Everyday Systems

Jill,

we are all wired a little bit differently and I think this is why NO S is so great. the most important thing is to figure out what makes No S work for you!

Blueskighs

No S: SUCCESS!
Shovelglove: SUCCESS!
Walk: SUCCESS!
Lunch: SUCCESS!
Dinner: SUCCESS!

If I were keeping track of glass ceilings I would put a success on that too. An unexpected (but very welcome) guest stopped by last night. I had already had a glass of wine with dinner and thought I was done for the day. My husband offered him a drink and he asked if we were having one, so we all had one. Actually, he had two, but the point is, I stopped with one because I'd already had wine. I might have had another, if not for this new behavior I am working on. The beauty of it is that I didn't think "diet" or "deprivation" for one minute.

So, I think what you said about learning, OG, is absolutely true. Last night I was learning that saying no to something that's not good for my body (and that I won't feel bad about not having) is not deprivation. It's self-care.

And I also agree with you, Blue, that No-S is very simple and in that simplicity there is room for individuality.

With regard to eating at meals and paying attention to my hunger, once I decided to do that and knew that I was going to mark my habitcal accordingly, I managed just fine. What I'm tracking is how I'm feeling, not necessarily that I stopped when I had enough. Right now I am learning! And because I want to heal, the day will come when I will have better judgement about the correct amount of food for the level of hunger I am experiencing at each meal.

Oh, and did I mention, today is an S-Day!? Oh boy!

[quote

So, I think what you said about learning, OG, is absolutely true. Last night I was learning that saying no to something that's not good for my body (and that I won't feel bad about not having) is not deprivation. It's self-care.



Oh, and did I mention, today is an S-Day!? Oh boy! [/quote]

Great points. Thanks for sharing them with us. We all need to learn self-care, we often take care of others and the last one to be taken care of is ourselves. We can and should take care of others, but if we do not take care of oursleves, who will be there to take care of them, and will they take care of us? Have a very blessed S day!!

Last night I was learning that saying no to something that's not good for my body (and that I won't feel bad about not having) is not deprivation. It's self-care.

No S really is healing on so many levels and has sooooooooooooo many benefits. It seems like NO S has been the only thing that has helped me arrive at this point with confidence!

Blueskighs

No S: S-Day
Shovelglove: S-Day
Walk: S-Day

I missed my walk yesterday and my shovelglove. I think I will do them today if the opportunity arises, even though it's not "required." Who says I have to put yellow squares in?

Thanks again, Blue and CC, I really appreciate your feedback and support.

No S: S-Day

I walked and shovelgloved even though it was technically an S-Day. I just wanted to. The walk was great because I reflected on where I am going with No-S, how my life is changing as a result. I love it.

I also reviewed a podcast yesterday about... oh dear, I will have to go back to see what it's called, but the message I got was that it is okay, once the habit is formed, to not post here every single day. As I move toward being less focussed on food and diet, the natural thing is to also not be focussed on reporting it all the time. Yet, it is always important to be accountable, I think, so I will definitely report "funny stuff" as Reinhard calls it. "Negative tracking" is the podcast. I'm going to listen again today and check back here in case any of you think I am confused about it and then I may switch to reporting once a week or when necessary because of a "failure."

Here's to a great day for us all!!

I'll have to listen to that podcast Jill, because I to, do not want it to start to feel like I have to report in everyday. Right now, I do it because I want to. I want to continue it until I feel the habit is so ingrained that only the occasional slip up would warrant a mention in a check in. But I am not there yet.

OG, let me know what you think after you listen to it. I just listened again, and it makes good sense to me. I do seem to have some of the habits down really well now. My No-S days are just the normal way for me to go now, it seems, which seems unbelievable, but is proof, I think, of the beauty and power of this plan. I'm still going to keep the habitcal, but just not feel compelled to fill in the green squares at the end of every day. And I'll do the same here. As he says in the podcast, "No news is good news!"

Ok Jill...I listened to the podcast. I'm not sure what I think overall. I kinda like seeing all those green/yellow squares on the 3 Habitcals I am maintaining. At the same time, the thought is there that I might get tired of it in a while.
I do think, for me, that I want the Habits to be stronger before I think about attempting Negative Tracking. I may look at the situation at the beginning of July (the 1st), which will give me 33 days of tracking since my 'new start' and a whole bunch more (lol...cause I can't be bothered to count on the calendar since my start date) since I first started the No S plan. Or maybe I'll do full Traffic Light Habitcals until the end of July and see how I feel then.
The good thing is, there is no reason/hurry to make a decision right now, so for now I'll keep doing full tracking.

No S: SUCCESS!
Shovelglove: SUCCESS!
Walk: SUCCESS!

I guess posting is a habit now also!

A good day yesterday. After dinner hubby and I went fishing and we talked about the damage done by previous diet thinking and behaviors. We talked about how this does not seem like a diet to me, but just sensible guidelines. Even though everything we eat is a form of diet, to me the word 'diet' now means deprivation. I am not deprived of anything now that I am following No-S. Gotta say it once again, "I love no-s!!"

Another thing I did this morning before posting was look back at some of the people that used to post regularly to see if I could see some pattern and get an idea for why they do not post any longer. Now, obviously I did not see all the posts, but lots of the ones I looked at seemed to be struggling, complaining about being a failure at this. It seems like they still had serious diet mentality. For myself, I think if I want this to be another weight-loss diet, I will fail too. I don't know why this time is so different for me, if it's my age or the horrible experiences I've had with diets in the recent past, but I just cannot diet again. I do hope I lose some weight (and I believe I will), but that is not my prime goal anymore. I am relieved to have the food obsession gone.

All around: Success!

Busy day today. Have a great day, all who read this!

No-S: Success!
Shovelglove: Failure
Walk: Failure

The day got away from me yesterday and it was threatening thunder and lightning in the evening, so I didn't walk, and I did not shovelglove, either. I sort of forgot, actually. When I got into bed I remembered I had not done it and even considered getting up to go do it, but decided that might be a bit compulsive and I am trying to break that habit as well, so...

It's done for today though!

Success all around!

And so begins a succession of S-Days. (Vacation week...) My plan is to relax and probably have s-events rather than s-days.

S events sounds like a good plan Jill. It doesn't have to be a feeding frenzy just because of vacation right?

Enjoy your well earned vacation. Blessings.

yes, HAPPY VACATION!

Blueskighs

Sunday: S-Day
Monday: Success all around!

No S-events today. Just had a usual day of No-S even though it's vacation. I'm saving the S's for events and there weren't any today! It is really awesome to be on vacation and not feel like I need to eat all I can get because "the diet starts again next week"!

Thanks, CC, OG and Blue for the well-wishes for vacation. It seems to be working!

Tuesday: Success all around
Wednesday: I declared to be an S-Day. I guess it was time for a vacation day. We went white water kayaking and had a picnic. I brought "regular food," as in what I would normally eat on an N-Day, but someone else brought cookies. I had one after lunch and there was another one sitting there with my name on it, but I didn't want it. Not worth it. Also had some popcorn last night that wasn't worth it. Food is losing it's "magical appeal" now that it's legal. Darn you, Reinhard! (Just kidding, of course; I am thrilled about this change!)

S-Days

The past two days have been rather stressful and I have to admit that I have eaten a few times when it was not in my best interest, but life will get back to normal again now. (Well, as soon as my foot gets better.)

I think I got a bug bite of some kind yesterday because my foot is swollen and painful, so I am sitting around with it elevated now. No walk for me today...

Sorry about your sore foot Jill. You can try soaking it in warm water and epsom salts (available at any drug store) or make a warm water and baking soda paste to put on it. That should help draw out any 'poison' so to speak and sooth the pain and inflamation.

S-Days

Thanks for the suggestion about the Epsom salts, OG. I actually had some and took your suggestion after reading it. As I was soaking my foot last night my husband mentioned gout as a possibility and I looked it up and, sure enough, I'm pretty sure that's what I've got. Just one more way I think my body is saying, "lose some weight, Jill..." So, I have been sitting around most of the day with my foot elevated. Very frustrating! I suppose I'll have to get it checked out by a doctor and get some meds tomorrow... Not looking forward to that.

No S: Success!

Walk and Shovelglove are taking a back seat while I heal this darn gout! It's much better today. Tomorrow I leave for a road trip with my two sisters to visit an aunt and uncle for a couple days. Won't be back until late on Friday. I'm going to play it by ear with the food. Shouldn't be too much damage.

Tuesday through Friday were NoS days for me, but they were really more like No-S events... Not too much damage done, if any.

The weekend hasn't been quite so "successful" though, but I know these are S-Days and I'm not supposed to think that way, yet it's true that I don't like feeling as if my eating is out of control. And that is what it feels like. I am glad that Monday is coming soon... It's good to be back.

Monday: Failure
Tuesday: Success

Struggling a bit. I really want to lose weight faster than is happening. And my habit is to go on a diet. As I've said (or at least thought) a thousand times, this is not a diet. Yes, I know I can do this for the rest of my life. And, no, I don't want to gain weight back again once I lose it, but I feel like at this rate I'm going to be 85 before I get to a good weight. And any time I think about tweaking, it feels like dieting. I know that's the reason for the binge on Monday, my first since joining here in April.

So, I've been contemplating doing something else, you know, to get the weight off, and then doing this to maintain. I am sure I'm not the first to try this. I wonder if anybody has had success doing that? I think I'll copy and paste this in the regular discussion area for a wider audience and chance of more responses. (I have a feeling I already know what some of you are going to say, but I guess I need to "hear it out loud.")

Wednesday: Failure
Thursday: Success

I started my new plan yesterday, so we'll see how it goes. Here is where I try to keep track of my progress and thoughts, as a rule, but since I have a topic going in general discussion and someone asked a question there about my new plan, I will move over there to discuss what I am doing...

Success!

So far, my new plan is working like a charm. It still is very No-S-ish. But, today is Saturday and I feel so much better about where my thoughts are going knowing that I count discrepancies instead of having all of today and tomorrow to be an "idiot." I guess I just needed a little more structure. Not Vanilla No-S, but chocolate mint No-S, eh, Blue??

chocolate mint sounds like an absolutely delicious flavor to me,

Blueskighs

Success!

So far this new plan is going great! I realized all day yesterday that it was a Saturday (hence an s-day) and that if I had not added the feature of keeping my s-events to three a week, I would have eaten quite a bit more. I was hungry around 9:30 last night and thought about what I'd like and had something that was good for me as opposed to something sweet which would have tasted great but I would not have felt good about having it at that time of day. Again, this thinking was because of keeping the sweets on a leash. I love it. They are not banned, just under my control (not WW's or OA's or Jennie Craig's, etc.)

Good going on finding a twist/tweak that works for you Jill!

Success!

OrganicGal wrote:Good going on finding a twist/tweak that works for you Jill!

Thanks, OG. For now it certainly seems to be working. I enjoyed this past weekend and the safety net the "tweaks" have provided me with. And the best part is that I did not feel deprived. The option is there if and when I choose to use it. For me it's just a way to stay reasonable.

Success!

I used one of my s-event discrepancies yesterday. It wasn't planned in advance, so I started to question myself a little and then realized that kind of thinking was going to get me in trouble and that the reason I set up my Chocolate Mint No-S is for just this reason. It's supposed to be about limits, not deprivation, because I sure know where deprivation takes me and I don't want to go there any more. So, I had some ice cream. It was delicious and I was very happy when I was done. Ready to move on...

I have not been posting lately for a couple different reasons, some of which could be explained in this quote. I copied it from something I wrote this morning in the General Discussion threads. If I were clever I could have added a link, but... At any rate, I thought it would be good to have this in my daily...

I'm one of those that started fading away, but I have kept reading every few days just to see what is happening. I can only speak for myself, but that's true for everyone, so here is what happened in my case:

I love eating the No-S way. It makes perfect sense. I know that it's something I can use to maintain, as Jocelyn said, for the rest of my life. In my case I became too impatient with the rate of (or maybe I should say "lack of") weight loss. Now, here's the honesty part, since leaving No-S I have still not lost a pound and probably have gained some. I think it's like diet backlash or something. As an aside, I say "probably gained" because I don't get on the scales. I go by how my clothes are fitting. I don't need to see a specific number, because they're all over the place anyway -- and too damaging to my psyche.

I just read Intuitive Eating and convinced myself that even No S was too much like a diet during the week. So I tried to tweak it by just allowing myself three s-events per week at any time during the week. Sounds like a good plan to me, but, based on my own behavior, it doesn't work. Meanwhile, my husband has stuck to no-s and has lost 8 pounds since May. Again, as someone said, slow losses, but at least he's losing.

I know others have tried before, and without much success, but I want to believe that I am different and that I can go on a diet and lose the weight and then maintain using no-s habits. However, having just read Intuitive Eating, I agree with them that that is just jumping back into the diet/binge cycle that I know for a fact does not work. But, ohhh, how I want to be thin right now!!

I have felt a little isolated since leaving No-S, as in "where do I belong?" I don't fit in with normal eaters because I am too obsessed with my weight and what I eat, and I don't fit in with dieters because I think diets are at the base of the problem in the first place. So, I feel like I've been sort of floundering. This thread caught my eye and here I am.

It's been a while. I have been working on getting a food plan that works for me. I've tweaked No-S and ramped up my exercising a bit. What I think is true for me is that my food plan needs to be a little more stringent. So, I'm doing no sugar and no flour, and I don't have every weekend available as an exception. I need more days in a row of No S than 5. And, yes, I know the rule says "sometimes," but to me that says, "it's the weekend, it's okay." I am using the HabitCal daily and I want to use this daily check-in in addition. Each day I am going to commit, whether it be a no sugar/no flour day or a "free" day. At the end of the day, I will "fess up" as to whether it was a success or not, and hopefully, if not, write about what happened and learn from that.

Today is a NS/NF day.

Success!

Jill,

good to hear from you,
hope your new plan is what works for you!

Blueskighs

Thanks, Blue! Me, too. It's good to see you still here and active.

Today is a NS/NF day.

Success!

Today is a NS/NF day. Success!

Just a note here... This method of having to be accountable seems to be working well for me. Instead of putting pressure on me to "do it right" as you might think it would, what it is doing is taking my mind off the option of changing something. As in vanilla no-s, my no sugar/no flour days are just that--no questions asked--period. (In case anybody's wondering, on NS/NF days, I also do not snack or have seconds, but that's pretty easy for me, as it's always been the sweets that have been my problem anyway.) It's freedom for my mind. And it's not painful because I know it's not a life sentence.

Today is a NS/NF day. Success!

For a short time this afternoon I was a little concerned because my husband called and we went out to dinner (and we bought a new TV!). I didn't know where we were going to dinner and really wanted to stay NF/NS. And I was able to. If I had not posted this morning that it was going to be a NS/NF day, I might have switched. I like working this out this way. It keeps me on track.

Jilly,

I think Intuitive Eating sounds like so much common sense, and yet I'm just happy to be back to eating meals with my family. Consider that the S-Day concept is really the key differentiating factor in this diet. You still have those days of "unconditional permission to eat" (from Intuitive Eating), but you also have days of restriction.

I was totally convinced of the need for "unconditional permission to eat" because of the Intuitive Eating concept of "diet backlash". Nothing describes the backlash better than this from page 10 of The Obesity Epidemic:

“Even the most motivated patients have difficulty losing a significant amount of weight and keeping it off. Many people can maintain a loss of ten or twenty pounds by watching what they eat or exercising more; few can sustain a loss of fifty, 100, or more no matter what the technique. The reason for this difficulty lies with the body’s weight-regulating system, which works to keep the body at a certain preferred weight, or set point. If you gain weight much above your set point, the extra fat stores produce more leptin, which acts as a signal to your brain to reduce your appetite and rev up your metabolism until your weight returns to normal. Conversely, if you lose weight much below your set point, your brain responds by increasing appetite and decreasing metabolism…Thus when an obese person loses fifty or 100 pounds, the weight-regulating region of the brain interprets the loss as a sign of a major problem and responds accordingly. The appetite is set on high, the metabolism on low. Doctors who have studied the so-called “reduced obese†– patients who were formerly obese but who have dropped their weight to near-normal levels – find that they share many psychological traits with victims of starvation. They think constantly about food, for instance, and they are deeply hungry in a way that a single big meal cannot assuage. If a fat person is to lose a significant amount of weight and keep it off, he must, in essence, maintain himself on a starvation dietâ€


What is the value of losing weight faster if you end up feeling like you are on a starvation diet?

My sister in law lost 22 pounds on Weight Watchers in the spring. She was talking about that loss in June. We saw her again in September. She said that she still wants to lose more weight and hopes that she can continue. She has lost no additional weight since June.

I was in her shoes after a Weight Watchers success. You still have the pain of counting points but you no longer have the reward of additional pounds lost. Instead, you are left with the fear that you will regain weight if you don't continue counting.

I just want to be able to enjoy a meal without fear and guilt and feeling like I'm on a starvation diet.

Kathleen

PS. I have committed to myself to not weigh myself until Christmas Day. If I haven't lost 10 pounds by then, I'll consider making Saturday an N day, but the entire rest of the structure will stay the same.

I am not going to declare today a NS/NF day. It may yet turn into that, but since it is not necessary that it be a NS/NF day to avoid a "failure" on my HabitCal, I am not going to declare it. We are going to our friends' house for dinner. We will stay and play cards afterward. Oftentimes, we have drinks and snacks during that time. This morning I prefer to wait and see how I feel. I know the meal will be NS/NF (it's boiled dinner and I can pass on the store-bought biscuits), but I'm not sure how I'll feel when we get to playing cards. If I'll really feel deprived, I'll join in. If I don't care, I'll abstain. I'll report it here, either way.

Kathleen: I'm not sure I like that quote. It sounds sort of hopeless for the person who has over 50 pounds to lose. This is not to say that I don't think he could be correct, I just don't like it, know what I mean? I lost 60 pounds a few years ago doing a very strict food plan and I maintained it as long as I stayed very strict. (I did get to eat a little more, but I still NEVER at sugar, flour, or wheat, and I always measured my foods... right down to 2 tablespoons of olive oil a day. It was like a starvation diet. Obviously, I was not able to maintain it. But, I sure would love to weigh that weight again. I think of BrightAngel on these boards. She has lost a large amount and is very strict with her caloric intake to maintain also.

For me right now it's "one day at a time"...

Jillybean,

I read that quote years ago and have been on a search for a diet that wouldn't result in my feeling like I was on a starvation diet. For my troubles, I gained another 25 pounds, so my total weight is now 80 pounds above where I was before I got married.

Last year, I had several surgeries at the Mayo Clinic to correct a serious problem that kept me from working. I'm fine now and ready to return to work. When I could not work during this last year, I decided to focus on diet research and spent an entire year experimenting and reading. When I researched The No S Diet, it was like "Eureka". I found it. I found a diet that could be followed, would lead to weight loss, and would not leave me feeling like I was on a "starvation diet."

I did modify the diet, giving myself an allocation of two Special Days per month to be used however I want and not allowing myself to declare certain days as special days simply because they are national holidays or birthdays. A failure day cannot be declared unless all Special Days are used. It's interesting for me to read your post above about how you are waiting to see whether you will use a Special Day.

Now I have a cold, which is why I'm up in the night, but I think I'm pretty much done with diet research. Life is sweet. I don't want to waste time on something like diet research anymore. I just want my weight to gradually decrease as I turn my attention to other things -- my husband, my children, work, fun... pretty much anything would be more enjoyable than dieting.

So -- don't feel discouraged by what I wrote to you. My intent was to say that it's important to relish those S days and not worry about how much you eat. Those S days are the reason why you won't be feeling like you're on a starvation diet after you lose weight.

Kathleen

Kathleen: Thanks for the response. I like your feedback on it!

Well, I did end up eating on Saturday night. And I knew yesterday was going to be a "free day." But, I did not feel good about myself when I went to bed last night. I felt full and fat. I think my plan is still a little too loose for me. I seem to be one who needs a little tighter or smaller fence around the law, if I'm understanding that concept correctly. I think I'll get my book out today and refresh a couple things. And speaking of today...

Today is a NS/NF day. Success!

The weekend eating is what prevents "diet backlash" (the unfortunate and dramatic ending to many diets) or "starvation diet" for those who actually maintain lost weight. Enjoy those S Days!

Today is a NS/NF day. Success!

Today is a NS/NF day.
Success!

Today is a NS/NF Day. Success!

It's also grocery day.

And I weighed myself this morning. Haven't done that in quite a while. It is as I expected. I have neither gained nor lost. I need to lose about 40 pounds, and it's not just for vanity. It will help me stay off blood pressure medication. So, I'm going to cut back on olive butter and avoid high-fat foods - cheese and sour cream are two that come to mind.

Also, I need to stay off the scales. I will try now to not weigh in again until the first of November. The scales are a dangerous place for me.

I'm posting all this here to keep me honest.

Jill,

sounds like you are doing well! yes, if it helps you, STAY OFF THOSE SCALES

Blueskighs

Today is a NS/NF day.
Success!

Yesterday when I got home from the grocery store my daughter and her boyfriend were here, baking a triple berry pie of all things! They helped me bring in the groceries and I put them away and left the kitchen. Truthfully, I had no resentments about not having pie. If I was doing the old food plan that says "NEVER" I would have been very grumpy. It was a great feeling to not be obsessing.

Blue: Thanks. Yes, I'm staying off the scales.

Unless something very compelling comes up,
today is a NS/NF day.
Success!
At the moment, I am not feeling the need to indulge. I'm not feeling deprived. There is nothing going on that will make me feel left out. If that changes, before doing anything, I will report it here.

I did some reading from the No S book last night and this morning. A good refresher. I particularly liked the section on addiction vs. habit. I want to remember this: What I eat is my choice!

As far as I know now: Today is a NS/NF day. Success!

Like yesterday, weekends can be a little unpredictable. There is nothing on the agenda at this time that looks tempting, so I'm planning to stay NS/NF, but I have given myself the option, if something comes up. (My pants seemed a li-ii-ii-ttle looser yesterday and that's giving me some incentive.)

Today is a NS/NF day. Success!

Jill,

sounds like your new way is going good!
KEWL

Blueskighs

Today is a NS/NF day. The day is not quite over, but I'm going to claim it as a success because there are brownies baking in the oven (my daughter is making them) and I do not want to have any tonight. If I have already claimed today, then I will not want to come back and change it later.

Blue: Thanks! Yes, it does seem to be working better for me. I think what it's done is help me get more days in a row without sugar in my system. This helps with cravings. I don't have cravings after I've been a while without sugar and flour in my system. This is NOT to say that I won't want to eat something that does contain sugar and or flour EVER, because I will; but it will be because there's an occasion or something really good is available. It won't be to have something just to satisfy an itch. The itch is being erased by eating this way, if that makes sense.

Today is a NS day. (I had a piece of whole grain bread for breakfast, so it is not a NF day.) I was pleased to discover that it was not as good as I'd anticipated. It gave me a "been there, done that" sense, so that now it will not be calling me all day.

The brownies last night were not a temptation at all. Loving this feeling of "freedom of choice!"

Later in the day... Well, I wonder about that piece of bread this morning. I just had a brownie. And then a bowl of cereal. And then some trail mix. Yikes! At least I'm being honest. Right now I don't feel very well. And, of course, I'm not too happy about the sugar. I let my guard down a tad and I get knocked to the ground. The good news is I went 9 days straight of NS/NF. I'm done with sugar and flour for today. (I hope.) I want to be done. And from here I want to go now until Sunday when we have a family reunion. It's pot luck and it's also my birthday. So, that is an S day for sure. Hopefully, there will not be any other s-days between now and then. I declared today an s-day on my HabitCal as it does fall in the guidelines I set up for myself (no more than 3 free days in a row and no more than 10 free days in a month). This is the first one this month. Hopefully, the next one will be on the 12th. Aargh! Trying hard to remain positive!!

Today is a NS/NF day.
Success!

Phew! It was a close one, but I made it! With regard to sugar being addictive, and one bite setting me up for failure... If that's true, I wonder just how many days of complete abstinence I'd have to have to insure that I didn't take that bite. I believe even more now that it's about my thinking rather than about what I actually ingested. Glad to be here and learning.

Today will be a "free" day. It's time for a break...

ENJOY!

Blueskighs

Okay. Three days off and time to get back to healthier eating. It was fun, though. Yesterday was my birthday and my sister used it as an occasion to get the whole family together at her place. There were two new babies there (my passion) and they were way more fun than birthday cake!

Today is a NS/NF day.

Just checking in to say that I have been, and continue to be, quite sick. It's a terrible head cold that is now affecting my digestive system too, if you know what I mean. So, food is off and I have given myself permission to not worry about it, though at times I still berate myself anyway...

I'm looking forward to the day when I am back to normal and once again feel like logging on regularly.

Jill,

Get Well Soon!

Blueskighs

Just wanted to stop by and say "Happy New Year" to you all. I think of this group and the No S way of eating once in a while because it was part of a big learning process for me.

What I learned was that it's not for me. I do not have the ability to eat whatever I feel like on weekends (even a little of it) and go back to no-s eating on Monday, though I sure tried hard to make it work, because I so wanted it to work. I believe it can (it obviously does) work for some, but I am just not one that it will work for.

I am following my own version of South Beach which has eliminated my cravings and I am losing weight and feeling good with much more energy than I've had for a long time.

If this is working for you, great! I think you are one of "the lucky ones." If it's not, don't give up searching. You'll find what's right for you as long as you keep trying...

Here's to answers in 2009!