Everyday Systems

Thanks, KL. We had pastries in the work kitchen on Thursday, and cupcakes and brownies today. But I resisted!

The key for me is I go in and check them out and if I really, really want one, I allow myself to take the red. But generally they just aren't worth it.

Wow, that is very impressive to be able to resist all those goodies (or maybe I should call them baddies...) in your work kitchen. That in itself is a huge achievement - or at least it would be for me as I am a serious sweet-aholic.

Really well done on 4 consecutive days of success! I was reading one of your older posts and can relate to the mentality of going from all successes to all fails. I've had a bad few days so will use you as inspiration to mark it and move on

SpiritSong, terrific strength of purpose! Good job! Love your cost/benefit analysis.

I always found when I stopped at a bakery nine times out of ten the goods looked a hell of a lot better than they tasted!!

"Buyer's remorse" is seriously tragic when I'm watching what I eat!!

if I really, really want one, I allow myself to take the red

This is so positively down-to-earth, I like that!

4/8 - Success (No S) & Success (Exercise)

Jonas Jonasson wrote:

if I really, really want one, I allow myself to take the red

This is so positively down-to-earth, I like that!

I think part of my problem the first time (2010-2011) was that I felt restricted and deprived. "Eating Less" has taught me that it has to be a choice ("it" being turning down a cupcake, or deciding to eat vegetables with my meal). So each time I go into that kitchen, I have to know that sure, I can have that cupcake if I want. But I also know that (1) the treats generally don't even taste all great, and even if they do, the sensation of taste lasts just a few seconds, and (2) I will have to accept the consequences of having the treat (including a red on my HabitCal and the extra anti-nutrition calories).

When I get to the end of the month, I won't be able to still enjoy the taste of the cupcake. All I will have is (perhaps) a disappointing weigh-in number, and red marks on my calendar to tell me why. But if I have permission to have the cupcake and turn it down, I can be proud of myself for making the right choice for my health. If I can't have it because Reinhard said so, I'll just be mad (and won't get any credit for saying no).

Okay, sorry to turn this into a lecture. The book "Eating Less" has just been a big help for me this time around.

sleepygirlzzzz wrote:Really well done on 4 consecutive days of success! I was reading one of your older posts and can relate to the mentality of going from all successes to all fails. I've had a bad few days so will use you as inspiration to mark it and move on

Hey, I had months of fails (2011-2013 when I re-gained the weight I lost after my first time on No S). It is never too late to turn things around. Go, Sleepy Girl, go!

SpiritSong wrote: When I get to the end of the month, I won't be able to still enjoy the taste of the cupcake. All I will have is (perhaps) a disappointing weigh-in number, and red marks on my calendar to tell me why. But if I have permission to have the cupcake and turn it down, I can be proud of myself for making the right choice for my health. If I can't have it because Reinhard said so, I'll just be mad (and won't get any credit for saying no).

Oh, how mature you are May have to look into that book.

4/9 - Success (No S) & Success (Exercise)

Fought off cupcakes today. The cafe downstairs claimed it was National Cupcake Day, but that's just silly if it doesn't fall on an S-day!

Very silly, indeed

4/10 - Success (No S) & S-Day (Exercise)

Yea, success! Things are going much more smoothly now that I added the nuts to my morning. I know there are discussions going on the general board about drinking water instead and not adding mods, but I really think this was the best move for me. Looking back to my old thread from two years ago, hunger in the morning was a problem that I kept mentioning, so I know it wasn't just habit (as I had quite a few months of No S under my belt at the time).

No exercise yesterday because I give myself an S-Day if I have to be up late the night before for church. Fridays are my regular rest days due to choir rehearsal on Thursday nights, and twice a month I get an extra rest day for late night church meetings.

Years ago when I worked in an office and started really early (6:45), I packed both my breakfast and lunch and would eat breakfast at my desk. Hunger would have been an issue for me too if I had had to wait all those hours until lunch time.

SpiritSong wrote:Things are going much more smoothly now that I added the nuts to my morning.

My mornings have been completely nuts for years now (and that's without the almonds!!).

Keep up the good work, SpirtSong.

4/11 - Success (No S) & Success (Exercise)
4/12 - S-Day (No S & Exercise)

Today is my S-Day (instead of Saturday) and I have once again enjoyed my work breakfast. It is my regular rest day from exercise, and because I skipped choir rehearsal last night (too tired to deal with all the nonsense), I am pretty well rested.

No BS, I have plenty of nuts in my morning, and yes, I am referring to my co-workers. I am getting used to a new co-worker, and once again had to hear the "Is it five yet?" annoying question from another. Is that any way to go through life? "Is it five yet? Is it Friday yet? Is it vacation yet? Am I dead yet?" Sometimes I "yell" at the one security guard and tell him "Don't wish your life away!"

4/13 - Success (No S & Exercise)
4/14 - S-Day (No S) & Success (Exercise)

So a good weekend.

4/15 - Success (No S & Exercise)

I wanted something after dinner (maybe the Easter chocolate in the pantry), but I resisted.

great job on the resistance! resistance is not futile! for those of you who watch star trek TNG.

Ha Ha MJ! I got it.
Great job SpiritSong I am doing well on the green days but I need to add in the exercise. What are you doing?

Great seeing nothing but greens on your check-ins! Keep it up!

4/16 - Success (No S & Exercise)

Cookies came with a job I received from a vendor, and they went straight to my boss! The Borg would be so disappointed.

ChildoftheKing - I use exercise DVDs and workout at home. After years of starting and stopping, I realized I had to exercise in the morning or it would not get done, so my alarm goes off at 4:30 am and I am in my workout room at 5:30 ready to pop in that day's DVD. It is so much easier than going to the gym.

A bit discouraged today. I haven't felt like I was losing any weight, so I did a cheater weigh-in and confirmed it. Three years ago when I started at about the same starter weight as this time, I gave up sugary drinks and lost 7 lbs. almost by accident. Then the next 16 lbs. took about a year to go. This time, after 2.5 months, I have lost only 2 lbs. Sigh.

I know I just have to keep on keeping on. (1) Losing anything is better than gaining. (2) It is possible that I have gained muscle from my new workout routine. (3) Because I lost weight and then put it back on, my body is probably more unwilling to lose it again.

I'm just tired of being this size. I have three pairs of pants to wear to work/church, so I have to be very careful about doing laundry. I am about to lose my second pair of jeans to wearing out in a vital area, which will leave me with one pair that fits but not as nicely as the two pairs I've had to give up. Argh.

Well, I'll see how it goes. Time to start working more veggies onto my lunch and dinner plates. And maybe cut back on the beer.

I can relate to this! It is so hard not to get discouraged sometimes. Hang in there, though - you've been doing well and kudos to you on your exercise discipline. I wish I had the guts to get up that early!

4/17 - Fail (No S) & Success (Exercise)

Yes, a fail. Had some stress building up from various areas of my life (plus the cheater weigh-in), and it resulted in several CDs being thrown across the room. Afterwards, I figured a better course of action would be beer and chocolate. Hey, the good news is that the Easter chocolate is now gone! And the beer, for that matter.

Amy - Of course, getting up that early means heading upstairs to get ready for bed around 8:00 or 8:30, which is okay for me because I don't have kids.

I can relate, SpiritSong. I have similar struggles and similar reactions to stress as you wrote about here. I hope things went better for you today. Even our FAIL days contain quite a few mini successes if we take the time to acknowledge them.

(And thank you for your encouragement on my check-in. It's very much appreciated.)

harmony wrote:Even our FAIL days contain quite a few mini successes if we take the time to acknowledge them.

That's right. And of course the lesson here is to not have Easter chocolate in the house (and buy a new CD stand that won't cause so much trouble).

4/18 - Success (No S & Exercise)
4/19 - S-Day (No S & Exercise)

Time for an S-Day and breakfast at work. Which usually leads to not being hungry for lunch, so sometimes I end up just having soup. Today the cafe has Peanut Soup. Hmmm. That could be really good or truly disgusting.

SpiritSong wrote:

harmony wrote:Even our FAIL days contain quite a few mini successes if we take the time to acknowledge them.

That's right. And of course the lesson here is to not have Easter chocolate in the house (and buy a new CD stand that won't cause so much trouble).

Exactly!

I had a big fail on Thursday too...must have been something in the stars

Peanut soup, huh? Does sound a bit strange, I'm intrigued. Keep us posted if you try it! And enjoy your S day!

SpiritSong wrote:Time to start working more veggies onto my lunch and dinner plates. And maybe cut back on the beer.

You have my deepest sympathies coping with that cruel reality!! Life is full of those horrid ironies.

Here's the deal: as soon as you make veggies the focus of your meals, the fat can't piss off quick enough. It there is one thing fat absolutely cannot stand, it's veggies crowding their space. Fat pretty much thinks the neighbourhood has gone to sh1t when the veggies move in so fat can't get gone fast enough.

On the other hand, fat just loves beer and will hang on even tighter if you just whisper the word "beer". In fact, your fat raucously demands its daily ration of beer more noisily and greedily than any mooching brother-in-law I've ever known.

As a joyful & lusty beer drinker from my teenage days on, I regret I finally had to pretty much quit in order to encourage my fat to move out.

Sometimes life can be both hard & cruel.

4/20 - Fail (No S) & Success (Exercise)
4/21 - S-Day (No S) & Success (Exercise)

Yes, another fail. I think my problem THIS time was that I was dehydrated and what my body really wanted was the big glass of milk I was going to have with my cookies. Another lesson - S-Day cookies turn into N-Day fails.

Amy - I did not end up having the peanut soup because it was just plain soup (and nothing in it like noodles or anything). Sorry, but that is not lunch!

No BS - Thank you for the simultaneous good news/bad news. The good news is that eating vegetables will work. The bad news is that I can't wash them down with beer. I suppose beer-battering the veggies is out too?

At least I burned a couple of calories smiling at your post.

4/22 - Success (No S & Exercise)

Saw that Trisha Yearwood lost 30 pounds in four months. Shows what can happen if you eat vegetables, eh, No BS?

I'm thinkin my mod for May will be either a half cup of vegetables or a full cup of greens with every meal. Then I can build from there. It doesn't sound like a lot, but this is a person who can manage to avoid vegetables for an entire day. And I'm not going to worry if they have dressing or cheese all over them either.

Note: Currently resisting cupcakes in the kitchen. This should make it less likely for me to fail later, because anything else I face won't be worth the "Now I have a red day? I could have had a cupcake!!"

I too can go without even looking at a vegetable for the day and need to remedy that. I'm all about convenience and veggies don't seem to be. I've got to figure something out because my clothes are still fitting very very snug.

4/23 - Success (No S & Exercise)

Eeyore wrote:I've got to figure something out because my clothes are still fitting very very snug.

Ditto! Which is probably good in my case because if my clothes were getting looser, I wouldn't have any incentive to improve my diet.

Spirit, you are welcome to join me on a 21 day challenge if you like! You have a head start with 2 greens in a row! I would start a thread on the general board, but it just makes another place for me to check in. I will definitely follow and support you if you want to do it together. Today is day one for me!

4/24 - Success (No S & Exercise)

Patty, thank you for your sweet offer, but I am going to be on vacation for a week and this forum doesn't work on my home computer so I wouldn't be able to check in. I'll check in to see how you're doing in May!

Sort of cheated this morning, but I'm not going to color the day red (unless I fail later, of course). I haven't been eating breakfast at home in the morning since I don't have much of an appetite, and then having my nuts at work. This morning I was feeling fatigued and decided to get real breakfast at the work cafe (eggs with turkey sausage, onions, peppers, and cheese, and a grilled English muffin). In the past, I have enjoyed a chocolate milk with my eggs, and I figured having one this morning was not going to interfere with my No S habits. I haven't had a chocolate milk in months. So I bought it and enjoyed it, guilt free.

I figured having one this morning was not going to interfere with my No S habits. I haven't had a chocolate milk in months. So I bought it and enjoyed it, guilt free.

Right you are

Have a great vacation!

SpiritSong wrote: Saw that Trisha Yearwood lost 30 pounds in four months. Shows what can happen if you eat vegetables, eh, No BS?

I'm going to have to dust off my carrot scraper, buy a few more sprouters & get in touch with my inner bunny if I want to do a YEARWOOD.

Hope your vacation was most excellent.......

Back from vacation! Unfortunately, also took a vacation from No S.

4/25 - Success (No S & Exercise) (as far as I remember ...)
4/26 - Started break from No S

5/14 Edit - Time to admit I just haven't been following No S. I'll get back on program, but during this medical procedure induced exercise break, I'm just not in the mindset for No S.

Will check in once I am back on the wagon!

SpiritSong wrote: Thinking that maybe my first step in the "actually eat vegetables" plan will be to add a salad to the evening meal.

Sadly, the first step is finding & buying the damn veggies in the first place!!!

Strawberry Roan (on this forum) makes the most fabulous ginormous salads with absolutely everything in them that you do not even think salad=boring.

Check out her thread if you already haven't. I know she gave me lots of good ideas.