Everyday Systems

I have started and re-started No S MANY times over the last few years, only to abandon it for something else. In 2013, however, I'm committed to sticking with Vanilla No S for the entire year-- no distractions and no switching plans! It's going well so far--- one red day since the first of the year and very modest weight loss, but I've done this enough to know any weight I lose will not come off quickly.

My question is-- what does everyone do for the occasional "minor" holiday? The kind where the banks might be closed, but the stores are still open and many people still have to work, etc. Do you count them as S days? For example-- MLK Jr. day, Valentine's, Labor Day, Memorial Day, etc. I know ultimately it's my decision, but just wondered what others do . . .

I only treat the national holidays when everything is closed as S days.

Out of those"minor" holidays you mentioned, I treat Labor Day and Memorial Day as S days because I have picnics with my family.

I only treat holidays were food is involved, think family Dinners, cookouts, box of Chocolate on Valentines day) as S day.

Sixty wrote:I only treat the national holidays when everything is closed as S days.

So, just Thanksgiving and Christmas? Those and Easter are the only ones I can think of where everything is closed.

I consider New Year's Day (and Eve), Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Day (and Eve) to be holidays. However, the only ones that I consider S days are Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The other days may have S events, like a New Year's Eve party or a picnic or barbeque on the summer holidays, but the entire day isn't an S day. I think Easter may be an S day as well. Valentine's Day may have an S event, but it's not an S day.

Actually, I find that the summer holidays have foods associated with them that I don't usually eat at other times. Ribs and hot dogs for instance.

The other government holidays, MLK Jr day and the like, are not a holiday for me.

mabelsfriend wrote:I have started and re-started No S MANY times over the last few years, only to abandon it for something else. In 2013, however, I'm committed to sticking with Vanilla No S for the entire year-- no distractions and no switching plans! It's going well so far--- one red day since the first of the year and very modest weight loss, but I've done this enough to know any weight I lose will not come off quickly.

My question is-- what does everyone do for the occasional "minor" holiday? The kind where the banks might be closed, but the stores are still open and many people still have to work, etc. Do you count them as S days? For example-- MLK Jr. day, Valentine's, Labor Day, Memorial Day, etc. I know ultimately it's my decision, but just wondered what others do . . .

I don't treat MLK Jr. Day as an S-day unless we'd happened to go on vacation during that long weekend. Then I might. What are the holidays that are traditional for you when growing up? I'd say to run with that.

I tend to go with whatever is traditional for the celebration, so if it's a food associated with the holiday (especially if so since I was a child), I will certainly have a treat. If I were given gift of chocolate on Valentine's day, ferinstance, I'd enjoy a bit. Or if a picnic is traditional for that day, I'll have dessert with a meal and might have seconds if I feel like it.

Being REALLY traditional tends to work for me. Slice of cake on a birthday, ice cream on the Fourth of July, a SERIOUS feast on Thanksgiving, you know the drill. But if it wasn't something that we celebrated with some sort of special food as a kid, I don't really consider it an S-day now.

Occasionally MLK Jr day falls on my birthday. Then it's an S day. This year it's not. So it's just another day.

I count any day that I don't go to work as an "S" day. If I'm not at work then it's either because it's a holiday, I'm on vacation, it's an "S" day, or I'm sick.

If something is important enough to be an "S" day, then it's important enough for me to take off from work.

NoelFigart wrote:I tend to go with whatever is traditional for the celebration, so if it's a food associated with the holiday (especially if so since I was a child), I will certainly have a treat.

My policy is the same. So, Christmas - yum! For example, a non-eating national day off is Anzac Day (our national day for remembering fallen soldiers). I have a day off work, but the tradition is to attend a dawn service, not eat special foods.

I don't take many anymore because I can usually be satisfied keeping to the three meal structure eating whatever food is associated with the holiday. Thanksgiving, and two days in December are the surefire ones. I keep it to two or fewer outside of regular S days per month. Anything else is a fail to me. But it doesn't feel oppressive. Overeating now feels oppressive.

Weekend days are S days whether you have no S events or ten. You may modify to allow yourself only one S event, but it is still an S day. And that's what many people's S days evolve to naturally. Of course, Reinhard says if you insist on stuffing yourself continually on S days, he can't help you. No S cannot defy the laws of physics and chemistry.

I was more lenient my first couple of years. I didn't want it to be a prison and it paid off. But I didn't lose a lot, either. I didn't care. I came here to achieve joyful eating and moderation, not weight loss.

So, just Thanksgiving and Christmas? Those and Easter are the only ones I can think of where everything is closed.

I'm in Europe - think we have at least 9 this year: New Year's day, Easter, National Day, Ascension, Pentacost, Corpus Christi, Independence Day, All Saints, Christmas, Boxing Day.....

On most NWS days I generally have an S 'event' rather than a full eat-what-I-want S day. I have a foodie family and we often celebrate birthdays or special occasions with a fancy meal out, so I'd always take that as an S event and have a multi course meal. The only real days outside weekends that I'd take as a full S day are around Christmas and New Year.

Sixty wrote:

So, just Thanksgiving and Christmas? Those and Easter are the only ones I can think of where everything is closed.

I'm in Europe - think we have at least 9 this year: New Year's day, Easter, National Day, Ascension, Pentacost, Corpus Christi, Independence Day, All Saints, Christmas, Boxing Day.....

I'm old enough to remember when everything closed on New Year's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not only that, I remember when pretty much everything was closed on Sunday.

I don't think that Easter is even a legally recognized holiday here, just religious.

Thanks for all the great replies! Several different good approaches to this question.

If I'm off work, I might. The rule of thumb is two NWS days a month. Like others, it's not a whole S day but rather I might have a sweet.

Blyth beat me to it. In the book there is a cap in 2 per month. I will probably eat some chocolate on Valentines Day.
March has a few birthdays in it so that means for St. Patties day I will forgo any sweet, and have my soda bread for breakfast and my corned beef and cabbage for dinner. No shamrock shake for me.....I can cope! My birthday is the next day!
I think it gets to easy do declare anything an s day.

mabelsfriend wrote:
My question is-- what does everyone do for the occasional "minor" holiday? The kind where the banks might be closed, but the stores are still open and many people still have to work, etc. Do you count them as S days? For example-- MLK Jr. day, Valentine's, Labor Day, Memorial Day, etc. I know ultimately it's my decision, but just wondered what others do . . .

We live where there are lots of minor holidays: tons of saint's days (and people celebrate with meals), current Independence Day, former Independent Days (yes-plural--people are used to having those days off, so they've stayed), Woman's Day in March, PLUS all our family's cultural holidays (July 4th, Thanksgiving, Christmas on 12/25) and birthdays (7 of us). So, we experience a double whammy.

My take: Only a few of those days are S "DAYS". Honestly, a whole day of eating is a prescription for feeling sick.

I've never been able to follow the 2 NWS days cap per month, but I've lost 55+ pounds and am still losing by following the principles of moderation on all these semi-special days: No Seconds, no snacks, and a very modest portion of dessert if I would enjoy it.

Also, on the days we've been invited out to a meal, I plan our at-home meals to be lighter because we all feel better when I do.

I suggest you think through what is reasonable, moderate, and enjoyable for you in your situation and then stick with it. After a few months or a year, adjust if you want.

HTH,

Thank you, BrightAngel. An S day is a weekend day on which a person eats any S, even one. In fact, in the book on page 105, it says, "A perfect S day is when you've basically stuck with your weekday three-meal rhythm but have added an extra reward, something especially nice, and enjoyed it without reservation or guilt." However, Reinhard believes you probably have to go through going overboard at first, especially until the N days are solid, which can take months or longer. He is opposed to imposing the "perfect" S day prematurely.

Sounds like mabelsfriend has a sense of how to proceed for now.

BrightAngel wrote: Ordinarily ... which means MOST OF THE TIME ...
S days are supposed to be very similar to N days.
SOMETIMES during S days, it's okay to have seconds, OR
to snack instead of having meals, OR
have a sweet for desert.

I think if someone is very new, imposing a goal of only a snack OR a meal OR a sweet is a bit restrictive for S days. I get that some people won't lose unless their S days are very strict, but I think many people worry about this too early.

That's what I meant by imposing the perfect S day too early. It actually took me nearly two years before I didn't abuse them pretty bad. But I held on to perfecting N days and I did lose, each year more.

Hang in there!