HELP AND ADVICE DESPERATELY NEEDED

[mrsj]

I'm maintaining at 94 kilos which is much too heavy for my frame. My clothes are still tight, so it's NOT muscle. The first 2 weeks I lost 1 kilo per week, then gained them back plus 2 more!

I've only had 1 red day and am a 3x member of the 21 day club. I move a lot more than before No S.

No S is habit now, I don't really think about it anymore. I eat brunch at sometime between 10 and 11. My brunch consists of meat, veggies and some kind of high fiber starch. Leftovers from last night's dinner. This tides me over until dinner time. My brunch is eaten from a lunch plate and my dinner is on a slightly larger plate. Lot's of veggies, because I just love them.

My S days usually consist of my normal meals if I remember to eat and a few beers with friends. I don't take seconds on S days. Sometimes I'll have a sweet, but not every time. I'm trying to disassociate special times with stuffing my face.

I need some advice for tweaking to get my weight down. I've read a lot of check-ins and testimonials. The folks who have had signifigant weight reduction have had some red days. Is this maybe the answer?

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated.

[wosnes]

It's possible to have all green days and not lose or gain weight -- even eating only 2 meals daily. You have to look at exactly what you're eating. When I eat two more substantial meals (even though one is on a smaller plate), I gain, because I'm not eating fewer calories. My brunch tends to be much lighter. I have soup and some bread and fruit with possibly either a salad or just some raw veggies. It's still higher volume and fills me up, but it's lower in calories.

The next thing to look at would be exercise -- and the balance between exercise and food intake. The less you move in any way, the fewer calories you can eat and lose weight.

I think fear of hunger leads some people to consume more calories at meals than they were previously. Even though they're not snacking, they haven't reduced the calorie intake. You've got to create a calorie deficit whether it's by consuming fewer or burning more or a combination of both (probably the easiest way).

[connorcream]

Howdy,
For me the answer was learning what my calorie burn was, what calories are in the foods I ate, and then eat a deficit of 500 calories each day for a total weekly deficit of 3500 cal. I have lost 23# doing this since Oct 6, 2009. My checkin documents my journey.

Best wishes on whatever you decide to do.

[oliviamanda]

The others are right on. You need to start moving a little more. Maybe just add in some extra power walking or something. You need to burn to lose, especially if you are at a standstill.

[reinhard]

mrsj,

That's frustrating - I'm sorry to hear it.

But I do think you're in better shape than you were before -- you have a platform of moderate habits to build on.

The most obvious next step would be, as wosnes has mentioned, to add moderate regular exercise, if you're not doing it already. It's a good in itself, even apart from weight concerns, and coming at the weight problem from two directions, input and output, means you can afford to be sustainably moderate in both. If you don't know where to start, try an N-daily "14 minutes of anything."

In terms of diet, do you have any idea where the excess is coming in? It sounds like you're eating very moderately. If so, all the more reason to make your next step on the exercise front.

Reinhard

[clarinetgal]

You may want to look into getting a pedometer, and try tracking how many steps you take for awhile. I've heard and read good things about the Omron pedometers (I'm thinking about getting one for myself). If you walk 10,000 steps a day (which is the step goal I always see quoted), you will definitely be pretty active.

[mrsj]

Thanks, Folks! I do have a pedometer and am increasing my steps by 500 each week. I am excersizing as much as I can.

Before No S, I sat in the sofa all day long stuffing my face. DH did the shopping and errands in town. Since joining No S, I've taken these chores over just to get some excersize. I walk as fast as I can, my heart rate is elevated and my face is cherry red. It's below freezing with a good wind and I'm breaking out a sweat. After 3 snowstorms in a row, I'm schlogging through ankle deep snow which is much harder work than walking on pavement. I use my home as a gymn-heavy duty housework with a lot of scrubbing and polishing. Has anyone ever tried to vacuum their ceiling? I do twice a week.

I'm so out of shape that I'm below rock bottom. But I do what I can every day and console myself that I can only go up!

I'll try shovel glove starting with a shovel or mop and work my up to more weight.

[wosnes]

Thanks, Folks! I do have a pedometer and am increasing my steps by 500 each week. I am excersizing as much as I can.

Before No S, I sat in the sofa all day long stuffing my face. DH did the shopping and errands in town. Since joining No S, I've taken these chores over just to get some excersize. I walk as fast as I can, my heart rate is elevated and my face is cherry red. It's below freezing with a good wind and I'm breaking out a sweat. After 3 snowstorms in a row, I'm schlogging through ankle deep snow which is much harder work than walking on pavement. I use my home as a gymn-heavy duty housework with a lot of scrubbing and polishing. Has anyone ever tried to vacuum their ceiling? I do twice a week.

I'm so out of shape that I'm below rock bottom. But I do what I can every day and console myself that I can only go up!

I'll try shovel glove starting with a shovel or mop and work my up to more weight.

Good for you!

We've talked here about a book here called Clara's Kitchen. Clara is a 94 y/o woman who gives us recipes and tips from the Great Depression era. One of her tips is: "If you don't think you have time to exercise, just clean your kitchen. I think it's kind of silly -- the people jogging. Scrubbing my floors and counters makes every strong and my kitchen looks good."

Another nugget of wisdom: "Walk when you go to the grocery store. Because if you don't have a large car trunk to store things, you'll be forced to buy only what you can comfortably carry, which is most likely all you need."

For years and years, carrying groceries (and children) was all the strength training women got or needed!

[Too solid flesh]

The folks who have had signifigant weight reduction have had some red days. Is this maybe the answer?

I guess I come into this category. I did lose a lot of weight in my first couple of years of NoS (which, if I remember correctly, had negligible amounts of red). I'm afraid that the amount of red and yellow in my HabitCal over this last year has been because I've been overindulging, losing and gaining the same few pounds all year. Unfortunately, the reds in my HabitCal are not a sophisticated dieting plan, just too many failures, and I will have to confess in my yearly check-in before long.

It sounds to me as though you are doing all the right things, and I'm sure that you'll find the adjustments you need in order to make progress.

Very best wishes. Please keep posting.

[harmony]

I am not sure what you drink during the week on N-days. I am trying to be very careful not to drink too many drinks with calories. Coffee with sugar and/or cream, hot cocoa, milk, sneaking some of my kids' Koolaid are all things I try to keep in check. 100+ calories per drink here and there can add up pretty quick. So, now that I do not get too hungry between meals, I try to stick to black coffee (which I prefer) and water or tea.

mrsj, I like your idea of trying shovelglove with something lighter than a sledgehammer. I am a weakling when it comes to my upper body. I might have to try your idea. Thanks.

[lelovelady]

I am not sure what you drink during the week on N-days. I am trying to be very careful not to drink too many drinks with calories. Coffee with sugar and/or cream, hot cocoa, milk, sneaking some of my kids' Koolaid are all things I try to keep in check. 100+ calories per drink here and there can add up pretty quick. So, now that I do not get too hungry between meals, I try to stick to black coffee (which I prefer) and water or tea.

Well, speaking just for me ... I really like water, and try to make sure I get a lot of it. I try to stick to just one cup of coffee (because I haven't been able to wean myself completely off sugar in my coffee yet, although I have greatly reduced it). I also like a cup of hot tea in the afternoon ... I go for the herbal flavored teas, because they have a natural sweetness and don't need sugar. Next up my food chain are fruit or vegetable juices (I really like V8 juice), followed by milk. I love milk, but I have to limit my dairy because of an allergy, and I'd rather be able to have some cheese or sour cream than waste it drinking milk.

Since this is pretty much what I already did, it is the one section of the No S diet that isn't really giving me any problems, after I got over the habit of dumping a mini mountain of sugar in my coffee. I do occassionally miss having a soda as a pick me up in the afternoon, but not very often, and hot tea usually works just as well.

Good luck!

Laura L.

[wosnes]

I try to stick to just one cup of coffee (because I haven't been able to wean myself completely off sugar in my coffee yet, although I have greatly reduced it).

Remember, it's not no sugar -- it's no sweets. I don't know how much sugar you're using in your coffee, but a teaspoon or so of sugar in your coffee or tea or on your cereal isn't an issue.

[lelovelady]

Remember, it's not no sugar -- it's no sweets. I don't know how much sugar you're using in your coffee, but a teaspoon or so of sugar in your coffee or tea or on your cereal isn't an issue.

Oh yeah, I know. But if I can break the habit entirely, I think it would be good for me. One of the major challenges I'm having with this is breaking my sweet tooth, and I find that if I drink things that are sweet, even a little, it tends to make me crave more sweets.

Although, to my taste, coffee with only two sugars in it isn't very sweet, and it's a major change from what I used to do, so if I stall here in the two sugars, I'm not going to beat myself up over it. I'd like to get down to none, but if I can't, I can't. I don't think I drink enough coffee to really make it an issue ... four or five mugs a week probably won't kill me in the long run.

Thanks so much for the encouragement and the advice. I can always count on you to have something helpful.

Laura L.

[StrawberryRoan]

Stay the course, regardless what the scales say.

You can't go wrong if you do right.

You will see progress eventually.

And you will have established some great life long skills as well, while bettering your health.

You can do it, you're worth it.

Berry

[mrsj]

Thanks so much for all your input. I looked at what I'm drinking and I THINK it might be my H2Orange. I usually drink a lot of water, but in the winter I'm just tired of plain water. I've started to only use half of the O.J.
that I usually use. Just enough to color the water.

I never use pollutants (sugar, milk or lemon) in my coffee or tea.