Starting No S Today

Phineas · Post by **Phineas** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:48 pm

Hello everyone,

I'm starting the diet (though I'm hesitant to even call it that) today. I've been overweight for approximately 10 years now, and likely obese for 5-6 of those. I've made one foray into dieting/fitness about 5 years ago. It was going incredible for those first few months; you know, the ones where you see the progress on essentially a daily basis, but got overwhelmingly frustrated when I hit the first plateau. At that time, I started in weighing 235 pounds at a height of 5'8" and reached 200 in the span of 3 months or so by walking daily for 30-60 minutes, and doing free weight routines 3 days/week. I wasn't dieting per se, but employing some common sense; ie no soda, limited sweets, 3-6 beers/week, attempting to work more fruits and vegetables into my meals ect. At 200 pounds, progress came to a grinding halt, and despite my increases in activity and even more mindfulness regarding my food intake, I stayed there for a few more months, got frustrated and gave up.

So, now 5 more years have past and I've been back to the old ways; grazing all day, not exercising, and drinking to excess, though not as often as in my slightly younger years. Three weeks ago, I started back in with some exercise (walking and weights again) and common sense dieting. On Sept. 4, the starting date, I was at 225 pounds, and am presently hovering around 216. My initial goal is to reach 195 pounds, which is my BMI line of being overweight vs my present obese state. My overall goal is 160 pounds. This puts me just over the BMI line of normalcy vs. overweight. I am monitoring, and to some minor extent, supplementing this on a daily basis (as childish and foolish as it sounds) with Wii Fit. I am going in this time knowing that a plateau will arrive, and I will work past it eventually. Previously, I honestly wasn't aware that this was going to happen naturally, now I am mentally prepared for the fact that it will.

I ran across the book on Amazon yesterday while doing some mundane fitness / diet search and subsequently found the site. After work today, I am going to pick up the book, and a sledgehammer. Shovelglove sounds infinitely more entertaining that lifting heavy discs in too many different contrived, singular motions, so I am going to swap out my 3 day wight program for the 5 day Shovelglove and see what I think of it.

I am also going to jump on the Glass Ceiling wagon (I know, bad choice of words). I've been not so much abstaining from beer, but not keeping it in the fridge and only having a few while "out". My only drinking issue is becoming the very occasional completely overboard drunk, which I'm just getting too old for at this point. The health benefits of 1-2/drinks per day seem like a great compromise which will allow me to continue to enjoy a beer or two after dinner and while out with friends. Avoiding the obligatory third, fourth, and fifth while on the town with my buddies, who are not so concerned with their alcohol intake may prove a little tough, but this kind of structure will likely aid me in this pursuit of non-drunkenness.

I suppose, what with the walking, I am already an Urban Ranger of sorts, though I live in a fairly rural town in Maine..... Rural Ranger? I suppose that's just a Ranger, no? I am excited to give No S, Shovelglove, and Glass Ceiling a shot, maybe even check out the HabitCal, and continue rangering on. Thanks Reinhard for sharing your experiences and for cutting down all the present day corporate diet fad / fitness guru BS to a simple plan that anyone can exercise with a bit of common sense and will power. I look forward to future successes and to being an active member of these forums.

Too solid flesh · Post by **Too solid flesh** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 7:30 pm

Welcome, Phineas!

NoS is a practical scheme, and particularly as you have lost weight successfully doing something similar before it could work for you.

Plateaux can be frustrating (I've been stuck on one myself recently), but the support on the bulletin board can be great for keeping on track. We look forward to seeing you here.

Nichole · Post by **Nichole** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 7:49 pm

I think going back to walking 30 minutes every other day then maybe 5 days a week eventually, along with No-S will definitely help you lose weight and feel better. The exercise alone will make great improvements. No-S can be hard sometimes with the late afternoon, but even if you have to snack then, cutting out most snacks and all sweets during the week will definitely help, I think. You can do it!

Nichole

PS, i have been on a plateau since about June, but I know that if I went back to my old ways of not exercising and eating a lot, I'll go right back up. So it's better to be plateaued at a lower weight than letting yourself get back to your old weight. That's how I think about it.

blueskighs · Post by **blueskighs** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 9:34 pm

Phineas,

Welcome! My story is a bit different, I have BED binge eating disorder for over twenty years and managed it with dietary restriction, so I have been on many diets. NO S has been a godsend in that it finally stopped me from swinging from one extreme to the other and get a glimpse at that elusive creature moderation.

Weight loss can be notoriously slow but gains to mental and emotional health can be HUGE. You sound like you have reasonable expectations. I think that is helpful. For me, I have to go with what I understand Reinhard says, working on keeping your N Days green and the rest will take care of itself, albeit not on our exact time table

THe other thing that I really beleive is REALLY important is to thoroughly and consciously ENJOY every bite of food you put in your mouth on S days.

Also, I have found Habitcal extremely helpful and fun,

Welcome again,

Blueskighs

oliviamanda · Post by **oliviamanda** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 12:09 pm

Good luck. I think No S will work wonders for you.

My husband is/was an alcoholic, although when he stopped he was NOT drinking as heavily. He went from 220 lbs to a scary 155 just stopping drinking.

A friend recently told me about a group called "Don't drink yourself Fat." This could mean from soda to beer. If you are dedicated to your weight loss, I'd say cut down your calorie intake with your fluids (high fructose corn syrup beverages and alcohol).

I support my husband who's beeen sober for over 3 years and I don't drink very often because of it. I am a new mom and haven't drank in some time. I am doing great on No S and am faced with a girls night in party of cocktails and a movie this week. If I go I will be drinking green tea or something safe because ultimately I want to be committed to my weight loss and look better than the other cats...

Phineas · Post by **Phineas** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 1:42 pm

Thanks everyone for your warm welcomes, well wishes, suggestions, and for sharing a bit of your own experiences. This means a lot to me and I look forward to getting to know you all better as time goes on!

Post by **reinhard** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 2:59 pm

Welcome, Phineas!

It sounds like you have very reasonable goals -- but I would go one step further and make your goals behavioral rather than results oriented. Don't worry about hitting some number on the scale so much as establishing moderate, regular habits of eating and exercise (these will almost certainly result in your losing weight, but it helps not to focus on the weight part directly). This doesn't have to be a "mushy" process, you can "quantify" your behavioral compliance using the habitcal or something similar.

My only drinking issue is becoming the very occasional completely overboard drunk, which I'm just getting too old for at this point.

Exactly the problem for which I came up with "glass ceiling." I'm happy to report that in the 5+ years I've been practicing, I've never once gotten out of control drunk (something that happened with distressing frequency before). Using the habitcal and report any overages in the check in has helped, too.

Reinhard

oliviamanda · Post by **oliviamanda** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 5:17 pm

Phineas,

Please tell me how you like the Wii Fit. Is anyone else out there doing it? I tried it once and didn't know what to think except for something is better than nothing.

oliviamanda

Phineas · Post by **Phineas** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 6:09 pm

It sounds like you have very reasonable goals -- but I would go one step further and make your goals behavioral rather than results oriented. Don't worry about hitting some number on the scale so much as establishing moderate, regular habits of eating and exercise (these will almost certainly result in your losing weight, but it helps not to focus on the weight part directly). This doesn't have to be a "mushy" process, you can "quantify" your behavioral compliance using the habitcal or something similar.

Thank you, Reinhard, for taking the time to welcome me and for your feedback. I agree with you completely, and will try to look at this process in that light. A part of me enjoys monitoring my progress and I'm sure I will continue to do this, but above all else I will try to keep my focus on the behavioral changes in my life as I do so. I've set up HabitCal for myself and look forward to using it. Glass ceiling also seems like a great and simple idea for me to put into action and stick with.

Please tell me how you like the Wii Fit. Is anyone else out there doing it? I tried it once and didn't know what to think except for something is better than nothing.

In all honesty, I've had it since it came out and it has largely collected dust until a few weeks ago.

Now that I am making another run at general, overall fitness, its been a pretty cool little tool. As stated above, and contrary to what several others would say, I oddly enjoy keeping a log of my progress. Wii Fit excels in this aspect. I do a 'Body Test' every morning, which is essentially a weigh in, along with a few simple balance tests; the whole process takes maybe 3 minutes. It keeps track of your balance improvements, weight, and BMI in a line graph, so that over time, you get a picture of your overall progress. For what its worth, I've done a few basic tests with the Wii Fit balance board, and it seems very accurate as far as weight measurement is concerned. The exercise "games" built into it are ok I guess, some of them are more appealing and provide a much better workout than others, and some are just ridiculous (running in place! no thanks). For me, someone who enjoys using it to visually chart my progress, its been worth it, but for a person who hates the idea of weighing in and monitoring weight loss that closely, its probably not worth it in my opinion. Using it for exercise is kind of rare for me as I'd much rather go outside and walk, but I do on occasion use it to break a quick sweat before the morning shower