Everyday Systems

I've discovered something that I think may be worth mentioning. Since I began No S in Oct. '08, I've had serious issues with S days. I loose all control. We're talking having potato chips for breakfast type of control loss. I've been on a rollercoaster ride since day 1. I loose weight all week, then gain every darn weekend... up to usually 8-10 pounds. No exageration! I've also had scale issues. Weigh or weigh not... when...etc. If I gain, I feel bad and eat. If I loose, I celebrate and figure I earned the food, and I eat. I have done many tests with myself on that issue and I know that if I don't weigh, I gain gain gain. If I weigh once a month, I gain. If I weigh daily and record it, I stress out. I have been weighing daily because if I don't I tend to 'forget' I'm trying to loose, but I've only been officially recording though on Friday mornings when I weigh the least. I'm still loosing all control on the S days so I tried another approach. I started to weigh myself on Mondays thinking that I'd have to behave on the weekend. It seems to be working! My rollercoaster ride has been on the flat-to-downward trend for 2 weeks. I know it's still too soon to tell if it will make any long term difference, but I'm holding steady at least and life is more sane. Who woulda thought the weigh day would make that big of a difference?

Any input?

You take or leave anything I suggest, and we will still be friends.
1. Start recording what you eat. There are a variety of ways to to this which are neither hard nor burdensome, With data collected about your body over time, you will be able to make intelligent decisions. Additionally, you might find it beneficial for other family members too, as it has been for me. Gett he scale out. Eyeballing, especially high calorie items is tricky to do.
2. Weigh daily in the morning, after potty but before eating or moving about. Get a good scale, Tanita, and log this information. Again there are a variety of programs to go to. I like PhysicsDiet, Fitday, and LoseIt. Each has a value for me. I also use DietTicker as a motivator. You find one you like and is easy to use.
3. You will be accumulating data, thoughts can then turn to what data are you looking for? I think if one is doing a weight loss program, this would be the primary measure. Perhaps calories, perhaps carbs, etc...
4. You can start to see what foods are triggering certain behaviors both good and ill. Are there calorie limits you need to adhere to for weight loss? Are you exercising? Not so much for burning calories which leads to weight loss but for the other marvelous benefits it brings.
5. Then start to read. You decide based on your understanding and observations what is right for you. I have currently been engrossed with 2 researchers Gary Taubes and Robert Lustig that could help you in deciding on what to eat. (I am very glad I have my data to draw on as I implement these ideas about carbs. I am also very glad I have had successful experience with South Beach. I have ordered the Taubes book.)
6. You are capable of losing the weight. You don't have to settle for second best when first best is there for you. I can tell you being trim and fit is better than anything I could put in my mouth. If you are so inclined, you can read my checkin for the non scale victories associated with good health.
7. Off to a delicious and nutritious dinner. Roasted beets, Kale chips, roast chicken with Fiesta Lime. I did all of the above with excellent results. You can too!~
I look forward to reading about your future success.

I experience the same thing. I don't go too out of control, but I eat out a lot on the weekend and eat sweets and my weight goes up 4-5 lbs! It sucks. It takes til Thursday to get back to normal. It's water weight, definitely. You might not drink as much water on the weekend, combined with eating more food, which means you're consuming more sodium. More sodium means more water retention, which is more weight. So I'm trying not to overdo it on the weekends, too!

I struggle with this, too. I tend to overeat on the weekends, and it usually takes me until Thursday or Friday morning to get back to my low weight. I do a sort of combination of calorie counting and No S principles. If I was really bad over the weekend, I strictly count calories for a few days (I've figured out through experimenting and research how many calories I need to eat to get back down to my low weight, which for my activity level, build, etc.. is 1500), and my weight gets back down to normal within a couple of days. If I follow my more normal course of eating (which is generally moderate), I do count calories for breakfast, but I tend to do more portion control for lunch and dinner. I just have small portions of things and make sure they fit onto one plate.
I also keep a weight and exercise log, where I record my weight for the morning and what workout I did that day. It's worked great at helping me to track my eating behavior, and it's helped me to figure out what kind of workouts work best for my body.

reneew,

Well, I held on a long time, thinking my S Day eating would calm down, and it did -- to a certain extent. On Memorial Day weekend, I could not believe how much I was eating. I was shoveling potato chips into my mouth, and I don't even like potato chips! It may be that, for some of us, "unconditional permission to eat" simply doesn't translate into normal eating. I know I gave it 20 months, and I still hadn't calmed down.

Last week, I tried having one S-event, and it worked well.

It was hard for me to face that S Days weren't working for me, so I congratulate you on facing the problem. Even if your particular solution doesn't work out, there's a saying I love: "Half the work of solving a problem is identifying it."

Kathleen

Reneew, I think it's good (as the others have said) that you've given this a lot of time so you can perhaps start thinking of making some changes on S days. If you read through KCCC's stages of NoS (sticky) it does say that tackling S days & making some changes there tends to be the second step, after N days are firmly established. What do you feel might be a rule that doesn't feel too restrictive & wouldn't confuse you or threaten your well established N days? Here are some ideas I've read around the boards (about S days). Not sure which one might work for you:

-shortening the S days. For example, have one complete S day & then half another S day (or whatever combination you decide). Or even just 1 S day.
-skip S days altogether when you feel like it (keep doing S days when you want) & keep a log of them which you can then use at your will (or not use). But have a rule about how many you can use in one month. Say you've got 5 'logged' S days, you can only use up to 3 per month, something like that that's sensible.
-Have numbered S 'events' rather than whole S days. Again, this can be structured in different ways & there are various opinions on how to do it.

As for the weighing issue. Sigh... I have the same problem. I used to weigh myself once a day rain or shine, it didn't work, it hugely stressed me out. I now have a rule of weighing myself once a month, on the 1st of each month, I've been doing this only for 3 months so don't have enough data to see if it's working. I think your idea of weigh-in day on mondays is good. It sounds like something that's a good motivator. Let us know how that one goes as it sounds good.

Hope some of this helps

Thanks for all the help and input! I'm thinking about all that you guys have said and I think I may need to write down what I eat, weigh daily but record only once a week, and maybe not use every S day, or use just an S event. i need to remember that I was onto the next stage (KCCC's stages) and had established good habit of Green N days. I need to look forward, not backward. Thanks guys!

Well exactly, it's great to focus on what you've established well- your N days- and use that as a firm basis to go forward. I'm sure you'll be fine with just a few tweaks here & there on S days.

Anyone found that their S day overeating is related to whether they are alone or at a social event?