Everyday Systems

I guess I just wanted to mention what I call little triumphs. On Sunday (an S day) at a party, I was starting to eat the birthday cake and stopped after two bites because it wasn't enjoyable. Too sweet.

Every other day I come to work and there's goodies out like mini-brownies, salt water taffy, party cake... and 99% of the time I walk away. I have to walk by a snack machine at work whenever I go to the restroom.

Those little triumphs are worth celebrating - they lead to big accomplishments over time.

And every time you walk past, you make the next time easier.

Funny story:
A parent I know used a really creative excuse not to buy her toddler daughter different things she wanted in the store. When the little girl would ask for a doll, or a fancy cupcake, the parent would say sadly, "honey, those are just for decoration" - which the child would accept unquestioningly. (A total lie of course, but she felt it much better than trying to explain family economic choices to a toddler... and much better than dealing with a tantrum.)

Now, I'm not necessarily advocating lying as a parenting strategy... but I have noticed that I now regard a lot of food-like products as the equivalent of "just for decoration" - stuff that's not really for eating, that's outside of the bounds of real choice. Vending machines fall into that category - lots of pretty colors, nothing there to eat.

My very meandering point... every time you walk past that Vend-o and ignore it, it gets easier. And someday, you'll regard it as "just for decoration."

"just for decoration" --LOVE IT!

I came upon a bowl full of candy corn yesterday at work and in my head, I admit, I yelled "ooh! candy corn!" but I didn't say it out loud and I didn't eat any. I think I was more in love with the mere idea of candy corn than the actual eating of it.

I absolutely love that!!! Just for decoration.
Wow, sweets and snacks look so good with all that pretty packaging that is aimed directly at your want to consume what is aesthetically pleasing. Better as decoration on a plate, in a case, or in a snack machine than on my thighs or hips.

This morning, the office strikes again with a pound cake loaf covered in fudge... out for breakfast... come on!!! I haven't hit up the snack machine in so long and when I did I got only gum, which they have hiked up the price tremendously.

Hmm, vending machines are easy for me because I never have any money, lol. And I know all of it is junk.

I find munchkins so temping because they're small and you can just pop one into your mouth. But I walked right past them the other day

Last night for me it was my partner's homemade Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies. Wow, the whole house smelled like them and we served them to guests in the evening. I can't wait for Saturday!

What have I said no to? This week, not much. Not a good week, No S wise.

Tonight? Everything in the kitchen! It wasn't too hard since my son was doing a chemistry project in which he had to identify all kinds of chemicals that are in our food. Everything we looked at was highly processed (fortunately, there was lots of stuff that wasn't), and filled with lots of -dioxides and -chlorides. Yuck.

But when I stumbled across the natural granola, with oats, pumpkin seeds and almonds, then it got hard!

buttercreampillow

oliviamanda wrote:On Sunday (an S day) at a party, I was starting to eat the birthday cake and stopped after two bites because it wasn't enjoyable. Too sweet.

Olivia, You stopped in the middle of cake???!!!! Before this plan I didn't even know that was physically possible! I think that's definitely more than a little triumph because you not only didn't eat it, but you decided AFTER you chose it. It was already on the plate....and you chose not to eat it because you've changed from the inside out. This is DEFINITELY worth celebrating!

KCCC...LOVE the "Just for decoration" story. I have no doubt I'll be saying that to myself a lot!

Maslowjenkins...Candy Corn is such a fall candy, isn't it? I make glass beads & love to make earring beads that look just like them. I think I need to make a pair to remind myself that I can still have candy corn...just not eat it! LOL...

Thanks for a great thread.
janie

Oops...I forgot to add what I said "no" to.

We have a grocery store here that's not just big...it's huge...it's enormous...has everything anyone would ever want, and a great deal of things no one actually NEEDS. It has a cafe... a take-out restuarant... bakery... deli... pizza shop... everything....actually, MORE then everything. I ended up being able to combine grocery shopping and a couple hours of sitting with a book there on Wednesday night. I rarely get out by myself & it was a treat to read interrupted for that long. I bought an iced tea and briefly contemplated the availability of a gazillion treats calling my name. But it wasn't even a battle...not even any true temptation. I'd had dinner...I was content...I didn't need a thing. I resisted an entire grocery store!

What an amazing ride....

janie

I have posted: JUST FOR DECORATION on my frig!! How perfect!! Thank you!!
That "little" triumph seeed pretty big to me! STOPPING and questioning why you were eating something!! WOW!! I remember, years ago, (while on aWW program) buying a beautiful sweet roll as i walked home from somewhere..it was terrible..yet I was going to eat it! How crazy!! A child would have said "Yuck!" and been done with it! (I did come to my senses after three bites..and evaluated the situation..and threw the roll into the nearest trashcan.) BUT..now I must relearn that lesson.. thanks for reminding me how important a lesson it is!

Hey, I still love cake, just not that cake! Again, it comes down to what tastses good, too. Should I finish eating this if it doesn't taste good and is not satisfying? I forgot to mention that a co-worker of mine has a candy jar on her desk filled with hershey's mini chocolates and I never go to it. I just walk by it several times a day and hear all the overweight people digging in there every day. I am overweight too, but I just don't do it. An you know what, I would much rather enjoy a better quality chocolate. Not that hershey's is not good, but why not have the best if I am going to indulge. That's what happens on S day... I'm tending to pass up mediocre sweets and long for my favorites, which you know I have to go out of the way for, and a lot of times can't get my hands on... creme brulee, fancy cheesecake, creamy flan.... and I will bypass a lot now. BUT it has not always been this way. I just hope I can keep on this road.

Oliviamanda, I still love sweet rolls too..but they have to be more than "a pretty face" now. Like you, my chocolate tastes have changed (is it a more mature palate now?) .. I could never keep Almond Joy bars around or Heath bars...neither of which the kids ate so I couldn't say i was buying those treats for them. Recently,I bought a batch of mini Almond Joys..tried one..they will be going to the Halloweeners! But, bitter dark chocolate that really does melt in your mouth..yum! How nice that the flavor is so intense that that one little square is sooo satisfying! I think as the idea of "mindful eating' becomes habit (I'm not there yet) it will be easier and easier to bypass the "treats" that are really not treats for me..right now, I catch myself eating because it is the thing to do...how crazy is that!!! i am learning more and more that no one cares what I eat or don't eat..that is my version of reality that I must change.

I have to keep remember "Just for Decoration"... LOL.

Anyway, today my co-worker comes into my cube and asks me if I want some swedish fish with the open bag in my face (straight out of the snack machine). The pre-No S me would have 1) taken it and ate it because what's a few swedish fish? or 2) taken out of kindness and then placed in the trash. As a successful No S-er I said NO THANK YOU!!!

So, what it comes down to is, we enjoy three plates of food a day, and the rest is just for decoration. Love that!

I said no to pão de queijo this a.m.!!! This is a Brazilian cheese roll made with cassava flour that I absolutely love but I'd already had breakfast. When they first started selling it in the cafeteria (before I was doing no-S), I would have 3 or 4 of them at a time, even if I'd already had breakfast. They are so delicious. I'd check the cafeteria every day to see if they had them and they eventually stopped having them and I eventually stopped checking. And today they had them and I said no!

OMG, I just said no to Berliner.



They're a kind of German food - imagine a donat without a hole in the middle and filled with jam. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_(pastry)

I said no to a second glass of wine last night. One is okay, but I wanted the second one just because it was a difficult evening and I "deserved"... (we know the rest, don't we?).

Since I don't want to switch from using food as a crutch to using alcohol as a crutch (not a good trade!), I had hot herb tea instead. Suprisingly, that and a little down-time were all I really needed.

One of my other mantras is that "over-eating is a misguided attempt at self-nurture." Which means that one solution to overeating is to find other self-nurturing options. An evening cuppa is a good one.

I like this thread! It's a nice switcheroo to positive thinking. Last night I bought a chicken fajita quesadilla from Chili's for dinner. I took it home thinking I would eat half, then remembered, plate what I want, so put 6 of the 8 sections on the plate. Previously I would have wrapped up the leftovers for today, or 'sometime'. I hestitated, but DID throw the rest away. It wasn't that good and I have planned my other meals for this week. YAY!

This thread would make a really great sticky.

I said "no" to cheese and crackers and cookies at a buffet reception. I hadn't had supper yet and it was two hours overdue, but that wasn't the meal I wanted, so I just skipped it. I stood around talking with people who had little plates in their hands, but nobody commented on my lack of food, and I felt strong!

I said No to a cabinet full of Pepperidge Farm cookies. My uncle gave us a whole bunch, as he works for them. I told my hubby to not let me have any until Saturday. I'm doing very good so far!

I said "No" to a white cookie. I was really craving one today because I was having a bad day. I trudged through and now I feel all the better for it

On a slightly different note, I find myself saying (or thinking) "No" to what I think of as "half-desserts". I was at a Dairy Queen recently (on an S-day), and as I watched people ordering the fruit smoothies that are trying to sell themselves as healthy despite seemingly being basically ice-cream with some fruit added, my reaction was, "Why are you messing around, here? Are you having a treat, or not?" I feel like it's pointless to try to have a half-dessert that's doing its best to look healthy: either have a treat, or don't. Don't try to have something that's really a treat, but is trying to wear ill-fitting health-food clothing. (My apologies to those who love fruit smoothies! I'm just saying that for me, they represent a half-measure that's the worst of both worlds: not satisfying as a dessert, and not really healthy either.)

I then proceeded to say "Yes" to a Blizzard. (Hey, S-day, remember?)

DaveMc wrote:On a slightly different note, I find myself saying (or thinking) "No" to what I think of as "half-desserts".

That's too cool!

DaveMc wrote:I feel like it's pointless to try to have a half-dessert that's doing its best to look healthy: either have a treat, or don't. Don't try to have something that's really a treat, but is trying to wear ill-fitting health-food clothing.

Great observation! And those half-desserts are so unsatisfying too - in trying to avoid the guilt, you also avoid the pleasure.

One of the big benefits of No-S to me is permission to ENJOY food. I find I eat much more indulgent things in much smaller quantities... and enjoy them more. It's a good trade.

oliviamanda wrote:Better as decoration on a plate

I actually own a decorative item, Valentine's Day themed ceramic plate with hearts on it etc., and ceramic chocolates.

I said no to some apple pie at a meeting.

This is a good thread! Wish I had been following this past week when I said yes to everything chocolate!

We received a Halloween tin of popcorn on Thursday and I moved it to a location far from the kitchen. My husband began looking for it and asked me where it was. "In the living room," I replied,"but it is just for decoration!" I told him the story (see earlier entry by KCCC ) and he laughed and decided it was for decoration.. until an S day. So ..we said no to wonderful-three variety popcorn!

Banana bread, pumpkin bread, chocolate chip cookies, cake - all of them homemade - so all good stuff Also a lot of other junk not homemade so didn't appeal - and oddly enough, sliced cucumbers which were offered for snacks, but I figured a snack is a snack and did not eat them.

I said no to ice cream and funnel cake at Six Flags yesterday. Yes it was an S day. But I was trying not to go wild. Then in the evening I pigged out on all sort of junk at home, alone, after my daughter went to bed. So saying no backfired.

Said no to birthday cake at a party as I really do not enjoy cake. Rather ate a few pancakes & cream!

This reminds me of one of my favorite Christmas stories.

Two years ago at Christmas, my MIL gave us a tin of Rainforest Crunch, which I could demolish in a single sitting. I wanted to open it, my wife said no, we'll save it for a special occasion. On New Years Eve, I asked again. Again, no.

Last year, at Christmas, my MIL gave us another tin of Rainforest Crunch... at which point, I went to the pantry, got the unopened one from the previous year and asked my wife if we could open it now... she had to give in.

...

Grammy G wrote:We received a Halloween tin of popcorn on Thursday and I moved it to a location far from the kitchen. My husband began looking for it and asked me where it was. "In the living room," I replied,"but it is just for decoration!" I told him the story (see earlier entry by KCCC ) and he laughed and decided it was for decoration.. until an S day. So ..we said no to wonderful-three variety popcorn!

guadopt1997 wrote:I said no to ice cream and funnel cake at Six Flags yesterday. Yes it was an S day. But I was trying not to go wild. Then in the evening I pigged out on all sort of junk at home, alone, after my daughter went to bed. So saying no backfired.

That's exactly why I started the "I said 'Yes' to" thread. It's just as important to do S days correctly as N days. Otherwise we'd all be on just another diet.

I just helped my son make peanut butter cups and didn't eat any..though they smell wonderful. If I want one, they'll still be there Saturday (and if not, we'll make more!)

Pizza provided at a working lunch. I'd brought my own lunch today, and much preferred what I had.

So I asked the organizer if she thought it would be rude to eat what I'd brought... and she looked at me as if I had two heads and said "of course not!"

People REALLY don't care what you eat, lol! Except one other person mentioned she wished she'd brought hers, because she had some good leftovers at home.

I was so happy to have my lunch, especially since I forgot it yesterday and had to make do with adequate-but-NOT-wonderful food.

But, to be clear, pizza is not an S day treat, at least in my book! I have, of course, had to cut down on the number of slices, since they have to fit on a plate and the box it comes in doesn't count!

guadopt1997 wrote:But, to be clear, pizza is not an S day treat, at least in my book! I have, of course, had to cut down on the number of slices, since they have to fit on a plate and the box it comes in doesn't count!

Oops! Didn't mean to imply that pizza was S-day only... it's not for me either. (Though, like you, my portion sizes have dropped!)

I was thinking in terms of saying no to eating just because the food is free, or because I felt a little socially pressured (which actually didn't make a difference.) And - though I'm not going to dig up the "yes" thread and double-post - to saying "yes" to the food I really wanted.

I said no to: Ben and Jerry's Half Baked Ice Cream

How did I do it? I still don't know. I was VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY CLOSE to eating it... and I was thinking, "Well, I can adapt the plan... or I can mark today as a failure... it's almost the weekend".

But then I just thought, "Well, when are you going to really change?" So I guess that's what got me. Now that it's out of sight I'm okay. But it was a close one!

hilly6000 wrote: But then I just thought, "Well, when are you going to really change?" So I guess that's what got me.

That's really good, Hilly. Definitely"catch-phrase" worthy! Congrats!

Every time you exercise discipline, it grows stronger. Congratulations.

hilly6000 wrote:I said no to: Ben and Jerry's Half Baked Ice Cream

How did I do it? I still don't know. I was VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY CLOSE to eating it... and I was thinking, "Well, I can adapt the plan... or I can mark today as a failure... it's almost the weekend".

But then I just thought, "Well, when are you going to really change?" So I guess that's what got me. Now that it's out of sight I'm okay. But it was a close one!

No to Halloween candy! I know tomorrow is an S day, but I will be better off not partaking in the crap candy. How can I eat just one Reese's Peanut Butter Cup? I am going to try my hardest not to eat the candy. I pass by the jar of Halloween sized candy at work 5 days a week at work. I hope I can handle this!

I WILL be saying no to any further Halloween candy. We don't celebrate Halloween but my MIL will bring us alot of candy for the kids so they are not "deprived."

I divided them up for my husband and children (not for me) and took a few pieces of my favorites to eat that S day, hoping that would satisfy my junk candy craving.

It didn't. On Sunday, I sneaked a piece of candy from my youngest son's stash, telling myself, "This is it. No more." Well, didn't he yell from his room, "Who took a piece of candy from my bag?!" I had to 'fess up' because he started to accuse his brothers. The little tyrant was counting his candy. But shame makes it easier to pass up now.

Yesterday, I said no to a Dr. Pepper, and had an unsweetened iced tea with my lunch instead.