Everyday Systems

WOW! Posting here for the first time as I can't believe I have finally found what so far (6 weeks) is becoming a sustainable, enjoyable, and a solid habit that is resulting in weight loss!

Explaining NOT throwing the baby out with the bathwater; I am a 3-time Vanilla Flunky...gave up each time after about 3 weeks as it just did not work for me for many reasons, and I gained a pound or two each time.

So, determined not to completely give up on the IDEA of NoS, as the alternative "calorie accountant" or "food group eliminating" is something I just cannot face again, I came across Lifeisablessing's method/mod, and 3-0-7 girl, and was inspired to find my own way as well.

So 6 weeks ago I committed to this:

3 meals a day, 7 days a week:

ANYTHING I WANT at each meal
AS MUCH as I need to feel pleasantly full at each meal
Water to drink between meals
Caloric beverage between meals ONLY if hunger is very strong and/or if a meal is delayed.

RESULTS over the past 6 weeks:

I am losing an average of .5 to 1 pound per week

My meals are gradually getting smaller without any effort, as I truly feel full with less food now. Truly mind blowing.

My meal choices (which are dictated by what I truly crave) are quickly becoming WAY more healthy and balanced. My strongest cravings at most meals are now for fresh fruit, all kinds of veggies, quality protein and healthier complex carbs. I still want my refined simple carbs sometimes too, but a small serving is plenty satisfying now (what?!).

I am craving sweets WAAAAYYY less, and am satisfied with much smaller quantities. After the first two weeks or so, I am only craving a fraction of my previous amount of sweets-and only about once every other day. For me, this is a miracle, it's like all those nutritious balanced meals I am now eating reduced the need for sugar all the time! (Insert "duh" moment here...)

So, ultimately I only committed to doing a "1" S diet (no snacking) and it has naturally and automatically gravitated toward becoming almost compliant with the other 2 S's (no sweets no seconds) as my body is adjusting to going without food for several hours each day, and the HABIT is also so strong now it feels ODD and unusual now to even consider eating outside of breakfast lunch or dinner! AMEN to that!

And lastly I HAVE to mention this; the side effect that has been truly life altering for me is the enormous amount of "brain space" that is freed up so I can focus on my LIFE between meals because I am no longer:

Always thinking about food
Spending too much time planning/measuring my food
Feeling depressed because I can't stick to any diet
Hungry all the time on a way too restrictive diet
Eating so much I need a nap and feel awful because "what the hell" effect of dieting
Searching endlessly for the "next best diet plan" soooo much wasted time!!!

Thank you to Reinhardt and those who dare to share how they made this plan their own, which has lit the path for me as well to find a mod to make it work!

Congratulations, Jennie! So happy you've found a way to get NoS to work for you. It truly is freeing, and so neat that you discovered all the things about yourself and your changing food preferences over the past 6 weeks.

Welcome aboard!

Fantastic! I think this fits the No S ethic very well. You still have your own version of "bright line" guidelines. You are basically phasing the S's in. Very habit-friendly as well. It's always better to start slowly, I think. Otherwise, what will you do when the plateaus happen? You have plenty of room to keep adjusting downward as you're more ready.

Hope the fourth time is a charm... Just keep going!

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Congrats on a good start.

That's great, congratulations!

congratulations!!
great news!!

Thank you for all the encouragement!

Welcome, Jennie! I also have implemented the same mod you have, after coming back to No S the third time. At first the sweet mod was small pieces of whatever pie or cake was left from the weekend, then gradually I found I prefer something smaller, like a mini Milky Way bar or one dove choc. There are even times I forget to eat a sweet after dinner! I do tend to eat more on weekends where everyone in the house expects me to bake something, so I still consider the weekends S-days. But those S-days (for the most part) are more controlled, knowing now I don't "have to" cram it all in before Monday

I wish you well on your No S journey!

Dear Jennie J.:
CONGRATULATIONS!!! I am a first-time No-S implementer, but I have also been marveling at how much mental energy seems to have gotten freed up, and how I no longer feel down and depressed because I "can't stick to anything" in terms of healthy/ordered (as opposed to unhealthy/disordered) eating. That list at the end could have been written by me, so similar!
AGAIN - congratulations.
It's strange, to me, that "No S" is so capable of restoring sanity.
It may have taken you several attempts, but who cares?
You are on a path now that is WORKING.

The success stories are invaluable for other No S fans, especially for those like me who are constant non-starters who wonder whether this could ever work.

I am over the moon for you and the success you have achieved. Keep going and doing what you are doing.

Anne

Hi. I started the plan back in november and it hasnt worked for me so far as it i am an emotional eater. I will start afresh tomorrow with the 3-0-7 plan. Great to here your doing so well.

I was an emotional eater, too, or so I thought. However, when I really examined it, it turned out that I often ascribed something emotional to the eating in the aftermath, meaning it may not have been the real reason I ate at all. I got clear how much pain it was costing me, so just about NO reason became acceptable for eating between meals. Mad? I can be mad and not eat. Overwhelmed? Get in line! Happy? Feel the bubbly feeling and rejoice in the ambience!

I decided that the urges or thoughts to eat were all just there to perpetuate the habit, not really help me cope. I started to accept that just about anything besides gambling, boozing, or destroying property were fair game for coping. Surf the net, write here or on other sites, shop (without buying) sleep, watch TV, do crossword puzzles or sudoku. Even things that might have seemed like a waste of time. Could they really be more of a waste of time than reinforcing the overeating habit that was wearing out my innards and leaving me feeling bloated and dejected? Hold out against the urges and give yourself some experiences of life without the dependence.

Babybird, don't accept the hype. You are not helpless. You are totally capable of riding the emotional eating urge wave. It may be for only 5 minutes the first time, but what surfer ever rode every wave perfectly in the beginning?

That's great, Jennie! So glad I read this today because I just started my own mod of no snacks even on weekends and I can have one sweet thing a day. I am cutting out the snacks because it makes me out of control. I'm like a shark.... Once i get a taste it sets off a feeding frenzy! The one sweet a day thing is because its summer and I want to be able to hi out for ice cream or have dessert if my parents are over for dinner. Last night, I didn't even eat a dessert! I was full and satisfiedyfrom dinner. Keep up the great work!