Everyday Systems

Today I made the 21 Day Club! No sweets, no snacks no seconds and you know what?

I feel better
I sleep better
I enjoy my food more
I have learned that starvation is not an option
I have learned that I control the food that I eat

I kind of got a hold on my portions these last 21 days. The next 21 I want to work on eating healthier meals.

If you sent me a note of encouragement.
If you replied to one of my posts.
If you posted a topic and I got encouragement from your words.

THANK YOU!!!

Thanks No S'ers, thanks to each and every one of you. You each contributed to my success. I could not have made it with out you!!

3 cheers!

f

Jessies Daughter

WAY TO GO!!!!!!!

I always enjoy your posts! Glad you are here!

Blueskighs

Belated welcome!

No-s "thingy" is fine. Though a tad general.

"Diet" doesn't have to have such awful connotations. Even animals have "diets" after all (as in "the pygmy marmoset has a largely gumnivorous diet"). Everyone has a "way of eating" or "eating tendencies." That's all no-s is. In fact, though it starts out as a bunch of conscious rules, habit turns it into something far closer to what the pygmy marmoset does after a while, something instinctive and automatic.

Reinhard

CCL,

That's terrific!

Hugs all around!

f

CrazyCatLady,

YAY YOU!!!!!!!!!

Blueskighs

Welcome, CrazyCatLady! Congratulations. I'm very happy to hear about your supportive family and friends. It's a huge help, and definitely not a given.

Made my second "21" yesterday. Woo Hoo to me!

Thanks for this wonderful site.

Resting

WAY TO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Resting!

Blueskighs

51 days on this plan and have only 2 red days, could have marked them as NWS days, but to me that would not hold me accountable enough and would be an excuse to get off habit, and I do have 2 yellow NWS days, so all in all I think that I am doing well, I need to shrink my portions a bit, especially at supper time and eat less junk on the weekends, but I am taking baby steps and I know God put this plan in my life, so I am just taking things one day and one meal at a time. Have a blessed day everyone.

Catholic Cajun,
THAT IS GREAT!

Blueskighs

blueskighs wrote:Catholic Cajun,
THAT IS GREAT!

Blueskighs

Thanks. It is by the grace of God and the help of you and all the wonderful people on these boards. God Bless you all!!

CC: Laissez les bonnes habitudes rouler!

Hooray!

f

resting -- double congratulations!

CatholicCajun -- that's wonderful. You've got a great attitude. I, too, think it's better to be strict about NWS days vs failures to keep successes meaningful.

Reinhard

fkwan wrote:CC: Laissez les bonnes habitudes rouler!

Hooray!

f

Merci!!

My second 21!

Thanks to all on the boards. I could not have stuck with this with out your encouragement and support.

Reinhard I am so greatful that you shared this simple but powerful "Thingy" that has allowed me to create lifestyle changes that are leading to a healthier way for me to live my life. Thank you.

Congratulations again, Jessies Daughter! I'm very happy this "Thingy" is continuing to work so well for you.

reinhard wrote:"Diet" doesn't have to have such awful connotations. Even animals have "diets" after all (as in "the pygmy marmoset has a largely gumnivorous diet"). Everyone has a "way of eating" or "eating tendencies." That's all no-s is. In fact, though it starts out as a bunch of conscious rules, habit turns it into something far closer to what the pygmy marmoset does after a while, something instinctive and automatic.

I love this! I was just thinking this morning on my walk that I do not feel like I am on a diet and why did Reinhard have to call it a diet anyway? But, what came to me with that thought was that I might not have ever even heard about it otherwise. I was so into finding the right "diet"! Which is exactly what I have finally done.

First 21 days reached! Four pound weight loss.

mime,

that is TREMENDOUS!

way to go,

Blueskighs

Mime, welcome and congratulations!

Reinhard

I'm now a member of the 63 day club!!!!!! (3x21)

Down 7.5.

Resting

July 3rd was my 21 day. So now I'm working on my next 21 days.

Sandy

Sandy,

Congratulations!

Blueskighs

Welcome, sbay301! Welcome back resting!

I made the 21 club yesterday - it was my first attempt at the "diet". I am really enjoying it! I have weighed in a few times, last Monday I was down 3lbs, then a few days later I was down only 2 lbs, today, that scale says I am down 1lb. If it is a 1 lb true loss in 3 weeks - I am happy. I was thrilled with the 3lb reading, but didn't think it was accurate. 1lb sounds reasonable and possible.

The real challenge begins now. For the first 3 weeks, My boyfriend was away on business and I was working from home every day. Life is getting back to normal and I hope I can keep No S going. That's why I stated when I did, because I could focus on the habit. I am still excited to do it!

~melissa

Welcome, Melissa!

And congratulations on making it the first time around.

I wouldn't obsess too much about scale numbers, but if you do, it's best to not arbitrarily pick the best or worst number: take a bunch, regularly, and focus on the average. Even better, plot the moving average in excel or something, so you can see the trend through the mass of scattered data points.

Reinhard

I'm a lurker...or technically a de-lurker now. I've been here reading all your messages & never joining in, but decided today was a good day to jump in as today is Day 21 for me. I've tried every diet plan on the planet...well...almost...I never did understand how anyone could eat just grapefruit for a long period of time. This plan, however, makes me want to just slap my palm on my forehead and say, "Duh". (I have teenagers...we do this a lot.) The simplicity of this is almost laughable. Perhaps it's the absolute logic that makes me shake my head...if I want to be healthy & lose weight I need to eat less....hmmmm.....why is that concept so simple & yet so hard to accomplish?

At the same time as being thrilled to feel less enslaved to food after three relatively easy weeks, I'm completely scared as I know how quickly I could revert back into the chip-snarfing, ice cream gulping, emotional binger I've been all my life. I'm afraid to believe that I'll hold on to this and not throw it away...sigh...scary stuff for me...and I'm sure for many people.

Anyway...I didn't post to blab...I'll start a check-in to do that...I posted because I'm thrilled to be at 21 days....if I can accomplish 21 great days, I can do one more...and that's what I intend to do....after that I'll work on the next day...and the next...and the next....

Thanks for everything....

21 Day club X2! today was day 43 actually.

Hoping to stick with this hard core until the wedding in May 2009. I am down 4lbs which is great so far. I lost my job in Feb and put on about 4lbs being home baking cookies to pass the time. So this brings me back to where I was before. My goal now is 15lbs more by May. I think it is reasonable. I need to incorporate exercise and tone up. We'll see how it goes when I look at wedding dresses this weekend!

Grats x2 Mel!

Yesterday was my 21st day on habit. I'm down 3.5 pounds so far. The best thing is I now truly believe I can turn this into a life long habit. I don't think I'm really there yet, but it is getting easier. My cravings have reduced significantly and I'm learning a lot about what a reasonable amount of food is for me, reasonable being something that is not only not embarrassing, but leaves me satisfied without being stuffed. I love my new relationship with food. I actually am enjoying it more, the grocery bill has been reduced, and my family is getting more cooked meals. What a win win situation!

mel1974c...Congrats on your engagement! You did great to get that 4 lbs back off...I'm sure that feels wonderful! We started about the same time but I haven't been brave enough to step on the scale. My clothes are not as anaconda-like tight so I'm happy. The scale numbers always trip me up so I'm determined not to even go there.

Enjoy your dress shopping!

janie

Adagia,

Congrats to you too! 3.5 lbs is wonderful!

janie

Welcome and contratulations, Adagia, mel1974c, and howfunisthat!

(and sorry I haven't poked my head in here for about 21 days!)

Reinhard

Today was Day 42 for me...I made it to the 21-Day club twice so far! To say that's a milestone for me is an understatement!

janie

Way to go Janie!!! Keep up the great work!

Melissa

Congratulations, Janie! Many happy returns.

Yesterday was my 21st day on habit. Yippee!
I cannot believe I succeeded thus far.
It is not a fully ingrained habit as of yet, but getting very close.
Here's hoping to continued success.
Just wanted to share.

My Day 63 was Saturday - not a single red day so far.

Not sure how much weight I have lost, but I know that my clothes feel better. I am enjoying eating this way, although frustrating for my semi-chef fiancee because he wants to cook desserts for me during the week. I hope that I can maintain it for the rest of my life.

As I posted on my check-in, I am going to stop diligently posting my daily log. Life has gotten hectic, and I eat pretty much the same things daily (I love routine) so I will give it up "hardcore" for now. I promise to come back if things start to go crazy.

Thanks Reinhard for taking the time to share your experience and introducing me to a lifestyle that I can maintain without stress, strain or counting!

21 days now.

The first week showed -1.2 lbs total.
The second week showed -2 lbs total.
The third week showed -3.9 lbs total.
(This is based on the moving average and not that day's scale weight.)

The first two weeks was only No S efforts.
The third week I began working on our nutrition by including a serving of fresh fruit per meal. (as well as beginning to learn how to prepare some foods).
This week, the fourth week, I'm including a serving of greens with dinner meal.
Basically, No S is providing the overall framework for when we eat, as well as how much we eat (full but not stuffed, and knowing that in 4 1/2 hours we'll be eating again). But it doesn't cover the nutritional aspects which I wanted as well.

After the first weekend, my daughter became ok with the N days. No fighting, whining, etc. On S days she's learning how to budget her S's. At school she's starting to make better food decisions. (At least at lunch time, not sure about breakfasts.)

Everyone's getting used to the fruits now, and much of the craving for sweet foods is disappearing. We're also expanding the types of fruits we're eating, going beyond the usual apples, oranges, bananas thing. This has us actually looking forward to the fruit dishes, treating it sort of like a desert, and even on S days reaching for some fruit to snack on instead of sweets.

This framework of N days and S days helps immensely with the decision making process. I was in town today. And normally I would have stopped off to get a couple of doughnuts for breakfast, did my errands, stopped off at DQ or Wendy's for a large stuffing lunch washed down with ice cream, then maybe a bag of cookies or such for the ride home and to eat after all the groceries are unloaded. And now, the thought is still there due to previous habits, but the decision is already made, "No, you can have some this weekend if you really want it, but not now, not today. Move along, nothing to see here." And I do...move along... without looking back even.

Since I'm going to be doing other stuff besides No S, (the nutrition improvements), this will probably be the only time I'll post regarding the No S and my weight loss. On my blog I'm mentioning the No S-ing, but I recognize that any numbers from here on won't reflect directly on No S-ing.

I do want to thank you, reinhard, for writing out something so sane and so...'duh'...as well as for providing it for free. I first became aware of No S from amazon, the book was a 'suggestion' because I had broken down and started looking at diet books and what was available and might work for me. While the term "diet" was a put off for me, I'm glad I was feeling so low that I was willing to look it up on the internet and find this site.

Thank you

anndelise and heather42 congratulations on your 21 days!

This framework of N days and S days helps immensely with the decision making process.

anndelise,

I find this is true for me as well and I too completely appreciate the simplification that that brings to my life!

Blueskighs

Thanks, Blueskighs!

Welcome heather42 and anndelise!

Congratulations, mel1974c on your impressive streak!

I understand your desire to take a hiatus from detailed reporting. But don't hesitate to take it up again if you do find yourself running into trouble -- or use the habitcal for low overhead version.

Reinhard

21st day 9/19/2008
SW 243
CW 236.7
GW 140
I did it! Some days were hard but I kept busy. I've been doing the 14 minute exercise. I know I can do anything for 14 minutes! I just have been pulling out my mini trampoline and going to town what fun. I eat pretty much what I want and find that regular meals with 2 or 3 ounces of meat and lots of wonderful stuff veggies, olives, cheese, fruit, wonderful bread that I love satifies me. No guilt. I find I am buying really good tasting food. No low cal - no diet food. I am eating whatever I want except the 3 s. I use Saturday as my wonder trip to the grocery store. Saturday morning I buy on treat for Saturday and 1 treat for Sunday. Ah the freedom to eat exactly what I want within reason. Saturday I had a freshly made napoleon - just 1. Sunday my treat was 3 freshly made wedding cake cookies. They were perfect. It's funny I just got done reading Diane Mott Davison's latest mystery book-Sweet Revenge. In the book she is so very right about taste. Fake food doesn't taste good. Diet cookies are horrid. The taste of a real freshly made cookie is divine, but just one. It's so much more satisfying than artificial junk. I find I am loving the natural sweetness of grapes, peaches, and fresh fruit. I go to the store more often. I only by what is fresh. The other day I bought the most marvelous plums that we divine. I made fresh chicken salad that was a huge portion on a fres kaiser roll. How much better it was than canned or pre-packaged. I've found that even when I have to work 9I'm still filling in every once in a while) I took care of myself. I goot up an hour early to prepare my breakfast from scratch, and to make myself a lunch of olives, cantaloupe, cheese, fresh roasted chicken. It was better than anything I could buy. My taste buds have really changed. It's so logical and simple. Thank you for bringing me back to the way I ateand played as a child.

MartyKnox....Congrats on the 21-day club and the weight loss...sounds as if you are doing great!!!

janie

MartyKnox,

sounds like you are doing GREAT!

Blueskighs

Congratulations on your success so far, Marty! And welcome back from the culinary underworld of fake food.

Reinhard

DAY 1 - 9/8/08: FAILURE (Starting weight of 215 pounds).
DAY 2 - 9/9/08: FAILURE
DAY 3 - 9/10/08: FAILURE
DAY 4 - 9/11/08: FAILURE
DAY 5 - 9/12/08: SUCCESS
DAY 6 - 9/13/08: S DAY
Day 7 - 9/14/08: S DAY
DAY 8 - 9/15/08: SUCCESS
DAY 9 - 9/16/08: SUCCESS (2)*
DAY 10 - 9/17/08: SUCCESS (2)
DAY 11 - 9/18/08: SUCCESS (2)
Day 12 - 9/19/08: SUCCESS (2)
Day 13 - 9/20/08: S DAY (2)
Day 14: 9/21/08: S DAY (2)
DAY 15 - 9/22/08: SUCCESS (2)
DAY 16 - 9/23/08: SUCCESS (2)
DAY 17 - 9/24/08: SUCCESS (2)
Day 18 - 9/25/08: SUCCESS (2)
Day 19 - 9/26/08: SUCCESS (2)
Day 20 - 9/27/08: S DAY (2)
Day 21 - 9/28/08: S DAY (2)
Day 22 - 9/29/08: SUCCESS (2)
Day 23 - 9/30/08: SUCCESS (2)
DAY 24 - 10/1/08: SPECIAL DAY (3)
DAY 25 - 10/2/08: SUCCESS (3)
DAY 26 - 10/3/08: SUCCESS (3)
DAY 27 - 10/4/08: S DAY (3)
DAY 28 - 10/5/08: S DAY (3)
DAY 29 - 10/6/08: SUCCESS (3)
Day 30 - 10/7/08: SUCCESS (3)

* A number in parentheses, like (2), refers to the number of Special Days which have accumulated. Special Days accumulate at a rate of two per month and must be used before an N Day is considered to be a failure. There are no other Special Days. There are other S-Days for Saturday, Sunday, Sick Days, and Surgery Days, but there are no other Special Days.

I customized the diet a bit, calling it The No Hassle Diet. I made a few little changes and one big change. The big change is that I accumulate Special Days at a rate of two per month. They can be used anytime. They all must be used before an N Day can be called a failure. That means that I won't be just one bite away from a failure. Instead, I have a buffer of the accumulated Special Days. To me, the need to have a record of 100% success in following the diet is so important that I needed to figure out how to have a buffer.

I've read a ton about diets. This diet is brilliant. It combines the best idea from Intuitive Eating, the idea of "unconditional permission to eat" (the S Days), wiith an idea I cannot seem to source called "perfect compliance" (strictness on N Days) to achieve what the author of The Obesity Epidemic seems to think is impossible: a so-called "reduced obese" who doesn't feel like she is on a starvation diet in order to maintain the lower weight!

Kathleen

PS. The first four days were the hardest even though they were failures. I was transitioning from another diet which had the unfortunate consequence that I was eating enormous amounts of food. In the prior month, I estimate that I ate so much popcorn that the unpopped popcorn weighed 9 pounds. This diet is very effective in getting me to become comfortable with eating less.

Kathleen,

congratulations on your tremendous progress!

The big change is that I accumulate Special Days at a rate of two per month. They can be used anytime. They all must be used before an N Day can be called a failure. That means that I won't be just one bite away from a failure. Instead, I have a buffer of the accumulated Special Days. To me, the need to have a record of 100% success in following the diet is so important that I needed to figure out how to have a buffer.

Very interesting concept! I like it, It seems like a simple straightforward variation,

Blueskighs

Blueskighs,
Last Saturday, I ate so much I got sick. Today is very different. I had two drumsticks and 1 Haagen Dazs ice cream bar, but other than that, my eating was very normal. The assurance of "unconditional permission to eat" on S Days really does make it OK to just not eat so much on those days, and it gives me the ability to follow the no sweets, no seconds, no snacks rules on N days. This is working for me. My variation just makes me able to avoid any failures, since I can have a buffer for when those taste tests at grocery stores entice me to break the rules!
Kathleen

Kathleen,

Congrutulations!

I like your 2 rolling s-days mod! Sounds very promising.

I think I'm going to mention it on the general discussions board (with attribution, of course). Hope it continues to work for you -- please do keep us posted.

Reinhard

Reinhard,

No problem to mention my mod! If you could add in the name I gave it, that would be great. It's a NO HASSLE DIET! I look back on more than 30 years of dieting and see a lot of time spent -- on what? -- chewing each bite 10 times, making sure I am sitting down, keeping a food journal, counting calories, etc., etc., etc. To me, what stands out about this diet is NO HASSLE!!! All I have to track is one number -- the number of accumulated Special Days!

My starting weight was 215 pounds. Today is Day 32, and I weigh 208.8!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Kathleen

Kathleen,

THAT is FANTASIC!

Yay you! and thank you for bringing so much to the boards,

Blueskighs

Please count me in as a new 21-day club member! This has been awesome so far and I can't see it getting less awesome. Even the hubby has joined in without any grumbling about points or spending money on NS foodz.
I think I have lost, oh, 2-3 lbs in these three weeks, but if I didn't gain a bit back on my S days it would be more...but 2 down, 1 up per week will still add up to losses over time.

thanks to Blueskighs and GratefulDeb for all of their replies to my check-in. I've never done discussion boardz b4 so this is fun to have the support.

That's all, just a short request for membership in 21-day club!

Welcome merlekins! I'm so happy your first weeks have gone well and glad to see that you've got a good, long term outlook. Best wishes to your husband as well.

Thanks again and congratulations again, Kathleen! Besides yielding striking results for yourself, your "mod" has inspired some interesting and I think profitable conversation. I'm planning to do my next (long overdue) podcast episode on the subject of mods and I'll certainly discuss yours.

Reinhard

Merlekins,

CONGRATULATIONS on YOUR 21 DAYS!!!!!!!!


Blueskighs

You're welcome Merlekins and big congratulations to you!!!
Man, it took me a year of NoS, and about 12 attempts or so, to be able to do the 21 day club!
That's no small feat!
Keep up the great work
Debs

Reinhard,

Thank you for the compliment and your desire to put my mod in a podcast!

I don't know if you saw it, but here is what I wrote in my daily check in thread on 9/26/08:

"I put my kids on the No Sweets portion of the diet. My 9 year old and 7 year old were being taken home from school, and they had a conversation with me that reveals human nature only too well:

Katie (9 year old): It's a Super Hot day, so it's a Special Day.
Ellie (7): Hey, we could watch Superman, and then it would be a Superman Day.
Katie: I told my friends about this at lunch, and they said it was stupid.
Ellie: Stupid starts with an "S". Wait a minute. I'm sick. It's a Sick Day!
Katie: This is stupid. Your kids want to be sick.
Ellie: We're going by Starbucks. Starbucks starts with an "S". It could be a Starbucks Day.

This is exactly why I'm allocating two Special Days per month."

I'm finding it very easy to have an allocation of two special days per month. For example, last night we went to a family Holloween party at our church. There might have been food there that was tempting enough to turn the day into an S Day. As it turns out, there was not. I had the option to decide right then and there if I wanted to use an S Day.

Your diet approach is really great. I am going to be starting a part time job on Monday, so I won't have a lot of time to focus on dieting, since my husband travels all week for work and we have four children ages 7 to 14 who are in all sorts of activities. What I like about this diet is it seems to me it can go on autopilot. I just follow the rules and use S Days when I want. Next Thursday, for example, there will be a chili pot luck at work. I can decide at the time if I want to use an S Day for that. The N Day rules put slight downward pressure on the amount that I eat, and the S Day lack of rules allows me to eat to what I currently consider to be satiety. This diet seems to have the overall effect of lowering what scientists call "set point". I've been trying for years to develop a diet that I had decided I would call "The Set Point Lowering Diet", and I became aware of your diet because my sister in law mentioned it to me when my latest attempt at weight loss was failing. With this diet, I have to settle for a weight loss rate that I would estimate to be about 2 pounds per month, but in exchange I have a way to lose weight which is simple, requires little effort or planning, and gives me the opportunity to make choices which allow me to eat as much as I want on certain days. It's really great.

I've had weight problems for more than 30 years, and I am just thrilled by this -- and by the opportunity to pass this approach on to my children, one of whom is a 14 year old daughter who weighs about 150 pounds. This gift of knowledge of how this diet works is one of the most valuable things I will give her. She may decide not to use it, but at least she'll see a mother who was able to lose weight and maintain the loss without making weight management the focus of her life.

Kathleen

I'm back!

Resting

Resting ....

YAY
YAY
YAY

Do a little dance,

Blueskighs

Im starting the plan today and Im pumped up.The no snacking will be a challenge but I feel positive I can do this. Anyone else starting today?

Welcome Lovemysweets! (great username)

Welcome back resting!

Love the dialog, Kathleen.

We didn't plan to inflict No-s on our kids (and haven't, strictly), but it's funny how natural and helpful the concept of S-days are for limiting sweets at least. It's something very easy for kids to accept and understand.

Reinhard

Reinhard,
You should have seen my 7 year old's excitement when she realized it was an S Day and she could have ice cream!
Kathleen

Saved reading the 21 club until I had my 21 days in. I counted today and I am 27, hope I did it right in counting all the days including the S days. I just mentioned in my posting today that I forgot to snack. I think that is a great accomplishment. I forgot last Saturday too. I think that I have finally found the diet for me. I have only lost 3 pounds since I started and yesterday I put away my scale. I'm just going to concentrate on the S's and this new way of eating.
I'm 78 and I have been fighing weight since I was 33 after my first baby was born. I have also tried all the diets. WW, Adkins, Cabbage Soup, Fasting etc and my last diet was South Beach where I lost 30 lbs and kept it off for 3 years. Gained back 10 on a cruise and haven't been able to get rid of it. I think this will be the last diet for me. It's so normal. Why didn't I think of this. Thank you so much Reinhard.
Marie

Marie....

Congratulations! You'll have those 10 cruise pounds off before you know it!

janie

Congratulations, Marie! 3 pounds in a month is actually about what one would expect. And with your mindset, I'm confident that over the next months and years, you'll lose many more.

I think I'm going to add an "alternate names" section to the no-s diet home page. One that's been suggested before is "The Grandma Diet." I think "The Why didn't I think of that Diet" also has a nice ring to it.

Reinhard

Reinhard, Thanks for the encouragement. I am reading your book now and underlining what is helpful for me. Something I can't do on the internet.
I think that posting the alternate names for the diet would be enjoyable to read. There is a lot of enjoyable reading here. I like to read what others are doing and how they do it.
Marie

I think that posting the alternate names for the diet would be enjoyable to read.

Done! (thanks again for coining this latest one)

I am officially a member of the 21 day club!! This was my second attempt. I have lost 8 pounds since starting No S on October 24.

I am 52 and have been overweight most of my adult life. I have spent the last 35 years counting calories or points or exchanges. I hated every minute of it. I am an emotional eater but following no S has helped me put a stop to that. Since I only eat 3 meals a day, when I am feeling like eating, my self talk kicks in and I tell myself that eating does not make things okay and that I can eat when it is meal time. Eating the No S way is very freeing. I don't think about food all the time anymore.

I am working on getting the exercise habit in place.

Thanks to all who contribute so much this board. Thanks to Reinhard for the idea, the website, and the book!

Hear hear!! Awesome news Rene!!
Congratulations!
That's really inspiring!!
Debs x

Rpm,

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!
Blueskighs

rpm, congratulations on reaching 21 days of making a habit and for the weight loss. I am also working on the exercise part. 21 days to make an exercise habit. Marie

Blue, Debs, LA and Marie - THANK YOU! Everybody is so great on this board.

I am working on the exercise thing, I an an indoor ranger since I do walking videos. You would think I could make myself move especially since I can walk in my jammies. =)

In 21 days I hope to post that I have created a walk habit.

Congratulations, RPM, that's a wonderful effort and great results!
fun
x

René,

Congratulations and welcome to the club!

Good luck on building your indoor ranger habit!

I was a prodigious pacer as a child... wonder if the "bad habit" of pacing is something that could be built on...

Reinhard

RPM. I like the indoor walking videos/tapes too. I have lots of Leslie Sansones. I haven't done them in awhile because of the side steps. (bothered my hips) But I was thinking of doing them again except not do side steps. Duh, Should have been doing that all along.

Marie

Thanks Fun and Reinhard. It is great to be here.

Marie - Walking with Leslie is the only exercise I have kept coming back to over and over so there must be something good there. =) You modify it anyway that works for you. That is the great part of walking with her dvds.

RPM....

Congrats!!!!

janie

I hit my 21 days yesterday

I had one NWS for my son's adoption day, and tomorrow I'm taking an S-24 hours (instead of 2 days I'm taking evening to evening)

Also, I've lost 5 lbs

Thomer, excellent!!!

I had to take an N day yesterday so I have to start over on my second 21 days, but that doesn't bother me, I am ready to go for another 21 days. Soon we can both post that wonderful feat.

Happy Holidays!

Welcome and congratulations, thomer!

Impressive month for such a successful start.

Reinhard

I see that no one has joined the 21 club for a few weeks. I am happy to report that I am now a new member. This has been the most enjoyable 3 weeks. I have been a professional food restricter and excessive exerciser most of my life.

This has been a most pleasant 3 weeks. I am not weighing until later because I don't want this to be about the number on a scale. I am confident that I will lose to where my body should naturally be. In the meantime I am now at peace with food for the first time in over 40 years. It is so much easier to just wait for the next meal or to wait for the weekend for a treat than it is to plan out menus, shop for special food, eat "fake" food, count anything, write journals, try to figure out if I am hungry or full, exercise but not enjoy. I have done it all--nearly everything has worked temporarily to lose or maintain; sometimes a restrictive diet has worked for years. But when I could no longer sustain the strict controls, the overeating and bingeing would take over and all new highs would be reached! After a lifetime of dieting I was 50 lbs. higher than I where I started dieting at age 22. I lost the 50, maintained for 5 years, then gained about half of it back.

Now I feel like I am on a maintenance plan first and working backwards. It was the maintenance I could never make work and always feared wasn't going to work. You know the thought: "Overnight I am going to expand back to my real size just like a blow up raft." Now I know that if I can manage maintenance I am through with dieting forever.

I wasn't going to write on the 21 club post, but I can see that new people need to encourage one another. I plan on staying for awhile until I am sure that I have the NoS habit for eating and exercising and maybe I can encourage someone else who has been down this same path. The accountability is part of the reason this works. And it is all free. If you are reading this and have not bought the book, I would encourage you to do so just as a payback to the author who has given us all this for free. It is also helpful just to reread even though you can find all you need here.

I hope there are many posts in this section before my next 21 days are up.

Congratulations and thanks for getting the ball rolling in here again for 2009!

Now I feel like I am on a maintenance plan first and working backwards.

This is exactly right -- and very well put.

Reinhard

It's been 21 successful days for me on NoS and the other habits I've been tracking (shovelGlove, min. 30 minutes walking, daily check-in).

This is my second time around with NoS and SG.

I've enjoyed counting down the 21 days in my daily check-in so I'm going to set another totally arbitrary goal by deciding that the number of days it takes to make a habit is actually your age. Only 30 days to go.

I make it a habit not to weigh myself unless I've got a good reason but I figured 21 club entry was a reason. I'm down 8 pounds.

Good job!!!!! I've been watching you rack up the Successes on your checkin and seeing that you kept the 21 days on habit in your mind that whole time!!
Congratulations 15n@50!!
Debs

Congratulations!

Love this idea:

I've enjoyed counting down the 21 days in my daily check-in so I'm going to set another totally arbitrary goal by deciding that the number of days it takes to make a habit is actually your age. Only 30 days to go.

Abitrary maybe -- but personalized! And there is a kernel of truth to it: you can teach an "old dog" new tricks -- it just takes a little longer.

Reinhard

I reached 21 days yesterday on my second attempt at NoS.

My next target is 33 days, the longest on-habit period I managed last time around.

After that I'm going for 42 days (because it's the answer), and it's twice 21. Then I'm buying a sledgehammer.

Wish me luck!

Congratulations to all the 21 Day Club.

I reached my 21 days (this time round) on Sunday. It is a very satisfying feeling and it was surprisingly easy.

I had 1 day when I caught myself picking as I was making dinner and I stopped that in its tracks, but other wise 21 day on plan.

I am setting myself the goal of monthly weigh ins but I decided to weigh to post here with the 21 days.

I lost 1.8kg (4lb) in my 21 days.

I am loving the freedom from food and it is so nice to really enjoy my meals and weekend treats again.

Have a fantastic day.

Hugs
Mo

I am glad for all of you who made it to 21. I am working on my second round of 21 and am getting up the nerve to weigh the first of the month. After being pretty much addicted to the scale along with the diet mentality for many, many years I wanted to wait until I was confident that I had the NoS habit so that a number on a scale wouldn't derail me. In the past it didn't matter if it was up or down, it would throw me off. Now I think I can handle the monthly weigh in.

Thank you all for posting and encouraging your fellow NoSers.

Congratulations Spook and Mo and welcome (back) to the club!

Thanks Reinhard, it is FANTASTIC to be back.

Hugs
Mo

Congratulations Mo!!!
So glad to hear you are back in the club!!!
Great work girl!!!
Debs xx

21 days on habit!

My N days have been very good, but this weekend I did crash a bit. What I've taken away is that I don't feel too good when I eat that much (just lots of all sorts of nice things) and I need to be more choosy about my Special foods. So no loss this week but about 5lb down over the 21 days which is a good start.

Joe

Thanks Deb

It feels FANTASTIC to be back and I am loving how simple life becomes on No S.

Congrats on the 21 days Joe.

Welcome and congratulations, Joe! Nice avatar.

This is my second try at No S, and I forgot all about the 21 Club! So here I am, a little late. It's actually been a month, and seven pounds gone. Here's some of the stuff I've noticed.

• I have been brown-bagging my lunch for both financial and plate-control reasons (I even made a separate Brownbag habitcal calendar), and I think that has made all the difference -- grabbing lunch out wasn't just costing a fortune, but also providing an excessive amount of food served in ways that made it hard to estimate a "plateful." I think that was my biggest pitfall the last time I tried No S.
  
  I'm also making an effort to take the stairs at work to my fourth-floor office every day -- call it Urban Mountaineer!
  
  I make a real effort to eat real, good-tasting food -- we've had homemade pizza, beef stew, oatmeal cookies (S days only for those), cheese and mayo on my sandwiches, homemade muffins. Obviously, not cooking "light" is not slowing me down. I'm cooking out of my favorite books -- Marcella Hazan, Patricia Wells, Deborah Madison, The Bread Bible.
  
  A weekly farmer's market visit is both a source of a little Sunday-morning exercise, and means that everything we eat is fresh and tasty.
  
  No one knows I'm "dieting" unless I tell them, because I'm just eating real meals made up of real, normal food. My lunch today is a ham-and-swiss sandwich on homemade wheat bread and some satsuma tangerines -- in other words, FOOD!
  
  My pants are loose and if I don't watch it, a few more weeks is going to find them collapsing around my ankles at work. This would be bad. Hey, you think I could sue Reinhard for emotional distress?

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

Hello,
This is day one for me. Look forward to learning and losing with you.
Where is the calender to mark off successful days located?
Thanks No S

It's actually been a month, and seven pounds gone.

Congratulations, Thalia!

No one knows I'm "dieting" unless I tell them

The fact that it's so unobtrusive as to be imperceptible most of the time is one of my favorite things about no-s.

Besides this, of course:

I make a real effort to eat real, good-tasting food

Welcome (in advance), albert!

I think you've found the HabitCal already, but here's the url:

http://everydaysystems.com/habitcal

Reinhard

I have made it to 21 days..... yippeeee

It was alot easier than I thought it would be, most of the time. I love the simplicity and gaining control of my life.

I have lost about 10 lbs so far and am making alot of changes to my life due to nos. I am drinking water like I needed to do but never did. I am moving alot more. I am currently waiting for the arrival of a new excercise dvd i have ordered.

I am feeling 100% better so far. I love the fact that come spring some of my old clothes will be fitting.

I will keep you posted
Good luck to all

Tracy