Everyday Systems: nosdiet: message 945 of 3212

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Hi everyone - (I have a habit of rambling so this is long,
sorry!)

I am new but I won't take time to tell my (typical long sad) story at the
moment. =) I am impressed by the brilliant simplicity of Reinhard's No 
S
plan, and I agree wholeheartedly that it should address most of the main
problems. I long ago concluded that there is no point in "going on a 
diet"
that I will later "go off of," and that a permanent change of habits is 
my
(our) only hope. Therefore, for years I have steadfastly refused to try 
to
change any habit if I couldn't face committing for the rest of my life. 
As
a lifetime dieter, I am sick and tired of setting myself up for "failure"
and I don't have the motivation to set goals any more. The only thing I 
am
willing to do is concentrate on changing ONE habit...one habit at a time.

About 10 years ago I lost about 30-35 pounds (over the course of a year) 
and
maintained a really good weight for three years, by following this
principle. I really thought I had this thing licked once and for all. I
thought I had discovered the secret. Then I got a bit too careless, and
because I had thrown off "the tyranny of the scale" and never weighed 
myself
any more, I didn't realize I had started to regain until I was up about
15-20 pounds. (Another mistake: *always* wearing loose comfy clothes.)
Since I had stopped "seeing myself as fat" when I looked in the mirror, 
I
didn't even see the fat when it started coming back! It's good to accept
ourselves the way we are, but maybe we can't take the acceptance *quite* 
so
far. =)

Anyway, here I am, up now about 45 pounds from my comfortable low weight. 
I
got here gradually, but became really alarmed after the final 20 pounds
seemed to show up very suddenly--though I guess it probably took about 
a
year. I don't think I can blame myself entirely, because my eating habits
are not much different from when I was maintaining. I have decided that 
age
and changing metabolism has been part of the problem (I'm 38 now), a change
in exercise levels is another big part (I have now begun an exercise program
that I can live with), and I also suspect that sleep deprivation and stress
has played a hitherto unsuspected role in both gaining and difficulty
losing. I have been reading about this lately but it's not one you hear
about. In my previous successful weight loss, I did leave behind most of 
my
worst habits--snacking after dinner, overeating, and stress eating. But
there are still behavioral issues remaining: boredom snacking, eating when
not hungry, and sweets, to be specific.

Now here's my question... Has anyone here ever tried taking the S's one 
at
a time? I find that psychologically, it's very hard for me to face more
than one habit change at a time. I already don't overeat--I never take
seconds. Thank God, I haven't felt that overstuffed feeling for years. 
But
when I try to think about no snacks AND no sweets, I get that frantic "don't
put me in jail" feeling that always accompanies a "diet." I don't eat 
a lot
of sweets any more, just a piece of chocolate or two after a meal if I 
want
it, or a small something with my coffee, or a few bites of dessert after
dinner (never anything big; I just can't do that any more). I think maybe 
I
should start with NO SNACKS WHATSOEVER for three weeks, and then think 
about
the sweets later.

Feel free to laugh if you find this funny! =) ...but I am seriously
wondering if anyone else has done this or if I'm just fooling myself to
think I can take the gradual approach. Or maybe the gradual approach would
work with some of us, but not all. It's just really hard when I know I
successfully lost and maintained before without totally giving up sugar. 
I
feel like a whining child saying "It's just not fair!" but really, it's 
so
annoying that I'm eating very much as I did when I lost before, but now 
my
body has changed and I can't get away with it!

I see all over again when I re-read this that it's *all in our minds,* 
isn't
it? That's why diets don't work. As another no-diet guru says, diets are
all about making the food behave, but that doesn't address the root problem.

Well, I won't take more time to philosophize now...but you'll probably 
hear
me later!

Thanks and good luck to all of you!
Diane


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