No S Anxiety

nattygirl · Post by **nattygirl** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:29 am

I'm just wrapping up my first week on the No S Diet and, for the most part, I've felt really good about the system and my adherence to it. I've been dieting since I was a young teenager and stuck to a 1000 calorie a day diet. This is the first time in my life where I'm eating in a way that makes sense but I'm suddenly so, so anxious about it.

Something I realized for the first time today is that this week, I've been eating off of a nine-inch plate three times a day. I used to eat all of my meals (except for dinner) off a six inch salad plate. I'm looking back on what I've been eating and I have to say, I'm afraid. I'm afraid I am eating too much and that I'm going to gain a ton of weight.

I don't have a great relationship with the scale, so I only weigh myself once a month. I promised myself I would stick with No S for a full month and see what happens but I'm scared.

I guess I'm just looking for some reassurance that this works and it's okay that I put a lot of stuff on those nine-inch plates this week (lots of fruits and veggies but lots of calorie dense food too!) I didn't have any sweets, snacks or seconds and I walked at least 10,000 steps every day. Is that enough? Or am I missing something here? Maybe I'm freaked out because tomorrow is my first S day...

Any insights would be much appreciated!

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 11:59 am

Welcome, nattygirl!

Here's the thing about S days. With rare exceptions, they're not license to go wild. They're meant for you to relax and treat yourself.

You say you don't have a good relationship with the scale. It sounds to me that you don't have a good relationship with food, either.

Does this work? Yes, it does. However, compared to other weight loss plans and systems, it's slow going. It's like other plans are the hare and No-S is the tortoise. Slow and steady wins the race -- and you get to enjoy food and eating along the way.

Depending on how we were eating previously, some folks start to lose weight immediately and some of us don't. Some people do gain, but it's often associated with overfilling plates to avoid being hungry. I'd give it at least 3 months before deciding if you need to make more changes.

My own plates are 10Â½" in diameter with a 2" raised edge, leaving 6Â½ in the middle. My food nearly always stays within that 6Â½" middle.

This is a version of how people everywhere have eaten until the last 40-50 years or so. It was rare for anyone to be seriously overweight. Is No-S and 10,000 steps enough? It is for me. I'm not going to look like Kate Moss or another skinny model or actress, but I'm going to be at a good weight for my height.

Some of us have to be a little more restrictive than others, but not to the point of eating like a rabbit. Some of us are older, smaller, not as active or some combination of those and don't need as many calories. But we still eat "normally" in comparison to being on a diet that restricts foods and or has us counting calories, points or whatever.

RJLupin · Post by **RJLupin** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:27 pm

Try to get the No S habit down first, before you start to worry about weight loss. Will you lose eating this way? Yes, most likely, but it won't be overnight. I would concentrate on the basics of three meals a day with no snacks or sweets, and once you've got THAT down, THEN you can concentrate on the content of what you're eating.

I find what to put on my plate is just sort of common sense. Every meal I have has a protein, a veggie, and a whole grain of some kind. For example, for dinner last night I had a chicken sandwich on whole grain bread, some broccoli, and some pinto beans. Hardly "diet" food, and yet though I ate a fair amount most of it was veggies and has almost no calories. My creating meals around a variety of foods, you will not feel deprived.

You did not gain weight overnight, and you won't lose it overnight either. However, I urge you not to adopt really restrictive eating patterns even on No S; you will get too hungry and it's not possible to stick with.

For my S Days, I allow myself one or two "real" sodas, and maybe one or two pieces of chocolate and/or some nice cheese from the local cheese shop. I don't go crazy and gorge, but if I want to get something really nice, I do it.

StrawberryRoan · Post by **StrawberryRoan** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:29 pm

My theory about the plate issue is

If someone were walking by my table, glanced at my plate of food - would they say

Looks like a great meal

OR

OH MY GOODNESS, is one person going to eat all of that?

nattygirl · Post by **nattygirl** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:31 pm

Thanks, wosnes. My relationship with the scale is poor because I'm short and I gain/lose weight very slowly which makes it really hard to stay motivated when weight loss is the goal. Really, I just want to improve my overall healthy. If I'm ten pounds lighter in two years, that's fine. I got a little freaked out in looking at some No S food logs-- I see pretty small portions and fake sugars, two things that I was hoping for No S to banish from my life. I guess the plan is what you make of it?

I'm not a binger, so I don't think I'll be going wild today, though I did have a fun-sized bag of M&Ms with my morning coffee and it was awesome to discover they didn't taste as wonderful as I'd expected and it took me 30 minutes to eat them all. Not bad!

NoelFigart · Post by **NoelFigart** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 4:57 pm

nattygirl wrote:Thanks, wosnes. My relationship with the scale is poor because I'm short and I gain/lose weight very slowly which makes it really hard to stay motivated when weight loss is the goal. Really, I just want to improve my overall healthy. If I'm ten pounds lighter in two years, that's fine. I got a little freaked out in looking at some No S food logs-- I see pretty small portions and fake sugars, two things that I was hoping for No S to banish from my life. I guess the plan is what you make of it?

I'm not a binger, so I don't think I'll be going wild today, though I did have a fun-sized bag of M&Ms with my morning coffee and it was awesome to discover they didn't taste as wonderful as I'd expected and it took me 30 minutes to eat them all. Not bad!

I'm short and lose weight quite slowly, too.

Yes, yes, yes, you will lose weight eventually on No-S. But this isn't a goal with an end point. This (in theory) is how you've decided you're going to eat from now, full stop.

But yes, a packet of M&M's is a fine S-day treat!

wosnes · Post by **wosnes** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:13 pm

nattygirl wrote:Thanks, wosnes. My relationship with the scale is poor because I'm short and I gain/lose weight very slowly which makes it really hard to stay motivated when weight loss is the goal. Really, I just want to improve my overall healthy. If I'm ten pounds lighter in two years, that's fine. I got a little freaked out in looking at some No S food logs-- I see pretty small portions and fake sugars, two things that I was hoping for No S to banish from my life. I guess the plan is what you make of it?

I'm not a binger, so I don't think I'll be going wild today, though I did have a fun-sized bag of M&Ms with my morning coffee and it was awesome to discover they didn't taste as wonderful as I'd expected and it took me 30 minutes to eat them all. Not bad!

There are some who use the fake sugars and "diet foods" here; there are a number of others, myself included, who don't. No fake food, no reduced-fat or fake sugars for me. Real food tastes better and is more satisfying.

nattygirl · Post by **nattygirl** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 6:29 pm

Thanks, everyone, this was very reassuring! I'm getting close to lunch and find all I want is a peanut butter and banana sandwich, not some crappy McDonald's binge. Thanks for talking me down!

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 7:32 pm

One more thing, nattygirl. Did you authentically have weight to lose when you started here? If you were sticking to 1,000 calories a day, you must have lost weight. I don't know if No S will get you into the low BMI zones. My theory is if you have to starve to get there, you ain't meant to be there.

I encourage you to add the fourth, unspoken S to your regime: no scale. Take into account how your clothes fit and how happy you feel after a month of Vanilla No S with no weighing. If you feel you're eating reasonable meals, not stuffing yourself, and enjoying moderate amount of luscious foods, what difference does it make what you weigh? Two people of the same height and weight can look very different and be following unhealthy lifestyles. Add exercise before you start messing with your food. When you feel strong, it's easier to think you look good, which you probably do.

I rarely eat fake foods, either. I guess I haven't read a lot of food logs here. Most of the threads I look at have people who aim for fresh, wholesome food. But we all won't get there the same way.

Glad you're calmer now. It's been only a week! Take your time. You are lucky to have found this early and not end up in years of unhappy weight cycling. I'm telling ya!

nattygirl · Post by **nattygirl** » Sat Mar 13, 2010 10:14 pm

Thanks for your encouragement. The days of 1000 calories a day were many, many years ago but I've bounced from system to system until about 5 years ago when I gave up on dieting because it made me miserable, my husband miserable, had me making unhealthy choices and obsessed with food no matter what my scale said. I gained about 10 pounds after getting married and quickly gained another 10 pounds after having to take a course steroids. My goal is to lose those 20 pounds and get back to my college weight (which wasn't super low-- I am 5'4" inches and look and feel best at 150 pounds.)

I'm sticking with it! Thanks for the help, everyone!