Everyday Systems

I'm in all-day meetings all week with the same group of people every day. Yesterday, two of the other women announced first thing in the morning that they were doing Weight Watchers. They then proceeded to eat all day. Cookies and rice krispie squares were provided with the lunch, and they both had multiple of each. Then we went out to a team dinner, where they had not only appetizers and entrees but one of them also had dessert.

Then this morning, one of them came in with a donut for breakfast!

I think that clearly they were both mentally rebelling against the strictness of the diet, and so they ended up actually eating more than they would have if they weren't dieting.

I was so grateful for No-S, let me tell you. It's so reasonable and normal.

The reality is that on WW, a person can eat "normal" food. Unfortunately, some people avoid eating real food and completely blow off their portions.

I have a friend who was doing the 6 week body makeover (or whatever it's called). This was about 3 years ago. I remember her saying, "This is so great! You can snack. I can stand at my fridge and snack on spinach leaves." I guess I wasn't very supportive because I just replied, "Ya, but who would want to do *that*?!" She did lose about 40 pound but then quit and gained it all back, of course.

Over the holidays she was lamenting about her weight again. I told her about No S and loaned her my book (which she didn't read). Her answer after I explained about the modest structure and the benefits of real family meals, something most who are dieting never get to enjoy...."Ya, but I want to see results!!"

It's been about 5 months now. She can't bring herself to restart that plan, so she has no results, but she's not interested in No S because it would be too slow for her...hmmm.

I can't knock people who want faster results and do other diet plans -- I've been them. I'm sure people who are doing whatever other plan they happen to be doing -- Weight Watchers, Body for Life, Atkins -- feel exactly the same about poor deluded fools who think they can lose weight by eating three plates of food a day and not counting points/calories/carbs, and if we'd just read the book we'd see that they have found the holy grail of weightloss!

BecauseIcan, Easy .. if the regular NO S diet is not quick enough, you adapt the basic recipe and change the rules a lil' bit to suit your needs. Just as I did. It's tougher of course but it doesn't take as much time.

If you work harder at it (Limiting S days severely, watching your portions, eating good nutritious food and cranking up the exercise to an hour a day 5-6 days a week for example, you will get better results more quickly ...)

You can take 5 years to lose 50 pounds or it can take only 5 months ... it all depends on the amount of work you put in.

Cheers !

Marc

But if you recommend to people to make No S harder and less flexible and totally focused on fast short-term results, they really might just as well go whole hog and do Weight Watchers or Body for Life.

I would never knock someone who decides that they are are unhappy about their health or appearance and then follows through by starting a plan of action (any plan) to improve. It takes a lot of guts to really look at yourself and admit you are unhappy or unwell. . . and then take action. I've been there and am doing that. So if I put off any negative vibe, I take it back...

On the topic of the eating habits of dieters..My very dear friend was standing at the fridge snacking on spinach leaves ...Then she quit her results promising diet and now she stuffs chocolate, popcorn, cookies and so on. It seems to me that it is the habit that is the root of the problem.

I'm not interested in quick results, my friend was. This is not the time in my life for such efforts. My energy is better channeled into healing my family. My point that I was sharing with my friend was that even slow results are better than no results (or a gain).

One thing that isn't often discussed here is that one may have to make modifications to what's on those three plates of food daily. Reinhard, for instance, is a rather young man who is fairly active. He could probably eat three plates full of almost anything and lose weight.

I am a post-menopausal woman who isn't as active. I can't eat like Reinhard does and expect to lose weight.

I remember reading that I would have to reduce the number of calories I consumed as I aged and thinking I never wanted to do that. But the funny thing is, I no longer find the same food as appealing as I did when I was younger. I've noticed this among my friends, too. We all prefer lighter food. It's not that I don't enjoy the food I used to like -- I just enjoy it less often. I wouldn't say it's become S day food, but it's not something I want to eat day after day.

A friend recently sent me an article about How to Live to be 100 and the daily diet of a 104 y/o woman is briefly described: "she eats oatmeal and flaxseed for breakfast, green salad for lunch and soup and a vegetable sandwich for dinner." Now, while I'm only 60% of the way to 100, I could easily be satisfied with something like that on a daily basis with occasional meals that are more substantial. I've found that if I eat a substantial lunch, I'm not likely to want much for dinner. A more substantial dinner, though, definitely lasts at least until breakfast -- and the dinner doesn't have to be very substantial.

In response to becauseIcan's last post...

And...quick results, when it comes to dieting and weight loss, very seldom ever last. At least they haven't for me. Getting slower results that will net lasting changes in habit seems to be the better way to go...at least for me.
Mimi

The way I see it, whatever works, great! Some people thrive on WW, Atkins, JUDD, calorie counting, French eating plan, intuitive eating, etc. Not everyone "falls off the wagon" on those diets. Others love the noS way, and that is great too. It seems from reading this forum that many do struggle with noS, and just like any other diet, some succeed, and others fail. It is, after all, based on restrictions (like other diets), and some will find these particular restrictions easy to live with, others will find them hard to live with. I personally think noS is a great eating plan, but go to other forums (from those other diets) & you will find people just as dedicated to the diets they are doing. I just don't see noS as the end all be all for EVERYONE, humans are so varied & individual, it is crazy to think there is one answer & this is it.

marcdesbiens wrote:BecauseIcan, Easy .. if the regular NO S diet is not quick enough, you adapt the basic recipe and change the rules a lil' bit to suit your needs. Just as I did. It's tougher of course but it doesn't take as much time.

If you work harder at it (Limiting S days severely, watching your portions, eating good nutritious food and cranking up the exercise to an hour a day 5-6 days a week for example, you will get better results more quickly ...)

You can take 5 years to lose 50 pounds or it can take only 5 months ... it all depends on the amount of work you put in.

Cheers !

Marc

That doesn't make any sense. You can lose weight fast on dozens of diets. The point of No S is that it isn't severe and the weight doesn't come off quickly. Those are extremely important because the faster you lose, the more likely you are to regain. And the stricter the diet, the harder it will be to stick to long term.

gionta wrote:The way I see it, whatever works, great! Some people thrive on WW, Atkins, JUDD, calorie counting, French eating plan, intuitive eating, etc. Not everyone "falls off the wagon" on those diets. Others love the noS way, and that is great too. It seems from reading this forum that many do struggle with noS, and just like any other diet, some succeed, and others fail. It is, after all, based on restrictions (like other diets), and some will find these particular restrictions easy to live with, others will find them hard to live with. I personally think noS is a great eating plan, but go to other forums (from those other diets) & you will find people just as dedicated to the diets they are doing. I just don't see noS as the end all be all for EVERYONE, humans are so varied & individual, it is crazy to think there is one answer & this is it.

I completely agree, but this is a NoS board. Try going to WW and talking about the virtues of Atkins.

dockanz wrote:

gionta wrote:The way I see it, whatever works, great! Some people thrive on WW, Atkins, JUDD, calorie counting, French eating plan, intuitive eating, etc. Not everyone "falls off the wagon" on those diets. Others love the noS way, and that is great too. It seems from reading this forum that many do struggle with noS, and just like any other diet, some succeed, and others fail. It is, after all, based on restrictions (like other diets), and some will find these particular restrictions easy to live with, others will find them hard to live with. I personally think noS is a great eating plan, but go to other forums (from those other diets) & you will find people just as dedicated to the diets they are doing. I just don't see noS as the end all be all for EVERYONE, humans are so varied & individual, it is crazy to think there is one answer & this is it.

I completely agree, but this is a NoS board.

Gionta,
Absolutely true.
I think there are many paths to the same Goal,
and each of us must take the one we can follow.

yeah, i know it is a noS board, and i am actually doing noS, and have no interest in WW, Atkins, any of those other plans. i just try to be open minded and realize that this is just one of many options, and it happens to work for me.

Yeah, all sorts of plans ... most of 'em won't work because you don't eat normally ... No S and its variations, that's the best plan.

I mean I was watching a program last night, a documentary that was on TV in England recently ... a heavy set woman was trying to lose weight, I think she weighed 280 pounds, around 40 years old, she was trying all sorts of wacky stuff.

One diet she was considering she couldn't have eaten anything 'real' for 8 months in a row, only proteins and nutrients (powder in pouches, just add water the first 4 months, milk the next 4 months !) I was thinking this is *CRAZY* ! Apparently some people were really sticking with this and actually losing weight ... intense !

Later she was on a meditation binge, yeah, apparently if you meditate really *HARD* you get thinner ...
oh well ... Hypnosis too....

Good thing people here are more motivated and trying *for real* a system that is more likely to produce good results in the long run.

Tuna, I'm not doing the by the book No S ... I'm doing the No S 'extreme' basically, especially regarding the exercise (I'm not starving at all, I need to eat to get through my work outs ... but I burn a lot more calories daily as well.) Over 6 months now, doesn't look like I'm about to quit either. I won't bother explaining it again and then getting into repetitive arguments with some people. I'm not knockin' anyone who is doing it by the book either, mind you, any effort is awesome.

I am not very patient in general, so I made the required changes to lose my extra pounds in a single year rather than doing it in 2-3 or 4 the regular way. A year seems like a long time actually. I really doubt I will gain a whole lot of weight back once I am done since I don't plan on stopping exercising, just cutting down by 60% ... but training 30-35 minutes 4-5 times a week is really enough for most people ... I'll continue eating good food and weighing myself regularly as well so I can crank it up again if I am gaining some of the weight back ... this is not a quick fix, I'm thinking about the long term already and I'm not even completely done with the tough part yet.

Cheers !

Marc

All of the over weight ladies at my work are on Weight Watchers. They are losing weight but not eating in a very healthy manner. I just try to get them to eat an apple or some almonds rather than the next "diet bar" or a nice salad with meat or boiled egg instead of the salt laden frozen meals.


I have to remind myself that No-S is "a way" to loose weight, but not "the way" for a lot of people..

-dave

i must agree that those frozen meals & nutrition bars are VILE and unsatisfying.......

Any time I see a system/diet where you have to order all sorts of meals and powders I am 'turned off' right away. I'd rather cook my meals myself ... 1st, I love cooking ... nothing too fancy, just good home cooked meals, typical stuff you know ... 2nd, I know what's in it too since I prepared it.

Cheers !

Marc

I used to eat Lean Cuisines every day for lunch.. until I got SICK OF IT. And I couldn't get it out of the back of my mind how salty and overly processed they are. Now I eat homemade leftovers, I buy or make a fresh lovely salad, etc. I take it day-by-day.

even the "healthy" kashi meals, made with good ingredients, taste cardboardish after you eat 3 or 4 of them. they are better than the norm - whole grains, all that, but somehow still too salty, and not satisfying at all. i keep a few in the freezer for days when i am in a rush, but i always dread having to eat them. real food is always better.

Real food is always better -- it's so true!

The only "TV-dinner-type" food I've ever been able to eat and somewhat enjoy is a brand called "Amy's." They're all-natural, vegetarian with some organic ingredients, and they're not too bad. I still prefer a regular, prepared lunch, though.

some of the Amy's food is good - i really like the broccoli pot pies, and there is this breakfast scramble tofu thing that is good too. still, i have to keep it to "once in a while" or i get tired of them. they were 2-for-1 a few years ago, so i bought a bunch, and proceeded to eat them every day until i hated them, & have only recently been able to eat them again. yesterday i had a broccoli pot pie for lunch, but had salad, a few spoons of greek yogurt & raspberries with it to round out the meal....

both the kashi & the amy's pizzas are really good, but expensive!