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whoa, Nellie!

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 3:26 pm
by oolala53
I know I'm hardly the first to fall off the wagon, down the gulch, and roll precariously toward the edge of the Grand Canyon--and this before any holiday eating has started! I mean Christmas eating. But, wow, in two 4-day stints of semi-binge eating (tow Thursdays and Fridays in a row, not all of them failures), I've got tight pants and skirts! How do people curb the urge to put the breaks on hard? I was doing so well. This slide has scared me. I have eaten a normal breakfast today and I packed my usual lunch, but I'm tempted to cut things out and have broth and greens for dinner... Can other people talk about how they came out of a tailspin? I don't want to be one of the ones who slouches away toward Deathlehem, never to be heard of again. I still think NoS is my best bet in the long run.

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 3:42 pm
by FarmerHal
oolala,
I've been falling off the wagon ALL YEAR. Try as I may, I haven't had one solid week of succesfull eating all year. :(

But, I just keep trying to get myself in order. I would love to know the magic 'thing' that will keep us both on track!

I have gone from 245 down to 209 in a year and then back up to 221 this year. :(

I have to commit to myself, visit the board, post often to my check in and habit cal. Strive for green!
This probably isn't helpful, but you're not alone, and keep trying meal by meal!

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 4:13 pm
by Blithe Morning
Well, I don't think there is wrong with intentionally choosing less calorie dense foods to fill your plate. So, if you want broth and greens and maybe a bit of bread for a night or two, then by all means do so. My father, who lived NO S, would often lighten up for a few days after rich foods.

I am betting that some of the tightness of your clothes is due to that bloat that comes from eating rich foods. I don't know if it's the salt or what but I seem a little puffier after extra indulgences.

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 4:26 pm
by NoelFigart
Well, the holidays are not a fantastic time to diet. I think holding your own is good.

I'm not saying everyone has to cope this way, but here's what I'm doing. I'm being as vanilla No-s as possible. If I have a sandwich and chex mix as my lunch, but it fits on the plate, it's still green. (In practice, it's not been that bad yet, but I've got a lot of party food hanging around from the Tree Decorating Party and I'm not going to set myself up for nonsense).

S-days? Off the hook entirely. I'm not even THINKING about corralling them until after the holidays are over. The lack of pressure is keeping me from gorging, and that's fine for now.

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:48 pm
by Betty
Ohhlala,

I'm in exactly the same boat. I've been No Sing for about 7 months, have lost more or less a pound a month-- until November, when everything started to slide.

I don't know why, but I've grown very complacent. It's like I think, "oh, well, a failure isn't so bad..." Though it clearly is, because when I fail I don't just "mark it and move on." I binge and feel guilty.

So it's not working. I realize that I need to get back on track, but I can't seem to muster the will power to reclaim the habit. Sigh.

I've started a holiday check-in to try to keep myself on track through December. If you like, you can post there too. Maybe a bit of comraderie will help us master this!

Best of luck.

Betty

Re: whoa, Nellie!

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 10:52 pm
by winnie96
oolala53 wrote:I have eaten a normal breakfast today and I packed my usual lunch, but I'm tempted to cut things out and have broth and greens for dinner...
For me, after a few days of indulgence, the single best thing to do to get back some semblance of control is eat a normal breakfast and lunch. I sometimes lighten up dinner a bit, but am careful not to skip protein as that is what seems to keep me from getting ravenous. Then I have one "success" day under my belt and try to build from there.

I, too, am using Noel's strategy for the holiday: "S-days? Off the hook entirely. I'm not even THINKING about corralling them until after the holidays are over." (Noel: well put!)

(BTW: I love the mental image of "corralling" S-Days, as well as your "falling off the wagon, down the gulch, and rolling ... toward the edge of the canyon!")

My only other suggestion would be this: I find that losing it over food is sometimes a result of losing it over something else in my life. It doesn't have to be anything huge, just enough upset to make me feel a little rushed or put upon or out of sorts. When I see myself eating crazily, I make extra sure to rely on my Personal Punch Cards to try to keep my life organized and in order -- and to make sure I am not skipping the routine things that tend to keep me grounded. The holidays can be quite a challenge in terms of both food and orderly living as so much of the usual routine disappears. Holding on to some base level of routine via the Punch Cards sometimes helps me in the food department, too.

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:23 pm
by starflower
Winnie, what are personal punch cards?

Oolala, a light meal is a great choice in my opinion...love those greens!

Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:37 pm
by Mavilu
I had to tweak; my husband is NOT observing any dietary rule on the basis that the Holiday Season come only once a year, therefore, the new rules are: I can have whatever as long as it's part of one of my three (or two) plates and as soon as I'm full, I stop.
Also: I'm not buying any goodies, I have enough with all the goodies I'm running into.
I might gain weight, but at least it's controlled and I know I'll lose it eventually during the course of the next year.

punch cards

Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 1:23 am
by oolala53
thanks, all! I forgot we had a Christmas lunch in our department today. I ate reasonably and passed up the cheesecake. It was easy.

Yeah, Winnie: what are punch cards?

Personal punch cards

Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 1:45 am
by la_loser
Personal punch cards are a part of Reinhard's Everyday Systems. To read the transcript or hear his podcast on Personal Punch Cards go to:

http://everydaysystems.com/podcast/episode.php?id=19

I've put all the podcasts on my iPod but you can listen to them directly through your computer.

They are a system of tracking your tasks, to do's, etc. that a lot of people have found effective for personal organization/productivity.

Some of the other podcasts are related as well.

I'm sure some of the others can give a more thorough explanation but since two people had asked I wanted to at least give you a tip on how to find out more.

Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 1:46 am
by winnie96
starflower:

Personal Punch Cards are part of another "Everyday System" from Reinhard. The best introduction is to go to the everydaysystems.com Home page, then click on "podcasts". Episodes 18, 19, and 20 deal with punchcards. (There is an option to view the transcript; you don't actually have to download to an iPod). Then if you use the "Search" feature on the Discussion Home page for "personal punch card" you can get even more information from comments by members.

What it is, basically, is using a daily index card to write down "things-to-do" for the day. What I find really useful is dividing the card into 3 columns: routine things to be done, to-do's specific to that day, and then my 3rd column I call "errands/offsite" which is places I have to go to accomplish what needs to be done (e.g. grocery shopping), or social events (e.g. dinner with friends, 6 pm), or anything that you need to leave the house to get done (return book to library, go to ATM, etc.)

It is the "Routine" column that is my anchor. Mine consists of simple things like morning stretches, skin care, floss/brush, take pills & vitamins, etc. then things that are routine for a specific day (e.g. I vacuum the house on Saturdays). Then I cross off each thing done and circle those not done for forwarding to a future day. I also put a little arrow in the bottom right hand corner for things that occur to me during the day that need to be scheduled for the future. (I know this sounds a little obsessive, but it really isn't -- it's just a sensible way to manage the many tasks we all have to deal with every day).

I think you would have to read about them, then tweak your usage to provide a level of motivation that will inspire you to (a) get things done and (b) enable you to focus on the things that keep you grounded. This would, obviously, be different for each person.

Like everything else with No-S, I think Punch Cards are a process ... you have to figure out what works for you. Just make sure not to turn them into just another frustrating to-do list.

Hope this explains -- if you have any more questions, do post them. I have found them to be just incredibly helpful for keeping my life in order, which then helps me to keeps my eating in order -- very synergistic! (I find them so useful in the whole No-S experience that I am actually pretty surprised that they don't get more play in the discussions).

Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:19 am
by starflower
Thank you LA Loser and Winnie for your punch card explanations. A bit longer into No S, I will definitely check out the podcasts, but I don't want to be overwhelmed. You know, "easy does it"...the punch cards do sound like they beat the pants off my nest of paper slip reminders that I stuff in my purse right now. For now, I have a lot of categories on HabitCal, and that food/exercise/health/visual reminder/record of success is rocking my world.