Everyday Systems

lpearlmom wrote: ↑

Sun Jul 28, 2019 2:06 pm

Im with you on the not weighing when you’re feeling good. The scale can really derail me and sometimes i rather use my clothes as a guide. It’s much less stressful plus Im not really willing to change much else at this point so it’s kinda like wherever I land weight wise is going to just be as good as it gets. Im hoping after maybe 3 months of consistency Ill start to see some results. It takes awhile.

RIGHT ON. SO RIGHT ON! It's not worth stressing myself when I'm already doing as well as I am going to.

Sunday, July 28th

Some friends had a group over for taco salad and dominoes (the game, not the pizza) today.

Breakfast: eggs, part of a bell pepper. Coffee with whole milk.
Snack: half a small orange.
Snack: a peach.
Lunch: half a cup of barley stew, three slices of thin salami.
Snack: protein bar.
Gathering at friend's house: smallish portion of taco salad, too many Fritos, a margarita, a shot of tequilla, and part of a Truly drink. Oh, and two slices of chocolate cake.

Monday, July 29th

Breakfast: eggs, half a bell pepper, half an orange, a small tomato.
Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: 2 spring rolls, appetizer-sized bowl of chicken pho.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: five thin slices salami, hearty helping of barley stew. Too many cherries. Probably 15.
Crystal Light with a shot of vodka.

Lunch wasn't "by the book" but with soup, I think you just have to limit the quantity in order to have anything with it. I had the appetizer size, so I think I'm doing all right. What sucks is that with not enough protein and fat, I ended up even hungrier during the afternoon, resulting in overeating at dinner. Everything still fit on the plate, but I ate too much. At least we went for our walk in the evening and I did my workout in the morning.

On Sunday, we brought a cake to our friends' gathering. We left the rest of the cake there. That hurt, but it meant Monday was greener. My husband appreciated it as well.

Tuesday, July 30th

I have a social occasion tonight with food and drink that doesn't start until after dinnertime. I will most likely just take the fail today, but try and limit any damage by making good choices and holding the quantities down. I just don't see myself waiting until 8 PM to eat dinner, and I want to make new friends rather than scare them away . It won't be dinner anyway -- there will probably be pizza and who knows what else. I'll eat something healthy beforehand to try and not show up famished.

Breakfast: eggs, small tomato, half a small orange
Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: rice with beans mixed with tomatoes, and two eggs on top.
Tea with lemon.
(post written after tea)

Edited to add:
Protein bar before event.
Half a sandwich. Roast beef and cheese on a croissant. Yummy.
A few chips and a little cheese.
Two glasses of wine.

Sooo... aside from the protein bar and an extra glass of wine, I think I did all right.

You did great! I like to kind of virtually plate or just call it an S event ahead of time so it’s not really a fail. NoS definitely should not get in the way of being social. Hope you had fun!

P.S. Ive got an event tomorrow and hoping mine goes as well as yours.

@lperlmom, have fun at your event! I definitely appreciated mine more having planned for how it would be. I forgot to report the four bites of cake I took though . It really wasn't very much.

I put on a pair of pants this morning that I haven't worn for a while, and they're definitely looser. Hooray!

Hurray for looser pants! My favorite story ever on here was a dear poster (jw) who told us that on her afternoon walk her pants FELL DOWN.

automatedeating wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 31, 2019 2:05 pm

Hurray for looser pants! My favorite story ever on here was a dear poster (jw) who told us that on her afternoon walk her pants FELL DOWN.

Hahaha! Great story.

Wednesday, July 31st

Breakfast: eggs, tomato, half an orange.
Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: barley stew with egg. Four cherries.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: beans over rice with egg. Four cherries.
More milk with protein powder.

We had dinner early so I got hungry before bed. Second milk with powder drink was kind of "extra" but allowed under the rules.

I wrote this originally in lperlmom's thread, but it kind of turned into something that should be here, so I'm pasting it here too.

******************
I have only been doing this since June, but when I've already noticed a bit of an evolution.

When I first started, I wanted to make sure the habits "took". So in order to avoid backfiring due to excessive hunger, I tended to over-serve myself at meals and ended up eating until I didn't want any more. Then I put the extra back. I feel best when I eat lots of protein and fat, and try to add veggies to every meal for nutrition and to have a big-looking meal. So basically I keep an eye on the "bad" carbs by eating almost no bread and almost no potatoes, at least when I'm eating at home, which is most of the time. I do eat some of other white carbs like rice (too convenient and cheap to give up rice, plus my husband likes it).

Once I got the three meals a day and no snacks or sweets more or less under control, which was pretty recently, I started attempting to make small changes to what I ate at meals (and what I ate on S-days). This is only within the past couple of weeks. I'm eating a little less fruit at lunch and dinner. I'm learning how much protein and fat I need to feel satisfied-- not overly full-- at meals. I even measured a few times when it came to my go-to foods like chicken salad, so I know how much I'm eating. So I'm probably eating a tiny bit less. Between a little less fruit and a little less protein/fat, I hope I'm cutting out enough to lose weight slowly. I think it's working because my clothes are looser.

I also know I can have milk in between if the hunger really bothers me, and I know that that works, at least for a while, and at least well "enough".

I'm still quite hungry before lunch and dinner. But I think that's just necessary in order to lose weight. Pretty much anything I eat has to be either a high-satiety food like eggs or meat, AND a veggie (I try to eat a good amount of those), or a small serving of fruit to keep things a little bit fun. Throw in a couple of drinks a week, and that's all I can eat before I will gain. It sucks having no margin, but I can either suck it up or stay "thick". It's even hard to do something like go out for pho with my friend, because that's mostly carbs and I end up hungry afterwards. But that's just my situation in life.
*****************

Just got home from a Costco run. Happy that I managed to get through the store without being tempted by all the samples. I just tried not to look. It definitely helped that I had just eaten lunch! I bought lots of fruit, a big thing of salad, a bag of bell peppers, chicken salad, eggs, coffee and one or two other items.

When I got home and put things away, it still hurt to not tuck into a big bowl of blueberries as my pre-No-S "healthy reward" for braving the crowds, but -- rrr--- I will wait until dinner to have any fruit. That is still annoying.

I have a blueberry bush in my backyard that has been producing so many berries this summer! It is crazy hard to not eat them all when they are beautiful and warm from the sun (OK, so yeah, sometimes I have some....sort of exception to the rules)

I'm glad you documented out what works and what doesn't. Although the "margin" as you put it, isn't that big as we get older, I have to say that it's not like I was "happier" when I was 20 and ate whatever and whenever I wanted. I enjoy and appreciate my food and my health far more now, to be honest.

automatedeating wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 02, 2019 1:41 am

I have a blueberry bush in my backyard that has been producing so many berries this summer! It is crazy hard to not eat them all when they are beautiful and warm from the sun (OK, so yeah, sometimes I have some....sort of exception to the rules)

I'm glad you documented out what works and what doesn't. Although the "margin" as you put it, isn't that big as we get older, I have to say that it's not like I was "happier" when I was 20 and ate whatever and whenever I wanted. I enjoy and appreciate my food and my health far more now, to be honest.

That's a great perspective. I've definitely been heavier than I am now, even when I was a younger woman. And back then, when I was eating a lot more, I bemoaned my inability to lose weight. So it goes to show, I guess, that I can feel bad or good independently of my age.

A blueberry bush? Sounds like a beautiful thing. Mmm.

About what works, as you know, it's highly individual. So what works for others may be completely different.

Thursday, August 1st

Breakfast: eggs, half a large tomato, half a small orange.
Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: Chik fil A sandwich, half a large tomato, four cherries.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: stir fried chicken with string beans and peanut butter sauce, over rice. Pretty big helping. About 3/4 cup of blueberries.
Water with a little Crystal Light and a shot of vodka.

Friday, August 2nd

Breakfast: eggs, half a bell pepper, half a small orange.
Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: chicken stir fry with string beans and peanut butter sauce over rice. Blueberries.
Tea with lemon.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: Half a hamburger and some fries and ketchup. About 10 ounces of beer.

Happy news to report. No-S is helping me lose weight! After struggling to lose any weight for the first five or six weeks on No-S, I can report that I've lost four pounds in the ensuing weeks. I've been doing this for about two months now, and some weight finally came off.

As to why none came off in the first several weeks, who knows. It was frustrating, though. I hung in there because it just seemed like I was eating less (I am certainly hungry often enough) and so it should work. I do know that for two weeks in there, ending about two weeks ago, my body was retaining water like mad. It was worse than any pre-menstrual retention I ever had when I was younger, and water retention was definitely a factor back then. I read up on it and apparently that happens during menopause too. I guess I can't get away from it by getting older . Anyway, that has abated, and thankfully somehow my body decided to release a few pounds. I'm at 151 this morning. My goal is 145, and my stretch goal is 140. Honestly, I feel so much better after losing only four pounds that it's liberating.

My next weigh-in will be three weeks from now, on Saturday, August 24th. I had intended to wait until the first Saturday of every month, but we'll be away on vacation then. So I'll do it beforehand.

Great job on the weight loss, it certainly does feel good to see the scales drop!

3squaremeals wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 04, 2019 11:55 am

Great job on the weight loss, it certainly does feel good to see the scales drop!

Thank you 3squaremeals!

Saturday, August 4th

Breakfast: Waffle House eggs, grits, half a piece of toast, 1 slice of bacon, coffee with half and half.
Lunch: 3/4 of a cheeseburger with ketchup. Part of a brownie. Lots of unsweetened iced tea.
Snack: 11 cherries.
Snack: 3 cups home popped popcorn. Popped in peanut oil and sprinkled with Nature's Seasonings, which is great on popcorn.
Dinner: spaghetti and a meatball with marinara sauce. About half of a restaurant portion. Five ounces of wine.

It occurs to me, after keeping track for a while, that I am drinking alcohol more days than not. I'm not sure whether I should be concerned about this. My husband drinks more than I do. It's not interfering with anything we want to do, and it's confined to weekday evenings and weekends. But it seems a little like coffee: I could give it up, but I don't want to. It makes life a little nicer.

Sunday, August 4th

Breakfast: two fried eggs, half an orange. Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: half a cup of chicken salad on leafy greens with a little dressing. Half an orange.
Snack: protein bar.
Snack: a bell pepper.
Snack: two scoops of ice cream.
Dinner: leftover restaurant spaghetti and a meatball. Big bowl of blueberries with sugar sprinkled on top.
There might be another snack before bed.

Monday, August 5th

Breakfast: eggs, half a bell pepper, half a small orange.
Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: chicken salad on leafy greens with a little dressing. Three cherries. A handful of blueberries.
Tea with lemon.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: half a large pork chop, seared and baked. Half a cup of white rice. Five cherries.
Spoonful of traditional Greek yogurt before bed.

Tuesday, August 6th

Breakfast: eggs, half a bell pepper, half a small orange.
Coffee with milk.
Herbal tea.
Lunch: chicken salad with greens and dressing. Four cherries.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: a minor fail. A smoothie of pineapple, orange and non fat yogurt, and a little rice and egg.
Protein bar (fail).

Looks like you're doing well! I don't know why but i tend to drink more when im eating less. I think it’s because even though i know food is off limits after dinner, i can still have a glass of wine so it’s like a little treat.

That's so true! It's a bit ironic that this diet effectively encourages drinking.

Wednesday, August 7th

Breakfast: eggs, bell pepper, orange.
Cafe latte from Panera.
Lunch: chicken salad with greens and dressing. Three cherries.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: pork stir fry with string beans and white rice. Thai stir fry sauce. Four cherries.
Small glass of milk.

Hi, Candace. I, too, will not have read all your posts but wanted to respond to one you left on my thread. Yes, I had what I would call great success on No S for years. Great success for me was reducing my compulsive overeating and finding an eating plan that gave me pleasure and pep. Some sacrifice but worth it! I did lose, too, though it was in fits and starts, but I maintained for years. As time went on, the plan gave less pleasure. Not its fault, but it threw me. Also, I started feeling more vulnerable to possible problems in old age (I had turned 62) and wanted to change the content of my meals. I just don't want to give up on that, even though it, plus some forays into fasting, seems to have started a pendulum swing that has not come to rest. With the brief fasting stints I did, I actually did lose a bit more, but that is now back on, and it feels it will take too much heroism to dislodge. I'm still just looking for a satisfying way to habituate my eating again. I'm afraid that three meals isn't it right now, but please don't be discouraged by that. It was marvelous for about six years. Perhaps if I had been at it even longer before becoming a senior, instead of the previous nearly four decades of disordered eating, the transition would have been easier. It's still the best years of eating of my post-childhood life! I don't know how old you are, but the younger, the better. These are basically the habits, with just a little more restriction-valid, I say, in this food-rich culture of excess-, of generations of slim cultures, at least ones who have access to food.

oolala53 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 08, 2019 5:11 pm

Hi, Candace. I, too, will not have read all your posts but wanted to respond to one you left on my thread. Yes, I had what I would call great success on No S for years. Great success for me was reducing my compulsive overeating and finding an eating plan that gave me pleasure and pep. Some sacrifice but worth it! I did lose, too, though it was in fits and starts, but I maintained for years. As time went on, the plan gave less pleasure. Not its fault, but it threw me. Also, I started feeling more vulnerable to possible problems in old age (I had turned 62) and wanted to change the content of my meals. I just don't want to give up on that, even though it, plus some forays into fasting, seems to have started a pendulum swing that has not come to rest. With the brief fasting stints I did, I actually did lose a bit more, but that is now back on, and it feels it will take too much heroism to dislodge. I'm still just looking for a satisfying way to habituate my eating again. I'm afraid that three meals isn't it right now, but please don't be discouraged by that. It was marvelous for about six years. Perhaps if I had been at it even longer before becoming a senior, instead of the previous nearly four decades of disordered eating, the transition would have been easier. It's still the best years of eating of my post-childhood life! I don't know how old you are, but the younger, the better. These are basically the habits, with just a little more restriction-valid, I say, in this food-rich culture of excess-, of generations of slim cultures, at least ones who have access to food.

Hi oolala!

I hope for you that you find the satisfying way to habituate your eating again, regardless of the method that turns out to work for you. It's encouraging to hear that you had several years of success on No S. I can definitely identify with the feeling that losing would take too much heroism. I'm 53, so not quite a senior yet, but I'd be lying if I said I felt young. I'm glad you overcame your disordered eating period, as well. I'm curious about how you changed your diet to fend off problems that have you feeling vulnerable. Feel free to chat about that or not, just as you would like or not like to. I don't mean to pry.

Thank you so much for posting here. I hope to see you around the boards!

Thursday, August 8th

Breakfast: eggs, half a bell pepper, half a small orange. Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: chicken salad over greens with dressing. I was going to eat a kiwi fruit, but I forgot to eat it. Then I left. Oh well.
Milk with coffee.
Dinner: one egg over white rice (maybe 2/3 cup). Two thin slices of salami. A kiwi fruit.
Small glass of milk.

Well at least you got a kiwi with dinner!
I remember first learning what a kiwi fruit was in middle school - my teacher had said it was her favorite fruit so I tried to buy her some. I remember looking in the store and being very confused about how you would eat them.

Kiwi are yummy.

Friday, August 9th

Friday was difficult because I was traveling with my husband and hanging out with his kids and their SOs. I decided to go with the flow.

Breakfast: eggs, bell pepper, orange. Coffee with milk.
Lunch: chicken and greens with dressing.
Snacks: green beans, orange.
Latte.
Dinner: two slices of pizza. One beer.
After dinner: watermelon juice with vodka and sugar.

When I see it written down, it doesn't look that bad.

I always feel better after writing down what i felt like was a really wild day as it’s inevitably not nearly as over the top as i thought.

Auto: funny about the kiwi and how sweet of you to want to buy ine for your teacher. Sometimes i pack one in my kids lunch with a knife and spoon so they can cut it in half then eat the insides with a spoon. It works pretty well!

Sorry for not really replying. Writing on my phone in-between family activities.

Saturday

Breakfast: McDonald's bacon egg and cheese biscuit. Coffee with cream.
Lunch: egg and sausage patty sandwich, yogurt with berries and granola, more coffee with milk.
Dinner: four ribs, rice, potato, broccoli. Two glasses of wine. Three squares of chocolate.

I'm probably forgetting something. We just had large quantities of food.

lpearlmom wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 11, 2019 2:31 pm

I always feel better after writing down what i felt like was a really wild day as it’s inevitably not nearly as over the top as i thought.

Auto: funny about the kiwi and how sweet of you to want to buy ine for your teacher. Sometimes i pack one in my kids lunch with a knife and spoon so they can cut it in half then eat the insides with a spoon. It works pretty well!

Isn't it funny how that works with the "wild" days? I've evolved so that I'm not quite so concerned with red days as I am with making sure that even if I snack, the day as a whole doesn't look too crazy. On Friday, I just didn't want to be "that person" that constrains the whole family group because I have to have things a certain way. I'd rather fly under the radar a bit and not have the spotlight on my eating habits.

For kiwi fruit, I cut them into quarters and then just bite into the flesh, avoiding the skin. I wouldn't do that in public though . Too messy. I'd probably do what lperlmom described above.

Sunday:

Breakfast: Two boiled eggs.
Lunch: omelette with cheddar and bacon, one piece of toast, few bites of my husband's extravagant French toast, coffee with cream.
Part of a McDonald's latte.
Two scoops of ice cream.
Dinner: Bowl of bean soup.
Half an orange.

I'll vent a little here but have recently been perturbed that in order to be smart about what, how often, and how much we eat. we have to contend with so much. I,too, don't want to be the wet blanket, and used to eat with gusto and much admiring of the usual suspects of dietary indiscretion at social events, but as I've gotten older, I feel we're bringing so much on ourselves that it seems absurd that it looks abusive if we try to put brakes on. I went to a senior event a week ago Saturday and the portions of chicken were at least twice as big as most people would need. Why not divide them and let those who feel the need take two? BTW, there were a few people with walkers and oxygen tanks. Sure, I can't say their problems were diet-induced, but the odds are probably good that they weren't helped by SAD.

In any case, keep up the efforts!

oolala53 wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 12, 2019 9:46 pm

I'll vent a little here but have recently been perturbed that in order to be smart about what, how often, and how much we eat. we have to contend with so much. I,too, don't want to be the wet blanket, and used to eat with gusto and much admiring of the usual suspects of dietary indiscretion at social events, but as I've gotten older, I feel we're bringing so much on ourselves that it seems absurd that it looks abusive if we try to put brakes on. I went to a senior event a week ago Saturday and the portions of chicken were at least twice as big as most people would need. Why not divide them and let those who feel the need take two? BTW, there were a few people with walkers and oxygen tanks. Sure, I can't say their problems were diet-induced, but the odds are probably good that they weren't helped by SAD.

In any case, keep up the efforts!

Thanks oolala! I'm hoping that No-S simplifies eating for me, at least when I'm eating at home, which is most of the time. It sounds like that senior event must have not only wasted a lot of food, but could have given some people tummy-aches because they would try to eat more than they should to be polite. I see what you're saying that no one should ever feel pressured to accept more food than they want, and shouldn't get any pushback if they say "No. thank you".

Monday, August 12th

Breakfast: eggs, half an orange. Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: salami slices with mustard on crackers. Four cherries. Half a bell pepper.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: bean soup, chicken salad, four cherries, a kiwi.
Small glass of milk.

Tuesday, August 13th

Breakfast: my usual-- two scrambled eggs made with milk and cheese, half a bell pepper, and half of a small orange.
Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: out at a Thai restaurant with friends. I had the small lettuce salad and then ate half of my entree, which was Drunken Noodles with chicken. It had some bell pepper slivers mixed in, but was mostly carbs. Although this was not strictly one plate, the salad would have fit so I'm not calling it a fail.
Tea with lemon.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: baked chicken thigh, a little bell pepper, small amount of rice, four cherries.

Wednesday, August 14th

Breakfast: eggs, bell pepper, orange.
Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: chicken thigh, about a third of the leftover noodles from yesterday, kiwi, four cherries.
More coffee with whole milk.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: small amount of chicken salad, small amount of bean soup, bunch of string beans, four cherries.
Spoonful of yogurt before bed.

Thursday, August 15th

Breakfast: eggs, string beans, half an orange.
Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: chicken thigh, part of leftover noodle dish, string beans, kiwi.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: chicken sandwich, four cherries.

I definitely struggled with cravings this afternoon. I was able to recognize it as stemming from anxiety, and just dealt with it until it went away. I was also very tired from waking up five times overnight to pee. It just seems to be my lot in life. If it's two or three times, okay, but five times is ridiculous.

5 tines?? Ugh, sorry! :/

tired and anxious - a powerful craving concoction....

Friday

B: eggs, string beans, orange
Coffee with milk
Lunch: chicken thigh, string beans, noodles, five cherries
Tea
Milk with protein powder
Dinner: frozen meal. Palak paneer. Five cherries.
Truly drink. Two spoonfuls of canned corn.

Saturday

S-Day

Breakfast: restaurant scrambled eggs, 2 sausages, coffee with cream.
Protein bar. Blueberries. Half of a bell pepper. Tea. Half an orange.
Cookout: hamburger (no bun) with ketchup, two bites sausage with bun, veggies with dip, 7-8 Triscuits, handful of Doritos, cole slaw, three shrimp, one hard seltzer, one beer.
Later: approximately one cup blueberries with sugar sprinkled on top.

Sunday: S-day

Breakfast: eggs, bell pepper, orange.
Latte at Panera.
Lunch: Onion soup at Panera. My husband ate the baguette and most of the croutons.
Protein bar
Lots of roasted Brussel sprouts
Two cups of tea with lemon.
Small glass of milk
Two scoops ice cream.
Dinner: chicken stir fry with rice.
Blueberries doused with sugar.

...just popping by to say hi. Hope all’s well with you Candace!

Hi Octavia! Nice to "see" you again. All is well here. Sounds like things are going well in Octa-land too.

Monday, August 19th

Breakfast: eggs, bell pepper, orange. Coffee with milk.
Small glass of milk with protein powder.
Lunch: small amount of chicken salad, four slices thin salami, and the rest of the noodle dish from last week.
Glass of milk.
Dinner: chicken stir fry with rice. Blueberries. I kind of stretched the one plate rule. But blueberries just don't belong on the same plate as Thai stir fry sauce.

Counting the days until this Saturday, when I will weigh in for the first time in three weeks. I sure hope I've dropped a little more weight, though I should know better now to have much of an expectation. I weighed 151 lbs. at my last weigh-in. It would sure be nice to crack the 150 barrier.

Next week we're going away on vacation for two weeks. I'm not going to try and do strict No-S while we're gone. But I do intend to limit sweets to the weekends, and basically limit the damage that will inevitably be done while we're traveling and eating rich foods on a haphazard schedule and not at home. I think it might help to set another intention or two (besides only having sweets on the weekends), otherwise I'll end up just slipping into eating whenever I get the chance. Maybe just concentrate on portion sizes at meals and limit any snacks to one per day. Or something. Maybe try to keep having veggies at two meals per day. But again, on the road, that might be difficult and I don't want to set myself up to fail. Basically I want to enjoy my vacation without backsliding -- ideally, without backsliding at all, but realistically I could gain a couple of pounds.

I know that the upcoming months could be a bit of a roller coaster between vacation into September, then hosting Thanksgiving in November, and then the inevitable Christmas season inundation of treats. Maybe my realistic goal should be to end the year at whatever I weigh in at this Saturday, while keeping my No-S habits during the times I'm at home and not hosting a feast holiday . Happily, I don't have to deal with going to an office and finding some kind-hearted person has left a big plate of brownies out somewhere. I don't miss that.

Yeah, those "kind-hearted" people and their brownies! Flyingpig's workplace always has me in shock at the amount of chocolate those teachers try to give to each other to survive their regular workdays.

I like your reasonable expectations for vacation and the remainder of the year. If I remember correctly, you've never been overweight, really.... just a few pounds more than you'd like to be (I think). That gives you the advantage of being able to (for the most part) trust your gut in making just a few small changes that, if you make them habitual, will keep you reasonably trim for the rest of your life.

And blueberries definitely shouldn't be tainted by stir fry sauce. Speaking from my position as a serious blueberry-lover.

Hi Auto,

Thanks for the words about the expectations/hopes for rate of weight loss.

I've weighed as much as 180 or so pounds, or about 30 pounds more than I do now. I was about 40 pounds overweight. I've struggled with my weight since puberty. The rest of my immediate family are overweight to fat, and I figure there's a genetic component as well as a "nurture" component to my struggles. It's been a constant struggle. Sometimes I'm chubby, sometimes more than chubby, and for a few brief golden periods, I've been in good shape. I've almost never been slender.

We'll see how far No-S can take me. At times like right now (5:30 PM and about an hour till dinner), when I'm just...so... hungry, I have to remind myself that getting to eat three times a day, every day, is amazing when looked at through the lens of history. I go between thinking I just can't maintain in life at this level of hunger, and then I remind myself of the above. Ugh ugh ugh...

I just realized I haven't had my usual glass of milk with protein powder this afternoon since I was out at a coffee shop. That's why I'm so much hungrier than usual.

Definitely enjoy your vacation! I find I don’t usually gain much on vacation because I’m often more active than usual which seems to counteract any extra eating. Any weight that I do gain though comes off within a week as it’s usually mostly water weight.

I was 150 at my lowest when I was fasting and I tried so hard to get under 150. Now I wish I just enjoyed where I was. It was actually a really good weight for me and I looked pretty good. Not saying you should settle for a goal you’re not comfortable with but it’s a good deal lower than your high of 180 and I bet you look great!

Waiting to eat between meals can be tough but the food tastes so much better when we have a good appetite. That’s my favorite part of Nos!

Tuesday, August 20th

Breakfast: eggs, bell pepper, half an orange.
Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: frozen meal. Adobe Bowl by Healthy Choice. Not bad! And blueberries.
Cafe au lait.
Small glass of milk.
Dinner: chicken sandwich and blueberries.

lpearlmom wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 20, 2019 10:49 pm

Definitely enjoy your vacation! I find I don’t usually gain much on vacation because I’m often more active than usual which seems to counteract any extra eating. Any weight that I do gain though comes off within a week as it’s usually mostly water weight.

I was 150 at my lowest when I was fasting and I tried so hard to get under 150. Now I wish I just enjoyed where I was. It was actually a really good weight for me and I looked pretty good. Not saying you should settle for a goal you’re not comfortable with but it’s a good deal lower than your high of 180 and I bet you look great!

Waiting to eat between meals can be tough but the food tastes so much better when we have a good appetite. That’s my favorite part of Nos!

That's all really encouraging; thank you! We'll definitely be active on vacation. We're going to Denver and environs. Lots of hiking, once we acclimate to altitude for a couple of days.

Candace wrote: ↑

Tue Aug 20, 2019 9:34 pm

We'll see how far No-S can take me. At times like right now (5:30 PM and about an hour till dinner), when I'm just...so... hungry, I have to remind myself that getting to eat three times a day, every day, is amazing when looked at through the lens of history. I go between thinking I just can't maintain in life at this level of hunger, and then I remind myself of the above. Ugh ugh ugh...

Hi Candace! I just wanted to say Hi and thank you for your encouragement and ideas on my check in.

I totally feel the exact same way as the bolded statement above. It is tough sometimes, I really think so much of it is just a mental thing, how we are thinking and feeling about our hunger. It still feels really tough sometimes though.

I hope it gets easier for both of us!

Wednesday, 8/21

Breakfast: eggs, bell pepper, half an orange.
Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: stew of chicken, quinoa, tomatoes and string beans in veggie broth. Blueberries.
Tea with lemon.
Milk with protein powder
Dinner: same as lunch.

Thursday, 8/22

Breakfast: eggs, half a bell pepper, half a small orange. Coffee with whole milk.
Lunch: stew of chicken, quinoa, and veggies. Blueberries.
Coffee with whole milk.
Milk with protein powder.
Little bit of milk.
Dinner: yummy restaurant fried pickles, and shrimp with cheesy grits and sausage. About 8 ounces of beer.

I ate more than usual at dinner. We were celebrating a milestone for an endeavor I've been following and have a stake in. I was about to call it a fail or a special occasion because we had an appetizer and a main (this milestone has been a long time in coming). But then my husband pointed out that I only am allowed half of the appetizer and half of the main, so it should count as one plate total . I found that pretty funny. In any case, I ate way less than my half of each course, so I'm calling it a win. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Tomorrow (Saturday), I weigh in for the first time in three weeks. I'm trying not to expect much, if any, movement on the scale from the last weigh-in (151 lbs).

Friday, 8/23

Breakfast: eggs, half a bell pepper, half of a peach.
Latte at Panera.
Lunch: chicken and quinoa stew with egg. Blueberries.
Tea.
Milk with protein powder.
Dinner: rice and beans with stir fried chicken. One quarter of a bell pepper.
One Truly spiked seltzer.

Boy, am I ready for S-days.

And S Days will be here when you open your eyes to the morning.

automatedeating wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 24, 2019 2:35 am

And S Days will be here when you open your eyes to the morning.

Yaaaas. It's pretty cool that just knowing I *can* snack or have a sweet, means I feel better even when I don't do those things.

I weighed in today for the first time in three weeks. I lost two pounds, going from 151 to 149. Hooray! I did feel like I'd lost a little bit, but didn't want to have any expectations.

Now, my next weigh-in may be Saturday, September 28th. By then we will have been home from vacation for close to three weeks. I am going to try and be somewhat good on vacation and hopefully not gain much weight, but realistically I usually gain some. Even though we'll be hiking a bunch, it doesn't take much extra food to eat back exercise calories. I won't want to weigh myself when we get back. Hopefully by the 28th I'll be close to the weight I am today.

Whoop-whoop for 149! I bet you felt a bit giddy when you saw that number.

automatedeating wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 24, 2019 3:48 pm

Whoop-whoop for 149! I bet you felt a bit giddy when you saw that number.

I am pretty happy, yes. It's really nice to be below 150. But mostly, it's really nice that No-S is helping me lose weight, as are the lovely ladies of this Board.

Congratulations on your loss

Jx

Soprano wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 24, 2019 5:21 pm

Congratulations on your loss

Jx

Thank you Soprano!

I've been giving some thought to how these past couple of months have represented the start of how I should eat for the rest of my life. It's early days yet, of course. But I want this way of eating to be sustainable, assuming I land at a weight that I am happy with. I've already bowed to the perceived need of making a mod here and there, especially in eating a teeny bit before bed sometimes. I've thought about making mods like "only raw veggies in between lunch and dinner", but have pulled back because of all the reasons we all know about: 1) making one exception leads to others 2) eating the veggies in between meals leads to eating more calorie dense meals because "I've already eaten my veggies", etc. Maybe I'll always only have milk and protein powder between meals.

I've also decided to try and make the effort to keep a food log on vacation. It will help me at least stay honest about what I'm eating, which will in turn help me keep a lid on any weight gain.

Saturday, August 24th

Breakfast: shared Huevos Rancheros egg scramble, half a big piece of toast, a few grapes, shared cafe au lait.
Protein bar.
Chicken and quinoa stew with egg.
Tea.
Coffee with milk and sugar.
Two large chocolate chip cookies.
Half an orange.
Blueberries doused with sugar.
Another protein bar.

Not my best day, but it's an S day.

Congrats on the weight loss!

lpearlmom wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 25, 2019 1:49 pm

Congrats on the weight loss!

Thanks!

Congratulations on the weight loss! That is awesome!

I know what you mean about wanting to make it a sustainable way of eating. I think about that a lot too.

pinkhippie wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 25, 2019 3:44 pm

Congratulations on the weight loss! That is awesome!

I know what you mean about wanting to make it a sustainable way of eating. I think about that a lot too.

Thanks Pinkhippie!

Sunday, August 25th, S-Day

Breakfast: Waffle House scrambled eggs, shared grits, one piece of bacon, half a piece of toast. Coffee with half and half.
Lunch: shared small can of tuna with mayo and Dill. Six saltines.
Blueberries with sugar.
Protein bar.
Two scoops of ice cream.
Half a cup of rice.
Dinner: will be seven or eight pieces of bacon. We're eating the house down before vacation.

Veggies have been absent from my diet for the past couple of days. Bad bad bad.

Hi all. I've been on vacation since 8/27 and will be back on 9/10. No S has gone mostly out the window while on vacation. I'm trying to limit portions, but snacking is very hard to avoid. Also tonight (an N day) we're going to a nice French restaurant with friends. We'll almost definitely have dessert, as this will probably be the nicest meal we'll have for at least a week.

I just hope I don't undo all the good work I did over the previous several weeks, during this two weeks time.

I hope you also have a rip-roaring good time!!! This sounds like a special vacation and worth enjoying fully!

I am reading your check-in for the first time. Welcome to the board! I do the same modification that you've done of having a spoonful of Greek yogurt before bed if I need it. I rarely do it nowadays, but it's there for me.

Thank you automatedeating and jenji!

Back from vacation. We had a wonderful time. Colorado has so many wonderful things to do. We also got to hang out a lot with an old friend and his girlfriend, which was soul-filling.

Somehow, I managed to get through a two-week vacation and not gain any weight. I weigh 149 lbs as of this morning, which is the same as when we left. Even though I was consciously trying to limit the usual damage that would be done by eating out most of the time and not on my own schedule, I expected to have gained weight. We did hike a fair amount, but as we all know, it doesn't take much extra food to eat back any extra calories burned. So, I was elated when I saw the number on the scale.

Now, to resume No-S, and hopefully continue my slow and not always steady march down to my goal.

Wednesday, September 11th

Breakfast (late): McDonald's bacon, egg and cheese biscuit, coffee with cream
Lunch: no lunch
Small glass of milk in the afternoon.
Dinner: half of a poke bowl (shared with husband), and roasted carrots and potatoes
Spoonful of greek yogurt before bed.

Congratulations on maintaining during vacation! That is pretty amazing! Sounds like you had a great time as well.