I didn't get sloppy due to frustration from not seeing results; in fact I've lost ten pounds and am thrilled. I KNOW no S works and will help me lose the rest of my excess weight if I stick with it. (Um, for the sake of honesty, I have to say that I have eaten so much lately that I think I have regained 5 out of the 10 pounds. I will know for sure when I weigh in August 1st-3rd.)
I didn't get sloppy because I prematurely applied a mod or tweak. Oh, I thought about it, and even wrote in my personal thread about tying my weekly rewards to "not being an idiot" on the weekends. But some nice and successful no S dieters dissuaded me from doing this, so I never did it.
For several weeks, I thought I had gotten sloppy due to the stress and excitement of having lots of overnight visitors over to the new home starting in mid-June, and having lots of S events that made it hard for me to get back into a green streak. Like back-to-back birthdays and a wedding anniversary during the week, for example. In retrospect, I think I might have been lying to myself and trying to legitimize my behavior...I think part of me was feeling, after 21 days of good behavior, like "okay, I have behaved long enough, now screw this!" Because it never really felt easy to me, like it seems to be for other people. Week 3 was as difficult as week 1, and week 5 was no easier than week 3.
I know that if there's one diet out there that discourages that kind of "alright, I'm done, now I can go back to being a glutton" mentality, it's no-S. Yet 'm wondering, after making it into the 21 day club, what specifically there is to shoot for besides good compliance for the rest of one's life. I mean, the rest of one's life?! As much as I believe in no S, the idea is daunting to me.
And I think this is why things started going downhill for me after reaching Day 21. I knew I couldn't focus on my weight; it would drive me crazy and screw up my behavioral progress. But focusing on "days on habit" somehow wasn't inspiring either, perhaps because I felt I should be trying to rack up one long continuous string of perfect adherence...which meant there was no end number to shoot for.
I need some short-to-medium term objective. The idea I'm playing with now is issuing myself a series of 21 day challenges to keep me motivated. The challenges would always have the no S rules as a foundation and one extra thing on top--like 21 days of no multitasking during meals (no reading, watching TV, etc.) or 21 days of eating a whole grain at least once a day. Things that are do-able for 21 days, but that I don't expect to keep up with and track for eternity. Just habits I'd like to acquire and start to do naturally most of the time, over time.
So at the end of this too-long post, what I'm wanting to know is:
1. Did anyone else become lost after 21 days or some other pre-determined marker (days, pounds, whatever the case may be)--and if so, how did you find your way back?
2. Does anyone else issue self-challenges? Any suggestions on how to stay motivated, especially if you are doing the challenge solo? I know there are challenges issued for each month on the discussion board that help alot of people, but right now that's not lighting a fire under me.
![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_confused.gif)
3. How are other emotional eaters/binge eaters out there coping? This is part of my problem, still, although I don't know how big of a part. I can't figure out if my excessive weekend eating is just like a delayed binge, in which I'm eating to cope with everything that's happened that week, or if I'm eating so damn much because I simply love delicious desserts that much. I honestly don't know.