Everyday Systems

Quick intro: I have done No S before, briefly, and loved it. I am back again after gaining some weight over the Holidays. I think it is sane approach to weight management. I usually weigh about 135 and started No S around 145. I am 5'5" and would love to lose 20-25 pounds by July. Also, I am almost 35 years old. I will be copying posts directly from my blog (http://21daysfortherestofmylife.blogspot.com) here.

GREEN

My first day of No S was a little tougher than I expected. I have Cedar Fever which is a severe allergic reaction to cedar trees in the area where I live. I took so much allergy medicine yesterday!

Breakfast: Old fashioned oatmeal with brown sugar, butter and pecans with coffee
Lunch: Whole wheat english muffins, salmon filet smoked in cedar with lemon, roasted asparagus with lemon
Dinner: Grape Nuts cereal

All was on one plate and/or in one bowl.

I was starving before lunch because I took an Alavert which makes me shake with hunger. It was awful. I ate a ton for lunch and felt much better.

My start weight was 145 and 25.1% body fat.

Weigh in after day one: 144.6 and 25.1% body fat.

I do not expect to lose weight quickly on this journey. I expect maybe one to two pounds per week, at best! It will probably be much slower.

GREEN
Yesterday went great. I felt very calm and got a ton done because my allergies weren't killing me!

Breakfast: Coffee, oatmeal, butter, brown sugar and pecans
Lunch: Roast beef and cheddar sandwich with a side of pasta salad
Dinner: Cedar grilled salmon and some nachos!

Weight this morning: 143.8 and 24.9% body fat

Yippee!

GREEN
Another good day yesterday.

Breakfast: coffee with oatmeal, pecans, butter and brown sugar
Lunch: chicken noodle soup and saltines
Dinner: ground turkey sloppy joe, side salad and baked tater tots

I was definitely very hungry by dinnertime. Soup does not stay with me very long. I made dinner a little early and we ate around 5:45.

Weight: 144.3

I meet with my trainer today and that makes me ravenous! Wish me luck.

GREEN
Another good day.

Breakfast: Old fashioned oatmeal with butter and Splenda brown sugar

Lunch: Sushi

Dinner: Bacon wrapped maple pork tenderloin, roasted asparagus and brussell sprouts and grissini

I had a brutal workout with my trainer and that makes me hungry!!! I made it to dinner, though. I was starving and ate a bunch of the pork.

I am not weighing for about 3 more weeks (after one month on No S) and then I will post my stats.

Today and Saturday are my S days this week b/c we have an event to attend tonight. This may happen a lot because we tend to go out a lot on Fridays.

Toodles!

YELLOW
Yesterday was an S-Day. I suspect I will have many Friday S Days because of how our social calendar is. Sunday is fairly routine for us and not very snacky.

Breakfast: Oatmeal, brown sugar and butter with coffee
Mid-morning: Met a friend for a skinny latte
Lunch: Sushi (it was awful and I threw it away)
Afternoon: Mall cookie -- double doozie
Dinner: Grape Nuts before the party
At party: two alcoholic drinks, a slider, satay chicken piece, part of tortilla with veggies
2 a.m. after party dinner (!): 1/2 waffle, 1 toast, 2 eggs over easy, 2 pieces of bacon and some fries

I woke up at 3 a.m. and felt very sick.

I have pretty severe IBS and eating these foods makes me really sick. I know better, but when I drink I tend to eat things I shouldn't. However, it was worth it because the party was fabulous and we had a great time!

YELLOW

Day 6 was an S Day.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with butter, brown sugar splenda and some pecans (S day treat!)
Lunch: Turkey and cheese sandwich with a side of goldfish crackers
Afternoon: 8 peanut butter crackers, 4 Nilla wafers
Dinner: Chicken noodle soup with 8 (!) pieces of toast
Night: a few pieces of my husband's leftover Chinese chicken dinner

My stomach felt yucky today and I am still recovering from yesterday. My IBS is awful and a lot of what I ate today made it feel better. I overdid the toast and could have cut out the Chinese food, but for an S day, I don't think it was bad. I think the toast came close to a binge -- not sure. The problem is that refined white bread is good for calming down my IBS, but it also triggers me to eat more and more and more.

So, I am back to a No S Day today (Sunday).

GREEN

Yesterday was a No S Day and it went well.



Breakfast was Grape Nuts cereal and coffee

Lunch was at a restaurant. I had two small soft tacos that only contained a few chipotle shrimp. There was a dollop of guacamole and sour cream on the side. I also had about 8 chips.

Dinner was Grape Nuts.



I pulled a muscle in my lower back yesterday while coughing. That seems so strange, but it is hard to stand up straight and I'm hoping it heals in a few days.



This week I am going to focus on smaller portions. I am going to cut my portions, when possible, by about 25%. That doesn't seem like a lot, but cutting 25% of the calories is a good thing. For the first week, I just allowed myself to eat whatever would fit in a bowl or on a plate, but now it's time to make those portions a bit more reasonable.



See you tomorrow!

SUCCESS!

Yesterday was a great NO S Day.

Breakfast: two pieces of peanut butter toast, coffee
Lunch: turkey sandwich and bowl of chicken noodle soup
Dinner: grilled turkey and cheese sandwich and a side salad with croutons and bacon bits


So far, so good.....

GREEN!


Breakfast: Grape Nuts cereal with coffee
Lunch: Sushi
Dinner: Small baked potato with cottage cheese and a salad with croutons and light dressing and a few pieces of grilled chicken.

Have a great day!

Green Day

I am going to go ahead and post early because dinner is over for tonight.

Good day all around.

Breakfast -- oatmeal with butter, brown sugar and coffee (cut down my normal portion here by close to 25%)
Lunch -- turkey and cheese sandwich with a side salad (croutons and light dressing)
Dinner -- small plate of nachos and bowl of Grape Nuts

Went a little too heavy on the Grape Nuts. It is very easy to pour too many of them because they are small and dense. I need to lay off them for awhile because I ALWAYS eat too many.

Overall, I find that I only struggle a little bit in the afternoon and dinner. Afternoon, around 3:30 (when kids get home), I want a snack. Instead, I drink hot tea. Before No-S, I would snack all afternoon, and usually eat VERY little for dinner because I was not hungry. I usually pick ed at dinner while it was cooking and would then eat what was left on the kids' plates. BAD HABIT. Now, I am actually quite hungry at dinner and I think I am eating too much at that time because I am not sure how to deal with hunger like that. My lunch and breakfast are always very reasonable. I need to work on dinner!

I was thinking today about some good habits I have had most of my life that have helped me with this process and make me feel better about GOOD HABITS I already have:

1. I have never eaten after dinner. It doesn't even cross my mind, and we eat dinner rather early -- 5:30 or 6:00.
2. My kids and I have always eaten on salad plates (but since NO-S, I have used the regular dinner plate -- will move back to smaller plate soon). Even my 6'5" husband often eats on salad plates (he weighs about 190 -- go figure -- never snacks and doesn't like sweets, either .... hmmmm......).
3. I do not drink soda -- ever -- or any other drink with calories other than the occassional coffee type drink and those have always been skinny lattes -- about 100 calories -- about twice per week.
4. I never buy sweets for the house. The closest we ever have would be something like a graham cracker or Nilla Wafer. If we buy sweets, like Saturday morning donuts, we GO and get just enough for the that meal and there are rarely leftovers.
5. Myself and my famliy do not eat in front of the TV -- we eat at the kitchen table -- including snacks.
6. I usually only eat out on the weekends (2-3 meals)

Bad habits:
1. If I have one sweet, I go on a sweet binge (this is why I never buy them). This is what happened over the Holidays when I gained 5 to 10 pounds. This is also why I gave up soda about 20 years ago.
2. Bread (buttered garlic bread, breadsticks, toast) send me into a binge mode, too -- I can eat about 5 pieces of toast before I realize what I am doing.
3. I notice that I reach for snacks when I am nervous or stressed. This is why I snack around 3:30 because that is when all my kids return home from school.

So, looking back on it, the GOOD habits above have probably kept me from becoming obese, but the BAD habits have kept me from being skinny.

I am concerned about allowing sweets on S-days because it is as if I go into a frenzy. I need to think about how to handle this. Also, I often avoid serving "good" bread with dinner because I am afraid I can not control myself.

What a freak, huh?

Any suggestions?

Green Day!



Breakfast -- 2 pieces of peanut butter toast, coffee

Lunch -- turkey sandwich with roasted asparagus

Dinner -- grilled chicken breast, sauteed mushrooms and spinach, grissini



Yesterday was a good lesson for me. I found out my daughter had lice (she has tons of very long hair). I spent about 8 hours dealing with hair and cleaning the house. It was pretty stressful. Several times, for the first time in a week or two, I found myself craving sweets. I guess there is a direct correlation, for me, between stress and sweets. Lesson learned!

Further, my portions yesterday were much better than they have been. I have been pretty good about reducing my intake by about 25%. I have a really problem with controlling myself around garlic bread and considered not making it for my family last night, but decided that was not fair to them. So, I did not put any on my plate. It wasn't hard at all not to eat it. It's just that when I start, I have trouble stopping!!

Hi Sevenoclk! It sounds like you've been doing great! ... I'm sorry about your daughter. There has been a major lice outbreak at my DD's school recently and, while we've been lucky so far, it is stressful.

I read your post about being hungry in the afternoon. I can relate. My family also eats dinner around 5:30-6. My 7 year old has a small snack when she gets home from school -- usually a piece of fruit or some cheese or nuts -- at 4 and it it is around that time that I notice that I'm getting hungry. I do the same thing as you and have a drink (water, tea, Coke Zero ) to tide me over. It works, although if dinner ends up much later than 6, I'm REALLY hungry and not a happy camper. If you continue to feel really hungry around 3:30, you might want to consider eating a bit more for lunch to see if that helps.

I can also relate to being addicted to certain carbs. Homemade cookies and M&Ms are sweets that I have a hard time stopping with so, for now, I just don't eat them that often. I can even deal with having them in the house as long as I don't put them in my mouth. Or, I'll get a cookie out as a special treat, so that portion control is automatic.

Have a nice weekend,
Shannon

Shannon,
You and I sound a lot alike. I love Vanilla Coke Zero -- have you tried it?

Thanks for the response. I think we get on the same schedule as our kids and it makes us snack more. I hate that the schools have 1 or 2 snacktimes/day, as well. I don't think anyone needs that much food!!

Success!

Day 12 was a Friday and, therefore, an S Day for me.

Breakfast: two pieces of peanut butter toast and coffee and a small skinny latte around 10:00

Lunch: turkey panini with two small pieces of bread dipped in olive oil

Dinner: two pieces of cheese pizza, a few bites of crust and 4 cookies.

Not a very exciting S Day. I kind of forgot about it until dinner and then I had a few bites of my kids' pizza crust that wasn't on my plate and four rather boring cookies. Whoopity Doo, right?

Success!

Saturday is an S Day.

Breakfast: Donut holes (we usually have donuts for breakfast every Saturday morning with the kids) and coffee

Lunch: Chicken and bean burrito, small side of rice and some chips with jalapeno ranch dip

Afternoon: One cookie

Dinner: (We were at a formal banquet) Small filet, potatoes, green beans, roll and mac 'n cheese. One glass of wine and one very small, but delicious, cookie with a bite of pecan pie.

That's it. I considered eating more sweets, but didn't really want any. I knew that I would be eating them just because it is an S Day. The cookie I had in the afternoon was awful and I know I only ate it because I felt I "needed" to.

Tonight, Sunday, is my father-in-law's birthday. I am not sure whether I will take it as a Special Day, but I doubt it. I don't really like birthday cake.

Bonus: I woke up this morning and, while I am not sure I've actually lost weight, my stomach is FLAT. That is a big deal to someone with IBS. I think the No S lifestyle is helpful in dealing with IBS.

sounds like you are continuing to learn a lot. And you can have new preferences as time goes on and new strengths.

If your family doesn't care, skip the b'day cake. It sounds like it's not important to you, and it isn't important to your body. I'd take advantage of any of those tastes, or lack of them, if I could.

SUCCESS

I took a NWS (Special Day) yesterday. It was my father-in-law's birthday. At lunch I was still trying to decide whether or not I would take a Special Day, but I could tell that the celebration was going to last all day. I am still torn as to whether I should have taken the day.

Breakfast: Oatmeal and coffee

Lunch: Two small grilled shrimp soft tacos, small side of rice and some chips with salsa/queso

Dinner: 1/2 Hamburger, small side of beans, three bites of ice cream and one bite of cobbler

Overall, taking a NWS Day was a waste. The only things I ate out of the ordinary were the chips and dip on the table at the Mexican food restaurant and three bites of ice cream and one bite of cobbler. I am regretting my decision.

The good news is that snacking was not on my mind this weekend. I feel as if that behavior is becoming a habit. That's great news for me.

oolala53 wrote:sounds like you are continuing to learn a lot. And you can have new preferences as time goes on and new strengths.

If your family doesn't care, skip the b'day cake. It sounds like it's not important to you, and it isn't important to your body. I'd take advantage of any of those tastes, or lack of them, if I could.

You are right. It was a silly decision. I need to think it through more carefully next time.

Thanks!

Monday was a SUCCESS

Breakfast: 2 pieces of peanut butter toast and coffee

Lunch: Amy's Organic burrito and a mini-bag of 100 calorie popcorn

Dinner: Grilled salmon filet and steamed spinach with lemon

Onward and Upward (or downward ...)!

SUCCESS

Breakfast: Oatmeal and coffee
Lunch: Roast beef and cheddar sandwich with a small side of pasta salad
Dinner: Grilled chicken breast, side salad with croutons, bacon bits and low fat dressing


*** My husband and I will begin the P90X program, which is a very intensive workout program, on 2/14. It calls for several snacks during the day. I do not want to start snacking again and will have to determine how to deal with this in the parameters of No S. It also calls for a specific nutrition plan, but I think I can work that into No S. ***

Suggestions?

Cool! I've heard great things about P90x. Perhaps you could see how it goes with doing it with traditional No S at first with the option of adding in a 4th "meal" if need be. I had a lot of sucess with another Beachbody program (Turbo Jam) combined with 3 meals a day a few years ago ... I'm not sure if TJ is as intense as P90x, though.

Thanks. The first phase nutrition program is heavy on lean protein and light on carbs. There are 3 phases. I think I may have to have a small snack before my workout if I do it in the a.m., but I am not sure. I guess if I have to, I will just make sure it is minimal. I am excited b/c P90X is so extreme!

Thanks!

Success!

Breakfast: 2 pieces of peanut butter toast, coffee

Lunch: Roast beef and cheddar sandwich with small side of pasta salad

Dinner: Grape Nuts cereal

I became very hungry before dinner and had a large bowl of Grape Nuts. I definitely poured too large a bowl.

SUCCESS!

Breakfast: 2 peanut butter toast with coffee
Lunch: 1 Amy's organic burrito with a mini-bag of 100 calorie popcorn
Dinner: Grape Nuts cereal

I will likely take tomorrow and Saturday, as per the usual, as S-Days.

SUCCESS

Friday is an S day for me, as well as Saturdays.

Breakfast: 2 pieces peanut butter toast and coffee with a small skinny latte around 10

Lunch: Shrimp Pho (broth based soup with boiled shrimp and veggies)

Dinner: 2 medium sized pieces of pizza with a few breadsticks

After dinner: around midnight I had one more slice of pizza and a glass of win

I guess the "S" things that happend today were the slice of pizza after dinner. However, my weeks are usually very light foods and having pizza and breadsticks for dinner with wine afterwards felt like an S.

Not too bad, I guess.

Success!

Breakfast: Oatmeal and small skinny latte

Lunch: Grilled turkey and cheese sandwich, light chips and side salad with light dressing

Dinner: (out with friends for my early birthday celebration) Pepperoni pizza (ate a small alone), 3 mozarella cheese sticks and a glass of pinot grigio

Ate too heavy at dinner and did not feel great, but my friends took me out and we had a great time!

I decided to take an S Day because we hosted a Super Bowl party last night. I really should not have taken it as an S Day. I regret it. More on that later.

Breakfast: Oatmeal with pecans and coffee

Lunch: Chicken caesar salad with garlic bread and the rest of my daughter's french fries

Snack: Double Doozie Cookie

Dinner (at party): Cheese fries, 1/2 cup of chili and several handfulls of peanut M&M's, Coke Zero

I must admit that the reason I am disappointed about taking Sunday as an S Day is that I was assuming that I would NEED an S day because of the party, but that was not a problem. I could have easily gotten away with taking the day as an S Day because I did not eat much dinner and I did not enjoy the sweets that I had, but I felt that I SHOULD have them. I guess my taste buds are changing because I am not shoving sweet junk food in my mouth everyday. I realized that most sweets are really gross.

I am going to work on not taking Special Days unless 100% necessary. What a waste.

FAILURE!
Breakfast: 2 pieces peanut butter toast with coffee
Lunch: Amys Organic burrito
Peanut M & M's!!!!!!!!!
Dinner: Nothing

I can not believe I did it. It was day 22. PMS is killing me right now. What a poor choice! Atleast I wasn't hungry for dinner.

Failure!

Breakfast: 2 pieces peanut butter toast, coffee, small skinny latte

Lunch: Roast beef and cheddar sandwich with a side of pasta salad -- then I reached over and finished my daughter's grilled cheese and had a few of her chips

Dinner: 6 dinner rolls and some ravioli

I hope PMS is over for me. I would not even classify myself as "hungry" during these episodes, just cranky and craving some carbs. Ridiculous.

I start P90X soon and looking at the nutrition guide, it appears that I will be eating a lot of food -- but it is very healthy. I really want to stick with No S while I do it even though they suggest eating 5 or 6 times per day. I think I can eat all the food during meals and if I need a post-workout energy drink, I can do that.

Success/Failure

Breakfast: Oatmeal with pecans, coffee
Lunch: Sushi
Afternoon: Chocolate protein drink
Dinner: Grilled chicken breast, small bagel (made a bagel sandwich), asparagus and small bowl of macaroni

I was white-knuckling it yesterday. I was about to die for some sugar, seriously. As I walked through the grocery store, I was creating excuses in my head to justify buying some cookies or snack cakes. However, I made it out of there without doing so. I knew I could not make it to lunch, so I had a chocolate protein drink to make it to dinner. I was not hungry, but I was CRAVING something sweet, thanks to the unending PMS. I decided to have the protein shake because I will have to start drinking them after my workouts next week, anyway. It did the trick. Other than that, I was clean. Some people allow milk and other drinks between meals. I generally don't do this. I avoided eating because that is not a habit I want to allow. I think I made a good decision. I also added a bit more to each meal yesterday to keep from feeling deprived.

I am feeling better today and I think PMS is leaving the building .......

Success!

Breakfast: 2 pieces peanut butter toast and coffee
Lunch: 1 Amy's Organic Burrito with side of macaroni and cheese
Dinner: Big bowl of Grape Nuts

Sugar cravings are better. PMS seems to be gone.

Success!

Breakfast: 2 pieces peanut butter toast, coffee and small skinny latte
Lunch: Sushi
Dinner: BBQ: 2 pieces toast, some sausage, a rib and a bit of brisket with potato salad

Decided not to take Friday as an S Day. I have a lot of family in town and this weekend is my daughter's birthday, my birthday and Valentine's Day. I will take Saturday, Sunday and, maybe, Monday as an S Days (my b'day is Monday). I may choose to not take Monday as an S Day because we may be starting P90X that day.

I am back. I will save you the story. I am sure you've all heard it before....

Green

Coffee and Small bowl of gluten free pretzels

Hamburger patty with tomato, pickle, some sweet potato fries and 1.5 glasses of Cabernet

Shredded chicken breast, sautéed mushrooms and spinach

I am beyond bloated. I have not been so swollen with water weight in forever. Extreme PMS, too. Basically, feel huge and gross. My fingers are hard to bend and I can not figure out why it is so bad this month!

150 this morning, which I suspect is about 4 lbs of water weight.

Ugh......