Everyday Systems

so lets hear it. your no s diet wisedom:))
tips on what to do if you're hungry and dinner is still hours away....
tips on making the most of your meals........
fitting in exercise....
whatever, share with the newbies!

Great idea! C'mon gang, let's hear 'em!

As a *newbie*, I've found that having good drinks on hand is really helping me get acclimated to this way of eating...I wasn't hungry the first day, but I've been hungry for the days since, but I'm only working on day 5 now, so it's still in the early phases.

The drinks help, tho. Big time!

hey thanks! what kind of drinks are you drinking?

Exercise

Don't hide it (hammer) away. Place it somewhere where you go often. It won't get in the way

Reduce inertia. Workout in the closest big space. If you've got a loungeroom and an quarter acre block out the back? Work out in the loungeroom. Reduce inertia!

Have a copy or keep on monitor Reinhards exercise routine nearby, for days when you need some hand holding to start with

http://shovelglove.com/routines/evolution/

Music helps: again, no fuss. If you have the routines above displayed on your laptop/PC, put on some MP3. Turn on the radio.


Between meals hunger
Ice or chewing gum is an ok crutch...if you really, really must. I think it sets a dangerous precedent. Tea with sugar will get rid of the craving and is probably less damaging to your habit

While technically not cheating not to, attempt to eat all meals at set times (7,12,6). Leave no fudge room whatsoever, nothing to weaking habit (i've fudged my times this last week and I feel my habit weakening. Still no reds though)

Overall
Always, always find ways to reduce inertia. But do it without becoming a nazi.

I always have whole milk or a protein drink handy in case hunger gets too bad between meals. I try and eat balance meals, carb, fruit, protein and veggies an equal serving of each. Hope this helps. God Bless.

Whenever I want to eat between meals, I say "what's the point" and realize there really is none and just refocus on what I need to REALLY being doing

Exercise is something I enjoy so it is fairly easy for me to do. OKay that was an exageration it is very easy for me to do. It is a great stress reliever for me so I am highly motivated to do it.

as far as making most of meals, I try to be fluid and pay attention to what I really want to eat.

My biggest tip to newbies is get the book and read it. That has probably been along with the support on the boards the biggest key to my fairly breif SUCCESS

OH! and definitely use HABITCAL to focus on building good habits rather than the scale!

Blueskighs

Don't give up too easily. If you have difficulty, push through it. Eat mindfully.

telltalemikey wrote:hey thanks! what kind of drinks are you drinking?

Wow - just about everything that isn't sodas!

I've made iced green tea quite a bit...milk (we've only ever had whole anyway, so it works out), yesterday I wanted lemonade, so I had the sugar-free kind left over from an old diet. It's not something I'd drink often, because of the splenda in it, but it was great for a change.

After reading the book, I'm going to pick up some 100% juice. I already have pomegranate, but that's mainly for my two little kiddos blood sugar issues. I think I'd like something along the lines of pineapple and cherry....

okay, so basically any kind of drinks are "allowed"? in any quanity? is it just 'drink responsibly'? as a rehabilitating calorie-counter this baffles me.

favorite drink - anytime of day:
flavored seltzer waters with 10% -25% juice
all the great flavor and sweetness, carbonation which i love, health benefits of juice, but less calories per serving. And i don't do sugar substitutes, so no LITE juices.

right now i'm having a Canada Dry - Mandarin orange sparkling water with some orange peach mango juice. In the evenings i often have lime sparlking water with all natural cranberry juice.

(1) 14fl. oz container of juice will last me a few days in the office, with several bottles of the water.

and yes, always drink responsibly

telltalemikey,

any drink that is not a "sweet", although whole fruit juices are not considered sweets in this regard, so that yes, you can have them fruit juices. The point as I understand it is to break the "eating" habit between meals,

Blueskighs

See my new topic posted earlier today called H2Orange-a Strategy. . . to get an excellent idea on something good to drink and it will substitute nicely for a "snack."

Regarding specialty (alcoholic) drinks. . . I didn't mention in that post that I've found a creative way to have my favorite cocktail as well. . . I love my margaritas--but make them now substituting frozen limeade with lemon/lime Crystal Light (actually the store brand of it! You can do this with or without the orange juice added. You do, of course have to add a little triple sec and a bit of tequila and LOTS of ICE. Clearly, one shouldn't have more than a couple of margaritas (or whatever) a day, but this is a great alternative. I don't have to worry about that though-more than one and I'd fall asleep anyway! It is fun to be able to enjoy my little green frozen treats without all the sugar usually included!

This is the ONLY area in my No S routine that incorporates any special planning--and it's worth it! Hope this gives you some good ideas! '8)'
Cool

LAloser, that sounds like a fab. drink. i'm going to have to give it a try this weekend .. .

just wanted to thank everyone for the great tips and advice.

Coming in late...

Tips:

- Eat meals you like. There are a LOT of perfectly N-safe foods that are YUMMY. Enjoy them! (Especially easy with all the fresh fruit and veg currently in season.)

- Plan "proactive" S-day treats.

- Be gentle with yourself when you fail. Note the "when" - don't expect perfection. Do expect to get back on the program asap.

- Use the HabitCal.

- Post here often for support.

If doing all the Ss at once overwhelms you, adopt a "slow and steady wins the race" attitude and concentrate on getting one habit at a time, only add a second and a third once you feel safe enough to do so.

Ditch the "all or nothing" mentality and allow yourself some failures, once you fail, shrug and keep on going, it's not the end of the diet, it's not even the end of your "good" week.

I do remember that the first week I wanted to eat my right leg but this did pass (limbs still intact). By the second week, most of the time, the hunger I felt was at an acceptable level. It is odd to say but I kind of like that feeling of being a little bit hungry. It helps to keep me focused. If the hunger is truly uncomfortable I will have a glass of milk or a glass of juice. This isn't a daily thing, not even weekly but I don't deny myself if it seems needed. I do have good meals and they are not tiny. I would never be satisfied with one of those little frozen dinners!! If I tried that I would be looking for snacks, I am sure. Bottom line, eat to satisfy you over several hours, drink water and if you need to, have milk or fruit juice.
Good luck on your NoS journey.
Laff

Exactly as KCCC says, plus:

Read the bulletin board when hungry, or keep busy in other ways.

Don't ban any favourite food completely: having favourites in moderation can make bingeing on forbidden fruit less likely. YMMV

My exercise tip is this. Take your gym with you whever you go, that way you are never without a gym. I have been using exercises found in Pushing Yourself to Power and the Miracle 7 and am stronger than ever. You can google the books. Essentially the exercises consist of calisthenics and self resistance exercises like using one arm to create resistance for the other. Check it out. It really does work.

Oooo! I have another one!

I started my HabitCal today and was looking back on my first week. I had a day in there where I indulged in a caramel frap from Starbucks, but I realized, I wasn't being honest with myself.

I kept telling myself, "It's ok - I substituted a meal for it, I got a smaller size.." but for the life of me, could not make it feel "ok". And that whole day, I was going back and forth between, I messed up and I'm ok. A lot of effort and very time consuming, when I could have just been honest - I messed up- , chalked it up to experienced, and moved on with a clear conscience.

My tip: be honest, even if you screw up in the first week. You'll feel better about moving forward.

Anovelgirl, I struggled with that too. My perfectionist nature had real trouble admitting "messing up," and I would hedge as much as I could.

The podcast on "strictness" helped me a lot on that, and remains one of my favorites. I would recommend that particular podcast to all beginners.

anovelgirl - the frappuccino is a prime example - and i had the same dilemma one day a few weeks ago. its amazing how much we rationalize what we eat! if i ordered a milkshake ... there would be no doubt it was a sweet, but somehow a frappuccino is just a normal beverage?!

Got lots of good ideas from these messages. Thanks.
I drink lots of water, and sometimes flavored carbonated water from Walmart. I'm hooked on carbonation (for now) , so this will be a struggle for me.
So going a whole week, last week, without my Sundrop soda was a HUGE accomplishment for me.
I'm loving the no counting, weighing, fussing with stuff all the time. I don't even own a scale. I know how much I weighed at the doc's last month. I can tell if I lose weight when my clothes get bigger and i feel better. I don't want to get distracted by a number on a scale. That's not the point of the whole thing, right? This whole plan makes perfect sense. I think I'm gonna make it this time! [/i]

1. Focus on behavior rather than results -- use the habitcal (online or paper or paperclip) to make this concrete. Don't even think of the problem as "being" overweight. Think of the problem as "doing" too much eating (and too little moving).

2. Brace yourself for failure. It can take a few false starts before the habit clicks.

3. Drink proactively, before you get hungry. Milk is OK. Even 100% fruit juice is OK.

4. Plan and enjoy S-days. Plan and enjoy meals. Take advantage of the spotlight of limited opportunity to put on a good show.

5. Set realistic expectations -- sustainable weight loss is usually very slow.

6. At some point, you're going to have to get some movement in. Don't load on too many new behaviors at once, but don't think that you can be healthy, in terms of weight and otherwise, without exercise/exertion. It doesn't take much. But it does take something -- something regular. Give no-s a solid month or two to really establish the habit before you worry about exercise, but then do. I've got a lot more to say on this subject, but I think the most important thing is to focus on making the time. The precise kind of exercise can change, but keep the time regular. Let that be the focus of your habit. For me, it's "14 minutes every N-day." And I wouldn't recommend setting more ambitious goals than that unless you are (or are aspiring to be) an athlete. 14 minutes is plenty -- and much more isn't sustainable.

Good advice. Slow and steady wins, right? I should get a t-shirt with a turtle on it! LOL

I'm been sedentary for so long, about a month ago I started walking the length of our driveway and back (which is not very far). I'm a scrapbooker so I found little footprint stickers that I put on my calendar on the days I walk. Works like the habitCal. I'll worry about going farther when I can, but for now that's enough.

HAVE A GREAT GREEN DAY, EVERYONE!

purplefreak,

the turtle has long been my "animal totem"

Blueskighs

Don't compare yourself to other people who post here, as helpful as their advice might be. We are all different, and success is subjective!

You are so right. Thanks for putting that in perspective for me.
Have a great day!

Something I've really been enjoying recently (and has helped me in many ways) is something I call James Ray's Breakfast Shake. (I read about it in “Harmonic Wealth†by James Ray) There is actually a whole section on the physical body and he offers up some great ideas that have worked for me.

Blend together a handful of bok choy, a handful of napa or Chinese cabbage, one large carrot, as many berries (fresh or frozen - James likes blueberries and raspberries) as you like, and a full glass of water (12 to 16 oz.) You can also mix in protein powder or supplements.

Enjoy!

a James Ray Fan