2021 Food Commitment: "No S +"

UPDATE on May-01: Commitments have been revised as follows:

• No desserts, ever. (I am mentally ready to be done with foods that have sugar as their main [or only!] ingredient.)
• On weekdays, no snacks and no second helpings. Eat three meals at regular intervals, and nothing else.
• On each weekend day and holiday, one and only one snack or second helping is allowed.
• Alcohol is limited to only holidays. The "glass ceiling" of no more than two drinks per day is always in effect.
• Committing to this for the rest of 2021 -- and beyond!

See this post for more info.


Original Post:

Happy new year to everyone! I'd like to update this journal every week throughout the year to help me stay on track. Here are my commitments for food in 2021:

• On weekdays, no sweets, no snacks, and no seconds (Thanks to No S Diet!)
• On each weekend day and holiday, one and only one S item is allowed
• Will curtail sugar and alcohol even more strictly, limiting both to only holidays
• Two meals each weekday, keeping basically keto (bacon/eggs, salads w/ protein, etc.)
• Committing to this for the entire year of 2021 and may re-engage with Alternate Day Fasting (ADF) when the weather warms up

I'll weigh in every Saturday just to keep an eye on my weight and will post here then, too.

Let me know if you have any comments, advice, or questions. Thanks!

 

Weight: 192.6 lbs
Coming off the indulgent holiday season, my weight is up a bit from the norm (180-185), so I expect this to fall quite a bit over the next couple weeks as I resume my normal eating pattern. One goal for next year is to enjoy the holidays without overdoing it quite as much! I'd like to see my weight down in the low 170s, as I think that would be healthier for me. I am in no rush to get there; this is a long-term goal.

Nothing to report on sticking to the eating plan, as I have only just begun!

 

Weigh: 191.4
I was down into my normal range last weekend, but I've had a very rough week and so am back up again. Weight isn't always the best indicator of anything, but it's accurate in this case.

The fight against snacking is EXACTLY the same for me as the fight against PMO was. It's all about getting a little thrill in an otherwise mundane day. The pleasure of a sugary treat is the same as MO -- an instant spike that fades almost immediately and then leaves me feeling lousy, esp. if I overdo it, which I almost always do. Once the door has been opened, it's hard to shut it again.

I have had a mental block in addressing this. With PMO it was relatively simple to know where to draw the line: None was the only correct amount. I am pretty good at "all or nothing." It's moderation that is not my strong suit. Food seems harder, because I have to eat, and I am not yet at the point to simply cut out all sugar and other similar things forever. My original plan, as outlined in the OP above, is a good one. I just need to get there mentally. I have been feeling overwhelmed by the thought of another fight as tough as PMO was for me (the hardest thing I have ever done in my life).

As I have reflected on this past week, feeling stuck and praying and meditating over how to move forward, it has occurred to me that there is a deeper, better truth I have been overlooking: With PMO, I did indeed have to learn how to channel that sexual impulse into its proper expression with my wife and cut it off everywhere else. So I did not go to zero in the realm of "sexual appetite." Rather, I brought the appetite into its proper channel and worked hard to keep it there.

It is the same with food. There is a proper channel for "food appetite," and I just need to keep it confined to that. I believe my modified "No S" plan is a good example of that "proper channel" for me. It is sustainable. I just need to recall all of this in the moment when I am driving past a gas station and am tempted to stop in for a little treat. I do not need it.

I have done all this before. I am wiser than I once was. I can do this again in managing another out of control appetite. I really do not want to undo the hard work I have already done in losing dozens of extra pounds. So I am recommitted to following my plan this week. I will start checking in every day with my AP network on this issue. The accountability will help; it always has before.

Onward!

 

My general rule for this (when I am sticking to it!) is to only eat dessert when it is offered and served to me by someone else. We don't keep any of that kind of stuff in the house, so there is no danger there. So, Easter and St. Patty's Day and Halloween would all be "no," since we don't really celebrate those. The Fourth is a family get-together time, so there will probably be cake on that day.

I'll take it one day at a time and I will keep checking in with you and the group directly. Thanks for your support!

 

Weigh-in: 190.0 lbs
This week went a lot better than last one. I basically stuck to my plan.

On 2or 3 days, my lunch was actually a late breakfast at McDonald's, where I got two sausage muffins and a coffee or a Diet Coke. On thoe days, I did not eat a third meal, but McD's is not something I want to become a habit during the week. It should be a treat for the weekends only. I'll be looking to dial that back in the weeks ahead.

I also had a mid-afternoon snack of about 4oz. of hard cheese a couple times, a small dish of crackers a couple times, and a handful or two of macadamia nuts on a couple evenings. So, that's snacking, and it's also not something I want to be routine. But I avoided sugar throughout the week, and that was one of my main goals for this past week. I am satisfied.

I hope to continue to improve my adherence to the plan in the days ahead. I'm aiming for a "mostly moderate" 2021. I'm on my way to making that a reality. One day at a time!

 

Weigh-in: 191.8
Less McDonald's this week, but too much snacking in the evenings. And I went off-plan on Friday. The carb blast one day before I weighed myself definitely didn't help, since carbs cause the body to store extra water -- and water is heavy!

Work has been very chaotic. Routine is one key way I keep my days under control, and when I get out of my routine, I do not do as well with food stuff. I tend to turn to a little treat as a way to feel better. It's not the worst thing in the world, but it's not the ideal I am shooting for either. I have not found a good way around this yet. My plan is just to get back to routine as quickly as possible. And I'm really looking forward to having time to start some cardio soon, as my work schedule permits. That will also help smooth out the effects of the occasional dietary excess.

All in all, mostly moderate!

 

Weigh-in: 194.8
Well, I have established that I can easily put weight back on!

My work continues to have a variable schedule, which is preventing me from finding a routine and sticking with it. This is always a difficult scenario for me. I do see a light at the end of the tunnel, but I can't keep packing on the pounds week after week while I wait for those events to occur.

So, regardless of schedules or routines, I simply have to stick to my original plan for this year. With PMO, I have trained myself to immediately respond unfavorably to any unhelpfully sexually stimulating visual. Now, I need to fight that same battle again wrt food. I need to become convinced that there will never be any good thing to comes to me by indulging in comfort with food. Doing so will only lead to pain and death, just as with PMO. And, just as there is an appropriate context for sexual gratification, so there is for enjoying a snack or a sweet treat. If I limit this enjoyment to the appropriate time and context, I will do well. If I engage in in appropriate excess, I am only doing myself harm. And this harm will have a wider effect if I become sick and am unable to work, provide for my family, etc.

I am saying all this as an encouragement and a reminder to myself.

Here are my specific downfalls:
- Stopping for fast food on my way to or from work. Even if this is my breakfast or lunch, it is not a great option.
- Worse, going in for a sugary treat when I am at the gas station fueling my car. Do NOT go into the store, ever!
- Letting myself get so worn down that I turn to poor food choices at home. We keep very little in the way of junk in the house, but a tired mind will seek out comfort in all sorts of creative ways.
- Evening snacking. After that last meal, I must be done eating for the day. Maybe moving up my evening brushing/flossing routine will help with this? (That's a good idea. Updating my calendar now.)

If I can work hard to curb those things over the next three weeks, I will be making significant strides in the right direction. That will be my goal.

 

Weigh-in: 195.6
At least the weight gain is slowing down. I will call that progress!

Work has been chaos this past week but should settle down this week, allowing me to reestablish better routines around meals. That has been the single biggest challenge for me recently. Lack of routine is my greatest enemy. So I am hopeful that meals will be something I control better starting this week. The rest of my No-S commitments will follow from that.

 

Weigh-in: 195.4
Weight has stabilized. Now to bring it back down to a healthier level.

Work chaos flattened out this week. I started to get settled into a new routine. Food choices for lunch each day should be easily routinized next week.

Committed to sugar-free for Lent with my wife this week. I also had an unplanned 20-hour fast on Friday. I was in the groove on a work project and did not really want to break for lunch. My hands were like blocks of ice by the time I left work, though. (I get very cold when I try to fast in the winter.) Looking forward to more regular IF as the weather warms up; doing so regularly really makes me feel freed up from the "tyranny of food."

Still committed to "No S +" for the remainder of 2021. I should be able to make good strides toward putting things in place this week.

 

Yep, I am familiar with Lustig. Great stuff. I am intellectually on board. Now I just need to get my will on board, too!

 

Yes, I did ADF for a few months about a year ago. It was a great help. As I mentioned in the OP, I may do some more this summer. I cannot fast over about 20 hours in the inter for some reason. I get so cold when I do. Very odd.

My two meals a day are in a 6-8 hour window. I am a big believer in IF.

 

(Sorry I missed a week. I was out of town last weekend!)

Weigh-in: 192.2 lbs
Weight is coming back down, and I have not made many changes, other than just sticking more closely with my "No-S +" plan.

A big win these past two weeks was realizing that my tolerance for weight gain has gone way down. Last time I felt miserable from my weight was a couple years ago when I tipped in at 230 lbs. Now, I feel pretty lousy when hitting 195. That is huge progress, and seems a safeguard from putting on too much weight again in the future. I really have made some lasting changes, and that is something to acknowledge and not lose sight of.

The weather here is just starting to warm up a bit (above freezing overnight), so I am beginning to cast an eye toward doing some fasting. I am going to trial 3x42 ADF (three 42-hour alternate-day fasts) this coming week and see how it goes. So much of this fight is mental, just as it was with PMO.

I will report back in next weekend. Onward!

 

Weigh-in: 191.4 lbs
Still on a good downward trend. I think I will be at a healthy weight for my age and height if I can drop another 20-25 pounds.

I did a 42-hour and two 24-hours fasts this past week. Just taking it one day at a time. Committed to no sugar as a general rule for the long haul. I even avoided sweets on my birthday and a recent trip to visit my folks out of state. If I can avoid treats on such occasions, I can commit to doing so consistently over time.

Quitting junk food and overeating is just like quitting PMO in so many ways. In both, you have to endure the pain of avoiding the thing that once brought you pleasure. You must be willing to forgo the little, false "good" thing in order to receive the benefit of the greater, true one. In fasting days, I am feeling a little hollow, a little hungry. But I won't have any junk, and I won't eat to any sort of excess. I refuse to use food as a way to feel better. Just like I have learned to avoid the "cheap plastic thrill" of PMO, I will do the same with fake comfort food.

One day at a time.

 

Weigh-in: 195.2
Weight popped back up a bit. I have been working a lot of extra hours and have not felt I had the energy needed to be as diligent around food as I need to be.

I realize that the time two years ago when I was very strict with my eating for a few months and lost so much weight was a period when I was working less and much less stressed. The stress of my current work load combined with the intensity of the schedule, which limits the amount of "decompression" time I have, are really hurting my efforts in the food arena. it takes real energy and focus to start a new discipline, and I am in a time when I have little left over for this.

I am not giving up on my goals, but I am being realistic that I am unlikely to achieve them in my current situation. There is a time coming when my work schedule will lighten up. Due to hiring issues, that time keeps getting pushed further out, but it is coming. I'll keep limping along as best I can until then.