I lost a lot of weight on a diet similar to NoS.

[chomp0]

So here's the diet plan I've been following for about 9 months.

The Rule:
3 meals a day. No snacks.

The Guidelines:
Every meal must taste great!
Buy fresh ingredients, avoid processed crap.
Eat plenty of vegetables.
Keep portion sizes small (unless it's mostly veggies).
No more than one treat a day, as part of a meal.
Eat slowly, really savour your food.
LEARN 2 COOK!!!

It's very similar to NoS so I hope you don't mind me sharing. The main differences are that I don't have S-days but I do eat a sweet thing every day. I wouldn't be able to last 5 days without chocolate or cake

I've almost reached my goal. I just have a little bit more to lose off my tummy but I can now wear the same size clothes I did in my early twenties (I'm 28 years old now). I'm very happy with my new lifestyle, I won't be 'going off my diet' and putting all the weight back on. I'll be sticking with 3 meals a day, I'll just be making them bigger.

I'm now much thinner, happier and a better cook than I was a year ago.

I've been lurking here for a while but didn't want to post because I'm not actually on the NoS diet. However most other weight loss forums are kind of depressing and I don't really want to read about things like low-carb, low-fat, 6 tiny meals a day is best, healthy snacks, foods to avoid, ect.

NoS is a very sensible diet and reading things here has been very helpful, so thank you.

[wosnes]

Congratulations on your weight loss!

Did you devise this plan yourself or find it somewhere else? If you devised it yourself, how did you come up with the idea?

[chomp0]

Thanks.

Yeah I came up with it myself. It was difficult at first to stick to 3 meals a day. I just wasn't used to being hungry because I'd eat something as soon I began to feel peckish. Sometimes I'd eat when I wasn't even hungry, just because it tasted so good.
I found the best way to stick to it was to make each meal as delicious as possible. I told myself because I was buying less food then I could afford more expensive quality food. Eventually I got used to 3 meals a day and started reducing their sizes. I also wanted to eat healthier so I'd make more homemade meals and have more veggies. These are just guidelines though, I usually stick to them but if I don't I don't feel guilty. The important thing is not to eat snacks. That's what made me fat in the first place and avoiding them has made me thin.

[wosnes]

I agree about snacks. In my opinion "no snacks" is the most important of the No-S rules. Your idea to make meals that taste great is wonderful.

[Imogen Morley]

Impressive! Your plan sounds very reasonable, and I agree with wosnes - "no snacking" seems to be even more important than "no sweets".
I'm curious: do you control portion sizes of your treats, or just eat until you're satisfied?

[chomp0]

Haha I'm capable of eating a ridiculous amount of sweets so I have to control their portion sizes. Ice cream i'll eat in a tea cup instead of a bowl for example.

The problem with sweets is that they don't really fill you up. I was hungry when I woke up, had ginger cake with maple syrup for breakfast, was still hungry afterwards. If i'd had crumpets or toast then I would've been full, but I can't resist the cake.

[BrightAngel]

It's very similar to NoS so I hope you don't mind me sharing.
I've been lurking here for a while but didn't want to post because I'm not actually on the NoS diet.

Good Job,
Sounds like you have a great plan for yourself.
Over the years there have been quite a few people
who've posted modified plans that are very similar to yours.

[MerryKat]

Well Done on your weight loss - amazing how sensible often leads us to similar solutions!!

[Mustloseweight]

Sounds very do-able. At the risk of sounding like a No S traitor, I like the one treat a day and no S days. I could now probably forego the treat a day and have it Sat and Sun and restrict S days to one treat per S day with a meal, or occasionally if I am on a family outing or something rare and buy an icecream from the van or something.

[oolala53]

Great job! What wisdom for such a young person, though you probably don't feel that young. Please believe me when I say you will likely save yourself DECADES of discomfort or even misery by adopting this as a life plan. It takes French women through marriage, children, and into old age!

It's funny how we all think we couldn't do what the other guy does. I thought I couldn't go 5 days without sweets; now I couldn't imagine eating sweets every day. But it's working for you. And you probably benefitted from NOT doing all the stuff I did grappling with this.

Most long timers have S days that are very close to N days, much like you. It's just a different way to get there.

I'm curious to know how you got through the holidays last year. You must have started this not long before. (Though it's not really an issue for me anymore, either. I get plenty of great holiday food at meal times.) And, how have you handled having to adjust meal times, if you did, to accommodate eating with others?

[finallyfull]

I think you ARE on No S, with mods, because plenty of us take No S and figure out how to make it work for us.

I think the beauty of your description is not focusing on what you're NOT having, (I won't snack I won't snack I won't snack) -- which I think the diet mindset causes, but on what you CAN have, actually asking yourself to make each meal as wonderful as possible. Obviously many of us can't have three gorgeous meals, but a focus on good, fresh foods and cooking them, and enjoying each meal is kind of the point for me.

Thanks for posting!

(after a year and a half of vanilla No S, I am working on dropping weekend S days anyway, for many reasons. Although I don't think I could have started from day one like this. Who knows.)

Good luck and keep us in the loop please.

[oolala53]

finallyfull, I don't think I could have started with ANY of the adjustments I've made along the way. I think that is the nature of appetite change, the process and benefit of No S. If someone had told me I would eat as little as I eat now, I would have just regarded it as a diet and said No Way.

(Not many may have listened to Reinhard if he hadn't gotten as slim as he has, but it wouldn't have negated the approach, in my opinion. I don't think he ever had a goal to lose 40 lbs, but to eat moderately and lose SOMEthing.)

[chomp0]

I'm curious to know how you got through the holidays last year. You must have started this not long before. (Though it's not really an issue for me anymore, either. I get plenty of great holiday food at meal times.) And, how have you handled having to adjust meal times, if you did, to accommodate eating with others?

I still stick to 3 meals on special occasions, although my list of guidelines go out the window. :p
On christmas I had a plate of chocolate and cake for breakfast and lunch. Then I had a huge christmas dinner and enjoyed it so much more without having overeaten throughout the day.
On my birthday last month I had salad for lunch (because I wanted to save room) and went out for dinner. I had starters and a main course, I was absolutely stuffed afterwards. I can't handle as much food as I used to!


For other family get togethers I put half my dinner in tupperware and bring it home because the portion sizes are much too big for someone trying to lose weight. I also wrap cakes in tinfoil to bring back with me. I'll start having the big meal and dessert once I reach maintenance.

[leafy_greens]

Every meal must taste great!

Sometimes I forget to do this. You really have to make each meal awesome.

[harpista]

This is a very late reply, but kudos.

I think you succeeded where others have failed because you added enjoyment. Possibly in learning the skill of cooking, definitely in better food, better cooking, and your little treats.

You sound like a French or Italian woman to me. As far as eating habits go, that is the highest compliment I can pay.

[ingridwyss]

I see that I am not the only one who has been using a similar diet. My first reaction upon receiving the book was ...why didn't I put my own version on the Internet. The answer is that I am now and have always been pretty thin, and to preach to people who have a real weight problem, seems cheeky in the extreme. This diet differs from my own, somewhat and I have taken some really helpful aspects of the No S diet and they help, even more. For years I have had periods when I wanted to lose 3 to 5 pounds and have eaten no sweets, no alcohol (difficult when you live in a wine growing village!) and no (what I call) nibblies. This diet is even better, I think, the idea of no in between meal eating is brilliant. Right now, I have had several years of thyroid trouble (I have had severely low thyroid for 40 years and have had no trouble with my weight, but in the last few years I have had constant trouble regulating my dose), so instead of needing to lose 30-5 pounds, it is more like 10-15.
This is the sanest way to eat I have seen.

[oolala53]

Welcome, Ingrid! And I applaud you for realizing that people who have always been slim aren't necessarily the best teachers for those who haven't been. How can you transfer to another person the lack of desire to eat when she isn't hungry/ Most heavy people either don't get or don't read their boyd cues well, and there has been only modest success with teaching them to navigate food just by those guidelines. No S mimics the cultural habits that keep many people slim, even people who would gain if moderation were not built in.

Enjoy!

[April]

So here's the diet plan I've been following for about 9 months.

The Rule:
3 meals a day. No snacks.

The Guidelines:
Every meal must taste great!
Buy fresh ingredients, avoid processed crap.
Eat plenty of vegetables.
Keep portion sizes small (unless it's mostly veggies).
No more than one treat a day, as part of a meal.
Eat slowly, really savour your food.
LEARN 2 COOK!!!

It's very similar to NoS so I hope you don't mind me sharing. The main differences are that I don't have S-days but I do eat a sweet thing every day. I wouldn't be able to last 5 days without chocolate or cake

I've almost reached my goal. I just have a little bit more to lose off my tummy but I can now wear the same size clothes I did in my early twenties (I'm 28 years old now). I'm very happy with my new lifestyle, I won't be 'going off my diet' and putting all the weight back on. I'll be sticking with 3 meals a day, I'll just be making them bigger.

I'm now much thinner, happier and a better cook than I was a year ago.

I've been lurking here for a while but didn't want to post because I'm not actually on the NoS diet. However most other weight loss forums are kind of depressing and I don't really want to read about things like low-carb, low-fat, 6 tiny meals a day is best, healthy snacks, foods to avoid, ect.

NoS is a very sensible diet and reading things here has been very helpful, so thank you.

And THEN she adds this:

"I found the best way to stick to it was to make each meal as delicious as possible."


WOW, LOVE THIS, way back from 2014.....I would love to know how the original poster (Chomp0) is doing 5 years out. I am always thinking "I'd better eat enough to get through the next XXX hours till my next meal" which is rather negative. I think I am going to adopt her positive "make each meal as delicious as possible" attitude instead!

[automatedeating]

I totally agree with making meals as delicious as possible. If you can't find foods you love, it's not going to stick. And, like the OP, I had to kick processed foods to the curb and learn to cook. I still can't cook much, but I can make my basic meat and veggies in my sleep now. Even that was hard at first.

[April]

I totally agree with making meals as delicious as possible. If you can't find foods you love, it's not going to stick. And, like the OP, I had to kick processed foods to the curb and learn to cook. I still can't cook much, but I can make my basic meat and veggies in my sleep now. Even that was hard at first.

Yes! I, on the other hand, LOVE to cook but.... rarely take the time anymore as my work (which is awesome, I love my job) and life have become so busy I have really slipped in to what is quick and easy for meals, instead of taking my time to plan more healthier and tastier meals from scratch, accept on the weekends. I really miss making a home-cooked meals more often than not. This is a reminder that I need to make that a priority. It seems as when one area of my life is a focus, the other areas suffer, I need to work on balance!

[oolala53]

Sometimes it was a reasonable portion of a processed food as part of my meal which kept me from snacking until that meal. Usually had less than two hours to wait from urge to meal.