...do you ever miss snacking???

trytrytry · Post by **trytrytry** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 11:43 am

Ok. So this is a weird question, but do you ever feel you miss snacking?

Thereâ€™s been a lot of threads and thoughts about all the benefits of not snacking: you save money, time, rebuild a healthy relationship with food, enjoy your meals more and lose weight at the end. And I am experiencing and enjoying all of those myself.

But every now and then there is this voice in me that misses snacking: snacking as a relaxing and mindless activity you can do when you come back home tired from workâ€¦

But now I am not enjoying snacking any more, for which I am super grateful to noS. I like my three meals a day. And even though I like my S treats, I also do see good habits spilling into noS days (and some of you might remember my posts from a month ago, when I was moaning and complaining about not being able to stop binging on those S days), and it is a great accomplishment for me.

So maybe it is a bit like when you quit smoking (though admittedly, I have never smoked) â€“ you now not only know cigarettes are bad for you, you also think they leave this awful smell, but still every now and then you miss the very action of smoking?

Don't get me wrong, I don't think snacking is better than not snacking, all I am saying there are some aspects of snacking I do miss and if it wasn't for al these "side effect"... well, I guess if it wasn't for all the side effects of snacking we wouldn't really need noS, would we?

BrightAngel · Post by **BrightAngel** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 1:56 pm

I would probably miss snacking,
IF I could ever stop snacking.

rose · Post by **rose** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 2:13 pm

Yes, sometimes I miss snacking and especially I miss the illusion that snacking makes things better. Sometimes it's difficult to live with the fact that there is no easy solution to unpleasant emotions.
I don't really miss snack food, since I don't like it anymore, but I do miss liking it - occasionally. Sometimes on S-days I really would like some satisfying treat but high-quality treats are not always available - ordinary, too sweet, too large, unsatisfying snack food is so much more common.
What I don't miss is the vaguely shameful feeling of eating snacks in front of co-workers at the office (most of my colleagues are older and thin and mindful of what they eat). I don't miss the extra lbs either.

PS most of the time I don't think about snacking or snack food anymore. The above is only occasional.
And, trytrytry, it looks like you have made great progress in your NoS habits. Congratulations!

JillyBean · Post by **JillyBean** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 3:04 pm

Nope. I don't miss snacking on No-S days. But, I do still snack on my S-Days.

Terez · Post by **Terez** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 8:06 pm

For me it's the same as for JillyBean. I don't miss it a whit on N-days but I do still snack on S-days.

It's a whole new world.

3aday · Post by **3aday** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 8:40 pm

I don't miss snacking during the week at all and I now do enjoy an occasional snack without guilt on the weekends.
But, I have gotten out of the habit of snacking most weekends too.

BrightAngel...It took me a long time before I could give up snacking even when I started No S. I joined I think in the beginning of 2006 and probably did not stop snacking until sometime in 2007! I was in diet mentality for a very long time even after I joined this board

I think I finally stopped snacking when I realized that random eating in between meals (for me) triggered binge eating. Before the No S Diet book came out, in 2007 I read Dieting: A Dry Drunk and The Diet Alternative (the original edition that I think came out in the 80's). The first book advocated eating 3 meals a day to control compulsive overeating and the second book was a Christian diet book that advocated "fasting" as a lifestyle. Diane Hampton, the author, ate two meals a day but she said fasting could be refraining from eating in between 3 meals or not eating seconds or refraining from foods you have a tendency to overeat. My church was doing a fast and since I was not going to be participating in a 21 day water or juice fast with the congregation, I could at least refrain from eating in between meals and having seconds which helped me with the No S diet. So, I had other motivations that led me to finally stop snacking even though I had wanted to for so long since hearing about the No S diet. I also think the No S mantra was so ingrained in my head (I would say it over and over again as an affirmation and read the boards even when I didn't post), eventually, I came to believe that was the lifestyle for me and when I made the conscious decision to stop eating between meals it was not as difficult as I thought it would be.
I also knew my emotional/binge eating would never end if I just didn't stop the snacking.

It's different for everyone. Some people get it right away and some, like, me, took about a year and a half.

CrazyCatLady · Post by **CrazyCatLady** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 11:20 pm

I really miss snacking sometimes. Although, to be honest, it usually feels really good to have this framework around me...snacks show up at work, and I don't have to make any kind of decision. It is an N day, so I don't have any. But last week someone brought in icecream. I did ok that day, but the following day (ice cream left in the freezer), I really wanted some. There have been many occasions lately where I wanted to munch between meals.

I suppose that is why I need No S so much. My "common sense" would allow me to continue my previous "See Food Diet"- I see food, and I eat it! Almost any reason was a good reason to eat extra food.

I do hope that in time, this eating plan settles in for me more, and I don't even want the snacks or sweets. Sometimes I feel like that, but too often I really have to be reminding myself not to indulge.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 12:29 am

I do miss them on occasion - but like I used to miss a toxic ex, if you know what I mean. There's a strong realization that a few moments of fun wouldn't be worth the long-term issues.

I really am much better off without snacking. I even limit snacks on S-days, because they throw me into perma-snacking and off-track for meals so badly. (I don't dis-allow them... just interrogate them. As in "Is this really something I want?")

It helps that I've taken up knitting. That not only fills a lot of the "snack niches" (like watching tv) but isn't conducive to snacking.

blueskighs · Post by **blueskighs** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 12:48 am

snacking as a relaxing and mindless activity you can do when you come back home tired from workâ€¦

trytrytry,

YES ... except for me, snacking IS binging

kind of like 3aday said, meaning that for me snacking is a direct path to binging,

but as someone who has quit drinking, smoking and coffee,
YES absolutely I miss "snacking" just like I miss those things, as a stress releiver, AND mostly as just an ESCAPE and way to disconnect from an external world that at some times I find completely overwhelming, frustrating, and confusing

that being said, I have had to learn that those are the functions that snacking to binging provided and I am having to learn other ways to get those needs met.

But yes I do miss the days of disappearing into oodles of cake, chai tea lattes and whatever else I could scarf down, I don't miss them all the time, just mostly when I am overwhelmed, sad, facing a task that is difficult for me,

but I also know as time passes, I will "miss" it less and less and it will all become a distant memory like those other things!

Blueskighs

angelka71 · Post by **angelka71** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 6:55 am

For me, snacking was usually something I did when I had missed a meal so snacking is simply unnecessary now that I have 3 meals a day.

I do sometimes miss making cheese dip or popping pop corn at night with the family and all gathering around the tv or playing a game...but I usually just try to have those events on S days.

Betty · Post by **Betty** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 7:24 am

I miss snacking every single day. Sometimes it's so hard not to do it.

Oh when, oh when, will habit kick in???

Betty

CatholicCajun · Post by **CatholicCajun** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 1:05 pm

I do miss it occasionally, usually when I am not occuping my time with work like I should, but I don't miss it every day.

Eyes187 · Post by **Eyes187** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 6:16 pm

Eleven days in and it's be nothing but a relief to quit snacking. I was definitely a perma-grazer. I'd search the kitchen over even if I wasn't hungry. So the aspect of 3 meals a day has really simplified things. Right after thinking, "I wonder if I should go get a muffin...." I remember that my next meal is only a moment away. There isn't an argument, I just don't do it anymore.

irish · Post by **irish** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 7:28 pm

I really don't miss snacking on no s days (except when I'm cleaning up the kitchen and the leftovers are calling my name.) But on s days I change into a complete idiot. Yes, for me snacking leads to binging. It's as if I feel I have to eat everything on the week end that I forego during the week. I'm over two months into no s and have had only a couple of "good" weekends, whereas during the week I'm vanilla perfect. Every Monday I look forward to the next weekend with great resolutions, but when Sat. comes, it's Nellie the bar the door. I keep waiting for it to get better, although I realize that it's ME that has to get better.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 8:03 pm

irish wrote:I really don't miss snacking on no s days (except when I'm cleaning up the kitchen and the leftovers are calling my name.) But on s days I change into a complete idiot. Yes, for me snacking leads to binging. It's as if I feel I have to eat everything on the week end that I forego during the week. I'm over two months into no s and have had only a couple of "good" weekends, whereas during the week I'm vanilla perfect. Every Monday I look forward to the next weekend with great resolutions, but when Sat. comes, it's Nellie the bar the door. I keep waiting for it to get better, although I realize that it's ME that has to get better.

Irish - it took me about a year. Really. I had PERFECT N-days and horrible S-days. Only within the last few months have they gotten better.

If you want details on what helped, see my "memo to self" thread and my recent post on Reinhard's thread about the S-days podcast (stickied above).

Hang in there. You'll make it. Honest.

Dawn · Post by **Dawn** » Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:42 pm

I still get a snack attack ever day at the same times (3PM and 8PM) and I have been doing this for 4 months and have not cheated - not once! But habit is strong. It gets easier and easier to push aside my cravings, but I can't lie, they are still there.

Truly understanding the difference between true hunger and the munchies has helped a lot. It took several months to really know the difference. For years I was stuffing my face all day so I didn't even know what real hunger was. Now when I get the munchies I will tell myself, "Hey, you aren't even hungry so it would be stupid to eat something and break a no-s rule at this point. Just hang tough and it will be meal time soon". And I seem to be able to listen to myself now.

I don't think the cravings will ever go away completely, itâ€™s just a matter of accepting this is how it is. I am losing weight - slow as heck, but it is coming off. I have accepted that for me, it doesn't get any easier than the No-S. Not that the No-S is easy, but none other I have tried are easier.
.

irish · Post by **irish** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 3:53 pm

KCCC, thanks for the advice. I reread the podcast and this weekend I'm going to try no snacking, but having seconds and a dessert or two (or three). I'll let you know. I do feel that this is the only way to go. My weight is really pretty good, but I'd really like to get off the diet roller coaster, it seems I've been on it forever.

How do I find your "memo to self" thread?

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:03 pm

http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic ... =memo+self

There's a search button at the top of the page. You can find a lot of stuff using it. I find choosing several keywords and "search all keywords" will usually get me what I'm looking for.

Hope something on it is useful.

irish · Post by **irish** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:35 pm

Your memo to self is SO GOOD - I printed it out and put it in my no s book. Thanks.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 5:31 pm

irish wrote:Your memo to self is SO GOOD - I printed it out and put it in my no s book. Thanks.

Irish, I am so glad it helped you. It really helped ME to write it! (And I re-read it every weekend for a few weeks to remind myself.)