Newbie here!

Bluebell · Post by **Bluebell** » Fri Sep 30, 2016 6:26 pm

Hi, I am a new member who has just discovered the No S way of eating. I could go on and on about my poor relationship with food, but in a nutshell I am desparate to find a way of eating that wil help me eat like a normal person! I'm 41 and need to lose around 35 pounds (had to stop and think there, am in the UK so 2 1/2 stone!)
Anyway I have started today, it has really made me stop and realise how often I reach for food! And not because I am actually hungry.
Looking forward to forming new sensible habits. Any hints and tips gratefully received

RAWCOOKIE · Post by **RAWCOOKIE** » Fri Sep 30, 2016 8:01 pm

Welcome! This is the most sane way of handling eating that I have come across in my 61 yrs! I hope you get a grip of it and enjoy it too.

Read the posts on these boards - go over and listen to/read the podcasts - get the book - and post here every day for support and encouragement.

That's my advice!

Bluebell · Post by **Bluebell** » Fri Sep 30, 2016 8:35 pm

Thank you Rawcookie! I am actually feeling very positive, this feels like something I can do! No calorie counting! No cutting out anything! No swapping things I like for things I don't like! No cooking separate meals for me! Maybe, just maybe this will sort me out once and for all.
I have the book, I bought the kindle edition, and will definitely look up those podcasts. Trust me to start on a Friday, I think I'll try and do No S days until next weekend then hopefully I'll have made a good start.
Thanks again I appreciate your reply.

Whosonfirst · Post by **Whosonfirst** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 12:41 am

Welcome Bluebell, Just try try to remember that this is a marathon and not a sprint when it comes to losing weight. Don't sweat your first S-weekend.

Bluebell · Post by **Bluebell** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 12:21 pm

Whosonfirst wrote:Welcome Bluebell, Just try try to remember that this is a marathon and not a sprint when it comes to losing weight. Don't sweat your first S-weekend.

Thank you! I have a fair bit of work to do on my mindset! The marathon begins here...

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 12:57 pm

Welcome! Realize that it may take some of the same will to keep to the habits as it did to stick to a diet when old urges crop up, but at least you have great meals to look back on and forward to! That saved me SO many times.

(I recommend staying away from the scale for several weeks at least.)

Post by **reinhard** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 1:01 pm

Welcome! I turn 43 tomorrow and have lost 40 pounds, so I'd say No-s is pretty well optimized for someone in your situation.

Bluebell · Post by **Bluebell** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 2:03 pm

oolala53 wrote:Welcome! Realize that it may take some of the same will to keep to the habits as it did to stick to a diet when old urges crop up, but at least you have great meals to look back on and forward to! That saved me SO many times.

(I recommend staying away from the scale for several weeks at least.)

Thank you! Yes I am pretty good at preparing healthy meals, its the snacking that is hard! I never realised how many times I put food in my mouth until I tried not to! Wow I am a big snacker

I am feeling very positive right now though, I think this is something I can do.

Bluebell · Post by **Bluebell** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 2:04 pm

reinhard wrote:Welcome! I turn 43 tomorrow and have lost 40 pounds, so I'd say No-s is pretty well optimized for someone in your situation.

Thank you so much. Maybe I have finally reached the stage in my life where I'm ready to sort out my food issues once and for all. I am so done with diets!

Bluebell · Post by **Bluebell** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 2:20 pm

reinhard wrote:Welcome! I turn 43 tomorrow and have lost 40 pounds, so I'd say No-s is pretty well optimized for someone in your situation.

And Happy Birthday for tomorrow!

bunsofaluminum · Post by **bunsofaluminum** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 2:32 pm

Welcome! to a pretty cool way of living. Don't expect the pounds to melt off fast. In fact, I gained two pounds, but have now lost four, and I've been at it for almost five months. The weight is not coming off quick for me, BUT the change in my attitude towards food has come quickly and I learn something about myself every week that I follow the No S guidelines.

There's also a FB No S group that's helpful, and all the podcasts here. Lots of encouragement and help.

Bluebell · Post by **Bluebell** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 3:00 pm

bunsofaluminum wrote:Welcome! to a pretty cool way of living. Don't expect the pounds to melt off fast. In fact, I gained two pounds, but have now lost four, and I've been at it for almost five months. The weight is not coming off quick for me, BUT the change in my attitude towards food has come quickly and I learn something about myself every week that I follow the No S guidelines.

There's also a FB No S group that's helpful, and all the podcasts here. Lots of encouragement and help.

Thank you. I think I can live with slow weight loss if my attitude towards food in general is changing. It is encouraging to hear that this is working for you.
I have lost weight so many times, I have followed every diet and weight loss technique under the sun, only to regain the weight and more when I return to my old bad habits. I would go so far as to say that I have never had a normal relationship with food in the whole of my adult life. I need to break the cycle and if it takes time then I will have to be patient! (Easier said than done!)
I am a dinosaur and not on FB but finding this forum and the book and podcasts very helpful. I really appreciate all the advice and support.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sat Oct 01, 2016 3:55 pm

To put a plug in for here, and maybe I'm just biased, but here there are threads that can make it easier to look back on certain topics. Facebook is just a running tab.

But the Facebook group is pretty lively.

I didn't set out to lose but had in the back of my mind that I might go back to the weight I was in college before my first diet. It took a few years, but it happened. I sometimes drop from there, but have not ever really maintained for longer than a few months at that lower weight. (But I'm not changing my signature until December.)

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Sun Oct 02, 2016 5:24 am

Bluebell wrote: Thank you! Yes I am pretty good at preparing healthy meals, its the snacking that is hard! I never realised how many times I put food in my mouth until I tried not to! Wow I am a big snacker
I am feeling very positive right now though, I think this is something I can do.

LOL, I was shocked by this too when I started No-S! I had no idea that I was eating pretty much all day! It felt really weird at first, but you do get used to it.

Welcome and Happy Birthday!

Bluebell · Post by **Bluebell** » Sun Oct 02, 2016 8:35 am

Merry wrote:
Bluebell wrote: Thank you! Yes I am pretty good at preparing healthy meals, its the snacking that is hard! I never realised how many times I put food in my mouth until I tried not to! Wow I am a big snacker
I am feeling very positive right now though, I think this is something I can do.
LOL, I was shocked by this too when I started No-S! I had no idea that I was eating pretty much all day! It felt really weird at first, but you do get used to it.

Welcome and Happy Birthday!

I'm glad its not just me! I was thinking about the many many diets I have been on over the years (first one aged 12!) and they have all, without exception, encouraged snacking of some description. Whether it be carrot sticks, fruit, nuts, cheese, meats, depending on the diet, there's always something to eat if you are hungry. No one has ever said to me, its OK to be hungry! Just wait for your next meal, you will actually be OK! Quite a thought really and taking me a while to get my head round.
Thanks for the message. And for the birthday wish - but its not my birthday, its Reinhard's! Happy birthday to the creator of this amazing plan!

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Mon Oct 03, 2016 4:44 am

Bluebell wrote: I'm glad its not just me! I was thinking about the many many diets I have been on over the years (first one aged 12!) and they have all, without exception, encouraged snacking of some description. Whether it be carrot sticks, fruit, nuts, cheese, meats, depending on the diet, there's always something to eat if you are hungry.

Isn't that the truth (I was thinking about that the other day as I watched an ad for losing weight by eating their 100 calorie snacks, LOL!)

Bluebell wrote: No one has ever said to me, its OK to be hungry! Just wait for your next meal, you will actually be OK! Quite a thought really and taking me a while to get my head round.

I actually remember being hungry as a kid between meals & being told to not spoil my dinner etc... I really didn't have snacks until I was old enough to have money and stop by a store to get them, except an occasional apple.

It makes so much sense!

Bluebell wrote: And for the birthday wish - but its not my birthday, its Reinhard's! Happy birthday to the creator of this amazing plan!

Oops!

RAWCOOKIE · Post by **RAWCOOKIE** » Thu Oct 06, 2016 7:21 pm

I'm in the UK too

Bluebell · Post by **Bluebell** » Fri Oct 07, 2016 6:12 pm

RAWCOOKIE wrote:I'm in the UK too

Hi! We are in Hampshire. Nice to know it works over here too!

I had a small slip up today, a square of dark chocolate and a handful of unsalted nuts. This followed 4 perfect No S days so I am trying to just move on. I felt so hungry, tired and cranky and am so used to reaching for a snack, it was as if my hands and mouth had done it before my brain had registered!
Still it took me years to get this overweight, its going to be a slow process to retrain my old brain!
Take care and thanks for posting

RAWCOOKIE · Post by **RAWCOOKIE** » Sat Oct 08, 2016 6:41 am

Your slip-up was small - well done for stopping.

If I feel really 'snacky' on a week-day, I head back to the kettle for another coffee or tea. Better to over-do that, than eat anything.

The thing that you 'get' gradually is that it's the habit/rule of not 'eating' between meals that's important (not the calories - ie an apple, or a slice of watermelon, or just one biscuit - is all 'eating' and will ruin the habit if indulge). I've found it's even better to have a hot chocolate drink than EAT a square of dark chocolate. It's brain-training "I don't eat between meals"

Enjoy your S-days this weekend. (if you're feeling anxious, listen to the podcast called 'S-Days Gone Wild' I love that one for re-focussing myself on the value of concentrating on building the HABIT of N days.

Bluebell · Post by **Bluebell** » Sat Oct 08, 2016 7:40 am

RAWCOOKIE wrote:Your slip-up was small - well done for stopping.

If I feel really 'snacky' on a week-day, I head back to the kettle for another coffee or tea. Better to over-do that, than eat anything.

The thing that you 'get' gradually is that it's the habit/rule of not 'eating' between meals that's important (not the calories - ie an apple, or a slice of watermelon, or just one biscuit - is all 'eating' and will ruin the habit if indulge). I've found it's even better to have a hot chocolate drink than EAT a square of dark chocolate. It's brain-training "I don't eat between meals"

Enjoy your S-days this weekend. (if you're feeling anxious, listen to the podcast called 'S-Days Gone Wild' I love that one for re-focussing myself on the value of concentrating on building the HABIT of N days.

Thank you for that sound advice. I will take it on board. And I will make time today to listen to that podcast!