Any newbies freaking out about their first S days?

[sandooch]

Bear with me here, folks...I'm still getting my NoS feet wet.

I started NoS (along with getting my parents to get onboard) this week. I've been doing well and just getting a little hungry between meals, but I actually like being a little hungery; it makes me feel like I'm burning fat.

My problem is that I've been dieting on and off for 30 years now, so with S days coming up, I'm freaking out a little bit that I'm going to go overboard with the sweets (my downfall) and blow any progress I've already made during the week.

What advice can you pros give us nervous newbies about this problem?

Also, just out of curiosity, does anyone enjoy their N days so much that they eliminate their S days altogether?

[NoelFigart]

While "Don't be an idiot" is absolutely sound advice, give yourself some slack. Seriously.

Remember how Reinhard comments that in the beginning during the learning process there might be some overloaded plates? It's true of S days, too. It is again part of the learning process.

You'll get sick of it after awhile, though. Not only that, Reinhard is quite right that the habit of the N days start to translate to the S day. I wouldn't THINK of not eating breakfast, ferinstance, and such is the power of habit that I generally start my S day eating what I would any other day (I'm not a pancake fan, or I'd make 'em. I live across the river from Vermont and the GOOD maple syrup).

I find this tends to set the tone for the day.

While I do allow myself to snack, the habits really do carry over. I don't generally want to as much. I do often get a chocolate truffle or something. Lindt truffles are truly excellent, and you can close your eyes and savor one for about fifteen minutes. It's a really enjoyable part of my weekend.

I like to make a big fancy dinner at least once on the weekend -- use the "good china" and make a nice dessert. That's a lot of my S day treat and it's a lot of fun.

The structure of looking forward to the fancy meal also tends to restrict exceess. I'd hate to "waste" that by not being hungry enough to really enjoy it.

But, my early S days were, frankly, idiotic. I was glad to get to the N days again. After awhile it just evens out naturally.

[sandooch]

Thanks Noel. That was just what I needed to hear. I guess I have no choice but to try, right? It probably won't even be a bad as I'm expecting it to be. I do love your idea about making dessert special. I just don't want to stuff my face with any ol' sweet; it has to be decadent.

[viggie]

Hi please let me know how you do on your first S day. Mine will be this weekend too and I think I'll be alright. I'm going to have some Stone Cold Creamery Ice Cream. Chocolate Mint .

[Jamiebf]

I just completed day 8 and I am happy to say all is well. I had my first s day last weekend and found that I really didn't eat too much. I don't have snacks in the house that I love so I did well. I think you'll do great. Enjoy the weekend that is what is so great about this program. Good luck

[blueskighs]

I have only had two weekends of S days so far. They have been pretty good in that I have not binged or gotten crazy.

For both those weekends I pretty much planned my treats. I think they call this "proactive"? I don't know I am pretty new too.

Anyways since that has worked so well for me for two weeks I am going to keep doing it that way. My husband and I like to get donuts at this local family owned shop. Donuts are actually good and not too sweet like Krispy Kreme ... bleych! sorry if I offend. anyway he drinks coffee and I drink tea, we do this on Saturday and Sunday morning ... it is a lovely walk through our neighborhood to get there so we really enjoy it.

Then I usually plan a treat a piece of cake, cookie, some chocolate after lunch on Saturday AND Sunday.

This works because it totally alleviates any desire to binge and stopping on Sunday afternoon is better for me than ending it on sunday night. I will see how time goes on whether or not I need to reduce my sweets. But right now this works well, I really enjoy and I am not binging. Otherwise I stick to no snacks and no seconds.

Blueskighs

[sandooch]

Thank you all for this great advice. I agree that I should plan out what I'm going to eat this weekend and not go into it all willy-nilly (love that word). Okay, I'm less nervous now and actually looking forward to it.

viggie, I'll try to remember to come back and report how I did on my first S weekend. Good luck to you on making tasty, yet resonable, choices.

[Nichole]

Planning is def a good idea. I've had mine planned since Monday! I've said it before, but an Oreo Brownie Earthquake from DQ. MMMmm. If this everynight ice cream eater can do it you can!:)

[franxious]

I've been on this diet for about three months. The last time I weighed myself, I had lost 10 lbs. I certainly have had some very bad S days, and I've gained some weight back before losing it again and then losing more.

If I can manage to keep the crazy S days down to once every few weeks, I still lose weight, albeit slowly. Of course, I'd love to have all sane S days, but I am still happy that I've lost some weight, and have had a number of perfectly good S days. I'm still trying different things to conquer S-day craziness.

Planning meals and treats in advance is key for me. The other thing I have to plan for, that I haven't had much success with so far, is ways to deal with various events on the weekend that make me feel out of control -- any kind of emotionally upsetting event or situation. I still turn to food during those times. And those also seem to be times that interfere with whatever my meal plans were.

But I don't feel at all hopeless. I feel I can overcome this, if I keep on trying. It's just like No-S itself. I lost then gained weight on so, so many diets, but I kept trying new diets because I figured eventually, I'd find something that really worked for me. I have now found it, and am still making it part of my life.

[sandooch]

But I don't feel at all hopeless. I feel I can overcome this, if I keep on trying. It's just like No-S itself. I lost then gained weight on so, so many diets, but I kept trying new diets because I figured eventually, I'd find something that really worked for me. I have now found it, and am still making it part of my life.

That is exactly how I feel. And congratulations on the weight you've lost so far.

[Nossuzy]

I am a little worried since I have bingeing issues and sweets are my serious bingeing downfall.... But I am going to try to savor a few really decadent treats instead of stuffing twizzlers and any old junk down my throat... Plus, I just don't feel that deprived during the week, so I really don't even feel the need to binge right now. Normally I would be craving sweets sooo bad and then cramming them in my face on my free day because I won't get any for another week. But not this time!!!!

Yay for Reinhard and the No S Diet!!!!

It's the anti-diet diet!

[Jesseco]

I'm only in my third week, and have binging issues too; hopefully in my past. The first week, I did well on Sat., but terrible on Sunday. The next week, I did as Reinhard suggested and planned a nice treat.

It worked last week on both Sat. and Sun.! I'm very pleased. I pretty much stuck to the three meals, but had a nice dessert after dinner both days.

I don't really need to lose any weight, but want to lose about 3 or 4 pounds. After that bad Sun., my weight DID go up about 3 pounds (I still weigh myself each day even though I know it's an unreliable daily indicator). But now my weight is about 2 pounds UNDER what it was when I started. So YAY!

[blueskighs]

franxious,

sounds like you are doing really good and hanging in there. I think that is wonderful and inspiring. All of this is so new and working so well,
I just really want to stick with it,

Blueskighs

[d4nce4m01]

Hi there

This is my first week of No-S, and my first post. Woohoo!

I'm excited about this 'diet', because it's just so easy. I'm not going to lie, I haven't been making the most healthiest of choices (switching regular pasta for whole wheat pasta is something, but I don't think pasta can be healthy in any context. I always seem to overeat any pasta ). I'm working on getting the No-S habit started, rather than stressing on the content of my plates first.

In any case I've dropped 1.5 pounds since Monday, so I'm pretty stoked since I don't even feel I did anything strenuous.

With my S-days coming up I'm looking forward to something sweet, but probably not any snacks or seconds. I don't want to mess up the good habit of three meals, and no one really needs seconds in any situation. But still, all week I've been seeing sweet things, and all I have to think is 'I'll have you on Saturday'. Which may or may not happen, it's a craving at the time, a chocolate bar pales in comparison to a piece of cheese cake or pie. Which is what I'm planning on. One way I'm thinking about the sweets on S-day is that instead of just having sweets, I'm going to make it something really really special. Not something I would eat any old time. A REAL dessert.

It's great . I feel great. And now because I don't have to stress about my food, I'm in a good enough mood to even CONSIDER exercise. I even went outside and brought in the sledge hammer from the garage.

So, as a newbie I'm pretty comfortable with the thought that I could do this forever. It's not that hard.

[wosnes]

My problem is that I've been dieting on and off for 30 years now, so with S days coming up, I'm freaking out a little bit that I'm going to go overboard with the sweets (my downfall) and blow any progress I've already made during the week.

What advice can you pros give us nervous newbies about this problem?

Also, just out of curiosity, does anyone enjoy their N days so much that they eliminate their S days altogether?

It's entirely possible that you might go overboard somewhat on your first S days. So what? You're still making the habit.

A few or us (or maybe a lot of us) have made sure that sweet treats are really something special -- which is probably part of the reason that some of us are baking on weekends. Another trick I've developed is that I'll buy something from the bakery -- and I only buy one (or however many I need to feed my family/friends.) No leftovers, no temptation. Yet another trick is that when I eat my treat, I sit at the table and pay total attention to eating that treat. Most of us multitask and that includes eating while we're doing other things. The problem is that you don't really pay attention to what you're eating, you don't recall having enjoyed the treat. When its time to eat the treat, stop what you're doing, sit down and savor the treat. Eat it mindfully instead of mindlessly.

I'm not sure that it's because I enjoy N days so much, but I have had S days (and whole weekends) slip by without a sweet, seconds or a snack. When a weekend has gone by and I've not had a sweet, second or snack, I've been a little angry at myself for letting it slip by, because I have to wait another five days before I can indulge. It's a missed opportunity. I don't think skipping S days is a good thing.

So, I've missed the opportunities accidentally, but never on purpose. To my way of thinking, purposely missing them is depriving yourself and makes this just like other diet plans and programs.

[bonnieUK]

Also, just out of curiosity, does anyone enjoy their N days so much that they eliminate their S days altogether?

Hi Sandooch,

This is partially true for me, I find that the no sweets and no snacks habits usually carry over to S days. For me, S days are about more elaborate meals, picking at things while I'm preparing food and allowing myself seconds (that was my biggest vice pre No S), I've always prefered filling meal food to sweets or snacks, so I tend to want to save my appetite for meals I do have a few favourite sweet things that I'll have occasionally though, and just the thought that I can have sweets on an S day if I want is comforting enough (even when I don't bother with them).

A word of caution though, in the beginning I tried to consciously control S days, thinking "if I make this an N day I'll lose weight more quickly" but I found this lead to breaking the rules during the week e.g. when cookie opportunities presented themselves, so I had to learn to embrace S days more!

I guess my advice would be embrace your first S days and don't limit yourself, eventually you'll settle into a pattern that works for you

[haganeedle]

This is my first S day coming up. I have planned already what I want but won't get it until tomorrow so I don't have temptation.

I really like this way of eating, it's just trying to get all the junk out of my head from other diets I have tried.........

[Suntana]

Good Luck!! I am new too, so let's just hang in together!!

Let us know how you did! It will be interesting to see what it will be like with the control off.

[droth]

I had a bad day yesterday and ate snacks and a sweet...only my 3rd day into NoS...so I guess I'll have to count it as an S day. I haven't weighed because I know I had a gain, can feel it in my clothes, or is it that I feel really bloated; it's not a great feeling. I hadn't noticed the bloat so much before, but I know it was there. At least I'm becoming more aware of what my body is signaling to me...good thing I guess. Well I'm starting over today for 21 days.

[reinhard]

Dear Sandy,

The biggest danger with excessive S-days is NOT any direct excess, but that you will let them unhinge you psychologically, that you'll either compensate for the excess by adding extra, unsustainable rules, or give up completely because "it doesn't work." If you can get past this psychological danger, long term, I seriously doubt S-days will be a problem -- they will be a joy. Your good N-day habits will start to carry over into the weekend, you'll learn how to treat yourself properly, and the sense of anxiety about having total freedom (which probably causes more overeating than anything else) will diminish as you "grow up" and get used to having freedom.

That's probably the most important, big picture "strategic" thing to keep in mind.

Here are a few little picture tactical ideas to help along the way:

1. proactively and intentionally plan really nice S-day treats. This will reduce opportunistic eating "just because you can." When you have something really nice to look forward to, random crap just won't seem as appealing. Plus you eat tastier food, which is a benefit in itself.

2. This is basically just a reformulation of #1. You're free on S-days. And the feeling of freedom is a good in itself. But what do you want to use that freedom for? Well, use it for something that really gives you pleasure. For me, that's either a sweet or maybe some fancy multi course meal. Do snacks really give much pleasure? Not really. Not to me, at least. So why not stick with the same basic structure of discreet meals that you have during the week, jazzed up with intentional rewards.

3. Remember that your threshold for excess is going down because you're eating less during the week. What seems like a shocking excess on S-days is probably no more than you used to eat all the time. It's kind of like a former drunkard who finds his tolerance going down, all of a sudden a drink or two can get him tipsy. Though it can seem alarming, this lower threshold is a good thing, because you wind up eating less.

4. DO NOT COMPENSATIVE FOR EXCESSIVE S-DAYS BY ADDING EXTRA RULES. This is very dangerous. If you want to get your sense of righteous indignation out somehow, just redouble your efforts to maintain a consistent minimum level of compliance with the rules during the week. That is vastly more important than what you do on S-days. Don't let S-days distract you from it.

5. Sometimes you will simply overeat, especially at the beginning, but even years into it. It's OK. This isn't about one time. This is about a lifetime of S-days.

Reinhard

[droth]

Thank you for those hints and tips, all things working together sometimes help you put everything into perspective. I know one failure does not constitute "an eternal disaster" but it feels like it at the time. Then I have to ask myself, why do it in the first place...here I go analyzing - a downfall that I have. But will keep on trying...that's all any of us can do.

[sandooch]

Okay, I know I'm new here and don't know anyone here personally, but can I just say...I love you guys! This forum and diet rocks!

I am so appreciative of all the information you all have given me.

Bonnie, yes, I was thinking the same thing you were thinking; that if I were to only do N days, I'd lose weight faster. We are planning a trip to Vegas in early August, and I wanted to lose a certain amount by then. But who cares if I get there or not? I know I'll be closer to my goal, and that's what's most important.

Reinhard, thanks so much for all that information. It all made so much sense to me. And I have already planned out my goodies for this weekend. Yes, I'm still nervous about it, but I know that as each weekend, or S day, goes by, it'll get easier and easier for me.

d4nce4m01, I couldn't help cracking up when I read what you said about seeing a sweet that you liked on your N days and saying, "I'll have you on Saturday." I just had a picture in my mind of me going, "Just you wait, Mr. Doughnut, you'll be in my belly this weekend. " That is definitely something I'd say.

Thanks again everyone!

P.S. Can you tell I likes me smilies?

[chris2365]

Well, today's my 5th N day and I'm very pleased with things. I've lost a bit more weight than I would have expected, but I've been so conscious of the food that I eat for about 2 years (losing 144 pounds so far) that I know my three daily meals are pretty prudent.

So I'm looking at my first S days and I'm not too stressed. I'm not gearing up for a binge. I did pester hubby (an executive chef!) to tell me what we were having for dinner Sunday. He looked at me like I was nuts - that's days from now! But I put him on notice that I wanted something nice. But heck, every bit of food has to earn its place on my plate, S day or N day.

If I have time while shopping tomorrow, I may pick up a take-and-bake pizza for dinner for the kids and I. I'll still do the low-cal one because it's tasty, but I might have 3 pieces! I probably will continue to do no seconds, but have a nice treat or two.

Anyway, I'm very pleased with this style of eating, which just seems sane.

[CrazyCatLady]

Before starting No S, food controlled me. It was this continuous battle of the Twizzlers, the brownies....and I always caved in and ate too much. One important point of S days, IMHO, is to learn that food has no power over you. It is just food. Some of it is yummy, some is best left at the store. Whatever you choose....please, thoroughly enjoy it! Food is meant to be enjoyed, relished, and consumed, not feared!

[blueskighs]

CrazyCatLady,

I think the only thing I love more than food is CATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chris2365

I know my three daily meals are pretty prudent.

That is such an EXCELLENT description. PRUDENT. Yes, that is what I am working on keeping my three daily N day meals PRUDENT!!!!!!!!!!

also good for you putting your chef husband on notice for Sunday! I would have done exactly the same thing!

Blueskighs