New, read the book, just saying hi

No Snacks, no sweets, no seconds. Except on Days that start with S. Too simple for you? Simple is why it works. Look here for questions, introductions, support, success stories.

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Kristen
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2010 6:59 pm
Location: Dallas, TX

New, read the book, just saying hi

Post by Kristen » Sat Feb 27, 2010 11:04 pm

Hello, everybody! I happened upon the shovelglove site by "accident." (I don't really believe in accidents.) It seemed intelligent, sane, and awesome. I looked into the No S diet. I bought the book and read it in a few hours. It also seemed intelligent, sane, and awesome. I am so impressed by the way Reinhard thinks and writes. What a cool person! So I decided to try it. It's only been a few days, but it's the first diet I've ever ever ever been on that I feel like is working with my body and mind at the same time instead of against them. I am already eating far better and far less, and I'm not even having to try very hard. I know there will be difficult moments -- I work in the office of a very busy, large live music venue in a big city, and people are always bringing us treats to bribe us for tickets and backstage passes and whatnot -- but I also know that the "safety valve" of the S days is going to help me succeed. Sure, I will slip up, but this is just such an intelligent, sane, moderate program that I can actually HONESTLY see myself doing this forever, eventually without even having to think about it too much.

I'm not going to go way into my history because you just don't have the time or the stomach for that. Suffice it to say I have been on just about every diet known to man, ever. I am a fat person, but I don't lack will power. I ate nothing but raw vegan food for 10 months. It takes real will power to do that. I have eaten nothing but meat and dairy for months, nothing but fruit for weeks, juice fasts, cabbage soup diet, etc. And now I have screwed my metabolism and I'm really fat.

I haven't exercised regularly in a long time, but I used to be a dancer. I've always been a bit bigger than average, just larger framed than a normal girl (I blame the Scottish and American Indian blood I get from my father; my sister and I wear size 10 shoes) but I used to have great muscle tone and be really strong. Recently I joined the local roller derby league because I used to be an awesome roller skater. I couldn't hack it and had to quit. I had a constant shin splint that never went away after three weeks, and it's because I am just flat out carrying too much weight and my muscles are not awesome anymore. I'm not exactly sure how much I weigh because I am afraid if I step on the scale I will succumb to deep depression (that number is so powerful) but I think it's somewhere between 250 and 270. It's not my heaviest but almost.

Anyway, I accept the fact that this is going to be a lifelong journey and I am not as concerned with results right now as I am with just leading a healthy life and not getting any fatter or more out of shape. If one day, in a year or two, I can feel better, look better, and play roller derby, that will be awesome. I am also concerned with reversing the ill effects poor nutrition and lack of exercise have had on my health, namely what they call Metabolic Syndrome or Syndrome X, which has left me with systemic hormone imbalances that led to polycystic ovary syndrome (which caused severe anemia), thyroid disease, insulin resistance, etc. I am determined to be a healthier person, forever.

I embark on this journey with cautious optimism. I have tried just about everything. But I feel like this is different and I feel really good. So... Yeah. We'll see.

Thanks for reading. Good luck to all of you on your journeys.

Kristen

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mimi
Posts: 1427
Joined: Mon Apr 16, 2007 2:20 pm
Location: The Shenandoah Valley of Virginia

Post by mimi » Sat Feb 27, 2010 11:58 pm

Welcome Kristen!
You will LOVE NoS, as I'm sure you suspect by now after discovering the site and reading the book. It is simple and it works. From someone who has been yo-yo dieting on and off pretty much since my teens, I have found this to be the ONLY eating solution that has removed my *diet head*. The angst is gone, along with the constant head chattering, debating, guilt, and beating up - they all have ceased. What could be better than that? They have been replaced by a peaceful demeanor and a calm relationship with food. This part of NoS is the most important to me - the weight loss is wonderful too, don't get me wrong, but clearing out the diet personality means more...and becoming a healthier person by making NoS my lifestyle has been my goal too. I have had some rough patches and streaks of red days along the way, but I keep at it.
I am slowly, but surely, losing weight. I'm older, and not extreme with my eating. I've been eating *real* food - no low fat-no fat stuff, and I enjoy my S's on the weekends. A year from now I expect to weigh about 30-couple pounds less. I don't care how long it takes - I'll let my body be the judge of that!
I wish you the same type of success with NoS as you embark on your journey. Visit the boards often and we'll help you along. Good luck!

Mimi :D
Discovered NoS: April 16, 2007
Restarted once again: July 14, 2011
Quitting is not an option...
If you start to slip, tie a knot and hang on!
Remember that good enough is... good enough.
Strive for progress, not perfection!

Kristen
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2010 6:59 pm
Location: Dallas, TX

Thank you!

Post by Kristen » Sun Feb 28, 2010 2:48 am

Thanks, Mimi, for your reply. The encouragement is appreciated. Best of luck!

Kristen

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MerryKat
Posts: 786
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2005 11:35 am
Location: Sunny South Africa

Post by MerryKat » Mon Mar 01, 2010 11:08 am

Welcome Kristen to a wonderful place where you can heal issues with food you did not even realise you had.

Enjoy every step of the process and don't beat yourself up if you slip up as you learn where you are going.

Hugs
Hugs from Sunny South Africa
Vanilla No S with no Sugar due to Health issues - 11 yrs No S - September 2016 (some good, some bad (my own doing) but always the right thing for me!)

wosnes
Posts: 4168
Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2006 3:38 pm
Location: Indianapolis, IN, USA

Post by wosnes » Mon Mar 01, 2010 12:56 pm

Welcome, Kristen!
Kristen wrote:And now I have screwed my metabolism and I'm really fat.
.

No-S is the best thing to do when you're in this situation. I think it takes time for things to get "back to normal" and the answer isn't another extremely restrictive diet, but something sane and sensible that you can do forever.
Last edited by wosnes on Fri Mar 05, 2010 11:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do. Not that the nature of the thing itself has changed but our power to do it is increased." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"You are what you eat -- so don't be Fast, Easy, Cheap or Fake."

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reinhard
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Post by reinhard » Fri Mar 05, 2010 9:45 pm

Welcome, Kristen!

It sounds like you have a very good, long term outlook.

Best of luck and looking forward hearing more from you,

Reinhard

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suz
Posts: 17
Joined: Wed Feb 17, 2010 12:31 am
Location: Michigan

Post by suz » Sun Mar 07, 2010 3:03 am

Welcome Kristen! I think it was Mimi who really said what I am feeling about this plan After 2 weeks, I would actually describe myself as feeling freer and lighter than I have in a long time. The way I am thinking about food is changing...really changing. I am happy and excited about what I am doing. I made a calendar for my frig and have been marking the days in colored pencil. Yes, I have a couple of red days, but that's ok. Now even saying that, I realize that in the past a "failure" would have put me into a downward spiral and I would have given up. Or else I would have denied it! Now, I just marked it and got back on course.

Anyways, I am glad you have found this site and I wish you the best. Hope to hear from you often.
I love food but want to change my relationship with it. Instead of the food controlling me, I want to be in charge!

oolala53
Posts: 10069
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Sun Mar 07, 2010 5:50 am

People here talk a lot about eating the way they did when they grew up, but I think they eat even better quality food than I did. I know I do now.

This is getting more fun as time goes on.
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)

Starla
Posts: 398
Joined: Mon Sep 14, 2009 4:55 pm

Post by Starla » Sun Mar 07, 2010 2:04 pm

Welcome, Kristen; you've found a great place, accidentally or not. I liked what you said about fat people and willpower; in another thread I said that every time I hear that fat people have no willpower I think "You have no idea what you're talking about." You will have more than enough willpower to do No S. It DOES make sense; it works; it gets easier as time goes on.

Roller derby! You know eventually we're gonna want pictures!

marygrace
Posts: 327
Joined: Wed Jul 30, 2008 3:30 am
Location: austin, tx

Post by marygrace » Sun Mar 07, 2010 2:50 pm

Hi, Kristen! It's great that you found NoS. I too stumbled across it sort of accidentally--but it's affected by life so much I sometimes wonder if there was a bit more to it. I was earning some extra money by writing diet book reviews and was sent NoS. Ironically, I was really unhappy with my own weight at the time. My then-boyfriend (now husband) was away at a research institution all summer, and I was packing on the pounds from nights spent pigging out of our boredom and loneliness. I read the book from front to back in one night and knew it was the perfect solution for me.

Anyways, best of luck as you begin your NoS journey. This way of eating will not only help you lose the weight (sanely), but it'll also transform your relationship with food for the better.

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~reneew
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Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2008 9:20 pm
Location: midwest US

Post by ~reneew » Sun Mar 07, 2010 6:30 pm

welcome!
I guess this doesn't work unless you actually do it.
Please pray for me

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