Everyday Systems

Time for the 2015 Holiday check-in!

This time, alas, I am starting out in a bad place - weight has shot up this last month. A girls' trip away - great fun, but filled with over-indulgence. Then my son's birthday party, then Halloween....

Result: I'm up to 152. Normal is 148-ish. Not a lot, but it needs to stop NOW. And we're heading into the holiday season, which is always the most challenging for me.

After the "girls' trip," I realized that a BIG part of my normal strategy is keeping junk food out of the house, or at least hidden. When it's just sitting out on the table, I fall into the worst of my addictive patterns.

• * Eat it all NOW, because you can't later. (I turn into a human vacuum-cleaner, inhaling everything in sight... past the point of enjoyment.)
  * My tummy is uncomfortable... that must mean I'm hungry. (No, it means you've eaten too much already. But I have to pay attention to circumvent this automatic response.)
  * And the all-too-familiar..."blown it anyway!"

The result is that I pretty much fall face-first into the snack bowls.

Also, I can usually take my couple of N-day exceptions whenever I want, because in normal life, there aren't many - book club, an occasional party. But this time of year, they're almost every day! And I am realizing that strings of exceptions weaken the habit - I need to be more picky about which days I choose.

So. Back to basics. The goals are:

• *Stick to N-day basics. (I've got those, I believe. But check to be sure.)
  *Count exception days. Make sure they're worth it.
  *On S-days and exception days, I can eat what I want, but I need to make sure I really truly want it and am not just falling into mindless eating. Because that does not make me happy in the long run. And I know this.
  * To avoid mindless eating, use Vsurmbat's method (located in my 2014 thread) of "Serve, Observe, Savor." Choose what I will serve myself. Observe how I feel about the serving. Once I have decided I will eat it, savor each bite.
  
  And of course, attend to exercise and meditation.
  
  Will start reporting with today - stay tuned!

Thursday 11/12/15

Marvelous!

Good on No-S, despite an eat-out meeting.
Also made my steps, did Fitstar, and meditated.

All the good habits.

Friday 11/13/15

Setting intent: Steps, No-S, yoga, meditation... and at least one "got THAT done" accomplishment.

Great to see you back here ! You are so smart to get this under control early. Sounds like you're off to a great start!

Linda

Hi KCCC, I fail a lot because there is food in the house that temps me - a lot less than there used to be but it is there non-the-less. Sometimes, I consider getting rid of all of it but it occurred to me that I'd have the same problem that you're describing. I'm fine if I'm not tempted but I'd not have a strong resistance to temptation built up. So, overall I'm happy failing more often but knowing that I'm building up my ability to just walk away from it. Believe it or not, I'm waaaay better at it than when I started and I've lost quite a bit of weight despite my many fails. Anyway, I'm supposed to be encouraging you. I hope I am

Have a nice weekend.

Hi, Gingerpie and LPearlMom - thanks for stopping by. Gingerpie, congrats on the progress you've made.

Friday (11/13) was very good - met All the Intentions: No-S, Steps, Yoga, Fitstar... and my "Big Thing" was trimming the front bushes which were trying to eat the house. Those bushes attack every fall, and I have to beat them back. NOT a job I love, but the weather was so perfect that I actually didn't mind. Still, serious sense of accomplishment, because it's so visible.

Saturday is an S-day, but trying to be mindful and intentional about what I choose to eat. Will report tomorrow.

Hi, even with a small gain, it looks like you are still doing well, overall.

Hello, BA!

Weekend was... okay. I've had better/worse S-days. Saturday was better than Sunday. On Sunday, I was sort of saving for the treats at my lovely book club, and it got cancelled. Disappointment eating ensued. Oh well.

Today is Monday. Intentions:

- SOLID No-S
- Steps
- Meditation
- Meal planning/grocery shopping for week
- Enjoy life, and be grateful!

Met Monday's intentions
- SOLID No-S
- Steps
- Meditation
- Meal planning/grocery shopping for week
- Enjoy life, and be grateful!

Tried a new recipe yesterday - a mushroom-oyster stew that had leeks and turnips and bacon in it. Sounds weird, but we'd had it elsewhere and my DH and DS loooooved it. So I did my best to recreate it, and they were happy. So was I - it included a lot of veg that I don't normally use.

Now I have leftover leeks and bacon, so am going to cook those up tonight for a pasta sauce.

For today (Tuesday), have already done Fitstar and Tai Chi. (And since I didn't fit in Tai Chi yesterday, that's good. Knew I wouldn't really have time, and was okay with that. But wanted to be sure to do it today.) Working on steps and meditation and No-S eating...

Rushed, but on track. Tuesday and Wednesday all good.

Made a new pasta dish from leftover soup ingredients (bacon, a leek, etc.) last night, and it was a BIG hit with the family. Two home runs in a week - woot!

I think I cook more creatively when I'm on No-S. That's a good thing - make my meals more enjoyable.

Did very well until Friday evening, when I had an "it's the weekend, dangit!" fail.

Weekend was middling. I did do real meals and intentional sweets, but some friends came over with snacky things and I ate more than I truly wanted. I need to learn how to be around that kind of stuff without going "oh, it's an S day, I can have it..." (or losing it on an N day).

But today is Monday, and I'm re-setting for the week. Had a nice breakfast. Lunch will be a holiday potluck (Danger! Danger!), so I am bringing decent food that I'll be glad to eat. One plate!

I was calorie counting for a a while and my husband begged me to go back on No-S because when I cannot snack, I tend to be more careful to make meals that are really delicious.

I agree with you that the whole, "In for a penny, in for a pound" mentality can be awful on S-Days. I'm afraid I had to do a mod for that. Regular Saturdays and Sundays can have desserts or seconds, but snacking really needs to be almost nil. If I'm not hungry enough for an apple, it doesn't deserve a snack.

Traditional feast days? (Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc) I'm off the hook.