Overdue Introduction

[marleah]

Hi everyone! I have been lurking since the beginning of February, and I have had a few setbacks/mental blocks here and there, so I thought I would try to be more active on the boards to help me work around those.

I'm 24, female, currently working on my master's in clinical psychology, and married. I've always been more on the "overweight" end of things for my frame (I'm 5'2 with shoes), but nowhere near "obese." (I put those terms in quotations since it's by BMI, which I don't always trust.) I've never been "skinny," and I've never been super athletic, although I have started running and consistently working out in the last year. Well, even with that, and even being VEGAN (which I am for moral reasons, so there's no changing that and I hate that there seems to be a bit of a bad rap for vegans on these boards), weight loss is tough for me.

I've been a calorie counter, and I stayed within a reasonable amount usually, but I was tired of accounting for everything. Like people have said, it starts out like a game and is kind of fun and it's like research, which I do a ton of here in grad school, but then it gets old. And I'm just way too busy! I started No-S in February, kind of as a "see how it goes" type of thing. I counted calories at that time as well, just because I wasn't ready to let go of that particular security blanket. Well, then (maybe TMI for the men) I got my period which is always a free-for-all with cravings and everything. So I took not an S-day for it, but an S-week, and then totally fell off the wagon for another week - just couldn't get back to it!

So I decided I would give it another go in early March, and I have done quite well. I used to only get fruit as snacks (as in an apple after class, that kind of thing) and I'm trying to get into the habit of eating my fruit WITH my meals - a clementine at breakfast, apple at lunch, that kind of thing. I do eat reasonably healthy, and I tend to not buy sweets anyway because I know if they are around I will eat them!

My aim is really to get into these healthy habits before I have children, which will be sometime within the next ten years (yep, pretty long-term goal I have there). My husband is really supportive and also happens to be the type of person who has always been athletic, can eat all the time, and tends to not gain too much weight. He is currently back to his high school weight (which included football and wrestling), although maybe not as muscular and toned as he used to be. So living with that is kind of tough too! He tries to only have his snacks if I am not around, that kind of thing - he's not ready to do the whole non-snacking thing, but he also doesn't really need to.

Last night was funny - he went to grab some Twizzlers (my weakness), and I didn't even see them - I SMELLED them! So I asked him if he could put some in a container for me so that I could have some on the weekend. I knew if I did it I would eat "just one," so he took care of it and now I will have a tasty treat on Saturday!

Anyway - this is quite the long message, but like I said, I have been lurking so I had a lot to say! I just received the book but haven't read it yet - waiting until my thesis is rolling really well before doing that! Reading everyone's comments have been really helpful during the last couple of months, and I'm looking forward to making this a long-term thing. Thanks everyone!!

[la_loser]

Welcome to the boards!

Hopefully you'll find that this simple and sustainable structure will be something you can merge into your busy grad student lifestyle. I remember those days. . . and glad they are WAY behind me!

I am not vegan but I haven't gotten the sense that it gets a bad rap here--but maybe since it doesn't affect me, I wouldn't be sensitive to that. This group is really supportive and open about accepting members' choices for that sort of thing. Incorporating No S into a vegan lifestyle shouldn't be a problem, I would think.

As far as the book is concerned, I understand about needing to get that thesis off the ground, but I can tell you that the book is a quick and easy read that you can do in a day. So some afternoon when your brain needs an "academia" break, pick up and get the whole story! (the first time-you'll want to go back to it again and again-it's a great support in itself.)

Look for losses to be slow but sustainable (good s's!) We'll look forward to your posts.

[marleah]

Thanks for your response!

I think what I've seen about veganism is more because it does limit some types of foods, and I know that No-S is big on not having to limit any types of foods or call any foods "bad." So that's why I wanted to mention that it's for moral reasons rather than for cutting out "unhealthy" or "bad" foods. But it's true that No-S is very amenable to all diets/lifestyles, as far as I can tell.

I am very excited to read the book - I think my next weekend off I will pick it up.

[Nichole]

Welcome! I'm also trying to build good habits before having kids, which will HOPEFULLY be in 5 years. I hope I hope I hope. And I'm also 24!! Nice to see someone so similar. Good luck in grad school, that's very exciting.

[VintageGeek]

Welcome aboard. Sounds like you're already on the right track, big time. Seriously, congratulations on being vegan, especially for moral reasons. I feel strongly about this issue as well, and I'm working towards veganism in my own life. Currently, I'm a pescetarian (fish about once a week, although I'm not proud of it) who avoids milk products.

Have you started a daily check-in yet? I'm very interested in keeping up with your progress.

[marleah]

Nichole - Cool! It is nice to be able to identify with other people going through the same type of thing. I hear from so many people (and have seen firsthand with friends) that life changes completely once you have kids, and I'm sure my life will be much busier - so it will be great to be on track at that point!

Vintage, I haven't started a daily check-in yet, although I have been doing a Habitcal and haven't had any red days this month! And congrats on what you are doing, which is at least recognizing that there is a problem and making choices to at least reduce that! Pescetarian and avoiding milk is still a great step. If you have any questions about vegetarianism or veganism, I'd be glad to answer them - I was vegetarian starting at age 20 for 4 years, then went to veganism a little over a year ago. Feel free to send me a message! Now to check out the daily check-ins ...

[woods38]

Welcome!

I've been doing no s for 3 weeks now and I like it. I am losing weight without counting calories or points! What's been working for me is dividing my plate into fourths and trying to have 1/4 veggies, 1/4 fruit, 1/4 beans, and 1/4 whole grains. I just use this as a healthy guideline, not a rule.

I'm a wanna be vegan. My family and I eat mostly vegetarian meals. We only have meat 1 or 2 meals a week. I eat vegan a couple of days a week. I seem to lack the commitment to stick to avoiding animal products all the time. I have a weakness for cheese. I don't mind avoiding meat as much. Maybe it's because I have always looked at being vegan from a health and weight loss point of view but not a moral one.

Nice to meet you!

-woods

[reinhard]

Welcome, Marleah! No-s is 100% compatible with veganism

I have to admit that I personally am an irredeemable carnivore (sorry if I've ever gotten defensive about it on these boards). We do get most of our meat through a local "meat share" which I actually feel pretty good about.

Reinhard

[marleah]

Woods - Dividing your plate is a great idea! The meals I fix usually end up being grain+veggie+beans all in one, so I don't do the dividing, but I try to at least visualize it. I've found that when people do have a health perspective on veganism and vegetarianism, it's a lot easier to be a "sometimes" omnivore. But still, what you are doing is a lot healthier for you, the environment, and animals! I always try to encourage people and tell them that it doesn't have to be all or nothing. Cheese was hard for us to give up too, but my husband and I are also slightly lactose intolerant, so we knew it was better for us in the long run. By now I don't really miss it, although he does a bit still.

And I really love the idea of not having to count everything all the time too! Good luck ...

Reinhard - I hear you on the carnivore aspect. I live in western Kansas, so veganism can be challenging to say the least. Not because it's difficult, but because so many people around here just don't understand. I'm pretty good at not getting offended about things. And buying more local is usually better than the alternative anyway!