LVBopeep- Brand New :)

[LvBoPeep]

Hello,

I'm checking in on my second day of the No-S diet. Yesterday, I did well except for a little nibbling while I was making lunch. I am just starting based on information I've read on the web but have the book requested from the library. I love to cook, especially BBQing on the weekend so it seems like it could be a good plan for me. Today I got up and started my walking routine. The dogs are happy about that.

I'm 5'1 and I have about 40 lbs to lose. I've had a hard time getting motivated lately, even though I have a big trip to the UK in September and would like to get down 10-15 lbs by then. Right now, my goals are to stick to the No-S Mon-Fri and walk 30 min those same days. Not going to weigh myself for one month. Starting weight is 171.

Wish me luck!

[Amy3010]

Good luck, Jaime! It sounds like you came to the right place!

[LvBoPeep]

Thank you!

So far, it's going well. I don't plan on weighing myself for awhile but I figure I can't do worse than not sticking to any diet would do .

Yesterday, I had to go to a business lunch at a pizza place. So, I put three (small) pieces on my plate and that worked just fine. I wasn't as hungry at dinner so it was two pieces then. I know this isn't a calorie counting diet but it's ingrained. I didn't officially count but did round off in my head and not bad total for a day I felt indulged (it was really, really good pizza )

Haven't had an S day yet - I look forward to a hummus and cracker snack at least and the chocolate chip ice cream that has been in my fridge since before I started. And of course Sunday is a double S day since it's Father's Day and I'm probably cooking for my dad but it will probably be salmon, salad and sides so not horribly fattening.

I didn't make my morning walk this morning but I think I can fit in 30 minutes at the end of the day if not too hot

[LvBoPeep]

Week 1 Check-in:

So far, not at all hard to stick to. I definitely think the structure of the three meals is helpful. The weekend felt a little weird and I probably went overboard yesterday but I found myself not finishing a lot of my dinner and only had half a piece of cheesecake (we had a Father's Day celebration). The bad on the S-day is that we had Taco Bell for lunch and I could have stopped at one chicken burrito but I didn't, I had two . However, since yesterday was a double-S day, not going to beat myself up about it.

This morning, I had my default breakfast of three lean cuisine eggrolls and surprisingly, I really had a hard time finishing them. Usually if I indulge, I'm ravenous the next day. It might be a fluke but it will be great if that is not a post-S day problem for me.

My other habitcal entry is my walking/exercise. I did great last week. Not only did I walk 3 days, I spent HOURS cleaning house on Sat/Sun so they counted. My method right now is to mark days I don't exercise (like today, was a bit tired this a.m after a late dinner) in red but if I add 5 greens during the week, any reds get to turn to exempt.

Still 3 weeks until weigh-in...

[LvBoPeep]

2 weeks until weigh-in...

Week 3 was a little rocky - mostly on the exercise front. I was able to manage 3 good days of walking and a 4th day that I'll count but it wasn't especially calorie burning. It's been hot and windy so the only time to really walk is early in the morning and work has been so stressful that I don't particularly feel like getting out of bed. Still, I feel much better after my walks so I did make it out today.

I've increased lunch and breakfast because I was ravenous when I got home and since I'm doing the cooking, was almost impossible not to go crazy picking at food as I make it. I admit, I do nab a little raw broccoli or carrots when I'm cutting them up and maybe it's a sin but I'm not going to fail a day because of it.

I'm more of a grazer than a binger so my S-days don't feel out of control but they are not as enjoyable because I just can't get past the feeling that I'm "cheating". I did eat a bag of kettle corn popcorn on Saturday and regretted it because we went out for Italian and I didn't enjoy it much. Sunday was better - but we are eating out a lot which is probably not good.

I've kept to the plan so far on both weeks, except dropping a walking day here or there, so that's good but I'm very wary of my weigh-in. I don't feel like I'm gaining weight and maybe my clothes are slightly looser but worried that the scale will not have budged since I don't feel at all like I'm dieting.

[LvBoPeep]

1 week until official weigh in...but...

I did weigh myself early in this 3rd week and...drumroll... was still 171 lbs. Then I weighed myself again two days later and was 169 lbs . I'm just not going to worry about it. At least I didn't gain and I feel like I"m eating too well after years of lean cuisines and either low-carb or low-fat diets.

My No-S days are easy-peasy. Took a little bit of tweaking to get enough food in at breakfast and lunch to prevent dire hunger situations but other than that, I'm not much of a seconds or sweets person in general - that is I don't really go out of my way for sweets but will eat if offered. Now, I just can't have it and it's fine. Friday, it was someone's birthday at work and there was cookies and cake so I just took a couple of cookies home and split with my SO on Saturday. A friend of mine is trying to do No-S with me and we both report not thinking about food so much since it's already decided - we eat at meal times and there's no stressing about how much or what we are eating so it becomes a non-issue.

Now the bad: I drank way too much Saturday. I had three drinks (trying to keep the 2 drink glass ceiling thing with mostly success) and I must have been heavy handed with the rum because I woke up feeling like crap. It wasn't full-blown hangover but close. My hangover response is normally to try to fill that hole up with food, which of course doesn't work, so Sunday was an all-day eating frenzy. Cereal for breakfast, pizza for snack, ramen for lunch, milkshake for snack. Ate a heavy dinner and added two beers. Today I still feel ugh but it feels good to be back in the structure of a No-S day.

Also, my exercise did not happen this week. I have no excuses except my work has just been super stressful last week and I am having a hard time giving up my couch time. This week I resolve to walk at least 4 days and hopefully 5.

Wednesday, I am supposed to meet my sister at the neighborhood wine bar to watch the parade and then the normal bbq and beers. Going to keep it to two drinks - one in the morning and a beer with the bbq. I'll report back how that goes

[LvBoPeep]

Week 5 is underway...

I will do my official weigh-in Thursday - don't really want to sabotage myself by weighing today after an extra S day this past week.

However, my last 3 S-days have been pretty good. The only problem I'm having is with alcohol - that third drink is a bit too tempting. Saturday was almost a No-S day. I bought Ben & Jerry's Peach Cobbler ice cream for my weekend treat but I didn't really feel like more than a bite or two. It was soooo sweet- almost too much. Anyways, that was my only "S" that day.

Sunday was a little more like a normal S day but no where near as overboard. This time I did have a bowl of the ice cream but no seconds. A few light snacks- mostly a handful of croutons (boring!) but I didn't feel the need to snack or eat just for the sake of eating.

Had Taco bell burrito for lunch but half was more than enough.

Clothes feel slightly looser but not significantly. We'll see what the damage is on Thursday.

[LvBoPeep]

Mid-week report....


Well, the scale was at 171 still, although wavering between 170-171 so I guess it might mean about 1/2 lb loss from my start. In five weeks . I am trying to examine why that might be, making changes without leaving the plan or putting undue restrictions that might sabotage me. I think maybe because I am very short and a woman, this may be a little more challenging than expected to actually lose any weight.

I feel like I've stuck to the plan but I know at least two of the weekends were a bit overdone on the S-days. What I haven't done very well is exercise which is it's own issue - no exercise = I get lazier and less motivated every day. Doesn't help that its about a million degrees outside. I did have a green day walking yesterday - needed coffee so walked to the store but part of that is that we are finally having a monsoon and it's cooler. I probably should break out the Wii Fit for the really hot days.

I'm not giving up but I do want to see at least a pound off next month to continue. I don't want to be at an obese BMI forever.

When I started, I was working on no alcohol M-F but with the glass ceiling rule, I let myself go back to 2 a day. That probably should cut back to one. I sit on my patio and read every night and drink my rum & diet cokes - I think I should start spreading out one serving of rum between the two drinks.

I think I'm past the "it's a S-day so therefore I will eat whatever I want". The past two weeks have been more of a "I'll have this one special treat (or one S for the day). So maybe the weight loss will start kicking in.

The good news is that I find the 3 meal structure very easy to stick to. I don't feel I go overboard on meals but of course, being a smaller person means that my plate probably goes a lot further than most. Eventually, I will probably move to the smaller plates but I know its too soon for that. Hopefully someone short and round can chime in here and tell me they lost weight doing this .

[LvBoPeep]

Start of week 6....

Managed to do some light walking Saturday and today. I think to start it's going to be more casual than I made it in the past. Just me and the dog and an audiobook going at our speed (she's an old dog . I think I may have gotten as burned out on counting miles/calories burned as I do get tracking food.

Decent S weekend. Again, really only had one "S", ice cream, and maybe a light snack or two but more as an afterthought, not as a splurge. I have been making "real" breakfast - hash browns, bacon and eggs on the weekend. I kinda count that as an S even though I kept portions well below one plate. I just wouldn't normally eat a heavy breakfast daily.

Still working on cutting back alcohol. Have kept it to two drinks except for one day last week which I marked as my first "fail" day ever on the diet (multiple fails on walking).

[LvBoPeep]

Starting Week 7...

I have done much better on walking with four days last week (and four real, 30 min. walks as opposed to faking it a bit previously). Moving my walking to nighttime has helped.

Still the scale is just stubbornly clinging to 171. The temptation to start making mods is overwhelming but trying to put it off because at least I don't feel bloated like I do when I over eat and I do mostly feel in control. The only exception was Sunday. Officially, it was an S day and I ate three meals with no seconds that were pretty good. Problem, for one of those meals, I had gone to the store and picked up some chips to go with my modest serving of home-grilled ribs. Some of the chips didn't make it home. More of the chips were for lunch and then even MORE of the chips found their way into my very snacky hands throughout the day. Will not buy any more snacks like that - will try to keep all snack purchases in single serving sizes LOL. Probably undid any good I may have gotten by walking all week but at least the habits are getting pretty much entrenched on N days.

My only issue with N days is that hour before dinner. I eat lunch around 1 or 2 and get off work at 4:30. If my SO is home, we can eat dinner at 5:30 or so and I'm mostly ok. However, if he is not home, it may be 6 or 7 before we eat and by then I am ravenous. I can't help picking a bit while I cook but I do not count it as long as I'm picking at raw veggies only. No one got fat eating raw veggies and I try to pick at them out of what I was going to eat anyways (SO doesn't eat much in the way of veggies so I'm usually preparing them only for me). Maybe it's doing more harm than good but not ready to crack down on it.

[LvBoPeep]

Start of Week 8...

Weighed myself at the end of last week....169! . Ok, we might be getting somewhere. I did a fair amount of walking- could do better but I think that is part of why the scale decided to budge a little.

Everything going smoothly, kept to my glass ceiling most of the time. Yesterday was just one S snack and it was one(snack sized) plate of chips and not half the bag this time. The weekend went smoothly - had a big breakfast Saturday, skipped lunch (not out of guilt, out of just plain not hungry) and ate good stuff for dinner (hamburgers Saturday, grilled chicken tacos Sunday). We'll see how the official weigh-in goes next week but at least I feel pretty good.

[kristine]

Its pretty hard to convince that scale to do much in one direction... and painfully easy to get it to go in the other... progress!

[LvBoPeep]

Quick mobile update. Diet still laughingly easy to stick to, walking is non existent due to ridiculous heat. Down to 168!

[LvBoPeep]

Checking in....

The 3 lb loss seems to be holding steady despite a few extra drink days - those are what gets me. It's summer and sitting out on my patio with a cocktail while I read is one of my chief entertainments. I have cut down on the amount of rum I put in each drink to stretch it out but have hit the glass ceiling and then some.

Last weekend was ok - I had ice cream for a special treat and popcorn but was a little more thoughtful about it (ate a whole bag of kettle corn but had it be lunch). Sunday I made crockpot chile verde and once it was done, very hard not to "taste" every 15 minutes. Just to make sure it was good.... yep. Paid for it on Monday and Tuesday because I was STARVING most of those days which happens when I oversnack.

Other than that, doing pretty good. My meal portions are reasonable and filling. I did officially make a mod, which I know may be dangerous but I decided that eating raw veggies as an after-work tide over for dinner is just going to have to happen. I don't feel it makes me over-portion other items as I love veggies and tend to fill my plate 1/3 to 1/2 with them regardless if I nibble on a few broccoli before hand.

Onward and (hopefully) downward.

[LvBoPeep]

Well, it's been a year since I followed No-S - in summary, I did get down to about 167 or so, went on my UK trip where we walked a bazillion miles a day and actually lost weight despite having fish & chips every other day. However, when I got back, all exercise did all but stop and I gained about 12 lbs over the past year.

I'm re-starting No-S with some slight mods. For one, I have to have success and being a tiny short but round person makes it hard to lose any weight even sticking to one plate. So, for the last week, I experimented with a 2X Veggie plan that I track on Habit Cal and have also done one week of consistent exercise. The 2X Veggie habit means that twice a day, I eat a meal with no meat. This isn't so much meant to cut back on meat but to encourage myself to eat more vegetables. I love vegetables actually - but by dropping the meat- especially for lunch- it forces me to be more creative and "indulge" with more of my favorite vegetables instead of taking the easy route.

I know exercising is key and to help keep myself from boredom, I've been trying to walk some days, ride my bike others, swim occasionally. I have a horse that I've been riding for someone, I count that (it includes some barn chores and about an hour of riding) on my Habitcal. I'm starting a new job in late August but this job will probably mean I'm sitting more than I already am now so I feel it's important to get my exercise habits back in play. Wish I had stuck to it last year, maybe I'd be 10 lbs down instead of up. Oh well...

[lpearlmom]

Good luck !

I just restarted as well & I realize I think I was just too impatient last time. With water fluctuations, it may take a few months for the scale to really register. Looking back on your posts, it looks like your weight was moving in the right direction for awhile there albeit ever so slowly.

I'm not going to weigh myself till its obvious I've dropped a size. Then I'll be ready to face it.

Best of luck & don't give up!

Linda

[LvBoPeep]

Thanks for the encouragement Lpearlmom!

Week 1 was a success...down 2 pounds! I did very well with my veggie plan (2 vegetarian meals a day, 5 days a week) and also kept up my exercise. Did over-do the exercise a little this morning- biked a 5 mile trail that was super easy going down and then nearly killed me going back . Next time, will turn back when I get to that big hill and make it a 4 mile, non-killer workout LOL.

[Tessytwinkle]

Well done for your successful week. I think your veggie plan is a great idea. But Make sure you are getting enough energy foods if you are doing some heavyweight exercise. Still I am sure you are doing this anyway. Hang in there we are all supporting you.
Tessy

[LvBoPeep]

Checking in... I am down about 5 lbs. Not as much as I'd like but I have really kept up on the exercise portion so I'm going to chalk that up to muscle gain

The 2X veggie plan is working great. I've had a lot of changes recently - most notably a new job with entirely different hours - and I'm glad I had the discipline in place before hand since my first week at the new job involved almost daily lunch dining out.

I could do a little better on the weekends- I think that we've had a few too many celebration dinners (my last job was extremely stressful, plus I had lunch out on Labor Day and also a new car purchase celebration, etc.) Now, there are no more extra S days for a long time so hopefully the weight loss will pick up again.