Hey, all you wonderful folks

[Phyllis]

Hello,
I am so grateful for the happy Providence which led me to NoS. I am on my third week with all my Ndays green. My issue with NoS is not the sweets (not a problem for me, so throw all doughnuts and cookies my way and I'll thrown them back on Sdays) nor is snacking (do the same with chips and crackers) My problem is with seconds or more accurately trying to prevent seconds. I like real food and since I have battled with Atkins on and off for 8 years I can eat a tremendous amount and not be over-full. I am hoping there is a learning curve working here. I exercise in the morning (I get up at 4:30 am to do my meditation/devotional, then work-out for 35 minutes) I eat a good breakfast and am never hungry or even think about food until lunch. I was eating a more "normal size" lunch and by the time I got home in the evening I was ravenous. I love to cook and do alot of my cooking on the weekends in order to have home-cooked meals for dinner (actually here we call it supper). I find myself eating and feeling overstuffed shortly before bedtime. I know I am probably overfilling my plate but I'm just so hungry and "scared" because I know I don't want to get seconds. I am a baby-boomer so I grew up as a member of the "clean plate club", so if there is food on my plate I eat it. I'm not trying to use this as and excuse just something I am hoping will even out with more time on NoS. One day last week I went out for lunch and the portion was much larger than what I would normally eat for lunch and I ate every delicious bite. I noticed when I got home I was not nearly as hungry and "made" myself eat a very modest dinner(supper). Has anyone had any similiar issues? Also I eat real food, not a "diet" version of NoS. I just don't think I could do Hotwater Oatmeal for lunch.
I further wanted to say that NoS'ers must be the nicest bunch of folks on the planet. I have been so impressed by how helpful, honest, and confrontationally kind everyone is. Deb always has a word of encouragement and KCCC was so wise when the misguided (my opinion) person felt NoS led to bingeing. KCCC encouraged kindness as the best response. I need to lose weight but more than anything this way of living has given me my sense of dignity back. Everyday I NoS I can look in the mirror and see a woman in control instead of a raging lunatic who was eating out of a sense of desperation or in rebellion of the "rules". I actually eat what I enjoy, so if I don't lose a pound it is okay just to be able to eat without obsessing.

[paulrone]

You know why we're a bunch of nice people?
1. No diets
2. No obsessing
3. No meetings
4. No diets
5. One word: Bread

I'm sure there's more, but these are my reasons.

[winnie96]

I am hoping there is a learning curve working here.

I grew up as a member of the "clean plate club", so if there is food on my plate I eat it.

I'm not trying to use this as and excuse just something I am hoping will even out with more time on NoS.

I know I'm beginning to sound like a one-note Johnny, but you betcha Phyllis, there is definitely a learning curve, and membership in the boomer "clean plate club" is one of the many reasons that there is.

I had quite a time figuring out what the right portions were for me if I was going to avoid seconds, and not snack if I guessed wrong. Initially, I, too, was "scared", and ate way more than I would usually.

But, (and I think this might be especially true if you're eating "real food", as I do, too), I did develop over time a sense of what was the "right" amount to eat, depending on what was going on, where I was eating, how I was feeling, etc. I just find it such a pleasure to be a bit hungry when it's time for the next meal (because then that meal is so satisfying!) that I have a great incentive to pay attention to what my body is telling me about the effects of various portion levels.

When I thought about it, it didn't surprise me that it would take some time (a few months, in my case), to develop a sense of how much I want to eat, in the No-S sense.

You seem to be off to a great start in terms of recognizing that you're feeling "overstuffed" at times. I call this the "training wheels" of No-S. But since you are aware that these issues exist, I think you will eventually find that you "even out over time". But it can take awhile ... and lots of practice, too!

Best wishes,
Winnie

[Phyllis]

Thanks for responding, it felt like a risk even to make my first post, of any kind, anywhere.

The fact that this is not a "diet" in the traditional sense was so attractive, first because I have an innate sense of rebellion, and second because I was totally removed from reponsibility for my choices, my only responsibility on a traditional diet was strict adherance to "their" program.

Winnie, I don't know if it is one note or not but is definately what I need. I have really been amazed at how disconected my apetite was from my body. I spent so many years trying to feed everything but my body with food.

Keep posting and I'll keep reading. You are truly the best teachers for this eager student.

[vmsurbat]

Phyllis,

I think you may have a key here to your scared/hunger management.

One day last week I went out for lunch and the portion was much larger than what I would normally eat for lunch and I ate every delicious bite. I noticed when I got home I was not nearly as hungry and "made" myself eat a very modest dinner(supper). Has anyone had any similiar issues? Also I eat real food, not a "diet" version of NoS. I just don't think I could do Hotwater Oatmeal for lunch.

We live in a culture (the Balkans) where the main meal is midday and I LOVE it. I, too, enjoy real food and find that if I have a very satisfying midday meal (the equivalent of dinner), that I can 1. eat later in the evening (the norm here in Europe), and 2. eat much lighter and still feel satisfied the whole time between when I finish my meal and when I go to bed. I really dislike feeling stuffed enough that I can wake up not hungry. With my large meal in the middle of the day, that is rarely a problem. (Not so when we return to the States for a long vacation and have that main meal in the evening).

Since you said you cook ahead, is there anyway to swap the "fullness" of lunch and dinner?

HTH,

[Mavilu]

5. One word: Bread

And real butter on it!!.

[wosnes]

5. One word: Bread

And real butter on it!!.

Oh, YES!!

[gingercake]

The fact that this is not a "diet" in the traditional sense was so attractive, first because I have an innate sense of rebellion, and second because I was totally removed from reponsibility for my choices, my only responsibility on a traditional diet was strict adherance to "their" program.

Phyllis, this is a GREAT insight, and for those of us who have been on "their" programs off and on for decades, it can be a difficult but crucial adjustment to shift responsibility from "them" to "me." I can't look to anyone else for a rubber stamp or a good weigh-in or a gold star. I have to find reasons within myself to do this or not do this, and if I don't do it perfectly there is no one to scold me. I can choose to scold myself, but that doesn't seem to really be productive, so I let that go, too. It's one of those paradoxes of life where taking responsibility is actually so freeing. Yay!

[Phyllis]

this is the beauty of NoS we tak responspponsibility. I make my choices with no dinigration.

[paulawylma]

[quote="Phyllis"]Hello,
I am a baby-boomer so I grew up as a member of the "clean plate club", so if there is food on my plate I eat it. [/quote]
The clean plate club didn't start with the baby-boomers, I'm not even certain it stated with the great depression "waste not, want not" crowd. It goes back for generations, but that's not the point. When food is scare, cleaning the plate makes sense, but not in a world where obesity is becoming a world-wide problem. When I was young, our parents told us that we had to eat everything because there was straving children in China. Last summer, during the Olympics there was a news program on the rise of obesity among Chinese children, especially the boys. The fault is apparently dolting parents with only one child coupled with the sudden appearence of fast food, especially KFCs (apparently chicken is a chinese favorite). So, now whenever I start to feel guilty for not eating everything, I tell myself: "Don't clean your plate; there are fat children in China!" It makes as much sense as the original.

[CrazyCatLady]

I need to lose weight but more than anything this way of living has given me my sense of dignity back. Everyday I NoS I can look in the mirror and see a woman in control instead of a raging lunatic who was eating out of a sense of desperation or in rebellion of the "rules". I actually eat what I enjoy, so if I don't lose a pound it is okay just to be able to eat without obsessing.

Yes. YES. YES!

I was definitely one who cleaned my plate. How odd that now sometimes I will be full before the plate is empty. Quite an odd feeling, to throw away that dab of food, or share it with the dog. I never tried to change that habit, and sometimes I think that I eat beyond fullness. But there are those days, when I just stop eating before the plate is empty.