one "s" at a time ?

donnao · Post by **donnao** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 5:45 pm

i am afraid that i am going to have to do this one "s" at a time

i would love to hear feedback on this issue

FYI, my first "s" will be no sweets ( again)

thanks !

Donna O

Too solid flesh · Post by **Too solid flesh** » Sun Mar 14, 2010 6:19 pm

I'm sure that you have already read Reinhard's advice on the No S Diet webpage:

Can I do a "some-S" diet?
You can do whatever you want, I'm not going to excommunicate you, but this isn't a good idea. No-S isn't that hard. Try doing it strictly for 3 weeks, that's about how long it takes to form a habit. You'll be surprised.

That being said, the esses don't depend on each other. Each makes sense on its own, and each should be helpful on its own. Do what's possible and necessary for you. Dieting in a "half-essed" manner, as a group member put it here and here, can have wholly satisfying results -- as long as you're clear about which half (or third) and are no less diligent in sticking to it.

I've often thought that gradually progressing one S at a time might be a good way to become a full no-esser, say start with no sweets for a week, then add no seconds the next week, then no snacks on week 3 (or go even slower and give each the full magic habit-building three weeks). That way you could build willpower and habit even more incrementally. Unfortunately I'm not aware that anyone has successfully done this. I think the trouble is that even full no-s is slow in terms of yielding measurable results, and lack of patience is an even bigger problem for most people than lack of short term willpower.

Is your aim to find peace with food? It seems as though you are at a healthy weight and BMI for your height already.

Wishing you every success.

Kathleen · Post by **Kathleen** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 2:40 am

I wish I'd started No S with one S at a time. Yes, weight loss is slow, but I was in agony for the first three weeks. I was pretty confident I was going to get a job, so I wasn't working or jobhunting, and my kids were in school. It was the perfect time to tyr to adjust. The first four days on the diet were failures. Even with the perfect situation for starting the diet, I failed.
Kathleen

Cassie · Post by **Cassie** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 8:04 am

Donna, hi.

I wouldn't for one of the reasons Reinhard outlined. NoS is a slow weight-loss program as it is (for some people, like me, its more a maintainance plan unless I really pay attention to what I eat at mealtimes: and that's all fine).

If you only do one 'S' at a time, the trouble is you run the danger of entering the 'I'm on a diet' frame of mind, meaning that you're 'good' about the rule you do follow but go overboard with everything else. Kind of like S days gone wild on an everyday basis

. I mean, I know this would be the danger with me!! I'm a bit of a 'black and white' person, either I'm 'on' a diet or 'off' it, not good at all (yet) with moderation.

If however you have none of these problems then I don't see why it wouldn't work.

Could you tell us a bit more about why you think one S at a time is the right course for you?

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 11:25 am

Here's my 2Â¢ worth: I think that what works for one of us isn't going to work for all of us. If you think starting one S at a time is better for you, go for it. After a week or so, you'll know if it was a good idea.

I happen to be watching a spot on the local news about running and walking for exercise and having a plan when you start. Since they're at a local running store, they're talking about having the right shoes, but they said this: In the end, it's all about what's right for you.

The same could be said here. In the end, it's all about what's right for you. The goal would be to learn a set of habits that allows you to be more moderate or less excessive in how you eat. I don't think it's going to be exactly the same for everyone.

If the habits don't fit you, you're not going to follow them. Better to find a way that works for you than blindly follow the habits because they're what has worked for someone else.

alarkaspree · Post by **alarkaspree** » Mon Mar 15, 2010 9:24 pm

I've been doing this for almost exactly 3 weeks, so I'm no expert. But my opinion, for what it's worth, is that most of us probably have one 'S' which is our main eating problem. For me it is snacks, not sweets. And I think if I'd decided to just cut out snacks, that would have been 80-90% of the diet for me.

So if sweets are your main problem, I think you can have good success with this approach.