Everyday Systems

Hello all!
I'm coming up on my 21st successful day of No S. So far, I've had no slip ups and am feeling great. I have had cravings for frozen yogurt but am able to control those and wait for the weekend. I've lost about 1.5 pounds, which could be water weight but it makes me feel good nonetheless.

Here's my latest questions. I'm traveling this weekend. Saturday I'm flying from the East coast to the West coast. No problem there. Spending the night. Sunday I'm flying from the West coast to Korea. I leave at 1:20 p.m. Sunday and arrive at 5:30 p.m. Monday Korean time.

How do I count the days on No S? Just consider the time I'm in flight as one long, weird Sunday? Also, how do you deal with vacations? I'm going to be gone a total of six No S days. Should I even try to do No S while on vacation? Half the days? I'm not stressing about this but am just curious.

Since you are doing so well, I'd treat them all as usual. If your day is very long, maybe swap one meal from one day to the other? I'd try not to adjust very much as that weakens the plan, and No S fits into any situation I think. Now if I could only take my own advice...

When you leave it's Sunday...when you arrive, it's Monday. Sort of a "when in Rome" sort of thing.

The food has to be incredibly good for me to consider not just sticking to Vanilla No S even while on vacation. I rarely feel better or even that I've had that much fun when I don't have several N days in a week.

When I am on vacation I try to stick with a 3 meal format without snacks or seconds. However, some meals tend to be larger and more indulgent. In addition, I allow myself one sweet a day.

I do not track or obsess, and I mark my habit cal yellow. I do not worry if I stray. I just do the best I can.

r.jean: I like your reason and simplicity.
Make a rule, stick to it, move on.
I'm over an over-complicator, but No S really is so simple and true and great.
Good luck. You can do this. Just draw a fence around the law!
xo, liz

I've just been on holiday and didn't try to follow NoS - and didn't feel good about it. I knew I was eating too much, but just didn't stop because 'there are no rules on S days!' (I was counting holiday days as 'special' days).

I think next time I would definitely try for following the NoS structure, with maybe the addition of a sweet/snack where appropriate. There's no reason we can't have self control just because we're in a different country!

Just wanted to add that not everyone thinks that overeating is part of being on vacation. In fact, when I go on vacation, I like the idea of getting away from too much food!

I have agonized over the same thing in the past and this is the decision I came to after posting a similar post and getting lots of feedback from folks. I like to stick to basic vanilla NoS while away on vacation, with the following exception: I allow one S-worthy treat each day if the situation warrants. I don't go looking for goodies to consume, but if something pops up, I will indulge without any feelings of guilt. It is vacation after all! I will also add that most of our vacations usually involve lots of hiking/walking as a rule, so the extra treats don't do any damage and add to the overall enjoyment of the vacation.

Mimi

I am glad to read all this advice - we are going to be travelling for an entire month this summer and there is no way I can have a whole month of S days! It is good to think about it in advance to avoid making decisions on the fly (which usually tend to be not such great decisions)!
Up til now I've been thinking I would keep the No-S structure as is.

I just got back from a holiday yesterday. I was away for 8 days in total and my only requirement for myself was

No Mindless Eating.

Anything was allowed within that and I had a great time and mostly did OK. It helps that Israelis seem to have quite a healthy diet, lots of bread but mostly its plain pitta, and plenty of salad. I had boiled eggs, pitta bread and fruit for breakfast most days, usually some kind of meat/fish dish with salad for lunch and similar for dinner.

One interesting thing that did happen. Now Israel is FAR hotter than where I live, way, way hotter. Which is great, I loved it. But one morning I didn't feel great. I felt weak, you could have knocked me down with a light feather and I was struggling to walk, having to stop on even the gentlest slopes, where usually I love exploring and walking everywhere. After a couple of hours, a couple of cold drinks, and a chocolate bar thinking the sugar would give me more energy but it didn't really help. I was craving a burger or pizza. We stopped for lunch, and I had a burger and fries and felt amazingly better just 15mins after. My conclusion:
I was lacking salt. My body was craving it in the form of salty food and it made all the difference.

Amazing how much a change in diet can affect us sometimes. I don't normally eat a huge amount of salt at home, but the change in temperature must have meant I needed more because I was sweating so much more.

SkyKitty:
Welcome back! What a neat trip. I did a study abroad in Israel in college and LOVED it. You're right: they eat a fair amount of healthy fare and definitely not the burgers/fries combo like over here in the US!

I love that your "no mindless eating" worked within boundaries for you. That just seems SO sane. What an inspiration!

Changes in diet DO affect our mood so much which is quite scary, actually! I went a time without sugar once and I felt SO flu-ish at first. Strange feeling.

Take care and great job!

A burger and fries as a boon!

Actually, I had a burger and fries a couple of weeks ago and the fries were terrific.