I've also been using something called H2Orange to keep my blood sugar steady. 1 part OJ to 7 parts water, adding some stevia for sweetness. Been drinking 3-4 quarts a day!
Hopefully SOMETHING will work. I'm just having a hard time losing and having control.
Last edited by mom2mollie; 05-12-2011 at 09:55 PM.
I've been following this for a while now. It's basically emulating the way people ate 60 years ago - when very few people were overweight and almost no one was obese! I've probably lost about ten pounds over the past couple of months. It's obviously not a quick weight loss program, but a "habit" that's sustainable.
What has been the biggest benefit to me is I've almost completely lost the urge to binge. Since most diets require multiple snacks and/or mini-meals, I was never really "full" and was always obsessing about food.
I tried this a while back and I loved it! Once I get back on track, I'm going to mix the No S Diet with keeping an eye on my calories (I'm only counting because I have major trouble with weight loss, so don't even think about counting unless you need to waaay later down the road)!
I think it's brilliant!! Like Desert Rat said, the No S Diet keeps you from obsessing about food. I'm not sure how to word it, but when I was on the No S Diet, it was complete freedom because I only thought about food around meal times. I even made healthier high quality meals for lunch and breakfast subconsciously because I wanted something delicious that would last me until my next meal instead of grabbing a poptart or something. It's a plan anyone can do regardless of money, schedule, etc... It goes back to how people use to eat when we were thin, and how people in thin countries eat.
I don't want to ramble too much, but definitely check out the book. My mom and I read it in one day. He explains what you can drink throughout the day, how it works, why it works, etc... You could probably do it without the book, but it has so much amazing and motivating information.
I don't really consider plans like this one "diets"- it's just sensible eating. It's one of those that easily addresses one component of losing weight: the reducing the consumption of calories with simple rules of thumb to follow, so in that sense it scientifically "works." The other component of weight is the emotional/psychological, so whether or not this diet will "stick" for you depends on if it meets your cravings, strengths, and weaknesses with food.
For me, rules of thumb/basic sets of guidelines (another popular one is Michael Pollan's "Eat food. Mostly plans. Not too much") work in the beginning very, very well for improving the quality of my eating. As I lose weight I have to add more and more guidelines, get more restrictive, and what what I eat more closely (such as, no more than X carbs a day. X grams of protein, etc). to continue see results. That's been my experience. But it should be a great set of rules to at least start out with, and hopefully carry you towards goal. good luck!
Thanks for all the great responses! I've been looking for "the one"-- the plan that will help me lose weight, that I'll be able to stay on forever, that will help me maintain, that will help me not have to obsess, etc. This really seems like "it" and I'm excited. Learning the ropes right now (and glad tomorrow's Saturday, haha), and learning how my body responds to waiting, pushing through hunger, building mental blocks to a "treat" in the middle of the week, and not OVEREATING on my one plate per meal (been piling it on, but he says you do that at first and then gradually realize you don't need so much).
I'm so glad y'all have had positive experiences with it! My book is on its way, so looking forward to that, too.
Some of the posters on the No S message board have bought vintage plates for their "one plate full" - since modern dinnerware is considerably larger. I guess it's "back to the future!"
Ah-- great idea!
I actually took a ruler and measured our plates. We have 11" dinner plates and 9" salad plates. Been using the salad plates since then! I was using the dinner plates at first and thinking "this ain't so hard!" LOL. And then paying for it with a too full tummy.
I am SOOOO loving this "diet." Just got the book in the mail today and reading through it for some more motivation. Eating this way is helping me get more housework done!! Aw yeah! (I'm a SAHM with a 1yo,2yo,&4yo). I'm not preoccupied with what to snack on during naptime anymore...
And I'm really enjoying pouring my heart into great dinners and enjoying the heck out of eating them because I'm actually HUNGRY for them! What a concept! All that afternoon snacking used to spoil my dinner.
Loving this. What freedom!
Haven't seen any scale victories yet, but I'm waiting for TOM right now and feeling BLOATED. Hopefully by next week I'll feel a little better and possibly slimmer...
The NSV of no more food obsession is worth it all. I was truly and tearfully at the end of my rope. This is literally a God-send. Even if I never lose weight on this, I'll know I'm building a good habit, period and amen.
Last edited by mom2mollie; 05-17-2011 at 09:48 PM.
I'm fascinated by the concept of the no s diet, but have reservations that it would work for me. I work from 10 am to 8 pm, and lunch is taken at 2:00 at the latest. I don't really have a supper or dinner until after8:00, and if I have karate it may even be later. There is no way for me to change my schedule or meal times when I'm at work. In the evening hours I'm able to grab some cottage cheese, a banana, or half of a sand which, but no time to actually bust out a plate. The idea of going 6 or more hours with out food wouldn't work for me, I don't care what I ate.
If my schedule ever changes or if I got a new job, I'll have to try something else
I do like that there is nothing off limits. I'm trying to get away from the dirt mentality and dealing with a bunch of rules of have/ cannot have....
Years ago, in my 20s, I wanted to lose weight but wanted it as hassle free as possible. So, I went on a plan sort of similar to the No S. I limited myself to three, one-portion meals a day. The only exception was that I could eat fruit inbetween if I wanted. Also, unlike No-S, my plan was 7 days a week. That latter part may have been its fatal flaw. While I lost weight so that I was the thinnest I have ever been (I mean 113---which is almost skeletal for me, and I really didn't look well) AND I maintained that for two years, I eventually fell off the bandwagon because I was restricting myself too much, rarely allowing myself treats (e.g., only when I went on vacation).
Fast forward 15 years, and I found the No-S diet. I tried it twice, but it was just too slow for me. I felt that the relative sacrifice of restricting sweets just to weekends was not worth the glacial pace of the weight loss. Also, I found that, oddly enough, restricting sweets to just weekends & special occasions made me obsess about them more and tended to make me pig out on them on the weekends.
I do think No-S is a great plan for some. It may not, however, be the answer. For all of its common-sense appeal, if you go on their forum, you'll see just as many people as you see on other forums going off plan, lamenting lack of weight loss, etc. In other words, it may work fine for you, but don't expect a miracle.
Also, I've noticed [anecdotally] that it seems to work better for men than women. Let's face it, even if you eat three, one-plate meals a day, you can still easily exceed the calorie requirements for your age & weight. Thus, I think that many people on No-S have to still consider what non-sweet item they're eating, not just when and how much.
However, the best way to find out is to give it a shot and see what happens. It does provide a good framework to start with, and you can always tweak it to your needs. For instance, some No-Sers limit how many treats they can have on the weekend.
I do greatly admire the "inventer" of No-S (Reinhold---can't remember his last name). He is such a nice, common-sense guy.
A little late, like 5 years late, but I am doing NO S, and have lost 3 lbs./week consistently for 4 weeks so far. I have 35 more to go. Wish me luck that it keeps progressing at this rate!
It's so easy, it doesn't even feel like I am dieting.
The No S Diet
It's one of those that easily addresses one component of losing weight: the reducing the consumption of calories with simple rules of thumb to follow, so in that sense it scientifically "works." The other component of weight is the emotional/psychological, so whether or not this diet will "stick" for you depends on if it meets your cravings, strengths, and weaknesses with food. 
