Everyday Systems

Hahahaha Didn't even think twice but now that I read that, yeah, Bliss Balls isn't immediately obvious...but c'mon, what's a bit of raw cocoa between consenting adults?

Exactly, as a Seinfeld episode might say,

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

LOL!

So after a really nice Saturday, I ate waaaay too much for Sunday night dinner (seconds of lasagna and a bowl of icecream for dessert). I still felt a bit sick at breakfast this morning. Bleurgh!

I spent a bit of time while I was cycling to work this morning wondering why I overate last night. I knew even while I was enjoying that extra bit of lasagna that I was going to be overfull, especially if I was still planning on having dessert. Is there a little bit of "but I can't have any more until next weekend!" going on here? Why is it taking me so long to learn this lesson?

I'm reminded of a quote I learned when I took up running: You almost never regret running, but you often regret the run you didn't do. I'd turn it backwards for food: I almost never regret a food I didn't eat, but I often regret the food I ate. I've never felt remorse after not eating something; I've never looked back with a sigh thinking about "the donut that got away". So why can't I remember that when I'm in the moment, and just leave the icecream for next weekend?

Anyway, back to a very happy N day today! GREEN for food, and GREEN for 14 minutes (cycling to and from work).

Well done!!!

"The donut that got away"

Although it's great to try to have some insight into our behavior, don't worry about it too much. It was an S day, you can't fail & even naturally thin people eat past fullness sometimes. So nice to go back to N days though after days like that!

Linda

Thanks eschano, Linda! You're right, I was dwelling too much on something that's really not huge in the grand scheme of things.

Still GREEN so far this week for No-S. Another morning tea at work today (!) of party pies, sausage rolls and a huge chocolate cake. I did my usual drinking coffee trick, but man, could we have a few weeks off all this food at the office? I'm sure it isn't good for people to have so much food here all the time.

GREEN for 14 minutes Tues (cycling), Wed (strength), Thurs (cycling). In fact, I'm yet to have a 14 minutes red day. I'm thinking that at the end of April, if I'm still all green, I might up the stakes a bit and add the 14 minutes of strength to some additional days (it's only Wed and Fri at this stage).

ironchef wrote:I did my usual drinking coffee trick, but man, could we have a few weeks off all this food at the office? I'm sure it isn't good for people to have so much food here all the time.

I have to make a confession here about something I did last week that I feel a bit guilty about Last week for my birthday the office got cupcakes for everyone. The thin people are all doing lent - no sweets - and the big people, who I have been watching going from overweight to obese in the last three years all laid into it. So, here it comes: That afternoon I took home the rest of the cupcakes that were still there, saying I would give them to my bf, knowing full well we wouldn't eat them. It's accepted and fine to take bday stuff home but most people leave it so everyone can enjoy even more sweets over the next day. I put them straight in the bin, feeling really good, knowing I'm not the reason people would be snacking mindlessly all day on them on Friday. However, lately I started feeling guilty about it too! I'm not the master of their diet!

"The donut that got away" regret or lack there of is exactly why I needed to stop by your thread, Ironchef!

I keep pondering why do I overeat when I know I'll regret it, and you hit the nail on the head with the "but I can't have more until next time" thinking.

So I hope I can somehow talk to myself about not doing anything that I'll regret later. I'm kind of impulsive so not sure how that's going to work. Maybe if I just wave goodbye to food, the stuff I'm not going to eat, and say something like, "until next time, darling!"

eschano I love your story of your work goodies stealth attack! I've got no idea if you did the right thing, but it makes a good tale.

A green Friday last week, and today a green Monday, and a much better weekend. I re-read an old post by KCCC about S days, and went back to the S Days Gone Wild podcast, and generally felt a lot better. I don't know that I ate any less!

The biggest win was that I didn't do any random "snack because I can" eating, and I ended Sunday feeling full, but not uncomfortable. I was given some M&Ms at a birthday party on Saturday. When I got home I tried one, and frankly, it wasn't that nice. So I made a conscious effort to stop eating the not very nice candy, and wait for dessert after dinner (my fave Cafe Grande icecream). It was sooo worth the wait, and the whole experience was much nicer than the past few weekends.

There you have it, my diet tip: Really Great Desserts!

That's a great tip!

Had a green week, except for an S event dinner on Wednesday night and a red day on Tuesday for 14 minutes exercise.

The S event was well worth it - I went on a training course for work, and the first night included dinner at a nearby restaurant. The dinner came on a single plate (so fine), but there was a really good creme brullee dessert and I enjoyed it a lot. Making it an S event was good, as if it had been red I might have given in when I got home and my husband offered me some icecream for dessert.

Red for 14 minutes - this was due to me not planning ahead. I was asked to be at an early meeting on Tuesday, so had to drive my car in and have breakfast at work to make the time. This meant I didn't do my usual cycle to and from work. I didn't think in advance about how to fit in 14 minutes some other way - end result, completely forgot and got nothing done on Tuesday.

Otherwise a good week, and looking forward to a lovely weekend.

Really great to see that you are doing so well! As you might know, I believe in "failworthy S events", which happen so rarely but sounds like you made the right decision.

Well, after that ok week, I went red on Friday night. Had a small taste of strawberry icecream (with real strawberries) with my husband. A bit disappointed to end a great run of greens, but not too fussed.

A good Saturday so far. Yummy breakfast of croissants, and just had a PB&J sandwich for lunch. We have a fancy dinner tonight as the wind up to my husband's cricket season, so I won't snack, and will enjoy a dessert if they look nice.

You're doing wonderfully overall and the big picture is whats going to make a difference in the end.

Enjoy your dinner!!

Linda

Had a really nice weekend, although pretty busy.

Monday GREEN for No-S and 14 minutes.

Tuesday, 14 minutes already done, No-S green so far (lunchtime).

Interesting experience on Saturday night at the dinner. The desserts were nut/caramel pie, chocolate oreo cake or a hazelnut kahlua cheesecake. I got the nut/caramel and my friend go the cheesecake, and we swapped half a piece each. The nut/caramel pie was really nice, but the cheesecake was a bit icky, so I had a few bites and then left it. This is an improvement over previous wild S days, so I'm pleased.

Congratulations ironchef on your mild S day

Woo!! Hoo!! Well done on leaving something that was not satisfy!!

Before NoS, I never left any dessert because I honestly don't think I was even thinking about if I was enjoying it. Your post reminded me that I do that sort of thing regularly now. Congrats on that great feeling!

Green week for No-S and 14 minutes, except for today.
Thurs: Red for No-S. Work colleague baked a lovely mocha cake for her birthday, with easter eggs in! I tried my usual cup of coffee trick, but she had kept aside a piece especially for me. I decided it was a failworthy S, and oh yes it really, really was. Totally delicious.

I feel ok, and I'm going to treat the rest of the day as an N day (no more Sing today). Also, I'd already decided that the Easter Friday and Monday holidays will not be S days for me.

That's 1 red for each of the past two weeks, so I need to keep focus.

Sounds like you handled that situation really well. Fail-worthy, but not "blow the rest of the day" inducing. Good job!

Just swimming slowly to the surface after a week long, S filled, busy Easter / Birthday / Anniversary fun-fest. This year my birthday and wedding anniversary both fell in the same week as Easter, so it was unsurprising that things got a little crazy!

I'm trying to remind myself of Reinhard's podcast wisdom - it isn't the holidays that mess us up, it is the throwing up of hands and saying "stuff it, I've overindulged in Easter eggs (or Christmas cookies, or Thanksgiving treats or whatever), may as well keep on going". After so many celebrations one after the other, it feels like chocolate / cake / treats has become the new normal.

Ugh, anyway, a normal N day today, followed by another public holiday (ANZAC Day) tomorrow. However, and this is important, ANZAC Day is a day off to honour Australian and New Zealand troops. It is NOT associated with food (unless you count Anzac biscuits), so there is no reason or excuse for me to turn it into another S day, considering there have just been so many, plus there are two perfectly good weekend days right afterwards. Are you listening, brain??

ironchef wrote:I'm trying to remind myself of Reinhard's podcast wisdom - it isn't the holidays that mess us up, it is the throwing up of hands and saying "stuff it, I've overindulged in Easter eggs (or Christmas cookies, or Thanksgiving treats or whatever), may as well keep on going".

Completely true ironchef! I'm just back from a six-day S-day holiday and feel the same but you know what? Treat- and Fail-worthy is the trick. I didn't eat a single bite that was not immensely delicious and for that I feel good!

Another birthday dinner last night (Sunday), this time with my family. And that's it! All the yellow and red days are done, time to get back into the swing of things.

Today I brought all the left over birthday cake in to work for my colleagues to eat up.

Monday 27th GREEN for NoS. I also cycled about 3 times the normal distance to work, as we stayed at my parents house after the dinner, so definitely green for 14 minutes.

Oh well done for a new start! And I bet your colleagues were delighted.

Thanks eschano! They were - two kinds of cake goes over pretty well in my office.

You know the thing that stopped me from having "just a little taste" of cake at the morning tea was this board. Knowing that I'd get to come here and say "yeah! Green!" and have someone say "good work", was enough to avoid temptation. So, thanks

That is awesome that this forum is a true support to you on your NoS journey.

And great to bring the cake to work!!

Way to go, ironchef! I've been known to send in excessive amounts of food into work with my husband to get them out of the house. While I don't want to be the cause of someone else's problem (ex., if they're trying to avoid a particularly tempting food), it solves *my* problem of getting it out of the house without the guilt of throwing it out. I've actually been working on that guilt-of-throwing-it-out as we've dealt with food we've not been able to eat for whatever reason by throwing it out vs. some other option. I'm making some progress. Again, congrats on that great choice to share the wealth of delicious cake with others.

Thanks all for your lovely supportive comments!

Diligence, I know what you mean. My workplace is mainly young, fit, men who do things like triathlons and distance running for fun - so I don't feel too guilty!

A really relaxing, easy GREEN week for No-S eating. It was really important that my eating plan was automatic this week, as it was very stressful at work and at home.

My husband's grandmother died suddenly from a very nasty gastro bug - she was elderly / frail enough that her system just didn't cope. Then mr. chef's father and sister both caught the same bug (apparently very contagious), so mr. chef ended up doing the eulogy at her funeral. He was really nervous, stressed out, but he did a really lovely speech. Mr. chef's sister has been incredibly ill and lost about 4 kg just this past week. The funeral fell on a day I normally work, and during our son's sleep time, so I had to get a 1/2 day off with very little notice, and basically walk out of an important client meeting to be home in time.

Now, mr. chef's grandfather is very, very sick with this same horrible bug, having just buried his wife he was rushed to hospital last night. They are worried because he has had a weak heart for several years and they're just not sure his system will cope. So, my poor mother-in-law might lose her mother AND father suddenly in the same week.

We've been told not to visit, as they've put him into isolation in intensive care because of the awful nature of this bug. It's just been such a horrid week.

The only good thing about this week was that I had the structure of No-S to fall back on. My old strategy of comfort with sweet treats just didn't even surface. I really agree with Reinhard's observation that habit can make a crappy time easier.

Ugh, so sorry to dump all that here. Spent the week supporting everyone else, so feels good to just get it all off my chest.

I don't even know what to say. I'm so sorry. Yes, it is definitely good that you have the No S habits to help get you through these times.

Wow, what a stressful and emotionally exhausting time you are having. Hang in there, ironchef (and Mr. Chef!). I'm sorry to pry, but I can't help but ask: do you know the microbe? Is it Clostridium dificile, by any chance? Or have you heard the doctors mention any particular name?

I have most definitely had times at work where I've had to leave meetings early and do crazy altered schedule things for the sake of my kiddos. Gosh, now that I think about it, it's probably once every 2 or 3 weeks. And recently I have realized just HOW STRESSFUL this is for me. Wow, not knowing what the days' schedule will be like and having to "consciously" always be aware of the changes for that day. Wow, it's tough.

Anyway, my heart goes out to you. Having to deal with the scheduling stresses you described above, in addition to the heart-rending things going on in your family. Wow. You need a LAM, and you need it soon!

Thanks you guys, that really means a lot.

Auto, I don't know what the exact bug is, but it seems to be absolutely brutal. Someone said something about norovirus (spelling?), but I don't know if that is something the doctors confirmed, or if it was just chat.

So sorry iron. My heart really goes out to you. Big hugs to you during this difficult time.

Linda

Thanks Linda. It looks like mr. chef's grandpa is out of the woods now - still in hospital, but he was able to talk to mr. chef on the phone yesterday and sounded ok.

Green for No-S and green for 14 mins today (cycled to work).
Had an ok weekend, although ate a bit too much Sat evening and felt blah.

I did my Habitcal this morning and looked back at April. I'd been thinking of April as this hopeless month full of fails, but actually there were only 3 red days. It kind of surprised me that the month wasn't as bad as I thought. Perhaps because the reds were kind of spectacular (birthday cake and easter egg red days) it seemed like there were more of them?

You seem pretty driven and have high standards for yourself--maybe that's why 3 red days seemed like a lot?

I think you're onto something auto - partly just because I've been doing this over 18 months. So, coming unstuck around Easter and my birthday seemed so, I dunno, so last year, if you know what I mean? Like, come on, we should be past that by now?

Time to stop pretending that No-Sing a long time doesn't mean I will never fall foul of our society's crazy over-consumption urge. I still live in the same culture as before, and always will. I've just gotta try to let this board be my culture, when it comes to eating!

ironchef wrote:coming unstuck around Easter and my birthday seemed so, I dunno, so last year,

Lol ironchef, I know exactly what you mean! Especially, after a 3 day weekend that was kind of idiotic on my part haha.

I'm glad that your husbands granddad is getting better. And very sorry about his grandmother.

Thank you for stopping by my thread.

Thanks eschano. He's still in hospital as they're having trouble stabilising his blood pressure, but we're hopeful that the worst is over.

Fail-worthy red today. My boss's wife sent in a homemade tea cake. Cherries, apple, vanilla beans, cinnamon. I had a small slice with morning coffee and it was to die for. Aiming for no more funny stuff today - no WTH-ing!

Had another minor fail late Friday - my husband had some dessert after dinner so I joined him. Two reds this week, but I'm ok with both of them and neither was huge.

Had a really great weekend (we celebrated mothers day on Sunday in Australia). There was a lot of eating, but it was all in the context of meals eaten with family to celebrate, so it felt really nice. We also did heaps of gardening together.

A green week with a late Friday fail (another Fri night dessert with my husband). I'm not sure if I need to change our routine somehow to cover this, twice in a row doesn't make a pattern, so I'll see how the next few weeks go.

I had two reds for 14 minutes during the week, but on the weekend I went running on Sat and then did a 1.5 hr cycle on Sunday (to get to an afternoon coffee meet up with some girlfriends). So, I did more exercise total for the week, but getting in my 14 minute "habit" is not working. Again, I'm going to watch this one for a few more weeks and then maybe change it up.

A great weekend in terms of S's - some really lovely treats, including apricot pie, fresh waffles, a slice of "Persian Love Cake" - seriously - at a cafe. The nice part was that all of them felt like real treats: I was hungry for them, I was with friends or family, all of them were high quality.

Ironchef, I love your level-headed analysis and your mark-it-and-move-on attitude. You're doing great.

I agree with Eschano. All of your treats sound nice!

Thanks eschano, clarinetgal

Green Monday and Tuesday for No-S and exercise, but oof, man, I am feeling it after the past four days running and cycling every day. My leggies are sore!

I think I'll give myself 14 minutes of stretching and yoga moves tomorrow!

eschano wrote:Ironchef, I love your level-headed analysis and your mark-it-and-move-on attitude. You're doing great.

I agree, sounds like you are in a "good place" and doing great. Keep it up.

Thanks Strawberry

Green for No-S so far this week.

Had another red yesterday for 14 minutes: It was a very active morning and I took my son swimming, but being sore from running and biking, plus a bunch of chores that needed to be done during naptime, meant that I didn't get my 14 minutes of strength work done at midday. My 14 minutes at home idea is not working; it isn't getting to be a habit. Watch this space for a new idea on getting 5 out of 7 days worth of exercise.

ironchef, I'm sure you'll come up with something that works. We often have to experiment to find the right solution, and that's what you're doing.

But, I will say that if you were still pretty sore, an S rest day was in order from strength-training!

It sounds reasonable to me, besides, I've heard you're supposed to take a day off between days of strength training and that it's on the rest days that your body does the muscle repair/building. I don't know if it's true - advice changes so much, but I've been hearing this for a while. I try to alternate types of activity just in case

Thanks gals, I know it is ok to rest when sore and I'd absolutely give that advice to clients. I think perhaps what I need to go for is 5 days out of 7, but not stick with the same S and N days as for eating. I often have more time to exercise on weekends, when my husband is available for toddler wrangling.

A good Green week, except for a shared dessert with my husband on Thurs night (not Friday this week!). I avoided 2 work morning teas, so I'm pleased with that.

So, new exercise resolve is: do something intentional 5 days out of 7. By that I mean something other than chasing, carrying, swimming with and playing with my toddler (even though that often gives me a fair bit of exercise!). If I'm sore I give myself permission to make it 14 minutes of yoga and stretch moves.

It's my son's birthday this weekend, and we've got a party on Sunday for immediately family (that's still 17 people!). I'm making a very hungry caterpillar cupcake cake and I'm quite excited. Yay S days!

Are you a fitness consultant or personal trainer?

The cake sounds adorable! My girls loved that book when they were little. Oh they grow too fast!

Have a great weekend!

Linda

Hey auto, I'm a subsea oil and gas engineer, but I got my Cert III and IV in Fitness a few years ago so that I could be a PT part time at my local gym. I stopped training clients about 6 months ago when I went back to 3 days a week engineering - life just was too crazy otherwise. I hope to eventually go back to something, even just 1 night a week, as I really enjoy it. I work mostly with older adults, or clients recovering from injury or with chronic illness.

It's interesting to me that I'm struggling with exactly what most of my clients struggle with - it's easy to do go to the gym once a week and do a good hour. It is harder to get in the habit to make eating well and exercising a little every day.

Thanks Linda - I'm really excited, and some of the inspiration cakes on the internet look gorgeous. I'm hoping for 1. recognisable and 2. tasty

That's neat, that you're a personal trainer! I think being consistent with exercise 5 X a week is a very reasonable goal. Your cake sounds adorable!

Ah, you are an engineer! Ironchef, I knew you were a smart lady, but wow! That's cool beans.

Very cool job ironchef, but I also commend you for having a second job - a hobby that can be monetized. Very inspiring!

Delighted you're figuring out a routine with your exercise.

Aww, thanks everyone

I'm really blessed in that I absolutely love my job. I work with a great group of guys, some of whom have been my friends for over a decade, and I get to think about something interesting almost every day. Plus they pay me well enough that I can afford to work three days a week. It really is my dream job.

Sure I've had some tough times along the way, when I had difficult work to do, no support, technical disasters (wooo boy, have I had those - nothing sharpens your focus like a project losing $350k a day). But I feel like I've gotten to a really great place now and I'm grateful every day.

The PT really was just a hobby that got out of hand! I'm lucky that Jack, who runs the studio where I work out (and work) is a total legend and loves kids. However, PT pays pretty much nothing, so it is lucky for me it is just my hobby. I don't know how people make a living that way, unless they own a gym.

Anyway, enough with my random blog - what about No-S??
Green Mon, Tue this week, did not give in to left over birthday cupcakes and cake (it is still sitting there, will need to be thrown out!). Green for 14 mins Mon, Tues (cycling).

Sounds like a brilliant job! I'm sad to say that my PT friends make their money by taking cash and not providing receipts if you know what I mean. And they work a lot and it becomes lucrative quite quickly if there isn't 30%-50% coming off your pay check. This, by the way is our major bone of contention.

Well done on not giving in to the birthday cake! Woohooo Ironchef!

I'm glad you have such a great job! Yes, well done on not giving in to birthday cake!

Just my two cents--I'm all about the random blog. This forum really is my online journal. I think it has kept me sane this school-year! Normally mid-March or April I have a total breakdown and go away to a hotel by myself for a night or two! And this year, I never got anywhere near that breaking point.

Too many reds for May. Yesterday was a public holiday here, with a last minute afternoon tea with family, so I've started June with a red too.

Need to get back in the swing. I think one of my problems is when I have a drink during the week - alcohol being something that lowers my inhibitions, so then I think, sure, I'll join my husband in some dessert, and so on. I'm going to rein in the mid-week wines and see if that has a flow on to less reds for eating.

Exercise-wise, I'm thinking of signing up for a running race. Just trying for habit doesn't seem to be motivating me, but I know from experience that the fear of race day gets me off my butt. A lot of my workmates are doing the City to Surf in August (12k), so I'll probably join them.

The 12k sounds like a great idea iron! I've thinking about signing up for the three day cancer walk at some point.

When I used to be on strict diets alcohol would definitely spur me to go astray but now I just have another drink. Okay maybe that's not the best solution either!

Linda

Wow Linda, 3 days - that is an impressive race! And a good cause too.

Yeah, a wine here or there is fine. It's just that lately, since it is winter here, we settle into our home a little earlier on the darker, colder evenings and often open a nice-ish bottle of red. Once I've had a glass while cooking dinner and a glass with dinner, I find I'm already less inclined to be disciplined. Perhaps I'll implement a 1 glass "wine-ceiling" for N days?

A much better all green week this week. I have an S event tonight (drinks and canapes) as my work is having an event to celebrate a recent big win.

I've cycled or run every day except Wed. On Wed my son and I did a LOT of dancing (he insists we dance "togezzer", which means I have to hold him the whole time) so I'm going to say I got plenty of exercise!

Happy weekend to all!

Oh, cute!

Yeah well I don't know if I'll actually do the walk esp w my feet issues but would be really cool!

Your son sounds adorable! what age?

Linda

Thanks ladies, he is pretty cute at the moment. He turned 2 about 2 weeks ago (end May).

Just a couple more funny conversations from last week:
Ironbaby: "I love the Zoo"
Me: "What about Mummy?"
Ironbaby: "Yeah! And Mummy! And the vacuuming cleaner!"

Ironbaby [While playing the ukulele]: "Bubba playing guitar! Mummy have a turn."
Me [taking the ukulele and strumming]: "Thanks buddy"
Ironbaby [turning the tuning pegs]: "Bubba pruning it for Mummy".

A lovely weekend with family, all S events were tasty, in company and satisfying. Happy days.

Lol that's adorable! He sounds like a super happy kid.

Ironchef, I have a 2 year old (he'll be 3 in August), and it is such a fun, but busy, age! Your son sounds very cute.

Lol! He's so funny! Love that "hilarious" age.

I'm sick this week and have now completely lost my voice. I'm giving myself an S night tonight so I can drink lots of lemon and honey drink. Bleurgh.

Funny stuff today:
Me: Have you done a poo?
Ironbaby [running away]: Yes, it fell out from your doodle! Not Mummy cleaning it up. Running Away!!!

Oh man, I don't know how to keep a straight face...

I'm so glad you're writing some of these sayings down! So cute!

An ok weekend, but I'm still sick and have mostly lost my voice. Bedtime stories were a bit bizarre last night, with Beatrix Potter delivered with extra croak. Squirrel Nutkin never sounded so husky before.

Still cycled (slowly) to work today, so green there.

We've already established that my son loves the vacuum cleaner. One of the games my dad plays with him is to "play" to vacuum cleaner pipe section like a didgeridoo. Yesterday:
Ironbaby: Let's play vacuuming cleaner talking!
Me: Sure [plays pipe like a didgeridoo]
Ironbaby [pointing at the vacuum pipe]: Grandpa in there!

I hope you feel better soon. That is funny about how your son loves the vacuum cleaner.

Still a bit sick I'm afraid - now just a sore throat and cough.

Green Monday and Tues for 14 minutes (cycling)

Green Mon for No S.

Red Tues - I ended up with 9.5 hrs (and the cycle home) between an early lunch and a late dinner, and I broke down and had a cracker with avocado and a teaspoon of yoghurt that my son didn't finish at his dinner. If I wasn't a bit worn out from being sick I might have made it.

So sorry you're still feeling under the weather. I would have broken down too after 9.5 hrs, sick or not! I think you kept it pretty under control.

Also I love all the cute things your son says. I have a book of funny things my girls said when they were smaller and they just love to read that even more than looking at their baby books. I wish I had written more!

Feel better soon!

Linda

Edit: here's the link to the book. It's quite a sweet book!
http://www.amazon.com/Words-Remember-Jo ... o+remember

Oh, Linda, that book of cute things they say is so neat! Ironchef, you should definitely do that!

Linda, that's a great idea, thanks for the link. You're both right - must record before we forget! I was just saying to mr. chef last night that we should write some of these down

Feel better soon ironchef!

Thanks eschano - still sick today, now with extra snot - ewwww!

At work today, so cycled in (slooowly). Feel really shoddy, but actually easier at work than at home.

Red fail for No-S today - my work colleague made the most amazing chocolate cake, complete with maltezer and white and dark chocolate stars for decoration. I had a small piece as a "fail worthy" S and it was amazing. However, I need to watch myself as the reds for June are mounting up. I'm in danger of that spiral of thinking: I'm feeling sick and grotty => I need something to stop feeling so bad => mmm S foods => RED.

I hear you on ther snotty colds.....no fun! Hope you feel better soon!

Well officially sick days are S days but I hear ya about the slippery slope syndrome!

Hang in there--aren't summer colds suppose to be the worst?

Thanks It's just a cold (not 'flu thankfully), so I just need to hang in there and I'm sure it will sort itself out.

PS It's winter here

Oh sorry iron I forgot you were in Australia!!

Colds are no fun. I hope you feel better soon. I don't think I would have been able to resist a piece of really good cake either, but I definitely understand about not wanting to head down a slippery slope.

ironchef wrote: I'm feeling sick and grotty => I need something to stop feeling so bad => mmm S foods => RED.

Hahahahaha! I know how that goes. The chocolate cake, however, sounds completely fail worthy!

Great weekend - we held our 5th annual Winter Solstice dinner and it was awesome! I did the mains, which was a roasted venison haunch with sides of Brussel sprouts and red cabbage with apple and shallots. I used a recipe from the River Cottage guy, where you wrap the haunch in herbs and then in pork "caul" fat to prevent the big cut from drying as you roast it. Also made the pan juices, stock (which I made from the bones of the roast) and red currant jelly into a jus to serve. My friends did entree (duck liver brulee(!), chicken skewers in tamari and cauliflower soup with truffle oil) and dessert (cherry pie with cherries marinated in Amaretto). Sooo yummy.

We lit a fire, drank some good wines, enjoyed each other's company and generally welcomed back the Sun in style.

Still sick unfortunately, just can't seem to shake off the d*mned cold.

Back to N days today. I'm experimenting with moving all my meals later in the day, to prevent a recurrance of the 9.5 hrs from lunch to dinner that I had last week (leading to red day). So, instead of eating breakfast at home, I've taken my breakfast to work with me and eaten at 9am. I'll move lunch back to 2pm, and then hopefully sort out an 8pm dinner.

That sounds wonderful!

I had to take breakfast to work with me. I couldn't cope with eating a rushed breakfast before 6.30 and if even if I did, I was never able to eat enough that early in the morning to last for 6 hectic hours. I hope your new schedule works for you.

It does sounds like a wonderful feast!

How fun iron & your meal sounds amazing! No Vegemite ?

Good luck w your mealtime experiment!

Linda

That does sound like a wonderful meal! I hope your new eating schedule works for you.

Thanks all! So far, so good - there were no "starving" moments yesterday, so good green day. New schedule seems to be working. It helps that my cough and cold are improving, so I didn't feel quite so bleurgh and in need of comfort.

Yeah, Solstice is my big meal of the year really. I started it 5 years ago because I really wanted to cook a goose. I never had before, and it is something that really needs Winter weather. Since then we've had rabbit, kangaroo, goat and this year venison. It's a fun way to catch up with some of my closest friends and family at a time of year when most Perth people are cowering indoors, afraid that a few drops of rain will make the dissolve. Luckily I'm not made of sugar, so I can still brave the weather long enough to socialise

LOL! I'm in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S., a veritable temperate rainforest. We never let rain stop us! I guess we're not made of sugar, either!!!!

We don't get much rain here...normally anyway, though this year is a bit unusual - so it's a nice change when it happens, but yes, people tend to avoid it more when it's uncommon.

Goose does require winter weather, does it not? I can't imagine making one right now. Ick. So many things foods have their own season. Last summer I adopted what I believe is a fairly common food in your part of the world. At least that's what the few people I know there tell me - pavlova. One of the best things I've ever eaten. I can't believe I went all these years and never had it before.

Ah pavlova, the quintessential Australian dessert. Well, actually there is some dispute over whether it was created in New Zealand or Australia. Either way (ahem, actually it was probably New Zealand) it was created for the great Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova during an Australasian tour. But we claim it like we do anyone/thing excellent or famous from NZ (Russell Crowe, Phar Lap, Keith Urban, Crowded House).

Sadly for me, I can't stand pavlova, and have had to choke it down unwillingly on several social occasions (e.g. weddings). I also don't really care for Vegemite although I will eat it when 1. Out of other options or 2. Hungover.

Luckily I enjoy Lamingtons and Anzac biscuits, so I have been allowed to keep my passport. For now...

What is pavlova? I had never heard of it. Also, what are the biscuits you mentioned?
Auto, What state in the PNW do you live in? I live in Washington.

Pavlova is basically meringue, however you add cornflour to get a meringue that is crispy on the outside but squishy in the middle. Top with cream and fruit (most traditional would be a soft fruit like strawberry, kiwifruit or banana with passionfruit). I don't fancy it because I'm not a meringue person.

Anzac biscuits are what you would I think call an oatmeal cookie? Recipe from my school tuckshop recipe book:
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup plain flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup dessicated coconut
1 tablespoon golden syrup
4 oz butter
2 tablespoons boiling water
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarb of soda

Mix up all the dry ingredients. Melt the butter and golden syrup. Put the bicarb into the boiling water, mix it into the melted ingredients, then add the whole lot to the dry ingredients. Put heaped teaspoons of the mix onto a baking tray, 2" apart. Bake in moderate oven for 20 minutes.

Shorter cooking = chewy (yum!), longer cooking = crunchier.

sounds like an eaton mess. Took me ages to get used to that dessert. But now I kind of like it haha.

I think I might like pavlova. The biscuits sound interesting, too.

I do eaton mess, too Pavlova has become my July 4th 'usual' - with raspberries and blueberries on top of the cream - it's perfect

Ah, No-S, the only "diet" site where I can post dessert and cookie recipes without guilt

My new eating schedule worked well Mon - Wed, with no crazy gaps between meals, so I am GREEN so far this week. Really pleased.

14 minutes - GREEN all week as well! Finally! I had a bit of a breakthrough on this habit. I've been stressing because my son's nap is now usually only 1 - 1.5 hrs. In that time I try to:
1. Shower
2. Eat lunch
3. Do my 14 minutes of exercise
4. Sort out the laundry
5. Get dinner started
6. Do some garden work or house cleaning.
This used to work when his nap was 3 hrs, but trying to do all that in an hour was not working. Thus I was dropping the 14 minutes - of course, what gets dropped if not exercise?

Anyway, yesterday I realised I just needed to pick a really ENERGETIC chore and do it as hard as I could for 14 minutes and thus kill 2 birds with 1 stone. So, I got my big broom and rake and tided the lane and front yard like a whirlwind for 14 minutes. The garden looks much better and I was really puffing!

I feel like a bit of a goose that I didn't think of this before, because this is exactly what Shovelglove is - trying to recreate the effort that people used to make naturally when they shovelled coal or chopped firewood. I just need to find energetic chores twice a week (should be easy round here!). Now, if I can just find a way to multi-task eating lunch and showering, I'll be all sorted

[edited to remove cruel misuse of innocent apostrophes]

Good job on the eating! I definitely understand about having a short nap time to get everything done, so it sounds very doable to combine housework and exercise.