Everyday Systems

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". I recently turned 28. Re-reading my entries, I went into an extremely painful and tough time both at work and personally when I...

harpista

I am 5' 6"-5' 7" (posture problems), usually 295 lb. I have been away from No-S/the boards for 1.5 or 2 years, and I've tried many things, including personal training. I have gotten stronger and managed NOT to gain (which is a big victory for me), but have not seen much by way of weight *loss* and h...

harpista

I suggest that she look into hypnosis, and after going to that for a bit, get her hypnotherapist to teach her to hypnotize herself.

harpista

Steve, Noel, A page at a glance? Is this some inborn thing, or a speed reading technique? Reinhard Inborn, I am sorry to say. I wish I could isolate the technique as I could make a fortune teaching it! And I thought I was pretty hot stuff reading in chunks (3 words at once up to a line). Whoa. :sho...

harpista

It has come to the point where I want to quit my job. It's not the job itself (which I like), but the insane amount of stress I have (mostly logistics- getting use of computers, travelling, getting to training sites, etc.; and interpersonal stresses) has caused several freak-outs of alarming force a...

harpista

Still at 268... But then, No-S'ing and walking my dog have been shoved aside by frequently crushing stress levels. And I'm a comfort eater. Or to be precise, I'm beyond that, I'm a comfort-food-on-the-comfy-couch-wrapped-in-a-blanket-with-copious-tea eater. I was at Dr. Chong's the other day (well,...

harpista

Wed. Jan. 23rd: Failure 1/3- No snacks , no sweets , no seconds Didn't walk , feeling that "lazy" setting in Pills dose one , dose two So that didn't go too well. I got stood up. :lol: I never understand men. First you're anxious to date me, then you just don't show up? Or at least, were a HALF AN ...

harpista

Mon. Jan. 22nd: Half S-Day/Half Success (I think?) Took a very short walk , just keeping my hand (foot?) in Pills dose one , dose two I had a half day off so technically I think this was a half-day of No S. I think. I'm just plain confused. In any case I am so tired today (mon>tues was a bad night)...

harpista

Sun. Jan. 21st: Could that be a real Success? Took the short walk , I'm tired but I haven't gone in five days!!! Pills dose one , dose two Breakfast 1/2 potato (previously cooked) fried in butter :D, plus two slices turkey bacon, water Lunch A tuna salad sandwich on whole wheat (Tim Horton's), wate...

harpista

Coming to your rescue: I developed these Quick Bread Recipes for the McDougall Program. Fat-free and reduced sugar. http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=111 In my opinion, it is better to make these in an 8 x 8 cake pan, and cut into 6 pieces (or whatever size you want) than to make th...

harpista

...I wrote a best-selling diet book, giving the details of the diet that had helped me lose 140 pounds. Your diet book was one of the many that I read in the late eighties after I gained a lot of weight as a 17-year-old. Interesting that we should both find our way here to No S so many years later....

harpista

I've read a lot of the books on the French Paradox and it's actually very similar, at the core, to No-S and Urban Ranger. The key is that the French traditionally aren't having those snacks every day, it's a treat. Same thing with desserts, which are richer and less sugary, I understand. More eggs/n...

harpista

Sat. Jan. 20th: I'm calling it Success , no snacks , no sweets , no seconds No walking , you wouldn't likely either on four hours' sleep in the bitter weather Pills dose one , dose two Breakfast One cooked chicken breast (Hurray for leftovers!) Lunch Cauliflower with cheese, garlic mashed potatoes,...

harpista

Thu. Jan. 18th: S-Day Didn't walk , was busy watching my dog for signs of imminent death (really) Pills dose one , dose two Fri. Jan. 19th: Failure- 1/3 : No snacks , no sweets , no seconds Didn't walk , still leery of stimulating dog Pills dose one , dose two It is DEFINITELY not on my dog's diet ...

harpista

reinhard wrote:I'm flattered, but my wife is MORTIFIED that I put up a shirtless picture of myself on the internet, so it may be a while before that happens again.

You're sure she doesn't just want to hold her hand close to her chest?

harpista

milczar wrote:You look better than a lot of people I know who "work out" at the gym.

Same here!!

Our illustrious leader is a hottie!

harpista

Wed. Jan 17th: I'm calling this a SUCCESS : No snacks , swe ets , seconds Didn't walk , worked late on inventory Pills dose one , dose two Breakfast 2 slices turkey bacon, 1 egg, 1 slice processed cheese, 1 English muffin = homemade egg mcmuffin, plus a piece of heavy seeded rye bread (buttered) an...

harpista

Harpista, I admire you for hanging in there and using introspection to study your failures. Some of us need to take this on in bits and pieces until we get it right. Keep at it and you will get there. Hi pangelsue! :) I am going to keep trying and keep on going- this is the only thing that has ever...

harpista

Tues. Jan. 16th: Failure- 1/3 : No snacks , sweets , seconds Didn't walk , preferred couch surfing! Pills dose one , dose two Breakfast Two slices of light rye, toasted, 1 piece of cheese, 1 yogourt Lunch 3 pieces of cheese, homemade veggie soup, canteloupe, juice Tea Yogurt, other half of the crun...

harpista

Mon. Jan. 15th: Failure- 2/3 : No snacks , sweets , seconds Walked , WHAT SNOWSTORM? Pills dose one, dose two Breakfast Yogurt, cantelope; 2 slices turkey bacon, 1/2 potato made into homefries, hot chocolate (HC is definitely funny stuff but I didn't even think of it until now). Lunch 1/4 chicken- ...

harpista

That's awesome!! :o IMHO you should include LOTS of the nitpicky questions people ask here about the tricky gray area situations... Frankly something as simple as No-S can be very hard to comprehend when you have done Weight Watchers, Body for Life, The Formula and on and on. If it wasn't for these ...

harpista

Woo, I love happy endings!

harpista

Sat. Jan. 14th: S-Day I woke up around 1-o'clockish, it's my day off! I went directly to eating lunch : what, for lack of the real name, we call Tuna Surprises. They are halved English muffins, with a tuna-cheese-hard boiled egg-veggie mixture put on top, and then melted/browned under the broiler. ...

harpista

Hi Sue!!! To insert a link in a post in the most simple way possible... you can just take the address of the site, and paste it into your text. Sometimes it can be clicked, other times it has to be copied and put into the browser, depending on where you are (email, bulletin board... etc.) but no big...

harpista

I think Australians get one more Christmas S-Day than Americans - you don't have Boxing Day on the 26th, do you? Canadians do! But ours is generally focused on massive clearance sales (Boxing Day and Boxing Week sales are major, major business, as is post-Thanksgiving down in America) and not so mu...

harpista

From what I've read of other people's experiences, they might have started out the No-S lifestyle similarly--going wild on their first hard earned S days. Then they eventually learn that over indulgence isn't all it's cracked up to be...and they settle down. But I have to tell you--I'm scared becau...

harpista

I love it when I stumble on an answer to one of my niggling questions accidentally! Excellent!

I am an obsessed soupmaker.

(But I skip the hunk of bread and make scratch cornbread instead....

)

harpista

A minor tip for insomnia. Do not ever look at the clock in the night. Set your alarm. Double check that the time is right, the alarm time is right and the backup battery is in place :lol: and then refuse to look at it again until it is ringing at you to get up. Relocate the alarm facing the wall, ac...

harpista

268-271 lb. depending on the day, over the last week. I'm bloated to various degrees, it's moon time, and don't take it seriously (I have a large body right now, so it must be able to hold large-ish amounts of water?) Currently I am basking in the afterglow of a long walk with my pooch. 8) Recently...

harpista

I learned that people honestly aren't giving what I look like a moment of time because they are all too busy wondering what everybody else is thinking about how THEY look. I also realized that what makes a person attractive, or dare I say beautiful, is their spirit--and it's the body's job to carry...

harpista

pangelsue wrote: I have dealth with some depression and panic most of my life and I must separate those feelings from hunger and deal with them on their level, not cover them up with food.

Oh my God.

Glad I read this one.

harpista

[snip] I've been waiting a very very long time to be able to say I am now *not* 200 lbs.. [snip] It was almost a totally surreal experience being able to move the large weight from the 200 spot and then use the one in the 150-199 range, and I have to say, I really had a moment there and started to ...

harpista

Nice to hear from you, Harpista! It has been a long time. Cngraulations on the goals achieved in 2006. You have really been working and I am amazed at your awesome attitude. When you first started here, you were so down on yourself and every failure was a major deal but you sound so in control of y...

harpista

STILL WALKING! That's right, I'm still going on those big walks of 1.5-2 hours each, and I'm bringing my pooch, who's still a touch on the tub o' lab side. I had a foot injury, but I missed it so much during that three week period that I got right back to walking after. Walking is helping me blow of...

harpista

So, it's October! Wow, time flies when you're having fun. Last posted weight, July 20th, was 274 lb. I had reached a weight of 264 lb in early September, my five-year lowest weight. THEN the following snags: * A week-long business trip where I ate everything at restaurants and had nothing to do at n...

harpista

DEB!!!

Awesome!!!!

(I have been lurking)

harpista

Fri. Aug. 4th, Sat. Aug. 5th: NO IDEA!! Honestly I need way more sleep than this. I can't remember if YESTERDAY was a success! Sat. Aug 6th: S-Day 2/3 pills I'm going to bed after this. I've got to come up with some energy to exercise. I know, it's a Catch 22. It doesn't help that I hurt my heel on...

harpista

Focus on the positive! Don't give up Harpista! You can overcome this!! For me personally one of my biggest challenges is to not eat when I'm feeling very emotional (it used to be any strong emotion, even happiness, but now I've reduced it to just having the urge because of unpleasant emotions). You...

harpista

Now I'm at 16 weeks and the nausea seems to be at an end but that snacking habit seems to be firmly back in place. I'm not even sure if I should try to kick it again because 'dieting' during pregnancy is always considered a no no. I've never been pregnant, but my grandma (a No-S person by nature, a...

harpista

Wed. Aug. 2nd: Failure 2/3? pills :( No Seconds I spent yesterday night downtown with my brother and mother, and we had dinner, including dessert and fancy schmancy (lovely) European beers, at a beer bistro in downtown T.O. Thurs. Aug. 3rd: Failure 1/3 pills :( I had lots of snacks, and a few sweet...

harpista

Tues. July 25th-Mon. July 31st: Failures , Partial successes , and a couple S-Days I honestly forget at this point. Life is a little blurry. I am very tired and find it hard to avoid sweets (low low willpower) and even the odd snack. Tues. Aug. 1st: S-Day , 3 pills I was strongly tempted to label t...

harpista

I apologize for besieging this board with questions, but I'm absolutely delighted that someone out there is also thinking the way I do about "everyday systems" - and not only thinking this way, but creating a website for it. I've been thinking this way all my life, but I always thought I was the on...

harpista

Mon. July 24th: Partial success No Seconds, No Snacking I have GOT to come up with better solutions for work lunches (prepackaged stuff is crap and often sugary and full of chemicals), as well as finding some way of having dinners ready for me when I work the late shift (1pm-9:30 pm; I eat once bef...

harpista

WOW

What an awesome difference! Great work.

harpista

-Improved night breathing. -Improved blood sugar and hormone consistency. -NO DOUBLE CHIN, even positional. -No rolls on my stomach (I accomplished this at age 16, but we'll see if my skin cooperates a second time at 25ish). -I actually WANT smaller breasts. I have a hard time finding bras! -Less/no...

harpista

High-end dark chocolate.
Fried chicken.
Artisanal bread (the chewy, heavy, four-slices-of-bread-in-one kind).
Cheese cheese cheese cheese.
French food!
My favourite (Italian) restaurant!

harpista

I did see packages of freeze-dried lemon juice (just that, nothing else) for use in water, tea and drinks. That might be a nice chemical free alternative

harpista

Sat. July 22nd: Failure Just too many slips. :) I can barely remember Saturday at this point! Yes, I know that was yesterday, as I write this in the wee hours of Monday... I just know it didn't go well. I remember there were No Seconds. That's it. :) Why can't I remember yesterday? It was my offici...

harpista

Pangelsue and This path is my life, THANKS for those kind words welcoming me back

It's good to remember that previous efforts are not a loss because I wandered for a while, they were all part of 'practicing' the No-S lifestyle.

harpista

Thu. July 20th: Partial success No Seconds, No Snacking. Another small glass of apple juice, plus an iced tea later. I drink the juice as a "kick start" for my blood sugar before I can get my breakfast ready; mornings are HARD for me. I may decide to let myself have the juice, but I'll think about/...

harpista

pangelsue wrote:I'd be thrilled with a 14 lb weight loss!!!! Congratulations. Wow! That is a great head start. Keep building on that.

Yes- I want to run with this momentum! I'm still getting used to full-time hours and being on my feet again, but it's a great kick start

harpista

Wed. July 19th Partial success No snacks and no seconds, but I had a Jello pudding in my work lunch. I guess it's time to figure out better things to pack in my cooler. Oh, and I had a small (5 oz?) glass of apple juice. *** It is actually refreshing to be thinking this way again. Even if I am not ...

harpista

Julia Child, writing in her new introduction to the 40th anniversary edition of Mastering the Art of French Cooking , wrote: "...I do think the way to a full and healthy life is to adopt the sensible system of 'small helpings, no seconds, no snacking, and a little bit of everything.'" (page xv of th...

harpista

I think your strategy for your holiday sounds like a good one. I don't know how much time off you get in Canada (in the US I know it's terrible and they get something like 2 weeks a year only!). As a lucky European, I get 5 weeks holiday a year, so it's a big deal. I also do a lot of travelling for...

harpista

You guessed it, ladies and gentlemen. It's been over a month since I updated and why? WHY? I never went back to "everyday rules" after my vacation. I started a new job where I was working insane startup hours and they served free (junk) meals and.... Ooops. :oops: In fact, I'm eating ice-cream. RIGH...

harpista

I say that soda pop is the easiest thing to cut right out of your life and save yourself thousands of extra empty calories a week.. And considering your whole diabetes deal, I would treat it almost as seriously as if it were poison to you... I also think that the quicker you cut it out, the quicker...

harpista

Sat. May 20th: S-Day Sun. May 21st: S-Day Mon. May 22nd: S-Day Canada: Victoria Day weekend ( s tatutory holiday) Tues. May 23rd: S-Day because of extreme circumstances I have been so busy today I haven't had TIME to stop for meals- trying to get ready for my trip has been pretty last minute, work ...

harpista

Tues. May 16th: Failure Drank another pop, but that was it as far as broken rules. Wed. May 17th: Failure Snacking, donuts, EIGHT COOKIES, pop, multi-course restaurant meal, the works! Did I ever have a stomachache after the cookies and donut. And I felt very sick. That was a first! Actually it was...

harpista

Hi Harpie.. I overloaded my plate for at least the first half year of NoS... Then the portions went down on their own.. During that year I still managed to lose something between 17 and 20 lbs... That was with exercise.. I haven't gained it back... No not the quickest thing in the world, but like y...

harpista

Mondays are tough but you will get better if you just hang in there. You got to want it badly enough. Learn to love successes. They are sweet. I was VERY moderate for me, but all my sugar craving kicked in again just as hard as before! Does this get better? I even was thinking specifically of choco...

harpista

Fri. May 12th: Success! #3 Sat. May 13th: S-Day Sun. May 14th: S-Day This has been hard. I was fairly "restrained" on this weekend but I still found it hard to go back to the rules today. I keep making stupid errors based on automatic pilot (aha, I have seen the enemy!), but I give myself a pass fo...

harpista

The effect of low glycemic index foods should not be discounted. The metabolic difference between brown rice and white rice is pretty substantial. Good luck. Let us know how it's going! I have switched to brown rice since my diagnosis, as well as trying to get more fiber and eat more low-glycemic i...

harpista

As for your oatmeal thing.. I never feel full from cereal alone.. I think you need to have a fruit and some protein too for it to last... Well, I *did* have half a grapefruit... but I didn't have any turkey bacon, which is what I usually eat for breakfast protein. A good point, I will try this next...

harpista

Thu. May 11th: Success #2!!! Wow, this one was awful. A really hungry day, as in, I ate oatmeal for breakfast and was hungry in an HOUR!! Incredible. Honestly, I couldn't believe it! BUT I decided to tough things out and not panic... Also I made a very beany dish for dinner to try and shut my stoma...

harpista

Yay!!!! Good for you!!!!! I wouldn't sweat the food tasting so much as long as it's only a taste.. Really, that isn't going to get you.. It's the all day long snacking or large amounts that do you in! This isn't official NoS advice, but this should be livable... Great job!!!! Peace and Love, 8) Deb...

harpista

Harpista, That's really excellent!! Congrats on your success!! For me, I really try not to eat ANYTHING between meals except water and tea, rarely it's a diet soda, but keeping this strictness really helps my sanity because for me it's easier to just not eat than to eat and stop. Also, on the snack...

harpista

So, is it required (to not hurt anyone's feelings) to eat the food right then? Could you, say, quietly save it for the next S day (or loudly for that matter "Oh, mom! How wonderful! I can't wait until Saturday to eat this!") That is what Navin does when someone sends a celebratory snack to his offi...

harpista

And, if you don't mind me saying, your Mom is wrong about S days ruining everything... They are an essential steam valve and don't ruin anything... ... It's the N days and exercise that really makes the difference... Anyway. I'm sure you won't get too far trying to win your Mom's support so don't b...

harpista

Wed. May 10th: Successssssss! Cue the ticker tape. :wink: I even said "no thanks" to a bowl of Doritos... :D Thoughts.... Does it count as a snack if you eat a little of the food you prepare (not in a to-season-it way)? Does it count if you also took accordingly less of the finished product? I can ...

harpista

Tues. May 9th: Quasi-Failure / Quasi-Success I was all fired up to report my first success!!! when I realized... Last night I had a regular ginger ale, without thinking about it whatsoever. Curse you, devilish habits! :evil: I am successful only if I don't count the ginger ale as an S, which I thin...

harpista

scottwblack wrote:
Schnebit wrote:I've probably got an extra 10lbs or so around the middle that I want to lose.
I dream of the day that I can say that.

You and me both

I suspect it's not just the two either!

harpista

Okay okay... Now I get your name!!! LOL.... So do you like Harpo Marx too? :) :shock: Doesn't EVERYONE?! :shock: Anyway.. Keep positive and why not explain to your, probably well intentioned mother, that you are really restricting sweets to S days only... It took me over a year to get my Mom on boa...

harpista

Hunter Gatherer wrote:You have a good attitude. It's important to remember that as long as the failures keep shrinking you will eventually be where you want.

Good luck!

Thanks! Also, that's a pretty good summary of the fuzzy way I was thinking about it.

harpista

You might try googling Metabolic Syndrome and Syndrome X which I have been diagnosed with and PCOS is assocaited with. The short version is to cut out refined foods like sugar and flour and increase low glycemic index food. There is a lot of information out there. Thank you VERY much for posting th...

harpista

Hi there :) I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant, and very overweight... I think I was 225 when I conceived and then went up to 250.. And I am 5'2".... Once I got my sugar intake cut down the diabetes was controlled, and then when I lost weight in the years that followed I had no diabetic...

harpista

Thanks for coming up with this idea, harpista (and for posting it here). I'll start messing around with it a bit. I have another project I can sort of tie it into (an online habit calendar). Both will be intergrated with the bulletin board so you can reuse the same login etc. The more people seem t...

harpista

Hi Harpista, I think that the fact that you put the lessons you've learned as a result of your struggles is a wonderful thing which really reflects a great attitude you have towards this lifestyle change and life plan of eating and a lot of insight into your current obstacles and ways you could sol...

harpista

Mon. May 8th: Failure, but closest yet to Success! Exhausting day (I was doing heavy lifting at work, which is unusual) but I was on track, napping helped, until my Mom came back from the post office with one of those 100-calorie chocolate bars. It's very hard to say no when someone brings you a tr...

harpista

gratefuldeb67 wrote:Good luck and happy belated birthday!

Peace and Love,
Deb

Thanks Deb! By the way that quote about birthdays is so true... I didn't particularily care about the gifts, I cared more about celebrating with my family (and thought of several people who couldn't be here, unfortunately)

harpista

My introductory post is here . Edited to add the text of my original intro post: "Newbie! Also: doc's note, blood sugars, PCOS= help?!" Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 6:14 pm Hi, all! Occasional lurker, now throwing her hat over the fence. I've (half-heartedly) tried to No-S in the past and well, always ...

harpista

Rereading the No-S page, I hit the testimonials link http://www.nosdiet.com/testimonials.html and got an idea for how testimonials or "results" could be handled. I wrote Reinhard an email about this (although I'm no testimonial material!! :lol: ) and he suggests I post this idea to see what others t...

harpista

reinhard wrote:Welcome, Harpista.

Sorry I can't offer much regarding your specific condition...

Kevin seems to have some excellent advice, particularly the part about consulting your doctor.

Best wishes, keep us posted,

Reinhard

Thank you!

harpista

What exactly is hyperinsulinemia ? Does PCOS stand for poly cystic ovarian syndrome ? Do you take insulin ? Why do you take metformin ? Eliminating sugar has only been good for me... Donna O 1) Here's a quote from http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hyperinsulinemia/HQ00896 "Hyperinsulinemia means you...

harpista

When it comes to exercize, remember that starting at a high weight adds some difficulties that you need to take into account. (Step classes are a bad idea!) Mistress Krista has an article about it over at Stumptuous . Again, Welcome and good luck to you! Thank you very much for the support, and for...

harpista

You're hyperinsulinemic, and on glucophage? Is the glucophage causing the hyperinsulinemia? Not in my understanding, I was diagnosed with both at one time. I am still getting a handle on PCOS and what it means (ie how to live now), but it IS poorly understood. My understanding so far is, hyperinsul...

harpista

Hi, all! Occasional lurker, now throwing her hat over the fence. I've (half-heartedly) tried to No-S in the past and well, always breaking at least one S per day... it just does not work. I am 24 and I would say, morbidly obese... To just be honest, about 170cm/5' 7", and about 129kg/285 lb. I still...

Everyday Systems

Search found 186 matches

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

Stress levels revisited

Zen and the Art of Weight Loss; Or, A Philosophical Essay

Re: WOW!

1st S-day back on strict records

Holidays over!

Re: Huge drum roll please :)

Still walking!!!

Checking in!

Re: No S and Pregnancy

Re: Creative work "everyday system"?

Julia Child's version of a No-S-type philosophy

Drum roll, please...

Re: Monday, Monday

Re: glycemic index

So close and yet, so far ;)

Harpista's Check-In

An idea for No-S Testimonials or result pages

Re: a few questions..

Reply to Kevin

Newbie! Also: doc's note, blood sugars, PCOS= help?!