JayEll's Irregular Check-In and Commentary

JayEll · Post by **JayEll** » Mon Jun 04, 2012 11:14 am

Hello, folks. I am not new to weight loss--and I'm burned out on the typical diets. I won't be doing daily check-in or HabitCal because I cannot stand ANY kind of tracking!

I like No S because No is easier for me to deal with than Some. With Some I turn into a lawyer arguing a court case! Can I add another snack? Will 100 calories really make a difference? Can I eat this now if I eat less later? And other mental games. But if it's No, then it's No. Snacking was my downfall--I could easily add another meal's worth of calories, little bits at a time, throughout the day.

I have been adhering to the No S principles firmly since I began around mid-June. I really love the freedom to eat a plate of food without counting, weighing, and measuring. And S days are such fun! Yesterday I had an ice cream cone--real full-fat full-sugar ice cream--and completely guilt free. I think that was my only S indulgence for the weekend.

My only complaint is that weight loss isn't happening very fast--but according to Reinhard, this is normal. At this point I'm still counting it a win that I have gone down a pound and am not gaining.

JayEll · Post by **JayEll** » Wed Jun 06, 2012 11:06 am

Nothing new to report in my No-S world. No weight change, which is good! It's not going up!

It's so freeing to know that I can eat a full plate of whatever I like, 3 times a day. Reinhard is right--this is more like I used to eat when I was growing up (and had no weight problem).

JayEll · Post by **JayEll** » Thu Jun 07, 2012 11:59 am

OK... Today is over 21 days being No S, and my weight is back where I started. I'm not happy with this.

Although I like this way of eating, my thought was to lose weight.

Yes, it's good I'm not gaining, but I was down a couple of pounds for awhile, and now I'm not.

Since this small a change is within the margin of error, basically I'm staying the same.

JayEll · Post by **JayEll** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 8:15 pm

Can it be that I am actually gaining weight on No-S? Can it be that I am eating MORE by eating this way than I was before? Or at least, I am not eating less?

Pretty discouraged at the results after almost 4 weeks. Should I eat less at meals? Use a smaller plate? dunno.

JayEll · Post by **JayEll** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 11:13 am

Mid-week. Been doing fairly well, but I've noticed a tendency to overeat at dinner--or rather, to keep eating after the plate is empty. I mentally justify this by telling myself that the plate wasn't completely full, and I could therefore add a few nuts, etc., in a virtual sense. But that's a courtroom argument and not a good habit to get into. I think I need to decide what I want and actually put it on the plate if I think I want more. And if it doesn't fit, it doesn't get eaten.

JayEll · Post by **JayEll** » Sun Jun 17, 2012 10:42 am

OK, I'm discouraged. I'm posting in the discussion forum to see what other No-Sers have to say. I didn't want a weight gaining program.

rungirl96 · Post by **rungirl96** » Sun Jun 17, 2012 2:24 pm

I know you said you hate tracking anything, but I find I still have to do it, even with just 3 meals per day. I think it's possible for me even with this plan to overeat in 3 meals. If I split up my calorie goal for the day by 3 I feel like I have more control over my eating and I can roughly calculate how much I'm eating at each meal. I usually eat the same breakfast everyday so lunch and dinner are the ones I have to pay more attention to, especially dinner. I like knowing that once dinner is over that's it, no choice to eat more. It's too easy for me to keep on eating/snacking through the evening. I know I had a good day eating if I go to bed slightly hungry and wake up hungry for breakfast.

For me the weekend can also easily add extra calories to make up for, or exceed, the calorie deficit I created during the week, so I either break even or maybe even gain. I really think there is no way to lose weight without some deprivation. I like that No S gives me the "idea" that I am postponing the indulgence and not entirely depriving myself. I also like that it's broken me of my snacking/grazing habit at work. I just have to get better at managing my S days, making them more like N days with just a small added treat, not 2 days of binging.

Hope you stick with it and are able to figure out what's hindering your weight loss.

JayEll · Post by **JayEll** » Fri Jun 22, 2012 2:56 pm

At least my weight has stopped going up at the moment. It's becoming clear to me that Vanilla No S isn't working for me and I need to modify it.

I am not going back to counting calories. I have tried many many MANY times to go back to that. It makes me mental, and after three days I chuck the whole thing. It's just not happening.

I'll post what I do to change the program once I figure it out.

JayEll · Post by **JayEll** » Thu Jul 05, 2012 3:22 pm

Nothing much to report--I went off the rails for awhile there. Just too much snacking in the evening, in spite of big dinner. Nothing like adding snacks when you're eating big meals too! At least when I was counting, I had some space left over... Or perceived space.

carpediem · Post by **carpediem** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 11:29 am

I totally agree with your views on calorie counting! Unfortunately, I also share your tendency toward evening snacking. After years and YEARS of trial and error, and heading down many wrong paths, I'm totally 100% convinced that NoS is the right thing to do. That in itself is a huge accomplishment!

Now it's just a matter of convincing myself to stick to it!!

snapdragon · Post by **snapdragon** » Fri Jul 06, 2012 1:16 pm

Welcome!!!! I would suggest reading the sticky thread "staged of no s."

I know you don't like tracking neither do I but I recommend just jotting down what you ate, not how much or calorie ammounts but a general review that way you can go back and look at it and see where you can improve.
If you are piling fettucini Alfredo on your plate every night you likely won't lose weight. If you pu some Alfredo on your plate with some veggies you might. Some modifications people do are make half or a quarter of your plate some kind of fruit or vegetable.
No counting weighing or measuring just keeping any eye on things. Not forever either. I will say I don't eat any diet food. I drink 2% milk, eat full fat cheese and yogurt, and regular salad dressing. I put croutons and bacon bits on my salad even!!!! And I have some success. It is slow progress but this works you just might have to put a bit less on your plate and not go crazy on the weekends.
I think it's worth trying. I would say right now just establish the habit first. Just think this might be the answer to LIFE LONG weightloss. I think it might be worth that effort.

JayEll · Post by **JayEll** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 11:23 am

I am now up 5 pounds from when I started.

Clearly a problem here. But I have to be honest--I haven't done well with the no snacking part.

I don't eat things like fettucini alfredo. I can't even remember the last time I had something like that. So the problem isn't that I fill my plate with piles of fattening foods. I eat things like grilled chicken, rice, vegetables. Tuna on a green salad with a piece of bread. One scrambled egg with cheddar cheese and toast.

I tried switching from 1% milk to 2% milk when I started No-S, but my weight was going up so I went back to 1%. I don't need that extra percent of butterfat.

The problem is that I have a mostly sedentary life, I'm older, and I snack too much.

I don't know where I'm going from here. I can't afford to gain any more weight. I may not like counting, weighing, and measuring, but I may have to do it anyway.

TUK · Post by **TUK** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 12:09 pm

Well, the no snacking part is probably the most important one. Snacking is the habit that is positively linked with weight gain.

Do you exercise regularly ?

JayEll · Post by **JayEll** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 11:07 am

Yes, TUK, I exercise. Not as regularly as I have done in the past.

Although No-S works for some people, it's not working for me. I can't continue to gain.

First of all, if I'm going to continue without counting, I'm going to have to use smaller plates. Even in my first month, those three plates of food had me gaining.

And clearly if you snack at all on the N days, you're in trouble--because the one-plate rule will have you eating all that you can. In the past, snacks worked because I was eating less at meals. Can't have it both ways!

I felt like No-S was going to be an answer for me, and now I'm back at square 1 again.

eschano · Post by **eschano** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 1:02 pm

Hi JayEll,

I was wondering if maybe you're already at your ideal weight? I think No S only works for people who are overweight and above or at least on the upper limits of a healthy bmi to find a natural ideal weight. I might be completely wrong about this though - I'm a newbie.

You sound like someone who already established a lot of good habits like exercising and eating enough vegetables so congratulations for that!

Maybe it's the snacking. I don't know. Just a thought. Either way we're all rooting for you to find something that really works for YOU.

JayEll · Post by **JayEll** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 3:06 pm

Nope, according to BMI I'm obese. Good thought, though.

JayEll · Post by **JayEll** » Wed Aug 01, 2012 10:56 am

My weight is dropping, but it's mostly water loss. I realized I had not been drinking enough water, and my ankles were swelling. I got back into my water routine of an 8 oz. glass every hour, and things are improving.

Before anyone comments on whether or not we need to drink that much water, etc., I am someone who doesn't normally drink water, and I have to consciously do so. I have had three bouts of kidney stones in the past, and my doc said by definition, people with kidney stones are not drinking enough water. So, I'm just glad I didn't get another one!

As for the No-S program, I've had to modify plate size. I need a smaller plate. I'm no longer eating the "whole plateful" when we go out, for instance. I'm just as satisfied with eating half, plus it gives me some leeway; much as I'd like to never snack, I find it doesn't happen that way.

I've also taken the suggestion to log food, just to see what I'm eating. I don't do it every day, but I sometimes will backtrack. I hate doing it, but I cannot afford to gain any more weight.

JayEll · Post by **JayEll** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 11:40 am

I am continuing to drink sufficient water. It makes a difference.

I'm not following No-S at this point. I may ease back into it later on, when I have gotten my weight down again. I think it makes sense for maintenance--but I don't lose weight on it without modification.

My current approach is smaller meals--and snacks if I feel hungry in between. The "hungry in between" part is where I have had trouble in the past--that is, I have been known to randomly snack for no reason. That random snacking is out now.

I'm not tracking calories, except occasionally just to see where I'm at. Mostly I don't want to see how "little" I am eating because it just makes me feel deprived. Without a number, it's easier for me to feel satisfied with what I'm eating just based on how I feel, not on my judgments about a number.