Melderin's check in

[Melderin]

Starting No S again after originally starting it back in 2018! Holding myself to account and joining the legends on this forum who know so well why this is the only sane option. Saying goodbye to the one meal a day mentality - it's just clicked that it is completely unsustainable, I really don't know why I thought I could keep it up.

Today is day 5. SUCCESS so far. I also started Couch to 5k this lunchtime so hoping this will have an impact as well.

Day 4 yesterday - SUCCESS. Was sorely tempted to have a glass of wine to alleviate my craving for chocolate, but I resisted. Drinking is a slippery slope for me. Gained strength by obsessively checking past postings and searching the word 'alcohol'.

Went more overboard on my S days (day 2 and 3) than I was happy with - again reading the S days gone wild forum posts has given perspective and the option of a plan. But I think I am better just not putting any restrictions on at this moment.

[WINhappy]

Hi Melderin,

I'm so glad you decided to create a check in and that you're working towards No S! I think you'll find it worth the effort and a lot more manageable than one meal a day. Kudos to you for mustering the discipline to stick with that plan as long as you did. I've never tried to do so myself because wow-- just wow! I recognize that lots of people claim wild success with it but everyone I know who's tried it has struggled. I hope you will find No S to be a little easier to manage.

I hope your training for the 5K goes well!

Keep reading past posts. The discussion board is a gold mine of wisdom, insight, encouragement, and humor. And posting here on your Check In will give active users like me a chance to support you.

I'm wishing you the very best, WINhappy

[Melderin]

Hi WINhappy,

Thank you so much for your lovely words and encouragement. I think the only reason I was successful at one meal a day was because I became obsessed and literally focussed on nothing else. Completely unsustainable as soon as real life kicks in! Something to do with not being fat and forty as well.

Anyway, thank you.

I’m also here to report a FAIL yesterday (day 6). Fully intended to keep to plan but I had a Mother’s Day afternoon tea at my son’s school late afternoon so I thought I’d delay lunch and have that as it, despite assuming there would be cake (I was going to either count it as green or as an S day as it was for Mother’s Day). Unfortunately the ‘afternoon tea’ turned out to be a few trays of cheap fairy cakes and a few crisps on a paper plate. I felt so unsatisfied that I ended up having wine and almost an entire large bag of crisps before dinner. Thankfully I didn’t have anything further afterwards.

The lesson learned is don’t have a glass of wine to stave off hunger! Back to normal today and another run completed (or extremely slow jog in my case).

[Melderin]

Day 7 - SUCCESS

[Melderin]

Day 8 - SUCCESS

[Melderin]

Red days…so many red days .
Starting again today.

[Amy3010]

Mark them and move on - hang in there!

[oolala53]

Honestly, honestly, From what I’ve been learning about repercussions after strict dieting, It’s almost to be expected that it would be hard to adopt moderation right off the bat. I know why you thought that Ohad would work because the voices of the few who make it can sound very loud because the thousands of others who try such a thing and fall off the wagon sooner or later aren’t all coming on and reporting their failures and then getting told by other people that they only have to do XYZ. Somebody could actually, say the same thing about this for him, but we’re not advocating a regime of eating that you can’t really find a human society living by. Even if somebody posits that humans had to eat one meal a day at some time, it was very unlikely that they did it day after day week after week year after year.

You didn’t ask for any suggestions, but I will gently say that generous meals during the week of mostly high-quality food is likely going to be a good way to convince the body that there’s no real danger. If you’re not getting regular exercise of both aerobic and resistance type, that can make it harder to have good appetite regulation. I’ve said on other threads that it just turns my stomach when I hear celebrities talking about losing weight without diet or exercise. That is not a recipe recipe for a long-term success or even health.

[Melderin]

Thank you Amy and Oolala,

Really appreciate the wisdom you share. The thing that's getting me is that I was successful with OMAD for a number of years...and I've recently been looking back on old photos of myself from a couple of years ago and I was much slimmer. But, a bit like your point Oolala, the picture doesn't tell the full story. Like how hard it was, how irritable I was, how my drinking increased just to stave of hunger and how obsessed I was. It just looked like I was successful and in control. But I wasn't reporting the issues to anyone. It's the want to be slim quickly that always lures me back to OMAD even though I know it's not sustainable and it causes drinking issues for me.

My step dad died over Easter and I just plunged into binge eating for comfort and then OMAD and drinking. Just so out of control. I want stability. Started NOS again today.

Appreciate the support on here very much.

[Melderin]

Back again after still slipping back into OMAD and failing. I've listened to Reinhard's new podcast on the first chapter of NOS diet and re-read the everyday systems page on NOS. I really, really need to get over the quick fix mentality and commit to slow and steady wins the race.

I need something to trigger in my mind as soon as I start thinking of doing OMAD again. I know I can't stick at it, I eat cr*p in the lead up to dinner, thinking it's okay as I've not eaten earlier, and my eating is just chaotic - either starve or binge. So unhealthy. I'll check in here as often as I can.

Today is the first day back at it - I've had breakfast (which I've been skipping). Also did urban ranger and shovel glove. I'm committing to becoming an Everyday Systems girl!

[Amy3010]

You've made a good start - just take it one meal at a time. Give yourself grace - you're teaching yourself a new way of relating to food and your meals, and it's okay to mess up. You don't have to be perfect. Hang in there!

[Melderin]

Thank you Amy!! Reinhard's words in the podcast episode really struck me this time - "What problem does the No S diet aim to solve? Not the problem of being overweight...rather the problem of the behaviour of excessive eating." Focussing on fixing the habit of overeating not on the state of being overweight. Genius

[Amy3010]

Yes, this! Working on process goals instead of outcome goals is a game changer. You got this!

[Melderin]

Thanks Amy!!

[Melderin]

Week 1:
4th Nov- SUCCESS
5th Nov- SUCCESS
6th Nov- SUCCESS
7th Nov- SUCCESS
8th Nov- SUCCESS
9th Nov- S DAY
10th Nov- S DAY

First week complete and all green. Feeling like some portions were quite large and also feel like I might have put on some weight. However I'm sticking with the principles in the book and not going to weigh myself yet as it might put me off getting the habit established. Also by now I probably would have binged after OMAD so I can’t be in any worse a position!

[Amy3010]

Well done!

[Melderin]

Thank you

[Melderin]

11th Nov - GREEN
12th Nov - GREEN
13th Nov - GREEN
14th Nov - GREEN
15th Nov - either RED or YELLOW - we were going on holiday and I had 1 sweet in the car on the way down; husband thinks I should count it as a red day
16th Nov - YELLOW
17th Nov - YELLOW
18th Nov - YELLOW (spouse bday)

[reinhard]

Nice streak! Sorry it's taken forever for me to pop by here.

Sounds like you have a good handle on "habit vs. calories" (prioritizing the former).

Best of luck going forward!

[Melderin]

Thanks Reinhard - nice to see you on here! Yes the habit forming focus is the major change this time - although fighting the urge to worry about weight loss is ongoing

[Melderin]

19th Nov - RED
20th Nov - GREEN
21st Nov - GREEN
22nd Nov - RED
23rd Nov - YELLOW
24th Nov - YELLOW

A couple of red days this week. This was due to there being a high level of goodies left over from my husbands' birthday on the Monday which I did not want to waste, and also we had family staying from the Thursday so had nibbles and drinks and things on the Friday which I joined in with.

Started again this week - really trying to keep on track with not snacking between lunch and dinner. Meal sizes are still pretty substantial and I still haven't weighed myself yet.

[Melderin]

25th Nov - GREEN
26th Nov - GREEN
27th Nov - GREEN
28th Nov - GREEN
29th Nov - RED
30th Nov - YELLOW
1st Dec - YELLOW

Felt really fed up this week. I feel like I'm getting bigger and bigger. Not helped by a night out for which I felt like nothing fits and I'm just huge. Still haven't weighed myself. Some large meals and quite a few drinks in the week probably isn't helping.
Red day on Friday - often as a family we have a Friday get together for drinks and nibbles...this then plays havoc with NOS as it's not really a proper meal as such and so I ended up having a couple of slices of pizza later post-kid bedtime. Oh well. Need to think this one through...maybe further down the line this might be an S day instead of Sunday.

Onwards and upwards! Back at it this week!

[pinkhippie]

Hi Melderin,

I am an old IFer who often comes back to NO S. This past time around I tried OMAD for about 6 months, and it really doesn't work for me. I found I maintained my weight which was higher than I wanted to be and eventually, I had to white knuckle through the day and I couldn't stop eating even though my stomach was full, I never FELT full. And I missed breakfast and then lunch so badly! So, I stopped doing that and my body feels better. It is hard though, because it feels so immediate when you fast or do OMAD. I just can't maintain that way. I realized especially that fasting and OMAD were not leading to peace with food, but more obsession with food, and that is one of my main goals. So I keep reminding myself of that.

Good luck! You can do it! Looks like you are off to a great restart!