Everyday Systems

Shirls

Thanks so much for your welcome. I look forward to roaming boards again.

Shirls

Hello everybody. I think I've tried everything now and I'm tired of tracking calories and following weird diets. I really, really know what my downfall is and that is snacks and cookies. And that's because of tiny little breakfasts, no real lunches and"grab anything" dinners.

So I've come to the ...

Shirls

Hi everyone. I'm back - nothing has worked and I know it's the sweets and snacks that are my downfall. Lovely to see old friends still here - hi Noel, wosnes and Brightangel :)
So the vanilla NoS starts tomorrow 11.1.11 (or 1.11.11 for my American friends) which sounds like an auspicious date ...

Shirls

Oddly, it is difficult to find full cream yogurt here (South Africa). It's mainly low fat. So what happens to all the fat that's removed I wonder? And maybe if I tried making yogurt with full cream milk it might be more successful. Will give it one more go

Shirls

I really only like plain yogurt. As a vegetarian I read labels constantly to make sure no gelatin is added (there are literally only two brands here that do NOT add gelatin). Also I have tried making my own in an electric yogurt maker but with disappointing results. It comes out watery or curdy ...

Shirls

That's lovely, Laura. Nothing nicer than having one's jeans feel a little loose. That's the feeling I'm aiming for, whatever the pesky scale says

Shirls

Noel, it is truly annoying, but I have noticed that whenever I change my eating plans it takes at least three weeks before weight comes off. My trouble is I keep "peeking in the oven" and throw in the towel too soon. C'mon, this time we're going to hang in there :D

At least I did the exercise ...

Shirls

Yeah, I had forgotten that

Have been in a bad place: mindless eating, no exercise and depressed and sorry for myself. So let the dancing and good habits begin

Shirls

Hi Noel - I've seen you around (at Holly's) and of course I look in your blog quite a bit. Have come to conclusion that dieting is out. Just three meals a day and exercise and no obsessing.

Shirls

This has got to be serendipity. After about a year's absence from here, it was precisely that post that sent me back

So, off to my habitcal and total vanilla No S ing

Shirls

I agree with wosnes: breakfast does seem to "wake up the worms". However I'm thinking that it might well be the kind of breakfast I'm eating which is muesli, plain yogurt and chopped up fresh fruit. Sounds very healthy huh? I take this lot to work to eat because of a long commute and I also take a ...

Shirls

I drink coffee black at home where it is freshly ground filter coffee, but the instant at work tastes so awful that I show it the milk jug. At least I've weaned myself off creamer because although I liked the taste, I preferred to save my calories for real food. Tea I've been drinking black for over ...

Shirls

You guys are so good :oops: I've loaded a lot of sixties rock onto my little mp player that hangs around my neck and I lock my study door at 5.30am and dance wildly around for twenty minutes every morning. DH is stil asleep and not there to laugh at me.
However I have just got Leslie Sansone's Walk ...

Shirls

I'm going back to basics. Why did I think I was so brilliant that I could form five habits all at once? Why didn't I listen to Reinhard? I did it all wrong: carried on counting calories, hopping on the scale and in the end doing just what I always do.

So now I'm only going to have only one calendar ...

Shirls

The hardest for me is no snacking at bedtime. It is a total beast of a habit and the hardest to break.
I'm okay with no sweets as long as I don't eat too many sweet things on S days. That seems to mess up my blood glucose levels so I don't dare go too wild. Not total deprivation, but certainly not ...

Shirls

I think so, yes. Overeating can be habit or thoughtlessness whereas binging is caused by anger or depression or anxiety. When I binge I know perfectly well what I am doing but just don't care because at that time only a pound of chocolate or a litre of cecream will fill the gaping hole in my psyche ...

Shirls

Of course it's emotional. It's anger and hatred and loathing, of myself, of my life, of the things that are spiralling out of control around me, and of late, a reaction to the isolation and loneliness and frustration that are threatening to break me down, and the struggle of my will to fight ...

Shirls

I just love the No Binge Failure idea and I'm going to put it on my HabitCal right away. It makes real sense

Shirls

fkwan, how do you puree pumpkin seeds? Soak them, boil them or what? I used to eat handfuls before the No Snack rule but I always assumed they were more fat than protein? If they have a high protein content I'll add a tablespoon to my fruit, yogurt and bran cereal breakfasts.

Shirls

Hello and welcome Janine

I hope you visit these forums frequently because the friendliness and motivation are amazing. As are the generosity and involvement of Reinhard - do have a listen to his podcasts.

Shirls

These recipes sound delicious Here's one of my favourites:
Veg & bean curry
I can curried tomatoes (or a can of plain tomatoes with a tablespoon of curry powder & a dollop of chopped garlic & ginger)
1 can mixed beans (pinto, chickpeas,, butter beans and small white beans)
Two or three sliced ...

Shirls

Thanks so much Try. I've had a disastrous week, but your post has really helped. Back to the HabitCal. I'm going to wear something green all next week to remind me I'm on track

And tomorrw I'll wear yellow

Shirls

You're right Laff - this plan has to be the happiest diet ever invented. No guilt, no grimness, no gritting of teeth. I've noticed that even on S days I tend to only want the three meals although I treated myself to a Kit Kat with lunch and ice cream after dinner. Befor NoS I'd eat five Kit Kats mid ...

Shirls

Thanks Blueskighs - good idea. Good thing I never eat gravy (not for diet reasons, I just don't like it). Of course that makes perfect sense.

Shirls

I like to use Jorge Cruise's plate suggestion of filling it half with vegetables, one quarter with protein and one quarter with a carb. However this means that apart from breakfast which usually consists of fresh cut up fruit topped with plain yogurt and fibre bran cereal, I never get to eat fruit ...

Shirls

Oh lucky Americans to have an S day tomorrow 8) Our next national holiday is on 16 June: Youth Day. Though I hardly qualify for that :cry:
But I need to be careful of S days anyway. We have 12 public holidays and only one falls on a Saturday. Those that fall on a Sunday get an extra holiday on the ...

Shirls

I've downloaded that podcast - must put it on my mp3 plyer and have a listen

Shirls

Well done f. You're right about the sugar thing. And being vegan must help a lot. I am a lacto-vegetarian and went to a function last night which had promised a "finger supper". Hah. They meant snacks and every one of them contained eggs or meat or were little cake things. So I had a very late ...

Shirls

Do you think the three plate system is a sort of self-hypnosis? Like it sort of burrows deep into the subconscious and that's why we manage to stick to it when every other diet has been an obsession?

Whatever it is I am just so, so grateful.

Shirls

We have the diabetic marmalade made with no added sugar. Don't ask me how they do it :!: I used to make marmalade for fetes and it takes a LOT of sugar to make it. I remember sending my husband down to the corner shop for another five pounds of the stuff because I'd used up all I had and it still ...

Shirls

Well winter's here on this continent and it's going around: the dreaded flu. And I've got it and these are S days I do not like one bit. Not that I feel much like eating, bur exercising is also out of the window. I went to the doc today and he said to rest and take the meds. I told him about the No ...

Shirls

Hey, Try, I also check the dicussions boards frequently :D It helps to keep me focused: dieting is a lonely business at best but try discussing NoS with family and friends and it gets nerve-wracking as another thread has pointed out. Like on a Sunday when you accept a dish of ice cream with ...

Shirls

I was never any good at low carbs. After a couple of days I'd feel as though I had a rip roaring hangover, which was really annoying after I'd given up drinkng alcohol years before. But I recognized that feeling and once I realized it would go away by just eating pasta, bread or potatoes I gave up ...

Shirls

Oh Blamey that reminds me of my Dad. He was alwyas a hefty man and one day he decided to cut out his favourite breakfast of fried cheese ( a whole frying pan filled with cheese and fried, served over fried bread with a side plate of bacon) because it was making him feel a little nauseous every ...

Shirls

Merry, I'd go for the treadmill. As you mentioned elsewhere, lovely as our weather is here in South Africa, walks alone outdoors are hazardous. There is a gorgeous Trim Track not far from where I live and it used to be great striding along the path under trees beside the river. It was totally ...

Shirls

Blamey, has it actually happened? Getting hungry, I mean. I assume you are talking about getting hungry before it's time to have your next meal? The terrible hunger may have happened to you often in the past because you ate a lot of sweet stuff that zoomed up your blood sugar and then dropped ...

Shirls

I just got a message to say my copy of the book will arrive on Thursday

I also ordered Walk Away the Pounds which will be in the same parcel. Hooray

Shirls

Whether it's a diet or not I love it for the removal of guilt. I told my (slender) sister about it today and she stared at me and said that's how she always eats. But she was most interested in it for her husband who snacks non stop. But he doesn't have the guilt even if he has the belly.
I'm not ...

Shirls

I really like the idea of forgetting the scale. It ranks right down there with doing my accounts every month, going to the dentist and speaking in public. All high anxiety things. The habitcal is much more fun

Shirls

Hey f I like that quote about knowing one's limitations :D
I've heard about the cortisol thing and sleep deprivation, but I think it's also that feeling sleepy by midafternoon has a tendency to make a person want something sweet to give an energy boost (which probably wouldn't occur with enough ...

Shirls

I also got on my scale this morning since it is May 1 and nearly fell off because it showed I had lost five pounds. So I moved it to another part of the room and it showed I had gained five pounds. I'm taking the first weight and have marked very carefully where it was placed. I will not get on it ...

Shirls

I didn't actually plan a binge. I was far too good at fooling myself for that. Instead I would plan "controlled sweet eating". So I'd buy seven Kitkats and decide to have one a day after dinner. This would be on my lunch hour at work. I rarely got to take them home - I'd have eaten the lot by five o ...

Shirls

My problem is not so much getting up early - I have to, in order to get to work on time, but of getting to bed too late. I need to get up at five each morning to leave the house by seven. I get home at six in the evening and by time dinner is cooked and eaten and cleared up and various chores like ...

Shirls

My feelings exactly, Jill. It's great not to be thinking constantly about eating. Only three times a day. It used to be three times an hour. I had a drawerful of health bars, wholewheat crackers, nuts and raisins and trail mix, all in dinky little packets. So very healthy. So very calorific. Every ...

Shirls

In my horoscope today Jonathan Cainer said "Don't expect to go straight from blending the ingredients to icing the cake." How did he know

Shirls

Lostand found I would think the pizza is a snack if you have it in between meals or as seconds. I would imagine pizza and salad would constitute a meal IF you had it as a lunch or dinner.

Shirls

It's great to be past the menopause. Towards the end the pms and mood swings became almost unbearable and I couldn't have HRT as I had a thrombosis in my twenties. I never did get hot flashes. My skin looks better than it ever did BUT the pounds piled on an and on. My lovely lady doctor who is a few ...

Shirls

Oy Diane, what's a belt? Oh yes that long leather thing that's been hanging on a hook on my closet door for the last few years. One day soon I'll have to wear it to stop my pants from falling down. I will now forever associate it with not night snacking :D
I'm sure I won't want to snack tonight ...

Shirls

Hey dvmccown I don't think you need to cut your sandwich in half. You can put fresh veggies inside your sandwich. Like lettuce, tomato cucumber. sweet peppers and fresh sprouted lentils or mung beans. You don't say how long the gap is between lunch and dinner but you need to eat enough at lunch to ...

Shirls

It's my first S weekend and working out okay. So far the indulgences have been a couple of squares of dark chocolate after lunch and dinner yesterday and after lunch today. I've never been able to just have two squares before - something's happening to me :D
I'm planning a rhubarb crumble for ...

Shirls

I also have a whole shelf full of diet books. Last year it got so bad I was ordering a new one before I'd even finished reading the first. Trouble is they are all so skewed. One set says cut out all fat but carbs are okay. Others say the total opposite. But the maddest I ever tried was that Mayo ...

Shirls

Oh Dawn, thanks for that

I'd just love to see a green week. So I'll allow the bedtime drink for a week if I feel I must and move on. I love these forums - I've never met such a pleasant bunch of people in one place.

Shirls

Hey MerrylCat - a fellow South African :D I was about to post that it's none too safe to walk around here but you did it for me. Ah well, there's always mall walking, though it's really hard on my credit card. I'd just love a treadmill, but they are so huge. I'm going to have to stick to crazy ...

Shirls

Clever Bright Angel :D I enjoyed those bios. Here's mine:
I am 62, married, mother of four and grandmother of six. I am a credit manager and have been with the same company for 34 years. It's good fun being an "elder", you get to scare the hell out of everybody. :wink: Plus all those who scared me ...

Shirls

I've know for some time that I'm an all or nothing type of person which is why I've fallen off the wagon in so many diets. So for me the HabitCal is a terrific tool as it is. I either did the N day or I didn't. But a red today doesn't mean a red tomorrow. That's what is so empowering: you get a ...

Shirls

I can relate to that Noel. My husband would have withdrawal symptoms without TV and so we have three (in case one breaks down :roll: ) but although I hear the news in the morning I don't actually watch it. My media addiction is audiobooks - I listen while I cook, wash dishes, make beds and even in ...

Shirls

Thursday night: failure again - skim milk cocoa but no biscuits.
Friday Night: as above. What is it with this hot milky drink lark? I never used to touch the stuff. Must be the cold weather coming on. So tonight I'll try citrus soother, a rooibos tea with a hint of orange and lemon. Let's see if it ...

Shirls

Wednesday night: failure. Ah woe is me. Ate three digestive biscuits and a cup of cocoa at bedtime. Mainly because I went to bed far too late.

Shirls

Tuesday night: success

Shirls

Thanks to Jazzys Mom's encouragement I have made two nights without the bedtime munchies. And no nightmares either

This No S diet is doing wonders for my self esteem.

Shirls

Hurray! I did it last night. I put the menthol lozenges on my night table just in case, but I didn't need them. Now if I just do this for 21 days I'll have gotten rid of the habit. You're right Jazzys Mom - it's in the mind.

Shirls

Noel, I totally agree with you there. I went to AA 15 years ago and came off the alcohol and found it most useful, but to apply it to food - well I can't see it working for me. With booze it is for me simply "not an option". But where does OA draw the line with food? Now the NoS diet seems eminently ...

Shirls

Sorry, yes I meant cherry tomatoes, though these were rather big ones so five seemed about right. I like to alternate them with the olives when I eat the salad. I forgot to add I also have three or four pickled pepperdews with this salad.
A cheese salad sandwich (for me) consists of seed bread ...

Shirls

Oh good, thanks Jazzys Mom. I have some lozenges - I never thought of those. I'm going to give it a go tonight, especially as I feel so full from dinner I can't imagine wanting any more food. Plus I'm going to form a habit of getting to bed by ten instead of midnight. Could be going to bed so late ...

Shirls

I usually have a Greek salad which I make at home the night before and put in the fridge - a round of feta cheese, 4 olives, 5 baby tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce and red or yellow peppers. On alternate days I have a cheese salad sandwich on multigrain bread. I found that five days of the salad was too ...

Shirls

Hello jazzysmom, I am just wondering how it is going with your night eating? The reason I ask is that I am brand new here and this is my problem too. Whenever I try to stop it I either can't get to sleep or have nightmares. So the fear factor as well as the bad habit factor is mixed up in this. I ...

Everyday Systems

Search found 66 matches

Thanks

I'm back (again!)

Creeping back...

Starting over

The One Plate Rule - fruit issue

No S a form of hypnosis?

A few horrible S-days

Shirls night eating check in