Everyday Systems: nosdiet: message 1932 of 3212

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Hi Debbie,

A couple of bad nights is not going to make much of a
physical difference, but it can make a huge
psychological one. So catch it now. Don't let that
bastard appetite turn this annoying little setback
into a route by appealing to a misguided sense of
perfectionism. Catching it here is so important and
hard that you'd think it would be an inspiring
challenge, but that's precisely what makes it so
difficult: it isn't. You'll have to rely on your
powers of reason and imagination to make it so. I find
it's helpful in terms of drumming up inspiration to
anthropomorphize appetite: it's (in this case) an
enemy, it ambushes me, it's trying to outsmart me. My
competitive spirit is engaged, even if it's really
just myself I'm competing with.

No self revenge this weekend. Just redouble your
resolve to play by the rules come Monday. Relax, think
calmly about what happened, and plan. Slash out the
days if you think it might help. You're stronger than
you were when you started this. You have more self
knowledge and more willpower. You've experienced that
this works if you stick with it and that you can do so
happily; you've tasted the goal. And you've got a good
bunch of people whom you've helped and would love to
help you.

In terms of practical ways of preempting noctural
eating epsisodes:

1) drink something instead

2) think of something extra nice to have for breakfast
as a reward for holding out

3) think how much better the satisfaction of having
held out will be than the guilty pleasure

4) remember that if you resist and go back to sleep,
you probably won't wake up starving, but surprised
that you could have been that hungry and that close to
messing up.

5) remember that each time you resist it builds your
habit, it makes the next abstinence easier, until
eventually there's nothing to abstain from at all:
it's second nature.

We're all rooting for you,

Reinhard
--- Debbie Feder <deborahfederlmt@...> wrote:

> 
> 
> 
> Hi Friends, I have been pretty upbeat the last few
> weeks, but I feel 
> sad tonight.... I am so happy that I have NoS and a
> place where I 
> can feel support and cameraderie.... Also, it is a
> welcome relief to 
> know that even when I am not completely perfect on
> this plan, I can 
> always start again the next day... I had a couple of
> night eating 
> episodes for a few days now, and it's really thrown
> me into a 
> confidence low. I am so lucky that at times like
> this when even I 
> cant joke around and make myself laugh, at least I
> have a great 
> loving son who I can cry with, and just get it all
> out. And instead 
> of getting thrown off by this change of mood and
> letting it spiral 
> out of control, I thought I'd put it into an diary
> post and ask for 
> all of your good thoughts :)
> You all help me feel less alone, so thank you
> everyone.
> Love,
> Deb