One year testimonial
Posted: Tue Sep 11, 2018 9:46 pm
I thought it is a good time to post my one-year results. When I started, I was 47 years old, almost 48, and although I exercised and tried to eat "healthy", I had gained a little weight every year of adulthood, except when I was grieving. By spring 2017, I was at my highest non-pregnant weight, 189 lbs. I'm 5'7.5" tall.
In June 2017, I had a doctor's appointment, and for the first time, I had a slightly high blood glucose. That got my attention. She suggested losing 10 lbs and coming back to recheck my sugar in a few months. I started a daily running habit and lost five pounds that summer, but I knew that I would not be likely to keep up the daily running during the school year, when my job is very busy. So just exercise was not enough.
In September 2017, I googled no sugar diet, and the No S Diet came up. Unlike diets that involved throwing out the damn ketchup, this seemed do-able and sensible to me. I felt immediately that I could keep these habits. I started that day, September 25th, at 184#. In the year since then, I've lost 17 lbs, and kept off the five I already lost, and I am now hovering around 167-168 lbs. I've lost 9% of my weight, in a SLLOWWWWW, steady manner. This is despite falling off the daily running habit. I do still exercise every day, but not always running - sometimes it's yoga, sometimes walking.
I also have had normal blood sugars at my subsequent retests.
One thing I had going for me is that I don't drink soda or sweet drinks, and I do eat meals. At first it was really hard to wait for mealtime, but now it feels normal. In the beginning, I was more likely to resort to milk or kefir between meals. Now I go for tea or coffee or water between meals.
My best advice for someone starting this method is that if you don't already know how to cook, learn how to make a few meals that you like. In particular, learn how to make some vegetables the way you like them. I try to have fruit or veggies on every plate. If the heart of this plan is meals, try to give yourself a nice meal.
I weigh every day and record it in the Happy Scale app. That keeps me honest. I still have one or several red days each months, but they tend to involve small cheats, like tasting my roast when it came out of the oven, or eating some dried mango when I get the groceries, not a whole day of debauchery. I also often have too much food or sweets on the weekend, but it is at least confined to those days.
All in all, a good first year, and as I said, the best part is that I am not waiting for the diet to end so I can gain the weight back. I feel happy with the idea of eating this way for life.
I was wearing a US size 14 at the beginning, and now I'm wearing 12s and some 10s. I'm at the awkward moment when the 12s are too big, but the 10s are a bit tight.
I should also mention that I entered menopause during this time, a time when women in my family often gain a boatload of weight. So losing 17 lbs. while working full-time at a stressful job, parenting, and beginning menopause is a victory in my book. I still have more weight to lose, but if I maintained here, it would be content. I will wait and see what next year brings.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for this community.
In June 2017, I had a doctor's appointment, and for the first time, I had a slightly high blood glucose. That got my attention. She suggested losing 10 lbs and coming back to recheck my sugar in a few months. I started a daily running habit and lost five pounds that summer, but I knew that I would not be likely to keep up the daily running during the school year, when my job is very busy. So just exercise was not enough.
In September 2017, I googled no sugar diet, and the No S Diet came up. Unlike diets that involved throwing out the damn ketchup, this seemed do-able and sensible to me. I felt immediately that I could keep these habits. I started that day, September 25th, at 184#. In the year since then, I've lost 17 lbs, and kept off the five I already lost, and I am now hovering around 167-168 lbs. I've lost 9% of my weight, in a SLLOWWWWW, steady manner. This is despite falling off the daily running habit. I do still exercise every day, but not always running - sometimes it's yoga, sometimes walking.
I also have had normal blood sugars at my subsequent retests.
One thing I had going for me is that I don't drink soda or sweet drinks, and I do eat meals. At first it was really hard to wait for mealtime, but now it feels normal. In the beginning, I was more likely to resort to milk or kefir between meals. Now I go for tea or coffee or water between meals.
My best advice for someone starting this method is that if you don't already know how to cook, learn how to make a few meals that you like. In particular, learn how to make some vegetables the way you like them. I try to have fruit or veggies on every plate. If the heart of this plan is meals, try to give yourself a nice meal.
I weigh every day and record it in the Happy Scale app. That keeps me honest. I still have one or several red days each months, but they tend to involve small cheats, like tasting my roast when it came out of the oven, or eating some dried mango when I get the groceries, not a whole day of debauchery. I also often have too much food or sweets on the weekend, but it is at least confined to those days.
All in all, a good first year, and as I said, the best part is that I am not waiting for the diet to end so I can gain the weight back. I feel happy with the idea of eating this way for life.
I was wearing a US size 14 at the beginning, and now I'm wearing 12s and some 10s. I'm at the awkward moment when the 12s are too big, but the 10s are a bit tight.
I should also mention that I entered menopause during this time, a time when women in my family often gain a boatload of weight. So losing 17 lbs. while working full-time at a stressful job, parenting, and beginning menopause is a victory in my book. I still have more weight to lose, but if I maintained here, it would be content. I will wait and see what next year brings.
Thank you for reading, and thank you for this community.
