Everyday Systems

I was amazed this morning to realize that I had reached a goal big enough to start my own thread on the Testimonial forum…I’ve lost 10 lbs! To be honest, it kinda snuck up on me, when I started, my goal was to lose 10 lbs after 3-4 months but I’ve done it in 2 and I’m not complaining!

While writing this testimonial, I’m going to try to cover all the points that I wanted to read in testimonials when I started in January, here goes:

#1: Me
I’m 29 years old and approximately 5’6â€. I put on a good amount of weight during my 7 years of graduate work (approximately 30 lbs!) which I now call my “Dr. Weight.†I am trying to lose it and get back down in the healthy BMI range for my height.

#2: The Diet
I have stuck to vanilla No-S for two months now. No mods needed or desired. N-days are both hard and easy at the same time. When a temptation strikes (usually a “social eating occasion†where other people are eating but I’m not) an N day is difficult for that period of time…usually no more than an hour. For the rest of the time N days are no problem at all, I don’t crave sweets, seconds or snacks and haven’t since the first week. The first week was a little tougher but once I started resisting the temptation to eat sweets and snack the urges went away quickly. Have I been perfect? No, but I have stuck with it pretty closely, I’ve only had 2 failures in the two months. The other big issue: S Days. My S days are quite moderate, I always have a special treat or two (usually a sweet) that I eat one serving of 2-4 times during the weekend and every once in a while (maybe once a month) I have an “S-day gone wild†but that’s about it. Oh yeah, I’ve also had 1 or 2 NWS days. S-days are not feeding frenzies or sweets binges and I don’t really have the urge for them to be.

#3: Exercise
To be absolutely honest, I don’t. I walk to and from the train station on my way to work for 10 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening, and that’s it. No weight training, no treadmills, etc. I’m hoping to work that in in the future.

I would have to say this was the “easiest†10 lbs I’ve ever lost. And when I say that I mean the only 10 lbs I’ve ever lost without giving up carbs for 4 months (extremely painful) or exercising like a maniac (also extremely painful). I notice a huge difference in my body, and I’m not obsessed with the scale (I only weigh once per month) or food.

No S is so easy and produces such good results it almost feels like cheating, it truly does get easier the more you do it.

My recommendation: If you are curious, optimistic, desperate, doubtful, or skeptical, try it as strictly as you can for one month, I think you’ll wish you had found it sooner.

Shannah,

Congratulations on making it to the testimonial "threshold" and thank you for posting!

I like your three "points" -- could serve as a good template for future testimonials.

As for exercise, hey, that's textbook urban ranger. Nothing to apologize for here.

Reinhard

Congratulations on your loss and enjoy the continuation of your No S journey for many years to come.

Shanna, I just wanted to say that I was encouraged reading your post. I have only about 10 or 11 pounds to lose, so I'm glad to hear NoS really works for those already close to their goal weight.

I'm much older than you, and I do exercise regularly, at least 6 days a week. I am a repeating re-starter of NoS, and now finding your post has empowered me to continue this journey.

Thank you.

Congratulations!!! I am going to assume by your name that you are female?

I like your post. I was just beating myself up for not exercising but hey, why? I walk 3 city blocks with a briefcase to the train every morning, the same when I return, and 3 city blocks to the office... by the end of the day I walk a minimum of 12 city blocks... and I'm losing weight. Thank you so much for the detailed post.

Hi everyone, thanks so much for your comments, sorry I'm getting back to people so late, I haven't visited this thread for a while...

cowfishpro---I'm glad my post helped you, my goal was to encourage someone in the same way I felt encouraged when I read these testimonials before I started. I was totally flattered by you saying I was near my goal weight, but I guess I am because I only have about 15 more lbs to lose, I hadn't really thought about it that way before!


Ms.---Yes, I'm female, I guess I should have put that in the post Anyways, I think you should add exercise when you're ready, and not before. It took me a while to find work-outs I wanted to do and the time to do it etc. Plus, if you're losing weight and you're happy then that's the goal, right ?

Congratulations, Shannah! This is terrific!

I find your posts very encouraging. I have just finished my first week of No S and lost pretty much all the weight I wanted to lose, but the challenge for me every time is not losing weight but being able to maintain the loss without the rollercoaster of being too restrictive, blowing it in a few hours and undoing weeks of work and then crawling back down to where I am now. So I very honestly hope that I can say at the end of this month - because since all this started for me 7 months ago I have not made it through a month without the rollercoaster - that I have done nearly as well as you have.

Hope I will have earned the right to post here in 9 months and 3 weeks.

Best wishes for continued success,
Sherry

Shannah, keep up the great work.

I'm surprised that I've dropped 4 pounds, 3 weeks in. I know some is water weight, but still, it's encouraging. Only 7ish more pounds to go. I know it will be slower from here on out, but now I have comfirmation that it WILL happen, steadily.

Thanks again.

Sherry, congratulations on your accomplishment. Remember, if you aren't doing NoS, what is the alternative? You can do it!

Hi again!
I'm updating my thread to report 10% of my weight lost! I just wanted to update on my progress so people could see how No S worked for me.

#1 Me
Still same not much changing here.

#2 The Diet
I'm still sticking to Vanilla No-S. Three meals a day, weekends unstructured. I have to admit, I've toyed with the idea of a modification to No S but I haven't done any that have stuck for more than a week or so. I attempted to switch to smaller dinner plates for a short time but my body reacted badly to the decrease in food (headaches, grumpiness, etc). My S days are pretty moderate still. I had a brief period (a couple of months) where I had a one "S days gone wild" every weekend. But in the last couple of months I've gotten that down to 1-2 times per month and it doesn't really worry me.

#3 Exercise
I've started an exercise plan. It's basically the "14minutes of anything" that Reinhard describes. For March and April I lifted free weights (5-7.5 lbs) for 10-20 minutes 5 nights a week. I wasn't very successful in May. In June I started urban rangering for 30 minutes a day with the goal of doing it 5 days a week. That's been successful and fun. It is also easy to stick to because it's a good break from work instead of trying to take 15 minutes out of my relaxing evening with my fiance.


Results recap:
I just thought people might be interested to see what the weight loss looked like on a per month basis (dates are approximate, lbs lost are from last weigh-in):
January 8: Start No S: 0 lbs lost
Februrary 3: 5lbs lost
March 3: 5 lbs lost
April 7: 3 lbs lost
May 5: 3 lbs lost
June 3: 0.5 lbs lost
July 1:1 lb lost

Total: 17.5 lbs lost!

Shannah, thank you for your update and congratulations on your continued success!

Just as "maintenance is more important than progress" I think updates are more important than the original testimonial.

I think your month by month breakdown might be very helpful for newbies budgeting what to expect.

It is also easy to stick to because it's a good break from work instead of trying to take 15 minutes out of my relaxing evening with my fiance.

Definitely an important consideration. Another thing to potentially consider someday might be to coordinate workouts with your spouse. My wife and have been doing our N-daily 14 minutes together while watching the news (she does yoga, I do shovelglove) for a few years now and it's actually a nice bonding experience. Besides being nice in itself, it gives us each a little extra social nudge to actually exercise; we don't harass each other, but now someone at least notices if one of us skips it, and the gentle pressure of that attention can make a difference.

Reinhard

Well done, Shannah. I really like the way you've laid out your thread to show the different elements of your weight loss. It makes it very easy to read. I'm really impressed with how much weight you've lost in just a few months - makes me feel that I can do it too.
Keep up the good work!

Hi everyone!

I wanted to update my thread and let you know how I've been continuing on my No S journey.

#1 Me
Still same not much changing here. I turned 30 this year (yikes) but everything else is the same.

#2 The Diet
July to December went pretty well overall. I toyed with some modifications but they were pretty strict and I lost some weight and then gained it right back. I took a small break from No S over the winter holidays--basically Christmas to New Years. I know, this is a definite no-no, but I'm back on track as of January 3. I haven't weighed lately but I believe I'm maintaining my weight loss of around 15-17 lbs. I've tried to make No S less of a focal point of life in 2011. I want it to be my default so I've pretty much stopped tracking on the habitcal and here in the forums. It's been working pretty well, I haven't had a red day yet. I also recently read a book about the healing powers of journaling so I started doing that and it has really helped me. Journaling has taken the place of the forums as somewhere to let out my emotions and I'm much happier as a result.

#3 Exercise
In the beginning of November I hurt my back--herniated disc I believe. I haven't been able to exercise since then. However, it's slowly but steadily getting better.

Overall, I could probably stand to lose a little more weight but I'm pretty happy where I am (unlike before No S). Right now, I'm content to stay the course!

Happy No Sing to all!

Hi Shannah, I'm glad No S is still working for you. I have missed reading your check-in thread and am pleased to know you are still going strong. Good luck with the journaling, the weight loss and I hope your back improves soon.

It may not sound exciting, but as I keep saying "maintenance is more important than progress" -- by a longshot. So congratulations and thank you for letting us know!

Reinahrd

Thankyou, very informative and encouraging for us newbies!!

Going for the GREEN!!