Everyday Systems

Hell-o,

I've frequented this board often in the past, but today I registered with the intent on committing to the NOS program.

Like many other stories I've read in the past, I too have struggled to lose weight. On the few occasions that I've actually ha some success, the weight loss was short lived primarily due to the unsustainable means in which I lost the lard. One of the biggest reasons the NOS prescription appeals to is this: I simply eat waaaaay too much (and often) in between meals. Another reason - perhaps my biggest challenge - is I can live off junk food. I'm talking anything Little Debbie or Hostess. I literally can go days with eating nothing but snack cakes and the like.

At my heaviest, I've weighted right around 250lbs; today I way 234lbs and will be 32 y.o in a few months. I'd like to weigh on the mid-190's and shrink my 40 inch waist down to a 34. Mostly I'd like to find an eating regimen that allows me to eat food I like while decreasing my weight to a level I'm happy with.

I plan as sticking to the program as outlined throughout this website/forum. Not sure it's a modification, but I plan on cooking most of my meals while trying to have a protein, carb and veggie source with each meal. I know that counting calories and macros are not suggested on this program, but that's what I'm shooting for with each meal. Nothing too fancy. Also, the macro breakdown will take a backseat to the 3 meals a day tenet.

Hoping for the best,

Uncle Al

Welcome, Uncle Al! That sounds like a good plan, and an achievable goal. Best wishes.

Personally, I think you should avoid trying to do the balanced meal thing at the same time as starting No S. Particularly because you say you used to eat a lot between meals - I think you might really struggle to implement both things at the same time. That said, I think you could make it work if you really do prioritise No S over the balanced plate - i.e. if you REALLY want pizza on an N day, much better to have it than have a balanced meal and then have a pizza later.

Good luck!

I second Sheepish, it might be worth trying Vanilla NoS for a few weeks with no particular restraints outside of the basics and see how you go. Once you have the habits down you can put a bit more thought into what goes on your plate

Good luck!

Just saying good luck and (I'm new too) probably it's a good idea to listen to those who've been there and done that.

Good luck no matter what you choose to eat at your meals. Just stick to the meals whatever you do eat at them. Drink your coffee, milk, or other beverage between your meals. You are going to love this.

Thanks for the support, guys and gals.

The macro breakdown of the meals is something I'll shoot for, but not let it ruin my day if I don't hit that mark. I'm using the habit tracker to keep an eye on a few things, macro nutrients not being one of them.

I am also keeping a written journal. The reason being is I might not check in on this site everyday. However, I can update things like successes and weight when I do get back online. I'm also planning on using this eating plan in conjunction with an exercise program.

I'll keep you posted.

Uncle Al

Welcome Uncle Al,

Should you want to journal your journey on here, there is a Daily Check In (just click the Forum Index and it will come up). Many of us post there daily (or whenever we want to update something). I love reading other's posts and am happy when others stop by my thread and say hello.

Good luck !

Uncle Al wrote:Thanks for the support, guys and gals.

The macro breakdown of the meals is something I'll shoot for, but not let it ruin my day if I don't hit that mark.

That sounds like exactly the right approach. The main "danger" of trying to change too many eating behaviours (sorry for the extra "u", I'm Canadian) at once is that you might scare yourself off -- but if you're willing to keep the attitude that balancing the macronutrients is a secondary goal and trouble on that front won't shut you down completely, then you're all set! Best of luck.

DaveMc wrote: (sorry for the extra "u", I'm Canadian)

Love it! Being from the UK I am used to people indignantly insisting on the incorrectness of US spellings, funny to see someone apologising.

I am studying linguistics and am learning that language varies a lot and there is no point in fighting it, better to embrace differences!

Sorry for the tangent, but I am a bit of a language geek!

Linguisticsgirl wrote:Love it! Being from the UK I am used to people indignantly insisting on the incorrectness of US spellings, funny to see someone apologising.

You mean apologizing. hee, hee

My (American) aunt lived in England for several years and the British spellcheck used to drive her crazy.

DaveMc wrote:behaviours (sorry for the extra "u", I'm Canadian)

Why apologise for spelling a word correctly?

Good for you, Uncle Al. I think you'll find it to be a sane, sensible way to eat better. I tend to think of dividing the plate (1/2 veggie, 1/4 protein, 1/4 carb) and day time vegetarian as guidelines while No S is a rule.

SpiritSong wrote: My (American) aunt lived in England for several years and the British spellcheck used to drive her crazy.

(I will stop hijacking this thread after this)

I have occasionally found myself working on computers where the language is set to US English and I just find it really confusing! I'm not always the best speller in the world, and it takes a lot of self doubt before I work out what the problem is!

Linguisticsgirl wrote:(I will stop hijacking this thread after this)

I have occasionally found myself working on computers where the language is set to US English and I just find it really confusing!

Too late, this thread is jacked! I normally don't apologize (we spell that either way, here, but I tend to use the "z" version -- but at least we pronounce that letter as "zed", along with the rest of the English-speaking world, with one minor exception) for my spelling, but I'm glad it amused you.

It's sad, to me, to see Canadian spelling (a sort of hybrid British/American lexicon that isn't quite identical to either) gradually being wiped out by the Microsoft Word spell-checker. Most of the students in my classes just spell things American style, including words like "colour" and "behaviour" that I would have thought would survive having those little red squiggly underlines put on them. You can set the spell-checker to work differently, of course, but most people don't.

Speaking of spell-checkers, this made me laugh last week: I was going through a file from a colleague, and I couldn't figure out why nearly *every* word in the document was marked as being spelled incorrectly. Eventually I realized that the colleague was from Quebec, and somehow the document was set to use a French dictionary for spell-checking, so only words that happened to accidentally also be French words ("visible", for example) would be considered correct. That was a nice "Aha!" moment, when I figured out what was going on, there.

Also: "Why apologise?" Did you not see the part about my being Canadian? I'm sorry, but we're famously apologetic.

LOL! Great Post, Dave! That must indeed have been pretty vexing, seeing all those red lines!! At least you worked it out in the end!!

Welcome, Uncle Al, and good luck.

Overall, not too bad. I had a rough time on Friday, though. Eating 3 meals a day is not something I've been used to doing. The result of such eating kept me hungry and, on Friday, I cracked a bit. I wound up eating after my last meal. Mostly snack-type stuff. However, I ate until I felt full.

I think I overdone the weekend a bit, too.

The good news is I've kept up with my exercise program.

Still a work in progress,

Uncle Al

Good luck, Al! Sounds like you're doing great!!