Everyday Systems

The basics:
Female
Age 33
Height 172cm (5'8")
Frame Small (wrist < 9cm)

Start weight July 2012 - 65.3kg (144 pounds)
Start body fat % - 33.5%
Start BMI - 22

Weight end Nov 2012 - 59.2kg (130.5 pounds)
Body fat % Nov 2012 - 29%
BMI Nov 2012 - 20

The bit where I blather on:
Reinhard, you are a genius. And a benevolent one, for sharing this for free on your site and hosting such a wonderful and supportive chat board.

I started this way of eating to get some control over my snacking and sugar intake, about 2 months after my son was born. Now after around 4 months on No-S I weight less than I did before I got pregnant. For those wondering if this is all to do with breast feeding, a healthy nursing mother needs about an additional 300 calories a day. However, I didn't start losing until I started No-S. I'm posting this first testimonial, as I've now lost more than 10 pounds, and have not just met but exceeded my initial goal (to return to my pre-pregnancy weight).

I've lost weight in the past by counting calories, but could never maintain the loss, as I never could keep up the counting over time. I don't know how many times I've moved from the top to the middle or bottom of my "healthy BMI" range, but my weight was always on the move up, or being forced down by my teeth-gritted efforts.

I follow completely Vanilla No-S, just the 14 words. I fill my 7" dinner plate three times a day. I'm a stickler for the rules, for example I do not virtual plate, unless it is absolutely unavoidable at a cocktail party. If I have soup or cereal, my bowl is on the plate and any other food has to fit around it. Sometimes my plate has steel cut oats and fruit, sometimes coconut cream curry or beef and mushroom pie with chips. I don't eat low fat or diet anything, and all my sugar is real.

I have some pretty high intake S days, which I'm guessing will slowly tone down as I stay on No-S over the years. I'm not currently doing anything about them, I am hoping to let them take care of themselves. I have found that I sleep poorly and sometimes get headaches on S days where I overdo the sugar, so that is an incentive to moderate.

I think a big part of why this has worked has been N day compliance. I've had around 1 red day per month since I started. I've only taken 1 non-weekend S day (for my anniversary), with the exception of a 2 week holiday I took in September.

My favorite part of No-S is nothing to do with weight loss. It is the return of my enjoyment of food! Hunger is the best sauce, and being delightfully peckish for three good meals a day is a wonderful experience that I've never had in my adult life. I've always either been on a calorie counting diet or gaining weight. So, food was either limited and unsatisfying or full with a side serve of guilt. Treats have become treats again, because they are more rare and therefore I look forward to them with excitement. Things taste really sweet now that my palate isn't constantly inundated with sugar: sultanas for example are super sweet, watermelon, pumpkin, all these things are sweet - who knew!

For anyone wondering if this will still work, because they're female, because they have an erratic schedule, because they're always at home near the fridge, because they don't have that much to lose and are already in a "healthy BMI" range, well, it still worked for me. The proof of the pudding is in the eating (but only on S days!).

A word about the scales:
I'm one of those who weighs daily and calculates a trend. I use the trend calculation from the Hacker's Diet (another computer programmer, how appropriate). I don't look at the individual numbers, just what the trend tells me. For anyone who is upset or discouraged by individual weight measurements, even if they are a few weeks apart, I'm here to tell you that the gentle downward drift of No-S (about 1/2 pound a week for me) is COMPLETELY lost in the noise of individual measurements. My chart looks all over the place, with losses and gains of 3 or 4 pounds all the time! However, the trend line shows that my losses have actually been on track for almost the whole journey, with the exception of a small, expected, plateau while I was on vacation.

What a wonderful testimonial - Congratulations!

It's encouraging to know that it's possible to lose weight even if you have little to lose. (I'm still by a kilo off a healthy bmi and was always afraid it will just stop working one day).

Thanks!

Thanks Ironchef,
It is so encouraging to read your testimonial.

Thanks eschano!
Thanks emmay! *waves to fellow Aussie*

Also, I meant to include that I am the smallest frame size for my height (wrist less than 9cm). I'll edit to include. This makes a difference in which end of the BMI range I feel and look comfortable.

good for you!!! Your post was so encouraging. Thanks for taking the time to post and for giving some of your helpful tips.

Congratulations!

And I think you are quite right to include your frame size. At 5' 2", I was amazed to recently discover that I actually have a med/large frame based on wrist size--my wrist is 5-6cm larger than yours!

The beauty of NoS, is that by following the rules (I'm a straight Vanilla Gal as well), I've lost 55+ pounds and am in a "normal" BMI range. However, it is unrealistic for me to be on the low end and I would have to severely restrict my diet (unhealthily, imo) to try to get/stay there. I'm VERY happy that I've ended up where I should be weight/healthwise with NoS's sane, satisfying, successful rules.

Congrats again, on healthy eating and with the new baby!

Thanks jellybeans! So pleased if this encourages in a small way!

Thanks vmsurbat, that means a lot coming from a success story like you.

Congratulations, ironchef! I'm so sorry it's taken me this long to pop by -- we had some medical issues (2 kids in the same ER on the same day for totally unrelated reasons) that were very distracting (everyone's doing fine now).

And thanks for all the quantitative/procedural detail!

Regarding scales, I've been doing an experiment for the last few months (after about a decade of largely ignoring scales) of weighing myself daily. I do it on two separate scales and record both numbers. I've actually been surprised at how close they've been (mostly). When there's a big divergence (more than a pound), it usually means one needs to be moved a couple inches a re-stepped on. I don't actually plot anything (though I could, I record the data on the back of my daily index card). I'm just trying to get a sense of what the range is.

Reinhard

Thanks Reinhard for stopping by. Glad to hear everyone is ok now

Interesting that your scales are so accurate, perhaps mine are very cheap? Or my floor is not very flat!

I'm browsing the testimonials pages, mostly to see if ones fit some of the new members joining the No S team I lead on Sparkpeople. Nice work.

I'm wondering where you get 7"dinner plates. I have some luncheon plates that are 9" that I've sometimes started using for some meals. I have saucers and dessert plates that about 6." Frankly, I can't imagine putting my dinner on a plate 1" bigger than my dessert plates. But I'd be interested in seeing some just for the experience. What brand are they?

Thanks for any help you can give.

Thanks oolala

My dinner plates are Mikasa brand, and our set was a wedding gift, so I'm not sure where they're from. I'm assuming somewhere here in Western Australia, but it sounds like an international brand. 7" is the size of the central "plate" bit. If you included the raised decorative border that would make them closer to 8", but I never put food on that; it just looks wrong to me.

CONGRATULATIONS Ironchef, on your success! :)

Thanks NoS Rocks! Really appreciate everyone's encouragement

wonderful!! congratulations

Thanks for sharing. I love to read the testimonials.

I also weigh daily and use the Hacker's Diet trend spreadsheet. It really helps to see the trendline and not all of the crazy ups and downs of daily weigh ins.

The 7 inch plates I use are Homer Laughlin...made in the USA. I think they are old restaurant china probably used for breakfast or lunch back in the day before portion expansion. They are very heavy and the inside measures 7 inches. I found them at a flea market and bought up a bunch. I still see some around. They are probably not made any more. I may buy up more when I see them just to have on hand or to share.

Thanks Deb and Tex

I just love old china. I've got some of my grandmother's dinner plates and the central section is even smaller than my Mikasa plates.