Is it still Day 1 even though it's almost over? Hmm...

[This path is my life]

As I mentioned on my 1st daily check-in thread, I had found no-s before and did it for a couple months (not sure of the exact time frame), but I need more solid habits, so hopefully reporting to all of you should do the trick. Today was an especially difficult day, as was Wednesday because of my Mexican cooking class! (soo good but soo bad!) So I was determined to not wait a minute longer and post today.

I would really appreciate anyone's tips that work well for you personally on any of the big common stumbling blocks here (motivation, persistence to hold out until dinner/ the weekend, keeping with the plan until it becomes a habit etc etc) I haven't finished reading all the posts yet and I'm sure I'll find those answers there too, but if anyone has a really helpful tip, I would love to have your reply to this post.

Thanks in advance and happy no-s'ing!

[gratefuldeb67]

Good luck Jen!!!
Try to space your meals out so that they fit your lifestyle and keep away from tempations which you might just want on an impulse!
Sorry if this is just a little feedback, but hey!, it's almost the beginning of S days and I am in relax mode!
LOL....
I'm sure you will find out what works best for you.. as you said yourself, this is for life, so you have plenty of time to practice and improve!
Peace and Love,
Deb

[navin]

One thing I've found important is to identify the specific problems and then come up with specific solutions to them.

Back before the No-S days, I used to raid the company vending machine frequently. Around the same time I started No-S, I realized what a problem was, so to help me with the "No Snacks" stuff, I started drinking more water and stopped carrying change and (at least in the beginning), small bills. That made it impractical to use the vending machine, so not snacking became much easier. Now that it's habit, the vending machine is no longer a problem.

Another example - there are certain days of the week I am pressed for time, other days I have more time. So most weeks I will roughly plan out my meals.. for the days I know I'll have time, I plan meals that may take some time to prepare, but will yield leftovers for the next day, when I don't have much time.. stuff like that.

Still, some things are still difficult, even though I've been doing this 2+ years.... like sweets. I haven't found any good tricks there, only stopping and thinking that I don't want to be where I was 2+ years ago... 26+ pounds heavier, higher blood pressure and cholesterol, etc., plus of couse the habit-forming power of sticking with it for so long.

So is there anything specificially that is difficult for you?

[This path is my life]

Thank you so much Deb and Navin,

I really appreciate your feedback. That's a great idea to think about my specific problems too and ways I can solve them. (Thanks Navin!) For me it's very interesting reading everyone's posts and seeing how for example it's very difficult for some people to not eat at night, while for me that is no problem, yet I do have the same problem as many people of sweets (vending machines used to be difficult for me too, Navin ), I find one of my biggest problems is that I also have a very (stubbornly) ingrained habit of eating standing up and picking at food whether it's from the carton/container or other people's left overs etc. Obviously the one-plate limit of No-S solves this. I just really enjoy the act of eating, it gives me a lot of comfort as I am an emotional eater. I also am not good at stopping even when I'm full which actually has made for some miserable S-days. I also think that I feel a little scared/uncomfortable feeling hungry, and I know I eat too quickly. This actually feels good to set all my difficulties with food out there so I can identify them and hopefully find a solution to them.
Re: what you said Deb, I think I'll space my meals out like this: breakfast around 8am, lunch around 1pm and dinner around 6pm. That way I'll have 5 hours between each which I think is doable. I can't get over how beautifully simple No-S is! Now the hard part is actually doing it.

I'm really impressed by both of your successes Deb and Navin and I look forward to the day that I too can speak of my time as a No-Ser in terms of years instead of months.

[Samurai]

Great login name, btw.

Let me say I am definitely not a NoS-expert. I've tried the plan a couple of times and struggled every time, except this time. Its only been five days, but I'm feeling very good about it, so I will go ahead and share what I think has made NoS easy for me to follow this time (so far! )

I was a diet-Nazi the first couple of times. I was too strict on myself and made NoS harder than it had to be. I tried to make do with smaller portions, no food hanging over the edge of the plate, no caloric beverages, and eating food I didn't really want or crave just for the sake of eating because it was a pre-ordained meal time.

Now, I eat a plate full of food and have taken to eating a little more or adding more to the plate to make sure I eat enough to make it through to the next meal without getting too hungry. I am eating MORE this time around, not less, and I think that has been one of the keys to my success. Its all on one plate, but its a full plate!

I had a real problem with drinking too many sodas. At my worst I was probably putting away about two liters or more of Pepsi per day. When I tried No S in the past, I tried to go cold turkey and give up ALL sodas, even the diet versions. This time, I'm allowing myself diet sodas. Its killing the cravings, I find I drink less diet than I did regular soda before, and its helping me stick with the plan. I don't think they're healthy, and I do believe that as I get more used to this I will eventually drop them almost completely. But for now, diet beverages have been a key to my success.

If you normally purchase or obtain foods by habit, like hitting vending machines as mentioned previously, or like me, grabbing a candy bar along with a soda once or twice a day while on the road, play the Delayed Gratification Game (TM.) Tell yourself that you can have that candy bar on Saturday. I found that once I realized I couldn't have it then, I no longer wanted it. It lost its appeal to me because I wanted that bar to satisfy an urge to buy and eat something, not because I wanted that particular candy bar. I don't really desire candy bars now that I realize what itch they're scratching. That has been a key to my success. If you have the same habits, maybe it will help you, too.

Don't weigh yourself daily. I was absorbed in the minutiae of dieting: following rules, monitoring my compliance, and checking my level of success daily. Too, too much! Enjoy your food, practice temperance, and let the pounds come off naturally.

This isn't a diet per se: I think of it as a way of restoring normal eating habits for people who no longer know how to eat. No S is like a repairman who fixes your busted 'eating thermostat.' It resets the food thermostat to 'Normal,' and provides the mechanism whereby you can maintain that setting.

If you don't stick to the rules for a day, don't quit! Just readjust for the next meal, the next day, and keep on going. Pay attention to the factors involved that caused you to momentarily drop from the plan, and make a mental note of them so you can be more aware the next time that situation arises.

Good luck!

[This path is my life]

Thanks Samurai, I like your login name too, what great levels of discipline and self-knowledge to aspire to.

I also was too strict with myself at first, and now give my self more slack and "forgiveness" if you will, I agree that that's very important because I found that it's not one day that caused me to blow it, it's me chucking everything for the next 2 weeks because I was disappointed in myself for that one day. I hope to finally stop doing that this time around.

This isn't a diet per se: I think of it as a way of restoring normal eating habits for people who no longer know how to eat. No S is like a repairman who fixes your busted 'eating thermostat.' It resets the food thermostat to 'Normal,' and provides the mechanism whereby you can maintain that setting.

What you said here really struck a chord with me. Recently I have come to that same realization that I simply do not know how to eat. I can't (yet) trust myself with portions, food choices, stopping when I'm full, knowing when I'm actually hungry (instead of simply eating b/c I feel sad, tired, worried, happy, stressed, etc), not eating too much at nice dinners or when I go out to eat, or judging an appropriate amount of sweets for myself etc. This diet takes the guesswork out of all of that and for me, during my points of success with this diet previously (until I let myself get too far off the beaten path), I felt blissfully and beautifully sane for those moments. That alone was worth the effort, moments of hunger, delaying my gratifications (I tend to be quite impatient ) etc.

Thanks for your thoughts and good luck with Day 6!