Everyday Systems

JWL

Hi all,

First of all, congrats Blondie, if you read this. The cover looks great, if a bit too plasticky-fake-makeup. But what do you expect from a mass media publication! Under all that greasepaint, YOU look great! :-D

Big news today. I stepped on the scale and it read: 309.8

This is significant ...

JWL

I have a few thoughts for you.

First, the main goal is to develop new habits, in accordance with the No-S rules. Remember that.

Drink Lots of water. Whenever you feel hungry, have a big, tall glass.

Keep telling yourself that you can do this, your body can survive for MANY MANY days without food ...

JWL

Another point of view on this: your situation (being bummed because you lost weight.... LOL) is nothing more than your old, destructive habit of yo-yo dieting reasserting itself. You expect to lose quickly, so you can gain it back again.

This is not about scales. This is about CREATING NEW HABITS ...

JWL

I too struggle with binge eating, especially at night.

When I binge, it's almost never because I'm hungry. It's because part of me wants to eat, wants that satisfaction of tasting yummy food right freakin now.

When I CHOOSE to binge (and it is vital that I remember that bingeing is a choice) I am ...

JWL

Another update.

First, I've now given up coffee entirely! Or at least, as a daily necessity. I've had 2-3 cups of coffee in the past month. I endured the caffeine headaches for 2-3 days, and that was it.

Secondly, my tire is STILL buried under snow in our yard. Our plow guy covered it, and it is ...

JWL

from the No-S book page:

Only 5 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Almost sold out! Wow!

JWL

A Seeker's Question:
Why do we continue to do things to ourselves that we KNOW are not good for us, that we know will harm us and bring no enduring benefit?

A Shaman's Answer:
Because we are not yet good enough at loving ourselves.

JWL

Buddhalite, in addition to 2nding the other warnings about going slow, I have to ask: what are the 3 songs?!??

JWL

welcome, mbarlowe..... good luck!

You can easily lose the 55 lbs. Develop good habits and the rest will take care of itself. It's only a matter of time.....

JWL

Hello newbies! :-)

Welcome to shovelglove. I've been doing this for several years now.... I think you are both very smart to start slow. This is a very strenuous (and fun!) exercise, you will work muscles you didn't know you had. :-)

If you are like me, the first week or two will be EXTREMELY ...

JWL

And it just gets better. We have about 18" of snow at the moment along with zero-degree temperatures and high winds (wind chill is tens of degrees below zero).

Last night, our heat went out, as did our gas stove. Turns out the gas regulator froze (it had about an inch of ice caked around it, solid ...

JWL

I'm presently experiencing my first Maine Wintah(tm) as a homeowner. This of course means shoveling snow.

Let me just say that there is no better training for shoveling snow than shovelglove.

'Nuff said.

JWL

Yeah, that's the video I saw that made me really want to try this. :-)

I do bend my knees a bit more, I wouldn't say it's a full squat, maybe halfway between what he does and a squat. Of course, my tire is smaller and is right on the ground (so it's lower), plus I'm probably taller than he is. So I ...

JWL

I'm not sure this counts as shovelglove, as it must be done outdoors, you need more than just a sledgehammer, and it doesn't simulate "useful movements" per se.

Basically, it's beating a tire, which seems to be one of the more common sledgehammer exercises out there. I've been wanting to try this ...

JWL

A few more notes I wanted to add.

First, last March I officially gave up half/half and sweetener in my coffees (my preferred sweetener was maple syrup in my iced americanos). I have been considering a move toward a vegan diet, and half and half (along with cheese) are the last 2 strongholds of ...

JWL

I had my 10#er in the house, the 8# is out in the garage and I didn't feel like getting it (cold and rainy outside).

I wasn't able to do the 2-handed version, the one at the beginning of the video.

I had better luck with the one-handed version starting at 0:38. I was able to go all the up to the ...

JWL

welcome!

You have good goals; regular exercise and meditation are both incredibly fruitful for mind, body, and spirit. :-)

A 10-lb sledge is nothing to sneeze at! I'm a big guy, 6'4", over 300lbs, and have spent time in gyms over the years (think NFL offensive guard). I started on a 10 pounder and ...

JWL

Hi Per,

Yes, soreness is common in your first week of shovelgloving. If you aren't sore that week, then I think you're probably doing something wrong. :wink:

Just take it easy. Do the moves that cause the soreness very slowly, enough to stretch the muscle a bit (I think this feels really good ...

JWL

congrats Jack!

Slow and steady wins the race. Not to mention enjoys the trip.

JWL

that's awesome!

Definitely the award for cutest shovelglove I've yet seen....

JWL

I'm not a lady but I am a shugger. LOL

I don't think getting too big, like bodybuilder big, is a concern in general for women who use any sort of weight training. Genetically speaking, for the most part, it's hard for anyone, and especially women, to look like Ahh-nuld.

People who get weightlifter ...

JWL

I have several hammers that I use, a 4# framing hammer for one-handed stuff, then an 8#, 10#, and my 16# (with the fiberglass handle... yech).

A hardware store near me actually stocks 20# hammers with wood handles... and I'm thinking about taking the plunge.

I use my 16# regularly, and I've been ...

JWL

I just put this in another thread, but is' very apt here.

I wrote about this a couple years ago on this forum.... my favorite "Jedi mind trick" when you feel hungry.

If you are feeling the sensation of hunger in your body, it means that your body needs energy. If you don't eat, then the only place ...

JWL

Good stuff here. Personally, I generally do 2 meals per day, that's what feels natural to me, and my meals are probably a bit larger than most. I don't generally want to snack, until my favorite old personal demon crops up, which is late night eating.

What I would do is take your lunch with you ...

JWL

Yeah, I haven't had a cover on my sledges in a long time. I'm just extra careful. No incidents yet *knock on wood... NOT with a sledgehammer*

The reason is that I occasionally actually need to use my hammers as a hammer....

JWL

hey there Paek,

Yeah I pretty much agree with what's been said. But then I'm the guy who shuggs in public whenever possible, just to watch 'em stare. :-)

The results speak for themselves. I used to lift in the gym all the time, and when I started shugging I pretty quickly got stronger than I'd ...

JWL

BTW, I'm sort of interested in the new HabitCal. Not quite sure how it works, I've doing a similar thing on paper here since I started my detox. Perhaps I'll move that to the virtual world...

15000th post on this forum.... heh.

JWL

Yes, I'm still alive! LOL

It's been an interesting year. No-S wise, I sort of dropped the ball last year during the detox and then spent most of the year coasting. I didn't really do No-s, at least consciously. I started eating at night again, though the bingeing was at least somewhat less out-of ...

JWL

Congrats, Reinhard!

I've been away from the forum for several months, but just found out about your book deal. That's exciting!

Advice: Keep it simple. After all, simplicity is why No-S is so effective. Humor is good, too. Toward that end, I'd probably do something like this:

Chapter One: The No ...

JWL

Very cool!

I absolutely love both "Hindu Pushups" and "Hindu Squats" as a complement to shovelglove....

And that hammer exercise looks very cool....

Thanks for putting that up.....

JWL

Or another option. Practice the "flip lever/no name" move with a broom so you feel like you have it.

Then, go into the store, and try a set of 14 with a 8 or 10 pounder. If you can make it through the set effortlessly, then try the 10 or 12 pounder.

Once you try this little experiment, your ...

JWL

Hi all.

Doing well on the No-S front. I did a weigh-in at 328.6 the other day, so that's good. Not much in the way of funny stuff since the 31st.... :)

Exercise-wise, I've been taking it easy, I had some dental surgery today and I'm recovering nicely from it, and over the weekend I had a cold. So ...

JWL

Today's weigh-in: 331.4. More tangible evidence of my recent slackage.

No matter, because my annual detox has begun!

This year, my focus is on packing as much weight loss as possible into a 2 month period, between now and Yule. This means:

-- no alcohol or meat, at all, ever between now and Yule ...

JWL

Hi all,

Still stupid busy in my reality, with music and other things. We're working feverishly in the studio to get this doggone demo finished... but it's looking like next week we really have a shot at finishing the first 3 songs for the CD.... so that our new demo will be complete. A couple ...

JWL

Hi Orvette,

My advice is to stick with the 12 for a week, maybe two, to see if you can get used to it. That's a lot of weight though.... but you seem motivated/stoked about this. Give yourself time to get used to it though.

BUT ABOVE ALL....

Do NOT let yourself give up because 'you need a lighter ...

JWL

I find that my body "rebels" whenever I try to do that which it is not used to doing... which sadly includes switching to something healthy (like starting an exercise program). The key, I find, is to ignore my body's rebellions as much as possible, and keep up the exercise program as much and as ...

JWL

Hi Natasha... I personally don't bother with the gym. I can get more than enough weight training with shovelglove, and for "cardio" I can urban ranger, do squats, bodyweight exercises, yoga, and all kinds of other stuff.

I've been doing this instead of the gym for over a year now, and I feel better ...

JWL

Hi all,

I did have a good vacation, apart from the fact that I shattered the handle on my 10# sledgehammer splitting wood. Finally got it replaced a couple days ago, used the 10#er and realized I need to sand down the new handle. Too rough.

Overall things have been good, though I ate way too much ...

JWL

Yesterday was ... yesterday.

No-S wise, I had 2 small meals during the day, and was really hungry in the evening so I had another meal.

Exercise: yesterday was the real-work-overrides-exercise thing. I cut up a bunch of lumber at a friends. Not really much work but I was surprisingly sore ...

JWL

I love it! mp3 link?

Not yet. Patience, young Reinhardwalker. Still working on the album. Anyone ever notice that albums take a really long time to record? We've been at it since April, but we are in fact making weekly progress. I had hoped it would be done by the end of the summer, but obviously ...

JWL

A while ago, I got a 4# framing hammer for my daughter to try shovelglove. I'm thinking about getting another one and doing club-like moves with the pair....

JWL

After a crappy weekend where I ate too much food and didn't exercise enough overall, today was a SUCCESS.

Meal #1: burrito with cheese, wild rice, tofu and veggies, tomatoes, and lettuce, along with 3 leftover breadsticks and hummus.

Meal #2: another burrito like before, with some hash browns ...

JWL

If you are up for downloading and burning to CD (or importing mp3s directly into your iPod-like-thingamahookie) try these (all free and legal):

http://www.audiobooksforfree.com/
http://librivox.org/completed-books/
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/categories/1

JWL

One of the beautiful things about No-S is that you can turn "not right now" into a positive: when you are hungry before mealtime and want to snack, say to yourself "not right now, I have a meal coming up in a few hours" or whatever.

JWL

"Breathe"
by Freakwitch
lyrics by Matthew Shields

It don't matter the situation
There's always one thing you can do
Pay attention to the way the air goes
In and out of you

You gotta learn how to breathe
You gotta learn how to breathe

It don't matter what you are doing
Running a race or ...

JWL

Today's weigh-in: 326.0. This is good as I was up over 330 yesterday from water retention (gotta love processed foods).

Yesterday was a mixed bag. I took it as an S-day because my wife and I went on one of our monthly(ish) dates. So dinner was some yummy meatloaf made from freerange beef, mashed ...

JWL

Today was a success.

No-S
Meal#1 was leftover pad thai from last night. I've only made this dish 3 or 4 times, but it's already one of my best and my favorites. Yum.

Meal#2 was 2 veggie burgers and frozen french fries. This is about as close as I get to processed food. Quick and simple. At least ...

JWL

Hi Reinhard, yeah Tevas are awesome. I have a pair and they are definitely my summer shoes. I wear them as late into the year as possible, to be sure.... with thick socks I can pretty much wear them until it starts snowing, which is all-too-soon in Maine....

This inquiry is for my winter shoes....

JWL

I want to ask people for recommendations for good urban rangering shoes. I'm a big guy, and when I walk I'm hard on my feet. The thing is, when I have good shoes I can walk pretty much as long as I want without getting too tired. Most of my rangering is in fact urban, though I do occasionally take ...

JWL

Today was a well-earned success.

No-S
Meal 1 was leftover pasta with sauce and cheese. Meal#2 was a large plate -- but only one plate -- of my homemade pad thai with tofu, carrots, greenbeans, green onions, cilantro, crushed peanuts, and bean sprouts. Yum.

Exercise
I did an abbreviated ...

JWL

Two really cool things happened today....

First, my wife surprised me with a new pair of GoreTex LL Bean walking boots, which were badly needed.... my old boots were 3 or 4 years old and well worn.

Second, I noticed that, for the first time in many moons, my trusty belt seems a bit loose.... time ...

JWL

Today was another S-Day. Meal #1 was a bagel, 2 slices of toast, cheddar cheese, and cherry tomatoes. Good plateful of food.

Meal#2 was some of my wife's version of cottage pie (we call it "apartment pie") with an apple. Yummy stuff. Lots of water and coffee, as it was a work day on little sleep ...

JWL

Today's weigh in: 328.4. Still retaining water from the chinese food from last night.... bleah.

JWL

Hi there, congrats on adapting to No-S.

Regarding exercise, I'm becoming more and more convinced that the best exercise to do if you want to lose weight is rangering, urban or otherwise. If you aren't already, once you get used to walking without fatigue for an hour, start adding hills to your ...

JWL

Today was a mixed bag, but I'll call it a success.

It was an S-Day, I usually take Fridays as such. My 2nd meal consisted of 2 small plates of food at my favorite Chinese buffet. A lot of food, and it will be interesting to see what the salt content does to my system at the weigh-in tomorrow. I ...

JWL

I wanted to record that my daughter and I took a 2.65 mile, 655 calorie walk , meandering up and down hills. The biggest uphill legs of our walk was up Mountfort St, and then up Fox St and Walnut St (the same 2 hills I walk up coming home from work).

Meal #1 today was leftover pizza from last night ...

JWL

hey there, congrats on finding and doing shovelglove.

I'd recommend sticking to the daily schedule; as you say doing this in the morning may be just the ticket to supplement your other training. In addition, this gives you a daily muscle-building component to help keep your body from burning muscle ...

JWL

Hi Carol/Benjumanji....

Glad the Jedi Mind Trick works for you. Powerful little piece of cognitive metaprogramming.

Where in Maine are you? I'm in Portland....

JWL

This morning's weigh-in: 326.7. I had anticipated a bit of a rebound.... well there ya go. No worries.

JWL

Today was .... a learning experience .

The good: I had 2 meals. I reduced the size of the first meal; lately I'd been having a smoothie plus something with it. Today I just had the smoothie. I also did a nice shovelglove routine with the 16# hammer, except for chopping wood where I used the 10 ...

JWL

You're thinking of stevia. Not sure how that would work in baking, though.

My wife uses honey, and sometimes maple syrup.

Why do you want to avoid honey, just out of curiousity? As long as you aren't using refined sugar, I think it's OK....

JWL

Congrats silverfish! Though I enjoin you to be cautious treading the dark side.... LOL

You'll have to get used to adhering to No-S during the Power Lunch phenomenon....

JWL

This morning's weigh-in: 325.6. I weighed myself 3 times to double-check the accuracy, and got the same reading each time. Wow! Long walks must release lots of water weight; I certainly did sweat quite a bit yesterday....

Though with a loss as big as that one in one day (more than three pounds), I ...

JWL

The walk was my standard uphill, home from work walk, 1.42 miles and 354 calories burned.

JWL

Interesting! Good to know.... though with shuggage that's not a problem for us.... whee!

JWL

I can go ahead and call today a SUCCESS.

I documented much earlier, add to that a 12" subway sub for dinner. I'll also get another 30min of walking in for the trip home.

W00t!

JWL

Today's been good so far, wanted to document a few things while they were fresh in my mind.

First, I took a 2.7 mile, 672 calorie walk with my daughter and her dog. This was to drop them off at my wife's office for the 90 minute overlap between our work shifts today, then I came in to work. I'll ...

JWL

David, my understanding is that the body doesn't begin to feed on muscle tissue until a) there is no fat left, or b) you are enduring prison-camp, third-world-desert starvation conditions.

I could be wrong, but if one is dieting and exercising then one tends to build muscle and lose fat....

JWL

This morning's weigh-in: 328.9. Wanted to post that before I forgot the number.....

JWL

Yes, none of my hammers have anything soft wrapped around them. Not a big deal for me. Though the 4# framing hammer my daughter uses has a big thing of foam and duct tape around the edge.

As far as nude shugging.... been known to once or twice. Shugging in underwear is actually a fairly common ...

JWL

this question has been on my mind for some time, but especially vividly since I've been reasserting No-S the past few weeks.

I'm training my mind to actually enjoy the sensation of being hungry. I regard this is a spiritual exercise, a discipline of sorts.

Here are a few random thoughts on hunger ...

JWL

Today's weigh-in: 329.1. This is a good thing given my weekend, full of bad eating on S days. Yesterday my weigh in was actually 334.9, because I was retaining so much water. Bleah.

Having said that, today was a success, even if it was another S-day. Apart from the 2 small slices of birthday cake ...

JWL

Yesterday was .... not too bad.

No-S: I was awake at 6am and ravenously hungry. I had a small amount of leftover pasta then. Then around noon I was hungry again, so I made a smoothie. Then dinner was 2 veggie burgers, an ear of corn on the cob, and a salad. Well within No-S rules, but more than my ...

JWL

Dude, I think you are missing the point. You are taking one example of how these exercises could affect the body (these exercises could improve vision) and running with it.

Does exercise improve vision? I don't know. I'd wager that the vision of yoga masters, averaged up, is probably better than ...

JWL

OK, been working a lot....

Sunday was definitely an S day. I didn't walk because I wanted to let my legs rest, but I did manage a set of 25 squats on one of my breaks at work.

I had 2 meals, both were pasta (!). I also had a snack out of the vending machine, a small chicken sandwich and a soda ...

JWL

OK, so let's try an example.

Let's say I go to the optometrist, and I am tested with having 20/40 vision in one eye, and 20/80 in another.

I decide I want to improve that, and my doktor prescribes 8 weeks of hardcore yoga and tai chi, including the Tibetan rites.

On the way home, intrigued by ...

JWL

Today was a SUCCESS.

No-S
Meal#1 was 2 bagels with cilantro hummus.

Meal#2 was 4 slices of pizza and a salad. Lots of water drank.

No funny stuff, which is especially cool since I worked! The meals today were very large though. I just got home from work a bit ago, and I'm still way full from ...

JWL

Hi SaveFerris, the Tibetan rites look like a yoga routine, basically. Yes, those are outrageous claims from a western perspective. But the nice thing about eastern exercises (yoga, t'ai chi, etc) is that they tend to work systemically, on both the body and the energy system (chi/qi etc) that animate ...

JWL

heh, yes I'm in Maine now, but my childhood was spent in the wild tracts of uncharted suburbia outside Cincinnati, Ohio....

Little snow, and utterly flat, at least that walk was....

JWL

Agreed.... there isn't a huge difference between food availability in the US vs. the UK, at least based on my 2 week vacation there last year, my utter inability to find half and half for my coffee or tomahhhhto paste for a pasta sauce notwithstanding. :-)

2 major chains of grocers as described are ...

JWL

I just had to post a quick note, I found this funny and a compelling image of my fitness/urban rangering issues in my lifetime.

When I was a kid, one of the many kid-crises we had to deal with was how far away the bus stop was from our house. We had to walk SO FAR! My sister and I complained about ...

JWL

Welcome back.

I know what you mean about ups and downs, and willpower. That's been the story of 2006 for me thus far. But I have a new resolve, I'm a few days into my refocused program and so far it seems to be holding strong.

As I recall you didn't have much weight to lose, so it shouldn't take ...

JWL

Hi Amy, a couple of observations:

1. eating a protein bar as one of your meals is certainly within No-S rules, provided it's not a glorified candy bar. If the nutritional content is sound, and it's what you want for lunch, then go for it. Having said that, I don't really like protein bars, and I ...

JWL

Today's weigh-in: 327.8.

This means I'm down 4 pounds in 3 days since I've started being strict again. I'm also down 5.6 pounds since my first re-entry into weigh-in-dom a little over 2 weeks ago.

This serves as further confirmation. When I stick to my plan, I lose weight. I'm sure this rapid ...

JWL

Today was a success .

No-S
Meal#1: leftover pasta from last night.

Meal#2: homemade Pad Thai with tofu, greenbeans, zucchini, mushrooms, onions, garlic. Missed the cilantro, crushed peanuts, and lemon slices. Next time....

I had 2 Sam Adams halloween ales tonight. No funny stuff.

Exercise ...

JWL

This morning's weigh-in: 328.7.

JWL

Today was a SUCCESS .

No-S
Meal#1 was half a bagel with hummus, and a wrap with hummus, spinach, and tomatoes.

Meal#2 was a bowl of pasta with a ton of different veggies and chick peas. No cheese, and there were more veggies than pasta.

No funny stuff.

Exercise
I did a full shovelglove ...

JWL

This morning's weigh-in: 329.4

JWL

congrats Judy, the first week is the hardest... stick with it!

JWL

Today was a SUCCESS .

No-S
Meal #1 was leftovers. I had half of a burrito, and some BBQ tempeh/roasted potatoes/roasted carrots on my plate.

Meal #2 was a plate filled with 2 vegan "chik" patties, mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, and some homemade gravy over it all.

No funny stuff.

Exercise ...

JWL

Just a thought. I've decided to set a specific, numerical goal for myself, which is something I know that is kinda frowned upon on this forum and in the ES ethos. I don't really agree with this, provided that the goals are reasonable and attainable. Goals are useful to me; as a pagan, I believe that ...

JWL

Very cool, Reinhard!

You clearly need some intro music for your podcast, if this is going to be a regular podcast..... heh heh. Maybe I can whip up something with some sledgehammer samples... hee.

JWL

Today's weigh-in: 331.8. So my last 3 weigh-ins have been moving in the right direction.... cool. I still say more strictness is in order. My schedule is a bit more relaxed now, so it should be doable.

I'm feeling more inspired again.... I've been eating well and feeling good again, so that's more ...

JWL

welcome to shovelglove. Regarding knees, hindu squats are your friend....

JWL

I've been busy, mostly working and being a tour guide and hanging out with my sister and my niece this past week. Been doing pretty well No-S wise, not bad but not great exercise-wise.

Today was definitely a success. Meal #1 was a soymilk, peanut butter, frozen banana, blueberry smoothie. Meal #2 ...

JWL

I use frozen bananas in smoothies ALL the time. Adds a wonderful creaminess to it... most of mine are soymilk based.

JWL

alright, where was I....

Been busy, my sister and my niece are in town for their first ever Maine vacation. So I haven't had much time to write.

Been doing OK on No-S. Not great, but not bad. A few Funnystuffisms since the last update, including a midweek trip to Red's for a Peanut Butter Cup ...

JWL

thanks....

JWL

Yesterday's weigh-in: 332.7

The past 2 days (including today) have been good diet-wise, but I've not really exercised much. still recovering from the cold....

Just a quick update.

JWL

To someone so fat they cannot fit into such a machine, as I used to be, the thing to remember is that such a condition does not happen overnight. It comes from many years of neglect, which can come from the aforementioned numbness, depression, ignorance, injury, illness, etc etc.

But it is ...

Everyday Systems

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look what I saw on Amazon

Seeker's Question, Shaman's Answer

Shoveling snow

not sure if it's genuine shovelglove, but.... BEAT THE TIRE!

Back again!

Urban Rangering shoes?

Walking benchmark

Goal Setting