Everyday Systems

i think it just takes time. with exercise i only do things i know i'll really like . i do running 1x a week, cardio dvds, elliptical and mix that up and also weight lift 3x a week. i find those things keep it interesting.

with diet i always had a problem and i think it's really due to constant snacking and sweets. because now that i'm doing this NoS system things have been so much better. i'm sure i'll at some point slip up so i keep in my mind that the habit is more important than getting it perfect. so messing up just means do better the next day. we all will have our slips with diet, it's only human.

Amy & MJ:

I admire you both so much for your exercise discipline, which is what I am struggling with.

The food discipline is way easier for me: I cannot handle disappointing myself with poor food choices or self-sabotage so I make damn sure I don't drop the ball in that regard.

And yet the same standards do not yet apply to my poor exercise choices (ie: choosing to "fail" at consistently finding the time to do my elliptical or sledgehammer ). When I quit procrastinating & just quietly have at it I feel 1000 x better mentally & physically - so exactly why do I not bother some days???!

It's interesting how we each must figure out our own way to deal with our own demons .

I'm grateful that the many kindnesses and generous support on this forum make my problems seem solvable.

NoBS: Too bad we can't trade our respective disciplines for a while, just to get in the swing of things! I had another red day for food yesterday, was mad at myself, felt crappy. But even so, got some exercise in (a half hour online yoga class). Gah!

Just got to keep plugging along, for what alternative is there? As MJ so rightly points out, it takes time. So that's what I'll keep giving it.

Hi partner,
I was really envious about your Ibsen experience. I love his plays also and although because they are quite scary. Dysfunctional family and the lot. And I love going to the theatre.

I can also relate very much to the exercise hanging over your head, today it will be very difficult to include even those absurdly little 14 minutes (grr, I used to run 19 km just for training purposes. YKWIM).

It will get better!

The weekend was nothing really unusual, just busy.

I am therefore glad it's Monday! Although it's my husband's birthday, so we'll have lunch out, but that's not a problem on an N-day. It's actually helpful as the walk downtown to the restaurant will also count towards my daily exercise - LOL! He wants pear crumble for his dessert. Dessert is not something I have a problem with, I can usually take it or leave it. I may have a small portion as an S-event, just to be sociable. Or I might not. We shall see!

Wishing you all an enjoyable Monday and a great week!

sweets are the thing i have the most problem with! snacks and seconds, not really! i guess we all have our part of NoS that is hardest to stick with!

Everyone is sounding so positive with good things to report. All that positive energy is contagious!!

Have a great & green week!

MJ: it's funny, isn't it, we all definitely have our own cross to bear!

NoBS: I'm thinking it must be spring slowly sneaking up on us, but that might not apply to you just yet, so there must be some other reason for the positivity. Well, it doesn't matter where it comes from, right?

I took an S event for my husband's birthday and had crumble with him and the kids. Other than that the day was green, and that's how I'm recording it. I'd like to finish the month out with four green days in a row, but I am almost afraid to announce that because I've made those kinds of statements before and not been successful. But like NoBS says, there is positivity in the air, so perhaps this will be the time I do make it?

Update for today: GREEN! Am shutting down the kitchen and my day, and going to bed, happy. Have a nice evening everyone!

Looks like you are doing really well! Keep it up!

i really like this idea of having s events for someone in your family's birthday. that way you don't have to take the whole day as an s but you can at least have cake and ice cream or something.

Thanks, guys!

Yeah, for me it works better, in my head, if I can join in with the celebration but can still count the day as green. If I have to take the entire day as an S-day, well... it will end up being a full blown S-day, if you know what I mean!

Amy3010 wrote: there is positivity in the air, so perhaps this will be the time I do make it?

That's the ticket!! Send your wish out to the universe & then make it come true!!

Friends in France told me that the crocuses are blooming. It is hard to imagine when we are still in the depths of hard winter.

I haven't seen any crocuses yet, but I'll keep my eyes open on the way to the gym today. I did see some daffodil leaves poking up their silly heads, but they are way too early...

Green yesterday - now, I'm being cautious here, so as not to jinx myself, but I am pleased. I've been at this for 7 weeks now and this may just be the first week I don't get two reds. I mean, it still could happen, but the likelihood is a lot smaller now that I only have to get thru two more days to succeed. Wish me strength!

Go, Amy, you can do it! Your positive attitude will carry you through!!

Thanks for the encouragement, SpiritSong!

My eating day is over. I just had a small fail this evening - I was debating about having a glass of wine, but what I really felt like was one of the oatmeal bars I made for the boys, and I decided I was going to be more satisfied with the bar and the calories were probably going to be quite similar...so I caved and followed it with a small slice of the soda bread I made for dinner. I considered whether I wanted to "cash in" on my fail with any other little nibbles or treats, but I really didn't, I felt full and while a bit bummed about having to mark this, actually quite positive about the reduction in the WTH effect I have been experiencing. I am taking this as progress!

B: 2 sl toast w/ coconut oil, banana
L: leftover vegetarian moussaka, leftover mashed potatoes, leftover falafel (I felt ravenous after getting home from the gym, and ate way too much - felt stuffed afterwards even tho it was all on one plate)
D: vegan Irish stew, soda bread, 2 gl brown table beer

Later (fail): a homemade oatmeal-raspberry bar, another slice of soda bread

Ex: bike to library/pharmacy/post office and to gym and back; gym (20 min hill walk treadmill, 5 upper body weight exercises, 16 min elliptical) - saw NO crocuses - still too cold and gray here

I felt tired, cold and sore today. Which probably contributed to my eating too much at lunch and then later this evening.

Must keep plugging along! Tomorrow I want to begin an attempt at the 21 day club.

I think it is a success that you stopped when you did. Wth did not kick in, good job!

You are doing great, Amy.

I think it is great when we can recognize why we do certain things/eat certain things and not let one little slip derail everything we have accomplished thus far.

We just move onward.

Amy3010 wrote:
I felt tired, cold and sore today. Which probably contributed to my eating too much at lunch and then later this evening.

I tend to overeat too when I am tired, cold and sore. Or stressed out. Particularly the comfort food carbs! Quite frankly I am astonished by how much food I can cram onto a plate!!

Good luck with your 21-day challenge, Amy. For me these challenges do a wonderful job keeping me focused & motivated.

Keep plugging away, Amy. You are doing a wonderful job balancing everything & staying on track! You are an inspiration to me with your faithful commitment to healthy exercise!!

Let me know when you see crocuses!! (ps: One of my dogs is a Belgian Tervuren mix!)

MJ, Berry, and NoBS, thank you very much for your kind words. I was listening to a podcast yesterday where they were saying that we need to speak to ourselves in the same way we would speak to a friend, instead of beating ourselves up and saying ugly, mean things to ourselves. More and more I am replacing my own words in my head with the kind things I hear on this board. I do think it makes a difference.

I just opened my habitcal and how lovely to see a new month pop up, all bright and shiny! So much opportunity for lots of green! I am going for a 21 day challenge starting today. I have an appointment with my osteopath on the 21st and I'd like to feel a bit (a lot) more comfortable in my skin when I go to see her, so the timing is really good and I have a target to focus on.

Have a great Friday, everyone!

I will join your quest for N days but my goal is for the month rather than 21 days. (I have always done monthly goals.) In April, I have two different trips which will involve swimming suits and then will be due for a physical in May. I hate stepping on the doctor's scale!

That's right, Amy. New month, new start!

Ok, SpiritSong and R.Jean, here we go - a fresh start indeed!

Amy3010 wrote:More and more I am replacing my own words in my head with the kind things I hear on this board. I do think it makes a difference.

BINGO!! It totally makes a huge difference, Amy, and I am proof positive of that fact! I permanently gagged my inner senselessly cruel & dishonest critic and have a ritual (twice a day) of finding very positive & true things to acknowledge to myself reflected in my bathroom mirror. It helps. It was initially hard for me to do but is much easier now. And is way more honest, self-affirming & helpful than my inner critic ever was. And I don't just say the words in my head. I speak them aloud, directly to me, so I can hear them said about me, by me.

It is simply amazing how kindness and positive energy can motivate & propel us into the "superwoman" stratosphere where we finally recognize our personal power is exactly enough to reach our goals!!

Kudos to you on your 21-day challenge! I have every confidence you (strong enough, committed enough, clever enough, brave enough) will reach your goal!

Thank you, NoBS, I needed to hear this today.

Yesterday was a bit of a wild S-day, but I did go for a hike with a good friend - lots of up and down with the hilly route we picked. We were laughing and saying "What goes up must come down" and I was thinking it was like a metaphor for this weight loss journey - sometimes it feels like a real uphill struggle but then you get to the top of the hill and it suddenly feels easy again.

And even though the next uphill looks daunting, we have to take it because we committed to the route and we need to get back to our car - LOL!

Monday - green!
Hope you all are having a good one!

Yahoo!

Tuesday - green! Time to shut down the kitchen for the day (but I still need to go clean it up).

Awesome, Amy!! Keep up the green!!

Good work! Off to a great start!

Thanks, guys! My eating day is over, had another good day, although I made buttermilk pancakes for the kids for dinner and it was hard not to just stuff one in my mouth as I was cooking them, but I managed to do it (well, there were a couple of those mini drips of batter that got cooked and found their way into my mouth), and finally got my 13-year-old to take over when he was done eating so I could have my plate of leftovers. Having had that I felt satisfied and could leave the stack of pancakes alone!

B: 2 ryvitas, T almond butter, kiwi, sm banana
L: broccoli soup, 2 sl toast w/ leftover stewed lentils, grated carrots w/ T raisins
D: leftover spinach/chickpea curry, basmati rice, cabbage salad

Hope everyone is having a great day!

I don't really like pancakes, so I would have very much preferred your curry.

Re: the drips. Hmmm. We're watching you!

Re: the drips. Hmmm. We're watching you!

Definitely. From different countries.

Absolutely .... from different continents!!!!

LOL! Okay, I'll mind the drips next time, knowing you all are peeking over my shoulder from far away...

i love pancakes so i'd take either your pancakes or your curry dish .

Today is my middle son's 16th birthday so there will be an S-event of a slice of birthday cake this evening. Happy Friday everyone!

Enjoy the birthday celebration with your son today! I have a son who will be 16 in November. It's a big one!

Happy Birthday, Middle Son! Enjoy your cake, Amy!

Happy Birthday to your #2 Son!! Sixteen is one of the "Big Birthdays".

I hope his favourite cake is also yours!

Have a great weekend, Amy!

Thanks for the birthday wishes, everyone! We had a very nice evening celebration - and yes, his favorite cake is a good one, a recipe from a dear friend that I've been making for nearly 20 years, chocolate, that everyone loves. Num num!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Yesterday was green for exercise (started Level 3 of the Shred - it was hard) but red for eating.
Oh well, mark it and move on. Off to meet a friend for a walk - despite the 20 cm of snow we got dumped on us the past two days! Should be fun!

In addition to the walk in the snow, we also got some upper body exercise because we had to help push a car that was stuck on a snowy country lane - LOL!

Green for exercise and NO-S! Happy days...

Turn my back for a few work days and what do you do? You go green on me!!! You and MJ, both!!! Good job, Amy!

I sure have missed checking into our BB this week & catching up on everyone's news. Good to see I'm not the only one still dealing with snow!!

I hope you have a great weekend with your family & friends.

I had a red on Tuesday as well.... Oh well.

Amy, sometimes I think I am colour blind because I don't seem to recognize the colour "red". I only seem to recognize "green". What may be a handicap in traffic is actually a benefit on No "S".

On No "S", when you only recognize "green", even if it is a tiny speck of green, it reminds you of your cleverness, your commitment, and all your hopes and dreams.

It also reminds me of a tiny struggling little green plant that so desperately wants to grow and become a mighty oak tree. And will do so. With a little time & care. That's what I see when I recognize only "green".

Have a wonderful week, Amy.

Thanks, NoBS! I am certainly planning on having a better week than last week, where I got three red days - argh!

Good to see you are still hanging in there in spite of the reds. It happens! I have two so far this month but hope that yesterday was my last red for awhile!

A photographer friend of mine emailed me an incredible photo he took while in Hawaii. It was of hard black wavy lava beds with one tiny little bright green fern unfurling and starting to grow.

The visuals, and the allegory, blew my mind.

Good grief I miss Amy. The kindest most generous spirit who has helped me so much on this BB.

If I was three years old I would be lying on the floor, pitching a real hissy-fit, howling to the world that "I want Amy"!!!

Since I am long past three years old, I can only send my dearest wishes in hopes Amy is doing ok & will soon come back to us. I know I sure miss her.

Thanks very much for thinking of me, NoBS! I'm fine, things are just hectic around here - two teenagers having spring exams which means they are home studying in the afternoons, and need to be coddled and fed a lot - and another teen not in exams but needing to be driven back and forth to his girlfriend's house, when she's not over here at our house. Also getting ready for the youngest to leave on school ski trip tomorrow, and the rest of us going to Valencia on Sunday.

All of that = little free time for me!

I've been keeping up w/ my HabitCal (lots of reds for NoS but all greens for exercise - thank goodness I do make time for that!) and will have more time to be back on the boards when we are back from Spain next Friday.

Hope everyone has a very happy Easter weekend!

Oh, Amy, thanks so much for the update! You do have a busy household and life. Glad to hear that your are working your HabitCal & your exercise. The food will come too, sometimes in fits & starts but I know you will get there.

I hope you have a super Easter weekend and time out in Spain.

Hope your weekend is great!

Thanks, NoBS and MJ! You, too!

Finally managed a green day for food yesterday and want to finish out the month with another one today.

I'll keep you posted.

Well done on the green day yesterday! Hope you have a fab Easter weekend

Hi Amy,

I've been following your posts, and you've been doing awesome If you read from where you started to now, you will see what tremendous progress you've made - the habit is kicking in - YAY

I also love the description of a happy weight - a definite goal of mine as well

Enjoy your vacation! Happy Easter!

We have a new month starting so maybe we will do better on the reds in April!

Thank you for the kind words, r.jean, KL, and Milly...
Yes, it is good to look back from where you started. I did have a lot of red days in March, but I am glad to have a new month to start fresh and just improve, bit by bit. I am most definitely a work in progress!
I hope everyone here has a wonderful and blessed Easter weekend.
I'll be back on Friday!

Yes, new months are fresh and new and exciting!! Hope April has been treating you well so far

Hola, mi amiga Amy! Como esta usted?

Hope you had a most excellent trip!

Gracias, NoBS! I have to confess I know very little Spanish.

Back from Valencia on Thursday with the two oldest teens, husband back from work trip to Lisbon on Friday, and my youngest back from school ski trip on Saturday morning = piles and piles of stinky laundry!

Valencia was really nice (I liked it better than Barcelona), we did a ton of walking. It felt so good to have the sun on my arms and see a blue sky for a few days. It really lifted my mood.

Foodwise, I went with the flow. The Spanish meal schedule is so different to what I'm used to, so I did my best and enjoyed the fresh fruits and lots of Valencian salads (kind of like Greek salad but without feta). I think I had one every day. And tapas of course!

Today the in-laws are coming over for lunch. And tomorrow it's back to a normal (NoS) routine - hooray! A break is nice but it's always good to get back to normal, isn't it?

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Glad to hear you had a great trip! Yes, I agree....it's always nice to get away but nice to get back to the normal routine, too.

Wishing you a very GREEN week!

Welcome home, Amy!

Your trip sounds fabulous - your laundry piles....not so much!!

Glad you had a nice break - and lots of blue sky & SUNSHINE!!! So welcome after long winter months.

Amy3010 wrote:Gracias, NoBS! I have to confess I know very little Spanish.

Back from Valencia on Thursday with the two oldest teens, husband back from work trip to Lisbon on Friday, and my youngest back from school ski trip on Saturday morning = piles and piles of stinky laundry!

Valencia was really nice (I liked it better than Barcelona), we did a ton of walking. It felt so good to have the sun on my arms and see a blue sky for a few days. It really lifted my mood.

Foodwise, I went with the flow. The Spanish meal schedule is so different to what I'm used to, so I did my best and enjoyed the fresh fruits and lots of Valencian salads (kind of like Greek salad but without feta). I think I had one every day. And tapas of course!

Today the in-laws are coming over for lunch. And tomorrow it's back to a normal (NoS) routine - hooray! A break is nice but it's always good to get back to normal, isn't it?

Have a great Sunday everyone!

sometimes a trip like that is just perfect for freeing your mind from thinking about food 24/7. going with the flow is perfect! i hope you have gotten some great peace of mind from this and you can come back and have some awesome green days!

Welcome back, Amy.
I missed you.

Welcome back, Amy! Your trip sounds wonderful (again, except for the laundry).

Hi Amy! I also just got home.... from our first visit to England.

I also found that I had to just go with the flow of eating out every meal and eating at odd times and sometimes having a snack in place of a meal. Now that we are back, let's go for finishing out April with no reds.

Someone get help!! Amy's fallen into a pile of laundry & cannot get out!!

Yes, I've finally unburied myself from all those piles of laundry and today my kids went back to school so I can at last have a turn on my own computer!
Thanks for all the comments above - it's good to be back - I missed you all!
I didn't do terribly well at NoSing last week, but today is a new day, right? Never too late for a fresh start... I am definitely up for finishing the rest of April with no more reds.

Monday - green
Tuesday - green
Started an 8-week mindfulness class last night, the instructor was really good. And I didn't fall into that trap of wanting to eat something when I got back, didn't even have a glass of wine with my husband, went for a cup of tea instead. That is so not me! Hmmm...was it the mindfulness or NoS???

Well done on getting straight back to greens after your holidays.

I like your plan of no more reds in April. I think I'll join you.

Good luck with your mindfulness class!

Wed - green

I finally completed 30 sessions of the 30 day Shred (not in 30 days straight, but spread out over 3 months). I did 2-3 of them each week and alternated that with walking, biking and gym workouts. I definitely feel fitter, especially my upper body strength. Today I need to make a new plan for the next few months.

Wow. Good going on the shred. Keep it up!

Great work on 30ds! When I was doing it consistently (3-4x/wk), it definitely gave good results. But then I stopped as I seem to yo-yo between preferring to run outdoors and preferring to use home DVDs and my arms have gone all weak again

Interested to hear what you're next plan will be

Thanks! My plan for the next two months (til the end of the school year) is per week: 2 gym workouts, 2 resistance circuits at home, and 30 minutes of walking/biking every day (with one day off on the weekend). My gym workouts are generally a 30 min hill walk on the treadmill, a weight circuit, 20 minutes on the elliptical, then abs and stretching. I'm still trying to figure out what specific weight exercises to do. There were a few I really liked in the Shred DVD that I want to keep doing. (And there were a few I despised that I am so glad to be done with! )

Anyhow...I had one pretty bad red day on NoS this week (Thursday) but the other days were good - I'm glad for the four green but even more glad it's the weekend.

Hope everyone has a good one!

Sounds like a good solid plan.

Well done on the 4 green days. And hurray for the weekend!!

Good grief, Amy, your workout plan sounds seriously awesome and seriously dedicated. And congrats on completing the Shred. That seems pretty brutal to me!!

I am intrigued by your "mindfulness" classes.......?

Good job on the greens !

Today was a good day. Green for food and exercise.

B: green smoothie
L: nori rolls w/ brown rice, veggies and tofu
D: stir fry w/ tempeh, veggies, brown rice and salad

Ex: 30 min walk, 30 min weight circuit (at home), biking to friend's house and back (20 min total)

My new weight circuit for at home is as follows:
walking half pushups
one-arm dumbbell cleans + wide squat
static lunge + reverse fly w/ elastic band
one-leg pike crunches
narrow squat + Y shoulder lift
full crunches (w/ ball btw knees)
triceps dips
back extensions
rest in child's pose

Did entire circuit 3x, 12 reps of each exercise (per side). Took about 30 minutes and I was knackered!

Sounds like an awesome Monday

Thanks, Tobias&Lincoln's Mom! It was an awesome Monday. And Tuesday was pretty darn good, too, until....

Ugh. Binge when I got home from class last night - 2 gl white wine plus a leftover veggie burger that the kids left out, then 4 ryvitas w/ cheese, followed by 3 ryvitas w/ peanut butter. Bah. Feel like crap this morning.

Coming home after being out in the evening has for a long time been a real problem area for me as far as bingeing. If conditions are ideal (I feel calm, not too tired, and my husband is home and still up) then I can usually contain myself, and have a a cup of tea and go to bed. But if I'm tired or in pain, wound up from the evening out, come home to everyone already asleep and/or have my husband out of town (and therefore am alone downstairs), things tend to go off the rails.

Last night all conditions were fulfilled: I was physically very tired from my new workout earlier in the day, I was in pain from lying on the floor for the bodyscan meditation for 45 minutes during the class, my husband is out of town and when I came home, the kids were just going to bed and the kitchen was a mess. Maybe I should be happy it wasn't a worse binge? And be glad I don't have to go out in the evening that often?

Anyhow...what else to do but mark it and move on? It's so discouraging but it's the only thing to do.

Other than that, yesterday was actually a really good day. It just kills me when I "ruin" a really good day with a late night binge. But - bygones, right?

Here's to today

Sorry to hear about your bad evening. I can completely relate to your 'ideal' conditions. One thing that I found that helps is not to have tempting snacks/treats in the house - even healthy ones. If they're not around then they aren't an easy option when I'm feeling tired/irritated/stressed.

As you say, the best thing to do is to mark it and move on. One red amongst lots of green won't make much of a difference - especially with your impressive exercise habit.

Maybe I should be happy it wasn't a worse binge?

Sounds like a good approach to me.

But - bygones, right?

Right.

Did you make sure to eat enough after such a demanding exercise programme?

I agree, as far as binges go, I know I have had way worse than that, why worry, just learn and move on. You learned something about conditions that result in a binge. That is pretty good for a lesson I would say.

Amy, sometimes we are so hard on ourselves.

On those evenings you have to come home to a quiet/sleepy house, and know you will get the munchies, could you just set aside your dessert apple from supper (or whatever ....healthy... fruit/veg/nuts/cheese) and munch it then? As a mod? Instead of free-range snacking maybe plan for a welcome home at night snack before bed?

And if you do a mod make it a healthy veggie/fruit/nut. Nothing too rich.

Just a suggestion. It might be a tiny mod that might make you less hard on yourself and feeling more in control after those occasional evenings out.

Wow. You are so ambitious on your exercise. I sometimes use my exercise as an excuse to overeat. Other times, I manage a fantastic day or two for both food and exercise but then it is too much. I fall off the wagon and overeat. Either way, finding the right amount to eat with exercise is a challenge (as Jonas suggested).