Everyday Systems

I've been doing this for a couple of weeks now, and nearly every day I run afoul of the "no snacks" rule. Sometimes I've had a fail day because of seconds, but usually it's the snacks.

The thing is, these aren't strictly voluntary snacks. I'm an at-home mom with several children, and food is a big part of what I do - not just preparing it, but helping others with it. So some recent sample fails:

Littlest child wants to try sushi, but won't unless Mommy tries it first (totally age-appropriate). So I have a piece, she sees it's not poisonous, she's happy.

Teenager tries a new breadstick recipe, is very proud of it, wants me to have one. Of course I do.

Friend makes organic falafels, asks me anxiously to try one and see if it's any good. If I eat just one bite, she's going to think I don't like it and am being polite, so I have two, and she's happy.

And similar. The thing is, I'm not even hungry on these occasions. And I'm losing about a pound a week, despite daily fails. But I'm doing this no-s thing to make my life better, and refusing the inter-meal food on these sorts of occasions would not make my life better.

Should I just make this into some sort of modification, or is this the universe's way of telling me that no-s is not the right approach at this stage of my life?

As your weight loss shows, you don't need to be perfect to be successful. Don't worry about the failures. Just mark it and move on, but keep striving for no snacks.

With the teenager and the friend, before you take a bite tell them you're not snacking, but you'll gladly take a bite to see how they taste. You've warned them that you're not going to eat the whole thing. If they're upset, that's their problem.

I wouldn't suggest any modifications until you've been on this at least six months or longer.

I'm a mother of a toddler at home 4 days, working 3. My son often wants to "give mummy some", especially if he really likes a food, or, like you experienced, wants to see me eat some and say "yum" before he takes a bite. In these cases, I have a bit, keep him happy and forget about it. I do not do the other things I used to do, like finish off his plate or bowl if he leaves some behind and so on. Our dog has never been happier.

Adults are a bit different. In my workplace, people often bake or buy treats and bring them in. If they notice I'm not eating some, I explain that I don't eat snacks and sweets during the week, exclaim a bit about how great it looks, smells, or even take a piece "for later", which I often freeze for the weekend when I get home. Very quickly people get used to the change.

On rare occasions I decide that something is a "failworthy S", as you say, life is better with it! On those occasions I just have it and record a red day. Fails or reds, it's just a recording mechanism. I haven't made a mod for this, as I don't want to start a slippery slope with snacking. Also, if my weight starts to go up, I can look back at number of reds and see what's going on.

If you're losing a pound a week, I'd say the Universe is telling you that you are on to something

Thanks for the feedback and good advice, friends.

VC, I'll just add that if you've been stopping at one piece under pressure that's more a sign of a success than fail.