anyone find S days are a struggle?

[redheadlg]

I think the habits from my N days have taken such firm hold that I really have trouble dealing with S days. Mine aren't as liberal as most to begin with, but I find that I really don't enjoy any deviation from my normal N day routine and feel guilty and dissatisfied. Nothing really tastes as good as I remember, and although I will occasionally pop a handful of yogurt raisins in between meals just because I know I can, it really makes me feel icky, mostly because I know I didn't really want it and it defies the spirit of what the S days are about. However, I don't want to let S days go by without any kind of reward, but honestly, there's nothing I really want. What's really amazing about it is that it's TOM, when I normally would be craving anything and everything, but honestly, today it was a struggle just to eat my normal meals. Anyone else experience this? I don't want to sabotage the wonderful progress I've made by not doing the S days at all, so I need a plan.

[blueskighs]

maybe you could expand your ideas of treats beyond sweets? some times we go out for multicourse meals on the weekends I don't indulge in on N days, other options things like Mexican food with no "questions" about the chips ... for me wheat doesn't agree with me so I would leave pizza and stuff like that I might enjoy less frequently for S/NWS days, i don't normally eat white rice so having sushi for me on the weekends is fun,

i don't ENJOY the sweets near as much as I did in the beginning, but I do REALLY enjoy these other kinds of treats,

Blueskighs

[winnie96]

I, too, struggle with that "guilty" feeling on S-Days, which I think is a leftover from my Diet Days when I always felt guilty about even the slightest deviation from the rules of whichever diet I was on at the moment.

I truly don't enjoy snacking between meals anymore, because not snacking helps me enjoy my meals so much more. So for S-Days, I've been trying to make a point to include in my meals something:

(a) I really enjoy but don't have very often (baked potato), or
(b) I don't have time to cook during the week (meatloaf), or
(c) I wouldn't order on a No-S day if out to dinner (small dessert), or
(d) I wouldn't normally have during the week (a cocktail).

Since these "treats" are meal-, rather than snack-related, I find they are easier to handle.

(Similarly, during the week, I try to include in a few meals something I enjoy that previously would have been "forbidden", but is ok on No-S).

The real point of doing this, however, is to get myself over this "feeling guilty" reaction which is part of the whole diet mentality that I trying to get out from under, and also to prevent me from feeling like I am on a strict diet all day, every day.

I think you are absolutely right to recognize that you could "sabotage the wonderful progress I've made by not doing the S days at all" --

So I guess my suggestion would be to plan for, and then actually have, some kind of special food within the context of meals on No-S days. And then enjoy it without guilt! (Easy to say, more difficult to do, but I'm so much more optimistic since being on No-S, I have every confidence that the guilt thing will ultimately go away!) Best wishes ...

[JerryLee]

I feel exactly the same way. I am about ready to drop my s days down to 1 a weekend. i have been only going 2 weeks, but havent had a failure yet, and when i eat sweets on the weekend now it just makes my gut hurt. I still eat only 1 platefull each meal on s days because i dont want to break that habit, but have found the ability to snack unfullfilling.

[reinhard]

Hi Jerry,

It's funny how S-days initially seem like the simplest and most appealing aspect of no-s, and then wind up giving so many people so much trouble. But though it can take some self-training, I do think in time you'll find S-days will become uncomplicatedly enjoyable.

Have you heard or read the podcast on this subject yet?

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

Best of luck,

Reinhard

[gingercake]

... I will occasionally pop a handful of yogurt raisins in between meals just because I know I can, it really makes me feel icky, mostly because I know I didn't really want it and it defies the spirit of what the S days are about. However, I don't want to let S days go by without any kind of reward, but honestly, there's nothing I really want. (snip)

red, I could have written this post myself today. S-days really make me uneasy. I've listened to the podcast about it before, have read the transcript of it, know all the reasons we have S-days and why they are important, but I just really, really, really don't seem to be able to enjoy them. Sometimes I feel like I'm thinking, "have a treat, DAMMIT, it's Saturday!" but certain foods or ways of eating those foods just open a floodgate of issues or at least unease and I can't wait for Monday morning.

Maybe I need to really focus on the "sometimes on days that start with S" part of the philosophy with emphasis on the "sometimes" and just do my normal routine on the weekends but with flexibility if we end up going out or getting invited somewhere or having a function. I think what happens to me now is I end up feeling like I FAILED the weekend if I don't let loose, or as Reinhard says, take the training wheels off. I like the training wheels. The training wheels help me feel steady! I often feel too wobbly without them. So...I don't know.

[Merry]

Nothing really tastes as good as I remember, and although I will occasionally pop a handful of yogurt raisins in between meals just because I know I can, it really makes me feel icky, mostly because I know I didn't really want it and it defies the spirit of what the S days are about.

I find some things don't taste as great as I thought either. I think there are several factors here.

1, mindless eating--I did that so much more before! Now I notice what I'm eating & whether it's really enjoyable. Before I just inhaled until the last 1/4th of it!

2, It's not forbidden--I think sometimes I "enjoyed" things because they were "off limits."

3, I think the IDEA of eating some foods is more appealing than actually eating them--this fits in with 1 & 2 also.

4, now that I try to really enjoy what I DO get to eat, and am paying more attention, things like excess salt, excess sugar, excess chemicals, excess processing really don't taste like food. Some of them are downright gross. I'm still amazed that Oreos really aren't that great. I remember them being so much better than they are!

5, a lot of food we as Americans eat is not all that fresh. Fresh tastes tons better. So, something I do for treat days is make something fresh. I made my dh a pumpkin pie rather than buy one--wow, it was great! Home made bread, or slow-cooking a meal (the other night I did bbq porkchops, cooked at 300 for 3 hours, and they came out so tender and succulent!). Microwaved food may be fast, but really a lot of it doesn't taste all that great. I guess this really IS Grandma's diet, LOL!

6, I think my body is adjusting to the quantity it really needs--part of being hungry or not hungry for something is whether we need food. Maybe our bodies are learning to use stored energy more efficiently. (I hope so!).

7, I don't feel badly if food just doesn't seem to satisfy--maybe what I really need is not what food has to offer. Family, friends, relationships, God--these are deeper things in life, and maybe we've awakened out of the food stupor to look for more meaning in life.

I consider the freedom on my S days to be that I *can* eat a treat, but I don't have to. I find I'm very picky now, and if I start something & it doesn't taste great, I'm done with it. So give yourself the freedom, guilt-free, to say no .

Merry

[resting52]

I'm on the beginning of my 'first' S day after deciding to be a bit more adult about NoS. Since I've had so little restraint since joining in April, reading this thread has been wonderful. I also keep thinking about what Blue says about are you enjoying it?

So.........I won't stuff that stale brownie that has been sitting in the fridge since last weekend into my mouth.....just because I can.

Resting

[vmsurbat]

I'm on the beginning of my 'first' S day after deciding to be a bit more adult about NoS. Since I've had so little restraint since joining in April, reading this thread has been wonderful. I also keep thinking about what Blue says about are you enjoying it?

So.........I won't stuff that stale brownie that has been sitting in the fridge since last weekend into my mouth.....just because I can.

Resting

Congratulations! That "little" victory is really a big one. It can be somewhat appalling to really think about how poorly and mindlessly we treat ourselves. Would you have offered that brownie to an adult guest? Most likely NOT! And yet you are every bit as important and valued as any guest in your home.

Again, kudos to you for overcoming the "just because I can" hurdle.

Best wishes for continued success,

[Nay]

I like reading this thread, because I have been "an idiot" on my S days even though, like someone said, my "gut hurt" afterward and the stuff didn't taste very good. I must be like a dumb kid who has to eat dirt 5 times before he figures out it is not pleasant!

Anyway, my goal for this next weekend is to have my three meals and a piece of homemade pumpkin pie for dessert each day. I don't plan on overloading my plates or anything like that. Right now as I sit here contemplating that, I feel good. I hated the way I felt so sick when I snacked all day. Just hated it. It truly ruined my weekends!

I hope I am done being "an idiot" on S days. It sure feels restful contemplating just 3 meals and a dessert for my next S days.