Everyday Systems

I've been registered for a long time but never succeeded. I've failed at enough diets that I know not to buy into the "this time it will work" feeling. But having said that, I do believe that I've set aside the plan to try something more radical like Paleo and/or IF in order to lose 10 pounds a month. The end result is typically four bowls of cereal at 10 PM.

Now I want something more flexible. Eating impulsively is *my* weakness. I know that if I don't have afternoon or midnight snacks I'll consume a lot less calories. Not trying to lose 10 pounds a week, but I'd like to lose 20 pounds in six months.

No S Diet + the following mods

• NSA. Never snack alone. Obviously applies to S days only. Keeps my weekends from blowing up. I also think keeping the discipline of not snacking going is a good idea.
• V = S. Vacation = S day. If I don't work and I'm not sick, it's an S day. No more trying to say no when my family gets ice cream or desert after dinner.
• Workout Snacks. A light and healthy snack for workouts is ok. For example, I've started doing Orange Theory. The class starts at 6:45 so I have a light snack before Orange Theory and then eat dinner after. Another example is that my family has gotten serious about skiing, so I'll have a snack after skiing, and then a normal dinner. This rule trumps the NSA mod.
• Watermelon mod. What can say except that I really really love watermelon. My son and I are usually good for one per day in the summer time when they're seasonal. So when it's the season, I can snack on watermelon. Trumps the NSA mod.
• Best Effort Healthy mod. It's not required, but I try to eat healthy. No more following the letter of No S while eating three crap meals per day. But if I want a bagel for breakfast instead of fruit and Greek yogurt, I'm not going to beat myself up about it like I do while eating Paleo.

First day back from vacation, not much shopping done. So not a healthy day, but a successful day.

Breakfast: Bagel w/ cream cheese and an iced coffee
Lunch: Two cheeseburgers (the kids kind) from Burger King and a diet coke
Dinner: Chipotle burrito bowl with brown rice

Vacation went well. Family ski trip to Steamboat Colorado and followed the rules. Basically that meant easily following vanilla No-S except for having a post-ski snack like yogurt and/or granola bars, and having desert after dinner.

Howdy Jibaholic! I'm new here also.

Good job on first day back from vacation. Your explanation for why your vacation days counted as S-Days made me smile.

Given your previous attempts and experience, these sound like wise mods. Are they working out, keeping you moderate while allowing for pleasure?