Everyday Systems

ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!! My weight is creeping up....not because NoS is not working because I am not doing it! My Mom came for a visit this weekend and she started ww a week ago. She lost 6 1/2 pounds last week. She is all enthused and would love it if I would do ww with her. My daughter is getting married the end of July. I'm feeling desperate. I am seriously considering WW, but I am not even consistently sticking to NoS. This is such a constant cycle with me. WHY do I do this!! Frustrated in Michigan!

I can totally relate to your post.

I've tried doing NoS along with calorie counting and weight watchers and it did more harm than good. I ended up gaining weight from having last suppers every other day and telling myself I would start ww or calorie counting the next day. It was too much pressure for me.

But....there are some who can easily combine NoS with calorie counting, weight watchers, low carbing, etc... It really depends on you.

Good luck with your choice.

Just keep telling yourself that this is a fair and reasonable way to apportion yourself food. You don't starve. Food is always just a few hours away, in the past or future. You can eat what you like at fair intervals. Let the process help you find satisfaction, eventually with less. Be tough on yourself BEFORE you take that first bite between meals. Gentle afterwards, if it happens. The first few days can be challenging, but you CAN tolerate the anxious feelings. Just get through it! You can find something else to think about and do to tide you over.

ZippaDee wrote:WHY do I do this!! Frustrated in Michigan!

Well, why aren't you sticking to No S? Which of the S's is causing the problem? What you want to do is find out what the problem is, and take steps to make it harder to fail in the way you're normally failing. Whatever problem you're having, someone else here has probably had it before, and might be able to help you.

For example, say your problem is snacks. You might try keeping fewer snack foods around at home or at work, or at least not having them conveniently located to where you spend most of your time. Store any snack foods you do keep around in a place where they will normally be out of sight. Don't hang out in the kitchen- the kitchen should be a place for preparing meals, eating meals, and cleaning up after meals. Don't keep snack foods or candy outside of the kitchen.

Or maybe you feel hungry when you are bored. An obvious solution is to do something about the boredom. There are lots of things you can do that don't involve eating.

Maybe your problem is seconds. Don't put the food in serving plates on the table. Keep the serving plates in the kitchen, or skip them altogether and serve out of the pots (this also means there are fewer dishes to wash). That way, there's not more food right there in front of you- if you want more, you have to get up and get it.

Are you snacking or mindlessly eating? It never occurs to me to make a snack, but I'll nibble at food that I can see and is easy to eat without even thinking about it.

Pretty much anything that is sitting out is fair game. So now food gets put away immediately.

I do have a bowl of fruit that sits out all the time, but it's in a spot that I can't see as easily, so it's not so much of a temptation. Also, I think it's hard to eat fruit mindlessly. Maybe the first bite is mindless, but after that I'm aware of it. It's easier to nibble at a bowl of fruit salad than an apple.

i understand as my weight is a little higher now too. but the way i feel mentally is so much better that i'm willing to accept it and myself. you should probably give yourself more time to stick with NoS before trying something else and giving up. My experience when i went back to calorie counting was it was even worse. my mind became a prison of worrying about food. it's not a good way to live. i'd wait a bit and then reconsider. wait until you get the system down and Sdays get a little better. It will if you give it time.

Hi ZippaDee!

First of all, I wanted to say: Don't be seduced by WW! Oolala is right about No S being a very reasonable amount of food - and so much easier to 'count' than WW points!

Second - I'm also in Michigan, so I wanted to offer a special 'hello' to a fellow Michigander!

mackinac19

THANKS ALL!!! Whew! I think I'm stepping out of my funk! Not a good place to be AT ALL!!! I'm done toying with other diets and ready to just dig in and focus on the only sensible way to eat...No S!!! I need to just focus on today and not worry about the big picture. It will come one day at a time. Appreciate all of you taking your time to encourage me!!

ONWARD

I haven't done WW, but I don't think it's magic. It won't work if you don't stick to it. No diet will.

Nicest of the Damned wrote:I haven't done WW, but I don't think it's magic. It won't work if you don't stick to it. No diet will.

I think WW appeals (and works) for a special sect of the population. You may have to have a little zeal for micromanagement, because the tools they use are no easier (and certainly less transparent) than counting calories.. Which, I believe as a former calorie counter extraordinaire, is a lifestyle sustainable only by a very few. It may be a magic bullet for people who have no concept of how to eat -- as WW is Open Season on veggies and suddenly a less conscientous eater can find themselves more disposed to gorging on carrots and salad.

Also.. I think some people need to pay money to feel like they're doing something positive for their health.

In my experience, WW tries to promote healthy eating, but the meetings end up being completely focused on which processed substitute foods have the lowest point values. Everyone was using their points to eat Skinny Cows and No-Pudge Brownies and sugar-free fat-free instant pudding instead of fruit.

The fact that Weight Watchers sells their own lucrative line of packaged junk foods (and pushes them in meetings) undercuts any health orientation they try to claim.

Oh, yeah, that's what drove me crazy about WW. The emphasis on fake foods, though a few things have helped at times. But I discovered while I was on WW that I thought my meals were so much better than the typical suggestions made. I certainly ate a lot more volume and still do. I'm not much of a condensed grain person, besides bread. I do eat no fat Greek yogurt but always add walnuts or flaxseed meal.

It just sure feels different to eat very modestly because I choose to than it does if I think I'm trying to meet a calorie restriction.

You guys reminded me of when I did weight watchers. It was nuts because everyone in my meeting was focussed on getting more bang for their buck so they would eat sugar free and/or fat free pudding, jello, whipped cream, yogurt, etc.

My gosh! Who wants to live off sugar free pudding and jello?

maryashley wrote:I think WW appeals (and works) for a special sect of the population. You may have to have a little zeal for micromanagement, because the tools they use are no easier (and certainly less transparent) than counting calories..

Definitely not for people like me, for whom the ideal is to not have to think about what we are eating at all. Of course, you can't do that and maintain a healthy weight (or at least I couldn't), but No S is the diet I have found that requires the minimum amount of thought about what I am eating. That's why I like it.

Eeyore wrote:It was nuts because everyone in my meeting was focussed on getting more bang for their buck so they would eat sugar free and/or fat free pudding, jello, whipped cream, yogurt, etc.

Not having to do that kind of optimization is another thing I love about No S. I want to be able to eat food that is good enough, and not have to think about it beyond that.

Thalia wrote:In my experience, WW tries to promote healthy eating, but the meetings end up being completely focused on which processed substitute foods have the lowest point values. Everyone was using their points to eat Skinny Cows and No-Pudge Brownies and sugar-free fat-free instant pudding instead of fruit.

The fact that Weight Watchers sells their own lucrative line of packaged junk foods (and pushes them in meetings) undercuts any health orientation they try to claim.

That sounds really disgusting... When thinking about diet food, I like to remember this post from a while ago:

As I was sitting down to an amazing slice of Godivah chocolate cheesecake today, which I enjoyed thoroughly, I realized that I could have had one teeny snack every day and it would have added up to about the same calories. But the little snacks (say, a bag of 100-calorie dried out cookies) would have left me unsatisfied every single day and not been 1/100th as delicious or satisfying. Instead, I feel pampered like a queen.