Spryng into my journey with me

Also, if I remember correctly Spryng took the weekends off while on her 5 bite journey. If you are true to the five bites you should lose 1 pound per day or a 1/2 pound per day if you have a really slow metabolism and men can lose much faster than that! But it is pretty hard to do, so I'm sure by taking the weekends off Spryng was able to stay motivated over the long haul. I have noticed that even just doing the 5 bites for lunch is very helpful in terms of weight loss...even just doing that you can lose more than if you went on Weight Watchers!

Spryng, I'm glad you have found something you can stick with for your maintenance plan! Good for you! : )))))))

Thanks ladies I plan on sticking to this until I reach my goal. It seems obtainable as I hate eating breakfast and I'm busy during the day so it goes by pretty fast. I want to learn portion control with eating what I feel and not having to worry that I will add 10lbs to my hips.

hi spryng, glad to see your post after so long! that's great that you found something that works for you and that you can stick with. I;ve heard about the No S plan and it seems like a pretty simple, logical weight loss plan, that won't make you feel deprived

i hope you will still keep checking in the forums though, i would love hearing your updates,

Very true Snow White.. I did take most weekends off, not all but some for sure. That is why I said for me it was about 80/20 on the plan but it still worked, just at a slower pace for me which I was ok with

Thanks Amu! I will try to check in every now and then for sure

Thanks for your wonderful journal, Spryng. I have just read the entire works.
You have given me inspiration, hope all is going well in your life,
Maernet

Spryng! Omg so I saw you post about you being "MIA for this long" and I was thinking, Oh gosh I don't even want to know what she thinks about my MIA-status haha. Anyway, I just wanted to say hello and that I am back and that I am SO PROUD OF YOU. Omg, you and dmac are seriously saints for staying so strong this long and this consistently.

Hey all I'm back! Well for a short while anyway So just to catch you up, when I left 5 bite I was at around 135 lbs.. a comfy size 8 and really liking how I was looking. I switched to the No S diet to slowly lose the last 10-15 lbs I was wanting to lose (in no hurry) and it worked at first.. but just to let you know, when I went off 5 bite I put on like 4 lbs right away. I think it was just from the added portions/sodium you don't get from the 5 bite diet. I was ok with that as my weight was steady at 138-139 and my jean size didn't change. So each month I was hoping for a 2 lb loss at a minimum, you'd think that would be no problem.. well I found the No S does an awesome job at maintaining my weight but not losing it.. so for months I just maintained my weight which was ok, I felt great. But then summer vacation hit and we went on vacation for a week, which I ate too much.. came home 9 lbs heavier.. 5 of those came off a within a week of being home and back on No S.. but that last 4 lbs won't budge! And my size 8 jeans are snug now, not comfy like they were.. but it just brought it back home to me that I've gotten too comfy. My goal was not to be 138-139, but to be 115-120 and I kinda put it on the back burner. But I am proud of myself for maintaining for so many months and not just packing on the lbs but now along with the 4 lb wake up and my company informed me I may be traveling some next month and then again in oct or nov so I'll need to buy some serious business outfits (which right now I work for my company from home so I can wear my pj's if I like, lol) and I want to buy a size smaller if possible. So all of this together has got me back into a losing mindframe and where do I come back to? the plan that worked for me the first time around to shed 35 lbs So I'm back! but for awhile, I just wanna lose 10 or so lbs on 5 bite then slow it down again. But I saw that 20 day challenge (too late though to join) and I thought, that is exactly what I am wanting. To do the 5 bite for about 3 weeks and see where it gets me then go back to No S. So I think a 20 day challenge is right up my alley. Oh and one more tweak, just for myself, but I'll still have a glass of wine or two on the weekends. Its allowed on the No S and didn't seem to hurt me in one bit but other than that just 5 bites 2x's a day for me.
So I started yesterday, it went really well. I'm not having that tiredness like I did the first time I did this. In fact, it was aug 1st 2011 when I started my 5 bite journey. One year ago, wow, time has flown. But it took me about 5 days of feeling tired, foggy headed etc until my body got used to 5 bites 2x's a day. This time other than feeling a little ravenous before meals and cranky because of it I'm ok.

So yesterday Day 1:
B-nothing
L- 5 bites protein bar
D- 5 bites beef/bean burrito

Today:
B-nothing
L- 5 bites salmon, asparagus with garlic and onion
D- 5 bites chicken pasta

I'm feeling ok right now. Oh and my official starting weight 144.8 lbs in these 20 days I'd love love love to be down 10 whole lbs. So here we go, so glad to be back!

Welcome back!

So inspiring, that you've managed the maintenance so well! Gives me lots of hope. Thank you!

Ten pounds to go... you can do it!!

Thanks for the warm welcome back you two!! I appreciate it. Its good to be back.

So for the next 20 days, to keep myself accountable I'm gonna post my weigh ins in the morning (I normally never weigh daily but for this challenge I think it will be beneficial) and then I'll post what I ate that day in the evenings after I have dinner.. weekends I'm pretty busy but I'm gonna MAKE myself post.. as weekends are tough for me. Even on the No S diet weekends are free and boy do I enjoy FREE lol but for the next 20 days I want/need to stick to 5 bites it's just 3 weekends.. I can give up 3 whole weekends right?? right???!! lol ok just psyching myself into this as I dont wanna fail at all.

Ok so here are my stats so far:

20 day Challenge: started Monday Aug 6,2012

Day 01= (0.0)=00.0lbs loss current weight: 144.8 (Beginning weight)
Day 02= (0.0)=00.0lbs loss current weight: 144.8 (did not weigh as I was't sure I wanted to weigh daily at first)
Day 03= (1.6)=01.6lbs loss current weight: 143.2 (woo hoo! it's starting!)

Be back on later for my meal posting, have a great 5 bite day!

Day 3 went great! Ok day 1 and 2 I wasn't hungry at all in the morning but today I was starving! So I tried the warm water trick and it worked! Just a glass of warm water and my stomach settled right down and I made it to lunch with no issues. The 5 bites are now filling me up too. Its awesome how quick our bodies adapt and the hungerstat can be reset.

So meals today:
B-nothing
L- 5 bites leftover chicken pasta
D- 2 bites steak and 3 bites fage greek yogurt with honey

I love that yogurt but it never fills me up as a meal so I added the steak in there for extra protein and I was perfectly full when finished. Love that. So just 17 more days to go, lol

Thanks Ellebella!

Here is my weigh in today:

20 day Challenge: started Monday Aug 6,2012

Day 01= (0.0)=00.0lbs loss current weight: 144.8 (Beginning weight)
Day 02= (0.0)=00.0lbs loss current weight: 144.8 (did not weigh as I wasn't sure I wanted to weigh daily)
Day 03= (1.6)=01.6lbs loss current weight: 143.2 (woo hoo! it's starting!)
Day 04= (1.8 )=03.4lbs loss current weight: 141.4 (I'm psyched! 130's here I come!)


I'm so so so so so excited! I was thinking 10 lbs in 20 days was crazy for me, but now I'm thinking if I can lose 5 lbs in week 1 then 5 more lbs with week 2&3 combined doesn't sound so hard!

Yay.. you are so getting there!!!!

Ok I had to jump on again real quick to get some advice... so I chose these 20 days because I have nothing planned during this period. No get togethers, no social events etc so I thought I had 20 days of only 5 biting to worry about. But now my mom called and let me know they'll be coming for a visit tomorrow night for the weekend. This will include my mom and dad, my little brother (who is 12) and two nieces, so a houseful for sure. This also means, BIG meals to feel their 5 and my family of 6. Sigh.. first, I didn't want them to know I was on the 5 bite diet. When I did it the first time my mom knew and when she'd come see me she would constantly make comments about it.. how I was starving myself, or I was already thin enough, etc etc.. she meant well but it stung and I'd cheat to make her feel better but then of course I'd set myself back several days and feel worse. I don't want to do anything off plan at all these next 20 days so what are some strategies to coping with this weekend????? I'll take anything and everything, lol

Spryng -

Omg girl!! You're kicking ASS!! SO great!! Right back into the 5BD, and it's working like a charm! Beautiful. I'm so happy for you - you should be so proud of yourself! And it's very helpful to know that you can just go right back to it, and it works. Great info for the future, for maintenance periods, etc.

Ok... let's get down to dealing with this family visit. Ugh. I have major issues when seeing my family, too. I ALWAYS overeat - it's hard not to. For me, though, a lot of that is stress eating, because seeing my family is not always the most joyous event.

I'm going to be honest with you about something, because the "something" has been helpful in keeping me so focused on this 5BD mission. And what the hell - you don't know who I am, so we're rather anonymous here. I am in a 12 step program, and I have quite a bit of recovery under my belt. I won't say which one (except that it's NOT the food one), but it's so interesting that this came up today. At a meeting this morning was this discussion of the necessity of sometimes having to be a jerk for your recovery.

What does this mean?

You need to put your recovery, or in this case, your way of eating, first, right? You're doing this for a reason. You're doing this for yourself, for your health, both mental and physical. Sometimes, in order to do what you have to do to take care of yourself, you wind up seeming like a jerk to other people. Saying no to certain events or people or food. But you make that choice because that choice is what you need to do to take care of YOURSELF.

Ask yourself this: is it more important to make other people feel better (by eating more than you really want to) at the expense of yourself? Are their needs or feelings more important?

Look, when I say "be a jerk" I most certainly don't mean being rude. But when you set boundaries, and other people aren't used to you doing that, they may think you're a jerk.

If they don't like the way you're eating, or think you're "skinny enough" already, this diet is "dangerous", try and remember: that is their problem. Not yours. You are not responsible for that.

Yes, this is very hard. Yes, they may try to make you feel bad. And you might feel bad. Which will feel worse, though? Feeling bad for a few minutes when you take care of yourself? Or feeling bad when they're gone, knowing you've gone against your own wishes and needs? Remember: you are not actually hurting anyone by doing this diet. No one is harmed by your actions. You're not doing anything bad. You're making this awesome choice for yourself. You know your truth, the truth about this diet, and that is all that matters.

AND: you don't owe them any explanations.

You eat what you want, and if there's a comment, all you have to say is, "That's all the food I want right now."

You are not obligated to defend what you're doing, explain ahead of time, or even lie to make them feel better. No justification necessary. No justifying why or how this works, and why you're doing it. Again, you are not hurting anyone with your actions, so there is no need to do anything different. However, if you take care of their needs over yours, even if in the moment it's difficult or painful or it seems easier to just give in, well... that hurts you. And you don't deserve to be hurt. You deserve to take care of yourself EXACTLY the way you want and need to.

I hope some of this helps.

If it doesn't, it's totally ok. I'm not offended.

I know there are easier solutions, I just wanted to put it out there that you are doing great things for you, and that should be honored.

Thank you both so much for your words! Its just what I needed. I need to take a deep breath and let the anxiety go. Its just 3 days I can get through them. Debbie you are right, this is life, a real life scenario which we are gonna be bombarded with forever so we need to just deal with them. For me taking the 3 days off won't work because I'm only doing this for 20 days.. if I gain 3 lbs it will take me several days to get it back off and there would be no way for me to lose 10 lbs by time 20 days hit as I'm not a fast loser even when I'm 5 biting perfectly but I loved your 2nd suggestion, I think I can do that, just kinda move my food around my plate, chat and talk etc and not let the food be the focus of anything this weekend. Pookykat, I LOVE your attitude. Put my way of eating first.. I don't owe them explanations.. I'm not hurting anyone.. I don't have to defend what I'm doing. Love it! I'm gonna use those this weekend for sure. My mom always means well and she does watch me when she's around to see what I'm eating etc but you know if by chance she picks up on how little I'm eating I'm gonna refer back to those pearls of wisdom. It just makes sense. I only have 16 more days to go and I know I have it in me to do it! I was thinking if this is a success I may come back and do it every couple of months until I hit my ultimate goal. But first I have to prove to myself that I can do it.. I can finish what I started
I'm so glad to have you both here cheering me on everyday. I look forward to getting to know you both much better

I'm so glad it was helpful!

That was a big part of the reason I joined this forum, was to help other people - not just myself. Actually, helping other people helps me. It reminds me of where I need my head to be when I go to Florida next month - so thank you!

And... you've already proven to yourself that you can do this, because you ARE doing it! Right now - as we speak! Just a day at a time, a moment at a time - don't worry about the finish line. Yes, keep it as a goal to keep you focused, but you can't get there without doing today first, right? Remember that... you are in the process of proving that you can do it RIGHT NOW.

So true, just get through one day at a time

Well here is my menu today:

B-nothing
L- 1 bite burrito 4 bites chicken pasta (one bite into the burrito and I didn't like it, not gonna waste 4 more bites on something I don't like)
D- 5 bites sheppards pie

Ok the more I thought about sheppards pie the more I wanted it lol but I didn't have all the ingredients so I made do. Instead of using classic carrots or peas I used mushrooms and the tips of asparagus..how did it turn out? YUM!!! my kids are eating it up! it's gonna make good lunches in the coming days for sure. So filling with all that potato and beef, Mmmmm. So it's a keeper.

So day 4 is coming to an end and it was great. Now when I got up this morning I was not hungry at all but I was weak. My office is upstairs (I work at home) and it's just 26 steps but by the time I got to the top you'd think I was exercising, my legs felt weak and tired and my heart was hammering in my chest. Just felt tired and weak. I hope this feeling passes. As soon as I had lunch I had sudden energy and no more problems the rest of the day so I know it's the lack of breakfast and calories but that is ok, my body will adapt. Slowly but surely. I am taking my multivitamin daily too.

So I'm off work tomorrow to gear up the house and guest room for my incoming guests.. trying to think of some easy meals that will feed 11 without breaking the bank, what are your "go to budget" meal ideas for large crowds?

Have a great evening!

20 day Challenge: started Monday Aug 6,2012

Day 01= (0.0)=00.0lbs loss current weight: 144.8 (Beginning weight)
Day 02= (0.0)=00.0lbs loss current weight: 144.8 (did not weigh as I wasn't sure I wanted to weigh daily)
Day 03= (1.6)=01.6lbs loss current weight: 143.2 (woo hoo! it's starting!)
Day 04= (1.8 )=03.4lbs loss current weight: 141.4 (I'm psyched! 130's here I come!)
Day 05= (0.6)=04.0lbs loss current weight: 140.8 (yay!)

Day 5 is going well so far.. my family won't be here until around 5 or 6 pm tonight.. I usually eat dinner early but they want to do a meal together so I'm gonna hope my lunch lasts until then and I'm not ravenous but no worries.. I have a plan. If I get too hungry before I'll take 1 bite of some protein to get me by until dinner. I'll make it. I took the day off work so I can catch up on some housework etc and I'm worn out already! I hope it doesn't burn through my lunch too fast, so far I feel pretty good. Tired from cleaning, going up and down the stairs about a million times etc but not weak or hungry so that is a plus!
I roped my husband into my support team for this weekend. He knows how much I wanna get through this weekend with no bumps when it comes to my 5 bites. So I said if you see I'm getting weak or anything just remind me, I only have 15 more days.. or 14 or 13 depending where we are at during the weekend lol and he said I can do that! lol so that will help, plus my mind is made is up that I will complete this 20 days on MY TERMS. I have it in me and I'm gonna do what I set out to do.

Ok well I just wanted to pop in and write down my thoughts. I'll be back on tonight to post today's meals, see you then!

Day 5 a success! I usually eat dinner around 3-4 pm as I get up early and I'm in bed early most nights but since my family was due in this evening I had to push it off. They got here around 6:30 and we had dinner around 7.. I was so worried I'd be famished and wasting away by then and ready for a full fledge binge but I wasn't and I didn't! In fact I knew I needed to eat but I wasn't really "hungry" at all. My stomach ached a little like it was really empty but nothing I couldn't appease with a glass of water. So dinner came at 7 and with all the catching up etc I ate my 5 bites without anyone noticing at all. Yay! I felt great as they went back for 2nds and some of them 3rds and I was perfectly full and sipping some ice water out on the patio. It 11:22 pm now and I'm still not hungry. I'm so glad to be in this easier phase of the diet and the first 3 days are past with their weakness and constant hunger and cravings. I hope it's smooth sailing the rest of the weekend. I'm off to bed now, will report my WI tomorrow morning

I just realized I forgot to post my meals.. duh! sorry, I'm tired,lol

B-nothing
L- 5 bites leftover sheppards pie
D- 5 bites sweet tacos (thats a ground beef/pork in bean family favorite..sounds weird I know but it's soooo good! and filling! lol)

Ok off to bed now, nite!

20 day Challenge: started Monday Aug 6,2012

Day 01= (0.0)=00.0lbs loss current weight: 144.8 (Beginning weight)
Day 02= (0.0)=00.0lbs loss current weight: 144.8 (did not weigh as I wasn't sure I wanted to weigh daily)
Day 03= (1.6)=01.6lbs loss current weight: 143.2 (woo hoo! it's starting!)
Day 04= (1.8 )=03.4lbs loss current weight: 141.4 (I'm psyched! 130's here I come!)
Day 05= (0.6)=04.0lbs loss current weight: 140.8 (yay!)
Day 06= (0.6)=04.6lbs loss current weight: 140.2 (hopefully tomorrow I see the 130's)