Everyday Systems

Just started this sensible "diet" today. I've done something similar with Overeaters Anonymous: 3-0-1 plan. Three meals a day, nothing in between, one day at a time. Sweets weren't on the list. I see a lot of wisdom in limiting sweets!

Welcome and good luck, Lara!!

Well, I certainly behaved like an "idiot" today and ended up binging: eating way too much! But, I've been reading the posts about "S" days and they've really helped me to figure out how to not let that happen again. I like the idea of "once" instead of "sometimes" and may adopt that approach to my "S" days. Time will tell. I'm willing to experiment with this because I truly see this as a sustainable method for keeping my weight at a normal range.

I'm 5'1" and 135 pounds. My goal is to lose 25 pounds. I don't really care how fast or slowly that happens, as long as the numbers are on a downward trend.

I also just read about the shovelglove and the urban rambler. I love Reinhart's approach to exercise: as sensible as his "diet."

Well, I'm on Day 4 of this sensible eating plan and learning a lot about myself: This is the way I need to work the No S Diet:

N Days: no snacks, no second helpings, no sweets. Period.
S Days: non snacks, no second helpings, sweet once a day

Snacking and sweets, for now, really are triggers for me to binge. I have to just accept this. I hope that in the future, I'll be able to eat a snack and not have it put me into the "okay, bring on more food" mode!

Binge yesterday. It was an "N" day and there were cookies. I immediately proclaimed it an "S" day and had 2, which led me to eating 2 pieces of baklava and quite a bit of bread with butter. Hmmmmm....

I'm reading the book now, and I love it. You can skim sections that pertain to immediate questions and leisurely read the rest. So, I realize my mistakes were: "S" days are planned: I can't spontaneously proclaim them; and stick to the simple rules: Don't be an idiot! No sweets means no sweets. Also, no second helpings means just that!

Okay. I get it. Vanilla No S Diet. Count me in. I'm getting it, slowly but surely. Now I need to find a sledge hammer

Hi Lara,
I started No S the day after you - and I am also a mainly vegan eater!
There is a bit of a learning curve with this - I am nervous for this weekend - I don't want to go crazy but the idea is to be relaxed about S days, right?

Cheers,
Amy

Hi Lara,

Welcome and thanks for stopping by my thread.

I, like you, discovered that I needed a little more boundaries on S days. Even though I know that I shouldn't act like an idiot, I need to know how to do that! So, my S days look like yours - 3 meals with sweets at lunch and/or dinner. My helpings may be a little larger - but I really like the habit of no seconds and no snacking. It has become somewhat ingrained in me, again - which is what I want, yay.

I haven't heard of OA90 - good to know that vegetarianisn/veganism are encouraged. When I became a veggie, I didn't tell a whole lot of people in program because I didn't want their judgement because most people said it was a slippery slope. I eventually left - felt I got my strength from my faith and fellowship with others who believed. Yet, I have nothing but good and positive things to say about 12-step programs - they were what I needed at the time.

Keep posting - it's great for accountability.

Hi, Lara:
I like your S day rules.
I'm in the middle of one of the wildest S days I've had. I'm trying not to judge.
The important thing is, I'm learning about myself and that I have this compulsive need to always have something in my mouth, be it crystal light, diet soda, gum, or food.
So on an S day...that equals food.
Ah well. I like your no snacks, seconds for S days.
I might have more than one sweet, but I'd like to adopt the rest!

Thanks for stopping by my check in!

I was telling my friend about the No S diet yesterday - it helps to try to explain it to someone else, to clarify it in my own mind. I have an idea that the key is to get the S days figured out so that they don't undo all the progress we make in the week!

Easter Sunday at the in-law's today - honestly, I am looking forward to getting back to N on Monday!

Have a great day!

Palm Sunday for me today. I chanted all morning in church and it was good. There was the traditional fish luncheon after the Divine Liturgy and I had:
1 piece breaded, baked fish, a large helping of salad (piled it high on my plate!), a slice of French bread, skordalia (Greek garlic sauce), rice pudding and 2 koulourakia (Greek cookies). I felt satisfied. Not full. Good feeling.

Now I'm home reading the boards and posting about what I'm reading in Reinhard's book. Being labeled a food addict in the past and working with OA, I became very interested about what he had to say about addiction vs. habit:

".....Both of these terms describe powerful, irrational forces--mental associations that push you to act in certain ways under certain conditions. But addiction describes a force that is irresistible, unchangeable, and bad; the best you can hope for is to avoid trigger situations [and foods]. Habits, though perhaps very powerful, can be opposed. They can be changed. And, most importantly, they can be good as well as bad.
"So be very careful when you use words like ADDICTION and CRAVING. By using terminology like this, you frame the problem in a way that suggests that it is hopeless, and that can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you think in terms of habit instead, you turn your problem into a powerful potential ally." pp. 145, 146

My husband says that that little piece of knowledge is going to be my "flaming sword!" Bless his heart! In any event, I love this way of thinking because I'm really tired of being a food addict!

Holy Week starts for me tonight. I'm the main chanter in a Greek Orthodox Church and there will be services every night, and when Holy Thursday comes, there will be services during the day, too. So, I'll be keeping myself pretty busy singing beautiful hymns and prayers. It's a good head space to be in.

However, there will also be lots of activity in the kitchen: people baking and cooking for the upcoming feast and Food Festival. So, I will need to stay out of there! I'll need to bring my own meals and not snack all week long. We're supposed to be fasting, so I won't need to make any excuses. Some people fast and some don't. No questions are asked, and no explanations are expected.

"So be very careful when you use words like ADDICTION and CRAVING. By using terminology like this, you frame the problem in a way that suggests that it is hopeless, and that can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you think in terms of habit instead, you turn your problem into a powerful potential ally." pp. 145, 146

I couldn't agree with you more!!! I too had the label of food addict for over 20 years and firmly believed it - it was a solid root in my soul. My 12-step friends would be shocked to know that I now have sugar/flour/wheat with no problems. I really believe that it is a behavior problem - anything can be used to numb out - be it carrots, ice cream, shopping, exercise. I can overdo on anything if I'm in an emotional sticky, ickky place.

So glad we have found a different way of viewing things - a different perspective.

Enjoy your upcoming festivities - they sound very fulfilling.

Thanks for the reminder about being careful in using the word "addicted".
I think I'd prefer to say "I'm USED to......".
"I'm USED TO drinking lots of diet soda."
"I'm USED TO having lots of helpings of dessert."
"I"m USED TO finishing everything off my boys' plates."
yadda yadda.
I hate the feeling that one is PEGGED as something and then, utterly HELPLESS.
WE can ALL change our habits. Not easily, but we can.
We are not our past!
Good luck with all you have this week.

I agree about the need to be very careful when using the word "addicted"! Much better to think of it in terms of a bad habit, then you have the power to do something about it.

In the same way, I used to tell myself "I have an eating disorder" - now I look at as having some disordered eating habits - this way instead of having some condition that defines me, instead I have some habits - destructive as they may be - that I have the power to change.

The chanting and ritual surrounding your Easter celebrations sounds lovely! More power to you in remaining steady in your good eating habits this week!

Thank you for the message, Amy. I really like the way you put the "eating disorder/bad habit" in perspective. Reinhard says the same thing: you can change a bad habit, but having a disorder or being addicted can be limiting. It can also give you an excuse to give in to it, which is exactly what I found myself doing over and over again. Today I read this: "A sense of responsibility is a powerful, ennobling thing. To cast that off for the sake of gluttony is worse than the gluttony itself." p. 63 I love how he calls gluttony exactly what it is! No mincing words here. Let's call a spade a spade!

Thank you for the good wishes to stay with my diet during the trying times.

Good day today with the No S Diet. I stuck to it and really didn't get hungry at all. I did give myself some rather large portions, but that's par for the course right now. I'm still a "beginner."! Managed to stay out of the kitchen at church and that was good, too! Hope I can keep it up through the week.

I proclaimed today an "S" day because I had desserts at my friend's memorial meal. There was homemade baklava, kourambiethes, and paximadia. Oh, those Greek pastries! It wouldn't have been so bad if I had had just one of each, but, no I had more than one. I had 3 baklava (they were small), 4 paximadia (small, again!), and 1 kourambiethe. Not too bad, huh? But when I got home, I ate a BBQ "chickenless" sandwich (this is after having my full plate of lunch), and a spoonful of sugar, and another piece of bread. There you have it. My negative qualification. (I just listened to Reinhard's podcast on this. It made perfect sense, as he usually does.) [/i]

More Negative Qualification: Ate a Snickers, Butterfinger, another Baklava, a Koulourakia and a piece of bread. Okay. It's no longer an "S" day, it's a Red day. Starting over tomorrow.

The nice thing about No-S is that you get to start over the very next day and earn a green day...how did it go for you yesterday?

Hang in there, we are still learning the ropes to all of this!

BTW - my portions on my plates are pretty darn big right now, too - my kids have been giving me strange looks when I sit down at the table with my full plate!

More negative qualifications: Yesterday and today are a wash. I've been eating all kinds of things all throughout both days. They are both read days. Snacking, sweets, seconds galore!

Thank you, Amy, for reminding me that I can just start again tomorrow and have a green day. I really appreciate the encouragement. I fully intend that to happen, too! Like you said, "We're still learning the ropes!" I can just see you with your full plate and your kids funny looks! I totally relate!

I get in a mindset that sais well I messed up I am going to keep going in a blaze of glory!!!
Sometimes when I start sliding I tell myself ok I am going to stop now, if I make it I will still count it a success. Sometimes it works. I just have to aim for progress and change my pattern. I am going to mess up. This is for life.

I pile my plate high too, usually including lots of veggies and fruit.

How's it going today? Don't worry about those red days, just get back on track with a green one and you'll be fine.
Hang in there!

You can do this starting today!
When I'm in "the red" it's easier to stay in "the red".
But when I'm in "the green" it's a heckuva lot easier to resist/avoid cuz' I want to stay in "the green".
So have a green day TODAY (don't look back) and you'll be more prone for another green day again and again and again.
Live for today!

Thanks for the encouragement on my check in... How are you doing this week? Hope it's going well

Green Day yesterday. The first in a week. I know it's not necessary, but may be helpful to myself later on, and perhaps anyone else who's just starting No S and happens to be reading this:

Breakfast: An apple and some grapes (I was still stuffed from binging the night before, but figured that I'd better eat something if I was going to make it to lunch.)
Lunch: Enchilada plate at the local taqueria: 3 small cheese enchiladas, beans, rice, guacamole, and the whole basket of tortilla chips with salsa! (It's hard to believe I ate so much, but it's true. I couldn't finish all of the enchilada plate and left some, which is something because usually I'd just stuff it down and clean my plate, then suffer for it later. ) I debated having an horchata, which I love to have when I go into the taquerias, but they're full of sugar and I would have to count that as a sweet, so decided against it
Dinner: Large salad with Galeo's Miso-Sesame dressing, a big bowl of Lentils cooked with Curry Leaves (a new recipe----very good!) After dinner I had a large cup of almond milk with carob and a tiny bit of honey. Went to bed feeling satisfied.

Exercise: one hour of Jazzercise. I love Jazzercise. I get to dance and do some strength training. It's really perfect for me. Add some yoga, and I'd be in "exercise heaven!"

Another Green Day!

B: oats, soy/almond milk, walnuts, grated apple and half a banana. Cup of coffee with almond milk

L. 1/4 lb. char-broiled cheeseburger in a Francese bun. Sooo good! I haven't eaten a hamburger in about 6 months. Had a chai afterwards.

D. Large salad with Galeo's Miso-Sesame dressing, bowl of dahl and a piece of ww chapati. Cup of almond milk with carob and honey.

Exercise: Jazzercise

Glad to see you getting some yummy sounding Green days under your belt again - I love Indian food! Hang in there, we are halfway through the week!

It's time to come back to the No S way of life! I've been counting calories and points for a while now and haven't lost anything but my morale! In fact, I think I've gained a few pounds since I've been here last. So, today is my first NoS day, and it's going well. I just had a very yummy lunch and will wait until dinner before I eat anything else. A cuppa sounds good, though. And how nice that I can have a little sugar in it and still have a successful NoS day.

Lara in CA
5'1 59 years-old 141 pounds
Vegan
Exercise every day but Sunday: Today's exercise One hour of Jazzercise and walk to and from the store (30 min)

Nice to see you again, Lara!

Welcome back Lara