Intuitive Eating–A Revolutionary Program that Works
Authors–Evelyn Tribole, M.S., R.D and Elyse Resch, M.S., R.D., F.A.D.A.
I am reading this book currently and thought I would keep my thoughts here on my blog.
Chapter 1–Hitting Diet Bottom
That’s where I was when I decided to try IE. I was tired of counting, measuring, and restricting. I have Sommercized, done Atkins, WW, counted calories, counted fat grams, made healthy choices, slim fast, etc. I researched the Mediterranean and South Beach but didn’t start. I have had the last supper on many occasions. I have also been the one to bring my own food to places or had people say well you can’t have this and this or I don’t know what to make so you can eat!
Chapter 2–What Kind of Eater Are You?
I have not read the entire chapter but am far enough in to identify that I am an emotional unconscious eater. Something I’ve known but have recently admitted to. I have self diagnosed myself as a binge eater.
Chapter 3–Principles of Intuitive Eating: Overview
Principle 4: Challenge the food police will be a hard one for me because if I just ate an hour ago eating again because I feel hungry will seem wrong. Something I will need to work on.
Principle 5: Feel your fullness will be another difficult one for me because I tend to eat way beyond fullness.
Principle 7: Cope with your emotions without using food will be the most difficult one for me to tackle that’s why I plan to back this up with the Geneen Roth learning packages.
Principle 8: Respect your body may be a toughie but I think I can do it. I may be happy at 150 vs 120 even though at 148 I’m still considered overweight according to the BMI chart.
Principle 9: Exercise feel the difference will come as the second toughest. I really identified with Miranda. I have a mini gym in my apt and still don’t exercise.
Chapter 4–Awakening the Intuitive Eater: Stages
I’m in Stage 3: Crystallization–Kinda the hits and misses I talked about before but almost there. Today I could feel that my mouth wanted food but my stomach did not. I think I’ve always been able to recognize the difference between physical and emotional hunger but just ignored it. I’ve always recognized satisfied vs overstuffed signals but ignored those also. Although I haven’t adjusted my ticker up when I first started this process I was 235. I wonder where I will be when I weigh in on Saturday. I’m tempted not to weigh because I’m just getting the hang of this. But I will weigh in. My next weigh in will be April 1st. I think I like the monthly weigh ins. I do think at some point I will weigh in every other month or quarterly but I’m not there yet. I am still tied a little bit to the number.
Chapter 5–Principle 1: Reject the Diet Mentality
The things that resonated with me were
Eating at certain times of the day– I was eating every two hours and I’ve gotten away from that. I am only eating when hungry.
SCALE AS A FALSE IDOL–See how I bolded and capitalized this one? I think we all fall into this trap. I am trying to wean myself off the scale but it is hard. I do remember one time when I threw one scale away and took my time finding a decent one when I finally did weigh about 3-4 weeks later I had lost 8lbs. This will be a work in progress. I’ve talked about this with posters in the Chicks in Control forum. Some of my worst binges have followed a weigh in.
Still working on feeling my fullness. I feel it. I just need to honor that I am full. Like right now for lunch I had a Lean Cuisine panini and I’m satisfied and I’m thinking, really? Don’t I need to eat more? No, only if I am hungry and currently I am not. It’s hard to trust yourself sometimes.
Chapter 6–Principle 2: Honor your Hunger
A bit technical. It took me a bit to get through this chapter because of the technical stuff. Made it a little boring. One thing I identified with is trying to trick your biological hunger can get you in trouble. Instead of eating what I want I try to substitute it with something else. Mistake. I end up eating everything in sight because I’m not satisfied with the substitutes.
Chapter 7–Principle 3: Make Peace with Food
Well I can definitely identify with “the hell with it” mentality. I just talked about it above. I have allowed some “forbidden” foods into my life. Namely peanut butter and skinny cow ice cream sandwiches at home. I’m doing pretty good with them. Wheat thins was always a big one for me too. In my recent binges I ate a box a wheat thins a night. Now I can go my whole life without ever eating them again. They taste like cardboard to me right now. At work I have boxes and boxes of girl scout cookies. What’s interesting is I’m too scared to bring them home so I leave them at work but I’ve been barely eating them. Now that I say it is okay to eat them and I don’t have to measure out a serving I’m like whatever…!
Chapter 8–Principle 4: Challenge the Food Police
I used to be a dichotomous thinker. I have worked really hard to get away from that and have suceeded. I then moved into linear thinking but I am now a process thinker. It definitely is a journey. What I really identfied with in this chapter is the last section–Self Awareness: The Ultimate Weapon Against the Food Police. I hadn’t gotten to this part of the book but I had told my friend that IE is essentially about self awareness. I always strive to be self aware. It is something I work on every day.
Chapter 9–Principle 5: Feel Your Fullness
This was a really important principle for me. I thought it would be difficult for me to feel my fullness because I am a binger. What I found was I could feel it. Respecting it has been the bigger issue. Now that I am starting to respect it I feel much better and I know it will help with weight loss.
Chapter 10–Principle 6: Discover the Satisfaction Factor
I found this chapter to be very helpful. I have been working on what I truly like to eat. One thing I have figured out is I thought I loved wheat thins but right about now they are tasting like cardboard. So no need to buy them or ever worry about bingeing on them. I’ve always told myself I will not settle. This book agrees. Settling=bingeing. If I do not eat what I want then I will continue to eat everything and get ridiculous until I actually just eat what I wanted in the first place. Cut out all of the stuff in the middle and I would be just fine. Don’t settle also includes if you taste something and its alright not good or something you really want to eat stop. Love this motto: “If you don’t love it, don’t eat it, and if you love it, savor it”. Also like this: “Knowing what you like to eat, and believing that you have the right to enjoy food, are key factors in a lifetime of weight control without dieting”. It all about self awareness. I am trying alot of new things and really enjoying it.
Chapter 11–Principle 7: Cope with Your Emotions Without Using Food
This was a tough chapter for me. I knew it would be. I’m an emotional eater. Do I know why? Yes. Do I really want to talk about it? Not really. There’s the problem. At some point I will tell the story here but I am just not ready. I can attribute the emotional eating to 3 specific things. Having just admitted recently to being an compulsive overeater/binger I just think its a bit much to start exploring those feelings just yet. I will have to when I start my Geneen Roth book. When it comes to emotional eating/bingeing I can admit I feel like a failure. Two reasons. I’ve always considered myself an achiever. What ever I set my mind to I do. This is one aspect in my life at which I continue to fail. Also in my field one thing we teach is to use recreation as a coping mechanism. Hello…I’m using food. I’m not practicing what I preach. I’m passionate about what I do so it doesn’t feel good that I’m not towing the line. When attending conferences I want to cower in the corner. Not like I care what others think. Not important. Its what I think about the situation that bothers me. I like the 4 questions the book tells you to ask yourself when dealing with coping with emotional eating:
1. Am I biologically hungry?
2. What am I feeling?
3. What do I need?
4. Would you please?
The first 3 are easy. The 4th is harder. You’re asking someone for assistance. I find it difficult to admit I need help but this is something I am getting better and better at each day.
Chapter 12–Principle 8: Respect your Body
Definitely something important to remember. I need to dress for my body now. I like looking cute and accessorizing with jewelry, shoes, purse. I’m not doing that now. I’m living in sweats and too big clothes. I recently decided I needed to go shopping so it fits right with this. I hate clohes shopping though. It can be quite depressing. I think my natural healthy weight is 150. I really do. That’s the smallest I’ve been as an adult. When I tried to go below that weight is when I dieted back to where I am now. This chapter reiterated not weighing but I’ve signed up for the new TBL Challenge so I will be weighing weekly for 15 weeks starting next week. I will see how it goes and take it from there.
Chapter 13–Principle 9: Exercise–Feel the Difference
A big obstacle for me. I wax and wane with it. The main reason is because I become an exercise abuser. I get burned out. Separating it from weight loss as suggested in the book is something I need to work on because I see it as a means to an end and that end is weight loss. I can understand the concept of thinking of it as taking care of myself but it is not the way I think now. I need to work on changing my mindset because I know that will help me.
Chapter 14–Principle 10: Honor Your Health–Gentle Nutrition
I really don’t like to get too detailed oriented with food. This is something I’ve learned over time. I used to count fat grams, points, carbs, and Sommercized. I thought I needed that structure because it works for me in my career. What I’ve learned is I don’t like structure when I’m eating. I know that’s why I do well with IE. I don’t need to know about protein, fat, etc. Do I like it? Does it taste good? Works for me. I do consciously try to eat fruits, veggies, drink water, and eat less processed foods. That’s it. Not too complicated. So I think this is something I am already doing–gentle nutrition.
Chapter 15–Intuitive Eating: The Ultimate Path Toward Healing from Eating Disorders
It is my true hope that intutive eating does put an end to my binge eating. I’ve had some stops and starts. I made it 6 days and had to start over , then 24 and had to begin again , and now I am on Day 41 with no stops in between. The most success I’ve had ever. I just really admitted that I was a binge eater a few months ago. That was the start of me knowing I had to cut out some of my rigidity. This chapter had quite a few case studies and talked about what led to the eating disorders with the individuals. I can pinpoint several things in my life that have led to me being a binge eater. One I was molested by a relative when I was young. Two my “father” has been in prison the majority of my life. He was recently released and wants to be a part of my life. I think that led to a increase in my bingeing which led me to realize that I am a binge eater. Also for a short time in my life when my mom went overseas with the military and was unable to take me & my brother with her she left us with an aunt. This aunt also had an effect on me. She restricted my eating and she always told me & my brother that we weren’t as good as her grandkids–our cousins. It was such an unhappy time in my life. So all of this I believe led to my being a binge eater.
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