I made it successfullythrough my first stretch of N days and thought I'd share some random observations...
...I'm happy to report I got back in touch with my sanity and serenity. I was amazed, though, at how quickly they returned. By Wednesday I was so much calmer, and even though I knew it was factually impossible, I felt like I'd lost a great deal of weight. I guess in a sense I had because a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders just by knowing I was doing the best thing I could for myself.
...I was also somewhat surprised by how regular and unassuming my appetite was this week. I was fully expecting to have to ride out some scary hunger episodes, but I didn't. I followed the advice of others who cautioned about eating enough and including protein at each meal. It worked like a charm!
...there were numerous S items around me, but it honestly wasn't too difficult to pass them up. Several times people asked me outright if I wanted something, and I answered honestly, "No, I don't...but thanks for asking."
...I might have stupidly tested the waters by baking on two different occasions this week. Wednesday I made chocolate cherry scones which I adore because I wanted to take some to a friend. I gave her a few and then I froze the rest--I plan to partake either today or tomorrow as part of my S days. Thursday I had bananas that were crying out to be made into muffins, and I baked those and took them to work where they were promptly devoured.
...I found a package of metallic star stickers in a drawer--there were gold and silver but also blue and green and red stars. I decided to use Reinhard's Stop Light System to keep track of my progress--and the stars on the calendar delight my inner child, especially considering there are five * in a row!
...I decided when I get 14 consecutive * I'm going to buy myself a special treat.
...I did have one day that was especially challenging emotionally--I got really sad about something. Normally, I would've immediately turned to food which more than likely would've led to a binge/purge deal. This time I handled it differently. I decided it would be far better to FEEL the sadness and to honor that rather than squash it down and be self-destructive and then also be carrying the sadness around knowing it would pop out again at some really inconvenient time. So I sat in my car and bawled it out--it was awful at the time, but after I had cried to the point where my eyes were swollen and my nose was running and my throat had all but closed up, I felt remarkably OKAY.
...I really like Jessalyn's S day mantra which is: "Don't be an idiot." I'm adopting it as my own. My first S day falls during what I'm calling The Dysfunctional Family Jamboree. Our nephew is getting married today, and the entire weekend will be jam packed with my judmental in-laws and so much tension you could bottle it for natural energy. It's so bad that you need a score card to keep up with who's not speaking to who and what you're not allowed to mention to which person, etc. My strategy today is going to be to imagine I have a protective shield surrounding me to deflect any of their critical comments, disapproving looks or heavy sighs...and to thoroughly enjoy a piece of wedding cake!
...the first measurable goal I set for myself is to become a member of the 21 Club.
So far so good
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Kwag Myers
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So far so good
Last edited by Kwag Myers on Sat Dec 16, 2006 3:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.
"The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time." --James Taylor
i agree with a lot of your observations.. i am also a lot calmer on N-days and i haven't really had any hunger episodes.. i think only on the first day i was actually really hungy the whole day.. anyways i had my first s days and they didnt go quite as well as i would have hoped.. hope yours went well!
elena