I personally would love an e-newsletter or a monthly telephone conference. I’m still not losing any weight, due in part to troubles with my thyroid.

Jean, yes by all means an e-newsletter would be valuable and something I would enjoy sharing with friends.

I read How to Become Naturally Thin by Eating More in 1990 and it took me one year to break the feast/famine cycle. I gained 14 pounds and then it “went away.” I have been naturally thin and happy for over 20 years now. I still follow the principles in the book, only now it is completely ingrained.  I feel sorry for all the people starting diets this time of year. Not me, thank you very much. Never again! ...Noel

I put the NT principles into practice 3 years ago this month.  I’m not sure what I weighed when I started as I had been on the cycle and was continually going up and down in weight, and I tended not to get weighed when I was “up,” but it seems I gained around 20-25 pounds that first year, 2008-2009.  It only took about one week to stop binging for good, and I never have since. The weight came off very slowly during the second year, 2009, and into the beginning of 2010. Sometimes a pound a month, sometimes 2 pounds, sometimes nothing. I felt like exercising again during the second year, and have continued with it, feeling good about it and not forcing myself.  We have had a lot of severe weather this winter, so I’ve have to skip a day going to the gym practically every week (and I only go on M-W-F), but that’s the way life rolls. It is taking my daughter somewhat longer, but she is definitely losing. She was heavier than me to begin with, and gained more than I did.  She never weighs herself, and doesn’t exercise on a regular basis.  But she does follow the principles and is completely off the cycle and is dedicated to NT. When she was home from college over Thanksgiving, I noticed for the first time a big change in her appearance, so I imagine we’ll be shopping for smaller clothing sizes for her in the near future.

I’m very happy to be entering my 4th year of practicing NT, with eating disturbances a thing of my past.

Like Noel said, I also feel sorry for all of the people who still think dieting is their only hope.  They are getting into a battle that they just can’t win.

Yes, thank you, I would love a monthly newsletter!

Your posting today, Jean, was just what I needed to hear, thank you.

I started your “program” about 3 months ago and am no longer bingeing, over-eating of any kind, or craving foods and not thinking about food constantly.  I am not as tired during the day like before (exhausted between 1 and 4 pm) and feel pretty good except for the extra weight gained. 

I totally understand the book, NT, on an intellectual basis and just KNOW that is the right way to eat/think/live to lose weight.  But on the other hand, it is VERY hard for me to be 20 pounds heavier (gained since beginning program) and to ever think I am NOT going to be overweight. As mentioned in my email to you, my cloths don’t fit anymore, I am very self conscious about how I look, am embarrassed and very uncomfortable. I have not gotten to that point that I have read from some of you ladies where you don’t mind the weight gain. Anyone have any suggestions or words of encouragement?

I have read everything on this website and it has been very interesting and helpful.

Thank you very much

shanshan, just know that there was nothing I liked about gaining and carrying around the extra weight.  The thing that I do like about it NOW, is that it is all in the past, over and done, and I’ll never have to go through that again!  So just hang in there and follow the principles, and this will be the last time you’ll have to deal with weight gain!

You said that you know NT is the right thing to do and it makes sense to you.  And thank goodness, you are acting on that thought and putting it into practice.  Don’t let anything tempt you to veer off from the path that you are on now.  While it may seem like an eternity to have to wait for your body to release the extra pounds, you know that is what you have to do—-if you want to see success.  It is just how our bodies work.  For all of the NT success stories, each person had to face the weight gain, just as you are doing right now, like it or not, and I would venture to say most people do not like it one bit.  But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel if you persevere.  During my weight gain, I tried to focus on something else that I always neglected before, my fingernails!  I wore rubber gloves while doing the dishes and got some salon quality polishes, and I grew some killer fingernails!  It somehow made me feel pretty and fashionable, despite the added pounds.  So for a suggestion, maybe you could think of something like that, a new haircut or color, a new piece of jewelry, or a hobby, anything for a boost.  It didn’t make me blind to my weight gain, but it helped me feel better.  It was something else I could focus on.

So for now, enjoy eating, and buy bigger sizes as you need to.  You know why you have gained the weight.  The books say the majority of us will.  And the books say it will take awhile to lose it, because we are following our bodies now, and not our minds, so welcome, and glad to have you here and sharing the same path that we have all chosen.

You have no idea how many people told me it would never work, that I would never lose the weight, well it’s 20 years later and they are still obsessing and dieting and killing themselves on the treadmill and I’m naturally thin and loving it! Today in the grocery store a friend told me how she was “doing Atkins” and I just said that I eat healthy, whatever amounts I want and need, no restrictions as to food groups, and that no diets ever worked for me… she looked at me for a long moment and replied, “And you LOOK healthy!” Duh! Go figure!! Think about it people!

No I didn’t “enjoy” the weight gain that year, especially when I went up two sizes in jeans, but I had made up my mind to see it through and I had confidence the Naturally Thin principles would work for me. I only could have this confidence because of my history as to exercising too much and dieting too much and trying so many different things. Every time I’d lose weight on a diet, I’d know “in my heart” that the weight would eventually come back because I would get hungry. Diets made me “emotional,” not the other way around. Every time I regained weight, I felt bad about myself. Not any more.

How I wish NT worked for me like it did for you two, Swan and Noel. It just doesn’t for some of us.

Thank you so much Swan for your wonderful email.  It really made sense to me and I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

I just want to say that I am so thankful for finding the books by Jean and this website.  The few people I have mentioned this “concept” to have been quite negative and disapproving and it is nice to have a place where people are positive and supportive.  I won’t tell anybody else what I’m doing!! 

It is so interesting to hear all the ladies (and one guy) in my office constantly talking about dieting, what diet they are on, what diet they are going to go on, how they have to start working out more to lose weight, etc., etc.  I just want to jump in and tell them about Jean’s books, but don’t dare! 

As mentioned yesterday, I have read everything on this website and I appreciate each and everyone’s comments and stories.

I’m sure I will be posting again soon with more questions as I don’t have anyone I can talk to who understands the NT way.

Thank you, thank you!!!

Kelcy, I know you have been around here for quite awhile and it would seem perfectly logical for you to expect to see some results by this late stage in the game.  I do recall a coaching session you had with Jean, but I just can’t remember how long ago that was.  Was it a year ago, or less than that?  Unless I’m mistaken,you said the session with Jean revealed that you were going too long at some point in the day, or night, or morning, without eating.  Anyway, whatever it was, have you given it adequate time, since that point of adjusting your eating, to make a fair analysis? Because I would give it at least a year from whenever you started making that adjustment.  And you also mentioned a thyroid problem.  Are you taking medication for this which would stop the weight gain, or is the medication you take for it the cause of the weight gain?  Forgive me if I’m being too nosy. 

There are other questions I’d like to ask you on this forum, so we can all help you and maybe see something you are not seeing.  Would that be okay with you?

shanshan, whenever I think about all of the people currently on diets, like the people in your office, and the celebrities we always see on magazine covers who have chronic weight issues and are always dieting, and the multitude of people who post their dieting woes on the various traditional dieting websites, I just want to ask them, what role model do you have, who has dieted and lost weight, and has kept the weight off for good, and has no issues with binging or other eating disorders?  Or what diet are you following, that has worked for a whole host of people, who are now thin and no longer have to worry about their weight? 

It really seems insane to just jump from one diet to another willy-nilly and expect to see permanent results!

Hi Swan, thanks for responding. You can ask me anything you’d like, I don’t mind. I spoke with Jean in July, and it did come out that I was waiting too long to eat after feeling hunger. I now eat as soon as I feel hungry, and as a result I have gained another 5 pounds. I have been on thyroid medication for 23 years for being hypothyroid. A year ago my dosage had to be adjusted down because it was too high making me hyperthyroid which increases metabolism, and increased my hunger. So my medication had to be lowered and I gained a few pounds. I get tested once a year, and at my last visit with the doctor my medication had to be increased again, because I’ve gone back to hypothyroid. The thyroid condition might be part of the problem, but doesn’t account for me being as heavy as I am. I’ve been following NT for 7 years, and apparently wasn’t responding to my hunger fast enough, and as a result I’ve not only didn’t lose any weight, but have continued to gain a few pounds every year. I started at 184 and am now 218.

Hi Kelcy, I want to try and help you figure out what is going on.  Maybe by giving us all some information on your eating habits, we participants on this forum will be able to see something you are not seeing.  Hopefully my questioning you will not seem silly or redundant to you, as I’ve known you’ve been practicing NT for 7 years.  But with that being said, Jean has said how unbelievable it is for her to hear over and over again, someone say they have been practicing NT for X years without any weight loss, only for Jean to find out that person has been overlooking some of the key principles.  It is for this reason I want to help you.  I’m sure you’ve read the book.  For anyone reading this who is just starting NT, please don’t read the book one time and think you’ve got all of the information in it in your brain.  If you’ve listened at all in your lifetime to any dieting propaganda, you will need to read the book(s) over and over and over again. You need to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that not a single dieting tip out there is going to help you. And please underline things, put big stars by sections that completely astound you, get yellow, pink, and lime green high-lighter markers and mark up those books.  Every time you have a feeling of doubt or discouragement, look in the book for that particular issue.  Another thing I have done is search online for interviews Jean has given, and quotes in articles she has given. There are a few out there. I have even printed out some of her responses to questions on this forum, so I could have them handy and refer to them often.  And importantly, please don’t just let years go by without addressing specific problems on this forum that you’ve been unable to resolve by reading the books.  I admire Kelcy’s determination to continue with NT, because she knows it is the way eating is meant to be.  So I’m going to ask her some question now, and maybe some more later, so we can all help her try to identify areas in her eating that she could adjust.

Questions for Kelcy:

1.)  Besides following the NT principles, do you follow any other eating guidelines, such as a heart-healthy plan, or a diabetic diet, vegetarian or vegan, lactose-free, etc., or do you have no restrictions whatsoever?

2.) For family meals, is it very important for you to eat with your family at specific mealtimes?  For instance:  you all have breakfast at 6:00, you all have lunch at noon, and you all have dinner at 5:00, with little variation to your set schedule.

3.) How would you prepare to deal with your hunger, if you know you will be out of the house for several hours running errands, doctors appointments, groceries, or doing anything that has the potential of taking up several hours.  Do you throw a banana in your pocket, or make sure you stop and buy some food the moment hunger strikes, or wait till you get back home to eat because you have healthier stuff at home, or would you just leave it up to chance?

4.)  If you had to guess, and I mean really guess (don’t add anything up now), how many calories do you eat on average each day?  Just say if you think it is definitely UNDER 2000, or right AROUND 2000 (give or take 100), or definitely OVER 2000, or do you have absolutely no idea, and furthermore, don’t even care?

5.)  Do you plan out what food you will eat in advance?  Like, do you ever think what it is you will eat tomorrow, today?

6.) Other than pleasure foods (desserts, sweets, candy, etc) are there foods that you really like, but you try very hard to avoid?  List a few if you can think of any.

Okay, that’s enough for now, I hope it isn’t too many.  I may ask you some more after you answer these.  Just hoping you’ll give some information that will make one of us say “That’s it!  That’s the problem!”

Thanks Swan, I’ll do my best to respond as honestly and completely as possible.

Question 1)I have no restrictions whatsoever.

      2)The only meal that’s important to have with my family is dinner, and dinner time varies day to day, from 4:30 up until 7:00.

      3)I live in the mountains of Colorado in a small town. Eveything is within 10 minutes away. When I am out and about doing errands in town I always make sure it is after a meal and that I am full. I will bring a banana, or a bagel, and once in awhile a granola bar just in case I get hungry. However, about once every two weeks I will go shopping or have a Doctor’s appointment or something else in the valley, which is at least an hour away from home. I usually eat a big meal before I go, and, bring bagels, crackers, or something to eat in case I get hungry, (but not usually a meal). There have been times in the past that I didn’t bring enough food, and went about an hour or so after getting hungry to finally get something to eat. By then, I would wind up craving junkier foods in order to get full. However, since I spoke with Jean in July, I have stopped doing that.
     
4) If I had to really guess, I would say I eat around 2000 calories a day on most days. Of course, some days are less, and some are more, but I very rarely, if ever, keep count.
     
5) I don’t usually plan what I will eat the next day unless I am craving something in particular to eat and don’t have it on hand, or it’s the end of the day and I’m no longer hungry.
     
6) There is nothing that I really like that I try not to eat. In fact, I no longer like food nearly as much as I once did. If I want something, I will make a point of eating it.

I sincerely appreciate you trying to help me, and I hope there is something someone else sees that I don’t. Thank you Swan.

An e-newsletter is better for me; a conference call would be tough with my schedule.

Okay Kelcy, a few more questions:

1.) How many times would you say you eat on average per day?  Include snack times, too. 

2.) Let’s say it’s mid-morning and you want a sandwich.  It tasted so good that you could easily eat another sandwich.  Would you go for it?  Or talk yourself into something else to provide more variety?  Or skip it, because it’s not ladylike to have 2 sandwiches, and you’ll have a full meal at lunchtime in just 2 hours.

3.) When you usually stop eating, do you stop because you feel full and satisfied?  Or, do you usually feel slightly too full after a meal, or, do you stop just short of feeling full, knowing in 20 minutes you’ll feel a lot fuller than you do now?

4.) Looking at everything you eat, would you say it is mainly low fat?  For example, when faced with choosing skim or 1% milk it’s always skim; low fat cheese or full-fat cheese it’s always low fat; regular bacon or turkey bacon it’s always turkey bacon; whole eggs or egg whites it’s always whites, or do you mostly leave it up to whatever your body is leaning toward at that moment in time?

5.) What time of day would you say is your biggest meal of the day, or are all of them pretty much the same size?

6.) Do you believe that going without food for just an hour or two beyond your first hunger signal, can be a famine to your body?  Or do you feel that just a couple hours without food really can’t do much harm, because sooner or later, you’ll get that meal in?

After you answer these Kelcy, I may still have a few more questions to ask you.  I encourage all the members on this forum to read Kelcy’s responses, and please, see if you can come up with any more questions of your own to ask Kelcy.  Let’s put our collective NT heads together on this.  Imagine you are in Kelcy’s shoes.  What kinds of questions would you be asking yourself to figure out where you might be missing something?

Right now I tend to think that Kelcy’s former delayed eating, which was identified back in July with Jean’s help, was signaling to her body that she was still in a famine environment, and hence the reason she continued to gain weight, as the delayed eating (famines) continued.  Then when she started responding to hunger cues right away, she gained a little more weight, which would not be uncommon when first starting to eat “on time.”  It could just be that her body is now waiting for the assurance signal of “no more famines” as she continues to always eat on time.