Everyday Systems

wow you sure all got that right...the freedom, albeit not always easy, but certainly 80% easier than all the counting in the world...i'm working on building the habits of just the 3 squares...

i believe sunday will mark my 21 days in again...will start another round..like seeing the green, i just don't want to see red yet..frightens me...last time i started with red days they grew and grew..well you know i disappeared for a bit.

thanks for stopping by, posted a response on my page.

p.s. just noticed you, patty, and myself all started around the same time last year. did you lose weight since then? did you have terrible times?

Morning....

I DID have terrible times! And I still struggle sometimes. It seems that my hardest time of year is in the winter...no surprise since we live in Upstate New York! You understand this well, I'm sure. It's cold & dreary for us & that's just plain hard. My dr. diagnosed me with Seasonal Affective Disorder & put me on some medication. This year wasn't as bad, but I still struggled during Jan, Feb & March. I'm considering the fact that I'm still here after 3 difficult months to be a victory. My "normal" pattern would have been to start struggling and then completely throw in the towel.

I have a feeling that the people who are truly successful in keeping weight off are not the ones who have been struggle-free, but who have figured out how to get back up, brush off the crumbs and keep moving.

We can do this...I know we can!!! Hugs...janie

Janie,
I can so relate to what you are saying about things getting difficult around this time. One day at a time...exactly!

Have a great weekend!

oh ya know with living in upstate new york (buffalo), i started to take V-D, was a tad low doctor had me on a script for it...once off he said to continue with 2000 i can say i feel the world of difference, i was depressed all the time..i'm sure 99% of us are low. did you have your blood checked?

also supposedly reduces risk of breast cancer, and other illness...i had a doctor tell me once they came from the mid-west and they could not believe the breast cancer rate here compared to the warmer states (hence the sun)

check out this site.

http://www.solar-facts-and-advice.com/v ... eases.html

have a super weekend thanks for sharing.

Morning!

Deb...I hear you about the Vitamin D! I had bloodwork done last April & my doc said that my Vitamin D levels were abysmal. I went on a mega-dose of it for a few months & now I take 5,000 mg a day. That's when I also found out that I have severe sleep apnea! I've been using a CPAP machine for almost a year & I feel a lot better. I did take a mild anti-depressant for the winter & I was amazed at how much better I felt. I felt like myself again! I'll probably do the same for the winter months this year too. It was an amazing difference. I don't think people in sunnier areas understand how dismal our winters are with months full of grey days. I know Buffalo is similar to Syracuse so I know you understand!

I had a really hard time getting to the pool yesterday. It sounded like a great idea yesterday morning, but by the evening all I wanted to do was sit and read a book. I did go...and swam quite fast, but it was not easy to get there. Our "Y" is a very busy place & the only time I can get a lane is in the early afternoons on weekdays or the evenings after 8:00. Most afternoons I don't have a car so evenings are the only option. It feels good that I did it...I guess those days when we conquer food or exercise are the days we really make progress in this adventure.

I'm off to celebrate Easter with our church family....janie

Don't know if I'm repeating myself to you, but something finally clicked for me before I committed to No S and it was something I'd read so many times, but it was on the National Weight Loss Registry site. It was about how people who had finally lost and kept the weight off said that they didn't let slip-ups derail them. They just went back to the plan the next meal. Oh, they didn't go eat for days and then not have one good day for months? I thought, oh, I have to make the choice to eat "right" when it's hard! When I actually have to resist for possibly a few hours! I think that along with No S, knowing I was just a few hours either way from a good meal, really helped. That and being an even worse binger after 38 years of trying not to be and realizing I didn't have 38 years left to get over this.

Have a great S-Easter!

Stopping by to say hi and hope things are going well!!

I was looking back at my thread from when I started last June and found a lot of encouragement from you...too bad back then I did not listen to everyone that S days will get better over time..just don't give up..

Have a great weekend...
deb

Janie, hope everything's OK with you. (((hugs)))

Hello....stopping by to say....hope you are doing well!!

Just popping in to say hello. Hope all is well with you!

Hi everyone....

You are all terrific! I'm really doing fine & enjoying a very green week...it's just been very, very busy. I'm trying to get the last 10 weeks of homeschooling accomplished and since my DH has more responsibilities at work these days, I'm trying to pick up more tasks at home to help his life be a bit less stressful. Some days I feel as if I'm running all day! It's been great for NoS though...I have less time to think about food!!!

I really appreciate being checked up on...I promise to be here more often in the summer, when school is done.

Hugs all around...janie

I forgot to add this...

I went to do some errands after dinner last night. The first stop was a piece of cake...no temptations to eat anything extra. The second stop was kind of like a small piece of cake...a few temptations easily squashed. The third stop was my favorite grocery store, complete with practically every yummy thing ever invented on the shelves. Okay...that's an exaggeration, but you get the idea. I wanted a muffin...then I wanted a cookie...then I wanted cashews...then I craved a Dove chocolate bar. But I walked out with only the weekly groceries packed in their bags and then tucked in the trunk. I felt as if I'd won the first prize in the new series - "Night-Time Grocery Battle". I feel as if I'm finally back on my NoS feet again. I know I'll struggle again, but I'm learning maintenance...and I'm learning to keep on going....those are skills I've never learned before. It feels wonderful to be here for the long-haul.

janie

Wow Janie, that is wonderful to hear...why not start a notebook, jotting down all the things you do that are positive...so you can look back at it and build up the resistance muscle...good job..

I hope to have a decent weekend..so not wanting to binge, but look forward to eating whatever..

Have a great one!

Starting a notebook is a great idea...maybe after homeschooling is over for the I'll do that. I might just copy & paste some of what I've written here & then I'll have a great start.

Yesterday was fun, but full. I went to my son's varsity baseball game about an hour away. Our team won so it was even more fun. I brought snacks for our 6-year old, but didn't touch them. My DH drove separately because of work so after the game I drove home by myself & had to stop at the grocery store for a few things at 8:30pm. I hadn't eaten since 1:00pm so I needed to buy something to eat on the way home for "dinner" (our grocery store is 25 minutes from home)....and this is the grocery store that has EVERYthing, including a cafe with great food. I ended up with a plain bagel (which I LOVE) and an apple. By the time I got home it would have been too late to eat anything....although being late in the day never stopped me from eating before! The main thing for the day was that it wasn't difficult. I feel as if I'm finally back in a good place.

Yesterday I wrote on the "Contemplating Surger" thread that the difference with eating this way is that I'm learning a new "normal". Whenever I used to go on yet another diet I would lose weight, then go back to eating the way that seemed "Normal" for me...which means I'd gain everything back AGAIN, and again, and again. It seems as if something has flipped in my brain & I feel as if this is becoming my new "normal". I LIKE eating this way. I LIKE being in a place where food has little or no control over me. I WANT to do this....and that feels extraordinary.

Off to another fun, but really busy day.

janie

You inspire me..we both started the around the same time last year, except one important fact, you didn't quit like I did and look where you are now!!

I'm sure the last year had it's struggles, but you have come to a good place, and I can feel I'm getting to a good place.

Being sane first, weight loss second...enjoying life is what life is all about..

So I'm hoping for moderation this weekend...oh trust me I have my snacks in mind, but I don't want it to turn into a binge..I feel too darn good!

You're so sweet...you're always so encouraging...

We're on such a journey...sometimes easy, sometimes difficult. I didn't quit this summer, but I DID quit NoS a few years ago. This is really my third time concentrating on this way of eating. I'm here for the long-haul this time though. I want this to be my new "normal". I want to eat this way for the rest of my life...no matter what weight I am.

I'm so glad you're back...it's always encouraging to see you here.

Have a great day!
janie

My nephew & his wife are here visiting us...delightful people! I made chowder & fresh bread for dinner...a yummy dessert...quick bread for breakfast. I had seconds this morning and I had dessert last night, but overall it was a very controlled Saturday. It feels wonderful to be in a good place.

janie

Overall the weekend was just fine. I'm feeling ready to start another green week....

janie

Can you believe, I live near the city and we hardly have anything coming down..but not sure when I go home tonight if I'll have a lot of snow by my house..did you get a lot? Just really wet....what strange weather, Friday was in the 70's?

And I hear ya about starting another green week..I'm with ya on that one

Thanks for stopping by!!

We had about 5", but it was really wet & slippery. Our schools were closed here & since my son gets Friday off too for Senior Day, he was a happy camper!

janie

Janie, I hope your snow is melted by now! Too late for snow, fun for the kids though. We go back to Minn tomorrow, and its supposed to go up to 70 something. Thank God, it goes up in the 90s every day here now and I would have big trouble adjusting to snow!

Yesterday was pretty easy...no huge temptations. That's a wonderful kind of day...

janie

Today was weird weather wise had some strange quick snow storms but nothing stayed and I was able to watch them come off of lake erie...

Sounds like a wonderful day for sure..I love when I just eat my 3 squares and have no temptations..this time around seems to be less and less.

deb

deb...I'm so glad you're here. Coming back after struggling is so hard, but it's such a success. You're really doing so very well....

Yesterday was fine....I am so thankful that this way of eating seems more and more routine.

Today will be a very busy day. I'll leave the house about 9 this morning & not get home until after 9 tonight. I'll pack a lunch & think through dinner. But, I've done this successfully before, I can do it again...I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....

janie

Ahhh Janie, that was the sweetest thing anyone has said to me here!! I'm glad to be back!! I would like they way things are going to be a lifetime habit, except of course my S days..

It is good to plan ahead....you can do it..

I think I will try and plan ahead for 1 of my S days...see if that helps a bit..not that I won't indulge put try to incorporate some sanity..

Have a great day even though a busy one!!

You are on a roll!!

Thanks y'all! (Yes, I have lived in the South!)

I'm doing fine....the only current problem is that I'm having a hard time getting here on a consistent basis! When homeschooling & baseball are done for the summer I'll have more time...or at least that's the theory!

Yesterday was my weekly marathon day. On Wednesdays I leave with my 6-year old early in the morning & after transferring her to go home with my hubbie after our son's evening varsity baseball game, I don't get home until after grocery shopping & errands around 10 at night. It's not a bad day, just filled to the brim with good things. I was at the grocery store late last night (my Super-Huge-Everything Looks Delicious and Hard to Resist store), and I got through that fine. I bought a bagel, some raspberries and a few almonds for dinner. And get THIS, I forgot to buy something to drink & I went to MCDONALDS to get one. Again, I hadn't eaten since noon & this was after 9pm. I looked at the menu & absolutely nothing was worth a red day. Technically I could have eaten a meal there & it would have fit on a plate, but I knew how awful I'd feel physically after eating the food there. I got my drink, went to the car & ate my yummy dinner from the grocery store. I feel as if I'm conquering my dysfunctional eating one situation at a time. I'm no longer tempted to eat dessert during the week...I don't crave snacks after dinner...and now I'm seeing tangible progress at the grocery store. Even when I'm hungry I'm thinking logically before I grab & snarf. AND, fast food is becoming less & less appealing. One day at a time....one situation at a time...one, lovely green check-mark at a time...

I never knew I liked green so much....janie

This is such a great post....nice to see how our lives are changing when it comes to food...one event at a time...

I'm feel the same...about my weekdays...the urge to have snacks after dinner is pretty nil at this point..I have been back since March 19 and what a difference this time, mindset wise.

Have a great one!

Hi Deb...I'm so glad this time around has been much better for you. It's as if we're breaking a chain that has bound us...one link at a time. I'm really happy for you...

janie

Margie...So sorry I didn't respond to your message when you dropped by. My week was packed! I send you a PM this morning...

My week was interesting. I struggled on Mon, Tues & Wed, but then realized I was PMSing. I'm so irregular (in more ways than one )! I'm on a much more even keel now. I've been reading a book on Serotonin & finding it interesting. We live in a very cloudy part of the country so this topic is on my mind a lot (especially in the winter!). I'm convinced that NoS is the best way for me to eat so I'm trying to figure out what to take from this book & what won't work...but it's interesting & hopefully beneficial. I haven't read a book on food in a long time & realize how much I've changed. I'm so much more objective about this topic than I used to be...and I don't feel as if I'm a failure. I've read a ton of diet books halfway through 'cause I've thought, "It won't work for me anyway." Well, even though that's probably true because dieting is not the answer, I don't have the same emotional response any longer. I'm reading this book & find the nutritional information interesting...but I'm not a failure. And that feels wonderful.

I might not check in again for a few days. We have four varsity baseball games to go to this week....and on top of normal life, that makes for some busy days!

janie