Everyday Systems

Today I begin my 45th consecutive day of No S....no funny stuff. I am at the exact same weight today as I was the day I started. I eat basically the same thing every day, so I thought I would put it out there to see if anyone sees a reason why my weight isn't dropping. Keep in mind, before No S I was an obsessive snacker and a good portion of my daily intake came from sugar. Here goes:

Breakfast: either a bowl of oatmeal and a spoonful of peanut butter OR 1 slice of toast with peanut butter and 4-5 oz of a yogurt smoothie. (light yog.)

Lunch: 1 apple sliced with peanut butter, 1 light yogurt, and EITHER one banana OR half sandwich OR small bag of chips.

Dinner: 1 plate usually consisting of protein, lots of veggies, occaisonal bread.

That's it. I walk 30 min. most every day and I drink at least 64 oz. of water every day.

If I lost 30 pounds I would be at an ideal weight, but I am shooting for 20. Any thoughts? Thanks. MJ

I don't know, that sounds pretty reasonable to me, but I guess it's not quite enough, or you'd be down by now. If you're eating less and moving at least the same amount as before, your weight should go down. It sounds like you are doing both these things, so I'm a little baffled.

My suggestion would be, make a slight adjustment rather than a revolutionary change. If you're dead even, you're at the tipping point, it won't take much. Walk an extra 10 minutes a day. Or throw in a few minutes of strength exercise. Your "input" sounds fine from what you describe, but really wrack your brains. Are your servings enormous? Are your S-days all out orgies of eating? Now that you've got the habit of "mealing" (the hard part) maybe it's time to reign these in a bit.

Hang in there... I know it's depressing not to have lost after all this good behavior, but it really won't take much more at this point.

Reinhard

MJ I don't know how big you are, but you may not be eating enough, which can cause the body do go into lockdown mode.

It doesn't sound to me like you're eating so little that your body would go into "lockdown." I think it's more probable that you're eating 100% of what you need for maintenance, and 101% of what you need for loss. A tiny tweak or two, either from the diet or exercise end, should do it. You're very close, don't be discouraged. You've got the hard part down.

I know we aren't counting calories here.

But count your calories. You really might not be eating "enough", and this will make you fidget less, feel more tired, and do less in your "just sitting" time, which will cancel out your walking.

Your body could be in a starvation mode, although just your menu "looks ok". Check servings, etc. to see how much you're getting. Eating too little is not good for you!

Most websites say 1300+ calories for average women, 1500+ for average men. if you are not average your number could be higher or lower.

It could be that you have something else going on in your body that is causing you to be "weight loss resistant". I would suggest going to see your doctor and getting a checkup complete with blood tests, just to be sure. couldn't hurt.

Thank you all for your replies. I will forge ahead. Although surprised and somewhat discouraged in the lack of weight loss, I am not tempted in the least to go back to pre-No S style eating. MJ

Hi MJ!
That sounds so infuriating!!!!!
Rahhhh!!!!!!!!!!

I think it's also possible that we are all experiencing a Winter "shut down" mode of sorts... Not lock down, like our lovely Dixie mentioned, but just a little hibernation state perhaps...
Also, I wouldn't dismiss the possibility that this is just your plateau...
Sometimes we get them at the weirdest times...
You seem like you are doing everything right, and nothing budges for weeks or months.. Then *bam* one day you find it all moves again...
That's my theory of what's happening to you...
Not quite "starvation" mode, but the bodies way of processing this new way you are eating... It's probably gonna need a little shove, like Reinhard said...
I agree with him completely... Do a little bit more and you'll be off that plateau soon enough!
Peace and Love,
Deb

I have been the same weight for quite a while and my reason is "S" days. I eat so healthy during the week and then I always overdo on the weekend - not so that I'm sick but so that I don't lose a thing. I have 10-15 lbs to go. I have only lost about 8 lbs. I just need to get through a weekend being reasonable in my sweet portions. Could that be your problem as well?

I'm no expert but it looks like you're having your biggest meal at dinner and maybe not enough protein with breakfast and lunch.

I know we are here to be free of what the diet industry tells us but I remember reading many times that it's a good idea to have your bigger meals at breakfast and lunch then have a lighter dinner so that you can use the energy through the day.

Also, peanut butter does have protein but it is primarily fat. I've got no problem with fat but it could be where you're getting extra callories and maybe not as much protein as you need. Maybe raplace one serve of PB a day with a leaner protein from meat or dairy.

Please ignore my advice if you don't like it

Emma.

I know we are here to be free of what the diet industry tells us but I remember reading many times that it's a good idea to have your bigger meals at breakfast and lunch then have a lighter dinner so that you can use the energy through the day

Hi Sunny.. Don't worry!
I think we are just supposed to be freeing ourselves from the parts of the diet industry which are bs...
Eating a large portion of food at night isn't as efficiently processed as a bigger breakfast and a smaller dinner..
Plenty of cultures have long and luxurious lunches and still end up slim..
I don't think time of day for meals seems like it's a major issue as far as MJ's minor standstill is concerned.. (Boy.. That was a good sentence!! LOL..)
But again, reminder, this has to be liveable...
For many eating dinner is the only meal that they can relax with family and unwind..
I leave it untouched.... But I am really really doing a lot to keep from eating way into the late hours of the night... Timing is somewhat important...
But yeah, it is generally agreed that eating more in the morning is a good plan for our metabolism...

I think it's great when people show their support here and share ideas and theories.. Our cumulative brains are much better than one alone!
Have a great night!
Peace and Love,
Deb

It might be worth counting those calories to see if they are excessive, but it sure doesn't sound that way to me.

Are you sure you need to lose 20? Maybe your body is closer to ideal than you think it is...

It's usually a simple equation. Calories in, effort out, but there do seem to be times when it's a little more complicated than that - winter seems to be one of them, at least for me.

There's one more possibility. Can you trust your scale? Really, they can be unbelievably inaccurate, especially those old swinging needle ones. I mean, we had one old scale that my wife swore that in the range of 120 wasn't accurate within 5 pounds.

Everyone made really good suggestions. I would think about trying just a little more walking - or walking just a little faster, maybe eating more earlier and less later.

My vote is that you're not eating enough. I used to belong to WW and some of the people there would cut way down and then they didn't lose. They'd up their "points" and start losing again. I did a rough calculation of your calories based on what you wrote and I don't think it's enough. Try eating a little more and see what happens.

schmiddtty,

There's a simple way to settle this too much/not enough question. Since you eat pretty much the same thing everyday, it's not that painful to count calories just once. My strong suspicion is that it's (a little) too much for loss (barring a jot more exercise). But it's worth doing the math.

Sandy,

8 pounds is not shabby! Especially, if like most of us here, you were actively gaining when you started. If your current plateau is too extended for comfort, and S days are the obvious culprit, read "once" instead of "sometimes." (or "twice," or some similarly small number. This gets asked/worried about a lot... I think I'll post it to the home page under "what do you mean by sometimes?" I think I'll start a thread on the topic too, to get some consolidated details on what the rest of you are doing.

Reinhard

Maybe I'm envisioning smaller portions than you are actually eating, but that does not sound like much food at all. If you do indeed have excess weight to lose, that amount of food would do it. It is entirely possible to eat too little and stall weight loss (happened to me in the past). How tall are you? How old are you? I know a lot of things could factor in. How much you ate before also comes into play. Of course, S days could undo any loss as well if they are excessive.

I think that you should try tweaking things and see what happens.

Good luck

hey schmiddty

Is it winter where you are? If so, my guess is that if you sustain these habits until the end of summer, you will have lost a lot of weight. I don't think I'm the only one who finds it hard to lose weight in the winter months.

Genetically, and evolutionarily speaking, we are conditioned to hold onto body weight in the winter months. It's in our collective body memory at this point.

Go to http://www.fitwatch.com/qkcalc/tdcn.html to check your daily calorie needs to maintain your weight. This may be much more or less than you think.

Also check you Body Mass Index http://www.fitwatch.com/qkcalc/bmi.html to see if you actually need to lose weight.

You may want to add a little extra activity. Walking is easy and cheap. Even 30 minutes broken up in 10 minutes segments does some good.

These are all just meant as guidelines/suggestions, your mileage may vary.
I still think No S is the way to go.

Thanks Reinhard.... I do kill it on the S days. I can eat an amazing amount of junk. Saturday's I'm normally good because we go out in the evening and I want to feel good about myself, but Sunday is my day to let loose............ and I need to calm it down a bit. I feel better than I ever have in my life though. More at peace with my total self.

also, where are you getting your "ideal weight?" Perhaps your body likes where it is, weight-wise.... are you doing exercise? Another possibility is that you could be exchanging fat for muscle, which weighs more....

I feel better than I ever have in my life though. More at peace with my total self.

Allllllllright Sandy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reinhard... You are really dishing out servings of Peace of Mind all over the planet! I agree wholeheartedly with Sandy, and many who have made nearly the same exact comments in the past~
NoS is a kind of gateway for us all to become vessels of Peace!!!
There is no value you can place on that.
Peace and Love,
Deb