Everyday Systems

Hi!

I decided to give an "S" to spirits (alcohol) and toss them in S island with Snacks, Sweets and Seconds.

I have taken this step because:

1. I get sleepy after having 2 drinks with dinner and I have to do things.

2. At 200 calories per day, 5 days a week, I will save enough calories to lose 15 lb in a year.

I will only consume on S days (sometimes), subject to the 2 drink ceiling, except maybe on very special S days, when I may go for 3-4 units, if I have a designated driver.

What do you think? All comments are welcome.

Thanks!

I also consider alcohol an "S," mainly because after I've had a drink I really crave a salty snack. And the alcohol makes me much less able to resist the temptation.

I haven't had wine or beer in ten years because of Atkins, but I was just going to begin with two glasses a day because of the No S Diet , maybe I was meant to see this post and will save the wine for the weekend... Thanks for saving me from potential problems

That approach makes sense to me. I'm such a light drinker that the issue doesn't really come up. I'll have, maybe, one drink a week, and sometimes not even that. So when I was at a concert on a weeknight a few weeks ago and I got a voucher for a free cocktail, I went ahead and used it, and probably didn't drink at all the rest of the week. But if you would otherwise hit the glass ceiling every night, then considering spirits an S is probably a good idea.

Yes, that's funny because I've subconsciously regarded wine as an S food... good idea calling all alcohol Spirits and place them out of N-day bounds!
I avoided wine all week long, I know I lose control over my eating when I drink. Yes, I think if you are earnest about losing at a good pace you should add Spirits to the No-S list. I know I did, kind of instinctively, and this was a Successful first week! Two pounds down, after stalling for months and months. Knock on wood, I hope it isn't just beginner's luck...

Good luck! It certainly starts with an S... though I think the word "spirits" usually refers to distilled alcoholic beverages like vodka or whiskey, not fermented ones like wine and beer.

And do keep in mind: thin Europeans have been drinking wine and beer with their meals for millennia. I don't want to encourage teetotalers to drink, but if you enjoy moderate drinking, I don't see any weight management reason to give it up.

Reinhard

I think it's fine to make something an "S" if it's a problem for you. Diet soda is an "S" for me, because it functions as a sweet for me, and drinking it tends to make me want a snack.

However, if you get a lot of enjoyment out of having drinks with dinner, you might consider just lowering the ceiling for N-Days: one drink with dinner, instead of two. You want dicipline without deprivation.

I have also been thinking of putting my daily dose of the fruit of the vine on my S-list for precisely the same two reasons. So now I'm up to five S's: No seconds, snacks, sugar, sofa, and "sauce" (as in "Need to lay off the....") I have this sneaking suspicion that the fifth S is also going to take care of the 4th. (Couple of glasses of wine while I watch the news...wake up on the couch 4-5 hours later...nothing that needed to get done got done...crawl into bed mad at myself...and get up the next day to have fun all over again!) I shall meditate upon this over this evening's glass of Cab.

You want dicipline without deprivation.

I like that. I think the more S's one adds, the more restrictive this becomes. It's not about deprivation.

I have a glass of wine with my dinner several times a week. One glass -- that's it. As for sodas, the only time I have them is with meals -- and not all the time. Between meals I only drink water, sometimes with a wedge of lemon or lime. It's the only beverage that doesn't seem to call up a snack to go along with it.

Water and chips or water and a pastry isn't nearly as appealing as a soda and chips or coffee or tea and a pastry. Controlling one seems to automatically control the other.

If I couldn't have a beer with dinner, life wouldn't be worth living.

Okay, that's hyperbole. But beer is just liquid bread with an attitude mellower, so I'm going to keep it in my diet. When I look up through the opening of the bottle, I see the glass ceiling, and I stop. =0)

I'm with you, Kevin. I briefly meditated upon giving up my red wine and then decided, "Nah!" It's my little adult recess at the end of the day...and, after all, wine is just liquid fruit "w/ an attitude mellower," right?

An attitude mellower...? HUH! I Love that!...

Whenever I drink, I (a) get hungry, and (b) lose the control to resist eating. So I think pub- or bar-drinking after dinner may not make sense for people like me.

However, wine with a meal, or just before, should be ok, because you're eating then anyway.