Patty's Good Morning Shout Out

[LentilBean]

G'Morning to everyone on this, my very first day ever of sanity.

I'm generally a very healthy eater, but my problem has always been that my "meals" have no beginning, middle, or end. Yes, I will fess up to being a chronic grazer, and No-S seems to be just the remedy I've been seeking.

So, let's see: This morning I had a couple of no-sugar trail mix biscotti for breakfast. I get them by the pound at the local farmer's market and boy, are they subtle and yummy! For lunch I packed a sandwich made from artisan whole grain bread with flax seeds, a few slices of pepper turkey and a whole bunch of alfalfa sprouts.

There are some things that I simply cannot and will not give up:

1) My morning coffee with whole milk or half and half
2) A fruit snack when I get home from work at around 3:30 pm
3) My ice cold can of diet coke with lunch or dinner

I have found in the past that giving up these things has led me to become resentful, and ultimately caused failure.

Now, I realize that there is a strict no-snack rule, but an apple, orange or banana cannot be terrible, especially if it's ultimately going to keep me from going ape-sh-t later on in the day.

The other thing is, I don't want to keep weighing myself. This, too, has caused failure in the past. I become a slave to the scale and lose sight of what really matters: getting healthy and feeling sane while on the journey, nomatter how long it takes.

My main reasons for wanting to try No S:
1) I have kids and I don't want to pass on weirdness regarding food and body image to them.
2) No S seems to be well-suited to living in the real world with real food.
3) It takes the focus off food and onto feelings and behaviors. I have written elsewhere that eating is a very complex phenomenon where food choice is but one, relatively superficial, aspect. It matters not so much WHAT one eats, but rather why, when, how, and how much.

Well, sorry for this too-long post, but I just felt like I had to get all of this out there.

[Jaxhil]

G'morning to you!

I think you're items you are not going to give up are quite reasonable. And personally I think your piece of fruit is fine. Some people do that and figure as long as it *would* have fit on their lunch (or dinner) plate, then it's "virtual plating". LOL.

I agree with you on the not weighing! I have been doing this about 4 weeks and have only weighed myself a couple (give or take) times. I was weighing myself several times a week, and it was making me miserable! I have only lost about a pound or two, so for me, it's going sloooowly. But I'm okay with that. At least it's going down, something that for me hasn't happened for YEARS. So I am good. At least I know I won't be going back! (God willing!)

I have kids too, and I know what you mean about not wanting to pass my obsession on to them! I mean I want them to have a general idea of what healthy eating is, obviously; but I don't want them to worry if they have a "forbidden" treat now and then, either. A happy medium-moderation, in other words. That's what I want them to have!

And no-s is perfectly suited to real life It's great to be able to pass on snacking or sweets but not feel like a freak or the lone ranger being left out of all the fun! I am amazed that I can hold back now and actually don't mind (too much!) waiting till the weekend for my treats. In fact, it makes me feel good that *I* am in control for a change, instead of my cravings controlling me.

I have to say, it does take your mind off of food, too. And I find I am accomplishing more things that I enjoy doing because I have the time (and energy- mental and physical) that I used to spend on eating, preparing, and daydreaming about food-not to mention fighting within myself-"gee, you shouldn't eat that! yea but I want to, I need it, I am stressed!!" blah blah blah!

Anyway, I enjoyed your post! I am glad you've found No-S, I think you'll really like it more and more-not that there won't be some hard days, but I am finding it gets easier and easier as I stick with it. Most diets get harder-this one, after the first bit, gets EASIER. Ya gotta love THAT!

[LentilBean]

Hi Again. I felt a need to post again after lunch. I just had my yummy healthy sandwich in the company of two colleagues who also had cancellations. It was nice to eat communally rather than alone, in front of a computer screen.

I feel pleasantly full, rested, relaxed, a little sleepy (post-prandial narcosis) which, if I were somewhere on the French Riviera, would mean "naptime", or siesta. But alas, I'm in PA.

I don't know yet what we'll have for dinner, but I feel relaxed knowing that I can make whatever tickles my fancy and not worry about calories, nutrients, what-not.

I may need to check in more than once a day for a while.

[LentilBean]

Back again. Made a dinner of "lentil and rice confetti" with raw shredded carrots as a salad and a cup of homemade plain yogurt. This is how I've always liked to eat, but I would just eat too much (and I mean too much) of a good thing, go to bed stuffed, graze from after dinner until bedtime. But after dinner I brushed my teeth and decided that was it. Only water until bedtime. The no eating after dinner and tooth brushing habit has been in place for a couple of weeks now.

Where I did "improvise" a little was that I got home especially late from work and really wanted one of my healthy trail mix biscotti. But that isn't all that different from an apple.

All in all today was a success.

[LentilBean]

Good Morning. So far so good on day 2. Once again, a rushed morning, so I grabbed a couple of Trail Mix Biscotti for b'fast. I made myself a nice sandwich for lunch. All's well.

I have some thoughts on weighing and quick weight loss.

I think I'm deciding to weigh myself really sporadically because seeing myself lose weight is a loaded experience. It's exhilarating on the one hand, but on the other hand, it's scary. It is, after all, a loss, and I think loss is scary. Don't ask me what I mean because I'm not quite so sure yet.

I also think that quick weight loss is scary even if it's encouraging at first. I think the body doesn't want to let go of its resources. I think the mind can't adjust to being 30 lbs. smaller in 30 days. You're still a fat person, now living in a thinner body. And although you may have starved yourself for 30 days, deep inside you're still a fat person who wants to eat in a way that supports a body that's 30 lbs fatter. Am I making any sense?

But if the weight loss is gradual and gentle, your mind has the chance to catch up and accept what's happening.

I think there's another thing involved: People noticing. There's something gratifying and terrifying about people noticing and complimenting one's weight loss. When it happens fast, it's probably not sustainable. So, when the weight inevitably comes back, there's all kinds of complicated feelings and communications (mostly unspoken). But if it happens slowly, over the course of many months or even years, it's like watching a child grow up. You don't really notice it happening, but it does and life just goes on. It's not jarring.

Anyhow, let me go do some work. I'll check back in later.

[LentilBean]

So, the first part of the day went well. For me, on the 3 days that I work, the hours between arriving home from work and dinner time are the most critical. Once again today I had a trail mix biscotti with coffee after work, but I think I'm OK with that because it's OK in terms of "virtual plating". Also, it's going to keep me sated and happy, not feeling deprived, until dinner. I'm OK after dinner because the no eating after dinner rule has become pretty much part of life now.

I wanted to eat more after my biscotti, but I haven't. I'm here posting instead. I really want to try to do 21 days.

In all, I'm feeling good. I'm happy not to be on a diet. I don't consider this a diet, but rather a normal way of eating, the way I was eating before I got to college and decided I had to be really skinny to be attractive, but I wasn't even overweight. It was the 80's... need I say more? A lot of pretty bad things came to a head in my life during those years.

[LentilBean]

Good morning/afternoon. This is a challenging day for me. First of all, it's a no-work day. It's also Holy Thursday. I'm not religious, but my family tends to have food-related traditions. I don't want to turn the whole week into an exception to the rule. I've tried to keep to the rules, because the past two days I have felt better, both physically and mentally, than I have in a long time.

But there are cookies and sweets everywhere today.

I will do my best, since my best is all that's required of me.

Later...

[LentilBean]

My first S-Day. I really had bigger hopes for myself, but it turned into a sort of binge.

OK, move on....

[Kevin]

You'll do this a couple of times, then realize how awful you feel after overeating, then settle in to a more comfortable routine. It's not a biggie.

[LentilBean]

That's what I figure. I do feel quite yucky right now. Not sweating it, though. Why should my path be different from anyone else's. It's reassuring to know that others have been here... done this. I agree that this yucky feeling is better avoided in the future. Tomorrow is Sunday, but I think I S-dayed myself out today.

Thanks for the encouragement.

Patty

[Jammin' Jan]

Sounds like you are doing pretty well. Keep it up!

[LentilBean]

Happy Easter. I woke up late today, the first time since my two kids were born. So far so good.

[LentilBean]

Hi. Well, I've been away for a while, but trying to sneak back in... hoping someone will notice. It's been a tough time for me ever since last Monday when I tried to defy the laws of physics and drove into my garage door without opening it first. Duh!!! So, yeah. I think symptomatic of how utterly tired I am feeling these days. Work's been tough. Kids have been demanding... what else is new.

But there's something else. I think that it's probably normal to come and go in terms of no S. It makes a world of sense to me. I guess it takes some practice...

[Jane]

You are noticed! Hang in there-I actually find that I feel less tired when I eat better! Happy Thursday!