Everyday Systems

Elyssa

Okay, tribe.

Here are my updates. I promised the update and Oolala, no, I have not slinked off (slunked off?)(grammar!?) in shame. That said, I am not sure my modifications still qualify me as a bona fide, card-carrying member of "No-S." (But I don't want to leave you guys!!!)

So, here is what ...

Elyssa

Dear Merry & Dear Oolala:

Well, like I said... it's totally unscientific. But I have DEFINITELY noticed that weight comes off much more easily in Germany and this baffles me. Now, to be sure, I was raised there and my weight problem started there. Nevertheless, since working on my weight intensely ...

Elyssa

Dear Fellow Members of the No-S Tribe:
I am still around! Still a member of the tribe, although I went off on my own for a bit and was experimenting. Soon more! It's been crazy at work, too, so time has been short. I just want to reassure everyone that, yes, I am still around. I did not "ride off ...

Elyssa

Dear Oolala:

I must weigh in (no pun intended) on this one. I have an opinion about it.
No (!!!) offense to our fellow No-S tribe members in Germany.
And maybe I am totally wrong to compare Italy and Germany.
And maybe I am just plain crazy but...

I think there is something "in the environment ...

Elyssa

Hi Darceyrose:
The first step is to get off the "carousel of crazy," right?

WITH NO-S, THERE IS MOST DEFINITELY A WAY TO DO SO!

I think many of us here in this forum can relate to what you are describing, certainly I can. I am reading between the lines... so you feel like outsiders have no idea ...

Elyssa

Checking in, folks. Just so you know, I kind of fell off my No-S horse. Not blaming the horse, just me not using my muscles with enough determination to prevent this.
(Well, let me not waffle on again with my strange metaphors. Ahem.)

I overate like once, then wasn't hungry for the next meal. So ...

Elyssa

Losing weight nearly always causes the metabolism to slow, whether it's done fast or slowly. That's why people who have been heavier usually have to eat less to maintain a lower weight than someone who has always been that weight. Tough to face, but true.

True that, true that! :lol:

I went off ...

Elyssa

Hi Larkspur...
Sigh, that hit a nerve for me. My son, aged 11, was a normal weight for most of his life. Since I put on 30 lbs fairly quickly late last year and early this year, HIS weight also went up. I do feel that children quickly follow the lead, at least mine does, and now it's been less than ...

Elyssa

Welcome, Splandrea! Welcome to the No-S tribe. I myself like to think of it as "the No-S horse." Currently, it may look like it's thrown me off, but that's just me, losing my balance, hehe. As for you, beginner's enthusiasm is a good thing. WELCOME & LET'S HEAR ABOUT YOUR ONGOING PROGRESS :lol:

Elyssa

Merry! What you write is truly marvelous & inspiring in so many ways. I'm very sorry about the loss of your father when you were so young (but old enough, obviously, to grasp the loss at the time...). Very glad your uncle made such a long, symbolic trip for you. And recently, there have been many ...

Elyssa

Dear Kaalii -
You are very courageous. (And no need to justify... This is YOUR check-in, and here is where you get to decide...how and what to say.) Admiring your courage and honesty & wishing you STRENGTH & LIGHT & HEALING. We all face the dark side also and I know for sure: there is a way through ...

Elyssa

Hi Skycat:

You're doing good, girl! :lol:

I always smile when I read about your Muesli and the nectarines... those really do take me back to Germany. And I had to laugh about Pepperoni. Yes, there is some confusing food vocabulary/room for misunderstanding.

By crisps I guess you Brits mean what ...

Elyssa

Thank you, Oolala. :)

Here, life has gone on... in a good way, overall. Not perfect. No. But I did pretty much get right back on the old No-S horse.

I'm pleased to report that I did NOT break the "don't be an idiot" rule on Saturday and Sunday. Hooray!!! That said, I work on Saturdays & did not ...

Elyssa

Hello Babybird:

Yes, where/how are you, and are you doing better? I can relate, and think a lot of us here can relate, to feeling "doomed" to overeating/going on binges forever. As Oolala said, "WRONG."
There is DEFINITELY help.

What helped me, as well, was to start to detach the notion of ...

Elyssa

Hi Bluebell:

Super good news about your newly-found commitment to exercise!!!

I feel so blessed that, when it comes to exercise, my years as a Weight Watcher really worked to entrench the habit. (Even when I was really fat, before WW, I still exercised - just not as regularly.)

My goal is 30 ...

Elyssa

Hi Burt:
CONGRATULATIONS AND KEEP UP THE POSITIVE ATTITUDE & ENERGY!
We definitely look forward to your 3-month check-in!!!!

Vacations are tricky, I would imagine. My first vacation since starting my "No-S" life changes will be in August. I have already decided that there is NO way I am going to ...

Elyssa

Thanks for stopping by, Merry. And thank you for always being so encouraging. :D

Here, it's been a bit of a mixed bag. I've learned that it's easy to get rather sloppy with virtual plating... so much so it can turn a nifty tool into what's really...second helpings, ahem!

Then I had a very "red ...

Elyssa

Welcome back, Jean!!! :)
I'm still new, but in some ways feel like a veteran here. :wink:
I can certainly relate to the "taking care of others at the expense of self" part.
Now you've shown up here again, which I think means that you're not only in need of accountability --though that is an ...

Elyssa

Hi Skycat :D
In his book, Reinhard pretty much suggests that "American wage slaves" are unlikely to have a problem with lengthy vacations in terms of continuing to follow No-S diet principles.... but there you are, in Deutschland where Urlaub is accorded more weight (uh, NO pun intended). I myself ...

Elyssa

Great!!!

~ Elyssa

Elyssa

:lol: Merry - So, now you're in the 170s, new milestone - YAY!!!!
We seem to be at similar points. I started at 180+ and now I'm back in the 170s, VERY gratefully so. May God bless you with that perhaps slow but steady & permanent decline in excess weight until you get to "your" weight range! :wink ...

Elyssa

Hi Marina :D
I read your message twice and in doing so, noticed the following:
1.) you said right away that breakfast plays a very minor role in your country (and thus, your life); AND
2.) lunch is difficult to reschedule to a much different time; AND
3.) lunch is slow / substantial / a real sit ...

Elyssa

Dear Oolala:

I'm terribly sorry if I misunderstood you in any way!!! I doubt you were being overly dramatic; more likely, I simply misread and misunderstood.

It is quite apparent to me that you are more of a deep thinker, plus a lot of what you write is extremely subtle yet very powerful. I may ...

Elyssa

The successful ones just keep reducing the intensity and frequency of overages, and not necessarily in a linear fashion, meaning they keep going back to the new habits, emphasizing their superior value.

Lilibug - I would say let those wise words from Oolala guide you. There is so much packed in ...

Elyssa

Hi Alar: welcome and so we are both newbies! I'm finding it really helpful to have an actual plate (not a container or paper plate or napkin) & place my food there and look at it & appreciate it as a meal before starting. It's possible the popcorn simply wasn't a "meal" and that may have tripped you ...

Elyssa

Lilybug: Get right back on the N Day horse, and don't let anything stop you!!! Don't beat yourself up. S Days are not really a fail, even if we overdo it... Maybe you were too strict about what goes on your plates M-F, or maybe you snacked uncomfortably on Sunday? I'm finding I really like to keep ...

Elyssa

Hi Ironchef:
Hope you feel better soon & sounds like your week and weekend went well.
Scones with jam & creamy tea sounds like a perfect winter-time S Day treat to me! Cheers, Elyssa

Elyssa

Mexican AND African? Sounds so delicious - as in Afro-Mexican food?
You always seem to have tasty, interesting, international dinners

And are you finding the sanity and regularity you've been looking for?
Peace, Elyssa

Elyssa

Lagflag, another possibility, which I am contemplating, is to get a plate you can eat off of but that has three or more "sections" for different types of food so they don't touch...

Elyssa

Thank you, Oolala, for stopping by. :D
I think he means we are a "low carb" nation in the sense that a comparatively lower percentage / proportion of our calories comes from carbs (as opposed to come other cultures) due to high levels of protein consumption (meat and all that).

So, it's been busy ...

Elyssa

Hi Lagflag: there may NOT be any logic behind it... it's really just an interesting experience I've had now that I got onto No-S. I used to have so many snacks, not be hungry at meals, then eat and eat & strangely NOT reach a point of satiety. Now, I'm hungry at meals. Paradoxically, I'm eating more ...

Elyssa

Sage advice from Merry, as usual! 🌞
I would also suggest number 3. "Hunger is not an emergency" - that's what I learned from reading a Beck diet solutions book. I had forgotten all about it but it's good to bear in mind! For most people, there is NO harm in being hungry for a while, seriously: none ...

Elyssa

Anne - BEST OF LUCK & Good Vibes to you!!! Question: I'm assuming you have good reasons for being so strict in your modifications? Whatever path you choose, YOU CAN DO IT & again, best of luck!!!! (If you find it easier to follow "regular" No-S rules after all, you can always deliberately adjust ...

Elyssa

Kaalii - answer is "YES." I take a high quality (well, what I like to think of as a high quality, anyway!) multi-vitamin that contains some herbs, from a company called "Rainbow Light." I take vitamin C and zinc (the latter to ward off colds - which seems to work really well). Also I take a well ...

Elyssa

Hey Kaalii:
You hang in there, girl. Sounds like you have had a lot of challenges lately on the health front AND the relationship front. Your gratitude lists read like poetry. More power to you!!!

Elyssa

Hi Oolala:
My first and most sincere wish is for you NOT to despair!!! You have so much wisdom and insight to offer all of us - so as far as I am concerned, there is no reason that you, one of our big healers here, cannot "heal thyself first." :wink:

I cannot say much here, except I personally ...

Elyssa

Thanks so much for stopping by, Merry and Oolala. :D

Yes, the book is super cool. I thought I'd already read SO many things about diet and nutrition in recent years that the "No S Diet" book (written in 2008, at that) would probably NOT give me any truly new/unique insights. WRONG!

Some of the ...

Elyssa

oolala53 wrote: So what am I dreaming of eating on Saturday? The cherries I bought just before this. My coconut porridge. TWO cups of coffee, if I want both. Edamame spaghetti. Cooked cauliflower. What kind of freak have I become?

Now THAT was funny, LOL

Elyssa

Oolala, there is so much compact wisdom encapsulated in your response!!!

It actually takes a lot of time to read and then (ah yes, pardon the pun) DIGEST the thoughts you shared so generously.

You are absolutely right - what seems so easy may very well be --and probably is-- at the end of the ...

Elyssa

All is well here.

I have a scale at home that I am friends with. It does not rule my life - it provides me with helpful info. So I am not unhappy with it, no matter what. My old-fashioned scale --which is what it is-- is starting to budge. Finally a downward trend, not drastic but encouraging ...

Elyssa

Dear Jennie J.:
CONGRATULATIONS!!! I am a first-time No-S implementer, but I have also been marveling at how much mental energy seems to have gotten freed up, and how I no longer feel down and depressed because I "can't stick to anything" in terms of healthy/ordered (as opposed to unhealthy ...

Elyssa

Dear BurtMacklin (dear fellow newbie!!):

What awesome news! You have found your own way to do it, to get started. It sounds like you are totally making progress. Whatever works for you, right? So if you need the "safety net" of an occasional afternoon snack, no problem... I take it you are fully ...

Elyssa

Thanks, Skycat.

Best of all I did NOT feel the urge or need to binge on multigrain baguette with organic butter when purchasing both yesterday - because, hey, I could just leave some room on my plate. And just ate that one piece, with butter - and was mysteriously satisfied.

As said - don't know ...

Elyssa

Oolala - Hehe. Yes, he is a keeper. :wink:
Sonya - he was born and raised in Mexico. He used to cook for a living, so that is still what he does because he loves to cook. Or, one might say, he doesn't enjoy other people's food as much as his own, LOL. Anyway, I feel extremely blessed because yes, he ...

Elyssa

I never wanted brownie batter when I was truly hungry.

And what Merry said:
"Yes--sometimes I'm amazed at how little it takes to make me full and that I can experience hungry and full--and also it stuns me to realize how "stuffed" I was all the time before yet still wanted to eat--it just doesn't ...

Elyssa

It seems that since starting No S, I am less hungry. Or hungry in a different way. I think I was really trained to "have snacks" (healthy ones, of course) so as not to "let myself get too hungry" that I perhaps never realized that the snacking itself was maybe making me hungrier??!

I am just ...

Elyssa

Check-in Sunday (3rd plate):
Delicious big bowl of soup w/kale, mushrooms, chickpeas, other veggies
4 very big slices watermelon

Check-in Monday:

Plate #1 (in a mason jar, had to be portable!)[/b]
Oats & amaranth & chia seeds, boiled in H2O with unsweetened soymilk
(a normal breakfast for me ...

Elyssa

Thank you, Sonya.

I must say, it's going better than expected!!!
Have a wonderful day

Elyssa

Feel so much peppier and in a better mood today than usually (previously) after Sundays! Today feeling better after loosening up - but not going overboard.

Oolala mentioned something I've been pondering: "Choose your hard." True that! I realize that difficult moments will arise even now, on this ...

Elyssa

Dear Merry & dear Oolala:

Thanks so much for your kind welcome. Your words mean a lot, and it is good to know there are kind and like-minded people out there. (Oolala - brevity is my strength also not!)

I have been reflecting back the last couple of day & I realize that the times I did best on WW ...

Elyssa

Today is what I would consider my first "real" S Day. My N Days so far (there have been 4 of them) went unexpectedly well. On Thursday, I was offered cheese cake. I accepted and saved it for today.

Today, when I got up, I figured my new normal routine is best (1 plate). But I had something a bit ...

Elyssa

Hello everyone! I'm new here but I actually feel a little bit acquainted with some of the members, as I was browsing through some of the posts prior to joining. There is so much wisdom and encouragement here! Also, I can just feel that the "No S" approach is just what I needed.

I was a successful ...

Everyday Systems

Search found 52 matches

Okay, overall, as things go

The More Often I Ate, the Hungrier I Got?

N Day Thoughts - "Choose your Hard"

Elyssa's Check-In (yes... I am a newbie)

New To "No S Diet" but Already Extremely Pleased