Me too! Me too!

[Frau Koch]

I am sporting completely silly eating habits while considering myself a reasonably reasonable person. There somehow is a contradiction in this - and I'd rather change the first bit of the sentence than the second.
I thought for myself that I first should could down on the tons of sweets I eat on a daily basis, then, having managed that, stick to the main meals. The height of all this was to feel really cool and natural about this.
When I did some research on my plans in the Internet I hit on the No S Diet site, which, to me, seemed abundant of wit & sense, and the ideal guideline for my so far crude plans.
Since this is completely opposed to my eating habits I am currently trying to phase in as described above. No sweets seems to be okay, no snacks (see below) as well, now the no seconds is to be mastered, which is the hardest part, so far I have taken comfort (key word!) in eating quite a lot at meals. Well, we live, we learn.

My mod: On running days I will have an extra meal/snack consisting of joghurt, banana etc. to prevent grumpiness on my side.

Sorry for my English, potential reader

Frau Koch

[losingforgood]

Welcome to No S! I'm new here too, and I absolutely LOVE this way of thinking about food! I will not go back to any other way of eating. This just makes so much sense to me. Your way of changing your food habits is right on. I've read many posts and Reinhard's description of what constitutes meals vs. snacks and you're right on. Some people need 4 or 5 small meals a day for certain health matters. And I can imagine that when you are engaging in a very intense exercise regime, you maye need a little more fuel before or after a workout. Just count that as one of your meals, which in your case, would be f 4 per day, and don't stray from that. The fact that you're making it a very healthy meal for the benefit of your workout and your wellbeing, should not make eating that extra meal a problem.

[Frau Koch]

Let me see, yesterday

no sweets: okay
no snacks: okay
no seconds: well, if piling up food on a plate as if to win a food piling competition counts, then okay. Kind of reddish green, maybe

I love the habitcal thingy, and I can think of a lot of other categories to add, but one step after another. (I also love beginners' enthusiams )

Thank you for your warm welcome, loosingforgood! Yes, it is the perfect way of thinking about food. You seem to have internalized everything already.

I also love to browse through the threads, but somehow I think by doing so I am constantly thinking about food. Oh, well.
And another thing which makes it so amazingly interesting to me: The cultural knowledge, learning about how/what people in other countries eat etc. For example, I just love the thread discussing whether or not a muffin is to be categorized as sweets etc.

[losingforgood]

Well, actually...if you really read Reinhard's description of what a meal looks like...for the first 21 days, it's very easy to pile on the plate in order to feel like you're sustaining yourself for the next meal. So, even though this is a maintanance for life eating plan, he as establish 2 phases: 1) the first 21 days in order to get the basic rules engrained as habit 2) Then work on portions in each meal. But I have found that getting used to the basic rules, actually has helped me to get my appetite back so that I can judge a little better by my appetite, how much to put on my plate. And surprisingly enough, My portions for most meals are very reasonable portions, like what naturally slim people would eat; with an occasional bigger than normal meal, particularly when I've been most active. And, I would imagine that someone who runs every day or does some other incredibly intense exercise, will have larger portions on their plate than some like me, who does very light strength training at home with food cans and 15-20 minute walks.

I've also found that taking up a relaxing passion of mine again after putting it down for a few years, has helped me not think about food so much in between meals. And I agree about not reading the posts too often. I do a quick check every day, and I read alot of the posts, and will occasionally comment. But I purposely don't allow myself to remain stuck in the website. It's GREAT support, and everyone seems so warm and welcoming. But when it makes me focus on food, it's time to get away from the computer and focus on something else.

I love your quick and subtle humor and wit, btw. Did I type slow and loud enough?

[snapdragon]

No seconds is my weakest spot to. Seems like once the floodgates open it's hard to close them....I know from experience this gets easier.

Welcome!

[Frau Koch]

Oh, I must have skipped the 21-day bit, but there's still so much to read (and not all of can be read slowly and loudly
But then again, maybe I just ignore that bit it could be sort of a complimentary ticket (I fear this is not really English)

lfg, you are absolutely right about the warm & welcoming community (also hi to you, snapdragon); I think this is quite special. On similar boards the typical reply to a general question would be something in the line of "Well maybe you're right you ill-informed amateur but I don't think so because I happen to be specialized in nutricious knickknack, so..." Here everybody seems to be very enthusiastic in an open & positive way. Very nice.

[Frau Koch]

Yesterday

no sweets: okay (eaheaheasy)
no snacks: okay (difficult, because a friend came over for a glass of wine and I just wanted to offer some cheese, crackers, grapes etc. But I just skipped supper and had some of these nice but no-s things instead)
no seconds: failure. Lunch is the problem. Maybe it's because of the time of the day, especially dangerous when I'm having lunch on my own. Can only get better.

Again two out of three.
And tomorrow is Saturday. Hooray.

[r.jean]

It will get easier.
My advice is to never stop. Never feel like you have blown it so bad that you need to start over. Just continue as you are, marking progress and marking mistakes and moving on to the next day.
This is a personal thing for me. Before No S, I used to start every new day or new week or new month saying I would eat better but as soon as I made one small mistake, I would give up and start over the next day, or week, or month. Not good!
No S has helped me to ease off on the feeling that one must be perfect and strict in order to lose weight.
I love this way of eating!

[losingforgood]

That is soooo true! In fact, some diet programs are designed-whether intentionally or not- for failure, simply by the fact that in one little mistake of eating the wrong thing can make a person immediately start putting on weight, leaving them in a mental state of thinking they'll never be able to stick to it. This lifestyle is restrictive in one sense, but in a sense that seems to be freeing me up to feel I can still do this, and eat the foods I love and still be healthy and lose weight at a healthy pace.

[Frau Koch]

Yes, r.jean, I also think that it will get easier,

The thing is that I do not punish/have not punished myself if I was not able to eat better but the fact that I eat lots of junk was/is the punishment. Difficult to explain. Even though I would love to lose some of those pounds I do not necessarily have to (not sure but I suppose my BMI must be around 24) because I jog/run three to four times a week so I have managed to keep my weight in spite of eating not in a very sensible way to put it mildly. But sensible eating (which includes the odd feast) is my ultimate goal, one or two sizes less isn't. However, if I wasn't excercising... don't want to think about it And again, weight loss/maintenance is not the motor for my running but it gives me peace of mind/helps me to relax... How did I get there?

This looks like a lovely coldsunnysnowy weekend

[r.jean]

I am not sure how old you are, but I wish I had gotten a grip on my bad eating habits when I was young, before I had a weight problem. I gained weight gradually as I was raising kids, working and taking care of everyone but myself. I was a runner when I was younger, and I am slowly building up my running again now that my children are all adults, out of college and on their own.

So...good for you that you are addressing your eating habits now..before they affect your weight and health.

[Frau Koch]

nosweetsnosnacks: success
nosecondsnothirds: failure
I will try to earn at least one green day for no seconds, does not sound like a superhuman task... we'll see
S-days are great, moderatly & consciously permasnacking and actually looking forward to the next n-day.
@r.jean well, fortyish albeit with two nursery school children, job & teaching a evening school class because it's fun, so working and taking care of everyone but myself, as you have put it, is highly likely to occur, but I'm countersteering this by running & by trying to ignore the dust all over our place, the withering flowers on the window sill etc.

Great that you are taking up your running again

[Frau Koch]

I started to run around eight this morning, it looked quite cold but the sun was shining so I went out. After some kilometers I noticed that my legs hurt because of the cold especially where my pocket with my mobile phone was, simply because it was frozen. When I came back I had a look at the thermometer: 16 degrees below zero.
S-daying, today is homemade stuff day, first a cake, now I have begun to make a nice bread and then it's going to be boeuf bourguignon. Yum. Sounds like nice left-overs for tomorrow.

[r.jean]

Is that Celsius or Farenheit? I go out when it is cold but not when it is slick underfoot. I am too afraid of falling.

[LoriLifts]

Welcome!
I'm enjoying your blog
Lori

[Frau Koch]

@r.jean, Celcius, I have not idea how much that would be in Fahrenheit but I suppose I would not have survived if it had been -16 degrees Fahrenheit
I am not afraid of falling but probably only since this has not happened so far. But i just love to be the first on to leave footprints on the snow (not too difficult since I live in a biggish village, but then again nearly everybody walk their dogs) and I also love the muffled sound fresh snow makes.

@walkerlori.
I am extremly impressed, at the moment I am running to survive my first half marathon in April and you just do one (or two?) every weekend... Great.

S-days: Success, haha
Yesterday: no sweets okay, no snacks okay no seconds aaaaalmost.

Had a dentist appointment this morning. Cycled through the snow to neighbouring village where the dentist's surgery is so I could tell them that the pale face, the shaking and the sweating were only because of the cycling Well, I survived. Felt tempted to have comfort/reward food but I resisted. So far.

[r.jean]

-16 C is around 3 degrees Farenheit. That is still cold! You are brave!

[Frau Koch]

Yesterday nosweetsnosnacksnoproblem
no seconds: let's put it that way: if you just overeat enough it is no problem to stick to the rules for the rest of the day. But I wonder whether it was meant to be that way. Probably part of my problem would be solved by adding the category "no reading while having lunch" to my habitcal. But then again this is my most beloved bad habit who wants to be skinny and perfect at my age? See? But I will try.

[Frau Koch]

no snacks and wonder oh wonder, no seconds (for the first time since I have started) but, alas, sweets. I had some birthday cake when I visited a friend.
Maybe I am only able to fulfill two out of three requirements at any given time?

[Frau Koch]

A complete and utter failure
The reasons involve a 50th birthday (not mine), a sick rabbit (not mine), a cheap end table (no longer mine), and lack of willpower sadly jumping at the first opportunity (mine)
I was tempted to rebaptise this day and call it a special day, but this would be cheating
But then again, it's probably only human
New game, new luck

[Frau Koch]

Today was really busy, I did everything in a rush, the next thing always waiting for me... So when I was doing the weekend shopping I was really tempted to buy a chocolate bar to gulp it down before the next appointment because I had not had (is this English?) time to have lunch - but I didn't. And I would have if it wasn't for my new toughened eating behaviour (haha, just look at the last post) so I just told myself to be sensible and take the time to have some decent food. And I did. A largish plate but still within the limits.
Good girl myself. For once.

[thtrchic]

That is English. And great work!

[Frau Koch]

I have been ill the last couple of days - nothing serious but still enough that I decided no to stick or not to stick too much to the no s's. But now I am not sure how to mark this in my Habitcal. As s-days?
For the first time since I have started this I have managed to keep the no seconds rule, no sweets was also not too drastic but no snacks... Maybe I just treat these days as normal n-days with some failures? Must find a solution but now it's back to bed

[Frau Koch]

Still ill but much better. I think I will have my 2 S-days even though I did some s-ing. Hm And of course, I could not run
Good that I did not step on the scales when I started this.

So now I seem to be singing the good old I-will-start-on-Monday-tune. Just hope that it will be a dignified weekend.

And on Monday the serious six-week half marathon training starts. Maybe I'll turn into superwoman. Maybe not.

[Frau Koch]

So back again.

Yesterday
no sweets: okay
no seconds: okay (? I just did not have enough time for seconds)
no snacks: had some of the children's pretzels and blueberries

There's still much room for improvement

[Frau Koch]

Yesterday

no seconds: yes
no snacks: yes
no sweets: no. Emptiied tin with some leftover homemade twisted lads (? Krumme Jungs). Why is it always all or nothing? And not: one or two pieces/chunks/slices?

I only seem to be able to hit two out of three, haven't had one single three out of three days yet. Well, still my eating habits have tremendously improved.

And I did tons of excercise yesterday: cycled through drizzly rainy snow (or snowy rain) 4 kilometers to neighbouring village and bank. Walked to kindergarten (1.5 km) and walked back home 5 kindergarten children (still drizzly rain). Ran 12 km in the evening. Exaggeration is my middle name.

[Frau Koch]

oh my goodness, simply could not stop eating at lunch time. Ate, and ate, and ate. If it had been instant food it would have fitted on a plate. But it actually rather was three plates. All kinds of stuff.
Why the heck did I need to do this?

[r.jean]

It was probably the tons of exercise you did the day before. You probably needed some extra. When I exercise a lot I make sure to eat bigger meals or I end up doing what you did.

[losingforgood]

That little meal with yogurt and a banana might not be enough for you. Maybe you need an actual mini-meal that is more balanced and includes foods from all the basic food groups, so that your body is getting more of the vitamins and nutrients that are lost during that extra exercise. Something that helped me really early in the mornings when I worked a really physically demanding job at a hospital, was yogurt with the bits of banana mixed in, but also some peanuts or mixed nuts added as well. Sometimes I'd have some granola cereal available and add that too. I'd also have a V8 low sodium juice...giving me fruit, dairy, carbs, protein and a veggie...until I got to work and had a chance to sit and eat an actual breakfast before I clocked in. I just couldn't eat a huge meal when I woke up that early, and I knew I needed a little something before I got to work. That really helped me to eat sensibly throughout the day.

[Frau Koch]

r.jean and losingforgood: you are right
I would have never thought of that but it seems highly likely - also because I never feel that hungry when we are having dinner after my running.

Very interesting mechanism a body is. Sometimes it feels like my body tries very hard to kept its (my) weight constant, no matter what happens, getting children, doing very much excercise... my weight always remains about the same, sometime one kilogramm less sometimes one more (this is except for periods of stress = very hard eating or forgetting to eat, both might happen). Maybe this should tell me something....

Yesterday: again two out of three. Nosnacksnosecondsokay, nosweetsnotokay (colleague's birthday)

[losingforgood]

There could be one or a couple of things going on. If you have thyroid problems or some other hormonal imbalance, that can affect it. If you haven't been checked for hormonal issues, it might be a good idea. You could be not eating enough to keep yourself feuled with all of your activity. Our bodies will hold onto the extra stored calories if they don't know how substantial or when our next meal will be. And what's too little for one person isn't necessarily so for another. You DO want to make sure you don't eat too much. That's the purpose of NO S. But you DON'T want to make yourself sick by not eating enough. That's called starving yourself, even if it's not intentional. Another factor, is maybe you would just benefit from eating the number meals that works for you in keeping your energy level up for activity, making sure that they are meals packed with good vitamins and nutrients...and just forgetting about the weight issue for a while. Some people start dropping lbs. right away when they find a way of eating and exercise that fits them. Some people hold on to their weight at first, and then start seeing it fall off after having been consistant for a while. I would encourage you to stick to the rules and work measuring your success by how well you comply and by the other benefits of a healthy lifestyle (i.e, increased energy and strength throughout the day, better rest). After a while, you might actually start losing weight as a result of consistant healthy habits. Also, remember that muscle weighs more than fat, but looks better on our frame. This is why slower weight loss (nomore than 1 or 2 lbs. per week) is better than quick weight loss. When you lose too quickly, you risk losing precious muscle. When you lose slowly, you're losing more fat, and you develope muscle instead of losing it. Now, I may have to really swallow these words when I hit plateau, which I probably will after my first 30 or so lbs. gone LOL.

[Frau Koch]

I was away at the seaside with a friend & her children, lovely mini holiday. The funny/interesting thing: she and her children ate much less than me and my children. I did not do any no s-ing because I was on holiday (well, four children under five and holiday might be some kind of contradiction) but since she is very much into healthy eating and brings up her children this way I did not want to cause any trouble by offering some biscuits to the kids or suggesting to have a piece of cake in the afternoon. So we had the recommended three one-plate meals and no snacks. Except that I once had a huge mars bar in my room (did not feel very grown up but I was starving). So I had even less food than I would have had with my no s', at least on the first day, on the second I ate as much as I could at meal times. May be I should move in with them, I bet I would lose 5 kg in no time. And the joke is: all three of them are quite overweight.

Thank you very much for your elaborate thoughts, losingforgood. You are absolutely right in everything what you have written. I do not think that I am starving myself, but I definitely have to eat more on my running days, taking into account the excercising. And I will also adapt something else, I will scale down my ambition a bit, I have noticed that my training (the interval training in particular) does not reflect my abilities, maybe I overdid some units, and I felt so tired that it took a lot of gaudy food to compensate.

Tomorrow will be the a n-day again.

[Frau Koch]

Let's see

Thursday: No snacks: ok; no seconds: okay, no sweets: not okay
Friday: Just the same

At the beginning, no seconds seemed to be the difficult one. Now it's no sweets (if I snack something sweet will I get two bad marks or only one?).

Had a weigh-in yesterday, seems like I have lost about 1.5 kg since I have started this about a month ago. Not to bad at all given the fact that I have not managed to enter even one single all-green day into my Habitcal. Although I think I think the weight loss may also be attributed to the fact that I have started to train for a half marathon I think this somehow shows that I am on the right track. Even though I had sweets/seconds I did not have tons - contrary to the time before. Nice (even though I would not have suspected that - my clothes seem to be as tight as ever, maybe I should check my scales).

[mcs]

I would mark it as a sweet. Just say NO next time and move on, and move yourself away from the temptation. I've failed too. Eventually I'll get it right. Keep trying!