Will I do this again? Well, I was chatting again with devil-barbie and we decided I should try to last until December 31, and have a SAD day then, and then join everyone else on Jan. 1 on having a hangover and starting over.
I don't recommend this because you and I both could never return from SAD-land once we venture out, just like an alcoholic on a binge. But it does make it easy for me to say no now and I hope for the next 6 months, knowing that it's not forever. I find it much easier to say no to all SAD food than to figure out how much I can eat and still be healthy. Plus it's much easier to train everyone else if the answer is always no. But I guess I also like thinking that it's not forever. I'm hoping this planned slip will go the way alcohol and caffeine did for me, just less desirable and less frequent over time until it just was no more. Or maybe I'll just plan healthier and healthier slip-ups until they just become healthy treat days. That's my hope!
Anyway, like I said, I am not presenting this as a behavior for you to emulate. I'm just sharing that I'm not perfect. I want to be honest about my successes and failures. And if you want to give me advice for a better way, I welcome it! I'm like you, just trying to eat healthy in an unhealthy world.
Update a week later: I've had this feeling the last week that this deal with the devil idea is a really bad idea. First there's the obvious reason that each time you eat SAD food, you may never return from it. Talk about a slippery slope. And second, it's just not good nutritarian behavior. I think we should not give SAD food to ourselves as a reward. I'm not saying I won't ever slip up in the future, but it should be my aim to not slip up. I shouldn't plan to slip up. I've also realized that you have to say no a lot, even in the nutritarian universe. You have to say no when you've eaten enough, you have to say no to too many dates and nuts and fruit and beans, and even carrots. You can eat too much of anything. Once you have been off SAD food for several weeks, I'm not sure it's any harder to say no to that than to say no to too many pieces of corn on the cob, or cherries, or strawberries. My SAD deviations the last few times started out as nutritarian deviations--too much of a good thing.
Update a week later: I've had this feeling the last week that this deal with the devil idea is a really bad idea. First there's the obvious reason that each time you eat SAD food, you may never return from it. Talk about a slippery slope. And second, it's just not good nutritarian behavior. I think we should not give SAD food to ourselves as a reward. I'm not saying I won't ever slip up in the future, but it should be my aim to not slip up. I shouldn't plan to slip up. I've also realized that you have to say no a lot, even in the nutritarian universe. You have to say no when you've eaten enough, you have to say no to too many dates and nuts and fruit and beans, and even carrots. You can eat too much of anything. Once you have been off SAD food for several weeks, I'm not sure it's any harder to say no to that than to say no to too many pieces of corn on the cob, or cherries, or strawberries. My SAD deviations the last few times started out as nutritarian deviations--too much of a good thing.
