One Year - 65.2 Pounds!
Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2010 6:51 pm
Today is my one-year anniversary of starting No S. I hope this testimonial helps someone, especially someone who is where I was a year ago. This is going to be long; sorry!
Just the Facts, Ma’am
I started on September 7, 2009, weighing 241 pounds and wearing size 20/22. Today I weigh 175.8, and my pants are size 14 and baggy. I’ve been surprised at how much my weight loss has varied month-to-month:
Month 1 – 7.5 pounds
Month 2 – 9 pounds
Month 3 – 9 pounds
Month 4 – 6.5 pounds
Month 5 – 3.2 pounds
Month 6 – 7.2 pounds
Month 7 – 4.2 pounds
Month 8 – 0.2 pounds
Month 9 – 4.6 pounds
Month 10 – 2.2 pounds
Month 11 – 11.4 pounds
Month 12 – 0.2 pounds
TOTAL: 65.2 pounds!
Thank You’s
First of all to Reinhard for devising this system and telling the world about it. Reinhard, I think you have literally saved my life. I enjoy words, but I know no word that means the amount of gratitude I feel. I have struggled with eating since I was about 15 years old – almost 40 years. As much as I love the weight loss, the peace and calm I feel about eating is even better. You have my profound thanks - forever.
The No S posters have cheered me on, comforted me, inspired me, challenged me, and made me laugh. What an incredibly kind and wise group of people! I’d love to name names, but I’m sure I’d miss someone. Thank you all!
My mother lost a good deal of weight on No S and had the great good sense not to talk to me about it until I asked. Thanks, Mom!
My friends, family and co-workers have been uniformly supportive.
Thanks to James Morrison for singing the song “One Last Chance,†which I listened to over and over again at the beginning when this was hard.
I Like Vanilla, It’s the Finest of the Flavors
I have done only strict Vanilla No S from the beginning – no modifications. This means I had no extra indulgences, but it also means I had no added restrictions. If it fit on a plate and wasn’t a sweet, it was OK on an N day. I DO eat much healthier than I used to; I have fruit and/or vegetables at almost every meal on N days. But I also have a bagel with peanut butter every morning, and I enjoy every bite. The only foods I have eliminated are foods I don’t like.
In 12 months I have had 4 failures.
S Days
I trusted this system from the beginning, and when long-timers (and Reinhard) said not to worry about S days, that was enough for me. I have had some excessive S days, but over time they moderated themselves naturally. I now have a special treat every S day. I have chocolate-covered almonds every Saturday, and usually a bakery treat or ice cream on Sunday. I frequently eat my treats in place of a meal, just because I don’t want that “stuffed†feeling. Healthy? No. I don’t care; it’s what works for me.
Non-Weekend S Days
I’m pretty stingy with these. The following were my non-weekend S days this past year:
November 26 – Thanksgiving
December 24 – Christmas Eve
December 25 – Christmas
January 1 – New Year’s Day
February 12 – Sick Day
March 12, 15 and 16 – vacation days surrounding a weekend
April 15 – birthday
So, 9 days in 12 months.
Why Me?
I’ve wondered why I’ve been successful at this when I’ve failed at so many other diets, and I’ve come up with two reasons. One of the bulletin board posters asked what separated the successful from the unsuccessful No S’ers, and one of the answers was “Desperation.†I was truly desperate. I was turning down activities because I was not sure I could physically do them. I could not stand to look at myself. I knew the people who loved me were worried about my health, but I pretended everything was OK. I strongly believe that this was my last chance to not only change my life, but to SAVE my life.
The second reason relates to an article that KCCC, I believe, posted. It boiled down to this: the one essential requirement to form a new habit is – doing the activity you want to make a habit. You can do it poorly; you can do it wrong, but you have to do it. I was nothing if not consistent. I had times where I was eating big meals, unhealthy meals, synthetic meals, etc. I had to learn a lot about how to eat. But I kept to three meals per day, one plate per meal. I believe consistency was the foundation of success.
Exercise
Oh, exercise. How I love thee. Or hate thee, depending on how the rest of my life is going. This is where I struggle; when I’m stressed it’s the first thing out the door. The exercise routine that works best for me is this: exercise a minimum of 5 days/week. I take walks on weekend mornings, weather permitting (52 minutes). I walk on the treadmill a couple days per week. I do more intense walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes, and this is the most physically demanding exercise I do. I also try to do a weight-training routine with my embarrassing 3-pound hand weights. This has really made a difference in how I feel and look. However, I will never, ever, swing a sledgehammer around the house, no matter how many sweaters it’s wrapped in!
Markers
This section is devoted to people like me, who have a LOT of weight to lose. You may be reading this and think “Crap! I can do this for a year and still be fat!†First of all, YES! You can do this for a year! And the next year! And the year after that! I think I’m pretty well set for the rest of my life, and it’s a stress-free, painless, enjoyable way to eat. I love my food, especially since I can eat it without guilt or recrimination.
Now to the second part of that sentence. I imagine most fat people, like me, have markers – weights connected to specific achievements or memories. Here were mine:
241 – starting weight
239 – yay, I’m in the 230’s!
233 – what I weighed the last time I was weighed at a doctor’s office
231 – 10 pounds lost!
229 - I’m in the 220’s!
225 – my starting weight the last time I lost a lot of weight on Slim-Fast
221 – 20 pounds gone!
219 – I’m in the 210’s!
211 – I’ve lost 30 pounds!
209 – single digits!
201 – wow! 40 pounds!
199 – OMG! My weight begins with the number 1!
191 – 50 freaking pounds lost
189 – 180s. Yippee!
187 – the lowest weight I’ve been in at least 15 years
181 – 60 pounds
179 – I can’t believe I’m in the 170’s
My point is, there are rewards all along the way. I think I was as happy when I lost 10 pounds as I was when I hit 50 pounds. This slow, permanent weight loss is SO worth it.
My Life Now
I enjoy almost every meal. I love the way my body works. I take long walks and think about how lucky I am to be in this beautiful world. I’m starting to think of myself as a sexual being again. I’m happy. None of this was true a year ago.
If you’ve read this whole thing – thanks! I’ll post another update in a year.
Just the Facts, Ma’am
I started on September 7, 2009, weighing 241 pounds and wearing size 20/22. Today I weigh 175.8, and my pants are size 14 and baggy. I’ve been surprised at how much my weight loss has varied month-to-month:
Month 1 – 7.5 pounds
Month 2 – 9 pounds
Month 3 – 9 pounds
Month 4 – 6.5 pounds
Month 5 – 3.2 pounds
Month 6 – 7.2 pounds
Month 7 – 4.2 pounds
Month 8 – 0.2 pounds
Month 9 – 4.6 pounds
Month 10 – 2.2 pounds
Month 11 – 11.4 pounds
Month 12 – 0.2 pounds
TOTAL: 65.2 pounds!
Thank You’s
First of all to Reinhard for devising this system and telling the world about it. Reinhard, I think you have literally saved my life. I enjoy words, but I know no word that means the amount of gratitude I feel. I have struggled with eating since I was about 15 years old – almost 40 years. As much as I love the weight loss, the peace and calm I feel about eating is even better. You have my profound thanks - forever.
The No S posters have cheered me on, comforted me, inspired me, challenged me, and made me laugh. What an incredibly kind and wise group of people! I’d love to name names, but I’m sure I’d miss someone. Thank you all!
My mother lost a good deal of weight on No S and had the great good sense not to talk to me about it until I asked. Thanks, Mom!
My friends, family and co-workers have been uniformly supportive.
Thanks to James Morrison for singing the song “One Last Chance,†which I listened to over and over again at the beginning when this was hard.
I Like Vanilla, It’s the Finest of the Flavors
I have done only strict Vanilla No S from the beginning – no modifications. This means I had no extra indulgences, but it also means I had no added restrictions. If it fit on a plate and wasn’t a sweet, it was OK on an N day. I DO eat much healthier than I used to; I have fruit and/or vegetables at almost every meal on N days. But I also have a bagel with peanut butter every morning, and I enjoy every bite. The only foods I have eliminated are foods I don’t like.
In 12 months I have had 4 failures.
S Days
I trusted this system from the beginning, and when long-timers (and Reinhard) said not to worry about S days, that was enough for me. I have had some excessive S days, but over time they moderated themselves naturally. I now have a special treat every S day. I have chocolate-covered almonds every Saturday, and usually a bakery treat or ice cream on Sunday. I frequently eat my treats in place of a meal, just because I don’t want that “stuffed†feeling. Healthy? No. I don’t care; it’s what works for me.
Non-Weekend S Days
I’m pretty stingy with these. The following were my non-weekend S days this past year:
November 26 – Thanksgiving
December 24 – Christmas Eve
December 25 – Christmas
January 1 – New Year’s Day
February 12 – Sick Day
March 12, 15 and 16 – vacation days surrounding a weekend
April 15 – birthday
So, 9 days in 12 months.
Why Me?
I’ve wondered why I’ve been successful at this when I’ve failed at so many other diets, and I’ve come up with two reasons. One of the bulletin board posters asked what separated the successful from the unsuccessful No S’ers, and one of the answers was “Desperation.†I was truly desperate. I was turning down activities because I was not sure I could physically do them. I could not stand to look at myself. I knew the people who loved me were worried about my health, but I pretended everything was OK. I strongly believe that this was my last chance to not only change my life, but to SAVE my life.
The second reason relates to an article that KCCC, I believe, posted. It boiled down to this: the one essential requirement to form a new habit is – doing the activity you want to make a habit. You can do it poorly; you can do it wrong, but you have to do it. I was nothing if not consistent. I had times where I was eating big meals, unhealthy meals, synthetic meals, etc. I had to learn a lot about how to eat. But I kept to three meals per day, one plate per meal. I believe consistency was the foundation of success.
Exercise
Oh, exercise. How I love thee. Or hate thee, depending on how the rest of my life is going. This is where I struggle; when I’m stressed it’s the first thing out the door. The exercise routine that works best for me is this: exercise a minimum of 5 days/week. I take walks on weekend mornings, weather permitting (52 minutes). I walk on the treadmill a couple days per week. I do more intense walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes, and this is the most physically demanding exercise I do. I also try to do a weight-training routine with my embarrassing 3-pound hand weights. This has really made a difference in how I feel and look. However, I will never, ever, swing a sledgehammer around the house, no matter how many sweaters it’s wrapped in!
Markers
This section is devoted to people like me, who have a LOT of weight to lose. You may be reading this and think “Crap! I can do this for a year and still be fat!†First of all, YES! You can do this for a year! And the next year! And the year after that! I think I’m pretty well set for the rest of my life, and it’s a stress-free, painless, enjoyable way to eat. I love my food, especially since I can eat it without guilt or recrimination.
Now to the second part of that sentence. I imagine most fat people, like me, have markers – weights connected to specific achievements or memories. Here were mine:
241 – starting weight
239 – yay, I’m in the 230’s!
233 – what I weighed the last time I was weighed at a doctor’s office
231 – 10 pounds lost!
229 - I’m in the 220’s!
225 – my starting weight the last time I lost a lot of weight on Slim-Fast
221 – 20 pounds gone!
219 – I’m in the 210’s!
211 – I’ve lost 30 pounds!
209 – single digits!
201 – wow! 40 pounds!
199 – OMG! My weight begins with the number 1!
191 – 50 freaking pounds lost
189 – 180s. Yippee!
187 – the lowest weight I’ve been in at least 15 years
181 – 60 pounds
179 – I can’t believe I’m in the 170’s
My point is, there are rewards all along the way. I think I was as happy when I lost 10 pounds as I was when I hit 50 pounds. This slow, permanent weight loss is SO worth it.
My Life Now
I enjoy almost every meal. I love the way my body works. I take long walks and think about how lucky I am to be in this beautiful world. I’m starting to think of myself as a sexual being again. I’m happy. None of this was true a year ago.
If you’ve read this whole thing – thanks! I’ll post another update in a year.