Everyday Systems

Blithe Morning

I've not given a lot of thought one way or the other to Ozempic (TM) and the other semaglutide drugs until I heard an interview with Johann Hari on Ten Percent Happier podcast about Johann's latest book Magic Pill . He makes some compelling claim as to the causes of obesity which boil down to our ...

Blithe Morning

I read the book Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman more than two years ago and it has proven remarkably sticky in terms of how I approach life. The summary is that we humans have about 4,000 weeks here on Earth and we should live accordingly in terms of expectations about productivity and ...

Blithe Morning

reinhard wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 6:16 pm ...

I need to figure out a better solution to that issue -- Facebook alone is not it.

...

Yes, please. I inadvertently locked myself out of Facebook for much of the day using Stayfocusd. And, no surprise, I don't really miss it so I'm not especially motivated to regain access.

Blithe Morning

I uploaded this screenshot from my computer using the attachments tab below the new post window.

Blithe Morning

Popping on to say Hello, Deb.

I think we were active at the same time. Eventually I drifted away because I was successful and really there is only so much you can say about it No S. I need to recalibrate with COVID as I did get derailed. I want to walk a half marathon in June and I need to set some ...

Blithe Morning

I put a spoonful of cacao (processed differently than cocoa) in my tea every morning with a little half and half. Then before I go to work I make another mug only use a peppermint tea bag.

Parenthetically, I started drinking tea because it has a smaller water footprint than coffee. I noticed that ...

Blithe Morning

I"m pretty sure I remember you, Blithe

I hope it's okay with you if I make a link of this to our thread "Why did you leave? Why are you back?

Here's to your reboot!

Absolutely it's ok. And for some reason I can log in under my old account on this laptop so I don't have to assume an entirely ...

Blithe Morning

[Colin8883 wrote[
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Blithe Morning

Hah! So fun to see this.

Thanks for resurrecting this thread.

Blithe Morning

I'm in the process of reading Jaron Lanier's Ten Reasons for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now.

His main thesis is that the monetization of our attention has caused social media to become addictive. It goes beyond advertising to full on behavior modification. I'm still processing his ...

Blithe Morning

I tried this. It worked.

I took down the post-it or maybe it fell off, I don't know.

I can say I need to put up the post-it again.

Blithe Morning

And the student becomes the teacher.

To those struggling with No S if you keep at this long enough it will become yours.

Blithe Morning

I came to this post in search of productivity systems. And after reading it I checked the Dan Harris book 10% Happier... out of the library.

I enjoyed the book. It was more Buddhist than I expected which didn't bother me but didn't help me much either.

I will say that because of this book and the ...

Blithe Morning

There are good responses above. But since the barn door is open, the next time someone says something about not snacking, you could say that throughout most of human history there simply wasn't enough food to snack regularly. You ate meals when there was food and maybe had the occasional feast day ...

Blithe Morning

Welcome back!

Blithe Morning

A lot of cultures have four meals. There are some with only two.

Your personal circumstances call for a four meal structure with two or maybe three of those meals being very light (or lite).

Blithe Morning

I think this is another problem with micro-managing a macro-problem.

Exactly. I once saw an article about the size of bananas and how large bananas can throw your calorie counting.

And I'm thinking if banana size is your problem, you are doing better than most of us.

Blithe Morning

Raw Cookie wrote: how do you deal with longer exercises like running and cycling, playing football etc, that kind of thing. Do you consider those to be outside of the 14-minutes of anything habit?

As a runner, this is how I answer that question.

Running is my hobby. So are hiking and kayaking. I ...

Blithe Morning

Crockpot beans are delicious and freeze well. Be sure to rinse well and let them cook for a long time. I don't do kidney beans because I'm worried about them not getting hot enough but I've never had problems with pintos or chickpeas.

I like to cut up a head of lettuce so I can make a salad quickly.

Blithe Morning

We have so many pies.

I'm glad we have a lot of the other stuff too. But dang, we have pies.

Blithe Morning

I'm glad he's found a No S lifestyle to be useful but as a former evangelical I cringe at calling it the Daniel plan.

Daniel and his companions did not avoid eating meat because they wanted to lose weight or live a sensible lifestyle. Rather, they were avoiding the potential of eating meat ...

Blithe Morning

If there were ever a study that supported No S, this would be it. Cutting Sugar Improves Children's Health in Just 10 Days

By replacing calories from added sugars with those from starch the participants, all Black or Hispanic obese children with one symptom of metabolic syndrome saw ...

Blithe Morning

I think I may have shared this before. But this is a post I wrote a while back about getting through hard time.

http://sustainablepierre.org/2014/12/04/advice-for-hard-times-curation2014/

Mark the binge and move on. Now is not the time to beat yourself up. The only thing you can do is take care of ...

Blithe Morning

Absolutely! All restaurant food has way too much sodium for me. There are a lot of great convenience options that are good, easy and fast.

Blithe Morning

How odd. I checked the link and it looked right. Oh well.

I relinked it. This time, I hope it works.

Blithe Morning

How long to form a habit?

It depends, apparently. The research now indicates it can take between 2-9 months.

My guess is that if you are dealing with altering hardwired behavior, i.e. cues to eat, it can take even longer.

Take-aways:

1. Stick with it.
2. Don't beat yourself up.

http ...

Blithe Morning

Nice! Would you be able to share more? I mean being on habit for 7 years, losing on average about 11 lbs+ a year, that is worth a story. Did you make any mods or were you vanilla No S? How has your eating changed? Did/do you struggle with S days? What about exercise? Enquiring minds want to know!

Blithe Morning

I have a protein shake with fruit. You can get unsweetened protein powder.

Blithe Morning

I'm going through a stressful time. Nothing extreme and all of my own choosing. Still.

Good habits are in place but it's easy to get sloppy. I'm only going to tighten up to bare minimum vanilla and my usual guidelines. Once this passes I can get back to some of my hobbies that keep me on the lower ...

Blithe Morning

A mental image that helps me not to short circuit self destructive habits.

If you put a dent in your car by hitting a post, you don't reverse and then slam it into the post again.

Bad days happen. They just do. Who knows why. But you can own them instead of them owning you.

Blithe Morning

My hubby lost weight counting calories too; then gained it all back plus when he got burned out. Same with Atkins. He's now doing a modified version of No S and over the last 3 years has lost 30 lbs.

If you haven't read the book yet, I strongly recommend you do that. Until you can get to it, read ...

Blithe Morning

Flavored seltzer. The carbonation makes me feel full.

Blithe Morning

Jumping in to say that I do VB6 most days or vegetarian before 6pm. I try to do vegan but I'm not strict about that. A little feta cheese is a beautiful thing.

Blithe Morning

Wow. I wonder how many other diets have people dropping in 7 years after the fact to say "Hey! I've maintained. Life is good."

Blithe Morning

If you are in the US, the ingredient list would have to list any added sugars such as high fructose corn syrup, glucose, etc. Natural flavors are different than added sugars.

For the last word (many of them) on natural flavors, read this from the FDA.

Blithe Morning

A lot of the world does two. Some places do four; breakfast, dinner, tea and light supper.

It's really a cultural decision. Three is the US standard. At least, it used to be three till we started believing in the power of snacks.

Blithe Morning

There's a lot to be said for outsourcing your decision making.

Blithe Morning

Fascinating. It kinda makes one wonder how he was eating before.

Congrats to your friend. I hope this adds life to his years.

Blithe Morning

I use a variety of strategies, depending on where I am and what's available.

Put your bowl on the plate and fill in around it.
Leave 1/3 - 1/2 of the plate empty.
Use two small plates or a small plate and bowl.

Blithe Morning

There is no difference between how I ate when I wanted to lose weight and how I eat now that I'm maintaining. When I started No S I slowly dropped weight and have managed to keep it off despite short times of upticks due to non-compliance.

This is also despite turning 50 and entering menopause ...

Blithe Morning

You ask if there is any hope for you. What do you mean by hope?

Will you eventually be able to change your eating habits? Sure. You just have to keep practicing the new habits. Don't think of your previous efforts as half hearted attempts, think of them as practice.

Practice, practice, practice ...

Blithe Morning

Quite true. Most people really aren't that interested in the details of your life.

A similar example: After being stranded at a conference in southern Virginia due to weather, I recently asked a fellow attendee "Do you watch the Walking Dead?" And that person replies "No, I don't have a tv. In fact ...

Blithe Morning

I think you're on to something there.

Running and exercise aren't my default behaviors. I have to plan them, even after years and years of doing them.

But it is habit to think about fitting in my workout every day. There is no longer a question of whether or not I will, unless I've already ...

Blithe Morning

Hello again, Noel.

I don't know what it is about IT but it's a field where the prevailing norm is that the work is of the same importance as transplanting hearts. Maybe more so. I hope you are through the worst of that project.

It just so happened that I went swimming for the first time in more ...

Blithe Morning

i really needed to hear if i mess up or have a bad day, it doesnt mean i have failed and it certainly doesnt mean i should hop on another diet.

We've talked at length about self sabotage. There are two catch phrases we use: mark it and move on and you don't drive a car into a wall just because ...

Blithe Morning

Regarding the exercise, I agree with starting small. Even 5 minutes.

Regarding Fridays, Have you asked your mother if she would be willing to give up desserts or switch to a fruit salad?

A lot of No S is just getting use to the new way of eating. It feels different and uncomfortable and ...

Blithe Morning

As far as the meal having to be finished within a certain period of time, there is no rule.

However, you shouldn't load up your late and then eat from it all morning, telling yourself that you are still eating breakfast. That's still perma-snacking.

Blithe Morning

This is not a fast program at all. The closer you get to your goal weight, the longer it takes.

Eventually, your S days should calm down and you might find yourself naturally reducing the amount you eat. There is no telling what will happen in 1-2 years.

This past summer I, a 50 year old woman ...

Blithe Morning

Common Sense M wrote:I never realized how many things food has been standing in for in my life.

Most of us don't. Putting food in its proper place takes longer and is harder than you would think. And unfortunately, the work is hardest and biggest at the beginning when you have the fewest resources to tackle it.

Blithe Morning

Shelly, yes after 6 years I can say the hankering for sweets does go away.

Blithe Morning

Unless monthly hormone cycles are involved (and even if they are) I think you need more help than what can had through an internet message board. A complete physical and emotional workup may be in order.

Blithe Morning

Could it be the season? I have found that I am a more seasonal creature than I realize. I'm getting through the next few months by adding new fitness goals.

Also, I wrote this a few weeks ago. I don't know if anything here would be helpful but it's a good place to start.

Advice for Hard Times.

Blithe Morning

Welcome to sanity. Here's to many more years of sane eating and living.

Blithe Morning

I don't. I may have at one time. I suspect that what you are feeling is your willpower depletion.

One of the ways I have learned to combat temptation is, after a fail, to sit and notice how I feel physically and emotionally. Then, when I'm tempted, I try to recall those emotions, telling myself ...

Blithe Morning

A researcher in Denmark has found a way to significantly address childhood obesity . Not surprisingly, it involves the whole family (rectifying issues with children usually does).

The way it works is that the family and the doctor create a tailored plan. The sample plan has 17 recommendations ...

Blithe Morning

You dented the fender. You don't have to wreck the car. You are doing well to stop, take a breath and regroup. Well done.

Blithe Morning

That's a personal decision. If a spoonful of sugar in coffee or tea is no big deal, a swish of jam on toast shouldn't be either. But for some people they prefer to leave those things as treats.

Blithe Morning

I have found it helpful to distinguish between guidelines and rules.

Rules are non-negotiables. If I don't follow them, it's a fail or - if that's too harsh - noncompliance.

Guidelines are suggestions. They help me make decisions within the rules. If I don't follow the guidelines, there is no ...

Blithe Morning

My meals would probably be small for someone just starting out.

Breakfast is a fruit/protein smoothie.
Lunch is a veg, cheese and a chunk of bread. I usually have olive oil dressing the veggies somehow.
Dinner varies. Lots of veggies.

In the winter, I'll have a veggie soup, again with bread and a ...

Blithe Morning

I think if you can, work on having just the tea. If possible, make Wed dinner a little heavier and more appetizing than usual so that you can truly say "No thanks, not hungry."

I'm not a super strict No S but a weekly event really isn't Special enough to me to merit altering the rules.

Blithe Morning

Welcome, Steve! Nail down the habits and you will be well on your way.

Blithe Morning

We have an earth oven in our backyard and had a bunch of people over to bake, eat and visit. Lovely time!

Blithe Morning

Mods: I start my weekends on Friday with dinner. I aim for the half plate of veggies for most meals and try to do vegetarian before 6, even on weekends.
Intelligent Dietary Defaults: Homemade veggie soups in the winter, veggies in the summer for lunch. Breakfast is a whey protein smoothie w ...

Blithe Morning

Start with what you know works. Research talks about populations, not individuals.

Blithe Morning

Why are you testing your fasting blood sugar? Is this something your doctor asked you to do?

Blithe Morning

Two things:

1. Cut back on processed foods since there is a lot sugar in those. I think those habituate us to the sweet taste. When you cut out a lot of processed food you regain your sense of what is "too sweet" so it takes a lot less to get overloaded. YMMV.

2. Don't keep sweets in the house. If ...

Blithe Morning

Do you cook? If not, eat more homemade food and less prepared-outside-the-home food. I think it's hard to track calories in homemade food without a lot of weighing and a calculator.

I also do the half plate USDA as a guideline rather than a rule. It works for me.

Blithe Morning

Yes, congrats!

And don't fixate on being svelte. My guess is that eventually you will end up there as your appetite comes around increasingly towards moderation.

Blithe Morning

Hi Travis. First of all, well done on avoiding the false promise of the quick and permanent weight loss today.

Second, you recently lost, what was it? 20lbs? Measurable AND visible! Do you really want to risk undoing all that hard work by buying into a gimmicky diet like the 5 bite diet ...

Blithe Morning

I eat chips/crisps, pretzels, cheez-its and even popcorn as sides. Not every meal and not every day.

I do notice that some foods seem to trigger an almost irresistible urge to keep eating them, like a switch has been tripped somewhere. Generally, the more processed, the worse it is.

Sometimes I ...

Blithe Morning

The literature (and I use that term loosely) about losing weight or even health in general rarely supports the slow and steady.

Lose weight FAST!

Ten pounds in TEN days!

Blast away pounds!

And so forth. (sigh).

Best to just forget all that. Read magazines and websites about gardening or ...

Blithe Morning

Congrats!

More important than how you look is how you feel.

I am guessing from the Dixie Cups on the sink that you have little ones? Well done on giving them a healthy Dad.

Blithe Morning

Suggestion: if you weigh everyday pay attention to the trend line, not the daily variation. A minimum number of sample points is 30 to get an idea of what is going on, so wait till a month is over till you plot your trend line.

There are several older posts where people showed their weight loss ...

Blithe Morning

I think you are better off washing your hands regularly as well as staying nourished, rested and hydrated.

If you do feel the need for an additional vitamin punch, take Vitamin C tablets or the Airborne stuff.

Constantly sucking on sweets is bad for your teeth. Oral health is an important part of ...

Blithe Morning

Well done! 10lbs in a month is quite respectable. Please convey our congratulations!

Blithe Morning

Be gentle with yourself. No S is unique in that it really is for life, both in the chronological sense that it is something you can do no matter how many years you have left on this planet AND the more poetic sense in that it gives your life back.

With No S there are no foods to include or exclude ...

Blithe Morning

Is your PMS binge eating because you are actually hungry or is it because you are grouchy and you deal with grouchy by eating to make yourself feel better?

If the bingeing is because you are hungry, make sure you plan for heavier plates and a little extra protein and lots of liquids. That's what ...

Blithe Morning

1500 calories seems very low if you are training for a marathon. Back in the day when I counted calories, I lost weight on that and I was only moderately active.

Personally, I would not count the calories while in training. If you are going to expend mental energy on monitoring food intake, I ...

Blithe Morning

Reward is a powerful psychological motivator. Did you reward yourself for losing your weight?

The reward doesn't have to be food. What else do you like?

Blithe Morning

After following No S for something like 5, 6 years, my hubby is finally doing No S lite. He still has a little bit of sugar every day but he's cut way back w/o counting calories or doing Atkins, the way he's lost weight (and gained it back) before.

He's always been active but now he's the lightest ...

Blithe Morning

That you'll overeat if you get too hungry comes from dieting. You come to a meal hungry and you don't eat enough because you are dieting. You can only do that so long until you snap.

However, if you come to a meal hungry and eat enough to nourish you physically and emotionally, you "forget" the ...

Blithe Morning

Maybe a beverage treat? I use La Croix water, essentially a flavored seltzer. Coffee in the AM.

It does get better. Hang in there.

Blithe Morning

I'ts been a while since my first day. But it does get easier and even easy. I no longer crave sweets, though I still, on occasion, wrestle eating to boost my mood when I'm upset.

Blithe Morning

First, deep breaths.

Second, No S took me months and months to get down. Really, you might have to go through at least a year minimum to figure this out. Summer Blithe Morning is different than Autumn Blithe and still different from Winter or Spring Blithe.

There are times when you will be super ...

Blithe Morning

We went out to dinner at a higher end restaurant. Three of us, college age male, my hubby, and me - a 49 yo woman, and we ALL brought home a doggie bag.

It was good food but still TOO much. We have tomorrow's lunch/dinner.

[/b]

Blithe Morning

I'll confess the only reason that I am doing it is because my workplace is hosting Eric Crouch* at a local run in June.

Since I am doing the social media for the event to encourage people to train and start exercising, I thought I needed to do this too since I try not to ask anyone to do something ...

Blithe Morning

Bumping this back up.

Because, I have decided that I should try it.

We'll see. I have a history with running and it usually involved plantar fascitis.

Blithe Morning

It sounds like you are ready to lighten up your plates a bit. That's what usually happens. Trust the process, trust your body.

Blithe Morning

Sweets can make you gain weight. Wine can make you gain weight AND impair your functioning and judgment.

The reason for the glass ceiling is different than the reason for no sweets.

You are the grownup here, but glass ceiling is a good, reasonable rule. It keeps you far from binge drinking. And I ...

Blithe Morning

We are seasonal creatures. I have absolutely no proof of this but I tend to crave - by which I mean some deep longing that feels like more than just a desire - sweets in the spring.

Fall and winter aren't comfort food times for me. Early spring is.

I'm just glad I got through Girl Scout Cookie ...

Blithe Morning

I have a smoothie for breakfast during the week. I'm not a big fruit fan either...

Blithe Morning

There are two ways to address this:

The rule about one plate is the practical application of No Seconds. Technically, you aren't taking seconds but rather eating a single serving of each course. Since the small multiple courses is a culturally grounded way of eating that historically hasn't ...

Blithe Morning

Our beloved Wosnes, who I hope is just taking a break and will be back when she gets her computer fixed, usually ate just two meals.

I do much better with a smoothie or something light in the morning to tide me through till 1PM or so.

If two works for you, then go for it. You don't have to eat ...

Blithe Morning

It sounds unlikely that one meal could prevent you from losing weight.

I would suggest habit compliance and movement first.

Blithe Morning

r.jean

The way I understand it taking away of a food item is a form of fasting. Biblically, fasting is a way to humble the "flesh", to submit the physical and emotional desires and will to spiritual practice.

Blithe Morning

I don't know. I've never had it. Does it taste sweet? Does it have added sugars?

I don't count flavored water as a sweet.

Blithe Morning

I'm giving up prepared sweets, meaning I can have it on weekends if it's homemade.

I know technically this is isn't quite a true Lenten fast in that I will be fasting on Saturdays as well as Sundays which are traditionally a mini-feast day.

But this fast is as much about food justice and my own ...

Blithe Morning

Nice share. I've been noticing that having sweets just because is increasingly not satisfying. I've been thinking about paying more attention to the "sometimes" qualifier in the rules.

This is just the thing to nudge me towards that.

Blithe Morning

I agree that your meal didn't sound very nourishing.

Were you a restrictive dieter before you started No S? Do you associate hunger with deprivation instead of pleasant anticipation of the next satisfying meal?

It takes a loooooooooong time to rewire your brain to respond to hunger cues ...

Blithe Morning

I hardly ever weigh myself so I'm down with that.

Everyday Systems

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Cutting Sugar Improves Children's Health in Just 10 Days

How long to form a habit?

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