Everyday Systems

I did great last week, my first week on the diet. I lost four pounds.

Most of this week was successful. But it was harder!

Then I weighed this morning and was down a pound, so all day I toyed with the idea of cheating and then, there I went, off the sugar wagon.

I think I'll try weighing on Mondays, so I won't be tempted to think "well, I've already lost this week, might as well make it an S day."

Any thoughts from you more-experienced NoSers ?

Hi Jen! Congrats on your weight loss and great work!!!

The scale readout can be so arbitrary at times...
And I don't love weighing myself every week, because there are plenty of weeks I'm not perfect and sometimes I stay the same, and sometimes I gain...
Usually, I weigh myself to either confirm that I gained, if I am really out of control and I start to feel my clothes and body "puffing up" and that usually nips the cycle in the bud and acts as a "reality check"..
Or I weigh when I know my habits both eating an exercise have been exceptionally good...

If you want, you can weigh every month or every other week instead of every week...

Don't let the scale psych you out... If you think you will be better off not weighing till S days are past, maybe that's the best bet...

Peace and Love,
Deb

My second week was tough, too. In terms of counting to 21 days for forming the habit, I ended up starting all over, it was that bad. Yet here I am in my 9th month and very "set in my ways."

Be patient with yourself. It takes time to form good habits and even more time to lose bad habits. Don't be tied to that scale! Just do no-s on no-s days, and relax a little on s-days. Your weight will take care of itself.

Jen,
This is my 2nd week too, and I had the exact experience! I was hungrier than week 1 and more tempted, especially on the seconds issue. I am only down 2, but I have to say, I am not discouraged or tempted to sway because of the comments from the group and the common sense-ishness of the plan!
I am looking forward to S days!! Carry on!! MJ

Hi all,

I've been shovelgloving and urban rangering for a while but I just started no-s. I think I dismissed no-s for a while as maybe too simple or non-scientific but I'm already impressed with the strong, basic logic of the system.

I'm on my second no-s week and I'm also dealing with the hunger and cravings. For me, it helps to remind myself, "This is hunger. It's totally natural and it will be over soon--boy, I'm I gonna enjoy that burrito at lunch!" And what Reinhard and others say turns out to be true. I just enjoy food more when I'm not "permasnacking." I'm also starting to notice that I get full quicker now. The same amount of food for a meal which was no problem two weeks ago now seems a bit too big. But, I'm following the advice for the initial weeks and filling my plate pretty full at my self-assigned meal times.

thanks,
David

I thought my second week was the hardest. And, to be honest, every few weeks one pops up that is really, really hard, even now, eight months into it.

You can do it, though. You're not trying to lose a pound a week, your trying to reset your eating habits completely. Think of losing weight as a by-product.

At this point, I'm not losing weight, because I'm approaching my ideal weight. If I started slacking off, I'd gain weight, guaranteed. So at this point, I'm No-Sing not to gain weight.

You'll be very happy when you get to this point. Until then, work on the habit. Don't worry about weight loss.

Hi there,

My advice is to stay the course as carefully as possible, especially for the first 21 days. You will find some successes in the beginning; it is common for dieters to shed water weight at the beginning.

But even when you start losing weight, stay the course. The rules are simple, which is not to say that they are easy to follow from a willpower standpoint.

Remember the point here is creating new habits. A side effect of these new habits is that you will be satisfied with less food, and you will probably enjoy the food you do eat more.

Stick with it, and if you slip, don't beat yourself up. Move forward and make lots of good "little choices" to back up your "big choice" of sticking to No-S.

Thanks everyone for all the advice and encouragement! I had a good S weekend and have had a great No-S day today.

I found the first week was moderate, the second week was harder, I'm now on the third and my appetite seems to be decreasing.

sounds about right, mstevens....

The biggest hurdle for me was accepting that it is not possible to starve to death in four or five hours. That happened at about week three. After that, it was all much easier and my meal sizes started decreasing. I think "obeying the letter and not the spirit" in those first three week is very helpful - the meals look ridiculously large in hindsight, but like so much about No-S it all becomes self-regulating.

K.

Novelty can carry you through a week... especially if you see some immediate results to boot.

Hang in there. On or about week three is usually the big corner.

It does get easier. This is a very natural way to eat. It takes a bit of willpower and patience up front, but when it comes the habit will fall into a groove carved by generations.

Reinhard