Everyday Systems

I had an interesting email exchange last week that got me thinking.

An individual had visited nosdiet.com and emailed me about how excited she was to get started. To paraphrase a bit, she wrote:

"When I read these simple, commonsense rules, I was like, DUH, I should have thought of that!"

I responded that I was happy about her excitement and agreed about the nosdiet's compelling obviousness, but warned her that it takes more than an initial flash of enthusiasm to make it work, that she should brace herself for difficulties.

Difficulties didn't wait long to come, as she wrote just a day later. She vowed to get right back on the wagon, and for all I know (and hope!) she's still there, but I think her initial experience is all too common for new no-essers, and often where it ends.

I call it the "DUH" factor. It's powerful, but it's not enough. It'll hook you, and motivate you to get started, which is important, but it's not going to see you through the inevitable difficulties. Recognize it, use it, but be aware that it takes more, it takes diligence. The real power of "DUH," beyond that initial push, is as a lever for diligence to get more done. But the lever won't move itself, you still need diligence.

Reinhard

Yes, Reinhard, the thing I found that didn't work with those "listen to your body" programs is that my body cannot always be trusted! I've got to throw a little brain power into the mix too. I think we can easily train our bodies to expect more in quantity, so we need to use our heads and retrain our bodies that they don't need so much to survive. And, in the opposite direction, that we do need some healthy sustenance to survive also.....starvation, lopsided diets aren't what do it in the long run either.

Combining both body and brain.....another DUH moment!

Peetie

I've found, over the past few weeks, that now when my body tells me its hungry or whatever, it usually means it. The "I'm bored" or "I'm upset" substitution hunger signals are less frequent, and also more easily distinguished.
That is, I am now more confident in listening to my body, because I'm learning how to listen to it. I'm also learning how to make my body listen to me. Its an ongoing process, and sometimes its not easy, but I feel better about it as time goes by.

Reinhard! Please don't go and rename this the"Duh diet" though! LOL....
Love,
Duhhhhhhhh,,,,,,,
Wait,,,,,oh yeah!!
Deb

Hey Sibyl! We cross-posted! Ha ha...
Good for you on recognizing "false" hunger vs. real.......
It's amazing what we can convince ourselves into... Yes it's very easy to say "Hmmm,,,,I *could* have something to eat...", but does it mean we are truly hungry?
Real hunger is normally accompanied by other physical reminders, such as our stomachs rumbling, from really feeling empty....
Just because we could accomodate, small bits of food into our stomach throughout the day, doesn't mean we should.... Unless I've had a messed up day where I don't really get my meals in within a human timeframe, I am totally fine with waiting for my next meal....
Boredom/Lonliness eating is a huge problem for many of us...
If Reinhard ever makes a follow up sequel to NoS, I hope he can create an everyday system for that one! But really, it falls under the NOS umbrella quite well... I think that when we really start to enjoy our food, via our new found feelings and respect for our bodies, and also via S days, little by little, we get more and more deprogrammed to associate food with "bad" feelings... NoS is so positive and insists that we cultivate a pleasurable experience with our food, that it seems to be a common experience amongst many of the members, that "S'sses" when not eaten at the "right time" are just not pleasurable anymore... It's pretty much programmed into the plan! So, in closing I just want to say,,,,,
Well, DUH!!!!
Seriously, the proof is in the pudding here, and I am putting my money on Reinhard one day receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for this baby!
Peace and Love,
Deb

I explain the No-S diet to others this way:

It's always simple, but it's not always easy.

Do you ever read those magazines where they compare a bunch of different diets (Atkins, Zone, South Beach, etc) and have experts weigh in on the strengths and weaknesses of each?

In the end, the usual conclusion is that the best approach is moderation. My response has always been, "Great, Moderation....WHAT THE %$##$% DOES THAT MEAN?!?!?!?" The reason I'm a big tubba lard is because I couldn't self moderate. If I could moderate, I wouldn't be reading your stupid magazine to figure out what plan will tell me what I need to do.

NoS to me is the way of moderation, it lays out good rules for what moderation means. Plus, it's simple. I know I've only been on it a week, but it feels different for me, this time around. Before, I always knew at some point I'd be going off the diet...and I never really knew what that was going to be. Usually, when I lost the weight...I'd be good for a month or so...and then ramp up my eating to previous levels, and trick myself that if I exercised harder it would be fine.

Thanks, Reinhard, for putting this on the internet, and taking the time to moderate the boards, and lay down the Quicktimes!

Everything worth having takes effort.

Thanks Reinhard!

Buffalo Gal

I'm glad you dug this up again, BrightAngel. I'm fond of it too -- and had completely forgotten about it. I think I'll link to it from the "DUH" on the home page...

Enjoyed this topic immensely! Thanks everybody for your insights. I really needed them this morning .... since I had my first RED day yesterday in 22 days. But I am feeling good about my abilities to continue this morning! I believe I have done quite well in my 22 days!

Thanks again Reinhard, for a plan I KNOW I can live with. " NO DUH."

Foxylady

I know I've only been on it a week, but it feels different for me,

prodigalson, that has been my experience exactly ... No S just feels different for me...
as for the DUH factor ... it is definitely there ... but I find the explicitness of no snacks no sweets and no seconds give me the actual guidelines that are for me necessary to put this into action so to speak ...

Blueskighs

This is a great thread!

In the past I had come up with some of the No S components on my own. Like the "Today is Not Thanksgiving" diet, where I would keep reminding myself that there was a feast day, just not today. It didn't work! I also tried waiting 4 hours between eating. I figured if babies could be made to wait for a bottle, then certainly I could wait! That didn't work either! I even tried limiting my sweets....I'll buy this bag of treats and only eat a few, so it will last longer. But then I would binge and eat it all!

Thanks, Reinhard, for coming up with No S and sharing it!

In looking at the original page Reinhard wrote as a bit of explaining of the 14 words (because a newbie on Spark was asking so many questions), I came across a link to this thread and decided to bump it up.

It's too bad some people who have quit because they got too discouraged after having the statistical honeymoon don't see this, since they probably don't look at new (to them) threads and won't get an email telling them there's a new post. Perhaps we should team up and allot sending the link to a few names of the recent early excited members whose thread fizzled out. Of course, that's a lot more work than No S is supposed to represent and not in keeping with Reinhard's lack of widespread proselytizing and ability to just let the interested come to him. (I found it better not to talk to anyone about No S until I had good enough results that others asked, but most dismissed it. At least these members are already here.) I wish there was a way to send something to more than one check-in thread at a time.

Here's hope that those who need the message see it.

It took me a year to really get it down, and even now I have my shaky moments. Being on the forum has helped heaps.

No S has seemed exactly that to me - simple, but not always easy.

People have brains and can follow logic, hence the "Duh!" moment. But we're also creatures of habit, and social animals, so as long as I'm living within a culture where snacking, overeating and daily sweet "treats" are the norm, I'll need at least a little bit of diligence to keep moderation going.

LOL, yes--"If I could moderate, I wouldn't be reading Your stupid magazine..."

I stay with no-s because it teaches moderation. As I often say, I can lose with any diet--but I know as soon as I stop, I'll gain it all back and more as I have before. I'd rather lose slowly or even plateau than continue the yo-yo habit. (And I think it's kind of ironic for a magazine article to say that moderation is best in the context of writing about some diet that requires cutting out food groups or continuously tracking calories or points etc...!)

I tend to shout ironic replies to most diet articles I read...along the lines of what you just said, Merry. 'If it were that easy to cut out wheat, sugar, bla bla, then I wouldn't be reading your article, duh!' Actually, I have considered making my own publishing fortune (😉😉😉) bringing out a book called Moderate Calorie Counting, based on the radical idea of setting a maintenance target from the outset. But No S is a better way of ensuring moderation, as any calorie target can be abused (I find) by allowing too much leeway for chocolate, my dreaded weakness. It sort of pacifies the addiction at first, but it keeps it alive and kicking. No S is tough, as Reinhard has made clear on this thread, but it does address these things.

Anyway, after a chocolate-ridden pair of S days, I am now facing my first-for-a-while week of N days. Wondering about starting a check-in, but afraid it will be too alarming, or possibly too repetitive, for others to read. 😂😂I already keep a journal, which is why I haven't done a check in before, and believe me, I can write for hours about my eating habits. But perhaps I will give it a go...

I have long said that people shouldn't be aiming right off the bat at lowering calories, but just as Reinhard recommends, concentrate on habit, even if it means ending up eating the same amount of food for awhile. Start at the highest possible calories! But that works only if the person is willing to hang in there and really keep doing what she promised. You sure can't tell what effect the habit will have before you actually do it! Others' experience may not fit at all.

My book will expound on that; I won't use your title, Octavia.

No, there are already too many stickies. If no one is posting,, and new threads are started, it's going to get moved down. Bumping will go only to those who are following the thread.