Advice to beginners
Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating
Advice to beginners
How about chiming in with your first-time problems/mistakes and solutions which those of us just starting can use to our benefit...Thanks to all.
There are so many things it's hard to know where to start!
- Get the book. Read it. Re-read later - something you skimmed the first time will "speak" to you later.
- Start with a STRONG focus on building habit, and do not worry about weight loss. Especially for those of us rebounding from the diet mentality, this can be hard. I really, really recommend the "Strictness" podcast (#13, I think) on this one. Results DO follow action, but they're a lagging indicator, so focus on the actions.
- At the beginning, people tend to either under-load their plates at meals (still in diet-think) or overload them either in terms of pure quantity or food choices (diet-rebound... "I can have X??!!! Alll riiiiight!!). In the first case, you will be starving between meals. In the second, you may actually gain weight the first few weeks. BOTH of these errors tend to be self-correcting over time as long as you don't panic and quit.
- Don't worry about S-days at the beginning. Focus on keeping those N-days "green." (Which reminds me - use the Habitcal. Keeps you from lying to yourself. Not that you would, of course... but I did, quite unintentionally.
)
- DON'T TWEAK. Honestly, people come here, say the system looks great, then do something entirely different and wonder why they have problems! Most of those "obvious" modifications have been TRIED and they simply don't work! So, follow the system as is ("vanilla No-S") for at least a month before you consider modifications. Then read the "mods and tweaks" podcasts. Then read through all the posts where people thought they could improve on it, then decided they were mistaken. (While you're doing this reading, you should get in a second month of vanilla No-S. )And only then if you're convinced you can do better, put in ONE tweak at a time.
Those are the biggies from me. I'm sure you'll get more.
Best wishes!
- Get the book. Read it. Re-read later - something you skimmed the first time will "speak" to you later.
- Start with a STRONG focus on building habit, and do not worry about weight loss. Especially for those of us rebounding from the diet mentality, this can be hard. I really, really recommend the "Strictness" podcast (#13, I think) on this one. Results DO follow action, but they're a lagging indicator, so focus on the actions.
- At the beginning, people tend to either under-load their plates at meals (still in diet-think) or overload them either in terms of pure quantity or food choices (diet-rebound... "I can have X??!!! Alll riiiiight!!). In the first case, you will be starving between meals. In the second, you may actually gain weight the first few weeks. BOTH of these errors tend to be self-correcting over time as long as you don't panic and quit.
- Don't worry about S-days at the beginning. Focus on keeping those N-days "green." (Which reminds me - use the Habitcal. Keeps you from lying to yourself. Not that you would, of course... but I did, quite unintentionally.
)- DON'T TWEAK. Honestly, people come here, say the system looks great, then do something entirely different and wonder why they have problems! Most of those "obvious" modifications have been TRIED and they simply don't work! So, follow the system as is ("vanilla No-S") for at least a month before you consider modifications. Then read the "mods and tweaks" podcasts. Then read through all the posts where people thought they could improve on it, then decided they were mistaken. (While you're doing this reading, you should get in a second month of vanilla No-S.
)And only then if you're convinced you can do better, put in ONE tweak at a time. Those are the biggies from me. I'm sure you'll get more.
Best wishes!
I agree with all the tips that KCCC mentioned. A few more:
1. Read through the sticky at the top about NoS motivational mottoes and sayings. Make note (literally or mentally) of the few that pop out to you and your situation. Review semi-regularly. One subtle benefit of NoS is retraining our thinking/responses to food/food situations while gaining good behavioral habits by following the explicit rules.
2. As time allows, read old posts--your question or situation may have popped up before. This can be very reassuring. For example, shortly after beginning NoS, I found myself a lot more thirsty and, on Sunday nights, feeling very bloated. I don't think many people experience this, but in going through the archived posts, I found that *some* people did and these sensations proved to be temporary. I spent the first month reading posts back to the beginning. (note: a year ago there was not nearly so many--may not be truly feasible now!)
3. Visit the board often! Daily is best. Keep your habitcal. I only do habitcal (not the daily thread check-in). When I do, I also read the new bulletin board posts; I post only occasionally.
4. Drill into your head that "Red" does not equal "failure." Instead, see it as an opportunity to figure out if a possible/potential problem is in the making in order to determine a solution. In all cases, "mark it and move on." (My one claim to NoS fame!)
5. Don't overthink NoS. It is simplicity itself. Focus on the 3 rules (No Snacks, No Sweets, No Seconds) during the week and enjoy every legitimate S day that comes your way. Portion sizes, healthy meals, sane S days all come with time. These *are* important, but as Reinhard says in his book, they are side issues ESPECIALLY for a beginner.
I am approaching my one year mark with NoS (next week). It has been a great year. I'm looking forward to posting a testimonial!
HTH,
1. Read through the sticky at the top about NoS motivational mottoes and sayings. Make note (literally or mentally) of the few that pop out to you and your situation. Review semi-regularly. One subtle benefit of NoS is retraining our thinking/responses to food/food situations while gaining good behavioral habits by following the explicit rules.
2. As time allows, read old posts--your question or situation may have popped up before. This can be very reassuring. For example, shortly after beginning NoS, I found myself a lot more thirsty and, on Sunday nights, feeling very bloated. I don't think many people experience this, but in going through the archived posts, I found that *some* people did and these sensations proved to be temporary. I spent the first month reading posts back to the beginning. (note: a year ago there was not nearly so many--may not be truly feasible now!)
3. Visit the board often! Daily is best. Keep your habitcal. I only do habitcal (not the daily thread check-in). When I do, I also read the new bulletin board posts; I post only occasionally.
4. Drill into your head that "Red" does not equal "failure." Instead, see it as an opportunity to figure out if a possible/potential problem is in the making in order to determine a solution. In all cases, "mark it and move on." (My one claim to NoS fame!)
5. Don't overthink NoS. It is simplicity itself. Focus on the 3 rules (No Snacks, No Sweets, No Seconds) during the week and enjoy every legitimate S day that comes your way. Portion sizes, healthy meals, sane S days all come with time. These *are* important, but as Reinhard says in his book, they are side issues ESPECIALLY for a beginner.
I am approaching my one year mark with NoS (next week). It has been a great year. I'm looking forward to posting a testimonial!
HTH,
Vicki in MNE
7! Yrs. with Vanilla NoS, down 55+lb, happily maintaining and still loving it!
7! Yrs. with Vanilla NoS, down 55+lb, happily maintaining and still loving it!
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StrawberryRoan
- Posts: 461
- Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:39 pm
- Location: United States
Hi Chris,
I'm a fellow newbie (today is day 14) and a recovering low-carb dieter. I know the Atkins and Protein Power diets inside and out, and I can really relate to that feeling that noessing is, well, wrong. I took Reinhard's advice and just concentrated on the rules the first week, not really worrying about calories or nutrition. By week two things started to really settle down, and I've begun losing at a nice, steady pace.
One thing I've found is that I can't get enough fruit! I often have a couple piece of fruit for two of my three meals. It's very satisfying, full of fiber, and I think my body knows it wants all the good stuff fruit has (fiber, vitamins) that I wasn't getting on Atkins or Medifast. When I went off-plan on either of those diets, I can guarantee you I wasn't thinking about oranges and bananas.
I had horrible carb cravings that never seemed to let up; a few days into this, they just went away. I try to eat whole grains as much as I can, but if I have some white bread, it doesn't send me into a carb craving overdrive. We've got tons of chips and chocolate in the house, and on Atkins and Medifast it would be a struggle just to open the cupboard to grab an approved food, because I wanted the carby, fatty stuff so badly (and on Medifast, because I was hungry every waking minute). Now I barely even notice it's there. Even on the weekends, I can take or leave the sweet stuff. I'll have an ice cream sandwich or something to satisfy my sweet tooth, and that's plenty. Having struggled with this for so long, It's actually a little weird.
So, if I can echo the great advice you've gotten from the seasoned noessers, just commit to 21 days of "vanilla" No S. If you can, don't step on the scale, but whatever you do, don't make any judgments about it until you've got those 21 days in. The first week of No S is basically just a mental detox, and it takes a while for things to equalize.
I found that around day 10, things just got really easy. Eating all that fiber has also absolutely killed my appetite. I'm at a caloric level I've struggled to get to in the past (around 1800 calories), and I'm perfectly satisfied. Snacking on pork rinds while treating fruit like poison seems like utter madness to me now, even though I was doing exactly that only a month ago, and had been off and on for over 10 years.
I'm a fellow newbie (today is day 14) and a recovering low-carb dieter. I know the Atkins and Protein Power diets inside and out, and I can really relate to that feeling that noessing is, well, wrong. I took Reinhard's advice and just concentrated on the rules the first week, not really worrying about calories or nutrition. By week two things started to really settle down, and I've begun losing at a nice, steady pace.
One thing I've found is that I can't get enough fruit! I often have a couple piece of fruit for two of my three meals. It's very satisfying, full of fiber, and I think my body knows it wants all the good stuff fruit has (fiber, vitamins) that I wasn't getting on Atkins or Medifast. When I went off-plan on either of those diets, I can guarantee you I wasn't thinking about oranges and bananas.
I had horrible carb cravings that never seemed to let up; a few days into this, they just went away. I try to eat whole grains as much as I can, but if I have some white bread, it doesn't send me into a carb craving overdrive. We've got tons of chips and chocolate in the house, and on Atkins and Medifast it would be a struggle just to open the cupboard to grab an approved food, because I wanted the carby, fatty stuff so badly (and on Medifast, because I was hungry every waking minute). Now I barely even notice it's there. Even on the weekends, I can take or leave the sweet stuff. I'll have an ice cream sandwich or something to satisfy my sweet tooth, and that's plenty. Having struggled with this for so long, It's actually a little weird.
So, if I can echo the great advice you've gotten from the seasoned noessers, just commit to 21 days of "vanilla" No S. If you can, don't step on the scale, but whatever you do, don't make any judgments about it until you've got those 21 days in. The first week of No S is basically just a mental detox, and it takes a while for things to equalize.
I found that around day 10, things just got really easy. Eating all that fiber has also absolutely killed my appetite. I'm at a caloric level I've struggled to get to in the past (around 1800 calories), and I'm perfectly satisfied. Snacking on pork rinds while treating fruit like poison seems like utter madness to me now, even though I was doing exactly that only a month ago, and had been off and on for over 10 years.
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flightisleavin
- Posts: 72
- Joined: Sun Jun 21, 2009 10:57 pm
Spleener
I have the exact same thing going on. I adore fruit these days. I was not dieting before but when I attempted to lose weight I always went the low carb route.
With No S I eat fruit with at least 2 meals and lo and behold I am not hungry the way the low carb doctrine insists you will be if you eat the devil's food.
It tastes much sweeter and is more satisfying when it is a part of regular meals.
Since I have steadily lost weight these two weeks witout struggle while eating fruit and a little bit of bread, rice and pasta it tells me over and over that No S plan is a gem.
I have the exact same thing going on. I adore fruit these days. I was not dieting before but when I attempted to lose weight I always went the low carb route.
With No S I eat fruit with at least 2 meals and lo and behold I am not hungry the way the low carb doctrine insists you will be if you eat the devil's food.
It tastes much sweeter and is more satisfying when it is a part of regular meals.
Since I have steadily lost weight these two weeks witout struggle while eating fruit and a little bit of bread, rice and pasta it tells me over and over that No S plan is a gem.
Starting date: June 22, 2009. Starting wgt: 220. Goal 120. Current weight: 198. Mindset: Celebrating moderation.
, with my noon meal and it was sooo good. Satisfying is the only word I can think to describe it. I thought to myself, "how can this NOT be good for me"? I am taking the advice to just do No-S as written for a month.