Everyday Systems

Hi Everyone,

Today is day 1 of my check-in. I weigh 144 pounds.

I am returning to the No S Diet because my sugar and snacking habits have gotten out of control! I did the Whole 30 diet which was very useful because it showed me I have a dairy allergy, but once off Whole 30, even though now happily dairy free, I still snack and eat sugar, and am kind of disgusted with myself.

I love the NO S diet because following it will let me have sweets and snacks on the weekends, and 3 healthy plates of food during the week. That seems manageable.

Until tomorrow.

Welcome back!

Day 1 was successful. I felt very virtuous as I packed up my sugary trail mix and put it in a drawer to save for Saturday.

Yesterday I ate:
- oats with peaches, blueberries, walnuts and cinnamon
- a salad with romaine, chicken sausage, sauteed mushrooms and onions, eggplant hummus, and tortilla chips
- egg salad and romaine wrapped in a tortilla

Congrats on a green Day 1!

Day 2 was successful. My body freaked out at 10 am when it realized it wasn't going to get its usual sweet snack, but I promised it french fries at lunch.

I ate:
- oats with blueberries, peaches, walnuts, cinnamon
- chicken and french fries, a spoon of peanut butter for dessert
- tortilla with egg salad and romaine, refried beans and salsa and tortilla chips

I notice that I do feel much cleaner from not having any sugar.

Last time I tried to do No S, I gave it up because I was hungry most of the time. It is hard for me to load up those 3 plates with enough food to see me through to the next meal, but I realize that is the key. I exercise a lot, so I actually need a lot of food (I just don't need SUGAR).

Hi Gyosho -
A lot of people start with a built-in 4th meal if they find they are often derailed going down to just 3 meals a day. I think it can work well in the beginning as long as it officially part of your daily plan.

I'm going to change my daily check-in to the evening instead of the morning, because it will be easier for me to remember the details of what I ate.

Today (Day 3) I ate:
- oats with blueberries, mango, walnuts and cinnamon
- a tortilla with hummus, chicken and spinach. Tortilla chips on the side
- half a package of Trader Joe's Yellow Curry Chopped Salad

I'm going to have a drink with friends later. I will probably just have one glass of wine.

I had a Zoom meeting this afternoon and then got in a bad mood. I wanted to console myself with sugar; instead I went for a bike ride.

It's almost Saturday! One thing I like about the No S diet is that it gives me something to look forward too.

automatedeating wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 09, 2020 2:49 pm

Hi Gyosho -
A lot of people start with a built-in 4th meal if they find they are often derailed going down to just 3 meals a day. I think it can work well in the beginning as long as it officially part of your daily plan.

Yes that sounds like a good idea. I'm doing ok so far with 3 - aiming for at least 500 calories a meal.

Sorry about the frustrating zoom meeting! I have had that happen many times this year.

Also, I wanted to encourage you to consider entering what you PLAN to eat in the morning; then you can edit in the evening if needed but it helps me immensely to consider in the morning how I will eat throughout the day.

Day 4 Successful.

Today I ate:
- a hard boiled egg and a banana
- a tortilla with hummus, chicken, spinach, and some french fries
- a mahi mahi burger on sandwich bread and the other half of my TJs yellow curry salad, with chickpeas and tomatoes added

I had the crazy idea that I am doing "intermittent fasting" with this 3 meals a day restriction, but then I looked it up. LOL - those IF people have it rough! I don't know if I can ever work up to anything like that.

automatedeating wrote: ↑

Fri Jul 10, 2020 10:33 pm

Sorry about the frustrating zoom meeting! I have had that happen many times this year.

Also, I wanted to encourage you to consider entering what you PLAN to eat in the morning; then you can edit in the evening if needed but it helps me immensely to consider in the morning how I will eat throughout the day.

I know I need to work on this. Before NO S, I would just eat whatever came to hand - usually something sweet!

Sounds like you are doing really well. Cutting sugar will really help. I kinda combine nos with intermittent fasting. I do IF for health reasons. If you can leave 12 hours between dinner and breakfast I'm sure there are health benefits.

If you then want to explore it further it isn't hard to slowly extend the fasting period.

I wouldn't mess with it though till you have NoS well established. I don't do IF every day either but sometimes I do a few days in a row usually 14 hours but if I find I'm getting into duet mentality I remind myself Nos us my default. This stops feelings of failure and that it may lead to.

Jx

Weight 142.

Day 7 Successful. (Days 5 and 6 were Saturday and Sunday, so I successfully ate a lot of sugar and felt kind of disgusted with myself).

Today I ate:
- oats with a fresh summer peach on top, with walnuts and cinnamon
- a big salad for lunch with a spoon of peanut butter for dessert
- a bacon sandwich and french fries

I was in such a good mood that I thought a nice piece of chocolate would make my day complete, but I didn't give in. Sugar is totally an addictive substance!

My best friend told me yesterday that I look very thin, and even asked if I was dying and I hadn't told her! Made me laugh, but I was flattered too.

Keep on keepin' on, Gyosho! You are really finding your stride!

Day 8 successful.

Today I ate:
- A tortilla with eggs, bacon, spinach and salsa. A side of melon.
- A big salad. A TJs Mahi Mahi burger on sandwich bread. A few tortilla chips.
- Chicken and tater tots. A spoon of peanut butter for dessert.

I am enjoying actually feeling hungry and looking forward to my meals, instead of engaging in what Reinhard calls "permasnacking".

automatedeating wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 14, 2020 3:39 pm

Keep on keepin' on, Gyosho! You are really finding your stride!

Thanks, automatedeating. I appreciate the encouragement!

Day 9 successful but it was a big struggle.

I went to the dentist this morning. My dentist is near a fantastic bakery, so I usually get a treat from the bakery after the dentist. I wanted to get a treat today - I would declare today an S day, because dentist has an S in it, and I only go twice a year, but I finally decided NOT to go to the bakery. More so because I had a bunch of errands to run than because I had self-discipline.

Then in the afternoon I got super irritable. On top of all the errands, and the dentist, I had a Zoom meeting I was dreading. I SO wanted something sweet!!! I really had to fight myself. Finally I made a fruit salad in the middle of the afternoon, and ate it.

So I had 4 meals today. But no sugar.

- eggs, bacon, spinach, salsa in a tortilla
- chicken sandwich and tortilla chips
- fruit salad
- peanut butter and honey sandwich and a big green salad with lots of veggies

I'd definitely call that a win, the more moments like this you succeed at the easier it becomes. Well done

Jx

Soprano wrote: ↑

Thu Jul 16, 2020 9:05 am

I'd definitely call that a win, the more moments like this you succeed at the easier it becomes. Well done

Jx

Thanks! I aksed my dental hygenist if she let her kids eat sugar and she looked very guilty and tried not to answer!

Day 10 a success, although I had dreadful sugar cravings. It made me wonder what being an alcoholic or drug addict was like! I'm very happy that more than 20 years ago I adopted a 2-drink maximum (even before I knew about Reinhard's Glass Ceiling) and have stuck to it religiously. Too many alcoholics in my family for me to want to go down that road.

Although, as I said, I am struggling with sugar addiction.

Day 10 I ate:
- oats with apples, walnuts, cinnamon
- fish burger on sandwich bread and french fries, a spoon of peanut butter for dessert
- big salad with black beans and avocado, a spoon of peanut butter for dessert

What would I do without peanut butter! I buy the no-sugar kind; in fact, until the pandemic, I had forgotten that most commercial peanut butter has sugar. In March I bought a brand of peanut butter that I don't usually buy (my usual brand was not available) - I was shocked to see that it had sugar!

Looking forward to the weekend. A friend is having a Hamilton viewing party in her big backyard.

The Hamilton back yard viewing sounds like a wonderful idea! Have fun!

And yes, sugar/processed food addiction is a real thing, in my opinion. I have dealt with alcohol cravings too - and the cycle I see with people & their food versus people & their alcohol are quite similar-looking!

Day 11 (Friday) was a success, although I was eating dinner with friends who were running late, and I had to have a banana to hold me over and quench my hunger pains and grouchiness. I ate:

- scrambled eggs with toast and spinach
- a chicken sandwich and tater tots
- banana
- burrito bowl, chips, guacamole, and 2 margaritas!

Hamilton was fantastic! A great way to start the weekend.

Now I am going to get something gooey and chocolatey.

Today, Monday, is day 14. 2 weeks of successful NO S!

Over the weekend I finished off my sweet trail mix and vowed not to buy any more. I also finished off some coconut ice cream in my freezer.

For my treat, I bought a scone and a cookie from a bakery, and ate them with great gusto!

Today I ate:
- scrambled eggs and toast
- 2 chicken sausage and a stewed apple with raisins and cinnamon
- soup of kale, beans, mushrooms, onions, chicken. French fries. A spoon of peanut butter for dessert.

I am feeling very clean and healthy from cutting down on my sugar. I remember the days when I ate a chocolate chip scone every morning for breakfast...

Glad you're feeling the difference by cutting out sugar - that must really help motivation.

automatedeating wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 21, 2020 12:30 am

Glad you're feeling the difference by cutting out sugar - that must really help motivation.

Yes it does! Also having the safety valve of S days makes me feel not too deprived.

Today is day 15. I ate:

- oats with blackberries, walnuts, cinnamon
- kale/beans/mushroom soup and a TJs thai sweet chili veggie burger (no bun)
- 2 chicken sausage and a beer

Felt kind of irritable about COVID - I'm ready to be out and doing things! I did not resort to chocolate though, to make me feel better.