Newbie question

[Beverle]

Good Morning! I am immersing myself in everything No S that I can find. I will be setting up a shovelglove today and have been reading posts and blogs and.... Please, what is Vanilla S? I am 68 and would like to say goodbye to 40lbs. Age and menopause have not been my friends. I have heard a lot of good things about this group and am looking forward to all your advise and experience.
Best to all,
Beverle

[r.jean]

Vanilla No S means you follow the basic rules with no modifications.

This means you do not add things, like calorie counting or other restrictions. You also do not modify the No S structure. Read it and follow it strictly.

[Beverle]

Oh wow! Thank you. As a veteran of many diets I had planned to stick to the letter. Again, I appreciate your kind and rapid response.
Bev

[shelly_k]

Welcome, Beverle! I just started NO S too!

[Beverle]

Shelly for the welcome. I fully understand the concept but I can be obsessive and will need to rein in a lot of my tendencies. Yesterday I was so good for the 3 plates but instinctively I knew I was eating too much. Now I am watching the clock waiting for the times I have designated for eating. Never a dull moment in my head! Self imposed restriction seems to be my way of life. I can't believe that what I want - to lose weight - can happen without some form of punishment. I always have to "pay the piper" before I can experience pleasure. It is something to really look forward to if I can lick that thinking. I am 68 so I think this will be a little bit harder for me - but, maybe not. Either way maybe we can travel this road together. Diet pals as it were.
Best,
Bev

[ironchef]

Welcome!

I know letting go of the habits and thought processes of long term dieting can be a challenge. On the subject of guilt / punishment, I highly recommend having a listen to or read of Reinhard's podcast #13 "Strictness".

Good luck on your journey!

[oolala53]

I gently suggest- as someone who started this at age 56- that you aim more at the idea of wanting to eat moderately and sanely for the long run rather than that you want to lose a certain amount of weight. You don't have to wait until you weigh a certain amount before you're successful with No S. You can be successful every single day. In all likelihood, weight loss will come, but it will be because of delight in how you're living. That's the only way to sustain loss anyway. Thinness itself has a very poor track record of remaining satisfying. If it was, most people wouldn't gain the weight back. You've got to come to prefer the new eating life. This one has a very good chance! Concentrate on that, combine it with moderate movement, and let the chips fall where they may.

[Beverle]

oolala and ironchef - Thank you for your input. I have done almost every diet ever known to man. I weigh more now than at any other time. In fact in my 20's I was a stick and wanted to gain weight.(!) Joanna Lund (now deceased) said "I wish I weighed now what I did when I started dieting." I think of that often. Just as youth, health and many other aspects of life are seldom appreciated at the time I would love to turn back the clock and do it all over again. (Not really - what a waste of time! but I am sure you get my meaning) I even smoked 3 packs a day at one time. My mother gave me some expensive neck cream for my 30th birthday and my thought at the time was - "how silly. I'm never going to let my neck get wrinkled." I actually had the feeling that getting old was something people just didn't consciously attempt to stop. Ah, youth. All of this blathering is an attempt to tell you that I absolutely do appreciate your help and consideration. This is probably my last hope for finding a way to be friends with food and eating. Thank you for being so supportive and just generally nice.

[oolala53]

Friends with food. Yes! I'll admit we have had a falling out relatively recently, but I'm not giving up.