Everyday Systems

I keep gaining and losing the same two pounds over and over. After my new med caused my weight to jump up, I thought I would figure out my calorie intake to get an idea of how much I was consuming ( I know, I know. The dreaded calorie counting). I was shocked. It's not the fault of no s. I am still indulging in two sugary drinks a day. My s days were adding up to a crazy amount, even on days where I didn't feel like I did that much damage. I know that no s is the right way. I'm not following the rules, so how can I expect a good outcome? I'm hoping that writing this will cause me to make changes and be more responsible. Not ready to give up yet.

Well, at least you know why it's not happening for you!

Sounds like it's time to modify what's on your plate on your N days - and what you are drinking maybe. I got myself a 9" plate some time ago - and that has reduced the amount I eat at each meal quite a bit.

With the sugary drinks, maybe you could aim to cut down from two-a-day, to one-a-day? It's important that you don't feel deprived!

I hope you get some more advice here from long-term No S people - all I can say is - well done for posting - and keep going! xxx

Thanks for the reply! I think starting tomorrow, I will set the limit to one sugary drinks. That includes soda, fancy coffee drinks ( like Starbucks mocha), and chocolate milk.I've learned things on no s that are important. I no longer feel like I can't resist sweets, which is major for me. Also, I make sure to include fruit and/ or veggies at most meals. I know N days are what really need to get under control first, but my calorie counting check showed me that I snack too much weekends. I'd hate to impose rules on s days, but maybe just keeping my usual three a day routine but allowing a few favorite treats. I just want to enjoy food and live my life. I'm tired of obsessing. I need to get some self control over my caloric beverages and not give in when I'm hungry between meals.

Good for you for posting and not just giving up!

I know the appreciation for a delicious mocha--that's my favorite treat to go get on an S day!

Maybe on N days, you could experiment with finding something else to enjoy:

Instead of a specialty coffee, try:
Hot tea with sugar (my favorite is Constant Comment)
coffee with a flavored creamer--those have a lot fewer calories than a specialty coffee but still taste yummy

Experiment and see if you can find some N-day approved substitutes .

Thanks, Merry! I did buy some creamer that is caramel macciato flavor and it only takes a tablespoon to make my coffee delicious! I'll definitely use this on n days. Interesting thing, I planned out my meals today, and logged them on calorie tracker. It shows the macros.... and my carb/fat/protein all turn out to be in the exact proportions that they are supposed to be. This shows me that when I eat according to no s, it all falls into place without counting or stressing. Absolutely fascinating.

MaggieMae wrote:I planned out my meals today, and logged them on calorie tracker. It shows the macros.... and my carb/fat/protein all turn out to be in the exact proportions that they are supposed to be.

Great! what proportions of fat/prot/carb do you shoot for?

My fitness pal preset the goals for me at carbs 50%, fat 30%, and protein20%. I have no idea if that's typical. I left it alone because I don't know that much about macros.

Progress... My son has meetings every Tuesday afternoon at the autism center. Last Tuesday was stressful so on the way home I got a giant cookie and a mtn dew. Today was even worse. I came home and made myself a" cocktail" of 4 oz fruit juice and 2oz seltzer water. Put it in a pretty cocktail glass, too. Every day is a learning process. My problems aren't going to go away if I eat a cookie.

MaggieMae wrote:Progress... My son has meetings every Tuesday afternoon at the autism center. Last Tuesday was stressful so on the way home I got a giant cookie and a mtn dew. Today was even worse. I came home and made myself a" cocktail" of 4 oz fruit juice and 2oz seltzer water. Put it in a pretty cocktail glass, too. Every day is a learning process. My problems aren't going to go away if I eat a cookie.

YAY!! Good for you (but I'm sorry it was a stressful day).

MaggieMae wrote: My problems aren't going to go away if I eat a cookie.

I absolutely love this comment. So true.

Good work! Well done! Be Gone Mountain Dew!!!

Well done MaggieMae! You picked up on the pattern and chose a different response, that's awesome.

I think you are quite right to focus on N day compliance before S days mods. Good luck!

I'm getting nowhere too. 26 days and not a pound or inch lost.

I'm going to kick up the exercise to see if that changes things.

The only reason at this point that I am still hanging on is that I promised myself I would give this a year (because of oolala's suggestion) and I know the drastic reduction in my sugar consumption is very good for me regardless of whether I see results or not.

Chili pepper, I'm trying really hard to convince myself that even if I never lose a pound, I need to stay on no s. It keeps my blood sugar from going crazy for one thing. I'm not in that mindset yet, but I'm hanging in there. I have so many mental issues to deal with regarding food. It's not going to happen quickly. Was it in the book or on the forum that I read something to the effect of " you're not responsible for the outcome, you're just responsible for keeping the habit"? Ugh. I'm sure I butchered that. I need to find the quote I'm thinking of because that's what I'm focusing on.... Following the habit. Getting as many green days as possible. That's MY job. If I do that, my body will fall in line and do it's job. I'm rambling now. Haha. I will say this, I started in November and made it through the holidays without gaining weight. There's a plus!

Okay, Ipulled out my copy of the book. When I read it, I highlighted things that stood out to me. On page 130, it says " When you focus on behavior, you get results thrown into the bargain because behavior causes results. When you focus on results, you get neither because results cannot exist without behavior." Anyway, that's what I'm trying to focus on. It would nice to see a big drop on the scales though.

Thanks so much for posting that. 😃