Everyday Systems

Hello No-Sers! I began this way of eating a little over a month ago. I have to say, I LOVE it! I've been mostly successful at observing the rules. And I've exceeded my weight loss goals thus far. I'm tracking on a private HabitCal. Since that has no comment options I thought I'd use the board to record ab bit about the three red days I've had to mark thus far.

First off, I should explain that I've not been doing no-S completely. Because I have significant weight loss goals, I decided I would have no regular S-days (Saturdays & Sundays) and only take truly extraordinary special days. Two of the reds were just such days, both 40th b-day dinner parties for my closest friends. The first one happened the day I weighed in and found I'd exceeded my 1 month weight loss goal. I really went for it, I mean PIGGED OUT! It was a family style dinner at an amazing Spanish restaurant and I ate fatty fried appetizers, had bread with butter, sangria, a decadent seafood main course and even a piece of cake. The next day I felt positively ill and the scale said I'd gained three pounds. I buckled down for the weekend, went right back to the gym and by Monday the scale was going back in the right direction. Monday evening was another birthday dinner. This one was smaller scale and so was my fail. I had one glass of wine, and sampled shared appetizers & desserts with baked fish for my main course. I recognize that these planned special days aren't "fails" in No-S parlance, but I'm marking them as such since my end-of summer weight loss goal is ambitious.

The only true fail happened on a day I had a major stoop sale. (That's what we call a yard or garage sale here in Brooklyn since we don't have yards or garages. I just got caught up with the action and didn't prepare meals. When my pal grabbed some beans and rice, guacamole and chips from the local Mexican spot, I was too famished to resist. This reminded me of the importance od planning and taking time out to eat. Since that experience, I've been much more vigilant about packing meals to be eaten on the go if necessary.

Thanks to the other board participants for sharing your journeys and encouraging us newbies!

Welcome. I'm glad you're finding that you like N days. Please remember, though, that No S is about establishing a life-long habit, not losing weight by a certain date, although that can definitely happen. With all due respect, you might be jeopardizing your long-term ability to stick to the plan by not giving yourself permission to eat various foods even on N days. It really is possible to go to a Mexican restaurant and eat a reasonable amount of food but it's a lot harder to find out if you don't make it a practice. You don't have to plan all your food, though you can have a general idea and some fall-back meals.
You might start experimenting with at least some S events on the weekends, too. It's usually easier to start with only the recommended limitations and get more strict if needed.

Don't mean to burst your bubble. Just saying.

For me, no-S is about gaining control of my relationship with food and eating. I appreciate the fact that it is a moderate, sustainable plan for eating over a lifetime. But knowing my body, I suspect I'd be one of the dissatisfied no-Sers discouraged by gaining weight after S-day binges. My self-control just isn't strong enough yet to be able to walk through fire on a weekly basis & the disappointment would be very heavy for me.

That said, my N days have included several meals out, all observing the rules. The failures I described were true special occasions -- super special friends and their big birthdays with family-style or shared eating. Even so, I knew that I could have gotten through them observing the rules. I chose not to for the pleasure of the social experience and also perhaps the delicious flavor of chorizo. YUMMY YUMMY PORK!

I intend to increase my S-days down the line when I've achieved more control and lost more of the weight that's made me so unhappy and uncomfortable over the last couple of years. Figuring out how to deal with alcohol is a more pressing challenge. I REALLY miss grabbing some margaritas with friends but so far haven't felt that I could spare the calories. I think I'd rather mark my weekends as special with a bit of alcohol rather than a sweet, snack or second. What do you think of this trade-off?

If what you miss most is alcohol, it sounds like a reasonable trade off.

I would just like to preface this with: I don't mean to critisize! I'm happy for you that you've found No S and it sounds like you've been very dedicated and it's working out for you.

The thing that bothered me about your post--probably because I could relate to it, I've done it myself--is that you used food to reward yourself for exceeding your 1 month weight loss goal. Aside from it being ironic, I think it's important to move away from that--it smacks of "diet mentality." Maybe it's a long term goal, but it's good to find alternate rewards for yourself, my habit of rewarding myself with food spun out of control and caused me to gain significant weight.

I hope you don't take this comment as a personal criticism. I'm just pointing it out because I care and I don't want to see this issue become trouble for you in the future.