Friday, July 18, 2008

No-S Diet

No Sweets, No Seconds, No Snacks except (sometimes) on days that start with S.

This is a great simple discipline.  No money is involved either, which I like because I'm fed up with so many greedy charlatans taking advantage of desperate people looking for a magic pill cure to obesity.  There is no magic pill.

Now yes, this guy has a book you can buy - but you don't need to.  His website sums up the plan and you don't need to buy a thing.  What you do need to bring to the table is discipline.  

It's Friday afternoon and my "Friday mode" has kicked in and I want a treat.  But it's Friday.  So guess what.  I'm not having a treat.  I can have one tomorrow on Saturday - a day that begins in S.

I am really liking the simple discipline.  It takes choice out of the equation and I think that is where we get thrown off track with our weight management.  We give ourselves a choice to have a treat that's not on plan  and either it doesn't have an immediate impact on the scales and giving us permission to further indulge or it does have an immediate impact on the scales causing us to beat ourselves up and then indulge to feel better.  Vicious cycles.  All of them.

I think there are some drawbacks to the No S approach but they can all be turned in to advantages:

The author is not a nutritionist, is not a physician, is not a trainer.  He does not profess to be.  The plan does not each you about eating real foods and creating balanced meals.  It does not teach you about true portions.  It teaches discipline.  I think though, the approach will have most intelligent people curious to learn more about eating healthy and will learn more on their own.

Some psychologists may say the 'take no prisoners' attitude about how to measure success is harmful.  After being coddled during my years of obesity, I see now that sometimes a drill sergeant approach IS the best approach.  Success is simple - did you snack, have sweets or seconds on any day that doesn't start with S?  Yes=failure for that day.  It's done. Get up and try again.  No beating yourself up - just admit, though, you didn't do what you set out to do and above all - make no excuses.  

Anyway - that's it.  If you want to see my successes and failures, click here: HabitCal

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