A small revelation....

Aya · Post by **Aya** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 9:46 am

I hope I'm not being annoying, posting about success with something that's not strictly No-S, but I had a bit of a revelation today and wanted to share...

First, a bit of history: I started dieting when I was about 13, and in the past 30 years I don't think I went more than a couple of months without starting a diet. After having my third baby, the feelings of dissatisfaction with my weight just got worse. Finally I just got so fedup with it all and said NO to dieting, but did start to gain weight after stopping trying to control it.

It was a real revelation to stumble on this web site about 3 months ago. I started Vanilla No S in good faith, but found that, because of blood sugar issues combined with a very erratic work schedule, sticking to the no snacks rule was very difficult to follow. So I sort of started casting around for alternatives I could live with and came up with the idea of No Seconds, No eating after dinner, and no snack foods (all processed and homemade treats,not just sweets) unless someone offered them to me.

Now, this works for me because my social life is very small. I don't really belong to a lot of clubs and with three kids at home I'm lucky if I go out once a week. (This wouldn't work for frequent conference goers who have bi-weekly bible study groups)

Ok, this is a long winded post, but the revelation is that today would have been an S day for me and I neither looked forward to it nor feel that I "should" have a treat! I just don't have to make the decision about whether or not to have a snack, or how much snacking is idiotic because it's not an option. This is a great, freeing feeling for me. It feels, for me, much more natural than just having snacks on S days. There's a work party coming up and I'll have chips if they have them. But I just don't need to worry about whether or not I will eat chips on this or that particular day.

Anyway, just thought I'd share.

Aya

guadopt1997 · Post by **guadopt1997** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 12:19 pm

This sounds good, Aya. Congrats on finding something that you're comfortable with and works for you!

StrawberryRoan · Post by **StrawberryRoan** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 1:24 pm

I agree, whatever works best for an individual is what they should do.

I work best without snacks at all for now because they were my downfall.

Actually mindless eating was my downfall, not even a real snack. Should I need to supplement the three meal a day plan in the future, I will do it with a real snack, not just reaching my hand into a bag of chips or cookies whenever I walk by the pantry.

Marianna · Post by **Marianna** » Fri Jun 05, 2009 1:47 pm

Aya! I think I quoted you on the conferences post! I couldn't remember who said that--about not eating snacks or sweets unless someone offered them, but I think you must have posted about this before, and it stuck with me--after several idiotic S days, I was trying to come up with a solution, and yours seemed perfect--I think I have reinvented it a little to reflect the higher amount of socializing I do on weekends, put the philosophy remains the same: I no longer bake, purchase, or seek out sweets or snacks--I have them if they are offered to me--which is frequently enough that I am not feeling deprived--

Thank you for your wisdom!

Marianna