"Phases of No S" post

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alice2002
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"Phases of No S" post

Post by alice2002 » Tue Nov 19, 2013 12:15 am

I just read that post (and will need to again, as I went through it too fast). I am very sure I need to SLOW down and try to really get a handle on this way of eating. I only have 20 lbs or so to go, but the thought of losing only .5 lbs a week (which I keep reading is kind of average) seems painfully slow! I ate too much last weekend, and this is my first Monday doing No S. I had a salad for lunch, but it wasn't enough, since 2 hours later I was hungry...and ended up eating an earlier dinner. Then I was worried about that, since I didn't want to be starving later in the evening.

I had soup and corn muffins, and I guess I had a second helping. After I had eaten what was on my plate, I was still hungry. I did not want to go another bunch of hours hungry again, so I took more bread. :( I "gained" several pounds (according to the scale) over the weekend, and wanting to make up for it, I was afraid of eating too much at my meals.

I think I'm just jumping the gun a bit, and not allowing myself the time it will take to really get this down (I've only been doing this 5 days now!). I really, really don't want it to take a year to lose this weight! I'm sure I'm not the only one who has, or is feeling this way. I do NOT want to stress over eating...but giving myself what seems like forever to lose the weight is kind of sad. Would appreciate some feedback.

GraceW
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Post by GraceW » Tue Nov 19, 2013 12:59 am

A year will pass anyway. For most people who try to speed up the weight loss process, they will end that year heavier.

Focus on building the habit, not the scale. This isn't an overnight thing. This past year, I've watched three friends go on diets trying to lose weight quickly. I'm the only one who's actually lost weight (down 8.5 pounds so far and it shows!), and I didn't start No S until July. Everyone else *gained* weight this year, and I doubt they've let themselves enjoy food as much as I have because of all that mental diet baggage.

This is supposed to last a lifetime. It'll be worth it, and you'll be more in tune with your body.

Regarding the phases of No S, this is my fifth month and I consider myself firmly in Phase II. It's a long-term learning process.

Donnadolittlemore
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Post by Donnadolittlemore » Tue Nov 19, 2013 1:17 am

I'm sure many of the other posters can give you words of wisdom that will help you move forward. My thoughts regarding the slower process is to just look at my history. I have not been struggling with my weight and eating habits for only a few weeks or a few months. I have been struggling for years! If I really stick with this very doable way of living and it makes a significant difference in a few months or even a year, then I can bet I will be in a better place than if I stayed on the old roller coaster ride.

I'm sure with time we will learn how to put healthy meals together that will sustain us until the next meal. I did tell myself that if I were absolutely famished and needed some energy then I could eat a piece of fruit. You know you are really hungry if an apple looks great. I have only had to snack on fruit a couple of times. I think grabbing fresh fruits or vegetables, instead of chips, when hungry (not emotional) is a pretty good way to live.

It is a process I truly want to commit to. Maybe this is our long term solution.

oolala53
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Post by oolala53 » Tue Nov 19, 2013 1:19 am

I know you probably don't want to hear this, but what really is the problem with it taking a year to lose the weight? Why is it acceptable to try some crazy program to lose it faster if you're not going to be able to keep it off? What is so terrible about being 20 lbs. overweight?

I think this stems from basing too much of your self acceptance on whether you're thin or not, and too many media images of ultra thin people. This is a false idol of this country. The fact that so many people put lost weight back on is proof that without the pleasure and satisfaction of good eating, being slim is NOT enough of a reward minute-by-minute.

How much of your overeating now has been prompted by yoyo dieting anyway? You don't learn not to overeat by restricting your food immoderately. You learn it by consistently getting hungry and then feeding yourself enough in a pleasurable way. Over and over. Savor the food you do eat at your meals, and be done with it. Then live the rest of your life in between those meals. Stay away from magazines and reading about losing weight!

And yes, five days in is jumping the gun. For the next few months, get a hobby!
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)

alice2002
Posts: 45
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2013 11:36 am

Post by alice2002 » Tue Nov 19, 2013 1:43 am

Thank you for your responses! The only thing wrong with it taking a year to lose it, is my own impatience and vanity (just being truthful here!)! :) I know that's my problem. I guess I have this small fear that if I follow the program and don't stress over the S days just yet and focus on the N days, that I'll end up gaining an additional 10 lbs. lol!! Don't now if anyone has ever done that. But I admit I'm ever so slightly worried about it.

However, all that aside, I know I really do need to take it slow. I've said in the past that being thin is not my ultimate goal in life...and if it will make me super stressed it's just not worth it. Focusing on each step and giving myself lots of TIME will take that stress away.

I appreciate your help!!!

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la_loser
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A thought

Post by la_loser » Tue Nov 19, 2013 2:46 am

When was the last time you were this magical goal weight? A couple of months ago? A year? A couple of years? More? My guess is that you didn't put it on overnight. Why would you expect to lose it any more quickly?

I know I'd gained nearly seventy pounds in the last 14 years. That's about five pounds a year. So losing 12 os so a year is actually good news! Not glamorous but I'll take it!
LA Loser. . . well on my way to becoming an LA Winner. :lol:

wosnes
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Re: A thought

Post by wosnes » Tue Nov 19, 2013 3:28 am

LA_Loser wrote:When was the last time you were this magical goal weight? A couple of months ago? A year? A couple of years? More? My guess is that you didn't put it on overnight. Why would you expect to lose it any more quickly?

I know I'd gained nearly seventy pounds in the last 14 years. That's about five pounds a year. So losing 12 os so a year is actually good news! Not glamorous but I'll take it!
I absolutely agree! My guess is that you didn't put the weight on at a rate of 0.5 to 2 pounds weekly. In fact, it very well may have taken you more, maybe significantly more, than a year to add the 20 pounds. Don't stress over the fact that it may take you a year to lose it.
"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."

Cassie
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Location: London

Post by Cassie » Tue Nov 19, 2013 8:27 am

I think your fear (or actually putting on weight if you 'let yourself loose' on S Days) is legitimate: legitimate not in terms though of NoS, but in terms of giving information on the way you feel about your body & your eating: slightly out of control it seems to me, with a fear that you can't trust yourself to make good choices.

By the way, 'being slightly out of control' regarding eating is something most of us here on this forum know from bitter experience, so don't take it as criticism :D I'm just pointing out something that's useful for you to know in regards of how you are with food.

And that's where NoS will really really help you. Because that 'out of control' issue is exactly what it helps you with, if you let it by giving it time...

Because the reality is, if you really want to lose those 20 lbs quicker, then very simply you'd be making healthier choices on S days too. After all what's stopping you? (NoS certainly isn't). So again, my long way of saying a simple thing is--NoS will be able to help you with the 'out of control' way of eating, if you just trust that it will & follow it properly. As I said, nothing stops you from eating anything you want on S days really, including super healthy / low calorie food if that's what you wish. But if you're following NoS and one S day you find you eat more cake or whatever, then that's fine as you're within NoS, so less of a chance that you'll go even more overboard & continue overeating on Monday.

Hope this long-winded post makes sense!
Restarting NoS (after going back & forth over the last 4 years) in November 2013.

GOAL: to lose 10 kilos.
HAVE ACHIEVED SO FAR: 1.6 kilo

clarebear
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Post by clarebear » Tue Nov 19, 2013 8:39 am

I Also have around 20lbs to lose.
the feeling of not wanting it to take a year will pass. After a few weeks of your habits forming you will begin to accept that this is it for life now. I have been doing this 3.5 months, it has FLOWN by!! A year is nothing in the grand scheme of things. I felt a little like you at first but now, even if it took me 2 years I wouldn't be bothered. It's oh so slow but one day soon people are going to start really noticing and it will feel amazing!

I stopped weighing myself, some people do and some don't, I don't as I become too obsessed with the numbers. I got measured at the gym yesterday and I have lost an inch off my waist and 1.5 inches off my hips, I'm made up :D

Keep going and just trust that this works :D
Finally found a lifestyle change, not a diet!
Starting weight 167 lbs
Goal is to lose 20lbs in time for my wedding!

Imogen Morley
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Post by Imogen Morley » Tue Nov 19, 2013 9:25 am

Speaking as a terribly vain and impatient person, I can assure you that you WILL lose weight, albeit slowly, if you focus your efforts on N-days: three meals a day, one plate each, no snacks, no sweets, no seconds. S-days will inevitably be excessive for some time, but they WILL get calmer eventually. My rate of weight loss was 0.5 lbs/week at the beginning, then it went down to 0.2/week - and now my weight is amazingly stable, give or take one pound. My S-days were super idiotic for 3 YEARS, yet I was able to lose 26 pounds in the process.
One of my favourite motivational quotes: "You keep putting one foot in front of the other, and then one day you look back and you've climbed a mountain". Perfectly describes the wonder of No S!

Cassie
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Location: London

Post by Cassie » Tue Nov 19, 2013 10:56 am

It's also possible that you'll lose the weight earlier... each person loses weight at a very individual rythm. For me, sadly, 10 kilos (=20 lbs) would take more than a year probably if I strictly followed NoS with no modifications. Even much more than a year actually. But for other people who lose weight more easily, plain, ordinary NoS might very well do the trick in a few months.
Restarting NoS (after going back & forth over the last 4 years) in November 2013.

GOAL: to lose 10 kilos.
HAVE ACHIEVED SO FAR: 1.6 kilo

alice2002
Posts: 45
Joined: Thu Nov 14, 2013 11:36 am

Post by alice2002 » Tue Nov 19, 2013 11:41 am

wow...thank you all for responding! As for a how long it took me to gain this 20 lbs...I'd say maybe 6 months to a year. I had just lost the baby weight from baby #3, and was so sick and tired of thinking about food that I just ate whatever I wanted. Then I took the next 1-2 years trying to lose it. Then I got pregnant with #4, who was born in March of this year. I'm almost down to my pre-pregnancy weight, but now it's those extra 20 left over.

This year has been especially stressful with a baby born, kidney stones, an appendectomy, a move to a new house (and sewer problems when we got here) and trying to homeschool my kids! I'm just weary!! So you're all right...I feel like I *have* to go slow just so I can let my mind focus on other things and not solely on FOOD.

oolala53
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A

Post by oolala53 » Tue Nov 19, 2013 1:04 pm

How much and how fast you lose will depend on how much you've actually been overeating. I was a binger and continued to binge (or close to it) on many S days for two years, but since that was still less than I had been eating, I lost weight.

You'll find if you're honest that after several months that your definition of eating 'whatever you want" will change. For instance, I love lasagna and used to think that I would want to eat it every day, but I actually don't want to. Also, you can want food more often than you actually eat it and not really suffer over it. You'll realize that it will ruin your appetite to eat as much or as often as you "want" to, and it won't be as pleasant to actually do it.

You'll probably also find that as time goes on, the more stressed you are, the more you'll cling to N days as you see that they actually support you better than either permasnacking or other erratic eating.

Okay, enough predicting! Just live it.
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)

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