Everyday Systems

* My NoS journey will officially begin on Wednesday, October 23, 2013. I'm the type who begins new things on Monday or the first of the month or New Year's Day. I thought an ordinary Wednesday would be a nice change of pace. Also, I'll only have 3 N days before my first S day.

* After reading even more posts, I realize there are others like me--the quitters, the rationalizers, the bingers as well as the empathizers, the encouragers, the suggestion givers. All in all a great group of down to earth folks.

* I already know what some of my bumps in the road will be: 1. I have a very insistent and persistent inner toddler who will whine and cajole and pitch a fit until I give in (think of Nellie on "Little House on the Prairie); 2. I'll muck with things thereby setting myself up for failure; 3. No S will become the entire focus of my life, and I'll be afraid of thinking about it so much my head will explode.

* Possible solutions I've come up with: 1. I must be firm but not harsh. John Rosemond says you should never try to reason with a toddler--you say no, and when the child argues and begs and demands to know why, you tell them, "Because I said so."; 2. I will give myself a prize when I get 17 *s on a calendar for sticking to the simple version of the plan (they don't have to all be successful N days, just days I'm following directions); 3. This one has me stumped. From past experience(s) I can guarantee it will happen, and I know it makes me grumpy and sickish inside and out of sorts--maybe it's another way I set myself up for misery that provides an excuse to abandon the whole thing. I would really appreciate any insight on this.

Thanks and onward!

I am also one that starts this then sees something else that seems easier and quicker at the time and then abandon this but then come back. All I'm trying to do now is go one day at a time and try to not think about diets anymore and also not weigh as I know that's my trigger point

You might enjoy reading French Kids Eat Everything by Karen Le Billon. The way French adults eat is very similar to No-S and it gives ideas of how to deal with those unruly little ones

I'm not quite sure I understand your #3, but when and if it happens, you just keep soldiering forward, one foot in front of the other until it passes. Winston Churchill said, "When you're going through hell, keep going."

I think there's a chance that it won't happen because you're not limiting or restricting what you eat, just when. You're not being told that you can't have toast for breakfast and you must have fish at 3 dinners weekly.

Remember, No-S limits sweets, not sugar. "Sweets" can be loosely defined as anything you would consider a dessert or treat, not any thing with sugar in it. So you can have sugar in your coffee or tea, on your cereal, or jam on your toast.

Good rule of thumb: don't muck with things for at least 6 months to a year.

Don't think about it, just do it. No-S is simple, easy to understand, but not necessarily easy, without effort. No-S shouldn't be the focus of your life, just the way you eat. As much as I think eating should be an important and enjoyable part of life, unless it's your vocation or avocation it shouldn't be the focus of your life.

I will admit to thinking about food a lot of the time, but it's a hobby for me. I think I'm like a French or Italian person that way. When I'm eating one meal, I'm thinking about the next, or tomorrow's or next week's. It's pleasurable for me. It's not a source of angst.

One final thing. No-S, or some variation of it, is how most of the population of the world eats. If most of the rest of the world can do it, so can we.

oops! A duplicate.

When I was on low carb, I read one book after another -- for two and a half years, I didn't read a novel, only diet books. I memorized the carb values of every food, I had an online tracker, I collected recipes that duplicated carb-y favorites -- yes, it did take over my life to a certain extent!

My No S experience has been very different. You run out of material to obsess over pretty quickly -- one slim book, some podcasts, the posts on this board, that's it! You just eat, pretty much whatever you want, at the appropriate times. I think once you start to do it, you'll realize that point #3 is not going to be a problem for you. Good luck!

OK, I will admit I was a little confused by your post, because I thought you were already NoSing. Did something happen that caused you to put off your start date?
Dive in Ramona, the water's fine in NoS land!

Ramona -- I was reading a response you wrote on another thread and noticed this:

I have to learn to separate physical hunger from the insatiable urge to use food for a myriad of other reasons.

In French Kids Eat Everything there are some rules for children (and adults). One of the rules is "Avoid emotional eating. Food is not a pacifier, a distraction, a toy, a bribe, a reward or a substitute for discipline." Even hunger isn't a good reason to eat. Hunger isn't an emergency. You will eat in a relatively short period of time. You eat when it's time to eat your meal.

How did your first day go?