needed a 4th meal, no regrets. No snacks and no sweets though!

Might be bending the rules. I think I should just call it an S day.

Traveling is always so difficult to maintain normal eating! I live near Seattle. We had amazing weather today!

Is it possible to stay on track? I feel like little things can set me off, but I'd love to be more resilient!

Yeah, Seattle was perfect today! It was neat to be warm while being surrounded by snow covered mountains on the horizon. It's beautiful up there.

I wouldn't worry about a well thought out preplanned extra mini meal, it's a lifetime journey and needs occasional adjustment

Jx

Hi Soprano, thanks for saying that! Shrugging off the fail then. I'm in it for the long run!

Success

B - sauteed bok choy, scrambled eggs, garlic rice
L - seitan and veg burrito, chips w/ salsa
D - lentil soup, 2 pieces of garlic bread, side gnocchi

I didn't finish the gnocchi because I started to feel too full. Proud that I stopped! My wife made lentil soup and garlic bread for dinner. It was delicious, and olive oil helps give the soup an extra tasty dimension.

Leaving food when you are satisfied is a huge step forward

Jx

Yesterday - Failure. I was sick, and just took an S day. Chinese food for dinner.

Today - Success

B - sauteed chard, scrambled eggs, chilaquiles, cinnamon raisin bread pudding
L - sauteed green beans, bok choy, rice, tofu
D - Mod pizza

I LOVE Mod pizza. One personal pizza is indulgent, but it's a one plate deal, which means I can't be lured too far into gluttony when I get it.

It's been a very busy week at work, despite being sick yesterday. I'm so happy for the weekend! I've had a lot of fail days this week, and I'm starting to get a little down about it, but I'm going to just enjoy these two S-days and look forward to Monday. Tomorrow we're getting fresh cannoli with the kids.

Success

B - grape nuts w/ soy milk, Greek yogurt w/ honey, banana
L - potatoes, sauteed zucchini and eggplant, grilled halloumi
D - cheese tortellini, salad

Today was easy. It really was! When days are easy, I'm reminded that there are ways to do this that work better than others. Things start breaking down when I go overboard on S-days, or when I don't eat real and balanced meals, or when I simply just don't eat enough. Last week had some tough days though, but looking back I can see what went wrong.

Success

B - kale, sweet potatoes, scrambled eggs w/ salsa, 1/2 slice banana bread
L - seitan and peppers, refried beans, roasted chayote
D - lentil soup, garlic bread, cottage cheese, cornbread w/ honey

Success

B - sauteed yu choy, garlic rice, fried eggs
L - falafel wrap
D - veg enchiladas, salad

Looks like you've had a great week!

So far so good, Auto!

Success

B - roasted carrots, scrambled eggs w/ salsa and guac, hash browns
L - aloo gobi, sauteed chard, spiced lentils
D - enchiladas, salad

We are off to Hawaii tomorrow for a week!

Oh, and I do *not* like guacamole on scrambled eggs. Cold guacamole, warm eggs, similar chunky texture. It was never off-putting until today.