35 pounds in 18 weeks

[Gia]

Hi!

I am currently 170 pounds and have 18 weeks to get down to my ideal weight of 135 pounds. I gained 10lbs in the last week and a half. And my weight has steadily increased from 135lbs last September to 160pounds this summer.

I've gone on many diets so I am used to restricting calories heavily and exercising tremendously to loose even 10lbs a week! But I am trying this new approach because I beleive and hope that it is sustainable, and can work for the long-term.

It is so hard for me to follow this diet, not because the rules are too hard, but because my impulse is to stop eating, exercise a lot and loose the weight FAST. It is taking more discipline to tell myself: "Don't rush. Learn the Habits now and it'll pay off later!"

Thanks to everyone who has posted! You've inspired someone desperate to try this method and learn something new about themselves.

[Blithe Morning]

Losing weight the No S way is slow. Losing two pounds a week for 18 weeks is a LOT, especially as you have been rollercoastering with your weight. (gaining and losing 10lbs in a week is very extreme). I won't say it's impossible, but setting a goal like that seems to be setting you up for disappointment.

What happens in 18 weeks that you have to be 35 lbs lighter?

Can you rather change your goals so that have 18 weeks to set new habits that will have you reach a healthy weight, change your relationship with food, and cause you to rediscover the joys of good and good-for-you food?

[Mounted Ranger!]

Losing weight the No S way is slow. Losing two pounds a week for 18 weeks is a LOT, especially as you have been rollercoastering with your weight. (gaining and losing 10lbs in a week is very extreme). I won't say it's impossible, but setting a goal like that seems to be setting you up for disappointment.

What happens in 18 weeks that you have to be 35 lbs lighter?

Can you rather change your goals so that have 18 weeks to set new habits that will have you reach a healthy weight, change your relationship with food, and cause you to rediscover the joys of good and good-for-you food?

What she said!

[oliviamanda]

Good luck, Gia. Years ago when I originally started No S, I lost a lot of weight fairly quickly, but my secret weapons were lots of walking and checking labels and making sure my actual "sugar" intake was severely reduced. On S days, I never overdid it, I actually disliked the taste of sugary foods and loved my progress so much that I was able to pass up a lot.

I have to say that I agree with the others, No S is slow because you're body has to adjust to your new eating and it is unhealthy to lose more than a certain amount a week. Losing that much in a short time is kind of unrealistic, just tell yourself you will do the best you can. I am 165 lbs (after baby) and I want to be 135 again, and this time it's going slow (but my regimen is more lax than last time, so I know why I'm not losing more).

I had a wedding to go to with 3 months notice, and I couldn't lose as much as I wanted in time. Remember whatever you have to lose for, you should be able to buy yourself something flattering to wear no matter what your size and you will look beautiful.

[mimi]

The NoS diet is all kinds of wonderful things, but what it is NOT is a *drop pounds quickly* weight loss approach. It works on establishing a healthy relationship with food and eating while building strong habits that will sustain you for a lifetime. The weight loss is an added bonus that, for most people, happens very slowly. There are some who follow their own extreme version of NoS and lose much more quickly, but they clearly make this distinction in their signature line. There are others who tweak and modify the plan to fit their needs and this too can affect the rate of weight loss in one direction or the other.
If you practice Vanilla NoS weight loss will occur, but at a very slow rate. Take into consideration that while this is happening, you are eating normal, healthy, good food and learning to enjoy it once again. It helps to establish a peaceful relationship with food for most followers. You can also enjoy your sweets and other indulgences on S days if you so choose. There is no calorie counting, keeping track of points, etc. to be done. What other kind of diet can offer you all this? Most offer quicker or larger weight loss promises, but sadly we all know what happens in the end.
I firmly believe that NoS is a healthy, sane, entirely *do-able* way to eat and live. I hope you decide it's for you.
Wishing you the best on your NoS journey,

Mimi

[Gia]

THank you for the helpful feedback!!!!

To be honest, I am quite disappointed that 2lbs a weeks is too fast. Is 1lb a week the average then?

I generally eat healthy foods (vegetarian) like brown rice and vegetables and beans and occasionally fish. I never drink sodas. The amount I have gained is almost exclusively from an emotional period where i upped the quantity of my food significantly. I began to eat almost double what I normally would this past year.

I am learning now to readjust and eat when I need to, not WANT to. NO -S is great for that because we live in a society that teaches us to "keep our bloodsugar up!" "Don't let your energy wane" when the truth is, eating protein bars, quick shakes, sugary snacks are not a way to be healthy... they are just extra calories.

I have been on no-s for almost a week now. I will let you know my progress at the end of the week. As one mentioned earlier, it might be easier to loose pounds in the beginning....

I am also starting a healthy, sustainable, at-home, recesssion-proof exercise plan. I hope that together with sensible eating (1 plate, no seconds, no snacks) I can loose those 35 pounds by December for my event!

[tarantinofan]

For me, there has been no average. One week I lost 5 pounds, but my S days were so wild that I gained it all back over the weekend. To be quite honest, there is no way to predict how quickly you'll lose weight. Besides the obvious diet and exercise choices you make daily, how much you emotionally eat will also lead to different paths of success. If you binge (which I still do because I'm pretty new to No S), then it will take longer for you to lose weight as you adjust yourself to a healthy relationship with food.

I know you want to lose weight, and I wish I could tell you that you will wake up 2 pounds lighter next week, but I can't predict this. I can say that, without a doubt, if you exercise and eat moderately on No S, you will lose your unwanted weight.

I would think, though, that you'd rather fix your relationship with food and learn how to be moderate rather than just starve on three meals a day to lose a few pounds in a week. If you try to lose too quickly, you'll probably regain and give up on No S because you'll miss a feeling of satiety. Anyway, good luck to you. I wish I could promise you an easy journey and give you a time line to success, but there's just no way of knowing how long and arduous it will be for you to lose your weight...

[Bushranger]

If you really gained 10.5 pounds in one week (and it wasn’t all water) and believe it was on healthy food, albeit in large portions, you are delusional. You need to be honest with yourself if you want any chance of success on ANY diet long term.

Your goal is completely unrealistic too and the fact that you have gone from steadily gaining wait for close to a year to suddenly wanting to lose most of it within a few months shows a desire to lose weight but probably a misguided desire at that. Such a specific weight loss in a specific period indicates a special event you want to be "looking good" for, not a commitment to long term health and fitness.

Sorry to be so harsh, but in the words of Dr Phil "It's time to get real!"

[vmelo]

THank you for the helpful feedback!!!!

To be honest, I am quite disappointed that 2lbs a weeks is too fast. Is 1lb a week the average then?

From what I've read on many of the posts here, people seem to lose 1/2 lb. to 1 lb. a week. Again, that varies widely. Men tend to lose faster than women.

[Gia]

Great points! I really appreciated when someone said that whatever weight I am at in December is still progress. I concur.

Bushranger - thanks for the dose of reality. We all need it at times. Part of the weight (approximately 8-10lbs) is water retention from the sudden burst of heat + me not drinking enough water. Part of it is from eating too much food + snacking on unhealthy foods (cookies, icecream etc.)

I am fine with a pound a week, half a pound, or if it is a good week, 2 pounds. I look ok for my height and weight so it is not about trying to look good only. I am going to be going to the event regardless of whether I loose weight or gain weight.... but I am putting it as a motivational reason amoung others.


Here are my reasons for being on No-S and wanting to loose weight:

1) Feel fit and comfortable in my body
2) Eat more steadily and healthily (consistency is my goal!)
3) Learn a new habit
4) Feel that my body is a true represention of the "me" inside
5) Learn to take full responsibility for my eating and my life

I hope to share this journey with everyone. 1/2lb at a time!

-Gia

[reinhard]

Welcome, Gia!

I would forget about the pounds altogether.

Just relax and focus on building good eating/moving habits. The pounds will come off. But "a watched pot never boils," right?

Have you seen the habitcal? It's a great way to get your mind off short term results and focused on long term habits.

You might also want to have a look at the "Put the scale in perspective" podcast I did a while ago:

http://www.everydaysystems.com/podcast/ ... .php?id=24

Best of luck and keep us posted,

Reinhard

[Gia]

Thank you for the welcome message. I absolutely LOVE the habitcal. It is a brilliant tool and I hope that it continues to help people build long-term habits.

Listened to your podcast. It definitely might explain the 10lbs that I seemingly gained in a week in a half! I am completely convinced now! I am not worrying about the pounds. I will post monthly to update you on my progress. Thanks everyone!

[Bushranger]

Your listed points are good ones Gia. If you keep those long term important thoughts in mind than you will do well with No S. Good stuff.

[Gia]

Hi All!
You have inspired me so much that I am completely disregarding the "scale" God. I have decided that the most important things that I truly care about are feeling healthy, agile and having a normal relationship with food. I will weigh myself once a month with the goal of having lost about 4 pounds, but my real "scale" will be THE daily habitcal!

I have been following the diet for 1 week and find it so simple! it seems to be the way I naturally want to eat, but advertising, food additives, and mindless eating have changed the way we think of food.

I am beginning to feel confident that I can make it through any situation and follow this simple plan!

Here's how my week went

Thursday - Friday last week - GREAT. Stuck to the plan. Stuffed a large plate for lunch on Friday but felt so full that I just had a bowl of yogurt and fruit for dinner. Balanced out without me even being conscious of it.

Saturday + Sunday - GREAT! I started out wanting to really restrict my food and only allow myself to have one sweet on Saturday and one snack on Sunday. INstead, I allowed myself to follow my instincts and go with what I felt was the essence of the plan. SOO on Saturday I didn't each much, but my Siggy (S.O.) surprised me with a box of chocoaltes, and I felt liberated that I could eat a few without guilt. I also had a frozen yogurt as a mid-morning snack and loved it!

On Sunday we went for dinner and I had a sangria (my favorite!) without feeling like I was cheating. Then I ate more fruit and chocolate for dessert.

I was very nervous that on Monday I wouldn't be able to resist sweets, but I transitioned right back into it! It seems that the weekDAY/weekEND distinction is a very natural and powerful divider!

MONDAY - GOOD!! Office mates brought and passed around cookies but I had no problem resisting. INstead, it seemed weird to see people trying to slyly nibble on half of a cookie and "be good" only to go back for seconds and polish off more cookies than if they had just allowed themself to have one!

TUESDAY - SUPERB! Strange as it sounds, on any other diet, this would have been a failure, but I learned a lot today! In a rush and ate a super small breakfast - just a few pieces of fruit. BY lunch I was hungry so I had a large sandwich, a bagel and fruit (which I fit onto one plate - albeit it was a SHAMEFUL plate!) haha. But then for dinner I just had a bit of pasta and more yogurt and fruit. I feel full and satisfied.

My weekend treats are going to be:

Haagendatz icecream with warmed chocolate coconut macaroons
Frozen yogurt

As you can see, I have a sweet tooth for the creamy and sugary things in life, but as Reinhard says: "Pleasure is good! Let the sweet tooth be a motivator."

Signing off....

[tarantinofan]

I am so glad that you are inspired to change your view about the No S diet. Not relying so much on the scale for support is super hard to do (I have trouble myself!), but I think focusing on sticking to moderate behaviors is key. Good luck with everything, and please keep all of us posted on your progress.

[Gia]

Thanks Ari!

I am thinking about hiding away my scale and not pulling it out until 4 months have passed... I am truly coming to believe that it is not an accurate measure of behavior.

I feel much better and am really getting a hang of this program! Instead of tracking my weight, I track my habits with the habitcal. Super excellent tool.

SOMETHING MIRACULOUS HAPPENED THOUGH...

I decided to weigh in this week and see how I am doing. I was expecting to loose about 1lb but definitely also open to remaining the same weight (I know progress can be slow).

When I got on the scale this morning, I had dropped 10lbs. Same day of the week, same time. I am down to 160lbs and absolutely flabbergasted!!! I have no idea how that happened! I think my scale might be awry and Reinhard has an excellent podcast about not worrying about the scale too much, and focusing on behavior instead.

Scales can be so unpredictable.... Remember how in my first post I mentioned that my scale told me I had gained 10lbs in a week? Well, it looks like that same scale took it back!

I know the first thing people would ask is: have you been following the plan? are you starving yourself? To the contrary! I have never felt more liberated. i absolutely LOVE and look forward to each meal I eat, and can't wait to sit down with a full plate and enjoy a meal. When I am done eating, I experience RELIEF at knowing that one meal is complete and another delicious meal is on its way.!

EXERCISE
I've been exercising with weights or calisthenics for 10 minutes a day (riduculously little, I know, but CONSISTENCY really pays off!)

FOOD
I've had pizza, fruit and yogurt, granola, Chinese lo-mein, falafel laffa with fries, fish, salad, soups, hummus, and more diverse and interesting foods than I could ever have had when I was engaged in American perma-snack eating. My portions have been the same/slightly bigger than when I was eating 'normally', which leads me to believe that much of my excess weight comes from SWEETS, and SNACKS. I was also huge on extras... (no pun intended)

FOR EXAMPLE....
At a typical meal, i would eat a salad, and fish and potatoes... Then eat handfuls of M&M trailmix between 2-3pm (perhaps 2 cups all taken in little handfuls as 'snacks'), then eat a muffin, cupcake or other tempting treat that someone at the office provides... then grab another cookie or so around 4pm.

Then go home and eat a full dinner. And if it was yummy, go back for seconds.

probably half of my daily calories came from those afternoon seconds, snacks and sweets ALONE!!!!!!

I felt so out of control and lost... Like I didn't have a direction or path.

Now, I know what I am doing, and it is SO SIMPLE.

This weekend, as I mentioned earlier on (can you tell i am looking forward to the weekend treats??) I am going to have:
frozen yogurt
haagendatz and chocolate chip cookie

Hooray! Looking forward to it.

Just to add a disclaimer - I am not expecting this weight loss to continue this rapidly. It is probably a fluke. In any case, I am delighted that everyone on this board has helped me to see that the scale does not matter! what matters is the right behavior and the right attitude towards food.

Will keep you posted on this week's progress....

[Kathleen]

My scale broke. It is a "blessing in disguise." I decided not to replace it but rather to weigh myself once per month at the gym. I've lost 15 pounds in a year. Slow. Discouraging. Yes. I weigh about 200 pounds. In 2002, I weighed 155. Every thing else I tried resulted in weight gain. I decided to accept whatever weigh results from this diet because I am sick of being obsessed about my weight.
Kathleen

[gratefuldeb67]

Hey Kathleen!! I honestly haven't missed having a scale in our apartment.
I agree that a once a week weigh in, to keep on track, is a great idea.
Don't cave to the temptation of buying another one, because it's just gonna encourage obsessive scale stepping, and not necessarily helpful to losing weight.
I hope you enjoy the new freedom from the scale
Debs x

[Gia]

Made it through the first month of no S!

I feel very proud to have slowly built the habits up!

Some days are better than others, but i am looking and feeling great.

Lost 1-2 more pounds since I last posted! NOW at 158lbs. What a difference from 170. I am MOST proud, however, of building these great habits!

I have had 2 failed days, and otherwise all green!!! (with exempt weekends of course)

I am UP AND READY FOR A NEW MONTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gratefuldeb67]

Way to go!!!!

[Jammin' Jan]

Many congratulations on your success, Gia!

[Gia]

Thank you both for the encouragement!1

I have been having a really rough time these last four days.

THURSDAY - My SO was here to visit so we celebrated with dessert
FRIDAY - he was still around and wanted to take me out to eat, so i ate when I wasn't hungry
SAT - managed to keep green
SUN - tried to keep green but had a chocolate power bar
MON - Felt so deprived that i had seconds for dinner.

GOSH. I wish I had just stuck to the habit and repetition of "only days that start with S!" Turning a non-S day into an S day and "promising" myself i'll just trade Thursday for Saturday DOES NOT WORK!!!!!!!!!
I feel cheated, like I haven't gotten to truly enjoy my freedom on S days!!!!!!!!!!!!! ugh!!!!

I hope i can pull myself out of this rut soon (((

I was doing so great, but now have TWO red days in the month

Feeling really down.

[Too solid flesh]

I was doing so great, but now have TWO red days in the month

Feeling really down.

We all have red days. One of our NoS friends has a signoff which reads something like "Fall down n times, get up n+1 times".

NoS does get easier over time, so it's worth persevering through difficult early weeks.

Good luck!

[guadopt1997]

I'd say a visit from your SO, if it's not that frequent, certainly qualifies as an S event, at least. Don't be too hard on yourself.

[Gia]

Thank you!

[howfunisthat]

Two red days? That's terrific! If you have two red days, then you have FAR more green & yellow ones! I think that one of the biggest things to learn in NoS is that you're NOT a failure! In every diet I've ever done, I had such a huge sense of failure if I didn't adhere to every rule. But this is different...this is learning to have a healthy relationship with food. So...you had a couple of reds...you've struggled...now you get up, brush off the crumbs and start over. Right now.

Whenever I fail...and I've done more than my fair share of it here...I try to remind myself that it took me 49 years to get to where I am. I don't even remember when I became addicted to food and dieting because I think it started before I was in first grade. It's going to take me awhile to change all those years upon years of bad habits. So be kind to yourself and stop yourself from using the word "fail"...you're working hard, not failing.

Hang in there...we can win this battle...

janie

[guadopt1997]

The other thing about occasional red days is that they don't amount to much over the course of your whole life, which is what this diet is for: the long run.

Good luck!

[Nichole]

I tend to really overeat on Saturdays if I go to a party, but it hasn't affected my weight because I eat so healthy the other days of the week. So I wouldn't worry about a couple red days, as long as they don't become a habit.

[Grammy G]

It was so great to read all the entries here to see what a supportive community this is! Someone mentioned Dr. Phil and that got ME to thinking: (yep, I even tried his plan to lose weight!!) that the one thing I "got" from him was...basically what we are trying to do.... Be mindful of what you eat.. make that your focus..NOT the amount of weight you will lose each week. we can control what we eat, we can't control what our body does with that food. We can be sure to exercise.. but we can' t say how much weight we will lose by exercising X amount of time. I don't think that being "mindful" on this noS plan is asking us to do anything that outrageous. I think We-Who-Tried-All Diets are so used to havng to measure and write and plan ahead that we make THIS plan harder than it really is and figure we must be doing something wrong if we can stick to it! Happy Mealtimes to one and all!

[BrightAngel]

We can control what we eat, we can't control what our body does with that food.

I have found this to be So Very True.