Things I Love, part 2

Up until about 12 years ago, I was a naturally fit person, muscular, in a cute, size 6 kind of way.

I first gained weight - about 30 pounds - when I moved to TX, started sitting in front of a computer all day, and making Taco Bell a food group all it's own.

I managed to lose that weight with Atkins just before moved back to MS and got married in '99. Four babies and almost 10 years later, I found myself battling the 20(ish) pounds left over from baby boy, born almost a year and a half ago.

Over the years, I've learned enough about nutrition, diet, metabolism, insulin response, fitness, and exercise, that I could honestly write my own book! While it may sound as if I'm boasting, believe me: I'm NOT. All this knowledge has only done one thing for me: it's kept me overweight.

Even though I grind (most of) my own flour and bake (most of) our bread; even though we eat mostly whole foods; even though neither margarine nor vegetable oils have darkened the door of my home in years; even though I've milked a flipping goat once a day so we can have fresh, raw milk (it really is yummy); and even though I lift weights three times a week...I still take up too much space.

So what's the deal? Well, all the time, focus and attention I have given to diet over the last 10+ years turned me into a Obsessive, Compulsive Eater. I became obsessed with food and eating. Every edible thing was either good or evil. Feast or famine. "Doing good" or totally binging. Sundays became a day-long "last meal" before each proverbial Monday morning fresh start.

Anyway, a couple months ago, I took my kids to see my grandmother. We were there around lunch time, and long story short: there was pizza. Immediately I started to go through the mental exercise: "do I eat now and just have salad or fruit for snack and dinner? No, then what will I do for a protein? I could wait and eat when I get home, but it's been almost four hours since I ate, and I'm supposed to eat every three hours..."

It was at that moment that I saw what I'd become. Are you kidding me??? I couldn't decide whether to be mad at myself for being such an idiot, or just laugh. In the end, I ate two small pieces of pizza and allowed myself no feelings about it one way or the other.

As soon as I got home, I started to research (b/c that's just what I do), looking for something different, something that I could do long term. The first thing I came across that appealed to me was fasting one or two days a week, not all day, just from, say, one dinner to the next. It appealed to me because I was so sick of eating!!! I did it twice, several days apart, and I can't tell you how refreshing it was to simply not have to think about food.

It was during reading about the intermittent fasting (another topic altogether) that I stumbled across the No-S "diet". I was first and foremost impressed that I wasn't required to cough up $39.95 to be let in on the secret. Then, when I read the ebook, which took all of about 10 minutes, I was floored.

No-S is simply a (free), charmingly written, common sense driven approach to food and eating that a librarian-turned-computer-programmer came up with when he needed to shed some poundage. The tenants of the plan are simply this: No Snacks, No Sweets, No Seconds, Except on days that start with 'S'. As simplistic as it seems, this concept has completely set me free from obsessive, compulsive eating, and as a result, I am no longer overeating. Just yesterday, my scales hit a number they haven't seen since before I got pregnant with Sam, my almost 18 month old.

I simply cannot believe that with over 10 years of research, and countless diets and exercise programs, it never occurred to me that the reason I'm overweight is that, hold on, are you ready for this? I weigh too much because I EAT TOO MUCH!

No offense to all the diet and fitness gurus out there (well, maybe a little), but it's like my house was flooding, and everyone is trying to tell me where water comes from, how we need the water, how the water got into the faucet, how the faucet works, how the water will damage the woodwork inside the house...but no one says, "turn off the water, Moron."

I guess I say all this to say, what a breath of fresh air, to be able to take my focus off of food. To be able to prepare one meal for the whole family. To be able to eat what I'm served, even if it has a white noodle or God forbid, a potato in there somewhere. I'm still a little ticked that I didn't think of this first, as it's SO obvious, but it truly escaped me.

I have a No-S fridge magnet and coffee mug. Every time I look at them, I shake my head in wonder, thinking, I can't believe I had to be TOLD to simply put down the fork! Not only that, but I had to be told HOW to do it!

Here are some things I've noticed since starting this:

• I remember what it feels like to be actually hungry (as opposed to a desire to eat).
• I don't look for food when I'm bored.
• I now know when I'm full, and I'm able to simply stop.
• I DON'T THINK ABOUT FOOD ALL DAY EVERY DAY ANYMORE!!
• I can take my jeans off without unbuttoning them.
• The scale is moving down for the first time in months (and I've been "dieting" the whole time with NO results).
• Did I mention I'm not obsessed with food?

If you can relate to even a teeny portion of this rambling post, please do yourself a favor and check out the website: www.nosdiet.com. The author explains things I haven't touched on, provides you all the ins and outs of the plan, and will be able to bring you to that "aha!" moment. At the very least, you'll be highly entertained. Reinhard, the guy who wrote the book, is absolutely hilarious. But I strongly suspect that at least some of you reading this can benefit from his wisdom to the degree I have.

Thanks to Reinhard Engels, the brilliant computer geek who got fat once upon a time. No-S is currently at the very top of my "Things I Love" list!

Have a great night, and thanks for reading my ramblings.
Em