Hello All
I have been lurking around this forum and have been aware of No S for some time now. I've been really impressed with some of the things I have read and the support system on this site.
I did attempt to give it a go last year but I couldn't stick with it. I realise why that was the case now and to that end I have decided to actively join the forum and share with you as well as learn from those of you who have been part of the journey and have been successful with this WOE.
Unfortunately for me food has ruled my life for all the years I can remember and it has made me miserable and at times, quite ill. Won't bore you with the details, but I am left with a residual fear of food and an all or nothing approach which has led to cycles of bingeing, starving and despair with a few periods of respite, but not many. I now have ongoing IBS, probably from all the dieting and have a completely unhealthy relationship with my body image and with food in general.
Last year I lost weight slowly and am a healthy weight now, but I have yet again become so obsessed with keeping it off- and I have slowly increased the number of binge/ starve episodes and what is missing is the whole thing about moderation! I just don't have any. I finally realise that the only way I am going to sort myself out- and I have thirty-odd years of habit here to sort out- is to change habits and change them for good.
I also know that, being a gung-ho all or nothing character that I will set myself up to fail if I start by setting goals that I cannot possibly meet, so although part of me wants to shoot for immediate vanilla no-s, I KNOW that I will fail, so my intention is to work on one habit each time that is an issue for me, giving myself a 21-day straight "victory run" for each one before I start working on another one. It's a long haul approach but it's the only way for me.
I work away from home a LOT- sometimes Monday to Friday- eating out in restaurants and cafes regularly. I generally adopt healthy choices when I am in company, but sometimes I have been so frugal that I get hungry and binge, so I need to do something about that.
So my first habit to form is to eat three times a day, one plate, and no picking in between meals - and that's it for now.
I give myself licence to finish a meal with a piece of fruit.
I also am not giving up the "no sweets yet"- to explain- I have spent years denying myself so much that it triggers binges- so if I want something sweet, I will have it- instead of a meal- and only one piece of it. Healthy? Not exactly but a darn sight healthier than abusing my body the way I have been.
I will also pick up on my exercise and start training again, which has gone out of the window recently.
Once i have the three meals a day and S days (no bingeing) sorted, THEN then next stage will be to sort the sweets. Just not yet.
Sorry about the long intro but I guess this is about me committing to this programme and sharing it with all of you. For those of you "out there" who have suffered with an ED I hope to hear how you are tackling them and also, maybe, my approach might help someone else. I sure as hell don't want anyone to have to deal with the years of complete misery around food and eating that I have!
Thanks
BK
An Introduction
Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating
Welcome Bolliknickers,
I’ve only just started No –S myself but I can empathise with the feeling of having food rule your life. I’ve been obsessed about my weight for years and have for most of that time alternated between being on a diet and overeating. I’ve spent far too much of my life thinking about dieting, weight and food. Most typical diets only fuel food obsession, No S seems to be the opposite of this and I believe once it’s become an automatic habit that you’ll hardly have to think about food at all, other than when its meal time or just before when deciding what to eat.
Your plan for starting No S sounds great,
Best of luck
I’ve only just started No –S myself but I can empathise with the feeling of having food rule your life. I’ve been obsessed about my weight for years and have for most of that time alternated between being on a diet and overeating. I’ve spent far too much of my life thinking about dieting, weight and food. Most typical diets only fuel food obsession, No S seems to be the opposite of this and I believe once it’s become an automatic habit that you’ll hardly have to think about food at all, other than when its meal time or just before when deciding what to eat.
Your plan for starting No S sounds great,
Best of luck