I was getting uneasy about what I though was a plateau until I took a closer look at my calendar. I re-started No S 6 weeks ago and I have lost 3 lbs! Okay, 1/2 a lb a week doesn't sound like much and with frequent weigh-ins, it wasn't even noticable (maybe I should start weighing in less). But as part of getting the habits down and really stuck to Vanilla NO S--no extra rules or modifications (only intelligent defaults for nutrition). And yes, I've acted like an idiot and piled up my plate on occassion--and that what's made it possible. The "don't be an idiot" rule is for after the habits are established. Reading this board, I really thing the two biggest problems people have are (1) adding extra rules and trying to be "good). (2) playing around with definitions, esp the no sweet rule--thinking artifical sweeteners are OK and high sugar "healthy" cereals and "energy bars" aren't really sweets because they are good for you.
Truth-in-advertising: I hate diet sodas anyway, so they are not a temptation for me and I gave up full-sugar pop last fall, so getting back on No S was easier this time. I really thing we need to follow our taste buds as the rule for what it is a sweet. My taste buds are why I don't eat energy bars, granola bars, Quakers oatmeal breakfast bars or any similar stuff anymore. I used to think (based on what other diets said) that these were healthy, but my taste buds say that they are sweets. I find that if I listen to my taste buds, they won't steer me wrong. Even though there is a learning curve for the taste buds that have been numbed by decades of sweets, they can recover.
This all started because I was wondering about June. My original plan was to do no S until vacation the third week of June and try natural eating during vacation (camping so I always lose weight no matter what). Before I looked at the calendar, I thought I was on a plateau and was going to give No S up. Now that I know it is working, I am going to stick with the original plan. Except that I have to relearn how much to eat at meals. I've been feeling really stuffed about a half and hour or so after meals for the last week. So it's not taking as much to fill me up as it used to.
To establish the habits, I've been making sure my 9 inch plate was full. So I have a question: Should I (1) stop filling the plates and run the risk of getting hungry and ruining my habits (2) Start using smaller plates (the ones I grew up with) and have the same risk of between meal hunger or (3) Keep the same plates and keep filling them up but try to learn when I am full.
No S have taught me two and a half parts of natural eating: (1) eating what you want (2) eating when hungry (with only 3 meals I usually get hungry before meals--which of course is normal. ) and (3) eating consciously--at least as far as sweets are concerned, that's why it's a half
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Any thoughts on which option I should follow? Thanks.