Everyday Systems

Hi Folks,

i know that the "no deprivation/enjoy a sane S day" is a key long term strategy, but I kind of feel like my stride of N's was brkon by the S's and it has been harder to be an N.

How have you dealt w/ habit formation vs. the rules of the game??

Not really sure what your last sentence means but all I can say is just keep trying and don't give up
Good luck!
Old habits are very hard to break but you can wear away at them if you just keep trying!

Peace and Love,
Deb

Hi Deb,

I just meant that I felt like I had just adjusted to the no snacking et al and than, I was allowed to again...for 2 days...so Monday felt like day one. No one said it would be easy, but it is good. I wondered if I should not do an S day for a while, but I do believe that causes rebound and other issues...it is about resolve really

Hey, in the Northeast, where I live, most of us aren't too excited to eayt in this heatsnap anyway!

I don't have a problem, because I practise moderation on S days. I am emphasizing the "sometimes" part of the S days. "Sometimes" means that you are still moderate in your eating habits on S days. I do not see S days as two days to go all out and stuff myself. They are not P.O. days (as in Pig Out). There is only one S in an S day. Therefore I try to keep only one S per day on those S days, either one sweet or one snack or one second helping. You get the idea. For me, it's been a success so far. In 2 months, I've lost 22 lbs. And I do not feel deprived. The best thing is that I am finally learning healthy eating habits that I can rely on for the rest of my life.

If you're overdoing it on S days, then you have to take a good hard look at how this is sabotaging your ability to stay with the No S days. If you develop a healthy S habit as well as a healthy No S habit, you will be set for life.

Operababe-
I never thought of one S per S day. That's a good idea for me. I feel so good on N days and then an S day rolls around and I feel an uncomfortable lack of control. (Once I start with sweet or salty snacks, I am not moderate.) I think I'll try your idea this weekend.
-Monica-

On the other hand, I used to go all out on S-days, and usually felt so awful on Sunday night that I was more than ready to go back to N-days.

It may slow weight loss down at the start, but one of the beauties of No-S is that it is by-and-large self-regulating, and eventually I didn't want to feel that way on weekends any more and so am now (somewhat) more restrained

Kathleen

...for me, it is about the no snacking. It is so hard not to eat between meals and allowing it on S days made it hard to hit the N again...I didn't indulge much on the S's, but I enjoyed snacking...let's see how this week goes....

22 lbs...WOW!

I find that when I'm excessive on at S day, than unpleasant feeling strengthens my resolve to make my N days count.

I also find that my N day habits really have started to carry over to S days. I often find myself dutifully filling up one plate per meal and then catching myself, "wait, I don't *have to do this." But I'm used to doing it, and a like doing it, so I usually stick with that one plate.

Another thing I do is because I know S days are an opportunity for sweets, I don't want to blow my appetite on something less than fantastic. So I don't eat everything in sight, I get something great, and I wait for it. I reward instead of restrict, and wind up restricting much better than I would have otherwise.

If all that seems too mushy for you, Operababe's formalization of "just one S per S day" sounds like a great idea. It's been mentioned a bunch of times in the past in this group.

Congratulations on your striking success so far operababe! That's testimonials page worthy.

Reinhard

I find that when I'm excessive on at S day, than unpleasant feeling strengthens my resolve to make my N days count.

My feelings on that are similar. After 4-5 days of eating decent foods and not in massive quantities, if I overindulge in junk, I tend to feel really lousy and revert back to a better eating plan pretty quickly.
Once the body gets used to a sane quantity and better food choices, it tends to rebel against you on those times you go overboard.

reinhard wrote:I find that when I'm excessive on at S day, than unpleasant feeling strengthens my resolve to make my N days count.

I'm experiencing that right now...I'm just back from a mini-vacation, and due to time, budget, and habit, we ended up eating almost entirely fast food for those four days. I'm definitely feeling the effects of it now and I'm really looking forward to being back to normal.

(Man...eating healthy -- well, healthier -- and avoiding fast food is "normal" for me now? How times have changed...)

After some days on NoSdiet it is really no problem anymore:

On the first N-Days you will often "wait" (be greedy for) for the meals, but the human body is a wonder of nature. It is like the stomach shrink and you adapt to the one-plate volume.

So on the S-Days i don't want to overeat anymore. I still eat "normale" size-meals, and infrequent i take seconds. I'm sure eating more "junk" on this days, but not in great volumes. The 5 weekdays form the habit and i don't lose it on the weekends.

It is ok to eat more on S-Days (aka take more calories). It is like a simple push for the metabolism. It is like undereating under the week, but the S-Days circumvent that the metabolism goes down. That is why i lose weight on a stable rate.