Everyday Systems

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Pretty interesting! It's scray to see how big those portions are.

Where I live in Europe the portion sizes are still somewhat normal. That slice of pizza has more calories than a whole pizza over here! It almost seems as if people are trying to fool themselves into thinking they're not eating that ...

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I have low blood sugar.

The only problem that I have is in the afternoon, because there is a long time between lunch and dinner. So I have an apple or bread and cheese. Otherwise I'll crash and reach for the cookies or anything in sight. Happened yesterday because I forgot the afternoon meal.

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He said: "Joce, no one wants to be fat, but you don't HAVE to be skinny, and you WANT to be normal."

... He's said this before, but for the first time it actually meant something to me. I've been going in search of a diet that will make me look like a celebrity, but I'M NOT ONE.

I really need to ...

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I would strongly advise against skipping meals. If you're not hungry for dinner due to a large lunch, just have something light like soup or salad, and remember next lunch to eat not so much.

When you skip dinner, you might be starving at 22:00 and reaching for the cookies.

I don't know about ...

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Take a plate out of your cupboard, put the sandwich and cheese on it.

Put on some nice music. Set the table, with cutlery, napkin, water glass and wine glass. Put your plate on the table.

Enjoy your meal!

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For me, Wednesdays are always difficult. I feel like I've "been good" for two days, and then on Wednesdays I want a cookie to reward myself for my good behaviour. Or chocolate. Or cake. Then I really have to talk myself out of that.
The rest of the week is a lot easier.

Which day is most difficult ...

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That's amazing!

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You're doing really well so far, building that habit and exercising!

Now it's time to figure out the quantities of food on your plate, start experimenting with how much you really need to feel satisfied.

I had this week one day where I had three meals, but all huge and fairly unhealthy with lots ...

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I have never been able to skip meals, so have no experience in this. I don't think it would work very well, only make you dizzy and moody. And more likely to snack and thus fail.

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Turn off your computer, and go outside.

Stop thinking about wanting to exercise, but go and do it.

And have fun!

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I also tried Tai-Chi briefly and fell in love with it, unfortunately, I don't have the space inside to practice and there are never ongoing classes nearby my house.
C'est la vie.

Egad! How small is your room? Tai chi requires little more than space to stand! Have another exclamation mark for good ...

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I have always exercised, and enjoyed it. My mood is a lot better when I have my regular workouts.

My aim is to excercise 2-3 times a week at the gym. Usually for about an hour, either aerobics classes or cardio and weights.

I also try to walk more.

And something new: a short at-home workout ...

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From my experience, ignoring it is really the best option. You will survive without sweets.

Or alternatively:
- brush your teeth after your meal
- have a piece of chewing gum
- have a glass of water instead of a snack

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Hello. Today is the first day of me being on the diet and Im just so confused on what to eat.

Eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. No snacks, sweets and seconds.

Eat food that you like and that satisfies you enough so you won't get hungry again in an hour.

Enjoy your meals. Cook different things ...

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Some of my favourites:

- lavendar chocolates from the chocolate shop
- triple chocolate chip cookies from my local supermarket
- one of those fancy coffees with syrup etc.
- homemade still-warm brownies or almond cookies
- a selection of different cheeses
- bread with homemade garlic butter

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I'm having rice with stir-fried zucchini, onions, mushrooms and and a lot of Moroccan spices. And veggie burgers.

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I had an S-day...

breakfast: scrambled eggs and two croissants
lunch: egg sandwich and a big salad
snack: some small canapÃ©es (sp?), muesli with yoghurt and an apple
more snacks: drinks and crisps at bar
dinner: a delicious three-course Italian meal with lots of wine, followed by more drinks

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I have lunch at 11:45 or something, so quite early too. And on the days that I go straight from work to the gym, I'm not coming home until 19:30. So I have a smaller lunch and then something to eat at 16:00 to keep me from fainting at the gym.

Also, I have low bloodsugar so my doctor ordered me to ...

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I have to say that I'm getting better at this. When someone offers a chocolate, I just say "no, thanks", sometimes with the excuse that I have a piece of gum already which does not go well with chocolate.

Other times it just feels to impolite to refuse, then I take it and throw it away :oops: , or ...

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3 meal decisions,
And then there are the decisions like this: "shall I have a piece of chocolate?" and then have to say no to myself...

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That's great, congratulations!

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But I LIKE tweaking!

I was making all these extra rules like "one cookie during the week does not matter, I don't need to lose weight, only maintain." Guess what, now I do need to lose weight...

Thanks for the reminder!

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Not buying sweets seems like a good plan. Works quite well for me.

Are you eating enough at dinner?

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Did some exercise at home yesterday, so I am very happy. Also managed to ignore the voice in my head that was shouting for chocolate.

Feel really good right now.
Yay for me!

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I love tea!

Mostly I drink green tea and various herbal teas, unsweetend (except when I have a cold, then I put a bit of honey in), throughout the day.

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Melsie52 wrote:This is my question: When I barbecue chicken I would like to eat the skin especially the wings. I would put this on my plate with veges and maybe a potato is that OK?

Sounds like a good meal to me.

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This weekend was good! No chocolate-overdose, just a dessert every day. Plus some additional snacks like a big lunch and bread and butter before dinner.

Even attempted some exercise.

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You could always have tea with some sugar or honey, if you really want something sweet.

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http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/

And a map of the time zones: http://sydaby.eget.net/swe/tzones.htm

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MerryKat wrote:If you want to track something, get a tape measure and do monthly measurements - they are far more accurate.

I'd recommend that too.

Or don't measure anything at all. You will notice when your clothes are getting too big.

Just focus on building good habits.

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reinhard wrote:I wish I could post the article itself...

Is there a reason why you can't? I'd love to see the article, but this magazine is not available in Europe.

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Depends on the day, and weather I exercise before or after dinner, but normally around 18:30.

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I'm more or less in the same height/weight range as your mother.

I use this more for maintenance than weight loss, but I think the main reason that I haven't been losing weight is because I haven't been following the rules strictly (sweets during the week etc.) every day. Since I already am at a ...

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Makes sense to have big and small S-days.

I usually use an S-day (any S-day) as an excuse to eat everything, so I am going to try if this will work to keep me from overeating.

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Congratulations!

Such good news.

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For me the first weeks varied a lot. Some times went extremely well, and other times I justed wanted to eat a pack of cookies. You body does need to adjust, and that takes time.

Some things I find hard:
- saying no to sweets when they're offered (at work, with friends)
- keep the weekend eating ...

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Welcome!

Make food that you really enjoy eating, and take the time to savour it all. Why waste your appetite for things that you don't really like? I've noticed that I've become much more critical about what I eat since I started this. More organic fruits and vegetables, real butter, no light stuff ...

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I have a new goal that I'm going to be working towards.

Early summer I will be going on a long adventurous holiday, and I need to be in good shape for that. Which means healthy foods and regular exercise (3 times a week). No weight goals, just focusing on being fit and healthy.

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Still struggling some days... but am determined to continue.

Need to think of a nice reward for the weekend.
Satuday I'm out all day, from before lunch until midnight. Plan to eat healthy and filling food, plus something sweet or snacky. And bring some apples to snack on. But won't panic if this ...

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Do you eat enough during lunch? Might be the reason why you're so hungry.

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Welcome Andrew!
Hope this plan will make you feel healthy.

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I always go crazy on Saturday, with the "yay, it's weekend" feeling. How do you manage not to do that?

Keep up the good work!

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Eating fruit is for me more important than if you put it on your plate or not. I have fruit with breakfast, on or beside my plate. And then one piece of fruit in the afternoon (I have four meals a day).

You can also just put a little bit less food on your plate and have a piece of fruit for dessert ...

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Happy birthday Dawn!

Exercise is really important for me, and I am now aiming for 3-4 times a week which is doable. It gives me energy and makes me feel happy.

Last weekend was not bad! :D
One of the best tricks is not to stock up on chocolate/cookies/chips, and making sure you eat your fruit and ...

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Thanks Dawn!

I have low bloodsugar, so for me it's best to eat 4-5 times a day. I tried to move towards 3 meals, but that apparently did not work so well. So back to more and smaller meals.

Boredom snacking is the worst, isn't it? I still do that during the weekend, but have started to work on ...

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Welcome!

It's great that only two days already make you feel better. And that you're walking no matter the weather.

Take care.

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I have the feeling that three meals are not working for me. Going to make the following changes:

- eat breakfast, lunch, dinner plus an afternoon meal
- eat something small before bed if necessary, or a glass of milk
- eat more salads and soups
- excercise more, especially cardio
- do not overeat ...

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Thanks for the advice, Debs and Reinhard. Will follow it next weekend.

This weekend was actually better regarding the overindulging. Still ate a lot, but less than S-days before. I am very slowly learning.

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I took it as an N-day because I already had an S-day this week which was to me more special than Valentine's day.

But I failed quickly and badly. :(
I never seem to get the "just eat one chocolate and that's it". I always eat all the chocolates until I feel sick. Then vow to never do that again ...

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Last week was pretty bad, I failed most days. Plus I am gaining inches.

So, back to No-S again!

Yesterday (Monday) was an S-day so I had a delicious piece of cake after dinner, plus some (=too much) chocolate. The good thing was that I did not start the unhealthy stuff until after dinner. The bad ...

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That's a nice way to think of it, I will keep that in mind when I need to be strong.

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My failures usually take place in the middle of the week. When I had two N-days, I just need something sweet to tide me over. And then I'll be good again until the weekend.

Can you give yourself something nice that is not a sweet or snack on Thursday? Like making your favourite tea a "Thursday tea ...

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Weird, isn't it? Always when I get my period, I think to myself "so that's why I was in such a bad mood last week"! I never seem to remember or even be prepared.

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Thanks Reinhard!

I'm going to try to move dinner foward, that should be possible. Maybe first half an hour, and then to 19:00 if all goes well. Breakfast and lunch are fixed though.

Regarding the fibre, I am eating dark bread for breakfast and lunch, so that is under control. But the brown rice I ...

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I think that there should be an S loophole for "that time of the month". I tend to take one "Biological S day" when I need to because if I don't I break down anyway, and if there's anything worse than pms, it's guilt on top of pms.

I did that yesterday. Didn't think I would need it, but my ...

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Thanks for all your replies!

To be more specific about what I'm eating:
Breakfast = glass of milk, two slices of bread with some kind of protein topping (like tuna salad), piece of fruit
Lunch = two slices of bread dipped in peanut sauce, boiled egg, salad, glass of milk
Afternoon = apple, rye ...

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My day is like this:
07:00 wake up
07:30 breakfast
12:00 lunch
15:30 afternoon meal
18:00 dinner
23:00 bed

I feel like I'm eating a lot: breakfast, lunch, dinner and a small afternoon meal. But I'm always hungry when I go to bed, and hungry when I wake up. Does anyone else have this too? And any ...

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I did not cheat yesterday, which meant success .

breakfast: two slices of bread, two small tangerines, glass of milk
lunch: two slices of bread dipped in peanut butter, salad, boiled egg, glass of milk
afternoon: rye bread with cheese, apple, coca cola
dinner: oriental dish with tofu and veggies ...

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Yay for a successful first day!

Just take it a day at a time, and if you fail (and we all do), just start again. It can be hard, but your body will get used to the new habit.

Take care.

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I'm pretty okay mostly.

It does help to eat more protein, and generally a bit more during meals. Also, to know that I have gone through those days successfully before makes it more bearable. I know that I can do it, and that helps me through, knowing that you have the willpower to not eat ...

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It's going well so far!

Though I really feel like cheating today. :(

I'm going to start measuring my waist and hips for a few days straight, to establish a baseline. Then we'll see what happens. Hopefully it will stay as it is, or gets a bit smaller.

The S-days last weekend were better than ...

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That's great!

They will taste a lot nicer with anticipation.

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Can't you save them for lunch the next day?

I don't have kids, but I know that you're not a garbage bin. You don't need to eat all the food just because it's there. It's not nice to throw it out, but it's better than eating it.

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... but I don't feel bad.

Someone at work brought a cake for their birthday. It was a very very nice one from a patisserie that also delivers to royalty.

So I had a small piece, and another small piece in the afternoon. It was delicious.

I am just going to chalk this day up as a failure, and ...

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I always thought I needed chocolate before I started this.

The thing is, you really don't.

You might want to have chocolate, but you can survive the day without. Take a short walk, have some tea, and make a plan for something fabulously chocolatey for the weekend. Then you have something to look ...

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Feeling a bit sick.

Which should not be an excuse for failure to keep to No-S. Have to remind myself that cookies will not make me feel better. Fruit and honey might.

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For me S-days are still out of control, though I am now slowly improving. At first you just eat everything you can on S-days. I still have the feeling that I MUST eat chocolate and cookies on S-days, just because I don't eat them during the week. Whether I actually feel like them or not.
But now I ...

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The weekend were S-days

Saturday
breakfast: muesli with yoghurt, apple and cinnamon
snack: croissant
lunch: two slices of bread with cheese
snack: cappuccino with cake and chocolates
dinner: mini-pizza, slice of bread with fried egg
post-dinner: orange juice while going out

Sunday
snack: cashew ...

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It's great that you can fit in your exercise in the morning! That must be such a good way to start the day. I'd like to do that but am not sure how that would fit into my routine without needing to wake up earlier.

Your weight loss target sounds very reasonable. Keep up the good work!

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Another good thing:
I can have chocolate in the house, or in my office, and not eat it!

This has never happened before.

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Thanks! :)
I am moving towards four meals a day now, having increased my breakfast. So now I'll have breakfast, lunch, afternoon meal and dinner. That is working well so far so I will stick to that for now. Mainly because there is such a long time between lunch and dinner, especially if I do my ...

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It probably also had to do with the fact that it was nearly midnight, and I'd had eaten a good, filling dinner already.

My stomach does not like too much grease, so next time I'll just order only fries or only chili cheese things, not all of it together. But it's not a fun way to learn.

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I still don't plan my S-days, so I ate everything and then felt sick. And did the same on Sunday.

My favourites are chocolate and chocolate cookies, those fancy coffees with syrup, and Chinese take-out. And I'll have to try baking again.

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I ate fast food late last night, which was a first in many months. Was looking forward to it too, and enjoyed the food. My body did not handle the fat too well though, and I felt quite sick afterwards.
Plus had chocolate, fancy coffee, and a dessert during the day.

So I'm keeping the Sunday pretty ...

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If you like it have some as a part of your meal.

I have started to drink a glass of (I think semi-skimmed, the names are different here) milk with my lunch, for the calcium and protein.

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Nice idea! Better than the usual weight-loss nonsense in magazines.

Haven't lost 15 pounds though.

Also, I'm not from the US, so it wouldn't be a national magazine for me.

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Wednesday was a succes .

breakfast: two slices of bread, tangerine
mid-morning: two small tangerines
lunch: two slices of bread with butter, salmon, salad, glass of milk
afternoon: rye bread, a lot of cheese
dinner: salad, apple with raisins for dessert

Dinner was smallish, to complement the ...

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I have learnt that I can do a lot more than I think I can. :D

- That I do not need sweets every day.
- That if I eat more filling meals I won't feel as hungry in between.
- That I enjoy high-quality chocolate/cookies/etc. much more than eating sweets "just because they're there".
- That I can have ...

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I'm getting better at this now that I'm doing No-S.

It used to be that when I was stressed (or bored), I would just eat without thinking. But now, I don't. This is what works for me:

- tell yourself, will this piece of chocolate make me less stressed? Of course not!
- go for a walk
- if you are ...

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Tuesday was a success .

breakfast: two slices of bread with goat cheese, glass of milk
lunch: two slices of bread dipped in peanut sauce, salad, glass of milk
afternoon: apple, crackers
dinner: a fantastic salad, toasted bread, a few garlic mushrooms
before bed: piece of cheese and peanut butter ...

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Monday was a success

breakfast: tangerine, glass of milk, two slices of bread with goat cheese
lunch: potato and leek soup, two slices of bread (one with butter), salad, glass of milk
afternoon: rye bread with cheese, apple
dinner: veggie burger, sauerkraut with potatoes, pineapple and raisins ...

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Friday was a succes .

Weekend were S-days, which meant chocolate, chocolate cookies, and apple cookies. Mostly sweets, not really any snacks or seconds. Saturday's dinner was a bit greasy but delicious; homemade and organic.

Even went to the gym for a short workout on Saturday morning.

Sometimes ...

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Thursday was a succes !

breakfast: slice of bread with egg and alfalfa
lunch: two slices of bread dipped in peanut sauce, salad, glass of milk
afternoon: apple, slice of bread with goat's cheese and alfalfa
dinner: out to dinner, had a big (fairly oily but nice) salad with shrimps and homemade iced ...

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Can you do an 'active rest' those half-minutes? Like walking around the room, some light stretching, etc. You'd still be moving a bit then.

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Yesterday was a failure . :(

breakfast: apple, slice of bread with veggie spread
lunch: two slices of bread, one with butter, one dipped in cauliflower soup, salad, glass of milk
dinner: leftover Chinese which was not enough, bread with peanut butter, piece of cheese and cashew nuts
after dinner ...

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Yesterday's food

breakfast: orange, slice of bread with egg salad and alfalfa
lunch: two slices of bread dipped in peanut sauce, salad, boiled egg, glass of milk
afternoon: apple, half a piece of rye bread, cheese
dinner: pandan rice with mushroom sauce, mushroom and leek, veggie burger

Pretty good!

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No weight gain after the Christmas holidays!

That must be a first.

Also, the excercise is going pretty well.

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For me, S foods are artificial foods. Not 'real' foods like bread, fruit, vegetables, milk, butter, eggs, etc. but highly processed stuff. I try to avoid these when I can, within reason of course.

My sister once said: "if it has more than five ingredients, don't buy it"

Fried food is another ...

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Okay, in a few weeks' time, when I've got this whole thing under control, I am going to work on my S-days. Making sure that I only eat REALLY nice chocolate, cookies, seconds, etc.

But first the other five days.

I'm going to see if I can minimise or cut out some of the mini-meals without causing ...

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It probably depends on the person and situation, KCCC.

I am not trying to lose weight, just develop healthy eating habits. Snacks for me are things like chips and chocolates, not real food like apples and cheese.

My doctor advised me to eat frequently, to keep my blood sugar up. It never happens ...

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Thanks for the input! Sounds a lot easier than I'd have thought. Just have to remember that it's all about the social occasion, instead of an excercise in cake-avoidance.

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How does everyone deal with this?

It's a birthday/celebration, and someone brings cake to work. Sometimes homemade too. We all sit together, have some coffee and a piece of cake. But how do you say no, without mentioning that you're on a diet, in front of the whole group?

Last time I just chalked ...

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I always have a mini-meal in the afternoon (rye bread with cheese and a small piece of fruit, or something like that), especially if I go from work to the gym and have dinner later than normal.

Also, I have a small breakfast because that takes less time, so I regularly eat an apple mid-morning. But ...

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Wow, that's a lot of sugar!

What about drinking instead that fizzy mineral water (with the bubbles), with a bit of lemon juice? Helps me when I want soda. Or drink tea with honey if you need the sugar.

Good luck!

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The Christmas period was pretty good!

Thought about making Sunday 30 Dec a No-S day, and then the 31st an S-day, but I was in a bad mood and there were still those excellent chocolates in the fridge, so they both became S-days.

Even went to the gym twice after Christmas, yay.

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Wow, that's very good! Best of luck on the No S.

I received a box of my favourite chocolates this morning, and it's still wrapped up sitting on my desk, but I am very much tempted in eating just one... and then maybe another one... but I really should wait until tomorrow.

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New lessons learned:
- no big fatty lunches. They will make me tired and sluggy for the rest of the day.
- tiredness leads to bad food decisions

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Using this more to note down experiences and tricky days, to see what I can learn from good and bad days. For failure and success I will use the Habitcal.

So far:
- it's easiest to stick to the plan on normal working days
- I can handle a restaurant dinner much better than before
- I might be ...

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I have this for lunch:
- 2 slices of dark bread with butter
- one boiled egg
- a vegetable salad with a bit of dressing, and maybe a bit of grated cheese on top
- a glass of milk

Quite filling BUT I do eat a mini-meal in between lunch and dinner (e.g. a piece of cheese and an apple) to keep my ...

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From what I know, your metabolism slows down as you get older, so you will probably lose weight faster when you're young.

Everyday Systems

Search found 106 matches

Re: Revelation...

Which day is hardest for you?

Re: My first day and i need help :-(

Re: Barbecues

I'm so hungry!

I failed today...

Cake at work and other disasters

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