eschano 2014 check in

Strawberry Roan · Post by **Strawberry Roan** » Wed Apr 09, 2014 1:55 pm

If I may quote your lovely words,

It really is the little things that count - feeling so much better now.

I have found on my journey through life (thus far),

the little things really are the big things.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Thu Apr 10, 2014 8:31 am

So so true Berry! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and thank you Merry Kat too!

NoS
Green - delighted I didn't break lent for a diet coke at the cinema - an until now very ingrained habit. Didn't miss it at all. Coffee however, will be added back on my list of acceptable things after lent. I'm so tired this week.

LAM
Green - date night at the cinema, watching Divergent, which I really wanted to see. Utterly predictable but so well done that it's gripping through the whole of the film and I am already looking forward to the next one.

MerryKat · Post by **MerryKat** » Thu Apr 10, 2014 10:23 am

Well done for dodging the diet coke - that is a hard one.

After how I have battled giving up the coffee for this Lent, I am going to treat it as a S and my best to restrict it to weekends.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Thu Apr 10, 2014 10:47 am

Good idea MerryKat! I think I'll have a weekly glass ceiling of 2 coffees a week. I like the way I feel without the coffee up and down so I want to avoid a renewed caffeine addiction but sometimes it's great to wake you up

lpearlmom · Post by **lpearlmom** » Thu Apr 10, 2014 3:59 pm

Great job on resisting the d coke! I'm not a big soda drinker but do not come between me & my coffee! That's the one thing I won't budge on!:)

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Thu Apr 10, 2014 4:03 pm

LOL Linda! Glad you're still around

Just commented on your thread as well.

automatedeating · Post by **automatedeating** » Fri Apr 11, 2014 3:16 am

I have to agree with Linda on this one, eschano--I love my coffee! I'm a better person for it.

ironchef · Post by **ironchef** » Fri Apr 11, 2014 6:14 am

eschano wrote:I think I'll have a weekly glass ceiling of 2 coffees a week. I like the way I feel without the coffee up and down so I want to avoid a renewed caffeine addiction but sometimes it's great to wake you up

I like this idea. I quit drinking coffee while pregnant and breast feeding, and I agree it is really nice to feel that my energy (or lack thereof) is my own, not a function of whether or not I've had my caffeine. Although, I was mega tired a lot of the time anyway, so perhaps it didn't make that much difference.

And good work on the diet soda. I gave it up about 3 years ago and never went back. It just tastes weird to me now.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Fri Apr 11, 2014 8:38 am

Thank you auto and ironchef!

I think there is consensus for giving up diet soda. I told my boyfriend today that I'll keep it up so that's a bit of a commitment.

Going on holiday in Austria next week and will definitely drink coffee there. It's a pervasive coffee culture so that's going to be fine.

Yesterday

NoS
Green - made a not so nice dinner with the scraps but it was filling enough.

LAM
Green - sat with my boyfriend at the dinner table all evening instead of reverting to TV and really enjoyed connecting.

Today is Friday and I don't expect any hickups. I will have to pop to the GP before Flamenco so fingers crossed that it doesn't take too long.

Imogen Morley · Post by **Imogen Morley** » Fri Apr 11, 2014 7:41 pm

Austria! Where exactly are you going?

MJ7910 · Post by **MJ7910** » Fri Apr 11, 2014 8:15 pm

i gave up all things "diet" about a year ago. i dont' know if this is related but my physical health according to bloodwork is a lot better since i did so. i really wonder if whatever is in "diet" products affected me in a negative way. maybe i have an allergy to "diet" stuff. anyway, water and tea for me... it's a great change.

Dandelion · Post by **Dandelion** » Sat Apr 12, 2014 2:56 am

I dropped in on your thread today. How well I remember that whole insurance shock when you move countries.

automatedeating · Post by **automatedeating** » Sat Apr 12, 2014 3:08 am

Austria! Wonderful! I hope you have a spectacular time!

ironchef · Post by **ironchef** » Sat Apr 12, 2014 4:26 am

Have a wonderful holiday and enjoy a few coffees

Ah, Kaffee und Kuchen, my favourite meal...

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 7:16 pm

Imogen, I'm going to my hometown in upper Austria but will drop into Vienna and Salzburg.

Just three work days in front of me. Cannot wait

Thank you MJ, Dandelion, auto and ironchef!

Great weekend although on the heavy eating side. Lots of LAM and even entertained the first guests for dinner since moving in with my bf and it all went brilliantly.

Delighted!

Strawberry Roan · Post by **Strawberry Roan** » Sun Apr 13, 2014 7:42 pm

Sounds so exciting, I hope you have a wonderful time.

lpearlmom · Post by **lpearlmom** » Mon Apr 14, 2014 4:10 pm

Have a wonderful visit. So happy for you. You're doing great!

Linda

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 8:27 am

Thank you so much girls! Just two more working days before the holiday

NoS
Green - A relieve after a very heavy weekend.

LAM
Green - Hairdresser with a lovely head massage and a great new cut- need I say more?

mestahl · Post by **mestahl** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 12:40 pm

You are doign so great - I totally missed that you were giving up coffee/soda for Lent - hats off to you for going without coffee, I've been drinking it everyday for at least ten years and I know I am addicted. How did you manage to quit?

Isn't it sooo great to be relieved to see Monday after a heavy weekend?

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 1:13 pm

With a lot of headache ELW

No, seriously, I had pretty bad headaches the first two days. Once they subsided that scared me enough to not want to get back to my daily coffee routine, although I will be drinking it from time to time. Love the taste and an espresso after an S day dinner is a good thing

I think I'll have a 2x weekly glass ceiling.

Things I have noticed: I feel tired when I don't get good sleep. I have felt tired when drinking coffee but in ups and downs, now it's just a less tired but steady tired. I don't have headaches. I have lost weight. I don't crave sugar as much (which might be more because of the diet soda but who knows, maybe it's energy related as well).

As for the soda: I'm not saying I'll totally ban it as that's not likely but I will try to keep to a 2sodas/dietsodas x month glass ceiling.

I'm not doing well with abstinences forever but I can handle glass ceilings. I don't include tonic for a wodka tonic - I have it so rarely it's fine.

automatedeating · Post by **automatedeating** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 1:26 pm

Wait, what is a wodka tonic? Vodka with no tonic? Like straight up?

You've lost weight by quitting coffee? That is intriguing!

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Tue Apr 15, 2014 1:38 pm

Oh boy, that was confusing of me

I meant my soda glass ceiling doesn't include tonic for vodka tonics

Straight up is a bit too much for me and it's my bar-drink-of-choice. Not that I get to have it much more than 2x a month if that.

Well, it's so difficult to tell. I used to drink coffee that was very heavy on the milk side, so full-fat latte's. Now I drink herbal tea so it's possible I just cut out some calories.

I drank about 3 coffees a day. That's a lot of milk.

However, as I quit diet soda and coffee at the same time and I know I have less sugar cravings as well, it's hard to tell.

Fact 1: Cut out coffee and diet soda (never drank normal soda really)
Fact 2: had a much easier time to stick to NoS because no sugar cravings and my energy was lower but steady and I didn't rise and crash
Fact 3: no red days since cutting out coffee and diet soda
Fact 4: less milk consumed (coffee)
Fact 5: less taste for sweet stuff (diet soda) although my weekends have ramped up again and I eat a lot more chocolate on S days.

So I'm not sure if I draw the right conclusions from those facts but am unwilling to re-introduce either regularly. The diet-soda because there is little else in terms of food that's as unhealthy and the coffee because of my up-and-down energy and the headaches when I stopped.

However, any theories more than welcome! And I think that one cup of black coffee is probably beneficial to my health only I never drank it that way.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 10:03 am

Last day at work pre-holiday! YAY!!!!!

NoS
Green - I had pizza but it fit on one plate and I didn't give into my munchies afterwards so it's still green.

LAM
S-Day - My boyfriend was poorly so I looked after him all evening. Thankfully he stayed home today as he was in no state but I hope that he will feel up for the holiday tomorrow.

MerryKat · Post by **MerryKat** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 11:11 am

Have an awesome holiday & enjoy the coffee!!

I can't wait for Easter Sunday to have a good cup of coffee.

I had similar withdrawals to you when I started Lent - headaches and energy crash which were enough to convince me that Coffee is going to be a weekend treat for me. I cannot drink 1 cup a day - once I have a cup that is what I tend to drink all day!!

I also notice weight loss when I stop coffee - I am sure it makes me retain water.

Eschano - I recon that tonic is not a diet soda and definitely not a sweet soda so all sounds good to me.

I will have to try Vodka and Tonic - I love Gin & Tonic or Vodka & Soda with a splash of lime.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Wed Apr 16, 2014 1:35 pm

Thanks MerryKat! It's so interesting with the coffee, isn't it? Like you I'm an addict if I don't keep a glass ceiling (which I've never tried so that will be interesting).

Water retention could be the reason why.

Yes, vodka tonic is great. I get a headache from gin tonics unfortunately. However, I'll try the vodka soda lime mix too!

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Thu Apr 24, 2014 9:39 am

I'm back from a wonderful Easter holiday!

I was delighted that this very slow weight-loss that registers for me as an up and down that feels like dreading on the same spot all the time is indeed visible to people who only see me every 4 months or so. Delighted about all the compliments I received. I also felt healthy and at peace. I met three friends who had lost a lot of weight on some crazy diet last year and was not very surprised to find they had put on most of it again. I told them all about NoS but they don't believe me and always think there's a secret like some pills I don't tell them about. Part of the issue might be that they always see me in holiday-mode when I eat whatever I feel like so they only hear me tell them that that's not how I eat otherwise.

The longer I follow NoS the more I understand that this is not about weight loss for me but about health and sanity and a healthy relationship with food. I'm delighted I found a program that makes this all possible for me!

Thus, I decided that I will never add mods unless I run into health-reasons later on in life. It's just unnecessary for me and I realised that one of the biggest reasons for this is that I feel like I took on my mothers unhealthy relationship with food when I was young and not mine and I finally found a way to shake this. In conversation with my friends I realised that I now feel extremely passionate about health, healthy role-models, my quest to make magazines stop using photoshop, and moderation. It's that passion that makes mods unnecessary as I check my eating anyways out of love for my body, not out of guilt or panic.

As for how it went:
I enjoyed my holiday immensely with 3 meals a day plus an afternoon-cake and some evening dessert and even nutella for breakfast but I still didn't go mental. I gained 0.5kg and am quite happy about this

I didn't manage to go hiking because my boyfriend got over a high fever and I didn't want to put unnecessary stress on his body but we moved a lot moderately anyways. And the boyfriend and my parents got on well

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Fri Apr 25, 2014 10:30 am

Yesterday:

NoS
Success - an easy green day after a week of indulgence.

LAM
Success - cut a friend short on the phone to enjoy the evening and get on with my own stuff as I have felt I'm constantly there for her lately and it's getting too much.

I notice a lot of my LAM is about minimizing rather than doing extra things, I cut out bad stuff. I can't cut out some of the stressful things, such as my job and my dad's heart problem I heard about during my holiday, but find cutting out all other stress-sources gives me a lot more strength for the main offenders.

I am very grateful that vanilla NoS works for me. There are a lot of people out there currently deviating and I would be delighted if they find something that works for them and I will be as supportive as possible! I'm interested to see if in the end they all return or if other systems work for them for life.

I realised that I barely snacked during my holiday except for the planned afternoon cake, let alone permasnack so I am putting this down as one habit down. Unconsciously.

automatedeating · Post by **automatedeating** » Fri Apr 25, 2014 2:18 pm

Hi eschano,
I think you and I definitely NoS kindred spirits!

I mostly say that because we both share a profound gratitude that NoS works for us.... and is enough for us. It doesn't seem to give everyone peace with their eating as it has for us (for the most part, of course). I suspect that part of what helps is not having had a history of chronic dieting. Our extra weight just sort of crept on by mindless snacking, and NoS seemed like a straightforward solution. I consider you light-years ahead of me, and you are a wonderful role-model for me for what I see as my next phase of NoS: healthier eating. At this point, I have no idea when that phase will start, but hopefully someday!

So glad your boyfriend and parents got along! That's huge.

As my mom always tells me, you're not just marrying a man, you're marrying his family. How right that is. Haha just ask ELW, whose mother-in-law brings garbage bags full of candy to her house on every holiday!!

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sun Apr 27, 2014 2:46 pm

It does my heart good to hear of your delight in No S. I cling to it for the sanity in the face of all the pressure to believe it's a good thing to try to make the body look a certain way. I'm not opposed to liking beauty but when people think beauty is necessary to be a good person or that it makes you a good person... Well, I'm not a traditionally religious person, but I understand the concept of false idolatry. I haven't reached the peace that surpasseth all understanding, but I know a hot body is not going to get me there.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Mon Apr 28, 2014 10:53 am

Hi oolala and auto, thank you so much for stopping by and the support!

I think part of why NoS works for me because I might have a different sense of beauty than most people. I like voluptuous, healthy bodies, not the super skinny model type - it just doesn't appeal to me. While I acknowledge that most clothes look better on skinny people, I always thought that was the fault of the clothes, not curvy bodies. Slim and healthy but curvy is my ideal and NoS got me there.

Auto, you are right, I was an emotional eater but I wasn't a chronic dieter by far. I think I only realise this now that you say it this way.

I was delighted too that my boyfriend got on well with everyone.

Nothing to report for the weekend and Friday night was all green.

ironchef · Post by **ironchef** » Mon Apr 28, 2014 12:12 pm

Your holiday sounds absolutely delightful.

I love reading these updates, your joyful enthusiasm just leaps off the screen.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Mon Apr 28, 2014 10:21 pm

The author of The Beauty Myth posits that our preferences have been incredibly shaped by photography and cultural influence.

In recent years, residents in countries like Kuwait have gone up in average BMI (it wasn't low before) since the advent of fast food. Women there FEAR weight loss, even if it would improve their health, because they want to be sure their husbands will still desire them. Hmm.

But you know, I lived the life that got me a big body and I don't really want to go back to it now that I've lived this way. I don't think and I hope it's not a moral thing. It just doesn't feel good to eat so much. Yet most of the world opts for more food when they can get it.

However, i feel I can still appreciate diversity. I envy some obese women and their round calves and high bottoms! A round, bountiful look. I never had quite that heavy look. I was more droopy. I guess we still have our preferences.

automatedeating · Post by **automatedeating** » Tue Apr 29, 2014 12:20 am

LOL, I am getting more "droopy" every year.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Tue Apr 29, 2014 9:05 am

Oh, that sounds like a really good book oolala! And thank you ironchef and auto for your lovely and funny comments.

I agree there are beautiful women all sizes and I also agree that I feel healthier on NoS and therefore being slim but I still appreciate everyone's beauty. Sometimes I want to tell strangers on the tube that I find them beautiful. I'm more tempted to tell women than men as they might think I'm coming on to them but I'm even too shy to tell the women. You know, normal and natural gorgeous women of all ages who have that sparkle in their eyes, not fake plastic barbies. That's what I find really beautiful. And they probably don't even know how pretty they are because they are all comparing themselves with some 16 year old photoshopped girl with extensions and that breaks my heart.

I certainly tell my friends that they are beautiful a lot and they are! I am sure so are all of you - you're an incredible bunch of people.

As for yesterday:
NoS
Success - I improvised with cooking and it was absolutely gorgeous. I made pasta with shrimp, asparagus and a sauce of a generous handful of guyere cheese, a splash of milk, one table spoon of cornflour, and two or four generous splashes of white wine. Seasoned with pepper and salt. Delicious.

LAM
Success - cooking has become a real LAM for myself. I love it.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 11:45 am

Yesterday

NoS
Success - a bit heavy on the plate but needed it.

LAM
Success - managed to get a day working from home today!

So my second day working from home this year. I hope it will go as well as the last one

automatedeating · Post by **automatedeating** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 1:28 pm

I know you can do it, just like last time.

Read noni's post about her dad's refrig drawer and the ice cream that no one dreamed of touching during the week.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Thu May 01, 2014 8:52 am

Yesterday

NoS was a fail as I was so hungry I ate seconds and a bit of chocolate too. I'm still very proud of myself as I had a green day until after dinner and that while working from home! My weight is still where I want it to be so that's good. I think I might relax the rules a tiny bit for myself as I don't have anywhere to get to anymore.

LAM definitely a Green as I was working from home!

automatedeating · Post by **automatedeating** » Thu May 01, 2014 1:36 pm

Eschano, thanks for posting about the counting bites. I loved what you wrote, and how you worded it. Thanks for representing NoS. I think here on this forum we all strive to "live and let live", so it can be tricky when we feel passionately about something to communicate why we want to be faithful to NoS without "dissing" other styles of eating. You did a great job!

lpearlmom · Post by **lpearlmom** » Thu May 01, 2014 4:09 pm

I like the idea that I can make some maintenance mods when/if I reach my goal weight. I'll be curious to see what you decide.

Maybe you could do an extra S day, a small dessert, or seconds on dinner? I'm sure you'll figure out a great plan.

Linda

automatedeating · Post by **automatedeating** » Thu May 01, 2014 5:50 pm

Eschano,
I have been reading on a couple threads the idea of relaxing NoS a bit. I don't consider that a mod for myself, at all, but I do do that. For example, during December, I took 4 NWS days, because I knew I had great events planned. But other months I only take one or two. In Reinhard's book, the idea is that special events = S days. To me that means the number varies depending on the fun things coming up.

In the section where he discusses what to do if you're not losing (or if you're gaining) he mentions a red flag being more than 2 NWS days/month. So, by extension, that means have as many NWS days as your personal life can handle without you gaining.

Or, at least that's how I interpret it! It seems on this forum, though, a lot of people consider the "two NWS days" as a limit all the time. Not for me! And I don't think the 2 NWS day limit would be vanilla NoS either. Maybe I'm putting words in Reinhard's mouth, but this is my strong opinion.

And to me, that is pretty relaxed NoS. And yet ANOTHER reason why I love NoS.

mimi · Post by **mimi** » Thu May 01, 2014 7:55 pm

Hi eschano! I see that you're thinking about relaxing NoS somewhat since you've reached your goal. I guess one of my maintenance mods would be incorporating the S-events (a snack, a sweet, or it even could be "seconds" although, I don't use that one) during the week. Even if there's not a special event, I have found that I can have a desert (small serving) of some kind in the evening sometimes too. I limit mine to events, though, rather than days - that's too tricky for me to control. My S days look very much like a vanilla day with an S-event (or two!) added.
Mimi

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Fri May 02, 2014 10:46 am

Hi all,

I think Mimi's plan sounds great but I believe I first have to get to have two or three S events per S day before implementing the one or two floating S events per week

Auto, you are right. I also made the wrong deduction by assuming only 2 NWS days are allowed but the way you said it makes perfect sense and I know that Reinhard himself says he has a 80% compliance rate, which makes me think he has either more NWS days than 2 or some fails on top of them.

Linda, I'll definitely keep you posted!

Yesterday:

NoS
Green - date night at an amazing thai just 15 min drive from us (where we can get to now even in the rain since we have a car

)

LAM
Green - date night

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Fri May 02, 2014 12:39 pm

Eschano, I hope it's okay if I jump in here. I humbly suggest that you think of Saturday and Sunday as S days, whether you have one S or ten or none. An S day is any day you allow yourself the option of an S, whether you use it or not. Taking an S day doesn't mean having multiple S's necessarily. I know some members started using the concept of S events, but it's an add-on. People will often say they didn't "take" their S day. These ideas can be very useful, but can also be misleading, making people think S days are meant to be days of continual overeating. That is "allowed" only as an interim stage. In the book, Reinhard says that ideally, eventually S days will look much like N days, with really special S's, and not necessarily on every S day. It wasn't overtly stated that one might go weeks having all days look like N days, but it was implied. I know when I started that I could hardly believe that I could live like that. Me, go whole weeks without eating sweets, or maybe just one serving on one weekend day? (That's the S that got me most.) It took a long time for the concept to sink in that I was not suffering at all to do that. In fact, I was almost suffering in thinking I had to eat an S because it was an S day! I got tired of the whole struggle and was finally ready to use a mod. I"m not sure I could have done it earlier. And I didn't purposely choose it to lose more weight, though I did. I wished always that I could have been one of those people that it just seemed to evolve without thinking, but I had to face reality!

Sorry if I went on and on or if I misunderstood or missed something you've written that would make this post irrelevant.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Fri May 02, 2014 3:18 pm

Hi Oohlala,

Thank you very much for your advice! I will take it to heart.

The S that gets me the most is sweets but I reached my goal weight and thought I could relax a bit but now I'm not sure so I thought I would try out mimi's extra S event during the week but then I got afraid it would involve into an extra S day so I thought if my S days die down more than now (naturally) I will add an extra S but at the moment it's still a bit too much of a risk

mimi · Post by **mimi** » Fri May 02, 2014 5:28 pm

I agree wholeheartedly with Oolala - well said! And that's exactly what happened to me - my S days eventually began to look like my N days, as they presently do...but it didn't happen overnight.

Mimi

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Fri May 02, 2014 8:40 pm

Just want to say that some people never make the mod of having occasional S events on a whim, but stick to the allotted two or fewer extra per month decided ahead of time. It's not that being random can't work, as it obviously does for some, but it is psychically more expensive, in habit theory. It is not considered an necessary step at all or a sign of success with No S. It's not like people say, oh, I'll get good at tame S days and then I'll move on to allowing midweek S's, as if that is the goal of No S. In habit theory, letting the mind have the option open often to decide if they really want an S can end up costing too much! We end up back at bargaining and thinking more than is efficient. Also, there is actually a lot that goes into that kind of freedom working. If all the little parts aren't in place- and there are a lot that contribute- it can slow things down. Those for whom this works have been at it years and years, usually, or just have fewer internal obstacles.

All of which doesn't mean you can't experiment. Just be easy on yourself if it becomes dicey. Even after 52 months, I don't think it would be a smart habit for me to incorporate, especially now that I've found that I often get even more satisfaction from savory foods than I do for those few bites of sweets.

Okay, enough of me and my soapboxes! You are doing great! You are right on track.

lpearlmom · Post by **lpearlmom** » Fri May 02, 2014 9:42 pm

Totally agree with what oolala says as I found out from personal experience. Floating S days are too tricky for most people.

I actually meant a permanent extra S days like fri, sat & sun as part of a maintenance plan or always allowing a small saucer sized plate of dessert etc. But something vey structured and defined as to avoid the slipping slope syndrome. Then of course, if you started to gain, you could just scale back to vanilla if needed.

Just wanted to clarify!

Linda

Kookie · Post by **Kookie** » Fri May 02, 2014 9:47 pm

Hey eschano... Just been catching up with your thread. You sound very sane and also lit sounds like you have a great relationship with yourself, always seeing the positive side of thins. I love that and I'm sure it will protect you as you go along. It's so lovely to witness. I particularly love love love this sentence from a few posts back:

'Thus, I decided that I will never add mods unless I run into health-reasons later on in life. It's just unnecessary for me and I realised that one of the biggest reasons for this is that I feel like I took on my mothers unhealthy relationship with food when I was young and not mine and I finally found a way to shake this. In conversation with my friends I realised that I now feel extremely passionate about health, healthy role-models, my quest to make magazines stop using photoshop, and moderation. It's that passion that makes mods unnecessary as I check my eating anyways out of love for my body, not out of guilt or panic. '

The last sentence jumped out at me because I am making changes to what I eat for health reasons which makes NoS seem less fun (before I was told I had to make changes I was totally preaching to anyone who would listen about how amazing NoS was but having to make changes sent me into confusion and I left the boards for a while). But what you said restores my passion in NoS and reinforces my new attitude which is based on passion for health - I am not depriving myself of anything if I choose not to eat food that hurts me even on S days. It's a choice out of love for my body. And there are still plenty of delicious treats for S days that don't hurt me eg dried fruit, nut butters.... Anyway eschano, love our posts and your positive spirit

ironchef · Post by **ironchef** » Sat May 03, 2014 5:23 am

eschano wrote:My weight is still where I want it to be so that's good. I think I might relax the rules a tiny bit for myself as I don't have anywhere to get to anymore.

I'm going to take a slightly different tack on this than others and ask you a couple of questions (not to answer here, just to ponder):
1. Is there something about vanilla that you find consistently tough?
2. Is there something regular that you feel vanilla makes you miss out on?

For example, do you often feel worn out on a long hike and wish you could snack on some trail mix? Or do you catch up with friends often on Wednesday nights and feel like sometimes you'd like to enjoy some tapas with them instead of just a drink?

If the answer to 1 and 2 is no, nothing, then I'd venture there is no driver to mod / relax. If you feel comfortable and at peace with what you're doing, you don't need to change a thing. Hitting a particular weight doesn't require you to do anything different.

I promise that you won't just keep losing, vanilla No-S is too moderate for that - my slow downward drift stopped eventually. Sometimes life (or weddings, longer vacations, Christmas) comes along and I bump up a bit, but not for long if I buckle back down to vanilla.

clarinetgal · Post by **clarinetgal** » Sat May 03, 2014 12:53 pm

This is a great discussion! I hope you find a way of eating at maintenance that works for you.

Jill d · Post by **Jill d** » Sat May 03, 2014 1:20 pm

I was listening to some podcasts this past week that featured discussions with people who had lost a good deal of weight through various means. (It was refreshing as all kinds of diets were discussed, not just ONE way.) One thing that all the guests mentioned was that transitioning to maintenance was harder than they had expected it to be, particularly mentally. That was interesting to me, as I'm really expecting for the most challenging aspect to be the loss itself. (Podcast and website is "Tips of the Scale" by Sam Lomelli. I gotta give a shoutout, as there are some really inspiring stories!)

friscobob · Post by **friscobob** » Sun May 04, 2014 4:14 am

It's funny how a little thing of drinking more water can help you not only lose weight but maintain it. Drinking 3 glasses of water upon arising, and two glasses before each meal, has always helped me avoid all sorts of food cravings, giving me a feeling of empowerment that I can and will maintain my diet. It's tough in the beginning, especially traveling, but after a while the extra liquid is tolerable, and really helps control your diet. It gave me success before when I lost from 216 pounds to 156 pounds, and was maintaining it, until I had a hip injury, which curtailed my activity, and gave me the "excuse" to not follow my normal regimen. I am back now, recovering from my second hip replacement, and No S is working for me once again. Another key for me is daily walking 3-4 miles. I am sure you will join me in saying that "we shall overcome", "the best is yet to come".

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Mon May 05, 2014 7:21 pm

Wow you all, I am overwhelmed by all the lovely and supportive comments!

In the end you all reminded me how powerful vanilla NoS is and that I don't need another S day during the week. Vanilla NoS it is for now.

Oolala, wise as always! Also, thank you for Linda for reminding me of your experience.

I am delighted Kookie that something in my thread resonated with you so that you regained some of the fun of NoS.

Ironchef, you are right it's the second one, it's the date nights and nights out with friends where I sometimes would love a bit of dessert but I manage without.

Jill, thanks a lot! I will check out the podcast. Habit wise it's very easy to maintain but mentally there's this voice saying "you've reached your goal so time to relax a bit".

Thank you friscobob, I drink 2-3 litres a day so I think I'm covered but I am thankful nonetheless for your advice.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Tue May 06, 2014 8:19 am

Coming off a very heavy three day weekend as it was a bank holiday here.

I really thought about the issue with why I want a mod, allowing for more food and finally decided that the problem is not Vanilla NoS it's that I don't like weighing that little (not kidding, it triggers me), so I'm not going to weigh myself until the end of May. I'll just track habit and enjoy how amazing my body feels on NoS because it does.

I made a lovely lasagne yesterday and thought I'd share the recipe:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/lasagne_82381

I added a generous splash of balsamic vinegar, basil, more rosemary to the ragu.

Make sure you have a little bÃ©chamel left for the top layer.

And no, I didn't cook the ragu for 2 hours, more like 1hour and it turned out delicious.

ironchef · Post by **ironchef** » Tue May 06, 2014 1:14 pm

Yum, I love lasagna.

Round of applause for your new plan - I'm constantly impressed by how insightful you are about this whole process.

clarinetgal · Post by **clarinetgal** » Wed May 07, 2014 12:15 am

Yum! Lasagne! I think as long as staying with Vanilla is working for you, you should keep doing it.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Wed May 07, 2014 8:28 am

Thank you guys for the support!

All green yesterday

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Thu May 08, 2014 9:25 am

So, I have a new system. Like Auto, I want to save. My system will be a mini-SavingToBuyAYacht system where I won't spend money on Mondays and Tuesdays. Obviously, I'm way removed from buying a yacht - at the moment saving to pay my car tax due in August would be enough

I have already saved an estimated Â£158 since 5th March just by giving up coffee and diet coke. I think saving is more important than ever in the UK and I want to live a simple but comfortable life where my happiness is independent from material things but where I can afford my lifestyle without worrying.

So:

NoS
Green - lasagne and a bit of popcorn. Heavy plate but a plate nonetheless. My plates this week went from super heavy to heavy but they were all green. And at least there's progress. I knew I'd find it hard post-holiday to get back into it but my decision not to weigh until end of may makes this easier too.

LAM
Green - film night in instead of cinema as we really didn't fancy the rainy outside. Also saved about Â£40 between the two of us and was very snuggling.

SavingToBuyAminiYacht
Green - last Monday and Tuesday.

automatedeating · Post by **automatedeating** » Thu May 08, 2014 1:04 pm

Savingtobuyaminiyacht!
I love it!

lpearlmom · Post by **lpearlmom** » Thu May 08, 2014 1:33 pm

Good for you for working in that savings eschano! DH & I started way too late but plan on retiring in Costa Rica where our dollar will go further.

Can't wait to visit you on that yacht!

Linda

Dandelion · Post by **Dandelion** » Thu May 08, 2014 11:15 pm

I much prefer movies 'in' - and the snuggling

I think we've been to one in the last two or three years.

Except for the drive-in. We do that at least once or twice a summer.

clarinetgal · Post by **clarinetgal** » Fri May 09, 2014 12:07 am

I love your idea of not spending money a couple of days a week! I'm sure that will help quite a bit. And a yacht sounds lovely.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Fri May 09, 2014 8:28 am

Thank you!

Linda, I'm getting quite worried that I'm not signed up to a pension scheme yet. But yes, retiring somewhere where your money goes further might be a good idea! Especially, if the climate is nice too.

Auto, thanks for your blessing of the name

Dandelion, drive-ins are a genius idea! We just recently bought a car so I never really thought about it as a possibility. Thanks so much for bringing it up!

Thank you Clarinetgal! I hope I manage

Yesterday
NoS - Green - heavy again with pizza and popcorn but green. This week has been really weird, my body has done all kinds of weird things and I think there's some kind of hormonal thing going on. If it's still like this next week I'll go to the doc.

LAM - Green - another snuggly night in with rain and a storm outside. Can't complain.

Coffee Glass Ceiling - Green I've been doing this since lent but I thought I'd also put it here - I've been drinking up to two coffees a week IF it's free. I don't think coffee is unhealthy, I just want to a)reign in my spending and b) never get so addicted again that it messes with my energy levels. I won't be tracking this as I think it's super easy for me after the 40 days without.

SavingToBuyAMiniYacht - done for his week.

MerryKat · Post by **MerryKat** » Fri May 09, 2014 10:27 am

eschano sounds as if you are on a roll with all your habits and routines! Long term the saving along with the healthy changes are going to make a super change to your life.

I love the "Savingtobuyaminiyacht!" - what an awesome idea.

DH & I also prefer movies at home. Can stop and get a cup of tea when you want. Less temptation from slushies and popcorn too.

automatedeating · Post by **automatedeating** » Fri May 09, 2014 2:31 pm

And I'll chime in with my opinion too--we rarely go to the movies, we much prefer to stay home. We can watch pretty much anything on Amazon or Netflix. And then the cat can sit on my lap. According to him (the cat, that is), I do not sit still enough during the week--so as soon as he sees the TV come on, he's waiting for my lap with eager expectation.

I will say, however, that we have taken the boys to two movies, now, and they love it! It is so exciting for them to get their treats, and sit in the giant dark theatre.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Mon May 12, 2014 12:52 pm

Thank you all for your tips and support!

Also, Happy belated Mothers Day to all you amazing mothers! I hope you got celebrated how you all deserve to be!

So SavingToBuyAMiniYacht is more difficult than I thought. I completely forgot about it so today was a fail but I decided to just shift it to Tuesday and Wednesday this week. I was at a hen do all weekend so not spending today would have meant no lunch or dinner haha.

So this week SavingToBuyAMiniYacht is on Tuesday and Wednesday.

My grandfather always loved that saying: Look after your pennies and the pounds will look after themselves". I always thought that was ridiculous and really didn't get it. But it's true!!! It's so difficult to not spend money two days a week. I make a lot of micro-purchases all week and they'll add up, I bet. I eliminated the daily coffee and diet coke and saved a lot but it's still crazy how I spend a little here and there, always thinking: it's just a couple of pounds. Not true.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Tue May 13, 2014 8:15 am

Yesterday:

NoS
Green - I finally had a normal/light N day again after last week's heavy ones. Feeling much better for it!

LAM
Green - let my boyfriend take care of booking parking for our summer holiday and also of getting the tyres changed on my car. It's so nice not to have to deal with this! I'm still getting used to having someone to take care of things I always found hard. At the same time I do things for him I find easy but he finds challenging but because I find them easy they don't register as hard at all. So the ease of things is my LAM

automatedeating · Post by **automatedeating** » Tue May 13, 2014 1:00 pm

Glad you are feeling good about your "normal" N Day.

And awesome to let the bf do some onerous chores. At my house, that's stomping down the trash in the garbage can on garbage day. My husband wins my heart all over again every time he does that.

Imogen Morley · Post by **Imogen Morley** » Tue May 13, 2014 1:23 pm

I applaud your efforts, both in diet and spending habits. It's especially impressive to me as I've noticed many people tend to shift imbalances to other areas of their lives - in spite of what willpower research seems to suggest! They lose weight, but can't keep finances under control. Or they curb their spending, but gain weight. Kudos to you for successfully doing both.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Wed May 14, 2014 9:45 am

Hahaha, auto! Yeah, that garbage thing is his too. I iron his shirts. But we split cooking as he loves it.

Imogen, thanks so much - though I find it so hard! I am having a micro-spending revelation that rivals my snacking-revelation when I started NoS - you know, when you suddenly realise how much you snack and how much other people snack. I feel the same with my micro-spending. Â£2 here, Â£2 there,.... it all adds up! I'm still having an area with no willpower - it's time to move on jobwise but I'm procrastinating the job search ridiculously.

Yesterday

NoS
Fail - failworthy lemon tart at the Italian restaurants we have our events in. Absolutely delicious, small piece. Yummy.

LAM
Green - wrapped up the event early and went home a little earlier than usual. Lovely!

SavingToBuyAMiniYacht
Green - didn't spend anything. I took a cab home but the office is paying after the events so all good.

samosaurus · Post by **samosaurus** » Wed May 14, 2014 3:54 pm

That's great, spending is a tough issue to curb - I'm always surprised at the end of the week when I don't have anything left, I'm like "where did it all go?" and I check my bank and it's all sort of ridiculous transactions. Great job on keeping it in check!

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Thu May 15, 2014 8:33 am

samosaurus wrote: and I check my bank and it's all sort of ridiculous transactions.

That's exactly what I feel like!

Yesterday

NoS
Green - the last few weeks I always had grapes or other fruit after dinner but yesterday I didn't need anything. I had gorgeous Moroccan meatballs (made by the bf) again with couscous and tomato sauce - heaven. I realised a great meal is filling enough.

LAM
Green - being cooked for definitely counts

SavingToBuyAMiniYacht
Fail - Yep. I only have two days to do and yet... So I managed not to spend any money all day but after dinner it turns out there was only one slot left to get the tyres changed on the car we bought (needs to) next week so I bought the tyres to reserve the slot right then and there. And to top it off I purchased a gift for my friend from her wedding register as I need it anyways. The good thing was that I didn't spend anything unnecessary the whole day. Still, lol!

lpearlmom · Post by **lpearlmom** » Fri May 16, 2014 3:57 am

Ok I think I'm going to need you to Reciprocate on the dinner invite. You're so lucky to have a man that cooks for you! Well my DH does make a mean grilled cheese but it's not quite the same.

Good effort on the no spending thing. I keep thinking I should do a couple no spending days a week but it's hard!

Keep up the great work as usual!

Linda

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Fri May 16, 2014 12:53 pm

Linda, if you ever come to London you are certainly invited!

NoS
Green - another nice dinner. After dinner I didn't need anything. Often I'd have some fruit but I was so happy with the meal, there was not reason. Now, this is a good development after the very heavy meals in the last two weeks. I'm also having a very hungry phase, where I'm really hungry in between meals. Funny how the body sometimes needs a bit more.

LAM
Green - went to bed super early because I was tired. Lovely.

Chani's comments about Eating Disorders were very important for me. I think I understand the issue a bit better now. I still prefer if the main thing advertised is NoS and mods are only mods and for interested people but without pushing them too much. The reason is that I feel there is a lightness and sanity to NoS for me that gets depressed if too many other restrictions are added.

automatedeating · Post by **automatedeating** » Fri May 16, 2014 1:33 pm

eschano, I'm in a "fill up the plate too much" then not get very hungry between meals, then "fill up the plate too much" again phase! Yikes! I'm needing to put the brakes on that phase! Then again, maybe it will, as phases do, just run its course.

Ursula · Post by **Ursula** » Fri May 16, 2014 10:28 pm

Hi, eschano! Just visiting my new neighbors but I think you must be already sleeping at this point.

I just perused through some of your pages and had such an emotional response to your mid-Feb entry (17th?) regarding feeling cheated out of your sweet treat because of your boyfriend's comments. Man! That coulda been me!!! And what you said about thinking your mom had an eating disorder... then reading how others responded to what you said by confessing that their own mother's had food issues. It just makes me feel so certain that I am in the right place here, following the correct path out of so, so many years of stupid and pointless suffering to chase a stupid and pointless (and elusive!) number on the scale.

The resolution to the sweets issue with your boyfriend gives me courage that I can hopefully sooner than later have sweets in front of my husband without feeling judged. It's not his fault, but a situation of my own making. After watching me starve then stuff for so long, it frustrates him that I will not admit to having an eating disorder (though I will admit it to myself and you guys! It's some kind of weird power struggle between us...) so almost every time I have had sweets in front of him (especially ice cream) he thinks I am in a binge phase and wants me to own it. It makes me crazy if he asks, "are you binging?" Aaaaaargh! I could strangle him! I am afraid right now to explain No S to him b/c he will see it as just my latest crazy diet so I feel like I need to get some successful time in and a few pounds off before "proving" to him that this is for keeps and eating sweets on weekends is not necessarily a binge. And if it is, for him to buzz off! (I like that last part...maybe that's how I will handle him tomorrow and the day after.)

Have a sweet and lovely and peace-filled weekend!

Dandelion · Post by **Dandelion** » Fri May 16, 2014 11:33 pm

A little hijack here. But your comment about chasing elusive numbers on the scale really hit home with me. I just wrote a loooong post about my own years of chasing elusive numbers on the scale even though I was not overweight - but just thought I should be at a lower weight. The decades of disordered eating and all the horrors that come with it. What a total, colossal, and ridiculous waste of something as important and precious as life for such a stupid, useless reason. Because I thought I 'should' weigh 10 pounds less and my body disagreed. I was a fit, strong, energetic size 5 with curves in the right places (although the 'charts' said I should weigh 10 pounds less) Obviously my body couldn't be trusted.

But then I got cold feet and deleted it.

Having someone commenting on my eating would have had very detrimental effects on me. I would have to get them to stop immediately - not after I've 'proved' anything, but even then, I'd feel like they were watching and thinking it anyway. There are certain people's threads I can't even read because of the issues and memories they bring up for me and why I like the whole 'eyes on your own plate' thing. And also probably why I pull away from the board after a few weeks - and why I've been feeling that way for a few days now.

Does ED ever really go away?

I hope NoS brings you peace with eating and if not, you find something that does. And bake that cake

clarinetgal · Post by **clarinetgal** » Sat May 17, 2014 12:30 am

Eschano, You're definitely lucky to have a man who cooks for you! I'm glad you're in a happy phase with No S!

Ursula and Dandelion, I can certainly relate to some of your comments. I was anorexic for part of high school. While I don't think I could develop an ED again, I still struggle with some behaviors from my anorexic days.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Mon May 19, 2014 9:49 am

Hi Ursula, Dandelion, and clarinetgal: thank you for your great posts.

Ursula:
It was tough at first with my boyfriend but the best thing we could do was talk about it.
He got that being judged for my eating is the worst thing for me but it also made me realise that when he judges my eating he doesn't judge my size.

I think your husband will totally get it if he sees you being consistent with NoS for a while. He sounds more interested in your health than your size

Dandelion:
I'm so happy you "hijacked" my post. I wish I could have read your post that got deleted. It sounds like something that would resonate with a lot of women. That said, you need to protect yourself and your progress. Maybe further down the line.

Clarinetgal:
I certainly have my really tough weeks with NoS but overall it works best for me. I finally found some peace from the constant guilt from bingeing. And yes: I am super lucky

Friday:
NoS - Green - dinner with friends

LAM - Green - Flamenco - Ole!

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Tue May 20, 2014 9:56 am

Yesterday: very uneventful:

NoS - Green

LAM - Green

I will do SavingToBuyAMiniYacht on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Floating the two days to use them any consecutive days during N days works for me. I might expand later on but for now two days is challenging enough.

Strawberry Roan · Post by **Strawberry Roan** » Tue May 20, 2014 1:27 pm

Hi ! First let me say that I am very glad you had a wonderful vacation!

As far as the No S way of eating once one reaches maintenance level - I just try to eat "normally", if that makes sense. If it is a hot day and I am out with friends and they say, gosh a Wendy's Frostee sounds good - and I want one - I indulge. I don't then add a triple bacon cheeseburger and large fries just because I am in Wendy's. Just did the chocolate Frostee thing on Saturday - that was all I wanted so I got that and a senior drink - unsweetened tea. I don't really think about what day it is or anything, I just try to live what I would consider a "normal" eating lifestyle.

As far as body types, I have learned as I have aged (I am 65) that I need about ten pounds on my frame more than I would like to have as far as clothes, etc. If I lose those ten pounds, I age ten years - not a good trade off to go from size 8 to size 6. At least for me, but then I am a bit vain about my skin, don't want to look like a sharpei puppy - adorable as they might be.

As far as saving money, I once read that if a person starting putting away every five dollar bill then ended up with, they would be surprised how fast the money added up. Well, I started doing that last year with fives and tens - have a whole bundle now - several hundred dollars. Not sure what I will do with it, maybe buy a yacht - we do live on a huge lake. haha What is funny is that I have never once said, oh I wish I had one of those fives or tens that I socked away.

Love reading this thread and always learn a lot.

lpearlmom · Post by **lpearlmom** » Tue May 20, 2014 3:58 pm

I think it's so wonderful that so many of us with unhealthy relationships w food have found their way to NoS. In the past I've always thought that in order to eat "normally" meant accepting a high weight. The fact that we can we can make peace w food & lose weight (or at very least stop gaining) is truly amazing.

Eschano: love London! I stayed there for 2 weeks when I was in college for a lit & art study. I sheepishly admit I'm a bit of an Anglophile. Love the accent, lingo, the history, literature, even my fav cookbook author, Nigel slater, is English!

Strawberry: love the $5 idea--may try it!

Linda

clarinetgal · Post by **clarinetgal** » Wed May 21, 2014 6:14 am

Eschano, I think that is the most important part of No S, finding peace with eating. I'll be interested in reading more about your spending experiment!

Berry, That is what I want, to eat 'normally.' I also can understand about not wanting to lose too much weight! I have about 20 pounds left to lose to get to the high end of my healthy BMI weight. I don't want to lose too much more than that, because with my larger frame, if I lose too much weight, I look gaunt. I'm also vain about my skin.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Wed May 21, 2014 10:07 am

Berry, that level of normal eating is the goal

I'm so proud of how far I've come in the last (nearly) 2 years and I think it's time now to find this "normal" eating balance without depriving myself. And thank you very much about your thoughts on body types. I completely agree. As for the 5 dollar bills: I have a very tight budget so that sounds even scarier to me than to not spend. I will contemplate it.

Linda, a resounding yes to all you said. As for being anglophile: well, I'm the same, hence I packed my bags and moved here from Austria

I loved England ever since I read "The Mists of Avalon" age 12 and I have never looked back.

Clarinetgal, I totally agree, peace is the goal!

Yesterday:
NoS
Green - thai food at my favourite place at night. Yummy.

LAM
Green - despite having a lot to do at work I decided to have a fun night out with one of my best friends whom I haven't seen for ages as we both work a lot lately. Completely worth the lack of sleep.

Today
SavingToBuyAMiniYacht - nearly forgot again but so far so good. The only way I can do today and tomorrow is with my boyfriend buying tomorrow's food as again we haven't been organised enough but it's all good.

automatedeating · Post by **automatedeating** » Thu May 22, 2014 1:11 am

Hello from another anglophile, especially a "Highland-ophile"

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Thu May 22, 2014 9:47 am

Oh yeah, that's the only thing I miss sometimes in the deeply green plains of South-West England: the mountains. But that's what holidays are for (and yes, as 1 in probably 100 I'd take a hiking holiday in the mountains over a beach holiday anytime).

Yesterday:

NoS
Green - YAY! I was at another work event working 16 hours again (!) at an Italian Restaurant for most of it and guess what - a green NoS day and I felt great for it! Delighted. I do allow myself to take these days as NWS days now and did so last week but this week I just didn't feel like it. So while the "sometimes" hasn't worked so well for S days for me yet (only rarely) it works brilliantly on NWS days it seems.

LAM
Green - what I said above. I listened to my body and acted accordingly. If that's not Looking After Myself than what is?

SavingToBuyAMiniYacht
Green - didn't spend a dime. Yay! Today I also remembered when I wanted to reward my 16 hour shift with a bought breakfast. My self-made one was nearly as nice. It's so interesting how my eating and my financial planning influences my boyfriend. He will now start to bring in his lunch as well, at least partially, instead of buying all his lunch out every day. And he already started to limit his sweets consumption on N days a lot. And all just by modelling behaviour - I didn't pressure/convince/wished it from him at all.

automatedeating · Post by **automatedeating** » Thu May 22, 2014 1:35 pm

eschano, I have found that same principle to work in my home, too--that is, changing my habits has influenced my kids and my husband.

And I also have the same experience with you about NWS days. I don't always take them, or if I do, it truly is a moderate 1 dessert to celebrate the occasion, not an S Day graze-a-thon. Not sure why.....maybe weekdays just feel too routined by now to want to "S" them up?

Dandelion · Post by **Dandelion** » Thu May 22, 2014 10:11 pm

I lived in England for nearly 10 years. I also missed the mountains. And sunshine

. But now I miss rain and green and lots of other things. I wish I could live in both countries.

I like the expression 'S them up'

Ursula · Post by **Ursula** » Fri May 23, 2014 2:45 am

Hi, eschano! How you are unintentionally positively influencing your boyfriend made me think of one more tidbit on the matter of long-lived marriages/relationships: when he at times drives you the most crazy down the road, just remember how much time and trouble it would take to train a new one.

Berry, it is so cool to hear your approach to maintaining your weight. Maybe that is one of the benefits of No S resulting in such slow weight loss: it gives us time to become sane with food and be able to grab the occasional frosty during the week without it turning into a binge. You are SO right about the padding factor too: I got down to 115 a coupla years ago and was over the moon until I could no longer ignore the turkey neck and arm sag. It was a rude awakening.

Linda, what you wrote about no No S mirrors my feelings exactly. Eating normal and getting thinner are not mutually exclusive thanks to Reinard (who's last name means "angels", by the way).

I am adding this apology eschano for commenting on comments made to you on YOUR page. Sheesh, I am such a newbie. Is that what they call "highjacking"? Sorry for the faux pas.

clarinetgal · Post by **clarinetgal** » Fri May 23, 2014 7:00 am

I would love to visit England someday! That's great, that your good habits are having such a positive influence on your boyfriend!

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Tue May 27, 2014 9:37 am

Yes, Ursula, that's what they call "hijacking" and you're most welcome to do it anytime. I love the discussions on the daily threads.

Thank you auto, dandelion, and clarinetgal for your comments as well.

I'm glad that I'm not imagining things and that NoS does influence other people in your life as well. And yes, "S them up" is a great expression!

I agree Dandelion, I'm always miss the country I'm not in

But I love England.

Friday was all green and we had a bank holiday weekend yesterday.

lpearlmom · Post by **lpearlmom** » Tue May 27, 2014 2:09 pm

Great job on your green week!

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Tue May 27, 2014 3:08 pm

Thanks Linda! As for book suggestions you asked for on auto's thread:
I just read The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende - it was beautiful. Otherwise for not too depressing books: Wolf Hall from Hilary Mantel, The Hobbit from J.R.R. Tolkien, oh, I could go on and on and on

But I really loved The House Of Spirits.

Ursula · Post by **Ursula** » Tue May 27, 2014 10:35 pm

Hi, eschano! Add me as an Anglophile, especially when it comes to 15th through 18th century British monarchy. Wolf Hall was great and Bring Up the Bodies fantastic! My mom and I are making our way through The White Queen TV series. I also just finished The Tudors by GJ Meyer which is a scathing indictment of the whole Tudor lot and lots of fun to read (nonfiction). Do you have any more suggestions of that ilk?

On a funny (though somewhat pathetic) note, a couple of years ago while visiting Schonbruenn, I bought a book called Kaiserin Elizabeths Fitness und Diaet Programm. After reading it, I am convinced Sissi was anorexic (though I guess that isn't such a state secret).

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Wed May 28, 2014 8:49 am

Hi Ursula, Hahaha, yes, well, Sissi had a proper Eating Disorder, including eating blood soups (as in like warmed up blood from animals - yickes) for weeks and nothing else. Her waist was tiny tiny tiny. She was also depressed for all her life and I wouldn't be surprised if it had to do with her diet. Not a great model for food habits lol! But in all other regards she's our national heroine, a great poet, and lover of Hungary and thus champion of the suppressed states in the empire.

On that note, no Austrian who hasn't lived in the US or UK I know has ever watched "The Sound of Music". We watch a trilogy called "Sissi" instead. It's a very romantic take on it all, made in the 50s. It's worth watching for a bit of Austrian psychology.

As for books - I read all kinds but for historic fiction these are unfortunately my only picks. I'm terrible because I read a wonderful book and love it and then forget all about the title and author. I'm sure I read more.

Most recently, I have read Isabel Allende's "The House of Spirits" which was wonderful. If you like the war of roses because of the politics of it and you don't mind a bit of science fiction then I can highly recommend "The Game of Thrones" books. They are different from the series as there's less sex but the politics of it all is amazing. As far as I know, the war of roses was his inspiration.

Yesterday:
NoS and LAM: All Green - somehow ate salad twice. My cucumber-feta-tuna-cranberry one for lunch and ended up with Steak Salad in the evening while at a Mexican restaurant (it's my favourite there) but today - no salads! Had enough for now.

SavingToBuyAMiniYacht
Will do on Thursday and Sunday this week as we are going on holiday on Monday and also have friends here at the moment so it's difficult to organise.
On a plus note: my boyfriend has started taking in lunches and is sacrificing his daily Pret (like starbucks a bit) cafÃ© latte for homemade latte. I keep telling him he doesn't have to do it but the saving is completely contagious. After all, I caught it from auto as well!

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Wed May 28, 2014 9:07 am

Oh no Ursula, I have another suggestion: if you don't mind looking East then "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden was one of the historical books I loved for it's stunning use of the English language. It's certainly one of the best books when it comes to poetic use of English. It's also a good story and beats the film by miles.

And "Atonement" by Ian McEwan which was a bit of an emotionally tough book but again, the ending makes it all worth it! It was phenomenal.

If you want to read a good book about post-war Austria, I would suggest "The Third Man" by Graham Greene. Brilliant thriller.

The problem I find is that every half-good book is now made into a movie so it's tough to find a good book I haven't seen the movie of.

clarinetgal · Post by **clarinetgal** » Thu May 29, 2014 12:21 am

I think your day of two salads sounds great! I don't think I could do it two days in a row, either. I'll have to check out your book recommendations!

automatedeating · Post by **automatedeating** » Thu May 29, 2014 10:21 am

eschano, lots of fun book suggestions! Thanks! I think a few of those will find their way onto my summer reading list!

Ursula · Post by **Ursula** » Thu May 29, 2014 4:50 pm

Hi, eschano! Believe it or not, I own all three Sisi movies on VHS (good grief, how old am I?) and always wanted a father like the one she had...sigh. As far as writing poetry, I did not know she did that! Sisi actually turned me on to Heinrich Heine, but I will now have to look up some of her own works. I suppose I too am a Sisiphile (maybe even a latent Austrian? Did I mention that my favorite food of all times is the Germknoedel).

Ahhhh, "Atonement". I had such a great Modern Lit prof. in graduate school, that we actually studied this novel in his class shortly after its publication. And, in my opinion, one of the few movies that did the book justice. I also LOVED "Memoirs of a Geisha". Have not read "House of Spirits" or "The Third Man". Thanks for the suggestions.

So great to hear that you continue to positively influence your BF; you're so sweet about not pushing it on him that even if he were so inclined, his resistance would be futile (he, he). Your salads sound delish!

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Fri May 30, 2014 11:30 am

Yesterday:

NoS
Green - it was easy yesterday.

LAM
Green - watched a surprisingly good movie I didn't want to watch because I thought I had it figured out in the first 5 min but then didn't. It's called "non-stop" with Liam Neeson. Held my attention well.

SavingToBuyAMiniYacht
Green - that was a hard one! I had at least 6 instances where I really wanted to buy something. From really wanting a banana with my porridge for breakfast (forgot the banana at home) to wanting to buy a 1st Anniversary Card for friends (guess what, I made one) on the way home. There are as many spending cues in my environment as food cues I guess. One big win was that this month, despite it being 5 weeks, I will end up having spent under my budget - Yay me!!! And yes, I credit these 2 non-spending days per week as they shed light on the unnecessary things I buy.

It's so interesting because I learn very similar lessons with my finances that I did with my eating. Financial Moderation is no different than Diet Moderation it turns out. At least not for me. And I would suggest that over-consumption and over-spending are just as prevalent as over-eating. And then there's the other side of the spectrum: the finance-anorexics who only ever save. I find this so interesting! I will aim for moderation in both now. Who knows what other areas will get to me!

About ALL:
I have always considered myself being a very independent person but now I think John Donne was right: No Man Is An Island. It still surprises me how much we humans influence each other and for the first time I realise my responsibility in being a role model to other people, in living well not just for myself but because it makes the world better. And I am excited by this and feel this with all the lightness, not at all as a burden. It means I can influence the world with just changing my own habits. Isn't that amazing? This study proves for example that happiness spreads not only to your circle but also to your whole network: http://web.med.harvard.edu/sites/RELEAS ... iness.html

So now I find that for the first time I am really thinking about how I want to make an impact just by being the change I want to see (yep, stolen from Gandhi) and how to model these behaviours. I didn't properly get it until my boyfriend started to change his behaviour so much (and he is a STRONG personality). Until then I always felt that I got it in theory but didn't REALLY get it. I mean how powerful is that?

Everyday Systems

eschano 2014 check in

Water!