Everyday Systems

Marianne wrote:How long did it take you to REALLY get this down? I mean to the point eating 3 meals and not snacking was automatic and you really don't think about it anymore.

I thought I had it down - the 3-meal default. Then we visited Munich for 6 days...and it's so very hard to get back to what I thought was status quo for me. I am totally frustrated.
I guess, my question is mainly to the No-essers who have some experience in dealing with these bumps along the way. Some advice on thinking and doing, please.
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Heddi

Don't make the bumps mountains -- either physically or emotionally. What is it they say about bad habits -- they're easy to make and hard to break. So expect that it's going to take some time to get back in the groove. I think it's only when you've been practicing these habits for a very long time that it gets easier to get back on track.

Years ago I read a book about which I remember nothing except that it was fiction and one line: "You'll never get anything worth having unless you go all out to get it." Meaning, worthwhile things take effort and sometimes continual effort. It applies to No-S as well.

Keep in mind that you are hardwired to eat. A few months or even a year or two of No S habits might not "re-set" your brain permanently. We are complicated creatures; be patient with yourself.

Blithe Morning wrote:Keep in mind that you are hardwired to eat.
A few months or even a year or two of No S habits might not "re-set" your brain permanently.
We are complicated creatures; be patient with yourself.

So Very True.

This does sound frustrating.

Something I have found helpful when struggling to get back on track after a holiday or similar is to make meals generous. Once I am back in the habit of having three meals a day, reducing quantities again is easier.

Too solid flesh wrote:This does sound frustrating.

Something I have found helpful when struggling to get back on track after a holiday or similar is to make meals generous. Once I am back in the habit of having three meals a day, reducing quantities again is easier.

That's something I do too - allow larger or more heaped platefuls, make sure I eat meals that I'll really enjoy even if they aren't 'heatlhy', allow a diet soda between meals. I can still get back into building the N day habits, but don't feel entirely deprived. I reckon you can tweak what's on plates and drinks when the habits are more automatic, but when things are a bit difficult, just be kind to yourself and don't make things too complicated!

heddi55 wrote:

Marianne wrote:How long did it take you to REALLY get this down? I mean to the point eating 3 meals and not snacking was automatic and you really don't think about it anymore.

I thought I had it down - the 3-meal default. Then we visited Munich for 6 days...and it's so very hard to get back to what I thought was status quo for me. I am totally frustrated.
I guess, my question is mainly to the No-essers who have some experience in dealing with these bumps along the way. Some advice on thinking and doing, please.
_____________
Heddi

Funny you should ask, I was in Munich in Oct 2011 (21 days in Germany), just after Oktoberfest, and it was easy for me to adjust my meals. Two tall glasses of beer (glass ceiling) and a big pretzel were one of my three meals, virtually of course.

I don't visit Munich everyday so I'm going to live it up...in moderation.

Remember, with NOS you are only a meal away to getting back on track.

wosnes wrote: "You'll never get anything worth having unless you go all out to get it." Meaning, worthwhile things take effort and sometimes continual effort. It applies to No-S as well.

love that!

And possibly consider whether it's worth it to let habits go completely when on vacation. It takes less time to form the habit of eating (snacking? sweets? seconds? which one got you overseas?) than of not eating. But this sticking to N days on vacation should happen when it doesn't feel like a huge sacrifice. At nearly 59 years of age, I've eaten so much cake and so many pastries in my life that if I forego them on an N day now, even if I'm traveling, it's really not such a deprivation. I can enjoy a cup of coffee in a lovely cafe just about as much as I would a sweet. That leaves one-plate meals, virtual or not, and I can get a lot of satisfaction from great meals on vacation and still stay with the habits.

Just a perspective. Sometimes "indulgence" just becomes an albatross. Not from a moral view; just in terms of the alchemy of habit.

As my first response I'd like to say, I really appreciate all your suggestions and help.
DH and I lived 7 years in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. I know many of the fantastic places to eat and play there and didn't want to go when it was time to leave in 2008 (I was born and raised in Bavaria). So, twice a year we visit the city and friends there...emotions certainly come into play.
The first 2 days (Thursday and Friday) were N-days and green. Well, after indulging some on the weekend I continued Monday and Tuesday, just couldn't start my N-day routine. In hindsight, I think the fact that we had to leave Tuesday probably contributed to my slacking off. I need to find a way to stay compliant, or not visiting Munich any more...
Again, thanks for reading this and for your kind support!
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Heddi

I have been totally derailled by holidays/other disruptions to routine a few times now. I think it's because No S is very much about routine/habit and so, when other aspects of your routine go, it's very easy to let your eating habits go as well.

I don't pretend to have this down yet but I've learned a few things about getting back on track along the way: firstly, really, I need not to let this happen in the first place - I am going to try extremely hard in the future not to let my habits go on holidays, I know some people can successfully do it but I cannot; secondly, that - for me - and maybe this is just me, I need a little period of "mourning" straight afterwards, I am always very angry with myself for letting it happen and ruining my record and I need a little time to be angry at myself and get over having messed up; thirdly, that - again, maybe this is just me - for me, the easiest way to ease myself back into it is to start recording, I use a spreadsheet like habitcal but slightly different, and telling myself that, for now, I'm just going to record, I'm not going to have specific goals, and then usually within a couple of weeks, I start getting back on track because I hate seeing all the red failures.