Everyday Systems

I am finally creating a post for checking in. I've got a lot going on (okay, I've got a case of mono going on) and not a lot of time so I'll be back with more concrete goals and info.

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Hi Selcazare, just thought I’d say hello and best of luck with everything. You come across as a really thoughtful person who understands the psychological side of eating very well. And you know yourself well, too! That’s got to give you a head start. It sounds like you’ve found a sensible modification, allowing sweets to be part of your plate. I’ve read of other No S folk who do that, too.

I started eating more in response to anxiety, too - though for me this happened in adulthood. I read in a book that keeping your blood sugar stable was helpful for panic attacks, and indeed, I did suffer more anxiety when my blood sugar was low. Especially if a meal was delayed, I could get quite desperate and jittery. But being concerned with my blood sugar backfired: I simply became anxious about hunger. And snacking just became a habit. No S really forces me to confront this.

Your eating style sounds a bit like mine. I don’t have big binges but I would graze on junk a lot. And sometimes do crazy meals like the one you described with the ice cream and Cheetos. Eg. Three chocolate eclairs. 😱😂!

Anyway, all the best with your new eating style!

Hi and welcome home. I'm glad your 3 meals are working for you. I'm curious, Do you mean you prep. and cook 2 different meals for you and your husband every day? That's an amazing level of dedication! My husband would be just plane out of luck.

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Your cooking descriptions are impressive to me!
Fascinating both yours & your husband's journey.

Note: I empathize with the crazy meals (for example, ice cream for dinner was nearly a staple for me at various points in my life). Also empathize with the pre-diabetes. I haven't gotten that diagnosis, but I have my suspicions.

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I still have to tell myself that a pint of ice cream is not a meal, and that's one of the reasons I need to stick with three meals a day, every day because my Saturday and Sundays always lead me right back to that habit. Best of luck to you!

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Wow - I just followed those links you posted, Selca. The one headed I Failed Maintenance is a brilliant argument for No S: that lady never learned any habits of moderation, and was left high and dry. And from the replies, you can see how many calorie counters have got into similar difficulties. So many people report putting all their weight back on. My heart goes out to them.

I’ve done CICO a couple of times - it worked a treat the first time, but I lapsed after a year or so. The second time it was harder and less effective. The third time, and in subsequent attempts, I just failed almost straight away! I couldn’t resist highly calorific foods, and was always trying to make space for them, rather than just cut them out for the week as you’d do on No S. Now, I feel much more able to cut out chocolate for a few days at a time. It’s a new skill for me.

Thanks for posting those links!

That link was really insightful - I lost a good amount of weight calorie counting, but I would 'fit in' a chocolate bar or other snack to my counts frequently, and never really built sustainable habits. Then when I got near my goal weight I just backslid and went back into the old habits of eating whatever, whenever, and put most of it back on again!

Hope you are feeling better!

Really enjoyed your history post and your experiences/thinking. There is so much that goes into this process, you could be endlessly fascinated. The three plates of anything sounds like a good mod which has worked well for others here.

At the moment I am moving back from Holiday Zone (gosh, that's hung on, hasn't it?) where I have sweets daily though not generally in what I would consider large amounts I save official desserts for Friday/Saturday. I have done the clean eating 6 days/ cheat 7th day in the past which can be made to work, but does heighten the glamour of sweets. I think I do better sort of soft-peddling them during the week and then looking forward to/preparing some nice dessert or brunchy treat on the weekend. I do want to tighten up my practices but I think I will do that by getting myself to fix a plate rather than eating any old how, which I tend to do especially at lunch.

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Hi there!
Can you tell me a little more about Happy Scale? I suppose I can just google it, too, though -- so don't feel obligated to expound.

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Great review! Awesome to have peace of mind around food AND losses too.

Fantastic progress, Selca! Interesting to hear about your mod.

Congratulations! I can see how staying to most of the esses, even on the weekend, could be helpful. Snacking has been the worst of the esses, for me.

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Hope you’re feeling better, Selcazare! Good luck for March. 🙂
Interesting feature, by the way!