New...Day 3 a few questions

burbanum · Post by **burbanum** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 1:51 am

OK so I am day 3 and doing ok so far. I ama dieting pro unfortunately.. I am finding it a challenge between lunch and dinner the most. I am a massage therapist and sometimes have 5 hours of massage between lunch and dinner and I am SO hungry by dinner it is a challenge..i am wonderng will i adjust to this and get less hungry? i used ot have a handful of nuts or fruit in the afternoon or granola bar but not the past 3 days :) i have been doing calorie counting and i am needing a break..so i am trying this...i hope it works. also i am drinking coffe with suagr and cram (not a lot) this is ok right? also you can spread the meals out different hours each day if needed right? like one day i eat 8, 1, and 7 and then another day when i work late it is more like 930, 230, 830. thanks for all the advice. PS chcoholics like me when does the urge to want chocolate stop ? i am dying in that aspect...i want some chocolate so bad! i used to have a little everyday so this is a big change!

Kathleen · Post by **Kathleen** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 1:57 am

Yesterday, I worked from 9 to 3 without a break and didn't feel hunger or think about food at all. Prior to No S, I bet I didn't go longer than 2 hours without eating.

My body got used to it.

brotherjohn · Post by **brotherjohn** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 2:29 am

burbanum,

Kathleen is right. It does get much better with time, if you stick with it. Your body gets used to it.

My recommendation would be for you to drink one glass of milk (or 100% juice) between meals. Reinhard allows (and recommends) that, too. I drink soy milk because I am allergic to regular milk.

My routine is breakfast at 6, soy milk at 10:00, lunch at 11:30, soy milk at 3:00, supper at 5:00, and sometimes soy milk after that. That makes 2-3 8 oz. glasses of soy milk each day. I sometimes have a cup of coffee or tea between meals, too.

Everything is falling into place now, and I am down 8 pounds in 3 months.
I wish the same for you!

John

burbanum · Post by **burbanum** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 2:35 am

thanks.. i may try this. i have been calorie counting for so long so i have to elt my mindset change as i would not have ever used 120 calories 3 times a day for milk so maybe in time this will sonds reasonable...i am a pro dieter and it is the mindset problem...i would rather have a piece of fruit or nuts but realize this is nto how no s works!

apomerantz · Post by **apomerantz** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:12 am

I've been on No S for three months, and let me assure you that the intense hunger goes away. I was just like you - - eating chocolate every day and the most hungry around 4 pmish (before dinner).

The first two weeks of No S were challenging, but it was SO WORTH IT!!! I have none of the cravings now - - and can readily make it to dinner time without concern or feeling deprived.

I drank a coffee to get me from meal to meal and found that the caffeine really helped dull the appetite so I could make it to dinner. Also, make sure your lunch isn't dieting sized. I eat more for lunch than I ever did before - - in fact, I'd say it is my biggest meal of the day now. But that gives me the energy I need to get through the day. I'm totally fine at dinner time.

So put all that "dieting willpower" to work one last time. Because after two weeks on No S, you won't want to do anything else.

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:26 am

Another thing to remember is that there's nothing wrong with being hungry. Hunger isn't an emergency, something you need to respond to immediately. I don't think 5-6 hours between meals (without a snack) is a particularly long time.

In his newest book, Food Matters, Mark Bittman wrote:

There's a basic truth here: there are stages of hunger, and we -- Americans in general -- have become accustomed to feeding ourselves at the first sign. This is the equivalent of taking a nap every time you get tired, which hardly anyone does.

There are levels of hunger, and there is a very real difference between hunger and starvation. Starvation is a physical state; your body is deprived of essential nutrients or calories for a long period of time. Probably no one reading this book has ever been truly starving -- though we all think we know what starving feels like.

Hunger is a hard-wired early-warning system. At first, your brain says, "Think about eating something soon." In later stages it says, "Eat as soon as you can; make eating a priority." At no point does your brain say, "Eat now or you will do permanent damage," though at times it may feel as if this is true. But "Eat when hungry" has become a habit. We get hungry. We eat. We get hungry again. We eat again. And so on.

I'm not saying, "Don't eat when you're hungry." I"m saying that if losing or maintaining weight is important to you, think twice before you eat from simple hunger, or from other reasons, like emotion. And when you do eat, choose a piece of fruit, a carrot, a handful of nuts. If you're still hungry, have more. And more. Eat a pint of blueberries, or cherry tomatoes, have a mango, or a banana and an apple. Have a lightly dressed salad. You would be hard-pressed to gain weight eating this way.

You can also embrace hunger, strange as that may sound, just as you might embrace the delicious anticipation of a nap, or sexual craving. Your hunger will, after all, be satisfied. Why not wait an hour? (You're not dying, after all!) You might also stop eating before you're full (three-quarters full is probably about right). And if you eat slowly, taking your time, you'll give the food time to reach your stomach and give you a sense of satisfaction before you have seconds or thirds.

If you embrace moderation, eat whole foods instead of junk, live within your physical, monetary, and environmental budget rather than constantly exceeding it, as so many of us do, you will lose weight, tread more lightly on the planet, and gain satisfaction from these things.

burbanum · Post by **burbanum** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 12:21 pm

Thanks for all the tips and encouragement. I agree there is nothing wrong with being hungry, and have tried many a diet where I was hungry. I have about 15 lbs left to lose and I am just tired of counting calories and know i want a maintainable plan. This certainly sounds lke it could be a lifestyle without the need to count every calorie. I will try coffee or gree tea in between meals. I should mention though that with my job doing medical massage therapy that 5 hours of lifting people limbs, stretching, deep tissue massage, etc... leaves me more hungry than say a person who sits all day at a desk. I am not as hungry between meals the days i am not at work. Therefore, i believe there is a correlation to what i am doing physically. That being said i may up my lunch a bit so i can make it through. THanks.

DLB66 · Post by **DLB66** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 1:40 pm

It sounds like we are in a similar place. I've been No-Sing for 2 weeks, trying to lose 15 pounds as well. I, too, am a serious chocoholic! Knowing I can indulge over the weekend helps with the cravings alot - you are really just putting it off. Distracting myself until it passes is always a good strategy. In the last few days, I've noticed that the cravings are about half as intense as they were, so it is getting better. It will for you too!

I'm not hungry between meals, but I really eat big meals, probably too big. I'm still trying to find the right amount of food, and I need to let go of the fear that I'll "starve" before my next meal. Increasing the protein on days when you are doing massage seems reasonable to me. It's certainly a physical job. I'm hungrier on days when I exercise, and sometimes it's hard to get the timing right.

kccc · Post by **kccc** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 1:58 pm

I've been No-S'ing for about 2 years (essentially in "maintenance" - which I couldn't do on Weight Watchers or other calorie-counting plans).

It takes a while to adjust to the no snacks rule. I did it the way I'd wean a baby - cut the easy-to-drop ones first (which, for me, was everything but the 4:00 snack) and limit the hard-to-drop ones to a small range of reasonable choices. Once that was in place, I eventually dropped the remaining snack.

Also, I found that I needed to "up" my meals in order to last that long, both in terms of quantity and quality. For me, making sure I had protein and complex carbs (in addition to veggies, of course) really made a difference. But it's also more food - and when you cut snacks, you DO have room for more food at meals within the same calorie range.

As DLB66 indicated, it takes some experimentation to find the "right" amount at meals. It's common for people to go overboard at first, and even gain a few pounds - there's an emotional component of "will I have enough" that has to be addressed. It takes time to reassure a body used to dieting that you really ARE going to feed it regularly! However, those initial pounds WILL go away once habits are in place, so the best approach is to focus on the habit-building at first.

Hope this is helpful. Best wishes!

burbanum · Post by **burbanum** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 2:43 pm

I really appreciate all the responses. I will just see how it goes as i think this is really liveable in the lng run. I am learning day 4 to give myself permission to eat real meals not 300 cal mini meals as i have done in the past...it is kind of nice to sit down and eat a real meal...like i just had grilled chicken on a whole grain bun, celery with peanut butter, a small amount of cheese and 5 small crackers. I would never have allowed myself this much food at one time before. I am eating this as breakfast then working for a few hours, lunch around 3:15, and dinner at 8:00. I am adjusting my eating schedule to match my work schedule so that i am not haveing more than 5 hours of work without a meal. THanks again everyone!

burbanum · Post by **burbanum** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 2:44 pm

I really appreciate all the responses. I will just see how it goes as i think this is really liveable in the lng run. I am learning day 4 to give myself permission to eat real meals not 300 cal mini meals as i have done in the past...it is kind of nice to sit down and eat a real meal...like i just had grilled chicken on a whole grain bun, celery with peanut butter, a small amount of cheese and 5 small crackers. I would never have allowed myself this much food at one time before. I am eating this as breakfast then working for a few hours, lunch around 3:15, and dinner at 8:00. I am adjusting my eating schedule to match my work schedule so that i am not haveing more than 5 hours of work without a meal. THanks again everyone!