Everyday Systems

Happy to report, our household has gone No S!

We're a homeschooling family, very traditional, and one thing we've seen come from being home all day (a very undesirable thing) is that the children end up grazing all day in the kitchen. By the time meals are served, no one is hungry, and no wonder - everyone's eating all day long practically. We spend a lot of money on food products, but because of the sheer volume we need to feed everyone in their bad snacking habits, we've opted out of buying "quality" in the past.

I was telling my hubbie about No S recently, and about some other books I've been reading that hold a similar theory - moderation. While talking, we agreed that we needed to get our children into a eating routine much like No S. Our son is already obese, our daughter is gaining, and our youngest, we know, will end up with the same problems.

A solution is what we needed, but could never seem to find what worked best. We've read the studies about dieting effects on children, and knew that putting our kids on a "diet" was a total last resort. And in truth, we have the best resources for good foods: we grow gardens every year, eat organic meats from local ranchers. We would typically "put up" our veggies from the gardens, whatever we don't eat during the summer, but got into a rut the last couple of not ordering our meats, giving away the fresh veggies.

My husband and I made a pact to go back to buying good beef and meats, and stop giving away the incredible vegetables we grow in our gardens. We decided to stop buying snacks, and start buying only good stuff in the grocery stores. Actually, my husband was thrilled. He said that he was certain we'd save hundreds of dollars every year by not eating out as much (we cut back drastically before going NoS, but not all the way), and buying meats in bulk again. As pricey as a whole cow is, it's nothing compared to what we'd pay in the supermarket. Not to mention, not buying snack crackers, popcorn, cookies and candies!

So we're all NoSing - and it's going smoother than I thought it would. We're still new in theory, but so far, so good.

Anyone else with NoS households?

That's really awesome novelgirl!! Good for you and your husband in creating good habits with/for you and your children. He is right in how much money you will save on your food costs, not buying the crap food, buying a whole or half a cow and growing so many of your own veggies.
Maybe you could save that money and go on a lovely family trip somewhere in a year.


EDIT: My cat refuses to No S with me.

anovelgirl,

cool that you're whole family can do it together!

it is only me and my husband who does not nos BUT it makes his life MUCH easier and better that i do

i think the great thing about No S is that it works either way, personally my husband loves me nosing because i am not so rigid, crazy, obsessed not fun with food! or crazy out of control miserable gaining weight either!

Blueskighs

Great for you and your family!!

Ya know, since it's summer my kids have been grazing all day too and like your kids, mine are never hungry for the healthy food served during meals.

I actually started No S-ing my kids back in April but I still allowed them a snack after school. (They're usually STARVING!) But when I fell off the wagon the whole family did too.

But thanks for reminding me that I need to get the kids back on track too. The truth is that this was simply a way of life when I was growing up. We ate 3 meals a day (Mom wouldn't let us spoil our appetites in between meals) and occasionally, we'd have a dessert. Maybe once in a blue moon we'd all go out to eat but that was pretty rare and always a big treat for us.

My 2 oldest girls (16 and 6) are actually on the thin side but I worry about my 5 year old. She's chunky. I don't want her to get teased at school, but then again, I don't want her telling a shrink some day that her mother made her go on a diet when she was 5! LOL! I think this is the perfect way to go!

Thank you so much for reminding me and keep us posted on the progress.

Oh, and I think you're WAYYY ahead of alot of people in growing your own veggies and buying large amounts of meat at a time. With the way gas prices are food prices are likely to follow.

I like the idea of doing it as a family over the summer. We do a modified version - sticking to three meals, though the rest of the family may have a dessert or two during the week.

For a growing kid, I do allow a morning/afternoon snack if requested...but just one, from a limited choice of healthy options. I figure if my son isn't hungry for an apple, he's really not hungry! ("Snacks" and "desserts" are two very different things in our house.) But my son is normal size, and at an age where he goes through rather dramatic growth spurts with an accompanying need for food, so that modification works for us.

Good luck with the change!

Wow, even I haven't done that!

Though I do find the concept of S-days useful in limiting sweets for the kids. It's very easy for them to understand, and seems less arbitrary and unpredictable than the alternative of "not now."

Reinhard

reinhard wrote:Wow, even I haven't done that!

Reinhard

Yes, I'm just a pioneer in parenting....ha - just kidding....

My husband called me to tell me he'd started No-S this morning. He made it till 11, at which point he had a snack. He cracks me up.

We are not a No S household, but I notice by osmosis my husband is being influenced. I have noticed when he shops, he now passing up buying chips at the store (his favorite snack food). When we have dinner I frequently hear him say "I've had enough", and pass up on seconds. I haven't said a thing to him, except announced one day I think I found a great plan that will work for me and told him about the 3 rules and the exception. I don't talk about this plan, I just do it and I think he sees that.

This plan is so nice and it is effortless for me at this point, not a lot of thought goes into it, it is just how I eat now. The only thinking part for me is I look a little closer at what I am going to put on my plate. Since I can't go back for seconds, I think in a more balanced way about what I am going to eat for my meals. I choose more veggies and fruits now at meal time, since I can't say to myself I'll snack on those later -- something I would never end up doing anyway!

Well we are empty nesters, so hubby and I are no Sing, the dog sees no reason why she should have to!!

the dog sees no reason why she should have to!!

CatholicCajun,

that is so cute!

I think my kitty would revolt if I tried to put her on NO S ... and as my petsitter says, she is "small but mighty" so I think I'll leave that alone,

Blueskighs

Yes, our little fur babies have minds of their own. Ours is has gotten even smarter as she ages. We laughed because there was a program on the animal channel I think and one rule was not to feed your dog from the table, not to put the dog in the bed and I forgot what the third rule was, well we laughed because we had broken all the rules! She knows that we give her little bites as we eat, and AFTER we eat she goes and eats her food, smart dog!!