Everyday Systems

Hello everybody:
I am in my second week of NoSing. I love the concept, so far I feel confident I can stick with the vanilla rules. What I am wondering is if No S really can help me lose ~15 pounds (that's all I feel I need to lose, although the bottom of my BMI is almost 40 pounds less than I currrently weigh! However, I have a muscular build and would never aim for the lower end of my BMI).
Side note: I am totally scattered on this forum!!! My posts are disjointed and filled with run-on sentences and other grammar problems. I am not like this in other areas of my life. It's as if my disordered eating is manifesting itself in the disorder of my posts!!!!!!!!
OK, finally to my question: are there any no S people out there who have successfully lost those "last 10-15 pounds"..... or do those pounds not come off without extra mods and other interventions? I'm starting to despair that vanilla No S is not going to be enough for me. I'm probably going to have to use a smaller plate, and eat mostly veggies, and be more strict with s days. And I don't want to do those things! I guess I'm freaking out a little.
Pep talk, anyone?

I can't promise anything, of course, but I STRONGLY believe no s will work for you. I also started with a smaller amount of weight to lose (not as little as you but anyway) and I have steadily lost.

But considering your comments about feeling "scattered" I feel you have a lot to gain besides weight loss from the no s lifestyle. I have probably lost around 10 lbs or so since starting in the end of June but I've probably lost about 50 pounds of mental food baggage! I also have a tendency to want to hurry weight loss along but in the past it just leads to weight GAIN!

I'm sure many people will chime in with similar stories and please heed their advice and stick with it! There is so much to gain and weight loss is only part of it.

I've taken courage from lots of maintaining No-Sers who have gone down to the middle of their recommended BMI -- just browse the daily check ins and especially the testimonials a little. But it didn't happen overnight for anybody! I have about 40 pounds to lose and have lost 12 between the end of June and today, which I think was pretty fast! The loss has slowed way down, but hasn't stopped. Give it some time before you decide!

Honestly, what have you got to lose by giving No S at least 12 weeks to see how you like living this way? At that point, you may have lost some weight, so you'll see it's working, or you won't have, but you probably will be happier about your eating. You may feel at that point that you can institute some mods without a lot of pain, though you can't see that now. Or you may decide it isn't worth it and gain some peace for that decision.

The odds of your losing and keeping weight off by some more radical approach is very low. You'll either find out you don't need to, you are willing to, or it isn't worth it.

I appreciate your suggestions, thoughts, and perspectives. I will commit to 12 weeks, as you suggest, oolala.

Based on your own signature:
"Free me from mindless snacking and eating when I'm mad or sad."

My bet is that:
1. If you stick with No S, you will indeed free yourself from mindless snacking and eating when you are mad or sad...what a win that would be, emotionally and sanity wise.

2. By eliminating mindless snaking and eating when you are mad or sad, you will eliminate significant extra calories that you are in the habit of eating. . . And that will result in a slow but steady loss.

So a win and a loss will come to pass, yes? At least give it a good solid try. This is something that is sustainable. And that's worth it!

Good luck!

Hi there,

The others are definitely right and my answer is probably not half as pedagogic but here it is:

Yes.


When I started NoS in January my BMI was slowly creeping up and about to leave my "healthy" (?) range.

I wasn't too pleased, of course, but my main motivation for starting NoS was my eating behaviour: Grazing like there was no tomorrow. It has changed. And there was my heel spur which I suspected had something to do with my weight. It has disappeared.

Now, after 9 months I have lost about 9 kilos and my BMI is about 22.5.

Vanilla NoS, no mods. S-days anything from really wild to almost N-days. After about two months I started to include moderate exercises, aiming at doing 14 minutes of anything 3-5 times per week and I think that helped a lot.

It hasn't always been easy, it still isn't sometimes but this is a joke compared to any fad diet (= all diets) I think.

I want to eat like this for the rest of my life since I feel much better regardless of the weight.

I hope this helps.

automatedeating wrote: I'm probably going to have to use a smaller plate, and eat mostly veggies, and be more strict with s days. And I don't want to do those things! I guess I'm freaking out a little.

When you are ready, the mod will come.

Stick with vanilla No S. That's enough change for now. You'll make other changes later on and they will seem natural and right.

Scattered is OK. That's what happened to me when I used to make make friends with Captain Morgan and then tried to post. Probably not the same thing, but...

As far as No S is concerned, there should not be a problem losing 15 pounds. Of course people lose at different rates. One of the things I found interesting is it possibly helps us avoid what Peter Voss calls calorie poisoning.Reduced calories prolong life in lower forms of life, and appear to improve biomarkers in humans. No S isn't an extreme cut in calories for most of us, but theoretically it should create similar reactions in us, as people who cut their calories to an extreme deficit.

The one thing I absolutely don't think you need to do is use smaller plates. Just put less on the plates you have.

I have 10 1/2-inch dinner plates. There is a two-inch raised rim on the plates, leaving about six inches in the center. Most of the time, my food fits in that six inches.

Last night when I was having my soup, bread and fruit, I had the soup bowl on the plate, along with the bread and fruit and there was plenty of space between them. I thought it looked like I needed to add more food to the plate, but I didn't.

You may not need to eat mostly vegetables, but you may need smaller portions of more calorie dense foods. I don't think most of us realize how small servings need to be, especially of those more calorie dense foods.

I agree with Blithe Morning.

Ok, per se: Smaller plates leading to less food consumed. There are enough studies regarding that.

But is it necessary? I don't think so.

First of all: "Lost the last 10-15 pounds?"
I can't speak for No S alone. Regarding No S+a tiiiinyy bit of exercise (Shovelglove, Urban Ranger etc) i can.

Yes, yes and yes. I lost around 78 pounds, including the dreaded last 5 .

For the first time since school i can see my abs.

The exercise helped a lot, but the breakthrough came from No S.

By reducing the sheer amount of food i consumed through this gentle and simple rules my whole mindset changed over time. After a while i started to think: Hey, if i just eat three meals per day i should make them count. So i tried to make it the "best" kind of food i could get.

And second, and in my book immensely more important: I started to slow down! I started to savor every bite i took. I decelerated my eating.

It became "Zen and the Art of Chewing". I chewed every bite 30 times at first, later 50, 70 and so on. I chew everything until only liquid is left.

By doing so some "miracles" happened:

1. My whole bowel-movement became "lighter" and easier. It seems like the "high" some people reporting from fasting
2. I'm experiencing so much more flavor. And with every bite it seems to multiply.
3. I am "full" a lot faster and with a lot less food (sometimes i only eat half of my plate and i'm satisfied)
4. I reduced my appetite for sweets by a hundred times.
5. I can enjoy the simplest food (like a small piece of bread) like a 3 star menu.
6. It seems like i can't "gulping" my food anymore. If i try to swallow before my meal is well chewed my tongue keeps pressing the food back to my teeth.
7. And after discovering the amount of "taste" i didn't know till i started to keep the food longer in my mouth i adapted it for drinking too. Now i consume softdrinks (on S-days...) only in minimal quantities. Most of the time i just drink water. Before this i used to be an "mountain dew/Dr. Pepper/ Coke" - addict.


So my two advises are: Exercise! And eat slooooooooooooooooow!

Thank you for all your varied answers. I do intend to incorporate some exercise.....I'm going to be walking to work 2-3 days/week (and bringing along my kickscooter for the flat parts!) starting Sept. 13th. In total, I'll be walking/scooting 5.2 miles/day, 2-3 days/week. If I stick with that commitment, then I will reward myself with a higher quality kick scooter (instead of my kid's razor) for my birthday on October 4th.

The encouragement and determination evident in all your responses to my original post are exactly why I joined this website!! My family and friends are more likely to try and talk me OUT of the diet, so thanks thanks thanks!

I think my meals are extremely calorie-dense right now. I am consciously fearful of "being hungry", but I can see that in two weeks that's already improved a little. And my weight has pretty much done nothing of significance in either direction. So I'll continue working the habit, getting in a little walking every day, and reaping the other benefits of this diet that many of you pointed out: balance and losing some mental baggage surrounding food.

As so many point out, over time my food choices may naturally improve and my willingness to implement mods may arrive without me hating the thought of having to do those mods. And as I know Reinhard has also mentioned--nutrition is really a different habit than regulated mealtimes. I'll work on one habit at a time!

Thanks again!

Don't want to beat a dead horse, but I've been doing the chewing thing for quite a few years (except when I would binge) and it definitely has made a difference. Taking your time and savoring food is one of the reasons Will Cowper says he thinks the French paradox works, among nine other "rules" he has.

I didn't want to admit the smaller plate thing, because I tend to think since I have been determining my servings by my hand parts, the plate wouldn't make a difference, but it has.

Hi there. Thanks for this thread. Been helpful to me as well as you
I just want to chime in about the smaller plate thingy. I do now use a smaller plate. That is my only mod and it helps me because it signals to me and everyone else I eat with that I am serious about this. It has also made me realise that I had a major problem with portion sizes. I just ate too much. Huge portions on smaller plates looks very wrong, that has helped me so much. It is not a little tea plate. Just a smaller dinner plate, and I chose a very nice one. It is strangely comforting
But that works for me for particular reasons. It will not work for everyone. Also I have not lost any weight yet but I am learning an awful lot about myself, weight loss will come. As will yours
Tessy

oolala53 wrote:Honestly, what have you got to lose by giving No S at least 12 weeks to see how you like living this way? At that point, you may have lost some weight, so you'll see it's working, or you won't have, but you probably will be happier about your eating. You may feel at that point that you can institute some mods without a lot of pain, though you can't see that now. Or you may decide it isn't worth it and gain some peace for that decision.

The odds of your losing and keeping weight off by some more radical approach is very low. You'll either find out you don't need to, you are willing to, or it isn't worth it.

OK, I've been waiting for this day! I have completed 12 weeks of vanilla NoS and vanilla has never tasted so good. I am losing weight at a very slow rate, and I say that as a good thing. I firmly believe slow will help my body understand I'm not doing anything unfair to it.

The biggest change for me has been that now I "crave" hunger. I like to wait until I'm hungry to eat, even on S days. My body doesn't rebel against me in this area, because my mouth and stomach like the way a meal goes down when I haven't been snacking. My mind and my body are actually in agreement on this. My next favorite thing about NoS (at the moment) is that the pressure is off nutrition-wise. I'm just not ready to tackle all those kinds of habits yet.... maybe I'll never be that interested. My third favorite thing about NoS is that I think it was the keystone change that has gotten me exercising again for the first time in years. Oh, and how I can forget my absolute greatest thing about NoS? This message board! My daily diary that replies to me with kindness, encouragement, honesty and patience.

NoS Rocks! I know others must agree, there's at least one person that chose that as a username!

So, I'm committing to another 12 weeks. Yikes, that should see me through the holidays and beyond.

Glad you stuck with it to experience the delights. If health is your real goal, and not necessarily a cosmetic change, you should regard yourself a success. It's very likely you are eating a greater ratio of quality foods, and if you are exercising regularly, you have the real key down. Consistent moderate exercise is the real issue for health.

But body changes might happen, too, over more time. I've averaged about ten pounds lost, maybe a little more, per year of No S.

And welcome to the I-love-hunger club!

automated, I remember when you first posted this! It has been great to have you along for the ride and to see what fantastic progress you have made!

i remember this too but forgot it was you!
you've come such a long way

Awesome. So happy for you! Reading this has been an encouragement to me.

I think my meals are extremely calorie-dense right now. I am consciously fearful of "being hungry", but I can see that in two weeks that's already improved a little.

I think this is a common experience when you abandon old eating habits in favor of No S. I always afraid I'm going to be HUNGRY and DIE for the first two or three weeks. Then, as long as I stick to it, that goes away and I start to enjoy being hungry between meals and can put a lot less on my plate, especially since I can't finish it all.
I've noticed, being back on No S for about...3 months now(?) that my plates are mostly filled with vegetables.

I couldn't resist adding on to this thread. I have now completed another 12 weeks. Actually, today starts Week 26.

Committing to 12 more weeks of the delights of NoS. Down ~8 pounds in 6 months. That will take me to 36 weeks of NoSing.

Hard to imagine that not so long ago I was someone that "needed" to eat every 2 hours or I'd get nauseous.

Big lessons learned (added on to lessons described earlier):
*I am satisfied by a moderate-sized meal even if I feel quite hungry. I thinks "seconds" played more a role in my weight gain than I had recognized. I was just eating too much at dinner. Eating until I was stuffed. Now I know one plate does the job and I'll sleep great.
*Exercising takes a long time to feel natural. When I first added it in, last September, I thought that 45 minutes of walking to work would feel like forever. It did--6 months ago. I realized that over time, I've relaxed into the walk. The 45 minutes flies by now, as my mind decompresses and files things away.
*slow and steady, slow and steady. I am LEARNING patience from NoS that is beginning to trickle into patience in other areas
*I need the support of this forum, and dearly appreciate it! Thanks everyone.

You have made alot of progress in these past months! Congrats on sticking with it. Here's to the next 12 weeks of moderation!

OK, Automatedeating...here goes: 2 weeks is not NEARLY enough time to lose significant weight on any diet, much less Nosing. Most of the people who have succeeded (and there are MANY who have lost the last 10 to 15 - read the testimonials again) say that the weight came off slowly. Also, most of them placed their focus on changing their habits and ignored the scale, at least at the beginning. Be calm, be at peace, and don't start back in with the deprivation you've imposed on yourself in the past (as in tiny plates of veggies). If that had worked for you, you wouldn't be here now on No S. Be kind to yourself...

auto, I love the way you cycle back through your old posts and measure your progress by them! I remember this from the first two times it appeared and here you are, hanging in there, losing weight slowly and steadily, and being delightful to everybody on the boards every single day! On to the next 12, and the next, and the next!

automatedeating wrote: I have now completed another 12 weeks. Actually, today starts Week 26.

Committing to 12 more weeks of the delights of NoS. Down ~8 pounds in 6 months. That will take me to 36 weeks of NoSing.

Hard to imagine that not so long ago I was someone that "needed" to eat every 2 hours or I'd get nauseous.

Congratulations on your Behaviors and your Results.

Automatedeating: Wonderful and encouraging to read this whole thread. Congratulations.

No need to "resist" adding to this thread. It's not an S to write!

So glad you took the risk to commit to No S.

And I'm glad someone else confirms the counterintuitive experience that it actually doesn't take more food to satisfy when very hungry. If anything, I tend to get full faster when I'm very hungry. I think it's possibly an illusion, though, in that it's so much more obvious when the edge of the hunger is gone, and after that, eating feels much less crucial. Doesn't necessarily mean I've had enough after those first three incredible bites.

So glad to hear this update! I hope you are keeping track of your great insights for a post on the testimonial board. Many people are greatly inspired by the long-term realizations that make NoS so doable for the long run....

36 WEEKS IN!!!

Thank you, Oolala, for challenging me to keep up with this NoS thing way back when. 12 weeks passed, I kept on. 12 more weeks passed, and I kept on. Now, 12 MORE weeks have passed, and I'm still here! I love to look back at this post I made and realize how far I've come.

I was so afraid, and so focused on the wrong things, and the only cure was time. Time to get used to it, time to let the revelations slowly come over me (well, truth be told, sometimes the revelations were coming fast and furious!).

Anyway, 8 months of NoSing and I have lost more than 10 pounds. And, as someone said right away (Dhack?) I would lose a lot more mental baggage. She was right! I am a different person today than 8 months ago! I am more productive, and yet less demanding of myself. Nice combo, isn't it?

I just like to bump this thread every 12 weeks--it brings a smile to my face when I see my "baby" NoS self. Now I'm probably a teenager NoSer. Oh, no! That means rebellion is probably right around the corner. Help!

See you on this thread in 12 more weeks, everybody!

Glad I could play any role in such a sweet experience, but the credit goes to No S and you.

Great job!

Brilliant to see this check-in every 12 weeks. Already looking forward to the next one.

Good job, Auto! Have you changed anything since the last update? Thanks for keeping us posted.

Yay, auto -- just popped in for a visit and saw a familiar post! You are really an inspiration!

So glad for you! Thanks for posting!

Congratulations auto! You have been an inspiration and encouragement to me from the beginning of my No S journey.

I'm so glad you've been updating as you went along! Your story is so encouraging to me!

auto, congrats on another milestone! I'm so glad you've stuck with it!

Congratulations on your achievements!

Thank you for taking the time to come back and update this every 12 weeks! So great to see the progress you have made and are continuing to make.