Back...again

Gabe · Post by **Gabe** » Sat Dec 11, 2010 7:40 am

I am back at it again. I finally have the mind set that I need to lose some weight. I'm not getting any younger and my kids aren't getting any less active! Plus, if there is something I can do to prevent becoming like some of my patients, then I want/need to do it. I was real close to (reluctantly) joining WW with my wife. Fortunately, it was a WW at work (where my spouses works) and they didn't have enough people to keep it going. Then they changed the whole thing around (after they pawned all of the stuff to help with the old system to their patrons, my wife included) and my motivation to join just went out the window. But I need to do something!

One big concern is the Christmas holiday. We will be staying with my wife's family for a number of days with multiple parties. I don't really want to count them all as S days, but not sure how to handle all of the food and sweets

.

Another big concern comes with the fact that I work three 12 hour night shifts a week. This sometimes throws a kink in my eating habits - mostly timing and the number, not the type as I usually pack my "lunch." Any insight would be appreciated!

~hf · Post by **~hf** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 12:14 am

Welcome!

I'll be interested in hear what others suggest about your night shift situation. I was on the night shift pre No S and when I go back to work I probably will be again. We used a lot of food and drinks (soda, Red Bull etc.) to keep us up and functioning...

Heidi

jellybeans01 · Post by **jellybeans01** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 2:25 pm

Welcome back and it is a good time to start. I've done WW for years and it has worked, but being a Mom of three little ones it became to much work for me to keep up. I found no s to be a very good and more sane diet. When I fallow no s as I should "i'm not always vanilla" I am able to stay in the 120's which is my WW weight.
This year we had 3 Thanksgiving dinners and I actually lost 1 pound. I enjoyed wonderful dinners, but without seconds and you know what? I didn't have that gross full feeling I hate that makes me want to go right to sleep. When you really think of it don't you hate that feeling of overfull? It zaps all the energy because your body is working so hard to digest it all.
I am thinking that Chrstmas falls on a weekend so it is an s day. In my opinion stick to the diet the other days, I really think that you will find yourself enjoying everything more without being over sugared and stuffed.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 5:16 pm

jellybeans01 wrote:
I am thinking that Chrstmas falls on a weekend so it is an s day.

Christmas is an S day anyway. However, since it falls on the weekend there's not an extra S day that week. Though in my family Christmas Eve dinner really starts the celebration.

~reneew · Post by **~reneew** » Mon Dec 13, 2010 3:04 am

There's no better time than the present. I would start immediately, but plan on the S days ahead. If you are SURE that you cannot survive the individual days (think hard about each one ahead of time) then maybe do an N day, but plan one S each day. Even if it is 1 sweet that happens to also be a snack, count it as 1. You'll sstill be doing good. Maybe try to "bank" one ahead so you won't do as much damage. And you could always make one up after. I really sound like an expert don't I? If I could only follow my own advice!!! I know, the holidays are hard.

As for the night shift ~ I'd try to stick to the 3 or whatever you do a day, but count them in the same 24 hour period midnight to midnight whenever the meals happen. The key is to plan ahead!

Post by **reinhard** » Mon Dec 20, 2010 4:44 pm

Welcome back, Gabe.

Most crazy schedules can be accommodated by splitting one meal into two mini meals. The trick is how to keep them mini. Small plates, if available, are a help. If you're at work the whole time for the long stretch, packing your double-mini-meal "lunch" helps too. Sounds like you're doing something like this already. It may sound silly, but having a (non "snack") term for your mini-meals helps, too, in arresting potential slippery sloping. My daughters of fond of Hobbitish "second-breakfasts."

In terms of the party, what I find very helpful is using the habitcal. It gives me that extra, crucial bit of incentive to go for green as many days as I can. Christmas, obviously, and Christmas eve are going to be yellow, and they're well worth it, but I've found that other days, parties and all, tend not to be. Social pressure can be difficult to deal with "come on! It's a Christmas party!" but I've found if I don't make a big show of what I'm doing, and perhaps even mask it a little by carry a drink around or arranging my meal schedule so that I can enjoy a plateful of savory party food, it often happens that no one even gets the idea to pressure me. It's amazing how little other people care about what you eat as long as you're not thrusting your superiority in their faces.

Best of luck and keep us posted,

Reinhard