New - My Story

Counting carbs/calories is a drag. Obsessive scale stepping is a recipe for despair. If you want to count something, "days on habit" is a much better metric. Checking off days on a calendar would do just fine, but if you do it here you get accountability and support. Here's how. Start a new topic in this forum called (say) "Your Name Daily Check In." Then every N day post a "reply" to that topic as to whether you stayed on habit. A simple "<font color="green">SUCCESS</font>" or "<font color="red">FAILURE</font>" (or your preferred euphemism if that's too harsh) is sufficient, but obviously you're welcome to write more if you want. On S-days just register that you're taking an S-day. You don't have to do this forever, just until you're confident you've built the habit. Feel free to check in weekly or monthly or sporadically instead of daily. Feel free also to track other habits besides No-s (I'm keeping this forum under No-s because that's what the vast majority are using it for). See also my <a href="/habitcal/">HabitCal</a> tool for another more formal (and perhaps complementary) way to track habits.

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lderoc
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2013 12:56 am
Location: Canada

New - My Story

Post by lderoc » Mon Sep 23, 2013 2:38 am

Ok, so here goes. I'll try to keep this as brief as possible. I started NoS about a week and a half ago. Stumbled upon it on the internet. I just turned 40 and I'm in pretty good shape. I actually like working out and have been doing it for years. My problem is the binge eating. I think it came about as a result of obsessing over calories, clean eating, etc. I turned to food when my mother became ill with Alzheimers in 2008 and it now has become habit to "pig out" on weekends. The amounts of food eaten during binges has gradually increased. Now it is seriously affecting my mood on weekends and my quality of life. Once I've had a binge, I am lethargic and basically am non-productive for the whole day following. I want/need to change this habit. I am definitely a type A personality with an all or nothing attitude. My weekdays are pretty good. The first weekend I did S days was really good, no stuffed feeling or "food hangover". But this weekend was awful. I had decided to make Friday and Saturday S days. Started at 11:00 am Friday and didn't stop all day. Started again Saturday evening. The whole weekend felt unproductive.

I'm finding that my N days are pretty easy, especially when I have breakfast between 10:00 and 11:00. (Like some of you have mentioned in your posts, an early breakfast seems to trigger a hunger that I fight with all day, no matter what I eat.) Should I still eat 3 meals, or should I be eating only 2? I'd love to have some guidance.

I am really enjoying the fact that I am not thinking about food nonstop anymore. If I could just get a handle on the S days a little.

jw
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Location: PA

Post by jw » Mon Sep 23, 2013 12:24 pm

Welcome, lderoc! A lot of us struggle with immoderate S days -- it can take months for them to settle down, and some people just bite the bullet and impose structure on S days as well. If you already had a habit of weekend binges following relatively calm weekdays, an "anything goes" S day can look awfully similar to that. I think the words "sometimes" and "don't be an idiot" are the key when considering snacks and sweets, even on S days.

I am sure others will chime in here with their experience -- this is a very supportive board with a lot of collective wisdom! I wish you the best with No S!
"The second you overcomplicate it is the second it becomes the thing for which it is a corrective." -- El Fug

lderoc
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2013 12:56 am
Location: Canada

Post by lderoc » Wed Oct 02, 2013 1:12 pm

Thanks jw!

jw
Posts: 844
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2013 7:27 pm
Location: PA

Post by jw » Fri Oct 04, 2013 1:47 pm

How are things going for you? My first few weeks of S days looked like binges, but they quickly settled down without my taking any extraordinary action. The important thing is to keep the N days going!
"The second you overcomplicate it is the second it becomes the thing for which it is a corrective." -- El Fug

lderoc
Posts: 43
Joined: Sun Sep 22, 2013 12:56 am
Location: Canada

Post by lderoc » Sat Oct 05, 2013 1:12 am

So far so good :D. I am having today and tomorrow as S days because I had a shopping day with a friend and we were so looking forward to a Pumpkin Spice Latte. It was delicious! I was just thinking a few hrs ago that my S days do seem to be settling down. The urges to binge have seemed to diminish. Thanks for the boost. :D

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