Everyday Systems

Hi everyone,

I think many of you know that feeling - you're not too hungry, but you really, really, really want something sweet. So what do you do if you want to stick to No S?
Something I've found helpful is to think about my S days, and to actually plan them. Maybe even make a list of things I want to eat the next weekend. Many tell themselves, "I can have this on Saturday", but I think it's even more helpful to visualize the bunch of things you want to have the next weekend.
Today after school, for example. It was 3:15 pm or so, and I hadn't eaten since breakfast at 9:30 am, so I was pretty hungry. Also, my driving lesson hadn't gone as well as I'd hoped, and I was feeling a little down... I was exhausted, too... those are major triggers for me. I even had some change on me (I usually try to avoid that to make going to bakeries after school more difficult for myself). So to not let myself give in to temptation, I thought about Saturday. I don't have anything to do this Saturday, so I thought I'd take the bus to town, buy one or two of my favorite pastries, a box of my favorite cookies... I planned it all out, complete with bus times and where I'd go first etc. It worked - and it made me smile instead of grinding my teeth like telling me, "It's an N day, you can't have that" would have made me.
Last year, I used to do something similar - I wrote lists with everything I liked to eat on S days, and re-read those when I felt like I wanted sweets. It just got weird when people saw them... Of course, I didn't eat all that on S days; I didn't need or want it then, either. But I do need the opportunity to look forward to it on N days.

What are your strategies for dealing with sweet cravings?

Katie

Anoulie wrote:What are your strategies for dealing with sweet cravings?

I do what you do and plan something good for an S day. Sometimes I'll have a cup of coffee.

I also have a cup of Berry Zinger tea sometimes, if it's really bad. The tea is naturally sweet.

I've gotten to the point, though, where the "I wanna SNACK" is much stronger than "I want something sweet." For the most part, coffee seems to satisfy the comfort ritual and I am much more likely to want to eat out of boredom than anything. Knitting tends to help with that one!

I love the idea of making a list! I love making lists in general (I keep a small notebook on me at all times, in case of "list emergencies") and I think it would be nice to have one more thing to make a list of.

What a great idea!! Often as not, I'm scratching my head on an S Day, wondering what to have for my treat...then just grabbing the nearest sweet food handy just because its there and I can! NOT very fulfilling, if I were being honest. I also have a habit of compulsive buying/baking lots of sweet treats that clutter up my fridge freezer ... simply because my eyes are bigger than my tummy! I do get pleasure out of buying sweet treats and tend to have a bit of a hoarder personality. If I started to make a list like you so cleverly suggest, it might help me to get more organized. Thanks a lot, Katie!!!

What helps me the most is to just make sure I don't keep any sweets in the house. I have been doing this for quite some time and now I rarely eat them any more. Out of sight, out of mind--that's how it is for me. If I eat sweets at all, it's away from home.

If the craving is set in motion by seeing something that looks yummy - like desserts at a conference meal, I remind myself "there will be nice food again." Usually, it's not so special that I'll never see it again.

Another variant of that is channeling my "inner snob." Which, I confess, has gotten stronger with respect to sweets the longer I've been on No-S. There's a whole range of stuff that I used to eat that just doesn't appeal anymore. Mental commentary: "No, thanks, I'll wait til the weekend and get the GOOD stuff."

KCCC wrote: Another variant of that is channeling my "inner snob." Which, I confess, has gotten stronger with respect to sweets the longer I've been on No-S. There's a whole range of stuff that I used to eat that just doesn't appeal anymore. Mental commentary: "No, thanks, I'll wait til the weekend and get the GOOD stuff."

This is so true. I used to be able to eat an entire bag of Resees peanut butter eggs (they come out around Easter...) in a single weekend - or even a single afternoon. But this year? I'm not even interested in having a single one. I'd rather have homebaked goodies or a Godiva truffle or something. No more cheap junk for me. And since I eat less of it, I can afford to splurge monetarily on getting the sometimes pricier stuff that is *really* good.

I've started baking again this weekend, for the first time in years, because the shop-bought cakes and biscuits that used part of my staple diet are no longer good enough for my S-Days.

I know! I've become a sweets snob, myself! I used to LOVE things like M and Ms, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Cadburry eggs, etc.... When I walked by all of that candy in the grocery store today, absolutely none of it looked good to me. It all tastes icky sweet to me now. I'd much rather eat a home baked treat, or get something from a really good bakery.