Everyday Systems

Have been doing Nos for one month. Weighed myself for the first time yesterday. I have gained 1.4 kg. Really depressing but have been having an endless conversation with myself about the fact that I am feeling healthier and less focused on food all the time. I had no failures and only one extra S day. Not sure why the weight gain but I wish I hadn't stepped on those scales. I am wondering if my meals are too calorie heavy as I just eat one plateful of whatever the family is having. I have to admit that before Nos I seemed to have been dieting for centuries. I am almost 60. I am hoping my body is just enjoying eating real food and if I stick at it my weight will go down. I only have about 5kg to lose and perhaps this is the reason. What do you all think?

You have two upsides there...

1) You are having a heightened sense of well being.

2) You aren't focused on food all of the time.

How are your clothes starting to fit? I look much better in my clothes, and I haven't lost much weight.

It's all good. We are now conditioned for immediate resuts, and sometimes it takes a bit of patience to get what we want.

Good luck.

Just not sure. Some people with only 10 lbs. to lose have done it losing from the beginning . Others not. Maybe it depends which end of the range you are trying to get into? Are you trying to weigh at the low end of your range or just trying to get out of the overweight range? Are you very short? Shorter people seem to end up eating very light for a meal or two at least.

Though No S is wonderful, it can't change the laws of physics for you. If your family eats all calorie-dense foods at every meal--few fresh fruits or vegetables-- then it might be possible to be taking in too much food in order to lose weight. How full are you at the end of the meal? Are you getting hungry for the next one? Are you covering 12-inch plates with dense foods and finishing just because you can?

Okay, don't want you to get too analytical. That's what we're trying to avoid. If you're not that overweight, so you're not at a health risk and need to lose weight fast, give it another month.

"Oh my, I *gained* weight!" is probably the single most common cause of panic (and premature quitting) in newcomers. Your conversation with yourself about being less obsessed with food sounds exactly right, to me: remind yourself that you aren't defined by the number on the scale!

As I've often remarked, I hardly know whether to laugh or cry when people say that they are feeling better, having a better relationship with food, obsessing less, (often) feeling like their clothes fit more loosely -- and they're very upset about the whole thing, because the number on the scale hasn't done what they want! It's possible that we give that number too much power.

In terms of that number, it's very common for people to go through an initial phase where they do gain a bit of weight. It takes quite a while to get the habits under control, and at first there's a strong tendency to eat too much at meals and go crazy on S days. Both of those things settle out over time: you get used to how much food you actually need at each meal, and the lack of sweets during the week means it takes less for you to feel "treated" on S days (at least, many people start to feel this way). One month is not a very long time, by NoS standards, so it's not surprising that you're still in the "getting the hang of it" phase. Fear not, it'll come!

It sounds like you're doing very well. Please don't let that scale derail you!

It sounds like you are on the right track!

I will say that some of us who are already on the smaller side and/or who are on the shorter side and/or who are on the older side find that we need to tweak No S a bit ... I fall into the first two of those categories and, through trial and error, found that, in addition to daily exercise, I need to eat a little less in order to maintain a lower weight. I do this by using smaller plates, at home. If I ate portions the size of my DH's, I'd gain weight. Frustrating but, for me, true.

Anyway, small adjustments can make all the difference. If you are concerned about the weight gain, you might consider trying to either move a little more or eat a little less and see how that works for you.

Honestly, that's not a lot of weight! Work on eating habits, and your relationship with food FIRST, then look at the scale.

Thanks everyone. You all make lots of sense! I have no intention of quitting so I will just be patient and enjoy the ride.

The book discusses all the reasons why most diets fail. They either have you making concious decisions all the time based on calories or they eliminate food groups. These diets make you feel deprived or are too difficult. So you quit. You gain back anything you lost. You then look for another solution that will get you to a goal weight. It's a short term way of thinking. The habit of No So is the long term solution. If you really have No S down as a habit, then you can tweak within that habit perhaps. But you should celebrate the success of the new habit first and foremost.