Joyfully celebrating 6!!!! years of NoS Satisfaction
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 4:57 pm
Greetings, Fellow NoS-ers!
This past summer, I passed my 6th year mark of discovering and implementing NoS habits. I still love it and find its simple, livable "structure without too much structure" great through all the seasons of life. We flex between being just two of us at home (kids grown and flown) and dozens (re: hospitality ministry). NoS fits all these situations in a way that I could never have managed if I also had to be mindful of carbs, fats, points, GI, fiber, etc., etc., etc.
For those who want the whole story, here are the links to past testimonials--all those insights still hold true today (including never once making it into the 21-day club. Perfection not required for long-term success!), so I won't repeat.
Year 1: http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5306
Year 2: http://www.everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=6629
Year 3: http://www.everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=7858
Year 4: http://www.everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=8821
Year 5: http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=9529
New Insights in Year 6:
*All the tales of needing less food as one grows older (I'm nearing mid-50's now) are true. But the good news, with ingrained NoS habits, is that I don't like feeling "too full" so have naturally (in a zig-zaggy way) cut back on the amount I want to eat. Sometimes, I can feel sorry for myself because what I eat seems small in comparison to (oversized) standard American portions, but honestly, I am now eating about the same amounts of food that my mother and aunts (who never had a weight problem) did at my current age.
*To feel satisfied with my current delicious meals, I've found that my new SOS mantra helps tremendously: SOS= Serve, Observe, Savor.
Serve--mindfully, particularly not too-large portions even if they fit on a single plate. (I've started to feel stuffed when eating my "normal" amounts due to dratted hormone changes).
Observe--training myself to notice what is on the plate, how yummy it looks, how abundant and nourishing. This helps me to not feel deprived by my current need to reduce portion sizes as mentioned above!
Savor: I semi-pretend to be a food critic and concentrate on all the flavors and textures, ie. savor my food. I try to remember to put my fork down occasionally. All this helps me to really enjoy my meal.
Now, the honest truth is that usually only one meal a day gets the SOS treatment because life is busy. But, especially when I've put effort into prepping a delicious meal, I like to follow my new SOS habits (which do trickle over) and make the meal the centerpiece of my dining experience.
With my gained understanding of these two insights, I know that NoS will carry me through 20 years more, Lord willing, of good health and enjoyable meals.
So let me just say once again, a BIG THANK YOU to Reinhard for sharing NoS with the world.
This past summer, I passed my 6th year mark of discovering and implementing NoS habits. I still love it and find its simple, livable "structure without too much structure" great through all the seasons of life. We flex between being just two of us at home (kids grown and flown) and dozens (re: hospitality ministry). NoS fits all these situations in a way that I could never have managed if I also had to be mindful of carbs, fats, points, GI, fiber, etc., etc., etc.
For those who want the whole story, here are the links to past testimonials--all those insights still hold true today (including never once making it into the 21-day club. Perfection not required for long-term success!), so I won't repeat.
Year 1: http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5306
Year 2: http://www.everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=6629
Year 3: http://www.everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=7858
Year 4: http://www.everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=8821
Year 5: http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=9529
New Insights in Year 6:
*All the tales of needing less food as one grows older (I'm nearing mid-50's now) are true. But the good news, with ingrained NoS habits, is that I don't like feeling "too full" so have naturally (in a zig-zaggy way) cut back on the amount I want to eat. Sometimes, I can feel sorry for myself because what I eat seems small in comparison to (oversized) standard American portions, but honestly, I am now eating about the same amounts of food that my mother and aunts (who never had a weight problem) did at my current age.
*To feel satisfied with my current delicious meals, I've found that my new SOS mantra helps tremendously: SOS= Serve, Observe, Savor.
Serve--mindfully, particularly not too-large portions even if they fit on a single plate. (I've started to feel stuffed when eating my "normal" amounts due to dratted hormone changes).
Observe--training myself to notice what is on the plate, how yummy it looks, how abundant and nourishing. This helps me to not feel deprived by my current need to reduce portion sizes as mentioned above!
Savor: I semi-pretend to be a food critic and concentrate on all the flavors and textures, ie. savor my food. I try to remember to put my fork down occasionally. All this helps me to really enjoy my meal.
Now, the honest truth is that usually only one meal a day gets the SOS treatment because life is busy. But, especially when I've put effort into prepping a delicious meal, I like to follow my new SOS habits (which do trickle over) and make the meal the centerpiece of my dining experience.
With my gained understanding of these two insights, I know that NoS will carry me through 20 years more, Lord willing, of good health and enjoyable meals.
So let me just say once again, a BIG THANK YOU to Reinhard for sharing NoS with the world.