Questions for the experienced/long timers?

No Snacks, no sweets, no seconds. Except on Days that start with S. Too simple for you? Simple is why it works. Look here for questions, introductions, support, success stories.

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NoSnacker
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Questions for the experienced/long timers?

Post by NoSnacker » Thu Jun 30, 2011 11:35 am

Hi, I'm new and am on my 15th day of habit building...so far so good.

My questions to all the No S'rs that are successful.

1. if you could offer 1 tip for all us newbie's what might that be?

2. were you one that got it right away, or have you struggled thru the years?

Thanksss...look forward to hearing what the experienced have to say.
Age 56: SBMI=30.6 (12/1/13) CBMI 28.9 (2/2/14) GBMI-24.8

vmsurbat
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Re: Questions for the experienced/long timers?

Post by vmsurbat » Thu Jun 30, 2011 12:24 pm

debrabuf wrote:
1. if you could offer 1 tip for all us newbie's what might that be?
I think that anyone trying NoS already thinks that the three habit-building rules make sense, and history has shown they work for most people in most cultures. NoS "eating" is a tried-and-tested "real life" way to eat. So the biggest trial isn't (for most) "how to eat" (3 meals, no snacks) or the "what to eat" (anything not primarily made up of sugar), but rather the biggest trial in *sticking* to NoS is fighting diet-head.

Therefore, I ****highly**** recommend reading the sticky-post at the top of the board entitled: No S Catch Phrase Glossary (add yours!) which is chockful of everyone's collected wisdom in beating "diet"head.

I need to have pithy statements (one=done; more=sore, Mark-it-and-move-on) and vivid pictures (car crashes, dripping faucets) spring INSTANTLY to mind to fight the siren call of sweets, seconds, snacks. (If you read the sticky, you will better understand the above allusions.)
debrabuf wrote:
2. were you one that got it right away, or have you struggled thru the years?
I was one that got it right away. I've often wondered just why that is so because I had being 50+, short, hypothyroidic, and female against me.

I think some positive reasons include: 1. no binging/trying weird diet history, 2. Decent meal planning habits in place, and 3. Following the three rules as written.

I didn't overcomplicate things. I saw the rules as boundaries, leaving me a HUGE amount of freedom within, especially when contrasted with most other diet plans with their long list of forbidden foods and specific eating times (never after 7 pm, every three hours, 18-hour "fasts", etc).

Therefore, I ate all manner of savory foods (pizza, tacos, chips) as part of my N day meals, delighting in eating such foods "normally", ie. a normal portion without guilt. I honestly enjoyed just about every Nday (and therefore wasn't desperately waiting for my Sdays to eat "what I wanted.").

I lost 30 pounds the first year, 10 pounds the second, 5 pounds this year(I'm nearing my ideal weight). I am still secretly amazed that I've lost weight eating the NoS way because it has been such an enjoyable process.

HTH and great NoS success to you!
Vicki in MNE
7! Yrs. with Vanilla NoS, down 55+lb, happily maintaining and still loving it!

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sophiasapientia
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Post by sophiasapientia » Thu Jun 30, 2011 12:58 pm

1. Listen to Reinhard's podcasts. I found/find these to be a huge inspiration, chock full of invaluable information. I listened to these over and over when I was first starting out and still relisten every now and again when I need a little motivation.


2. I tried No S twice before I successfully restarted in January 2010. I think the difference for me this time was that I wasn't looking for a quick fix. I was done with crazy diets. I wanted sanity, I wanted to enjoy food again and I wanted to model healthy habits for my little girl. It has been very freeing and a learning process. Overall, I've found that I do best when I focus on keeping my green days green and maintaining a solid habit.
Restarted No S (3rd times a charm!) January 2010 at 145 lbs

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Post by kccc » Thu Jun 30, 2011 1:06 pm

I wrote my tips/perspectives up in the "Phases of No-S" sticky above.

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Re: Questions for the experienced/long timers?

Post by ThomsonsPier » Thu Jun 30, 2011 1:32 pm

1. if you could offer 1 tip for all us newbie's what might that be?
The same advice I give in most subjects: relax. You don't have to be perfect straight away, and you don't fail until you give up.
2. were you one that got it right away, or have you struggled thru the years?
I got it pretty much straight away. I'm aware that this doesn't sit well with my above advice, but I would qualify that this is the first and only diet I've ever undertaken, and hopefully the last. I didn't have much of a problem to start with; this was a preventative measure. And yes, I still have failure days.
ThomsonsPier

It's a trick. Get an axe.

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Re: Questions for the experienced/long timers?

Post by Nicest of the Damned » Thu Jun 30, 2011 2:14 pm

ThomsonsPier wrote:
1. if you could offer 1 tip for all us newbie's what might that be?
The same advice I give in most subjects: relax. You don't have to be perfect straight away, and you don't fail until you give up.
Don't try to fight all your bad habits at once. It's tempting, but it doesn't work. While you're in your first month of No S, do not try to work on any other sub-optimal health habits you might have. Just leave them be. Yes, even if that means you're stuffing your three plates full of saturated fat, refined carbs, highly processed food, and whatever else is the current evil food.

Don't try to restrict your S days in the first month or two. Even if that means you have some out-of-control S days. Out-of-control S days are OK, and are to be expected at first.

Don't compare your performance to perfection. You can't achieve perfection, and neither can anybody else. Instead, compare your eating habits now to your pre-No-S eating habits.

There are three kinds of No-S'ers. There are newbies who haven't had a failure yet, there are people who've had failures and are going to have more, and there are liars. You're going to have red days. The Earth will not stop spinning when you do. The sun will still rise the day after you have a red day. Just don't give up after you have a red day, or even a few red days.

When (not if) you have a failure, get back up on the horse right away. Don't wait for tomorrow, next week, New Year's Day, or whatever. Especially don't tell yourself, "well, I've failed for today anyway, might as well do X" (whatever X is). That's like saying "oh, I've gotten a dent in the car, might as well drive it into a wall at 90 mph".

Use the HabitCal, even if you think it's hokey. I didn't at first, but then I did, and it did help.

You're going to feel hungry sometimes. Feeling hungry is not a red emergency alert situation, the way some snack food companies would like you to think it is. If you've got a normal metabolism, it is not going to hurt you. It will not cause your metabolism to come to a screeching halt and make you inflate like the Goodyear blimp, the way some other diets seem to imply it will. Feeling hungry is mild discomfort at best. You've almost certainly made it through worse.

Thirst, boredom, and stress, and possibly other emotions and non-hunger physical states, can masquerade very effectively as hunger. One of the advantages of No S is that it doesn't require you to be able to tell the difference between genuine hunger and fake hunger.

You will eventually get used to eating three meals a day, rather than snacking through the day. I know this because people move from one time zone to another, or go on vacation in a different time zone. They eventually get used to eating on their new time zone's schedule, not their old time zone's. You probably don't eat on a daylight saving time schedule all winter, do you? If you can get used to eating an hour earlier or later, you can get used to other changes in your eating schedule, too.

Most people make it at least eight hours every night (while they're asleep) without eating. If you can do that, you can make it between lunch and dinner without eating.

Don't spend time in the kitchen or around food when you don't need to. Hang out somewhere else, and don't have food at hand there. Don't carry snacks in your purse. Seeing or smelling food makes you want it. This is the principle behind food advertisements. Companies wouldn't spend $10 billion a year advertising food if this didn't work.

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Re: Questions for the experienced/long timers?

Post by BrightAngel » Thu Jun 30, 2011 2:59 pm

debrabuf wrote:1. if you could offer 1 tip for all us newbie's what might that be?

2. were you one that got it right away, or have you struggled thru the years?
1. It takes consistency, perserverence, and patience,
and the most important thing is not to give up or "take a vacation".
If you want to try a different and more specific diet,
such as calorie counting, or low-carb, or intermittent fasting etc...
just add that new plan to the simple rules here..
or add it along with your individual modifications to those rules.

2. I'm one of the ones who continually struggles.
BrightAngel - (Dr. Collins)
See: DietHobby. com

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Post by Thalia » Thu Jun 30, 2011 6:37 pm

My tips:

Slow weightloss is much better than a fast loss followed by an equally fast gain.

Don't feel like you have to eat "diet food" on your three plates -- eat things you enjoy, and that are filling and satisfying. You don't have to give up bacon, French fries, pizza, or whatever your favorite foods are (including sweets -- you just save those for weekend treats).

On the other hand, it's not a great idea to put the junkiest possible junk on your plate three times a day, every day, just because you're allowed to. You're allowed to poke yourself in the eye, too, but it doesn't feel good. You're going to feel ill afterward if lunch is a plate-sized pile of Cheetos.

"Failure" is not a dirty word. HAVING a failure isn't BEING a failure, so don't be afraid to be honest when you slip up -- it's not the end of the world and it doesn't reflect on your character or your value as a person, just keep going.

S Days are for treats -- don't just eat any old crap that's lying around because you can; choose things you LOVE, that feel special. Why eat stale Halloween candy from the back of the cupboard when you could have gelato or your very favorite thing instead? Make sure you enjoy what you eat, because that's what it's for.

Food tastes BETTER and is MORE enjoyable if you aren't constantly eating. It's normal and pleasant to sit down to a meal with a healthy appetite. And treats don't feel like treats if you eat them all the time, so you really do enjoy them more when they are a special indulgence instead of something you eat three or four times a day.

If it's hard for you not to eat after dinner, brush your teeth as soon as you leave the table. That is a strong habitual signal that tells your little lizard brain "we're done eating until tomorrow morning."

If you aren't constantly eating sickly-sweet foods, plain fresh fruit will start to taste very sweet and will satisfy your sweet tooth.

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Re: Questions for the experienced/long timers?

Post by wosnes » Thu Jun 30, 2011 7:00 pm

debrabuf wrote:
1. if you could offer 1 tip for all us newbie's what might that be?
I'd say don't over think it and don't worry about being perfect. I also agree with Thomson Pier.
2. were you one that got it right away, or have you struggled thru the years?
I'd say I got it right away, but that doesn't mean there haven't been times when I was more compliant than others or that I've not struggled here and there. I don't, nor I have ever, aimed for perfection, just good enough. If you look back through many of my posts, this is a rather constant theme for me. I think there are extremely few areas of life where we need to be perfect (maybe none?) and that we waste entirely too much time, energy, and guilt on trying to be perfect. I just aim to do my best (another theme).

From The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgement, self-abuse, and regret.

Under any circumstance, always do your best, no more and no less. But keep in mind that your best is never going to be the same from one moment to the next. Everything is alive and changing all the time, so your best will sometimes be high in quality and other times will not be as good. When you wake up refreshed and energized in the morning, your best will be better than when you're tired at night. Your best will be different when you are healthy as opposed to when you are sick, or sober as opposed to drunk. Your best will depend on whether you are feeling wonderful and happy, or upset, angry or jealous.

In your everyday moods your best can change from one moment to another, from one hour to the next. from one day to another. Your best will also change over time. As you build the habit of the four new agreements, your best will become better than it used to be.

Regardless of the quality, keep doing your best -- no more and no less than your best. If you try too hard to do more than your best, you will spend more energy than is needed and in the end your best will not be enough. When you overdo, you deplete your body and go against yourself, and it will take you longer to accomplish your goal. But if you do less than your best, you subject yourself to frustrations, self-judgement, guilt and regrets.

Just do your best -- in any circumstance in your life. It doesn't matter if you're sick or tired, if you always do your best there is no way you can judge yourself. And if you don't judge yourself, there is no way you are going to suffer from guilt, blame and self-punishment. By always doing your best, you will break a big spell that you have been under
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

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Post by Nicest of the Damned » Thu Jun 30, 2011 7:12 pm

I was able to comply with No S right away, but it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I had a much stronger emotional response to not being able to eat until I felt stuffed than I had been expecting. I resented having to be on this diet, and was :evil: that I had to stop eating before I wanted to.

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Post by harpista » Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:30 pm

Fence around the law, as Reinhard suggests.

This is where I keep struggling, so you may take my advice with a rather large grain of salt ;)
Nulla palma sine pulvere.
'No garland of victory without first the dust of the arena.'

Sometimesians, unite!

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Post by oolala53 » Thu Jun 30, 2011 11:02 pm

Though failures should not bring you down, just say no to them if you can, and you usually can. Keep N days sacred. I try not to regret much, but I'd say I think fence around the law on N days is a bigger deal than resorting to mods on S days. Meaning I regret more the slips of eating after dinner (and most of them were small, and almost the only failures I had- rarely failed during the day) more than the wild S days. I could be biased.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
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BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

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Thanks

Post by NoSnacker » Thu Jun 30, 2011 11:49 pm

Thank you everyone!!! Not sure what the protocol is around here, but does one send a personal e-mail to thank everyone, or a thanks on the original posts? I truly appreciate all of the wonder feedback I have found here. You are all great bunch of people. Thanks.
Age 56: SBMI=30.6 (12/1/13) CBMI 28.9 (2/2/14) GBMI-24.8

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Post by r.jean » Fri Jul 01, 2011 1:14 am

Posting one response to everyone is fine.

I will add my two cents worth here as well.

I have struggled with my weight for years, but I have stuck with this plan since the day I started (6 months ago). I believe in keeping it simple and sticking to only the basic rules. I do not keep a food diary and the only thing I do daily is put my red, greens or yellows on my habit cal. In addition to No S compliance, I have a habit cal for exercise and alcohol. I believe that increasing exercise has been crucial for me.

PS: I have occasional reds on my calendars so I do not want to give the impression that I am perfect at this, but it is obviously working for me.
The journey is the reward.
Maintenance is progress.

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Re: Questions for the experienced/long timers?

Post by NoSnacker » Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:19 am

ThomsonsPier wrote:Don't compare your performance to perfection. You can't achieve perfection, and neither can anybody else. Instead, compare your eating habits now to your pre-No-S eating habits.
This is awesome as I was thinking, wow, I have not binged at night during my N days and I could consume a day's worth of calories during a binge. So if I'm not binging, that means I'll lose weight. So I see how this would work. I don't give myself permission to eat after dinner anymore..I say Nope can't do...
Age 56: SBMI=30.6 (12/1/13) CBMI 28.9 (2/2/14) GBMI-24.8

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Post by sheepish » Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:23 am

I think I first tried this in 2006 and then I had a very stressful period for a few months that led to me stopping (unemployment, finishing PhD, organising my wedding, moving house (twice)) and I've picked it up again a couple of times since then. This time, I've been going for about six months and it seems to be finally working for me. My pants haven't fallen down yet but there are a few items of clothing that are perilously close to falling off me and I've definitely gone down about a dress size - at my biggest, I was a UK 16/18 and now I'm a UK 14/16. (For the Americans, I think those translate to 12/14 and 10/12 respectively.) I'm not aiming to be a size zero or anything, I think my natural size is a UK 12/14 and that's roughly what I'm aiming for.

I'm not sure I count as an old timer as such but I'll answer your questions anyway.

1. Try to find the right balance between hating yourself for every failure and not caring about failure at all. You need to want to succeed and so you need to be a bit annoyed/upset at failures but, at the same time, it's not helpful to wallow in failure.

I keep a spreadsheet (v. similar to habitcal) to track my success/failure/special days - because I'm so geeky that I like to run off my own stats and I have a chart that tracks how I'm doing month to month - and, over the last six months, I haven't gone a single month without at least one failure. My best month has one failure, my worst has 10 (that was an unusual month!), I average between 3-4 failures a month.

Now, obviously, I'm annoyed by the failures - but this month was the month with just one failure and, even though it wasn't a perfect month, I feel pretty good about that! I think the other point to note is that, even though I've averaged 3-4 failures every month, I have STILL lost weight. Basically, despite being a short woman with PCOS (a syndrome that hinders weight loss), cutting out snacks/sweets/seconds for four days a week has led to weight loss. That's kinda crazy when you think about it. It really brings home to me that, despite the fact that I was never a heavy snacker/sweet consumer, I clearly consumed a lot more than I thought I did.

2. As I've kinda already said, I have struggled over the years and I continue to struggle but I've somehow, internally, found the sweet spot whereby I strive for success but I'm ok with myself when I'm not perfect. For me, that was basically about time - it just took me quite a while.

And I'm not always in that space all the time - my mother and one of my aunts periodically give me unsolicited comments/advice on my weight. My mother's comments are usually of the very helpful, "You're fat. Lose weight. Please! I hate it when you're fat" variety. My aunt's comments are slightly more kindly phrased but still amount to nonsense "Try cutting down carbs" type suggestions. These comments used to really upset me. These days, they upset me in the moment (had an e-mail this morning from my aunt, in fact) but I've become a lot better at just hitting delete/holding the phone away from me and moving on.

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Post by Kathleen » Fri Jul 01, 2011 10:57 am

debrabuf,

1. My tip: Don't worry about S Day eating. It is more an indication of where you have been than where you are going. I once ate about 4,000 calories of caramel macadamian clusters. You couldn't pay me $1,000 to do that again!

2. I modified the diet right away. I just could not manage to restrict quantity (one plateful), so I had to figure out how to lose weight without portion control. Yes, I'm still working on that, but No S was the start of sanity for me.

Kathleen

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Post by Over43 » Sat Jul 02, 2011 1:26 am

I will echo some of the previous psoters, don't shoot for perfection immediatley.

Second, and at the risk of sounding like an Old Testament prophet who belabors the same point time after time, "Make sure your breakfast is a good one. It sets the stage for the rest of the day."

Over43 1:1
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I made myself be hungry, then I would get hungrier. - Frank Zane Mr. Olympia '77, '78, '79

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Post by jellybeans01 » Mon Jul 04, 2011 2:49 pm

I've been no s ing for awhile and would say the no eating after breakfast and lunch are a habit. It is my late eating, after dinner eating that I actually to this day still stuggle with.

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Re: Questions for the experienced/long timers?

Post by Too solid flesh » Mon Jul 04, 2011 3:23 pm

debrabuf wrote:1. if you could offer 1 tip for all us newbie's what might that be?
Take the long view. It is easy to get discouraged with slow weight loss, but think about the long term impact of slow changes.
debrabuf wrote:2. were you one that got it right away, or have you struggled thru the years?
Both of the above... I was lucky enough to find that No S suited me straight away, but I still struggle daily with resisting food. It does get much easier over time, though.
Be kind, for everybody you meet is fighting a hard battle.

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Post by planner lady » Wed Jul 13, 2011 12:23 am

Nicest of the Damned wrote:I was able to comply with No S right away, but it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. I had a much stronger emotional response to not being able to eat until I felt stuffed than I had been expecting. I resented having to be on this diet, and was :evil: that I had to stop eating before I wanted to.
Well said. My situation, too, except that I wasn't able to comply right away. I really, really wanted to but just couldn't seem to do it. Because it's simple and made sense, I thought it would be easy. It's not easy but it is simple.

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Post by Starla » Thu Jul 14, 2011 1:44 pm

I am a couple months away from my two-year anniversary of starting No S. My tips:

1) Keep it simple, but build a fence around the law. I added no additional restrictions (which means I DID have a lunch consisting of Cheetos!), but I was very strict about sticking to the three rules of No S.

2) Problems will arise. Your make or break moment will come when you decide to figure out a solution to the problem instead of giving up. I've seen this not just in my own case, but in other posters on this board.

3) Use Habitcal, which keeps you accountable daily, and use the incredible support offered by the posters on this board.

As to your second question, No S stuck with me from the very first day.

Good luck! This way of eating has literally changed my life, not just my body. It's so wonderful to live a life that does not revolve around food.

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Post by dockanz » Thu Jul 14, 2011 3:08 pm

This was great. Nicest, your detailed first response was especially appreciated.
Make the Better Choice

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NoSnacker
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awesome

Post by NoSnacker » Fri Jul 15, 2011 10:40 am

I have read these comments a few times and they really helped me make it thru my first red day. My diet mentality said see you had to have some snacks after dinner...that I was going to fail at this as well..

But all the wonderful advice helped me to be green the next day. I'm truly aiming not to be perfect. I have been allowing myself food I would never eat because of it being bad for you. I had a happy meal from mcdonalds for lunch yesterday with my daughter and her children, it was great.

I know it takes time to respond and help us newbie's but it really does make a difference in our lives...in mine anyway :)

Thanks everyone.
Age 56: SBMI=30.6 (12/1/13) CBMI 28.9 (2/2/14) GBMI-24.8

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Post by Nicest of the Damned » Mon Jul 18, 2011 1:46 pm

Thalia wrote:"Failure" is not a dirty word. HAVING a failure isn't BEING a failure, so don't be afraid to be honest when you slip up -- it's not the end of the world and it doesn't reflect on your character or your value as a person, just keep going.
A failure is something you have, not something you are. If I told you, "I have a cat", you'd know that I was saying something totally different than if I said, "I am a cat", wouldn't you? You'd think it was perfectly normal if I said I had a cat, but you'd think I must be crazy if I said I was a cat. We can make this distinction when it comes to cats, why is it so much more difficult when it comes to failures?

Remember that you can't predict the future. (If you actually can, please prove it to me by PM'ing me next week's Powerball numbers, ok?) One failure does not prove that you will always fail, any more than one toss of a coin coming up heads proves that the coin always comes up heads.

Just because something is simple, doesn't mean it is easy. Fermat's Last Theorem:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermat%27s_Last_Theorem
is a simple statement, but that doesn't mean that proving it was easy. In fact, no one managed to prove it for 358 years (yes, that's not a typo), and it certainly wasn't because nobody was trying. Sushi rolls are simple- they contain rice, vinegar, sugar, maybe nori seaweed, and some kind of filling. That doesn't mean that making nice-looking ones like you get at a Japanese restaurant is easy, as anyone who's ever tried knows.

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Post by NoSnacker » Tue Jul 19, 2011 9:33 am

Nicest of the Damned "I guess I need to read back thru these posts and jot down some notes....thanks for pointing me to Thaila's comment and for your encouragement.
Age 56: SBMI=30.6 (12/1/13) CBMI 28.9 (2/2/14) GBMI-24.8

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NoSnacker
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Post by NoSnacker » Fri Jul 22, 2011 9:05 am

:lol:
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NoSnacker
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Post by NoSnacker » Tue Jul 26, 2011 12:56 pm

:roll:
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Post by NoSnacker » Fri Aug 19, 2011 4:48 pm

Just reread some of these posts..keeps me going...
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Post by NoSnacker » Sun Apr 22, 2012 4:24 pm

Thought there were some really good tips here from everyone so posted a note so it can make it back to the top for any new people..
Age 56: SBMI=30.6 (12/1/13) CBMI 28.9 (2/2/14) GBMI-24.8

Dale
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Post by Dale » Mon Apr 23, 2012 9:58 am

Thank you for bumping this thread! I'm a new No-Ser and enjoyed reading these tips. I suppose you are a seasoned No-Ser now. How's it going and what advice would you give now that you're further down the line?

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butterfly1000
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Post by butterfly1000 » Mon Apr 23, 2012 11:52 am

Yes, thanks for bumping this up NoSnacker.

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NoSnacker
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Post by NoSnacker » Mon Apr 23, 2012 7:45 pm

Your welcome Dale and Butterfly, but this is my second time around I FAILED to take all of this wonderful advice from everyone..but I hope to be a long timer sooner or later :)
Age 56: SBMI=30.6 (12/1/13) CBMI 28.9 (2/2/14) GBMI-24.8

eschano
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Post by eschano » Tue Apr 29, 2014 2:35 pm

This deserves a bump for all newbies on the boards and everyone else.

My favourites:
Don't worry about S Day eating. It is more an indication of where you have been than where you are going.
Kathleen on Fri Jul 01 2011

and
Just because something is simple, doesn't mean it is easy.
from Nicest of the Damned on Mon Jul 18 2011.

What a great thread!
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

July 2012- January 2016
Started again January 2021

oolala53
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Post by oolala53 » Tue Apr 29, 2014 3:53 pm

Just updating that I am 51 months in and still feeling that nothing else is going to do it for me that wouldn't somehow just be a modification of No S. I can see someday eating only two meals a day (after retirement, when I would have control over when I eat midday) but never back to 5x a day. I often eat the same or even less on S-days than on N days now (I had wild S days for two years!) because I just don't want much more on those days. the thrill or satisfaction with getting to overeat on those days is pretty much gone. I can't say it's always a breeze but I don't expect it to be. We live in a food-rich culture with almost no cultural support for moderation. I haven't heard of a better way to handle that, at least to my mind.

Here's another tip in the form of a reason to give this a real fighting chance for longer than a few weeks or months: There are few people in the world eating for years and years at a time according to any of the myriad weight loss diets promoted in the US. There are several slim cultures comprising tens of millions of people who eat very similarly to No S: mostly meal-based eating, way less sugar than is eaten in the US, exceptions held to the minimum, and cultural value placed on pleasure in the food itself, while being moderate in the amounts eaten. Doesn't it make more sense to go through the learning process to get this down than to conform to something proposed in the last 50 years?
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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Post by noni » Wed Apr 30, 2014 12:42 pm

Congrats, Oolala, for sticking with it for the long haul. No S "old-timers" are an encouragement and give helpful advice of what may or may not work. I have tried mods as well, but failed at them. Just one so far works...most days I only eat lunch and dinner.

My S days are still out of control with sweets, even tho' I'm approaching two years straight on No S. Just when I have a moderate 2-3 weekends in a row, there I am back cramming sweets all day long into my mouth. But I have hope. You took two years, correct?!

When I was growing up in the 60's, there were very few snack foods around the house. Some store bought cookies and ice cream. But the ice cream was for Saturdays. No one in the house would dream of touching it. And we were never allowed in Daddy's refrigerator drawer. They were his treats for his packed lunches. If I wanted a snack, I had to take a long walk to a convenience store, using my money and getting a sister or cousin to walk with me.

My mother was the only overweight person in the house. I wondered about that because I never really saw her overeat at mealtime. She explained that she "picks" all day long. She must have hid her snack foods from us.

Yep, it's a lot easier to be overweight and out of control with eating in our time and culture.

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Post by heatherhikes » Wed Apr 30, 2014 2:45 pm

eschano wrote:This deserves a bump for all newbies on the boards and everyone else.

My favourites:
Don't worry about S Day eating. It is more an indication of where you have been than where you are going.
Kathleen on Fri Jul 01 2011

and
Just because something is simple, doesn't mean it is easy.
from Nicest of the Damned on Mon Jul 18 2011.

What a great thread!
yes-sir-y-bob, we say here! 8)
Thank you so much for bumping it up, eschano!
___________
h

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MerryKat
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Post by MerryKat » Mon May 05, 2014 11:42 am

Thanks for bumping this up.

1 - Tip for Newbies - The most important lesson I have learnt is that the habit is the important part. Forget all the other things - the numbers on the scale, the what's on the plate, etc and just build the habits. For me all the other things become reasons and excuses to let the habit slide.

2 - I have been doing this for a long time - I am a slow learner and constantly have the urge to fiddle!! This combination means that I have had very successful stages with No S when I stick to Vanilla and lots of detours!

Each time I have allowed something other than the habit to be important I end up falling off the wagon and detouring!
Hugs from Sunny South Africa
Vanilla No S with no Sugar due to Health issues - 11 yrs No S - September 2016 (some good, some bad (my own doing) but always the right thing for me!)

oolala53
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Post by oolala53 » Mon May 05, 2014 1:14 pm

Merrykat, do you mean you have success with Vanilla and lots of detours (Vanilla + detours = success) OR success with Vanilla but lots of detours when you weren't successful?
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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MerryKat
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Post by MerryKat » Mon May 05, 2014 1:24 pm

Oolala sorry for the lack of clarity.

When I stick to Vanilla No S and focus on the habit I am 100% successful and the weight slowly but steadily comes off.

As soon as I start modifying things or focusing too much on the numbers I end up detouring away from No S and the snacking starts and then I gain again.
Hugs from Sunny South Africa
Vanilla No S with no Sugar due to Health issues - 11 yrs No S - September 2016 (some good, some bad (my own doing) but always the right thing for me!)

carolz
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Post by carolz » Tue May 06, 2014 7:37 pm

Great, great thread.

I found out about No S a few years ago and thought its utter simplicity meant it would be easy. No - as has been said many times on this site, No S is simple but not always easy. I failed a lot at No S throughout the years, but I think I've finally turned a corner. I love the feeling of control over food that No S has given me and I can't imagine going back to my out-of-control days, when every day was an S day.

I knew things were clicking when I started having no trouble ignoring all the sweets at work. People put junk food in our kitchen on an almost daily basis, and now instead of focusing in on it with a CSI-like intensity, I barely glance at it, get my water and leave. One day recently someone left Oreos out (I love Oreos) and I thought, that's nice but it's a Tuesday and I don't eat Oreos on a Tuesday. I knew if I still wanted some, I could buy some on the weekend (which I didn't do, because by then I forgot about them.).

My S days are no longer insane. I do try to stick to the 3-meals/day template with a treat or two thrown in. I also try to only get single serving treats; that's something I learned way before my No S days (had a memorable experience with a quart of Trader Joe's Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream).

I've always been a walker and now with my Fitbit, I'm very conscious of getting 10,000 steps/day minimum. I also just dusted the cobwebs off my gym membership card and am going consistently. Not only is the increased exercise helping with the weight loss but it's making me feel better in general.

I have to say that even during the times I gave up on No S for whatever silly diet du jour that caught my eye, I kept coming back to these boards. I've never seen a more supportive weight loss forum and I know it's helping me stick to No S.

Carol

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Post by automatedeating » Wed May 07, 2014 12:08 am

Carol,
Thanks for your inspiring and clear explanation of your NoS journey! I appreciate that you took the time to share. :)
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

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BrightAngel
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Post by BrightAngel » Wed May 07, 2014 2:44 pm

carolz wrote:I have to say that even during the times I gave up on No S ...
I kept coming back to these boards.
I've never seen a more supportive weight loss forum
and I know it's helping me stick to No S.
Image I agree.
Congratulations to all for excellent forum behavior.
Image
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See: DietHobby. com

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Jethro
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Re: Questions for the experienced/long timers?

Post by Jethro » Thu May 08, 2014 4:07 pm

Nicest of the Damned wrote:
ThomsonsPier wrote:
1. if you could offer 1 tip for all us newbie's what might that be?
The same advice I give in most subjects: relax. You don't have to be perfect straight away, and you don't fail until you give up.
Don't try to fight all your bad habits at once. It's tempting, but it doesn't work. While you're in your first month of No S, do not try to work on any other sub-optimal health habits you might have. Just leave them be. Yes, even if that means you're stuffing your three plates full of saturated fat, refined carbs, highly processed food, and whatever else is the current evil food.

Don't try to restrict your S days in the first month or two. Even if that means you have some out-of-control S days. Out-of-control S days are OK, and are to be expected at first.

Don't compare your performance to perfection. You can't achieve perfection, and neither can anybody else. Instead, compare your eating habits now to your pre-No-S eating habits.

There are three kinds of No-S'ers. There are newbies who haven't had a failure yet, there are people who've had failures and are going to have more, and there are liars. You're going to have red days. The Earth will not stop spinning when you do. The sun will still rise the day after you have a red day. Just don't give up after you have a red day, or even a few red days.

When (not if) you have a failure, get back up on the horse right away. Don't wait for tomorrow, next week, New Year's Day, or whatever. Especially don't tell yourself, "well, I've failed for today anyway, might as well do X" (whatever X is). That's like saying "oh, I've gotten a dent in the car, might as well drive it into a wall at 90 mph".

Use the HabitCal, even if you think it's hokey. I didn't at first, but then I did, and it did help.

You're going to feel hungry sometimes. Feeling hungry is not a red emergency alert situation, the way some snack food companies would like you to think it is. If you've got a normal metabolism, it is not going to hurt you. It will not cause your metabolism to come to a screeching halt and make you inflate like the Goodyear blimp, the way some other diets seem to imply it will. Feeling hungry is mild discomfort at best. You've almost certainly made it through worse.

Thirst, boredom, and stress, and possibly other emotions and non-hunger physical states, can masquerade very effectively as hunger. One of the advantages of No S is that it doesn't require you to be able to tell the difference between genuine hunger and fake hunger.

You will eventually get used to eating three meals a day, rather than snacking through the day. I know this because people move from one time zone to another, or go on vacation in a different time zone. They eventually get used to eating on their new time zone's schedule, not their old time zone's. You probably don't eat on a daylight saving time schedule all winter, do you? If you can get used to eating an hour earlier or later, you can get used to other changes in your eating schedule, too.

Most people make it at least eight hours every night (while they're asleep) without eating. If you can do that, you can make it between lunch and dinner without eating.

Don't spend time in the kitchen or around food when you don't need to. Hang out somewhere else, and don't have food at hand there. Don't carry snacks in your purse. Seeing or smelling food makes you want it. This is the principle behind food advertisements. Companies wouldn't spend $10 billion a year advertising food if this didn't work.
Bravo!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
"Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence."
- Vince Lombardi

Sometimes you need to take one step back for every two steps forward.

Time heals everything!

90% of a diet is 60% mental

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Post by MJ7910 » Thu May 08, 2014 9:22 pm

I am about a year and 3 months in. I still have occasional wild s days, but on the whole, it is getting better. Weight has been maintained for over a year in a five pound range. Turns out my body has a range it likes and it's not as low as I thought. Still a midrange bmi in the healthy range. My biggest tip is to stick with the habit and don't worry about s days.
Current BMI: 22.9. Height: 5'4.5"
Highest BMI: 25.5 in August 2011.
Lowest adult BMI: 20.8 in February 2012.

ammara
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Post by ammara » Thu Aug 07, 2014 9:25 pm

This is an amazing post. Really useful for newbies. Thank you

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