So Simple It's Brilliant!

I've been frustrated with my weight loss. 

Or, since April, the lack of. 

I know where I went "wrong." 

My birthday. 

My excuse to bake a cake and have a piece

...or two. 

Here is where my all-or-nothing thinking gets me into trouble because then there is guilt, then there is the feeling of messing things up so I might as well have a couple more pieces the next day...and so on until old habits come back and the cycle continues.

But I've found something so simple it's brilliant!  Apparently it's been around a while but this is the first time I've heard of it.  It's called The No S Diet developed by Reinhard Engels.  Here's the idea:

3 rules and 1 exception:

• No Snacks
• No Sweets
• No Seconds

Except *sometimes* on days that start with "S" (Saturday, Sunday, Special Occasions)

That's it.

There is a book available at Amazon:



But really there's a lot of information on the website which includes a podcast and forum.

So in keeping with my 12 reasons I'm giving up on counting calories,

here are 12 reasons I'm liking the No S Diet:

1. I get to eat what everyone else is eating.
2. There are no forbidden foods or even acceptable food lists.
3. It frees up my mind to think about other things besides how to make a snack healthy or thoughts of guilt, or calories, calories, calories.
4. It frees up my time since I don't need to snack. 
5. Did I mention it's simple?  Three meals a day.  Three plates a day.  (Except occasionally.)
6. I still get to eat sugar in moderation and *sometimes* sweets.
7. It forms good habits.
8. It encourages moderation.
9. It teaches individual responsibility and not excuses.
10. It supports all the healthy habits I've learned like loading most of your plate with vegetables, fruits and whole grains.
11. I can focus on the enjoyment of food and not the worry part (bad vs. good food).
12. There's nothing to buy -  a nickname for this diet is the No $ Diet.

No S Diet, used by permission

I have followed this diet for only a week so far and it's totally doable.  I'll admit:

I get hungry between meals at this point but not weak. 

I also load my plate up embarrassingly full. 

And yes, I've lost weight.

How does this sound to anyone out there?

 

12 Reasons I'm Giving Up on Counting Calories

Here are 12 reasons why I think I'm through with counting calories or points on a regular basis:

1. I feel limited
2. It feels like a chore
3. Let's face it, it's boring
4. It consumes my thoughts
5. It can take too much time
6. How accurate is it, anyway?
7. It feels robotic and counter-intuitive
8. I start viewing food as good or bad
9. It becomes quite frustrating if I eat at a restaurant
10. I get sucked into buying diet-type food because it's advertised as "low-calorie"
11. It takes away the enjoyment of eating as I obsess about them before or during eating
12. I don't feel like I should have a "normal" meal and try to make modifications just for me

I'm not giving up,

I'm moving on...

More to come...
Update: This post is all about what's helping me to move on.

Time Out

Braden is at an interesting stage. 

It takes several hours to complete a dishwasher and washer machine load. 

You see, they have many buttons and these machines just scream

 "Push my buttons!!!" 

So Braden pushes them. 

 I truly think he's incapable of resisiting when it's at eye level.

Braden pushes the buttons on the ipod.

Occasionally he still throws his food on the floor.

He hits for attention. 

He hits to put off bedtime. 

 He hits so he can put himself in time out. 

Time out is simply a game to him.  A super fun game. 

What works with one child doesn't with the other. 

So it's natural that he loses computer time. 

The jury is still out when the connection will sink in for him.

I feel like I'm heading to a time out of sorts. 
For me that would be counting calories.  *sigh*

Cookbook by Easter!!!

{Ok.  So this week was not the best for me in the eating department so I am already starting to plan meals and snacks for next week.  I'm hoping that will make a difference.  My feet aren't doing horrible - of course, I'm about to get on the bike again, so maybe I shouldn't speak too soon, but exercising will be coming along.}

Now, about that cookbook:  I know one of the things that's so hard about it for me (besides the fact that I'm very good at procrastinating) - there is always another great recipe around the corner.  And now the Internet provides for any and all you could ever imagine.  But there are a few standard recipes I will always go for and so many were shared with me way back when that I want to try them as well.  So I plan on finishing the book by Easter.  I'll see then how much it will cost me to get them printed and bound.

I want to say a big *Thank You* to a few of you out there.  I obviously am not doing this for the comments and prestige but it does help to know that I'm not talking to myself.  So thank you for your letters, phone calls, and texts.  Your support and friendship are deeply appreciated!

Here are a couple plans for posts next week:
A Great Gift Idea from a Birthmother
A Super Easy and Healthy Make-Ahead Snack

I'll be back Monday!

Alright, on with the bike...

What' Working - CONCLUSION

The bottom line is I don't want a temporary fix. I want what I can live with.

So I'm trying to rewire my brain and get away from the "diet" mentality and the fake food that comes with it. I use to use Truvia or Splenda on a daily basis, then I ran out and decided to use a teaspoon of sugar. When I added it to my food log I was shocked at the minuscule calories I was trying to avoid. One teaspoon of granulated sugar has 15 calories and 1 tablespoon has 45 calories. Seriously? How is that going to help me fit in those 120-calorie cookies that I may want later? Um, I think I can do without the worry and expense!  What's weird is I eat less sugar now that I add a teaspoon here or there.

I'm also eating a banana almost everyday. I use to treat bananas more like, well, a "treat" because I once heard how high in calories they were. (Ya, a whopping one-hundred and ten). Now I eat them almost everyday with a meal or as a snack. Sometimes both. Very filling and satisfying.

Why is it I use to avoid real food that I love like avocados and walnuts when I only end up overeating things like crackers, cookies, or brownies? Oh, I know. I once read if you are dieting and want to lose weight you should avoid those "high calorie foods". Of course, you should avoid scarfing down high calorie treats as well, but I think your body craves more when you aren't getting proper nutrition from fruits and vegetables. At least that's my working theory right now.

If I do eat a cookie or two now I find I have to stop or I know I'll be sick. (What a great place to be! To recognize when I've had enough and actually LISTEN! Not to mention be able to eat cookies while losing weight!)

I promise not every 5 pounds lost will be this long winded!!! 

Oh, and this is my current total: 18 lbs. lost.

What's Working: IGNORING THE EXTREME

Something that I know is working for me, and it's a big one, is this:

Ignoring the Extreme

I've read a lot about people losing this way or that way. Who hasn't? Extreme diets, exercising, and photos of chiseled bodies are everywhere. Such extremes can only be held out for so long.

One blogger only drinks water. Only. Water.

This same blogger says she still counts calories with one "cheat" meal a week and another one I came across that was pinned as "very inspriational" says she keeps her calories "really low" to keep the weight off even though it's been a few years

Now, I know water is good for you and I like it, but - only drinking water? For the rest of my life?  No thanks.  And I know there is no way that I will be able to live on 1200 calories the rest of my life while "allowing" one cheat meal per week. I also know from observation of "thin people" that they don't eat that way. Thinking about calories, and how to get the most nutrition from them, I can do. Counting every bite, every day - not going to happen.

There was another blog of 3 women that take pictures of every meal they eat and count the Weight Watcher points. This is not to say they don't have some good points and ideas, it's just the extreme lengths they go to in exercise and eating seems like it would be difficult to maintain, and, well, not much fun.

Maybe these people and others like them help motivate some, but I think those types of things kept me "stuck", feeling like I would fail before I even tried. I've lost weight on Weight Watcher before. I know how to lose weight with extreme exercise and low calories. I also know how to get yourself injured and sidelined for over a year and to gain it all back and more.   The kind of determination it takes to stick to extreme measures doesn't last. Not in my world, anyways. Weight loss and maintainance shouldn't be a marathon in will power. I want to be healthy. I don't need to look like a swimsuit model, thank you very much!

So on with my secret weapon to help me:

I've found an awsome podcast.  The show is called "Fat 2 Fit Radio."  These guys, self-admitted recovered yo-yo dieters, are the voice of reason and stick true to their philosephy

"If you eat and exercise like the thin person you want to become, you will eventually become that person."

So all you have to do is figure out how many calories you will need to maintain a healthy weight.  The Basal Metabolic Rate calculator on their site is very helpful.  When I finally figured this out I wasn't so hungry and I'm no longer prone to binging.  You can eat more than you think.  A big thing I learned is to NEVER eat below your basal metabolic rate.  It is the number of calories your body needs if you were in a coma.  A COMA!  Well, I'm a whole lot more active than that!  I realized I'm not "sedentary" at all.  No wonder I would get ravenously hungry trying to eat at a lower calorie level.

Most diet plans set people up for failure and gaurentee repeat business because of the extremely low calories.  The Fat 2 Fit guy's goal is not the speed of weight loss but permenant weight loss, "slow and steady wins the race."

I think we have been so conditioned by society that we think we have to give up so much of what we love in order to be thin and that we have to punish ourselves in some way in order to lose.  I'm not exactly saying that it's easy, but it's a whole lot easeir than trying to stick to a 1200 calorie diet!    One listener to their podcast said,

"Being healthy is hard, but being overweight is harder."

So true.

The Most Filling Oatmeal Breakfast

Update 4-22-13: 

I feel I must say that I NEVER eat like this anymore!  After struggling to lose weight and researching nutrition and food intolerances I've come to the conclusion that this is not a healthy choice for me.  I've discovered that grains tend to aggravate my system, not to mention the carb-induced cravings, and after trying to figure out how to eat "whole foods" and less processed foods - I realized that separating the egg white from the yolk probably isn't the way nature intended.  

I have since adopted a mostly grain-free diet and try to eat whole, less processed foods.  My calories and fat grams have gone up while my carb level has decreased.  I am 10 pounds lighter to date and feel much better overall.  

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is what I cook myself for breakfast at least 6 times a week. It's quick and easy to make, filling, tastes good, and at almost 350 calories it fits into the day perfectly.

The Most Filling Oatmeal Breakfast

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dry old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup water
1/4 - 1/2 cup egg whites or 1 egg
1 banana
1/2 cup nonfat milk

Directions:

Combine oatmeal and water in a medium to large microwaveable bowl and microwave for 1 minute.  Stir in egg whites and cook for another minute.  Add mashed or chopped banana and stir in milk.

Sometimes I change it up a bit like adding cinnamon, a handful of chopped walnuts, replace the banana with blueberries or a chopped apple.  And sometimes I'll make a big batch of steel cut oats and freeze individual servings.

There is seriously nothing more filling for so few calories. 

I love cold cereal but I've learned that it's just too easy to pour a second bowl.

(And by second I mean fourth.)

On the Boat...

OK, technically it is a ship. 

A

VERY

 BIG

 ship. 

We sailed on the Disney Dream.  I love their attention to detail and no one beats Disney's service! 

We went with Warren's brother Eric and his family.

Right away there were character sightings. 
Very exciting.

Braden really enjoyed the splash pad in the shade. 

Hailey got to meet many Disney Princesses at once! 
Her favorite is Ariel.  She didn't have her legs on our last cruise so this was a special treat! 
The princesses were never out of character.

It was fun going with cousins this time! 
Jake nicknamed Braden "Captain Hook" because he was his hook to talk to the girls.
(Not that he needed him, that kid's got game, I tell you!)

And FYI: I actually maintained my weight during our vacation! Getting sick may have helped a little.  I regained my appetite the second day on the ship. 

How could I not with all the delicious gourmet food? (My favorite was a

buttermilk lemon custard - Oh, my stars!)

This past week has been rough on me while I feel lousy.  Not much calorie counting.  But I'm learning to listen to my body and learning to balance the calories.  Today was weigh-in day:

I lost almost a pound and have hit a new low for the past year. 

About another pound and a half and I will be down to where I was when Braden was born.  And while it may not show much on the scale I got to tighten my belt to the next notch - now that's some incentive! 

I'm going to try to get back on a daily blogging schedule to keep my focus.  I plan on sharing my "go-to" breakfast and some surprising things that seem to be working. 

Speaking of my little busy bees....

When do kids sleep through the night?!  If it's not one, it's the other - or both - keeping me awake at night.  I'm a light sleeper and it can take a long time for me to fall back to sleep once awake.  Lack of sleep has been shown to mess up hormones that register hunger and fullness to the brain.  I know this is one of my big problems with weight, but it's not exactly something I can change, is it? Maybe being aware of it will help me?

I made my most filling meal this morning, it usually works like a charm to fill me up through lunch, but not so much today.  Part of me is just too tired to get up and make anything or to care.

Yesterday {Day 7}, being Valentine's Day went by in a blur of sugar and extra pain from a trip to the physical therapist.  I didn't track calories and now I wish I had because I'm curious how I did.  The only chocolate I had was one Dove dark chocolate from Hailey.  I didn't buy chocolate this year.  Now that is a major feat!  The third frosted pink lemonade cookie was probably a bit too much, though. : D  Thank goodness I gave the rest away!

Oh, and we made this delicious "Pink Drink." 

I poured mine in a very small glass and stopped. 

After seconds. 

The idea was something I saw on Pinterest (of course!).  We just mixed equal parts 7-up and pink lemondade with a little raspberry sherbert.  Yum!

Calorie Counting {Day3}

Calorie counting.

Hate it.  Ok, maybe that's a bit strong.  It just feels like a numbers game I'm not good at.  And yet it's simple addition.  Why does it feel unnatural and like such a chore?

But I'm doing it anyway and recognize why I need to.   My Fitness Pal makes it pretty easy but so much I just estimate and wonder how accurate I am.

I'm not sure what my calorie needs really are for a day.  Even though I'm busy with kids and house, I can't exercise much so I've assumed I'm "sedentary".  (I do a little resistance training and yoga.) I know deep down that losing is more about controlling what you put in your mouth than being able to burn off the calories, but am I sedentary or lightly active? Maybe I'll see in a week after I weigh in and see where I'm at on the scale.  Of course, then I'm off to Florida on vacation...Oh, well, there's always going to be something, right?

My Umteenth First Day

What do you do when your child is sick and, having believed her to be attention-seeking, you send her to school only to discover that she is indeed ill and so you go to the store to buy her ice cream and popsicles and stop at McDonnalds on the way home in order to get her to eat something - anything, and when you get home she discovers they messed up her hamburger (again!) so she won't touch it...   


 and you are standing there...

with a hamburger in hand...

after 7 p.m....

and you are hungry...

very hungry from eating carefully and sensibly all day...

very sensibly.

What do you do? 

 

Image source: Mcdonalds.com



You eat that hamburger.  Oh, yes.  You do.  (And by that, I mean eat that one and whatever your other child doesn't eat...)

As you inhale it you push back thoughts of maybe only eating one of the buns and what this might do to your calorie budget and in doing so almost don't even taste it.  But because you're committed, motivated, or just plain scared about how you will write about this, as soon as your head is cleared from devouring the last few uneaten fries, you gather your wits about you and dare to log what you've just eaten. 

Normally I would not have done that last part.  Normally I would then feel terrible and decide that I had failed for the day and I would have then turned to a rich treat like ice cream because it's there and, well, because I blew it, didn't I?


 Well, no.  Turns out I did not.  Turned out I even had calories left over if I made the right choice! 



Image ource: Yoplait.com



( ( ( I am now sounding an audible sigh of relief because my umteenth first day wasn't a failure...) ) )

What do you do when you're super hungry

and there isn't the best choice in front of you? 

How do you you minimize the "damage"?