Discouraged

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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esdaly
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 11:10 am

Discouraged

Post by esdaly » Sat Jul 12, 2008 12:59 am

I am feeling discouraged. Although I have been sticking to the noS diet pretty well--no failures for this month and just two extra S days (4th of July and my 20th wedding anniversary,) I am just feeling like it is not going to work. I started the no s diet in June, but had shoulder surgery on the 9th and lost a week as I was not up to following any plan. I got back on the noS diet with fair success--2 failure days for the month of June. Although I do feel like my relationship with food is changing, I have actually seen a 2 or 3 lb. weight gain. I just returned to exercise this week and I have not been able to follow a very rigorous program b/c of my shoulder and b/c of time limits (my brother had a serious accident and a lot of my time has been spent at the hospital since the 2nd of July.) Anyway, I am looking for a little encouragement from others who are on the plan. Truthfully, I am tempted to go back to a more restrictive plan even though I have to admit it has never worked for more than a little while. Any help appreciated!

feelgood
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 12:29 am

Post by feelgood » Sat Jul 12, 2008 2:28 am

Many people need some time to find a normal relationship with food again. Lots of us have 2 modes-diet or binge, and when we take the leash off, of course we go too far-at first. But after awhile, you, like most of us who have been doing this for a while, probably won't really want to eat that way anymore. The body's desires change, the mind changes, and the habits become very strong.
It's way too soon to assume that No-s won't work for you. Give it 3 months and then reassess. You know that it's very unlikely you'll be sticking to any other diet that long!!

esdaly
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu May 22, 2008 11:10 am

Thank you

Post by esdaly » Sat Jul 12, 2008 9:56 am

Thank you so much for your response. I feel better already. I think you are right about the whole diet/binge thing and instinctively I know that you are right. I need to be patient and let myself undo the years of damage that dieting and bingeing have wrought. Thanks again for taking the time to respond!

kccc
Posts: 3957
Joined: Fri Oct 27, 2006 1:12 am

Post by kccc » Sat Jul 12, 2008 12:25 pm

Just adding a little extra encouragement - and a helping of sympathy for the hard circumstances you're facing right now.

Browsing some of the threads for encouragement might help. There are so many people here who have floundered a bit, but then been quite successful.

I expect you'll be one of them someday. :)

windrose
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2008 4:32 pm

Post by windrose » Sat Jul 12, 2008 6:21 pm

I'm pretty new to this also (just a bit over a month now) and I also noticed a 3 lb gain right from the start (197 to 200 lbs). But I weigh myself every morning and here's what I've noticed has really been happening in the last month.

On Monday morning - weight is 200, then each day (as I successfully No S) it goes down a bit, until by Saturday morning I'm back down to 197. Of course with the weekend being S days - my weight is back up to 200 by Monday, and so on. So, as far as I'm concerned, right now, I am maintaining my weight.

Since I am new at this, my weekends are still out of control (I was a perma-snacker and revert to that every weekend). But I'm taking Reinhard's advice and am concentrating on getting the weekday No S habit down pat. Once I've done that, then I can concentrate on improving my weekends. And at that point I think I will see the weight begin to fall off (slowly but surely).

I spent the past 6 months on a S.A.D. :D and lost 37 lbs (from 234 down to 197) which is great - but I was miserable the entire time. Obsessed with food, what I could and couldn't eat, dreading the counting - and hating myself every time I "failed" by going off the diet and eating something I shouldn't have (which usually led to bingeing and more self-hate). As Reinhard says, it required an exorbitant and unsustainable amount of my attention.

I stumbled across No S just as I was ready to throw in the towel -- knowing that I would go back to overeating and resigning myself to re-gaining the weight. I’m 54 years old and have spent my entire adult life either dieting or bingeing. Bouncing between being “merely overweight†to being “morbidly obese†and back again. Even though it’s only been a month on No S, I can already see that my relationship with food is changing. I feel more in control and am convinced that this will work. When I’ve had a red day (there have been several) by having seconds or a snack - it hasn’t led to out of control bingeing (or as someone here said “quick, eat all you can before the guilt sets inâ€) because on No S it doesn’t mean “I FAILED THE DIETâ€. It means “I had a red dayâ€. I’m not sure why/how I can make that distinction with No S when I couldn’t do so on other diets but somehow I’ve wrapped my mind around the concept that the diet doesn’t have to be perfect to be successful .

I’m 5’4†so I still need to lose another 50 lbs to be within my “normal†weight range. But for the first time I feel that this goal is attainable for me, and even though it will take a “very long time†compared to the amount of time it would have taken on a more traditional weight-loss diet – the truth is that I would never have stuck to the more traditional weight-loss diet long enough to loose the weight. Or if I did – I would have promptly gone “off the diet†and started putting the weight back on. One of my favorite Reinhard quotes (I have several) is “The problem isn’t loosing the weight. The problem is sticking to the diet.â€

Wow – this turned into a book (this is why I usually just “lurk†– once I start typing I can’t stop). What all of this is leading up to – is just give No S some time. Work on building the habits. Once you’ve gotten them ingrained, then look at things you can change (smaller plate/portions, limits on the weekends, etc) to increase weight loss. This is what I’m planning to do, but by then I think I’ll probably be seeing results even without any changes.

Windrose

blueskighs
Posts: 1787
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:11 am
Location: California

Post by blueskighs » Sat Jul 12, 2008 6:39 pm

But I'm taking Reinhard's advice and am concentrating on getting the weekday No S habit down pat. Once I've done that, then I can concentrate on improving my weekends. And at that point I think I will see the weight begin to fall off (slowly but surely).
windrose,
WELCOME!
it sounds like you are doing really well! I think the point you made above is excellent.

I am so glad you are here.
I have just found so much "grace" with No S. I too would have lost more weight if I had done something other than NO S but would probably ALREADY be gaining it back. I am 45 and cannot do another S.A.D.
either.

As a dieter/binger I just think NO S is very profound solution. And I kind of like how it lets us work "at our own" speed.

esdaly,
glad you are feeling better and more encouraged,

IMHO this is a great lifestyle and am always so grateful that Reinhard figured it out and shared it with the rest of us!

Blueskighs
www.nosdiet.blogspot.com Where I blog daily about my No S journey

CrazyCatLady
Posts: 301
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:58 pm
Location: Illinois

Post by CrazyCatLady » Sat Jul 12, 2008 8:18 pm

Esdaly, what would these past few weeks been like if you were on a traditional diet? Most likely a huge feeling of failure due to not being able to stick to it through all the stress. And if you weren't on any kind of diet, possibly some significant weight gain! (If you are anything like me, that is! :D )

Welcome, Windrose, and I LOVED your post! I totally agree...the "normal" relationship with food is priceless.

windrose
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2008 4:32 pm

Post by windrose » Sun Jul 13, 2008 11:56 am

Thank you Blueskighs and CrazyCatLady for the welcome. This is one of the friendliest and most welcoming boards I've ever belonged to. It's a delight to come here everyday and check on everyone's success stories and words of encouragement.

Windrose

feelgood
Posts: 18
Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 12:29 am

Post by feelgood » Sun Jul 13, 2008 1:23 pm

Please keep in touch as you follow the plan. We'd like to encourage you, as many others have encouraged us! :)

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