Friday, October 31, 2008

Trick or Treat


Happy Halloween all of you NOSers!
Bwahahhahahhahahhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
This can definitely be a HAPPY Halloween for all of us. Myself, I am taking Halloween as an official NWS day. A couple of weeks ago I stacked up on my stash for the trick or treaters who will come by tonight, but because of my "time" on NO S they have been "safely" stashed in the closet untouched.
TRICK OR TREAT?
It is your choice.
Call it an NWS day and have a Treat or pass and go for the Trick.
It is your choice!
Me ... my treats today will be fresh donuts from our local donut shop, vegan nachos and a wickedly delicious Caramel Machiatto! Teeheeeheeee!
Photo: Halloween TREATS!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

"Glass Ceilings"


"Glass Ceiling" is a concept Reinhard uses for "containing" alcohol consumption. I have been using it for the past two months to contain caffiene/coffee consumption and it has been working really well. I quit drinking coffee over four years ago because I could not stick with reasonable amounts. After nosing for six month I decided to experiment with using the "glass ceiling" concept for caffiene/coffee.

Works like a charm. Now I can enjoy my coffees twice a day, once after breakfast and another, usually after lunch. Then that's it I am done. I have only "broken" the "glass ceiling" once ... and that was an S day.

Reinhard has come up with so many useful ideas for managing our habits and disciplining our appetites. I am so glad I stumbled upon his book The No S Diet in Barnes and Noble this past March. It has changed my life and had an impact that the gazillion diet books that I bought before cannot even touch!

I love being "normal" and I love my "drinky" things. I am so glad that I get to MAXIMIZE my ENJOYment of them by using No S Diet concepts like "S days" and "glass ceilings"

Photos: Two Starbucks Coffees

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

I Love Veggies


I suppose I am fortunate because I love veggies. No broccoli haters here. ANY vegetable steamed or sauteed with a generous dollop of EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), salt and/or pepper is yummy to me.

I know! I know! We all talk about eating protien and making protien the central part of meals, but for me, my only "rule of thumb" is this:

I try to make sure that not a day goes by without a nice serving of GREEN!

The No S Diet is great for getting in your veggies because they are a GREAT way to fill up your plate. Without the higher natural sugars of fruit and loaded with even MORE MINERALS, veggies are the road to exuberant good health.

Like I said, I suppose I am fortunate, I have loved veggies since I was a kid. The simpler the better. Great tasting, fresh vegetables don't need to be drowned in heavy sauces, cheesy toppings, or fried and breaded. BLEYCH! is what I say to drowning all that natural goodness!

For today, try filling up your plate with nice, fresh veggies.

Photo: Mesquite Grilled Halibut, Steamed Green Beans and Carrots with EVOO and Celtic Sea Salt

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Just Looking



I use to LOVE LOVE LOVE Von's Cake. It was my "big deal" for such a long time. Years. Sweet. Secret. Forbidden.




Now sometimes on S days, I think - Von's cake! Wouldn'cha love it? I go to the store and I stand at the case and I look at my favorites ... white birthday cake, carrot cake and ...



chocolate birthday cake. Then after a few minutes I realize that I really don't WANT any Von's cake and that JUST LOOKING is enough!


WOW!

That is CERTAINLY an UNEXPECTED result of the NO S Diet!

Photos: Von's White Birthday Cake, Von's Carrot Cake, Von's Chocolate Birthday Cake

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Pre-disapproved


I love this little gem from the No S Diet book ...
"You're pre-disapproved, so forget it and move onto something else." p119
Being pre-disapproved definitely keeps things simple.

Someone stands in front of me with a sweety thing and/or a snacky thing and a big smile on their face.
"Here I brought this specially for you cause I KNOW it's your favorite."
Quick internal reconnoitering - is this an N day? Yes? Hmmm ... that means I am PRE-DISAPPROVED for ANYTHING sweety and anything snacky I can't or don't want to put on my one plate. Do I want to put THAT particular SNACKY THING on my one plate today? Heaven's no.
"Gee, that was so nice of you to think of me. I'll just take it and wrap it up for later."
Person's smile fades as I swipe it from their hands and quickly disappear.
On the way to lunch I make three points free-throwing it into the garabage. Better in the waste can than on my waist band.
Pre-disapproved.
Keeping life simple on the No S Diet.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

... when you are not not not

WOW!

What a productive week! This is what I love about No S, all of that healthy structure and effective discipline spilling over into all of the other areas of my life.

Reading my blog or daily check-ins on the No S boards this week you know I was SAD! But you also know I kept my N days green. The results ... I felt the sadness AND kept on moving forward. And now I turn around and look behind me and what an AMAZING week.

Not only did I feel, dip into, absorb, integrate, accept all of that sadness, but I also KICKED BUTT in getting organized and facing down some fears so I could COMPLETE some very significant and necessary tasks in my life. Hmmmmm....

Now it is Saturday and I feel good!

Don't let anyone tell you that getting the stuff done that you need to get done does NOT feel great. GETTING the stuff done that you need to get done FEEL'S GREAT!!!!!!!!!

So does being genuine and not PRETENDING to be happy happy happy when you are just not not not.

Photo: Grilled Salmon Salad with Avocado, Tomato, Shredded Carrot, Arugula, Romaine and EVOO

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Implicit Memories


It is uncanny, but getting well into October I have had up to four episodes where I pretty much JUST WANT TO EAT.
Thank goodness that my No S Habit is holding me in good stead and I have lots of practice in ... "how can I handle this without food?"
I was listening to an interesting audio recording the other day called the Neurobiology of We. The guy was talking about implicit v. explicit memories. Implicit memories, as I understand it being memories that are encoded into our bodies but because we have not integrated them through our hippocampus we may not have verbal or "conscious" recall of them.
This can happen when either we are too young and the hippocampus has not developed or under the stress of trauma, the hippocampus shuts down.
I had a particularly traumatic experience in October in my early years. Inevitably, inexplicable waves of sadness wash over me in October. Usually, I find a way to eat them away.
This year I am allowing myself to be sad. This is not brain numbing tear spilling sadness, it is just something deep within that at this time of the year simmers beneath the surface.
The relief and "safety" of the NO S Diet is that as far as my food goes, all I have to do is just have three one plate/bowl meals today. Nothing less and nothing more.
Then I get the opportunity to accept whatever washes up as just something I need to deal with in ways other than eating.
I think this is going to work.
Photo: Homemade Tuna Salad Sandwich on Ezekiel Bread, White Peach