Everyday Systems

Hello all! I am new, although I have been No-sing for about 3 weeks now. I've finally mastered all the No's. I'm still having trouble over eating though during my meals. Eating slowly and not over eating are my two big goals I think I need to achieve to officially make this a life style. Finding this site was one of the greatest things ever!! I'm a sophomore in college so I thought that now would be a good time to make a lifestyle change. I want to be slim so so so so soooooo bad (':x')!!!!!! Any good tips (with my goals mostly)???? THANKS!

CW: 140
GW: 115
Height: 5'3"

Walk an hour a day (not all at once, necessarily). I think walking is the best weight loss exercise, and, as a student, should fit in well with your life style.

Go easy on alcohol on S days. Find a physical activity that you enjoy (yoga, dance, etc.) so you'll have something to do for the rest of your life.

Have fun at college. My daughter is a Sophomore and loving it.

Welcome!

cjgoodson2 wrote:Hello all! I am new, although I have been No-sing for about 3 weeks now. I've finally mastered all the No's. I'm still having trouble over eating though during my meals. Eating slowly and not over eating are my two big goals I think I need to achieve to officially make this a life style. Finding this site was one of the greatest things ever!! I'm a sophomore in college so I thought that now would be a good time to make a lifestyle change. I want to be slim so so so so soooooo bad (':x')!!!!!! Any good tips (with my goals mostly)???? THANKS!

CW: 140
GW: 115
Height: 5'3" :x

Thank you!!! I'm actually a runner! I ran cross and track for sometime, but I've had to quit the team, because I no longer have the time, so now I just run in the morning about 4 times a week. I do not drink!!! But yes, exercising has never really been my problem. It's always come down to over eating at meals and eating wayyyy tooo fast!

cjgoodson2 wrote:It's always come down to over eating at meals and eating wayyyy tooo fast!

Growing up, I was a naturally slow eater. Then I had my first baby. And I started eating faster and faster to be done before the baby woke up or cried or...... Multiply that scenario five times (five wonderful children) and Eating Fast became my new norm.

I've been successfully NoSing for more than two years and am just now realizing that I want to seriously address the eating fast issue--especially in light of that recent thread on leisurely French school lunches!!

Now, regarding overeating at meals, follow the one plate rule DILIGENTLY. Stay away from virtual plating--always put all the food you are going to eat on ONE Plate. You need to SEE it if you are going to slowly, sensibly, over time, reduce the amount you eat at a meal so that you are no longer over feeding yourself. If you are overeating at meals, you need to STRONGLY develop the habit of eating ONE yummy, decently-proportioned meal. And once you've eaten your plated meal, you will need to quiet any "backtalk" from your inner self about how "you didn't really eat THAT much and a little more won't hurt, yada, yada, yada." My mantra: ONE = DONE. And then get up from the table.

Eating more slowly is taking more conscious effort than I would have thought. I need to consciously tell myself to slow down, to put my fork down sometimes, to enjoy the food I am eating right now. A natural corollary is to engage in purposeful conversation--if I am talking, I am not eating and meal time as a whole is more pleasant, more leisurely.

HTH,

I wish No S had existed when I was in college. I would have been so much better off in college if I had known of a moderate way of avoiding overeating that didn't require me to give up everything I liked. See, at that time, I thought "healthy eating" was an all-or-nothing thing- either you ate as much as you wanted of whatever you wanted, or you ate only healthy food (ie, you gave up every food that was not healthy). No way was I doing the latter, so I did the former.

You'll probably have an easier time of it than some older No-S'ers do, too. We have more years of bad food habits to overcome. But everyone's an individual, and your mileage may vary.

I found that, when I started eating less at meals, I naturally started eating slower. The things I did to eat less at meals were no seconds and nine-inch plates for N days (I still use our old 10.5" plates on S days).

Hi CJ

Overeating is my current problem too! I've only been at this for a few days and I think i'm worried that if I don't eat massive meals I'll be starving and tempted to snack....

All my recent meals have been of the pasta/stew variety, which means i've been eating them from pasta bowls - it's so much easier to pile the food high when its in a large curved bowl!! I need to organise some proper plated meals next week I think.

milliem, I eat a lot of soups and things that can go in bowls as well, so I feel your pain. Pasta bowls are probably a bad idea. But the standard bowls that come with place settings are perfectly fine.

I also have a set of those bowls like you use to make French onion soup. They hold about a cup and a half, and they're perfect for portion control. Nice thick stew in those and I'm all good.

Hmm you're probably right Noel, I have some bowls that are between the small 'breakfast' size and pasta bowls so I'll switch to using those next week - if I see food piling up over the rim I'll know I've overdone it!!

cjgoodson2 wrote:Hello all! I am new,
although I have been No-sing for about 3 weeks now.
I've finally mastered all the No's.

Hi, cjgoodson,
Congratulations on your success so far.

Thank you all for your help! I will use your tips, and hopefully get this slow eating and over eating. Also, it's not that I'm getting seconds at meal times. It's just the one plate, and I just feel it all needs to be gone, or I'll get so hungry and want to snack!

cjgoodson2 wrote:Thank you all for your help! I will use your tips, and hopefully get this slow eating and over eating. Also, it's not that I'm getting seconds at meal times. It's just the one plate, and I just feel it all needs to be gone, or I'll get so hungry and want to snack!

As you get more and more used to the three meal schedule, you'll start to learn how much food you really need to keep you satisfied until your next meal. If you feel like right now you need that security of finishing everything on your plate even though you're no longer hungry, go ahead and finish your plate. Eventually, you'll know what you need and be able to fill a plate with just the right amount of food.

Also, I too started NoS in college--the beginning of my senior year. I'm now two years out, and I've seen that getting habits like these down BEFORE I started a sedentary job was immensely helpful. When all my friends started working after college, they gained weight--they were sitting around all day and would snack mindlessly. But my weight's stayed right where I want it, because I already have moderate eating habits =) It can be tough to stick to the NoS rules in college, especially on weeknights when your friends or roommates are snacking on chips and ice cream and Chinese food (been there!), but developing the habits are so worth it in the long run.

Marygrace, that is all so very promising for me!! It's nice to know others are having similar experiences. I've found that thinking hard about eating really helps. Is it worth it? Will I really feel that much better after eating it? NO! Usually that thought removes the cravings instantly especially when my roomie and friends are snacking. They just don't know what's coming

Just want to second the advice to use a single plate. Can you look at it and say, "yeah, that's a reasonable amount to get me to the next meal"? If it's too little add, if it's too full take away. Once you've decided it's reasonable start eating and don't go back for more. Period. Fast or slow won't matter