Everyday Systems

So, I checked this site out a while back, found a link to it on Metafilter, and since I have failed at every freakin' diet I've ever tried, I figured I'd give it a try. I've lost as much as 50 pounds, only to gain it back over the course of 3 years. I figured I'd need something simple, non radical, and something I can do.

So, today is the day, so far so good, went for a brisk 20 minute walk this morning on the treadmill, and ate a good breakfast.

Diets I've tried and failed on:

Atkins - Lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks, felt awful and unhealthy, so I stopped.
Natural Hygene - Lost 25 pounds, felt great, but the food combining is a lifestyle that is TOO HARD to maintain
Body For Life (Bill Phillips) Lost 25 pounds (bringing me to 50 after the natural hygeine one) and loved the work out regime. Will probably do that for my exercise once I get in better shape from walking. The Shovel Glove is intriguing, though.
T-Factor: Lost 22 pounds on it, extremen lofat high carb, couldn't maintain it.

So, there you have my history of yoyo dieting. I am a 39 year old male, 6 feet even, and I weigh around 260 pounds.

If this doesn't work, it's the Hoover Home Liposuction Vacuum attachment for me.

Hi Proddy,
I'm loving your profile name and feel an immediate kindred spirit thing happening already... Your story reminds me of my own... Different diets but same outcome.. in the end it piled back on when I went into a big depression and "low and behold" my old habits were still in place, as none of those weird diets, dealt with the main thing for me... Just plain old overeating...
Good luck to you! I think I may have stepped into your town at one point or another when I was living out in Washington State in the Nineties... There are quite a lot of turds laying around in those rolling cow pastures!
I don't know if I made it to East Bumble Turd though... LOL...
Good luck you will love this plan, and you will never hear yourself utter the words
"I hate" or "I can't do/live with/handle" this "freakin" diet...
You'll love it!
Promise!
Peace,
Deb

gratefuldeb67 wrote:Hi Proddy,
I'm loving your profile name and feel an immediate kindred spirit thing happening already... Your story reminds me of my own... Different diets but same outcome.. in the end it piled back on when I went into a big depression and "low and behold" my old habits were still in place, as none of those weird diets, dealt with the main thing for me... Just plain old overeating...
Good luck to you! I think I may have stepped into your town at one point or another when I was living out in Washington State in the Nineties... There are quite a lot of turds laying around in those rolling cow pastures!
I don't know if I made it to East Bumble Turd though... LOL...
Good luck you will love this plan, and you will never hear yourself utter the words
"I hate" or "I can't do/live with/handle" this "freakin" diet...
You'll love it!
Promise!
Peace,
Deb

Thanks, Deb, I appreciate your encouraging words! I can relate to the depression, I found myself going to all you can eat buffet's for lunch most recently, drowing my sorrows as it were. Then I watched SuperSize Me, and it made me stop and think hard about what I was doing to myself. I think it's easy to cop out and say, "I've inherited the Gottaeatthewholedamnbagochips gene, both my parents are heavier, and say there's nothing I can do. I think we all just have proclivities to gain weight, it's not a foregone conclusion. Society does alot to push bigger portions at us, the orriginal Large soda was 16 ounces at most fast food restaurants, now it's the Small, and the large is 44!

Trying to turn things around.

Prod,
Your parents are half right, and half wrong...
You did inherit their genes....
But there's *plenty* one can do to influence those genes outcomes!
This is like the difference between Fate and Destiny....
Choose Destiny, because, you can shape that!

I too, was drowning my sorrows in Chinese Buffets every few weeks, back before I joined NOS.... I was at a very low point... I thank God all the time for intervening and bringing me to this website (actually the older one on Yahoo, which doesn't exist anymore...)
For starters, I suggest, *DON'T SKIMP*......
You will not last on any diet which you don't enjoy, and if you are chasing away hunger pangs every hour, you won't stick it out...
Make sure you have a good sized meal, each time, and don't guilt yourself out if it's, as Reinhard would say, "overloaded" in the beginning days, weeks or even months....
Cut out the high sugar stuff, except on S days, and then, go in good health and enjoy them then...

Kudos to you for taking control of your destiny!
It isn't hard to do this, and if you screw up a little, just think of how much better screwing up a little is, versus, screwing up mindlessly, every day at every meal... If you're not perfect, just pat yourself on the back for giving it your best effort! I'm sure you'll love this because you don't have to exclude anything at all, except things with excess sugar...
As for the Buffets, save them for S days, and maybe try to limit those visits to "once in a while"...
I go about once every 4 months now, whereas I was going every couple of weeks in years past...
PS.. Your stage name makes me smile!

You can do this!
Peace and Love,
Deb

PS... The tricky thing about fast food... It's not on a plate.. It's in a cute little bag, with cute little happy clowns all over it!
Try putting a normal sized (Medium, not supersized) Whopper Meal on a plate one day, at home...
I did this once recently, and couldn't fit all the food without doing a good bit of piling.... I was really shocked at the deception behind the cute little bag with clowns on it! LOL..
A plate is much more honest...
Again, good luck and keep us posted
Peace,
Deb

Thanks, Deb, your words are true.

One day down,

Breakfast:

Energy bar, bannana, Grapes, an Apple

Lunch

Turkey Sandwitch
Chips
Carots

Dinner
Two pieces of pizza, Salad


When cleaning up after dinner, I was clearing one of my kids plates, and she'd only eaten half her pizza. I thoughtlessly took a bite. Instantly, visions of angry villagers weilding shovelgloves popped in my head. I spit it out. The rest of the night, when walking through the kitchen, I would feel urges to open the fritge, grab some fruit, grab a handful of chocolate chips. It is becoming clear to me how mindlessly I ate before.

All in all, I don't feel deprived. This morning I have a dull headache, but I think it's because of the lack of sugar. A little detox is good for the soul.

Almost forgot, I hit the treadmill for 20 minutes today, 10 of which was a slow jog!

Deb, I LOVED your "better to screw up a little" comment. I tend to be an all or nothing kind of gal, and I screwed up with a bagel before bed last night and thought I'd throw the baby out with the bathwater and just give up. Your very astute observation has thrown me right back on this path.

Compared to mindless binges of the past, that was a tiny blip on the radar screen. And this morning, it is an hour past my usual breakfast, and I'm still not hungry! After a binge, I would pick it up the next morning and roll on.

I bow to your brilliance.

Peetie

gratefuldeb67 wrote:PS... The tricky thing about fast food... It's not on a plate.. It's in a cute little bag, with cute little happy clowns all over it!
Try putting a normal sized (Medium, not supersized) Whopper Meal on a plate one day, at home...
I did this once recently, and couldn't fit all the food without doing a good bit of piling.... I was really shocked at the deception behind the cute little bag with clowns on it! LOL..
A plate is much more honest...
Again, good luck and keep us posted
Peace,
Deb

Wow, I've never tried that. The film SuperSize me is a great motivator. The director Morgan Spurlock, was a pretty healthy guy, Vegan Chef girlfriend, and obviously he didn't eat fast food before he started his 30 days. The first Supersized Double Quarterpounder meal he ate took him like 40 minutes to consume, and he promptly threw it back up. I'd like to get to that point...where fast food makes me sick instead of craving it.

Welcome prodigalsun! I love that mental image of angry villagers wielding sledgehammers! Cracked me up Anyway, welcome and congrats on your first successful NoS day! As for fast food, I don't think I'd want to go so far as to get sick from it, but I eat it so rarely (once every 2-3 months) that I don't consider it a major problem in my diet. Everything in moderation is my general principle... but of course the worse something is for you, the more "moderated" it should be. Anyway, have a good day 2!

Ariel King wrote:Welcome prodigalsun! I love that mental image of angry villagers wielding sledgehammers! Cracked me up Anyway, welcome and congrats on your first successful NoS day! As for fast food, I don't think I'd want to go so far as to get sick from it, but I eat it so rarely (once every 2-3 months) that I don't consider it a major problem in my diet. Everything in moderation is my general principle... but of course the worse something is for you, the more "moderated" it should be. Anyway, have a good day 2!

Thanks, Ariel!

Prodigal!
I too, like lovely Ariel, was cracking up from your "Angry Shovelglove Wielding Villagers" image....
That is awesome! I think you may have really found an image that will work for me... I tend to raid the fridge when I'm really stressed.. It was like that for years, so it's a very very long standing bad habit...
Wonderful Reinhard suggested that I think of the Ghostbusters image which says "Zeul", in that scene with Sigourney Weaver and her "possessed refridgerator".... But that never worked for me...
I think the angry shovelgloving villagers will work better as it's very very funny! Maybe instead of eating from stress, I'll laugh instead and just cheer up... It's, as Reinhard would probably say, a charmingly ridiculous image... comic pragmatism at it's best...
Thanks!
Glad to hear you had a good first day... Sorry you feel a bit off from all that detox... I wouldn't be surprised that you really are having some minor withdrawal symptoms from your change of sugar intake, especially if you were a real sugar junkie....
Again, I too, used to have fast food at least twice a week, in the past, but I eat it about once a month now... It's expensive, it's fattening... But please, no throwing up okay! That's just gross! LOL...

Being on NOS doesn't mean becoming a fast food Bulimic! (sp?) Just cut down to a few times a month or something...
Save it for S days if you need to have a soda or a shake....
Trust me... It's not the type of food, it's the imbalance of having it all the time in large amounts... You can still enjoy fast food here, it's okay..
Supersize me was an opinion piece, and it got peoples attention, so that's good... But I don't think it's helpful to have an "all or nothing" attitude...
Moderation is the mantra here...
Have a great day!
Peace,
Deb

Had a successful day tuesday, exercised (10 minutes walking, 10 minutes jogging), and ate the folliwing

B:Apple, Plum, banana, energy bar
L: Slice of Pizza Carrots
D: Pasta, last slice of pizza, carrots.

Determined when I got home that my wife is evil, there was a big plate of her delicious chocolate chip cookies sitting on the table. Took all my willpower not to have one. Broke down and grabbed a double handfull of cherries after dinner.

Wednessday: Conference calls started at 6 am, so no time to exercise.

B: grapes, cherries
L: Terriyaki chicken, veggies over white rice
D: 2 pieces of Pizza (AGAIN, I know, I'm not ordering it, wife is).

Today, went for a walk,
B: ate 2 pieces of tost with a light scrape of cream cheeze, ate an apple and some cherries.
L: Pretzels, turkey Sandwich, Diet Coke (I know, Reinhard says baaad).

Benefit after three days, headache gone, no acid reflux at night when trying to fall asleep.

That evil wife thing can be hard to overcome. Ask her if maybe she'll bake for you only on the weekends.

My wife undestands now. I still can't get her to try the diet, but sooner or later, she'll break down. She admires the change in visuals. Try SG. It's the obvious compliment to No-S.

Kevin wrote:That evil wife thing can be hard to overcome. Ask her if maybe she'll bake for you only on the weekends.

My wife undestands now. I still can't get her to try the diet, but sooner or later, she'll break down. She admires the change in visuals. Try SG. It's the obvious compliment to No-S.

Yeah, I've been thinking about it, it intrigues me, especially seeing Reinhard's "During" Picture. How long does it take to start seeing tangible benefits to the SG?

You'll start feeling them very quickly. You'll probably not see them until you've lost some fat (assuming that you, like me, have more padding then you wish you had).

But you'll eventually develop the lean/strong visuals that your wife will like. I've been at this constantly for about six months. I'm the proud owner of a well muscled back and shoulders. I'm still the unfortunate owner of a gut and love handles, but they are smaller now...

*Slaps his ample gut less than affectionately*

Yeah, I've got quite a bit to loose. It's almost too cheap not to try. Cost, 1 sledgehammer. Of course, If it works I'll feel like an idiot for buying that used weightmachine off Craig's list

Thanks, Kevin.

Hey, there's nothing wrong with variation. You can SG every other day and do traditional resistance training on the other days.

Variation keeps you from developing repetitive motion injury. Even SGing, I do fewer reps of more exercises than I used to. I do 35 reps of these things now:

1. Shoveling
2. Stoking the oven
3. loading the basket (a curl - I pretend I'm loading a shovel load in a tall refuse can)
4. Breaking the ice (sort of a one handed full height butter churn)
5. High hammering (choking up on the hammer and swinging it from behind you to a stop at a position above your head - massive tricep exercise)
6. Fireman chop (shoulder high)
7. Chopping wood
8. Driving the post
9. Tucking bales

Dinner last night was Sushi and Salad. Successful day!

Ok, Shovelgloved this morning. Really dug it.

Breakfast: Plum, Fried egg bagel with egg whites and cream cheese, glass of Odwalla superfood.
Lunch: Turkey Bagel and cream cheeze, toasted pita chips, carrots and glass of non-fat milk.
Didn't feel hungry all afternoon, but working from home the lure to snack was pretty high.

What I have mentally been telling myself is that this is not a diet, it is the way I will be living from here on out. You can't say that really about an atkins, fit for life, body for life, or other regimen, because social pressure, and the wonkiness of the discipline will eventually make you fail. I have so many friends who've done atkins, lost 30-50 pounds on it, and then 6 months later they are back to their old habbits. This plan, because it restricts nothing but eating like a greedy gut and mindless snacking is eminently doable. Kudos to Reinhard for coming up with such a common sense approach! Kudos to you all for trying and maintaining the experiment!

Kudos to youdos, toodos!
Congrats on your great few days already!
Extra kudos for not eating during your home work time... that could become a very bad trap... If necessary, leave the environment when that happens... You'll be avoiding a temptation, which is probably just "there" because of stress or bordom, or whatever, and two, you'll be Rangering... PS.. You don't need to be Urban to Ranger.. You can Ranger around your house if necessary!
Just an idea to keep away from the snacking!
Thanks for filling me in on your location, and reminding me of Mt. Baker!
I said a big "Oh yeah...." when I read that.... I've never been to Mt. Hood then.. LOL..
Sounds like you are doing great! Glad you aren't on Fatkins! LOL...
I think most people who go on that just do it because then, in some public place, they can say "I'm on Atkins"! Like that carries some kind of magical cache...
Very wonky for sure!
Have a great weekend and have fun enjoying S'ssing!
Peace,
Deb

Thanks, Deb, you're a real motivator!

Final meal last night, Salad, artichoke heart tortillini in red sauce with soy meatballs, and a side of cherries.

I awoke this morning feeling great, sugar detox over.

Let the S days begin!

Bring it on!
Sounds like you're mostly veggie... I admire that...
Take care son!
Peace,
Deb

Oh, believe me, I likes a nice hunka meet as well. The spousal unit is a vegetarian, so when in rome...

Today was good.

B: Fried Egg sandwhich
Snack: Rice crackers/pretzell
L: Turkey Sandwhich, water
Snack: Peach, Pear, cherries, Shrimp cocktail, tortilla chips
Dinner: barbecue chicken, saffron rice, mini enchilada, side salad, raviolis. Believe it or not it fit on one plate and was not obscene.

I passed on the chocolate decadence. Believe it or not, I was full and it had no power to even lure me to contemplate it.

Prod
Yeah, sometimes a good ol piece of raw steak is unparalleled! LOL...
I had some really nice salmon yesterday... It's just more filling to have a moderate amount of protein every day...
I think that when you feed your body a nicely balanced meal, it is much less likely that you will be lured by sweet treats... I think that for many, sweets are just quick fix "pick me ups" which we crave when we don't feed ourselves properly...
Still, I'm heading straight for the chocolate soymilk when I go shopping today, as I ran out of it about five days ago and have been going into withdrawal!!! I have about 1/2 cup a day in my coffee...
I'm not that into sweets in general, but I love that cocoa thing with the coffee! I think, from looking at your "snacks" that if you incorporate those *into* your meals, on N Days, especially the pears and cherries, etc., you will just breeze through the week with the same staying power against the lure of super sugary snacks!
Good work so far! Keep on a truckin!!!
Peace and Love,
Deb

Ok,

First set of S days are down. I didn't go crazy, was actually pretty sensible.

Most of my snacking consisted of fruit. I did go to a movie, had a Coke and some milk duds, and finished off the evening with a slice of Cake. Interestingly, I had no wild cravings.

Congratulations on making it through week 1, S-days and all, and sorry I haven't posted here sooner. I'm happy that we've gotten such a great community here that I can afford to be lax in my welcomes, but I shouldn't be.

Regarding fast food and Morgan Spurlock's double quarterpounder, I used to routinely eat 3 whoppers on 99 cent "family nights." When I saw that scene in "supersize me" my first reaction (after disgust) was "what a lightweight!" But you know, I guess that's sorta the point. While I still do enjoy a (single) whopper now and then, I don't think I could physically do that anymore.

Maybe you should store your sledge in the fridge? Less space for junk, powerful reminder.

Wow Reinhard! I am shocked!!!!
LOL..... !!!!!!!!!
Good thing you didn't keep up your "Three Plates in One Meal" way of eating... You *probably* wouldn't be around here for all of us, then!
Love,
Your faithful "ambassador" of Peace, Love and NOS!
Deb

reinhard wrote:Congratulations on making it through week 1, S-days and all, and sorry I haven't posted here sooner. I'm happy that we've gotten such a great community here that I can afford to be lax in my welcomes, but I shouldn't be.

Regarding fast food and Morgan Spurlock's double quarterpounder, I used to routinely eat 3 whoppers on 99 cent "family nights." When I saw that scene in "supersize me" my first reaction (after disgust) was "what a lightweight!" But you know, I guess that's sorta the point. While I still do enjoy a (single) whopper now and then, I don't think I could physically do that anymore.

Maybe you should store your sledge in the fridge? Less space for junk, powerful reminder.

Yeah, I used to regularly supersize my double QP meal, before Mickey D's killed Supersizing, and pack it away in stride. I guess your body acclimates to whatever kind of eating you do. Toxifying or detoxifying are uncomfortable processes.

Hmmm...Cold Sledgehammer in the morning. That would eradicate the need for a cup of coffee the first time the cold mettal of the Sledge Head hits flesh!

I did the routine you recommend for beginners this morning, and I only got through the first cycle (21's and 2 14's on the no name and hoist the sack), and I only made it through one set in my 14 minutes. Is that normal?

Ok, Day 8:

Breakfast: Peach, Plum, Cherries, Banana
Lunch: 6 inch Subay turkey sub
Dinner: chicken burrito, handfull of blackberries

Really was hungry in the afternoon

Exercise

SG: Check
High Intensity Cardio: Check
Lunchtime Walk: Check

Alright Prodigal!!!!!!
So were you hungry in the afternoon, pre or post lunch?
Do what you want with your food, but there is a lot of evidence that if you include some form of protein in your breakfast, that will really help reduce your hunger... Personally, I am pretty lame about eating a good breakfast, but by "brunch" time I'm ready for a good sandwich or sushi or something substantial....
Good for you on getting in all your exercise!!!
ROCK ON!
Peace and Love,
Deb

Hi Deb, I was hungry post lunch, hit about 2:30, and carried on 'til dinner time.

Eating today:

Breakfast: Banana, two plums, peach
Lunch: 6 inch turkey sub, pretzels, Diet Coke
Dinner: Curried Tofu and veggies over brown rice. Big portion, I was famished, so portion control was not as controlled as it should have been.

Exercise:

Shovelglove: Check
High Intensity Cardio: Not today
Lunch Walk: Urban Rangered for two miles around the parking lot.

How about throwing in a single egg for breakfast and maybe a little slice of bread... All that fruit sounds yummy, but is simple carb stuff, so it goes away fast....
Okay, nagging over!
Love,
Deb
You are doing great!!!!!!!

Ok, Here it is by the numbers:

Breakfast: nutrition bar, grapes, banana
Lunch: Turky sandwich, pretzels, carrots
Dinner: 6 inch chicken sub from subway. That's the third one this week. My wife is calling me Jared. If I start shilling for their 6 inch sweet onion terriyaki sub, someone hit me with a shovel glove. Trader joes cheeze puffs, carrots, handfull of organic razzberries.

Exercise:

ShovelGlove: Yes sir may I have another!
High intensity cardio: No
Lunch time Ramble: went for 2 miles.

You sound happy Prodigal!
I'm assuming you're not having the extras that they try to push on you at subway, like chips and soda and cookies!
Have a nice day! Next time your wife calls you Jared, just give her a big
"razzberry!!!"
Peace,
Deb

Yeah, no chips or cookies or soda for me. What I listed is what I ate.

Oh, and if you don't believe me, the proof is in the pounds. I took my daughter's swimming at my FIL's last night, and while I changed in his bathroom, I stepped on the scale....I started NoS'ing at 260, I am now down to 248, in 10 days. I know this kind of weight loss will not continue, but I think I've eliminated at least 500 callories a day from my eating by doing away with snacks and liquid sugar.

Holy moly!!!!!!!
That is fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yay Sunny!I am so stoked for you...That is like a whole years worth of losing weight...
Hugs!
Deb

Edit... I just realized I thought you lost 22 pounds! LOL...
I will never be a good accountant...
So, revised version:
That's like 2/3rds of a whole years worth of losing weight!
Whatever...
It's fantastic.
!!!!!

Thanks, Deb, Your encouragement is awesome!

Now I'm celebrating my weight loss with 4 quarter pounders with cheeze....NOT!

Whoa!! 12 lbs in 10 days?! WOWEE. Let's hope that slows down soon, or it could be unhealthy. But congrats nonetheless!

Hi Ariel Girl!
Remember... Our Prod is a big man on campus!
It usually goes hand in hand that when someone starts out fairly on the big end, they will lose a considerable amount in the beginning...
From the kind of foods that Prod mentions, I'm sure he will be one healthy dude!
I am jealous!!! Ha ha!!!
(well so much for my 9-5 ludditing! This is too good to not write about!)
Happy vibes,
Deb

Good point Deb. Anecdotal evidence does all seem to indicate that the more you have to lose, the faster it will come off in the beginning. In any case, good job Prod! And yes he does eat very well... I'm impressed.

Yeah, and that's on par with other diets I've done. Difference is, it doesn't really feel like a diet.

What is not revealed in my posts, is that before NoS, I would eat. Alot. I would bring lunch to work...and then eat the sandwhich by 10:30, and at noon I'd go out and get something. At 3 I'd have a 20 ounce coke and a candy bar, hopefully King Size. Once I got home at 5, I'd snack on fruit, crackers, chocolate chips from the baking cubbard. Then I'd have dinner, sometimes seconds, and then I'd snack until bed time, where'd I'd lie awake and wonder why I had heart burn. No on NoS, I eat at regular times when I am hungry, a sensation that of late I never let myself feel.

So you see, just sticking to the NoS plan results in a dramatic reduction in intake for me on a daily basis. at least 500 calories, maybe more like 1000. With that much reduction, and exercise, my body is making rapid adjustments, part of which is detoxification. One of the side effects of that is release of watter weight. So, I'm thinking I've lost a lot of watter, maybe some fat as well.[/i]

Yeah, I was thinking some of it must be water weight, but that makes a difference too. I personally feel and look better when I'm not hanging on to several pounds of excess water.

Well, day of mixed success and failure for me.

Breakfast: Grapes, rasberries, plum, nutrition bar
Lunch: 6 inch Subway Sandwhich, pretzels
Dinner: Ouy. had dinner with a buddy, had a large plate of barbecue ribs and chicken, coleslaw and potato salad, and ended it all with a generous scoop of chocolate icecream. My first falter, and I'm a tad bit ashamed of myself. I didn't need to have the ice cream, but I couldn't seem to help myself.

Exercise:

SG: Yessir
High Intensity Cardio: Yes, good session
Urban Ranger: 2 miles at lunch.

It's a minor falloff Prod! No need to say "Oy Vey"! But that is a fun thing to say sometimes...

You have a great attitude...
No denial going on, but still it's not necessary to harp on that little "bleep"...
This is a life plan... I'm sorry, but it's just a big setup to expect that we can always be perfect... But 75-80 percent good is still going to have a long term impact....
It goes both ways...
I read something a while back which said that if a person ate something like 3 cookies a night for 10 years... That, all else staying the same, due to metabolism changing with age, that would translate into something like a 25 lb gain.... So, I'm guessing that if we do the opposite, and eat well for most of our week, in the long term, it will translate into a loss...
That's how NoS is working for me at least...

The problem I'm having (with the only exception being the nutrition bars you mention) is I get hungry reading your posts!
Especially that one!!!!!!
I love ribs! LOL...
Great work on your exercise front... I am very happy you are so jamming!
Post a picture soon!
(only if you want to... )
Peace and Love,
Deb

Ok, another week down, today flawless NoS.

Breakfast: Breakfast bar, plumb, banana
Lunch: teriyaki chicken over rice and salad
Dinner: Chicken burrito

SG: Check
No cardio, no UR.

Ok, doing great, lost another 4 pounds, so total weigt loss so far is 16 pounds. I expect the pace to slow down here soon.

One thing I'm going to try for next week. I will only eat to the point I feel I can still get up and run around comfortably, yet hunger pangs are gone. We'll see how it goes.

Oh my God Prod!!!! You are doing so great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am very proud of you!
Seriously, I'm getting a major rush of excitement, though it's not me losing that weight....
So happy for you!!! Woo hoo!!!!!!!!

Peace and Love,
Deb

Deb, I appreciate your encouragement so much, you give alot of special feedback to people here.

Ok, trying something different this week. Since I noticed that the SG tended to make me sore in my joints and connective tissue, but not so much the muscles themselves, I've decided to add resistance training as well, based off of Bill Phillips Body-for-life approach. I have modified it to make it more aerobic, cuting about 15 minutes of rest out of the routine, reducing the workout to about 30 minutes. On my off days, I will do SG and high intensity cardio, also based of bill phillips. Therefore my morning exercise will be between 30-35 minutes (weights or SG and cardio), and then 45 minutes of brisk walking at lunch. So today so far:

Breakfast: two plums, breakfast bar, banana.


Exercise:

Upper body weights: check
Walking: Not Yet

I am planning on weighing once a week or less.

Yay Prod!!!!!!
Remember to breathe like a madman during your intense cardio workout!!!
Love,
Deb

I weigh myself about once every two or three weeks.....
Sometimes if I'm really going nuts with exercise I check it a little more..

I always breath like a mad man.

Ok, lunch yesterday: tunafish sanwhich, pretzels
Dinner: chicken burrito.

In addition to the upper body weights, I walked 2.1 miles at lunch.

16 pounds -- that's an entire (big!) shovelglove. Congratulations!

Sorry to hear about the joint soreness. I can't say I particularly noticed that in myself. Hope the resistance stuff you're doing on the side helps (or that it just mysteriously goes away). Keep paying careful attention to this issue... sometimes the attention alone does the trick.

reinhard wrote:16 pounds -- that's an entire (big!) shovelglove. Congratulations!

Sorry to hear about the joint soreness. I can't say I particularly noticed that in myself. Hope the resistance stuff you're doing on the side helps (or that it just mysteriously goes away). Keep paying careful attention to this issue... sometimes the attention alone does the trick.

Thanks, Reinhard. I don't think the joint soreness is a bad thing, it feels like it's a strengthening thing more than an "I'm doing bad things to my body" thing.

Today:

Breakfast: 2 plums, banana, 2 hard boiled eggs
Lunch: Tuna fish sandwich, pretzels
Dinner: Whole Wheat spagetti, veggie meatballs, canned corn, watermellon.

Exercise:
SG: Check!
HIC: Check!
Lunch time UR: Check!

One mor day down

Breakfast: Yogurt, breakfast bar, two plums
Lunch: Turkey Sub, pretzels
Dinner: Turkey Sub, chips

Exercise:

Lower body weights.

Hey Prodigal!
You are doing great!!!!
Almost at the big 21......

PS... I totally miss Washington State...
My son and I might have to visit you and your Wife someday!
I saw a movie shot in Seattle yesterday, and it made me long to visit again...

Have a great day hopping over cow turds...
That's great exercise too!

Peace and Love,
Deb

Well, if you came out now, Deb, you'd see this area at it's finest. It's sunny, warm, and beautiful.

Ok, thursday another success:

Breakfast: grapes, plumb, breakfast bar, peach
Lunch: Salmon Wellington, mixed vegies, 2 sourdough rolls, glass of wine
Dinner: Thai food: Cashew tofu and Ginger Tofu with mixed veggies over brown rice.

Exercise:

HIC: Check!
SG:

Friday success!
Saturday, Sunday, god solid S-Days!

21 days down!

Your table awaits you at Kevin's "High Falootin" 21 Club!!!
Congrats Prodigal!!!!!
Rock on!
Peace and Love,
Deb

Prodigalsun...

I, too, find SG hard on the strands that hold my elbows and my shoulders together. Therefore, I alternate between it and a pushup/situp/pullup/dip/squat routine.

If I SG'd everyday, I think I would injure myself. Unlike, Reinhard, I'm well into middle age at 46. My experience is that I do not rebound as well as I did when I was younger, even five years ago. It's sort of a battle to take baby steps forward without taking a giant step back by pulling or straining something.

On the other hand, if I don't exercise, that hurts, too.

So, I cross train. One day of SG, one of bodyweight training. Some times a day at a buddy's house on his Solarflex.

It works for me.

thanks for posting, Kevin.

Well, this is the routie I've hit upon, and it worked for last week. It felt right

MWF: resistance training with weights, as per Bill Phillips Body-For-Life. I've modified the routine, reducing about half of the rests he puts in, to reduce the overall time to 30 minutes.
TTHSat: High intensity Cardio, as per BP, and Shovelglove.
Lunch time walks M-F.

Like you, I'm older the Reinhard, I turn 39 tomorrow.

Prodigalsun wrote:thanks for posting, Kevin.

Well, this is the routie I've hit upon, and it worked for last week. It felt right

MWF: resistance training with weights, as per Bill Phillips Body-For-Life. I've modified the routine, reducing about half of the rests he puts in, to reduce the overall time to 30 minutes.
TTHSat: High intensity Cardio, as per BP, and Shovelglove.
Lunch time walks M-F.

Like you, I'm older the Reinhard, I turn 39 tomorrow.

You sure exercise a lot - I need to start moving more. I use to do Bill Phillips Body-For-Life and I always found the rests too long. I wanted to speed it up so I could get home to the kids.

Your metabolism must be really fast with all the exercise you are doing and the muscle mass you are building.

Well, matabolism ain't that fast yet, as I just put the plan into effect last week. We'll see how it goes.

Snazzy, you think Prodigal exercises a lot, go look at Jan-TZ's posts... phew!

Happy Birthday Prodigal!!!!!!!!!!!
Peace and Love,
Deb

thanks, Deb, and thanks for the very nice e-Card!

Had a nice 3 day S weekend. I actually did a lower body weight workout on my birthday.

Tuesday was back on track

Exercise: High intensity cardio

Breakfast: Hard Boiled Egg, Banana, plum
Lunch: Left over Chinese Curry
Dinner: Ratatouille, Onion soup, french bread, bow tie pasta. Believe it or not I portion controlled it, lots of white space on the plate.

Feels good being back on the reservation.

WARNING, non PC humor ahead, don't read if you offend easily....

Prodigal, good luck getting back on the reservation... What tribe are you? LOL...
That reminds me of a joke about the Great Neck ladies here in town...

"What does a Jewish American Princess make for dinner????",,,,,,,

"Reservations!"
Ba dum bum!!! Crash!
(groan......)

Hope you are having a fun day!
Peace and Love,
Deb

Ok, had my first real slip up today.

Breakfast and Lunch were fine, but dinner I had two plates. I'm pissed at myself.

Exercise was good, did upper body weights and 2 miles at lunch.

Deb, from cheerleader to comedian now?

Prodigal, sorry about your first slip up. They'll happen once in a while, even to me. Don't let it get to you. You're doing so well big picture that the greatest danger of this slip up isn't an extra plate of calories but the chance that it could discourage you.

For what it's worth, you have my blessing on your mixed shovelglove/cardio/weight training exercise routine. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

Thanks, Reinhard, for your encouragement. I've been telling myself that I'm just one meal away from being back on track. So, no major derailment. I had a good high intensity cardio workout this morning, and am looking forward to my lunch walk as I'm working from home, and I live in the boonies.

Yay Prodigal!!!!
Get back up baby!
Being pissed at ourselves often happens, but it creates even more disharmony... The more we try to fight with ourselves, the more resistance we add to the mix and the less we allow ourselves to just surrender to the moment, accept where we are now, and even the slipups, and move on to the next step... That resistance to what is happening now, is what makes us feel so bad... But you really sound okay now...
So, dinner must have been something yummy!
See you later Prodigalator...
Peace and Love,
Deb

Thanks, Deb.

Well, today was better.

HIC: Check
tweaked my back on shovelglove.

breakfast: Banana, blueberries
Lunch: Tuna bagel, pita chips, carrots
Dinner: Sushi

Hey Prod! Wish I could give you a long distance back massage! LOL..
But it's not really my specialty (though long distance healing is real stuff)
If you can get your wife to take a dixie cup filled with ice and do circular ice massage to the injured area, it will help you heal faster...
This technique requires that you keep the ice moving the whole time, not just lay an ice pack on yourself and leave it...
With circular motions, swirl the ice around the area with the "tweak" until it gets numb, or before, whichever comes first... Not past the numb stage..
This will bring fresh blood to the area and also cause vasoconstriction in the area of injury so that it doesn't get inflamed and there is less buildup of metabolic waste....
After 48 hours you can start using heat and ice or just heat, but only use the heat or ice for up to 19 minutes...
Avoid heat therapy until the initial acute stage of inflammation is over..(48 hours is normal, but 72 hours is also acceptable..)
Rest up for a few days....
Hope you feel better soon... Good thing it's the weekend tomorrow!
You are excused from SG till you feel all better!
Love,
Deb

Thanks for the pointers, Deb. My back actually feels much better today, I have a Glutheim (sp), essentially a lower back exercise machine (got it from a friend where it was languishing in his basement). I hung my torso off it and let my vertebrae stretch out, and when I got off...no more pain, but a little soreness.

Just wanted to share a high point for me. I am currently wearing a pair of jeans that haven't fit in 2 years. This means I've dropped 2 inches off my waste.

I think I will wait on any more shovelglove until next week.

That must have felt fantastic to put them on with no problem!!!!
A treat, two years in the waiting!!!
Now that's anticipation
Congrats buddy!!!!!!Glad your little traction session helped you... I thought you hurt your upper back or shoulder... Good for you for helping yourself!
Peace,
Deb

Ok, friday was a success, except I had a homemade blueberry muffin watching a movie with my wife.

S days have been S days, although I did do a high intensity cardio work out on Saturday.

Ok,

Breakfast: nutrition bar, peach, apple, banana
Lunch: whole wheat spagetti with tofu meatballs
Dinner: chicken burrito

Exercise:

Upper body weights

Ok, did alright, but kinda blew it in a healthy way after dinner.

Breakfast: egg, assorted fruit
Lunch: Veggie sandwhich, chips, plumb, blueberries
Dinner: Chicken burrito, tamale, rice and beans. (couldn't finish). Then, my wife brought home some huge, organic, blackberries. I had a huge bowl of them. Coulda been worse

Exercise: Man today's approach really kicked my ass in a good way.

High intensity cardio for 20 minutes, then went right into 14 minutes of shovelglove. My shirt was completely soaked and I was breathing in ragged heaves by the time I was done.

Awwww blackberries??????????
I am shocked!!!!

LOL!!!!!!!!!
You are really decadent Prodigal!!!!!!!

No shame necessary.... Consider it virtually plated "huge" blackberries which made up for your unfinished tamale and rice.....

Summer fruits are so awesome, and they are not really S's.....
And I think a whole cup of berries is only around 50 calories or something... as long as you don't add cornsyrup to it, it's really NOS kosher...
Don't sweat it man! Except on the High Intensity Workout...then you can sweat all you like!!! Excellent "SAK" workout!!!
(Self Ass Kicking! LOL...)

Love,
Deb

Ok, went on vacation for 5 days, got back tonight.

thursday and Friday were tough, days, I did snack a bit, but didn't go crazy, Saturday and Sunday I was glutinous. I did work out well. Hard to stick to the diet when travelling and visiting with friends and family. Deb, I spent two days on whidbey island, and then two on my folks tug boat trucking around the San Juans. Wife and kids had a blast.

It was great tossing the Sledgehammer in the car. Have shovelglove will travel.

The B&B we stayed at on whidbey had great trails for running, and SGing.

Happy to be back on the n-days tomorrow.

Cool Prod!!!
It's just so beautiful on those waterways!
I never went to Whidbey... I vistited Port Townsend a few times though..
Sounds like you had a great time! Occasional gluttony on weekends is allowed... It's still a mortal sin

But on S days, a little sin won't do you in...
Ha ha!! I'm a poet...

Have a jamming day!!!
Peace and Love,
Deb

Ok, had a good day right up until dinner time...went out with a friend and blew it! Ouy. I'm pissed.

Workout was great, upper body weights. Thinking about getting Combat Conditioning. Working out with your own body weight appeals to me.

I don't know about Combat Conditioning, but that's a main reason I love Yoga...
Have you ever practiced that?
Sorry about your "F" up tonight...
Don't get pissed, get even....
Get even by having a good breakfast to make up for the not great dinner....
I'm not pissed at you, so you shouldn't be!!!!!

Oy!
Love,
Deb
ps... did you see my picture on todays posts Prod?
I am smiling at you!!!!!
(post edit...)
Duh!!! I sent it to your email already!
I have the worst memory on the planet, even compared to a full on senile woman!!!! LOL...

Ok, back on track. Yesterday

Breakfast: plum, apple, raw almonds
Lunch: Indian food (large plate)
Dinner: spagetti, corn

Exercise:

HIC: Check
UR No
SG: started it, and tweaked my back again. Seems the post driving doesn't agree with my upper back.

About to hit the weights for today.

If you'd like to borrow the book, contact me. If you're doing Hindu squats and Hindu pushups, you're halfway there.

I love bodyweight exercises. I do pushups, Hindu pushups, squats, pullups, rows ("pulling" exercises require that you have something other than a floor, but I think they are very important), and, of course, SG. I realized last night that, for the first time in a long time, I could drop to the floor from a standing position and catch myself with one arm without any shoulder pain. Amazing change from where I was three months ago.

Thanks, Kevin. I probably ought to just buy it, considering postage between us would probably come close to paying for it anyway. Thanks for your generous offer to share!

Last two days have been mixed success I've had big lunches, and one lapse with a small bowl of icecream.

Workout has been fabulous

Wednessday was weights; legs, abs and back
Yesterday: high intensity cardio, SG, and 2 mile walk

Today, I'm about to launch into my upper body weight routine.

Back into the No S swing after a weekend of parties. Yesterday:

Breakfast: nutrition bar, plum, peach
Lunch: Terriyaki chicken
Dinner: chinese food

Exercise: Lower body weights with ab work and Hindu Squats.

Hi Prod!
Weekend parties sounds fun!
Deb

Ok, last week was not as successful from a food standpoint, I had a few sweets and few seconds.

Workout flat out rocked, though

Monday: leg curls, leg extensions, crunches and back extensions, calf raises and hindu Squats
Tuesday: High intensity cardio, SG
Wednesday: hindu pushups, dumbell bench, curl, military, lat pulls and tricep presses
Thursday: HIC, SG
Friday: Repeat of Monday
Saturday: HIC, SG

My energy is going through the roof. Multiple people have commented on how much better I'm looking.

Now if I can get the food under control this next week, it'll all be ducky.

Be patient!!!!
You are doing great Prod!!!

It took me a long time to downsize my meals but it's fine now!
You will be all ducky soon enough... You have your whole life to practice...
It will happen!

Love,
Deb

Thanks, Deb!

Yesterday OK:

Breakfast: Fruit and breakfast bar
Lunch: Turkey sandwhich, chips, nuts, 2 plums
Dinner: Chicken Burrito
Snack: Energy bar

Exercise:

Upper body strength training: Dumbell Bench, military, curls, lat pulls, tricep press, hindu pushups.

Oh that energy bar could be part of your "virtually plated" dinner....
Don't worry
Love,
Deb

Prodigal, it sounds like big picture you're doing great. Strictness is a tool to help, not something to torture yourself with after the fact. You're very close. You're close enough that it's working. I'm not going to say "don't try to be strict." Just because there is a "close enough" doesn't mean you shouldn't try to aim, but realize and be encouraged by the fact that what you're doing, warts and all, is working. From the standpoint of efficacy, you may not even need more strictness. But as I mentioned on the home page, strange as it sounds, strictness makes it easier. Hope this advice isn't too confusing...

Ok, thought I'd give it a good two weeks to make sure I was rockin' and rollin again with No S before I dared show my face in here.

Last several months I was off the wagon. when I found my chocolate/sugar cravings getting out of hand, I realized I needed to get back with the program. Two weeks ago I started No Sing again, and it's been working fine.

I have been consistent with the working out, which is good, and I feel good giving myself some discipline again around the eats.

My working out is going extremely well, I'm in the best cardio vascular shape of my life. It feels good to sprint up two flights of stares and not even be breathing hard.

If I can maitain the eating part of this, I should be in good shape to start loosing again.

Glad to be back and checking in!

Keep coming back, and never leave!!! LOL..
Love,
Deb

Thanks Deb!

Well, so far so good, Had a huge plate for lunch yesterday, so ended up just having some fruit for dinner.

Yesterday some sad news, we learned that my wife's uncle died. He was 64, in great health, and had a massive coronary during his morning run. a big shock for the family. Her dad is the oldest (69) also in great shape, and he headed off to Florida to make the funeral arangements last night. I'm thinking, if he was in great shape and died at 64, I better get on the stick if I want to see my kids graduate college.

Did combat conditioning royal court this morning for exercise, yesterday was cardio and shovelglove.

Hey Prodigal...
Please forward my condolences to your Wife... So sorry for that sad, and shocking news...

But, don't make someone elses life yours...
Many people die for mysterious reasons every day...
It is *their* path...
You have your own...

You are doing great here so do not fear!
Peace and Love,
Deb

I hear you deb, his life is not mine, but I can also use it instructionally.

yesterday was successful, another big plate at lunch, another light dinner.

Did the Royal Court for exercise.

Yesterday was successful, it was an S day, we finalized the adoption of our youngest daughter.