Everyday Systems

First day - and not exactly a success.

Breakfast - Croissant with butter and tea with whole milk

Lunch: Two slices of pepperoni pizza, iced tea (and this is where things fall apart a bit) a mini Nestle crunch bar that someone gave me - which, I might add, tasted so awful, next time I won't have a bit of trouble saying 'no thanks'

Dinner: Chili with corn chips, cheddar cheese, onions and creme fraiche, and homemade kombucha

9/16

Breakfast: Super scramble (whole egg with egg yolk and cream), toast with butter and marmalade, tea with milk

Lunch - club sandwich, kombucha

Dinner - Fat burger, fries and water

My sandwich didn't last til dinner, and I started to not feel well with another four hours to dinner. I ended up having a hot chocolate - not the packet stuff, so it's not sweet - which I prefer.

Tomorrow I'll know to eat more lunch and if it doesn't last, have a glass of milk.

9/17

Today has been another good day.

B: Super scramble again (whole egg with extra yolk and cream), muffin and orange juice

L: leftover chili from dinner the other night and kombucha

D: Chicken noodle soup and biscuits (both homemade), organic local peaches with cream

I may have gone a bit overboard on amounts today, but I'm adjusting to eating more at meals, so I don't get too hungry too soon.

Looks like you're doing pretty well. And you've learned a food that you won't be tempted by again. (Next time a someone gives you a treat like that, you could say thanks, then put it away to take home and save for the S days.)

Oh, Yeah. Not tempted at all. I was trying to be polite about it, but I really thought it was just awful

I don't think it was such a big indiscretion, obviously it was just a little thing - but it was the falling into a habit without thinking that I thought was key. But I'm a lot less likely to do it again - even with better chocolate

Thanks for stopping by

Oh dear. Feeling so lousy this morning and it's my day off This is the third weekend in a row that my stomach has done this to me. Wish I could figure out why and then stop it.

918 Although it feels strange to declare the day a success when I ate so darn much. I'm just not used to how this feels at all.

B: biscuits* and gravy*
L: Lunch out with a friend. I had Chipotle posole
D: Chinese - and lots of it, Kombucha*

I'm looking forward to my first S

*homemade

9/19

My first 'S' day was quite a learning experience. I made pumpkin muffins and we had them for tea, and ice cream after dinner.

There was far too much nibbling going on though. Not a lot at one time, a few walnuts as I getting them out of the dehydrator and packing them in jars, a half a peach as I was cutting them up to go into the dehydrator, a taste here as I was cooking - and several more as I cleared up after dinner (why I do that, I have no idea). All that added up to unpleasant feelings of fullness, and I suspect, the lousy feeling I woke with this morning.

I dont' think I ever realised how much mindless eating I do all day. It's such a small amount, it didn't really register before, but now it seems lit up in neon

9/20
I had a busy weekend. I planned as much of my baking for the weekend, since I knew I wouldn't be able to bake without tasting some of it. I made the pumpkin muffins yesterday and a chocolate chip pie today. Both freeze well, so they'll last quite a while.

For breakfast we had croissants and tea. At lunch we were at an Italian street festival, so we sampled different foods from the booths and had a gelato to finish. Tea and crumpets a bit later. Dinner was grilled steak, sauteed mushrooms, corn on the cob and grilled yellow squash..and the chocolate chip pie with ice cream.

Looking forward to tomorrow

9/21

Feeling much more 'normal' today. Reasonable breakfast, lunch, a hot chocolate when I got home from work instead of a cup of tea on this chilly rainy day, and a reasonable dinner.

I cleaned up and packed lunches after dinner without picking at the leftovers - why can I do that so easily today?

9/22

It was a long day for me - but a green one. It was an easy green, too. Last week I was so hungry between meals, but today I was just not. It surprised me. I hope it means I'm adjusting.

9/23

It's hours til bedtime, but I know this is going to remain a green day. I don't have the slightest interest in eating anything, though this afternoon I thought about all kinds of foods - even stuff I don't really like, and even though I wasn't hungry. I didn't eat anything though - but I did eat too much at dinner.

9/24

I think I must be getting the hang of this no snacking thing. Last week I was hungry after three hours, but today I sailed through 10 hours between lunch and dinner without a problem. Of course, it meant I was eating dinner at 10 pm..and it was something I wouldn't normally like to eat, but it couldn't be helped.

I was disappointed my jeans were tight though when there were not tight two weeks ago. I'm determined not to let it start me over-eating on Friday.

So much for my 'determination'.

This week I passed up snacks on offer, said 'no, thanks' to my favourite pie, didn't eat after lunch yesterday even though I had no idea when dinner would be (turned out to be 10 hours later) and was generally a model NoSer. Yet my previously (two weeks ago) well fitting jeans were painfully tight yesterday.

So today when I gave my son a zucchini muffin after school, I had one too. And a glass of milk.

Tomorrow is another day

Oh dear. I'm so sorry you're feeling frustrated.

Yes, tomorrow IS another day. An S day, in fact... Try to enjoy it sensibly and don't try to punish yourself.

Is that a bummer or what?

Don't let it throw you, don't "punish" yourself by overeating. (Did you read the section in the book on overeating being form of self-punishment? At least... I think it was in the book and not on the boards...)

Plan some lovely meals/treats for the weekend, and find something else to do that makes you feel cherished/happy. Just be gentle with yourself.

Hang in there!

Good advice. Thanks for keeping an eye on this newbie. I do feel frustrated - but also something else I'm not quite sure about. I was thinking I didn't 'deserve' an S day tomorrow - but I'll follow your advice, plan something nice and not go crazy.

No no no... you get S days on S days, but I think our fearless leader used to recommend 21 days on habit before taking S days. Maybe he's modified that approach. FYI, I'm just coming back here after a very successful run two years ago, then a long backslide...

Reading over what you are eating - and your own impressions of what you are eating - are you expecting too much? You should be building habit at this point, not worrying about losing weight. You've talked several times about having large meals. Over time, your meal sizes will regulate themselves. Work on habit. Habit, habit, habit.

And rather than getting angry at yourself, make good. Take a walk or do some cardio/shovelglove/your-exercise-of-choice. Then maybe eat a little less at dinner.

It's always better to do something positive than to sit and fume. Failure is human. So is redemption. :0)

Dandelion wrote:Good advice. Thanks for keeping an eye on this newbie. I do feel frustrated - but also something else I'm not quite sure about. I was thinking I didn't 'deserve' an S day tomorrow - but I'll follow your advice, plan something nice and not go crazy.

Hi Kevin, thanks for stopping by. I don't feel angry though, and not
'sitting and fuming' so no worries about that. I am not thrilled to have gained weight. Other than a few months on steroids five years ago, my weight has been stable for years, so it was totally unexpected that within two weeks of starting NoS, I would be unable to wear some of my clothes.

The weekend has helped with a bit of distance - and tomorrow is a new NoS day.

Dandelion, I'm sorry about the tight jeans, but Kevin is right--think about the habit you're forming, and don't worry so much about the weight. As you said yourself, all the excess food seems "lit up in neon" now. You'll deal with that problem as you are able.

I haven't yet lost weight on No S, but my habits have changed. I'm eating better quality, for one. More fruits and a few veggies too. Plus, all the guilt is ebbing away, a great benefit. I know the weight loss will come, too.

Hang in there! We're all rooting for you.

I didn't mean to put words in your mouth if that was the effect of my post. I hope it works out for you.

Dandelion wrote:Hi Kevin, thanks for stopping by. I don't feel angry though, and not
'sitting and fuming' so no worries about that. I am not thrilled to have gained weight. Other than a few months on steroids five years ago, my weight has been stable for years, so it was totally unexpected that within two weeks of starting NoS, I would be unable to wear some of my clothes.

The weekend has helped with a bit of distance - and tomorrow is a new NoS day.

Sept 28

It's been too long a day to post much - other than it was green. Weird...but green

Another green and weird day

I ended up working all day when I didn't expect to. This was fine, except I did not have anything for lunch. I'm not ready to just not eat all day. I dashed out and bought something that I didn't really enjoy - and didn't have time to even if I did.

I'm looking forward to having time to cook again.

Thusrday

I'm two and a half weeks into this and I think this week I'm finally settling in. The first two weeks I struggled with hunger between meals and ate much more than usual at meals, but now I'm not so hungry between meals and I don't need nearly as much food when I do eat.

I also realised I was not eating what I really wanted at mealtime. I wasn't judging my food as good or bad, feeling guilty or 'eating healthy'. But I was 'missing' the kinds of foods that would usually fall under the category of 'snack foods'. For instance, one day I made peach fruit leather but for days I didn't have any until I realised I didn't have to not have it - just not have it as a snack. Someone else mentioned she did that with popcorn - which I may have to figure out a way to do as well

Friday

That was actually a bit of a trick. Not quite a struggle - but my brain started trying to make bargains with me. You are probably familiar with the Friday afternoon 'Well, it's ALMOST the weekend...why not start the 'S' day a few hours earlier.....it won't matter'. But I successfully ignored it and made it safely to the weekend

I'm sure it won't be the last time, but I'm hopeful each time the experience of the previous occasions will make it easier.

Yep, I've had that same conversation myself a number of times.

Each time you successfully manage to quiet the conversation and make through till you're legal, the easier it gets.

LOL! I thought it might be familiar to someone else Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone

I'll be so glad when 'S' days aren't so 'wild'!

Dandelion wrote:LOL! I thought it might be familiar to someone else Thanks for letting me know I'm not alone

Oh, no. By no means! Even those of us who should know better by now.

Success

I never thought Monday could feel so great

Success

Is it really only Tuesday? I had a really rotten day at work - but I didn't add to it by eating

I just read through all your entries..do you remember you welcomed me when I started this journey at about the same time as you? I think we have faced some of the same problems. That whole idea of seeing food as the enemy..how great to let that go! I'm sorry your week is going slowly, but you are almost to those S days!!! You can do it!! ... and think how great you will feel when you can look back on the week and see how well you have done. I think,as newbies, we tend to look at where we have failed and not t where we have succeeded. Remember every time you could have had a cookie and didn't..or had one cookie .. not 4 or 5! When did you drink water instead of soda? I'm really working on this myself and it is hard! I have, for the time being,modified my personal habical. If I get through the day except for a little snack (a 1/2 piece of fruit//a few crackers)I make it a green day with a bright pink stripe for the snack (I even put the pink line near the top for between breakfast and lunch or middle between lunch and dinner or bottom for after dinner). I felt it was too overwhelming to mark a whole day red for one snack. Using my system, I could go back and see that I was snacking the first week after dinner and I could work on that. I think I will switch out of my system as soon as I gain more confidence! Good luck as we finish this week! I think we are doing great!

I tend to check your entries, too, since we started about the same time . I am determined to get to 21 days this time! Nine more to go

I'm so glad tomorrow is Thursday. I'm already planning the weekend's baking!

I agree - we *are* doing great

Success

And to anyone reading this..have you ever had a pluot? I've had two today - amazingly good.

Success though I really wanted to eat......something...when i got home from work today. I didn't though. Too determined to get that 21 days this time

You can do it!

Thank you! Yes I can - I just know it

Today I don't feel that pull to eat something like I did yesterday, so that is good.

It's FRIDAY, we're going out to eat tonight (either Indian or Fish and Chips - no decision yet on which) and aside from bad weather forecast, I"m looking forward to the weekend - and not just the S day part

Today is an up and down kinda day. Someone else complimented me today - which is the third person in the last week to mention it. I've lost four pounds, so maybe it's showing?

The down bit is that the four pounds was Friday. Today I'm back up a pound after the weekend. I don't know if it's 'real' or not. I didn't think I went that crazy this weekend. Maybe I'm kidding myself - or maybe I just need to not weigh in on Mondays.

I'm calling today a failure. It's a bit borderline and maybe someone else would not see it as a failure - but it feels like it to me. I'm very disappointed - just four days short of my 21.

I really think overall you are doing really well I'm trying to figure out the silly scale thing too.I hope it works for me. There is a picture of a girl in her bathing suit that is taken every day for a week. Her weight basically stayed the same up a pound down a couple pounds then back up.She was asked how she felt every day. Some days she said great the other days she said she felt fat/down. The funny thing is she looked the same to me in every picture!!!! My guess is daily thats how we are but weekly/monthly there will be change. Keep up the great work. I hope to have 21 days too someday.

Dandelion wrote: or maybe I just need to not weigh in on Mondays.

I think that might be a good idea. That pound could have come from anywhere or anything - but considering the fact that the weekend is a time where you are *allowed*! to eat more snacky type foods or sweets, etc, the fact that you're up a pound isn't shocking.

I myself decided to go to once a month weighing just because the daily fluctuations were making me crazy. I chose Saturday mornings (2nd of each month) to be the day - I chose Saturday especially because it was *before* whatever happened on the weekend.
----
You made it to 17 days once. You can do it again, and then just go 4 more days.

I say if you are going to weigh yourself, do it in the morning, but only if you've, uhm, emptied what's full, if you know what I mean.

Dandelion wrote:Today is an up and down kinda day. Someone else complimented me today - which is the third person in the last week to mention it. I've lost four pounds, so maybe it's showing?

The down bit is that the four pounds was Friday. Today I'm back up a pound after the weekend. I don't know if it's 'real' or not. I didn't think I went that crazy this weekend. Maybe I'm kidding myself - or maybe I just need to not weigh in on Mondays.

Thanks for the encouragement, all of you. It really helps. I'm feeling more positive today.

Success. I had a busy day at work, but got a lot done which always feels good. Breakfast was scrambled eggs (with cream and extra yolk) cooked in butter and coconut oil, toast with butter and marmalade. Dinner was chicken and artichokes, brown basmati rice, leeks and yellow squash (rescued from last week's frost) and - you guessed it - lots of grass-fed butter Oh, yeah - and homemade peach kombucha. I'm boiling the bones from tonight's chicken for soup on Thursday, and soaking oats for breakfast tomorrow.

A lot of the work today was lifting and hauling heavy things so next on the agenda is a long, hot bath

Thursday and Friday were both tests for me. I have been tired and unfocused and the world seemed to want to test my resolve by putting lots of my favourite baked goods on offer. I passed up all but one, and that one I put in the freezer for the weekend

It took me several days to lose that pound I gained over the previous weekend. I feel it's going to cause me, not to turn the S day into an N, but be more selective.

I just realised today is the first day of my second month with NoS. Time flies when you're having fun, huh?

Good job, Dandelion, for putting that goodie in the freezer! You're starting off your second month with an amazing display of strength!

buttercream

Now you'll be able to enjoy the treat you put in the freezer so much more.

monday

I should know better than to weigh on a Monday. It was worse this time since I did NOT 'go crazy' over the weekend. I had a couple of cookies at tea time both days and a small bowl of homemade ice cream last night. That's it.

pfft!

It's been a weird NoS week for me. I thought I would do better if I did a little tweaking (aka mods) and in the process discovered I am a natural 'vanilla' and there is no point fighting it

I have declared today an 'S' day. My son had a presentation at school which included hot chocolate and various food choices and I joined right in

The weird thing is not that I discovered I'm a vanilla or that I declared my first NWS day - but that in spite of all the red splashed all over my calendar, I lost two pounds.

Yay, two pounds lost! You'll never see them again!

I love how you are figuring out that you are a natural vanilla. That shows wisdom and self-knowledge. I really think vanilla is the easiest--all the work has been done for you, and you can just coast along.

I also noticed that we've been doing No S for about the same length of time. I had joined the board way back in January, but was so thrown by the coffee issue that I abandoned No S immediately after finding it. I've been at it this time since August 11th, I think.

Are you getting ready for the weekend? I am, but have no special S plans yet. My sons in the marching band are having a contest on Saturday, and all the parents are tailgating, but there may not be anything that I'm just dying for there. I don't want to waste my S on something average!

buttercream

Coffee?

I like to drink about three cups of coffee each morning, with creamer and Splenda. I thought that would violate No S because of the chemicals in the creamer and Splenda and because I thought I shouldn't be drinking caloric beverages unless I was hungry between meals. (I tend to apply rules pretty strictly, especially when I'm just starting out.) Anyway, I decided that since I couldn't give up the coffee, and couldn't drink it black, that I couldn't do No S. So I quit pretty quickly.

The second time around I worried about the coffee a bit more, but after a few days I just decided to forget the whole issue, drink as much as I like, and follow the rest of the rules strictly. I did switch from chemical creamer to whole milk, but otherwise it's the same. And it's been fine. I guess you could consider that a mod, but I don't. There's nothing in No S that specifically says "don't drink too much coffee." And Reinhard even says you can drink caloric beverages between meals.

So that's my coffee saga. Probably it's a whole lot of nuthin', but it seemed very important at the time.

buttercream

I see. I came into this after listening to an interview Reinhard did. In it he says the little things - like sugar in your coffee, etc are fine - NoS only seeks to eliminate the most 'egregious' (sweets? - I don't remember what word he used here). But it stuck with me. Get rid of the big things, don't sweat the little ones, and the rest will take care of itself.

You're right, and coffee was definitely a little thing.

Have a good weekend, Dandelion!

Monday and Tuesday busy days, but green ones.

We're having a second snow day here. What a freaky week this is turning out to be for me.

Hey there! LOVE your topic name lol How did your snow days end up turning out for you?

I am pretty tired LOL. I thought I'd check in here before I head to bed. We went sledding today. The going down is fun - but going back up is a lot of work

The rest of the day I've been working on my son's costume. Finally it's done. Whew!

The snow day S day went well, though I'm looking forward to a full five days of Vanilla next week

Congratulations on a controlled S day! I think it's a good thing you're heading into the weekend not feeling deprived, and knowing that you handled an extra S day just fine.

Thanks! I think the experience was useful, too. I'm still trying to sort out what works for me on an S day: what's really 's' worthy, etc. I"m also finding out how much I really enjoy N days, too.

What a Monday. After all the snow days and fall break, I am so out of my routine. At least it was nice to get up to light this morning.

The weekend was pretty average. Halloween candy wasn't a problem, but too much food in general, which is how I feel about every weekend.

Tried a new dessert recipe. Didn't care for it, so the leftovers won't be calling me

We did manage to get out to the farm to pick up milk. It's got a good three or four inches of cream on top. We'll be putting it to good use on fruit this week, and homemade ice cream this coming weekend

S days will get better with time. They will. At this point, my S days are a snack in the middle of the afternoon and maybe some pretzels after dinner. And I'll eat seconds if I want. They didn't used to be like that, but over time, they just sort of developed into that.

Dandelion wrote:What a Monday. After all the snow days and fall break, I am so out of my routine. At least it was nice to get up to light this morning.

The weekend was pretty average. Halloween candy wasn't a problem, but too much food in general, which is how I feel about every weekend.

Tried a new dessert recipe. Didn't care for it, so the leftovers won't be calling me :wink:

We did manage to get out to the farm to pick up milk. It's got a good three or four inches of cream on top. We'll be putting it to good use on fruit this week, and homemade ice cream this coming weekend :D

How much time are we talking here? I know we're all different, blah blah blah - but it would just give me a peep of light at the end of the tunnel

I'm going to try to balance the amounts of food a bit better. By this I mean during the week I can eat quite a lot since I"m not snacking in between meals. On the weekend, I add a snack and a dessert most days - so those full plates that fit well during the week are too big when dessert or a snack is added and I don't like that overfull feeling. Ick.

There are two things I want to do: If I'm fixing one of my favourite meals that week - have it on an N day. I'll enjoy it more Also I want to go back to planning my S day 'specials' ahead of time rather than just winging it when I get to the weekend. I did better when I had a plan and something to look forward to.

Oh, yeah. And the day was a success, too

I'm going to try to balance the amounts of food a bit better. By this I mean during the week I can eat quite a lot since I"m not snacking in between meals. On the weekend, I add a snack and a dessert most days - so those full plates that fit well during the week are too big when dessert or a snack is added and I don't like that overfull feeling. Ick.

There are two things I want to do: If I'm fixing one of my favourite meals that week - have it on an N day. I'll enjoy it more Also I want to go back to planning my S day 'specials' ahead of time rather than just winging it when I get to the weekend. I did better when I had a plan and something to look forward to.

Oh, yeah. And the day was a success, too

I see you're doing some tweaking over there. Hope you're not too stressed out... whereas I'm just ignoring everything right now. I know it will work out... but it takes time. UGH! I feel your pain over there. Keep it up!

I think your changes make a lot of sense, and I like the way you've handled this - analyzing the situation, identifying the problem and arriving at a workable solution. I will be very interested to see how this weekend goes - I think you've set yourself up for SUCCESS!

Thank you both for your comments. I'll be sure to let you know how it works out

It took a couple of months for me.

Dandelion wrote:How much time are we talking here? I know we're all different, blah blah blah - but it would just give me a peep of light at the end of the tunnel :)

I'm about at that point now. It looks like we started at about the same time this time around.

Success all around - but it was not easy. Well, it was not *not* easy either.

I've had a couple of very trying days. Things in my personal life - and a woman who is driving me up the wall at work..the pill. I don't think I ate enough lunch today, either and since I worked while I ate what I did eat, I didn't really notice. Too bad, cuz it was a good lunch I had Indian left over from dinner last night.

Anyway, I got home from dealing with The Pill all day and I really wanted to eat something. I didn't though. I figure if I can make it through that, I can make it through pretty much anything.

It's been busy and we've been eating out a lot. I'm disappointed cuz we were going to have a 'bonfire' tonight (Guy Fawkes) and roast hot dogs and marshmallows (well, some people would be having marshmallows. I can take 'em or leave 'em and on an N day - leave 'em) but I had to go out for work.

A run-down of the last two days:
Wednesday: steel cut oats with cream, butter and (real) maple syrup, fil mjolk, tea with whole milk.
Lunch out with my husband - club sub 'Mike's way' not Subway (ick), chips
Dinner: Indian - bahjis, meat samosa, naan bread, rice, tandori chicken, chicken korma

Thursday:
Large glass of extra creamy milk straight from the farm, toast with lots of butter and marmalade, tea. Lunch was left over indian, peach iced tea. For dinner we stopped for burgers and fries after our meeting.

Yeah..that's what I mean about it not being 'not easy'.....

Well, I re-started after a couple of years lost in the wilderness. I have no idea why I stopped No-S. I had dropped to about 170 pounds (from 208). When I stopped, I got back up to 196 or so. Ugh.

Anyway, I'm only six or so weeks into it again, but the old realizations came back quickly.

Dandelion wrote:I'm about at that point now. It looks like we started at about the same time this time around.

Dandelion, that sounds like a very successful day to me. You resisted the "old way" of handling a problem - food. You found a way to incorporate the food you wanted to eat into the plan. I think I read somewhere that if you look at No S as a lifetime plan, it doesn't matter if you ate more than you wanted to at a meal, or had a day of eating unhealthy food. What matters is that you're establishing habit even when it's emotionally difficult.

I hope you can celebrate your success going into the weekend, and give yourself a treat you really want. You've earned it!

You're making awesome successes and establishing that YOU CAN DO IT, regardless of the situations. That's IMPORTANT! Enjoy those times you get to go out and try not to dread them... it's important to enjoy life to the max, but enjoy food moderately... WHICH YOU DID!

Keep it up!

Thanks all. I"m in that phase I refer to as 'bulletproof'. I feel confident and happy with how I'm doing. I feel like nothing can get to me. I guess that's the payoff for getting through the tough times. You *know* you can get through - because you did!

I know it ends - but I love it while it lasts.

Monday is an 'S' day for 'sick'. I had a great weekend. The weather was fantastic. We had a bit of fun, and did a bit of work getting the yard ready for winter. My eating varied little from a 'n'ormal day, though it included chocolate cake:), and I did a lot of active work like raking, clipping, trimming, weeding, mulching...

Unfortunately as Sunday evening progressed, I realised that the aches were not just from two days of hard yard work - but I was getting sick.

Bummer.

Oh, I'm sorry you're sick, but very happy you had a great S weekend. I know you've been worried about that.

I hope you're feeling better soon.

Yeah, it seems silly now. But I think the problem was not with me - or with NoS, but listening to bad advice. Once I started listening to ME and giving NoS a fair chance before deciding it couldn't work for me and I had to 'fix' it, I found it works quite well

Not as well as I read you are doing ..but good enough for me!

It's early yet, but I"m calling today a success. Tomorrow is day 21 for me - and no way am I messing this up now.

Maybe I'll mess it up Thursday .

No, you won't!!!!!

You can do it! Day 21 coming up!

So close! You can do it!

LOL! Thanks to all of you.

Today is my day 21. I don't think it's actually that much of an achievement, since I had a few extra S days for snow and sickness. It's just the beginning though, since there will always be a new goal. After all, it's only 10 more days til I make it a month

It felt like a day of celebration for me. My 21st day, a missing paycheck arrived and my husband and I both had the day off. Not to mention the weather was fabulous.

Back to work tomorrow - and on to day 22.

Thanks all for your support!

What. A. Day. Correction. What a week. So many things have gone wrong. Just not my eating and I intend to keep it that way.

Well, stay tough. Sounds like you have it in the bag.

Dandelion wrote:What. A. Day. Correction. What a week. So many things have gone wrong. Just not my eating and I intend to keep it that way.

Not yesterday apparently. I think it was a combination of things. I was sick on Monday and it's left me coughing day and night. Which also means I haven't slept well in days. Yesterday I got home from work worn out and desperate for something that might help the coughing. I tried a cough drop, and a number of 'alternative' remedies, honey, lemon, ginger, etc, which lead to the other things - namely digestives. Plain ones, not chocolate ones. But still. Later I broke down and got some commercial stuff hoping to get some sleep..No luck there, either Pffft

Too tired of coughing to care much, though.

I don't think taking things to help you feel better whose purpose is medicinal counts as a failure. But it's what you're comfortable with "allowing".

I hope you're cough gets better soon.

I was okay with everything up until the digestives. They didn't have a purpose - except taste good

Ah .. ok.

Ah .. ok.

Ah .. ok.

It's 8.30 pm on Saturday and I realised I've been having the S Day I have been hoping for!

We had croissants for breakfast - no biggie. We have those often. They're fairly large, so I only ate half. Lunchtime we were out shopping, etc, and after all that burger and fries talk, I wanted a bacon burger and onion rings . I had 'enough' after a quarter of the burger and three onion rings so walked away feeling like I'd enjoyed my lunch but was not the slightest bit overstuffed or uncomfortable. I ate a couple of samples at the grocery store - but seriously - they had chocolate truffles .

I had something nice planned for tea - but didn't feel like eating it, so S day or not, I didn't.

Dinner was roasted chicken and vegetables roasted in duck fat. I had a normal-for-me dinner but then I went back and finished the remaining roasted parsnips. I had planned ice cream for dessert, but instead we shared a pomegranate.

I had to laugh - my S day splurge was roasted parsnips?

Chocolate truffles .... good thing it was an S day!

Oh, yeah

I did want to clarify one thing. When I said I was having the kind of S day I was hoping for - it wasn't that I was hoping I would not eat sugar or junk or anything like that on an S day. What I has hoping for was to lose that feeling that I 'must' eat snacks/sweets/seconds on S days simply because they were S days rather than because I wanted to eat them. I guess NoS is really becoming a habit for me

Monday, Monday. I probably didn't eat enough for breakfast and lunch. I'm hungry, but I'll survive and dinner will just be extra good tonight - whatever it is

Dandelion wrote:Oh, yeah

I did want to clarify one thing. When I said I was having the kind of S day I was hoping for - it wasn't that I was hoping I would not eat sugar or junk or anything like that on an S day. What I has hoping for was to lose that feeling that I 'must' eat snacks/sweets/seconds on S days simply because they were S days rather than because I wanted to eat them. I guess NoS is really becoming a habit for me

That - is awesome! Hope to get there myself someday.

Good For You!! I am getting closer to the goal of not going crazy on weekends but I am not quite there! It is always encouraging to see that someone made it!
Roasted Parsnips...I LOVE roasted parsnips and never make them because no one else here enjoys them.. but.. I am going to buy parsnips and roast them and e-n-j-o-y! Thanks for reminding me of a treat I can have everyday
Keep up the good work!!

GND - I believe you will

Grammy - no one in my house likes parsnips, either. I make them for me

I've been cutting back on my computer time, and one of the things I've decided to do is do weekly updates with maybe a random visit here or there during the week - as long as it doesn't get too frequent!

I have had such a great NoS week . I had a red day - I think Tuesday - when I did too much sampling as I cooked. So much there was no doubt it crossed into red. But it did not get me into the 'oh well, I blew it, may as well have ___' mentality.

Thursday ended up being a NWS day. I didn't even realise it until I was sitting there with the remains of my lunch - that is how far I've come from thinking about food all the time.

However, later on that day I went to a training course where they provided brownies, snickers bars and bags of assorted chips. My first thought was - Brownies! good thing it's a NWS day. Second thought was 'a) those are brownies from a box mix - which would not really be any good really, (not compared to the excellent ones I make from scratch), b) eating a brownie now on an empty stomach would make me feel ill, and c) it would make my dinner less enjoyable.

I think I have finally settled into NoS routine, though I still want to eat something when I get home from work. Sometimes it's a very strong urge. I think the longer I do this, though, the easier it will get.