15-20lbs to lose

No Snacks, no sweets, no seconds. Except on Days that start with S. Too simple for you? Simple is why it works. Look here for questions, introductions, support, success stories.

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Posh
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15-20lbs to lose

Post by Posh » Mon Dec 17, 2007 10:53 pm

Hi all,
I just wanted to know if anyone out there has about 15 to 20 lbs. to lose and has been successful. I know I shouldn't be worried about the time frame but I get so discouraged because I want things to move faster. Anyway, anybody out there who's in the same boat weight wise I'd sure like to know your thoughts.

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Hunter Gatherer
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Post by Hunter Gatherer » Mon Dec 17, 2007 11:45 pm

I have lost about 35 pounds in almost two years on No-S (and still headed downward).

Of course, from what I've heard, when you have a lot to lose the first part comes off fast and the lower amounts take forever. So since you are closer to your weight goal it might take you longer. Or maybe you exercise more and it will take you less time. But yes you can definitely lose 20# on this diet.
"You've been reading about arctic explorers," I accused him. "If a man's starving he'll eat anything, but when he's just ordinarily hungry he doesn't want to clutter up his stomach with a lot of candy."
Dashiell Hammett

Savita
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Post by Savita » Tue Dec 18, 2007 3:20 am

I lost 20 pounds in one and a half years. And have managed to keep it off so far. So yes, it's do-able.

I still have about 5 pounds to lose before I'm at my ideal weight and it's taking forever. Which is why, in addition to the yoga and brisk walking I've done in the past year, I've added the No-S programme. It's early days yet for me to report categorical results, but overall I'm feeling good and I've drastically reduced munching on sweets which is my major weakness.

jordonk27
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Post by jordonk27 » Tue Dec 18, 2007 4:48 am

I was slightly pudgy when I started No S. I lost 20-25 pounds in 4-5 months and became pretty slender. The pounds dropped quickly at first and then became harder to shed until my body decided I should weigh about 175. For the next year and a half, my weight remained pretty much constant, but now that I'm in college and walking everywhere, I've lost a few more pounds (but I can't really tell without a scale).

Everyone is different, but hopefully you'll be similar!

Posh
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15-20 lbs. to lose

Post by Posh » Tue Dec 18, 2007 2:11 pm

Thanks for the response everybody, it always helps to hear what others go through. I have to say I love my sugar and it's tricky sometimes trying to figure out what works on my S days, although I have to say I love the freedom. I really like the structure of NoSing but of course I know there has to be more patience involved than when I'm calorie counting. What I mean is, although the calorie counting gets old fast, I do know exactly how many I can have to drop weight at a satisfactory rate. However, it's evident it doesn't ever work in the long run because here I am again. So I'm just trying to keep myself moving forward with this and stay off the scale as well. I play this same ole game over in my head: step on scale, if it's up, hmmm I get more diligent about calorie counting, if it's down, I relax and usually overeat. I think everyone can relate. I'm going to make an effort to join the 21 day club. Thanks for letting me ramble.

kccc
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Post by kccc » Tue Dec 18, 2007 2:30 pm

Posh, one of the nice things about No-S is that you focus on habits instead of the scale. And, since weight loss isn't linear, that REALLY helps you stay on target.

When I was on WW, I don't know how many times I expected a good/bad week, and would be surprised - my body just hadn't caught up to that week's eating pattern. If I'd been going by the scale, I'd have done the wrong thing every time.

Trust the process.

At one point, Reinhard said "why don't you just do this a while and see what happens?" Well, my body has settled about 5 lbs higher than I'd like - but within a healthy weight, and I'm wearing my "old size" that I used to wear at 5 lbs lower. AND I can stay at this weight easily, which I wasn't doing before. So, okay.

Posh
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15-20 to lbs.lose

Post by Posh » Tue Dec 18, 2007 4:57 pm

Thanks KCCC, I appreciate that. I'm curious about weight watchers. I've tried that too. Did it ever work for you? How long have you been NoSing? I don't usually ask people about their weight and if it's too personal you don't have to say of course but I am wondering how tall you are and your weight. I'm 5'6" and weigh 155 lbs. I know I'd be comfortable between 135-140. Maybe that's unrealistic but I've been there before and felt great and not too thin at all. What do you think?

kccc
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Post by kccc » Tue Dec 18, 2007 6:31 pm

I'm just under 5'7", and currently about 143. I wanted to be between 135-140, which is where I used to be and felt great. (Background... I come from a family pre-disposed to weight gain and all the associated ills. I was on the same track, but lost weight in my early 20's and discovered exercise. So, I was at 135 plus or minus a few pounds for decades.)

However... I had a baby after age 40, and was trying to lose baby weight at the same time that my metabolism slowed pretty drastically - PLUS, with a baby, I suddenly had far less time for exercise. A real triple-whammy! So, my weight hovered in the low 160's/high 150's for years after my son was born. I just couldn't seem to lose it.

I finally went to Weight-Watchers - twice, actually. Made my goal weight, went over, made it again, was in the process of gaining weight back yet again when I found No-S.

The WW program works, and I can lose on it - but I can't maintain on it. It takes CONSTANT attention, and once I stop attending, I gain the weight back! I simply can't keep that level of focus all the time.

Plus it makes me frantic - all that counting, and internal bargaining ("if I don't eat this, I can have THAT"). I've since realized I tended to short myself on protein, b/c it took more points than I wanted to "spend."

I feel much healthier on No-S, and just saner in terms of food. I've been doing it over a year now, I think. I lost a little at first (because I was on my way up when I started), but seem to have settled now. Which is okay, as I said.

Probably more than you wanted to know, lol! Hope it helps.

Posh
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15-20 lbs. to lose

Post by Posh » Tue Dec 18, 2007 7:44 pm

No it's not too much info. at all. In fact I hope you don't get sick of my questions. How do you handle the weekends? Like everybody else? I have tried to keep the same 3 meal schedule except add in planned desserts, since, if I give myself permission to just eat without restriction, I have found I have too tough a time to get back into the swing come Monday. And getting back to your weight watchers story...you said you were in the process of gaining back again when you found NoSing. Do you remember how much you actually lost once you switched to NoSing?
I hope this doesn't sound redundant.

kccc
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Post by kccc » Tue Dec 18, 2007 11:13 pm

Posh, I don't remember the exact amount. I don't think I was over 150, or at least not by much.

What I do remember is the feeling of desperation, of being out of control AGAIN. That's something I'm glad to leave behind. Even when I struggle a bit with No-S, it's just not at the same level.

I suspect I could actually drop a little more if (a) I exercised more, or at least did more aerobic exercise and (b) if I was "less of an idiot" on weekends. But I'm not too worried, because I am at a reasonable level that's (mostly) effortless.

I'll give you the same great advice I got: Try it for a while and see what happens. :)

rose
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Post by rose » Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:35 am

Posh: I started in January at 164 lbs. I wanted to lose 11 lbs for health reasons, in order to get back to a "normal" BMI instead of an "overweight" BMI.
Almost one year later, my weight is 142 lbs. I've lost 22 lbs. And the journey is not over, my weight is still decreasing. I had one annoying plateau in June/July, but overall I lost about 2 pounds a month. Slow but steady. I can't imagine going back to my old way of eating. I posted a weight chart some time ago, I'll dig it up and update it soon.
My height is a little less than 5'6.

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mimi
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Post by mimi » Wed Dec 19, 2007 2:14 pm

Congratulations, Rose! That's a very impressive history! If I had kept up living the NoS life when I started back in April...NOPE, I'm not going there! You're an inspiration for me. I WILL be a success this time! Thanks!
Discovered NoS: April 16, 2007
Restarted once again: July 14, 2011
Quitting is not an option...
If you start to slip, tie a knot and hang on!
Remember that good enough is... good enough.
Strive for progress, not perfection!

Posh
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15-20 lbs. to lose

Post by Posh » Wed Dec 19, 2007 2:16 pm

Hi Rose, and thank you for responding! I was wondering how you handle the weekends as well. I ask everybody because I want so much to get some alternate ideas. I would love not to have to worry about structure but it seems if I don't I just graze all day and then I panic thinking the calories I've eaten just undid all the good for the week. You've been doing this for about a year now I see. Do you have any tips on how you handle the S days?

rose
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Post by rose » Wed Dec 19, 2007 3:55 pm

Mimi: thank you. Please note my no-s-ing is not always perfect, I had a lot of lapses and had to rebuild the habit many times, especially after "very S" family gatherings.
My personal situation was less stressful and more stable this year and I had strong health motivations. Also, I live by myself. It all helped.
But I did get frustrated by the slowness of the process a lot of times.


Posh: Actually my weekends have evolved. At first I followed the board's advice and had basically N-like days with a deliberately very very good dessert added (the best available at the local bakery). Also I took care to only buy one treat at a time. I gave myself the option to have another one, or even several other ones, but only if I went out again (and walked) to buy it (which I ended up doing more often than not). I did not keep any S-food at home at all.

Then I thought I had gotten the hang of it and started keeping cookies at home. I had no problems keeping the cookies out of sight, out of mind on a shelf during the week, but on saturday I would have them for breakfast. The thing is, if I start S-ing at breakfast, I continue all day long. So I had a lot more S-food during that period, and that is probably the reason for my July plateau.


Now it works this way:

* Saturdays are often very busy days. Then I usually buy a treat wherever I happen to be when I get hungry around 5pm (on N-days I just ignore the hunger and it goes away).
* On less busy Saturdays I bake a small chocolate pie myself. It needs to cool down. So I usually get to taste it after dinner only.
So basically, Saturdays are N-days with a late treat.

Sundays vary wildly from Saturday-like moderation to permasnacking. The thing is, my stomach has gotten used to a lot less food than before. So if I snack, I feel full at mealtime. I skip the meal or have a very light veggie-based meal. Overall food intake is probably the same as any other day in bulk, but a lot more caloric.

I can now keep S food at home and not binge on it first thing on Saturdays. It's a progress.


Anyway for a beginner my advice is this: plan a very good treat for S-days. Delay it, if you can, until the afternoon (keeping yourself busy helps). If your have it earlier, or/and if you binge, it's no big deal. Be lenient with yourself. N-days should be your focus first. When you are satisfied with your N-days, you can start paying more attention to S-day excesses. But by that time your stomach and appetite may very well have diminished and toned down the S-day excesses without any conscious intent. (Actually it's more like you get a stomach-ache two or three sundays in a row, and the next weekend you eat less but better just to avoid the stomach ache).

Posh
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15-20 lbs to lose

Post by Posh » Wed Dec 19, 2007 4:24 pm

Excellent, thank you! Boy does that sound familiar...especially the stomach aches, :lol:

kccc
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Post by kccc » Wed Dec 19, 2007 6:54 pm

rose wrote:
Anyway for a beginner my advice is this: plan a very good treat for S-days. Delay it, if you can, until the afternoon (keeping yourself busy helps). If your have it earlier, or/and if you binge, it's no big deal. Be lenient with yourself. N-days should be your focus first. When you are satisfied with your N-days, you can start paying more attention to S-day excesses. But by that time your stomach and appetite may very well have diminished and toned down the S-day excesses without any conscious intent. (Actually it's more like you get a stomach-ache two or three sundays in a row, and the next weekend you eat less but better just to avoid the stomach ache).
Rose, that is absolutely the BEST advice!!!

Posh, my own S-days vary wildly, depending on my level of stress/activity. Like Rose, I focus on my N-days, and am gentle with myself over the S-days. But I feel better both physically and emotionally if I go for "one incredible treat" rather than perma-snacking. (That is a GREAT word - so perfectly descriptive!)

Sandy
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Post by Sandy » Thu Dec 20, 2007 2:37 pm

I had done NOS for a few years. The first year really got me in touch with eating healthy during the week and semi-healthy on the weekend. I still felt restricted and not in control so I tweaked the plan. (I also had 20 lbs to lose). I decided to lose 2.5 lbs a month, to weigh myself everyday and if I was at the bottom pound of the 2.5 lbs for that month I could eat what I wanted. Yes, sometimes I went crazy and sometimes I still do - however, I did lose 30 lbs in one year. My habits are so instilled in me now - I love healthy food and I still love snacks and yes, sometimes I still go overboard. I am now happy and the first time in control of what I eat - I call that success. I will never stop doing NOS because I have never felt like I was on a restrictive diet.

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Hunter Gatherer
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Post by Hunter Gatherer » Fri Dec 21, 2007 1:35 am

I take kind of a s-day and a half. My s-days are Friday and Saturday. (Sometimes I move it back to the original if there's a church function or something.) But during the workday of Friday I treat it like an n-day and then Friday evening and Saturday I do whatever.

I am very familiar with the "If you start the day s-ing you will spend the whole day s-ing," phenomena. Sometimes my Saturdays make me feel gooky. I like having Sunday to recuperate before meeting the world. That way I don't have to work with a sugar hangover. It's much easier to hang on to things on Friday with my workday to help provide structure.

Other times I avoid this cycle. Brushing my teeth helps. Planning in advance helps.

Sometimes having a specific desire actually sabotages me. I want X but I don't get X for some reason so I go overboard with other things because I need to make up for not getting X. Bad cycle!
"You've been reading about arctic explorers," I accused him. "If a man's starving he'll eat anything, but when he's just ordinarily hungry he doesn't want to clutter up his stomach with a lot of candy."
Dashiell Hammett

benjishi
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Post by benjishi » Sat Dec 22, 2007 5:23 pm

I've lost 30 pounds on NoS over about 8 months and hit my target weight of 205 lbs and one pants size smaller.

Now I'm 195 and and two pants sizes smaller (34" waist) which I haven't bought since at least high school.

I switched from soft drinks to tea.

A restaurant meal is two plates worth of food.

I actually gained on NoS until I did a calorie analysis of what i was eating so that i could figure out what a plate is. I had never done any calorie counting before so I just did it for a week or so to figure out what 'n' the hell I was actually eating.

French Fries are an S, either just eat the sandwich or get a side salad.

Non fresh squeezed juices are an S.

I've also learned to be assertive when people try and make me eat sweets. This has helped in other relationships too. http://changingminds.org/techniques/ass ... veness.htm

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Thu Dec 27, 2007 2:48 pm

Wow, this has been a very satisfying thread to read!

Gotta get that testmonials page updated before new years...

Thank you all for sharing your successes!

Reinhard

Dawn
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Post by Dawn » Thu Feb 14, 2008 5:38 pm

Posh, so it's nearly 3 months since you started, are you still no s-ing? I'd like to lose about 20 pounds too. I am 5'9" and weigh around 168. I just started and there are a few things I am worried about but I think if I can get my set in the right direction I will be OK. One thing I worry about is the length of time it will most likely take to lose the weight. I am so used to the "get thin quick" plans that I have always been on (and obviously failed, after all I am here now). So fully digesting the fact that it may take a year to lose the weight is scary to me, but then again a year of waiting to get rid of a lifetime problem is very worth it. My other worry, and it's my main worry, is going so over board on S days that I undo all my N days and either not lose, or God forbid, gain weight. I guess I need to stop worrying and start focusing on sticking to the plan and once it becomes second nature I can fine tune portion sizes, food choices, and limit my S stuff on S days - I am thinking the perfect scenario would be seconds on dinner and a nice dessert on Sat & Sun.

Well I'd love to hear how you are doing, or anyone else who reads this and is the same 20 poundish boat and has been doing it 3 to 6 months or so.
Dawn

Rilee
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I'm back from the craziness

Post by Rilee » Thu Mar 06, 2008 8:44 pm

Hi Dawn,

I'm so sorry I haven't responded in such a long time. I just happened to browse this site again and I'm glad I did. This is so much saner!!! I actually tried counting calories again, which as usual drives me nuts. I know that if I could eat about 1400 calories a day or so, I'd drop the 15 lbs...and I was feeling desperate to lose weight quickly. However, the reason I came back to NoSing is I'm tired of starving. I gained 2 lbs. in the course of trying to lose 15; and working out besides. But anyway, I was just picking up tips and have started seeing some things that make good sense to me. One is from a woman (whose name escapes me) who said she eats 5 times a day. 3 regular meals and 2 between. But she allows herself one snack type food. So that sounded doable to me. And I actually just started doing it today. I've had a good breakfast, then a 1/2 banana mid morning, full plate of lunch, and about 3;00pm I had 20 M&m peanuts. From here I'll have a good dinner but I'll have a coffee with cream when I get home to hold me over...otherwise I'll snack before I eat. It really helps. The thing that caught my eye about her post was she said it was "effortless", and that's what I'm looking for; not the "oh I can't stand it till the next meal I'm so starving!" Hope this helps.
Let me know how you're doing. Oh, btw, I'm now under Rilee not Posh.
I messed that up some how and had to start again so...

Dawn
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Post by Dawn » Thu Mar 06, 2008 10:08 pm

Whatever works for the long term! I am glad the other person found it effortless, but I would be happy with 85 percent of the time it being a no brainer, then with all my great results I would have enough resolve to get through that lousy 15 percent of the time. I quit smoking nearly 20 years ago and sometimes I still find myself craving a cig, so that tells me that no matter how much of a habit this No-S plan will become, there are still going to be days where I just want to turn to food for comfort.

I know all too well that desperate feeling that I need to lose X amount of pounds before the party, or before I have to see so and so, who is always thin!!!!! (God I hate so and so!) Kicking that mentality is a plan all in itself isn't it? I have not lost anything yet, but I have not gained either and finding a way to eat, not hardly think about it, not gain weight and feel in control (expect some S days) makes this plan a sucess already! I feel like this is so much less about food, and so much more about control in my life in an erea that I have always felt out of control in. If it takes me two years to lose 20 pounds and keep it off, then that is so much better than losing 20 in a few months, putting it back on, etc., etc. Well, I could go on and on about all the hell I have put myself through over the years and how bad I just want out of it, but it sounds like you've been there, done that too.

So, good luck to you and keep us all posted on how you do and share any "mods" with us!

Thanks
Dawn
Dawn

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