Everyday Systems

Saturday
10st 11 1/2lbs

Thursday and Friday were also minor fails. Thursday - a handful of M&Ms, Friday - snacking from 4pm onwards. However, I'm 5lbs down from a week ago, much less bloated and feel more in control and have reduced portion sizes considerably.
We are just about to go on holiday for 2 weeks, so if I can maintain this level of control I will be happy.

Recommitting as of today - an S day. The best day to restart

I have recommitted lots of times and failed, which makes me worry that I will just fail again. Fails need to be viewed differently: a learning experience, not a judgement on my personality (I'm hopeless, can't even stop myself from eating etc).

I'm using the feeling of overwhelm in my life (busy job, 2 kids etc) as an excuse to eat, instead of using No S to set up good eating patterns which give me the energy to be in control - not just of my eating.

I know all this, (I think I've posted the same thing a million times!) but I need to 'just get on with it' as my mum would have said.

Just getting on with my S day right now...

Welcome back! I also had an 'unscheduled break' over the summer hehe. I re-read the NoS book yesterday which reminded me that when changing an ingrained behaviour, people often fail 10-12 times before their change sticks. What did Reinhard say.. something about 'just get on with it and get a few of those fails under your belt'

Thanks for the encouragement milliem.

2nd day and successes so far. Still to have dinner, but the tricky time of day (late afternoon) is over. Eating isn't particularly healthy as we are having the kitchen replaced and eating out or takeaways - but it is contained.

In the end Tuesday was a fail - albeit a minor one. I made a mistake, felt rubbish and reached for chocolate....which just increased the rubbish feeling.
Wednesday was a major fail.
Thursday and Friday will be better.

This year has not been a good one for me. There have been no huge life-changing events - but I have struggled with lots of things over the course of the year and I don't feel 'happy'. By happy, what do I mean? I think I mean that I am not where I want to be. I feel as if I am failing and this is producing a vicious circle of failure. Again, it's not huge failure - I am paying the bills, feeding my family, doing basic routines but things are not as I want them to be. I'm just hanging on by the skin of my teeth.

So what has this got to do with this forum?
Weight - my weight has increased over the last year to 165.2lbs. I was very successful with No S two years ago and was about 128lbs, so this is a very big increase. I have tried and tried to restart No S this year but haven't succeeded. This is one of the areas where I am not where I want to be but I am the one who is in control - why don't I do something about it? I start every day with the best of intentions and then fail. I have reread my check-ins from the successful days to see what was working for me then. Some of the strategies from then wouldn't work now - my job and life is different. But I put a fair amount of energy into making sure that I did succeed.

There are other parts of my life which need attention too. I don't want to feel as if I'm hanging on by the skin of my teeth. I want to feel on top of things and successful. Good habits are key to this I think, because they will mean that I am not floundering with the basics. And by the basics I mean health, home, family and work.

Obviously, Christmas Eve is not a good day to restart No S! But I am reviewing, reflecting and planning for post-Christmas when I will be able to make a fresh start in several areas. No S will be the first fresh start.

Merry Christmas

So, the reviewing and reflecting has been ongoing. Relaxing, catching up on sleep and having a break from work has allowed me to get a bit of perspective on things. I have read some interesting things which have motivated me.
Oolala - on someone else's thread:

You eat because you put food in your mouth, chew it, and swallow it. Do this at mealtimes and don't be chintzy. No one starves eating three meals a day, so you can go without food at all other times. The stimulus is irrelevant. It doesn't come from a real need for food, so it can be ignored. It's possible you may spend the time you are not eating working on other problems in your life or just finding pleasurable activities that are also health- and life-affirming. Regard eating as a non-option.

Good, plain talking advice.

Some good advice on ways to deal with overwhelm here:
http://successnet.org/cms/motivation-in ... -overwhelm
the first of these is:

Recognize that overwhelm isn't real. It's not something that attacks us. It's a feeling we experience based upon a belief there's too much to do and too little time to do it. It's fear—plain and simple. And once we recognize and acknowledge it, we're better equipped to deal with it.

This is good advice for me. I needed to think about things a different way. The usual advice of deep breathing, taking a break etc... wasn't working for me. This will work - I need a plain talker to bring me up short.

Lastly - good old Delia Smith. I was looking for pudding recipes and came across some advice on sugar - basically she says have one nice dessert once a week in order to appreciate something good.

So I'm nearly ready to carry on with No S. I'm not going to say restart - (again, advice from another thread on not being a perfectionist). I've had a long period of fails and now I am going to succeed. Today and tomorrow are S days - family parties - and then I will be successful once more.

Wednesday 164.8lbs
Success
B - mango/toast with butter and marmalade
L - goats cheese salad sandwich/handful of cheese savouries/2 tangerines/apple
D - chips/chicken/peas/bread and butter

All snacks resisted. Cup of tea and half a carton of juice when I started to get a bit peckish out shopping.

No desire for chocolate after dinner.

I was surprised how easy yesterday was- but it's still the holidays and things are calm. And it's just one day at a time, focussing on the habit of 3 meals.

Thursday 164.4lbs
Success
B - toast/butter/marmalade/ fruit
L - chicken sandwich, handful cheese savouries, yogurt, fruit
D - smoked haddock in lemon butter/mash/broccoli

Exercise: 1/2 an hour hill walking on treadmill

Dinner was small - I'm about to have a cup of tea and then that's it - the kitchen is closed!

Friday 163.4lbs
Success

B - fruit/toast/butter/marmalade
L - goats cheese salad sandwich/handful of cheese savouries/fruit/cereal bar
D - chicken/wedges/peas

3 days in a row - my best green streak since June last year!

The weekend was ok - quite a lot of chocolate but it isn't time to worry about S days yet - those days will come! Went to yoga on Sunday evening - a nice way to end the weekend.

Monday 164.4lbs
Success
This is a good success as I was back at work and so needed different strategies to deal with not eating. Today was easy - but Monday's usually are. Temptation Tuesday, on the other hand, has been my downfall on many an occasion.....

Brilliant job on the three green days last week, well done! Keep at it, hope you're kicking Tuesday's bum

Thanks Milliem - I did kick Tuesday's bum! There was a point when I wanted to give in, but I managed to avoid it.

Tuesday 164.4lbs
Success

B - fruit/porridge
L - goats cheese salad sandwich/fruit/yogurt
D - pasta with parma ham

1/2 hour hill walking on treadmill

Wednesday

162.8lbs

Success
B - porridge/fruit
L - sandwich/yogurt/fruit
D - prawn curry with rice/nan bread

I was given a Krispy Kreme today. I gave it away. I have enough money to buy one on Saturday if I really want one then (which I may well do - it looked very nice )

Thursday
162lbs
Success

Success despite another bag of doughnuts left on my desk!! People must think I love sugar - don't know where they got that idea

However, I put them to one side and moved on....
A very stressful day today, which would have sent me reaching for food before Christmas. Not today though - too determined.

B - toast/fruit
L - sandwich/yogurt/fruit
D - sausage casserole/bread

Friday 163.4lbs
Success.
Weight spike - lots of bread on Thursday, and a huge dinner of sausage and bean casserole. Very dense food... and chocolate biscuits on my desk today!

B - toast/fruit
L - sandwich/fruit/yogurt
D - steak and chips

It's been a difficult week with long working days, a very stressful meeting and concerns about my youngest child. But not once have I reached for comfort food. I am determined that I am not going to do this any more. It is not good for me.

Saturday 161.4lbs

Monday 164.4lbs
Fail

Tuesday
Fail

I ate too much at the weekend and I didn't really enjoy what I ate, either.
Monday and Tuesday were fails for several reasons: Monday was a long work day - 12 hours at work. I should have planned a mini-meal, but was thirsty then hungry and reached for biscuits. Tuesday I was tired from the long day - reached for biscuits again.

I was determined not to use food to solve issues at work - but that is what I've done the last two days. I know that eating sugar and rubbish makes me feel more tired - but I still do it! I am so annoyed with myself!!!!

Tomorrow is another day and I resolve to succeed.

Wednesday
165.2lbs Success

Thursday 163.2lbs Failure

So frustrated that I can't/won't do this!

Friday - fail
Monday - success
Tuesday - success

Just keep swimming....

Looks like you've been at this a while, I just started last week. Looks like you are active on the check-in. Hope success for you and for me.