My name is Shannon. I'm 33 years old and my weight has been a challenge for years. At my highest, I weighed 193 lbs, far too many for my 5'3". I lost the excess weight over a period of a couple years through diet (low carb) and exercise (mostly walking) and have kept most of it off. At the moment, I would love to shed an extra 5-10 vanity pounds and I would like to do it in a way that is healthy and in a way that I can maintain for life. I look forward to beginning my NoS journey ...
Updated April 1, 2010:
Just wanted to give an update. Since discovering No S in November 2008, I've fallen off the wagon twice. The first time I tried it for about a month, liked it, fell off the wagon over the holidays, gained weight and didn't hop back on track for few months. The second time I lost about 5 lbs relatively quickly and then the weight loss slowed and I got frustrated and after a few months decided to do my own thing. My "own thing" led my to gain 10 pounds between September and December 2009
at which point, when I began looking at the prospect of counting calories or carbs and couldn't stomach it. I decided to give No S another go. This third time, things just clicked. Partly I think my attitude was different in that my primary objective is to focus on habit and my goal was to eat in a moderate way that I could see myself doing for life even if the weight loss took awhile. Also, I've incorporated some tweaks which seem to work for me. So far I've lost 15 pounds and am well within the healthy range for my height. My current goal is to continue on course with No S and consistent, moderate exercise and see where my weight settles.
Here's what I'm doing:
Vanilla No S -- I do plain, good 'ol vanilla No S with unrestricted S Days. I also rarely drink anything with calories between meals on N Days.
S Days -- As I mentioned, I have unrestricted S Days. However, I generally follow the basic 3 meal structure with some added treats. I don't generally permasnack. I like to plan out at least one special treat for each S Day ... something I've really been wanting. We often eat out once or twice on the weekend. I look forward to S Days.
Exercise -- I've exercised consistently for years and it was a well-engrained habit long before I discovered No S. Mostly I walk or do nordic skiwalking. More recently, I wear a pedometer and try to get in over 12,000 steps on N Days and stay active on S Days as well. I think, for myself, if I'm following a moderate diet, exercise is especially essential.
Some of my Dietary Defaults:
9-inch plates: In 2009, I picked up a set of 9-inch plates. I use these for dinner and sometimes lunch at home. (Usually my breakfast plate is smaller and I often eat soup for lunch.) I don't worry about plate size when I'm out. I figure if the standard plate size was about 9" inches in the 1970s, prior to when our nation had an obesity epidemic, it is good enough for me.
Meal size: On N Days, I usually have a smallish breakfast with coffee in the morning. For lunch, I often have a big bowl of homemade veggie-based soup and hunk of good bread or a piece of fruit with some cheese. Something filling but not huge. For dinner, I have standard fare ... a plate of whatever I'm feeding my family. I refuse to count calories but I recognize that I'm short/don't have huge calorie needs and this is a painless way to keep things in check.
Friday night pizza: I usually make homemade pizza, served with salad or some cut-up veggies, for dinner on Friday night. This works great because my family loves pizza and I feel like I'm getting an end-of-the-week treat without violating the No S rules.
Tracking: I weigh in daily and graph my weight. I also keep a food journal here on the Boards. I know that Reinhard advises against weighing too much but I actually find it very helpful to see trends over time. If either the journaling or the weight graphing ever become burdensome, I'll stop but for now I find them useful/enjoyable.
I may have to buy one for myself. Maybe after Christmas.
are shrinking and there is definite inch loss in both areas. I did my 14 minutes of shovelglove and 40 minutes of skiwalking yesterday and have already completed my cardio for today.