Everyday Systems: nosdiet: message 1222 of 3212

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Hi Normajean, Rich,

Rich, you put this beautifully. Here's my "amen," for
what it's worth.

S-days are a necessary safety valve. As Rich points
out, unless you are some saint in the wilderness type,
you are not going to manage without them. If a lot of
steam shoots out the first few weekends, think what
would have happened if you'd tried to bottle that all
up -- an explosion.

So while I do advise being strict the first three
weeks to build your habit, I mean be strict on
weekdays, and relax on S days. The relaxation, the
reward, is not just a perk, it's necessary. Carrot and
stick doesn't work without the carrot. For those who
may be confused about "fence around the law," the
"law" explicitly says S-days are fine. Thou *shalt*
enjoy them. Build your fences during the week.

If you are terrified of going hog wild on s-days, use
the weekday rules as a general guideline (you'll find
that habit does this for you, unconsciously, after a
while), but make sure to give yourself *something*
extra, make it something you *really* want, and don't
sweat it if it turns into two somethings, or three. 

Trade up on quality. You don't get as much dessert now
days, so get the best. Do this and you've turned a
temptation into a diet aid.

Reinhard

--- Rich Lafferty <rich+yahoo@...> wrote:

> 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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> Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | Save the Pacific
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