Topic: Weight Loss - No "S" Diet

A Common Sense Weight Loss Plan

Recently we posted an article on the Ten Simple Rules of Common Sense Nutrition. The Common Sense Nutrition Plan is not a diet that a person follows for a few weeks or months until they achieve their ideal bodyweight. In fact, Common Sense Nutrition is not a weight loss plan. It encourages a healthy approach to food that is simple to understand and can be utilized for a lifetime. If you are overweight, the Common Sense Nutrition Plan will help you shed those excess pounds. But what if you are significantly overweight, even obese, and need something more to help control your eating and kick-start your journey to better health and fitness? Losing weight is simple, but a lack of self-discipline makes it anything but easy for many people. If you are tired of fad diets that are gimmicky rather than logical and that quickly become monotonous, let me offer a common sense solution to your weight loss problem.

To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume. As long as you are eating excessively, you will have a hard time creating the necessary calorie deficit to burn bodyfat, no matter how much you exercise. To lose weight, you need to eat less and be physically active. That doesn’t require an aggressive exercise program, but it will require you to do more than sit on the couch and watch TV.

The No “S” Diet is the most common sense approach to controlled eating that I have ever seen. Best of all, information on the No “S” Diet is free - there are no books to read, tapes to listen to, or special foods to purchase. The No “S” Diet is a mnemonic device to help control food consumption. The plan is simple: No snacks, No sweets, No seconds, except (sometimes) on days that start with “S.” Sound too easy to be really effective? It works. It does not promise stunning, overnight results. The weight loss is gradual, as it should be. The plan develops a disciplined approach to eating that is sustainable for a lifetime. It focuses on how much you eat rather than what you eat, and it is perfectly compatible with the Common Sense Nutrition Plan’s guidelines for healthy food choices.

Most overweight people lack the self-discipline to truly overcome their problem with food. That’s right. I said weight issues are almost always a problem with food and self-discipline. No matter how society may try to excuse it, obesity is rising because people are indulging their appetite for highly refined, sugary foods in enormous quantities. To achieve and maintain a healthy bodyweight, you must learn to tell yourself “No.” You must exercise the physical restraint to push yourself away from the table and to refuse the hunger “itch” when it nags you to visit the refrigerator, pantry, or vending machine. Our society has grown accustomed to immediate gratification of any food craving, and we are fatter and unhealthier as a result.

Reinhard Engels, the creator of the No “S” Diet, recommends interested individuals try his diet for twenty-one days. During those three weeks, your body and mind will adjust to the more disciplined approach to eating, and you will have sufficient experience with the diet to begin seeing some initial results.

In addition to the No “S” Diet, I recommend that overweight individuals also build up to walking one hour every day. As we will discuss in a future article, walking is very efficient transportation but very inefficient exercise. For that reason, you must do more than stroll a few days a week to lose weight. Most people will be able to cover three to four miles walking for one hour. This increased physical activity will aid your body in burning fat and will help you achieve a healthy bodyweight.

For further reading:

• Check out the No "S" Diet Forum
• Check out this article on the mental discipline necessary for weight loss