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ryan1972 · Post by **ryan1972** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:23 pm

Hi. I also stumbled across the No S Diet online by accident. I was struck by the simplicity of it. It really is just like the advice that "Grandma" used to give about how to eat.

I have struggled with weight almost my whole life. I was a skinny kid but starting gaining as I got older. I was a heavy teenager and a heavy adult. In 2001, I lost 100 lbs on a vegetarian diet. I kept it off for a couple of years. I got into trouble with weight again after getting married in 2003. I started eating more of what my wife and step kids were eating, celebrating more, exercising less. Five years later, I have regained almost all the weight.

I have tried a number of things, including Atkins, South Beach, JUDDD. Nothing seemed to fit in with the family lifestyle I am living now. I think No S might be the right thing for me. I want to be able to eat, I want to be able to be social and "normal" AND I want to be healthier.

I look forward to learning more and reading about your experiences.

Ryan

blueskighs · Post by **blueskighs** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 8:13 pm

Ryan,

Welcome!

I have struggled with weight almost my whole life. I was a skinny kid but starting gaining as I got older. I was a heavy teenager ...

ditto, ditto and ditto for me!

You wrote about being able to "normalize" your meals with your family - one of the wonderful things that NO S has done for my marriage is "normalize" food/eating in our home. Let me tell you my husband loves it and is my biggest supporter even though he is not a noser, the beauty of it is ... he doesn't need to be and nobody is the wiser, but DEFINITELY food type issues are much deflated, easier to manage and much more ENJOYABLE all the way around. My husband loves that I can ENJOY some treats on the weekend without going into full scale reactionary diet frontal assault or binge mode.

I do highly recommend the book as it answers pretty much ALL questions, diplomatically confronts ALL rationalizations and justifications for not keeping N days green, and provides much motivating and inspiring information for the long haul,

Blueskighs

ryan1972 · Post by **ryan1972** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 10:07 pm

That's good to hear. My wife has tried to be supportive, but I haven't made it easy for her. She tried to accommodate my Atkins phase, my vegetarian phase, my Zone phase, etc, etc, etc. It got to a point where she would say to me, "so how are you eating today"? It just wasn't working well for us. She is a big believer in intuitive eating, and I prefer some kind of rules. The No S Diet seems to combine the two.

Kathleen · Post by **Kathleen** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 10:48 pm

ryan1974,

Guess what my 14 year old daughter called the Intuitive Eating approach? The Peanut Cluster Diet.

Guess what she calls this diet? The Peanut Cluster Diet with Restrictions. The Intuitive Eating appraoch does get you over the panicked feeling of not enough to eat because you're dieting; however, I gained 10 pounds following it.

With this approach, I've lost 8 of those pounds.

Food is more enjoyable when you actually give yourself permission to enjoy it!

Kathleen

blueskighs · Post by **blueskighs** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 11:57 pm

ryan,

my husband has been through many diets and eating plans and different styles of eating with me too

it took about five to six weeks of me doing the No S Diet for him seeing me STOP eating sweets, seconds, snacks on Mondays before he "got it" ... now he loves it cause it is so freeing for both of us!

and Kathleen I still love the name "Peanut Cluster Diet with Restrictiions"!

Blueskighs

Blithe Morning · Post by **Blithe Morning** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 2:15 pm

Peanut Cluster Diet with Restrictions!

I love smart teenagers. I have three (one is actually a 20something now...) and they cracked me up even while driving me crazy.

I'm going to start calling it the Peanut Cluster Diet with Restrictions too. I think that name might interest DH more than NoS.

All the best Ryan. Since this is the way you can eat for the rest of your life, I'm sure you will achieve your goals.

gratefuldeb67 · Post by **gratefuldeb67** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 5:40 pm

Good luck Ryan!
NoS combined with moderate everyday exercise is a wonderful recipe for long term success! I'm sure you will find it such a pleasure to do and especially after trying so many restrictive diets..
Give it a few weeks and see how it goes.
Best wishes,

Debs

ryan1972 · Post by **ryan1972** » Thu Oct 30, 2008 10:01 pm

Thanks for all the replies. I am going to begin the No S Diet in earnest this weekend. I think it will be a challenge for me to approach Saturday and Sunday as S days and not Binge Days! I have a tendency to eat everything that isn't nailed down then "start over" on Monday. I don't expect to lose fat if I continue that pattern, no matter how weekdays go!

Can anyone give me an idea of what/how they eat on the weekend?

Thanks.
Ryan

Merry · Post by **Merry** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 5:17 am

ryan1972 wrote:Thanks for all the replies. I am going to begin the No S Diet in earnest this weekend. I think it will be a challenge for me to approach Saturday and Sunday as S days and not Binge Days! I have a tendency to eat everything that isn't nailed down then "start over" on Monday. I don't expect to lose fat if I continue that pattern, no matter how weekdays go!

Can anyone give me an idea of what/how they eat on the weekend?

Thanks.
Ryan

My S days are somewhat similar to my N days, except that I might have a snack sometime during the day--a piece of fruit or bread or whatever I'm hungry for, but a "snack," not an additional "meal." I might have a cup of hot chocolate. I might take seconds at a meal of an item I liked, but not an additional platefull of food. I usually have one or two desserts. On one of the days we go to a Bible study where I have a small plate of desserts or snack foods. I probably still overdo on some of my S days, I'm still getting used to all of this. I am finding that I don't necessarily want to snack or have seconds though--sometimes it's half-way through the day before I realize, "hey, I can eat whenever & whatever I want today!" But then sometimes I still don't--the 3 meal thing is becoming more comfortable.

Not sure if that helps! Merry

blueskighs · Post by **blueskighs** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 12:47 pm

ryan,

if you can wrap your head around this the most helpful guideline for me is to ENJOY ... it is really hard to ENJOY food that I am inhaling

for me binging is rapid mindless eating ... i am not truly savoring ... slooooooow down know that whatever you eat or don't eat you will get a nice big yellow square on habitcal and ENJOY,

i have had some pretty whacked out S days AND i have had some "perfect" for me S days,

when I focus on ENJOYING I do the best, it is also helpful to NOT eat sweety/treaty things you really don't want and Reinhard has an EXCELLENT podcast on S days gone wild!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blueskighs

gratefuldeb67 · Post by **gratefuldeb67** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 1:34 pm

ryan1972 wrote:Thanks for all the replies. I am going to begin the No S Diet in earnest this weekend. I think it will be a challenge for me to approach Saturday and Sunday as S days and not Binge Days! I have a tendency to eat everything that isn't nailed down then "start over" on Monday. I don't expect to lose fat if I continue that pattern, no matter how weekdays go!

Can anyone give me an idea of what/how they eat on the weekend?

Thanks.
Ryan

Hi Ryan, in general the initial response to S days in the beginnings on NoS seem to be that they can turn into a bit of an out of control day, so first of all, don't beat yourself up if this does happen.
Basically, in our home, we tend to shoot for two treats a day.. sometimes it turns into three, but by shooting for two, you know you will 1) have stuff to look forward to, and 2) won't feel really restricted and you will have a little structure so it doesn't just turn into a non stop snacking or sweeting or whatever day and a binge. I would also suggest not buying a whole cake or a whole gallon of ice cream or a large bag of chips etc.. I always find it's inevitable that when I decide our S day treat will be something in a big size, we always feel compelled to eat all of it. Not necessary at all, and although, again, S days aren't restricted, I also know how horrible it feels when one feels they have binged through the whole day. Go for quality and not quantity.
Focus on really enjoying them. It may well be that that alone will help you relearn not to eat everything nailed down. Simply ask yourself "Am I enjoying this, or am I just eating for the sake of stuffing myself *because I can*" In other words, just try to be a conscious eater, even on S days.
You will become your own advocate and support team then and make better choices.
Sorry this was so long. Good luck to you

Debs

gratefuldeb67 · Post by **gratefuldeb67** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 1:40 pm

blueskighs wrote:ryan,

if you can wrap your head around this the most helpful guideline for me is to ENJOY ... it is really hard to ENJOY food that I am inhaling for me binging is rapid mindless eating ... i am not truly savoring ... slooooooow down know that whatever you eat or don't eat you will get a nice big yellow square on habitcal and ENJOY,

i have had some pretty whacked out S days AND i have had some "perfect" for me S days,

when I focus on ENJOYING I do the best, it is also helpful to NOT eat sweety/treaty things you really don't want and Reinhard has an EXCELLENT podcast on S days gone wild!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blueskighs

Blue, hahah, just read this after writing my response.
All I can say is "Ditto" you hit the nail on the head

Debs

vmsurbat · Post by **vmsurbat** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 1:45 pm

ryan1972 wrote:Thanks for all the replies. I am going to begin the No S Diet in earnest this weekend. I think it will be a challenge for me to approach Saturday and Sunday as S days and not Binge Days! I have a tendency to eat everything that isn't nailed down then "start over" on Monday. I don't expect to lose fat if I continue that pattern, no matter how weekdays go!

Can anyone give me an idea of what/how they eat on the weekend?

Thanks.
Ryan

We eat pretty normally EXCEPT that I *plan* for a few special treats. (I am chief cook here!).

On Fridays (one of my S days), we have pizza and soda plus a yummy dessert. This is also day that I have a get together with some other ladies and will usually have a small cookie with my tea/coffee when I am with them.

On Sundays (my other S day), we have a very nice Sunday lunch (the main meal) and I plan a second special dessert. (Differs from Friday's treat).

On both days, I fill my plate up and will have seconds, but ONLY AFTER I FINISH MY PLATE, and THINK about what (if anything) would be extra satisfying. Often, NOTHING is what will be most satisfying. An overextended tummy is a pain (literally!).

Like another poster said, I found it really helps to think about S days as a day to make eating food EXTRA enjoyable, not a day to scarf down any/all food as much as possible. I suggest you focus on the ENJOYMENT part, and try to internalize the reality that while you CAN eat whatever and however much you want, is that REALLY what you want?

Also, try to keep in mind that eating the NoS way is a process--learn from any mistakes (it sounds like you ARE doing this, with trying to get a handle on S-days so they don't derail your N-day successes)--don't beat yourself up if, on Monday, you are less than satisfied with your weekend's eating. You have a lifetime to practice and improve (and you WILL).

HTH,

Post by **reinhard** » Fri Oct 31, 2008 5:17 pm

Welcome, Ryan!

I think the "Grandma Diet" should be no-s's alternate name.

Regarding handling S-days, have you heard/read this podcast?

http://everydaysystems.com/podcast/episode.php?id=34

It covers some of the most common issues people have.

Reinhard

ryan1972 · Post by **ryan1972** » Sat Nov 01, 2008 4:05 pm

I listened the podcast. Thanks for that link. It all seems very common sense. I can certainly relate to the idea of actually enjoying food. Even though I often eat a LOT of food, I don't think I really enjoy it all that much. I can't count the times that I've struggled with the decision about what to eat because nothing seems appealing. Unfortunately, I tend err with eating tons of fat and/or sugar in those moments.

Thanks again for all the responses. This appears to be a supportive community with a lot of good ideas.

Ryan