another sold newbie!!!

jaob · Post by **jaob** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 1:55 pm

I found this site while googling another diet and boy am I sold! Thanks, Reinhart for your insight and humor. There's no other way to approach this! I have been lurking for about a week and I have found the support equally insightful!

So here I am, a newbie, with questions. But, first I will give a quick intro. I am a 44 yr. old wife, mother of 2 teens. Been on pretty much every diet known and have yo-yo'd between 172 (top weight) and 110 (ideal weight for 5'2" w/ shoes). I am at 145, but I realize I am at risk of sliding right back up!!! I really need moderation in my life! But I don't want to give up my red wine (my sugar of choice) so it will fit in on my S-days!

So...my question...Do many of you drink wine? How often? Do you save it for S-days? As you can see wine has been important to me, but I haven't been able to figure out how to incorporate it into a WOE and lose weight too.

Thanks in advance! Jenny

gratefuldeb67 · Post by **gratefuldeb67** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 2:20 pm

WOE is me, an IM'er!!! LOL..

Hey Jenny! Welcome...
I think that a glass of wine per day is okay.. I wouldn't worry about it..
I think if you were having margaritas or rum and *coke* it would matter then...
Reinhard drinks, and so do some other guys.. Betsy occasionally has a bit of the fruit of the vine!...
This shouldn't make that big of an impact on your weight as long as it's not a whole lot.... What's a whole lot? More than two glasses, is Reinhards system (Glass ceiling... Get it? *Wine* glass! LOL...)

145 sounds pretty darn healthy to me, I am about sixty pounds away from you!! But I can understand you wanting to maintain and even drop a bit more... But go by how you feel personally, not by the horribly skewed ideals out there which are perpetuated by all media.... Models are airbrushed, not perfect...
You will love this diet... Yes I call it a diet, but it's not like any other "Lame Bozo Phoney" diet.. You'll notice the big differences in a few areas...
1. Enjoyability
2. Maintainability
3. Least brain cells killed in the process...

Seriously, after a few months you will feel very used to this and won't have to think too much about the basic rules...

Do you do any exercise regularly? That's pretty crucial in maintaining health at any age, but I especially noticed how important it was once I hit the years over thirty... Big change in metabolism... Do *something* every day, if you can... Or at least on N days....
Good luck and have fun...
Peace and Love,

Deb

Kevin · Post by **Kevin** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 10:10 pm

I sometimes have a beer with dinner, but I find that alcohol interferes with weight loss - by interfering with my willpower. For the first three weeks, I'd avoid it. Maybe introduce it once or twice a week after that.

Most often, I reserve it for S days.

If you are trying to lose weight, I would suggest walking. I don't know why, but it seems to me to be more effective than running, SGing, cycling, whatever.

carolejo · Post by **carolejo** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 9:20 am

I don't have a specific rule about Alcohol, but then again, I don't tend to drink much during the week anyway as I have to get up too early in the morning

I'm fond of a glass of good red wine with my evening meal, once in a while. If you feel that it's a problem for you, then it's probably sensible to put a rule around it and save it for the weekend though. There's no 'S' in Alcohol, but if you turn it into a loophole and don't follow the spirit of it all, then you'll not get to where you want to be quite as quickly.

Good luck, whatever you decide.
C.

Post by **reinhard** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 1:20 pm

Welcome, Jenny. You've found the right system. No-s is all about permanent, sustainable, pleasurable change. But this upside is also its downside: it's slow, it takes patience, starting up can be tough.

Regarding drinks, to quote from the nos home page:

http://nosdiet.com/#drinks

I don't count alcoholic beverages as esses. I usually have a drink or two a day, which I've read is supposed to be very healthy. 2 drinks is my "glass ceiling," however, because I've read (and experienced) that more than that can be pretty awful. If you drink that or less, I don't imagine it'll have much impact from a caloric point of view. If you drink much more, you may have a different sort of problem altogether.

The french drink, they're thin, and have longer life expectancies (despite all that smoking). It can't be that bad for your weight.

Reinhard

Azathoth · Post by **Azathoth** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 3:49 pm

I usually have a drink or two a day. I haven't found anything about it that has caused me problems, in fact it's very relaxing in the evening and, like Reinhard has said, there are a good number of studies that show a small amount each day is very good for you.

As all these systems appeal to me as being practical and a way to sort of "get back to your roots" in terms of living and eating in the habits of our ancestors (at least as much as our "advanced" society will allow), I find that the thought of having a beer or a glass of wine in the evening fits very well with that image. Nothing goes hand in hand with physical activity and healthy living better than a nice cold beer at the end of a hard day (or even a glass of fine wine), and I'll stick with it til the day I die (and plan to be No-S'ing, UR'ing, and Shovelgloving even then, perhaps with a lighter SG, but nevertheless...).

Welcome Jenny, good luck, and don't be worried about a little red wine in moderation, we all indulge ourselves a little.

jaob · Post by **jaob** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 11:11 pm

THANKS

everyone!!! I feel so welcome. I have always thought a glass of wine or two couldn't be that bad (health wise) but just can't seem to lose weight. I will probably try saving it for S days, but I won't feel bad if I have one along with dinner.

Although 145 isn't an unhealthy weight, it is not comfortable on me. This may be unrealistic but I'd like to lose about 20 lbs. I know that doing the NoS WOE will take patience, but it is such a NORMAL way to eat that I can do it!!!

My struggle this week is to try to figure out timing. I eat breakfast around 8:00 before work. Then my lunch is 11:30 (non-negotiable) and I get home around 3:30. We usually eat dinner around 7:00 (semi-negotiable if I want to eat alone

). It's a long stretch from 11:30 lunch to dinner with no snacks in between. I tried eating breakfast at 8:00 and then lunch at 3:30, but that's a long stretch too. I think tomorrow I will try eating breakfast at 11:30 then lunch at 3:30 and then dinner at 7:00. If anyone has any other suggestions please feel free to chime in!!

Anyway, I've bent your ears (or eyes) long enough

, but one more bit of info...I have been SGing (5 min. starting this week, 10 next week etc.)

Again, thanks for the warm welcome! I can usually only check in on weekends so I will try to keep up with everyone! Have a great N-day! Jenny

Azathoth · Post by **Azathoth** » Thu Oct 06, 2005 11:50 pm

My only suggestion would be that whether you only do 5 minutes of actual shovelgloving or not you should carve out the 14-minute time slot anyway. Starting slow is fine, work for 5 mins with it and then just stand there holding it for the other 9 minutes if you need to, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Carving out this time slot will help you set the habit of finding that same amount of time everyday and before you know what's happening you'll find yourself in a good routine.

Good luck!

MerryKat · Post by **MerryKat** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 11:51 am

If you need to work in a small planned meal at 3.30 I really don't think it would be the end of the world. As long as it is a scheduled thing - you may find that would help you eat a smaller dinner. 3 meals is ideal, but if your day does not work that way you need to find what works for you.

peetie · Post by **peetie** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 1:56 pm

I agree with Mo. I think one size doesn't necessarily fit all, but gives us a structure to base it all on. I, myself, have a very small snack just before bed because it helps me fall asleep better. Something like (get ready, Deb), a few cooked prunes....a piece of leftover something from dinner....a slice of bread with some hummos. It hasn't made me gain any weight, and it works for my particular body.

Peetie

Post by **reinhard** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 1:07 am

Jenny,

You should not be starving and miserable on No-s. If your work schedule is such that the stretch between lunch and dinner is intolerably long, by all means give yourself and official "snack" meal in between. Others have done this successfully (see Kevin's check-in for an exemplary example). Just be aware that doing so requires extra vigilance. What you might want to do, to keep up that spirit of vigilance, is make the snack-meal small and healthy (say, fruit) and leave a token corner of your dinner plate empty to compensate. This "virtual plating" is less important calorically than it is psychologically. You get the benefit of still feeling virtuous and a little nudge to be careful.

Regarding shovelglove, azathoth makes a good suggestion (to carve out the full 14 minutes whether you shovelglove the whole time or not). But anything, done (week)daily, is a great start. Congratulations and welcome!

Reinhard