a success..but not me! bummer!!

[Grammy G]

Well, it has been quite awhile since I've done any posting and I've decided to add my tale to the testimonial page..a cautionary tale as it turns out! I have been "doing" no S for several years but never really committed (sorry to say) and continues with my half-baked ways...moaning when "it didn't work".. really, I didn't work and accepting the praise that was so available when I lost a few pounds or stuck to a 21 day challenge.
Meanwhile, my husband picked up the book, read it, and was on his way! He never waivered.. he saw the plan as a reasonable approach and he stuck to it.. while I chattered and gripped and lamented, he ate his three meals, got in some exercise every day and ate desserts as a treat on "S" days. His only alterations to the plan was to allow himself1 or 2 Dove squares if he felt the need for chocolate after a meal and he had a few nuts or pretzels with a beer before dinner almost nightly. He has lost over 30 pounds..his shirts are a M instead of an XL and his pants size has gone from a snug 38 to a loose 34. I am wearing the same sizes as when I ordered the book and decided to give this a try!
So... my take on this is..Just Do It!! While I have flitted about making excuses and declaring that I need that snack or I will fade away... hubby,in pretty much the same situations as me, just stuck to his guns and said, "NO, not today " and walked away!
So..my plan? I'm really gonna try to be more like him (in this food area anyhow) and just not see any other way as an option. This is the first time I have really sat down and thought about it and I can see that my approach is just not working as well as his matter-of-fact take on this.
I hope that the next success story I write will be mine!

[Gobble]

I wrote this on another post, Grammy. I am really thinking this is my problem....and why men sometimes seem to stay with it and women don't. Granted men do lose easier than women but this is probably part of the reason. We reason too much and make it complicated instead of "just doing it" like you said:

I read a diet book once, called the Eden Diet and the author is a doctor. She said she would tell her male patients to eat whatever they want just eat less...and they would say..."oh, okay..." but when she told the females the same thing, they always had a million "buts....but what about this and what about that". She said the males would come back a few months later having lost the weight...but the females would come back having not lost weight....(well actually she said something along the line of them coming back with still having their "big buts" Wink.

You can do it. I'm rooting for you!

[Grammy G]

Another "Men Are From Mars..Women Are From Venus" example, Gobble! I believe you hit the nail on the head! I need to remember that... thanks!

[reinhard]

Congratulations to your husband!

And hey, give yourself some credit for introducing the idea to him. Generous and smart -- now that you've gotten him to beta test it for you, you can dive in with greater confidence that it'll work.

Many thanks for sharing this inspiring (and funny!) success story with us and looking forward to reading your own here soon, too!

Reinhard

[Sinnie]

Grammy, that was a great post! Reminded me of my hubby. He always tells me when I have a problem, I thoroughly read, research, and analyze, but don't actually do it. He quoted some song to me: "if you want your boomerang to come back, first you've got to throw it".

[~reneew]

That's funny that you said "just do it" because I just wrote on your daily that I think the difference between our hubbies and us is that they just do it! That is the attitude that I've had since returning this time and I'm loosing. I went a year and a half barely able to do a day and now I have mostly all green habitcals and the scale is reflecting that. I went cold turkey strict vanilla. No debate.

[Grammy G]

sigh so the answer is as simple as that..do what we say we are going to do. There are no other options! period!!
It is good for me to hear there are more than me in this boat. Thanks for adding your comments, Sinnie and Renew.. they are very helpful.
I asked Hubby how he keeps track of what he is eating..he said he doesn't have to..he eats a plate of food and that's it and he keeps a little notebook where he writes down his weight daily..one line a day..same little notebook he has used since he began this process years ago! Do you know how many notebooks and charts and forms I have gone through. So I started yet another little notebook, wrote "JUST DO IT!" on the cover and am now using his system..soooo much easier and, right now, a daily weigh in is what I need (I think..who knows??)

[~reneew]

I weigh daily on a little calendar. I only compare to the weeks before on the same day so I don't get too frustrated with the day-to-day. I also put a tiny happy face sticker on the day if i am successful on NOS. If not, I write what it was that made me fail so I can see a pattern and learn. It really helps me the most of all. When I don't weigh, I tend to ignore that I even have aproblem.

[Grammy G]

Reneew..thanks for sharing. I had planned to weigh daily(I really need to do that) but only "count" once a week. I didn't think of identifying a problem when I see it so I could track that too. I appreciate the input and will be putting it to good use.
More good news from Hubby: He had his physical yesterday and the doc said his blood work is so good that he can skip the next testing in six months if he chooses! she told him to keep up with whatever it is he is doing because it is sure working on both his weight and his "numbers".
I am going to agree with Reinard and give myself some credit for being the one who introduced him to NO S and the one who buys groceries and prepares meals (well..dinners) and makes sure those three-plates-a-day are full of healthy foods.
If Hubby can do this, so can I!!!

[NoSRocks]

Hi there Grammy G! Thanks so much for sharing your hubby's very inspirational story. I know what you mean, hon, I too tend to overthink and worry (aka over complicate) when it comes to losing weight. I think that is a big part of my problem too. I tend to think ahead and fret about how I'll cope during a certain situation i.e. eating out or at a friend's house when it can be more tricky to say no. No S has gone a long way in helping me got over a lot of that food/diet anxiety - thank you Reinhard! But I still have a long way to go.

Good luck with your No S journey too, hon. We are all rooting for you and again, thank you for sharing this with us!

[Amy3010]

Thanks for posting this - hugely inspirational and lots of food for thought here - yes, I am also guilty of the error of overthinking everything and making it more complicated than it has to be...back to plain old vanilla for me!

[Bananna]

What a great read!

So men do have some inherent strengths...haha.
I SOOOO have this problem. I am amazed by the doctor's story as well re men vs. women.

and the simplicity of it...very in keeping with the No S diet itself, ofcourse.

[oolala53]

Grammy, are you there?

This reminds me of reading that men often lost weight just by cutting out what they thought their worst eating habit was. No calorie counting, no tracking. But they did do it. No waffling.

Best wishes in 2013!