Everyday Systems

Thanks Pink. Eating more or less moderately most of the time is my way of life now. The rewards have been worth it.

May report: in spite of more snacks and S days, my weight dropped a bit more, now 130 - 133 lbs.
Due to cold weather and longer walks probably

Thurs Jun 1, Fri success
Sat 4 meals/snacks
Sun 3 meals
Mon- wed success
Thurs walked 12 or 13km, got a bit overtired so had a smallish dinner , went to bed early, and realised I was hungry. Grrr. Got up and had supper.
Call it an S for stupid body /brain day.(had to laugh writing this down, it sounded so silly)
Fri success
Sat 3 meals
Sun 3 meals, snack

Congratulations, ladybird30!

Thanks Win

Mon, Tues, Wed success
Thurs S day, walked 14 km, 3 meals and two snacks. Once again, I was too tired to eat a decent sized dinner, but this time I planned ahead for supper a couple of hours after dinner before an early night.
Fri success
Sat 3 meals
Sun 3 meals, supper
Mon success
Tues failure supper
Wed S for snacks while out on a long walk
Thurs success
Fri failure - not sure why, but felt a bit like grazing, perhaps because of cold and wet weather. Had a second breakfast, and kept myself going with some cocoa until it was time for what would usually have been my second meal. After that, felt Ok again and had no problem waiting until I was hungry again for a late, one bowl dinner.
Sat , Sun 3 meals, snack

Hi ladybird,

Great job on all your successes and um.... wow, just wow on walking 14km. I am rather impressed to say the least!

I notice that you have Thursday listed as an S day. If you would be willing to share - Did you switch S days for this week because you knew you would be walking so far? Do you take your S days on days other than Saturday and Sunday regularly? I've turned a couple of N days red since starting when I've done a lot more exercise than usual so I'm curious about your thought process in adapting to your long walk.

Hoping you have a successful week!
WINhappy

I count Sat & sun as S days as always so I can have the freedom to have a snack if I feel hungry. I started to taking long walk days as S days in addition because it was too hard to fit in with the three meal pattern what with leaving home before usual breakfast time, not wanting to eat a big meal before walking up hill, getting hungrier afterwards etc.

I did try for a while to fit in three meals, but got sick of failing. As long I decide ahead of time to allow snacks on long walk days, not something I am trying to justify to myself after the event, then I am Ok with calling it an S day.

Writing this I realise that to me failure comes from unplanned or disorganised eating. Normal eating is 3 meals a day. And S days are for a little safety valve on top of the normal 3 meals structure.

Thank you for clarifying, ladybird30. Your approach makes a lot of sense; I think I will consider it as a means to better manage days when I've planned much greater physical activity than my usual. I think it might really help me, so I appreciate the extra details.

I hope your week is going well.
WINhappy

Wow, 14 km of walking... I try to aim for 4000 steps a day for now. I want to get back into the habit of walking and will build it up slowly.

My fitness has improved a lot since averaging 10k steps pd from Jan. Before that, my steps had dropped to 8400 or so from a long term (decade?)
average of around 9300 steps pd.

Older woman here , so slowy building up from several thousand steps pd should be doable for the average woman (not counting time constraints, disability, safety issues). The quality of life rewards are well worth it.

Hi ladybird, well done on your daily step count. People sometimes discount the value of walking but I think those of us who walk regularly recognize its phenomenal value (that's why we do it). It's excellent, gentle exercise, which is important for everyone but becomes increasingly so as we age. Every step counts and it sounds like you're taking quite a few of them. Best regards, WIN

Mon-Wed success
Thurs S for speedy walking day, 13 km
Fri dead tired, but so far so good, success

June weight 129- 132 lbs, down a little more

Sat 1 July 3 meals
Sun 3 meals, supper
Mon - Wed Success
Thurs S day, 14km walk with group
Fri Success
Sat, Sun 3 meals

Just dropping in to say hi! I am leaving on a trip soon so may not see any response. Onwards!

I have been listening to another interview with science communicator Stephan Guyenet, which I do both for reinforcement and to keep up with the latest science on weight loss.

He doesn't address BED which was my main problem, but I have found his suggestions very helpful to get my weight down now that I have stopped (I won't say cured).

His suggestions for the basics include
Limit highly processed food
Limit energy dense highly palatable food
Eating more protein may be helpful
Eat at meal times and limit snacks
Limit food cues as they trigger dopamine and
eating (don't leave sweets where you can see them)
Make it harder to access food
Higher satiety foods make it easier to feel less hungry on fewer calories. That means minimally processed foods with lower calorie density, more protein and fibre, and lower palatability (or not as delicious).

Appetite is also regulated by stress, sleep (5 or 6 hours is not enough), and exercise. Very sedentary people eat more than those getting at least some exercise. But diet is the main driver of overweight.

In practice, this means for me that I cook my own meals from scratch, and don't bring my trigger foods into the house. I also limit the amount I buy at any one time of energy dense, moreish foods like nuts. With a few exceptions such as olive oil, my diet could be described as whole food omnivorous. Very occasionally I will eat small amounts of other things when out socialising.

This way of eating means that I can eat my fill at meal times and still slowly lose weight. I am very happy about that.

I still get hungry between meals sometimes, especially if I am doing a lot of exercise, but I hardly ever eat when I am not hungry.

Thanks for sharing - it does help to be reminded of the basics to keep on track. I also focus on sticking to foods that are less processed and lower in calorie density and following the No-S eating structure but it is a constant work in progress. Mainstream food culture is diametrically opposed to this approach - which makes it feel like swimming against the current much of the time.

HI ladybird,

Thank you for posting this info and your take on it. It's very interesting and I'd not heard of Stephan Guyenet before. He sounds like he gives good, healthy advice. I hope you are having a good week so far. Best regards, WIN

Mon, Tues , Wed success
Thurs S day, walked 14 km
Fri success
Sat 3 meals, snack
Sun 3 meals, late supper

Hi ladybird!

I think that is sound advice. Sometimes it's tough to follow, as Amy mentions it feels like swimming against the current sometimes. I notice protein and complex carbs rather than simple ones make a big difference for me too. I hope you have a good week!

Congratulations on Monday's and Tuesday's green days, ladybird. That is excellent! Best regards, WIN

Thanks WINhappy

Mon failure, supper - hungrier than usual for
some reason, not going to tough it out if I am too hungry to sleep
Tues failure, supper
Wed success
Thurs S day, walked 15km
Fri success
Sat, Sun 3 meals

Are you near your goal weight? I think as we get closer it is good to listen to hunger cues.

Jx

Yes, pretty close, only another 6lbs or so, 8 at the max. Which may or may not happen.

Mon success sort of, dinner was split in two while I did other things in the middle
Tues, Wed success
Thurs S day, walking with group
Fri success
Sat , Sun 3 meals, snack
Mon success

Hi ladybird,
I say go ahead and claim Monday as a success. In my book, your supper was still a single plate. We all get distracted and we still deserve our full plate when we do. I was dining in a fancy restaurant once and the waiter whisked my plate away before I was finished eating. I was outraged, OUTRAGED, I tell you. So I feel strongly in your favor on this. I hope your week is going well. Best regards, WINhappy

July weight range 129 - 131 lbs, maintenance month

Tues Aug 1 success
Wed success
Thurs S day, walked 14 - 15km, wildflowers, views, good company. Wouldn't be able to do it if I was 30lbs heavier.
Fri success
Sat 3 meals, snack. Felt restless in the afternoon, so walked for an hour and a half.
Sun 3 meals, snack

You are doing fab dropping the weight range.

Consistency does pay off.

Jx

Hi! I discovered Guyenet years into No S and his work helped me let go a little more of ultra processed foods, which I took advantage of esp during lockdown. I stopped buying any of it. A glucose monitor helped, too. I go through phases but mostly they play an extremely small role in my life now mostly in company, which is not typical for me.

And yes, eating mostly whole foods is against the current. I shared on another thread and in my check in that I was around more people this last month on a trip to Washington and the pressure to overeat, esp. of flour foods- pasta, bread, cake-is very high among both the normal weight and overweight/obese people I was around. I have to admit I felt rather stressed and hyperaware of it, esp since I did the training on dealing with binge eating, and its focus on how the survival drive usurps even the language center as well as the desire mechanisms. It can make you feel it's SO important not to get in the way of the getting that ultimately unsatisfying food, and the culture takes it so for granted that opposing it sounds like lunacy. The lack of protein! I saw people go whole days with not one concentrated form, and not much even cobbled from other sources. When I was trying to be vegetarian, but still compulsively eating sweets, but shunning fruit or nuts, I finally had to accept that I wasn't doing myself any favors. I was just protecting my access to the "drugs." A person doesn''t have to eat animals, but she sure as heck has to be willing to eat more than fruit and lots of grain foods if she wants to get a handle on satiety, at least in my experience. (I know of one woman who seems to be doing okay with just fruit, but who knows how that will play out. Sometimes feeling righteous about something is enough to keep one on track.) But people with lower set points seem to eat these things without obvious problems, so they look safe.

I've forgotten what BMI you're aiming at. I waver between 22 and 23. I can't expect more than that and at my age, I don't think lower would be an advantage.

Thanks Soprano.

Oolala, I've had the odd comment on my eating habits, which are also driven by food sensitivities. But I've always been pretty resistant to social pressure to eat food I don't really want to, in the same way that I automatically refuse alcohol. And I live in a drinking culture. Refusing food that I really want to eat is a different matter. Then I have to engage the rational brain to overcome my desires.

As far as my BMI goes, I'm pretty much in the middle of the healthy range, depending on whatever my height is nowadays. I don't want to go below what would have been a BMI of about 20 if I was still the same height as I used to be. But it will depend on what I can comfortably maintain. I do know that even a few lbs above my current weight was enough to make long walks more difficult. So I don't want to be any heavier.

The functional motivation of wanting to be able to keep doing your long hikes is so powerful! It's great to hear how you've managed to put different puzzle pieces together to get where you want to be.

Thanks Amy

Mon failure supper
Tues - I want to give an example how ordered eating habits can help with (not) emotional eating.

I have been feeling a bit miserable the last day for something I did that I don't think I can fix up. Woke up hungry, so had breakfast, 1 bowl. Mid morning went out into the bush for a specific purpose as well as to make myself feel better. Which it did for a while. Came home for a rather late 1 bowl lunch.
Did I want to eat to make myself feel better? Yes. Did I eat when I wasn't hungry? No. Did I eat a more substantial lunch than sometimes? Yes. Was it still moderate and did I feel satisfied but not stuffed after? Yes. Will I be waiting til dinner to eat again? Yes. And do I still regret what I did? Yes, but at least I am not eating over it.

I'm sorry you've been feeling bad! Thanks so much for being willing to share your insights with us, I think it is enormously helpful to get a peek into how you deal with emotions without using food to numb them. Not only how you do it, but also that it is possible!

I hope you're feeling better about things soon. Hugs xx

Sorry to read you are having a bad time. Well done on sharing and not turning to emotional eating.

Are you sure you can't fix it?

Jx

Ladybird, I'm sorry that you are feeling bad about something you fear isn't fixable, but glad that you've not jettisoned caring for yourself because of it. I am thinking of you, and sending you thoughts of peace and compassion. Best regards, WIN.

Ladybird, Im sorry you are feeling emotionally bad. I have experienced a very similar thing with wanting to eat because I felt bad, but not doing it because of No S. It's tough sometimes to lose that emotional coping mechanism. It sounds like you are doing a good job taking care of yourself though. I hope you feel a little better about things down the road.

Thanks everyone for your kind words, much appreciated. I actually started feeling better just from posting.

Wed success
Thurs S day, walked 14km or so, wattles glorious this year, magnificent displays of yellow.
Fri success
Sat 3 meals, snack
Sun 3 meals

Glad posting helped you feel better! Sounds like you had a great hike. I had to google wattles, wow! Must be impressive to see in full bloom!

Yeah, it's pretty nice.

Mon success
Tues, Wed , Thurs, Fri S for sick day, not feeling well so having smaller meals more often.
Sat 3 meals
Sun 2 meals, snack. Not as hungry as usual, probably because of less exercise.

Hope you're feeling better soon!

Sending you wishes for a speedy recovery, ladybird. I hope you feel all better soon. WIN

Thanks Win & Amy

I admire you for not giving in! I am sorry you felt bad, I am glad to hear posting about it helps. I also like to listen to relaxing music when I have a rough time emotionally.

Thanks Ellis.

M - F success
Sat 3 meals
Sun 3 meals, snack

Great job with keeping last week green, Ladybird.! I hope you are doing well. Best regards, WINhappy

Thanks Win.
Mon failure, snack
Tues, Wed success
Thurs S day, walked 16-17km, mostly flat. I was leading, and had promised a 15 km walk. Felt a bit guilty about the extra distance - our oldest walker is 79 or 80!

August weight range 128-130 lbs, down a little more

September

Fri success
Sat one snack so far, 3 meals
Sun 3 meals
Mon failure, supper
Tues had a working bee in a local park helping to plant some our beautiful native plants. Very pleasant morning, and we were given some plants as a reward.
Wed success

How nice to get plants as a reward for your volunteer work!

Hopefully the members of the walking group didn't have too much trouble with the little bit of extra distance?

I did have a few comments. I lead another walk this week, and kept it to 12km.

Thurs S day while walking.
Fri success
Sat 2 meals, 3 snacks
Sun 3 meals, supper

Oh wow! Ok, well, lesson learned

My mum's 80 and can out walk me.

Love how you record your weight range. Much more accurate as our wright does fluctuate naturally:)

Jx

Agree with Soprano! That is a good idea to log weight ranges.

It allows me to keep track of my weight with daily weighings, while minimising logging.

Mon - Wed success
Thurs ran into a friend who noticed I had lost weight. After I reassured her it was on purpose, she said something about no more comfort eating, to which I agreed. It's been a struggle, but it was a good thing to break that bad habit.
success
Friday success
Sat 3 meals, 2 snacks
Sun 3 meals

Seems like you are doing great! Interesting about your weight ranges. So you just log your lowest and highest weight of the month?

Hi Ellis, I weigh daily. At the beginning of the month I note my weight, then any higher or lower weights, Usually a small fluctuation of a couple of pounds.

Mon-wed success
Thurs S day, 15km, 4 meals/snacks, supper
Fri success,
Sat, Sun ? Prob 3 meals
Mon-Fri success
Sat 3 meals
Sun 3 meals, supper

SEP Maintenance month, had a temporary small increase from extra salt after eating my way thru a jar of home pickled olives. 128-131lbs.

Well done Ladybird - maintenance is fantastic.

Hi ladybird,
I agree with Nettee - maintenance is fantastic, as is the amount you walk! Great job! WIN

Thanks Win and nettee for your encouraging words.

October

Mon - Fri success
Sat, Sun 3 meals

Congratulations on a successful week! WIN

Thanks Win.
Mon, Tues , wed success
Thurs S day because of walking 13km,1st decent walk for 3 weeks.
Fri success

Glad you got a good walk in! Eating seems to be humming along.

Thanks Oolala. I have been struggling a bit with temptation today (sat). I am starting to suspect it's because I have dropped a little weight due to not being totally well. It doesn't take much of that to set off food cravings for me. I made myself wait til meal time by promising myself a decent, proper meal a bit earlier than usual. Although I simply can't eat as much at once as I used to. So I will probably have supper too.
Sun 3 meals

Hi ladybird, I hope you are feeling better! WIN

Mon-wed success
Thurs, Fri success
Sat, Sun 3 meals

Fantastic, ladybird! WINhappy

Win, you are so enthusiastic, thanks

Mon success
Tues, failure, early dinner and then supper as feeling a bit hungrier today and didn't want to wait to eat.
Wed, Thurs, success
Fri failure
Sat 3 meals, supper
Sun. 3 meals
Mon Success

October weight range, 128-131, another month of maintenance in spite of some difficulties.
Tues 1nov S day afternoon tea with friends
Wed 2 failure, snack, all due to poor planning leading to a lack of filling food. And the shops were shut due to a local public holiday I didn't think about.
Thurs 3 restocked with fresh food.

Well done on maintaining good luck for November.

Planning our meals each week does help me but sometimes life just gets in the way.

Jx

Maintenance in spite of some challenges along the way - this is what we all aspire to, I think!

Hi Ladybird, I hope November is going well for you so far. WINhappy

Hi Ladybird, hope you are doing well!

Quick update, still maintaining my weight between 129 and 131, but have come to the end
of my desire for reporting daily sucesses and failures. Still eating 3 meals a day most days and don't intend to change that.

Great to hear you are doing well!

Same here, ladybird! All the best, WINhappy

Well, I ended up 4 lbs down over 2023. And I averaged 9800 steps per day for the year.

However, my weight has crept up a little over the last couple of months, due to mainly to poor sleep sapping my will power. The result being a bit more food, and a bit less exercise, and the odd day where eating properly went out the window. This tends to happen every year, perhaps due to the days getting longer and hot weather.

December weight range 128 to 131.
Jan so far weight range 130 - 132.

Better to nip weight gains in the bud while they are small, so I am trying to be as diligent with 3 meals a day and no seconds as I can at the moment. And getting my sleep back where it should be.

Well done on last year's figs.

I've had a small gain that I am trying to get to grips with.

Good luck I am sure you will get on top of it. Poor sleep doesn't help.

Jx

Thanks Soprano

Hi ladybird -
Congratulations on your 2023 to 2024 progress! And good job taking a closer look at your habits and tightening them up just a bit. It's far better (and less painful) to intervene when challenges are small. Procrastination in weight management is not our friend. Wishing you well, WINhappy

Thanks WinHappy. Being able to rein in small weight gains is definitely a win.

Hi ladybird, I'm just popping onto your thread to say that I hope you are doing well. WINhappy

Thanks Win, just busy.
Feb 130 - 131 lbs, a maintenance month
Mar weight range 131 - 127lbs, down a little more after a lot of walking.

I’m assuming that last post was not an April fools one! Glad to see things are going going well.

April weight range 127 -129, so a maintenance month.

Since I am not reporting here, I have switched to marking my calendar with red, green & yellow instead. Still need that daily reminder to keep up the good habits. Daily step averaging 10,700 so far this year, which I am sure makes a difference to how easy it is to keep my weight where I want it.

Weight a couple of days ago, 129.