Everyday Systems

Hi all,

So, when I was last here, I was not looking forward to medical investigations.
It was a long haul. You know how it is. They start with the least horrible and eliminate those, before they send you to the specialists. It was not a fun time, but it could have been a lot worse.

I had a followup appointment in May, have to keep an eye out - and get checked every so often, but that is to be expected. Hopefully it will never turn into anything nasty.

I haven't been doing NoS - at least not deliberately. I just find I no longer like 'snacking'. I don't even like the word. There are days I do, but most days I don't. I eat very small meals. I have for years, though. When my kid was a toddler, it was a joke that his meals were bigger than mine.

He's a teenager now, and his meals are bigger than mine and his dad's put together. He wonders frequently how anyone could live on as little food as I eat. But honestly, I couldn't possibly eat any more than I do.

I did stumble on something that finally made my weight start to go down. It's slow - about two pounds a month, but I've lost 10 pounds so far. After so many years of no success, I still can't believe it.

I'm off to see how everyone is doing!

Great to see you back here. Congrats on the 10 lbs!

Linda

Well done!

Nice to see you again!

Thanks for the welcome back

Work is super busy, life is super busy - but all the things are for the good, and everything is coming together nicely.

I'm having an especially nice week since people keep stopping to ask me what I'm doing and saying how great I look. I'm wearing a dress today I haven't been able to wear in at least three years. Yeah, I'm still about 30 lbs overweight, but this helps I only lose about a half pound a week, but Shangri-la is so easy I can't really complain that it is slow. I don't even feel like I've done anything.

I've changed a lot since I started here. I'm not so strict about what I eat as I used to be. I couldn't sustain it with such a demanding job (all the soaking, sprouting, grinding, dehydrating, and every.single. thing. from scratch). I also learned a lot about how sugar isn't the great white evil, and how it actually helps with energy, thyroid hormones, stress reduction, etc. Being hypothyroid, I know now why I never did well on Low Carb.

I don't mean I'm wallowing in the stuff. I probably still eat less of it than most people. I don't even take S days because I don't need them. I don't want sweets or desserts, and with Shangri la, I sometimes have to 'make' myself eat at meal time, so I have no problem not snacking. I am just not afraid of a little sugar anymore - especially not afraid of fruit anymore. I do, however, limit unsaturated fat as much as possible.

Little by little I am finding what works best for me, be it activity, diet, work/life balance - whatever. Next week it could all change and things could fall apart, but for now I'm enjoying where I am at this moment.

Hi Dandelion-
I'm glad things are working out so well for your!
What does the Shangri-la diet look like for you, in the application of the tasteless oil consumption... what type of oil do you use, how much and what time of day? I've been intrigued by all that, but never tried it myself.

Sounds intriguing. Yeah, I think the thing about sugar is that what people really talk about when recommending going sugar-less is white refined sugar. At least scientific guidance is about added sugar and not about fruit.

I am so glad I tried it. It sounded so silly - not to mention impossible. But, I figured it wouldn't cost anything to try it, so I did. I could not believe how well it worked. I've been at it for five months and I still can't get over it. I'm normally a 'healthy' eater, have a busy, non-sedentary job, don't snack , eat according to hunger/fullness - and yet nothing worked. I added 300 flavorless calories and the weight just started to drop off. I didn't change anything else, yet every week my weight goes down. I honestly don't get it.

I couldn't cope with the idea of drinking oil, and the sugar water made me hungrier. The point is to get flavorless calories - the amount depends on your weight, but they can come from anything. People use all kinds of things. I finally settled on cream. I drink about 1/4 cup of cream every night at least an hour after dinner and then wait at least an hour before I brush my teeth. I make sure not to breathe through my nose while I drink it and until I've rinsed my mouth out with water and all the flavor of the cream is gone. It doesn't have much flavor to begin with, so it is pretty easy.

The effects are much more than just appetite suppression. Most people find that the taste of food changes. 'Good' food tastes better, while sweet things are often too sweet - or just don't appeal at all. A lot of people find they feel hungry, but couldn't care less if they eat or not. It was like that for me in the beginning and I was concerned I wouldn't be able to eat dinner with my family , but that went away after a few weeks.

If you try it, let me know how it goes. It makes NoS automatic - I couldn't even think of snacking, and I don't even need S days, because there is nothing I want to eat that much.

Happy weekend! It was a tough work week, but I'm actually taking time off this summer <gasp!> so I have a lot to do before I go away. That makes it a whole lot easier to take

Things are going smoothly in shangri-la land and my weight continues to go down slowly, but steadily.

I don't do well in hot weather, so the 90s and 100s are leaving me drained and unenthusiastic about most things. I need to get some motivation to organize the house a bit, and do some weeding before there is nothing left other than weeds. Going to the pool sounds so much better....

Thanks, Dandelion, for info about what you do for the tasteless calories. I must say, that's interesting.
Do you use heavy cream, or just any type? I tried to google to see what other people are using, but just kept getting the same instructions about the oil. Is there a forum out there that gives ideas of what other people are doing? The cream in the evening seems much more creative and less gag inducing than the thought of oil first thing in the morning!

There is a forum, sethroberts.net but over the past year or so, it's gone very quiet. However, there are thousands of posts full of other people's experiences.

Oil is the main source of flavorless calories. It's easy to get a lot of calories in one go, and doesn't require refrigeration or 'fixing'. I tried it and lasted a couple of days only before the gag factor got to be too much for me.

I find it odd, I lose weight the best if I take the cream right before bed. I can't imagine why that would be.

Thanks for that link, Dandelion. It seems that the forum has been shut down (and is now read-only), but as you say there are still lots of posts with people's past experience.

Weird. I've seen new posts recently - as in the past couple of weeks. I wonder if former members can post, but newbies can't join.

Huh, the place I read said the founder had passed away, and there was no one to run it properly, and that it would be shut down. Maybe they're still allowing some activity.
http://boards.sethroberts.net/index.php?topic=8644.0

Yes, it's very sad. They want to keep the information available, and maybe find another discussion site - like a FB group or something. If they've made a decision I've never seen it mentioned.

Today is not hot and I love it. We had a little rain this morning, and it's keeping the temperatures down. I made hot chocolate this morning and it didn't even feel weird

This week I've eaten a lot of watermelon. To me it means 'summer' more than any other food. Besides fruit, the other thing I'm eating a lot of right now - or more of than usual, is rice. I find it appeals to me much more in hot weather. Last night we had Indian. The other day I made Risotto for lunch.

It's quite interesting when you think about it. I do like to pay attention to what foods sound best to me and try to eat those rather than forcing myself to eat what someone else tells me I 'should' eat. It always works out better if I let my body decide.

I don't have many 'food rules' these days. I do eat organic/from scratch as much as possible, but I've added sugar back into my diet, and opted out of the whole restrictive dieting culture that pretty much everyone else I know has gone into (no sugar, grain, dairy, meat, etc and practically worshiping kale salads and 'green smoothies'. Not with my thyroid!).

I do avoid PUFAs as much as possible, which of course is mostly found in fast/junk food, but that stuff doesn't really interest me, so it's not a problem.

Living 'moderately' is so freeing!

It sounds like you're in a really good place with food. So awesome and no small feat in this country! The whole paleo/clean eating stuff drives me crazy but I have had to cook differently since my dhs heart attack but nothing is completely off limits and fits perfectly with the NoS style of moderate eating.

I LOVE watermelon too! Sounds like a great day & happy to hear you're doing so well.

Linda

I didn't know your husband had a heart attack. How scary that must have been! How is he doing now? How are YOU doing?

The eating advice for heart patients has been evolving so much lately - I can't even imagine how tough it is to choose which to put your faith in. They're so different.

We have had company the past few day. No schedules, very little sleep, much more eating out than usual and several incidents of sub-optimal food choices. The plan today is to do nothing - or almost nothing - and go to bed early!

I know how you feel about wanting to nothing for a bit after having company. It's fun but very draining!

My Dh is doing well. Found out his blood sugar was high too so our biggest focus is on less and/or better carbs. But yeah it can be a little confusing. When I asked his cardiologist about life style changes he just said to get to the gym more & try to be more moderate with eating in general. Guess I'm in the right place!

Hope you get your peace & quiet soon!

Linda

I can handle that kind of medical advice .

We're getting cool weather and rain right now. It's perfect for baking, reading books and just lazing around. I've not been sleeping well, so that's about all I can manage right now.

It sounds like you're doing great! Yes, I hear you about not being overly restrictive with eating anymore. I used to eat Paleo, so no grains, dairy, etc... but I have since added some grains back into my diet, and I feel a lot better.
I hope you were able to relax today.

Sounds wonderful Dandelion! It's 110 here so no baking for me!

Hope you get some rest!

Linda

Hi all!

It seems about right for one of my random check-ins. I'm still doing Shangri-la, and doing okay. I went through a patch where I didn't lose, but I tweaked a few things and got things working again. It's a lot slower than it was in the beginning, but slow is better than none.

I am also doing a little bite counting to help with a little bit of 'eyes too big for my stomach' syndrome. I really dislike feeling full or leaving food on my plate, so this is helping me with both issues. I've only been doing it a few days, but I'm finding I'm already getting better at not overfilling my plates.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Didn't want to ask on the general board what the plan was that got weight off you because that can just get the poor newbies' diet head goin'! Not fair to No S.

But is Shangri-la the diet that did it? I remember reading it years ago before No S. I found it crazy, as you can imagine. Heck, also years before, I found three meals crazy!

Just to let you know, without talking about it much here, for various reasons I've been experimenting with intermittent fasting, and occasionally have days on which I eat only one meal, but I never eat a whole day's calories at it.

Fast5 is a one-meal-day plan, too. But I guess Shangri-la is not quite that, since you can have calories to tide you over, no? Straight fat?

I keep thinking something like this could never work on a daily basis for me for social reasons, which is ironic, because eating with others is actually the exception for me. The real reason is I can't fill my time with other activities enough. I've had a hard enough time with mostly three meals. It's a much bigger cross to bear for me than overeating.

Hope the transition goes smoothly, but even if it doesn't, we're on your side!

Yes, I had the best success with Shangri La. I used cream for my flavorless calories since I couldn't cope with the oil. About a quarter cup an hour after dinner. I didn't change anything else. If I hadn't experienced it, I would never have believed the effect. I experimented with IF on a 14:10 schedule. I didn't lose as much or as fast as with SLD, but it did work. Both were very easy to fit into my life.
I feel like both these methods fit well with NoS, and I may add these back in occasionally for a short time. Just not right now. Even though there was nothing to them, they were always accompanied by diet thoughts. I just don't feel like I want that right now. I don't want to think about losing weight. I want a total break from it all. Not thinking about how much weight will I lose this week, and if I tweak x, how will that affect y and is that from salt this week, or did I eat too much, and if I continue at this rate, where will I be on this date?
I want to look outwards, to myself space in my head for all those little things that make life worth living and well lived. That's a habit NoS will help me to cultivate.

So neither Shangri-la nor 14:10 were good for weight loss but adequate not for lifestyle?

I'm experimenting with them but not for weight loss and not daily. I weigh only occasionally. I'd like to think at some point, I won't weigh at all, but I'm not ready to throw out my scale. I did that years ago for quite awhile. It didn't keep me from gaining or overeating!

I came to No S just wanting sanity and moderation. Moderation keeps changing, It could be worse.

I think they are as close as possible. They eliminate nearly everything I dislike about weight loss. No rules, no counting, no calculating, no changing diet. Nothing to figure or think about. With IF, all I did was delay breakfast a couple of hours and I lost weight. With SLD, an hour before bed I drank a small amount of cream (I sometimes had it measured out in small mason jars so I could just grab one), and an hour later brushed my teeth and went to bed. And the effect was stunning.

Maybe other people can do it without the head games. It's the head games I want to escape from. However, this morning I was thinking about it, (I"m an analyzer by nature) and I realized no matter what i do, I will never. ever. escape the head games. It's not just age or vanity, and since I eat well and though I could stand to be more active, I don't seem to be overweight enough to where it harms my health. There is a personal influence in my life that is never going away and will always make me doubt myself and back me into that 'yournotokayyouhavetoloseweight' corner.

Right now I feel discouraged about the realization, but I know I'll get past that point and figure out better ways to deal with it.

I'm working on weighing less often right now. I'd also like it to be never, but I don't know if that would really help. Moderation does seem to keep changing.

You could easily go all day without eating on Shangri-La? I could never have done that without No S and reading Eat Stop Eat. I still can't do it easily often, though I would actually like to. But only certain kinds of events can divert me enough to do it. I think there are health benefits beyond weight loss, so I'm grateful for any days it happens. I find it easier to sometimes skip dinner, and I think even that longer overnight fast is beneficial. Not canonical No S, but I still consider it my default.

I, too, have accepted that I will likely always have these thoughts around food, unless my life changes drastically. But I've also come to the conclusion that even among naturally slim people, only a fraction of them completely forget about food in between meals. Many of them love food and think about it. Some of them even restrict foods. They just don't feel bad about it. I consider it like a mild chronic disease that I could easily have and would have to make the best of.

That's an interesting way to look at it. Maybe I aspire to this so much because I live with a naturally thin person and I would so love to be like that. He enjoys food as much as the next person, but doesn't plan his day around it. He eats when he gets around to it, and if he doesn't, he doesn't. He has never artificially controlled what he eats, so he naturally eats what feels right to him at the time, and contrary to what a lot of people might think, it ends up being well-balanced. He has tried to gain weight in the past, but it doesn't last. His body compensates on its own and within a few weeks, the weight is gone. I think the only time he's stepped on a scale in the last six months was to weigh suitcases.

I know. He is an extreme example. The mythical naturally thin person we hear about but aren't sure really exists. As someone who's been dieting off and on for about 40 years, there is virtually no chance I'd ever end up like that. But geeze. Forty years? I'm so tired of it. If I could get even a fraction of that peace with myself and food, it would be something.

Did you say below that you are using SLa now? Isn't that just one meal a day and some fat?

A diet doctor (one of the IFers-every other day a low cal day) posited that fewer than 10% of people in the world are like that. Just about anywhere in the world people get frequent access to food, there is weight gain. The exceptions are cultures with strong meal traditions. Many of these are caving, too. So naturally thin humans are abnormal. You don't have to be abnormal. It would be convenient, but it's a bit of a set up. It's like aspiring to be very talented. A pianist can work hard to sound like a more talented one, but she can't will herself to be talented.

I came to No S after about 40 years of efforts, too, and it was a big incentive to me that I did not want to spend my last years on Earth overeating just about every day. And I knew I couldn't follow a diet forever. Weight loss was not my incentive, though I had climbed to the low obese range.

P.S. To me, putting my food on a salad plate looks forlorn. But maybe my salad plates are pretty small. I can do an 8-inch plate for lunch, but anything smaller than that and I feel like I'm in child zone which equals punishment. Unless it's breakfast. Aaack! I tend to serve myself dense foods according to my palm or fist size no matter what plate I use. At least I think I do...

For me, it was more not wanting to spend my entire adult life dieting in one form or another. I get closer, but I'm not there yet.

My husband's entire family is like that, and I've known several outside his family as well, so it doesn't seem that abnormal to me.

Twenty years ago I was at what was obviously my 'ideal weight'. I was 10 pounds over what I'd always thought it should be - but my body was happy with it. I wore a comfortable size six and whether I ate lot or little, my weight would settle back at that weight. So, I have had at least a decade in my 30s and 40s where I had a glimpse of that life, and hope that someday I'll get back there again.

As far as SLD goes - there are no requirements other than taking in 200-400 flavorless calories in any form. Oil is just the simplest, but they can be in any form. I've read all kinds - from the usual oil drinkers, to one guy who drank two cokes a day with his nose clipped, to another woman who ate a mixture of powdered sugar and butter, aka frosting. Another woman couldn't stomach any of those things, so she just bought nose clips and ate most of her meals with her nose clipped.

There are no requirements to change what, when, how much or how often one eats. When it works like it should, those aren't necessary - it just happens automatically. You just don't feel like eating, and when you do, you get full faster. Your tastes change, too, so certain things aren't so appealing - many people say sweet things taste too strong, so they lose their taste for them. It's really fascinating.

The only time I consistently felt like I really lost my desire to eat was when I was on a medication for a period of time. I actually didn't like it, as I like getting hungry for my meals. And when I stopped the meds, it all came roaring back.

No S for me is not the breeze many people would like, but it's SO much better than how I was living and any other plan I've tried, though I'm now varying it because of changing appetite as I age and to combat possible dementia later, as my odds of living into the years that the odds go way up for that are pretty good. I'm not trying to live longer, just to be functional for longer. I don't think it's necessary to be thin but it may happen with varying levels of "reduced energy intake," as the longevity researchers call it.

This past year hasn't been the easiest for me. Nothing big like a death or divorce - just a series of little straws that when taken together got awfully heavy - and so did I.

I feel like I'm coming out on the other side, and part of that is taking better care of myself. I've taken some steps already - new job, new hobby, catching up with medical visits I've put off, organizing, and cooking more than I have been recently.

I feel like I'm in a positive enough, healthy enough place to tackle the weight I gained during that stressful period - and if all goes well, maybe a bit extra.

I've been thinking about how best to tackle this. Knowing myself as I do, it has to be :
simple (as in not complex)
sustainable (I can do it long term)
'invisible' (I can eat out with friends and family without a list of can/cannots. No one ever has to know)
Moderate (grand sweeping changes are so tempting - but always backfire on me)
supportive of good physical and emotional health (Gentle and kind, with no questionable foods, no added stress from rules and lists)

I could go on, but I don't think I need to.

I know I will have doubts and failures - and moments when I try to rationalize, but hopefully checking in here will squash some of that.

So, there is my long-winded way of saying 'I'm back'.

Glad to see you back. Certainly, if you allow it, no-s can be a very gentle and self-supportive process. Hope you enjoy your weekend.

So sorry for your difficulties and big kudos for your guidelines. We're on your side!

Thank you. It's nice to see so many familiar faces, too.

After a couple of weekend S days, I got off to a shaky start on Monday. It was sortof a brown day. I don't have much control over my mealtimes on Monday, and people are always interrupting me at lunch and asking me to do things. So, my meals were longer than I would like them to be, but it could have been much worse.

Tuesday meals were contained in their appropriate slots, but I wasn't thinking and had Tiramisu at a lunchtime Christmas party.

Old habits are hard to break - but that's what I'm counting on

Ah, another random Dandelion.

I can't really say I'm 'doing' NoS. I still think I'm just surviving, and I am so sick of just surviving. Is that really what life has become? I don't think it's just me, either.

There have been a lot of changes in life recently, and it's been a bit overwhelming at times. I hang on, thinking it's going to get better, and it doesn't, but I keep believing it. And I keep hanging on. And I think, this is nothing, what would it be like if I had real challenges to deal with. But that makes it worse in a way, because then I feel even more useless.

How this relates to food. I got some work evaluations. Nothing like 'em. You work your tail off, think you did a good job for someone, and you get an evaluation saying - well, not saying you did a good job. I know better than to take it personally, but how do you not? I had some good ones, too, but of course, the bad ones are the ones that stay with me.

Anyway. After I got done feeling like crying, or quitting, some little voice in my head suggested that I should just go and get something to eat.

But luckily another voice with more authority and sense said 'Really? You're gonna let THEM make you fat*? Oh, that'll really fix 'em'

So no. I didn't eat anything. And I'm hoping this voice keeps talking.

And I REALLY am hoping work eases up soon!

*or in my case, fatter. But that's beside the point.

*hugs* I’m so sorry you’re having a tough time. I suppose switching jobs is out of the question?

Hang in there & glad to see you pop in!

Linda

Boy, do I hear ya! I do okay with evaluations from my superiors, but I'm a teacher and I don't get along well with many students a lot. It's hard for me to not see it personally, either, since my colleagues manage not t incite the same reactions. I walk around campus feeling wounded, hardly ever getting a nice reaction from any students. And I admit that I am tougher than some teachers, but that is with me often holding back! But I'm in my last year and am sick to death of analyzing the whole thing and trying to change myself. I was at my wits end about how to make a living before I got into teaching and even though it's been hell, so was poverty, so I've stayed. I'll never know if something else could have worked out. I just know I looked for options that fit my budget back then -meaning what it would have cost me to get more training without much guarantee of a payoff, since most of my other talents were in the arts, and we all know how many people actually make a living in them-for 10 years and nothing came up. But maybe I shouldn't be telling my sad story on employment.

A therapist I saw said once that I should consider thinking I don't have to let my negative interactions with the kids determine my mood. That seems a lot harder to pull off than just not eating because I'm in a bad mood. But maybe thinking that I don't have to let them ruin my day is similar to saying I won't let the work stress rule my eating. Still have my doubts. I often have a great meal to look forward to, but do not have as much consistency with nice balancing experiences outside of work. Once again, my sad story.

In any case, you handled the food urge well. My first three years on NO S were during some of the worst years of work stress I've been through, though each crisis feels like the worst! I had a few sleepless nights this school year. (We start in July.) And my eating had been pretty crappy this year. We're on break now and I'm hoping to reset the meter. So far so good this week.

Hope to see you more often- if it helps.

I'm glad you posted your story. I work in a school, and though I'm not a teacher now, I was for many years.

After the day I had, I don't think I'll be getting much sleep tonight. Not a lot of eating, though, but not because I'm so great - Just that I couldn't. I could hardly breathe, let alone eat anything.

Five more years before I can think about retiring. Maybe 4.

I just saw your signature line by Julia Childs. So appropos of No S, and the French, I'd think. Though she was not a svelte woman, she sure seemed like she enjoyed herself. Excellent tradeoff! Her face reminds me of my grandmother's.

I agree. I spent so many years in pursuit of a certain body size, I missed a lot of life. I can't get it back, but I am in control of how I go on.

The closer I get to the end (not being morbid - just realistic) of my life, the less interested I am in those kinds of trade-offs in any part of it. This quote pretty much sums up my approach now.

Good thing for us that she fell in love with French cooking and not couture.

Another month has gone by, and I haven't really made any progress toward my goals. October was such a tough month. Work got me down - and so did sickness and between the two, I totally lost track of anything I was hoping to achieve.

Here's hoping November is better - Silly Season or not.

I've has some success with VERY small goals. One sun salutation a day. That kind of thing.

I hope this month is better!

That makes very good sense, Larkspur. I tend to try to do too much all at once and crash and burn.

I'm feeling very uneasy about my weight right now, which is usually the start of a crash and burn cycle In my mind - and one of the reasons I'm now a pound over my previous highest weight - the rebound effect of previous overzealous attempts to lose weight- is a very loud voice that wants to me to 'alll the things' all at once.

I know it's a mistake and it never ends well - and never will. So here I am, trying for one green day. Then another.

Hi Dandelion. Sometimes the hardest part of moderate living is quieting that voice. I have it my head too...... I have to shush it.

BTW, I always love reading your signature line. Julia Child was amazing.

Dandelion wrote:That makes very good sense, Larkspur. I tend to try to do too much all at once and crash and burn.

I'm feeling very uneasy about my weight right now, which is usually the start of a crash and burn cycle In my mind - and one of the reasons I'm now a pound over my previous highest weight - the rebound effect of previous overzealous attempts to lose weight- is a very loud voice that wants to me to 'alll the things' all at once.

I know it's a mistake and it never ends well - and never will. So here I am, trying for one green day. Then another.

Moderation, not just in eating but your goals too. Don't overburden yourself with too much to aim for.

Just develop one habit at a time and you will get there

Jx

One green day

Great news

Jx

Green Day

It was a bit hairy at times. I very nealy gave in when I got home - doing that 'negotiating' thing. Then a strong internal voice said 'I"m not going to eat'. And I knew I wasn't going to.

I like that voice. I hope to hear from it often in the coming days.

Thanks for the support!

The more green days you rack up the easier it gets

Jx

One red, one green

Wednesday was red. I had dessert. I wasn't hungry or anything - ate it anyway because I didn't want to say no to that person. I chose to not make a thing about it - and would do it again in the same situation.

Green today without much problem.

Starting to think about this weekend. Anyone have baking plans for the weekend?

Stopped baking long ago. Better for me to just buy in the quantity and for the event needed.

LOL, I'm glad there are still people in the world that bake. I get annoyed with flour in my kitchen and then I feel sick from eating too many cookies/cookie dough.

I think I baked something that weekend. I'm not sure. My life has been such a mess lately. I keep reminding myself that there are so many worse things than what I am going through, but it's been a truly awful time. I've talked about it so much, and worried about it so much - I don't feel up to going into it here. I just want it all to stop.

Some days I eat - some days I'm too miserable and stressed to eat. I don't even know which of those today is. I look back at the days when 'oh darn, I forgot and ate a cookie' was a big deal and hope to get back to those days again soon. Was that really only a couple of weeks ago?

Sorry to read your having a hard time, know this, it will pass. Hopefully soon....

Big hugs

Jx

Hang in there. We're on your side.

Sorry to hear that things are tough for you, Dandelion. I hope you feel better soon. Hugs.

The dust is finally starting to settle around here, which is nice, because it's all been turmoil for nearly three months. Things just seem to happen so fast - so much has changed already this year. One of my kids got married - another one got his first apartment. I still don't know if I'm going to have a job much longer, but I'm getting used to the uncertainty - and at least my husband isn't losing his job, which we were worried about for a while. (sometimes working for the same organization isn't so great)

Spring is just around the corner, though we're headed back to single digits and snow for the weekend. But things are starting to feel 'good' again so that's something.

Maybe I can get back to a NoS routine.

Hi Dandelion! So wonderful to see you here! You sound much better than you did in December - hope you are having time for some self-care.

Thank you

I started something yesterday I'm thinking of as 'The Next 100 Days'. I have a set of goals in mind that I'm going to try to achieve for the next 100 days.

The reason I picked 100 days is that it puts me at around the time I'm due for my annual physical. I'm hoping this will result in a better report this year than last!

Plus it just sounds more fun

Have I told you recently how much I love your signature? I really do!

I'd like to hear more about your set of goals for the next 100 days.

That’s funny Dandy, we’re doing a 100 day Omad challenge in my IF FB group. Whats your plan?

So, the start of my 100 days got postponed a bit. A number of things happened - some good, like spring break travels - others not so good. Nothing major - I just feel 'down' a lot lately. Hopefully some sunshine and warm weather will help, but if not I may discuss it with my doctor this summer.

Anyway - those goals:

Diet - stop hoping on and off diets - stick to NoS for a full 90 days with at least 90% compliance.
Exercise - I started a pilates class, and I plan to play tennis at least once a week (If it EVER stops snowing) and go for evening walks at least or twice a week, and hikes in the mountains twice a month ( I find I need 'forest/mountain' time)
Other stuff: I'm taking a couple of classes - one in person and one online. My current job isn't going well, so I'm aiming to start a freelance work.

That's about it so far.

Hi Dandelion!

I'm also back from hopping around diets. Do you want to hold each other accountable for staying on No S? It might help to have an accountability buddy.

I really like your signature! I think Julia Child learned that from her years in France when she was learning how to cook. Did you ever see the movie about her life called "Julie and Julia"?

I think the whole work stress and thinking about starting freelancing could explain that you are feeling a bit down.

I also find I need outside time, preferably in a wooded area, although a nice suburban neighborhood when no one else is around is quite peaceful for me. I have little sections of the walk that go through the woods, and I feel like I am slipping into a magical oasis for a few minutes.

Chanda, that sounds like a great idea! I'm fighting off the urge as we speak!

Auto - That oasis image is perfect. I don't get it nearly enough.

This past week we had a sudden death in our extended family, so I am headed out tomorrow to attend the service. It's a long drive, so we're spending the night tomorrow with family and traveling together the rest of the way. I'm going to try to stick to NoS - but not be too hard on myself. I'm having enough trouble thinking straight right now.

In spite of that, I did okay today. It'll be easier when it's habit again.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Good luck on your trip, be safe. You got this.

Sorry for your loss, go with the flow eating wise.

Jx

Thanks everyone.

I totally lost track of everything last week. As some suggested, I 'went with the flow' - and it certainly flowed in unexpected ways.

It seems like that's the new normal though. We've had a lot going on in my little corner of the world, and with the end of school near, things at work are beginning to ratchet up.

I don't know why I can't seem to get my act together these days. It feels like just one thing after another - which I know is normal and just 'life'. But for some reason it seems more so this year. Weddings, funerals, kid moving out, kid moving in, kid moving out again. Work full-time. Nope. You're half time. Wait. Now you're quarter time. Get used to that why don't you? Your friends are retiring, but you're still out there putting in job applications that no one answers.

Maybe I do know why I'm stumbling a bit.

I know the feeling

Too many stressors and the wheels fall off!

You need a release valve though. I just try and not let too many slips happen on the same day. So far I'm managing to maintain.

Things will settle down

Jx

Oh big hugs, that sounds like a lot to deal with. I hope things get to a more stable place for you soon.

Hang in there Dandy!

I second that you need some sort of release valve - too tough to use willpower on too many things at once.

Just ride the wave and "embrace the suck" as someone on my no alcohol coach.me forum always says.

Your kind words bring tears to my eyes - and some really good things to think about, too! Thank you!

I ate myself silly this weekend. We went to the new 'Fictional Narrative' this weekend, complete with popcorn. Today we had a big Mother's Day late lunch. No dinner though - no one has room!

Restrictions send me into toddler-mode, due, I'm sure, to my years (decades) of deprivation. I eat things i don't even want or care about while the sensible part of my brain looks on in confusion. Sweets are not really an issue for me - as long as I can have them that is. Because of this, I've been thinking of creating a mod - and calling it the Julia Mod (see siggy).

I feel like anything I can simplify, anything I can make 'routine', is a good thing right now.

I think I had three green days last week. Hoping for better next week. It's going to be a tough week in general, but after that I'm off for six weeks. I'm so looking forward to it.

I've also got two jobs to apply for this weekend. Hopefully something will come of one of them.

Good luck with the job applications.

Wonderful that you have 6 weeks off soon. I hope that this week goes as smoothly as possible.

It sounds like you’ve had a lot to deal with! Good luck with the job applications!

Glad to see you’re still hanging in there. Six weeks—woot!

So here I am again. I keep disappearing, though I don’t mean to

Still hanging in there. Still applying for jobs, though my time off ends in a matter of days.

Aside from endless job applications, I’ve spent my time gardening and organizing around the house so hopefully things will go more smoothly when I’m back at work. I’ve lost a couple of pounds, but nothing major. Summer is a big birthday and holiday month for us, which doesn’t help. It’s fine though. Those days are important and over all too soon.

Hi Dandy! Here's to continued good progress with the job search!

Congratulations on the weight loss, good luck with the job search.

Enjoy the summer, you're right it goes far too fast!

Jx

I was really hoping to be able to report significant progress at this point, but it seems like every time I get a few days in, something comes up that totally derails me. I never seem to get to the point where habits are well established enough to survive a bit of disruption. And this week has had quite a lot of disruption!

Hi Dandy - thanks for coming on here and posting, even if you feel your progress isn't where you want it to be.
Hopefully next week will have fewer disruptions!

Yeah. Me again. Your serial starter, restarting.

Not exactly NoS ....more like 'OneS' - as in Sanity.

I kinda like that.

Sanity of course, is personal to each person. My sanity is different from someone else's, because it's a reaction to my own personal version of insanity.

And yes, I'll be making this up as I go along. In fact, this post started off saying something entirely different. So different in fact, that none of the words that are in this post now were in the original version.

Stay tuned.

This post had me laughing! Go you Dandy! Be Dandy!

It's been a month now since my last post. I think I can count on my fingers the number of days that were what I consider 'sane'. That sets the bar pretty low for the month ahead, though 'Tis the season and all that, so maybe that's about right.

All those months of job searching finally paid off, and last month I started a new job. The learning curve is substantial, and at the end of the day I am exhausted just from all the new things I'm learning. (End of the day? More like mid-afternoon!). I'm continually amazed at the sheer volume of new things I learn each day, and how no matter how many there are, there are just as many the next day.

It does make things interesting, albeit tiring. But I like it, I like the company, and it pays better

Hopefully as I become more settled in, other things will even themselves out as well, and I can manage more than about 8 days of Sanity in a month

Giant high-five and congrats on the new job! That sounds like such an exciting change for you - tiring but good!

This past week was rather mixed. I had a couple of good days, I couple of 'out there' days, and one day that I didn't feel like eating for some reason. It was an extremely challenging week at work, which is probably part of it.

I've decided to focus on one thing for now: Keeping my eating to meal times. That's all. I don't have issues with sugar/sweets -- and I have a tendency to under-eat if anything, so 'seconds' are not that big of a deal either. I need to make sure to eat food I enjoy ( and enough of it) at meals so that I make it to the next eating occasion.

Sorry about your rough week at work. I hope this coming week goes better for you!

I feel for you Dandelion. I've not exactly been sticking to the rules lately. I've been laying in bed thinking much the same. If I can just stick to 3 meals a day until January I'll possibly maintain

Jx

Thank you to all who stick with me during my sporadic visits here! I swing back and forth - between getting all hardcore - thinking I have to do 'all the things' now, just lose 20 lbs (Out of about 40 or 50) and get it over with. Stop having 5 or 6 sizes of clothing in my closet. Not shock myself when I pass a mirror or window, wondering who that fat old lady is.

It never ends well, though, and it doesn't achieve anything. Doing less consistently would have likely had far better results. Well, more than likely.

I'm coming up on a half century of worrying/stressing/hating myself and my weight, binging, starving, hiding - always looking for the answer. Much of that time, I wasn't even fat - I just didn't weigh what I thought I 'should'.

Imagine that. 50 years.

What a colossal waste of life.

Right now I'm swinging to that place of peace which I find in NoS and the people who are here.

My favorite Dandelion! You know, you will appreciate this - I have, this year, embraced my wild yard and I am cultivating even the Dandelions!! Actually I eat some of them. My 11-year old and I made tea from the root, which was pretty weird and not good but still an extremely fun project!

I'm always so pleased to see you on the boards.

Wow, your words really resonated with me and probably would with many many women. I hate how much time I’ve wasted trying to grapple with this “problem” yet it feels like there’s no way out. I do think NoS is a nice compromise. Not too extreme in either way. I’ve done extreme and it never works out.

Anyway, good to see you here and best of luck with it all.

Mot sure why this posted twice.

It's incredible when I say it out loud - or even allow myself to think it. Fifty years! Lately I've been thinking how I have delayed having a family portrait done because I was 'too fat'. Well, now my kid is a Junior in college and I STILL don't have that family portrait - and I"m still fat. Dumb, huh?

I feel like I've been going through backlash from the latest round of deprivation. I've been having great fun eating 'anything I want'. Today it's chilly and I'm making lentil soup - which I wouldn't have done before cuz lentils are all carby

I have never made tea with dandelion root - though I did purchase some. It's definitely a different flavor. I have cooked the greens though - bacon and dandelion greens is pretty good I made waffles once dandelion petals in them. That was kinda pretty.

We moved into a new house this spring, and it doesn't have much in the way of dandelions, so I suspect the previous owner used a lot of weedkiller. Didn't seem too safe to eat them here.

As usual, thanks for the lovely greetings!

Hi Dandy! I have recently been enjoying all different types of greens in my salads. I like to think of the different nutritional profiles they each provide. Dandelions, though, they are the best!

Hi again!

Just my usual random check-in. I am doing okay. Hanging in - which is what I suspect most of us are doing at this point. My husband is on leaf clean-up today and I'm catching up on things I never find time - or energy - to do during the week - baking, projects - and the never-ending unpacking and organizing of stuff that we shoved in the garage 'for now' and still have to sort through. I think I mentioned we moved earlier this year, before the Prevailing Circumstances took hold - and it was only a bit over four weeks from stopping by an Open House to renting the U-haul - so we didn't get as much organized or cleared out before as we would have liked.

We'd been wanting to move for a few years, and we have been grateful every day that we managed it when we did. It's been so nice to have more space indoors and out - especially now that we're working from home. It's just the two of us now, though. My kids stay isolated as well - especially the youngest who is in college and has been going in to work most weeks. He is very careful where and with whom he spends his time, but there's only so much one has control of and does not want to be the one who brings a virus home to his parents.

Enough of that.

Between The Circumstances and my natural tendency to rebel against food rules, I have been very loose in my NOS interpretations lately. It's odd - or maybe not so odd - that I often reach the end of the day and find I followed them almost to the letter without even trying. I suspect it's the very act of not trying that has allowed me to achieve that result. Most days I just follow what feels right to me and it seems to all even out.

"it seems to all even out'

I didn't realize this until I had seen it on the screen. The other key word in that sentence is 'most'. Right now it's 'most' - right now while I am not chasing another shiny new idea. Every time I get distracted by The Next Great Thing - it takes a while to find the balance again.

You'd think I'd learn, huh?

How lovely it would be to finally stop chasing shiny promises and perfection - and live contentedly in the 'Most'.

Wouldn't that be thing?

And, she's back, but for how long?

I read through a selection of my previous posts. I've been coming here off and on for a long time. So much history. I did have a good laugh at a post from 2018 when I talked about maybe retiring in five years. Um. That's not going to happen. I started a new job nearly three years ago - and I actually envy the young(er) ones and the opportunities ahead of them. I have a few years left though, and I'm making the most of them.

We're doing well as a family - My husband also has a new job that's a much better fit for him. And the little guy I had at the when I first came here graduated from college this year. He evenl hangs out with us...sometimes.

I decided a few weeks ago to recommit to NoS - in my own loose fashion. It's been fun not restricting what I eat - planning meals again around what I like to eat rather than what's restricted or not. As to the 'S'es:

I've never been that much of a 'snacker' (I still don't like the word 'snack'. Ugh) I do have to catch myself not mindless eating - a bite here - another there, which sortof amounts to a snack in my mind. Like today I was in the garden - and there was this perfect strawberry. So I picked it and ate it without even thinking about it. Yeah. It's just a strawberry, and a small one at that - but it's a habit to keep an eye on.

Sweets aren't really an issue for me. I can take them or leave them for the most part. Unlike garden strawberries - seconds are less mindless, so I find it easier to notice - and stop. Most of the time.

I haven't been tracking anything. I get too caught up and it doesn't end well. Maybe this won't end well, either. But if nothing else, I'm eating better, enjoying it more and generally having a pretty decent time of it. That's enough for now.

Well, that and green chiles. I've got some ready for roasting this weekend