Why don't people get it??

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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Me Too
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Why don't people get it??

Post by Me Too » Tue Sep 30, 2008 1:35 pm

I have been talking and posting about Nos for a while now, mainly because I'm so jazzed about the sensibility and the simplistic nature of a whole new (old) way of eating like normal people.
Why are people so pig headed and think they MUST have sweets and snacks? Why are dieters going to die before they give up snacking between meals? And they might just do that,I know I was on my way before I found Nos. I just don't get it.
To me there is nothing more simple than eating 3 good healthy meals a day, period.
I don't count calories, don't feel deprived from not eating a certain food group, Don't have to go out in the rain and snow to be weighed, don't have to figure out points for a hot fudge sunday....and more stupid things people do to lose weight.

To each their own I guess, I will be a Nos snob till my dieing breath. How about you?
Me Too

3 John:2
Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

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oliviamanda
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Post by oliviamanda » Tue Sep 30, 2008 1:39 pm

I know what you mean. When I lost a lot of weight on No S, and people wanted to know what I did, and I told them... they were not interested. But it's so easy!!! What is wrong with people? I have only been able to convince my mother. :lol:

oliviamanda

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Merry
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Re: Why don't people get it??

Post by Merry » Tue Sep 30, 2008 1:53 pm

Haven't had that experience yet, but I know I'd never make it if I had to count points or figure out calories etc... I want to be able to just eat! And to make something from scratch w/o having to calculate calories etc...

I will say that my dh is (was?) diabetic & has lost 50 lbs. over the last year (and has also had non-diabetic 3-month sugar levels for the last 9 months!) just by learning to count carbs. He did read a lot of labels at first but has gotten good at eyeballing. I think in the end that it has a lot of similarities with NoS--it's the snacks & sugars that get ya!

Merry :-)
Homeschool Mom and No S returnee as of 11-30-15.
2 years and counting on No-S.
29 lbs. down, 34 to go. Slow and steady wins the race.
Respect Moderation

Me Too
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Post by Me Too » Tue Sep 30, 2008 8:56 pm

I'm convinced that all of my excess weight I have, came from eating junk food at night. I would eat good and healthy all day, then at night WHAM the continuous snacking would start. DH would go to bed, I would make a mad dash to the kitchen and munch, graze, snack, binge what ever you want to call it. I was a nightly piggy.
Then I would say this or that diet isn't working, see I'm not losing any weight, and go off it, thinking I was a big fat failure. Year after year, diet after diet, till I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Now with eating just 3 meals daily, with no snacking at night, I can succeed and just maybe win the weight loss battle.
There is a funny sense of freedom that comes with eating 3 meals a day. I know my grocery bill has gone down considerably since I started Nos. I no longer by tons of snacks. I buy only ingredients that I need to make meals.
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3 John:2
Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

blueskighs
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Post by blueskighs » Wed Oct 01, 2008 2:31 am

I'm convinced that all of my excess weight I have, came from eating junk food at night.
Me Too, I was pretty sure the NO S Diet would work for me too because of my binging which wasn't necessarily restricted to night time eating. I just KNEW that if I could JUST STOP binging I wouldn't have to worry about my weight, the beauty of it is that six months later, No S is proving that to be true.

As far as people not "getting it" I think that "Dieting" is a process addiction like work, gambling, or sex addictions. That is probably why it is hard for some people to let go of and "hear" that they actually can :D
I know my grocery bill has gone down considerably since I started Nos. I no longer by tons of snacks. I buy only ingredients that I need to make meals.
Our food bills plummeted after I started No S. One of the things I spent the money on was my personal trainer!


Blueksighs[/quote]
www.nosdiet.blogspot.com Where I blog daily about my No S journey

wosnes
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Post by wosnes » Wed Oct 01, 2008 1:16 pm

I don't even think it's about sweets and snacks. I know a number of people who wouldn't touch a sweet or snack (except maybe fruits or vegetables) and think this won't work. Why? If it's not a plan or a program that restricts certain foods or food groups and/or has you counting something - it won't work. Good habits and moderation is just too danged simple.
"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."

Me Too
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Post by Me Too » Wed Oct 01, 2008 2:51 pm

I agree wosnes, some people just plain think something this simple can't possibly work, since we have become conditioned to such stringent, and difficult diets, like counting calories or memorizing long food lists. I tired of them quickly and then felt depressed.
Now I try to keep it as simple as possible, surprisingly 3 good healthy meals, with no snacks and very limited sweets is the easier softer way for me.
Me Too

3 John:2
Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

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Phineas
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Post by Phineas » Wed Oct 01, 2008 3:30 pm

As far as people not "getting it" I think that "Dieting" is a process addiction like work, gambling, or sex addictions. That is probably why it is hard for some people to let go of and "hear" that they actually can Very Happy
Just throwing my two cents in; I've never thought of it this way, but I think there's some truth to this. I think a lot of people, when starting a diet, will seek out this extra work, counting this, avoiding that in order to feel like they are DOING something. Of course, after that novelty runs stale they're no better off really than they were to begin with, which is what makes this so different. But at a glance, maybe No S is not "doing enough" in their minds. Not sure. Interesting to think about though.
5'8" Male

SW: 225 9/4/08
CW: 170 4/21/09
Goal 1: 195 (BMI 29 ie not obese) - ACHIEVED
Goal 2: 160 (BMI 24 ie not overweight)

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Wed Oct 01, 2008 7:24 pm

I think part of it is there's something embarrassing about how simple it is... if it were complicated, well, that would explain why one hadn't been doing it. If it's really this simple, this obvious even, the implications aren't necessarily so flattering.

Reinhard

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Blithe Morning
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Post by Blithe Morning » Wed Oct 01, 2008 8:43 pm

A while back, I read an old magazine (Reader's Digest I think). It was from the 50's or early 60's. The women had those puffed up page boys (not quite bouffant but you could tell teasing was involved) and A-line cinched waist dresses. The men were in jackets or cardigan sweaters.

What surprised me was the number of advertisements for diet foods. I'm thinking "what the heck?". I wanted to yell through the pages to the people back then and say "This is the future calling. You don't need diet foods. Just keep up what you are doing, except throw in some strength training for the ladies."

I think we are so pounded with the idea that we are doing it wrong (whatever it is), that we need to purchase something (preferably large numbers or quantities of something) in order to do it right, that we lose the ability to trust ourselves. We make it hard and expensive, with gatekeepers and experts that have to be consulted.

Part of this mindset is one of the unintended consequences of relying on research to inform choices. The problem with that is science, as Michael Pollan points out, is reductionist. It isolates one very small variable and tries to figure it out. Sometimes, the result is that conventional wisdom and common sense are disproven or at best, overshadowed for something scientific. The best example of this is the research that "proves" that regular snacking keeps your metabolism higher.

Well, maybe it does in very specific circumstances, but the kickback to that has been we have become a nation (hemisphere?) or snack-o-philes as all snacking is now an approved behavior. And where are all our raging, ravenous metabolisms? Uhm.... overflowing our belts?

wosnes
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Post by wosnes » Fri Oct 03, 2008 2:41 pm

Blithe Morning wrote:A while back, I read an old magazine (Reader's Digest I think). It was from the 50's or early 60's. The women had those puffed up page boys (not quite bouffant but you could tell teasing was involved) and A-line cinched waist dresses. The men were in jackets or cardigan sweaters.

What surprised me was the number of advertisements for diet foods. I'm thinking "what the heck?". I wanted to yell through the pages to the people back then and say "This is the future calling. You don't need diet foods. Just keep up what you are doing, except throw in some strength training for the ladies."

I think we are so pounded with the idea that we are doing it wrong (whatever it is), that we need to purchase something (preferably large numbers or quantities of something) in order to do it right, that we lose the ability to trust ourselves. We make it hard and expensive, with gatekeepers and experts that have to be consulted.

Part of this mindset is one of the unintended consequences of relying on research to inform choices. The problem with that is science, as Michael Pollan points out, is reductionist. It isolates one very small variable and tries to figure it out. Sometimes, the result is that conventional wisdom and common sense are disproven or at best, overshadowed for something scientific. The best example of this is the research that "proves" that regular snacking keeps your metabolism higher.

Well, maybe it does in very specific circumstances, but the kickback to that has been we have become a nation (hemisphere?) or snack-o-philes as all snacking is now an approved behavior. And where are all our raging, ravenous metabolisms? Uhm.... overflowing our belts?
I've been trying to explain reductionism to a friend -- with no success. But whether it was fat or carbs, saturated fat or refined carbs -- everyone is looking at that whichever thing they've picked to be "the bad guy" and nothing else. So much more was going on -- using Crisco and margarine instead of lard and butter, far more refined and processed foods, fast foods, truly junky foods. And so on. The more the food industry and the scientists have tried to "fix" the problem, the fatter and sicker we've gotten.

I have my cholesterol checked about every six months. About 3 years ago, it went from normal to high -- not alarmingly high, but certainly above "average." I knew exactly why -- I'd been under a lot of stress at work and was eating really bad food.

While I was put on a low dose of a statin, the biggest thing I did was clean up my diet. I started eating real food, most of which was cooked by me. Six months later my cholesterol had dropped 100 points. Since then it's stayed within 5 points of the first lower reading. When I last had it checked I was kind of worried because I'd been eating far more butter and meat. I gave thought to postponing my appointment so I could clean up the diet. In the end, I decided that if it was higher, I'd just clean up the diet again. Much to my surprise, it was 10 points lower than the last time it was checked.

I would really love to understand exactly how the scientists and the food industry made us believe that they were right and doubt ourselves and common sense.
"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."

clicklbd
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Post by clicklbd » Sun Oct 05, 2008 3:12 am

I'm new to this way of eating, so this might be "old news" to everyone else. But I currently eat MORE at my meals, even though I'm eating less overall.

You see, I was going to PROVE (haha) that I would eat more doing no s, even though I was a big snacker. I had tons of days of calories entered in, so for kicks, I tracked what I ate (without counting calories) and then at the end of the day, I figured out the calories. I did the calorie counting at the end of the day, because I didn't want the calories to affect my food choices.

In the end, I ate at least 300 calories (sometimes more) less than "normal," for the handful of days I tracked. After that, I stopped tracking. Who needs that hassle!

I also found out that I wasn't feeling deprived or crazy, because I am eating what everyone else is eating. Since I'm the mom here, it makes life sooo much easier.

My big challenge right now is figuring out how the s days will work for me, although I still feel like I need to have the no snacking rule in place. It just makes more sense to me, and I'm definitely less hungry this way. I also discovered that after the power of the forbidden food was removed, I became more picky about what goes in my mouth. It's amazing to me that I would turn down a "treat" because it wasn't good enough!

The other interesting thing is I was told by multiple people on multiple days that I look thinner. I think it must be something other than my body, because I can't have lost that much yet. MAYBE 5 pounds. But I am betting I look more *relaxed*. People always look younger and better when they aren't stressed out over food!

wosnes
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Post by wosnes » Sun Oct 05, 2008 11:41 am

clicklbd wrote: My big challenge right now is figuring out how the s days will work for me, although I still feel like I need to have the no snacking rule in place. It just makes more sense to me, and I'm definitely less hungry this way. I also discovered that after the power of the forbidden food was removed, I became more picky about what goes in my mouth. It's amazing to me that I would turn down a "treat" because it wasn't good enough!
I think initially a lot of people go overboard on "S" days, but it settles down after a while, too. When I go to the farmer's market on Saturday mornings, I buy a treat or two. They're either homemade or made at bakeries that make everything from scratch. I really look forward to them now.

It has amazed me how many store-bought treats have disappeared because they're not good enough. I think I have one left, and , who knows? It may disappear soon, too.

I can't remember where I read this and I know I've posted it sometime in the past. When we make these things, we tend to do it less often because it's time consuming. As a result, we eat less of it. It's much the same with higher quality things we buy at the bakery (or farmer's market). Because they're not readily available and/or more expensive, we buy less of them less often. We eat more of the lesser quality stuff because it's cheap and readily available.
"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."

blueskighs
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Post by blueskighs » Sun Oct 05, 2008 7:04 pm

In the end, I ate at least 300 calories (sometimes more) less than "normal," for the handful of days I tracked. After that, I stopped tracking. Who needs that hassle!
clicklbd,
thank you for "proving" and "sharing" what Reinhard has been telling us all along ... if we DO cut out those snacks sweets and seconds we actually will eat less in the long run! COOL 8)
I also discovered that after the power of the forbidden food was removed, I became more picky about what goes in my mouth. It's amazing to me that I would turn down a "treat" because it wasn't good enough!
I have found this to be true as well.

But I am betting I look more *relaxed*. People always look younger and better when they aren't stressed out over food!
Excellent point!

Blueskighs
www.nosdiet.blogspot.com Where I blog daily about my No S journey

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