Everyday Systems

Just had a bit of a lightbulb moment: why try to follow an eating plan that is too restrictive in order to lose weight? You have to ask yourself is this something you can keep doing for the rest of your life? Are you willing to forego fat/carbs/points or whatever in order to keep your figure if you are fortunate enough to get your weight down? That was one of the big attractions of No S for me - particularly in the beginning when one's willpower is especially precarious/vulnerable - I could put off eating the cake/candy/dessert/chips until the weekend! It wasn't a diet of total deprivation as it had been in the past or worrying about fat grams or calories or whatever - just 3 square meals a day with (as I had planned it at that time) carte blanche to eat whatever I wanted on the S Days. Even though I'm learning now that I am not one of those 'fortunate' people who can let it all hang out at the weekend and get away with it - I don't have the food anxiety and planning of other 'diets'. Actually, with all my recent toing and froing, I have inadvertently stirred up that food anxiety awareness thingy of late. Trying to super good and not eat fats was my latest mod. I think I should take a leaf out of my own book and be honest with myself: I'm making myself uncomfortable around food choices again and it really isn't achieving anything at the end of the day. No S is a healing process as Reinhard so eloquently puts it to ease the burden of those "crippled from all those other diets"!

Once again, oolala very many congratulations on your ongoing and recent weight loss and that congratulions also goes to all no s-ers for just being here in the first place. LOL! Have a great Sunday, all!

Love, Roxy x

NoSRocks wrote:Just had a bit of a lightbulb moment: why try to follow an eating plan that is too restrictive in order to lose weight? You have to ask yourself is this something you can keep doing for the rest of your life? Are you willing to forego fat/carbs/points or whatever in order to keep your figure if you are fortunate enough to get your weight down? That was one of the big attractions of No S for me - particularly in the beginning when one's willpower is especially precarious/vulnerable - I could put off eating the cake/candy/dessert/chips until the weekend! It wasn't a diet of total deprivation as it had been in the past or worrying about fat grams or calories or whatever - just 3 square meals a day with (as I had planned it at that time) carte blanche to eat whatever I wanted on the S Days. Even though I'm learning now that I am not one of those 'fortunate' people who can let it all hang out at the weekend and get away with it - I don't have the food anxiety and planning of other 'diets'. Actually, with all my recent toing and froing, I have inadvertently stirred up that food anxiety awareness thingy of late. Trying to super good and not eat fats was my latest mod. I think I should take a leaf out of my own book and be honest with myself: I'm making myself uncomfortable around food choices again and it really isn't achieving anything at the end of the day. No S is a healing process as Reinhard so eloquently puts it to ease the burden of those "crippled from all those other diets"!

Once again, oolala very many congratulations on your ongoing and recent weight loss and that congratulions also goes to all no s-ers for just being here in the first place. LOL! Have a great Sunday, all!

Love, Roxy x

You have to ask yourself is this something you can keep doing for the rest of your life?

This is something I've been saying for several years. There are a few people who can give up carbs or fats for the rest of their lives, or eat them extremely infrequently, and not feel deprived. Most of us can't. That's not a strength for them and a weakness for the rest of us. I find it sad that many people can't enjoy a guilty pleasure without feeling, well, guilty.

As a signature, jammin' jan uses "Self-denial's a great sweetener of pleasure." It is -- up to a point. Constant denial is deprivation. Great if you want to live like an ascetic!

On another board that I participate in I mentioned wanting a specific taco salad. Another participant wrote:

Truth be told, that taco salad looks good. I can't eat those kind of calories, but my husband can. When we have taco night (and it's 100 degrees here!), I just leave off cheese and the tortilla. Well, that pretty much leaves me with no taco. OK -- never mind.

I responded:

I certainly couldn't and wouldn't eat that everyday, but now and again - yea. I have a wise friend who says "it's not what you do now and again that matters. It's what you do day in and day out." I figure if I eat well 80% of the time, the other 20% I don't have to be so careful.

The only foods I consider "S" foods are sweets. Chips or fries may not be the best choice, but I can have them if I want at a meal during the week. If I want to make a meal of nachos, I can. I have. It doesn't happen very often -- maybe once a year -- but it's so enjoyable when it does happen!

well said, and fats are an important part of our diet actually, well, the good ones anyways.

i'm new and working really hard not to have the diet mentality. i also participate in spark people, but have since stopped tracking my food and exercise. i do use the habitcal, and occassionally check what my calories were for the day and always to my surprise within range. i'm working on stopping that as well.

my "s" day, like yesterday was s day gone wild, and i feel like crap today...my husband said, once you start training your body to eat the 3 squares it will be hard to just blow it off and go crazy. which i can attest to today.

i did a wild thing like eat tuna noodle casserole for breakfast lunch and dinner as it is or was a favorite food of mine..not so sure yuk and yuk

i would have rather had my normal foods...lesson learned...

oh ya, i had my dessert which was snowball cupcakes and wow another yuk and yuk..

on to better things today...

Thanks guys for your input. wosnes, in particular - your post made very interesting and enlightening reading. I am starting to get a little better about relaxing and not overthinking my food choices. But after my recent decision to go on a low fat experiment on N Days, I started fretting over fat grams! I would feel guilty for eating a pbj sandwich for instance - perfectly good food and often recommended as a healthy and nutritious choice, even for 'dieters'!

debra: sounds like you had a really nice, yummy S Day and from what you wrote, doesn't sound like you went overboard at all. Sorry you're not feeling so great. hope you're feeling better soon and All the very best to you. Enjoy reading your posts!