Everyday Systems

Using this more to note down experiences and tricky days, to see what I can learn from good and bad days. For failure and success I will use the Habitcal.

So far:
- it's easiest to stick to the plan on normal working days
- I can handle a restaurant dinner much better than before
- I might be eating too much, but at least more or less healthy foods, so I will look into portion size at a later date
- some advanced planning of weekend snacks would be good, to enjoy them more
- I still think that I do need food in between breakfast-lunch-dinner, but now I only eat healthy things like fruit, cheese and crackers
- taking it one day at a time is a good way to do this
- I need to get back into a regular excercise routine, which is not easy with all the December social obligations

Yesterday was tricky:
Day off work, social obligations, no lunch at normal time, travelling during dinner time. Managed without touching the cookies (yay!), has six small-ish meals at regular intervals.

New lessons learned:
- no big fatty lunches. They will make me tired and sluggy for the rest of the day.
- tiredness leads to bad food decisions

The Christmas period was pretty good!

Thought about making Sunday 30 Dec a No-S day, and then the 31st an S-day, but I was in a bad mood and there were still those excellent chocolates in the fridge, so they both became S-days.

Even went to the gym twice after Christmas, yay.

Okay, in a few weeks' time, when I've got this whole thing under control, I am going to work on my S-days. Making sure that I only eat REALLY nice chocolate, cookies, seconds, etc.

But first the other five days.

I'm going to see if I can minimise or cut out some of the mini-meals without causing concentration problems or fainting. If not, I will keep them, as long as they consist of 'real' food.

And I have decided to not eat light or diet products anymore. They usually taste bad and are not filling at all.

Also, I've switched to mainly organic fruits and vegetables.

No weight gain after the Christmas holidays! That must be a first.

Also, the excercise is going pretty well.

Yesterday's food

breakfast: orange, slice of bread with egg salad and alfalfa
lunch: two slices of bread dipped in peanut sauce, salad, boiled egg, glass of milk
afternoon: apple, half a piece of rye bread, cheese
dinner: pandan rice with mushroom sauce, mushroom and leek, veggie burger

Pretty good!

Yesterday was a failure.

breakfast: apple, slice of bread with veggie spread
lunch: two slices of bread, one with butter, one dipped in cauliflower soup, salad, glass of milk
dinner: leftover Chinese which was not enough, bread with peanut butter, piece of cheese and cashew nuts
after dinner: a big homemade apple dessert

Did not even enjoy that last one very much.

And today and tomorrow will be tricky, with going out and social stuff.

Thursday was a succes!

breakfast: slice of bread with egg and alfalfa
lunch: two slices of bread dipped in peanut sauce, salad, glass of milk
afternoon: apple, slice of bread with goat's cheese and alfalfa
dinner: out to dinner, had a big (fairly oily but nice) salad with shrimps and homemade iced tea (very sweet)

Bought chocolate but did not eat it, saving it for the weekend.

Friday was a succes.

Weekend were S-days, which meant chocolate, chocolate cookies, and apple cookies. Mostly sweets, not really any snacks or seconds. Saturday's dinner was a bit greasy but delicious; homemade and organic.

Even went to the gym for a short workout on Saturday morning.

Sometimes I feel a bit like I HAVE to have cookies at the weekend; I still need to plan my esses.

Monday was a success

breakfast: tangerine, glass of milk, two slices of bread with goat cheese
lunch: potato and leek soup, two slices of bread (one with butter), salad, glass of milk
afternoon: rye bread with cheese, apple
dinner: veggie burger, sauerkraut with potatoes, pineapple and raisins

Had a smaller plate for dinner to compensate for the afternoon meal.

And a bigger breakfast to keep the hunger away.

Tuesday was a success.

breakfast: two slices of bread with goat cheese, glass of milk
lunch: two slices of bread dipped in peanut sauce, salad, glass of milk
afternoon: apple, crackers
dinner: a fantastic salad, toasted bread, a few garlic mushrooms
before bed: piece of cheese and peanut butter

So, I need to eat a more filling dinner because I was still quite hungry afterwards, even though I had a plate full of food.

Wednesday was a succes.

breakfast: two slices of bread, tangerine
mid-morning: two small tangerines
lunch: two slices of bread with butter, salmon, salad, glass of milk
afternoon: rye bread, a lot of cheese
dinner: salad, apple with raisins for dessert

Dinner was smallish, to complement the afternoon meal.

Congratulation on all your successes this year.

How are you doing with moving towards 3 meals a day? or have you decided to stay with the 5 as they seem to be working for you?

Thanks!
I am moving towards four meals a day now, having increased my breakfast. So now I'll have breakfast, lunch, afternoon meal and dinner. That is working well so far so I will stick to that for now. Mainly because there is such a long time between lunch and dinner, especially if I do my exercise before dinner.

I think the most important thing for me to focus on now is on not being an idiot on S-days. That is where it starts with a small cookie after (or before) breakfast, and then eat whatever I feel like for the rest of the day. Then I feel sick, vow to do it differently next time, and don't. So this weekend I will make a plan for some small treats and keep the rest healthy. I always forget to eat fruit and drink enough water during the weekend.

Also, I'd like to slowly increase my exercise. At the moment it's twice a week for an hour. Which is good. The plan is to do an hour of exercise for three days a week (Mon-Wed-Fri), and then something short for the other two N-days, like a half-hour walk or some pilates/stretching at home. But I will settle for 3-4 days exercise to start with. Babysteps and all that.

I am not losing any weight so far, and not really need to either, but I might start measuring my waistline to see if anything changes. The most important thing is that I feel healthy.

Another good thing:
I can have chocolate in the house, or in my office, and not eat it!

This has never happened before.

The weekend were S-days

Saturday
breakfast: muesli with yoghurt, apple and cinnamon
snack: croissant
lunch: two slices of bread with cheese
snack: cappuccino with cake and chocolates
dinner: mini-pizza, slice of bread with fried egg
post-dinner: orange juice while going out

Sunday
snack: cashew nuts
breakfast: two slices of bread with egg-salad, cappuccino
lunch: grapefruit, cheese, toast with cheese
dinner: pasta with broccoli, leek, pesto and fish, two glasses of wine
snack: chocolates while watching a movie

Not bad!
Drank enough water this time.
I could eat more fruits and vegetables though.

Feeling a bit sick.

Which should not be an excuse for failure to keep to No-S. Have to remind myself that cookies will not make me feel better. Fruit and honey might.

It's going well so far!

Though I really feel like cheating today.

I'm going to start measuring my waist and hips for a few days straight, to establish a baseline. Then we'll see what happens. Hopefully it will stay as it is, or gets a bit smaller.

The S-days last weekend were better than before, helped by not starting snacking before breakfast. And not having too much sweets in the cupboard. I did go out and bought Belgian chocolates, but the quality was less than expected. Still ate them all, of course, but will not buy there again next time.

I did not cheat yesterday, which meant success.

breakfast: two slices of bread, two small tangerines, glass of milk
lunch: two slices of bread dipped in peanut butter, salad, boiled egg, glass of milk
afternoon: rye bread with cheese, apple, coca cola
dinner: oriental dish with tofu and veggies
before bed: toast with protein topping, two scrambled eggs, two teaspoons of peanut butter

I ate a lot!
Mostly because I went to bed then couldn't sleep because my stomach was grumbling. Probably to do with the intense workout at the gym.

Last week was pretty bad, I failed most days. Plus I am gaining inches.

So, back to No-S again!

Yesterday (Monday) was an S-day so I had a delicious piece of cake after dinner, plus some (=too much) chocolate. The good thing was that I did not start the unhealthy stuff until after dinner. The bad thing was that I still ate too much.

Today, back to normal.

I have the feeling that three meals are not working for me. Going to make the following changes:

- eat breakfast, lunch, dinner plus an afternoon meal
- eat something small before bed if necessary, or a glass of milk
- eat more salads and soups
- excercise more, especially cardio
- do not overeat on S-days

That should do it

It's no wonder that 3 meals don't work for a lot of us. Remember what you used to each day? How many times you ate? If you were like me, it was one long meal from morning until night. This is a huge change for me. We need to listen to our bodies. If we can't focus, have a headache or our tummy is grumbling, then we need fuel - fuel is not a snack, fuel is a hard boiled egg and a slice of whole grain toast, a snack is a Snickers bar and a bag of Doritos! And for me a snack never had anything to do with hunger, it was boredom, it was habit, it was CRAZY! Now I usually have 3 to 5 meals a day, depends on how I feel. I eat a very light breakfast and a very light lunch that way if I need a mini meal in between, I can do that and still keep my calories where they should be. I know a lot of people eat a big breakfast so that it carries them over until lunch, but I was still getting hungry more than an hour before lunch. Maybe it was in my head - it really could be, but I am really feeling good about the way I am doing this, no guilt - wow! That’s a first. I know when I eat my mini meal, it's cuz I NEED it, not just WANT it. And I know from my past history I have always done better on diets where I ate several times a day. I say do whatever you have to do to stay on this, even if it pushes the envelope. Once the habit is there then we can make the adjustments. I am trying to keep from overwhelming myself because that's what always gets me in the end on other plans.

Good luck Apple

Thanks Dawn!

I have low bloodsugar, so for me it's best to eat 4-5 times a day. I tried to move towards 3 meals, but that apparently did not work so well. So back to more and smaller meals.

Boredom snacking is the worst, isn't it? I still do that during the weekend, but have started to work on that. I think the main reasons why I do not lose weight are the indulgence weekends and the lack of cardio workouts.

But I have been good yesterday, and this morning been to the gym, so I feel great.

Yes, overdoing it on the weekends and no exercise means no weight loss. That was my fear when I started this. I could see how the no s works, but I KNEW I would go over board on the weekends and the exercise was something that I needed to get going on too. So I thought this sounds like a perfect maintenance plan, but how am I going to lose the 20 pounds I need to lose? Now that I am really getting into this I know I will be able to get the weekends under control and I will just have to get my walking shoes back out and get moving. For now I am mostly focused on the habit, but I am mindful of what I eat during the week, which I always am. Actual meals aren't my problem, it's the s's that got me where I am today, so that's why this plan makes such good sense to me. Today is my birthday but I am not counting it as an s day, because I have a lot planned for the weekend. I am really going to try to plan a few very nice treats so that I can really enjoy my weekend, my birthday and time with friends, and show myself that if I can do this now, then I can do this on your average weekend no problem.

Good luck to you, and keep sharing any tips or bits of wisdom you may have!

Happy birthday Dawn!

Exercise is really important for me, and I am now aiming for 3-4 times a week which is doable. It gives me energy and makes me feel happy.

Last weekend was not bad!
One of the best tricks is not to stock up on chocolate/cookies/chips, and making sure you eat your fruit and vegetables. I had some snacks and sweets of course but not to excess.

I really feel like I'm back on track again and that I can do this. And now that I know I can do normal weekends, things are going to be fine.

Still struggling some days... but am determined to continue.

Need to think of a nice reward for the weekend.
Satuday I'm out all day, from before lunch until midnight. Plan to eat healthy and filling food, plus something sweet or snacky. And bring some apples to snack on. But won't panic if this doesn't work out as planned, the most important thing is to have a fun day out!

Sunday is a blank. Baking would be nice, but then I'd have to find a way not to eat all the cookies. And find a nice recipe for cookies.

On a positive note, the exercise is going well!

I have a new goal that I'm going to be working towards.

Early summer I will be going on a long adventurous holiday, and I need to be in good shape for that. Which means healthy foods and regular exercise (3 times a week). No weight goals, just focusing on being fit and healthy.

This weekend was good! No chocolate-overdose, just a dessert every day. Plus some additional snacks like a big lunch and bread and butter before dinner.

Even attempted some exercise.

Did some exercise at home yesterday, so I am very happy. Also managed to ignore the voice in my head that was shouting for chocolate.

Feel really good right now.
Yay for me!