The N day after the S day. Hard for you?

Sarah-lara · Post by **Sarah-lara** » Sun Feb 07, 2016 9:19 pm

I'm about one week into No-S. Yesterday was my first S day. I picked it just because it was a Saturday. I wasn't even sure I wanted to do it because things were going so well.

The S day was not super crazy. I didn't eat a whole wedding cake or anything, but it did throw me off track. I think that's why today is the worst day so far. There's not a minute I haven't white-knuckled. No matter what I've done to try to get snacking off my mind, nothing has worked. I'm just basically sitting quietly now until dinner, waving a tiny white flag.

Anybody else have problems getting back on track after S's? Does it get better?

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 12:00 am

Yes it gets better.

After a while you don't even think about it, but that genuinely takes time.

The cool this is that it's easy to remind yourself that you're never more than five days from an S day. It can help.

(I don't know if you've given birth, but I really do, no kidding, will tell myself that if I can tolerate 9 months of pregnancy or 15 hours of labor, I can wait five days for some chocolate. It helps.)

Kittson · Post by **Kittson** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 12:12 am

I remember my first few months feeling relief of going back to the sanity of N days. My S days were not overly wild or anything, but I do remember being thankful that Monday was just around the corner and the extra food would soon be gone and I would be feeling much better with 3 meals/day for 5 days in a row. If you are having trouble going back to N days, try to think of the positives. The feeling of lightness you have eating 3 meals/day, the way that food tastes extra delicious because there isn't a surplus of it, etc.

ceo418 · Post by **ceo418** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 12:59 am

Yes, it does indeed get better. Today is Sunday, though, right? That's also an S-day. =) Maybe it would be okay for you to take the two S-days in a row for now, especially if you're just starting out. You don't have to force yourself to eat snacks, sweets, or seconds, but you don't have to white-knuckle through the weekend, either.

osoniye · Post by **osoniye** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 3:45 am

It helps, whenever you're ready, to have discreet events on S days, so you aren't recovering from a free for all on Monday.
For a few years, I would eat a hearty plate of food for Sunday lunch (just a plate, but a full one) and have cake and coffee at a cafe with a friend in the afternoon. Then, that was pretty much it, unless I wanted a hot cocoa in the evening or something. Then Monday was just a normal day in which I didn't eat cake. That friend moved away, and now I sometimes don't even bother with anything S-like on a Sunday... and I don't really give it much thought. I miss my friend, but I don't really miss the cake!

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 6:03 am

NoelFigart wrote: (I don't know if you've given birth, but I really do, no kidding, will tell myself that if I can tolerate 9 months of pregnancy or 15 hours of labor, I can wait five days for some chocolate. It helps.)

LOL, Love this!

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 6:11 am

I do find it's getting a lot better now. I think it was just a couple of weeks ago that I was asking about how to recover more easily from weekends (it seemed like I had to retrain myself all over again to not thinking about snacking all day), but the last few weeks it hasn't been much of an issue. As someone else said, focusing on how good it feels to not be overly full and to really enjoy food helps. Make your meals each day things you really enjoy, so that you'll look forward to those.

I also like the tip to make a special reward on your S day--something specific to look forward to, rather than "free-for-all" day. I really like those peppermint mochas from McDonald's, so I will often get one of those on a weekend. (I'm going to be bummed when they run out, since it's a seasonal item!) Anyway--it's something I look forward to all week, and it helps me stay motivated for keeping a green week.

Speaking of which, do you use the habitcal calendar? Those little green squares really motivate me!

Sometimes I just try to make sure I'm busy and have something to do rather than think about food.

Hang in there!

Sarah-lara · Post by **Sarah-lara** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 2:29 pm

I didn't take both weekend days as S days because I'm going to be making some Valentine's candy later this week (office thing) and wanted to have a little mid-week.

I did have a specific food I wanted to eat on Saturday. I'd been thinking about it all week and didn't dare buy it ahead of time. Of course the store was out of it!

I didn't realize there was an everday systems calendar. I've been using a free app that tracks "chains" of success, but I'm not particularly sold on it yet after just the one week. I can look into the other.

Hee, no, I've never given birth. Also, I am pretty sure if I'd been given that famous kindergarten marshmallow test that predicts success in life by gauging your level of patience in waiting for marshmallows, that I would have totally failed.

RAWCOOKIE · Post by **RAWCOOKIE** » Mon Feb 08, 2016 5:12 pm

Yes, I sometimes find Monday's difficult, especially if I've had sugar/snack foods on Sunday. Sometimes it's a relief to get to Monday. In general, I seem to have settled into a pattern of doing most of my S day eating on the Saturday, and have a more moderate Sunday - so Monday isn't too hard.

The amazing thing is, though, that come Monday - my N day 'rules' seem to keep me firmly in check! It's like turning a tap on, then off! Amazes me every time!

I'm currently finding I like S days less and less - I kind of want the 'safety' on being on an N day all the time. However, I also know that S days are important - but I'm moving towards being much more 'planned' about them - random eating doesn't make me feel good - and it sort of ruins my appetite too.