Please post if you've done several consecutive 21 day stretches [or tell me how you measure it now] and give me an idea of your progress and success. I"d like a good idea of what happens when you do this right!
Bobbie
WHO HAS THE MOST CONSISTENTLY SUCCESSFUL 21 DAY STRETCHES
Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating
Hmmmmm.... My first set of 21 days was ROUGH. Trying to stop my "grazing" eating style was difficult to say the least. I started over a couple times. I've been doing this for 3 months now and I'd like to say its easier - and in some ways it is. But I am a foodie. I love food. So, for someone like myself it is very difficult compared to someone like my sister who could care less about food and is therefore bone thin. I have had to start my 21 day trip AGAIN this week. I did it for my own peace of mind because I THOUROUGLY THRASHEd my NO S eating plan recently and it takes 21 days to make a habit and I've truly fallen out of the habit.
I don't know if this helps answer your question at all. I do want to tell you that this is a really good way to set your food issues in a straight line for the rest of your life. Re-learning to eat healthy and then have treats now & again instead of gorging on them. Reinhard has a great plan here if you stick to it. I also heard something a couple of weeks ago from Dr Oz (Oprah) that HAS helped me tremendously. He said to have the same foods for 2 of your daily meals. It will help it become autonomic and you don't have to think about it with all those evil choices out there. For instance, have a piece of wheat toast & a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast every other morning and every other morning have a piece of fruit and a yogurt. That type of thing. Keeping it the same & healthy & simple takes so much burden off you. I have been doing the same breakfast for 2 months now. I thought it would get boring but I find myself liking it. I don't even think about it. I put the toast in the toaster and water in my oatmeal every day. I don't even buy cereal anymore because it is so bad for me. Now it doesnt even enter my mind that I want some Lucky Charms! Breakfast has become autonomic for me and it is the only meal that I don't "cheat" on. For lunch it is always a chore to decide what to have. So sometimes I end up eating a garbage burrito or a cheesburger from Islands or In N Out. Not good. It's because I have too many choices and I lose sight of my goal. Because I've had such a hard time with making good food choices my entrie adult life I think this same thing every day (or slight variations thereof) for 1-2 meals keeps me going. I see alot of people on this board who want to be a success really badly but really aren't making any changes. You just have to do i little bit of work to see results. They are not fast results, but they appear to be lasting results - which I think is what we all really want anyway. (I have had my share of MAJOR slip ups - Like the majority of the last 4 weeks!). What some of us have started to change about US is that we are seeing this as a lifetime pattern of choices and that just because we gorge out one day because our kids were pecking us to death like a chicken and our boss yelled at us and we miss our ex husband DOES NOT MEAN FAILURE. It means we do better at our next choice. And I am doing that, despite all my falling down, I am still 18 pounds lighter than I was 3 months ago. (This morning I weighed in at 260, started at 278). So although I did pig out ONCE IN A WHILE. As a whole, I'm still healthier than before Reinhards plan. I excercise more often (though not regularly) and I have a place (HERE) to talk about my food issues and get real feedback either daily or weekly or whenever I need it. It is a safe place where nobody judges you; they just try to give you suggestions to help you in your walk.
I hope this gives you some perspective into my 21 day journeys. I've had to start over a couple times, but that was because I allowed myself to focus on something else instead of my goal so I never GOT to the 21 days in a row. It's not that it is a magical number. The 21 days is how long it has been proven to develop a habit (good or bad). So you have to be strict with yourself for 21 days to develop your habit. Most people who HAVE done that are very successful.
I don't know if this helps answer your question at all. I do want to tell you that this is a really good way to set your food issues in a straight line for the rest of your life. Re-learning to eat healthy and then have treats now & again instead of gorging on them. Reinhard has a great plan here if you stick to it. I also heard something a couple of weeks ago from Dr Oz (Oprah) that HAS helped me tremendously. He said to have the same foods for 2 of your daily meals. It will help it become autonomic and you don't have to think about it with all those evil choices out there. For instance, have a piece of wheat toast & a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast every other morning and every other morning have a piece of fruit and a yogurt. That type of thing. Keeping it the same & healthy & simple takes so much burden off you. I have been doing the same breakfast for 2 months now. I thought it would get boring but I find myself liking it. I don't even think about it. I put the toast in the toaster and water in my oatmeal every day. I don't even buy cereal anymore because it is so bad for me. Now it doesnt even enter my mind that I want some Lucky Charms! Breakfast has become autonomic for me and it is the only meal that I don't "cheat" on. For lunch it is always a chore to decide what to have. So sometimes I end up eating a garbage burrito or a cheesburger from Islands or In N Out. Not good. It's because I have too many choices and I lose sight of my goal. Because I've had such a hard time with making good food choices my entrie adult life I think this same thing every day (or slight variations thereof) for 1-2 meals keeps me going. I see alot of people on this board who want to be a success really badly but really aren't making any changes. You just have to do i little bit of work to see results. They are not fast results, but they appear to be lasting results - which I think is what we all really want anyway. (I have had my share of MAJOR slip ups - Like the majority of the last 4 weeks!). What some of us have started to change about US is that we are seeing this as a lifetime pattern of choices and that just because we gorge out one day because our kids were pecking us to death like a chicken and our boss yelled at us and we miss our ex husband DOES NOT MEAN FAILURE. It means we do better at our next choice. And I am doing that, despite all my falling down, I am still 18 pounds lighter than I was 3 months ago. (This morning I weighed in at 260, started at 278). So although I did pig out ONCE IN A WHILE. As a whole, I'm still healthier than before Reinhards plan. I excercise more often (though not regularly) and I have a place (HERE) to talk about my food issues and get real feedback either daily or weekly or whenever I need it. It is a safe place where nobody judges you; they just try to give you suggestions to help you in your walk.
I hope this gives you some perspective into my 21 day journeys. I've had to start over a couple times, but that was because I allowed myself to focus on something else instead of my goal so I never GOT to the 21 days in a row. It's not that it is a magical number. The 21 days is how long it has been proven to develop a habit (good or bad). So you have to be strict with yourself for 21 days to develop your habit. Most people who HAVE done that are very successful.
~I'm still not perfect~
~Sophie~
~Sophie~
