Everyday Systems

Saturday

Breakfast -- slice of zucchini bread, half a clementine, latte
Lunch -- leftovers from the night before, garden beans
Dinner -- rice, tofu, zucchini fritters

Once again, without really trying, I had a No S day on the weekend.

Worked in the garden. Still not feeling great.

Sunday

Breakfast -- latte, two boiled eggs
Lunch -- lentils and rice, home made pickles (two kinds, cucumber and radish)
Dinner -- same as lunch
Treat -- 1/2 a small dark chocolate candy bar. Otherwise, it might have been a regular No S day.

Scraped siding boards, worked in the garden. Still sick. This is getting old.

Ho hum... I am getting bored with tracking food.

I've stayed on-plan pretty much the whole time I've been doing No S.

I like seeing your meals they sound yummy!!

Turns out that my nagging cold us a sinus infection. No wonder I've been dragging.

I was pretty under-the-weather in Saturday. Sunday, I inspected two of our beehives, dug up one of our garden beds, and cycled eight miles.

I'm doing a fundraising bike ride (25 miles) in twelves days.

I'M SCREWWWWWWED!!!!!! I'm gonna die.

On the othe hand I've been eating well.

Who Me? wrote:Sunday, I inspected two of our beehives, dug up one of our garden beds, and cycled eight miles.

Just another relaxing Sunday. And you do this when you're under the weather as well! You are an inspiration to all us couch potatoes out there.

Allergies and a sinus infection -- whooppie!

Still eating well. Not particularly motivated to record meals.

Thursday

Breakfast -- latte, two slices of home baked bread
Elevenses -- a banana, about ten crackers
Lunch -- my salad went bad, so all I had was a banana and a plum
Dinner -- latte, cheese and veggie sandwich

Lots of water, throughout the day.

Strange eating today.

A co-worker of mine is doing a raw food "cleanse" which everyone has been teasing him about. He's actually in fantastic shape, cooks from scratch, bikes 13 miles every day. But he had a bit too much fun at Burning Man, and wanted to detox. He told me that he was feeling so lousy from the "cleanse" that he and his wife just chucked the whole thing and had bacon cheeseburgers for dinners last night. I just had to laugh. Poor guy is miserable. He says that his kidneys hurt.

In just over a week, I'm riding 25 miles as part of a fundraiser, to help people with disabilities.

Eeeeeek! I'm not ready!

Friday

Breakfast -- latte, slice of bread
Elevenses -- slice of bread, banana
Lunch -- bean and cheese burrito
Dinner -- green beans and home made mac and cheese

Who Me? wrote:In just over a week, I'm riding 25 miles as part of a fundraiser, to help people with disabilities.

Eeeeeek! I'm not ready!

I'm sure you're more ready than you think. Your eating is always so healthy, and by the sounds of it you are very active. You'll do just fine!!

I wish that were true!

My knees aren't in the greatest shape. And cardio-vascular-wise? Bad, just bad.

We did six or seven miles today, and I was really tired. Twenty five is going to be hard.

Saturday

Breakfast -- latte, boiled egg, 1/2 mango, bread and butter
Lunch -- veggie sushi, coffee
Dinner -- pasta and broccoli, a few squares of dark chocolate, a banana
Later -- woke up at midnight, because my hands and knees were aching. Had a bit more pasta. Very hungry.

Worked in the garden. Went cycling. Did a beehive inspection. Major weedwhacking. Cut the grass. Scrubbed the front porch and stairs. Exhausted.

Sunday

Breakfast -- latte
Lunch and Dinner -- we had friends over, and had a little picnic buffet. Fruit salad, home baked bread, locally produced cheese, two kinds of home made pickles, carrot sticks and fennel, grapes, lemonade from our tree, and home made lemon-rosemary-Riesling sorbet. Very nice.
Later -- some salty licorice candies

Monday

Breakfast -- latte, two slices of home baked bread
Elevenses -- coffee, some kind of Italian roll
Lunch -- bread with avocado and cheese, fruit salad
Dinner -- home made veggie burritos

A beehive inspection!? You HAVE to explain this to me! lol

janie

We keep bees in our tiny urban backyard. Every week or so, we open up one of the hives, to check the bees' health. Do they have enough pollen, nectar and honey? Is the queen laying eggs? Have ants or other pests invaded the hive?

If you click on my blog link below, there's a lot of information about my bees.



Can you spot the queen? She's part of a swarm I caught about a month ago.

That is so cool!

janie

Tuesday

Breakfast -- latte, bread
Elevenses -- coffee
Lunch -- bread, avocado and chees, a banana
Dinner -- fresh green beans, home made mac-and-cheese

Glad your back

Sounds like you are doing great. Congratulations to you. You should pat yourself on the back for always bouncing back after set backs. You are very good at it and inspire us all.

I've just been quietly chugging along.

That 25 mike bike ride this weekend is gonna kill me. I'm raising money fir an organization that provides recreational opportunities for people with disabilities. Very humbling to be a worse cyclist than the dudes with no legs...

They just want to prove something to themselves and others. That is huge motivation. You are at least entered which is way ahead of whoever isn't.

It is just great that you are doing the bike ride! I crossed the line in a 5k this summer behind a 65 year old guy who has had a heart transplant. Hmmm...

I'm trying to get in a bit of cycling every night after work. I'm not doing huge rides, but at least I'm loosening up my creaky knees.

My partner is paraplegic, due to a spinal cord injury, and since his accident, he's cycled over 4,250 miles. He alternates days of cycling with days working out in the pool. He's amazingly disciplined. Life, for him, is *not* easy, but he just keeps going.

Wednesday

Breakfast -- latte
Elevenses -- bread with a little dry jack cheese, a banana
Lunch -- leftover mac-and-cheese, green beans, a mango
Dinner -- spinach, tofu and dumplings

Also, another latte before the bike ride

It just goes to show that many people react to life's challenges by getting stronger (emotionally and physically). This inspires me to quit whining and get going!

Who Me? wrote:I'm trying to get in a bit of cycling every night after work. I'm not doing huge rides, but at least I'm loosening up my creaky knees.

My partner is paraplegic, due to a spinal cord injury, and since his accident, he's cycled over 4,250 miles. He alternates days of cycling with days working out in the pool. He's amazingly disciplined. Life, for him, is *not* easy, but he just keeps going.

THAT is inspirational. Thanks so much for sharing that with us. I am amazed at what people can do when they have the belief that they truly can defy the odds and do anything.

One of my son's baseball coaches is a paraplegic with very little arm strenth. He has enough to drive & give the kids a fist pound when the kids come off the field, but that's it. His life, as your partner's, is such an inspiration to us and to our whole community. He tells people that his accident was the best thing that ever happened to him. It means so much to us to have such a wonderful role model for our son. I'm sure there are so many people who would say that same thing about your partner. AND about you. You've stood by him & supported him through this...that is such a credit to you. Thanks again!

janie

I won't lie. The accident was the *worst* thing that ever happened to us. But it sure showed us how strong we could be.

Also, it could have been way, way worse.

Oh...I hope I didn't write anything insensitive...I can't imagine what you've gone through. I certainly wasn't trying to say anything other than how inspired I am by people who have lived through such horrible circumstances....

janie

No, not insensitive at all!

There's a lot if talk about "overcoming adversity" which is very heart-warming. But the fact is that there's no overcoming most disabilities. You just have to learn to live with them. No amount of overcoming will make Robb run again.

Phew....I'm so glad I didn't offend you. I can't imagine walking the road you have & would hate to say anything that would cause you any frustration.

Thanks Who Me?

janie

Janie -- you're sweet. Don't give this a second thought!

Met up with Robb after work, grabbed a particularly mayonnaise-y sandwich at a trailside cafe, and did eight miles of cycling. I had forgotten my lunch, and had a lot of personal work to do over lunchbreak, so I was really hungry. The sandwich was like a brick in my stomach, which is too bad.

Thursday

Breakfast -- latte
Elevenses -- two slices of bread, a banana
Lunch -- bread and a mango
Dinner -- avocado and cheese sandwich, a fresh green salad

Not brilliant eating. Oh well

Cycled eight miles after work.

The bike ride is this weekend, right?

Best of luck! Looking forward to hearing how it goes!

Yes Indeedy!

We ride tomorrow! I'll be sharing photos.

Wow...tomorrow!!! I hope the weather is wonderful & the ride is terrific.

Can't wait to see the pictures...

janie

Friday

I took today "off" from No-S.

Breakfast -- latte and a banana
Elevenses -- an extremely good bakery cookie, and a few sips of black coffee
Lunch -- what is wrong with me this week? I haven't been packing a proper lunch. Bread and a huge plum
Snack -- some home made rice pudding
Dinner -- ???

just wanted to stop in and say "hi"

If it was crunchy French or homemade bread it sound like a tasty lunch though lacking in certain nutritional areas
I often think plums are overlooked, I love plums. have a great weekend!!!!

Today we ride! Think of us, and all the disabled athletes (and weekend warriors) that we're supporting.

Thinking of you Who Me!!

Hope all goes well, have fun!!!

The fundraising ride was amazing! We had more adaptive cyclists on our route than ever before. I'll post photos soon.

Woke up feeling awful with a danged sinus infection. I was very worried about the ride. I just pushed through, and it was just fine.

Breakfast -- cold cereal mix, with dried blueberries, latte
On the ride -- water, water, water!
Rest area food -- peanut butter and jelly sandwich, 1/2 banana, orange slices
Post ride -- veggies and blue cheese dip, Asian pasta salad, roasted figs with goat cheese, tiny brownies, and several glasses of wine
At the hotel -- a gigantic plum, some sesame sunflower cookies

It feels so good to just get out there and push yourself physically and benefit a good cause! Great job!

I won't lie. Riding with the sinus infection was unpleasant. But my worries are so much smaller that the people who this ride supports.

Who Me? Well done on accomplishing the ride! Even though it wasn't fun, it must have felt good to finish...good job!

janie

Well done on the bike ride, especially as you must have felt so under the weather.

Hope that infection clears up soon. As someone who's suffered from a fair few sinus infections in her time, I really do feel for ya.

That's Robb, at the start of the ride. He's partially paralyzed, and uses a recumbent trike.

Good job on the bike ride! 25 miles is quite a feat, but to do it while not feeling well is even more impressive!!

Sunday

Breakfast -- brunch at hotel. Spinach, mushroom, gouda omelet, coffee, fruit salad, toast.
Snack -- cafe au lait at the dirtiest coffee shop I've ever seen in my life. Gross!
Lunch -- we tried to make avocado sandwiches, but all the avocados I bought were bad. We had dry jack cheese on very nice bread.
Dinner -- green beans from the garden, broiled toasts with grated cheese, an apple from a tree at our hotel, a sesame cookie, three squares of dark chocolate.

Who Me?

Well done on the ride & thanks for sharing the great photo of Rob!

janie

Monday

Any day where I work twelve hours is a day that I get to have a little treat.

Breakfast -- coffee, crusty bread
Elevenses -- a huge plum
Lunch -- bread with cheese, heated under the broiler, an apple
Dinner -- a Vietnamese sandwich, cucumber Dakar, lentils and rice, a coconut juice
Snack -- some salty licorice cats

My legs are really tired.

Tuesday

Following up on yesterday's mayhem... Any day that I spend 15 hours on my feet at work, is a day that I'm allowed to eat cookies. Oh my, but my legs ache today.

Breakfast -- latte, lowfat yogurt with wheat germ andhome made jam
Lunch -- leftover lentils and rice, cucumber sushi rolls
Snacking -- oatmeal raisin cookies, coffee
Dinner -- salad, home made mac-and-cheese

I'm exhausted. My legs ache. People had better be nice today, because I'm feeling horrible. (I think I still have that sinus infection.)

Hope your legs feel better soon. And I hope people are nice to you. Haha.

I take a lot of inspiration from you and some of the others here who, in my opinion, use common sense in dealing with their food plan. Yes, we should all have rules and regulations regarding food or the relationship will quickly degrade into a free for all. But, if there are no exceptions for bad days or busy days or days when we feel like crud, it is not a workable plan. Good for you to know when it has been that kind of day. I don't think you abuse it and that is the trick of the occasional exception.

Thanks! I was painting a *huge* project, and if I didn't eat *something* I wasn't going to make it. This is what true treats were invented for, I think.

What did Thursday look like? I don't remember.

Friday

An actual day off from work! I met up with another beekeeper at a city-run nature center, to check on the health of the bees in the "observation hive." (Bees are doing just fine.)

I've been on a nailpolish kick, for some strange reason. Did my nails halfway through raking my leaves. I'm an idiot.

Went to an estate sale but didn't buy anything.

Collected mulch from a (different) city pick-up spot. Joined a seed library. Got some free garden seeds, with the understanding that I'll save done seeds, and turn them back in next year. How cool is that? Went to the local bio-fuel filling station, to buy other seeds.

Breakfast -- latte, home baked bread, local figs and melon
Lunch -- latte, cucumber salad from a friend's garden, two rye crisp crackers with cheese
Dinner -- herb and cheese omelet, raw carrots and fennel, orange juice

A seed library - what a cool thing! My veggie garden is empty for the year, except for the newly planted garlic. I have some blueberry bushes & grapevines ordered & can't wait to get those in the ground. I just need to get some of my compost spread before they get here & I'll be about done until the spring. Sounds as if you enjoy your garden....fresh veggies are beyond delicious, aren't they?

Enjoy your weekend...janie

We're lucky in that we can garden year 'round. In fact, the winter months are the only times we get rain, so those are actually our greenest seasons. Crazy, huh?

Wow, there's such a thing as a seed library!? I had no idea. That's very cool. And really does make a lot of sense.

Wow...what a different growing season than ours. I can't plant tomatoes here until the week before Memorial Day....and even then I have to watch for frost. I can get potatoes, peas & onions in the ground in late April, but not much more than that. We'll have snow on the ground from Thanksgiving through the middle of March. I get garden fever around February...lol...

janie

I grew veggies in Maryland, and also in rural central NY for seven summers, so this northern California thing still confuses me.

Rural Central NY? That's where I live! We've SE of Syracuse...and I grew up near Elmira....

I'd be puzzled by CA gardening too!

janie

I worked in Cooperstown, for eight summers! I really miss it.

I envy your garden!!!! I just haven't had time to devote to my sad veggie garden. Something has eaten my zucchini plants two years in a row.
I think next summer will be my year though as my kids get older it gets a little easier.

My garden is a huge mess, at the moment. I just do a little bit of work at a time. When we bought the place, two years ago, there was nothing but weeds and vines and a few neglected fruit trees. It's been an uphill battle to get the garden into shape.

I was sick again this weekend. Chronic sinus infection...bleh! Phooey cold! Spent most of the weekend flat in bed.

Still managed to harvest our hops (for beer-making), and properly house one of our colonies of bees, which had been in temporary housing. Dug a load of mulch into our miserable silty soil. Didn't get the fava beans planted. Didn't work on painting the house.

Saturday

Breakfast -- latte, fruit, fresh baked bread
Lunch -- cheese and veggie sandwich, banana
Dinner -- vegetable soup and bread
Snack -- some salty licorice candies

Sunday

Breakfast -- latte, slice of apple cake we made for a party I was too sick to attend. Apples from local farm stand.
Lunch -- vegetable soup
Dinner -- vegetable soup, slice of apple cake
Snacks -- handful of unsalted peanuts, some licorice candy
Lots of orange juice, a hot toddy

Monday

Still sick, but had to go to work. Long, rough day.

I have an appointment with the ear nose & throat doctor today.

Breakfast -- Latte, slice of apple cake
Lunch -- vegetable soup, banana
Dinner -- green beans and rice

Sorry to hear you're not feeling well. Hope you feel better soon!

Tuesday

Still sick. No magical cure from the doctor, dang it all! I've been sick for over a week. Really tired of this, and unable to stay home from work. Bleh.

Breakfast -- latte and a banana
Lunch -- leftover rice and green beans
Dinner -- vegetable broth, part of a home made calzone, and some apple cake.

That's hard when you can't just rest and get well. Don't envy you. Hope you feel tons better soon!

nlb

Sorry you're still feeling so sick! Hope you can get some rest soon.

Julie

I'm sorry you're still sick...that just stinks...

janie

You all are so sweet!

Get well soon, wishes, from me too! Sorry to hear you're sick but enjoying your posts!!

Wednesday

Breakfast -- latte and a banana
Lunch -- a spinach and corn quesadilla (I still haven't learned to spell this word), also another latte
Dinner -- vegetable broth, polenta with some more spinach

Was I sick as a dog, and still painting theatrical scenery in a cherry-picker? Why, yes. Yes, I was.

(At least the project that required me to wear a respirator while suffering from a runny nose got cancelled.)

Who Me? wrote:(At least the project that required me to wear a respirator while suffering from a runny nose got cancelled.)

You can always see the silver lining...

Woke up feeling less awful today. Still not great. But better. I'll take that.

Thursday

Breakfast -- latte, lowfat yogurt with wheat germ and a little sugar
Lunch -- an embarrassingly large cheese sandwich which I didn't finish, latte
Dinner -- pasta with grated cheese, beans (still! wow!) and russian kale (first time) from our garden

It's 11pm, and I'm honnnnnngreeeeeeee!!!!

I hate that when I am hungry at bedtime too! Did you resist? A glass of milk is usually my remedy if the hunger is too strong.

Yep. I am stubborn. I didn't eat any late-night snacks.

Well done!!!!

janie

Friday

Finally feeling better. Got my allergy shots and a flu shot as well. I'm still laughing at the nurse who when I was at the doctor, earlier this week (sick as a dog) tried to convince me to go get my mammogram done that day. I didn't even have the energy to pick up my prescription, how on earth was I going to manage a mammogram? Those take fortitude on a *good* day!

Breakfast -- latte and the last bit of that gigantic cheese sandwich
Lunch -- cucumber and avocado sushi
Latte
Dinner -- home-made okonomiyaki (cabbage fritters, essentially)

http://www.japan-guide.com/r/e100.html

A mammogram when you're sick? I don't think so! Makes me wonder if she's ever had one!!!

Glad you're feeling better...janie

Saturday

I went shopping today! Whoo Hoo! Cute clothes! Women's sizing is just hilarious. I think I bought everything from a Small to a Large.

Breakfast -- latte, a humongous plum
Lunch -- lo mein noodles (just awful) out shopping
Dinner -- rice, baked tofu with peanuts, green beans, another latte
Later -- some cookies, and a few licorice candies, also two small slices of bread with a little cheese

Just checking in on some board mates. So sorry you weren't feeling well but glad you are doing better.

Retail therapy always helps . I so agree with sizing. I recently saw a very nice pair of lined navy slacks in a consignment shop run by a local charity that I love to support. They were a size ten, I normally wear a six or eight in dress slacks but I didn't want to mess with trying them on and figured if they didn't fit I would just donate them back.

They were almost snug. Yet I had on a size six at work that day.
That is why I pay no attention to what size I wear unless I notice that clothes I have worn for a while are getting tighter or looser, a better indicator than the scale.

Glad you had fun. Did you get some new winter clothes?

For the most part I think sizes have gotten bigger so the older clothing in my closet that I am now fitting into is sized totally different than what is in the stores these days. I can buy a size or two smaller in the new stuff. And don't even get me started on small, medium, large sizes! A guy at work the other day complained that his wife always takes back clothes he buys for her as gifts saying they do not fit. The women at the table told him that we never buy ourselves anything without trying it on because women's sizes are just not as standard as men's.

When did the shift in jeans sizing happen? Jeans companies are using European numbering, which totally confuses me.

Also... Nobody -- and I mean NOBODY -- looks good in those ultra-skinny jeans. Can that trend end soon, please?

I haven't read your thread for nearly a month and am glad your bike ride went okay. I, too, did not prepare very well for a physical challenge. I got through it, but was miserable a lot of the time, and will probably suffer repercussions for quite awhile. In any case, congrats on your continued successes!

Sunday

Breakfast -- latte, bread and butter, half a plum
Lunch -- veggie sushi, another latte
Dinner -- leftover rice and green beans and baked tofu

Another latte, four cookies, and some home baked bread and cheese


Did a bit of garden work, did a small (six mile) bike ride, went into work and painted the stage floor black. There's lots of dancing in our current production, and we have to repaint every week, because the floor gets so scuffed up.

Monday

Breakfast -- latte, banana, some bread
Lunch -- a large cheese sandwich
Dinner -- polenta and garden kale, another latte

Hi Who Me, thanks for stopping by. I'm sure you noticed I'm struggling quite a bit...I wonder what happened for such a drastic change from this being so easy for me, to not so easy for me. But I won't quit, can't my life depends on it.

Thanks again for the kind thoughts sent my way.
deb

Tuesday

Breakfast -- latte, bread
Elevenses -- coffee, bread
Lunch -- veggie sushi, grapes
Dinner -- stir fried vegetables over noodles, and some bread

Brutal allergies today. Huge headache. I need to drink more water.

Wednesday

Breakfast -- latte, bread, grapes
Lunch -- cheese sandwich, apple, coffee
Dinner -- tortilla chips with grated cheese, and a beautiful bean rice and veggie salad

It was opening night of another show. I enjoyed the party, but wasn't interested in any of the food. (I did have a small beer before the show.)

Thursday

Breakfast -- latte, bread and butter
Elevenses -- iced coffe, a slice of bread
Lunch -- leftover salad, a tangerine
Dinner -- it was my beekeeping club's annual party. Because of my crazy food allergies, I ate very strangely. And I had a slim slice of fruit torte, and some rosemary mead. It was lovely.

Hi. I was wondering if you don't mind sharing, how much weight have you lost on No S? Before No S how was your eating habits?

I'm still struggling of my own accord, but hope to keep reading inspiring stories and kick my hinny into gear. I do believe with what is going on in my life makes me really really unhappy and food has always been a comfort to me. No excuses I know if you really want something bad enough..

For the most part, I'm not snacking at all during the day, where I used to have something sweet after lunch..so that is progress

Have a great Friday!

I haven't weighed myself since starting no-s. I don't own a scale, and don't plan to buy one.

I've been a pretty healthy eater for years. I'm a vegetarian, and somewhere along the line became interested in phasing out highly processed foods. I started no-s because I'd noticed that I'd developed some sloppy habits, most notably eating cookies or chocolates in bed. I was noticing a lot of opportunities for snacking, and I wanted to better manage my eating. It was challenging at first, but it has become easier.

I haven't spoken much about size or weight, because I've got thin genes, and because it seems impolite.

A coworker of mine has been cycling to work, and also watching the quality of what he eats. His commute is six miles each way. Earlier this week he mentioned that he'd lost 16 pounds. I actually can't see the difference. He's always been tall and lean. He looks great, but then he always did. He admitted he hasn't slowed down on beer drinking at all. And he can't figure out where the 16 pounds went. Or where they were in the first place.

It's also worth mentioning that I've had SERIOUS problems with newly-developed food allergies. Suddenly, I can't eat anything in the nightshade family (no tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplants or tomatillos). This has been a HUGE pain in the butt. I pretty much can't eat at restaurants. My partner is a wonderful cook, and he's been an darling about figuring out fun food that I can actually eat.

Perhaps adding the discipline of no-s to my eating habits coincided well with the fact that I suddenly couldn't eat half of what I used to eat.

I did not know what the nightshade family was, but that is rough to be allergic. Those are some of my favorite veggies.

Yeah, mine too,

Thanks for sharing...allergies to foods you love would really stink, but sounds like your partner is taking good care of you .

It is a wonderful thing to have thin genes.

I think I inherited my gram's genes, the first time I really started to gain weight my gram came for a visit from CA and we were in a picture together and I almost died, we were fat in all the same places..my mom and most of my sisters are thin, but then they don't turn to food...my one sister is bulimic/anoreix (spelling)..

I think a lot of people use food when their lives are out of control and it truly is the only thing we feel we have control over..does that make sense?

Okay, I rambled on long enough.

Have a great Sunday...
deb

Who me?

No TOMATOES???? Ugh....that would just about do me in!

janie