Need help evaluating why I haven't lost weight

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Lovedby2
Posts: 171
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2014 4:24 am
Location: North Carolina

Need help evaluating why I haven't lost weight

Post by Lovedby2 » Sun Mar 22, 2015 5:22 pm

After a day of sulking I decided to get a grip, regroup and ask for advice. I have been doing No S for about 3 months. I lost weight the first month. 3lbs., but I have not lost anything the last 2 months. I could really get down about this but I am asking for advice instead. My first inclination is to give up but I can't go back to counting calories. The thought depresses me. I hope to gain some insight into the problem from any of you veterans out there. Thank you
Always learning.

osoniye
Posts: 1257
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Location: Horn of Africa

Post by osoniye » Sun Mar 22, 2015 6:44 pm

Hi Lovedby2,
A couple of thoughts- 3 months is such a short time, though it probably feels long. If you feel like your N day habits are really secure, you might pay just a very tiny bit of attention to the "what" that's on your plate. Maybe think about a very subtle shift to increasing non-starchy vegetables and making sure you get at least a couple of servings of fruit on there per day. I always keep a log of what I eat, on my computer, whether I post it on my check-in page or not. It helps me to see why the scales is cooperating or not!
But really, it can take so little to make a person feel a sense of "deprivation" and if it pushes you over the edge into making you want to give up, it's not worth it. Maybe give it 3 more months, and then look at the "what" you're eating, if you think it might be too soon for adjustments. I don't recommend doing anything to your S days yet, as they provide an important release valve and will likely take care of themselves. (Though, you know, there's no harm in thinking about how you feel if you consume too much, and trying to go with maximum enjoyment of S days, and avoiding that queasy feeling that comes from overindulging.) The greatest part of the battle is just showing up day after day in keeping to 3 savory plates per N day! Patience is your friend.
-Sonya
No Sweets, No Snacks and No Seconds, Except (Sometimes) on days that start with "S".

r.jean
Posts: 1653
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2010 7:47 pm
Location: Midwest

Post by r.jean » Sun Mar 22, 2015 11:43 pm

It would help to know how much weight you want to lose. If you only have a few pounds to lose then a 3 lb. loss and then maintenance is great. If you have a large amount to lose, then I would evaluate the following:

Do you feel better on No S?

Do you enjoy food more now than you did before?/Are you more relaxed about what you eat?

Were you steadily gaining before No S?

Are you exercising? If yes, do you feel you have gained muscle tone?

Is losing weight always hard for you or is it usually easy?

Is age a factor? I have struggled since college but I gained steadily after the mid 30s. I finally got a grip on it in my 50s.

I think you can see where I am going with this. If you had a yo yo pattern of gaining and losing before No S and now are at least maintaining, that is success. If you had obsessive eating patterns that are now more controlled, that is success. If you are exercising and gaining muscle, that is success (and can be a partial reason for not losing more weight). If you are getting older, gain is common so maintenance is success.

PS I agree with osoniye and would make very small changes in food choices or add a few minutes of exercise and see what happens.

Good luck!
Last edited by r.jean on Sun Mar 29, 2015 9:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The journey is the reward.
Maintenance is progress.

ironchef
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Location: Australia

Post by ironchef » Mon Mar 23, 2015 2:01 am

Really good tips from osoniye and r.jean. I really agree that maintenance is progress.

I seem to remember from your check in thread that you've had a road trip in there, and some time away from home? Do you think this has been part of why you didn't lose after the first month? When I went on vacation after a few months of No S, my goal was to maintain, not lose. Normally on a road trip or vacation I gain, due to a lack of food options, more eating out and fast food, and less of my normal exercise routine, so maintaining is a big win in that situation.

If none of this rings true for you, please let us know and I'm sure we can come up with other ideas :)

Hang in there!

Lovedby2
Posts: 171
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2014 4:24 am
Location: North Carolina

lovedby2

Post by Lovedby2 » Mon Mar 23, 2015 2:35 am

Thanks for the tips. To answer the questions asked. I am 59, so yes it is hard to lose but it always has been for me. Exercise, no I don't, but should. I should probably lose 40 lbs but would be happy with thirty. I don't lose and gain, I have just gained very slowly over the last twenty five years. I appreciate the comments and I am going to keep at it. Dieting sends me to the unhappy place.
Always learning.

Dale
Posts: 144
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2012 7:27 am

Post by Dale » Mon Mar 23, 2015 10:21 am

I'm fairly careful with portion control as well. I know it's an extra restriction, but I've found I've got used to it in the same way that I got used to No S. I do have a portion control plate (half veggies, 1/4 carb food, 1/4 protein food), although I don't use it for every meal. I try to have a bit of protein at every meal as it's meant to be more satieting (and I'm trying to preserve muscle).

The problem for me is that No S is great for maintaining, but I still have a little to lose so I need to modify a little. If you're not exercising then maybe it's the case for you that No S is great for maintaining, but you need to do a little more to lose - it doesn't have to be anything drastic as the weight loss doesn't need to be fast. There's no need to calorie count unless you want to. If you're maintaining on No S at the moment, then any little reduction in your intake should lead you to losing. Halving your portion of rice or pasta, thinner slices of bread, etc.

Good luck!

oolala53
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Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Mon Mar 23, 2015 4:28 pm

May I ask what your BMI would be if you did lose 40 lbs.?

You did not say anything about your hunger levels. I suspect that most people need to be experiencing very clear hunger signals- not just that antsy desire to eat- for an hour or even two before their meals to lose weight. This would need to happen on many S days, too, which can be tricky. I often eat only twice a day on S days. I know there are exceptions- people who lose weight and say they are never hungry. In my experience, it is hard to determine what and how much to eat when I am consistently not hungry.

You might also need to get more sensitive to how much food it takes to satisfy you at the meal itself. You may need to be willing to be less full at the end of your meals.

Though there are exceptions, basically, the less dense food a person eats, the less they weigh. There are some metabolisms that can go through a lot of food in a day, but not most. Over time, you may need to be covering a lot less of your plate with starchy carbs/fat/protein. The truth is my intake is similar to a person's on a diet. The difference is I got there by recognizing that I needed less over time rather than my bludgeoning myself with calorie limits. But I can't eat more than I need just because I'm on No S. I just continue to find it a more pleasant way to feed myself less food.

BTW, I dropped ten pounds in my first two months but stayed there for the rest of that first year, I think. I had been a binger, so limiting my bingeing to weekends was enough for a bit. I didn't actually start out to lose weight, but to stabilize my eating. My weight dropped in spurts over a couple of years, usually after some short periods of experiencing very little hunger and eating very small meals or even skipping meals on S days. (I actually went awry for awhile and gained quite a bit over emotional stuff, but recovered.) My hunger would come back but I tended to stabilize at the lower weight. I'm not thin now, but I look good in my age bracket! I"ve lost all my weight since age 56. And I don't exercise, though I know I should. I had been neither thin nor heavy as a teen, so I think I had a good chance at achieving a normal BMI without a lot of restriction. Some people are going to have to eat a lot less or exercise a lot more, as I would have to to get to a lower weight. I'm just not willing to at this point.

Sorry I got so personal but I think a fair amount applies, and I sometimes feel funny just making suggestions, though I've been known to! In the end, we never know whether our habits will have similar effects in others.
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)

wosnes
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Location: Indianapolis, IN, USA

Post by wosnes » Mon Mar 23, 2015 5:11 pm

Years ago I read that we need to decrease our consumption by 10% every decade after age 40. I wasn't yet 40 and thought "no way!" By the time I reached my mid-fifties, I saw that might be true. Now that I'm in my mid-sixties, I know it's true. And that's just to maintain your weight, not lose.

I'm not suggesting calorie counting, but really watching portion sizes and concentrating more on the less calorie dense foods and eating less of the more calorie dense foods.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

Lovedby2
Posts: 171
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2014 4:24 am
Location: North Carolina

Lovedby2

Post by Lovedby2 » Tue Mar 24, 2015 2:50 am

Ugh. I hate those reality checks about getting older and eating, but very much appreciate the reminders. Whose in charge here? It is just plain unfair! :oops: Oolala53, thank you and I don't mind the personal questions. I have no idea what my BMI would be. I should look at that. I had gone through a lot of, I guess you could say, healing, before No S. so I had learned to not binge or over stuff. I feel at peace with eating and only if I try to diet do my struggles return with diet head. It has taken a life time to get here. I am grateful for that. So grateful. My problem is the weight and getting it off. I can't diet because it trips me out so I am kind of stuck with the weight. Exercise seems to be the only other solution. If you have read any posts of mine, exercise is really my struggle. I don't have much difficulty staying green, I could pull in the S days a bit, but I don't exercise and that is most likely the problem. I have always had a slow metabolism and there in lies the problem. I am honest in saying I really don't overeat. I am just a slug. :roll:
Always learning.

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

Post by oolala53 » Tue Mar 24, 2015 3:29 am

I guess your work is cut out for you.
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)

r.jean
Posts: 1653
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2010 7:47 pm
Location: Midwest

Post by r.jean » Sun Mar 29, 2015 9:21 pm

It does sound like you have resolved some eating issues in recent years so that is progress. Also, you have stopped the gradual gain which is progress. I agree with your assessment that you should try exercise. Increasing exercise has been key to my weight loss.
The journey is the reward.
Maintenance is progress.

HappyHiker
Posts: 31
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2015 2:00 pm

Post by HappyHiker » Tue Mar 31, 2015 4:54 pm

Hello all, first post. Been No S-ing for a while (with good success), but I've decided to jump in.

I'm late to the party, Lovedby2, but I thought I'd add my 2 cents because I was reminded of a study I read years ago.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 231316.htm

It confirms that exercise is the key, but that "exercise" is walking. I loathe exercise, but with audiobooks and a Fitbit, I have come to enjoy my walks. It's actually fun to try to get my 10,000 steps. I have accepted that I will never be willing to drive to a gym, change, work out, shower and drive home, but now I know that I can control my weight with walking. It's also nice to know that instead of restricting food more and more each decade that I can add steps.

Kittson
Posts: 234
Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2015 6:51 pm

Post by Kittson » Tue Mar 31, 2015 5:02 pm

HappyHiker- Thank you for posting that article, that's really interesting! Walking is sustainable (like No S), and injury rate is low. I just started adding in two 20 minute walks during my work breaks. I was previously a runner but have injured my knee and have to back off running for a while. I am glad walking is beneficial. Sometimes I think that if I'm not drenched in sweat after a workout then it isn't doing my any good. Glad to know that that's not the case. :) Now I have a goal to reach daily, 12000 steps!

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

Post by oolala53 » Wed Apr 01, 2015 2:48 am

Well, my goodness, there is an advantage to being over 60!
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)

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