Everyday Systems

I was doing ok at keeping track of what I was doing, then I had a bad week and fell off the wagon completely. Well, I have been more-or-less managing to eat real meals at the table instead of snacking in front of the computer, but I have been snacking and eating sweets far too often.

So, I am going to try again starting this week. New season, new diet?

I think falling off the wagon is completely normal. You just need to climb back on the wagon. I also think that those people who eat like this naturally have times when they're more liberal or permissive than others.

I have fallen off the wagon so many times that I do believe those times are actually outnumbering the times I stay on it.

But, persistence is key. Try, try again. We'll get this eventually!

I've said before to similar posts that I have fallen off-nay, DIVED off the wagon and over the cliff to the creek below.

I've discovered that, magically, if you get up and start walking, another, better wagon comes along! Before you know it, you're riding shotgun with Han Solo... Okay, that takes longer than "before you know it."

Keep at it! Change is hard to see short-term, but long-term is much more valuable.
ooala53: great analogy about the wagons!
Dust yourself off and stick to the rules. Be accountable to us on the boards.
We're all cheering for you.

I don't think there will ever be a time when you're completely perfect, nor do I think perfection should be a goal. I do think that it gets easier over time, but it takes a lot more than 3 weeks. It very well may be years before it's really second nature. The longer you're working on it being a habit, the easier it is not to break the habit. If you slip up, so what? Just get back to following the habits.

Since abstinence isn't an option for eating like it is for alcohol, I personally am rethinking the whole idea of a wagon. I can't help but think that it sets up us for the What the Hell effect. Would we would be bettered served by a metaphor that is about progress not perfection?

It doesn't matter what rule or guideline you determine, I believe the only way to thwart the what-the-hell effect (WTH) is to resist it when it arises. I understand that may be hard because it usually arises when our willpower is waning, but I think the habit will still be reinforced.

Mander wrote:I was doing ok at keeping track of what I was doing, then I had a bad week and fell off the wagon completely. Well, I have been more-or-less managing to eat real meals at the table instead of snacking in front of the computer, but I have been snacking and eating sweets far too often.

So, I am going to try again starting this week. New season, new diet?

There are two kinds of No-S'ers. Those who have fallen off the wagon at least once, and noobs who haven't had their first fall off the wagon yet. It happens to everybody.

The key isn't to never fall off the wagon. That's not a realistic goal. The important bit is what you do after you've fallen off the wagon. You do have a choice of what to do at that point. You can mark it and move on, you can beat yourself up for falling off the wagon, or you can say to hell with all of it. Beating yourself up or saying to hell with it aren't likely to lead to future weight loss, so I don't particularly recommend those if weight loss is your goal.

Actually, I know I've seen it observed that there are two kinds of No S-ers; those who have fallen off the wagon and the liars.

Researchers on habit change rate eating as one of the three most difficult areas to change habits. It's totally possible to do, but it is difficult. If we learn to take that in stride, we have a better chance.

Here is something that I see more and more as being SO IMPORTANT, perhaps more important than almost every other factor. It speaks to the many posts on falling off the wagon, feeling like giving up, thinking it's not working, and all variations.

Strategy #4: Be A Realistic Optimist
As much as we want to believe otherwise, losing weight isn't easy. It turns out that it's important to accept this.

Believing you will succeed is key, but believing you will succeed easily (what I call "unrealistic optimism") is a recipe for failure. Take it from the women, all obese, who enrolled in a weight-loss program in one study. Those who thought they could lose weight easily lost 24 pounds less than those who knew it would be hard. The successful dieters put in more effort, planned in advance how to deal with problems, and persisted when it became difficult.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/2 ... rian_AFTER
By Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D.

A pretty good little article. Reinhard doesn't promote having a specific poundage goal nor getting on the scale every day, but otherwise what he does promote dovetails with this. If people did the other habits he recommends faithfully, I would bet the results would be superior in the long run.

I definitely agree with the comments above about knowing yourself and what your typical struggles are, and to plan around that.
I often like to think I'm above things that have been hard in the past and I throw myself into the thick of it...making my favorite chocolate chip cookies mid-week on an N day and thinking I can resist the dough?
Yes, I still do that periodically...duh?

So, yes, a "realistic optimist".

I know I'll have loads of challenges next week as I go out of town, but am trying to pin-point them, and how I will deal. Not to just pretend it's going to be easy.

Keep at it. Your honesty is refreshing for all of us perfectly imperfect people!

Thanks for that article! I actually sat down to think about it and the overall ideas make sense. I do wish they had provided a reference to the weight loss study, though.

In the last few weeks I have not been keeping track of anything, but I have been doing generally ok with eating actual meals rather than perma-snacking, as well as getting out of the house and walking around doing active things. But I have also been ending meals with a cookie or a bit of chocolate, and having afternoon snacks. So it's back on the wagon for me -- first goal is to join the 21 day club!