Hating "S" days...

No Snacks, no sweets, no seconds. Except on Days that start with S. Too simple for you? Simple is why it works. Look here for questions, introductions, support, success stories.

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lbb (Liz)
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Hating "S" days...

Post by lbb (Liz) » Mon Jun 28, 2010 4:33 am

Okay so I need to talk this out.
Good news first: I'm impressed with myself and how I treated a 13 hour road trip thru the night. I ate dinner right before and was worried about snacks and sweets and was fine until breakfast the next morn.
S day, Saturday:
Breakfast Burrito from gas station (hubby bought it for me and I admit it tasted good after the long night).
2pm, lunch at Corner Bakery. I got a veggie panini/chips and a banana bundt cake to-go (for later).
Dinner with Grandparents. Got their turkey tortellini salad. So so good, but I wasn't too hungry. Had bites of dessert that we shared.
Now is the problem.
The self-destruction.
I ATE SO MUCH later that night. And it wasn't "oh we're all having this dessert and I had too many bites."
It was, instead, "there's a bag of peanut butter M&Ms in the car...I may as well just sit and eat them because it's an S day and I can. Oh and that Bundt cake...it doesn't taste THAT good, but I will eat it anyways....because I can. Afterall, I either make myself sick, not just overeat a tad-bit.
GO BIG OR GO HOME.
I felt disgustingly sick.
Woke up this Sunday morn grossed out.
BUT I DID IT AGAIN TONIGHT!?!?!?!?!?!?!
This morning, not hungry for breakfast, we ate lunch at my fave restaurant...my favorite turkey sandwich and salad ever. Enjoyed them and all was well.
Then, we had a BBQ at sister's home and I just had one plate with 2 chicken skewers and a little fruit (not that hungry).
For dessert, I was so happy with myself.
I truly just ate dessert to enjoy, not to GAIN anything from it. It was how it SHOULD be.
BUT....this is what I'm learning...
I over-eat to make myself sick for some reason. I have a hard time just having a bite of something simply for just enjoyment sake.
So, after a small dessert of a brownie and tiny scoop of ice cream I felt no hunger. Pure satisfaction.
Then, later, I went back to my parents and got my kids to bed and thought "it's an S day and I only had that tiny dessert." "I didn't MAXIMIZE this day!".
Well I knew full-well that if I had anything else, it wouldn't end just there. I knew I was standing in the headlights of a full-fledged binge.
Why can't I just have another handful of M&Ms or something?
Instead, I had to literally pour myself a couple bowls of caramel popcorn and peanut butter M&Ms and go to town.
It doesn't help that I ate in the dark basement b/c I would never do that in front of my mom.
(I know...issues, huh?).
Anyways, I feel sick again. But it's not like I'm all, "woah what happened?" What's worse, is that I consciously said, "i'm making myself sick and will feel sick in the morning and this is dumb. but, it's like i needed to finish the overeating in a "proper manner".
Weird?
Anyways, does anyone have a problem succeeding? Enjoying? Ending with a good day?
I'm doing pretty well on my "N" days, because there's really no option for me NOT to do well, ya know?
But, these S days are just killin' me. Not just weight loss-wise, but moreso discouraging.
I'm starting to hate them.
Advice? Talk amongst yourselves...
Liz

idontknow
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Post by idontknow » Mon Jun 28, 2010 4:57 am

Hi lbb - I do know what you mean. I start off well, but by Sunday I find I'm falling into old habits. I say to myself 'you'd better eat it now, because you can't have it for another week'. I think it's partly the old 'diet mentality' - ie Monday to Friday are diet days - Saturday and Sunday are free for alls so it's time to stuff myself!!
I'm trying to be positive and reflect on how my habits have changed in the last couple of months. For example - I no longer pick at food while I'm cooking - it doesn't enter my head to do that. I also don't finish anyone else's leftovers any more (I know! - :oops: ).
I'm sure you have habits that are changing, too - try to focus on those. You made lots of good decisions throughout the weekend. Your meals sound lovely and you didn't snack. I'm sure that's an improvement on the past.
Have you listened to the 'S days gone wild' podcast recently? It's probably well worth another listen if you haven't.
I'm trying to just learn as I go along. Learn about my eating habits, how I feel about food, how my choices make me feel and then apply what I've learnt to the next N or S day. I just keep thinking this is not a quick fix - I need to learn to do this for the rest of my life.
Don't know if that helps - feel free to ignore - I've only been doing this for a couple of months, after all.
Take care :D

BeingGreen
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Post by BeingGreen » Mon Jun 28, 2010 4:59 am

Hi Liz,

I've totally been where you are. The only advice I can give you is to hang in and have patience. Be gentle with yourself. It's taken me 15 months or so to be stable on No S without bingeing on S days anymore.

I think you get into trouble feeling like you have to MAXIMIZE food on an S day. Instead focus on how you're maximizing your overall happiness and well-being by eating foods you enjoy and feeling satisfied on S days. Put your focus there.

Wishing you all the best!

Grammy G
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Post by Grammy G » Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:15 pm

OMG..I could have written your post!! Probably most of the folks posting could have written that post.. in fact, most of us probably did with just a few minor changes!! Most of us have that diet mentality and just can't let it go. Go back and reread posts from people who seems to have it all together and you will see the same struggles as you are having! reread the book..listen to the podcasts..don't give up.. don't be so hard on yourself. There is a wonderful support system here... use it!
Most of us have had to re-start several times before we actually "get it"..(I hope i'm "getting it"..time will tell!!) S Days are crazy in the beginning. You are not the only one who has eaten themselves sick on what is suppose to be a day to enjoy a little snack or a bit of sugar. I think most of us have eaten things we don't even like just because we can. I still find myself doing that every so often..but.the is the thing to remember..I don't do it as much as I did in the beginning. You will find you ease up too, I'm sure.
This is not a plan that promises huge weight loss in a short amount of time..there are no guidelines as to exact amounts of this or that or never eat ......(fill in the blank). This is an eating plan for life. YOU are in charge.. YOU make the decisions. I think that at the beginning this throws us back to being a child and given a freedom where we had always been supervised in the past. We go a little crazy! You will calm down on S-days.. you won't be perfect at it right away and there will be slip-ups. Someone very wise said we should "Mark it and move on".
Great advice! Note your mistakes..move on You are the only one beating yourself up..be done with it! :wink: move on!! (good luck!!)
"If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think another negative thought."
Peace Pilgrim

kccc
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Post by kccc » Mon Jun 28, 2010 3:45 pm

Congratulations! This is a milestone!

I know, it doesn't feel like one. It feels awful. I remember. And periodically, I still remind myself by re-living it - but not so often anymore. :)

Your post is great. You are tuning into "how this feels" and thinking about "why am I doing this?" You LIKE N-days better than these S-days. You are not enjoying eating-because-you-can.

That means your body and mind is adjusting to more healthy patterns. That's why these S-days stand out as "awful' - it's the contrast.

Just continue to be aware, and be gentle with yourself. This is a normal stage. If it continues too long, read the "S-days gone wild" podcast and associated thread. But it may solve itself over time, just by your "noticing" what's going on, which you are doing very well.

Some things that helped me at that stage...
- Remembering to drink enough on weekends - my routine was different, and I forgot. (People can confuse thirst/hunger.)
- Sticking to the "three meals" structure on weekends, and adding my S-events around that. Knowing I was going to have a meal coming up made a difference in how much I would graze.
- Planning for a few REALLY REALLY GOOD S-treats. That made the stuff I was eating just-because-it-was-there-and-I-could so much less attractive.

At any rate... do NOT beat yourself up! Recognize that this uncomfortable stage is normal, and you will get through it. And the more gentle you can be with yourself, the faster you will go through. When you start eating, ask yourself "what do you really want, honey?" (in the tone you'd use to a beloved child who was unhappy), and listen to the answer. If it's the food in front of you, eat. If you don't really want that Bundt cake, go find something you DO want. If it's not food... well, that's REALLY good to know.

This too shall pass. Be kind to yourself during this stage. And hang in there!

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Nichole
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Post by Nichole » Mon Jun 28, 2010 3:52 pm

The only advice I can offer is to preplan and stick with it..

On Saturday, we had my sister, bro in law and niece over. After dinner, we went to the carnival. My sister bought a brownie because she was craving it, even though I had ice cream cake waiting at home. She asked me if I wanted some. I said, "no, I'm having ice cream cake later." And that was the end of it. This happened when we went to the Poconos with them, too. After lunch, she cut a piece of chocolate cake for herself. I told her no because I wanted s'mores later. It took me a while to get to this point. Just keep on trying. All in good time! :)
"Anyone can cook." ~ Chef Gusteau, Ratatouille

lbb (Liz)
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Post by lbb (Liz) » Mon Jun 28, 2010 4:41 pm

Oh man thanks my friends!
Already, today, I feel so much better about things...
Thanks to you and your wonderful perspective.
It's so true. These out-of-control days are only BETTER than what they used to be, and that alone is worth its weight in gold.
How can I expect to be free of all these habits when I've been at them for about 12 years now?
It's cool. In the past, I probably would have kept beating myself up and not allowed myself breakfast, exercised like a maniac, after a night like tonight.
Instead, I took a nice walk this morn (listened to a podcast), ate a nice breakfast outside with family (english muffin, eggs, cheese, fruit), and am so enjoying the sun and nice day.

For my sake only, these are the tokens of wisdom of you fellow no-s-ers gave me that I want to remember: (maybe print them out and put them in my kitchen?!?)!

"The only advice I can offer is to preplan and stick with it.. " thanks, Nichole.

"You LIKE N-days better than these S-days. You are not enjoying eating-because-you-can. "
Remembering to drink enough on weekends - my routine was different, and I forgot. (People can confuse thirst/hunger.)
- Sticking to the "three meals" structure on weekends, and adding my S-events around that. Knowing I was going to have a meal coming up made a difference in how much I would graze.
- Planning for a few REALLY REALLY GOOD S-treats. That made the stuff I was eating just-because-it-was-there-and-I-could so much less attractive.
And the more gentle you can be with yourself, the faster you will go through. When you start eating, ask yourself "what do you really want, honey?" (in the tone you'd use to a beloved child who was unhappy), and listen to the answer. If it's the food in front of you, eat. If you don't really want that Bundt cake, go find something you DO want. If it's not food... well, that's REALLY good to know. "
KCCC

"This is an eating plan for life. YOU are in charge.. YOU make the decisions. I think that at the beginning this throws us back to being a child and given a freedom where we had always been supervised in the past. We go a little crazy! You will calm down on S-days.. you won't be perfect at it right away and there will be slip-ups. Someone very wise said we should "Mark it and move on". Grammy G

"Instead focus on how you're maximizing your overall happiness and well-being by eating foods you enjoy and feeling satisfied on S days. Put your focus there. ", Older and Wiser
(I LOVED this CONCEPT!!)

And, finally,
"I'm sure you have habits that are changing, too - try to focus on those. You made lots of good decisions throughout the weekend. Your meals sound lovely and you didn't snack. I'm sure that's an improvement on the past. ", "I'm trying to just learn as I go along. Learn about my eating habits, how I feel about food, how my choices make me feel and then apply what I've learnt to the next N or S day. I just keep thinking this is not a quick fix - I need to learn to do this for the rest of my life. "
idon'tknow

FRIENDS! Thank you! Wisdom! We can do this. I think most of all, to treat myself sort of like an experiment and say, "okay, why did i do that...how did it feel...if it wasn't great, what could i have done to change?"....

Have a wonderful week and thanks again. I hope I can help, too, when you need it.:) :wink:
Liz

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BrightAngel
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Re: Hating "S" days...

Post by BrightAngel » Mon Jun 28, 2010 4:43 pm

lbb wrote:I'm doing pretty well on my "N" days, because there's really no option for me NOT to do well, ya know?
But, these S days are just killin' me. Not just weight loss-wise, but moreso discouraging.
I'm starting to hate them.
Advice? Talk amongst yourselves...
Although each of us is different,
I found your scenerio fairly typical.
I find the main problem of "vanilla" No S is that for many of us,
those rules of eating tend to solidify the binge/fast cycle.

When Reinhard created the No S Diet for himself,
he had a problem with "moderation" in eating.
He indicated he felt he overdid it with alcohol,
but he didn't indicate he was drunk frequently, and
he's never indicated he had problems with food binges,
or problems with cravings for refined carbs- processed foods etc.
If the opposite is true, I'd really like to hear him tell us.

For many of my fat years, I dieted on weekdays and binged on weekends.
Frequently my weekday diets involved moderate eating,
sometimes my weekday diets involved severely restricted eating.
Either way, weekends were binge time.

Common sense tells each of us .....
Unless you are bullemic (which I've never been) you can't lose weight
or even stay the same weight and binge 2 days out of 7.

So, we are left with the question "How do I avoid binging" on S days.
There are those members who, along with Reinhard,
feel that...over time..
S day binging subsides.
However, for many members, this is NOT the case.
I suspect the people who have little problem with this have had less than 50 lbs to lose to reach a "normal" BMI,
and that the type of bingeing you describe
has not been one of the typical and somewhat constant features of their lives.
I would be very interested to hear from any long-time "successful" No S forum member here
who fits into the following category:

Category: Over 50 lbs to lose to a normal BMI,
AND a history of bingeing...i.e. frequent eating behavior similiar to what IBB describes.
AND
Successful...meaning achieving a moderate eating pattern through "vanilla" No S,
resulting in a substantial (50 lbs or more) weight-loss.
Are there any of you who fit into that category here?
BrightAngel - (Dr. Collins)
See: DietHobby. com

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sophiasapientia
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Post by sophiasapientia » Mon Jun 28, 2010 6:14 pm

Category: Over 50 lbs to lose to a normal BMI,
AND a history of bingeing...i.e. frequent eating behavior similiar to what IBB describes.
AND
Successful...meaning achieving a moderate eating pattern through "vanilla" No S,
resulting in a substantial (50 lbs or more) weight-loss.
Are there any of you who fit into that category here?
BA -- I don't exactly fit your profile, in that I didn't lose all my weight on No S and I'm not sure what qualifies as a long-term successful No Ser, but I have lost over 80 pounds since 2003 and kept 48 off completely successfully since then. At my highest weight, my BMI was 34.2. It is just under 22 right now.

I do have a tendency to binge eat, especially with certain trigger foods and during times of stress, and I have found that when I follow the structure of "3 meals a day" my eating does normalize and the binge eating does lessen significantly and almost stop for extended periods.

I lost most of the weight on the Carbohydrate's Addicts Diet, a plan that, when I think about it, has some important similarities to No S. These include:

1.) A set number of structured meals -- 3 in both cases for me -- with no snacking
2.) No counting anything (like carbs or calories)
3.) Reward eating (for CAD there was a daily "Reward Meal," with No S there are obviously the S Days)

I think these areas of overlap are why No S and CAD both worked for me. The structure of 3 meals provides a benchmark as to what is "normal" but I have some freedom (no counting anything, which I hate doing, and having planned, frequent rewards. ) ... Ultimately I went off CAD because I really needed more carbs, both in terms of my physical and mental health, and it didn't always fit that well into my family life. No S is the only other plan I've been on that has worked for me and felt sustainable.

Even with my history of binge eating and even with "over the top" S Days from time to time -- like this past weekend, for instance -- I have experienced what Reinhard talks about in the "S Days Gone Wild" podcast and my eating, even on S Days, is a lot more moderate than it used to be. Sticking to the basic 3 meal structure on S Days and adding in special, often planned treats has been key for me in this regard.

I've been doing No S on and off since November 2008 and have been "on" with success since the beginning of the year. I'm hopeful that this time around will be "it" for the long-term and that I'll eventually join the ranks of successful long timers. :wink:
Restarted No S (3rd times a charm!) January 2010 at 145 lbs

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BrightAngel
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Post by BrightAngel » Mon Jun 28, 2010 7:24 pm

sophiasapientia wrote: BA -- I don't exactly fit the profile,
in that I didn't lose all my weight on No S
I have lost over 80 pounds since 2003 and kept 48 off completely successfully since then.
At my highest weight, my BMI was 34.2. It is just under 22 right now.

I do have a tendency to binge eat...
and I have found that when I follow the structure of "3 meals a day"
my eating does normalize and the binge eating does lessen significantly
and almost stop for extended periods.

I lost most of the weight on the Carbohydrate's Addicts Diet

I've been doing No S on and off since November 2008
I'm hopeful that this time around will be "it" for the long-term
and that I'll eventually join the ranks of successful long timers. :wink:
Congratulations, you sound like a success to me. Image

An overweight BMI is between 25 and 30, with obesity starting at 30.
For me personally, a BMI of 30 is 155 lbs.
Since I spent the majority of my life around or over 200 lbs,
to weigh just inside obesity, between 155 and 165
with a BMI in the low 30s seemed "pleasingly plump" to me.

It interests me that low-carbing is what worked for you in losing weight,
since I am currently experimenting with low-carb.
I, also, did not lose my weight while doing No S.
The No S Diet is only one of the tools I've been working with
to help me with maintenance of my weight-loss.

Have you seen a connection between staying with your low-carb eating
and less binge eating?
and also,
Have you seen a connection between less binge eating
while doing vanilla No S and no other kind of food restriction?
I mean when eating all types of carbs on N days except for sweets.
BrightAngel - (Dr. Collins)
See: DietHobby. com

dmarie710
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Post by dmarie710 » Mon Jun 28, 2010 9:16 pm

I'm loving this thread. I have nothing to input, but just want to thank everyone for all the wisdom. This is a really terrific forum and will continue to read with interest other's input.
Denise
restart No S on 4/1 at 132#
goal is 120-123# doing vanilla NoS with Eat Stop Eat on Monday.

Scrybil
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Post by Scrybil » Tue Jun 29, 2010 12:28 am

There IS a lot of wisdom here, and I'm trying to be understanding of myself: my lifelong diet/binge cycles, my many years of accumulated guilt, resentment and rebellion about eating. It's hard to change that quickly at a deep level - it took a long time for me to get this screwed up LOL! I know I would be more patient with my children, my husband (most of the time :wink: ) my friends, than I am with myself.....

I ven feel sliightly depressed & anxious about an approaching SDay - Will I handle it well? What will I eat? Will I be able to stop???

But I CAN see progress! I enjoy the freedom (yes, freedom!) of the NDays - no worries, the food is eaten, enjoyed, and forgotten. Monday is a relief - I know what's coming, I know I have the structure, my choices are clear. And I'm hoping that somehow that wisdom of what works best for me will internalize.....with practice.

llb, I feel your pain........I mean REALLY!
~Scrybil~

Scrybil
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Post by Scrybil » Tue Jun 29, 2010 1:12 am

One more thing.....


I just listened to Reinhard's podcast about SDays.....very comforting...

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


Is it possible we're being too hard on ourselves?
~Scrybil~

dmarie710
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Post by dmarie710 » Tue Jun 29, 2010 2:08 am

I believe we're much too hard on ourselves. I think we all need to allow time to come to a place that's healthy areound food.
Denise
restart No S on 4/1 at 132#
goal is 120-123# doing vanilla NoS with Eat Stop Eat on Monday.

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sophiasapientia
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Post by sophiasapientia » Tue Jun 29, 2010 11:55 am

Have you seen a connection between staying with your low-carb eating
and less binge eating?
and also,
Have you seen a connection between less binge eating
while doing vanilla No S and no other kind of food restriction?
I mean when eating all types of carbs on N days except for sweets.
Thanks BA! -- I think that one thing that helped me with binge eating, on both No S and on CAD, is that I don't/didn't eat much in the way of the foods that I'd be most likely to binge on. Namely, higher carb, pre-packaged foods and especially pre-packaged snack foods. And when I do have these things, even on S Days, I use portion control and sheer will (i.e. no eating directly out of a bag or box for me, ever, or I'd go to town, lol.) Mostly I try to cook from scratch when we eat at home and I think that helps a lot.

I'm not all that likely to binge on the type of carbs that I eat on a daily basis. For instance, I had corn on the cob, cherries and a slice of fresh baked bread on my dinner plate last night and a half bagel for breakfast this morning and none of this has set off any desire to binge. :wink:

I have been able to lose weight on vanilla No S -- over 20 lbs since January -- eating unrestricted carbs. However, I do exercise daily and eyeball my portion sizes religiously, elements that have been critical to making vanilla work for me. I was able to lose weight more quickly on CAD and I was able to get down to a lower weight than I have so far with vanilla No S ... but it just wasn't a sustainable way of eating for me which is what I need at this point. I'll be forever thankful for CAD, though, for providing a structure that made getting out of obesity a reality.
Restarted No S (3rd times a charm!) January 2010 at 145 lbs

kccc
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Post by kccc » Tue Jun 29, 2010 2:28 pm

BA, I don't fit your overall criteria, but I have had a binge history.

I find that "real food" as opposed to "highly processed" makes a HUGE difference. That was something I had noticed even before No-S, but No-S makes it easier to manage... even if I choose to have a serving of highly-processed stuff on an N-day, it's small and contained enough that it doesn't trigger. In the old days, I'd have "just a bit," then the "bits" would increase over several days, then I'd binge non-stop for days until I caught it and cut out sugar and refined carbs.

S-days "contained" the over-eating. I will admit that my S-days were a bit problematic at first. The turning point was when I chose to carry over the basic 3-meal structure, which helped tremendously. ("Perma-snacking" is just bad for me, physically and psychologically.)

It seems to me that when I do binge, it's because the food I'm eating is highly processed and not truly satisfying. Home-made stuff is much less likely to provoke binging.

Reviewing this post, I realized that I'm talking about two issues, not one:
1) Sugar and highly-refined carbs
2) Highly processed foods (which include artificial sweeteners, fillers, preservatives, etc.)
The connection is that, for me, the effects are quite similar. However, the processes may differ... will think on that more.

oolala53
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Post by oolala53 » Wed Jun 30, 2010 12:10 am

Just caught this. I still overeat on S days. I think I catalogued it last Saturday. I was wringing my hands over it again after many times before when I remembered- habit. Although Reinhard never talks about the chemical basis of habits, they are pretty much solidified into us by stimulus response feedback circuits in our brains.

The absolutley easiest way to stop most habits is to stop them completely. I mean easy in that the urges will reach a peak most quickly and reside most quickly. Tolerating the urges is the hard part.

When the stimulus is eating a food that we used to overeat, the urge to overeat it can be very strong. But, eating a moderate amount, and then hanging on while we resist the urge to overeat it will lead to a reduction in the urges over time. It's not always a straight line reduction. There might be fluctuations.

In any case, this just dovetails with what others have been saying. At some point, you may want to decide to have an apportioned amount of some dessert and then set up the situation so it is more likely that you will stick to it. Doing that several times will start to make THAT the habit.

Mostly, be gentle with your judgements of yourself. Eating until you're sick is not proof of your slovenly nature or weakness. Many of us have done it against our better judgement many times, but it turns out it was maintained by perfectly reasonable internal processes. It's become a habit you've had for awhile--maybe a long while-- and it's one you're going to change, just like you've changed the others. Keep up with your N days and keep whittling away at S days. If you've been at it 6 months or more and feel that you would really like a mod, consider the ones Reinhard suggested or browse around the boards for what's worked. Something you read or something new is going to work for you.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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bluebunny27
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Post by bluebunny27 » Wed Jun 30, 2010 5:43 am

Oh, everybody fails sometimes ... maybe even 2 days in a row. You're not going to ruin weeks, months, years of hard work in 2 days obviously same as you're not going to improve in a spectacular way within 2 days either ...

You have to look at this long term. So when you have a bad day or two, the best thing is to try to be good after that, 3-4 days in a row and that basically erases your mistake ... and then you try to be good for a while longer and you make progress, works for me usually.

Also cravings are really short too, I just had one earlier tonight, I felt so HUNGRY, grrrrrrrrr - - ;-) - - I just drank a big glass of water and waited 5 minutes, then I distracted myself doing something else instead of day dreaming about sweets.

My craving was gone completely very quickly, it was weird because 5 minutes earlier I could have eaten half a bag of cookies within 2 minutes so I just used a couple of my simple tricks to avoid problems, worked quite well. All you need is a few tricks and 5-10 minutes of patience, right, those are long minutes of course but you stick it out and then you are proud that you achieved something.

To avoid binge eating I also try not to buy the things I have a hard time resisting, , ice cream, bagels ... If I don't have those items at home I am really OK. I wouldn't go to the store just to get ice cream at midnight ... ;-) If you fail, just work on improving yourself in the next few days, instead of feeling depressed and making the situation worse by failing again and again in the next few days.

Cheers !

Marc ;-)

38 Years Old, 5'10" Tall
Nov. 1st. 2008 : 280 Pounds
Nov. 1st. 2009 : 190 Pounds
(1 Year : - 90 Pounds)

Current Weight : 193 Pounds

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Being tired can cause overeating

Post by Cantab » Wed Jun 30, 2010 5:28 pm

Don't be too hard on yourself. Remember that being tired increases overeating as well. Having the stress and fatigue from the trip may have been the problem rather than it just being an S day. Many times when I overeat, it's really because I'm tired, either from lack of sleep or a trying day.

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DaveMc
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Post by DaveMc » Wed Jun 30, 2010 8:46 pm

This issue of bingeing is a really tricky one.

On the one hand, generally we want to avoid advising anyone to panic prematurely and start adding a bunch of restrictions to their S days. For a lot of people, that's unnecessary because their S days will taper off on their own, and it's risky because the restrictions on S days make it more likely that they'll start to have problems with the more important part, N days. In your case, I don't think one bad weekend is cause for panic, so take all the advice above and be kind to yourself, and try not to panic.

On the other hand, Bright Angel's point is well taken: the people for whom S days naturally become more moderate are probably not those for whom binge eating has been a life-long problem. Most of us probably go a bit crazy on S days, at the start, because we're not used to going without sweets and we feel deprived, so we feel like we need to go nuts while we're allowed -- at first, but then that passes as we get used to the new pattern. I've never been a binge eater (though I did have some ridiculous S days at the start), but I can imagine that the situation must be very different if your long-term pattern has been one of alternating deprivation and painful over-indulgence.

In that podcast linked to above, Reinhard does point out that if you have a serious eating disorder, all the advice on offer may not apply to you, and for severe binge eaters we're probably getting into that territory. What makes it tricky, for me, is how someone is supposed to tell if they're panicking prematurely, or if they have a more serious problem. I suppose the best compromise might be something like this: don't panic over S days prematurely (give the default plan a good chance to work), but if you know you've got a history of problems with bingeing, keep a closer eye on yourself than other people might (you might need to make some moderate modifications sooner than others would).

If you've never gone on a binge before, but are finding yourself doing it because it's an S day, I think that's something you need to just accept for a while, and you may well find that it will pass.

lbb (Liz)
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Post by lbb (Liz) » Thu Jul 01, 2010 3:44 pm

I just have to say one more time "thank you" to all who have posted with such wisdom and thought-provoking replies.
This thread...can I just print it up and put it on a mirror and read it daily?
I'm actually excited for this weekend because I will go in more with a plan and I'll watch myself a tad closer.
It's true...emotions often get in the way. I was totally tired from driving thru the night/schedule off/ornery kids/you name it.
Once again, "thanks" fellow friends!
Liz

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