Everyday Systems

Hello, everybody! I happened upon the shovelglove site by "accident." (I don't really believe in accidents.) It seemed intelligent, sane, and awesome. I looked into the No S diet. I bought the book and read it in a few hours. It also seemed intelligent, sane, and awesome. I am so impressed by the way Reinhard thinks and writes. What a cool person! So I decided to try it. It's only been a few days, but it's the first diet I've ever ever ever been on that I feel like is working with my body and mind at the same time instead of against them. I am already eating far better and far less, and I'm not even having to try very hard. I know there will be difficult moments -- I work in the office of a very busy, large live music venue in a big city, and people are always bringing us treats to bribe us for tickets and backstage passes and whatnot -- but I also know that the "safety valve" of the S days is going to help me succeed. Sure, I will slip up, but this is just such an intelligent, sane, moderate program that I can actually HONESTLY see myself doing this forever, eventually without even having to think about it too much.

I'm not going to go way into my history because you just don't have the time or the stomach for that. Suffice it to say I have been on just about every diet known to man, ever. I am a fat person, but I don't lack will power. I ate nothing but raw vegan food for 10 months. It takes real will power to do that. I have eaten nothing but meat and dairy for months, nothing but fruit for weeks, juice fasts, cabbage soup diet, etc. And now I have screwed my metabolism and I'm really fat.

I haven't exercised regularly in a long time, but I used to be a dancer. I've always been a bit bigger than average, just larger framed than a normal girl (I blame the Scottish and American Indian blood I get from my father; my sister and I wear size 10 shoes) but I used to have great muscle tone and be really strong. Recently I joined the local roller derby league because I used to be an awesome roller skater. I couldn't hack it and had to quit. I had a constant shin splint that never went away after three weeks, and it's because I am just flat out carrying too much weight and my muscles are not awesome anymore. I'm not exactly sure how much I weigh because I am afraid if I step on the scale I will succumb to deep depression (that number is so powerful) but I think it's somewhere between 250 and 270. It's not my heaviest but almost.

Anyway, I accept the fact that this is going to be a lifelong journey and I am not as concerned with results right now as I am with just leading a healthy life and not getting any fatter or more out of shape. If one day, in a year or two, I can feel better, look better, and play roller derby, that will be awesome. I am also concerned with reversing the ill effects poor nutrition and lack of exercise have had on my health, namely what they call Metabolic Syndrome or Syndrome X, which has left me with systemic hormone imbalances that led to polycystic ovary syndrome (which caused severe anemia), thyroid disease, insulin resistance, etc. I am determined to be a healthier person, forever.

I embark on this journey with cautious optimism. I have tried just about everything. But I feel like this is different and I feel really good. So... Yeah. We'll see.

Thanks for reading. Good luck to all of you on your journeys.

Kristen

Welcome Kristen!
You will LOVE NoS, as I'm sure you suspect by now after discovering the site and reading the book. It is simple and it works. From someone who has been yo-yo dieting on and off pretty much since my teens, I have found this to be the ONLY eating solution that has removed my *diet head*. The angst is gone, along with the constant head chattering, debating, guilt, and beating up - they all have ceased. What could be better than that? They have been replaced by a peaceful demeanor and a calm relationship with food. This part of NoS is the most important to me - the weight loss is wonderful too, don't get me wrong, but clearing out the diet personality means more...and becoming a healthier person by making NoS my lifestyle has been my goal too. I have had some rough patches and streaks of red days along the way, but I keep at it.
I am slowly, but surely, losing weight. I'm older, and not extreme with my eating. I've been eating *real* food - no low fat-no fat stuff, and I enjoy my S's on the weekends. A year from now I expect to weigh about 30-couple pounds less. I don't care how long it takes - I'll let my body be the judge of that!
I wish you the same type of success with NoS as you embark on your journey. Visit the boards often and we'll help you along. Good luck!

Mimi

Thanks, Mimi, for your reply. The encouragement is appreciated. Best of luck!

Kristen

Welcome Kristen to a wonderful place where you can heal issues with food you did not even realise you had.

Enjoy every step of the process and don't beat yourself up if you slip up as you learn where you are going.

Hugs

Welcome, Kristen!

Kristen wrote:And now I have screwed my metabolism and I'm really fat.

.

No-S is the best thing to do when you're in this situation. I think it takes time for things to get "back to normal" and the answer isn't another extremely restrictive diet, but something sane and sensible that you can do forever.

Welcome, Kristen!

It sounds like you have a very good, long term outlook.

Best of luck and looking forward hearing more from you,

Reinhard

Welcome Kristen! I think it was Mimi who really said what I am feeling about this plan After 2 weeks, I would actually describe myself as feeling freer and lighter than I have in a long time. The way I am thinking about food is changing...really changing. I am happy and excited about what I am doing. I made a calendar for my frig and have been marking the days in colored pencil. Yes, I have a couple of red days, but that's ok. Now even saying that, I realize that in the past a "failure" would have put me into a downward spiral and I would have given up. Or else I would have denied it! Now, I just marked it and got back on course.

Anyways, I am glad you have found this site and I wish you the best. Hope to hear from you often.

People here talk a lot about eating the way they did when they grew up, but I think they eat even better quality food than I did. I know I do now.

This is getting more fun as time goes on.

Welcome, Kristen; you've found a great place, accidentally or not. I liked what you said about fat people and willpower; in another thread I said that every time I hear that fat people have no willpower I think "You have no idea what you're talking about." You will have more than enough willpower to do No S. It DOES make sense; it works; it gets easier as time goes on.

Roller derby! You know eventually we're gonna want pictures!

Hi, Kristen! It's great that you found NoS. I too stumbled across it sort of accidentally--but it's affected by life so much I sometimes wonder if there was a bit more to it. I was earning some extra money by writing diet book reviews and was sent NoS. Ironically, I was really unhappy with my own weight at the time. My then-boyfriend (now husband) was away at a research institution all summer, and I was packing on the pounds from nights spent pigging out of our boredom and loneliness. I read the book from front to back in one night and knew it was the perfect solution for me.

Anyways, best of luck as you begin your NoS journey. This way of eating will not only help you lose the weight (sanely), but it'll also transform your relationship with food for the better.