Everyday Systems

Hi. I have been reading posts for nearly a month and been trying the noSdiet. . It's crazy but I think it is working for me! I have a lifetime of dieting and this is the first time I have ever felt in control of my eating. I can feel hungry and not binge. I started out at 210lb in October. Started with intermittent fasting but too extreme gave me gout!! The found noSdiet. Just seemed to click for me. Feel so euphoric about it as I can do it and it seemed like a habit I can develop for life. I have had some bad days but only little bites or snacks. No major bingeing. Previously have been bad binge eater especially of sugar and sweets. But overall have now dropped nearly a stone in weight!!! Brilliant. But I can hardly believe it will keep working and that I can make it as I have failed at dieting and keeping weight off all my life. My aim is below 196lb for Xmas. But I am anxious that I will fail badly over Xmas and not sure how to manage my days? Fearful I will not be able to get going again. So I thought I would join this forum. Never done anything like this before. So I hope. I am not posting stuff all wrong. Apologies if so.
Thank you for all your stories they encourage me every day.
I want to lose 49lb. There I said it. So lets see if I can
Tessytwinkle

Welcome, Tessytwinkle! It's wonderful news that you are off to such a great start.

Hi Tessytwinkle, welcome.
I'm a little nervous about Christmas eating too, but if you go off track, every day is a chance to get back on track. The podcast about S day strategies is good.

Tessy,
Welcome to NoS!
Maybe you'd like to consider the December challenge at this forum. It provides some accountability and could be helpful, especially this holiday season. I started it this weekend.
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H

Thank you for making me feel so welcome. I really feel so positive at the moment. Will try the December challenge so thanks for the tip:-) I have family over several days so will be very challenging. Planning it is a good idea.

Tessytwinkle wrote: I have a lifetime of dieting and this is the first time I have ever felt in control of my eating.

My aim is below 196lb for Xmas. But I am anxious that I will fail badly over Xmas and not sure how to manage my days?
Tessytwinkle

Welcome, Tessytwinkle!

The reason you feel in control is because on No-S you are in control. No "expert" is telling you what to eat and when to eat it. If it's meal time, you eat; if it isn't, you don't. Simple, but not necessarily easy.

I would caution you against setting a goal weight to reach by Christmas. The reason is that the only thing you are in charge of is what you do (following No-S, for example). You aren't in charge of how much weight you lose in a given time period. None of us are. It would be terrible to have not reached that goal and let it spoil your holiday. That would put the scale in charge, not you. Instead, make your goal to continue following No-S. That you can control.

As for Christmas, it depends on how you celebrate it. Everyone's celebration is a little different. My own rule is that it's one of the few days a year when it's okay to go wild.

My recommendation would be to look at how you celebrate. Pick the one day or celebration that's most important to you to let the rules go. On the other days, relax and enjoy but use some restraint (eat what you'd like, but not as much of it as you'd like).

EDIT: One thing I've noticed recently is that I rarely really go wild anymore. It's not that I don't relax and enjoy myself, because I do, but I don't go wild anymore. Or at least I very rarely do.

I don't know why this is because it wasn't a conscious decision. I noticed it a few years ago at Thanksgiving. Maybe it's due to the fact that I really don't like feeling "stuffed," just like I don't like feeling drunk.

Thank you wosnes for your words of wisdom. You are right I must forget about scales and weight targets and just focus on getting my noS days right first.
Good to hear you rarely feel wild any more. I long for that day. Had bad day yesterday. I am unwell and having tests and just got too freaked out and tired. I have always reached for food to comfort myself. But really want to keep trying. So hoping I can get noS settled and working again.
Thank you for reading and responding. It is very encouraging.

Tessytwinkle, welcome, and wosnes is right - after a month of No S, focused solely on the habit, I feel so much more in control of my life!

Gepetto thank you. I value your experience. I am trying to get the noS days sorted. I think Xmas will be a bit scary. But reading everyone's comments and experience has really encouraged me that this is a life thing and not a diet thing. Although I really need to lose weight health wise. I can only do this if I can change my relationship to food. It feels like a leap in the dark at times as I am so anxious to lose weight and I feel I cannot take too long. And yet I am being slowly convinced that this is a life changer for me. So I will keep trying. Bad day yesterday. But started again today. What happens if you are a cook? I cook all our food and am finding tasting is a challenge. I have to taste but realise now perhaps I have always snacked on the food I am cooking. Any advice from any keen cooks out there?

Tessytwinkle wrote:What happens if you are a cook? I cook all our food and am finding tasting is a challenge. I have to taste but realise now perhaps I have always snacked on the food I am cooking. Any advice from any keen cooks out there?

I do a lot of cooking, too. After beginning NoS, I came to realize that I was eating AT LEAST a meal's worth of food *while* cooking.

What I do:

1. Tenderness of meat/veggies/potatoes/pasta can almost always be judged with forks and knives. You may have a bit of a learning curve (I did because previously I always sampled, except for boiling potatoes which got the fork test) but you will quickly learn.

2. Tasting food to correct seasoning: use a VERY small spoon, and try to get only the broth/sauce. Savor your mouthful, then adjust if necessary.

3. No checking out the food if I'm going to serve it anyway. For example, no eating the heel of the bread to make sure its "fresh" or "tasty" if I'm going to serve the bread anyway.

4. Don't feel guilty if you realize that you took a big spoon to sample the stew (or whatever). I wouldn't count it as a red on habitcal, for example.
Old habits die hard. Although I do keep small spoons in a handy spot by the stove now.

5. I save leftovers, even if just a small amount, especially veggies. I *used* to just eat them up on the spot, while finishing up in the kitchen. Now, I plan for them, or add them to my plate (often at lunch) to round it out. I like full plates but have to be realistic about the calorie cost of food--not that I count, but we all know that a thick slice of homemade bread with butter, while delicious and NoS approved, costs calorically more than the same amount of fresh veggies or most salads or a piece of fruit. Having the odd extra serving of veggies or salad keeps me from overdoing it on the bread and butter!

HTH and best wishes for continued NoS success,

I'm also a cook and while I do taste, I find I really don't need to taste that much -- in terms of amount or frequency.

I taste near the end of cooking to adjust seasoning and just a small spoonful. If I need to adjust the seasoning, I'll take a small spoonful afterwards to make sure I got it right.

Thank you for the tips about cooking. It's funny since I have joined I have failed more at noS. maybe I am noticing myself more? I am also not feeling well and I think that makes things a little harder. Also made big mistake today. Was too busy to eat my breakfast at work today. Had to go to long event then bought bread in town late morning thought I could call that breakfasts. Then have lunch. But it all merged into one and I felt out if control even though I did not eat much at all. Then got really hungry and ended up with late dinner ate too much and had some little extra bits so blew it for the day. I joined the discussion list to be open with myself. So I have learned some things today. I probably cannot skip breakfast. At least not till I have established better habits. I cannot really try to have two meals close together they morph into one long eating event which then feels out of control. Also it is perhaps not what I eat but when and how I eat it. That is a new one for me after years of obsessing about what i eat! Phew. Hard learning curve today. Try again tomorrow.

Tessywinkle - I think you're doing really well! The beauty of NoS is to notice your eating habits. That's already the biggest step. So maybe just notice it for a while and then get the all-green going.

Welcome Tessy!

Tessytwinkle wrote:Try again tomorrow.

That's the great thing about No-S, you're only ever one meal away from being successful.

Thank you for your welcome Ironchef. Sadly I had another failed day today. So feeling disheartened. I suppose the good news is I did not go mad and binge as I would have done in the past. Instead just could not stop the occasional nibble this afternoon. Nothing that will affect my weight. But failing to stay noS. this is much harder than I thought it would be especially when I get tired or cold or stressed. Food has been more of a comfort than I realised. But noS is just keeping the binges away for now so there is I suppose some success in that. Plus i do now have a guide, a template. So I know what to aim for all the time. Tomorrows another day. Must try harder. Xmas nearly upon me and part of me is saying. Don't worry start again after Xmas. But that is an old pattern for me giving up and saying I will start again later. As you say Eschano I'm Getting to know myself and be honest with myself now. Hmmm challenging!!

Hey Tessy, don't listen to that sneaky voice "never mind this week, we'll start fresh on Monday" or "never mind this year, we'll start fresh in 2013". You have recognised that pattern - don't fall into it. I really like Reinhard's podcast episode 15 "Season's Warnings" on this subject.

Don't feel discouraged that you aren't perfectly on habit yet - you've only been posting here for four days! Can you think of any other skill where you would kick yourself for not being perfect after four days? As you say, you're taking steps in the right direction every day.

I want to second the recommendation that you not aim at a certain weight by any certain date, but do aim at perfecting the habits. Though successful maintainers do tend to weigh themselves, they represent an abominable success rate for weight losers, meaning most people who try to alter their eating to fit the scale reading fail. And end up weighing more later.

Concentrate on eating real meals on a plate. December is likely not the month to figure out just how little you need. You'll be able to experiment in a few months to see if smaller plates or more empty space on your plate is justified- or it may happen spontaneously.

We have lost touch with what moderation and "enough" are. No S is one of the least painful ways to get back in touch, even if there are bumps along the road.

Ironchef. Thank you for tip about podcasts Seasons warnings. Really helpful. Thank you also for your wisdom Oolala. Habit and moderation are so important. I long for some structure and good habits. When I first started noS about a month ago it felt so liberating I was euphoric. It felt like at last I can know what to do. I can feel hungry and still feel safe. It will pass and I will be able to do this. In the last week since joining the discussion board I have failed a fair bit. But nothing like I used to fail generally. I can also sit down at my desk and do my work without eating and snacking which is awesome for me. Today was a good N day. So maybe I am back on track. Thank you to everyone who has found the time to share with me. It is very special. Dieting as I used to was a very lonely and rather tortuous affair !!! Now I feel like I am learning to eat well - baby steps at first.

Hooray!!! Just done my weekly weigh in. Am now 194 lbs!! Have not been this weight for many many years. Started at 210 in August. Started with alternate day dieting but too extreme for me but did teach me I can be hungry and survive! Wanted something steady and life changing so noS since late October early November. This is working so well for me. I need to lose weight for my health . But I am not dieting at all. Just doing NoS vanilla in week. Have failures but generally no more bingeing at the moment. That gives me the greatest pleasure. Thank you For this system it is a life saver x

Nice job!