Everyday Systems

I have completed 4 weeks with no failures. I am still not loosing weight. Last week I have added exersice to the mix. Treadmill 2 day, Water aroebics 3 days. Golf one and Sunday off. I think that I am still eating too much at meals, but I still get hungry between meals. I have added a glass of 1% milk around 3:30 - 4:00 pm. just to make it thru.

Is there anything else I need to do?

Debbi

Ps I wish Reinhard would put spell check on this board. LOL

Hi,

yes sometimes it happens that technically you're following No-S rules but you don't lose weight immediately. For instance it happened to me this winter. I had a few failures, true, but the main problem was that my N-day platefuls were bigger than during summer/autumn, AND I had more food (well, binges) on weekends too, AND I exercised less than usual, AND my weight is now in the normal range so perhaps weight loss will be slower now. So I didn't lose weight during those winter months. But I didn't really gain weight either, which was a big relief.

I suggest that you look at your meals now that your habits are strong. Are you eating balanced meals? getting hungry between meals AND not losing weight might mean that you need to adjust your food intake, more vegetables perhaps? What about your gender, age, BMI, general health etc? There may be a reason unrelated to food that would explain a plateau.
On the other hand, I generally have month long plateaus then lose "suddenly" 1 or 2 pounds. So perhaps you just need to be patient.

Rose

I am a 63 year old female, in generally good health. Thanks for the encourgement. With summer comming on I will probably eat less on the norm.

No matter I like this way of eating, and plan on continuing.

Debbi

I think No S works fastest for people who fit one or more of the following categories...

...male
...young
...exercise a lot
...have a lot to lose
...tend to eat generally healthy food

and slower for people who are...

... female (life is just unfair on this one)
... older (metabolism slows down)
... don't exercise much
... are already close to "ideal" weight
... tend to eat food that's high in calories most of the time

In fact, for people in the second group who hit MOST of those categories, additional tweaking may eventually be necessary for noticeable weight loss. (But not until the core habits are firmly in place - that takes precedence, and going slowly is the best recipe for success!)

As an older female already in "normal BMI" range, I can actually gain weight on No-S if I combine (1) being a TOTAL idiot on S-days with (2) poor food choices on N-days and (3) skipping out on exercise. The good news is that I don't gain as FAST as I would if I did all those things and was also snacking, having seconds, and eating sweets through the week. And fortunately, I rarely fall into all those traps at once!

I think the core habits are superb, and give a solid foundation to build on if needed. For me, maintenance on No-S is downright easy at this point, which I LOVE because I failed miserably at maintenance on WW. Actual weight loss takes patience and consistency, combined with a reasonable level of exercise - which I should be doing anyway for health, right?

Stick with it. It WILL pay off in the long run, though you may find yourself adding other "healthy habits" once you have the basics down. I am surprised at how much better my nutrition is now!! I really thought I ate decently before, too. However, (1) meal food is inherently better than snack food and (2) in order not to be hungry by the next meal, I've needed to add fiber and protein to my meals, so they've gotten a lot healthier.

getting hungry between meals

for me this is the key, if I am not getting hungry for every meal, I know I am fooling myself and eating too much for me,

Blueskighs

blueskighs wrote: ...if I am not getting hungry for every meal, I know I am fooling myself and eating too much for me...

Yup, me too, Blue. And I know that I am not getting hungry often enough for meals. It will happen. I'm still learning. I figure I'm working on the vanilla no-s habits and when those are completely natural for me (i.e., I rarely think of a snack or sweet between or after meals), it will be time to cut back further. I don't intend to spook myself and quit this way of eating EVER!