Everyday Systems

Hi guys, I wanted to pop in to tell you that I think I figured out what happened re: the astounding weight gain because I certainly don't want to discourage anyone who no-s is working for which seems to be everyone but me, but anyways I just wanted to put this out there because you have all been so supportive.

First of all at 41 I think I'm slightly early for menopause BUt after a lot of research I think I figured out what is going on with me and why I gained so much weight these past 8 weeks.....

About 7 years ago I suffered from Candida and I cured it with diet and a cleanse that helps the candida die off and it worked. Naturally I just went back to my old ways because the candida was gone.

However, with stress and adding in excess caffeine (more than I drank before no-s), juice (something I never ever did before no-s) and eating white carbs (again, something I didn't really do before no-s) plus on and off binges which contained sugar and flour which candida thrives on - coupled with a lot of stress at home and boom the Candida surfaced.

I don't know if any of you recall some posts where I was talking about feeling shaky, well it wasn't from caffeine, it must have been from the Candida. Also, my anxiety and depression has really escalated and I don't ever remember having panick attacks like I have over the past few weeks. Again Candida symptoms. The other symptoms are there too (insomnia, chronic fatigue, irribility, runny nose etc.)

Now that I look back it was probably there a year ago but I didn't see it then and once I started feeling worse after eating all these foods it just escalated all at once.

So if this is truly the problem it is not no-s that is the problem it is my health. Weight gain is also a symptom of Candida. It now makes sense to me and I can chill out because it can be fixed.

So thank you to all of you who gave me advice, put up with me, supported me and encouraged me.

Now I just have to concentrate on my health and maybe one day I'll come back to No-S but for now I just have to think about getting rid of this excess yeast in my body and hopefully the weight will come off as I get healthier.

Again, many thanks to all of you, particularly NOSROCKS, Blithe, Wosnes, Reinhard, DaveMac, Cricket et all.

Aww, hugs. Sorry to hear that No S gave you so much trouble! I know I haven't commented much but I have been watching your journey and I hope you feel better soon

One thing I want to emphasize is that since No-S is more about "how" you eat than "what," it's compatible with eating to prevent or reverse any number of health issues. If you can't have a, b, or c, well then, you eat x, y, or z.

That's true. I wouldn't be able to do the S days though because eating to get rid of candida means absolutely no sugar or flour or juice etc.

Interesting. I didn't know that about Candida. Hope you feel better soon.

gettheweightoff wrote:That's true. I wouldn't be able to do the S days though because eating to get rid of candida means absolutely no sugar or flour or juice etc.

That's assuming that S days are ONLY about sweets. For many of us, that's true, but it could be snacking on wings or chips and salsa (corn chips shouldn't have flour) or sushi or having seconds of something else you enjoy.

Snacks aren't so much about "what" as "when." You can most definitely do "S" days, you just enjoy different things than many of us do.

Thank you for letting us know. Very best of luck with getting your health back on track.

Hey there Nicole! Just logged in and read your message! First of all - I'm sorry I haven't been on the board much recently but I've been having computer problems. Thankfully, they seem to be fixed now so fingers crossed I can get back to the No S board actively again.

Thanks for your lovely message hon! We will miss you here on this board if you decide to leave, but that of course is your decision and again, I'm so sorry to hear about your health challenges - if it is of any consolation, I too went through menopause early (41 - 42 ish) as well as having under active thyroid at the same time. I believe this has also lead to my weight gain/inability to lose weight. It was interesting to hear about the Candida symptoms... I never knew candida lead to weight gain either; I don't eat bread or carbs on a daily basis but I do tend to have them on S Days since I find them so comforting!! Thanks for the information regarding the candida - it might be something else for me to look at with regard to my own weight gain.

I weighed myself yesterday morning (1st time in a month) and was disappointed to see I was 170 lbs. Which means a 2lb gain since I started (although I was hovering between the 168 and 170 lb mark). But for now, I'm going to soldier on with the No S plan. Not going to make any tweaks or mods yet - to be honest, I really don't know what else I can do/diet I could follow to get results nowadays. I still feel at peace around food and don't have such a fear of the desserts/sweets like I used to so that is indeed a bonus. Again - I think I am better (mentally) when not focusing on the scale. I know, hon, it is HARD not to weigh and after all, it's only natural to be curious to see if the No S is making any impact whatsoever! Anyway, Nicole - good luck with whatever you decide to do. Take care!! All the very best from Roxy xxxxxxxxxxx

I am happy to hear you found the reason why you gained so much weight. I really hope you're able to get your health back on track. And please remember.....don't be so hard on yourself

Hope that you doctor's advice will help you address both the root cause and the symptoms. (Especially your panic attacks, which seem quite distressing.)

Best wishes!

Do try to be gentler with yourself as you heal.

Thanks everyone. I already started the candida cleanse and in two days I am feeling calmer and the anxiety seems to be going away.

I am very grateful I put together my symptoms and figured this out. I wasn't trying to do no-s yesterday as i am concentrating on health first and i ended up doing the 3 plates. I guess I did gain some habits during this process!

gettheweightoff wrote:Thanks everyone. I already started the candida cleanse and in two days I am feeling calmer and the anxiety seems to be going away.

I am very grateful I put together my symptoms and figured this out. I wasn't trying to do no-s yesterday as i am concentrating on health first and i ended up doing the 3 plates. I guess I did gain some habits during this process!

Congratulations, no matter what the scale says, that is a huge victory!!!

No S doesn't dictate that you have to eat any foods that cause you problems. I'm pretty sure Reinhard has said that medical conditions come first. He has said that he believes most people are overweight because they just eat too many calories, and most of the research seems to support this, Gary Taubes aside. There are execptions, of course, and candida problems certainly qualify.

No S doesn't mean that if foods cause you problems, you can get away with eating them on your three plates a day. He''s also said that knowing you've got only three chances a day to get the foods in that we know down deep we should be eating, that after the indulgent phase where we get it out of our system to have the calorie-dense foods we've been restricting ourselves from, we get honest and real about what proportions of the different foods we need to be satisfied and healthy.

I'm glad you were curious enough to really examine what was going on. And all this talk about candida is making a good steak and some greens sound really good!

Hey guys,

Long time lurker, first time commenter. I wanted to post this when you first discovered the 10 pound gain, Nicole, but couldn't find the link. It's a Women's Health Magazine article. Normally I read this mag with a big pinch of salt, although it claims to be a "health" focused magazine it's full of "Lose 20 pounds in 17 minutes with this amazing program" articles which isn't really all that healthy or helpful. But I digress. In this article you can see 5 ways (for women, and 4 for men) that your scale can suddenly "jump" up a few pounds. Obviously this doesn't apply to Nicole because of the Candida, but it helps me to keep this in mind when I go up a bit. If I keep being careful and sticking to No-S the scales will go down again.

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-l ... nce-weight

Also, I read ages ago that sugar (not just salt) also makes you retain water. Not sure if that is true, but makes you think twice about the choccie cake if weigh in day is tomorrow!