Hi there, I am an infrequent visitor but I have been following a no s lifestyle for several years now. I used to have a different name but I have no idea what it was. I came back as Ruff (my dog) this year.
For newbies, yes it does work long term, but it helps( I think) if you add exercise and other lifestyle changes. I used to sit on the sofa and read (I don't own a TV, but sloth wears many clothes). I of, course was not being slothful like those TV viewers! Oh no, I was cultivating my mind. But if you are reading the Oddessy and teaching yourself Latin to avoid living real life, or watching Oprah to avoid real life it comes to the same thing. I used to drive everywhere, but I got a bike with saddlebags and a basket for my birthday...a "granny" bike, I call her Mrs Armitidge".....and I use her to go shopping or for errands up to the village. I move more. Even in the rain.
I also found cooking for myself helps. I lose more weight if I cook at home starting with things like potatoes and carrots and flour rather than buying the food ready made. I actually enjoy it now, but I did buy a big food processor.
You are never too old. I am a 50 year old menopausal woman. Last year I took up running. I could only run (very very very slowly) for one minute. so i did. run 1 minute, walk 1 minute! i thought i would die right there on the beach when i got to run 3 minutes! it took me 3 weeks to get to run 4minutes!
This year I came 3rd in my age group in a 17km mountain run. I hope to run a marathon next. Then trail mountain marathons then....who knows? Ultra races?
Throw out your fat clothes. I am none too wealthy, and running shoes cost a fortune, but I thew out my fat clothes...apart from that 1 pair of enormous trousers! There is no going back!
Never, ever give up. I am back here again because about 6 weeks ago I got flu really badly. I missed my mountain half marathon I had been so looking forward to. I got sad and depressed afterwards and I started to eat, snacks, seconds, chocolate! I put on weight. My jeans were tight and there were no larger jeans to get into! I had thrown them away!
So back here I come. I read all your inspirational stories and feel much better. I am running again, and have just entered a 10km mountain race. A shorter race but I stopped training and have to build up again. I am just waiting for it to get light enough to see on the beach and I am off for a run, after building myself up on your stories again. I have 5 kg to lose again.
How much have I lost since no sing? In total 33kg. But I have gone back up 5 after falling off the wagon. It will go again.
I try not to obsess. If I have a side salad with a meal, I don't have to cram it all on the one plate. I like my side salad on the side! A soup requires a roll, I don't have to drown it! The plate is not magical, the programme is! It becomes habit.
Biggest tip for newbies? It took several years to get here BUT don't panic. I didn't realise how much better I would feel at each stage! I felt great when I lost 10kg and people began to notice. I felt so good after losing 20kg t I truly believed it wouldn't matter if I never lost any more weight! But of course losing more is great. I am still not slim, despite all the running, my lowest weight was 75kg, down from 108kg (highest seen on scales, I stopped weighing after that but I did go up another dress size). I would like to lose more, but the first step is getting back to 75kg.
Enjoy the journey.
I hope this helps.
Thankyou for all your inspirational stories over the years. Now it is getting light. Time to lace up my shoes and get out there! I am going to see the sunrise on the beach. How magical is that! And it is all due to no sing. Sometimes I deliberately wake up early and slip down to the dues to watch the sunrise before coming back and waking the family. I would NEVER have done that when I was fat!
When you fall n a trail, you pick yourself up, dust off your injuries and set off again. It's the same when your fall with your eating. Carpe diem.
Popping back in with some encouragement
Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating
I love your story! I'm 40 months in and wavering after quite awhile of solid success. But I know there is no real sane option.
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)
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)
Thanks for posting. I think the more we long-termers can post about the realities of success with NoS, in all its shades and variations, the more we encourage each other AND the newbies.
Congrats on running those marathons. This is the first year (after several years of being a dedicated, pedometer-wearing walker) that I am even contemplating picking up running/jogging....
Congrats on running those marathons. This is the first year (after several years of being a dedicated, pedometer-wearing walker) that I am even contemplating picking up running/jogging....
Vicki in MNE
7! Yrs. with Vanilla NoS, down 55+lb, happily maintaining and still loving it!
7! Yrs. with Vanilla NoS, down 55+lb, happily maintaining and still loving it!
I also think it is helpful for all of us women of a certain age (or beyond a certain agevmsurbat wrote:Thanks for posting. I think the more we long-termers can post about the realities of success with NoS, in all its shades and variations, the more we encourage each other AND the newbies.
) to post about our successes. I will never do anything but walk partly because it's the only thing I really enjoy and partly because running really bothers my knees. Although occasionally when I'm walking the dog I'll do what I call a "funky jog." I really don't know how to describe it. It's kind of a flat-footed jog with a pace that is just a little faster than my walking pace. The dog likes it because she gets to run alongside me. I don't even do it for a minute.
The funny thing is that there is a woman I see jogging/running near here who does almost exactly the same thing all the time. I've never seen her really jog/run.
"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."
"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."
I call it a shuffle. It was my first 'pace' for about 8months. I have a new pace today! They all have names.
The 'soft shoe shuffle' is the first pace. It is a shuffle along and is about the speed of a good brisk walk.
'Trot' is the next pace. I was told years ago a good horse should be able to trot pretty well all day. So wether or not this is true, I have installed trot as the next pace. It used to be my racing pace...ie faster than SSS, but now I am fitter I can keep it up for a long time, over an hour on flat ground like the beach.
'Gazelle' is the next pace. I used to be only able to do this when running easy downhills. It makes me feel like I am flying along like a gazelle. Actually I have seen myself in a video and anything less gazelle like would be hard to imagine. So I solved this problem by making sure I never watch myself, and in my imagination I am all long lean legs flying effortlessly over the plain. I can now do this on the flat for about 2 minutes. I like to do it for the last 100 yards of a race!
The new pace today is "gazelle chased by mountain lion" This is running flat out, picking up my feet behind me and generally going as fast as I could if there was a mountain lion out there..... I managed 20 paces on the beach this morning. I am going to try it on easy downhill.
Actually I don't think the speed matters, I just enjoy playing with it. Just getting out for a walk is great! This morning I stopped running to watch the sun rise out of the sea. How cool is that!
The 'soft shoe shuffle' is the first pace. It is a shuffle along and is about the speed of a good brisk walk.
'Trot' is the next pace. I was told years ago a good horse should be able to trot pretty well all day. So wether or not this is true, I have installed trot as the next pace. It used to be my racing pace...ie faster than SSS, but now I am fitter I can keep it up for a long time, over an hour on flat ground like the beach.
'Gazelle' is the next pace. I used to be only able to do this when running easy downhills. It makes me feel like I am flying along like a gazelle. Actually I have seen myself in a video and anything less gazelle like would be hard to imagine. So I solved this problem by making sure I never watch myself, and in my imagination I am all long lean legs flying effortlessly over the plain. I can now do this on the flat for about 2 minutes. I like to do it for the last 100 yards of a race!
The new pace today is "gazelle chased by mountain lion" This is running flat out, picking up my feet behind me and generally going as fast as I could if there was a mountain lion out there..... I managed 20 paces on the beach this morning. I am going to try it on easy downhill.
Actually I don't think the speed matters, I just enjoy playing with it. Just getting out for a walk is great! This morning I stopped running to watch the sun rise out of the sea. How cool is that!
PS.....meals per day.
After big runs, more than say 2 and a half hours, I do eat. I would eat the dog if he would stand still long enough! This makes 4meals. I have a light pre run meal, say, juice and a banana...carbs to fuel the run, and porridge or similar afterwards.
And on mountain trail runs I take Lara bars, and nuts. Sometimes you just have to eat to keep going.
But these are mountain running exceptions. When you have run more than 1000 feet vertical assent, and more than 2 hours on your feet I give you permission to eat a few nuts and dates too.......
After big runs, more than say 2 and a half hours, I do eat. I would eat the dog if he would stand still long enough! This makes 4meals. I have a light pre run meal, say, juice and a banana...carbs to fuel the run, and porridge or similar afterwards.
And on mountain trail runs I take Lara bars, and nuts. Sometimes you just have to eat to keep going.
But these are mountain running exceptions. When you have run more than 1000 feet vertical assent, and more than 2 hours on your feet I give you permission to eat a few nuts and dates too.......
Oh Wow! What inspiration!
Thanks so much for coming back to share with us. I am also back again - This is the only sane way of life!
Thanks so much for coming back to share with us. I am also back again - This is the only sane way of life!
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!)
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!)
A truly inspiring post. Thank you. I love how you have the tools (the habits) of NoS ingrained now that even if you slip off the wagon (it's called life!), you know how to get back on (when you're ready). Love it!
Start BMI 36, current BMI 19, goal BMI 19.
Losing by combining intermittent fasting with NoS.
Losing by combining intermittent fasting with NoS.