one year!

(New!) Read (or post) about people who have stuck with No-S for 10 or more months, lost 10 or more pounds, or 10 or more percent for their starting weight. Periodic updates strongly encouraged -- you can think of it as "Yearly Check In."

Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating

Post Reply
finallyfull
Posts: 354
Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:10 pm

one year!

Post by finallyfull » Wed Dec 11, 2013 3:33 pm

I'm marking one year on No S -- I started sometime in mid December of 2012, after several on and off attempts previously.

Yay!

I am so glad I did this for many reasons, despite the fact that I think I weight about the same! I should note that I did not start this to lose weight. I am at a healthy BMI. I am a 46 year old female, five foot eight inches tall. I would ideally like to be back to my slimmer 135-40 range, but I can't complain. My real problem was that I was ALWAYS trying to "cut back" all the time, and my weight was still creeping up! It was the worst feeling. I felt helpless, as if I were both deprived AND gaining weight, and not enjoying food. That was a drag.

I might be down a couple of pounds, but with fluctuation it's hard to know. I weighed 151 last I checked, which is down two pounds from Dec. 2012. I should also note that I spiked up to 155 in the first couple months of vanilla, which I expected and which I didn't worry about.

Note: I gained five pounds per year the previous two years, so in a sense I have reversed a slow upward trend that could easily have become a problem. In five years I could have gained 25 pounds, all while feeling deprived!

Why am I glad I'm on No S when I lost maybe two pounds in a year? For these reasons:

1. I have the sanity of knowing I am not going to gain weight. I weigh more than my old, slimmer self, but that could change over time. Now that I know it won't creep up, that makes a big difference in my peace of mind.

2. I eat guilt and worry free every day of the year. Okay except those few times I got overly stuffed, but I didn't fear weight gain, I was just ashamed of my gluttony.

3. I eat three good meals a day, and whatever I want on weekends. That's pretty awesome.

4. Because three plates are so very visible and limited, I now eat fruits and veggies with nearly every meal, a humongous change that I've never been good with before.

I have learned lots of things, most notably that I used to eat when I was not hungry, that I didn't know what hungry even was, that I frequently lie to myself about why I eat, and that being hungry is really quite a good thing and makes me enjoy every meal more. I learned my body likes six hours between meals, that snacks literally spoil my appetite, and that I like my appetite. Probably most important of all, I have learned to pay attention to when I want food but am not hungry, because that is when I am in need of something ELSE that is always important, whether it be a friend, a nap, a walk, a hug, or whatever. Apparently I frequently fill all my desires with snacks, but no more.

One thing I did this year was to constantly prove to myself that I was not on a diet by deliberately making my meals good ones. I did this to truly test vanilla out, so that I could see it was NOT a diet. Also because I did not want ANY bounceback where you lose weight only to gain even more.

I succeeded! That means I can now, in year two, play around with portions and see where I may cut back a little, but quite honestly because I am not always hungry before a meal, even after six hours! Also, I DEFINITELY eat dinner many evenings when I have zero hunger. I know I can cut those meals back a bit. Only if I want to, and only if it doesn't throw me off of No S.

The main reason I plan to stay on No S for life is this: It's order in a disordered culture. I think we've been led down a very unsatisfying and unhealthy path, and I don't choose to stay on that path. I am now someone who eats three meals a day and doesn't waste any worry on whether to have birthday cake or Christmas candy, or fear that my clothes won't fit next season (unless they're too big).

Side note: I get almost no exercise, which is horrible for my future health and longevity and I'm working on it. I've tried a sort of "shovelglove" and I love it, I just don't do it much because I'm lazy.

I think in December of 2014 I will learn more about myself and I just bet I will shrink down a bit, now that I have reassured my inner glutton that I am not trying to starve it.

vmsurbat
Posts: 499
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 6:12 am
Location: Montenegro

Post by vmsurbat » Thu Dec 12, 2013 8:14 am

Congratulations! What a wonderful testimony. I agree with all your insights and reasons for continuing on with NoS--it is just so sane, sensible, and satisfying!

Look forward to your two year testimony!
Vicki in MNE
7! Yrs. with Vanilla NoS, down 55+lb, happily maintaining and still loving it!

User avatar
reinhard
Site Admin
Posts: 5918
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:38 pm
Location: Cambridge, MA
Contact:

Post by reinhard » Thu Dec 12, 2013 8:13 pm

Congratulations, finallyful, and thank you for this update -- a year on habit is a tremendous achievement!

And you're so right not to sweat the "mere" 2 pounds.

Put the emphasis on sane, ordered eating and the weight loss will follow. Put the emphasis on weight loss and you will get neither.

It's another case of C.S. Lewis's "first and second things:"
To sacrifice the greater good for the less and then not to get the lesser good after all -- that is the surprising folly. . . You can’t get second things by putting them first; you can get second things only by putting first things first.
Reinhard

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Tue Dec 17, 2013 10:04 am

finallyfull, this is beautiful to read! Thank you so much for this testimony!

I have one question: did you notice you were eating lots more fruits and vegetables right away, or did that change as the year progressed? Your observation about eating more freggies is one that I would like to see occur in my own journey.....but it's not happening right now!
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

cdfraun
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed May 09, 2012 11:51 am
Location: Colorado

Post by cdfraun » Tue Dec 17, 2013 2:52 pm

Very inspiring! Thank you so much.

finallyfull
Posts: 354
Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:10 pm

Post by finallyfull » Tue Dec 17, 2013 6:38 pm

automated: I actually made the decision to eat freggies daily a few months after I began No S. I did it for my health, because I realized after looking at dense plate after dense plate that I was treating my body poorly. Prior to No S I could more easily "pretend" that I was getting those freggies because I might grab a banana between meals, or whatever. My conscience and my logic were won-over by the plain truth: I was eating lots of bread, meat, dairy and processed foods and giving lip service to the rest.

User avatar
NoSnacker
Posts: 1481
Joined: Sat Jun 11, 2011 12:40 am
Location: Buffalo, New York

Post by NoSnacker » Tue Dec 17, 2013 10:55 pm

Thanks for sharing!! This is my 3rd attempt..hope to be in your shoes in a year from now!
Age 56: SBMI=30.6 (12/1/13) CBMI 28.9 (2/2/14) GBMI-24.8

eschano
Posts: 2642
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:20 pm

Post by eschano » Thu Jan 02, 2014 11:24 am

finallyfull wrote:Prior to No S I could more easily "pretend" that I was getting those freggies because I might grab a banana between meals, or whatever.
First of all, fantastic testimonial.

The other thing, this quote really struck a nerve. I used to pretend this as well and lately I've been carbing up again with barely any freggies and it's true, the reality of a plate if very plain.
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

July 2012- January 2016
Started again January 2021

oolala53
Posts: 10059
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Mon Jan 06, 2014 10:18 pm

I don't know how I missed this, but I'm catching up now. I'm going to put in a link to this on my Sparkpeople team. Get ready to be famous!

And thank you for living to tell and telling!

BTW, I know we shouldn't be comparing, but you weigh less than 80% of the U.S. women at your same age and height. The likelihood is that if you stick with this, the percentage will go up because statistically, your peers will gain.

Also, maybe 2014 will be our year to implement the exercise habit. I haven't done it, either-- after FOUR years!
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)

finallyfull
Posts: 354
Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:10 pm

Post by finallyfull » Wed Jan 08, 2014 7:29 pm

Thanks! I look very forward to seeing what the new year brings now that I'm off of the "hedonic treadmill" (google it if you don't know it, it's a great metaphor for unreachable pleasure)

:)

Post Reply