Everyday Systems

Thanks CG!

Green all week for No-S!
Green all week for 14 minutes (cycling and "hard" house and garden work).

I'm really pleased, this is my first green week for June.

Saturday - had normal breakfast and lunch, and shared a sweet escargot pastry with my son and husband at a gorgeous French patisserie near us. I'm going to leave it there - I don't really want a lot more sweets, so I'm not going to eat "because I can". Feels much better.

Happy S days all

Good job on having an all green week!

Sunday S day - went to the annual luncheon for my volunteering group. It was great fun to gather with all the volunteers and the people we volunteer with for a day out. A few of the ladies sitting near me wanted to share a seafood platter so I agreed. Whoa! So much food.

I don't know if it was me overeating fried fish, chips and prawns, or if there was something fishy (hehe) about the chili mussels, but I spent all of Sunday afternoon and evening feeling incredibly queasy and weak. My poor little man only got three very short bedtime stories! I was really disappointed, as I'd made chili con carne and tortillas to have with my husband and then couldn't touch them. I'd been looking forward to an S day treat of icecream after dinner, but no way!

I think I need to take this as a lesson about my lowered ability to overeat.

Sounds like a fun luncheon but so sorry you got sick & couldn't properly enjoy your S day!

Thanks Linda! Yeah, it was a great luncheon, and kind of hilarious. The group I volunteer with matches you up with a person with a disability who lives locally. The idea is to prevent people becoming isolated if they are disabled but live independently. So, we had a group of people with various physical, sensory or intellectual disabilities. The restaurant we went to had some pretty crappy wait staff and I'm not sure they knew what to do. There wasn't any system for remembering who ordered what: they just kept walking out with food and calling out for whoever ordered it. Half the people there either couldn't hear them, or weren't able to reply, or forgot what they ordered. It was just chaos!

I sat next to my friend, Jay, who has a physical disability but is mentally very sharp. He has a good sense of humour, and he uses the fact that people assume from his physical self that he is intellectually disabled to play jokes on them. I was in stitches a lot of the time.

Anyway, I ended up feeling a bit sorry for the staff, between the chaos in getting orders to us and the jokes Jay played on them, they were working hard.

So, a fun Sunday, but not fun getting sick in the tum afterwards.

Your friend Jay sounds like a good laugh ironchef! In fact even the chaos sounds a bit like from a slapstick comedy. It sounds like everyone had a good lunch though.

Well done on your June success!

Thanks eschano, although 1 green week at the end of June isn't quite a month of success, but I'll take it!

All green so far this week (Mon, Tues, Wed) for No-S.

Green for 14 mins Mon, Tues (cycling).

I chased my son around the indoor water play center today, so I figure I got good exercise, but I might still try to do something later. His water confidence far exceeds his competence, so keeping him from drowning himself is an intense job!

Funny comments from Ironbaby this week, while reading one of his books "The Frog Who Lost His Underpants":
Ironbaby: Froggie lost his pants!
Me: Yes, he's trying to find them.
Ironbaby: Poor Froggie, he's crying!
Me: He does look sad, because he lost his pants.
Ironbaby: Oh dear. Where is his Mummy?

Oh how sweet is that? Where is his mummy! You are so blessed!

Thanks eschano, I know, it really is a delightful age. I know people talk about "the terrible 2s", but at 2yrs and 1mth he really is a lot of fun. Perhaps it is because this is often the age when a second baby arrives, thus making everything a lot busier?

Yesterday in the kitchen:
Me: Don't touch the oven, it's hot!
Ironbaby: Not touching it, hot! Chillies in dere!

This morning at breakfast:
Ironbaby: That was fun!
Me: What was fun?
Ironbaby: Being a nudist!
Me: ??

Or ironbaby is just delightful by design

Your son really does sound delightful! My younger son is 2, and although he is a lot of work, he is also a lot of fun.

I have a good friend that said her favorite age with her kiddos was 2-3, so lap it up, ironchef! I can sadly but truly say that although I think both my boys were CUTE CUTE CUTE to look at during those years, living with them was hard!!!! Probably a combination of my own temperament, lack of experience, and an extremely challenging first-born. I think he "broke my spirit" of confidence about parenting! LOL, but it's true! I can at least happily say that I really enjoy them both now that they are bigger.

auto, everyone has a different favourite. My friend Dana says 18 months, my mum says 3-5, my aunt says 8 - 10! I think part of it is that Ironbaby is a relatively easy toddler (although I have not much idea, with only one) - but he seems to have a mostly easy time communicating his needs and feelings, he is energetic but not stupidly so, and pretty happy unless tired, hungry or stressed. Perhaps this is karma for that first year when he didn't sleep and I thought death by sleep deprivation was actually possible? I also think it makes a difference that my support situation is very strong - my husband is home taking care of child and house on the days when I work, and we have two very keen grandmothers and my sister for support if I need company, baby sitting, etc. So, I get regular breaks, and plenty of help. It's easy to see the bright side when that is the case.

I finished the week green except for a fail on Fri for 14 minutes. I had guests all day, from 9am to 6:30pm, so exercising just didn't happen.

This weekend has been fine so far, I've eaten a bit of the pumpkin cake I made yesterday for guests (and didn't sample until today), but otherwise a normal day. Tomorrow I'm catching up with a friend who has a boy the same age as mine, and she's making Nutella pancakes! Yum!!

I'm 1/2 way through Thursday and all green so far this week. Cycling Mon, Tues, dancing and swimming Wed, cycling Thurs.

This morning a work colleague put on morning tea. I didn't eat my usual oats, and decided to make it my breakfast meal, so I took a small plate of savouries as my breakfast. Yummy (but not very healthy) breakfast! A few people stared a bit, because I don't usually eat morning tea if it is sweets, or if I've already had a breakfast meal. I just love that No S is a plan that can flexible enough to do this (now and again).

My new schedule of eating a later breakfast at work, then a later lunch, is working really well, and I've had far fewer red days since I started it.

This week I've experimented with cutting down meal sizes a bit, especially dinners. I was finding I wasn't really hungry at all for my breakfast, which tells me I've been eating too heavy in the evenings. It's easy for me to eat a lot of heavier foods in winter, when the cold weather seems to lend itself to hearty soups, curries and stews. I just need to be a bit self aware and balance things out.

Hi Ironchef,

I am delighted your new schedule is working for you!

I realised that I'm not hungry anymore between meals either, except sometimes between lunch and dinner but only if I have a very large dinner. I'll be a bit sneaky and see how your experiment with cutting down goes before plunging in myself

Thanks eschano.
I'm not reducing much, just trying to make a conscious effort to cover 1/3 or more of the plate with fruit and veg. If I'm eating something heavier, without much veg, I'm trying to serve into a slightly smaller bowl, or leave some white on the plate. But, if I don't do this, I'm not counting it as a fail. It's just a guide.

Green all week, tonight an S event for dinner with a friend that has been booked for a while

Enjoy your S event tonight!

I think that's what I should do as well. I realised that lately the amount of veg in my food has gone down (to pinpoint exactly since I make lunch together with my boyfriend) so that might be a reason for failing hunger.

Thanks so much for sharing! I am so glad you are on the boards - you certainly provide a lot of brilliant advice.

aww *blushing* I don't know about brilliant, I guess I feel like I've learned so much in the past two years of effort (and from reading posts from experienced campaigners like oolala and vmsurbat) that I want to pass on tips.

My experiment this week with slightly lighter plates went really well - I was well satisfied and full going to bed, but getting hungry for breakfast by 8 - 9am, which is what I'm aiming for. It's been hardly any difference, just the minor change from plate of risotto & crispy bacon to plate of risotto, crispy bacon and broccoli with sesame seeds. I'm going to carry on for the rest of July and then reassess.

My S dinner was very nice, it was one of those degustation dinners with lots of tiny courses. It was a real treat to go out to a fancy dinner with our good friends and there was a lot of laughing. To be honest though, I found it a very rich and overwhelming way to eat. Once again proving that learning not to overeat on No S has reduced my ability to overeat when the occasion does present itself.

Today I ate normal N day meals because I still felt overwhelmed by last night's dinner. Eating veggie soup for dinner felt incredibly nice - like getting a hug! I did eat a slice of teacake (mostly dried fruit) during the afternoon - it was given to me at work this week and I kept it in the freezer for an S day treat.

Sounds like you have settled into a great set of habits but also look for ways to improve. Good job!

Hi Ironchef. I love soup too, so much. You made me want to make some for the week ahead. Soup as a hug I love the whole concept. Much nicer than soup in a mug
You seem to be really well balanced at the moment. Safe enough to try new ways of eating. I find that impressive

Thank you both. If this experiment doesn't fit or unbalances me in any way, I know I'll always be able to fall back on just 3 plates and still have green days. That's what makes me feel safe.

The interesting thing for me is that 2 years in this experiment is not about weighing less. I truly am chasing that "nicely hungry for each meal" feeling, because to me that tells me I am eating moderately. In fact, I don't know what I weigh at the moment. I haven't stepped on scales for about 4 or 5 months, but intend to weigh a few days and take an average every 6 months or so to prevent becoming complaisant. I never in a million years thought I'd get to a point where I don't actually know what I weight and it doesn't bother me.

Experiment going well so far, GREEN Mon and Tues.

Last night I had a later dinner, and I was alone (my husband was out for dinner). This is usually when I would load up the cheese toasties, thinking "hey, it fits on the plate!". Instead I got a mini-serve of pasta with mushroom and tomato, a banana and a slice of toast with an egg. Fitted nicely on the plate, plenty of white space. Went to bed feeling just fine, not overly full, but not hungry either. Just shows me that sometimes I've been just eating for the hell of it, because it fits on the plate.

Green Mon, Tues - cycling.

I made spice muffins last night to bring half for morning tea at work and keep half for a friend who is coming by tonight. I have frozen one to eat on Saturday and I can honestly say I feel no temptation to have one now. Even after 2 years, sometimes I'm still amazed by the force of habit.

Yay Ironchef & the power of habit!!

I will be watching your experiment with interest.

Doing great iron!!! Keep up the good work!

Thanks Merry and Linda!

Green so far this week for No S. Red on Wednesday for exercise - spent my son's lunch naptime working with a mortgage broker on our current situation and working on our taxes. Double yay I did take my son for a long walk and play in the afternoon, but that's not the same thing.

New schedule going very well. I find I'm actually quite happy to just drink a cup of tea first thing, then delay breakfast to 9 or even 10am on those days when I'm just sitting at a desk. Then I can have lunch at 2pm and dinner at 8pm without any looong gaps. So pleased with this, although on days at home with active mornings I do need to get breakfast in a bit earlier.

Lighter plates experiment going well too. I had an english muffin with an egg and a slice of cheese for breakfast this morning and was perfectly satisfied. There was a LOT of room on that plate, but I didn't need anything else. It helped that is was really tasty and had HP sauce

Sounds like a brilliant step forward ironchef!

Mortgage brokers and so on are not fun but the peace of mind it gives you once it's done is incredible! So yay to you for dealing with this.

Good job! Your eating schedule sounds good, and I love your idea of using smaller plates!

Thanks eschano, CG, I am really glad to find this minor tweak much easier that I expected.

All Green No S week, 1 red for 14 mins.

Had a heavier eating day Fri, but still green.

Saturday - no treats yet, but I'm going to a birthday party this evening so will probably have some cake if there is some.

Really good to see tweaks in action and know they can work. Lighter plates seems like a good one for me too. An all green noS week is so impressive to me. I really tune in to your experience of not feeling full or overly hungry. I feel this must be a good state to aim for. Impressive You are doing great and enjoy that birthday party!!!

Thanks Tessy. It's a 40th for a very dear friend I don't get to see much of lately, so I'm very excited!

Just want to caveat for anyone considering tweaks: keep in mind when reading this that I've been No Sing relatively successfully for 2 years. I would not recommend trying tweaks until basic vanilla is an old friend

When I say this "works" I mean that it isn't triggering me to have red days and I'm achieving my goal of having a "nicely hungry for meals" feeling. I don't weigh myself regularly, so I have no idea what my weight will do (if anything). At present I do not want to lose or gain any weight.

A good weekend, with birthday cake and a little square of "dessert" pizza (apple and sour cream) at the party on Saturday night.

Sunday I was just at home, so apart from cooking eggs for breakfast, a normal day. Didn't really feel the need for sweets (having had plenty on Sat night) and managed to avoid that Sunday evening "quick, eat before N days come back" feeling, which I always feel better without!

Green today for cycling, green so far for eating. I've made a cake for a work lunch, but do not feel inclined to have any.

Coming up to my anniversary of joining the boards (30th July), so I'll probably weigh for a few days at the end of this week and take an average. Will be interesting. I don't think my weight has changed much (all my clothes are the same ones from a year ago!), but it may have gone up from my all time low when I was still breast feeding.

The dessert pizza sounds great. I never heard of that!

And yay for your upcoming anniversary. It's so nice to have a fellow NoSer who started at the same time and you've been such a brilliant support!

Dessert pizza! Mmm! Happy No S anniversary!

Thanks eschano and CG - 2 years seems to have flown!

Red today for the first time all month (!), I went to a friend's house in the afternoon and she made me a coffee and put on the saucer a little coffee biscuit which is a speciality from her home country. I took a small bite and shared it with my son - it would really have felt rude to turn it down. On the upside, I carefully considered the situation and decided it was a failworthy S, so it wasn't a mindless snack/sweet. Plus it was literally a single mouthful (if that). Also, no other S's today: an isolated fail. I think for me avoiding the WTH red day effect is the main thing.

So, no all green month for me. Care factor not that high.

I'm still struggling a bit with 14 minutes - several reds this month. Cycling to work days are perfectly fine, but I'm still not sure how to fit it consistently into my routine on non-work days at home with bub, especially now it is Winter and often a bit miserable outside. I'm thinking of signing up for 1 early morning a week at the gym I used to work at (using the hour before bub wakes up) just to commit myself to more consistency. What I'm doing now just isn't becoming habitual.

I totally get why you would eat that dessert! I know so many cultures where people would be quite offended. Also, taking something home from your own country makes it very valuable so it's not shared willy-nilly

Well done on not giving into the WTH effect!

Thanks eschano. Yeah, these were biscuits she brought back to Australia from a recent trip to Belgrade, so they were in limited supply!

Pondering what to do about the 14 minutes thing, I've gone back to my old Personal Training stuff and I'm thinking of writing some programs for myself as if I was my own client (if that makes any sense?) and then tracking against that. I'm thinking two 14 minute routines plus a 7 minute one for crazy days?

Also thinking about a few other things I want to work on (inspired by a few other posters who are expanding their horizons) and perhaps adding one each month for the rest of the year. Things to tackle might include:
- Caffeine consumption
- House tidiness/cleanliness (ugh)
- Finances

I have been working on two out of those three. I am not concerned about caffeine..but the other two....

I'm just breaking things up into manageable pieces.

Very tiny, manageable pieces.

Practically minuscule, really

Dandelion, I think you are right that tiny steps in the right direction is the way to go.

For August I've decided I'm not going to add any more systems, but just focus on getting exercise compliance as high as No S eating compliance. I've written 3 routines (2 different strength, 1 stretch) and I'm going to rotate them every day. No days off if I cycle to work, weekends same as week days. Hopefully that will turn it into a habit, like brushing me teeth!

I've also teamed up with a friend, who has a son the same age, who asked me to write her some routines. Hopefully we'll keep each other motivated (and honest!).

I'm still thinking about the house stuff, might institute something in September. Perhaps like auto, just "14 minutes of SOMEthing" round the house each day. I mean 14 minutes over and above the stuff that must be done daily: cooking, kitchen, general picking up, laundry, etc. But I'm not going to track yet, I think if I add too much at once I'll end up dropping the ball on the exercise or eating.

Someone on another thread post a link to a house organization app. I am a listmaker, so it works great for me. It has daily, weekly and long term lists. I added all the tasks I want to each list, and I can star them as I finish them. When they're done, I can delete the stars and start all over again. It even has a built in 15 minute timer

Thanks Dandelion, I'll check it out. Due to my limited energy / willpower, I don't think I'll start until September.

So far this week all GREEN for No S. Avoided 2 kinds of home baked cookies (peanut butter ones and maple syrup ones) at work yesterday - took some home for my husband.

Doing exercise every day is going well. I got up early this morning and got to the gym before bub woke, then cycled to work as well. I'll do my stretch routine tonight. I feel fantastic! I always forget how much exercise elevates my moods

Very inspiring ironchef!!

Great job with keeping up with your exercise routines! I certainly understand about the challenges of keeping up with housework. I really like the idea of doing 14 minutes of 'something' around the house each day. The app that Dandelion mentioned also sounds interesting.

I know the feeling! During the school year, I have so little energy left at the end of the day, I usually end up sleeping for an hour or so when I get home. I'm hoping this app will help me to accomplish something, no matter how small, every day so that over time it will add up.

Late fail yesterday - had a small square of chocolate after dinner with my husband. The reason it was in the house was that someone at my work was handing it out and I took some "for later" intending it for the weekend. Now I won't have it at the weekend - ah well, at least it was only this single piece (my husband has eaten the rest).

Not bad at all & at least it was for something worthwhile.

Just a near miss in my book. I admit to having many, many fails over the years because of my secret stash of sweets collected to be consumed on S-days...

Thanks Linda and Imogen I was pleased there wasn't any "what the hell" after the one bite of chocolate. And it was very nice (a fancy kind given to a lady at work).

I don't normally have much in the house, but now and again when pressed at work I'll take some "for later" to avoid giving offence. It's usually fine, because anything baked I put in the freezer until the weekend. These 2 squares of chocolate were an anomaly as they weren't frozen. Ah well, live and learn.

Other than that, a green week for No S. All green for exercise - my doing something every day, instead of only some days, seems to be working better.

I'm going to try an experiment this weekend, I'm going to write down my S day eating. I often feel like my weekends are "wild", so I'm just going to observe and see if they really are or I just feel that way.

So, Saturday:
breakfast same as N day, but with tspn honey on my porridge
lunch same as N day, but honey on my sandwich
afternoon tea one and a half of the coconut muffins I baked.
Dinner: PB and honey on toast, soup.

Hmmm, not nearly as wild as I had thought. Although perhaps the act of writing it down has reined me in? Hard to tell.

Hi Ironchef, just stopped by to see what was happening. Your "wild" s day menu cracks me up. I'm guessing you like honey?

Yep, I love honey and my Dad keeps bees!

I had PB& honey for lunch yesterday and never even thought of it as an S. I'm going to keep my blinders on.

It seems like a good idea to write down the S days for a while to see if they really are wild. FWIW, if I ate PB, I'd have PB&H any day and not consider it a 'fail'.

Everyone draws the "S" line in a different place. I'm a "fence around the law" kind of person, so I don't eat honey and jam on N days. Especially honey, as I love it and (as you can see) can get through quite a lot I'm pretty sure Reinhard even said not to worry about sugar on oatmeal or jam on toast, but I find it easier not to have stuff that tastes really sweet on an N day.

Hi Ironchef-
I'm one to enjoy the sugar on oatmeal, etc., but I see real wisdom in doing it your way with avoiding the sweet taste on N days. Maybe I will progress to that one day soon...

I love all of the honey you had on your S Day. That makes sense, about avoiding honey and sugar on N days.

osoniye, if your Dad was a beekeeper, you might find you needed to make honey an S too

Thanks CG, I'm very lucky to have access to such lovely raw honey.

A good Sunday: basically an N day except for a vanilla slice shared with my husband at lunch and an afternoon tea cookie with my parents. Oh, and did I mention honey on my porridge??

Unfortunately I've come down with a grotty cold / cough again, so S (sick) days for exercise until I get better. I'll still have to cycle (slowly) to work. I'm going to keep eating normal, except allow myself lemon and honey drinks. There's that honey again!! I didn't realise until I recorded how much honey features in my life

I've heard raw honey has a lot of health benefits. I hope you feel better soon.

Your S days were insanely tame compared to mine! It always helps me to feel calm about my eating when I write it all down. Often it feels like more than it was or at the very least it's nice to see it all contained in one place & to se there really was a beginning & an end to it.

Sorry about the cold! I hate when I get sick right when I was getting into a god grove w exercising.

Linda

Thank you for your kind encouraging words on my thread! I forgot how. Ice people are around here!

To be honest, my S days were probably tamer because I was getting sick. One time I'll have to document a truly wild weekend for posterity

snapdragon - this board is one of the kindest, most supportive places I've come across, it really helps me stay on track.

Red yesterday - had 1/2 a brownie with my husband after dinner.

Interestingly, yesterday was exactly what I'd hope an "ideal" S day would be like - an N day, with a delicious, homemade, much-savoured treat. The opposite of the sort of "I'll S 'cos I can" eating that I find the most unsatisfying on some weekends. If I could eventually get to a place where I had one or two S events like that each week, I'd be a paragon of moderation. I wonder if I'll eventually get there by passively floating along this No S road, or if I'll need to take some kind of active steps?

ironchef wrote:I wonder if I'll eventually get there by passively floating along this No S road, or if I'll need to take some kind of active steps?

Yep I think that's something most of us here can relate to. I know I do!

Ugh, another red for Friday - my parents came over for dinner, and I ended up joining everyone in a slice of rhubarb, apple and pear cake. Once again, if it was Saturday, it would have been my ideal day. However, it wasn't, so red again.
Better luck next week.

Ooooh sounds fail worthy to me but I understand your feeling discouraged since it wasn't a planned thing.

Gosh, fruity rhubarb deserts are my kryptonite. Sounds like you only had a slice and enjoyed it? I guess it's a fail and a success at the same time. Sounds like you and something you rarely get a chance to moderately. Hope his doesn't get you down completely.

Thanks Linda and snapdragon, I can't tell you how much it helps to just write down a fail here and have you guys immediately understand and put it into perspective.

What's niggling in my brain is that both Thursday and Friday were much "happier" eating days than a lot of my weekend S days. I felt more physically comfortable, and savoured my small dinner dessert on both days a lot (rhubarb is fresh and cheap here at the moment!). In fact yesterday (Saturday), I just had an N day, except I had another small serve of the rhubarb cake with creme fresh as dessert after dinner. It was really great, so much better than permasnack days.

I remember a while back reading a long term poster (wosnes?) saying that instead of S "days" she just had small S treats, like one really great cookie, a couple of times a week. And I remember thinking "is that even possible?". I'd love to think so.

Anyway, sorry for long, babbling post, but I've got all this bubbling in my brain at the moment.

Iron - I'm starting to think the same thing. My S Days just aren't really enjoyable. Especially when I snack or eat something just because I can, even if I don't want to. I'm a little scared to implement rules on S Days, but I think it may help me get into a habit where I actually enjoy my S Days a little more. I may try 2 S Events a week - then I could enjoy dessert even on a Friday night. I know when I have my monthly S Event at work (a cupcake) it is really enjoyable. I'm going to track this starting in September. If it doesn't work, then I'll just go back to plain vanilla.

aspencer, I highly recommend Reinhard's "S Days Gone Wild" podcast. I've been vanilla No Sing for 2 years, and I think that it took me this long to "prove" to myself that I was allowed to have whatever I want on the weekends - I'm a slow learner I wanted to give vanilla a good long go before deciding on mods and tweaks, but that's just me.

I had another very enjoyable S day on Sunday. Again, a normal N day, but dessert after dinner: some fresh lemon butter (lemon curd) that I made myself and the last piece of the rhubarb, apple and pear cake. I felt really good about this weekend and I didn't feel I missed out at all.

I don't think I'll change any rules, as I like the simplicity of vanilla No S. I am going to make an effort to start each S day as an N day, and keep sweets with meals. But I want to keep the safety net of "you can't fail on an S day", so I don't push myself into feeling deprived. If I have parties to go to or "capital S" days like Christmas or my birthday, then all bets are off.

Hi Ironchef.
You give me such good wise advice. I know the answers to your challenges must lie within that wise brain of yours!! I think your plan for S days sounds really sensible. We are all finding our way, I think of noS now as a foundation. But know I may have to adapt it as I go along, that makes it a living thing rather than a monolithic set of rules. Vanilla is such a strong habit now for you that despite odd fails ( normal ups and downs in life) your default is secure. S days then have the potential to challenge as you seek a way of eating ' freely' that suits your life on a long term basis. So S days are no longer the pressure cooker valve to let off steam after the Week days. But rather something to develop and engage with. A good point to be at I suspect. Good luck with your plans

Ironchef, thanks so much for recommending the S Days gone wild podcast! It is so helpful. I think the biggest hurdle for me to overcome is actually enjoying my S treats. I have definitely had times where this is the case, and it makes the S Days so much more enjoyable. I've also had times where I try and eat so fast before the guilt sinks in, and those are no fun.

As Reinhard recommends, I'm going to keep my S Days free, but really try to think through my treats (snacks or sweets - I rarely have seconds) to ensure I'll enjoy them, and focus on not furtively eating. It's a treat, I deserve it. Just knowing that it isn't (shouldn't be, anyways) a free-for-all makes me less stressed.

Now, I'm taking this over to my check-in, and I'm done hijacking your thread.

tessy you are right, it is a good point to be at - fine tuning weekends. If you'd told me 2 years ago that my main challenge would be how to make eating treats more enjoyable, I would have laughed. It's easy to forget that!

I'm trying to foster what oolala calls the "curious scientist" attitude

aspencer, post away here or there - I'll be interested to see where you end up with S day approach.

Green so far this week for eating. Green for exercise - I spent an hour using free weights at the gym very early yesterday, as well as the cycle to work. Oooo, my lesser used muscles are sore today, but I feel great!

All green week for No S and exercise. Funny stuff: had a slice of toast with dinner last night with homemade lemon butter on it. It did fit on the plate, but lemon butter is easily as sweet as jam or honey. Hmm, borderline.

Now aiming for another weekend where I enjoy myself, but stick with meal structure.

My husband and I are talking about starting to try for a second child, so I'm thinking about my health at the moment. I'm going to begin cutting down on coffee starting next week, with the hope to drop it completely in another few weeks. I've also got to watch my alcohol consumption, especially for those couple of weeks each month where I *might* be pregnant, but don't know yet. I'm considering just implementing a 1 drink glass ceiling for every day.

How exciting! I can't wait to see how you tweak NoS for your pregnancy. My husband and I are talking about trying for our first - not right now, but in the next year or so. I am hoping to get to a place where I can just trust myself to eat what I want when I want, and to not overeat. I'm sure I'll be focusing on NoS somehow with some tweaks still.

That lemon butter sounds amazing! Good luck with the weekend eating. I'll be focusing on really enjoying my treats, and only having what I really want and not just snacking or having dessert because I can.

Congratulations on both sides - your green week and trying for another child I think cutting down on alcohol is a good thing (although I am proof that excessive alcohol consumption doesn't stand in your way - my mother figures I was conceived on their honeymoon about 14 tequilas in).

As for coffee: sounds like a great plan. And just in case maybe have some decaf if you really need the taste.

Iron,

So exciting for you!!! It's funny that our kids (or even future kids) make us want to focus on our health! I wish you much luck and success and even more in your continued effort and focus on your health!

Cheers! (sparkling apple juice only....JUST KIDDING!!)

How exciting for you! those sound like good first steps!

Aww, thanks for all the congrats and encouragement! I am both excited and aware that these things can take time and be relatively "random".

aspencer - how exciting for you guys!

I'm now down to one coffee and one tea per day. Next week I will drop the coffee and go to 1-2 cups of tea, then down to nothing. My reasoning is that some research has found that more than 2 cups of coffee (or 300mg caffeine) increases chance of miscarriage in the first trimester or could lead to growth restriction. However, as always with research, other studies have disputed these findings. The most common recommendation is to limit caffeine to below 300mg per day, but I find this harder than just cutting it completely - having to keep track and remember if I had a cup earlier or not. I won't worry about the small amounts of caffeine in chocolate or desserts.

As far as No S eating during pregnancy and early breast feeding, my aim is to be flexible and sensible. During my previous pregnancy (although I know all pregnancies are different) I was sick from about 6 weeks to 14 weeks. The best cure for me was having dry, savoury crackers (e.g. Cruskits) on hand to eat when I felt ill. So, I expect to possibly have to drop the "no snacks" rule of No S. I don't think sweets will be a big issue, as I found last time that sweets, especially intense ones like chocolate, made me feel very sick. My main cravings were for things like cheese and pickle sandwiches, which fit very nicely into No S meals.

Yay I'm so excited for you!

You're smart to wait a little in between kids. My girls are exactly 2 years apart & was tough at times.

Good idea to stay flexible with nos during pregnancy. I loved how I didn't stress about my food/eating during pregnancy. I seemed much more able to eat instinctively & moderately probably because I wasn't focused on weight loss.

Linda

Thanks Linda
Since I'm the main "breadwinner" in our house I kind of had to give it at least a little while before taking more time off, but I do think a 3 year gap will make some stuff a bit easier. Plus I had such a tough first year (didn't get a "sleeper") that I needed more time to convince myself it would be a good idea to go again

I definitely ate more instinctively during my last pregnancy (although I hadn't discovered No S at that time), in part because a lot of things made me really queasy: chocolate, cold salads, grease or fats, especially if they were at all burnt or rancid, etc. In fact, I can trace my aversion to MacDonald's and KFC back to that time. Also, I think the idea that "my body is doing something more important right now" was a really positive one for me.

Cute moments with my son this week:
Ironbaby (After my phone beeped to signal a text message arrived): "That means Mummy is getting a kiss message".

Ironbaby (At the park): "You at old park going on slippery slide. You just loving life!"

Ironbaby: You don't wants a kiss goodnight!
Mr chef: What do you want then?
Ironbaby: Knuckles!
(they do a fist bump)
Ironbaby: Sploding Knuckles!
(they do an "exploding" fist bump)
Ironbaby: Prubble Knuckles!
(they do a double fist bump)
Ironbaby: Now kiss!

Linda, your ironbaby stories make me smile and laugh out loud. Isn't ironbaby just the cutest? No wonder you want a second (despite the first tough year).

What a wonderfully exciting period!

Thanks eschano! He is very cute at the moment, especially as he continues to speak in the second person most of the time.

Red day for eating today - a very conscious choice to have one segment of Terry's Chocolate Orange after lunch at work.

Green for exercise.

Sorry, ironchef, I don't know why I called you Linda haha! I think I must have just read her check-in before

I love Terry's Chocolate Orange - yummy!

No worries, I assumed you'd just written on her thread

Green day yesterday, but had to really grit my teeth. I ate an early dinner with ironbaby and mr chef before 6pm, but it was a little too small. I felt hungry from about 7pm for the rest of the evening, made worse when mr. chef decided he was hungry too and had some evening snacks. Just made it to bedtime.

Stuck with 1 tea and 1 coffee all week. Starting Monday - no coffee!

Have decided my new system for September will be for the house. HomeFree: freeing my home (and myself) from clutter (or dirt) each day, except for days when I need free time
To start off I'm making it 20 minutes on normal days. Tasks can be decluttering or deep cleaning. Basic daily chores (vacuuming, mopping, laundry, kitchen, etc) don't count, because we do those anyway.

Ironbaby yesterday:
Ironbaby (holding one arm in the air): Aargh, urgh!
Me: What's up? Why are you making funny noises?
Ironbaby: You trying to reach the light.
Me: The light in the ceiling? That's very high.
Ironbaby: I would need a ladder.

I heart iron baby!

I just looked up Tom's orange chocolate and it looks decadent. Something I would LOVE... worthy fail, for sure.

Iron baby's the cutest!

GL with the house! I feel so much calmer in an uncluttered environment.

Good job on making it through today!

Linda

Hi Iron- I really like your idea of the name "HomeFree" for both removal of dirt and clutter. I have not had good luck finding the right internal framing of it for my own housework... seems like I have a negative voice like "if you don't clean or declutter, blah blah blah bad thing will happen to you and you'll be (humiliated) or whatever." The best I could borrow from others so far was "being kind to future self" but unfortunately I know that future self isn't usually all that grateful because dirt and clutter build up again so fast that it isn't all that rewarding. But thinking of freeing my home from dirt and clutter... that is maybe more process oriented than outcome oriented, which goes with NoS in general, and seems potentially inspiring go me!

Iron baby is so cute! Yes, the early dinners can be a challenge. That is something I'm still working on. Your home free system sounds good.

Thanks for the support all, I'm looking forward to this next challenge. And a nicer home (that might actually fit four people).

Sonya - exactly my feelings. I really need something that helps me think about freedom, not oppressive "go clean your room or else" stuff. Plus being able to have Free days when I need free time (doesn't have to be the weekend). Because let's face it, housework will always be there...

Love your new system! I will report on the days I am doing it as well, although I mostly have time on the weekends only as discussed

I read in one of the posts on Project 333 something along the lines of: It's not about having less stuff you love, it's about having things you love and getting rid of everything else so you have space to love it.

I thought that was very encouraging It felt less like cleaning to just rid myself of unloved things in my home so there's more space for loved ones.

Ironchef, just catching up on your thread! Ironbaby will soon need to be called Irontoddler, won't he?

I laughed about the caffeine thing. I had NO caffeine with baby #1. Baby #1 was 7 pounds and is hyperactive. I had like 2-3 cups a day with baby #2. Baby #2 was almost 9 pounds and is fairly calm. On a serious note, however, I didn't have coffee even with baby #2 when I had morning sickness. My stomach twisted just at the smell of coffee. So I didn't have to exercise any self-discipline at that time! I was sick from weeks 5-18 with both pregnancies.

I love your HomeFree System, although I'm not ready to touch it myself with a 10-ft-pole! I'll vicariously enjoy your clean house!

Oh, and I was the only breadwinner for a few years, and so our boys are spaced 3.5 years apart. I really think there are pros and cons to all the different spacings. I have a hard time thinking there is one spacing that is ideal. It's all good. Kind of like pros and cons to having all girls, or all boys, or half and half, or whatever. It's all good. Well, it's all parenthood, and that's definitely not ALL good. But we wouldn't trade it for all the sleep in the world, would we?

Yes, keeping what I love and having space to love it - that's a beautiful concept.

Absolutely, auto, he is very much Iron-Toddler now

No S Eating this week: Green Monday, Tues
Red Wednesday - visited a friend who had baked mini-carrot and pinenut muffins especially for our visit. I split one with my son, so a contained fail.
Red Thursday - I baked a lemon drizzle cake for my work mates to use up all our lemons, and had a small piece with them. Will work to make this a contained fail for the day.

HomeFree: All Green so far this week! My husband joked that this is my version of "nesting", so I won't need to renovate / move house / paint etc. I like the idea of nesting without spending!

Ironbaby classics this week:
Ironbaby: Mummy?
Me: Yes darling?
Ironbaby: Yes darling! Yes darling! Yes darling!
Mr chef: Well, I'd rather have a Yes Darling than a No Monster.
Ironbaby: Not a No Moster! Custard Tart Monster!!

Ironbaby (running): Cricket ball chasing!
Me (chasing him with the cricket ball): Here it comes! Pop! It caught you!
Ironbaby: I pulled your doodle off!
Me: ???

It sounds like you did a good job with your contained fails. Iron baby cracks me up.

Lol, hahahahaha! I love Ironbaby so much!

Your contained fail sounds delicious.

No-S: Green Mon, green so far Tues

HomeFree: Green Mon, hoping for green Tues tonight.

Exercise: I'm in a good rhythm now with 3 days cycling to and from work and Tuesday mornings at the gym. I've decided not to push or track anything further, as I just fail and feel bad. Plus 3 systems is too much for me all at once. 4 days of exercise a week is enough for now - moderation in all things, especially moderation.

Ironbaby last night: I'm firsty. Should we turn that heater on?
Me: Do you mean, you're cold?
Ironbaby: Yeah.

I think you're right to not have too many systems going at once. I think exercising 4 times a week is very reasonable.

I totally get it about the "over-systems" approach that can lead to burn out. I think I might be a good poster child for that problem, LOL!

I love that you cycle to work; I bet you feel like you're flying.

I adore cycling - especially on nice days when I can watch the sun setting as I ride home.

HomeFree: Mon, Tues, Wed all GREEN.

NoS: Mon, Tues, Wed GREEN

Thursday big, deliberate, honking great FAIL.

My workplace had morning tea of Corica strudel. C'mon, just look at those strudels - I'm only human!

Also, my bosses wife specially sent me a rosebud cupcake she made for me. After a piece of strudel and cupcake, I feel so full, I've put the lunch that I brought today into the freezer for next week. So basically, an entire MEAL of sweets.

Definitely fail worthy--yum!

Lol iron, that sounds like my S days - a whole meal of sweets!

I don't think I could have resisted those sweets, either.

Green Friday both systems, phew.

Those Corica strudels are a bit of an institution here, but I did feel pretty rotten all afternoon after a brunch "meal" of sweets.

I'm now down to one cup of tea at breakfast. Now that the short stage of feeling weary and getting headaches is over, I feel very happy with this change. I'm getting less heartburn / tummy upset, I fall asleep easier and sleep with less waking up. Plus, it's cheaper.

I've also started a thing this week, not a system, but just an idea. I've not posted about it because I'm not sure where it is going. I was reading the Urban Rangering thread about the Eowyn Challenge, which is where you challenge yourself to walk the same distances the characters travelled in the Lord of the Rings. I am a giant nerd, so I really liked the idea. Anyway, I've started getting up 20 minutes earlier and taking our dog out for a quick 1 mile in the mornings before my son gets up. It's small, but it's something. I'm not including my bike riding distances, although once I get to a stage where the characters have ponies to ride, I might adjust Anyway, I've walked in the morning every day this week, so it is fitting in really well.