Everyday Systems

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.

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!

Thanks jw!

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!

So far so good . 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.