Everyday Systems: nosdiet: message 243 of 3212

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Hi Portia (?),

You'll have some rough weekends, especially at the
beginning. I wouldn't worry too much about it. If
you're like me, all your days around this season would
have been a little like that. After a few weeks your
weekday habits will start carrying over into the
weekends. In the meantime, there are two conscious
things you can do to limit damage next weekend: 1)
plan something nice to respectfully get rid of your
desire for S; don't let it just build up until it
overwhelms all resistance and you start eating
opportunistically and indiscriminately 2) when you
start grazing, remember how lousy you felt last time
(this doesn't work quite as well as #1, I've found, so
when you start thinking this it's time to run out of
the house and come up with a good #1). 

I'd be hesitant to make further restrictions because I
don't think most people will be able to respect them.
As bad as an excessive S-day is, imagine how much
worse if you just break down and go bananas on a non-S
day, which is what I think is bound to happen if you
get too strict. If you're strict on your non-s days,
the habits *will* carry over. I find that's enough.

That being said, if your holiday schedule is
especially full of obligatory feasting, you might want
to bring the "sometimes" clause into the foreground.
Example: when you catch yourself reaching for the
cookies try to talk your appetite into saving itself
for the party tonight, etc. Hard, yes, but easier than
convincing it to just go away and die.

As for Christmas itself, you're going to eat a ton. So
is everybody, whatever diet they claim to be on. Don't
drive yourself crazy. Enjoy it.

Reinhard

--- portia612003 <jmlien@...> wrote:
> Help! My first S day was terrible. I ate Christmas
> cookies and 
> coffee for breakfast, and continued to graze on
> "unambiguously 
> crappy" food all day long. Irritable with the
> children, brain-
> fogged, and needing to recover on the couch for
> several hours in the 
> afternoon. 
> 
> Perhaps I would be better off without weekend S
> days, and just save 
> them for "special" days when I know there's special
> food planned -- 
> like dinner parties or my book club night. 
> 
> Any advice? 
> 
> P.S. Otherwise, I'm greatly enjoying this 14-word
> diet!