Everyday Systems

I have decided to give this a go as part of getting a handle on emotional eating. The accountability of the daily check in I hope will help. I am starting on S days, so that makes it easy right now...

I am excited but also a little worried about embarking on this journey. For example, my days off are fridays and sundays, so they don't match the typical S-days of saturday and sunday. But fridays have been a big binge day for me, so in a way it might be good to break the association between my day off on friday and comfort eating. I am definitely inspired by other people's experiences and testimonials.

Good luck, Waters ! Happy to have you here with us. I LOVE this community, filled with kind and caring people who are willing to share a wealth of knowledge and information.

To your health,

The first 2 days since my resolution to give this a go were S days which I spent eating quite a bit, a lot of sweets, and realizing how bad they make me feel physically in large quantities. So I am looking forward to the N-days now, and today is the first. I told my partner I was doing this because of all the weight I gained after a partial hysterectomy, and she said it sounded very reasonable and that she would do it with me! I never expected that, and I am very grateful for her support. I am also grateful for how supportive people are on this discussion board.

So now I am trying to plan my 3 meals, and stressing about when I should be eating them to have the least amount of hunger pangs to deal with in between. And I am trying to be "normal" and sane around food, so when do people traditionally eat their meals? Any suggestions are most welcome...

Use what fits your lifestyle and your hunger pattern. My meals are 745 am, noon, and 630 or 7 pm. My hunger pattern fits these times. I usually get hungry 15-45 minutes before meals. I have also learned to put off hunger a bit if necessary when my schedule is off. Hunger is no longer an emergency.

great advice r.jean, thank you

Yesterday, Day 3, was a GREEN day. It was easier than I expected, and although I got really hungry before dinner, and reminded myself that hunger is not an emergency. I even had some strong emotions to deal with and didn't turn to food like I usually do, and practiced just observing myself having those feelings and being accepting of them. I am not to the point of "being friends with my feelings" yet, but I am on my way to trying that out. I just know I can't keep doing what I've been doing all these decades, so I am very happy to be finding a new way. Thanks for everyone's support!

It took some time before I was comfortable with being hungry. At first my meals were a little larger than necessary because I did not want to feel "starved" before the next meal. I tend to overeat if I let myself get too hungry. However, with time I learned what was best for me. I also learned that food tastes so much better when you are hungry. I am also a picky eater now and will not eat foods I do not like just to eat.

Emotional eating can be controlled thing too. I still indulge in comfort food as long as it is one plate and no sweets. My ideal comfort meal is a roast or some other meat with gravy along with potatoes of some sort. So..if I am tempted to indulge, I do it in a No S way.