Ok, I REALLY do NOT like S days!!

machelle · Post by **machelle** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 12:25 am

Seriously, I feel just awful on S days. I am seriously considering doing away with S days altogether....

Does anyone else agree that S days sort of suck? My stomach is in agony, and I am just a newbie...

Strawberry Roan · Post by **Strawberry Roan** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 2:15 am

I don't really eat any differently on S days, I try to eat healthy every day - I used to add stuff that I had been wanting all week on S days but that became counter productive. Why work so hard all week trying to better oneself then undo it in two days, then repeat.

I just had mangoes and pineapple for dessert after having homemade veegtable soup and one slice of buttered bread for dinner.

On an S day.

It was filling, it was healthy.

No need for you to punish yourself by eating things you really don't want to anyway - the freedom of taking S days is voluntary not mandantory.

My best to you

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 2:25 am

Consider this experience part of the learning curve. You've just learned what you DON'T want.

The purpose of S-days is not to eat until you hurt. It's to allow you a little extra pleasure in food. Some of us have to learn the hard way that "pleasure" does not mean sick/stuffed... and that "moderate" S-days are far more enjoyable.

(The original, pre-book version of No-S included the word "sometimes" - "except, sometimes, on S-days." Eating sweets/seconds/snacks is NEVER mandatory.)

What has worked best for me...(in hopes it will help you find what works for YOU..)

- Reminding myself that "I can have it IF I want it"... then taking a moment to decide if I really truly do want it (instead of mindlessly gulping).
- Maintaining the 3-meal structure with a few extras, rather than perma-snacking through the day.
- Proactively planning one extra-special thing instead of hoping something will turn up. I'm less likely to eat to excess because it will spoil my pleasure in my special treat.

Hang in there. S-days are a good thing to have, and you don't have to have them the way you just did.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 3:31 am

I think you have to remember that S days aren't meant to be days to go wild, with a few exceptions (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and so on). They are meant to be days when you can indulge in a treat or two if you want to do that.

machelle · Post by **machelle** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 9:14 am

Got it! Isn't it funny that I have only done No S for 3 days in a row (started Tuesday) and already I am noticing changes. Things that would not have bothered me to indulge in just make me feel sick now. I guess it's all part of becoming more aware of what is going in my mouth. I do feel great on the no S days. Just satisfied, which is all I need.

Thank you for the responses. It definitely is a learning curve, but I am learning quickly! What's interesting is that I didn't really eat all THAT crazy yesterday. I had a good breakfast, then later had a bowl of ice cream then some popcorn a bit later and a few beers. I may do away with the beer and the ice cream except just very occasionally.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Sun Sep 05, 2010 10:15 am

I wouldn't "do away" with anything. Well, I take that back...I've done away with most "edible food-like substances." So when I have ice cream I have one serving of the real deal, not more of the fat-reduced, calorie-reduced, sugar-reduced stuff.

Strawberry Roan · Post by **Strawberry Roan** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 12:48 am

exactly wosnes,

Better to have a little bit of something really good than a lot of something really junky.

Nicest of the Damned · Post by **Nicest of the Damned** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 5:41 pm

There's no rule that you have to have seconds, sweets, and snacks on S days. You can if you want to, but you don't have to.

I often plan something I really like for dinner, and have seconds of that. Sometimes I will get a small portion of something sweet (once, a couple of little moon cakes from a Chinese grocery). And that's my S day. Even so, I usually find myself eating less at dinner than I would have on a normal day pre-NoS.

DaveMc · Post by **DaveMc** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 6:05 pm

KCCC wrote:(The original, pre-book version of No-S included the word "sometimes" - "except, sometimes, on S-days." Eating sweets/seconds/snacks is NEVER mandatory.)

There's quite a funny thread about the "sometimesian" followers trying to get the word back into the canon:

http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=2784

And KCCC is, as usual, wise to recommend not dropping S days completely. Actually, in that thread I cited above, KCCC speculated that the thing that most often caused people to go off NoS was a premature attempt to modify it too heavily, including things like doing away with S days. I think that's probably true, though this is based on guesswork. At any rate, S days serve the important purpose of making NoS into a method of delaying and moderating pleasures, not eliminating them completely, which in turn makes it possible to sustain indefinitely. I couldn't live with the "you can never have sweets again" diet, but I can live with the "you can't have sweets until later this week" diet. If you don't feel good about overdoing it, that's great: don't do that.

But I'd say you shouldn't over-correct by dropping S days completely: they're an important safety valve.

Frankster · Post by **Frankster** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 6:26 pm

I've actually found that when S-days come, I do eat some chocolate or other treat, but I automatically eat less than I used to do. Probably because my body is not needing it as much anymore.

One strange thing I noticed this weekend was that some things that I enjoyed very much, now just tasted strange. I used to drink about 0.5-1 liter of Coca Cola each day. I went cold turkey and now just drink mostly water during the week.

So last weekend arrived, I took out a bottle of coke that my parents had drunk some of and poured into a glass. When I drank the first sips, I thought it tasted strange and imagined it was because the bottle had been open for a few days.

But the day after when I opened a new bottle, it had the same strange taste. It just wasn't that good as I remembered it. So I actually went back to just drink water again. That was real funny to experience.

Chocolate is still very tasty though!

machelle · Post by **machelle** » Mon Sep 06, 2010 8:17 pm

I can definitely tell that my tastes are changing and also my tolerance for certain foods and drinks. I honestly did not believe Reinhard when I read that you become more picky about what you eat. Now I am beginning to believe.

As someone who has been in deprivation mode for quite some time and the endless cycle of starving and then binging (no, I honestly do not have an eating disorder...just desperate to lose this last bit of weight), suffice it to say that I KNOW what it's like to really crave certain things. So now with allowing for the three meals a day, I really don't have any serious cravings like I used to. Sure, I will allow myself certain indulgences on S days, but now I am understanding that it won't be my last meal if I allow for something that before I would have avoided like the plague. I can see how this all works to actually lose weight though, because I'm never really famished...maybe just a tad on the hungry side, so I don't have these uncontrollable urges to throw over the apple cart.

My cravings exist more in the form of meal items instead of sweets. Now that I can have those meals on no s days, I certainly can see myself sticking with this for a long long time. I'm so happy I found No S. What a huge relief to finally be off of this starve, binge rollercoaster. Now the "binges" only serve to make me feel physically miserable, so I don't see myself doing that too much in the future.

Post by **reinhard** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 2:27 pm

Hi Machelle,

My guess is that as you grow in habit you'll come to love S-days (though you'll be happy you don't have more than you do).

If that doesn't happen of its own accord, or you feel yourself getting so discouraged by excessive S-days that you think you'll never get there, there are tweaks you can make to no-S to address this issue. Though like all tweaks, this introduces new risks that may or may not be worth it.

Have you read/heard the "S-days gone wild" podcast?

http://www.everydaysystems.com/podcast/ ... .php?id=34

One obvious S-day related mod that I didn't mention in the podcast but does crop up now and then on the boards is cutting it down to a single regular S-day a week (example: Saturdays + special days). But I wouldn't even consider this unless your N-day compliance is perfect.

Reinhard

machelle · Post by **machelle** » Tue Sep 07, 2010 9:21 pm

Thank you, Reinhard. I have not listened to that podcast, but I will now. I think I will take your advice and do the N days for a while and make sure I have that down. My S days are definitely going to be scaled back and not as excessive. I was used to having excess on Saturdays and Sundays before, but for some reason, it just makes me ill to do that now. Things have certainly changed around very quickly.

This last weekend, I sort of counted Friday as an S day because I went out to eat and had too much food and drink. Saturday...same thing basically, so Sunday and Monday I kept it to basic No S. It worked out well, and I really did not feel deprived.

After I have been doing this for a few weeks, I may keep it to one S day, but we will see what happens. If I lose weight, even if it's slow, I will be more than happy with that and keeping things at vanilla No S.