Everyday Systems: nosdiet: message 1220 of 3212

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On Thu, Aug 12, 2004 at 09:01:51AM -0300, Normajean <netaylor@...> 
wrote:
> I guess I should read the nos website again.
> Was it there or on Dr Phil that said it takes 21 days to break or change 
a
> habit d so for the first 21 days no special treats on S days? 
> Probably just me but that is what I am trying.
> What sayeth you old wise one Richard?

I'm not that old or wise, but.. oh, you meant the other one? :-)

No special treats on S days sounds like a recipe for failure to me.
If you can't have any treats at all for a whole month, you won't
change habits, you'll just get annoyed with the plan and break the
rules.

It really sounds too simple when you're about to start -- a "diet"
where you're allowed to have things you like! -- but that's the
whole point. It's not asceticism, because asceticism doesn't lead
to weight-loss. It's just a sensible approach that you can start
doing now and never stop, and not feel deprived by doing it, *and*
see results. You won't see results as quickly as you would with an
ascetic approach, but you'll be able to keep doing it, which means
over the medium term you'll see a lot better results than you would
otherwise. Because it's simple, and because there are times when
you're allowed to have things you like even though they're not
so good for you, it's possible to make No S a permanent change,
and a permanent change is the *only* thing that will keep weight
off.

That said, keep in mind the principle of "fence around the law" 
at
the beginning; while it's not necessary to deny yourself S-days, 
it *is* important that you deny yourself exactly what the rules say,
even though there's no reason to go way beyond that.

-Rich

-- 
Rich Lafferty --------------+-----------------------------------------------
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http://www.lafferty.ca/ | http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus.html
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