Hi! If you're living in the northeast right now I'll imagine that you're either crazily digging yourself out for work or still in your pj's when you read this. Hopefully like me, you're the latter. I should turn this into the Virginia Snow of 2010 blog because I just can't stop talking about it! We are expecting MORE snow tomorrow and even more this weekend. What's that?
I can sense spring is coming, far off in the distance. I have a weird habit of being able to smell and sense the coming seasons and then craving them. I do this a lot with fall and now I can feel spring. It's coming. Maybe not till May, but it's coming!
I'm hoping that Michael Pollan's new book Food Rules arrives in the mail today (along with season 3,4,5,6 of Lost) so that I can get ready for Lent! Fatbridesmaid got me in the mood to participate in Lent this year. What am I giving up? Processed/convenience foods. This means, buying food without packaging and labels. Making my own bread, eating only local or organic meat/produce/dairy. Basically making everything from scratch. And only eating sweats if they are made by a real person (not in a factory), on the weekends or on special occasions.
Which leads me to the No S Diet. That sounds gimmicky. While reading the reviews of Food Rules on Amazon, I saw mention of something called the No S Diet which piqued my curiosity. After a quick google search I came to the official No S Diet website. And holy moly, I loved every word! This couldn't be more anti-diet, dieting if it tried.
I read and reread, I emailed, I read the discussion boards and thought "I'll try that!" because you know me, I'll pretty much try anything once. What is the no S diet? Easy...
No sweets
No Snacks
No Seconds
Except for days that start with S or special occasions.
I had a lot of questions at first like- how big should my plate be? What should be on my plate? And then I realized that my brain was asking all of the confusing yet obviously answerable questons from my dieting past.
No sweets. What does that mean? Anything that gets most of it's calories from sugar. Anything that is obviously dessert. This doesn't mean NO SUGAR it means...no desserts. Sugar in oatmeal, coffee etc. is fine. Save desserts for the weekend or special occasion and preferably ones that are not processed.
No snacks. This means eating three meals a day. When I first read this I thought "well I don't snack". And then I really thought about it and yes, indeed I do snack. I just never think of it as snacking. A snack is anything you eat outside of a meal.
No seconds. Eat what is on your plate and that's it. He mentioned at first people tend to put way too much on their plate or too little until they realize that A) this meal needs to tide me over until the next one and B) this meal is not for stuffing myself. If you think about eating in front of other people and putting all of the food on your plate the first time, chances are you would realize this is a lot of food. But, instead we go back and it looks like less for to us and everyone else.
There are no other rules. No food rules, no nutrtion rules, no counting calories. I think this is scary for people (myself included) we like structure, we like being told what is "bad" and "good". We are scared to trust ourselves, our hunger or knowing what we even want to eat. Do any of us really know what we like to eat anymore?
My favorite quotes from the website?
make you sick.
Most diets today can be divided into two categories:
- Pseudoscientific forbidden foods diets that pretend that you can go on being a glutton as long as you confine your gluttony to a particular class of foods while completely excluding others (no agreement on what these particular kinds of foods are, of course).
- Diets that require you to be a full time calorie accountant.
The forbidden foods diets are patent nonsense. They contradict one another, go in and out of fashion every ten years, and never seem to gather any serious scientific support. You won't stick with one of these because not being able to eat whole categories of food is a real drag. At the outset, it might seem worth it to trade pasta for unlimited steaks (or vice versa), but it gets old fast. And it might even
not any delicious thing. No pleasure is denied, just unobtrusively delayed and contained. Served up on the platter of limited opportunity, each pleasure becomes even more enjoyable than it was before.
Because it is simple, sustainable, and you aren't really depriving yourself of anything. You don't have to sacrifice anything -- not time, not health, not
There are no magic potions and there are no poisons. You are targeting just the culprit, just the bad habit of overeating itself.
Ask yourself if you can imagine staying on a particular diet for the rest of your life. If not, don't bother starting, it's a waste of time and will.
It's not the carrots, it's the carrot cake (etc.). More to the point, it's youeating so damn much of the carrot cake. People refuse to look at the obvious suspects because the implications are so unflattering to themselves -- that they simply eat too much and that there is no "stab in the back" substance to blame. The forbidden food diets pander to this suicidal vanity. They are not just harmless (if unmaintainable) games. They are dangerous distractions. They are blinkers. They keep you from seeing and confronting the real problem. This isn't "murder she wrote." It's not the mousy schoolmarm whom no one suspected who winds up having "dunnit." It's a brazen attack in broad daylight. Take a look in the mirror. The guilty party is staring right at you.
That said, I find that having a limited number of limited quantity meals makes me take them more seriously, both from a gastronomic and a nutritional point of view. Pretty much every meal I eat is delicious or healthy or both.
The no S diet isn't for overthinking, and he suggests taking 21 days to get accustom to eating this way. I like that this plan eliminates everything that makes me obese. The option to overeat.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm not fat from the meals I choose to eat. I'm not fat from a nice plate of really delicious food. I'm fat because I eat too many seconds. I'm fat from eating too much in private (snacking) and I'm fat from too many calorie dense sweets.
I'm giving it a try! I have a really hard time tracking what I eat and posting it, mostly because I'm lazy, and I won't require that I do this unless I want to. I do know that this helps me to stay accountable, but also know that I sometimes get drained from dieting advice. Either way, I'll keep you posted!
Oh and this is coming in the mail too...more on that later.
I definitely was expecting a different word that starts with “s”
If you’re making your own bread, definitely try that rye bread recipe I tweeted this weekend. It’s amazing! Nice and dark, perfectly crusty on the outside and soft inside. I should have made french onion soup with it!
I’m impressed with your plans for Lent. That will be no easy feat and I’m excited to read how it turns out!
We’re in the middle of the snow, too – though in PA, so not quite as much as you got! I am LOVING Michael Pollan’s Food Rules. I got it about 2 weeks ago and it’s been my perfect little companion in my bag all the time. I take a book with me everywhere I go and it’s a great one to have since it’s just one page entries – I can read a quick page here and there when I want to and need some inspiration:) I couldn’t agree more on your sentiments about not being fat because of the meals – it’s 97% of the time the choices about how much.
That sounds like a really complicated and aggresive way of eating. But I am glad to see your escited about it. Sometimes having a challenge is what motivates us right? All the organic stuff is SO expensive too. Hope you saved up for that. They can spray my food for double the price…Look forward to hearing about the details soon.
Tom
Come see my weigh in day.
http://www.ihategreenapples.com
The no ‘S’ diet sounds good, but I’m sure I could manage to manipulate it and end up gaining weight on it.
Good luck with your lenten fast!
I don’t know about the other “rules,” but if you haven’t tried the no snacking to see how it works for you, I would definitely recommend it. It really changed weight loss for me.
Have you read or heard of the book “Fit From Within”? It is a wonderful, wonderful little book. I think you would really like it and appreciate it. One of the suggestions there is to eat three meals a day, and she gives an excellent rationale for it.
Wow this is an awesome post! I am definitely not a fan of fad diets and the stuff you pulled from the article is so true! What I am a fan of is finding a plan that works for you and if it is the No S diet them I say go for it! As long as you are healthy and eating a balanced diet the No S diet sounds perfect for you!
I need to get back into being a good Catholic and actually give something up for Lent and quit eating meat on Friday. Thanks for the reminder!
tom- i disagree. this is probably the easiest “plan” I’ve decided to try. I like posting these things because I think other people might be looking for something similar.
With that said…it’s just taking out the factors that typically make people (me) fat. It’s not a struggle because I am eating what I want, just not as much, that is where I struggle.
As far as the organics/local being too expensive. I agree to a point– often times I find that eating locally causes me to consume less in general. meaning I spend less money on food and I rarely waste it. Not only are vegetables being sprayed but they are being genetically modified. The whole process is as bad for our bodies as it is for the environment.
I like to choose frugality in general, but not when it comes to my health.
It’s great that you’re taking away the processed foods. I think it’ll really make a difference for you. Good luck!
I’ve never heard of this diet but it sounds worthwhile! Thanks for posting about it
I’m new to blogging about my weight loss journey and find it so helpful to read about others’ experiences. Yours was one of the first blogs I stumbled across and I have enjoyed poking around 
Cheers!
Thanks for posting this. I’ll definitely take a look at the book and the No S, though I’m not sure that I can go without snacking. I’ve changed my snacking to much healthier alternatives (fruit, nuts, seeds, and such).
I guess it’s all about finding what works best for ourself.
I just received Food Rules from Amazon the other day. Be prepared, the book is TINY! It’s got some good stuff and you can read it in like 30 min. Have you seen Food, Inc? If not, watch asap.
I have heard of the no S diet, but haven’t tried it.
I live in the Northeast and have managed to escape most of the recent snow! Yeah me! We’re suppose to get some tomorrow so I should keep my big trap shut!
Interesting!
I might look into doing this, and kicking it off with lent!
Well, everyone has to find their own way. there’s something to be said for eating a little of everything, but there’s also something to be said for “just say no”. I have certain “trigger” foods that need not be named, but I know that small portions do not satisfy. My rule is that they do not come in the house! I can have them at parties, at restaurants, or bought in single-serving from the grocery store, but only the amount I will eat right then and there. A full bag of potato chips, dozen Krispy Kremes, chocolate cake, pound of cheese, box of Thin Mints – basically if it’s high in calories and low in nutrition then it does not enter the house. Besides, we all know that the 6th Thin Mint doesn’t taste as good as the first. Telling myself I can only have junk on weekends doesn’t work FOR ME but YMMV.
This sounds like a good approach to eating. Thanks for honestly sharing your journey to a healthier life–I enjoy reading your blog, and it’s nice to know there’s other people out there going through the same thing.
Hi! I am doing THE EAT CLEAN DIET…NO PROCESSED foods because of the added salt and sugar…you eat 5 or 6 small meals a day, making sure to have protein and complex carbs at every meal. You watch your portion sizes too, but it’s really easy to follow. http://www.theeatcleandiet.com……there is a whole community of people that eat this way…it is full of really good resources as well as books you can find at any good bookstore. Tosca Reno rules!
sorry..the link should read eatcleandiet.com
That’s a pretty ambitious Lenten objective. I thought I was doing well to give up chocolate and donate my change for the quarter to Haiti. And before you think I’m cheap, my quarterly change is like $200.
I can’t wait to read your posts about this diet. Maybe I can get inspired as I’ve been floundering for months now; on plan one day and off the next.
Good luck with your quest on the “S” weightloss plan. Honestly, it already sounds like you know exactly what you need to do. There are no fancy tricks…you just need to learn the best way to eat and the most effective way to exercise for your body. I wish you all the best, and will be interested to see how you progress.
I check out the S diet and it looks fabulous – seems to be the key – especially no second helpings – that is my goal for today – eat one moderate helping…. then I will work on tomorrow
Anything that promotes real, unprocessed food that your body can actually recognise has my vote every time.
I find that eating a lot of raw food really works for me – as much fruit as I want – a salad with EVERY meal (it means that I eat less of everything else), and then I get out my juicer and blender and make fruit and veg juices.
The key is to make sure that you are never hungry and your body is well nourished – it’s not about will power – if you try and go for will power alone, you’ll binge. I’m like a wolf if I haven’t eaten properly or enough!
Good luck…
xDenise
BTW – I’m doing a 30 Day Raw Food Challenge at the moment if you’re curious to read how I’m going… http://www.rawbride.com/2010/02/30-day-raw-food-and-selfcare-challenge.html
I tried this for a few days after reading this, and it’s interesting to see how I fill my plate knowing I will not get any more. I am tempted to pile it up with 2 servings to start with, but that’s more of the irrational desperate eating. I found I was taking a minute before I started eating, staring at the plate. It can take you into mindful eating, taking smaller bites and savoring more. The no snacks and no sweets may come after I get used to this. I have been thinking about how what I call snacks often contain more calories than meals. Thank you.
Those sound like good, basic rules (the “S” diet). I know that sugar has been a biiiig hang up for me as of late. I’ve already cut out seconds, and am weaning off of snacking.
Good luck with your eating plan. It’s not easy is it? It’s surprising how small changes can make BIG differences though. Have a look at my blog for lots of useful info on losing weight sensibly and naturally.http://sensibleslimming.com
I love my GoWear Fit. One thing it helps me do is motivates me to move, and also when I exercise outside of the gym I can tell what I burn. One funny thing is when my wife and I …You Know….She will tease me and ask me if it shows up? You know what? It does!
Tom
Come see my weigh-in today!
http://www.ihategreenapples.com
Your heart, motivation and hard work will pay off. You keep it up! I’m with you all the way!
One big tip – I realised that I was eating way too much “healthy” food like hommous – I was eating a tub a day thinking it was cool. It’s got 52grams of fat in it – more than a McDonald’s meal!
This has been huge for me, I’ve already lost about 1.5 kgs this fortnight just watching sneaky, simple fats like this.
Wow, what a great idea! My fiancee and I have already cut out seconds (we only make enough for 2 sensible portions to begin with so we’re not tempted and have a salad with our meal). But, for me at least, it’s the snacking that gets me! We’ve tried to say that we’ll only have dessert once a week or on the weekends, but somehow we sneak it in there. I think I will focus on this laid-out plan and see how it goes! Thanks for your inspiration and honesty (just started reading your blog, and love it so far! I’m definitely bookmarking it!!) Good luck to you!