Everyday Systems

I was reading through some older post and I noticed a lot of people talking about loading up their one plate. I wondered why would they do that? I was thinking the idea was to just eat a normal amount and then it hit me! I don't have a problem with getting seconds so this idea of loading up the plate was foreign to me. I just eat normal amounts at my meal times. My problem deals with the other two: snacks and sweets. I guess to someone without a big sweet tooth the idea of having to resist eating an entire box of cookies probably seems strange.

We all have our different struggles don't we?

I'm with you here, my struggles are with snacking, which leads to binging. I can't say I'm a total dessert person, out of sight out of mind..BUT if in the house it will be in my tummy for sure..

I did find with No S as long as I don't snack I don't binge..strange..snacking seems to wake something strange up in me to continue on and on until I'm so stuffed I can't stand myself..but even then if I could fit more in I would.

I prefer to fill my 9 inch plate on a level basis...

This may seem odd but I have had times when I couldn't even go to sleep because I knew there was some dessert left over in my kitchen. I would lay in bed and think about it, wanting that last serving, knowing I should wait until the next day...but eventually giving in...all the while hoping my husband didn't wake up to find me eating apple cobbler with ice cream at 12 midnight. I wonder why I am not 100lbs overweight. God has been kind enough to limit my extra fat about 40-50lbs.

I *never* overloaded my plates. I'm trying to eat sensibly, and that makes no sense to me.

I'm lucky. I don't have a lot of issues with food. I had just gotten a bit sloppy with snacks.

Seconds have rarely been a problem for me either, so I don't tend to overload my plates - not even in the beginning. However I generally feel quite full quickly, so initially was worried that without eating more than I would when I was able to snack between meals, I would get too hungry. So, my initial portions were probably often bigger than I had previously eaten. I think it balanced out pretty quickly though

My problem has definitely been eating a lot throughout the day rather than big portions all at once!

When I started, I realized that I'd relied on snacks so much that I ate far too little at meals. A vicious cycle - I'd snack because I hadn't eaten enough at meals and then not eat enough at meals because I'd snacked...(and was trying to "be good.")

Bottom line, I was just oblivious to how much food I was taking in AS snacks.

So, I had to consciously put MORE on my plate to make it to the next meal. Even now, my plates are bigger than they used to be - but hardly over-laden. They were just ridiculously insufficient before. (Can you say "Diet-Head"?)

Bella75 wrote:This may seem odd but I have had times when I couldn't even go to sleep because I knew there was some dessert left over in my kitchen. I would lay in bed and think about it, wanting that last serving, knowing I should wait until the next day...but eventually giving in...all the while hoping my husband didn't wake up to find me eating apple cobbler with ice cream at 12 midnight. I wonder why I am not 100lbs overweight. God has been kind enough to limit my extra fat about 40-50lbs.

Bella I was the same way!! So I had to toss the sweet stuff in the trash and not to be tempted to pull it back out of the garbage (I have never actually done that, but I'm not taking any chances) I would empty the litter box on top of it!!!

I have notice since starting NSD (No S Diet) that I've not binged or woken up in the middle of the night and raided the fridge!! It's an amazing feeling when food no longer has that much power over you anymore!!!!!!

Cheers,

Bella75 wrote: Gluttony is a MONSTER!

You have got this right...I'm battling the Gluttony monster every weekend...

I know of people that have taken things back out of the trash...mmm, I might have done that in the past..no confessions of course .

I guess it is best not to have in the house that is what I'm finding for me...

If one is dealing with binging issues as I do, then of course they could never understand...have to walk a mile in their shoes.

Bella, stating what you said is a big step towards recovery...I have done it before as well..

deb

"Gluttony is a Monster!" I LOVE that quote!!! And it's so very true....

I HAVE taken stuff out of the trash before...that's hard for me to admit, but it's true. Now, if I'm really struggling I put it in the sink first & douse it with water first.

janie

I do believe that for those who tend to binge, random eating is the problem. I am on another board just for bingers and I see over and over that people have problems because they want to be able to make spontaneous choices to eat. The problem as I see it is how to allow for some spontaneous choice without getting carried away, which is what bingers do. In addition, they are very attached to sweets. This is on a neural basis, and leads to such behaviors as waking up and eating any sweets that are available.

Much of the drama can be quelled by the No S rule of discrete meals. Some people, as stated, eat larger meals to allow for the fact that they won't eat again for more hours than they were used to. Unstructured time is still my problem, but the continued pleasure and peace of N days helps keep me patient. I know clearly why I eat more and I have accepted it for now. In fact, I've allowed myself to CHOOSE to eat too much while I figure out an alternative. Every time I've tried to impose strictures, it has backfired and shaken up my N days more than I'm willing to put up with.

oolala, I certainly do hope that NO S will help me with these binges.

I also found this article dealing with discipline vs. self-discipline.

http://www.faithwriters.com/article-det ... p?id=32252

I know I used to try to eat as little as possible at meals and then I'd not be satisfied and would go back for a snack within an hour and that was after going back for a few bites of seconds right after I ate Then it would turn into grazing and mini binges and ...........................................

Bella75 wrote:oolala, I certainly do hope that NO S will help me with these binges.

I also found this article dealing with discipline vs. self-discipline.

http://www.faithwriters.com/article-det ... p?id=32252

great article! thanks!
I still overload my plates sometimes.. I always ate a lot at mealtimes, because I was always a "very athletic girl" that needed to eat a lot (according to my father).
I was astonished to see with how little I can easily get through the day! But that feels good too, somehow..

I'm with KCCC. I used to undereat at meals by quite a lot. If I fixed a sandwich for lunch, it was with one half slice of bread. My plates were often had less food on them than my then two year old's plates. I wasn't trying to eat less - I just got full very quickly. Of course I had to eat again two hours later.

It was fine at the time, since I was getting over years of dieting and deprivation so eating this way helped with that, and I never gained doing it. It just wasn't my idea of how to spend my life - always carrying food around, always eating, never being able to enjoy more than a couple of bites of food before I was full.

My plates are still probably empty to someone else, but to me they are quite a lot of food and I'm happy to be able to eat that much now