Not The Average No S-er

BritishFool · Post by **BritishFool** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 1:31 am

Hello world!

I first came across the No S Diet when I was browsing the internet, looking for ways to start eating like a normal human being again.

Huh??

Well, in November of 2011 I decided I'd had enough of being overweight and unhappy with my appearance, so (initially as just an experiment) I decided to cut out sweets from my diet and eat healthy, yet allow myself to eat whatever I damn well pleased on Saturdays. Soon enough I chose to eliminate my weekly "bad day" and exercise three days a week and I started losing weight. Losing weight became almost an obsession, and in the blink of an eye I was doing vigorous exercises for an hour a day about six days a week and only eating 800-1200 calories per day. I would (and still) find myself stressing out about every little thing I put into my face, and I really annoy myself and others with this uncontrollable habit of mine. In about four and a half months I dropped 42 pounds (175 lbs. down to 133 lbs., which is actually considered light for me since I have quite a bit of muscle and a very large bone structure). I'm obsessed with food--I look at cookbooks all the time even though I know I won't bring myself to eat any of that stuff, I look at candy websites and restaurant websites daily, I plan meals days in advance, etc. Since I'm now light enough to stop "dieting", I've been wondering how exactly to go about doing so.

One of my friends a couple of weeks ago suggested that I try to eat similarly to how I did when I was first starting out--behaving for six days a week, then eating whatever appealed to me on the last day. The thing is... no matter how hard I try I simply cannot bring myself to truly eat something that's "bad" for me. I mean, I've had little bites of chocolate and such, but I always feel so unbearably guilty afterward. I just remember myself as I was when I ate whatever I wanted, long before I chose to change myself (and I ate a lot and maintained my 175 lbs. for a good four or five years); I would open a bag of chips and just eat and eat and eat until I was full. I would open a package of Oreos and have six or seven, not two like the serving size suggests (yes, I'm also obsessed with reading and, for the most part, following nutrition facts now). I'm a proud ambassador-level (I'm sixteen years old, by the way) girl scout... do you know how terrible it feels to go through an entire cookie sale and not have a single Tagalong or Thin Mint? IT'S HELL. IT'S HELL BUT I CAN'T MAKE MYSELF EAT THE FOODS I REMEMBER LOVING AND TRULY ENJOY THEM AND HOWEVER MANY I WANT OF THEM, NO STRINGS ATTACHED. Let's take a look at an example, shall we? Last weekend I decided to allow myself to eat unconditionally on Saturday, which in the end pathetically meant a granola bar for breakfast, a turkey sub and water for lunch, and a half-panini from Panera Bread with a multigrain baguette and a peach smoothie for dinner. My mom bought a cookie but only ate half of it, but while I was driving home I decided to have some. It was delicious--I hadn't eaten anything so sweet or rich in weeks. As I was eating it, however, I was overcome with a tremendous amount of guilt that I couldn't let go of until a day later.

So, as you can see, I'm not adapting the No S Diet to lose weight--I'm adapting it with hopes that it can help me learn to enjoy food again without the threat of gaining my lost weight back. I was shocked with how remarkably similar the No S Diet is to what I spontaneously came up with at the beginning of my journey, so I was intrigued. I am, as you can also see, having a ridiculously hard time gaining enjoyment out of eating cookies and chocolate and tacos and the like again, so I'm hoping for some suggestions or general pointers.

lbb (Liz) · Post by **lbb (Liz)** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 4:28 am

I plead with you to either follow No-S to get back to "normal" or to seek some professional help.
You are only 16! When I was 13, I went down the slippery slope of losing weight. Controlling food. Fearing food. Over-exercsiing...all into full-blown anorexia.
With professional help, I got back to "normal"...but it then turned into bulimia in college (cue: life change!).
With professional help again, I kinda got back to normal.
I would do anything to go back and find a way to not have gone down this long long road.
My only advice is to treat yourself like you would your friend.
3 meals. Healthy or not.
Give yourself freedom on the weekend. No S will help get you there.
I'm glad you're seeking normalcy at this point!

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 5:04 am

I'm not sure there is anything we can say to convince you. Feeling guilt for eating under your circumstances is rather serious.

However, in the meantime it sounds like you should still try to use No S to eat moderate meals. You don't have to eat "junk" to start. Just eat servings of each of the macronutrients at each meal. Do your best to savor the food, trying to keep other thoughts out. It will be hard to start; that doesn't mean it's impossible. Just like obsessive thoughts about the need to eat when not hungry can be thwarted by recognizing that they are not based on truth, and by diverting the attention away from them by concentrating on something else, obsessive thoughts about the "danger" of rich foods can be decreased, too. Over a period of weeks, this process can actually rewire your brain! And you definitely have some distortions going on.

NoSnacker · Post by **NoSnacker** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 10:09 am

I hear your pain and agree you might want to just talk to someone to help you understand what is going on.

I really liked what ibb said..I started dieting young as well and was eating one meal a day..was not good at all...but I won't bore you with all the details of my long past of dieting.

No S will work for you, but you also should talk to someone that can help you..I was in counseling for years and actually enjoyed it..ya know why, they can't tell anyone and it is between the both of you..NO one knows...if you can nip it in the bud now, you will have a saner life ahead of you.

I'm talking about someone to help you with emotions, that will eventually help with the food and how you think about it.

deb

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 4:03 pm

The English teacher has to step in to say I think Deb means nip it in the bud, though maybe she said "butt" on purpose?

Blithe Morning · Post by **Blithe Morning** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 8:07 pm

Well done on realizing you need a more normal relationship with food. The amount of time and effort you are expending on maintaining your weight is not sustainable over the course of your life. College, new jobs, marriage, babies all require you to reset your eating and work out habits. And there isn't always time for an hour of exercise. Sometimes, there isn't time to track calories.

If you want to get over your fear of food, try adding them in gradually. Eventually you will see that they will not hurt you. Maybe make it a goal to savor one formerly forbidden food a week?

If you just can't then get help. Otherwise, you are setting yourself up from a lifetime of obsession and misery.

bbc1372 · Post by **bbc1372** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 5:30 pm

being an average is not everything.