One year of NoS! Better mental clarity, freedom from diets

(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."

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MJ7910
Posts: 504
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2012 1:17 am

One year of NoS! Better mental clarity, freedom from diets

Post by MJ7910 » Thu Jan 30, 2014 1:47 pm

I have been wanting to do this for a while, really talk about my experiences with NoS and with dieting in general.

Let me start by saying I have always had a problem with my weight, in as that i always perceived it as being too high even when it really wasn't.

My first feelings that I needed to lose weight pretty much occurred in middle school/early high school. I went on a horrible calorie counting nightmare diet (1000 calories a day was too much) and went from 132-104 in a few months. I was my same height, about 5 foot 4 1/2. Of course that was unattainable.

I went back up into the 120s toward the end of high school, got a boyfriend, "got over" my anorexia. But i never really did. in college i was so busy i never worried about my weight until my senior year. then i was up to 142 and was horrified. mind you, these are all normal weights for my height. Got down to 123 ish and was so pleased with myself. again, unattainable!

was ok with my weight again for a number of years... probably all the way from age 23 through 30. then i was pregnant and went from good old 142 again all the way up to 175. after the baby, couldn't lose weight because i was breastfeeding. finally, at 32 decided to lose weight again. i was at my highest non pregnant weight, 152. i had finally crossed the BMI line into overweight and was wearing a tight size 10. again, still not really a huge weight problem but my perception was that it was! i got back down to... you guessed it 123. very unhealthy ways. eating 1200-1600 calories, working out ferociously. not good! again, unattainable!

June 2012 was my first flirtation with NoS. I was 33, had lost weight with the nutty dieting and was back up near 130ish... i was tired of calorie counting, it was making me miserable. so i tried NoS. I failed because I freaked out. I gained weight. Of course i would! my body wants to weigh around 135 and I keep making it be 123. of course it doesn't like that! but i can't figure that out. so i abandoned NoS after not even 2 months. The thought of weight gain was so much that I went back to the misery of calorie counting.

Then I realized, this was no good. I cannot sustain this weight with these obsessive measures. I had to do something different. And I realized what made the most sense for me was NoS. 3 meals a day. No snacks, no sweets, no seconds... except the weekends. That was perfect. I eventually knew i wouldn't feel like I was rebelling because those sweets would be there for the weekend. I could even save myself a few during the week by wrapping them up and freezing or saving it if i thought i was "missing out" when others were having it. It could work for me. So I gave it a shot.

First day was Feb 4, 2013. I tried to start a week before but the ambivalence settled in and i wasn't sure of myself. But Feb 4, 2013 I was committed. It was superbowl weekend. I started on a Monday after the superbowl. The first few months were hard. I did gain weight. Went from 132 to 140 again. This was my reaction from diet deprivation syndrome. My body wanted to gain weight because I hadn't let it be where it should have been. Even though under 132 I thought I was "happy" before, I was having all kinds of binges and guilt and beating myself up when I "went over calories". . no way to live life. so end of April I believe I was at 140.

And I've stayed between 135-140 between April 2013 and Feb of 2014 (which is my 1 year mark). I run several times a week, about 4 miles each time. I lift weights. My numerical size is still around a 6. There is nothing wrong with weighing 135-140 for my height. I have finally convinced myself of this. After many trials of trying to maintain the illustrious 125 and under, I know that is simply unattainable. I might be able to wear a size 4 but my life was miserable. I was hangry (hungry/angry) all the time. I could never eat what I wanted to. Others would go out and enjoy themselves on the weekends and I felt like I never could. Now I can. And I'm only slightly larger!

So far I have gone almost a year on NoS and maintained the same 5lb weight range. And it's a healthy range.


So what have i learned. Some lessons. Don't think other people will like NoS just because I do. I tried to tell others, they don't want to try it. That is their choice if they want to calorie count and demonize foods. Not my choice. Second, it takes time. Way more than 21 days. 21 days establishes the good habit of Sdays/Ndays. But 21 days doesn't mean that every day is perfect and no wild S days. I still have them now and then and it's a learning process. I say to myself "wow, i feel overfull. i probably should have taken it easier today" but no beating myself up. it's over. Also, way less binges. I can say I truly can't remember the last time I had a binge... ok maybe it was the early stages of NoS when i was getting adjusted to the fact that I can eat whatever I want to on S days. but now i don't do that because I know it's not a big deal. It takes time. biggest key.

when i gave up during my first go round after 2 months it was because i didn't trust the process. i thought gaining weight was the worst thing in the world. it's not. the worst thing for me is trying to do something that makes me miserable and is unsustainable. and that is my one year post. i love this system and want to keep doing it. i like the articles about how italians stay slim (they basically follow NoS only they dont' call it that). this has saved me from allowing my anorexia to come back. I have to remind myself always that it's not worth it to join the under 125 lb club if it means misery in my head... i'll take the 135-140 lb club any day if it means inner peace! oh, and weight lifting and running have been amazing for me. i do it because i like it. not because i need to "track calories burned from exercise"... i do what i love and it is working out!
Current BMI: 22.9. Height: 5'4.5"
Highest BMI: 25.5 in August 2011.
Lowest adult BMI: 20.8 in February 2012.

vmsurbat
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Post by vmsurbat » Thu Jan 30, 2014 1:57 pm

i thought gaining weight was the worst thing in the world. it's not. the worst thing for me is trying to do something that makes me miserable and is unsustainable.
Fabulous insight here. So glad you posted because happily maintaining is a goal we all share!

Congrats on your good success!
Vicki in MNE
7! Yrs. with Vanilla NoS, down 55+lb, happily maintaining and still loving it!

jw
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Location: PA

Post by jw » Thu Jan 30, 2014 5:26 pm

MJ, this is really encouraging to all those of us who see a slight gain or a stall -- a reminder that our bodies have their own wisdom and all we have to do is allow them to find the right weight! You sound very happy! Congrats!
"The second you overcomplicate it is the second it becomes the thing for which it is a corrective." -- El Fug

finallyfull
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Post by finallyfull » Thu Jan 30, 2014 6:22 pm

Great post!! Boy, you sound so much like me. The lesson is that when you are a healthy weight, you need to LEARN and ACCEPT your healthy weight! I'm in the 145-150 club (okay, maybe 150-155, not sure) but I'm 5 foot 8. No S has been a study in losing diet head, and slowly, very naturally, replacing it with a focus on health and, of course, all the important things in the universe that have nothing whatever to do with my body.

Thank you so much for sharing your details. There's nothing so FAT as the big fat blinders we put on our eyes when we focus on trying to perfect ourselves instead of living our lives fully.

I wish you a lifetime of moderation! :)

(BTW, I went through a mini "one year pride" backlash that had me awash in a bunch of red days, but it seems to have abated. I just mark 'em and move on. :)

MJ7910
Posts: 504
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2012 1:17 am

Post by MJ7910 » Thu Jan 30, 2014 8:04 pm

finallyfull wrote:Great post!! Boy, you sound so much like me. The lesson is that when you are a healthy weight, you need to LEARN and ACCEPT your healthy weight! I'm in the 145-150 club (okay, maybe 150-155, not sure) but I'm 5 foot 8. No S has been a study in losing diet head, and slowly, very naturally, replacing it with a focus on health and, of course, all the important things in the universe that have nothing whatever to do with my body.

Thank you so much for sharing your details. There's nothing so FAT as the big fat blinders we put on our eyes when we focus on trying to perfect ourselves instead of living our lives fully.

I wish you a lifetime of moderation! :)

(BTW, I went through a mini "one year pride" backlash that had me awash in a bunch of red days, but it seems to have abated. I just mark 'em and move on. :)
your current weight falls in the healthy range for your height too. so i think we both do think similarly. our bodies want to weigh a certain weight. it's healthy and well within our range. we just need to accept it!

i like the part about the blinders we put on when we try to be perfect. that is so true! all we see is "goal weight 125" intead of "goal mentality - non eating disorder mentality"

i hope not to have a few wild days of slip ups but if it happens, so be it. i am pleased this is working and may have a celebratory dessert this weekend in honor of 1 year of NoS. :) if it happens, i know i'll get back on track. but thanks for the warning!
Current BMI: 22.9. Height: 5'4.5"
Highest BMI: 25.5 in August 2011.
Lowest adult BMI: 20.8 in February 2012.

eschano
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Post by eschano » Mon Feb 03, 2014 3:56 pm

A wonderful testimonial! I had a hard battle accepting my healthy weight as well and now: I'm loving it! Welcome to all of us to a sane, healthy, loving world.
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

July 2012- January 2016
Started again January 2021

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Wed Feb 05, 2014 5:20 pm

Wonderful testimonial -- congratulations and thank you for letting us know!

It's great to see how No-s keeps people from veering off into excesses in either direction, of too much or too little. Although more people fall in the "too much" camp today, "too little" is perhaps even more dangerous, and indicative of a mindset that is very difficult to shake. Congratulations on being able to do just that!

My favorite formula for how to calculate one's ideal weight: "Eat and move moderately, see what happens." Might be more than you think, might be less. Either way, respect it -- or you'll be miserable.

Reinhard

oolala53
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Post by oolala53 » Wed Feb 05, 2014 11:56 pm

Great testimonial in general and specifically for the term "hangry"!
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)

minimizer
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Post by minimizer » Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:35 pm

This is profound, MJ. I love it.

MJ7910
Posts: 504
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2012 1:17 am

Post by MJ7910 » Mon Feb 10, 2014 5:56 pm

reinhard wrote:Wonderful testimonial -- congratulations and thank you for letting us know!

It's great to see how No-s keeps people from veering off into excesses in either direction, of too much or too little. Although more people fall in the "too much" camp today, "too little" is perhaps even more dangerous, and indicative of a mindset that is very difficult to shake. Congratulations on being able to do just that!

My favorite formula for how to calculate one's ideal weight: "Eat and move moderately, see what happens." Might be more than you think, might be less. Either way, respect it -- or you'll be miserable.

Reinhard
totally agree with the ideal weight calculation. maybe mine is a bit higher than i want it to be, but it is what it is, and at least i am not worrying about calories anymore! i suspect as time goes by, sweets may lose their appeal even more. and maybe over years i might get to a lower weight (or maybe not). but that's ok
Current BMI: 22.9. Height: 5'4.5"
Highest BMI: 25.5 in August 2011.
Lowest adult BMI: 20.8 in February 2012.

MJ7910
Posts: 504
Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2012 1:17 am

Post by MJ7910 » Mon Feb 10, 2014 5:57 pm

oolala53 wrote:Great testimonial in general and specifically for the term "hangry"!
don't you love that one! that is what i was back when i ate 1200 calories a day... i was always hungry, always angry... thus hangry. :)
Current BMI: 22.9. Height: 5'4.5"
Highest BMI: 25.5 in August 2011.
Lowest adult BMI: 20.8 in February 2012.

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MerryKat
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Post by MerryKat » Mon Mar 17, 2014 2:10 pm

Congratulations!! You have certainly walked a hard road & you have won!!!
Hugs from Sunny South Africa
Vanilla No S with no Sugar due to Health issues - 11 yrs No S - September 2016 (some good, some bad (my own doing) but always the right thing for me!)

MJ7910
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Joined: Tue Jun 12, 2012 1:17 am

Post by MJ7910 » Mon Mar 24, 2014 12:42 am

Thanks. Still working on total acceptance but getting better
Current BMI: 22.9. Height: 5'4.5"
Highest BMI: 25.5 in August 2011.
Lowest adult BMI: 20.8 in February 2012.

r.jean
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Post by r.jean » Mon Mar 24, 2014 1:08 pm

I missed this testimonial when you first posted it. I love how you have gained insight into your own particular situation. While all of our situations are different, there are some common threads, and it is helpful to hear how others have worked through this process. Congratulations!
The journey is the reward.
Maintenance is progress.

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