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Tuna Checks In

Posted: Fri May 01, 2009 8:51 pm
by TunaFishKid
Okay...I decided to take the plunge and commit to a check-in thread. :) I'm also doing Habitcal, which is great.

Day 1 (4/28/09) - SUCCESS!
Day 2 (4/29/09) - SUCCESS!
Day 3 (4/30/09) - SUCCESS!

Today is going well. I had an appointment at noon today and knew I wouldn't be back until after 1, but I ate my bowl of Cheerios for breakfast and hoped for the best. It turned out I didn't get home until almost 2, but felt great. I got pretty hungry at 12:45, but it sort of went away until I was able to eat. I didn't know it would do that.

I'm looking forward to my first "S" day tomorrow. I bought myself some nice Scottish shortbread cookies that I plan to have with a pot of tea tomorrow afternoon. I think they'll taste a lot better that way than the way I've usually eaten them in the past...sitting at the computer, or standing in front of the open kitchen cabinet. :oops:

(BTW, I can't get the color tags to work. I've been trying to do "SUCCESS" in green, but every time I hit "submit" it comes up wrong - in black with the tags showing.)

ETA: I just figured out, through trial and error, that the color tags only work for me if I click the desired color first, and then type in between the tags. For some reason, typing first, then highlighting and choosing the color [color=red]does this[/color].

Posted: Sun May 03, 2009 1:22 am
by TunaFishKid
Friday, 5/1/09 - SUCCESS!
Today, 5/2/09 - S Day

Today was my first S day. It was weird. I bought some cookies a couple of days ago and was really looking forward to eating them today. After lunch my daughter and I went for a long walk (suburban rangering!), and when we got back I had no desire for them at all. I just had a glass of water instead. Dinner was fantastic! We ate at a great rib place and shared a dessert. I can't remember the last time I ordered dessert at a restaurant. :)

Posted: Mon May 04, 2009 2:24 pm
by TunaFishKid
Sunday, 5/3/09 - S Day

My second S day felt a little less weird than the first. On Saturday I felt like I was doing something bad when I ate between meals. Not that I've got the habit of no snacks down already, but I've been so focused on it all week that it was hard not to keep doing it on Saturday. I ate a few of my cookies but they weren't nearly as good as the cheesecake I had for dessert on Saturday night.

The most interesting thing I've noticed after my first week on No S is how good I feel. I must have been eating A LOT to feel so much better from just eliminating snacks, sweets and seconds. I haven't had any indigestion or heartburn and I've been sleeping better as a result.

I also noticed that I wasn't eating enough at mealtimes. I guess my snacking didn't seem to count (a cookie here, a couple of chips there) and so I was cutting back on the more obvious calories - meals! My husband hasn't said anything but he must have noticed that I seem to be eating a lot more. I didn't tell him about No S because, even though he's always very tolerant and supportive, I'm just tired of talking about what I can and can't eat. If it's boring me, it must be killing him!

I wasn't going to weigh myself for a month, but I broke down and weighed on Saturday. I had lost 5 lbs. This morning I weighed again to see if my S days had any effect. I was up 2 pounds. None of that really means much - I just wanted to get an idea if anything was going on. I am determined to stay off the scale now.

Yesterday I was actually looking forward to going back to N days. I think I feel more comfortable and relaxed with the structure right now.

Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 11:03 am
by TunaFishKid
Monday, 5/5/09 - SUCCESS!

Last night, my daughter did not like the potatoes I made and left them all on her plate. As I was cleaning up the dishes, I looked at them longingly and knew that before No S I would have eaten them on the spot. (And I used to wonder why I was fat!:lol:) Since I had already finished my dinner, I wrapped up her potatoes and put them in the fridge. I can have them with lunch or dinner today!

Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 11:57 am
by guadopt1997
Good for you on a great start!

Posted: Tue May 05, 2009 12:45 pm
by TunaFishKid
Thank you! I love No S.

Posted: Wed May 06, 2009 11:28 am
by TunaFishKid
Tuesday, 5/5/09 - SUCCESS!

I am really loving this! Last night I made chicken with stuffing and mixed vegetables and it was just delicious. What is it Reinhard says, "Appetite is the best sauce"? I think that's it. It's so true! Almost everything I've eaten since I've been on No S has been wonderful. As soon as I finished eating I knew that pre-NoS I would have been in the kitchen eating the leftover stuffing as I cleaned up. It was a little hard to leave it untouched, but I knew I would appreciate it a lot more today.

My daughter and I did our suburban rangering yesterday (well, I did - she just thought we were going for a walk :wink:), even though it was drizzling and chilly. Last night I slept soundly and this morning I woke up feeling great.

:D

Posted: Wed May 06, 2009 2:28 pm
by kccc
Sounds as if you've made a GREAT start. :)

Posted: Wed May 06, 2009 3:30 pm
by TunaFishKid
Thanks, KCCC. I'm not usually one to go off the deep end about something new, but this just feels right. I'm 52 years old and have been yo-yo dieting since I was 15. I've done it all - "Deal-A-Meal", calorie counting, vegan, Atkins, etc. I also tried "intuitive eating" which sounded great but was probably the worst of all, since I drove myself crazy constantly wondering if was hungry or not, and never felt comforatble eating the food on my plate because I was wondering if I had had enough yet. It was torture. I think one of the reasons I love the No S diet book is because it helped me understand what's wrong with intuitive eating and why I couldn't do it.

It sounds sad to say, but I don't think I've felt so comfortable about eating, or enjoyed food so much since I was a little girl. Well no - it would be sad if I had never discovered No S! :)

Posted: Thu May 07, 2009 12:34 pm
by TunaFishKid
Wednesday, 5/6/09 - SUCCESS!

Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 10:43 am
by TunaFishKid
Thursday, 5/7/09 - SUCCESS!

Yesterday was an interesting day for me, NO S-wise. I went out suburban rangering at 12:30 and walked until 1:25. When I got home I felt great, gulped down a couple of glasses of water and didn't really feel like eating. At 2 my appetite reappeared so I made myself half a sandwich and a little pasta salad (just because it smelled so good). I deliberately didn't eat much because it was already 2:00 and I wanted a good appetite for dinner. As it turned out, my husband wanted to go see Star Trek at the IMAX theater at 7, so we had to eat pretty early. We got to the restaurant at 5 (the first ones there, lol) and when my food came I had almost no appetite. I picked at it and brought most of it home. I felt a little hungry on the way home from the movie but by the time I got home I had forgotten all about eating and went to bed at 10.

Life is SO much easier when you know you don't eat between meals. I never have to go through that mental bargaining..."Well, I didn't eat much for dinner, so a snack tonight wouldn't hurt..."

Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 10:38 am
by TunaFishKid
Friday, 5/8/09 - SUCCESS!

Walked to the supermarket again yesterday and picked up a few things for "taco salad" which my daughter asked to have for dinner. I think I underestimated how much I needed to eat last night. I filled up a cereal bowl with the salad (which contains ground beef, tomatoes, lettuce, onion, shredded cheese and dressing) but I guess it wasn't enough because I felt hungry afterwards. I absolutely refuse to break the "no seconds" rule on an N-day, so I had a cup of warm milk before bed.

Two odd things I realized this morning -

1. I haven't had any diet soda to drink on N or S days. I'm not sure why...it wasn't intentional. I've had only water, milk and tea to drink.

2. I haven't eaten standing up since starting No S. I think this civilizing me, lol.

Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 2:11 pm
by TunaFishKid
Monday, 5/11/09 - SUCCESS!

Today, 5/12/09 - FAILURE!!!

I'm in shock. I didn't think I woud have any failure days. I've been sitting at the computer doing a little research for our Disney World vacation (leaving in 2 days) and I ate a chocolate bar while I surfed. The first bite was purely accidental (my husband left it sitting on the computer desk) but the rest were intentional. I got that old "poor me can't have any fun I deserve this" feeling that I've always had while dieting. STUPID!

Okay. Nobody's perfect. Just get back on track. And just because today is marked in red, I will not use that as an excuse to keep eating. It's still an N day.

Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 2:16 pm
by mimi
Good for you TunaFishKid! I had a very similar experience yesterday, only mine was with cheesecake which I intentionally ate. This was after supper and for the same ol' stupid reasons that you ate for. I did manage to keep the rest of the night an N night! You can do it too!
Mimi

P.S. I decided to just use the word red when I have to post about indiscretions rather than the word failure. Means the same thing, but not so much negativity attached, don't you agree?

Posted: Tue May 12, 2009 4:30 pm
by TunaFishKid
Hi, Mimi and thanks. It's good to see I'm not alone. :)

I like the idea of not using the word "failure". Just looking at it does make it seem like the whole day is lost. I think I may switch to "red" or even "not so good", lol. And anyway, we learn from our mistakes, so it's not really a failure unless we give up entirely.

Laura

Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 1:03 pm
by TunaFishKid
Well, back to the old grind! :D

Day One, 6/29/09 - Success

Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 7:08 pm
by mimi
Well, back to the old grind!
NO! Back to the sane way of eating - and all your friends here! :lol:

Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 8:16 pm
by TunaFishKid
mimi wrote:
Well, back to the old grind!
NO! Back to the sane way of eating - and all your friends here! :lol:
How nice...thank you!

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 11:09 pm
by TunaFishKid
I'm reading this and feeling sad that I let it all get away from me. So many things have happened since I last posted in this journal. So much has changed. I have had major life changes and challenges.

Yet here I am, still trying to learn one of life's most basic skills - how to eat.

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 11:51 pm
by mimi
Don't feel sad! Life goes on and we live it the best we can - twisting and turning along with it, occasionally falling down and getting back up to face another day. Tomorrow is a brand new day and an opportunity to begin anew.

Your old friends are still here and rooting for you.

Mimi :D

Posted: Tue Sep 25, 2012 12:14 pm
by TunaFishKid
How kind you are, Mimi. Thanks. :)

I just had a bowl of Cheerios and a cup of tea for breakfast and was shocked when I realized that I wouldn't be eating again until lunch time. That's all the proof I need that I've been eating way too much.

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 2:19 pm
by TunaFishKid
Was successful on Tuesday, not so much yesterday. We had friends over for dinner last night and I had two glasses of wine. I don't drink much at all, so those two glasses kind of loosened me up to the point where I reasoned that having a second helping and dessert was much healthier, mentally, than restricting myself. It really seemed like a good idea at the time, lol.

Note to self: Don't drink alcohol.

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 2:43 pm
by Kathleen
Note to self: follow the letter of the No S Diet and don't worry about the spirit because it will come, it will come...

Welcome back. I've been here four years and weigh two pounds more than when I started? Why? Lots of tweaks. Lots of restarts.

"Some things are best learned the hard way" is a favorite saying of mine for the kids.

Kathleen

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 3:27 pm
by TunaFishKid
Thanks for the wise words and the welcome, Kathleen. :)

Posted: Thu Sep 27, 2012 3:33 pm
by TunaFishKid
Wow! I was reading oolala53's journal, and she said -
oolala53 wrote: I'm getting more and more clear that food is not my problem. Life is my problem! I need to keep honing my skills on life in between my meals; for me, food-healthy or not- has been the coverup, and I need to face it. Not really any more fun than facing down food has been, but what's the option? I'm 59 now. If not now, when?
That really hit home, but for me, dieting has been the coverup for my life-skills problem. When things get tough, I get online and start reading about how perfect "fill-in-the-blank" diet will make my life.

I'm also starting to rethink the wisdom of returning to this forum. It's a great place with lots of kind, helpful, generous people, but there is still diet talk going on and it doesn't take much to mess me up.

Posted: Sun Sep 30, 2012 10:31 pm
by Pumpkin
TunaFishKid wrote: That really hit home, but for me, dieting has been the coverup for my life-skills problem. When things get tough, I get online and start reading about how perfect "fill-in-the-blank" diet will make my life.

I'm also starting to rethink the wisdom of returning to this forum. It's a great place with lots of kind, helpful, generous people, but there is still diet talk going on and it doesn't take much to mess me up.
I don't know if you will return to this forum or not, but thanks a lot for posting this! Because that is also exactly my problem. Whenever there is a problem I don't want to solve: go search for another diet, and spend all of my free time researching, etc. so I "don't have time" to solve the problem. I didn't realize this until I read what you wrote, so thanks again!

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 8:44 am
by Amy3010
I can totally relate to this, as well. And the thing about No-s is it allows you to shift your focus, finally, to your real life. It's just a question of sticking with it. I am just coming back after a three month hiatus... :lol:

Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:13 am
by r.jean
I am a vanilla No S person. My only modification is that I sometimes flex my S days. I like to take Fri/Sat sometimes rather than Sat/Sun. I did not add this modification until my second year. I do not track, log, count, etc. I do try to pay some attention to what I eat but that simply means things like not eating fried food every day.

I lost 45 lbs my first year. I have maintained that loss. I have not lost much this year due to some life struggles, but I am happy to maintain until the time comes that I start losing again. Best of all I have developed a sane way of eating.

It does not take long to figure out the posters here who are compatible to your way of thinking. I read some and skip some.

Whatever you choose good luck!

Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 1:52 pm
by TunaFishKid
It's so good to know there are others out there with the same problem. I'm still No-Sing, but trying not to visit the forum too often. Last week was really easy, NoS-wise, because I was on a cruise vacation and sick with a horrible cold almost the entire time, lol. So I basically stayed in my room and my husband brought me food three times a day, which I didn't really eat. I lost three pounds. I must be the only person in the world to lose weight on a cruise.

Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 4:03 pm
by Strawberry Roan
Welcome back, Tuna.

A lot of us have come and gone so you are always among friends here. Funny thing, the more I visit and post here - the better I do. I have to be accountable, I guess. This board has allowed me to be honest, to succeed, to fail, to be accepted regardless.

Hope you continue to post, best wishes on your journey to a healthier lifestyle.

:)

Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 6:25 pm
by TunaFishKid
Thank you for the kind words, Strawberry. The forum is great resource for communicating with other NoSers and for accountability. The problem for me is the diet talk. There's a thread going on right now in which the paleo diet, hcg, vegetarianism and the benefits of going grain-free are being discussed. I came to No S specifically to escape that kind of thing. Clicking on any topic is like trying to make your way through a mine field if your problem is dieting.

Back when I first joined I occasionally got into it with a few people who preached low fat and/or calorie counting. But this is not my forum, lol, and I can't control what people say.

Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 7:47 pm
by Strawberry Roan
TunaFishKid wrote:Thank you for the kind words, Strawberry. The forum is great resource for communicating with other NoSers and for accountability. The problem for me is the diet talk. There's a thread going on right now in which the paleo diet, hcg, vegetarianism and the benefits of going grain-free are being discussed. I came to No S specifically to escape that kind of thing. Clicking on any topic is like trying to make your way through a mine field if your problem is dieting.

Back when I first joined I occasionally got into it with a few people who preached low fat and/or calorie counting. But this is not my forum, lol, and I can't control what people say.

I hear ya ! I don't have any diet talk, just try to think before I eat something - Is this going to be of any benefit to my body? I try to say yes more often than no.

Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2012 12:28 am
by ironchef
TunaFishKid wrote:I came to No S specifically to escape that kind of thing. Clicking on any topic is like trying to make your way through a mine field if your problem is dieting.
Me too. I'm here specifically to get away from "dieting" and back to "eating". It seems to be working really well too.
Back when I first joined I occasionally got into it with a few people who preached low fat and/or calorie counting. But this is not my forum, lol, and I can't control what people say.
I don't bother arguing with anyone. However, I do try to post the alternative: I've been steadily losing weight doing vanilla No-S, I don't do anything special to "control" my S days, I don't care if my plate has duck curry and chips on it, etc. I hope that at least some newbies (or old hands coming back) will hear that message, and realize they don't *have* to get caught up in the nutritional / calorie side of things if they don't want to.

I hope you stick around :)

Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2014 8:43 pm
by TunaFishKid
I'm back. :) I left mainly because the diet talk was really triggering for me. I actually went on a CRAZY low calorie diet (which I will not mention) because of something I read here. It wasn't the fault of this forum, though. I was still looking for a magic pill and I'm sure I would have found that crazy diet somewhere else. I was all over the place for a while, diet-wise, and finally settled into No S, without actually trying. I guess it was always in the back of my mind. I just decided to stop reading diet/nutrition sites, books and forums, which had become my drug of choice. It was the way I avoided living my life.

I don't know how much weight I lost since I've been really NoSing. I've been reading through my old posts to see how much I weighed when I was here. I have no idea. But it doesn't matter. My measure of success is that my pants are looser and I don't spend hours at the computer reading lowcarb/vegan/paleo/whatever sites or fill my Kindle with new diet books anymore.

Edited to add: I just read my first ever post here, and it said "At 52, I have reached a point where don't even know how to eat normally anymore." Wow. I'm 57 now. But I think I finally got it. Hallelujah.

Oh, man!

Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2015 9:16 pm
by TunaFishKid
Oy. So I'm back. I was very cocky back in December when I decided I'd "been really NoSing." :oops:

It didn't last long. I went back to dieting. I regained. At my last doctor's appointment I had high cholesterol and was classified pre-diabetic.

I do have some real dietary restrictions. I know, through YEARS of trial and error, that gluten gives me very bad joint and muscle pain. I also may have a problem with nightshades...not sure. The problem is, I keep eating both of those, probably because I'm rebelling against dietary restrictions. At least I hope so. And I hope that No S will free me from that mindset.

I really feel like an idiot coming back here after so many failures and re-starts, but I think No S is the best answer and the forum is my best hope of support.

A few years ago I quoted oolala53 -
for me, food-healthy or not- has been the coverup, and I need to face it. Not really any more fun than facing down food has been, but what's the option? I'm 59 now. If not now, when?
It used to be about weight for me. These days it's all about "health". I spend a ridiculous amount of time reading low carb and WFPB (whole food, plant based) websites, blogs and forums. It's pretty much all I do. I go from one to the other, and get more and more disordered in my eating and fatter and fatter. And while I'm doing that, I'm avoiding life. And oolala53's quote sums it up perfectly. I'm 58. If not now, when?

Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2015 10:17 am
by osoniye
Hi Laura,
Welcome back. I bet that getting the habits of 3 meals/day and accommodating your real dietary restrictions will set you on a good path. There is no shame in coming back- it's a good decision that many of us make several times!

Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2015 7:39 pm
by TunaFishKid
Not doing too bad. I've had more green N days than red. I've lost three pounds. Doesn't sound like much, but at least it's a downward trend.

My husband is on board as well, which is great! He's a pretty good eater but really snacks all night long after dinner. Now his weight is up and he's suffering from reflux, so he's decided to try No S with me. :)

I still spend an inordinate amount of time reading about diet and nutrition, and have even gone back to dieting several times, but each diet usually lasts only about 24 to 36 hours (sometimes less, lol). I just count it as learning, and let myself have it.

This forum is a really lovely resource. I made the thread "How to stay determined" my Safari home page, just to remind me to be kind to myself and stay the course.

Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2015 8:13 pm
by TunaFishKid
Oh, and I went on Amazon and bought Peg Bracken's "I Hate to Cook Book". I remember her commercials from the 70's...for frozen vegetables, or frozen meals, I think. I think I read her name here recently. Anyway, I thought a blast from the past would do me good and get me out of the "miracle foods" (paleo, low carb, vegan) mindset, and back into the normal eating from my childhood.

Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2015 3:49 am
by lpearlmom
Wb--you're doing great! Three pounds is great! Slow & steady is the way to go!

Linda

Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2015 7:54 am
by RAWCOOKIE
I don't hate to cook - but I am enjoying eating 'normal' food again! prior to No S I had also been raw vegan, low-car, low GI, gluten-free etc etc - all those things just make life difficult really - and the focus is always totally on the food! I'm only four months into No S but the sheer joy of knowing I can eat whatever I want (within the rules) is so liberating! Last weekend I enjoyed toasted crumpets with butter and Marmite - breaks all my previous rules - god they were so satisfying!

Enjoy your new cook book!

Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2015 6:05 pm
by TunaFishKid
Thanks for the kind words, osoniye, lpearlmom and RAWCOOKIE!

Taking another stab at journalling...

My weight this morning was 187.

Last night we had chili for dinner. I hate to make chili because I almost always end up with indigestion afterwards. Turns out it's because I eat too much. Last night my husband and I had one bowl each, his more full than mine, and no seconds. No reflux or indigestion at all. I felt great all night, and I also feel so stupid to be amazed by this, lol.

So far so good today. Breakfast at 7:30, lunch at 12:30. I got hungry at 11, but kept myself busy and then forgot all about it.

I'm excited about getting my "I Hate To Cook Book" delivered today. :D

Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2015 2:34 pm
by TunaFishKid
I've been on plan, despite having a bad cold and the house being turned upside down by remodeling. It's actually been easier with the cold, since I haven't had much of an appetite. I'm down another pound, to 186.

The amount of time I usually spend eating (between meals) or reading diet/nutrition books and websites is shocking, and only noticable (again!) now that I've stopped doing those things.

Once again, I need to be reminded of what oolala53 said...
I'm getting more and more clear that food is not my problem. Life is my problem! I need to keep honing my skills on life in between my meals; for me, food-healthy or not- has been the coverup, and I need to face it. Not really any more fun than facing down food has been, but what's the option? I'm 59 now. If not now, when?
The part I bolded should be tattooed on my arm, lol. Or at least stuck to my computer. Oooh! That's a good idea. :)

Posted: Mon Nov 30, 2015 6:46 pm
by TunaFishKid
So apparently I'm not good at journalling, lol. Maybe there's a word for weekly check-ins. ;D

Loving No S! I had four S days this week! First there was Thanksgiving, and then on Friday we took a three day trip by car out to Pittsburgh for a christening and there were family gatherings and parties and lots of restaurant meals. This was the first Thanksgiving in a long time (probably since I was 12, lol) that I actually enjoyed myself and ate whatever I wanted without guilt or worries over whether a particular food was good for me or not, or fattening, or had too many carbs. l also had a good time on the trip, enjoying all the food that was offered. It was fun and relaxing.

And the best part is, my weight this morning was 186, exactly what it was on my last check-in here a week and a half ago! I think I probably ate less than I would have if I were dieting, since I knew I could have whatever I wanted, and didn't feel the need to stuff myself with forbidden goodies.

I'm actually looking forward to Christmas goodies this year with anticipation, not dread.

Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2016 7:33 pm
by TunaFishKid
I'm still here. December was weird. I came down with a bad case of the flu on the 7th (despite having had a flu shot in November!). This was bad news, since the family Christmas is at our house every year, plus we were hosting a huge first birthday party for my grandson the day after Christmas!

A week later, instead of getting better, I got worse. Fever came back, along with nausea. I got very dehydrated and ended up in urgent care. Doctor treated for pneumonia despite a negative chest x-ray, which, he explained, could have been caused by the dehydration. I think what I had was a bad case of sinusitis, which was knocked out by the antibiotics prescribed for pneumonia. In any case, I spent another week recovering. I was able to get out of bed a few days before Christmas. We had 17 people on Christmas Day and 40 the next day! Thank God for my wonderful husband, daughters and in-laws, who took over all the decorating, gift buying, grocery shopping, cooking, etc. It was actually quite a good lesson for me in letting go and not having to control everything. I usually stress out and micro-manage every little detail. This time I knew I couldn't do much without exhausting myself so I let everyone else handle things while I recuperated.

My appetite came back on the 26th, and it has unfortunately been an entire week of S-days for me, since the kitchen is filled with party food and not much else.

Weight-wise, it's a wash. I lost 8 pounds while sick, and regained all of them already. :) I'm planning on going grocery shopping tomorrow and getting some decent food in the house.

Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 1:48 pm
by gingerpie
So glad you'r feeling better! Now, time to get back at it! 👍 :D

Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 7:34 pm
by TunaFishKid
Thanks, gingerpie. :)

Posted: Tue Jan 05, 2016 12:48 am
by Queenie
So sorry to hear what a rough time you had! Thank goodness for family.

Glad you're feeling so much better.

Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 12:24 am
by TunaFishKid
Thanks, Queenie.

Last two days have been good N days. It's nice to be back on No S. I forgot how good it feels to get hungry, and then satisfy that hunger with good food.

Posted: Tue Dec 27, 2016 4:10 pm
by TunaFishKid
My journal seems to have become more of an annual check-in... :lol:

I succumbed to the lure of dieting a few times this past year, but the diets never lasted more than a week or two at most, and afterwards I got back to fair approximation of No S each time. My most recent diet (low carb again) lasted from 11/1 to 11/8. I was under a tremendous amount of stress all throughout October, and when I went off that diet it occurred to me that my dieting may be more about anxiety and trying to get a sense of control than about my weight or health.

So I was doing No S more than not, and, believe it or not, I have had some success.

According to this journal, I weighed 186 pounds on 11/30/15, and this morning I was 169! So despite my best attempts to fail, lol, I actually succeeded in losing 17 pounds this last year.

The real success is that it's finally becoming natural not to snack between meals or eat sweets during the week. In fact, I rarely eat sweets at all anymore, even on S-days.

My New Year's resolution is basically to keep on with real life, I guess. When I stopped reading diet websites and books and thinking about food 24/7 I felt lost for awhile. I'm slowly learning to fill the void with other things - reading fiction, playing the piano, and cooking food that tastes good, lol. :)

Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2016 6:18 pm
by TunaFishKid
I forgot to mention - No S cured my GERD. I started having acid reflux twenty years ago and it got so bad I ended up on proton pump inhibitors, and was told I'd have to take them forever. When I do No S, I have no reflux and need no medication, not even Tums. However, when I stop doing No S, or go on a low carb diet, it comes back so bad I need the PPIs again.

Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2016 6:57 pm
by kaalii
wow, amazing success, laura - both weight loss and what noS is doing for your GERD !!
i love to hear how no snacking and no sweets has just became such a habit for you that even though you slip into a diet here and there you seem to be rooted in noS well!
this gives me lots of hope that noS sanity tends to prevail if we just give it a chance! :)

Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2016 2:13 am
by TunaFishKid
Thanks, kaalii. I'm afraid it has taken me a very long time to "get it." I've been a member of this forum since 2009, and I'm pretty sure I knew about No S before that...can't remember anymore. I guess some people are just slow learners, lol.

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2017 9:30 pm
by TunaFishKid
Doing really well. As of January 23 I had one red day (I popped a chocolate in my mouth on Jan 2 at 9pm. Don't know what I was thinking, lol), one non-weekend S day, and 14 straight green N days. And then my sister called and told me she was going to start doing paleo. And then I started surfing and reading paleo websites and decided to do Whole 30. And then I ate ice cream and potato chips the next two days! I also decided it was stupid to keep up my HabitCal.

Omg. Addiction is sneaky, and I am addicted to dieting. And dieting makes me binge. Thank God I figured it out Wednesday evening, the 25th, and stopped it right there. I remembered "mark it and move on" and so I did. I gave myself two red days, ate a normal dinner, and was back on track.

That was close, lol.

Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2017 2:32 pm
by TunaFishKid
Derek Walcott died last week. I never heard of him before learning of his death, but he was a poet who wrote this beautiful poem that made me think of how much the No S journey means for some people (like me) beyond weight loss.

Love After Love

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:09 pm
by TunaFishKid
My husband and I just got back from a 4 day weekend trip to celebrate the Christening of a niece's new baby. My husband has been on a low carb diet for the past six weeks and has lost 16 pounds. He went off his diet over the weekend, mainly because we were eating out and eating at their home, and it was either eat what was on offer or go hungry. He got on the scale this morning and was up SIX pounds! I'm sure it's mostly water that he'll lose again quickly, but it was still upsetting to him.

I, on the other hand, was DOWN 2.3 pounds since last week, lol. Oh, and I made all four days S days! I think No S is starting to look better to him. :wink:

Seriously, though....I enjoyed everything I ate without a twinge of guilt while he obsessed over it and felt guilty and a little out of control. After years of struggling to let go of low carb dieting, it's been tough for me to watch him losing weight so quickly. Not anymore.

Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 3:29 pm
by Larkspur
What a lovely poem.

No S all the way LOL.

Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 1:12 am
by oolala53
It is amazing to me that I am reading your posts for the first time and seeing myself quoted.

Unfortunately, I've seen that this whole topic continues to take an inordinate amount of my time, too, like you saw that diet talk/reading did. I still haven't found anything else quite as compelling. But I have lost about 28% of my weight, about 10 lbs. of it in the last year, my 7th; I'm tipping in to early high school weight. I like to think I have been of good support to others who need it, and I've gotten to write a fair amount. A career exploration battery of tests taken years ago revealed that I should devote myself to something that consumed my interest, and I've done that, just without pay. My paying job continues to be stressful, but I just could never think/act my way out of it and I'm down to my last two semesters.

All along the way, the weight loss itself was not the focus, but more what is moderate for me, now? That has changed a lot. I've had to face that I need a lot less food than I thought, and have been finding ways to cooperate with that.

We are not unusual in having to give this conscious thought. All over the world, wherever there is no scarcity or war, populations are gaining weight and paying a price. Humans are mostly opportunistic eaters UNLESS scarcity, war, or culture limits the food.

In a culture of excess, it's not surprising that it may take some effort to create our own culture of just enough.

I hope I can follow in your footsteps to a fuller life. On that note, off to my drum class.

Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 1:13 pm
by TunaFishKid
oolala53 wrote:It is amazing to me that I am reading your posts for the first time and seeing myself quoted.

Unfortunately, I've seen that this whole topic continues to take an inordinate amount of my time, too, like you saw that diet talk/reading did. I still haven't found anything else quite as compelling. But I have lost about 28% of my weight, about 10 lbs. of it in the last year, my 7th; I'm tipping in to early high school weight. I like to think I have been of good support to others who need it, and I've gotten to write a fair amount. A career exploration battery of tests taken years ago revealed that I should devote myself to something that consumed my interest, and I've done that, just without pay. My paying job continues to be stressful, but I just could never think/act my way out of it and I'm down to my last two semesters.

All along the way, the weight loss itself was not the focus, but more what is moderate for me, now? That has changed a lot. I've had to face that I need a lot less food than I thought, and have been finding ways to cooperate with that.

We are not unusual in having to give this conscious thought. All over the world, wherever there is no scarcity or war, populations are gaining weight and paying a price. Humans are mostly opportunistic eaters UNLESS scarcity, war, or culture limits the food.

In a culture of excess, it's not surprising that it may take some effort to create our own culture of just enough.

I hope I can follow in your footsteps to a fuller life. On that note, off to my drum class.
Hi, oolala53! I just went back in my journal and discovered that I've quoted you three times, and it was the same quote every time. I'm a v-e-r-y slow learner, apparently.

As for following in my footsteps...I hope you don't get dizzy easily, lol, because I've been going around in circles for years! :lol:

Thanks so much for your participation in this forum and on the Facebook group. Your experience and advice are priceless.

Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 9:10 pm
by oolala53
Tx for kind words. Slow learner here, too. Actually, I think I know what is preferable, but it's harder to pull off than just eating less.

Posted: Wed Apr 26, 2017 11:23 am
by TunaFishKid
Omg. I decided to read through my journal and found this, from 2009 (emphasis added) -
The most interesting thing I've noticed after my first week on No S is how good I feel. I must have been eating A LOT to feel so much better from just eliminating snacks, sweets and seconds. I haven't had any indigestion or heartburn and I've been sleeping better as a result.
And then, from December, 2016 -
I forgot to mention - No S cured my GERD. I started having acid reflux twenty years ago and it got so bad I ended up on proton pump inhibitors, and was told I'd have to take them forever. When I do No S, I have no reflux and need no medication, not even Tums. However, when I stop doing No S, or go on a low carb diet, it comes back so bad I need the PPIs again.
I'm furious with myself right now. I knew No S made my reflux go away and forgot, and had to rediscover it seven years later.. How could I forget something like that? I went through a lot in the intervening years because of my GERD. I mean a LOT. I had endoscopies. I was on serious medication. I even went to the ER once because the food I was eating got stuck and wouldn't go down. I was given a medication to relax my esophagus and it caused me to go into afib, which required another medication to restore my heart rhythm, then had to spend the night in the hospital. It was all quite scary. And, apparently, completely unnecessary. :roll:

Posted: Thu Apr 27, 2017 2:42 am
by oolala53
Be gentle with yourself over the past. And tough when the moments of choice come in the future. We usually do it the other way and it hasn't worked.

You're smarter now! One of the advantages of being older.

On Spark, I'm on a maintainers team, and nearly everyone there is over 45. Live and learn.

Posted: Fri Apr 28, 2017 8:21 pm
by TunaFishKid
oolala53 wrote:Be gentle with yourself over the past. And tough when the moments of choice come in the future. We usually do it the other way and it hasn't worked.
Whoa...gold in there. Thanks.

Posted: Mon May 01, 2017 9:12 pm
by TunaFishKid
I don't even want to talk about it...actually went low carb for a couple of days. A day and a half, to be exact. The only result was a day of bingeing. Seriously, I should have gotten over this a looooooong time ago.

Posted: Mon May 01, 2017 9:53 pm
by oolala53
Diet head is pretty strong and there are some parts of our attempts to decrease "energy intake," as the longevity experts call eating, that can be useful, when we don't get all dramatic about it. But it's too soon for that, mostly likely.

Even dieting and failing can be a habit to break.

Remember, you can always go low carb after a few months of mostly green weeks, IF you are still so inclined. I've fantasized about all the purported advantages but the thought of my beloved cooked grains just makes me sad, so far. I don't rule it out, though. Just leaving myself the option actually can make me work my own mods as much as I can without having to resort to it.

Wring the heck out of Vanilla first!

Posted: Mon May 01, 2017 10:00 pm
by oolala53
P.S. I heartily/humbly suggest you make a list of the advantages of surrendering to this lifestyle (and whatever appropriate mods emerge) rather than other strategies or to continuing with overeating. Possibly list what you hate about the other options. Read it over and over. Expert athletes and artists do this unconsciously. Don't get down on yourself because you need to. Baumeister said never ever assume a person doesn't have willpower because s/eh struggles with reducing eating. It has thwarted many. But we don't have to be them.

Being disgusted with yourself doesn't work, but wanting to AVOID feeling disgust in the future does! Get very adamant about wanting to avoid feeling disgusted because you didn't wait for your reasonable, "normal" meals.

Posted: Wed May 03, 2017 5:18 pm
by TunaFishKid
Thank you, oolala53. You really seem to understand what's going on with me.
I've fantasized about all the purported advantages but the thought of my beloved cooked grains just makes me sad, so far. I don't rule it out, though.
Yes! When I realized at the end of last year that I was actually seeing progress with No S, I decided to recommit myself to it, and after three months or so I would - maybe - make my three meals low carb meals. But I couldn't seem to leave it alone, just like picking at a scab. Reading lc sites, thinking about how amazingly thin and healthy I would be (lol)...you know the drill. And the craziest part of it is, I don't like low carb dieting. I'm not much of a meat eater and don't enjoy fatty foods. Like you, the idea of giving up cooked grains (I love quinoa salad, oatmeal and risotto) makes me very sad.
I heartily/humbly suggest you make a list of the advantages of surrendering to this lifestyle (and whatever appropriate mods emerge) rather than other strategies or to continuing with overeating. Possibly list what you hate about the other options. Read it over and over.
This is a wonderful idea. I started a list on my notes app on my phone, and may move it over here.

It will also help me to try and figure out what's got me feeling out of control, because I think that's a big part of my frequent return to restrictive dieting.

Posted: Thu May 04, 2017 4:45 am
by oolala53
I don't know what your religious beliefs are and I hope I won't be offensive, but I think of some of the desire to diet is akin to some very restrictive religious practices. The believers find comfort in the restriction, thinking it is somehow protective of them, and expunges what they see as their wrongdoings. They become worthy and unconsciously think of themselves as being "good." It's rather paradoxical because theoretically, I think unconditional self-regard is a good thing, but it also seems true that we just feel better acting certain ways. I think some behaviors are life-affirming, and reasonable eating is one of them. We know down deep that it's better when we're moderate and feed the body more of what it's meant to ingest.

BTW, regarding the LC stuff, I'm also influenced by the study of the Blue Zones, which are longevity zones. Those people eat plenty of grains (though not sweetened baked stuff) and other starches, and they sail along with few of our degenerative issues. But they have other advantages, too. And the researchers don't talk about it much but I gleaned that they are not snackers. Their overall intake is much lower than ours, but their enjoyment is high!

Posted: Fri May 05, 2017 6:09 pm
by TunaFishKid
Wow, oolala... Not offensive in the least, and a lot to think about. Seriously, thanks. I only dropped in to say this so you wouldn't think I was offended. :)

Posted: Fri May 05, 2017 11:09 pm
by oolala53
Good to hear. And BTW, I sometimes eat LC meals. I like feeling I can roll with several eating punches.

Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2017 11:37 am
by TunaFishKid
It's been a couple of months since my last check-in. I haven't been NoS-ing, but I haven't been dieting, either, which in itself is a victory. Oolala, your post comparing dieting to religion was instrumental in helping me work things out.

My weight has remained weirdly stable this year. I was 169 at the end of December, and I was 169 this morning. I've gone up and down a couple of pounds but no more. A loss would be better, lol, but I'll take the stability for now.

I've been reading through http://nosdiet.blogspot.com. It's a wonderful resource and has inspired me to recommit to NoS.

Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2017 4:06 pm
by oolala53
Where's that long post I wrote to you? It was mostly about how stable my weight was back in my late 20's even though I was eating stupidly, and so many of us did. It was higher than I wanted but was still in the "normal" BMI range. What might life have been like if I had just lived that life at that weight? I'll never know.

But I DO know that the body will do a lot, from sending urge signals to adjusting metabolism, to stay at equilibrium.

I'm assuming you don't feel rotten from your eating. Kudos right there!

Enjoy your recommitment and I hope it's actually not too much of a deviation from what you're doing now.

Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2017 10:56 am
by TunaFishKid
Thanks so much for your continued support and encouragement, oolala. I really appreciate it. I didn't realize it until you mentioned it, but your assumption is correct - I'm not feeling rotten from my eating. Haha...that's awesome! Why don't I know things about myself before someone else points them out to me? Lol.

I'm sitting here trying to figure out how much of a deviation No S is from what I've been doing. I don't ever have seconds, and I'm not really much of a sweets eater, either. (So different from a few years ago when it seems like I ate nothing but cake all the time. Ugh.) So I guess my problem is snacking between meals. And, now that I think about it, it's not chips or cookies, it's more like grabbing some leftovers or a piece of cheese out of the refrigerator. I wonder how much of that is hunger and how much is boredom? I'll see if I can't figure that out next time the impulse hits.

Anyway...I just finished my breakfast of oatmeal and frozen cherries with cinnamon on top. I have two breakfasts that have become my defaults - the one I had today, and yogurt (amazing whole milk, grass-fed) with blueberries and walnuts. I pretty much eat one for a few days, then the other. I've been doing that for months now. It's funny because those are both holdovers from my dieting days. I started eating the oatmeal and cherries when I was McDougalling years ago, and the yogurt/blueberries/walnuts was my go-to on low carb (I could never eat eggs without toast, lol).

Off to start the day!

Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2017 5:23 am
by oolala53
Some of my best meals, for me, are ones I learned from diets. I rarely followed any of the big name stuff, though I was influenced by Barry Sears, mostly his stuff about vegetables, which dovetailed Volumetrics.

Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 5:21 pm
by TunaFishKid
I'm in a good place right now. My N days haven't all been perfect, but the couple of slips I've had weren't a big deal and I just moved on. My eating is more relaxed than it ever was, and I'm feeling really well. My blood pressure is now on the low side of normal, and I haven't taken any medication for acid reflux in weeks - not even a Tums.

My weight this morning was 165. That's the lowest number I've seen in five and a half years, and then it was only the fleeting result of a bad case of a virus I caught on a cruise!

Could I have really turned a corner and left forty years of overeating/dieting behind for good? I'm almost afraid to say that out loud but I never felt this relaxed before. No S has always been hard and almost diet-like for me. This feels very different.

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 2:25 am
by ladybird30
Hi Laura,

I've been reading your entries, and am glad you are in a better place now and feeling well and more relaxed about No S. I found some time ago that the more relaxed I was about my eating, the better things were. On the other hand, when I used to get upset about my out of control eating, I think I ate all the more.

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 4:53 am
by oolala53
TFK, it sounds really good. Who knows what it means and what will happen? Enjoy!

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 12:40 pm
by TunaFishKid
ladybird30 wrote:I found some time ago that the more relaxed I was about my eating, the better things were. On the other hand, when I used to get upset about my out of control eating, I think I ate all the more.
This is so true. I guess some of us use food to soothe ourselves, even when what we're upset about is how much we're eating. People are so complicated...

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 12:41 pm
by TunaFishKid
oolala53 wrote:Who knows what it means and what will happen? Enjoy!
Good advice. Stop analyzing and enjoy. :D

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 8:57 pm
by TunaFishKid
TunaFishKid wrote: Could I have really turned a corner and left forty years of overeating/dieting behind for good? I'm almost afraid to say that out loud but I never felt this relaxed before. No S has always been hard and almost diet-like for me. This feels very different.
Okay. I guess I shouldn't have said it out loud. About five minutes (exaggerating) after my last entry I watched a youtube video about Weight Watchers. I didn't do it deliberately. A vlogger I follow had just joined WW. But then Youtube started suggesting similar videos. And I watched them. And some of those women had lost a lot of weight. And then I started buying sugar-free chocolate pudding cups and weighing my food and counting (or at least estimating) calories. And then I subscribed to several diet Reddit subforums.

Long story short...this morning I weighed 171 pounds. I guess the damage could have been worse.

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 9:50 pm
by Azalealilac
I just read through your thread. Just great to hear of others who continue to come back to No S in spite of all the diets out there. Best wishes!

Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2017 10:20 pm
by Azalealilac
Actually it sounded like a good idea to unfollow certain diet groups on face book and figure out what my real interests are in life. I have read and read on diets so long.... thanks for writing encouraging things

Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2017 4:35 am
by oolala53
Honestly, TFK, when you said that, I felt a cold feeling in my stomach because it is so rare for people to truly know this is it until it's at least a year or even more. That's true for any big eating change, especially anyone who had an emotional eating habit. But I'm trying not to be a prematurely warning-monger these day.

And I suspect that thinking it's all over awakens the part of our brains that jumps to protect the access to food. It's like it says, what, you're serious? You think this is it? Aack, I better take some action!

Posted: Mon Dec 11, 2017 11:20 pm
by TunaFishKid
Man, when I fall, I fall. Two days ago I started reading the success stories on a certain diet doctor's website which I will not name, just in case anybody else might fall prey like I did. And then I went out to Trader Joe's and stocked up on all the "right" foods. Which, after only two days, left me hungry and bloated.

Maybe I need some ground rules. Like, no diet sites. Then again, i fell into dieting again via Youtube. Sheesh.

(And thanks, Azalealilac (beautiful name) and Ooolala for the unconditional support. It's awesome.)

Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2017 5:02 pm
by milliem
Don't be too hard on yourself, it was only two days before you realised that wasn't the way to go! Every fall teaches us something about how to get back up again :)

Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2017 6:42 am
by Merry
Hey, at least it was only a 2-day detour--it's easy to get derailed for much more!

Write down all the reasons why the diet wasn't helpful, and then you can read that the next time you are tempted to jump ship for the new/shiny/supposedly faster method! (I've never met a diet that kept the weight off when I stopped! Go for sustainable changes instead! No more yo-yo diets!)

Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2017 4:34 pm
by oolala53
I am SO suspicious of the early reports of anyone on any regime. I'm still befuddled by people gushing about their early weight loss and announcements of weight lost after a week. Why should their reports be any different down the line than they have been for 150 years, namely a 95% failure rate? To me, I don't weigh a certain amount until I've weighed that for a month because so much can happen!

I'm being a bit of a hypocrite because I posted plenty from the beginning here, but my intentions were not for loss, but for reducing bingeing. Even then, no one should have listened for the first year!

But forgive yourself, as getting sucked in by diet porn is a national past time of many women and some men. Just like the food pushers, the promoters are very savvy and either fools or rogues. We want so much the love, affection, power, admiration, etc, that we think we'll get if we can just eat little enough. I'm starting to think that advertising is an abasement of free speech.

I myself am just addicted to sites on how to reduce eating without being on a diet. Much better! :roll:

Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 9:22 pm
by TunaFishKid
I'm back after weeks of diet obsession. Thank you oolala, Merry and miliem for your helpful suggestions. I just have a lot of stuff to work out, I guess. I'm pretty sure my dieting obsession is just my particular expression of anxiety. I also think that getting a handle on my dieting obsession will reduce my anxiety. Chicken or egg? Who knows.

I will have to tweak No S temporarily and have four small meals instead of three, because my GERD has returned and large meals cause reflux. That won't last long, though, based on past experience.

It's not how many times you fall, it's how many times you get back up.

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 1:11 am
by automatedeating
Why are you "tunafishkid"? I saw your name and it reminded me that is a great go-to meal for me in my attempts to avoid refined carbs. :)

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 3:56 am
by oolala53
Hi again, TFK. I think my "obsession" with this whole topic is a coping strategy for my anxiety. Maybe that's the same thing as your observation. I remember one particularly tough year at work, I would log on to Spark and here several times a day, sometimes even during class, when the students were working on their own, and I was supposed to be doing research for lessons or organization or whatever. In my case, I think it was because I felt effective here, but not at work. I think people are obsessed with diet stuff because they fantasize about being approved of and even admired. For a lot of women, the diet is subconsciously like a Prince Charming or White Knight. This is going to prove I'm worthy! or it will save me! Also because it represents being "good" and reinforcing an image of themselves as moral. Just about everyone is driven by these motivations; they just focus on different stuff.

No S won't likely solve any of these problems. Ironically, being compliant might make the easier to take. It adds less of a problem because you can reduce or short circuit the "reward" cycle. It's really misnamed because it's really more about the yearning. The brain would rather anticipate than get because it's more exciting. That's why it comes back over and over. It's never satisfied but doesn't actually serve any other purpose. Real hunger nourishes and the body uses food for real activities; it's only natural eating gets repeated for that.

But all this theorizing may be part of the obsession, too! The best cure is compliance! And compliance to 4 eating events (because you need that to heal) is just as good. It's really about the rhythm of compliance that helps with anxiety, I think. Plus the peace of feeding yourself reasonably.

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 11:44 am
by TunaFishKid
automatedeating wrote:Why are you "tunafishkid"? I saw your name and it reminded me that is a great go-to meal for me in my attempts to avoid refined carbs. :)
Hi, automatedeating! :) It's sort of a nickname my father gave me because I loved tuna fish sandwiches so much when I was a kid. When I discovered No S I was thrilled that it was "legal" to eat a decent tuna sandwich again...no more restrictions on bread (low carb) or mayo (low fat). A tuna fish sandwich is sort of symbolic of food freedom for me, I guess. (And still my favorite :D)

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 12:07 pm
by TunaFishKid
Oolala, I've read a lot of your journal (but have a lot of catching up to do) and we have so much in common...except of course that you have been successful on No S, lol.

You're right about the desire to be good, or to be saved, and also about the brain anticipating. But you nailed it when you said
But all this theorizing may be part of the obsession, too!
I think it's time I get over it and start putting one foot in front of the other.

And another thought just popped into my head! Are you familiar with Dr. John Sarno and his theories on pain? I used his method to rid myself of back pain about fifteen years ago. It just occurred to me that this diet/nutrition obsession of mine might be another of what he calls "equivalents." He deals with physical symptoms, but this obsession of mine is every bit as distracting to my brain as pain - maybe more so. And the cure is to just ignore it and get on with life. Whoa...just blew my own mind.

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 10:24 pm
by oolala53
I see parallels in other areas of my life, too, but they are harder to draw lines around: anxiety, Maybe I'll finally trade obsessions and see if I can figure it out. But seeing how long I had been dealing with the food stuff was part of what made me think, gawd, I'm going to do this my whole life if I don't bite the bullet and change. And No S was/is so reasonable.

By the way, when I lived overseas, I actually didn't miss too many foods, partly because I lived in a big capital with a lot of ex-pats so there were a fair number of imports. I guess tuna wasn't one of them because one of the few foods I fantasized about was tuna fish sandwiches. I think it might hve been because growing up Catholic at Catholic school, once a month we had a special Mass on Fridays just before lunch time, and no snack because you had to fast for at least an hour before taking communion. That tuna fish (no meat on Friday back then) tasted so good when I was so hungry! I still like them but dont have 'em much anymore.

Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2018 1:47 am
by automatedeating
I am having a GIANT tuna fish sandwich for dinner.

Posted: Fri Feb 09, 2018 2:02 pm
by TunaFishKid
I had a tuna fish sandwich for lunch yesterday and it was absolutely delicious! I was unable to get in a fourth meal yesterday because I was busy all day, but it wasn't a problem. I did a little throat-clearing after dinner (a GERD symptom for me) but it wasn't too bad.