Reasons for quitting

[jordonk27]

Hi everyone. I just started my second try on the No S Diet yesterday. A few months ago I had started it and kept on it for a few weeks (I think). Two things made me fall out of it:

First, the meals seemed too few and far between. I'm a "growing boy" (16 years old) and so I guess I eat a lot. Since I'm used to having a big snack between lunch and dinner, I otherwise seem to get very hungry between meals. And when I'm hungry, I sometimes get irritable and can't concentrate on anything. Does this happen to anyone else? Is it healthy (or at least okay)? Does it go away after a while?

Second, I realized that I don't eat or drink a lot of sugary stuff as it is, so it would seem to be a matter of limiting my portions. However, I did notice the amount of simply fattening and salty foods I eat, and that brought my spirits down. I really want to keep things simple, and that's why No S appealed to me. Should I stretch the definition of "no sugar" so that it can work better for me personally? I think that would help a lot, but it would also turn me into an obsessive calorie-counter.

I want to stick to it this time, no matter what it takes, so thanks in advance for your help.

[navin]

Hey, a couple of my insights, for what they're worth.

Before I did no-S I too used to snack all the time. For me it was typically the time between breakfast and lunch that got me. Different people on tihs board have taken different approaches, and both can work. Me, I just tried to make my meals count... by eating a decent breakfast I could make it till lunch, etc. This really does get easier over time.

Some others use what's called virtual plating... if, for instance, it is just too much to go between lunch and dinner without anything, they'll have a meal midway through but have less for dinner to compensate. That seems to work best if it is a scheduled thing and not just happening haphazardly.

As for other S's, if there are particular problem foods, then yeah you might want to restrict them. Just be careful not to go too far and be too restrictive, or you might not stick with it at all.

[gratefuldeb67]

Hi Jordonk! LOL..
Great name dude!!! LOL..

Since, infact, you are really going through a growth phase, you might need some healthy afternoon snack... Just consider it a meal instead... It can't be a chocolate donut either...
Sorry if this sounds boring, but a good fresh fruit and some water might just do the trick...
My son Richard is almost ten, and he does a 75 % version of NoS...
I allow him an after school small meal...
Good luck!
I know you can do this
Peace and love,
Deb
I wish I had begun NoS back in High school... trust me.. it is worth the effort to form some good habits for the future...
Not to seem bleak, but it's much much harder to lose weight once you get to be an "old fogie" LOL...

[Jammin' Jan]

I agree with Deb that I wish I had begun the good habit of No-S back in high school. It would've saved me much grief in subsequent years.

At your age, you may well need a healthy snack when you get home from school. But make sure you are eating because you are really hungry, and not just transitioning from school to home. If you need it, eat it, but keep it healthy...fruits and 100% juices are good snacks.

Whatever else you do, don't let yourself start counting calories (or anything else!) or become obsessive about food. That takes the joy out of eating. And make sure you have some physical activity, too. If you get home from school and plunk yourself down in front of the TV or computer, you will snack more, and will sabotage your otherwise healthy efforts. Move yourself around before you hit the homework and before dinner.

Best wishes to you. Keep us posted on how it's going for you.

[Kevin]

If you need a small fourth meal in the afternoon, have one. It's okay. Just make it a healthy one, and be disciplined about it.

[jordonk27]

Thanks everybody. I'll try to see what I can have in the way of a healthy snack. We just got hit by Hurricane Wilma, so some things are hard to come by.

[reinhard]

Welcome back, Jordonk.

The afternoon meal the others here suggest is totally ok. Just keep it circumscribed and don't go looking to break any weight loss speed records. You should be hungry by the time dinner comes around (this is a good feeling, I think), but not starving.

Regarding fatty, salty processed food, there's no question, it's bad to eat too much of this stuff. But there's only so much system you can sustain. No snacking cuts out a lot of the worst of the lot here as a kind of side effect (unless you eat cheese doodles for lunch). If you still find it's too much, rather than add yet more rules, try to come up with some good, reasonably healthy default meals (example: I tend to eat fresh fruit and black bread for breakfast and oatmeal for lunch; it's not a hard rule, but it's convenient and filling and reasonably tasty/healthy). That you're noticing it to begin with is an advantage of limited opportunity eating. Now take this revealing "search light" and turn it into a stage "spotlight." View each meal as an opportunity. Instead of adding restrictions, stick a piece of fruit etc. on your plate to claim some healthy space.

Reinhard

[gratefuldeb67]

You should be hungry by the time dinner comes around (this is a good feeling, I think), but not starving.

Yes Reinhard, I agree... it is a good feeling, and healthy!
I don't know the origins, in the dieting world of humans, of the word "grazing", but my gut tells me that some diet/nutritionist, who was trying to market their plan, nicked that word from the animal kingdom, and exploited it...
There's absolutely no reason for us, especially if we are carrying extra fat around anyway and, obviously not *starving*, to have food in our stomachs at all times...

Real grazers, are things like Antelopes, Gazelles, Giraffes...
And they are eating
GRASS!!!!

Not grazing on, "cheetos" LOL...

I doubt that people would lable themselves as "snackers" as that's so unflattering, yet the "graze craze" of the 90's, sounds so healthy..
It's like you are imagining you are some sort of plains animal living off the land! Very flattering to think of yourself as a grazer, actually..
All that is a bunch of marketing baloney!! LOL...

I say.. when the stomach really starts to rumble and rock and roll, that is the real sign of hunger, and that is our internal "dinner" alarm...

Peace and Love,
Deb

[Jammin' Jan]

word "grazing", but my gut tells me that some diet/nutritionist, who was trying to market their plan, nicked that word from the animal kingdom

If you were a cheetah, could you graze on Cheetohs?

(sorry, it's been a long day.)

[jordonk27]

Welcome back, Jordonk.

Funny that you all should call me Jordonk. My first name is Jordon and my last initial is K. I used "jordonk" as my first e-mail address (and subsequently for other online uses), so a friend of mine would address me as "Jor-donk" in conversation.

The afternoon meal the others here suggest is totally ok. Just keep it circumscribed and don't go looking to break any weight loss speed records.

No snacking cuts out a lot of the worst of the lot here as a kind of side effect (unless you eat cheese doodles for lunch). If you still find it's too much, rather than add yet more rules, try to come up with some good, reasonably healthy default meals

That sounds good. I'll have to look into replacing my usual meals and snacks with some things a little more healthy.

I've probably exaggerated my problem a bit, though. On a typical weekday I eat cereal for breakfast (Frosted Flakes, to be exact... they may be kind of questionable, but I'm not a cereal fan, and they taste good); whatever they're serving at school for lunch (it's usually reasonably healthy); cashews, chips, or really salty almonds for an after-school snack; and whatever my parents make for dinner (which is usually nice and balanced).

That's a typical weekday. My school has no classes on Fridays (ever), and my parents don't really cook me meals on the weekends, so Friday-Sunday I pretty much eat whatever I want. Now this week is my second week off school from Hurricane Wilma, so I've been eating my usual fatty fare like it's a 12 (and counting) day weekend. Still, I think it's important to eat the healthiest at every opportunity. Thanks for the advice, Reinhard.

[reinhard]

You might want to consider a better default cereal than frosted flakes... There are all kinds of crazy "health" cereals that are almost as sweet but have some redeeming value. Experiment a little, at least.

[gratefuldeb67]

Ha ha ha... I was so close to saying something about the Frosted Flakes..
LOL...
Well, at least have them with something good like some cut up bananas and maybe throw in some almonds or something... And always go for cereal made with the Whole Grain, since that has some nutrients and fiber!

The pathetically sad thing about almost all cereals out there is they have Sugar in the first or second place on the list of ingredients...
I think the issue here, really, is taming that Sweet tooth...
Clearly, Frosted Flakes won't help in this arena...
LOL..
But they are
GRRRRRRREEEEAT!
LOL..
Peace and Flakes,
Deb

[jordonk27]

Actually, I can't understand how a small snack would be justified by No S. I avoided my afternoon snack today, but I eventually started dying and had a slice of apple, which helped enough.

I'm used to eating so much that "no seconds" and "no snacks" don't cooperate with each other. I need to have one or the other. If I abstain from both (as I should), I just get really, really hungry. I guess it's not good, but wouldn't my body just get used to not eating as much? Isn't that the idea of No S?

Actually, I have three options:
1. Keep the seconds.
2. Keep the snacks.
3. Pile more onto the plate.

I guess #3 is the only true No-S way, but only so much food can fit on one physical plate.

I'm not sure what I was trying to say with this, but I hope you all understand. Can anyone enlighten me on what to do?

[gratefuldeb67]

In general, NOS promotes 3 meals a day.. but there are some people who feel more comfortable to eat an extra 4th meal at some point..
Some have it in the afternoon, some in the late morning, some before bed..
The meal has to be small, and not a bag of doritos.. LOL...
If you don't just have this "extra meal", which could consist of just a fruit or a small yogurt or a salad... or whatever... just not a piece of cake!
at different times of day, and inconsistently, or opportunistically (ie: it's there so you eat it, which is really "snacking")
it's justified...
Try to keep in mind that you can't do this erratically because you want the consistency of "mealtime"...
Your small slices of apple are totally fine!
Peace,
Deb

[snazzybabe]

Maybe you truly are not suited to 3 meals per day and might be better with 5 small meals. No snacks or seconds but good quality food.
Or perhaps your 3 meals don't contain an adequate amount of protein so you get hungry quicker?

[reinhard]

Honestly, I think it's mostly a question of habit. I'd consider just piling those plates up to build the habit. You can fit a ridiculous amount of food on a plate (so much so that it can be a problem). That would be my default recommendation.

If that's not going to fly, take the fourth mini-meal with a clear conscience. Don't call it a "snack." Call it afternoon tea, except instead of a crumpet have an apple.

It might take some experimentation to get this right. Hang in there and keep bugging us with questions.

Reinhard

[Murphysraven]

Evenings are the worst times for me in regards to wanting to snack and being hungry. There are times when I'll eat my dinner in two parts.

What I've found to work is to have 1 normal dinner plate of food, and just eat half.. enough to not be hungry anymore.. Then I'll wait a couple hours (my normal dinnertime is right after work around 5:30-6) and if I get hungry again I'll eat the other half of my dinner.

The only thing I try to do is not eat at least 1 1/2 - 2 hours before I go to bed.

I guess the "meal splitting" could work with breakfast or lunch too. Just make sure you are splitting a normal 1 meal portion.

[vmelo]

I'm on my third week of No-essing, and for the first week I definitely found that my plates were overloaded. However, I realized I needed that much food to get me through until the next meal. I was so used to snacking that I found it difficult to make it until my next meal. During my second week, I cut back a bit on my portions and, frankly, just tried to adjust to the feeling of being a bit hungry. I realized that, for me, hunger often comes in spurts. Sometimes I'd be REALLY hungry, but if I rode that feeling out, I found that it would go away and I could make it until the next meal. During this third week, I'm trying to make my portions even more reasonable. I consider this first three weeks an adjustment phase: I'm just trying to adjust to the rules of the program and am not expecting any great weight loss. Perhaps having that mindset might work for you.

I agree with Reinhard about piling more on your plate. At least you'll be getting used to the concept of just eating three meals a day.