4 months in and 14 lbs down - time for a testimonial

(New!) Read (or post) about people who have stuck with No-S for 10 or more months, lost 10 or more pounds, or 10 or more percent for their starting weight. Periodic updates strongly encouraged -- you can think of it as "Yearly Check In."

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nettee
Posts: 471
Joined: Sun Nov 22, 2015 10:01 pm
Location: UK

4 months in and 14 lbs down - time for a testimonial

Post by nettee » Fri Jan 27, 2017 6:32 pm

Hello there. I am posting this because I have lost a stone on No S and have kept on with it for 4 months now. I am so pleased with this way of eating for so many reasons and can imagine sticking with it for a long time and keeping up the motivation for maintenance although that does seem a long way off.

I lost the first half stone quite quickly and the weight loss has slowed down to about 2 lb a month but that is fine as I believe I will reach a healthy weight and stay there.

The best thing about the diet for me are:

Eating nearly anything for my three meals a day - very healthy and home cooked, supermarket sandwiches or takeaways/ meals out. I find I want healthy food which I think has to do with having an appetite.

Enjoying the meals more - appetite again.

Feeling in control and escaping my sugar addiction. I still need to crack this on S days as I am sometimes an idiot but not every S day and I can get back on track on Mondays.

Being able to mark a NWS day where necessary and not feeling that I have broken the diet.

Thinking about the diet very little - escaping the obsession that is required for some other diets and can't last forever.

It fits in so well with social eating especially with my husband. No special diet food and I am motivated to cook supper!

The support available on the boards here and the simplicity of habitcal.

The hard bits:

Learning to say no thank you to sweets and snacks being offered (although people don't really care what you eat)

The sugar cravings - these might go away if I didn't eat sugar at the weekend.

Feeling hungry in the afternoons - not always and I have got used to it as not that bad, learned to eat enough at meal times or I have a cup of tea to calm it down

Getting S days right

My mods:

Mainly relate to S days. I have tried a maximum of 5 S events and keeping off sweets 7 days a week. I have relaxed this now and aim for only having Ss that really feel worth it. Some days go better than others....

Intelligent dietary defaults:

Breakfast - toasted pitta bread, Brie and sweet peppers in the week, fried egg on toast with mushrooms and tomatoes at the weekend. I always aim to include some protein.

Work lunch - sandwich, salad, fruit and yoghurt - no crisps

This is my 3rd start and I do know that it is very possible to fall off the no S wagon and gain plenty of weight. I hope though that two episodes of that are enough for me. We will see. I hope to be back at a year in or 2 stone off with continued enthusiasm.
3 tasty meals a day and loving it

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kaalii
Posts: 745
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Location: switzerland

Post by kaalii » Fri Jan 27, 2017 9:37 pm

excellent, nettee!!! such a great summary!
congratulations on great progress!!!
Age:40
BMI: 18.8
Body Fat %: 17.6
in it for maintenance and, more importantly, sanity!!

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reinhard
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Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:38 pm
Location: Cambridge, MA
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Post by reinhard » Mon Jan 30, 2017 1:35 pm

Congratulations Nettee! And thanks for letting us know.

Of the many benefits you list, I think this is my favorite:

Thinking about the diet very little - escaping the obsession that is required for some other diets and can't last forever
Thanks for listing your hard bits, too. This is the one that resonates most with me:
Learning to say no thank you to sweets and snacks being offered (although people don't really care what you eat)
I think the secret is really learning to believe that second part -- they really, really don't care! Should be obvious, right? Do we care what others eat? Do we notice? And yet the other way around our funny self-obsessed psychology somehow doesn't want to let us off the hook.

Best of luck going forward and looking forward to your next report!

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

Post by oolala53 » Mon Jan 30, 2017 3:12 pm

I think it's very interesting that it seems the holidays came and went without a lot of drama. They just fit in, as we would all like them to.

No matter what happens next, four months of relief sounds like a pretty good deal.

(Actually, I think there are some people who DO care what we eat and take it personally when we don't, but that's ultimately possible to overcome, too. But maybe you meant you might feel a little like you are missing out?)

Looking forward to updates.
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)

nettee
Posts: 471
Joined: Sun Nov 22, 2015 10:01 pm
Location: UK

Post by nettee » Mon Jan 30, 2017 5:40 pm

Thank you for your comments - it means a lot to me - especially hearing from you, Reinhard as the inventor of the system.

Most people really don't notice or care if you don't eat the snack they have offered round. Once I tried it I found that to be a revelation. Some people might especially if the baked something especially for you. I am used to the rules so don't really feel tempted in this situation but do think about how I can manage it without upsetting anyone 🙂.

Re the holidays - I had 2 nws days in December and one in January. I gained about 2lb and lost it again before long (this does not take account of my immediate post holiday weight but is Saturday 24th Dec to Sat 7th Jan. I am quite pleased that, although I do weigh daily, I am not freaked out by fluctuations.
3 tasty meals a day and loving it

MaggieMae
Posts: 589
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2015 9:53 pm
Location: Ohio, USA

Post by MaggieMae » Mon Jan 30, 2017 8:52 pm

Way to go, Nette! You've inspired me!

Imogen Morley
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Joined: Sun Mar 21, 2010 1:11 pm

Post by Imogen Morley » Thu Mar 16, 2017 3:39 pm

Thanks for posting this. Your perspective is a much-needed encouragement.

osoniye
Posts: 1257
Joined: Sat May 22, 2010 2:19 pm
Location: Horn of Africa

Post by osoniye » Sat Mar 25, 2017 8:40 am

Thanks for sharing, netee.
Very helpful!
-Sonya
No Sweets, No Snacks and No Seconds, Except (Sometimes) on days that start with "S".

Tombo
Posts: 97
Joined: Tue May 01, 2018 2:18 pm
Location: UK

Post by Tombo » Wed May 09, 2018 2:28 pm

Thanks for sharing your success and providing an in depth analysis of what is going well and what has been difficult for you.

Your breakfasts sound super yummy btw!!

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