Minkymoo's 1 year ish check in

(New!) Read (or post) about people who have stuck with No-S for 10 or more months, lost 10 or more pounds, or 10 or more percent for their starting weight. Periodic updates strongly encouraged -- you can think of it as "Yearly Check In."

Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating

Post Reply
Minkymoo
Posts: 74
Joined: Mon Sep 12, 2011 7:58 pm
Location: UK

Minkymoo's 1 year ish check in

Post by Minkymoo » Mon Apr 29, 2013 10:16 pm

No S has been such a brilliant experience for me in so many ways. It is a wonderfully enjoyable way to eat and live, and I never believed that this could be compatible with loosing weight.

The advice and support from the members of the forum and especially on this testimonials page has been so important for me on my No S journey so far. It feels really satisfying to be able to write the first installment of my own success story on here.

My numbers
Height - 5ft 4in
Start weight - 14st 6lbs (202lbs)
Start BMI - 34.8
Current weight - 13st (182 pounds)
Current BMI - 31
Goal weight - 9st 8 lbs (134lbs)

I came across No S whilst researching ways to save money. I had already got the idea of cutting out snacks, since I bought them in theory for my (very skinny) stepson who mostly ignored them whilst I stuffed my face. I had tried skipping sugar (and the rest) on Atkins, but I had always resisted the idea of long term portion control.

The past

I have struggled with my weight for most of my life, and have always had a bigger appetite than the people around me. As a child I believed the comment "she's a really good eater" was actually a compliment, so I made sure I always finished my plates. I really piled on the weight at the age of 10 when I was sent to boarding school, where I turned to food in a big way to deal with bullying.

Despite loosing large amounts of weight many times on WW, Slimfast, Atkins and at one point eating only 600cals a day I have never been able to keep it off for long at all, and sometimes the weight has crept back on alarming fast.

No S
When I first found No S I lost some weight and learned not only to enjoy my meals again, but also to look forward to eating with my family, which I had previously dreaded. I then had a 2 month blip where I freaked out about turning 30 and still being obese so I tried the Atkins diet again, which failed dismally (of course)... I put back on all the weight I had lost plus a bit more. Thankfully I saw sense and recommitted to No S, and it has now been about a year since that decision.

It took me a while to start loosing weight the second time, as I was reluctant to control portion sizes. I have had to tweak my plate sizes to see any real weight loss, I now use a small bowl for breakfast, side plate for lunch and small dinner plate for tea, which I eat at 5.30 then dont eat again till the next morning.

It has been a really big step for me to trully accept that I dont need much to eat. I think that this has been the secret of the diet's success for me. The simplicity of No S has stripped away all the distractions and shown me that my main problem was simply the quantity of food that I was eating.

I am now steadily loosing at the very slow rate of half a pound a week. I make sure that I really enjoy what I eat. Despite limiting quantity on N days my S days remain pretty wild, especially Saturdays. My N day compliance however is really very good at the moment, and I completed a 90 day stretch of green which I am really proud of. I look better, although I have yet to drop a dress size.

Fringe benefits for me have been the knowledge that I am teaching my daughter positive eating habits by example, and being able to enjoy the food side of special events and family occasions. Previously I would eat diet food at the party then go home and binge on my own and in secret which, looking back, seems ridiculous.

The future
I am learning the art of patience! I anticipate that it may well take me 3 years of compliance to loose my weight, which is ok. My motivation is wanting my daughter to not be ashamed of me when she starts school (she is 2 now) so the time frame is acceptable.
I have great faith in this plan. As I am pretty overweight still, it is working well for me with minimal tweaking. When I stop loosing weight I will re-evaluate and see what I can do to move things along. There is still a lot of work for me to do with S days, so that is probably what I will have to tackle next. I plan to attend zumba class more regularly and walk daily (urban ranger) more for the benefits to energy and mood than for weight loss, as excercise has never helped me to loose weight in the past.

Finally I would like to say a massive thank you to Reinhard for sharing No S and your other everyday systems on the web, they have struck a real chord with me and are slowly but surely changing my life for the better. [/b]

vmsurbat
Posts: 499
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 6:12 am
Location: Montenegro

Re: Minkymoo's 1 year ish check in

Post by vmsurbat » Tue Apr 30, 2013 6:29 am

Minkymoo wrote:No S has been such a brilliant experience for me in so many ways. It is a wonderfully enjoyable way to eat and live, and I never believed that this could be compatible with loosing weight.

It has been a really big step for me to trully accept that I dont need much to eat. I think that this has been the secret of the diet's success for me. The simplicity of No S has stripped away all the distractions and shown me that my main problem was simply the quantity of food that I was eating.
Congratulations on your success! I think you have hit the nail on the head here with the bolded, especially the part about "truly accepting" the need to eat less.

After four years of NoS, my dinner portions are still slowly getting smaller as I am finding myself uncomfortably full otherwise after dinner. And, I don't think it is "too" little anymore (though I definitely would have felt that way at the beginning of my NoS journey).

Since my youngest is off to university this next fall, I just treated myself to a used cookbook for two, one a couple of decades old. It arrived this past weekend and I spent of bit of time browsing through it. I'm very happy with it, and being published before the normalizing of increased portions, the recipes are actually spot on with reasonable serving sizes which are 1/3 to 1/2 less than many modern recipes.... I found that very interesting!
Minkymoo wrote: I am now steadily loosing at the very slow rate of half a pound a week. I make sure that I really enjoy what I eat. Despite limiting quantity on N days my S days remain pretty wild, especially Saturdays. My N day compliance however is really very good at the moment, and I completed a 90 day stretch of green which I am really proud of. I look better, although I have yet to drop a dress size.
It is hard to break away from a "diet" where you really enjoy what you eat, isn't it?

Congratulations again and I look forward reading the second installment of your success story. :)
Vicki in MNE
7! Yrs. with Vanilla NoS, down 55+lb, happily maintaining and still loving it!

finallyfull
Posts: 354
Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:10 pm

Post by finallyfull » Tue Apr 30, 2013 1:36 pm

Wow Congratulations!!! I am so glad you decided to return to No S and stick with it.

User avatar
reinhard
Site Admin
Posts: 5918
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:38 pm
Location: Cambridge, MA
Contact:

Post by reinhard » Tue Apr 30, 2013 4:21 pm

Congratulations and thank you for letting us know!

I particularly loved this part:
When I first found No S I lost some weight and learned not only to enjoy my meals again, but also to look forward to eating with my family, which I had previously dreaded.
As for:
My motivation is wanting my daughter to not be ashamed of me when she starts school (she is 2 now) so the time frame is acceptable.
I am sure your daughter will not be ashamed of you however much you weigh (I speak as the loving son of a rather heavy mother), but you certainly will do her a service by modeling moderate, honestly enjoyed, meal-based eating.
Fringe benefits for me have been the knowledge that I am teaching my daughter positive eating habits by example, and being able to enjoy the food side of special events and family occasions. Previously I would eat diet food at the party then go home and binge on my own and in secret which, looking back, seems ridiculous.
Ridiculous and yet exactly how most people behave (including me, without the spotlight of no-s)!
I have great faith in this plan. As I am pretty overweight still, it is working well for me with minimal tweaking. When I stop loosing weight I will re-evaluate and see what I can do to move things along.
This is another nice thing about no-s. Even if the bare rules don't get you 100% there, they'll get you closer. They're a great foundation to build on if necessary, not something you have to scrap if other interventions also look promising. And yet, in time, the bare rules might still do the trick unassisted -- you are wise to be patient!

Thanks again for posting and looking forward to future updates!

Reinhard

emmay
Posts: 111
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2012 2:10 am
Location: Australia

Post by emmay » Thu May 02, 2013 9:37 am

Great results Minkymoo! Thanks for sharing. I love seeing new success stories here. It is very motivating.

oolala53
Posts: 10059
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Sat May 18, 2013 4:28 am

I am so glad for your success and I think you are doing a fabulous thing for your daughter.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

User avatar
harpista
Posts: 186
Joined: Tue May 02, 2006 9:13 pm
Location: Stouffville, Ontario, Canada

Re: Minkymoo's 1 year ish check in

Post by harpista » Sat Oct 19, 2013 11:14 pm

vmsurbat wrote: Since my youngest is off to university this next fall, I just treated myself to a used cookbook for two, one a couple of decades old. It arrived this past weekend and I spent of bit of time browsing through it. I'm very happy with it, and being published before the normalizing of increased portions, the recipes are actually spot on with reasonable serving sizes which are 1/3 to 1/2 less than many modern recipes.... I found that very interesting!
Not to butt in, but what is this book? :)
Nulla palma sine pulvere.
'No garland of victory without first the dust of the arena.'

Sometimesians, unite!

vmsurbat
Posts: 499
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 6:12 am
Location: Montenegro

Re: Minkymoo's 1 year ish check in

Post by vmsurbat » Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:04 am

harpista wrote:
vmsurbat wrote: Since my youngest is off to university this next fall, I just treated myself to a used cookbook for two, one a couple of decades old. It arrived this past weekend and I spent of bit of time browsing through it. I'm very happy with it, and being published before the normalizing of increased portions, the recipes are actually spot on with reasonable serving sizes which are 1/3 to 1/2 less than many modern recipes.... I found that very interesting!
Not to butt in, but what is this book? :)
The one I was thinking of in particular when I wrote the above is:

Great Cooking for Two by Better Homes and Garden, ISBN: 0-696-01972-8

This is a hardback book oop, but I bought mine used-but-in-great-condition very reasonably. I choose this one (published in '92) for several reasons:

1. Covers more than just main meals,
2. Classic recipes with little reliance on convenience foods beyond canned tomatoes, beans, and so forth, as opposed to canned cream of soups, bisquick mix, etc.,
3. Suggested go-with sides for every main dish recipe (often simple, not necessarily yet another recipe).
4. Reasonable serving sizes as stated above.
5. I liked what I read in the reviews on Amazon. Link here:

http://www.amazon.com/Better-Homes-Gard ... 1382341980

HTH,
Vicki in MNE
7! Yrs. with Vanilla NoS, down 55+lb, happily maintaining and still loving it!

Post Reply