Hi there,
I've noticed from a lot of people's postings that they talk about having a great first month or so on No S, and that suddenly it gets hard. I'm really struggling with the same problem. I screwed up for a while due to being off of my antidepressant. Once I started back on the antidepressant, I jumped back onto the wagon, but I find I'm straggling a lot more--I've had more failures, I'm not exercising as intensely (I still exercise, just not as much), and my S-days have sometimes been real doozies.
My work has gotten to be much more intense and I find I'm exhausted a lot more. I've also found that sometimes I get to be incredibly, ragingly hungry (it's physical, not mental). These factors have contributed to me exercising less and sometimes eating more, and it is hard to stick to my goals.
What do any of you successful folks do to keep on going? (By the way, I've got all sorts of nasty psychological issues around eating and body image which perversely can cause me to eat more...)
--H
2nd month slump (or 3rd, or 4th...)
Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating
Sorry to hear you are struggling but I know what you are talking about. I just finished my best week in a long time last week. I made healthy meals, I read, took time to relax and meditated. I went to a wonderful show at the local performing arts center and life was good. Work still was stressful like always but I told myself good things about it and took time to occasionally take a deep breath and put things in perspective. It was a lot of work because I am not used to dealing with stress in this manner. Food was always a quick fix.
Then Friday my husband found out he doesn't need 1 hearing aid, he needs 2. They are not covered by insurance so it will be close to $7000.00. Felt anger, frustration and fear.
My 31 year old daughter needs all kinds of dental work done and is in pain because she has no dental insurance and can only afford to have a little done at a time. We can't afford to help. Felt frustration, helplessness and again anger.
Had to put in 11 hours on Saturday to catch up at work. I dug in and worked very hard telling myself I was setting the groundwork for a better upcoming week. Came home and as a reward for working so hard, I spontaneously invited friends to supper and had a wonderful time.
Sunday, threw my back out on my only day off for the week. Limped around all day. Felt frustrated, angry and sorry for myself. I ate a ton of popcorn after supper.
Monday, got a large load of work dumped on my desk and it rained emails and phone calls all day. I feel like my 11 hour Saturday was a waste of time. Felt frustrated, angry, abused and underappreciated. I came home today and ate almost non-stop until 10 PM.
What is the purpose of all this dialogue? Last week when I was taking care of myself, I made it through the stresses of life and felt good about myself and my progress toward getting healthier.
Then the load got heavier and I gave in for a day or two. Out of all that load above, I only really abused one day and I am up after midnight because I have heartburn.
So, I will start again tomorrow and I will do my best. That is all any of us can do. We need to practice good and healthy eating but for us emotional eaters, it is even more important to practice surviving life's emotional detours using means other than food. Food is easy. Dealing with stress creatively is hard. We all need to work at learning the new habits of No S eating. And for us stress eaters, there is one more habit we need to form and that is slowing down long enough to stop the mindless emotional eating madness. It isn't our out of control appetites that are tripping us up. It is our way of dealing with life's ups and downs. I have been choosing easy outs all my life and it is hard work making better choices.
I will start again tomorrow. I thank you for posting this today because it helped me recommit. I will take a deep breathe...then another one...then I will remember what I am striving for...take another deep breathe...put the vending machine change away and make a cup of tea.
How about you? I know you can do it, Hexagon.
Then Friday my husband found out he doesn't need 1 hearing aid, he needs 2. They are not covered by insurance so it will be close to $7000.00. Felt anger, frustration and fear.
My 31 year old daughter needs all kinds of dental work done and is in pain because she has no dental insurance and can only afford to have a little done at a time. We can't afford to help. Felt frustration, helplessness and again anger.
Had to put in 11 hours on Saturday to catch up at work. I dug in and worked very hard telling myself I was setting the groundwork for a better upcoming week. Came home and as a reward for working so hard, I spontaneously invited friends to supper and had a wonderful time.
Sunday, threw my back out on my only day off for the week. Limped around all day. Felt frustrated, angry and sorry for myself. I ate a ton of popcorn after supper.
Monday, got a large load of work dumped on my desk and it rained emails and phone calls all day. I feel like my 11 hour Saturday was a waste of time. Felt frustrated, angry, abused and underappreciated. I came home today and ate almost non-stop until 10 PM.
What is the purpose of all this dialogue? Last week when I was taking care of myself, I made it through the stresses of life and felt good about myself and my progress toward getting healthier.
Then the load got heavier and I gave in for a day or two. Out of all that load above, I only really abused one day and I am up after midnight because I have heartburn.
So, I will start again tomorrow and I will do my best. That is all any of us can do. We need to practice good and healthy eating but for us emotional eaters, it is even more important to practice surviving life's emotional detours using means other than food. Food is easy. Dealing with stress creatively is hard. We all need to work at learning the new habits of No S eating. And for us stress eaters, there is one more habit we need to form and that is slowing down long enough to stop the mindless emotional eating madness. It isn't our out of control appetites that are tripping us up. It is our way of dealing with life's ups and downs. I have been choosing easy outs all my life and it is hard work making better choices.
I will start again tomorrow. I thank you for posting this today because it helped me recommit. I will take a deep breathe...then another one...then I will remember what I am striving for...take another deep breathe...put the vending machine change away and make a cup of tea.
How about you? I know you can do it, Hexagon.
A lot of growing up happens between "it fell" and "I dropped it."
The more I can find "self-care" that does not involve food, the better I do.
And yes, it's harder when I'm stressed.
I currently am doing Reinhard's "punch card" system. Writing down "No-S" as a daily goal helps me - I loooove crossing off those "done" items. Putting down "exercise" works the same way. Minor motivators, but it helps. And I am writing a "mantra" across the top for stress-days, which I see every time I look at my to-do list.
Deep breath. Sending you support and care, and hoping you find some solutions.
And yes, it's harder when I'm stressed.
I currently am doing Reinhard's "punch card" system. Writing down "No-S" as a daily goal helps me - I loooove crossing off those "done" items. Putting down "exercise" works the same way. Minor motivators, but it helps. And I am writing a "mantra" across the top for stress-days, which I see every time I look at my to-do list.
Deep breath. Sending you support and care, and hoping you find some solutions.
I think it gets harder for some people because 1) the novelty wears off 2) progress is slow and 3) stress rears its ugly head.
One and two are hard to do anything about except mentally budget for. Nothing stays novel forever, and slow, sustainable loss and maintenance is the point of the No S Diet.
As for stress, it's also inevitable. But there are things you can do to brace yourself for it.
1. keep your focus on a sustainable minimum of compliance instead of one-off heroics. The most important function of each day's behavior is not its physical results, but its place in the chain of habit, its role in keeping your habit going. When stress comes, tell yourself "I just have to make a token effort, just to keep the habit going. I'm not going to care how hard I exercise today, as long as I do it at all. I'm not going to care how big my plates are today, as long as I stick with one per meal. I'm not going to begrudge myself a glass of milk in the afternoon when I get hungry, as long as there's no cookie with it."
2. Sometimes stress will get the better of you no matter how hard you try. Even I, years into these habits, founder's zeal and all, (very) occasionally miss a day of shovelglove or allow myself to be pressured into breaking a No-s rule. Be honest about these failures. And limit them. One day is regrettable but inevitable. Two is pushing it. And it should never be more than that. Don't beat yourself up, just hit the brakes hard. Marking green/yellow/red for success/exempt/failure on a calender helps. Just make sure not to stop marking when failure happens -- that's the most important thing to mark.
3. I know this is hard to believe when the world seems to be collapsing around you, but in times of stress routine is more important than it usually is, not less. An island of regularity in a sea of chaos gives you a stable base of operations from which to address those other stresses. Lose that island and everything is just drifting.
Reinhard
One and two are hard to do anything about except mentally budget for. Nothing stays novel forever, and slow, sustainable loss and maintenance is the point of the No S Diet.
As for stress, it's also inevitable. But there are things you can do to brace yourself for it.
1. keep your focus on a sustainable minimum of compliance instead of one-off heroics. The most important function of each day's behavior is not its physical results, but its place in the chain of habit, its role in keeping your habit going. When stress comes, tell yourself "I just have to make a token effort, just to keep the habit going. I'm not going to care how hard I exercise today, as long as I do it at all. I'm not going to care how big my plates are today, as long as I stick with one per meal. I'm not going to begrudge myself a glass of milk in the afternoon when I get hungry, as long as there's no cookie with it."
2. Sometimes stress will get the better of you no matter how hard you try. Even I, years into these habits, founder's zeal and all, (very) occasionally miss a day of shovelglove or allow myself to be pressured into breaking a No-s rule. Be honest about these failures. And limit them. One day is regrettable but inevitable. Two is pushing it. And it should never be more than that. Don't beat yourself up, just hit the brakes hard. Marking green/yellow/red for success/exempt/failure on a calender helps. Just make sure not to stop marking when failure happens -- that's the most important thing to mark.
3. I know this is hard to believe when the world seems to be collapsing around you, but in times of stress routine is more important than it usually is, not less. An island of regularity in a sea of chaos gives you a stable base of operations from which to address those other stresses. Lose that island and everything is just drifting.
Reinhard
I am also a stress eater.
When I look back at my first successful No S days, I find that I kept things simple. I followed those 14 simple words, just as they are written. I did not try and add my own twist to them. This is when I was successful on No S.
Then I decided in all my wisdom that I could improve on this perfection and start restricting my S days, reducing my quantities on my plate - so on and so on. I managed to make this so complicated that I was back to any other complicated weightloss plan.
It has taken me about a year to realise this - I am a slow learner! - and come back to No S (plain and simple).
But I realise while writing this that I have started 'tweaking' again! I have moved my S day to be Friday night to Sunday late afternoon - this does not really work!
So here and now I am committing to following No S (just those 14 simple words) without my embelishments.
On the exercise issue. I am also going to follow Reinhard's recommendation of rather doing a little consistently than a lot sporadically.
I have found something that works for me (proved it last time I lost weight), it is very simple and anyone I tell about it says that it cannot possibly work as it is too simple. However for me that is the beauty, it is so simple that I have no excuse not to do it and I can squeeze it into my hectic morning routine and then feel pumped all day because I have done my exercise.
For me who has been an exercise hater all my life, this 8 min in the morning is a god send and something I can see myself doing in 10 years time. If in years to come, I have more time I will try and get back to my Yoga, but at present it is not a viable option.
Hexagon my suggestion would be - take the No S back to basics as well as your exercise and you may find it easier to ride out life's bumps and potholes.
When I look back at my first successful No S days, I find that I kept things simple. I followed those 14 simple words, just as they are written. I did not try and add my own twist to them. This is when I was successful on No S.
Then I decided in all my wisdom that I could improve on this perfection and start restricting my S days, reducing my quantities on my plate - so on and so on. I managed to make this so complicated that I was back to any other complicated weightloss plan.
It has taken me about a year to realise this - I am a slow learner! - and come back to No S (plain and simple).
But I realise while writing this that I have started 'tweaking' again! I have moved my S day to be Friday night to Sunday late afternoon - this does not really work!
So here and now I am committing to following No S (just those 14 simple words) without my embelishments.
On the exercise issue. I am also going to follow Reinhard's recommendation of rather doing a little consistently than a lot sporadically.
I have found something that works for me (proved it last time I lost weight), it is very simple and anyone I tell about it says that it cannot possibly work as it is too simple. However for me that is the beauty, it is so simple that I have no excuse not to do it and I can squeeze it into my hectic morning routine and then feel pumped all day because I have done my exercise.
For me who has been an exercise hater all my life, this 8 min in the morning is a god send and something I can see myself doing in 10 years time. If in years to come, I have more time I will try and get back to my Yoga, but at present it is not a viable option.
Hexagon my suggestion would be - take the No S back to basics as well as your exercise and you may find it easier to ride out life's bumps and potholes.
Hugs from Sunny South Africa
Vanilla No S with no Sugar due to Health issues - 11 yrs No S - September 2016 (some good, some bad (my own doing) but always the right thing for me!)
Vanilla No S with no Sugar due to Health issues - 11 yrs No S - September 2016 (some good, some bad (my own doing) but always the right thing for me!)