I started on no-S again this week (expanding circumference and shrinking clothing... alas) Today, I had the following meals:
1 banana in the morning
coffee and two Vietnamese spring rolls at noon
plateful of beef+lentil+carrot+barley+mushroom stew, a grapefruit, and an apple at about 5
and then I was very hungry in the evening, so I had:
2 fried eggs, bread, cheese, and a cup of tea
Technically, I did not "snack" (except for the banana, but I think that qualifies as breakfast). None of the above foods qualify as "sweets" (well, except for the bread, possibly, which was challah bread). Every meal in the above description fit on a plate. But I had 4 meals instead of 3; is that cheating? And is tea with sugar in it a "sweet"?
I guess one of the questions I have is how hungry I'm supposed to be on this diet. I have a high metabolism that I'd like to keep high, and I've read that going too hungry for too long gets the body into "starvation" mode where it slows down its metabolism and gets fatter. On the other hand, I am about 5 lbs. overweight, and I presume that some hunger will be involved in getting rid of that. Advice?
OK, did I fail?
Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating
Hello Larissa,
could you please explain what you mean by "5 lbs overweight"?
Do you mean 5lbs over BMI 25 or 5lbs over your "ideal weight" (and how do you compute it?). These are very different things.
Regarding hunger, no you are not supposed to very very hungry on NoS, vertainly not hungry enough that your body enters starvation mode. NoS is supposed to be moderate, slow, and safe... I never lost more than 2lbs a month which is the medically recommended rate.
Some hunger is unavoidable in the beginning as you weed out snacks and you have to learn how/what/when to eat at mealtimes so that you can stand to wait for the next mealtime without starving and without snacking. After a while (weeks or months) you should have this down and then you only feel "healthy" hunger just before the next mealtime. (to be honest I still feel "anxiety" hunger on weekends, but seldom on N-days anymore - the power of habit!!)
Regarding your menu:
I find your first two meals are very light and your supper is very early. I would add some protein (yogurt if you can't stand fried food in the morning) and whole grain to breakfast. And also push back supper a bit (unless you really go to bed very early?)
On the other hand, NoS does not tell you how many meals you have to eat, nor when, nor what you should eat. You can choose to have traditional meals, or balanced meals, or fast food, whatever. You can choose to have 3 meals, 4 meals, or even more if you really need to. Experiment a bit then chose a formula that enables you to follow the noS rules, and keep it for a few weeks. If you don't lose weight after a month or two of perfect compliance, then just change your formula a bit and repeat. It's an experimental learning process...
could you please explain what you mean by "5 lbs overweight"?
Do you mean 5lbs over BMI 25 or 5lbs over your "ideal weight" (and how do you compute it?). These are very different things.
Regarding hunger, no you are not supposed to very very hungry on NoS, vertainly not hungry enough that your body enters starvation mode. NoS is supposed to be moderate, slow, and safe... I never lost more than 2lbs a month which is the medically recommended rate.
Some hunger is unavoidable in the beginning as you weed out snacks and you have to learn how/what/when to eat at mealtimes so that you can stand to wait for the next mealtime without starving and without snacking. After a while (weeks or months) you should have this down and then you only feel "healthy" hunger just before the next mealtime. (to be honest I still feel "anxiety" hunger on weekends, but seldom on N-days anymore - the power of habit!!)
Regarding your menu:
I find your first two meals are very light and your supper is very early. I would add some protein (yogurt if you can't stand fried food in the morning) and whole grain to breakfast. And also push back supper a bit (unless you really go to bed very early?)
On the other hand, NoS does not tell you how many meals you have to eat, nor when, nor what you should eat. You can choose to have traditional meals, or balanced meals, or fast food, whatever. You can choose to have 3 meals, 4 meals, or even more if you really need to. Experiment a bit then chose a formula that enables you to follow the noS rules, and keep it for a few weeks. If you don't lose weight after a month or two of perfect compliance, then just change your formula a bit and repeat. It's an experimental learning process...
Started NoS Jan 07 at 74.5kg (164 lbs, BMI 26.7)
Stable since Jan 08 at 64kg (141 lbs, BMI 23)
My progress chart
Stable since Jan 08 at 64kg (141 lbs, BMI 23)
My progress chart
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larisa0001
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2005 5:53 am
Thanks. I guess my definition of "ideal weight" is not very medically sound. I am currently at 130 lbs. - well within "normal weight". But this is 5 lbs. more than I weighed before this summer, and I'd like to get rid of those 5 lbs., especially since they appear to be 5 lbs. of fat rather than muscle. I know that 5 lbs. does not sound terribly serious, but I'd rather take care of the problem before it expands still further.
I do think I require more than 3 meals a day, though - otherwise I feel starved and spend most of my time thinking about food. Much as I enjoy thinking about food, I'd rather have that mental space available for thinking about other things.
I do think I require more than 3 meals a day, though - otherwise I feel starved and spend most of my time thinking about food. Much as I enjoy thinking about food, I'd rather have that mental space available for thinking about other things.
Well, I'm thinking that a banana and 2 spring rolls would fit on one plate and not seem like too much (unless those spring rolls are really huge!), so maybe the breakfast & lunch you are eating would really only be like one meal. I think the idea to just see how it goes for at least a month or two is a good one. It's not like you ate 4 full plates of food--it sounds like you ate 3 to me.larisa0001 wrote:Thanks. I guess my definition of "ideal weight" is not very medically sound. I am currently at 130 lbs. - well within "normal weight". But this is 5 lbs. more than I weighed before this summer, and I'd like to get rid of those 5 lbs., especially since they appear to be 5 lbs. of fat rather than muscle. I know that 5 lbs. does not sound terribly serious, but I'd rather take care of the problem before it expands still further.
I do think I require more than 3 meals a day, though - otherwise I feel starved and spend most of my time thinking about food. Much as I enjoy thinking about food, I'd rather have that mental space available for thinking about other things.
I know that if I don't eat a full breakfast that I get hungry later at night too, so you might experiment with eating more at breakfast too, and gradually retrain your body to not eating at night.
Hope it goes well for you! Merry
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
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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larisa0001
- Posts: 82
- Joined: Tue Apr 26, 2005 5:53 am
Thanks! I'm kinda new to this whole dieting thing, so still trying to figure things out. Today, I think I had things slightly better calibrated:
meal 1: coffee and a turkey sandwich
meal 2: 2 fried eggs, cherry tomatoes, bread, some fresh blackberries, an apple (I like fresh fruit...)
meal 3: more of that beef stew (I tend to cook about 4 days' worth of food at a time), a glass of iced tea (which did have sugar in it, but I will consider that de minimis)
And I'm not hungry at the end of the day. Things appear to be working.
I've also been thinking about taking a Jewish approach to S-days - from sunset to sunset. This would mean that I'd start my S-period on Friday night and end it at sunset on Sunday. I'm not terribly observant, but I like celebrating the Sabbath, and it's terribly hard to celebrate with no sweets.
meal 1: coffee and a turkey sandwich
meal 2: 2 fried eggs, cherry tomatoes, bread, some fresh blackberries, an apple (I like fresh fruit...)
meal 3: more of that beef stew (I tend to cook about 4 days' worth of food at a time), a glass of iced tea (which did have sugar in it, but I will consider that de minimis)
And I'm not hungry at the end of the day. Things appear to be working.
I've also been thinking about taking a Jewish approach to S-days - from sunset to sunset. This would mean that I'd start my S-period on Friday night and end it at sunset on Sunday. I'm not terribly observant, but I like celebrating the Sabbath, and it's terribly hard to celebrate with no sweets.
Hi Larisa,
You can do 4 meal no-s if three doesn't do it for you -- though you may find it becomes surprisingly easy with some practice.
Shabbat starts with S, if you want (though I haven't had much trouble observing without sweets). The hard part will be resisting Sunday nights. They'll have a strong lingering claim of legitimacy.
Regarding the 5 pounds, there have been people who've posted successfully losing that last little bit on no-s. But I wouldn't consciously focus on that. The point of no-s is eating moderately. If eating moderately results in you losing 5 pounds, great. If not, then maybe you need to come to terms with the 5 pounds (or wonder whether you should be getting a little more exercise).
Reinhard
You can do 4 meal no-s if three doesn't do it for you -- though you may find it becomes surprisingly easy with some practice.
Shabbat starts with S, if you want (though I haven't had much trouble observing without sweets). The hard part will be resisting Sunday nights. They'll have a strong lingering claim of legitimacy.
Regarding the 5 pounds, there have been people who've posted successfully losing that last little bit on no-s. But I wouldn't consciously focus on that. The point of no-s is eating moderately. If eating moderately results in you losing 5 pounds, great. If not, then maybe you need to come to terms with the 5 pounds (or wonder whether you should be getting a little more exercise).
Reinhard