love, Love, LOVE No S!

(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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Sweetness
Posts: 1152
Joined: Thu Aug 25, 2011 2:54 pm
Location: Fall and winters in Cuernavaca, Morelos Mexico and summers in St Paul, Minnesota

love, Love, LOVE No S!

Post by Sweetness » Sat Mar 09, 2013 3:43 am

About me, I'm a 58 year old woman, five foot six inches, I now weigh about 187 or 185, down from 197... (my scale here in Mexico is unreliable). I live with my hubby and two young adult sons in St. Paul, Minnesota USA in the summers, and hubby and I are snowbirds here in Mexico in the winters. I have been on No S for more than a year now, even if you subtract the two months when I fell off and gained several pounds. Today someone asked me how much weight I have lost! She noticed! I've only lost about 10 or 12 pounds, but that's all happened since October, when I came close to my all time high weight of 200 pounds. I'm happy to report I'm right now wearing some capris I haven't fit into for a couple years.

I love No S! Even though I have 20 to 25 pounds I still could lose, and the weight is coming off s l o w l y, I am heading the right direction, and my relationship with food is much better. Before I started No S I was very discouraged, thinking the only way to lose weight was a strict calorie counting mode, because that's the way I had lost weight before. I had gotten down to almost my ideal weight a few years ago, lost 20 plus pounds, but the weight crept back on a few pounds a year, even though I was conscious of eating healthy and avoiding sweets most of the time. I always felt guilty about eating sweets. Now I enjoy my sweets, just only on the weekends. I ate a lot of snacks before, now I enjoy being hungry for each of my 3 meals a day. I rarely have that sickening overfull guilty feeling that was so common to me before NoS.

One thing I LOVE about NoS is that I know I can easily maintain my weight if I just stick to the simple habit, and the habit is not hard! You can't say that about any other diet that I know of.

The boards, the encouragement of others who have walked this path is so valuable. So many success stories! I feel like I'm not alone on the journey.

Right before Thanksgiving I started a running program (C25K) and gradually worked my way up till I could run for 35 minutes straight. I love the way my metabolism kicked up and I have more energy. I'd like to run further and faster but I'm having some knee issues. I was also faithful to The No S habit and for the first time in my life I lost weight over the holidays. I did this while allowing some extra S days and events, and enjoying sweet treats. YESSSS!

January this year was quite stressful, I flew home to help my family for 3 weeks as my Mom had an apparent heart attack. I was able to stick to habit most days, and didn't relapse or gain weight. I stuck to my running schedule, every other day, running outside whenever it was above zero Fahrenheit, even right after snow, they plow the walking paths there... a couple times I ran indoors in a shopping mall. I was proud of myself!

I look forward to sticking with the NoS habit as a way of life. Why would I want to give up freedom! Thanks Reinhard for sharing your wisdom with us!

March 23, 2013 update:

As soon as I wrote my testimonial, I thought I should have explained what happened when I relapsed. I'm writing this for my own benefit, because I may soon be in a similar situation as last year, also it may help someone else to avoid the same mistakes I made.

When I started No S, i was quite motivated to lose weight, because i was alarmed at how much weight had crept back on. The first few weeks i was in Minnesota, we are busy there but it was the honeymoon period with No S and I lost about 3 pounds. I usually have a more laid back style of life here in Mexico. When we came to Mexico, it was nice to have the boards for encouragement, because when we first get here in the fall we usually are NOT busy, and I feel a little lonesome. I did well, settling in to a routine here with No S, but didn't get into much exercise, I kept loading my plates pretty full and didn't lose and maintain any more weight loss the six months we were here. When we got back to the states in April, I was So busy right away.... Working 30 plus hours a week, plus 15 to 20 hours of ministry work, along with conferences, helping my folks and trying to get together with friends. I actually maintained for a couple months even without posting here on the board. I took 5 trips in July and August, and didn't gain weight, but without accountability, September and October I just lost the habit... And gained 7 pounds!

So here is my plan for success this summer. I will keep up with my "daily" thread. I don't have to post daily but must account for EVERY DAY. Accountability is the most important key to success on the no S habit for me. I decided I won't work for pay more than 20 hours a week, the ministry and family must take priority. I'm also going to make a rule that if I have more than 4 reds in a month, I have to do a 21 day challenge to get back on track. Those have always helped me, and I can do them. I've done 3 this winter. I'll also keep up with the running at least 3 times a week. So far this habit has been self motivating for me, i missed only once since I started, and thats this week, the hotel had no place to run, and it was too dangerous to leave the grounds. I just love the way I feel when I run and afterwards, and it's key to losing weight. By the way, I think I found the secret to not hurting my knees. I had been running on concrete, because all the streets are concrete here in my neighborhood. Now I walk to the soccer field, and run on the grass and dirt around it for 30 to 35 minutes then walk back... 55 minutes total workout. I also wear knee supports. My knees are fine, and I think I lost a couple more pounds in the past 2 weeks! Yes!!! So that's the plan, it helped me to think this out, hope it helps someone else. 8)
Last edited by Sweetness on Sat Mar 23, 2013 8:28 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Patty

Anxiety in a person's heart weighs him down, but an encouraging word brings him joy. (Proverbs 12:25 NET)
I'm a glutton for encouragement.

vmsurbat
Posts: 499
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 6:12 am
Location: Montenegro

Post by vmsurbat » Sat Mar 09, 2013 10:27 am

Congratulations!
but the weight crept back on a few pounds a year, even though I was conscious of eating healthy and avoiding sweets most of the time.
This was my experience pre-NoS as well--generally watching what I ate may have slowed the pounds creeping on but they did creep.
One thing I LOVE about NoS is that I know I can easily maintain my weight if I just stick to the simple habit, and the habit is not hard! You can't say that about any other diet that I know of.
Yes, yes, yes!

And like you, we don't live full-time in the States and I could never follow any of the popular diets--they require/restrict so many foods that aren't available/only thing available in other parts of the world.

Thanks for sharing your story!
Vicki in MNE
7! Yrs. with Vanilla NoS, down 55+lb, happily maintaining and still loving it!

finallyfull
Posts: 354
Joined: Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:10 pm

Post by finallyfull » Sat Mar 09, 2013 2:30 pm

Congratulations! Sanity is wonderful. Also good to hear about the running. If for no other reason than to have more energy.

Don't hurt those knees pushing for more when you are doing so well!

Sweetness
Posts: 1152
Joined: Thu Aug 25, 2011 2:54 pm
Location: Fall and winters in Cuernavaca, Morelos Mexico and summers in St Paul, Minnesota

Post by Sweetness » Sun Mar 10, 2013 8:38 pm

Vicki, I had to look up Montenegro to find out where it is. My memory was right, I thought it had been part of Yugoslavia. I have friends who lived in Macedonia for years. Do they speak Serbian in Montenegro?

I have quite a change in diet and the way I cook when I come back to Mexico each fall, and again when I'm in the states, mostly based on availability, partly on culture. I also change my schedule of meals. In the U.S.A. it's 8 AM, noon, 5 or 6 PM (main meal). In Mexico, it's 9 or 10 AM, 2 to 4 PM (main meal), and 7 to 9 PM (light supper), actually here many people have two breakfasts to make four meals. What's the normal meal pattern in Montenegro?

Finally full, thanks for the kind words. I am being careful with my knees, yesterday I did some fast walking instead of running. :wink:
Patty

Anxiety in a person's heart weighs him down, but an encouraging word brings him joy. (Proverbs 12:25 NET)
I'm a glutton for encouragement.

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reinhard
Site Admin
Posts: 5918
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:38 pm
Location: Cambridge, MA
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Post by reinhard » Mon Mar 11, 2013 3:05 pm

Congratulations, sweetness! Sounds like you're doing well on many fronts!

Liz46
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Feb 20, 2013 10:17 pm

Post by Liz46 » Mon Mar 11, 2013 3:37 pm

Sweetness, Congratulations! I can relate to the calorie counting and gaining the weight back. Yes, calorie counting works, but it's not sustainable unless you have super human strength. No way will I ever go back to it. No S makes more sense than any program I've tried and I've tried a lot of them!

I'm so happy for you for finding a way of life that gives you peace with food and you're reaping the rewards of it with weight loss! WTG!
Restart Date: 10/31/13
Starting Weight: 226

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

Post by oolala53 » Tue Mar 12, 2013 10:25 pm

Very nice to hear of how much happier you are with your eating and especially with getting hungry for your meals. Exercise is still missing for me, but I've managed to take off a few more pounds each year, and we are in the same age range. (My highest weight was also 200 lbs. at 5'6", but it wasn't very long-lived. However, 190 went on for quite awhile. And I, too, lost before regaining and finding No S. )
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)

Sweetness
Posts: 1152
Joined: Thu Aug 25, 2011 2:54 pm
Location: Fall and winters in Cuernavaca, Morelos Mexico and summers in St Paul, Minnesota

Post by Sweetness » Fri Mar 15, 2013 2:07 am

Reinhard, Liz, Oolala, Thanks for the feedback! It means a lot to me.
Patty

Anxiety in a person's heart weighs him down, but an encouraging word brings him joy. (Proverbs 12:25 NET)
I'm a glutton for encouragement.

User avatar
NoSRocks
Posts: 1137
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2010 12:51 am

Post by NoSRocks » Sat Mar 23, 2013 2:26 am

ABSOLUTELY INSPIRING POST, PATTY!

MANY CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SUCCESS! :) :wink: :wink: :D
No S-er since December 2009
Streamlined S Days: 6/25/12
SW: 170 /CW: 127
Weight loss to date: 43 lbs

Sweetness
Posts: 1152
Joined: Thu Aug 25, 2011 2:54 pm
Location: Fall and winters in Cuernavaca, Morelos Mexico and summers in St Paul, Minnesota

Post by Sweetness » Sat Mar 23, 2013 8:23 pm

Roxie, Thanks!


The following is now posted at the top as well excuse the repetition!


As soon as I wrote my testimonial, I thought I should have explained what happened when I relapsed. I'm writing this for my own benefit, because I may soon be in a similar situation as last year, also it may help someone else to avoid the same mistakes I made.

When I started No S, i was quite motivated to lose weight, because i was alarmed at how much weight had crept back on. The first few weeks i was in Minnesota, we are busy there but it was the honeymoon period with No S and I lost about 3 pounds. I usually have a more laid back style of life here in Mexico. When we came to Mexico, it was nice to have the boards for encouragement, because when we first get here in the fall we usually are NOT busy, and I feel a little lonesome. I did well, settling in to a routine here with No S, but didn't get into much exercise, I kept loading my plates pretty full and didn't lose and maintain any more weight loss the six months we were here. When we got back to the states in April, I was So busy right away.... Working 30 plus hours a week, plus 15 to 20 hours of ministry work, along with conferences, helping my folks and trying to get together with friends. I actually maintained for a couple months even without posting here on the board. I took 5 trips in July and August, and didn't gain weight, but without accountability, September and October I just lost the habit... And gained 7 pounds!

So here is my plan for success this summer. I will keep up with my "daily" thread. I don't have to post daily but must account for EVERY DAY. Accountability is the most important key to success on the no S habit for me. I decided I won't work for pay more than 20 hours a week, the ministry and family must take priority. I'm also going to make a rule that if I have more than 4 reds in a month, I have to do a 21 day challenge to get back on track. Those have always helped me, and I can do them. I've done 3 this winter. I'll also keep up with the running at least 3 times a week. So far this habit has been self motivating for me, i missed only once since I started, and thats this week, the hotel had no place to run, and it was too dangerous to leave the grounds. I just love the way I feel when I run and afterwards, and it's key to losing weight. By the way, I think I found the secret to not hurting my knees. I had been running on concrete, because all the streets are concrete here in my neighborhood. Now I walk to the soccer field, and run on the grass and dirt around it for 30 to 35 minutes then walk back... 55 minutes total workout. I also wear knee supports. My knees are fine, and I think I lost a couple more pounds in the past 2 weeks! Yes!!! So that's the plan, it helped me to think this out, hope it helps someone else. 8)
Patty

Anxiety in a person's heart weighs him down, but an encouraging word brings him joy. (Proverbs 12:25 NET)
I'm a glutton for encouragement.

Sweetness
Posts: 1152
Joined: Thu Aug 25, 2011 2:54 pm
Location: Fall and winters in Cuernavaca, Morelos Mexico and summers in St Paul, Minnesota

Two years later....

Post by Sweetness » Fri Mar 06, 2015 7:03 pm

This is two years later... I'm going to comment on my own post. This was very inspiring for me to read now that I've been neglecting my good habits for a while. Both of my parents died in the past year... and my habits have helped me but I'm way out of line at this point, and have gained weight. I know that No S is the best way for me to go, and reading my own testimonial is a good motivator. I went to the gym today for the first time in a week, and feel better already. Today will be day one for me again. I came home from the gym this morning hungry, and instead of having a snack like I have gotten into the bad habit of doing, I had a glass of almond milk and am going to wait till dinnertime (about 2PM here in Mexico) to eat anything. I remember how much I enjoyed having an appetite for dinner! :wink:
Patty

Anxiety in a person's heart weighs him down, but an encouraging word brings him joy. (Proverbs 12:25 NET)
I'm a glutton for encouragement.

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

Post by oolala53 » Fri Mar 06, 2015 8:29 pm

Sorry to hear of your loss, but glad to have you back "home" with this very kind, smart, and portable way to live.

BTW, I started No S at age 56, 5"5", and 185. I'm not as thin as some, and heavier than many of my peers dream of being, but it is relatively effortless to maintain. I, too, have had some struggles over the past year, but they've all been internal. No S is still the backbone.
Last edited by oolala53 on Wed May 06, 2015 3:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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)

Sweetness
Posts: 1152
Joined: Thu Aug 25, 2011 2:54 pm
Location: Fall and winters in Cuernavaca, Morelos Mexico and summers in St Paul, Minnesota

Post by Sweetness » Fri Mar 06, 2015 8:56 pm

Thanks Oolala, I'm glad you are still here. "Effortless" I like that word!!
Patty

Anxiety in a person's heart weighs him down, but an encouraging word brings him joy. (Proverbs 12:25 NET)
I'm a glutton for encouragement.

ironchef
Posts: 1630
Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2012 10:12 am
Location: Australia

Post by ironchef » Tue Mar 10, 2015 7:00 am

Sorry for your loss, Sweetness, what a tough year.

Very best wishes as you get back in the No S swing. You'll find (as I did after a short hiatus) that "habit" has some memory, so it's not as hard to re-form.

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