Everyday Systems

I have tried No S for a year or so and still can't do more than one successful N Day in a row. I find my two toddlers' demands and my fatigue drives me to eat bread with Nutella and peanut butter around 11.30 a.m. I am tired! I have always been a comfort eater. I am possibly doomed here. Still, I keep telling myself I will be able to successfully make NoS a way of life. I wonder if I'm banging my head against a brick wall. If you get hungry around 11.30 shouldn't you eat? Shouldn't you listen to your body? I will try again next week or maybe even tomorrow. I don't want to be 64kg and rising

What I found from doing a modified version of NO S for numerous years in the 90's is that once I get on a roll it's easier for me to keep to the pattern 7 days a week.

I break the dessert thing up into daily bits and don't snack or eat seconds 7 days a week.

I also was de-railed by the eat when your body is hungry for a lotta years and got absolutely no where with that method. I find it so much more productive to eat a few more bites at meals to keep me from getting very hungry b4 the next meal.

What do you eat for breakfast? And when do you have breakfast?

Try having a planned mini-meal (an apple and a yogurt or something like that) when you get that hungry every day at the same time. Four meals a day is still a lot better than uncontrolled binging/perma-snacking all day, every day.

So sorry to hear you're struggling, hon! You have done well to keep going. So big ((((((((((hugs))))))) and many congratulations to you! We all know it isn't easy and each day brings its own challenges and rewards as well (although it might not always seem that way). This board is great and whenever you feel like you need a helping hand - who doesn't? - or just a bit of cheering up and/or friendly advice, I just come on here and before long, I'm feeling encouraged and inspired again.

Have a great Day!

Eat lunch at 11:30. And I often eat when I'm tired and I'm chronicly sleep deprived. I have 4 kids and it's slooooowly getting better. If I find time to take a 15-20 minute nap (no more) I tend to not snack. I read somewhere that people who snack in the afternoon are actually tired!
Try your best for 1 day at a time, then try for a week when you feel like you can. I need to listen to my own advice. Hmm...

What are your usual meal times? Could you eat breakfast later or lunch earlier?

Something I learned after starting No S:

Hunger is an uncomfortable feeling.
It is not life-threatening.


This is a profound realisation. I spent so many years basically overeating
'just in case I get hungry later' and now I have found that I can feel hungry, real genuine, gnawing hunger and not eat. I feel foolish for having worried for so long, what happens if I get hungry. The answer is the world will not end.

I have a baby and a toddler, so I understand needing to take a little break for your self. But if peanut butter and nutella is the only thing keeping you from your goal, it sounds like you're doing pretty well.

Why not make this a modification? Officially schedule a PB & N mini-meal at 11:30 or add it to your lunch plate?

I give myself permission to eat a tiny meal between breakfast and lunch. I do fairly physical work, and we all take a break at 11am. What's great is that just about all of us at work eat really healthy food.

So, if you need another mini-meal, that's okay. Nutella may not be the healthiest choice, so perhaps you could stock the pantry with healthy and satisfying options.

I get really hungry at work by lunch time. I have solved this by having my toast and peanut butter before I leave home and taking my banana with me to work and eating it there. If I am busy, I forget to eat it and it ends up being part of my lunch.

This was an unintentional habit that started because of being rushed in the morning, but it works. I am still hungry by lunch but not ravenous.

Toddlers...they certainly sap the energy out of you, don't they? Have you checked with your dr. about your Vitamin D level? Or Iron? I found in April that my Vitamin D level was just about non-existent...and I did a sleep study to find out I have severe sleep apnea and Seasonal Affective Disorder. I figured it was just having 4 kids that was making me tired, but there was much more going on. Now that my dr. has addressed those issues, I feel like a new person...I had no idea how much sleep deprivation was affecting my life.

If you haven't had your dr. look at your bloodwork in awhile, it might be worth asking about.

Hugs to you...janie

girl you really need to read Dr. Becks diet solution. It is NOT a diet but gives you the skills you need to follow the diet your on. It works at changing the way you think. Eating is always a choice, but sometimes we have mindsets that set us up for failures. I'm a mommy with three 4 and under, and one is special needs, so I know the demands there. I have an extra book and if you are interested I'll send it to you okay?

my friend has just learned that her level of fatigue is not normal and caused by sleep apnea, and not her toddlers. She has other problems agravated by the apnea and insomnia, but has gone for years undiagnosed because she doesn't snore. anemia, anxiety, I don't even know what all!

I don't know if your fatigue is that severe, but it's worth checking out if you really don't ever feel refreshed from sleep.

That aside, I recommend turning to a beverage. Even chocolate milk! If you get to a better beverage eventually, fine, but at least you have a fix for the chewing part of the snacking, you know? and you if can get two green days in a row, you'll be twice as good at it as you are now!

No S assumes three meals, but it's been qualified repeatedly that that can be flexible based on individual needs.

I find it really helpful sometimes to break lunch into two smaller meals. I'll pack a lunch--so, pre-curate the food, and the volume of it--but if I find myself low on energy earlier, I'll break that into two means. The flexibility makes a lot of difference to me.

Ruthie I know how you feel I am coming up on a year and haven't made much progress but I know it's me not the plan it's the most reasonable family friendly method I have seen.
I guess I have to learnt deal with stress better than focus on my eating.
HUGS I know how you feel I have four kids myself.
Hang in there mama!

I have a 4 yr old and an 8 month old, so I get it! I have a real problem sticking to no s when I have nutella in the house. I don't keep it around, and i have to be careful with other easy to grab sweet type foods, such as chocolate chips, dried fruit, jam, honey, etc. I understand about the easy energy boost. I have to admit I'm relying a little heavily on coffee and tea right now instead.. perhasps caffeine is a bit better than sugar? All I know is that when I'm getting up 5+ times a night I need a little help getting through the day.

Why don't you try 4 small meals a day with some protein at every meal. I have found that if I eat enough protein at breakfast, 20-30 grams, I do much better the rest of the day.

Whatever you choose, remember that No S is really about systematic moderation. It's not the Nutella at 11:00 over the long haul. It's the habits you work to develop on No S. You work hard in the beginning to the point where they are no longer concious thoughts. It's just what you do. You simply need to decide the habits you want to work hard at. I was a multiple meal guy before No S. Body For Life ruined me this way 10 years ago. Even on Atkins or South Beach, I still subscribed to this method. No S is so much simpler. The hunger I felt in the beginning was simply the hard work necessary to form the habit. I considered it "sowing" with the "harvest" of weight loss and good habits downt the road. The hunger let me know that I was getting off the immediate gratification bandwagon for good. Those three meals taste so much better than they every did before! It's also good to know that if I want to accelerate my weight loss, I can choose low carb or low calorie, but it's all within the confines of No S. That may mean two "healthy" meals and meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner. Either way, it's within the habit and rules of the Diet. I love it.

Oh! And one more thing....I find myself exercising harder on No S. Overtime, No S is about a creating a caloric deficit. Exercising harder helps with that and I can still eat whatever I want during my meals:)

Those three meals taste so much better than they every did before! It's also good to know that if I want to accelerate my weight loss, I can choose low carb or low calorie, but it's all within the confines of No S. That may mean two "healthy" meals and meatloaf and mashed potatoes for dinner. Either way, it's within the habit and rules of the Diet. I love it.

SO TRUE!!!! I love it. If I wanna do a couple of low carb meals a day and one with carbs, I can and be on NO S. If I wanna do 2 low calorie meals I can. If I wanna eat 10 bites a meal I can do that too and still be on NO S. It's perfect.

krawford13 wrote:Why don't you try 4 small meals a day with some protein at every meal. I have found that if I eat enough protein at breakfast, 20-30 grams, I do much better the rest of the day.

AMEN! to this the protien really helps A LOT. I learned that over at Radiant Recovery/Potatoes not Prozac. radiantrecovery.com Very valuable info.

What't going on, Ruthie? Have your tried any advice? I'd love to hear how it's going.

I want to address the question of shouldn't you eat if you're hungry. It sounds like there might be a little fear in there that you are damaging yourself to wait to eat. Most likely, you are not, especially if you are eating real meals. Waiting another hour will not cause any problems. it is natural to get hungry. If you are consistently going say 7 hours without food, see if there is a way to adjust the time of your meals. I tend to be able to go longer in the morning than I thought I could, but there's no reason to, if you can adjust your schedule. I have some discretion at night and the gap can be as short as 4 hours between lunch and dinner, but 5 feels better and 6 can be good if I'm extra busy.

and eating in response to fatigue is a mistake. It's an illusion that it does any good physically. Plus, it's probably more likely you're using the food as a reward for working so hard. And you do deserve a reward, except that in total effect, the food is not a good reward at all for any behavior except waiting for it!

I vote for trying to have plain broth around and having a cup around 11.


See what you can do but recognize the the more often you eat, the more likely you will ingest a greater number of calories over your day unless you monitor your food carefully. But there are exceptions.

I don't have anything to add, but I empathize. I have a 2 month old baby and a 4 year old, so I know how you feel. I'm actually working on this myself. I've gotten into the habit of snacking because I'm so tired, and I'm trying to break myself of the snacking habit.