Everyday Systems

So, who's next to the 21 Club? Once you've hit 21 successful consecutive days, post in this forum thread...

21 days on June 10. It won't be too long till I get the double...

Great idea for a thread, Kevin. I love the gourmet associations of the name. For what other diet would they be appropriate? The only difference is I'm hoping this thread will be less exclusive than the restaurant, that we'll soon have far to many members to even dream of making a reservation.

I think Jan should rightfully post next, but we won't quibble about details of chronology here (beyond the day count). I rehabituated Saturday June 25.

Yup, I'm here, and I'm pleased as punch! Now for portion control...see you in another 21 days, I hope, same time, same station.

...Reinhard. I was worried that you'd find it, I don't know, glib.

Anyway, cvmom should be here, too... and there are several others that look like good candidates...

I never liked exclusive clubs.

You can keep your club for now Kevin!
I'm starting a gang!
Deb
ps.. See you in about 17 more N days...

21 Club Member.

Too Cool!!!!

CVMOM

Congrats to all you 21-dayers! I did not see this thread until today. I am going to try to join you in 20 days!\question--do your s days count? or do we just count to successful no-s days in adding up our 21?

I was just counting 21 days from start to finish, including the S-Days...wouldn't want to leave them out! Hope that was correct counting! Anyway, my habit is formed so well now, that it is difficult to break from it even on s-days.

Thanks Jan...I figured those s days counted, too!

Jammin Jan, I'm pretty sure that it's supposed to be 21 N days...
S days are your days off...
Well whatever amount of days, we know you belong in this club...
You should be the captain of the club!!!!!
You could clearly do this for six more, so let's just leave it at that... Actually, since you've gone into your next habituation period that really completes your 21 N days... You're in the clear!!!
Yay Jammin Jan!!!
Peace and Love,
Deb

Reinhard can weigh in. I believe S days count to the total. 21 days is, I think, three calendar weeks.

Yeah, you're right Kevin! I actually asked him that once a while back in an email... I just checked my old emails...
It is 15 N days, and 6 S days....

My bad guys! Forgive me! I'm getting seriously senile!
Love,
Deb

I was going to say that I felt the S-days should count, too, because those two days are actually part of the habit that you're trying to form, which includes having days off.

I think building the time off into your habit is almost as important as the weekly structure provided by No S, because they give you a much-needed psychological break from the self-imposed restrictions you live with during the rest of the week.

Sorry for taking so long to weigh in here, but you all figured it out just fine. Yes, S days count, and Samurai's reasoning is right on. See, it's even easier than it sounds to join this club.

Hi guys! Just checking in here to say that I've made it. I haven't really seen any changes in how my clothes fit yet, and I don't have a scale, but I do have a goal pair of jeans: the pair I wore on my first date with my boyfriend last October. I will be so happy if I can get into them again. Don't care how long it takes. I'll be NoSing anyway...

Yay, Gwendo! You made it!!!

Well, I'm a proud member of the 21 day club. I have more to lose than most here, so the weight came off relatively quickly for me.

For those who don't read the daily check-ins, my last weigh-in was at 24 days (15 n-days, 9 s-days) and I have lost 16.5 pounds so far.

Congratulations to Gwendo and SpiralStares!

Welcome gwendo and spiralstares. So what's next, the Four Seasons? That's so far off, would be nice to have something in between.

How about "The Flavor-of-the-Month Club?"

Four Seasons indeed! Soon I'll be in that one babe (see how cleverly I sidestepped the 21 day club? LOL...)
How about downsizing and creating the 21 hour club? LOL.... I'll join that one!
Or, you could cut the year in half and shave off a few weeks for the 21 week club....
With all these clubs I hope we don't get too exclusive though...
I'd love to see you start a Club Med... NoS style...
It goes without saying that we wouldn't have to worry about hurrying up to get to the dining room when the buffet opens..
There wouldn't be any buffet! LOL....

Love,
Deb

I think we *club* members should up the ante. How about a 90 day club that requires you to book a spa treatment? Or, if you're not into that then doing something really decadent that doesn't involve food?

I am at day 37 and feeling like I need to reward myself soon.

Just a thought, feedback appreciated.

Dru

Hm, I was thinking that Day 7 was going to earn me a manicure...too soon

Mandy:

No question that you should be rewarding yourself on a regular basis. I am getting ready to toss those jeans and I haven't even got my Macy's bill yet.

Get your manicure by all means...

I know, 90 days may be too tall an order. That's why I asked for feedback. 30? 60?

Dru

Count me in! Today is Day 23 of my new regimen!

Not sure if I've lost any weight or not, as I haven't been on a scale in about a year. But I've had to cut another notch in my belt, and I feel great!

Yay me! w00t!

Congrats James!!!! I love that you get to cut notches in your belt as you make progress - it's like earning stars or something. So what do men do to reward themselves? (I'm assuming you don't want a manicure.)

Hi James.

Congratulations!!! 21 days is the formation of a habit, is it not????

I'm sure if you are tightening your belt then things are shifting in the right direction. (I hate scales too. They are deceptive )

In honor of your milestone I had a huge veggie burrito today!!!

Dru

Rock on James!!!Belt notches down are definitely worth Woot-ing over... Especially after a lovely Indian birthday dinner....
(Your posts keep me perpetually salivating these days.....)
Congrats on your new membership status!
Peace,
Deb

Hi Ariel, well in general, men rewarding themselves involves lots of scantily-clad or outright nude women with fans and other apparatuses on a beach somewhere.... at least our sick minds. Men are pigs.

Well, I finally climbed that hill and here I am, feeling great in the 21 Club!

It really wasn't so hard! I'm so glad to have found out what I am capable of!

I had a routine that was just right for me -- no snacks, no sweets, portion control, some treats on weekends, greatly reduced consumption of sugar and refined starches -- and the strategic use of an occasional chocolate almond on a weekday to signify the end of a meal.

In the last 21 days I lost 2 more pounds (180 to 178). I am sure I gained some muscle mass, since I stepped up my exercise & started swimming. So my fat loss is probably more than 2 pounds.

YAY Betsy!!!

And James - no "pig" self-name-calling, please! There is nothing wrong with a man's (or woman's for that matter) healthy appreciation of the female body. You can be a perfectly civilized person regardless of what happens in your daydreams. So fantasize away - just don't share too many details oh, and if you can think of something you'd like as a reward in reality, then go for it!

...as of 7/22, And cruisin!

That's a triple!

Ariel, you are quite right. I was using the pig reference jokingly. This Freakwitch thinks our culture is far too repressed, sexually and otherwise.

Yeah, the trick is to make some of those "fantasies" become realities.

Here's how I rewarded myself today: by buying myself nice clothes that fit me at the size I currently am.

As I've said before, I gained a lot of weight in a short time over the past year. I gained about 30 pounds in six months. I haven't actually taken any of it off yet, but I did make it to 28 days of NoS before I got sick, and have been looking for a kick in the ass to get back on the wagon. I've been picking at food for a week and a half or so, but haven't been able to digest anything well enough to eat real meals.

I found out some interesting things, too.

The last bra I bought, before I gained the weight, was a size 32DD. Today I bought three 36DDD bras that fit incredibly well. I'm 5'3", 165 lbs, and wear size 12 pants. And I'm curvy beyond belief!

What's funny is that I've been hiding from my true size for months now, just waiting for my newfound fat to disappear of its own accord so I could go back to being me. Now I realize that, by owning up to my body, and wearing clothes that fit, I'm accepting myself and motivating myself to live a healthier life.

Sounds cheesy, but it's true!

The next 21 days start tomorrow

Welcome freakwitch, betsy, gwendo and x3 kevin.

Thanks again Kevin for establishing a valuable precedent. Everyone feel free (and encouraged) to post here at any multiple of 21. Actually, I imagine some of you will want to stop keeping such precise count after a while, so after 21 just choose your milestone and post here. Some things are just too big to keep tucked away in a daily check-in, and better keep it all in one place than having a huge proliferation of different milestone clubs.

Day 21.
Like I mentioned, days 19, 20, and 21 were weird--S day for 19 because I needed a snack before fasting for two days; then no food at all on day 20; then, no food until dinner on day 21, and since I had skipped 5 meals in a row, a little more than a plate—a regular plate plus frozen yogurt, actually.

In any case, 21 days doesn’t feel particularly significant. Immediately on starting NoS I didn’t really have a problem cutting out snacks and sweets (and haven’t even really had any snacks on normal S days—pre-fasting late night snack was an exception). It kind of feels like I haven’t formed a habit—that I am following the rules because they are rules, not because it is my habit to do so. And I’m not really sure what the consequence of a slip up is now—like there was the “start over” consequence in the first 21 days…maybe I need another time-oriented (as opposed to pound or pants size) goal? Like Jan? I’m unna think on it.

Mandy... Hope you're feeling better today!!!
As far as habit is concerned, versus just sticking with the rules, maybe it just feels like you are sticking with the rules because you didn't really have to undo a really bad habit to begin with.....
It may have come easy because you aren't that far off from being in good health already...
That is a good thing!
(sorry if I sound like Martha!)

Yesterday, Richard and I were talking about something with food and I suggested we have something (great memory guys, sorry for being so "specific" LOL...) He tells me "That definitely is an S"
Just that alone is a habit I'm happy we have now:
Questioning what we eat...
Considering it first, before we choose to have it....

We never did that in the past... I am glad he is starting it now, so that he won't necessarily have to "break bad habits" in the future (like me...)
I am really thrilled that we both do this together...

I say, don't get all "I need a new goal" every five minutes, and just stick with the current goal of having good N Days....
You and Jan both have a lot of "Get up and go!" LOL....
It may not be "exciting enough" for you to just stick with the "rules" without any challenge
(you do like that stuff right? I mean triathelons and stuff are a dead giveaway...) But there is challenge here Mandy!!! Trust me...
I am very happy for you that it's going so smoothly!

For me personally, the challenge in NoS, is to apply the rules, in a correct way, enough times (failures included in this) to the point where it becomes a Zen state... Or as Reinhard would put it, largely unconscious...
Then it won't even feel like I am "trying" anymore...
It will be "effortless"....
How long will this take?????
That is a good question....

Love,
Deb

Congrats Gwendo and Mandy!!! Gwendo, your choice of reward sounds great to me. Reminds me of a quote I read somewhere: "Shame never motivated anyone to change". Odd as it sounds, I really think the prerequisite to being able and willing to change something is to first accept it fully for what it is. Your shape sounds lovely to me (care to send one of those Ds my way? My Bs could use a little help ).

Mandy, 21 days is not a magic number for everyone - just a common length of time for people to form a habit. Especially with your recent medically-imposed dietary disruption, I can imagine this might feel anti-climactic. I'm sure if you keep NoSing, though, the habit feeling will start to kick in. Good luck finding another goal that works for you!

oh, forgot to say - Deb, very good points as always Your approach has a lot in common with mine.

Ok, well, I had a few days that were less than 100% perfect, but I hit 21 days of what I would consider "on habit" this past Sunday. NoS does feel like a pretty well ingrained habit at this point for me. And my primary goal, which was to curb my fast-growing sweet tooth, seems to be coming along quite well. My ice cream cravings have dropped substantially. THANKS REINHARD!!

Welcome to the club. Now go out and score a double (that's another 21 days, not a double ice cream cone...)

Way to go, A. I totally agree about the sweet tooth thing!!

Thanks Kevin & Mandy!!

21 days today!

Ausgezeichnet!!!!
Alles Liebe,
Deb

gj, good job!

Welcome, Jürgen, Mandy, Ariel.

Mandy, 21 days is a simplification, but simplifications are necessary. We forget sometimes today because we think we're so smart how insufficient our understanding is to fully grasp reality. Simplifications (humbly recognized as such) give us a foothold to crawl forward. It isn't perfect, but it's good enough. Perfect isn't possible. Give yourself another simplification to strive towards and soon enough you'll find you've crawled past that invisible point of habituation. You may not be there yet, but you're surely closer.

21 days as of yesterday. This being my birthday, it's still an S day.

17 pounds lost so far on NoS.

Dealer, hit me again, I'm going for another 21!

Prodigal -- welcome, congratulations, and happy birthday. Beautiful timing, and wow, 17 pounds, you're really living up to your namesake.

OK, today was day 42 of my regimen. Count me in the 2x club! W00t!

To celebrate, I'm going to cut another new notch in my belt; I cut one a few weeks ago, but my pants actually fell down today! YeeHa!

Go me!

I just hit 2x21...and promptly blew it today. Oh well.

Congrats on your double. Get back in the saddle!

Congratulations on your doubles, Freakwitch and Blondie. Kevin, you've set a great precedent with this. Looking forward to triples from you both (blondie, I ditto Kevin on your slip up).

After two hits, you get the Manny exception. If you can hit doubles, who cares about the occasional error?

Nice reference.

Hey Reinhard:

I just counted. I am a triple 21 working toward my quadrupal. I have no idea how this happened. I even surprise myself.

Quick, write the book. More people need to know about this.

XXOO Dru

Dru Rocks!!!!!!!!!
Love,
Deb

WAY TO GO DRU!!!! 3rd base crossed, on your way to a home run!

I think I can join the club as I've just completed 21 days of eating well. I'm so glad that I started Day 1 and kept going. Yippee!!

Big Hugs Snazzy!!

And Congratulations on a job well done.

Dru

Way to go!

Is there an Australian sport metaphor for the number 5? I mean, we have single, double, triple and homerun from baseball. We could have done hatrick for three, I guess (from hockey). but 5? I can't think of a good one.

Good for you, Snazzybabe!!

Its good to be part of the club. Now I need to stay here and not lose my membership!!

I don't think you can 'lose' your membership. You did 21 days in a row and nobody can take that away.

Well done! Hopefully I'll be here on Thursday morning too !!!

C.

Welcome, snazzy!

Don't worry, we won't kick you out. But you'll have more excuses to post here if you keep going strong.

cvmom, very nice! I think statistically triples are even rarer than home runs.

Once you've done 21 days, you're a lifetime member. At least, that's my way of thinking.

I think you could be kicked out of it if you intentionally ate in a gluttonous and Sugar crazed way for 21 days straight... That would cancel out and deprogram the good habit thing! Then you'd have to start all over again, so why do that???? Ha ha ha!!!

I am getting psyched to be in your club dudes!!!
Only 8.5 days to go and that includes 4 S days!
Yay!!!!!!!!!
Love,
Deb

Hiya everyone!

I made it to the 21 day club too!! YAY!

I agree with Deb. You shouldn't be kicked out unless you regress to eating in a crazy fashion again for 21 days. That has a nice symmetry to it, I think.

Today I will probably have a small piece of cake as a treat because I made it here... But don't worry, after that, I'm jumping straight back in to eating properly for the rest of my life.

C.

Way to go, Carolejo!

Way to go CaroleJo!!!!

21 days!!! And in the middle of the Boy's move. Amazing.

Dru

Good on ya Carolejo!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm definitely going to have something good, like cake or whatever when I make it like you did!!!!!

I think the plan is to go out for an Indian dinner and I will most likely have something very decadent like cheesecake with a couple of scoops of ice cream on the side!!!

Love,
Deb

I had a nice chocolate muffin... but it messed with my blood sugar levels like I never thought about before! Talk about CRASH 2 hours later!!!

Still, it tasted wonderful. Thanks everyone and thanks Reinhard for coming up with a system that even I can stick to, that incidentally has taught me quite a bit about how my body reacts to particular foods! That's a side-effect of noS you don't hear about so much, but merely by thinking more about what goes into your body and spacing out your meals, it becomes much easier to listen to what your body is telling you about the foodstuffs you eat.

This program is fantastic. I am busily recommending it to everyone I meet!

Hey Carolejo!
I had a very similar thing happen to me the other day...
It was after eating a fairly good sized bowl of rice crispies and chocolate soymilk..
But it was following a week where I had been *almost* on fasting mode..
Then when I got my appetite back and had that, I felt like my head was made of lead.... That never happened to me before from food..
Ha...
Cheers!
Yer mate,
Deb

Congratulations and welcome, Carolejo. Will check your checkin for details...

I'm so happy this club keeps expanding. Good thing we're all losing weight or we wouldn't fit.

There's room at our table... let me know when you get here. Shouldn't be long now, right?

May we get our official badges now?

Love,
Debbie and Richard Feder!

You surely do deserve them, both of you! Congratulations!

congrats carolejo, gratefuldeb, and everyone else!

I realized that I'm on day 66, which means I passed the 21x3 club a few days ago.... I've had some ups and downs, but the overall trajectory for this past 2 months has shifted dramtically and measurably. Very, very cool.

GO, Deb and Richard!! WELL DONE!!!

Thanks Betsy, Jammin Jan and Freaky!!! Hugs!!!
Deb

I'm happy you made it. Congratulations!

Thank you Kevin!!!
Me too!
Love,
Deb

Deb, congratulations! With everything you've been going through this week, it's doubly amazing.

James: congratulations on your triple and thanks for checking in here again. I love to see that when people make it here they stay.

Thanks Reinhard!!! I am proud!!!
This was a big challenge for me
Love,
Deb

Hey Freakwitch, your triple is fantastic!

Deb, Richard, great effort. Well done!

C.

Well done Deb! You're an inspiration!

And well done everyone else who made the club & keep re-checking in.

(I intend to join you all very soon...)

Today is my day 21 on the noS diet!!

It feels second nature now.

See you at round 2!

LT

Hey Lethal T!!!
Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great job... Glad it's feeling like second nature to you already! Isn't that amazing!!! Yay!!!!!!!
You are now officially 21 and can enter this hoity toity fancy shmancy joint!

Love,
Deb

Congratulations! You did it! Now you know you can!

Welcome, Lethaltoenails. Wow, that was a quick 21 days.

Richard! I'm sorry I missed you. Welcome to the 21 club and congratulations on being its youngest member.

Hi Reinhard.
Thank you for congratulating me, and for thinking of me!
Most of the plan wasn't that hard, but when I went out with my Grandma
I was really determined not to have any soda or ice cream on N days, even though she bought me a blueberry muffin when I was almost finished with the 21 days.
When I told her I didn't want it, she ate it!!! LOL!
Keep the good work up.
I'm proud to be the youngest one on NoS!
Love,
Richard

I just realized that I've been doing this for 7 weeks - so I made my double last week and did not notice.

Oh well. I've been known to forget my own birthday so it's hardly surprising ...

Well here I am! It seems a very quick 21 days to me, but that just goes to show me that it is possible.

The view from up here is...pretty much the same as it was 21 days ago, BUT I *FEEL* BETTER

I've still not got my 'before' picture posted, and I forgot to weigh myself this morning (Last year Reinhard wanted to know what the weight loss was over the first 3 weeks. Do we still declare that?)

Thanks for the encouragement everybody!

DaveA

Hiya Dave!!! You Rock!!!!
Congratulations!!!!!!!
Good work on getting up here on the club mountain!!!!

Glad it went by nice and quickly for ya!
(Sure beats slow and agonizing!)
You do look better now! Whether you feel better is up to you, but I'll check now..Gimme a hug! LOL....
Are you going to celebrate with a hot chockie?
I am really happy for you!!!!!!

Peace and Love,
Debbie

Welcome, Dave! Wow, that was fast. Post scale numbers if you want, don't if the scale drives you crazy.

Double welcome, Jürgen. Here's hoping this becomes so natural to us all that we keep forgetting that we're doing something strange...

Wow - 21 days have gone and I feel like I have been doing this all my life, it is so normal and natural with no stress.

I have not lost any weight as per the scale, but I definitely feel better and my clothing is fitting better.

I am looking forward to the next 21!

Reinhard thanks for a great plan and to all the Nossers thanks for being such an inspiration.

Well done Mo! That's fantastic!

And you called us 'Nossers' ?! That's hilarious! (sounds like 'Tossers' which has a very rude meaning in the UK)

Do we have an 'official' name? Or should we come up with one?

DaveA

Lol Dave - it does sound a bit rude doesn't it - lol

Tosser has the same meaning SA as it does in the UK - thanks to all the ex-UK people who have taken up residence here (my folks included) half the english we speak is UK based.

I think a name sounds great, but I won't offer as my last attempt sounds borderline obscene - lol

Have a super day

Figures... Borderline obscene, and I've been using that term for a whole year now!
Nossers!!! LOL..
Now I like it even more! LOL....

Hey if this was the No A diet, and we all fell into a big ditch, we would all be
Nassho..... oh wait,, there I go again!

Congrats Mo! You are really doing fantastic..
I am thrilled that the 21 days on habit has permeated your subconscious!
It is not always so immediate... When that happens, it's like gold!
Your happiness and pride in being able to do this, should be a great source of inspiration for your future successes..
It's *just challenging enough* but by no means, unendurable, or upleasant to be "on"...
This is healthy eating with a twist... Free will to choose what healthy means to you, and the security of knowing that you don't always have to be precisely perfect.. this plan has all the kinks worked out and it works for you as long as you make the effort!
You made the effort! Yay!!!!!

Peace and Love,
Deb