Everyday Systems

harpista

Never heard of not permitting walking or biking to school. Is it a dangerous neighborhood? Maybe terrible traffic? If not, that is a terrible shame. To take away the chance to develop the habit of walking for transportation. Aaargh! But maybe it's a safety issue.

To my knowledge (and casual ...

harpista

Couldn't find mention of this by searching the forum... SISU War Hammer by Rogue Fitness

Prepare yourself for hyperbole, but it might be a useful product(?).

Mikko Salo Inspired
The Rogue War Hammer is an indestructible training weapon designed with a seven gauge loadable steel head.

The Hammer ...

harpista

Keeping my head above water, if just. All year long I have weighed between about 318-328 and I have had few, or no, totally successful N-days. Somewhat unbelievable to me is the fact that I have recorded all those fails in my daily checklist notebook (on which more later). The good news is... Yes ...

harpista

So true. This is No S, just a lot more nitpicky. (Ex: I only ever have OJ on S-days anyway, and I pour no more than about 250mL in my shorter glasses, so that's exactly the rule... But I never got that exacting about it.)

My child is almost two (just a few days until his birthday) and I'm thinking ...

harpista

This is a very late reply, but kudos.

I think you succeeded where others have failed because you added enjoyment. Possibly in learning the skill of cooking, definitely in better food, better cooking, and your little treats.

You sound like a French or Italian woman to me. As far as eating habits go ...

harpista

If I could intervene with myself, I'd pick 16 year old me.

- Brush your teeth, jerk. This is not directly a weight thing. More of a habit cultivation thing. :lol:

- Forget the pills and protein powder and journalling and weight watchers (all stuff I hated), and just do No S.

- No really, you ...

harpista

This is a very late answer, but is your child neurotypical? I'm not, and I had a great deal of social problems at certain ages, and widely fluctuating "status level," depending on situation, and the relative maturity levels of myself and my peers.

Even if your child IS neurotypical, it might be ...

harpista

We're at the other end of 2014, and where I live, it's definitely soup time again. I made this yesterday. It is from Canadian Living magazine and is the recipe that made me decide split pea soup was great stuff after all. I made only a couple little changes.

Classic Pea Soup with Ham

Source ...

harpista

If you have, or have access to, the Tightwad Gazette book by Amy Dacyzyn, there are master recipes for muffins, quiche and casseroles, and if I recall maybe other things too.

I have used the master recipe with great success and whatever baking oddments I had on hand, very useful.

If you like I ...

harpista

Eschano, jw, thank you for the kind words. I am trying so hard to believe it.

I haven't had one single DAY where I succeeded in No S since my last post. My new high weight is 328; I was 322 lb this morning. Oh holy crap.

But I haven't really tried much either. Lots of drama-y drama on both sides ...

harpista

Nicest of the Damned wrote: That and "there are only 20 baby teeth" are my mantras these days (Nicest Toddler is teething again).

OH, thank you for this!

9/20. That means... Only 11 to go.

harpista

Blithe Morning wrote:You have to upload the picture to the internet to a photo sharing site such as Flickr. Then you can share using the code above.

Oooh, embarrassed.

Of course that's so. Imgur is also good.

harpista

joasia wrote:Does anyone know how to post pictures here

Use the following text.
"[img]http://image_url[/img]"

harpista

Current weight is 320 , although I dipped as low as 316 this week, it didn't stick.

Here's my Habitcal again. I keep a paper copy on which I write my daily weight, so I only update this in chunks. I have had two successful days of No-S since I started again. I am actually happy with this. I'm ...

harpista

Hi Harpista,
You sound so discouraged and down on yourself. I feel for you. You can do this! Like jw said, so many of us really "like" NoSing once we get groovin' with it... :) It is not a matter of getting over hating it, it is more like falling in love with a partner in an arranged marriage ...

harpista

PS Try not to berate yourself about your weight -- it's not as motivating as you might think. Every bad feeling you create will demand to be soothed with a snack at some point . . .

Oh it's so true. If I'm not yelling at myself about my weight, I yell at myself for living in a pig sty.

Then I ...

harpista

It is something I heard about AA, that they recommend "one day at a time."

Thankfully, alcoholism is not amongst my problems. But I still thought it was a useful slogan. Making it to JUST ONE FULL DAY of No S is one of my problems, just now. But no dice, I had to make it even simpler; as of today ...

harpista

320 lb. this morning. :evil: :oops:

That's the highest weight of my entire adult life (that I recorded; I suspect I was as heavy right at the time I conceived my kiddo, just shaped differently).

My big pregnancy sweats are wearing out between the thighs, and most of my pants don't fit. Post ...

harpista

The general principles by which my gestational diabetes diet was governed:

- No more than 30 g of carbs at once (that's two slices of bread's worth), 15-30g at snacks (remember, these were PRESCRIBED snacks- I was on insulin!).

- Wait at least two hours between incidences of carbs.

- You were ...

harpista

Since my youngest is off to university this next fall, I just treated myself to a used cookbook for two, one a couple of decades old. It arrived this past weekend and I spent of bit of time browsing through it. I'm very happy with it, and being published before the normalizing of increased ...

harpista

I think that some of you might be very interested in hearing
this Professional lecture given at a recent Medical Conference:
The 5A's of Obesity Management ,
which ties in to support the concepts of NoS.

http://www.diethobby.com/blog.php?ax=v&nid=903

I haven't been by here in forever and a ...

harpista

Hi everyone.

A lot has changed since my last kick at the No-S can. I'm trying again because anything more complex has no room in my life and why did I ever stop doing this, I loved it!? Here's the issue, and I don't really remember it being addressed in the book, nor on here when I was paying ...

harpista

This is coming from the viewpoint of having had gestational diabetes in the last year, and needing consistent records for evaluation by doctors.... But IMO, if you weigh, you need to treat it as gathering scientific data, ditto blood sugar, blood pressure or other metrics.

By this I mean, you must ...

harpista

Amazing. Thanks for this one.

harpista

It may be that you won't see this, however I just wanted to tell you I understand where you're coming from. My first diet was at the age of 8 (and it was because of a doctor!), and I have had problems with binge eating ever since. Diets make me want to eat ALL THE THINGS, NOW!

Rather than harshly ...

harpista

Blockbuster update!!!

I have made amazing changes in my life since 2011. 2012 was my year of changing everything.

In October 2011, I met a new boyfriend (first in years) and quickly became serious.

In 2012, we did the following: I got my license and we went on a road trip; I got pregnant (Feb ...

harpista

I know my hardest part will be the "no snacks", esp at night- I might just get more sleep-

This is my continual stumbling block. What I can tell you (from reading and personal experience), is that being tired is a great way to wake up the hungry monster. It can actually mess up your body ...

harpista

wosnes wrote:
debrabuf wrote:
Our all time favorite was Hot Dog Stew...we sometimes my siblings still make it for get togethers,,always better the next day.

Thanks for sharing..brought back memories and I'm 54 and not part of the depression era.
So tell us about the hot dog stew.

Seconded; I want recipe!!!

harpista

Working on "failing better" right now. I consider myself to have re-started No-S this month (again... easily the fifth time? I don't even know, but the important thing is I am not stopping so I am not really concerned, either).

I started HabitCal again for the month of July! Harpista's July ...

harpista

thtrchic wrote:I'm sorry to hear you've had such a hard first half of the year. It sounds like it really has been challenging. I'm glad to see you back again. And, yes, I'm sure you can do it!

Julie

Thanks Julie.

harpista

Says it all. UGH. This is not a very good chart, as unlike some of the technological genii on this board :), I rarely have any reason to use Excel, and basically forgot all my "mad skillz." However it does show the difference, I just don't know how to, um, equalize the time axis?

Just keep on ...

harpista

Brutality.

Since February, my grandmother fell down while wintering in Florida, broke her pelvis, and after a long drama (fighting with insurance companies and hospitals, medical evacuation, etc.) and when we thought she'd just managed to pull through, she unfortunately passed away. It has been ...

harpista

I see a t-shirt design coming on... Perhaps a 14 on the back, jersey style?

harpista

Fence around the law, as Reinhard suggests.

This is where I keep struggling, so you may take my advice with a rather large grain of salt

harpista

Finally bought a hard copy too!

Maybe Reinhard should think about finding a way to offer bulk quantities?

harpista

DaveMc wrote: (It's possible that snacking was keeping a secretly grumpy Real You in check all this time, but it's pretty unlikely. )

I am a lot more smart-mouthed when I am not "full-mouthed" all the time. I think I was literally sedating myself with food, esp. carb-y snack-y things.

harpista

I use 14 minutes for cleaning, too. And I try to cultivate it as a habit when there's a mess, although I haven't resorted to adding it to my HabitCal. 3 habits are about enough for now.

I came across the small-units-of-time-to-clean concept in FlyLady (which, I think it was NoelFigart who mentioned ...

harpista

They were great as improvised sleds for the winter, though. My university residence had a great hill out back. There were tons that reappeared in the spring melt

That's Canada for you... ahahah!

harpista

I currently average about 2 successes per week, since the start of December. Which had a boatload of S days in it, far more than Reinhard would approve.

Horrible you say? Well, I've already lost 6 pounds. :lol:

I just keep trying and trying. I refuse to give up trying. And I actually lowered the ...

harpista

Whence did this delightful lady originate (on the boards)?

harpista

I've had Small Batch Baking for over a year, with this very idea in mind.

I guess it's time I tried something from it.

harpista

Paris. Paris, PARIS!!!!!!

Failing that, I suppose I will stick with moving to downtown Toronto (it's not far from here). I am rather enamoured with "the centre of the universe" (as the other Canadians mockingly call it).

harpista

Speaking as someone who has repeatedly failed (I have never made the 21 Club YET), I can tell you, though, that just trying your very best can also give you a very modest result and is worth doing.

I'm not saying stop trying to have successful n-days AT ALL, because of course that would be best ...

harpista

Blithe Morning,

I bought a pump spray at a cooking store, in which you put your own choice of oil, pump, and it sprays a fine mist of the oil. I bake a lot and don't like the ingredients list on baking spray.

Not sure how much it was- about $15 I think, but it will save you money if you use spray ...

harpista

Nicest of the Damned wrote:The plate should not be piled so high that you can't carry it to the table without spilling it.

This!

harpista

My favourite soup, which I just made/served at our (Canadian) family Thanksgiving:

Apple-Butternut Squash Soup

Serves 6, says the recipe: more like 10-12 appetizer portions in our house, or 8 main dishes. Stores in fridge: up to about 3 days. Stores in freezer: up to a month (and I personally ...

harpista

Shame on Me! I never thought I was one of those people.

This is just how I see things:

Only be ashamed if you lie to yourself about it. If it's a failure, mark it and move on... be proud to be honest, and try to gently determine where you went astray.

IME, being kind to yourself (including how ...

harpista

Even as I was eating the candy I'm thinking, "what emotion am I literally stuffing down?" The part that disturbed me the most was, I didn't really have a good answer. There are so many things stressing me out recently, but I couldn't put my finger on what is bothering me RIGHT NOW in that moment ...

harpista

Thursday, September 16: Failure? I think?
Friday, September 17: Failure? I think?

Note to self: this is apparently NOT the kind of useless trivia our mind likes to hold onto forever! Update more! :lol:

Saturday, September 18: S-Day
Sunday, September 19: S-Day

Monday, September 20 ...

harpista

I'm still rooting for you Mimi

You have given me kind (and timely) encouragement in the past, just wanted to let you know I wish you success and lots of green days

harpista

I think what Blithe Morning is referring to is how I cook beans/legumes. I cook all of them this way, no matter what kind of dish they'll end up as.

1 cup dry beans, rinsed and picked over (about a half pound)
5 cups hot water
1 tablespoon olive oil, butter or bacon fat
1 onion, chopped

Put all ...

harpista

As a former little girl myself, I would be crushed if a teacher I admired started preaching at me about healthier eating when I offered them a treat I made. Many girls that age are extremely body conscious (no matter what they weigh) and could take that the wrong way. I think telling the little ...

harpista

I don't eat a lot of whole grains because I don't like them, but I do eat legumes daily.

You are the bean queen! I used your recipe to start making chili beans at home and wow! They are so much better than anything in a can, even Bush's. It helps that I have the seasoning down right, but the ...

harpista

That being said, there are a lot of cultures who don't routinely eat a "good breakfast" and there are a few of us here who don't eat breakfast.

Hi wosnes!

I'm interested in this statement, can you tell me which cultures don't eat any/much breakfast?

I know that stereotypically the French don't ...

harpista

I don't know how to approach this problem - since I know I like having a plan, should I make sure to have a backup plan? That seems like a lot of wasted mental effort. But I don't know how to learn to handle the disruption of a day.

Have a plan for something you need or want to do, which isn't ...

harpista

Saturday, September 11: S-Day
Sunday, September 12: S-Day

Monday, September 13: Failure
Everything was great, until I let my mom and brother wheedle/pressure me into going to DAIRY QUEEN with them for Blizzards. Oops.

Tuesday, September 14: SUCCESSSSSSS!!!!
Four very large meals ...

harpista

Awesome! :shock: :shock: :shock:

You have given me new determination. I don't know why I didn't think anything could work any longer... as No S has worked for me before!! ... but this post has convinced me to get serious and give it a real go, and now I'm thinking "I can succeed" too ...

harpista

Friday, September 3: Failure
Saturday, September 4: S-Day
Sunday, September 5: S-Day

Monday, September 6 - Friday, September 10: Vacation!

HARD to try and stay semi-structured on vacation. Didn't want to graze or go into free-for-all, and I will say I think I did an okay job. Not great ...

harpista

I have met the enemy, and the enemy is mindless eating.

Monday, August 30: Failure (revised!)
Tuesday, August 31: Failure
Wednesday, September 1: Failure
Thursday, September 2: Failure

Monday, and Tuesday, I realize that I mindlessly ate some candies that were floating around in my purse ...

harpista

I also thought you might want to know that there is nothing wrong with a 4th "mini meal" during the day. The No S diet says "no snacks" but it doesn't say how many meals you can eat. Most people choose 3 but there are some who do more and some who only eat 1 or 2. I think that it's all about ...

harpista

Monday August 30: Success????

I'm calling it a success.

However I would call my compliance 'rough':

No Snacks - I have a designated snack due to blood sugar issues. But I did not eat at other times (very tempted).

No Sweets - I didn't count the flavoured beverages I had with meals (1x OJ and ...

harpista

Saturday, August 28: S-Day

Sunday, August 29: S-Day

Sick, spent lots of time in bed. UGH.

harpista

Friday August 27: Failure

Honestly, I feel so GOOD about these failures, I can't even tell you. :lol:

My No-S failures, as I wrote many moons ago, are light years ahead of where my regular, laissez-faire days were. One of those aiming-for-the-moon, landing-among-the-stars things.

I am also ...

harpista

Here we go again... I'm taking another kick at the can. I can honestly say nothing else ever worked so well (relatively painless, consistent, and non-insanity-producing) as No S. And I do remember the "twelve (?) failures" that Reinhard mentioned once, before the eventual success.

I'm always ...

harpista

Mavilu wrote:Welcome!.
We are happy here because we allow ourselves to enjoy cake.

And chocolates
And cookies
And candy
And Steak!

None of your favourites will be at stake!

And, Oh, the wonderful eats you will eat, when No-S'ing makes your treats into treats!

(Maybe it's time for my pills...)

harpista

The hardest point of last week was the hour I waited at my daughter's ballet class. About half way through the class is our normal dinner hour, and I frequently eat something sweet during that wait. Last week I didn't do it. I have never really figured out a good use of that time.

Hi Girl Next ...

harpista

oliviamanda wrote:Better as decoration on a plate

I actually own a decorative item, Valentine's Day themed ceramic plate with hearts on it etc., and ceramic chocolates.

harpista

I have PCOS too. My endocrinologist did not put me on hormones. I would be interested to know which you are taking?

My endo actually sent me for a sleep study, recommended that I learn meditation, yoga or guided relaxation techniques, and put me on Glumetza. For the record I am not diabetic ...

harpista

Still trying after about, hmm, 3 years or so.

I can be a bit contrarian about orders, and don't like anyone telling me what to do, including me. Now add a healthy dose of perfectionism

harpista

bluebunny27 wrote:8 firemen for civilians stuck in an elevator ?? How many do they send when there's a REAL FIRE to put
out ?? 100 ??

Hopefully cute ones.

Firefighters in my city have a scorching calendar... HEH HEH

Can't resist

harpista

Hi Mimi,

I am SO sorry to hear this. I am quite glad that you were not killed or critically injured. I would however like to slap the owner on your behalf. Are you pursuing any legal action?

When walking my own (submissive, sucky, gentle) 90lb dog, I usually have some good, stinky dog treats (aka ...

harpista

Thanks, you are an inspiration!

harpista

I get these comments too, but I am obese (clinically speaking). I use an Ann Landers trick, I think it was. My mother gave it to me (even though she is one of the commenters).

My usual response is "Excuse me?" in a neutral tone. Most people are functioning at the "say anything/throw it out there ...

harpista

I am so sorry to hear of this situation. Although not a prayer-y sort, I will pray for you all three.

harpista

I lost 15 pounds in 2 months on this diet back in the fall and I know I can start again. I need to lose 50 pounds and this is the only diet that seems to work for me. I have PCOS so I have to lose weight in order to become pregnant. I really need encouragement. I hope this time I will reach my goal ...

harpista

Good for your Harpista! Looks like you're making some progress in sorting things our for yourself. Bottom line - this has to work for you and your unique situation. Keep up your work and it will all come together for you.

Mimi :D

Mimi thank you yet again. :) I really appreciate you "coming to ...

harpista

Here we are in 2009, and I have been lurking a while, psyching myself up to return to No-S. In the intervening year(s), my weight is up to 295 lbs (today) at 5' 6" - 5' 7".

OMG, OMG. I just realized that as of this morning, I already lost 3 lb. And I have been having at least 1 S on most days ...

harpista

... ... Anyway, I just thought it was really actually very healthy to look at this from a long term perspective.. It's so easy to get down and depressed about it all.. And it's easy to feel that one is in a rut after waking up one day and all of a sudden they just find themselves 40 lbs up and ...

harpista

My eating has always been "reward-driven" ,
In fact my point of view has always been that people who think food is merely fuel
are abnormal to the point of insanity. :oops:

Oh thank you God. I thought I was the only one with this opinion and have carefully hid my feelings on the subject for ...

harpista

We need some moderation [no] sugar daddy to pay a dollar for each day of compliance.

Perhaps financed by us paying him back 3 for every failure (new meaning to the phrase "in the red").

I love the NO sugar daddy!!

I think he might end up looking a lot like a jolly Saint Patrick's Day bookie ...

harpista

Thalia wrote:Deb, life is not fair. I believe that, that being the case, at least it should be unfair in my favor.

harpista

I too like the plan of a long bath, candles and a trashy novel... around here I'm doing good if I can have a magazine behind a locked-the-kids-out door. I spent years never even going to the bathroom alone, so... one step at a time. :wink:

I also get a great free reward tossing out old clothes ...

harpista

KCCC wrote:If there are just 10 things, could someone list them? I don't have time to download/listen to the audio, but I'm curious as to the list. Would appreciate the "Cliff Notes" version.

Same here!

harpista

My husband doesn't have a weight problem, but that doesn't make him unsympathetic to mine, fortunately for me. He has always been very supportive of my weight loss efforts. He thinks NoS is the sanest approach to dieting I've ever taken! Lately, he goes in another room if he snacks in the evenings ...

harpista

I have a bowl at work that is like a small serving bowl which I use for soup, because a meal's worth of food is a LOT of soup.

So, fourthed?

harpista

When I started to do No-S I was trying to do it perfectly, and even if I just had a fruit for snack for example I would give myself a RED and it would give me permission to binge the rest of the day (it was a red anyways, right?). ...
Don't give up! I've tried all the diets in the book and I have a ...

harpista

So... Putting my mind to the idea of somehow "safely" integrating snacking into No-S, I came up with :idea: Pre-Authorized Snacking in the last couple of days. A small play on the spirit of Reinhard's "pre-disapproved" concept.

Another of my problems in life (it's not a very exclusive club) is not ...

harpista

Couldn't you focus on having no seconds and no sweets for now, but work some healthy snacks into your day? By having those snacks, your program would look very much like what your doctor has ordered. ... I think that if NoS is what you want to do, you can make it work with some modifications.

Hi ...

harpista

Hi Renee

It is very nice in muffins. It is also nice as a stewed fruit compote over, say, baked apples or poached pears.

Also, baking soda will reduce the acidity and thus the need for sugar in your fruity baked goods (1/8 tsp for very small item, 1/4 tsp average, 1/2 tsp MAX for a huge batch of ...

harpista

Thank you for posting this.

That said, sometimes ignorance is bliss!!

Now I will have to check this myself!!

harpista

If I were a very small woman, I'd probably just use... smaller plates. And maybe emphasize produce a bit more.

As it is, I have lots of way to go... I am obese, tall-ish (5'7"), and actively weight training for about 8 months, so I may be a bit easier off than others when it comes to posting ...

harpista

What I like are technically "herbal infusions" rather than real (black) tea, which I do NOT care for... except when I'm visiting England, where I drink it instead of my usual coffee. Somehow, I think it tastes different there. ;)

I cannot stand American-style black teas, to me they are very harsh ...

harpista

Belated welcome and congrats on that great start.

Keep us posted... do you have a check-in thread?

Also, greetings fellow Canuck!

harpista

mimi wrote:You can do it Harpista!

Mimi

Mimi, thank you for your kind words of encouragement... I need it today!

harpista

Thursday May 21 Failure
Friday May 22 Failure

Sigh. :oops:

I went and saw my endocrinologist on Thursday. I planned badly, didn't have my planned snack ready to eat in the car on the way, waited over an hour past my appointment time, and came out ravenous as well as extremely upset. I was in ...

harpista

Wednesday May 20 - Success(ish)

We went to a Thai restaurant which was... godawful. Everything came in platters (and everything was garbage , not having good luck lately with food!). I did ask for an empty plate so I did eat "one plate worth." Hurray!

I'm counting it as a success despite these ...

harpista

Well, have you joined the 21 Club post?

I congratulate you on your habit-forming, and (2nd go round with No-S!) this time I will join you. I just can't say when!!!

harpista

That used to be true until water companies (at least in the UK, not sure about the US - I assume it's the same) started using chloramines rather than chlorine in the tap water - it's more stable and doesn't evaporate away.

Fish keepers here need to make sure that they use a dechlorinator which ...

harpista

Monday May 18 - Success!

It was technically an S day, but I didn't feel like it was any kind of holiday for me (laundry and cleaning!), so I decided I would act "normally" on a normal day, and when needed, I can take a day another time. Balance it out.

Tuesday May 19 - Success!

Now I gotta ...

harpista

The only way I can get my water in to keep down retention is to fill a 4 cup waterbottle with a bit of lemon juice and a bit of sweetener. Not much, mostly for a chlorine cover-up.

Brita filters will get rid of chlorine taste and other nasty flavours (and are greener than using bottled water, if ...

Everyday Systems

Search found 186 matches

SISU War Hammer by Rogue Fitness

Re: Weighed again, still down 60

Re: question

Continuing Mission, updated

Re: Minkymoo's 1 year ish check in

Re: What is Weight Management Success?

Question about S-days

Hello, 2013!

Chugging along

Re: Wow, this diet has help me realize...

I have met the enemy...

Here we go, again!

Re: Newbie--Back Again

Re: Here we are in 2009... back again with a big update!

Re: 40 lbs in 20 months

Pre-Authorized Snacking (doctor's orders!!!)