I'm new and raring to go.....in uk

No Snacks, no sweets, no seconds. Except on Days that start with S. Too simple for you? Simple is why it works. Look here for questions, introductions, support, success stories.

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Nell1223
Posts: 65
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:02 pm
Location: Derbyshire UK

I'm new and raring to go.....in uk

Post by Nell1223 » Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:21 pm

Hi all,I've been skirting round the edges of No S for a few months. Ive tried loads of different diets/ healthy eating plans over 20 years or so - losing then gaining. I've done weight watchers, 5:2 intuitive eating, Paul McKenna etc. I'm so embarrassed about my diet book stash that I've hidden them in a cupboard away from my family. I've got 2-3 dress sizes depending on whether I've lost weight or gained it - My bra size has gone up for the first time in my life!!!! the bad news is that it's fat!!

This no s diet makes a lot of sense. I can't stand being given a load of rules and do's and don't and shoulds and ought to's

I've put weight on since my mum took ill last June and was in hospital for 3 months and is now in a nursing home with dementia and complex needs. Every time I visited her I had a coffee and cake to calm myself, then I came home and had some wine and ate too much to block out the worry. I know why I do it but it's become a habit now and I've got so muddled and confused about what's the right or wrong way of eating that I need to re-learn proper eating and get rid of my bad habits and distorted thinking.

Any advice or support is welcome

oolala53
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Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:46 pm

The only advice is to do it to the letter as strongly as you can. If it's relatively easy, just go with that, and plunge yourself into other areas of your life. Let it become just part of the flow of your life.

If it isn't, read threads here, especially the sticky on why people left and came back, and other stickies, check-in threads of those who are making it work, etc. I have other suggestions for reading to immerse yourself in the culture of moderation, but if you can avoid turning this into a part time job, like being a calorie accountant can become, that's preferable.

And I say do NOT concentrate on a goal weight or looking at this as a weight loss plan but more as a set of long-term strategies to manage the onslaught of food cues in our environment and thwart the very human tendency to be opportunistic eaters. Getting that in check first makes a big difference, I am convinced. People who are very weight loss driven are often easily discouraged when their efforts don't pay off rather quickly. (See above about sticky for why people left.)

Don't skimp on meals to start but also start reinforcing any positive experiences you have from being hungry and then getting satisfaction at your meals. Savor every bite!

Oh. the advice can go on and on, but in the end, you just have to do it! Day after day, week after week, etc. There is no other way to get the experiences that will get you the habit.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

cedar
Posts: 312
Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 5:30 am
Location: Australia

Post by cedar » Mon Apr 25, 2016 3:01 am

Fantastic solid advice (as always) Oolala..that's really what I'm focusing on..3 meals a day vanilla No S (plus 14 mins of Shovelglove and a daily walk around the park with my children..) of course I would love to step on the scale and see 5kgs gone one day, but I really honestly can say that even if it never happens -with the moderate rules of No S -I will be incredible proud for sticking to normal regular eating with treats put in there proper 'sometimes' place and not succumbing to diet after diet mixed in with bingeing and craziness. So yes, focusing on daily-weekly-yearly- rest of life -No S is what I recommend too Nell12, it's a great forum to be apart of so all the best.

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Merry
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Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:14 am

Post by Merry » Mon Apr 25, 2016 3:58 am

Welcome! I wish you all the best.

One thought on visits to your mum--perhaps consider one treat, such as a coffee or a glass of wine to wind down, instead of a series of things afterward--kind of gently give yourself that time to transition and decompress, but not make it all about adding in calories, you know? Sometimes I find a nice cup of decaf tea can be comforting/relaxing and fills that "snack" gap when I need it to.

Life is difficult when our loved ones are not well. Remember that not overeating is treating yourself and giving yourself the gift of health. Sometimes I think about that when I'm tempted to snack/overeat.
Homeschool Mom and No S returnee as of 11-30-15.
2 years and counting on No-S.
29 lbs. down, 34 to go. Slow and steady wins the race.
Respect Moderation

Nell1223
Posts: 65
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:02 pm
Location: Derbyshire UK

Post by Nell1223 » Mon Apr 25, 2016 1:55 pm

Wow, I didn't expect to get these replies with such good advice and to be made welcome. Thanks 😀😀 I'm off to read up on that no s and I'm going to spend some time going through the stickies like you said *Oohlala*

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Mon Apr 25, 2016 2:49 pm

Welcome!

Not much to add to what others have already said -- just to add my "amen" to focusing on habit vs. pounds, and trying to relax and enjoy vs. obsessing. It might seem paradoxical, but being comically strict about the rules actually helps in that department.

Reinhard

Nell1223
Posts: 65
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:02 pm
Location: Derbyshire UK

Post by Nell1223 » Tue Apr 26, 2016 9:51 am

Thank you!! 🍷😄

Skelton
Posts: 135
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2012 9:50 pm

Post by Skelton » Wed Apr 27, 2016 11:33 am

Hello nell, welcome to the group. This is a lovely community and posters are very supportive.

There are a few of us here from the UK - one great thing about No S is that it adapts perfectly to any global location :D

I'm a No S returnee with quite a lot of weight to lose (understatement!), and absolutely agree with Oolala's comments about weight. I find it hard to switch off from diet/weight loss mentality but when I do manage it I find No S much easier to stay with.
I definitely know the feeling about having a long history with dieting and a house filled with diet books. I bought one of those plastic crates to stash mine in and had so many I needed to go out and buy two more crates!
Anyway, No S is a sane, sustainable way of eating that you can follow for the rest of your life.
Enjoy it!
"We stop looking for the better diet and start looking for a better life." pangelsue

Nell1223
Posts: 65
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:02 pm
Location: Derbyshire UK

Post by Nell1223 » Wed Apr 27, 2016 4:47 pm

I've been reading and thinking about how I eat, what I eat, when I eat and and why I eat what I do. My eating is so disordered that I don't really know what's me and what I've learnt along the way through diets and healthy eating regimes.

What is me now is that I don't really snack much but I do eat some dark chocolate in the evening watching tv. I will also have a Danish or an almond croissant with coffee sometimes. Oh and I'm a bit of a picker, especially cheese and crackers

I do have seconds, especially with my evening meal

As I've already said my sweets are the nightly chocolate and the occasional cake or digestive biscuit.

I do get into a mess with the times I eat - being retired 😀 I tend to eat breakfast late 11 am, after walking our dog. Then I don't eat lunch til about 4 or 5pm and this will usually be picking at cheese and crackers or soup. Then we eat our evening meal at about 7 or 8 pm and because I've eaten lunch so late I'm not always hungry but I eat it anyway as for me it's my favourite meal of the day - then I might have some chocolate and some wine and spend the evening feeling full and sometimes, go to bed feeling full and uncomfortable and occasionally get acid indigestion.

So, what do you think of this? I think I need to change my habits around eating. Has anyone got any advice or suggestions?

Nell1223
Posts: 65
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:02 pm
Location: Derbyshire UK

Post by Nell1223 » Wed Apr 27, 2016 4:51 pm

Hi Skelton, nice to hear from you I know what you mean about not being able to switch off the diet/ healthy eating mentality - I want to be free of it it but it's so ingrained in me that it's hard to be any other way.
:lol: :lol: At the crates!!

oolala53
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Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Sat Apr 30, 2016 3:50 pm

"I think I need to change my habits around eating. Has anyone got any advice or suggestions?"

It's not going to be much different that the tenets of No S. Figure out three times of day you are willing to sit down with a plate (two of them can be quite small) of food and really relish it. I don't think eating your first meal late needs to be a problem. But obviously, eating four times a day is too much for you if you're feeling uncomfortably full all evening. Try to aim for eating just enough at your other meals to leave most of your appetite for that favorite meal. If that means eating even lighter (maybe a little less cheese and some crudités instead of crackers, which are very dense and often take a lot to be satisfying) in the late afternoon, so be it.

If you want to really do No S- I recommend you commit for a couple of months at least- the chocolate has to be saved for the weekend. You can go back to having it more often, if you test it out for a couple of months and find you want to go back. I know a FEW people here modify to have a small sweet more often, but I have seen that mod fail many more times than succeed, even if people overdo it for awhile on weekends.

It can be hard to accept that we actually need very little, especially as we age. I find that there are some days I eat the equivalent of two meals. It's plenty of food, but it took some real adjustment in how else to spend my time! That was/is actually a bigger issue than the food.
Last edited by oolala53 on Sun May 01, 2016 6:10 am, edited 1 time in total.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

RAWCOOKIE
Posts: 1360
Joined: Thu Jun 18, 2015 9:01 am
Location: Cornwall, UK

Post by RAWCOOKIE » Sat Apr 30, 2016 5:46 pm

Hiya! I'm in the UK too.

The No S diet book is unlike any other - read and be inspired!

Your first challenge is to decide to stop snacking.
Plan your three meals a day - breakfast, lunch, tea/dinner - and make sure you eat plenty for each of those meals.

I went from being a three meals, three snacks a day person - to being a three meals a day person - within about three weeks of starting No S. You can drink coffee, hot chocolate, even wine (suggested 'glass ceiling of two glasses max a day) - but NO FOOD between meals.

My experience has been that, as long as I have my meals planned, I can hold on - knowing that I have something good to eat planned for my next meal. Give it your best shot - and if at first you don't succeed - try, try again! We'll all be here for you.
I love Everyday Systems :3

13.6.15 124.25lbs
11.11.21 101.00lbs

MaggieMae
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Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2015 9:53 pm
Location: Ohio, USA

Post by MaggieMae » Sat Apr 30, 2016 9:07 pm

Welcome, Nell! Sorry to hear about your mum. I have no other words to adds except good luck and let us know how you're doing! :D

Nell1223
Posts: 65
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2016 10:02 pm
Location: Derbyshire UK

Post by Nell1223 » Sun May 01, 2016 10:04 pm

Thanks everyone for your comments and advice - I'm taking them all in and thinking about it. rawcookie I'm in Derbyshire. Cornwall is a beautiful place to live.
I'm 5 days in and really enjoying it - l know it's early days but I feel I positive and liberated from the tyranny and mind numbing boredom of diets and "healthy eating" regimes. I've just finished 2 s days and am looking forward to getting back to my no s days tomorrow. I'm doing the 21 day challenge and like you suggest Oolala I'll keep to the vanilla no s for two months.

I'm using a thing I learnt from one of my many :D diet books to work out when to eat called times and plans - I set a time of 3/4 hours after I've eaten when I don't have any snacks or a meal until the 3/4 hours is up. The plan bit is planning what I'm going to eat

See you later

oolala53
Posts: 10059
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Sun May 01, 2016 10:45 pm

Sounds good. I was lucky before I started to have from previous general concepts for what the building blocks were for each meal of the day. I didn't always know exactly what I was going to have for dinner (I pack and take most weekday lunches, and breakfast wasn't much of an issue) but I knew there was going to be protein, starch, veg, maybe dairy and/or fruit. I didn't hold myself to cooking it all myself! You may want to experiment more, and allow for a lot more variety just to get in the tastes and textures you might long for most, but having a plan is probably very useful.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

User avatar
Merry
Posts: 1658
Joined: Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:14 am

Post by Merry » Mon May 02, 2016 5:24 am

Nell12 wrote:I've been reading and thinking about how I eat, what I eat, when I eat and and why I eat what I do. My eating is so disordered that I don't really know what's me and what I've learnt along the way through diets and healthy eating regimes.

What is me now is that I don't really snack much but I do eat some dark chocolate in the evening watching tv. I will also have a Danish or an almond croissant with coffee sometimes. Oh and I'm a bit of a picker, especially cheese and crackers

I do have seconds, especially with my evening meal

As I've already said my sweets are the nightly chocolate and the occasional cake or digestive biscuit.

I do get into a mess with the times I eat - being retired 😀 I tend to eat breakfast late 11 am, after walking our dog. Then I don't eat lunch til about 4 or 5pm and this will usually be picking at cheese and crackers or soup. Then we eat our evening meal at about 7 or 8 pm and because I've eaten lunch so late I'm not always hungry but I eat it anyway as for me it's my favourite meal of the day - then I might have some chocolate and some wine and spend the evening feeling full and sometimes, go to bed feeling full and uncomfortable and occasionally get acid indigestion.

So, what do you think of this? I think I need to change my habits around eating. Has anyone got any advice or suggestions?
Two ideas to consider:

One--what if you did your "dinner meal" at 4 or 5--the meal you really enjoy--and then did a lighter meal for your 7 or 8 pm dinner?

Two--keep "dinner" at 7 or 8--you may end up hungrier for it after you're on NoS awhile--but instead of seconds of this meal you love, save the seconds for "lunch" the next day.

Not sure if either of those will work for you--congrats on your first 5 days in, and I hope your 21 day challenge goes well!
Homeschool Mom and No S returnee as of 11-30-15.
2 years and counting on No-S.
29 lbs. down, 34 to go. Slow and steady wins the race.
Respect Moderation

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