Every day feels like an S day! Intro

[ChubbyBaby]

Hi!
I am new to the No S diet. I am a 47 year old mother of two. I am 5'8' and I weigh 193 lbs. Ideally I would like to lose at least 30 lbs. I started on Dec 27th and have successfully completed my first week of N days. I have to tell you though that after 15 years of mostly low carb dieting I felt like I was cheating all week! I actually felt guilty about having a slice of toast with my scrambled eggs, and a baked potato and gravy with my beef roast. Guilty, but it was oh, so freeing!

The first low carb diet I tried was Atkins, and I lost a good amount of weight. Over the years I continued to eat moderately low carb but the weight slowly came back. Last year I tried to lose some of the weight that I regained by getting strict about eating very low carb again, but it didn't work, and I wasn't able to lose any weight. So, I started seaching for an alternative. I tried a few low calorie diets including WW, but I couldn't even manage to stay on them for one complete day! I recently stumbled across the No S diet and it really makes sense to me. After successfully completing my first week, and finding it quite enjoyable I have high hopes.

My questions are to those of you who have previously been on low carb diets. How have you done on the No S diet? Are you losing? Did you just totally abandon the low carb way of eating instantly, or did you gradually add more carbs to your meals, or do you still eat low carb as well as following the S diet rules? I am concerned about rebound weight gain, and I am also concerned about the possible return of the insulin resitance types of symptoms I had before going low carb (shakes and extreme fatigue).

Any words of advice from former low carbers would be appreciated. Thanks!

[NoelFigart]

My questions are to those of you who have previously been on low carb diets. How have you done on the No S diet? Are you losing? Did you just totally abandon the low carb way of eating instantly, or did you gradually add more carbs to your meals, or do you still eat low carb as well as following the S diet rules? I am concerned about rebound weight gain, and I am also concerned about the possible return of the insulin resitance types of symptoms I had before going low carb (shakes and extreme fatigue).

I respond quite well to low-carb diets, but it's not sustainable. More or less why I stopped.

If you're eating No-S, you're probably eating fewer carbs than you realize. (IIRC, there's a bit on the website about a diabetic who was reducing how much insulin he was taking just by No-Sing).

I used to have problems with dizziness and things like that, but No-S seems to do just fine for me. I probably would still faint if I had a breakfast of pancakes with maple syrup and coffee while eschewing the protein. However, that's an S-day treat, anyway.

Since you only GET three meals (or however many meals you plan to have. I choose three), you might want to choose with care what you're eating, anyway.

A typical breakfast for me is either steel cut oats, or eggs and toast soldiers. I do put a bit of butter or peanut butter in the oatmeal, as fat seems to help with saiety and long-term blood sugar stabilization. (Optimized Oatmeal is also a fantastic quick breakfast)

When lunch rolls around, I'm HUNGRY. My lunches and dinners are usually 1/4 protein, 1/4 starch (rice, potatoes, pasta) and and 1/2 fruits and veggies. I usually have a glass of wine with dinner or a nightcap in the evenings. I feel fine on this.

As far as losing weight. I'm short, middle-aged (42) and have a history of yo-yo dieting. WITHOUT EXERCISE I lose about a pound a month. WITH exercise, I average a pound a week. However, I exercise more for mood enhancement and general health and energy than worrying about weight loss. I feel GOOD if I'm swimming laps and hitting the weights pretty regularly. I don't know of a single No-S dieter who has had much success that doesn't combine it with some sort of regular movement -- be it Urban Ranger or some other sort of working out.

[ChubbyBaby]

Thank you very much for your informative reply! It was just the kind of information I was looking for. I'm so glad that you shared what your typical meals look like, and am glad to hear that you aren't having blood sugar issues without sticking to a strict low carb diet. Since I started No S I have been eating very similar to you and I haven't had any problems so far either, which is very encouraging. Thank you also for sharing your typical weight loss. After trying to stick to a low carb diet for a long time and ending up gaining, I would be very happy to lose anything! A 1 lb per month loss would make me happy at this point. At least it would be going in the right direction. Thanks again!

[Stackdiesel]

My questions are to those of you who have previously been on low carb diets. How have you done on the No S diet? Are you losing? Did you just totally abandon the low carb way of eating instantly, or did you gradually add more carbs to your meals, or do you still eat low carb as well as following the S diet rules? I am concerned about rebound weight gain, and I am also concerned about the possible return of the insulin resitance types of symptoms I had before going low carb (shakes and extreme fatigue).

Hi,

I'm new to the board as well but have been using No-S principles since September 2009 to maintain a ~45 lb. loss acheived through low-carb dieting.

I haven't lost any more weight (nor have I really tried to), but I haven't gained either. And I'm pretty much a 2/3 No-S'r at that. I'm good with respect to no snacks and no sweets; not so good when it comes to portion control at mealtime. Thus, I do think one can continue to lose on No-S after reintroducing carbohydrates.

I just abandoned the low-carb diet and did not gradually add carbs. That being said, I never treated low-carbing as a lifestyle change that I intended to pursue indefinitely. I knew going in that it wasn't sustainable for me and used it as a tool to quickly and effectively get rid of my excess bodyfat over about a 3.5 month period.

Those who have tried to make low-carbing a "way of eating" and have consumed less than 60-80 grams of carbs a day for extended periods may actually make themselves more "carb sensitive" than they thought they were before embarking on the low-carb path and may need to increase carb intake more gradually. If you've been eating very low carb (<30g/day) for a period of time, there will almost always be some rebound gain as your body replenishes its glycogen stores (and the fluid that accompanies this). This is usually in the range of 3-8 pounds and levels off as long as you are not consuming a caloric surplus in addition to reintroducing carbs. For example, I was 189 at the end of my low-carb diet and leveled off at 195 after glycogen replenishment, with no bodyfat increase that I could detect.

I agree with Noel that No-S indirectly imposes some degree of carb restriction, as typical snack foods and sweets are by far the main culprits of carbohydrate overconsumption.

Regards,
Stack