First Thanksgiving/Christmas on No S

ceo418 · Post by **ceo418** » Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:15 pm

Hi, everyone. I've been following No-S since March and have loved the sanity that it has given me in regards to food. Despite some setbacks during October, I think my S-days have reached a point where they're starting to calm down. I've done a lot of reading of past posts regarding the holiday season and No-S, but I thought I'd start this one to see how you're planning to handle these upcoming holidays. My two travel days for Thanksgiving are on a Saturday and the Friday after, which I've already designated as a Special day. Thanksgiving, of course, will be an S day on which I will enjoy the foods that I don't normally eat throughout the year.

For Christmas, though, my two travel days are on weekdays and I'm thinking I might need to consider them "sick" days since I am prone to motion sickness on planes and take Dramamine to help with that. I don't intend to make these days where I let myself snack all day, but I am giving myself permission to do whatever makes my stomach feel better even if that means full-sugar ginger ale or sucking on hard candies on the plane. And I think Christmas Eve and Christmas will both be S-days for me.

So, any ideas/advice/tips that people would like to share, either in response to my ideas or for the board in general? I'm happy to have these habits in place as a way to control the excesses of past years!

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Fri Nov 13, 2015 1:54 am

Your mods sound very reasonable, not at all like you're kidding yourself, which is the problem sometimes.

You probably don't need me to tell you that the meal structure allows for lots of great holiday food on N days, just at limited times. But no one starves!

If you stick with it, you will be very content on New Year's.

gingerpie · Post by **gingerpie** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 1:45 pm

Yes, just remember that just because people bring holiday food around everyday, it doesn't mean you have to eat it everyday. Stay flexible in your thinking and you may find that traveling no-s isn't as bad as you are imaging right now. It sounds like you have a good idea of what you are going to need to do in order to travel comfortably, Make a plan and stick with it as best you can. Most importantly, enjoy the holiday

that's what they're for.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 3:44 pm

And be open to the possibility that you will enjoy the holiday even more if you eat less than in previous years. Urges can be very misleading because you DO get a very temporary satisfaction from eating randomly, but you don't get to find out the other pleasures of NOT doing that. You can't really have both. Only way to find out which is better is to do the one you haven't done before.

And enjoy EVERY bite!

RAWCOOKIE · Post by **RAWCOOKIE** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 7:01 pm

I found listening to the podcast about holidays was helpful. I have written down all the holiday days, and when I really thought about it, I realised that, apart from the fact that I already have two S days a week (so that will be 26th and 27th December) Xmas Day is probably the only day I want to do anything other than stick to 3 meals a day. Like OOLALA said, those three meals can be delicious and 'special' meals - but it's not necessary to permagraze just because it's there.

It's your decision. But if you want to limit your S day eating, then you'll need to DECIDE which days are your Special days - then stick to it. If you drift randomly into holiday season without making a plan, you will fail. Harsh, but true!

Here's a link to the podcast in case you haven't found it yet - well worth a listen/read.

https://everydaysystems.com/podcast/episode.php?id=15

ironchef · Post by **ironchef** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 11:46 pm

One thought I would add is - if you do fall off your plan, get tempted at additional parties or by delicious leftovers, or whatever just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and wait for your next meal. It's easy around Christmas to overindulge and then fall prey to either WTH effect or guilt and punishment / over-compensation. The real problem is not an extra slice of pie, it is how you feel and think afterwards.

In 2013/14 the combination of my sister's wedding then Christmas meant I had almost 3 months of repeated red days and crazy S days, even though I had over a year of success under my belt. But I just kept getting up again. You only fail if you give up.

ironchef · Post by **ironchef** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 11:53 pm

One thought I would add is - if you do fall off your plan, get tempted at additional parties or by delicious leftovers, or whatever just pick yourself up, dust yourself off and wait for your next meal. It's easy around Christmas to overindulge and then fall prey to either WTH effect or guilt and punishment / over-compensation. The real problem is not an extra slice of pie, it is how you feel and think afterwards.

In 2013/14 the combination of my sister's wedding then Christmas meant I had almost 3 months of repeated red days and crazy S days, even though I had over a year of success under my belt. But I just kept getting up again. You only fail if you give up.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sun Nov 15, 2015 3:50 pm

Yes! Being able to tame WTH might be ALMOST as valuable as perfect compliance.

tacodiscos · Post by **tacodiscos** » Tue Nov 17, 2015 6:30 pm

Since I am finishing the Beck Diet Solution, I am going to WRITE down a plan and give myself NO CHOICE but to stick to it. Not sure what the plan is yet.... but that is what I am doing. Did it for hubby's bday weekend and it went GREAT! I just had to make sure not to be TOO restrictive. That would have been my downfall!

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 12:07 am

I have general guidelines for the ratio of dense to lighter foods at lunch and dinner. Breakfast is just a few go-to options by now. I don't have to know what protein and starch I'll have, but I know I'll have something plus freggies two meals a day. I don't eat out that often, but I relax the guidelines a bit. But do give yourself several months to play with this, especially with the holidays coming.

Do you have your list of benefits of eating moderately?

ceo418 · Post by **ceo418** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 1:43 pm

These are all good things to keep in mind. It's true, I don't have to eat everything that's offered to me, and if there's something that I can take with me and keep for the next S-day then I will do that. (Homemade cookies, etc.) I think it will be an interesting challenge to see how well I do next week, especially since I know there will be available sweets and snacks sitting around most of the time. I think I might switch my NWS day to the day before Thanksgiving, as I know we'll be going to a buffet-type restaurant that evening, and since the day after is my travel day I won't be having the opportunity to just sit around and be tempted by a lot of leftovers. I also need to remember how good it feels to not be overstuffed after a meal, and to be hungry when approaching a meal. Both of those things have been good feelings for me, so taking them into next week will serve me well.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 2:37 pm

Those are EXCELLENT tactics! I have gotten through many a food-filled situation by remembering just how wonderful those first few bites of the meal will be, as well as that I can keep eating to the end of the meal, not have to stop after a few bites of some snack that would probably leave me wanting more in 15 minutes.