Questions from a second day No S Diet Newbie

[TingTing]

This is my second day so far. Tonight, I got so hungry that I ate an apple and drank a glass of skim milk before making dinner. I find the one plate thing to be really, really difficult at night. I ended up going for seconds tonight because I felt really hungry. I am going to have to do better at night time.

Questions, I have a habit every night of eating a non-fat yogurt (Activia yogurt) with a spoonful of honey (which I take once a day since I hear it's good for my health). I also eat a small handful of almonds every night since I hear that it's good for lowering cholesterol. I don't want to give up my yogurt habit nor my almond habit.

Is this habit going to affect this diet in the long run?

I try not to eat any sugar during the day, honey is my only one sweetener once a day.

Does anybody have any suggestions, ideas on how to conquer nightly overeating?

Thanks all!

[CrazyCatLady]

I think that when you start it is best to increase the amounts on your plate at mealtimes. The beauty of No S is taking us away from those habits that say we need all these little extra meals or snacks. I used to need a snack at 10:30am (usually pretzels or something else "harmless"), a little something sweet after lunch, a piece of fruit on the way home from work, etc.

Just three weeks. Give it a try. I promise that you won't starve to death! Just add a little more to each meal. Even add activia yogurt with honey to each dinner meal. See how you feel in 3 weeks!

(Disclaimer...though I "started" No S at the first of the year, I only just committed to following it strictly a few days ago. So I have only had 2 successful No S Days so far. But those two days have been quite simple.)

Lets do this together, TingTing!

[wosnes]

It's not "no sugar", it's "no sweets."

I started to say that you should try to incorporate the yogurt, honey and almonds into a meal. You probably should. But it doesn't have to be every day.

There's a list of about 25 foods that have various nutrients that are supposed to be exceptionally good for our health. Some lower our risk for cancer, some are good for heart health, some lower cholesterol, some help with vision and so on. It's suggested that most of these be eaten daily or several times weekly. If you were to do that, these foods are all you would be eating, especially if you're eating 3 meals daily.

Does that mean we should eat more than three meals daily so we can get all these nutrients? No, I don't think it does.

First, there are other foods that lower cholesterol. Beans and whole grains, for instance. Second by lowering your intake of foods high in saturated fat, trans-fats and probably overly refined and processed foods, you lower the risk of your cholesterol being elevated. Additionally, lowering your calorie intake and losing weight lowers cholesterol. Eating only 3 meals daily automatically lowers yor calorie intake and leads to weight loss.

Eating a varied diet is more important than eating very specific foods daily.

I've noticed that sometimes when I eat a full plate of food I still feel hungry when I finish. But usually if I wait 20=30 minutes, that hunger goes away and I feel satisfied. If I eat more, after 20-30 minutes I feel stuffed. So, make sure you have a full plate of food and wait to see if you still feel hungry.

[drswife]

You really need to keep it simple and just keep it 3 plates of food end of story. once you start fudging here and there it's just going to get more and more of how you used to eat hence why even bother.

I'm on my 2nd week and I haven't slipped up yet. Snacking was my biggest problem though and never been much for 2nds or sweets. I was really really hungry the first few days but now I'm not at all hungry. I make sure to eat a large meal at each meal cuz I figure I can cut down later but the important thing is to establish the habit first.

Sometimes I eat yogurt along w/ other stuff and I just put everything on my plate including my little container of yogurt just as a way of defining what I'm going to eat. then I can take it off if I want and eat it normally. So that's what I would do include it on your plate and as part of your meal. Up your meals so you don't need to snack or have 2nds.

I can't tell you how freeing this diet has been for me. I really feel normal around food and it's so wonderful so do try to stick it out for the 21 days and really just see if it doesn't change your relationship w/ food in amazing ways.

Good luck!

[lmt2pt]

Everyone else is right on target with their advice, and reasoning. You are building a habit right now. The more strict you are at first, the easier it will be. It sounds convaluted, but as someone who has started more than once, I promise you it is the truth. You will save yourself several restarts if you stick to No snacks, No Sweets (not no sugar, but no sweets. Think dessert) and No seconds.

One thing my husband and I discovered in my many restarts is that what we used to think of as hunger, really isn't. It's habit. I used to think I was hungry and needed seconds. In reality I was used to taking seconds and had a physical sensation when I didn't follow my habit of taking them. It really wasn't hunger.

Also, next time skip the apple and the skim milk. Have a glass of full fat milk. It will satisfy you better and will not interfere with the no snacking habit building.

[BrightAngel]

You really need to keep it simple and just keep it 3 plates of food end of story. once you start fudging here and there it's just going to get more and more of how you used to eat hence why even bother.

I'm on my 2nd week and I haven't slipped up yet. Snacking was my biggest problem though and never been much for 2nds or sweets. I was really really hungry the first few days but now I'm not at all hungry. I make sure to eat a large meal at each meal cuz I figure I can cut down later but the important thing is to establish the habit first.

Sometimes I eat yogurt along w/ other stuff and I just put everything on my plate including my little container of yogurt just as a way of defining what I'm going to eat. then I can take it off if I want and eat it normally. So that's what I would do include it on your plate and as part of your meal. Up your meals so you don't need to snack or have 2nds.

I can't tell you how freeing this diet has been for me. I really feel normal around food and it's so wonderful so do try to stick it out for the 21 days and really just see if it doesn't change your relationship w/ food in amazing ways.

Good luck!

I really agree.
I don't have a problem eating large meals,
but snacking is a severe problem for me.

Today is also my 2nd day on the No S Plan.
I usually have 1/2 cup of 0% Fage Greek Yogurt with a pkt of Splenda
every day, midmorning...
I love it and it's good for me
However, I often add a small bran muffin with it,
AND I have great difficulty making that my only mid-morning snack.

So this morning I put my 1/2 cup of yogurt (in a small container)
on my breakfast plate along with the rest of a normal breakfast.
I was only able to take 1 bite because I was already so full,
and had to put it in the refrigerator to have with a small lunch.
I just finished breakfast, so right now I'm full...but in an hour....
.....my desire to snack kicks in...growing stronger and stronger until lunch.
Resisting a desire to snack makes my mornings, afternoons, and evenings difficult.

However, giving in the the desire doesn't make it go away,
and eating continually will not allow me to stay in Maintenance.

[reinhard]

You are welcome to modify the diet to suit your particular needs and preferences -- if you want to keep your yogurt and nuts and night, it's certainly fine with me. Just make it an officially recognized fourth meal.

But I'd suggest trying to incorporate it into one of your three meals first and seeing how that goes. Whatever health benefits you get will be the same, and there's less opening for excess to creep in. If you find this doesn't work, well, you can always go back.

What to do in general if you get hungry after your last meal? Have a drink. Even a caloric one. I find whole milk excels in this capacity because not only does it have sufficient calories and fat to dispatch any real physical hunger, but it also has a soporific effect and will help put you and your grumbling stomach to sleep. And in time, once you've built the habit of regular mealtime eating, I don't think you'll find yourself getting very hungry after dinner anymore. You'll have trained your appetite to only switch on when it's time to eat.

Reinhard

[BrightAngel]

What to do in general if you get hungry after your last meal? Have a drink. Even a caloric one. I find whole milk excels in this capacity because not only does it have sufficient calories and fat to dispatch any real physical hunger, but it also has a soporific effect and will help put you and your grumbling stomach to sleep. And in time, once you've built the habit of regular mealtime eating, I don't think you'll find yourself getting very hungry after dinner anymore. You'll have trained your appetite to only switch on when it's time to eat.

Reinhard

Thanks for posting that message.
I went to bed at 7:00 p.m. last night instead of my usual 8 p.m. time.
in order to keep from snacking on my Day 1.

When I saw the milk suggestion in your book, I thought:
"Oh, Good, if I need to I can still have a cup of my sugar-free cocoa (only 50 calories) before bedtime",
(While I seldom use milk as a beverage..I am fond of that cocoa.)
but in truth, until you posted this message, I felt having it would be cheating.

[jazzys mom]

I have only been No Sing since last Thursday. My problem is snacking also, especially at night. The first night of this diet I had to give in and had a spoonful of peanut butter (I LOVE peanut butter!) Since then I have done better each day and tonight I haven't had any cravings for snacks at all. I think it gradually goes away. I have also found that the menthol drop really does cut a sweet craving!

[TingTing]

Thanking everyone for their thoughts and suggestions!

I've decided to make my yogurt/honey my fourth meal as Reinhard suggested.

So far, I am more successful today on the no snacking, no sweets thing. I know that I'll get better at it.

Now, if I am only willing to put better quality foods into my meals, I'd be set!

But like Reinhard says, gotta conquer one thing at a time!