Everyday Systems

Day One:

Let me take this opportunity to introduce myself and start off this daily check-in thread.

Today I made the decision to follow the Everyday Systems path to health and fitness (It's funny how generic and 1950's that sounds). I'm buying into it completely. The No S Diet, Shovelglove, and Urban Ranger. No sense in doing it half-way.

So here's the deal. I've got a lot of weight to lose. But I have every intention of doing it. There's something about this method that really resonates with me. I haven't made any whole-hearted efforts to lose weight in the past. When I have tried I've usually been succesful up until the point where something distracts me from it for a few days. And then...EL BLAMMO! I'm back where I began. What I like best about the No S plan is that in one way it's very strict, but it's a strictness that is very easy to stick to, if that makes any sense.

Here's where I'm at. I'm 306 pounds and my goal is to lose about 119 of that. It's somewhat ambitious but I'm not too concerned about it. I'm going to be the No S Diet's very own Jared (the Subway guy).

So today was my first day and it went great! Why? Well, I rather cheekily decided to make it an S-day. What could be more "Special" than the first day of a life-changing journey? Haha. I admit, it was a bit of a scam, but it was mainly because I didn't make the decision to pursue this new lifestyle until later in the day. So, why not make this Day 1 an S-day which means I'll start off a success no matter what?

I walked over to Home Depot tonight and picked up my sledgehammer. I live in New York City and I have to tell you that nothing commands respect like walking through Manhattan with a sledgehammer in your hand.

So there you have it. I'll keep this updated regularly and honestly, mostly for my own sake, but if anyone else gets anything out of it, all the better.

Spiral

Go for it Spiral!!!!!! You will LOVE NoS and trust me, you will be able to commit to it.... But if you "Beep" up once in a while, just recommit and continue into your successful future!!!!!
NoS is life friendly and I believe, that resonating thing you mentioned, and others have put it as the "Lightbulb" metaphor, is simply because it is based on Truth....
Good luck! I too am a big girl, somewhere around 208, but only 5'3"...
Let us all know how it goes for you and ask any questions which may help!
Peace,
Deb

Thanks, Deb. Just to clear things up. I'm not that big a girl. I'm that big a guy. I appreciate the support.

Wow, walking through Manhattan with a sledgehammer. That's really cool!

Welcome!. Post often!

Spiral, I would love to have an everydaysystems "Jared." Sometimes I wish I could have started out fatter -- I'd be rich now!

Seriously, what Jared did wasn't all that different from nos plus urban ranger: 3 (very limited and monotonous, admittedly) meals a day and walking everywhere.

It's going to take serious, sustained effort, but you sound like you've got the right attitude. If you feel your fire flagging, don't hesitate to bug us here.

Looking forward to appearing together on Oprah,

Reinhard

Be careful what you wish for our lean and mighty leader!
(still hope you get rich!!!)
Deb

Why do you think walking around New York with a sledgehammer is odd? I'd be afraid to walk anywhere in that city *without* some big, blunt object such as a sledgehammer that can be used for defensive purposes.

But seriously Spiral, glad you're here, may your no S journey be successful.

The passersby probably weren't even noticing the sledgehammer. They were spooked out by those spirals in your eyes!

(I took a Christmas tree home on the subway once. And they say New Yorkers on the train never look up from their reading -- ha!)

Alright Mr.spiralstares, I'm starting with you. As a Southern lady, I would never divulge my weight, (I'd lie anyway, like I do about my age and hair color.) Let's just say I'l like to take up about 30% less space. This diet appears so simple it is a relief.

I really buy into the idea that is a matter of habit. Quite frankly, I really don't have that many "issues" anymore to overeat about. The beauty of this diet is I don't have to plan and prepare all the time.

Day Two:

Last night I had Chinese food. My fortune cookie read:

Begin...the rest is easy.

I don't know that that really constitutes a fortune but it does seem like solid advice.

My 3 daily goals are:
1. To stick to the No-S diet.
2. Get in my 14 minutes of shovelglove.
3. At least one hour of Urban Ranger.

With that in mind, today was a complete success.

My enthusiasm has not waned at all. Granted it has only been a couple days, but you know how some times you'll be really psyched up for something and then you'll go to bed and wake up the next morning and think, "What was I thinking?" Well, that hasn't been the case with me. I'm just as enthused as I was when I first heard about this.

My shovelgloving was a bit modified, but if nothing else I kept it up and in my hands for the full 14 minutes. I was doing Extreme Shovelgloving which means I didn't have the end of it wrapped in a sweater and I'm in my cramped Manhattan apartment. There's not much of a difference between Extreme Shovelgloving and a maniac with a sledeghammer which is what makes it so much fun. I've spent some time in the past as a juggler so I like to work on some different kinetic movements with the sledgehammer. It's a good time.

So that's that.

Spiral, I just caught your reply... Somehow, while being sick, my attention was thrown off...
I know you are a guy, guy! I just used poor grammar... Guess I should have said "I too am a big person" LOL...
Yeah, you're right about this seeming better and more doable as the days go on... It is not a fad... You will not wake up three months later, sick to death of taking shakes, pills or counting calories obsessively....
The thinking is so minimal here. It's all about getting it to an unconscious habit... Now, that said, if one lives with poor eating habits for a long time, and for many of us that means most of our adult life, it does take some real effort to unlearn them... But the rewards of feeling in control and feeling happy that you are doing something great for yourself are totally worth the fight!
So how's it going for you today? Ready for your first S weekend?
I'd be interested in how that goes too... It's nice to actually make those treats count and not just eat any ol' thing that is laying around.
I can't think of what I may have right now, but I'm sure it'll be yummy!
Peace,
Deb
ps... I like this avatar better than the first one you had, which looked like Damian from the Omen! LOL.... You scared me there guy!
So, wanna be part of the Pact of Blood?
See you on Shovelglove.. We need more maniacs there!

Day Three:

Happily it was another success for me today. I probably ate more at my meals than I hope to eventually settle in to, but the critical part for me was that I stuck to the principles of the No-S diet. It seems like the important part is to get the structure down and then once I have that mastered I can concentrate on smaller portions or healthier food choices. I also got in my shovelglove and Urban Ranger. So this first week was a short week for me but it was a success so I'm happy. I appreciate the support from the people on this board as well. Enjoy your S-days.

Day Four: S-Day
Day Five: S-Day

I've been enjoying these S-Days but I'm also looking forward to getting back in the game tomorrow.

I'm with you-looking forward to a little more structure...I kinda' hated the weekend coming up after my first day. But at least I didn't wait till Monday to start my diet (which of course would have caused the pre-diet binge).

Congratulations on making it to the first milestone weekend, spiralstares.

Here's another inspiriring (and diet related!) Hamlet quote to get you through the next week:

"Your worm is your only emperor for diet: we fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots: your fat king and your lean beggar is but variable service, two dishes, but to one table"

Day Six:

Success.

I actually ate much less today then even the No-S diet requires. SG and UR as well.

When I am Urban Rangering I listen to old time radio shows which I have loaded on my Ipod. It makes the time go much faster for me. I buy them here www.dadsotr.com. It's just a couple of dollars for a CD with 70 or 80 half-hour long mp3s. I'm a big fan of Groucho Marx's game show You Bet Your Life, and I like some of the horror shows like Lights Out and Quiet, Please.

I do have a confession to make. I went to the movies today. In fact I go to the movies a couple of times a week. And one thing I won't deny myself when I'm at the theater is a coke. So probably once a week on a non-s day one of my meals will actually consist of about half a small popcorn and a soda. I guess everyone makes their own allowances and this is one I've made myself. There are other areas of No-S where I am stricter than the rules state, so I suppose it all evens out.

(Reinhard, thanks for the quote.)

Day Seven:

Well, it's been a week. That means, what? I'm one third of the way towards making this a habit? Well, it really hasn't been all that difficult for me. It already feels habitual. And it's been successful as well. I've lost some weight (I'll update my numbers this weekend). And I've yet to deviate from the Nosdiet.

I was fortunate because it was somewhat cool this past week in NYC. Unfortunately it's warming up which means I'll probably only be walking at night time. I could walk on my lunch break, but I'd prefer to come back from lunch not looking like I feel in a swimming pool. But either way I plan on getting in at least one hour of UR every day.

That's all. Back tomorrow.

Day Eight:

I think I'll start using the "Success" and "Failure" terminology.

It means something for me to have this daily check-in, but I don't have a whole lot to say unless I have some big crisis of faith ("Oh my god, I almost ate a cookie!") which I haven't had yet.

Success, by my definition is:

1. No sweets, sugar, seconds.
2. 14 minutes of shovelglove.
3. At least 1 hour of Urban Ranger.

So, day eight was a success.

Day Nine:

Success.

The weekend's almost here, right?

TGIS!
This weekend I'm going to avoid triggers though, so Monday won't be too hard.

Day Ten:

Okay, it's the end of my first full week on the No-S diet. And it's my first official weigh in.

Here's the tally...

N-days - 7
S-days - 3

Total weight lost: 10.5 pounds.

Now of course I expect this pace to drop off dramatically. But hey, it's still a good feeling for the first ten days.

That's all for now. It's just about time for me to have my midnight snack. (This is my new tradition to usher in the S-days)

Spiral!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is fantastic news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations
Enjoy your Sses!
You did great!!!
Deb

10.5 pounds is really an accomplishment! You have certainly earned your S-Days!

Wow, 10.5 pounds is fantastic. You gotta be happy with that.

Perhaps the only benefit of having a lot to lose is that the pounds really melt away at first. I expect things to even out over the course of the next week and I may lose very little or nothing at all. I'll be fine with that. Thanks to everyone for the kind words.

Day Eleven: S-day
Day Twelve: S-day
Day Thirteen: Success

But damn, it's getting hot and humid here in NYC. This makes shovelgloving and even just walking around much less pleasant. Oh well, it can't last forever.

But think of all the extra calories the heat is burning!

Congratulations on sticking with it and your big loss. Wow. We'll be on Oprah in no time at all at this rate! Of course, as you point out and must be careful to remember, this rate isn't going to continue. Still, enjoy it while it lasts!

Minimalist success/failure notation is fine. That's what I did most days. The important thing is to check in at all. If you want to write more, great, but you don't want the pressure of having to write a novel here to dissuade you.

Day Fourteen: Success
Day Fifteen: Success

Two weeks and counting.

Rock on Spiral

Listen and you can hear the din at Club 21 calling you. Your name has been put on the guest list.....


See you soon.

CVMom

Day Sixteen: Success

And one day closer to a long S-weekend of barbecues and ice cream.

Mmm, barbeque. One of the things that I miss, living in an apartment, is having a barbeque of my own. Counter top grills just aren't the same...

Day Seventeen: Success

And with the week coming to an end, it's now my weigh-in day.

This week I lost 5 more pounds.

Here's the totals...

N Days - 12
S Days - 5

Total weight lost: 15.5 pounds.

Alright Spiral!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Wow!!!!!!
I am so happy for you!!! You must feel very proud...
Peace,
Deb

Great to read how you have done so far! Enjoy your weeknd!

Spiralstares, this is fantastic. Double digit losses already (assuming the long weekend didn't set you back too much!) and you haven't even hit 21 days yet. Good luck on making it to that first, big temporal milestone this week.

Day Eighteen: S-day
Day Nineteen: S-day
Day Twenty: S-day

Thanks, Reinhard, et al.

I doubt I'll add much to my losses this week as it's a short week following 3 S-days, but I'm fine with that. I'm very realistic about what I believe my rate of loss will eventually settle in at.

Even once my rate slows down, it's just a matter of time before I lose what I want to lose. And then you'll all see me and Reinhard on Oprah together pimping No-S.

I'm already practicing my lines:

"I feel like he [indicating Reinhard] is my guardian angel." [Burst into tears.]

"Oprah, I don't feel like I've lost a lot of weight. Instead I feel like I've gained a whole new life!" [Burst into tears.]

"I'm so happy I feel I could burst into tears at any moment!" [Burst into tears.]

Spiral....don't you love Oprah? I mean, really? My husband won't admit this to his friends but I TiVo it and we watch it together at least 3 times a week. I can't wait to see you and Reinhard together up on that stage.

I don't know if you are aware that Oprah has eliminated all the "White Stuff" from her diet and only has S days about 1 every three months?

I like Reinhard's much gentler approach.

CV Mom

spiralstares wrote:Day Eighteen: S-day
Even once my rate slows down, it's just a matter of time before I lose what I want to lose. And then you'll all see me and Reinhard on Oprah together pimping No-S.

I'm already practicing my lines:

"I feel like he [indicating Reinhard] is my guardian angel." [Burst into tears.]

"Oprah, I don't feel like I've lost a lot of weight. Instead I feel like I've gained a whole new life!" [Burst into tears.]

"I'm so happy I feel I could burst into tears at any moment!" [Burst into tears.]

You could also pull a Tom Cruise and leap on poor Oprah screaming:

"I LOVE REINHARD!"

"I LOVE NO-S"

Or maybe not...

It would be more fun to leap on Reinhard!!!
Ha ha!!!

(sorry couldn't resist there... hee hee hee...)

Love,
Deb

Oh yeah,,, Spiral! Please let me know when you are on the show!
I liked your rehearsed speech... But I will say, in all sincerity, you are gaining a whole new life, not just a new body.... I can't wait to see you burst into tears!

PS...Reinhard really is an angel... Look at his last name!!!!
I do consider him one of my guardian angels, but mostly just a wonderful person and friend!
Where would I be without him and NoS right now? I hate to think of what could have become of me... I was at rock bottom and I know that God intervened and pointed me toward Reinhards site...
But if Reinhard wasn't so great and NoS so helpful, I wouldn't have kept him in my life... That's the gospel truth!

Day Twenty-One: Success

After twenty-one days this diet pretty much works itself, right? Great! I'm going to go have a cake and celebrate.

Spiral:

Congrats!!! You made it. 21 days is a big accomplishment.

CVmom

Okay, now that I've reached the 21 day milestone, I am going to keep this thread going as a weekly check-in/update.

Since my last weigh-in I have had 3 n-days and 4 s-days. Yes, that's more s-days than n-days, and yet I still managed to lose another pound this week. I would have been perfectly happy if I had gained a pound or two considering how much I indulged last weekend, so I'm really happy with any loss at all.

Here's where we're at now:

N Days - 15
S Days - 9

Total weight lost: 16.5 pounds

Hey! That is fantastic!!!
Yeah it's pretty cool to see that occasional S days, even when they are in abundance, won't really do us in! It's unconscious daily crappy eating that does that! Isn't consciousness cool!!!?
I am very happy for you Spiral!
Hope you have a great weekend!
Love,
Deb

Hooray Spiral

You are awesome, dude!!!!!

16.5 is a heck of a lot stuff to let go of.

I will miss your Spiralstares picture if you only post once a week but we will look forward to hearing of your progress.

CVmom

Congratulations again, Spiralstares. Don't go too fast, I need some time to think of my own oprah routine!

You should pop in the 21 club for a bit.

http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=173

If nothing else, it's useful for people to have a single place to look for confirmation that yes, this is doable and real, particular people have done it.

Day 38

It's been a while since my last check-in, but I've continued No-S'ing since that time and I just wanted to drop in and make an update. I've lost another 5 pounds since my last update which puts me at 21.5 pounds down.

What I like about the No-S diet is that it's so basic, in a sense, that you're free to make your own modifications within the structure of No-S. I think of it as Pimp My Diet.

That is great news Spiral!!!!!!!!
I'm so glad for you
Peace,
Deb

I feel like I'm prefixing all my posts with "sorry for the delay..." these days, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to do it again here.

21 pounds! Wow. Forget the 21 day club, we'll need a separate pounds club for you.

Please do continute to check in now and then, even if your news isn't always quite so fantastic. Sustainablity is the real undiscovered country in diet, what people most need to hear about.

Day 55(?)

Or so.

Let's see...what's happened since my last check-in? Well, first I created a new shovelglove scenario called "Escape From A Chain Gang" which starts off with a few "pounding in the railroad spikes" then some "crushing the guards' skulls" and finally some "chopping off my leg shackles."

Amazingly, it was during some normal shovelglove moves when I wasn't paying attention, and I was in a somewhat cramped space, that I managed to hit myself in the side of the head with a naked sledgehammer. That hurt for about four days and it answered the question of why I should probably wrap the end in a sweater despite not being concerned about harming things in my apartment.

And I lost another 5 pounds, so I'm at 26.5 lost.

So sorry that happened Spiral!!!! Are you okay now?
Hope so...
Yes, perhaps that protective sweater would be a good choice to add, though I don't use one myself...
Not in any way to "rub it in" or anything, but I'm a firm believer that there are truly no accidents in life.. Perhaps that bump on the head was a little signal to just be more mindful of your body and movements... Maybe tone it down a notch... The only "accidents" I ever have happen, almost exclusively, when my mind is somehow occupied...
I think humans are super distractable and it doesn't take much....
Were you tired that day? I never do SG unless I have sufficient energy to be alert...
Still, that had to hurt ...
Feel better ...
Peace,
Deb

Hmm 'there are no true accidents' is about right, but I *definately* have a sweater wrapped round my sledge as I'm about the clumsiest being known to mankind!

I seem to have no intrinsic sense of where my limbs are at any point in space and time, so if you add a whopping big hammer into the equation, sooner or later there will be tears

C.

Just dropping in to make a quick update. Since my last post I've lost another 5 pounds which means I'm down 31.5 pounds since June 16. Not too shabby.

I'm happy that things are starting to cool down a bit and I'm eagerly anticipating autumn which is my favorite time of year. I much happier when I can go out walking and not have to wring out my shirt when I get home.

Dear Spiralstares:

Congratulations on your weight loss. You have done so well. I would say that is beyond "not too shabby"!

Autumn is my favorite time of year too. I can't wait...

Dru

spiralstares wrote:Just dropping in to make a quick update. Since my last post I've lost another 5 pounds which means I'm down 31.5 pounds since June 16. Not too shabby.

I'm happy that things are starting to cool down a bit and I'm eagerly anticipating autumn which is my favorite time of year. I much happier when I can go out walking and not have to wring out my shirt when I get home.

Hi SS. Just read your log and was amazed at the weight loss. That's TREMENDOUS !! Congratulations!

But it begs me to ask what ELSE you are doing to get yourself healthier. Is it just No S & SG? Or something more...?

DaveA

Well, Tonsha, I have to admit that I’m going more by the spirit of No-S as opposed to following it exactly as Reinhard has laid it out. For instance I don’t take an S-day every Saturday and Sunday. I space out my S days in a different manner, more sporadically, through the month and I weigh a couple of different factors in deciding when they will occur. It’s ultimately probably an unnecessarily complex system I’ve created for myself, but it works for me.

No-S is ultimately a diet of calorie restriction, as is pretty much any diet that works. That being said, it’s still possible to eat in a very unhealthy manner and follow No-S exactly. So I think, if you have a lot of weight to lose, you owe it to yourself to push yourself even more within the structure of No-S.

The Wide-Net Theory:

I use the No-S diet as my wide-net diet. What I mean is that I restrict myself in ways that aren’t required by the No-S plan. This way I can cheat, or fall of the wagon, or indulge in ways that are still within the parameters of the No-S diet. I don’t know if that makes any sense. Here’s an example, you could say, “I’m going to do the No-S diet and I’m also not going to eat more than 400 calories at a meal.” This is being much more restrictive then No-S requires, but it’s still very doable for a lot of people. So let’s say you do this but then Wednesday night rolls around and you just can’t take it anymore. It was okay for a couple of days, but now you just need to have a nice big meal for dinner. That’s okay. You can cheat on your more restrictive diet but still stay with in the parameters of No-S. So you get the feeling like you’re indulging yourself which is a nice feeling to have, but really you’re not doing anything you wouldn’t be doing if you were just straight No-S’ing it.

So that’s what I do. I use No-S as my wide-net. I follow it very closely especially when I’m out with friends or visiting someplace new. And on regular days I just try to take it a little bit further and be very conscious, not just of having only one plate of food, but of exactly what type of food is going on that plate.

This has worked well for me so far while I’m in the “losing” period of all this. Eventually when I’m in a maintenance period I’ll probably follow No-S in the standard manner.

OK - so you're "building a fence around the law". Introducing another set of standards to make sure that you can't break the minimum level.

BUT - you aren't getting all hung up if you need to drop back to the minimum standard every once in a while.

Well it's working! Congrats on the weight loss again. I think this may be something I can try if I hit a plateau or something. Perhaps just change the ratio of food types on my plate to reduce the overall calories.

It's a good tip. Thanks!

DaveA

Well, I thought I'd check in as I am just over 3 months in to my modified no-s, shovelglove, and urban ranger routine. In that time I've lost 38 pounds and I'm about a third of the way to where I'd like to be.

So things are going well. Thanks to everyone for their support.

Good for you!!

Deb

What happened to spiral????

Sprial, this is amazing. By next check-in you may overtake me (about 40 pounds)!

I love your "wide net theory." I think no-s in general is "wide net." It delegates many smaller decisions about what to eat to your daily self. I've been too distracted by the proposal recently to futz much with the web site, but I've got a bunch of stuff I want to reference there and this is one.

haha! I caught my thread right before it fell off the first page of daily check-ins. There isn't much new to report insofar as the process goes; I'm still using No-S as my basic structure and then experimenting withing that frame.

As far as progress goes, the last time I weighed myself was last weekend and I have reached the 50 pound mark, so that's good news.

50 pounds in 5 months -- wow!!! Great job. Are you getting much feedback from friends, family, co-workers? It must confound them that you eat so freely and yet you're losing so much weight, huh?

yeah, I'm getting a lot of feedback. I've explained No-s to a number of people. It really resonates with some people and other's seem to have no interest in it at all, even if they have weight to lose. I think it appeals to a specific type of sensibility.

So true. What's that saying? Something to the effect that when one is ready to be the student, the teacher appears? The trick is to develop the ability to recognize the real students -- true searchers (those who are ready, willing and able to act on truth). There have been times that I've given my best as a teacher, and I've gotten responses varying from flipant to hurtful. I am by nature a good student, but that's gotten me into trouble recently since I've been trying to lose weight. Just like most of us here, I've done everything else that's out there and have ended up frustrated. I'm hanging all my hopes on NoS right now, knowing that I have no where else to go. If I'm not successful here, my only other option is a frontal labotomy (are they covered by insurance?)! I've tried everything else. Your success encourages me!

Lane

Buddhist proverb:

"When the student is ready, the master appears..."

Yes that happened with me... Both with Reinhard and NOS, and with my beloved Yoga instructor Larry...

Peace and Love,
Deb

Thank you, much better said. Going to write that down.

Good luck Lane! You will love NOS!!!!
If you work for it, it works for you...
It's truly a life empowerment tool.....

You won't want to leave this once you see how endurable and enjoyable it is!!!
Peace and Love,
Deb