Everyday Systems

I read about and joined NoS years ago, but never really started. I have tried lots of diets with no lasting result. This way of eating just seems to make sense and is the ideal for a lifetime. Tomorrow is my first N day and I am really looking forward to it.

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to write about your experiences. You are inspiring.

I'm back...because other efforts just don't seem to work for any length of time. It's embarrassing, but hopefully facing this will give me the gumption to commit to No S. I really believe that this way of eating is common sense and, from all of the posts, I know it works.

down 5 lbs. with a long way to go

That's still pretty amazing! Welcome

Thank you.

Two years, another 5 down! I take comfort that it's at least in the right direction.

Anna from KC wrote:Two years, another 5 down! I take comfort that it's at least in the right direction.

Hey, that's worth celebrating! Welcome back .

Up and down-for a total of eight lbs. I have discovered that each day I have to re motivate myself but that takes work... and many times I'm just too tired (lazy?) to pick up a book, come to this website or look back on notes. Then temptation wins. The worst time is late evening; snacks sound sooo good about 10 or 11 pm!

However, not to be a downer, I won't give up, each morning is a new day for No S, and you all are here! Best to each of you.

There are definitely times it's challenging! Keeping hanging in there!

Hello. Hope all is well with each of you.

Same weight...still fighting eating at night although the last few days have been better.

Promise to self. Track!

Anna, if I may, take some time to reflect on the price you pay when you don't stick to the structure. You've had a lot of years to come and go and come. Calmly see that you keep reinforcing a habit that serves you only for a few minutes and leads to a lack of vitality and all-around enjoyment of the food you do eat. If you don't push to get a streak of strictness, you can't find out what pleasures that results in. Even then it can take many cycles for that to really hit home. ( Isay this from experience. I don't know how old you are but I went round and round for 38 years of my adult life. I just couldn't face the idea that I might do this until I died, but I finally saw that I probably would if I didn't do something definitive. No S was my best bet. )

See also that this is something you've wanted for yourself for a long time. You've already given yourself plenty of experience living the way you have, and it hasn't pleased you. It's really worth it to get better at keeping your word to yourself about this, since it's not as if it's asking you to do anything terribly painful, like eat piddling amounts and super plain food. It's very generous!

Also consider over the years how much delicious food you've already had and in rather large quantities. (I know I did.) Will you really be missing out so much if you let that go a bit in your life? Is it really necessary to be happy to get to keep eating the same way? It doesn't mean you won't have any pleasure at all. You'll still get to enjoy plenty of good food. You might even learn to love it more when you eat less and value it more.

You can't find out how much better it will be until you've lived it for a good while. That can take a lot of patience, but it's what anyone who's ever learned to play an instrument or gotten good at a sport has had to have. Give yourself that gift, even if it takes some really tough moments. At those times, it can seem like it's always going to be like that, just like when it's easy. But give it you best shot and give lots of attention to how worth it it is when things are going well.

Oolala53-Thank you so much for taking the time to write back to me. You are right on the money. I play games and only cheat myself. I need to read and ponder your words regularly. I allow distractions to get me off base and I think laziness may play a part.

Your candor is what is called for...I, for one, need to hear the truth.

Sincerest best wishes to you and all the folks here.

J.M.J.

July 9 - success (Sunday)
10-failure
11-success
12-success
13-success
14- S day

Thank you and best to all.

I really don't think it's laziness. I think it's just letting the natural human desire to eat and even overeat to mask that you really want something else that you can't get if you keep overeating, and that it's really a fair trade off. It's very easy to think it's unfair that we have to face down our desire for pleasure, but honestly, when you really think about it, it's not at all. It's a fair trade. You have to really mull this over and let it sink in and become true. Because that secret resentment can make this seem so much harder than it actually is. When it starts to seem that you're actually getting way more than you're giving up, many things become possible. But you can't impose that on yourself. It is something that dawns on you with experience and reflection. But you have to have some faith and give yourself the experiences to draw on.