Woe

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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Betty
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Woe

Post by Betty » Fri Jul 25, 2008 10:48 am

Stepped on the scale today after a month of serious no-sing. Didnt gain, but certainly didn't lose. Thought I had lost, but. Stepping on the scale ruined my mood and I've already failed today.

I've been pretty "good," this month. Had a couple of red days, but nothing too idiotic.

Maybe it's time to "tweek" something, but the thought is so exhausting.

Help?? Advice??

Betty

Charis
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Post by Charis » Fri Jul 25, 2008 1:24 pm

I am sure others will chime in and give you some good advice. Here is my $.02

When beginning nos, the habits are the first thing to engrain in your life. For me engraining those habits brought a lot of peace to my mind with relation to food. The habits are almost automatic and bring more comfort than hardship (even when I fell off the nos wagon for almost 3 months, most of the habits held anyway and I gained no weight during that time, didn't lose of course but didn't gain - I credit the habits that I had practiced for almost a year)

Check to see how many extra S days you took during the month. I think the recommendation is just 2 extra.

How are you defining "sometimes" during those S days. My "S" days were very idiotic for a long time. I define "sometimes" now as one or two exceptions to the rule a day. And on nonweekend "S" days, I try to limit my "S" day to just that special celebration time (dinner, dessert etc.) and not make it an all day thing.

Some day after you have finished for eating for the day, go ahead and do a little backwards calorie counting to see if the number of calories you are taking in is reasonable or if you need to adjust your portions a bit.

I try to make sure that my dinner plate contains a fair amount of vegies and fruit which leaves less room for the more calorie laden proteins and carbs

Another check that helped me to wake up to my idiotic weekends was to weigh myself on Saturday morning and then again on Monday morning. It would be normal to gain a little, but then see how long it takes to relose what you gained over the weekend. When I did this I realized that it was taking me all week to lose what I had gained on an idiotic weekend. It helped to wake me up to the need to gain more saneness to my weekend.
I was for months essentially losing through the week and wiping out all those gains during the weekend. A very acceptable thing if you are trying to maintain weight, not so acceptable if you want to lose weight.

Consider adding shovelglove or some kind of weightlifting if you don't already do so to your exercise routine. It will help to kick start your metabolism by gaining a little muscle.

If you feel after this first month that you have a better relationship with food, I would encourage you to give it a little more time. I wish you the best.

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BrightAngel
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Post by BrightAngel » Fri Jul 25, 2008 1:36 pm

Charis wrote:I am sure others will chime in and give you some good advice. Here is my $.02
Charis,
My $.02 is:
Your suggestions are all Excellent.
BrightAngel - (Dr. Collins)
See: DietHobby. com

kccc
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Post by kccc » Fri Jul 25, 2008 3:02 pm

Charis is right on target, all the way through. :)

The habits are absolutely the first step. If you haven't had 21 days of successful No-S - with no reds, and no more than 2 NWS (non-weekend S-days for special occasions) - that's the first place to start.

Some other thoughts which may be helpful, and some questions.

First, were you stable before, or gaining? Maintenance can be a big step forward!

Second, have you tried weighing 3 days in a row? Minor fluctuations can obscure an actual loss. Also, I have found as I eat more reasonably that the scale is more sensitive to monthly cycles (not sure why that is, and it's not much, but it's noticeable), which can also make a difference.

Third, how do your clothes fit? And have you been exercising? If you feel smaller, you may have replaced fat with muscle, which weighs more but takes up less room. That would mean no change on the scale, but a lower body-fat percentage and a loss in inches. (And, btw, I regret not having measured before I started No-S, so you might want to consider that.)

Finally, remember that No-S is slow (but sure). One month is not a long time. Especially the first month, where a lot of people "rebound" from diet eating and go a little overboard (that usually settles on its own, so no need for immediate tweaking).

My advice would be to do whatever you can to encourage yourself, and just keep going. :) If you have a perfect month next month and no loss, then consider tweaking.

Best wishes.

trytrytry
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Post by trytrytry » Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:50 pm

I agree with everything said above and here is my 0.01$...

If you are being honest with yourself and really doing well - by what I mean you did decrease the total amount of food you eat by noSing or you increased the exercise, then be patient and do not worry.

And just for encouragement:

Image

From the graph on the left, you can see that I have been losing on average 2.5 lbs (>1 kg) per month in my three months on noS (e.g looking at the blue trendline or red 21 day average).
However, if I took only 2 measurements per month, depending on the day, in the same month I would either think I gained (red lines), lost (blue lines) or maintained (yellow line).

I am not encouraging you to go crazy with the scale and start weighting yourself every day (which I do, hehe), but if you feel you have lost (as you say) - trust your body!

take care!

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BrightAngel
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Post by BrightAngel » Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:55 pm

trytrytry,
Excellent analysis.
BrightAngel - (Dr. Collins)
See: DietHobby. com

Betty
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Location: London

Post by Betty » Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:27 pm

Thanks for the advice, all of it great stuff.

I think what's going on is a little bit of everytihing mentioned here! I've made three concerted efforts to do no-s in the past year , and during each effort I started off losing and then bottomed out. I think my body knows pretty much exactly how much I need to eat to maintain. And 100-200 calorie deficits on n days are so quickly regained on S days...

So it seems that what I need to do is to either be more restrictive on N days or more vigilant about not overeating on weekends.

I like the idea of at least not going whole hog on NWS days. I don't know if I like the idea of not completely relaxing on S days.

A note about exercise: I started getting serious about No S just when my 40 minute bike commute to work stopped for the summer. Maybe I'll start losing when work begins again, though I suspect that I'll still eat just about enough to maintain if left to my own devices.

I think the main "problem" is how I think about No S. That is, I think of it as a style of eating rather than as a diet. And I want to keep it that way. I don't want to focus on losing weight. I want to focus on being sane around food. But, I still want to lose weight :? .

Sorry for the rambling post, I'm sort of thinking as I write. Maybe what I need to do is focus on No S as a diet until I've lost those 13 lbs that will get me into a healthy BMI range and then relax into no-S as a lifestyle.

Or??

Thanks again,
Betty

blueskighs
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Post by blueskighs » Sat Jul 26, 2008 4:28 pm

Stepped on the scale today after a month of serious no-sing. Didnt gain, but certainly didn't lose. Thought I had lost, but. Stepping on the scale ruined my mood and I've already failed today.
Check out my four month results at www.nosdiet.blogspot.com
the scale on its own can be quite deceiving!


Hang in there, it is ALL GOOD!

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

angelka71
Posts: 86
Joined: Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:50 am

Finally!! LOSING!!

Post by angelka71 » Sun Jul 27, 2008 6:25 am

I started No S-ing back in April and did great for a few weeks...then we lost someone very special in our family which sent me into a tailspin diet wise for a while.

Slowly, I've been pulling myself back up and No S has been more and more succesful for me. This morning, I threw all caution to the wind and went ahead and weighed myself. DOWN 3 pounds!!!!! WOO HOO!! I'm even having my "monthly" (which usually bloats me and adds more pounds)!

I haven't been really keep up with my HabitCal, but if I had I'd have quite a few red days in there. Nothing horrible but no where near where I'd like to be.

I felt like I needed to re-motivate myself so I started doing the Shovelglove...(not even everyday but I PROMISE you my arms are starting to look more toned!) Then I started walking...first just with my pedometer (a few steps here or there), then I added in taking a walk at night (since it's cooler) but since hubby doesn't always want to go I decided to dust off my old treadmill. Since then, I've been walking everday (at 3.5 mph(?)) for 45 minutes.

I never thought I'd be able to do it but I'm starting to get what people mean when they say they're addicted to exercise! I've never had so much energy in my life!!

Here's one of the best parts...I get on the treadmill first thing in the morning. This used to be my binge time and every time I've ever had a "red" day it was b/c of my am binges. Anyways...I tell myself that once I'm finished walking, I can eat whatever "S" I want, but once I'm finished with my walk, I don't even want it! I eat something sensible instead.

I just wanted to share this especially with those that haven't seen any success yet. I've been No S-ing for a few months... though the middle weeks were failures, I only had a few days where I completely lost my mind with food. No S first stopped my weight GAIN...then, as I became more and more confident that I wasn't being deprived of my favorite foods I could eat more naturally and actually started making healthier food choices. Then the exercise (finally) created enough of a deficit that it showed on the scale.

I know 3lbs isn't the most impressive number but the scale is now moving in the right direction and I couldn't be happier!! I'm looking forward to posting my future weight losses too!

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mel1974c
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Post by mel1974c » Sun Jul 27, 2008 1:04 pm

angelka71, sounds like you are really doing great! You have taken a tough time and created motivation to do something good for yourself. Keep moving forward in the progress already begun.

Congrats!
mel1974c

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

Post by kccc » Sun Jul 27, 2008 5:14 pm

Betty wrote:Thanks for the advice, all of it great stuff.

I think what's going on is a little bit of everytihing mentioned here! I've made three concerted efforts to do no-s in the past year , and during each effort I started off losing and then bottomed out. I think my body knows pretty much exactly how much I need to eat to maintain. And 100-200 calorie deficits on n days are so quickly regained on S days...

So it seems that what I need to do is to either be more restrictive on N days or more vigilant about not overeating on weekends.
Betty, two things...

First, I have "bottomed out" (actually, plateaued) on every single weight loss plan I've ever been on, and most people I know of do as well. I think of losing weight like going down steps... a bump down, level off, a bump down... A level place is just your body getting accustomed to being at a new point. So, don't take a spell of not losing as a problem - just stick it out, keep going with the habits, and I bet you'll hit another bump down. (It's only a problem if it derails you.)

If you read through, you'll see lots of threads where people didn't lose weight for a bit, but lost inches or fit clothes better or something - and then lost again. So, your body may just be "settling down" into this new weight. Don't push it - just keep on for a bit and see what happens. :)

Second, if you have a lot of red days, then do work on your N-days. But don't worry about S days until your N-days are on target. The first step really is habit-building.

Good luck!

Betty
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Location: London

Post by Betty » Mon Jul 28, 2008 9:40 am

Guys, let's be honest: I just eat too much. When I read other's posts about what they have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I think: how is it possible that they make it from one meal to the next on so little food?!

Here's to honesty, looking myself in the face. Yesterday was a typical day:

7: Oatmeal made from 2% milk and a teaspoon of almond butter, blueberries
11: glass of milk
1: Two slices of homemade veggie pizza, handfull of cherry tomatoes, a tangerine and four dried figs
4: glass of milk
7: whole wheat pasta bolangese, garlic bread and a salad (no dressing)

I mean, this is fairly healthy (maybe a bit heavy on the dairy, but as a hypoglycemic I do rely on milk to keep my blood sugar on an even keel) but not the kind of diet a person loses weight on. Actually, I think I will lose weight if I stick with this for three or four years.

(pause for thinking about what I've just written)

You know what? I think that's the best thing to do. I just can NOT diet another day of my life, guys. From the moment my father told me I was getting fat at 13 (um, I was 5 foot 3 110 lbs back then. thanks dad.) I have been dieting or thinking I should diet or getting excited about another diet book or failing to diet or thinking about dieting or binging because I had been dieting.

Sorry if this sounds angry, sorry for another rambling post, but No S is my bastion of sanity in a life lived on a diet/binge roller coster. So WHAT if it takes me 3 years? Ive got the time :)

Love, Betty

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mel1974c
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Post by mel1974c » Mon Jul 28, 2008 1:03 pm

Betty,

I think you've reached a fantastic realization. It doesn't matter how long it takes you to reach your goal. The point is that you have a goal, you know you can obtain it, and you are willing to do the work to get there. You will, in the end, be rewarded. Just take it one day, or even one meal at a time.

And you've got a great support system here on the boards.
Melissa

kccc
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Post by kccc » Tue Jul 29, 2008 7:46 pm

Betty wrote: I mean, this is fairly healthy (maybe a bit heavy on the dairy, but as a hypoglycemic I do rely on milk to keep my blood sugar on an even keel) but not the kind of diet a person loses weight on. Actually, I think I will lose weight if I stick with this for three or four years.

(pause for thinking about what I've just written)

You know what? I think that's the best thing to do. [...] So WHAT if it takes me 3 years? Ive got the time :)
Wow, what a fantastic realization.

As I was reading your food list, I thought "sounds like reasonable meals to me." It was so neat to almost watch your thinking unfold as you wrote. (One reason I hang out here - when I write to others, it helps my own thinking.)

I think you are SO on the right track. Just be patient with yourself, and keep going.

(Digression... your "three years" remark called up a memory for me. When I was considering starting graduate work at an "advanced age," I moaned to my husband that it would take 4 years at least, and I'd be X years old when I was done. His response was "and how old will you be in four years if you don't do it?" Well, duh!)

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