Rough start and a couple of questions

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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angigal
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Location: Utah, USA

Rough start and a couple of questions

Post by angigal » Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:04 am

First and foremost, a heartfelt thanks to Reinhard for sharing his No S system with us! I've been lurking around the discussion boards and you have a fabulous, supportive community!

I've been a closet No S dieter for two weeks. I've failed at so many diets, I don't tell my friends when I'm trying something new. With No S so far, I have about a 50% success rate. Sad though this sounds, this is the best success I've had following any diet. This system sounded so easy to me, but it's turning out to be more difficult than I imagined. I think, perhaps since I want to lose weight, I'm also trying very hard to keep my portions small, and occasionally end up under-eating. I don't mind feeling hungry, as it tells me I'm not eating like a piggie. However, my primary issue seems to be when I eat too little to make it to the next meal—I have willpower, but only until I start becoming weak, feeling shakey, and having headaches. So, I'm having some difficulties figuring out the balance of how much food to put on my plate. I fear that I'll follow the rules while still eating too much. It sounds like it's better to eat a little more until I have the habits formed, and then work on reducing portions (if needed). Has anyone gained weight while forming their new habits?

For about the past 15 years, I've struggled with a variation of Night Eating Syndrome, where I must eat significant (meal-portion) amounts of starchy carbs to sleep at night. If I don't eat close to bedtime, or if I don't quite eat enough, I don't sleep. I lay in bed from dust till dawn. Since I try to prevent this from happening (since it interferes with the small things, like my job), when I know I won't sleep, I opt to get up and eat in the middle of the night. I've seen multiple doctors, including specialists, completed sleep studies, and tried low-carb diets (which sounded like the perfect solution, but ended in complete insomnia), meditation, yoga, and prescription medications. I'm happy to report that, while I've made plenty of mistakes in my attempts to No S, I haven't needed to get up at night to eat! At Reinhard's suggestion, I'm still working on being a proud No S dieter eating 4 meals/day (with my last meal at bedtime). Is there anyone else who's No S-ing with more than 3 meals? If so, how is that working for you?

From Reinhard's suggestions on the No S diet page ('A "sweet" as I've defined it above means "lots of sugar." If you have to wonder, it's probably OK.'), I find it easy to classify pretty much everything. I've come across only one exception so far that I'm stuck on bucketing: granola bars. I like Cascadian Farm's Fiber Right bars, and some of Kashi's TLC bars. At 7-8 grams sugar/bar (and around 23g total carbs), I think perhaps these are an ok N-day food. But then, some have chocolate chips and taste like a treat! Into which bucket do you guys put granola bars?

Apologies for my long post, and thank you for listening!

Angi

wosnes
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Post by wosnes » Wed Jul 29, 2009 11:56 am

Granola bars are treats, in my book. So are most energy bars

What are you eating? The reason I ask is that so many of us eat what Michael Pollan calls "edible food-like substances" and not real food. If we eat food that is naturally more nutrient dense, we don't have the issues with hunger (as you describe it). I don't think most of us realize how much of the food we eat is an "edible food-like substance" and not "real food." It's so much a part of what is considered a "normal" diet!

Here's something I posted earlier this year:

http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic ... el+fuhrman
Last edited by wosnes on Wed Jul 29, 2009 2:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

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marleah
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Post by marleah » Wed Jul 29, 2009 12:02 pm

Starting out can be a bit tough! Since starting No-S, my portions are actually larger than what I used to eat. I used to just have the main entree portion of dinner and then snack on other stuff - now my plate is filled up with the entree (same size as before), a salad, a piece of fruit, etc. I feel like I am actually eating more on No-S, but I have still lost weight. I would focus on making sure your plate is full and get the habit down first. Also, I believe Reinhard has mentioned, if you don't eat enough and are hungry before your next meal, then that can be a learning experience that either you didn't eat enough or the particular foods you ate weren't very filling. That enables you to make a better choice next time!

I think I would consider granola bars only S-day foods, mainly because I can't imagine putting a granola bar on my plate. To me, they are only "between meal" foods, so it doesn't make sense to have them with a meal. I suppose if you are having that and a piece of fruit and maybe something else for breakfast, it could work, but in that case I'd rather just fix cereal.

Stick with it, and work on the habits, and I think you will see changes. Not necessarily right away, but they will happen!
- vegan grad student -
- 5'2" starting at 140-145 in March 2009 -
- S-Days Saturday and Sunday -

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mimi
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Re: Rough start and a couple of questions

Post by mimi » Wed Jul 29, 2009 1:46 pm

angigal wrote: I've been a closet No S dieter for two weeks. I've failed at so many diets, I don't tell my friends when I'm trying something new. With No S so far, I have about a 50% success rate. Sad though this sounds, this is the best success I've had following any diet. This system sounded so easy to me, but it's turning out to be more difficult than I imagined. I think, perhaps since I want to lose weight, I'm also trying very hard to keep my portions small, and occasionally end up under-eating. I don't mind feeling hungry, as it tells me I'm not eating like a piggie. However, my primary issue seems to be when I eat too little to make it to the next meal—I have willpower, but only until I start becoming weak, feeling shakey, and having headaches. So, I'm having some difficulties figuring out the balance of how much food to put on my plate. I fear that I'll follow the rules while still eating too much. It sounds like it's better to eat a little more until I have the habits formed, and then work on reducing portions (if needed). Has anyone gained weight while forming their new habits?
First of all, welcome, angigal! We're glad to have you and certain that you will love NoS. I made the same mistake of making my portions too small (my long established *diet head* mentality) when I first began NoS. I was afraid that I would actually gain weight if I ate *real food* instead of all the lo-carb, lo-fat, no-fat, no-sugar foods that I was accustomed to eating...but I didn't. The only thing it accomplished for me was to make me hungry way before my next meal, and almost impossible for me to resist nighttime eating - and that was my weakest area. So, I began stepping out in faith, based on what the *man himself* and others on the board advised, and filling my plate more at mealtimes. And guess what? It worked! Like Marleah also mentioned, my portions now are actually more than I used to eat, but minus the sweets, seconds, and snacking (particularly at night between supper and bedtime), and now I am losing weight. So, you kind of have to accept what Reinhard and the other NoEssers tell you, and just stick to the three square meals a day - although there are others who do make a small fourth meal and lose weight too...gratefuldeb67 is one that I can think of right off, but I know there are others. Just establish the habit first, and then adjust your portion sizes later. I think you also have to recognize that NoS isn't an *instant weight loss scheme*... it's a lifestyle, and one that your body will adapt nicely to given the time.
Here's another recent post I made to another new NoEsser that you might like to read...maybe you already have if you've been lurking!! :lol:
http://everydaysystems.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=5359
So, good luck on your NoS journey, and post often so we can keep up with how you're doing - and help if you need it!

Mimi :D
Discovered NoS: April 16, 2007
Restarted once again: July 14, 2011
Quitting is not an option...
If you start to slip, tie a knot and hang on!
Remember that good enough is... good enough.
Strive for progress, not perfection!

Thalia
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Location: Southern California

Post by Thalia » Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:55 pm

Sometimes I eat light meals, and sometimes I eat really hearty ones -- I'm still slowly but surely losing weight.

No S is really easier to stick with if you do not starve yourself at mealtimes, and sticking with it is the key.

tarantinofan
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Location: Boston

Post by tarantinofan » Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:57 pm

That's great that you have 50% success rate! When you're trying to lose weight, it's easy to get discouraged. Try to think about this as glass half full/50% success rate rather than glass half empty/50% failure rate. I've been doing the diet a month, and I have yet to reach a perfectly compliant week. Just keep trying to establish good habits. You'll get there, and so will I!

A few people said that granola bars were S foods, and I agree. I personally think bars/most snack foods look extremely odd on a plate.

Also, I totally struggled with giving myself way too little food at first. I had horrible headaches, was shaky all the time, etc. I think it's all about trying to find balance, which takes time. I'm still not there 100%. I sometimes give myself too little food. When I do this, I try to keep busy and stay away from the kitchen/get out of the house (I'm on summer vacation, so this takes effort sometimes lol). Also, this diet makes excess/emotional hunger infinitely more obvious, which is something to look forward to.

Anyway, welcome to the forums! I hope you have great success. I think joining the forums has helped me a lot because I'm finally accountable to people (I sadly can't be accountable to anyone in my life). So, I would recommend trying to not only read the forums but join in on the conversations. Noone will be judging you!

StrawberryRoan
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Post by StrawberryRoan » Wed Jul 29, 2009 7:06 pm

Welcome.

It does take a little getting used to if one is a "snacker", a bite here and there, a taste of this and that, etc. like I was (am, I am still in recovery).

I just try to think, what would a normal average sized plate of food look like - if one were not trying to lose weight or gain weight, just eat.

Say a slice of meatloaf, a scoop of mashed potatoes with a pat of butter, a little mound of green beans, a crescent roll, etc. Just a dinner example, of course. What June Cleaver might have served Wally and the Beave... Of course, back then there would have been some sort of gelatin salad as well......

Nothing crazy on either end of the spectrum.

It gets easier as we realize that we can actually eat like normal people do (and still lose or maintain our weight).

Berry :wink:


ETA, I add a Fiber One granola bar to a bowl of yogurt with sliced fresh fruit and a couple spoons of flax seed every morning .

wosnes
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Location: Indianapolis, IN, USA

Post by wosnes » Wed Jul 29, 2009 9:25 pm

StrawberryRoan wrote:Welcome.

Say a slice of meatloaf, a scoop of mashed potatoes with a pat of butter, a little mound of green beans, a crescent roll, etc. Just a dinner example, of course. What June Cleaver might have served Wally and the Beave... Of course, back then there would have been some sort of gelatin salad as well......
At least in my family, the gelatin salads only showed up on holidays, although a plain bowl of Jello was almost a nightly occurrence for my dad. :D
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

angigal
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:33 pm
Location: Utah, USA

Post by angigal » Thu Jul 30, 2009 4:06 am

Thank you all for your quick responses and suggestions!

Wosnes, thank you for the link! Most of my default food is real food, I think. I haven't read Michael Pollan's books. Dinners are normally home-made food (a protein such as chicken, fish, or low-fat or grass-fed beef, a starch such as corn, squash, tatoes, or brown rice, and veggies), lunch is either dinner leftovers or perhaps a turkey sandwich from my company's cafe, breakfast might be plain organic yogurt, Ezekiel toast, and fruit. My “bedtime meal†is smaller and normally something like Kashi cereal or Ezekiel toast. Organic milk with dinner, and water all day; no soda or coffee; tea maybe 1x/month. We do eat out probably once/week. My worst temptation is that my boyfriend (with whom I live) likes to keep goodies around the house (donuts, ice cream, store-bought brownies, etc.). With this stuff laying around, my naughty days tend to involve me dipping in to something like this laying around the house. I'll check one of Michael Pollan's books out from my local library and try to be mindful of packaged/fake food that sneaks its way in.

Mimi, thanks for the link and encouragement. I'll try to make my plates a little bigger. Today was better—I had a slightly larger breakfast, and timed my lunch strategically to get me through to dinner. So far, so good.

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