Newbie issues

DustyRoseAZ · Post by **DustyRoseAZ** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 4:50 am

Just heard about No S last week. Stumbled on it while researching the "Naturally Slim" diet someone at work is doing. This sounded simpler, and a lot cheaper, so I started it right away! I am 63, 5'4" and about 30-35 lbs overweight. The ONLY diet I ever liked was the HCG diet. It was easy for me and the weight just fell off. I went from 155 to 130 in just a few months. The problem is, in the next year after going off of it I shot up to 180! So that is a "no go" for me, even though it really worked for me while I was on it.

I've managed to get down to 165, and have maintained that for around a year. But I really want to get back down to 130 or so, which is my normal adult weight. I have been vegetarian for over 4 years, and eat pretty healthy most of the time. I haven't had a soda in almost 7 years, don't drink juice or alcohol either. Just drink water mostly. I do use stevia sweetener in my water sometimes though. I generally eat around 1200-1500 calories a day, but I don't lose.

I am at a computer 10+ hours a day which I know is a problem. I got a rowing machine last year and rowed 5 to 8 miles a day, but never got below 165. This year I had health problems and haven't exercised at all. Haven't gained but haven't lost. The No S should be easy for me. I'm not a big sweet eater. (Potato chips and French fries would be my weakness - although I rarely let myself have them.) My vegetarian diet is naturally high carb, with beans and grains and fruit, but I generally get over 40 grams of fiber a day.

I can go from breakfast at 7am to noon without too much trouble. But I have a problem going from noon till about 7:30pm when I get home from work. By then I am ravenous, and I want to eat too much. I start getting a headache around 6 in the evening. I can't really change my lunch hour. I'm willing to give this a try, but I have very little confidence that I will actually lose weight without counting calories...but even that doesn't work for me anymore. Any thoughts?

Amy3010 · Post by **Amy3010** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 6:23 am

I find a mid-afernoon glass of soy milk or a V-8 helps me get through til dinner. Good luck!

kaalii · Post by **kaalii** » Wed Sep 21, 2016 7:21 pm

i find it easier when my eating window is smaller - i usually eat my 3 plates in approximately 8 hours between the 1st and the last one... this habit stayed from 16/8 intermittent fasting way of eating, my first diet ever... i get hungry but rarely ravenous... (unless i have eaten junk food or too much alcohol)

i feel much more hungry, smtms ravenous, between meals on the days when this is not easily possible to organize (for me this is on thursdays, when i normally have very early breakfast and times between meals are longer)... i muscle through my thursdays but if i had to eat like that every day - id have to come up with some other plan...

it is funny how hunger between meals can seem harder than the 16 hours of "fasting" (7-8 of which are sleep)...

oh, in the evenings and/or mornings i drink different herbal unsweetened teas... im glad im developing that habit because before i would drink herbal teas only when im sick... now they found their way in my life and are adding to some quality hydration...
i dont drink coffee any more (stopped 6 years ago because it is really bad for my stomack and heart rate) - but if i did i would drink a light unsweetened version of it instead of herbal tea, sometimes...
and yes, water bottle is my close friend...

DustyRoseAZ · Post by **DustyRoseAZ** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 3:24 am

Thank you for your replies. I really want this to work!
I made it through another day. Passed up all the sweets that people have brought to share, and promised myself a 1 oz bag of peanuts at 5pm to help get me through till I can get home from work.
With my commute and long hours at work, I usually leave at 7:30 in the morning and don't get home until 7 or 7:30 pm, sometimes even later.... then I fix dinner and, like tonight, it is 8:15 and I just finished eating my dinner.
I think I can work with this plan if its ok to have a bag of peanuts at 5 each day. It gives me the salt that I crave, and also some protein and fiber, and it's something to look forward to as a reward for not giving in to the candy/donuts/cookies etc. that are ALWAYS sitting out for people to share. It also helps me to not be starving when I finally get to eat, so I think I will eat less.
Is that ok?

noni · Post by **noni** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 1:23 pm

A small bag of peanuts to get you through until dinner? Yes, it's fine and it's considered No S with a mod. Many here have mods to make No S doable and enjoyable.

DustyRoseAZ · Post by **DustyRoseAZ** » Thu Sep 22, 2016 8:18 pm

That's great! Thank you noni! I can DO this!!!

lpearlmom · Post by **lpearlmom** » Sat Sep 24, 2016 3:21 pm

So important to set yourself up for success. I think your mod sounds perfect! Best of luck!

Btw, I'm in Az too (Peoria). I have all my doors and windows open this morning (finally)--so happy!!

Enjoy the weather & post often!

Linda

bunsofaluminum · Post by **bunsofaluminum** » Sun Sep 25, 2016 11:50 am

Hi there

and welcome

Looks like you've figured out a little tweak to help you succeed at No S, and that's great. I think some part of not being able to lose weight might have to do with age. I'm a vegetarian too, going into menopause, and have found that I have to eat very low fat (like less than 20%) in order to lose weight. I've been doing No S since mid May and have not lost anything from my starting weight. However, I did gain a little bit at the beginning, and that has come off and is staying off. I expect the pounds to start dropping slowly.

Slowly. Just wanted to let you know maybe not to expect it to just drop off. It's a habit you are developing, so don't get hung up on results. Some people do lose quicker than others, but it is not a quick weight loss program. Anyway, weight loss or no, it is wonderful for gaining some sanity about food, and I'll never do any differently. It is very natural and easy and has taught me a lot about my own body. Just like being a veg head, this is how I eat. Period.

Dale · Post by **Dale** » Mon Sep 26, 2016 11:44 am

I sometimes carry a few nuts around with me, just in case I feel that I absolutely HAVE to eat something! It's more of a psychological thing for me, the comfort of knowing they are there.

Anyway, interesting points about losing weight with No S when older/smaller/etc. I initially lost weight very succesfully with No S, but I had a LOT to lose, and I think that made it easier. I have since found it works well for maintaining, but I still have to be careful with portion size - I could easily gain weight on three plates of food a day. Now that I'm trying to lose a bit more I'm a lot more careful with what I eat, making adjustments which seem to help me eat less and last longer (I won't go into details here, as I don't think it's a good idea to derail from basic No S - it's just what works for me at the moment). Apart from occasional dabbles in IF, I've kept No S as a template, the idea of only eating at mealtimes, with some leeway at weekends, works very well for me.

And I agree with what has been said about the habit. At the beginning, I would sometimes have calorific drinks like milky coffee to keep me going between meals, just to keep to the habit (it's a drink without sugar! So it doesn't count!), and I still do that now and then if I'm struggling. But eventually, I got used to eating less often and it wasn't a hardship.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Tue Sep 27, 2016 10:11 pm

People here hate the idea of calories or limiting food types, but it really seems that shorter, older people may have to modify the plan a fair amount to lose weight. You'd be surprised how little short, older women in long lived cultures eat if they're thin. But not all of them stay thin, yet their heavier weight doesn't seem to damage their health.

After the initial ten pounds, I rarely lost weight unless I went through some phases of eating even less on S days than I did on N days, but not by plan. I just went with reduced hunger.

I can't change the past, but one thing I would do differently is move more consistently. My bodyfat is rather consistent, but since I lost about 40 lbs., I know a fair amount has been muscle. Not MORE than it would have been if I hadn't found NO S, I think, but still.

If nothing else, you can regard this as a sane holding pattern while you refine your plates and possibly your schedule. The mod you've chosen is perfectly reasonable either temporarily or possibly permanently, as long as it remains a limited habit. I used decaf mochas for years. And guess what? People surprise themselves about what they eventually find unnecessary.