Everyday Systems

franxious

I am struggling, but still trying. I had two failures last week, which is fairly unprecedented for me. I can attribute it to my job changing and becoming much more stressful. I am not good at dealing with stress.

These two S days were about a C, in terms of not going overboard.

franxious

I am too lazy to find it, but there's one testimonial on here, and in the book, that is so incredibly inspiring to me. It's the person who lost about one lb a month, and who has been on NOS for more than 2 years, so has lost about 26 lbs.

To me, this person is truly inspirational; to have the ...

franxious

It turned out to be impossible for me to even think about NOS while I was on "vacation" in Florida. Rather than cataloging the myriad miseries, I'll just say that the good news is, I didn't gain all the weight back. The further good news is that, once back in my 'hood, I was able to get right back ...

franxious

Progress, no matter how slow, is inspiring.

Regress, no matter how slow or explainable, is deflating.

I feel depressed after the effects of bad S days.

franxious

Today not going as well. Found myself stuffing "snacking granola" in my face while my children bickered. Then later at a kids' birthday party, had too many donut holes plus the cake...all this occurring before noon, which is a bad sign. Hoping to reign myself in for the rest of the day (which would ...

franxious

Is it my imagination, or do my jeans feel slightly looser in the butt?

So far, the S day has been OK. I've had:

4 small slices of toasted rye bread, some with butter, some with cream cheese

Caesar salad

Frozen mango smoothie

Big chocolate chip cookie

Plain large bagel

Two pieces of Bazooka ...

franxious

Thanks Deb!

Glad to see you're back in action!

franxious

I'm giving myself a FAILURE for Wednesday due to carelessness. At lunch, I ate my plate of food but then nibbled at my lunch companion's edamame. True, the amount of edamame was small and would have still fit on the plate. However, it wasn't planned in advance and felt like a violation.

The ...

franxious

I'm going to Florida too! Next week.

My words of wisdom are to plan in advance. You may want to count the entire vacation as S days, but it's pretty early to do something like that. On the other hand, there may be more temptation than usual (i.e., your every day N days). It might be smart to arm ...

franxious

The S days are over. I still feel a sense of relief! But they weren't really that awful. Or rather, I've seen much, much worse.

I am going to Florida with my family next week for five days and I'm stressing about it a bit. We're going to stay with my parents. They are by no means big snackers, and ...

franxious

I also think you are doing GREAT, but you may need to adjust your expectations a bit.

Some diets promise quick weight loss. This diet, however, doesn't promise that at all. Instead, its virtues are that it's not horrible to be on. There's no starvation, counting, or limiting foods (except sweets ...

franxious

Wednesday: SUCCESS .

I haven't done too well yet with scaling down my meals. However, at this stage it's not impeding weight loss. It's only a couple of pounds, but it's in the right direction!

N days continue to be not particularly difficult. I'm busy, so I don't have too much time to obsess ...

franxious

Yesterday's S day was so-so. I had:

Breakfast: small whole wheat blueberry muffin

Lunch: chocolate milk shake, cheese fries, cheeseburger

Dinner: small bowl of chicken noodle soup, a few bites of a grilled cheese sandwich

Snack: way too much caramel almond cranberry popcorn

(Actually it doesn't ...

franxious

I've noticed that my N-day meals are too big; that is, I feel uncomfortably stuffed when I'm done. I suppose I'm afraid of feeling hungry between meals. That reallyl hasn't been a problem, so my goal for next week is to downsize them a bit.

So far, today has been going OK. Having a cold helps. We ...

franxious

So far, success. Yesterday there were many occasions on which I thought of having snacks or seconds, but didn't. It wasn't hard to refrain, but clearly the bad habits are in full force.

I have to admit I'm not looking forward to the S day.

Today's weight: 164.0.

franxious

No success re: not weighing myself daily. However, so far the scale has gone down after every N day, which is motivating and encouraging. Yes, I realize, that won't always be true. But for now, I'm riding the wave.

Is gum a sweet? I don't chew sugarless gum.

What about a 14-oz beverage that's 60 ...

franxious

Wasn't able to refrain from weighing myself this morning, to assess the damage. However, the weight was lower than the starting weight. I'll still try to hold off until next Saturday. The idea is that the (presumably) lower weight after the entire week of N days will restrain me from going crazy on ...

franxious

I'll give today's S day a C- so far. Haven't been stuffing my face *all* day, but there hasn't been much restraint.

I've decided on a weekly weigh-in, on Saturday mornings. If it's not humane to ask someone to delay food gratification for more than a week, why is it humane to delay the weighing ...

franxious

Having a so-so S day. One problem is that in my household, weekends are very unstructured, meal-wise. We have breakfast, then snacks, then sometimes dinner. I know it's pathetic. It's a difficult rut to get out of. Today, we had breakfast, then I did some permasnacking. I didn't binge or gorge, but ...

franxious

So far, success. I weighed myself on Day 1 to get a starting weight: 167.4.

Then on Thursday: 165.8

Then today: 163.8. I'm sure this is all "water weight," but it's a nice encouragement. However, I will now start weighing myself less frequently because the the apparent weight loss is sure to slow ...

franxious

Today, I accidentally skipped breakfast. My plans got derailed...well, I ditched the plan of a late breakfast in favor of an early lunch with a friend. I figured I'd enjoy it more. We ate at a diner, and I had:

Two fried eggs, one biscuit, bacon, and home fries. It all fit on one plate, but the ...

franxious

Hi there,

I haven't been here for awhile, but I still see some familiar names. I don't even know how long it's been since I fell off the wagon. But I'm fed up (literally and figuratively) and ready to get back on track.

I remember losing at least 10 lbs before. It's a mystery to me why I stopped ...

franxious

Hee hee.

But seriously folks, this has turned into a completely useless discussion. I could, but will not, cite quite as many studies as you could ever wish to see, proving the low carb hypothesis. Because what would it accomplish? You [anti-low-carbers] are in your camp, I am in my camp. What ...

franxious

[I think there is actually some truth to being able to lose weight easier with low carbs.

Yes, I think so too, although I truly do not want to get into a debate about this subject. It's kind of like debating who should be president. No one is going to change their mind.

And, I agree that the ...

franxious

I'm going through a rough period, but still trying. I have gained a few lbs back, and this just makes me feel crappy all day long. I can tell without the scale. Anyway, haven't checked in for awhile because I feel sheepish about this. But I didn't want my checkin thread to be irretrievably buried ...

franxious

I was thinking the same thing...I keep thinking that I forgot to fill in that day, instead of realizing that the blank has a meaning. I'll have to work on it!

franxious

The reason I wanted another color is that it's hard to remember whether I did the back exercises or not, and I want to do them at least twice a week. But, OK, I'll deal!

franxious

Reinhard,

I wonder if you'd be willing to add another color or two to the Habitcal. I keep track of Shovelglove, but I also strive to do physical therapy exercises for my back twice a week, and on those days, I usually don't do SG. Plus sometimes I work out on an elliptical, and I can't distinguish ...

franxious

Unfortunately, none of us (as far as I can tell) is actually doing the research that might put an end to this question. For every opinion about carbs, you can find an opposite opinion held by an equally qualified person. So it becomes a battle of the researchers, rather than a battle of the facts ...

franxious

[ I think the same number of carb calories will turn to fat more easily than the same number of fat or protein calories.

You couldn't be more wrong and science doesn't support that at all. Low-carb is nothing more than a form of calorie restriction.

Depends on what sources you use. For example ...

franxious

[quote="dvmccown"]I have only been on this for 2 weeks and also noticed a weight game. I too have gone crazy with carbs. Potato salad, mac & cheese, etc. I was thinking about doing low carbs on N days and adding some carbs, sweets on s days. I also want to loose weight, but I really like this way of ...

franxious

See my grim carb thread in the noS discussion area for my checkin!

franxious

I've been on No-S for 4 1/2 months now.

Initially, my problem was crazy S-days. I've been doing much better with that lately. I think I still tend to eat meals that are too large, but in a modest way; not towering mountains of food or anything. At one point, I had lost 10 lbs.

I hid my scale ...

franxious

Another successful S day.

Breakfast: belgian waffle with syrup, side of bacon
Snack: small bowl of grapes
Lunch: slice of whole wheat bread, small homemade yogurt smoothie
Snack: 1 serving of tortilla chips
Snack: 1/4 candy bar, a few chocolate covered cinnamon altoids
Dinner: 1 calzone (shared ...

franxious

Successful S day!

Breakfast: 1 naan, small amount of scrambled eggs
Snack: 1/2 apple
Lunch: Salad with beets, asparagus, feta, walnuts, greens; slice of bread
Dinner: chicken breast, cauliflower, corn on the cob
Snack: handdful of grapes
Treat: brownie, most of a Starbucks chocolate mocha bar

I ...

franxious

Lately I've been eating meals such as:

Breakfast - 1 whole whole-wheat naan, 1 homemade fruit and yogurt smoothie. Full-fat yogurt.

Lunch: Garden salad with vinaigrette, pb sandwich on whole wheat, apple.

Dinner: chicken breast, potatoes, green vegetable.

Sometimes I think I'm eating too much ...

franxious

Managed to get through two whole S days in a row without too many Ss.

I moved my scale down to the basement. The chances that I will bother to go down there before having had any coffee are infinitesmal. So, I'm just winging it. And I'm hoping that I will reach some kind of equilibrium thereby. I ...

franxious

I just keep reaching the same conclusion. S days have to be very, very similar to N days. I have to change my mindset. S days are not Bacchanalian feasts. They are N days with, say, one rule relaxed once. I have to stick to that.

I don't know about the built-in willpower. For me, it's a matter of ...

franxious

Horrible S day Sunday. Now just plodding ahead, trying to recover. I feel really fat.

franxious

Probably was a rhetorical question, but I'm going to answer it anyway :)

Theoretically, yes, you could count the popcorn as dinner, if it fit on one plate. The problem is that you most likely didn't bring a plate into the movie theater and then pour one serving on the plate and eat only that ...

franxious

Wow! I still can't believe how many new folks there are. How fantastic.

I took an impromptu S day yesterday, which I marked as RED on my habitcal. I was eating at a nice restaurant with my hubby for lunch. An unusual occurrence, since we work far apart. There was chocolate mousse on the menu. The ...

franxious

Whole raw milk is best.

From a health standpoint alone, I also believe this is best -- but it's not easy to find raw milk! I just use organic whole milk, just pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized)

But, from an enjoyment standpoint, you should just choose what you like best. Or, use both in your ...

franxious

My mysterious illness lingers, so I just feel like sleeping. Guess I should go to the doctor, huh? I had a throat culture and it was negative.

I love those Nancy's kefirs, but they are kind of expensive. I tried making my own, and have realized it's really pretty easy. My concern was leaving dirty ...

franxious

I personally don't count a taste as cheating under the following circumstances:

1. The amount tasted is absolutely no more than is needed to tell how the food tastes

2. It is truly necessary to taste the food (sometimes I have to taste food I'm serving to my kids, to know whether they are ...

franxious

Saturday was an OK S day. Today, a little out of control. I had french toast and eggs for breakfast. Lunch was, uh, strangely, I can't remember. I guess I didn't really hav lunch, but just kind of ate some stuff throughout the day. I know I broke into my kids' leftover Easter candy later in the day ...

franxious

I've been on this diet for about three months. The last time I weighed myself, I had lost 10 lbs. I certainly have had some very bad S days, and I've gained some weight back before losing it again and then losing more.

If I can manage to keep the crazy S days down to once every few weeks, I still ...

franxious

I like big salads made with pre-washed lettuce. I'll add some tomato, pepper, cucumber, or carrots, and some fresh or dried fruit, and some nuts or seeds or cheese. Plus a hunk of whole grain bread.

Or, a peanut butter or cheese sandwich on thick-sliced whole grain bread with raisins and a piece of ...

franxious

Wow, there are so many new people I could hardly find my thread!!! That's fantastic, and happy dieting to anyone who checks in on my check-in.

I've revised my quit-smoking plan to: the last cigarette I smoke at work tomorrow is my last cigarette. I told three of my work friends, in fact the three ...

franxious

Thanks, Blondie!

The fight was about smoking. I started smoking recently. I realize that this is a very, very dumb thing to do. I used to smoke and had quit for 10 years, but have been hanging out with smokers at work, and somehow stupidity got the better of me.

I concealed the smoking from DH ...

franxious

Lately I've been having a Fabulous Flats whole wheat tandoori naan and a carton of Nancy's kefir. Sometimes I'll put a little almond butter or peanut butter on the naan, but usually I have it plain. I like it because it's chewy and big. I rip off little pieces and it seems to last a long time. If I ...

franxious

Ugh, horrible, horrible S day disasters. Due to fight with my husband. Ugh. I don't even really feel like talking about the fight. I just have to pick up the pieces and keep on going. Bleagh.

franxious

I'm having a big party for my dad's 80th birthday on May 31. I can't help but dream of losing a few more lbs so I can look good at the party. Hopefully this isn't a bad thing, but a good motivator.

I'm loving my new breakfast of one whole naan and a small carton of kefir.

franxious

Cool!!!

franxious

Not weighing myself every day has become a HABIT. Today I was realizing that my pants fit better, and then I realized that it hadn't occurred to me to weigh myself this morning. To me, that's when something really feels like a habit; when I'm not arguing with myself because whatever the topic is ...

franxious

I try not to stop at all, and to facilitate that I do the movements in an order that rotates the muscles principally being taxed. Sometimes toward the end I'll do squats for variety or if my arms are really tired.

franxious

I can't believe how long I've been sick. Even after three days of antibiotics, my throat still hurts and I have been minimally hungry. Sticking to No S, S days included, is no problem under these circumstances. I have lost 10 lbs, but I almost feel like I can't take credit for the last few of these ...

franxious

I think this challenge sounds like a great idea! This is my big problem too. I look forward to hearing everyone's ideas.

franxious

Hi,

I'm guessing the 8-lb would be better for you. I am basing this on my own experience; I have worked our regularly and consistently for many years. Before I started SG, my workout included pushups and 10-lb dumbells, and I actually meant to get a 10-lb sledge, but (due to a boring, not ...

franxious

I've been sick for a few days, which has really cut my appetite.

Two weekends ago, I had a disastrous Friday/Saturday S day combo. Last weekend, I had a great Saturday/Sunday S day combo, despite the fact that it was Easter and candy and treats were everywhere. This seems to prove that the ...

franxious

You may want to move up 2 levels when you do. ie if you are using a 8 lber skip the 10 pounder and go to a 12 lber.

Hi,

I am just curious about the recommendation to skip a level. I also feel I've started with a sledge that's too light. I ordered a 10-lber from Amazon, but when it arrived, it ...

franxious

Yesterday, I met a friend for lunch and she needed to meet at 11:30. I was worried that I would be really hungry between lunch and dinner because I usually eat lunch at 2:00. I wasn't so hungry at 11:30, so had a small lunch. This morning I realized that I hadn't even thought about food until ...

franxious

I don't know if you found anything or not, but you might check out testing organizations. I work for the ABIM, for example. I'm sure there must be some in CA. Having a degree in education is a plus.

franxious

As usual, everything going fine on the N days. I've started having a new breakfast: a Fabulous Flats whole wheat naan with about a tablespoon of peanut butter or almond butter and a glass of kefir. Just needed to change up the oatmeal for awhile. The naan is big, and I like breaking off little ...

franxious

Chiquitabanana,

Thanks for writing. You know how it goes...there's the evil little voice that starts whispering and sooner or later you're sitting in a pile of wrappers or containers, feeling totally yucky. I do think that when I try to restrict myself, I binge. That's definitely true. I didn't ...

franxious

As of this morning, there's only 1 left! (More on the way soon)

franxious

I definitely feel relief at the start of N days. It's like getting off a balance beam or something. I'm always tempted to have a weekend with no S days, but I'm sure that's a bad idea...

franxious

So far, there is nothing magical about any particular day. I had a horrible S day on Friday. It started at work and continued throughout the day. Way too much candy.

Saturday was a little better. I couldn't really think of a treat I wanted, but suddenly caved in to a Starbucks brownie in the ...

franxious

I have a binging problem, too. After about 11 weeks of NoS, it does seem to be getting better. I concur with what others have said: keep trying. The most important thing is to stick to the N days; if you can do that, the momentum helps carry you through the S days.

I've found that being very ...

franxious

One of my boys had strep throat, so I had to stay home with him for two days. Both were successes. (I look through others' posts and often they are so short; just mentioning success or failure, which I often don't mention. I sometimes feel like I'm being remiss in leaving out this info and babbling ...

franxious

Oops, here's the post I thought I lost. Sorry for the repetition.

~~~~~~~~~~

The weekend went pretty well. The Friday and Saturday S days were pretty much OK. Sunday as an N day was so-so. I did have more snacking and sweet-eating impulses than I normally do, since Sundays are so unstructured at ...

franxious

P.S. It was relatively easy to keep things under control on the Friday S day, but a bit harder to stick to the regimen on the Sunday N day. I just felt more like snacking since that's what I normally do on Sundays. But there is hope for me, since I used to snack all day at work, and now I don't!

franxious

Waah! I typed a whole post and then accidentally deleted it. No time to reconstruct it. In a nutshell, the Friday-Saturday S day experiment went OK, and I'll try again this week.

Had a failure on Sunday when I took a slice of lox after finishing my breakfast. I had to mark a red day on my Habitcal ...

franxious

Babyprr,

IMO plateaus aren't really so bad. They are frustrating, but emotional issues aside, I think they mean that your body is adjusting to the new weight, adjusting to a new setpoint, and really "owning" the new weight. If you can just ride it out, it will eventually end when your body is ready ...

franxious

Tomorrow is my first pre-planned non-weekend S day (that's not a special day). Now I'm feeling nervous because I've realized that I have, amazingly, gotten completely out of the habit of snacking at work. I don't want the Friday S day to make it harder to keep that going. On the other hand, the lack ...

franxious

My weight has been bouncing around a bit, but as of today I am still down 5 lbs. It's been about 2 months, 2 weeks since I started, so I really have no cause to complain.

I am officially trying a mod, though: S days are Friday and Saturday. I have had so many out-of-control Sundays, but only one ...

franxious

Thanks for the encouragement, Jan!

I always feel full of confidence during the week. The three meals is not so hard. I know I'm doing well, because even binging once a week is better than four days a week or whatever it was before. I have been doing this for more than two months now, so I'm ...

franxious

Ugh, had a horrible S day on Sunday. Sugar is just so addictive! It makes me crazed. I am thinking about trying to keep the sweets on S days to baked goods. Maybe that'll help...I still struggle on Sundays much more than Saturdays. Not sure why. Sometimes I'm tempted only to take one S day a week!

franxious

I'd count them as a Sweet, but on the other hand, if you had just one or maybe half of one as part of a meal, I wouldn't necessarily think it merited a red day on your Habitcal. I think sometimes it makes more sense to keep the peace than to be too rigid, especially if you're sticking to the spirit ...

franxious

Hey all,

I've been shovelgloving for about seven weeks now. I've been lurking, but I wanted to share this:

Yesterday it snowed a few inches in my area. We have a fairly short driveway, but quite a large amount of sidewalk to shovel. Before he left for work, my husband shoveled the driveway. When I ...

franxious

Loss is up to 8 lbs, which is OK...I am expecting TTOM, so so knows?

I finally input all my weight in my physicsdiet.com chart. One day maybe I'll insert it. Looks pretty good.

franxious

Hi Blondie,

How are things going?

Lisa

franxious

Hey, thanks, Blondie!

Yesterday wasn't so great...that's putting it mildly...but I'm back on track after today. I had a cold, so wasn't very hungry anyway. I've noticed that Sundays tend to be the worst, and I have to find more effective strategies to talk myself down from the ledge. I'm not happy ...

franxious

I once went on an almost all-brocolli diet in high school. After a few days, I had such severe gas pains I had to stay home from school. That's when I gave up that diet.

More recently, I tried the Weight Loss for Idiots diet. Based on foods you select, you are given 11 days' worth of menus, of four ...

franxious

Took an S day yesterday for Valentines day, but I only ate 3 chocolates over what I would have ordinarily. And no damage done.

I'm feeling, on the whole, really happy. I have lost 7.5 lbs and I feel like my eating is under control. Now I just have to keep on keepin' on!

franxious

This morning I broke into the 150s, for the first time in several months. Only by .2 lbs, but I'm taking it as a good sign!

I think having the same breakfast every morning is helpful to me. It's a no-brainer in every way. Having the same lunch every day doesn't seem like as good of an idea from a ...

franxious

I marked my S days with red on my habitcal "no binge" calendar, but in fact, I guess they weren't that bad because my weight is about the same this morning as it was on Saturday morning.

I have noticed that I don't do well if I don't plan S day meals in advance the way I do with N day meals. N days ...

franxious

I figure I'm not going to lose any weight during S days, so the last N day of the week is my last chance that week to lose some weight. Maybe just try keeping that in mind on Thursdays?

franxious

Because of the daily and monthly cards, I finally got myself to call an old friend with whom I haven't spoken in years. I feel so much better now that we're back in touch. I haven't done every single thing that I've written down, but I've done a lot of them, so I think it's really a good way to be ...

franxious

That's a good way to think of it...that hungry sensation is the feeling of fat being burned off!!

franxious

I have oatmeal for breakfast most days. I make it the way Reinhard describes in one of his podcasts -- "optimized oatmeal" -- with some nuts and dried fruit. And I have a lot of it - an entire cup of the long-cooking oats. I have to admit that by 11:00, I'm usually very hungry. I'll have a cup of ...

franxious

Charis,

Thanks so much for stopping by to offer encouragement. You're right -- I was overlooking some of the good things. I have hardly had anything like one of my former binge days since I started nos. Maybe one day in six weeks. Before that, it was escalating to several times a week. And I've ...

franxious

I've realized that it's not helpful, day after day, to see how much damage a bad S day caused. It might be OK to check once, but that's it. After that, it's self-flagellation and doesn't help anything.

My weight has been fluttering around 162 for quite some time now. I hope to get down to 135 ...

franxious

Reinhard, I've been hoping you would post any parenting strategies you use!

As for composting cooked food, that might not be a good idea...might attract rodents. I know that vegetable peelings can be used, but I think a bowl of uneaten macaroni and cheese would not be a good idea. But there are ...

franxious

The many-day setback persists. I was not a total idiot these past two S days, but not completely sane either. I am still 4.2 lbs down from when I started, but up 3 from the total lbs lost...

I just have to accept that this may be a *very* slow process. I'd say that my N day "habits" have not ...

franxious

Again, nothing else.

franxious

That's all folks!

franxious

Though the replies I got to my post were very helpful, I am hoping Reinhard will weigh in as well...

franxious

Hi Everyone,

I've been lurking for about a month, since I started doing Shovelglove. Last night, I finally noticed a sign of improved strength: I was able to hold a large, heavy stainless steel pot in my left hand (I'm a rightie) for a long time with no trouble while serving food from it with my ...

franxious

Every day, I write down my weight on my 3X5 punch card.

After last Sunday, an "S day gone wild," it appeared that I gained 3 lbs. This apparent weight gain has continued to manifest itself. Even today, Friday morning, I am still 1 lb higher than pre-Sunday. So, the weight gain was real.

I've read ...

franxious

Thanks for your perspectives, everyone.

Thinking about it, being allowed to have an occasional cup of coffee would add greatly to my satisfaction but would have minimal negative impact. So I'll count it as free. It certainly does help bridge the gap when I get a little hungry before the next meal ...

Everyday Systems

Search found 136 matches

Starting over again - Franxious's occasional check-in

Another color? Request for Reinhard

Grim realization re: carbs

Shoveling snow!

Trying again after adjustment

Testing to figure out what time I should put in my profile!