LA Weight Loss - intuitive eating

Lisa, I just got some NIKEs on sale. I'll let you know how they work out. They feel pretty good right now. Sabrina, Great news on the 5lb!!!!!!!! Seems one day I'm feeling great and the next day fat even though I lost 5lb a week ago, I haven't lost anymore since.

Hi all,
I have not lost any weight in a while - about a month. Do not know what I am doing wrong. I am getting fustrated. I am going to review some of the books I have (Intuitve Eating, the Overfed head) this weekend to try and get motivated again.

My only hard and fast rule about what I can't eat is that I won't eat any low-fat, low-carb, etc. substitute for a food. I always use the real, "high octane" version. I also don't eat many processed foods; I mostly cook everything from scratch then freeze it in single serving portions. I don't drink sodas either, not even diet ones. But that's just because I don't like them anymore. Same with junk food. Most of it doesn't appeal to me. Gourmet food is another matter, lol. Big Macs and fried chicken do nothing for me.

I think that may be a problem of mine, eating too much processed and fast food. Unfortuanately I happen to love fried chicken that I cook at home. I have to learn how to do better. I keep gaing and looseing the same couple of pounds over and over.

Lisa,
I wear Brooks Ariels. I have worn them for almost four years now. I just call the running store when I need new shoes to make sure they have them in stock and go get them. I tried to change to a pair of asics once and the pain began right away. Brooks is just the shoe for me. My dh on the other hand wears New Balance. He isn't heavy, but he has wide feet. They have worked really well for him.


Thanks Kay - I am going to try them.

Don't give up Lisa! After 35 yr. of dieting I can tell you that it isn't the answer. One thing that really dawned on me one day was that when I started to do regular fasting, my problem got worse. I think fasting might be good for some things but not permanent weight loss. I read The Overfed Head for encouragement and it really works.

I think that may be a problem of mine, eating too much processed and fast food. Unfortuanately I happen to love fried chicken that I cook at home. I have to learn how to do better. I keep gaing and looseing the same couple of pounds over and over.

Lisa,

My suggestion would be to keep making your fried chicken at home, BUT use whole wheat flour instead of white flour to bread it, fry it in canola oil, and keep the salt to a minimum. Then accompany it with some healthy, naturally low-calorie foods like steamed asparagus with lemon and baked sweet potatoes. You CAN have your fried chicken and eat it too. ;)

I fry chicken in ww flour and nobody can tell the difference. I use canola oil, too. I used to have to fry 2 chickens and didn't do it too often. Now I'm down to one unless there is company.

Fiddler, got any good recipes for eggplant?

I'm sure I do; at the moment nothing is coming to me except Thai green curry, Bengan Bhartha (an Indian dish), and eggplant parmigiana. I'll check this weekend when I am home.

Do you like spicy, or not?

Not crazy about spicy but I can always leave that part out!! Can't have calcium foods either. Picky, picky. ha!

How did the dinner go, Obsidianbbw (got your name wrong the last time, sorry)?

It was a lunch and it went OK, not great, not bad.

I mentioned before my need to pick breakfast on the way to work even if I had already eaten at work so with that in mind I actually talked to myself "I am not hungry and I will not stop" LOL. I live in NY so I guess people didn't mind too much. I packed something light to eat and later in the morning when my stomach grumbled at me I ate it. I purposely didn't eat much since i knew I was going out to eat and by lunch I was ready. I managed to not try and eat every chip in the basket (it was mexican) and I drink about 5 glasses of water to help me fill up. I ended up eating most of everything but the stuff I didn't want...I didn't eat.

I picked up my car from the garage and almost stopped in a Subway for a sandwich with the thought of "well I'll probably be hungry later" (i had even sort of convinced myself that even though I was going to have to pay more to park because i was going to miss the time cut off it was only $10.00) which was followed with But I'm not hungry NOW so I walked out and went into the parking garage

Went to visit grandma and managed not to eat anything there (we have the type of family where if they see you they want to feed you) I drove from grandmas and managed to avoid the eating in the car thing, and again there was alot of internal talk about not stopping so I took the short way home. I got home and popped something in the oven because I did want a snack.

I feel like since I am not limiting myself it is like someone removed the blinds. I'm not worried about numbers and just focusing on my habits and changing them.

Sorry this was so long, but there it is

OK, Carol, here you go. I remember making this a few years ago and thinking it was pretty good.

Grilled Eggplant


2 medium-sized eggplants
lemon juice
1 TBS white sesame seeds
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry
2 TBS sesame oil
1/4 tsp black or szechuan pepper
3 cloves minced garlic
2 TBS unsalted butter (you could probably substitute olive or canola oil if you want)


Slice eggplants lengthwise into 1-1/2 inch thick slices. Rub with lemon juice and set aside.

In a small dry skillet, toast the sesame seeds until golden brown over high heat. Remove seeds from skillet and set aside.

Melt butter in skillet, add garlic and saute briefly. Add soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil, and pepper. Stir to combine and remove from heat. Marinate eggplant in this mixture for 30 minutes to 8 hours.

Broil or grill eggplant until tender, about 3-4 minutes per side. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve at once. Serves 4.

Obsidianbbw, I love long posts! Sounds like you had a good day. I didn't do too good yesterday. My hubby was cutting hay and wasn't in by 8:30 pm so I ate by myself feeling sorry for myself and not thinking about fullness. But today is a new day!!! Hey, did I really say that? I think I am usually hard on myself when I blow it so that might be a first. Fiddler, that recipe sounds YUMMY!!!

Had a good day yesterday IE wise even though my eating was not on a regular time table. We didn't eat supper until 8:30 because we went to a friends cookout. I was a little hungry and had a burger with lots of tomatoes, onion, and a couple bites other things. It all tasted so good just because I was hungry. I didn't think I was going to like it but I did. My lunch was at 3:00 pm so that worked out good to eat supper later. I do bodyflex, a breathing routine, every day which I think helps my lungs and I need that. I ride my exercise bike out under a tree because I am not supposed to be in the sun but I like the outdoors. My son just fixed it this morning for me.......it was making a terrible racket. Sons are good at those things. Hubbys are too busy most times. ha!

Just thought I'd pop my head in to say "hello!" (That is, is you guys have room for one more person intruiged by IE.)

I lost a great deal of weight following gastric bypass. Unfortunately, surgery didn't fix my head, and I ended up regaining some of the weight. So, I started researching diets, and just knew I couldn't go that route again. So I came upon IE, and honestly, nothing makes more sense in my quest to lose the remaining weight.

I was glad to see this thread. So much of the rest of the boards are geared to dieting. (No, not again!)

~Alex:woops:

Hi gals,
I didn't post yesterday because my mom came over to help me put this film on my windows to keep out the heat. Well, it took a whole $50 roll to cover the huge window in my bedroom and 3 hours of time! I made the mistake of talking about how I don't have time to clean my house correctly, so then we had to spend 3 hours cleaning my bedroom!! That was just scrubbing woodwork, chair rail, moving furniture to vacuum, etc.!!!! I hate cleaning!!! If it took 3 hours to clean my bedroom properly, how am I ever going to clean 3 bathrooms, 2 more bedrooms, kitchen, living room, and formal living room???
Eating wise things are going fine. I went to my nutritionist on Friday. Now that we are super budgeting, I can only see her once a month, but you know, I feel like I've come so far on the program that I'm not sure I need to see her so much anymore... How do I break the ties? I realized that now that no foods are forbidden, none of them taste as splendid as they used to. Food doesn't have the magic that it once had. Even going out to eat isn't as enjoyable. I used to obsess about what I was going to eat all day long. Now I just make sure that I know what I am going to make for dinner since it is usually when I have the most trouble making good decisions.
I can't remember if I have asked anyone this, but has anyone else noticed that they are using IE when they are shopping? I have had a major decrease in just spending money. I am starting to ask myself, "Do I really need to buy this?" I realized that I medicated myself with food and shopping!

I can't remember if I have asked anyone this, but has anyone else noticed that they are using IE when they are shopping? I have had a major decrease in just spending money. I am starting to ask myself, "Do I really need to buy this?" I realized that I medicated myself with food and shopping!

I have only been doing it for a little over a week, but yeah. For the first time in the while I was able to walk down the ice cream aisle without panicing.

For the weekend was some hits and misses, but I didn't beat myself up and I don't feel like there was any set back. I am learning more about myself and how and why I eat stuff.

Friday night I came home and for me friday night is relax day so I don't cook. So I fell into the fast food trap. I also realize for me food at the end of the day is like a drink for other people a way of saying ok the day or week is over I can relax now. So I'll need to work on that. On the weekend I don't eat till I get physically hungry and then I am usually heading out the door so I usually eat where ever I am going (usually my parent or the mall) and I never eat right once I get there. So I took an extra hour before I went out to make an egg white omelet with veggies and stuff before I left.

I got hungry about 4 hours later so I grabbed some jamaican food which has alot of rice. I had a small serving and I was fine. My girlfriend was bored so she came over. I notice the only thing we ever do is go out to eat, and we usually go to applebees. So I ordered what I wanted. She helped me stay away from the mudslide and I left the heaping mash potatoes alone and ate the veggies and the meat. Everything is fine this morning I am going to eat then head over to visit the family.

:welcome: Lilybet! Don't have time to read everything but just want to say AMEN Kay! Sooooooo good to hear everyone's experiences,

Hey everyone! It's been awhile since I have posted. Lately I've been on this blurr of finding out what's truly healthy. It hasn't been too good though. I think I had to go through another bout of letting myself know that I can eat whatever I want. I feel better now. Ha! I realize that ultimately I need to eat what I want, but I find myself making healthier choices too. It all goes back to that everything in moderation...and listening to our body's needs at the same time.

You are all doing great!!

I had an interesting experience today and this has happened before. I didn't eat supper last night so this morning I was really hungry. Only had time for a glass of soy milk before leaving for a day of meetings. There was lunch and supper at the meetings and most of the day I was sooooo hungry because of the extreme hunger in the morning. I ate moderately all day but still hungry when we got home at 7pm. I'd kind of like to know what is going on when this happens. Any ideas from anyone?

Wanted to say also, Christy, that the hardest thing to do is to get the good food, bad food mindset out of the way. That's why Rob Stevens book is such an inspiration. He explains things so well. I think I have read the book 3 times now.

I am so glad I found this thread. I haven't been on 3fc for quite awhile and thought I would see what is going on.

IE is just like a series of classes I took called Naturally Slim. I missed a few, lost some wt and then gained it all back at no fault to the diet, just my own inability to not let my emotions dictate when and how much I eat.

I have looked over many plans and have decided that I do not want to buy and eat prepackaged foods, I don't want to count pts, I don't want to eat 6 times a day, and I am sure there are many other things that I do not want to do. The one thing I do want to do is lose wt. I am tired of being tired and feeling blecky. So, I have decided the best choice for me would be giving Naturally Slim another try. The good thing about the class was that once you pay you can go back and take the classes over and over again and you can view the sessions online....I think I will view them again for a refresher online.

I skimmed through the first few posts and did not read all 18 pages, so forgive me if this has been mentioned. One of the things NS promotes is drinking orange water....one part orange juice with 7 parts water throughout the day to keep your bloodsugar from dipping during the day. It isn't bad, I add a packet or 2 of sweet n low to mine. She says to drink this first thing in the morn to make sure you are not mistaking hunger for dehydration. Does the IE book have something like this?

I bet the principals are the same....Eat slowly, take 20 mins to eat your meal, eat one food at a time, eat when hungry, stop when full and drink plenty of liquids including the orange water.

It is nice to have a forum to chat with others who are eating the same way you are.....Good Luck to all! :goodluck:

Oh, has anyone posted their progress eating this way? How much wt they have lost and how much time? Would be curious to know how it is going.

Bye now!

Ive been reading alot on intuitive eating. I was always thin until I had kids. I think my problem developed during preg. You are given this chart of food you HAVE to eat during the day and while nursing...so I was eating even when i didnt want to, and I think i lost touch with my full/hunger signals. Before kids, I RARELY finished everything on my plate, and was a very slow eater. I can put away a full plate of food in about 30 seconds now (habit i picked up when babies would always cry during dinner) and I find now when im dieting, I dont really CRAVE things...but I am still eating past full and WAY too fast. I am losing weight...but how long is it going to stay gone if I keep eating more food volume than i really need? What happens when I get ahold of a chocolate cake? I once made a cake, and ate 1/2 of it...felt so guilty (OMG what will everyone think when they see I ate 1/2 of a cake???????!!!!), that I ate the other half and made another cake....took me longer to make the other cake than to eat the entire first one. Ive never been REALLY heavy....YET...but I do see some bad habits that I dont like the looks of and would like to change them. I KNOW I cant live my life forever never having pizza again...but when I get pizza, I dont want to go at it with the mindset "this is the last pizza I will ever eat so I'd better eat the whole thing"

Can somebody break down "Intuitive eating" for me? basic principals?

:welcome3: Chazmom and Button Eye, The IE principles are found on the first page of this thread. You are right, Button Eye, I have 10 kids and have been battling weight for 30 yr. A really good book to read that is short and very informative is The Overfed Head by Rob Stevens. He lost 140 lb in a year and a half. After a few years of dieting I noticed that my problem got worse when I started doing a lot of fasting. Yesterday I posted a question about severe hunger and found a pretty good answer in the Intuitive Eating book by Everlyn Tribole and another lady (can't remember her name). It has something to do with primal hunger. When you let your body get too hungry certain hormones kick in to prevent you from starving. So it is important to listen to hunger. I think most of us can get the hunger thing right but the statisfaction thing may take a little longer to learn. Keep posting!

Sorry Button ewe, got the name wrong!

Hi everyone. I'm checking in! Hello to the new folks. I've been sick the last few days so I haven't been on at all. I will say that it's a lot easier to stay "on program" with IE when you're sick than it is when you're doing WW. On WW everything would fly out the window when I was sick because really who wants to keep track of how many points in orange juice you're downing? I'm also down 13 pounds overall since starting. I think some of that may be water weight since lately all I've been doing is drinking water and OJ!

"Weigh" to go Sabrina! Keep up the good work!

:goodscale Congratulations on the 13lb Sabrina. Keep up the good work. :carrot:

Does anyone know why sometimes there are 25 new posts and a while later there are 9 pages????????? It doesn't really matter what time of day it is either. Maybe they change it on the hour. I think I've asked this before but can't remember if I got an answer.

Hi everyone! I cannot believe how much I have been struggling with eating intuitively. I think a lot of it has something to do with emotional eating. All of these diet thoughts have been hitting me tonight. What would be really good is reading through The Overfed Head one more time before returning it to the library and skimming through some parts of IE.

This is what has been going through my head (I'll try to describe it): The "problem" starts when I have this thought that I need to be healthy. It's a "MUST." Then I start to think of all the foods that I shouldn't eat because they aren't labeled healthy. I have mentioned dealing with the thoughts about eating like the way The Hallelujah Acres diet says, which is eating raw foods, juicing, eating NO meat and basically eating like a rabbit. Ha! Sorry to those who like to eat that way, but I don't think so! So those thoughts have come and gone a lot. It's like I'll think that eating that way is THE only way a person should eat. Like it's an absolute or something. There is SO much information out there about what's healthy and not healthy that I feel overwhelmed. I'm constantly thinking about these things. I DO want to take care of my body, but I haven't been listening to my body lately, I've been listening to what others are saying about my health and also to my emotions, which say, "feed me, feed me!"

It's been tough. I want to get over this worrying about health. It's making things worse. Have any of you dealt with this?

I apologize if I sound like a broken record. Thanks for listening!

Sabrina, congrats on the 13 pounds lost! Or "released" as one book I read said it. You are doing great! I'm so proud of you!! I hope you are feeling better!

Carol, you are such a great encourager on this thread. Thank you so much for your encouraging words to everyone. I really love reading your posts! Thank you for being YOU!

Button ewe--what a cute username! I'm so glad you have joined us. I agree with you, I want to eat pizza without thinking I have to eat the whole thing because it will never be there again (because it really will always be there now! Yeah!) I have had just one piece and been totally satisfied with that. Eating pizza on a diet made me want to eat the whole entire pizza. The awesome thing about IE is that you can have that pizza anytime you want, as long as you are hungry!! Whoohoo! :cp:

Chazmom, I'm going to look up Naturally Slim. Sounds interesting and a lot like IE. Awesome! I'm glad you found us. I think some of us have been posting our progress along the way. I'm still struggling through some things...like unlearning the dieting. I'm getting there though! :D

One thing I have noticed about myself when I eat too much is that I'll get heartburn, stomach-aches, and other stuff. It's no fun! I know it's all common-sense stuff, but wow, my body really doesn't want to be "stuffed."

I'm hoping to come on here more to post and read!

I think, without even knowing it, all this time I've been intuitive eater. My weight loss is never dramatic, but bit by bit, the fat finds its way out of my body.

Count me in this group!

:D

Cheers,
La Agua Fresca
http://aguafresca.healthifica.com

I saw this as an intuitive eating goal somewhere (forget where) but seemed great to me. Throw away some of the food on your plate. Seems easy....but I think with dieting you get into this mindset of "I have to eat *___*. I have to eat this much of *____*. This is ALL I will get and I will get hungry later, so I had better eat all of my *____*" My goal today is to chew all of my food 20 times (even if its mush...I GOTTA slow down... I swear sometimes its like I dont even taste what I am swallowing whole) and to throw away 1/4 of whatever I have on my plate.....its not like im going run out of food...I have plenty....can always go get more if i want to.

Hey everyone.

Christy you are not sounding like a broken record post as much as you want we're here to support one another and you do what you need to do to make you do better. PERIOD.

Sabrina Congratulations on the 13 lbs.


Well the eating things has been going well. I have realized I have no desire to eat breakfast it is one of those things I was doing because I was supposed to. I noticed on the weekend I didn't eat till about 11 or 12...no matter how early I got up and I ate again about 5 or 6 and I was pretty much done for the rest of the day. So I tried it on a week day. I walked past the breakfast spot. I wasn't hungry and was fine till about 10 or 11. I ate the snack I had packed...I ate again about 2 (full meal) and then had dinner at about 9 ( I worked late) I didn't keel over in hunger pains and I seemed to be just as energetic as if I had had a full breakfast. So we'll see how it goes. I did have 2 cookies (my bosses wife baked them) but usually I sneak 4 or 5 without even thinking about it, so that was some kind of improvement.

Also someone posted that they missed breakfast and were hungry the rest of the day. I think how many meals and when you eat them isn't a set in stone thing. Just like I am not interested in eating until later in the day. Maybe you body really needs that jump start in the beginning.

:welcome2: Aquafresca, we need all the help we can get! Christy, my problem lately is a little different though I still get those voices of healthy eating now and again. Lately I have been just soooo hungry (last 2 days) and it is hard to feel full. Everything tastes great! And I am way past menopause so it can't be TOM. Just can't figure it out. My weight is up a couple of lbs, too. Hopefully it will level off. Our family of 10 kids, spouse and grandkids are getting together at WI Dells this Fri. and Sat. Sometimes I worry that there won't be things I can eat because I can't have calcium. My last blood test about a week ago was good and I want to keep it that way. I usually have soy milk in the morning but don't want to drag it along. We'll see........ I totally agree with not having breakfast if that's how you feel. I used to be like that. Lately, though, I wake about 5 am and am starving. I usally go back to sleep but not right away. Sometimes I wish I had a couple of ounces of juice but I have to run clear downstairs to get it. I've been having pain in one foot so it has been hard to exercise.

Hi everyone! I cannot believe how much I have been struggling with eating intuitively. I think a lot of it has something to do with emotional eating. All of these diet thoughts have been hitting me tonight. What would be really good is reading through The Overfed Head one more time before returning it to the library and skimming through some parts of IE.

This is what has been going through my head (I'll try to describe it): The "problem" starts when I have this thought that I need to be healthy. It's a "MUST." Then I start to think of all the foods that I shouldn't eat because they aren't labeled healthy. I have mentioned dealing with the thoughts about eating like the way The Hallelujah Acres diet says, which is eating raw foods, juicing, eating NO meat and basically eating like a rabbit. Ha! Sorry to those who like to eat that way, but I don't think so! So those thoughts have come and gone a lot. It's like I'll think that eating that way is THE only way a person should eat. Like it's an absolute or something. There is SO much information out there about what's healthy and not healthy that I feel overwhelmed. I'm constantly thinking about these things. I DO want to take care of my body, but I haven't been listening to my body lately, I've been listening to what others are saying about my health and also to my emotions, which say, "feed me, feed me!"

It's been tough. I want to get over this worrying about health. It's making things worse. Have any of you dealt with this?

I apologize if I sound like a broken record. Thanks for listening!

I so hear you! I keep finding myself battling the diet mentality. It's sort of like "Bad girl!" when I don't follow the "plan". I'm learning to wean myself off that, though, but what a struggle it is!

Did anyone see the thread "fight the fatten up for winter instinct"? Could that really bring on hunger? I couldn't believe I posted about being hungry lately and then saw that question on the new posts!!!!

Well I finally bit the bullet and weighed myself. I went to the gym since the wacky digital never seems to work correctly.

I lost 1 lb. I know it doesn't seem like much but I was 357 before the summer and I ate my way through house and home all summer and didn't excercise except to lift lots of fruit alcoholic beverages up to my mouth while I was in Jamaica.

I kinda wish I had weighed myself 2 weeks ago when I restarted again, but oh well. YOu should have seen the big grin on my face.

Also something else as soon as i left I started plotting how I could diet (starve ) myself down to a lower weight. I had to actually say STOP......keep doing what you're doing and even if I only lose a pound a month at least I'm not gaining anything.

So on the way to work (today is my late day) I had a taste for some pasta (which was previously off limits because I was low carbing) and a salad. I used to get 2 helpings of the pasta, even complained when they didn't have a container big enough to fit a large serving :o

So I got the small serving (the guy offered me the large at first) and I got a small salad with some veggies and chicken mixed in (no low fat dressing).

Got to work ate the pasta out of the sause, realized I didn't really want the sauce and threw out the rest.

Ate about 3/4 of the salad and realized I was full and didn't really want anything else. Put the top on the salad and will eat it later for dinner. :)

Ok, Now to do some actualy work.

carolr3639.....I had posted about orange water.....According to the woman who teaches the Naturally Slim classes, who is also a nurse practitioner, she says this is the only way to successfully follow her plan. You have to drink the Orange Water. She says to sip on it throughout your day....I can't remember if it is 32oz for the day or 64oz?? I will have to look it up.

She says it keeps your blood sugar level which is suppose to help with you not feeling hungry all the time. I do drink it and like it. It is 7parts water to 1 part oj....I take a 32oz cup, fill with 4oz or oj and fill the rest with water and ice. I like mine sweet so I add in 2 sweet n lows. She suggests drinking it first thing in the morning, sipping on it during the day and having it before you go to bed. Maybe this will help with you feeling hungry all the time...you mentioned juice.:)

Congrats to those who have lost wt.

I need to weigh myself. I was trying to follow the plan yesterday and listen to my body as to what I wanted to eat and it led me to a pack of cheese tots from Sonic:o That was my lunch....not a very good choice.

I need to buckle down!

Hey, what do ya'll think about sleep and wt loss? I have seen some stories on the news about not getting enough sleep will keep your fat hanging on? My sleep is awful, I really need to work on that as well.

Have a good one!

Obsidianbbw, I'm SO proud of you!! You ate what you wanted and you ate until you were satisfied! Way to go!! That is a HUGE encouragement for me today! Yeah!! Oh, and congrats on the 1-pound loss!

Chazmom, if the cheese tots were what you wanted, then don't deny yourself. IE is all about eating what you want when you are hungry. A "plan" is just like another diet to me. I'm trying to get as far away as I can from any "plans." Listening to what our body needs is MOST important. No one on the external can tell us what out body truly needs at every given moment. You can do this!!

I feel like I have more of a handle on things today. I haven't even had anything to eat yet--but that won't be the case soon. Ha! I read parts of The Overfed Head this morning and I feel like my mind is set on those right things again! Whoohoo!

How is everyone doing?

Wow! This looks like a great group. I think I may try this. I'm so sick of counting calories, points, whatever. Today I just kinda let it all go and had what I wanted. And I surpirsed myself. I ended up having tofu for breakfast (because that's what I wanted not what I thought I should have) then a coffee and for lunch i made a grilled cheese and sundried tomato sandwhich and split a small bowl of pea soup with my daughter. I was not stuffed but completely satisfied.

Wow! This looks like a great group. I think I may try this. I'm so sick of counting calories, points, whatever. Today I just kinda let it all go and had what I wanted. And I surpirsed myself. I ended up having tofu for breakfast (because that's what I wanted not what I thought I should have) then a coffee and for lunch i made a grilled cheese and sundried tomato sandwhich and split a small bowl of pea soup with my daughter. I was not stuffed but completely satisfied.


Welcome Captain Ladybug! I hear you about counting calories, etc. I did the same thing for years, and ended up gaining it all back. Moving towards IE was indeed a liberating, albeit frightening, process for me. And it's so much more fun!

~Alex

yeah I can hear you on the frightening part. When you've counting something for so long you almost don't trust yourself anymore. I just check out the website for thintuition. he give a free hunger guide to print out. Just looking at the guide just opens your eyes as to what actual hunger and fullness are. What's nice is you don't have to wait until Monday or a certain day to start this. You can start with your next meal. From what it looks like you'll end up taking the focus off the food and put it into more constructive things like living!

Does anyone have any suggestion on books, websites, or any other guides on this subject?

Thanks
Angie

I'm reading "Intuitive Eating" by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, which is pretty good.

You can download chaper one from the website. I read it at work today and loved it. Here is the link

http://www.theoverfedhead.com/

Okay....I can't get the little tracker thingy to work for me.

Nevermind...I needed to make a post for it to work... oops!

Chazmom, I love the little picture by your username! And the weight tracker...so cute!

Captain Ladybug, I have read a few different books on the subject:


Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole (and the other lady--ha!)
The Overfed Head by Rob Stevens
Am I Hungry? What To Do When Diets Don't Work by Michelle May
The 7 Secrets of Slim People by Vikki Hansen & Shawn Goodman
Thin Within by Judy & Arthur Halliday
How To Survive Your Diet by Linda Moran


Websites I have looked at:


www.amihungry.com
www.thintuition.com
http://www.lindamoran.net/blog/
http://www.betterwaypress.com/dietsurvivors/directory.html

I will probably post my food for the day as it helps me. :D
That way I have to look at it.

1:00, first meal of day...I was out and not alot of time so I grabbed 2 tacos from Jack in the Box.

7:00, I had boneless bbq ckn wings, small svg of potatoes and some cole slaw.

That is going to be it for the day...I am drinking my orange water and then heading to bed. I am going to do my best to not wander into the pantry. ;)

Thanks Christy! My avatar was one of the standards a couple of years ago....I wonder if they still have it?

Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole (and the other lady--ha!)
The Overfed Head by Rob Stevens
The 7 Secrets of Slim People by Vikki Hansen & Shawn Goodman
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After I read the chapter from the overfed head I picked the 2 books above. I'll probably order the head book when I get paid next week.

did you one that you liked more than any of the others?

I have to say that The Overfed Head is probably my favorite out of them all because it's to the point and discusses some things that are very helpful to me.

Well I want to post that while I am making progress it still has only been about a week and I am still working on stuff..

I ate about 3/4 of a salad yesterday, but it was like it was talking to ..."You know you want to eat me...I am so sexy with my tomatoes and my chicken...eat me...."

Anyway, I talked myself (literally) to wait 30 min then an hour then I said ok I will eat you at 4pm (I was working the late shift at work) so I wanted till after I got back from a trip to the bookstore and ate the devilish salad.


I had to work late so I knew I wanted something but I couldnt be sure if it was psychological hunger or physical hunger, but one thig I stood in front of the vending machine and instead of the dingdongs I usually get I got some peanuts which has never happened.

By the time I got home I couldn't tell if I was truly huingry or not, but since I seemed to be obsessing about it I went ahead and ate. I made some hotdogs and veggies. I had 2 hot dogs left over in the pack and I REALLY wanted to go back and eat them but I had just read in one of the books I picked up at lunch about savoring food and I remembered someone posted on here about chewing 20 times. So I made myself eat slowly and then waited till after the show I was watching was over (another 15 min), and by that time I could feel the food in my stomach. I still wanted the hot dogs, but since I could feel satisfied now I was kinda safe (I think if i hadn't been so beat from work I might have gotten back up and eaten them, but oh well.

Obsidianbbw, you work the late shift and up at 6am? How do you do that? Sounds like everyone is working out their quirks with intuitive eating. I would have to vote for Rob Stevens book, too, especially since he lost 140lb doing it!!! I lost those couple of lb from the hungries I had earlier in the week so am happy about that. Eating went pretty well yesterday but I am still waking early and mighty hungry. I am not a big breakfast eater, never have been. I used to drive my mom nuts until she started letting me eat vegetable soup and other non-breakfast foods. That was back in the day when I weighed 115 and the thought used to cross my mind that if I ever got over 120 I would just die!!!!!!! That was a longgggggggggg time ago. ha! Never gave a thought to what I ate then. Most of my trouble started when I went on birth control and then started having children. Well, that was a long time ago, too. Guess I've been searching for intuitive eating for quite awhile. I read Jean Antonello's book Natuarally Thin by Eating More almost 20 yr. ago but she was really against what she called pleasure foods ( only eat them occasionally ) so I never got the concept down pat. The Overfed Head is the best I have read and I think I have read thousands of diet books.

hey Carol I work a weird shift 9-5 Tu and Thur and 12-8 Mon,Wed and Fri.

I am going to try and hold off posting so much because it looks like the Obie thread.


How is everyone else doing?

Also wondering are you doing anything else (i.e. excercise, low carb, low fat) or are you just focusing on eating till you satisfied.

Thanks for all the great book ideas everyone.

Today is the first full day of IE. After I read this thread I started right away. It was so great when I woke up this morning I first thought of how many Points and i having etc. Now don't get me wrong WW is a great program and I lost a ton of weight on it but for me personally I can't keep counting everything and have my life revolve around food. Anyway I woke up this morning and after I got past the I'm not counting anything today thought I asked am I ready to eat breakfast? and to my surprise the answer was no. When I was ready I had a slice of french toast and coffee, I split an apple with my daughter for a snack and had a sausage and pepper wrap and a yogurt for lunch. I am completely satisfied and not stressed and not stuffed. The portions were definately smaller then I normally had in the pas too.

I know it's really only one day but I'm really enjoying the freedom of choosing something healthy because it's my choice not because I have too.

So, thanks again for all your great info on the books - I'll definately be checking them all out and keeping in touch - love this thread!

Obsidianbbw - I'm definately keeping active. Just by doing stuff around the house and walking on the treadmill or taking my daughter for a walk. I'm trying to approach it like the food though - with no stress - But saying to myself the more active I am the better I'll feel (no necessarily saying "if I'm active I'll loose weight - too much pressure for me at this point)

Working on trying to replace the old diet mentality of calories with this new way of intuitive eating as well as adding "intuititve activity" I guess it's all in how you look at it and approach it.

[QUOTE=Obsidianbbw;1389558]I have another need to eat when I get to work. I think it is just the habit of eating a meal before i start work. So I eat when I get to work, but moderatly and try to make sure I include vegetable and healty stuff.

QUOTE]

Welcome to our goup. I also think I eat out of habit. Normaly when I get home from work, I am instantly hungry. I think I just need to resist the urge.

Welcome, Obsidianbow. I think you would enjoy reading The Overfed Head by Rob Stevens. It is short, to the point and full of encouragement. Fiddler, I'm with you on home cooked food. I have 10 kids and live 30 mi from any fast food place. I have a big garden but only 1 kid at home so I need to cut back one of these years. Today I put up 16qt of tomatoes and 14 of beans. I usually do 100 of both except for last summer when I was ill. Most of my kids don't have gardens yet so they enjoy the produce. I think we did 90 qt of corn (frozen). The corn is put in the ground by machine. It fills the whole east side of the garden. We had good strawberries this year, too. But after cooking all these years (been married 37 yr.) I sometimes wish someone would just tell me what to fix!!!

My mom has a very small garden. Right now we are swiming in tomatoes and cucumbers!

Lisa,

My suggestion would be to keep making your fried chicken at home, BUT use whole wheat flour instead of white flour to bread it, fry it in canola oil, and keep the salt to a minimum. Then accompany it with some healthy, naturally low-calorie foods like steamed asparagus with lemon and baked sweet potatoes. You CAN have your fried chicken and eat it too. ;)

Thanks Fiddler and Carol on the tips. I am going to try them. I guess the fustrating part is not loosing. I am slowly but surely making better choices. A friend - who does not have a weight problem - gave a small plate that she uses to eat all her meals from. I am going to try it to control my portions.

Not crazy about spicy but I can always leave that part out!! Can't have calcium foods either. Picky, picky. ha!

I love love Love all spicy dishes but hate eggplant. If anyone has any good spicy recipes let me know!

Hi ladies,
Tonight was my first night of graduate school and I was so nervous. The minute class was over I wanted to go somewhere and get something to eat to comfort myself. I decided to just go on home since I knew I wasn't really hungry in such a way that I needed to go binge. I went home and fixed a couple of eggs and a piece of sausage and put it in a tortilla. It was a perfect dinner. Yeah!!! It used to be a losing battle fighting my mind when I was tempted to just fill myself up. The urge tonight was much more of a passing thought than an all out war that I used to have. Baby steps! :)

Way to go Kay! I also attend graduate school but do it online. Univ. of Phoenix. Let me tell you it is a lot of work. I am so tired of writing papers. I only have two more classes to go. Should be done 4/07.

Just thought I'd pop my head in to say "hello!" (That is, is you guys have room for one more person intruiged by IE.)

I lost a great deal of weight following gastric bypass. Unfortunately, surgery didn't fix my head, and I ended up regaining some of the weight. So, I started researching diets, and just knew I couldn't go that route again. So I came upon IE, and honestly, nothing makes more sense in my quest to lose the remaining weight.

I was glad to see this thread. So much of the rest of the boards are geared to dieting. (No, not again!)

~Alex:woops:

Welcome Lillybet,

I was schedule for lap band surgery a year ago but chickened out a week before. It all came back to I had to get my eating under control and have sense vowed never to diet again. I remeber the doctor saying the surgery is just a tool, not a cure.

Hi everyone. I'm checking in! Hello to the new folks. I've been sick the last few days so I haven't been on at all. I will say that it's a lot easier to stay "on program" with IE when you're sick than it is when you're doing WW. On WW everything would fly out the window when I was sick because really who wants to keep track of how many points in orange juice you're downing? I'm also down 13 pounds overall since starting. I think some of that may be water weight since lately all I've been doing is drinking water and OJ!

Way to Sabrina. I would give anything to have lost 13 pounds. I have only lost about 5. Welcome everyone. The key to IE is to only eat when you are hungry, eat exactly what you want, and stop eating at the first sign of fullness.

Also wondering are you doing anything else (i.e. excercise, low carb, low fat) or are you just focusing on eating till you satisfied.


I eat mostly whole foods because that is what I like and I do not feel as good physically when I eat processed foods. I also work out at the gym 3-4 times a week and walk 10 miles a week. I try to consciously do things that will raise my metabolism so that I can burn more calories. That's about it.

I love love Love all spicy dishes but hate eggplant. If anyone has any good spicy recipes let me know!

Lisa,

I have lots of spicy recipes. PM me with your specific likes/dislikes and I'll find something for you.

In June of 04 after trying diet after diet, I stumbled across a book by Gwen Shamblin called The Weigh Down Diet. Her approach is very similiar to IE. It is absolutely fabulous. To date I have lost 89 pounds. It is a slow process..but the freedom I feel finally from food is amazing.

This is the key to permanent weight-loss IMO. Freedom to eat whatever you want...just mentally knowing that nothing is off limits. I highly recommend this to anyone who has a serious food addiction and feels lost.

IE and this book changed my life. It is an old book..which can be purchased on amazon for very cheap. I look forward to picking up another book on IE.

I just started a little job a couple of days a week and keep forgetting that I will need to bring a lunch....so, today...I had nothing. It is 2:45 and I am very hungry but I want to eat dinner with my family. I think I will go and have a couple of PB crackers to last me til dinner, and it will be an EARLY dinner. ;)

I read something about fried chicken...I recently started breading ckn strips in corn flakes, flour and red pepper. I dip them in egg whites mixed with skim milk first then in the flour mix, spray a pan with butter flavored cooking spray and spray the strips, turn after about 15 mins and spray again and cook 10-15 mins more. I have to say I like these much better than fried chicken.

See ya later!

Chazmom, All you use is cooking spray? That sounds really good!! Have to try it. I'm having pizza tonight but probably won't eat that because of the calcium. I made a little pizza that I won't put only a sprinking of cheese on. My daughter-in-law and grandkids are coming up and my hubby is going to be late working. The crust is rising so there won't be much else to do. When I make pizza crust I usally double it and freeze half. Works great.

Hi ladies,
Gosh I stay away for two days and come back to for pages of reading!!! But good reading it has been. I've read several things I want to comment on, but I don't want to flip back and forth to who posted what, so I'll shove them all in here. Okay??? :)
First, The weighing issue. As my nutritionist reminded me, weighing is a no win situation. If I lose weight, then I either think- Why didn't I lose more? or Hey, if I start a crash diet I can lose faster. or Time to go out to eat to celebrate. If I gain weight, my thoughts are- I'm just a loser, I might as well go binge. I thought I could handle weighing, but when I weighed and I was only down 1 pound in a month it didn't feel good. I couldn't even give myself credit. I guess I'm going to have to put off weighing for a while more.

Another thing I have to guard against is the "little tricks" for helping lose weight. When I read about the orange water that you "have" to drink. It just made me think diet all over again.

My biggest trick in keeping the craving bug away has been planning a variety of food each week. I used to get in the habit of eating the same foods all of the time. That would lead to cravings because I never got to eat anything "good". It is such a powerful and amazing feeling not to be binging any more!!! The weight may not be dropping off like I would like, but I feel so proud of not going out and buying food and binging in secret! When there is food in the teacher's workroom, I don't HAVE to eat it any more. It is embarassing to say, but I used to sneak in when everyone else was in class and load food (usually sweets- the more chocolate the better) into napkins, my pockets, etc.and take it somewhere to eat.

I am reading a lot about people "putting off" their hunger or waiting to eat. I worry that that will lead to being overly hungry and eating more than necessary. I interpret IE as being able to eat when you feel hungry and not eating when you aren't. We have strictly enforced not eating in front of the TV at our house so that we can be fully present when we are eating. It is amazing how much food you can put away when you are watching TV and not even realize it!

One last thing. I have had to break some of the ties with my friends who are actually "eating buddies". My older sister was a huge eating buddy of mine. I hate to blame my weight on her, but when I moved back to Texas and started hanging out with her is when my binging got out of control and I gained 30 pounds. She would come over to put together a puzzle and bring pounder bags of M&M's, pizza, etc. She has since had gastric bypass and lost at least a hundred pounds. Her eating is still out of control and she vomits all the time because she over eats. I am afraid she will gain all the weight back. I don't go out to eat with her anymore. I only invite her to actual activities that are not food related.

Okay, I think that is long enough for now. I have felt really good about my eating lately. I love not having to go to bed and say to myself, "I'll start again tomorrow. Maybe it will be a better day" Each meal is a success story or a learning experience. You can't lose!

Well today I didn't pack anything to eat when I finally did get hungry so on thew way into work I picked up a jamba juice (they make smoothies with just fruit and nothing else) got a small. About an hour later I was hungry (I think I might be able to tell the difference) and had a pack of peanuts. Ate half the pack and then a little later returned to it.

I had a problem at work that I needed to be around for so I was ready for lunch when I finally got a chance to leave and I was headed to Wendy's with a vengence. About a block away I asked myself do I want Wendy's because that's what I want or am I eating it because of whatever is going on at work and it is (was) a forbidden food. Maybe I thought of it as comfort food or revenge food???? I don't know, but I know until the issue at work cropped up it hadn't even occured to me to eat there. I made a turn and headed to subway which was what I had been thinking about before the drama erupted at work.

I'm trying to buy a condo and it has been fillled with highs and lows, so today I called my attorney who I really am learning to dislike. And there is no news (we are waiting for the title work to come back) so I am just on hold. I called her right before I left work. When I got off the bus to come home I wanted fried chicken and I realize now it was really just a way to comfort me for the whole house thing. I ate what I had planned. and I am venting here. House Buying Sucks....

On a weird note. I was telling my co-worker about the whole IE thing and I said the cool thing is there really isn't a wagon to fall off of for me. LOL :D

I failed to mention the chicken was baked...sorry. Here is the whole recipe if you want to try it.

Southern Oven Fried Chicken
1 Cup Corn flakes, crushed
1/3 Cup Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Ground Red Pepper
2 Egg Whites, slightly beaten
1/4 Cup Skim Milk
2 lbs. Skinless Chicken, cut into even strips

Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl. Mix egg whites and milk in small bowl. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray cookie sheet with butter flavored cooking spray. Dip chicken into egg mixture and coat with corn flakes. Place on cookie sheet, and spray with more cooking spray. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip pieces and spray with more cooking spray. Continue baking for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

So I had no bkfst or lunch and was starving for dinner. I had thawed out some turkey meatballs I had in the freezer...another good recipe, you cook them in a mix of ketchup and whole cranberry sauce in the crockpot. Anyway...I kept eating them and I honestly never felt full. I ate slow, got up and piddled in the kitchen and I could still eat more. Maybe with skipping lunch I was a bottomless pit....oh well.

So today I had....I am thinking 7 meatballs? A green salad and some corn.

Still not feeling satisfied I just ate a piece of cheese on whole grain bread and now I feel full. Not miserable, but full.

Hope everyone has a good weekend. Mine is filled with football!:D Going to a high school game Friday night and my son plays on Saturday. OH....I booked a show for a girlfriend and I to go and see on Sunday. It is called...and no, I did not make this up....Nipples to the Wind. Seriously...the reviews have been good and it is suppose to be a fun show about women for women. I will give ya'll my review in case it plays near you in the future.

Have a good one!

I can see some of you are like me........you get over hungry and then can't seem to get full. I haven't quite figured that one out yet. Maybe there is such a thing as getting too hungry. Maybe we need to pay a little more attention and address the hunger when it begins. But, hey, I'm as guilty as anyone for skipping meals!!!! Kay, your post was quite an inspiration.....and not too long. I love reading. As to house buying. well. we only built one house and made plenty of mistakes. We probably won't build another so we can't really learn from our mistakes. ha!

Thank you carol, You put a much needed smile on my face. I am going to try and ignore it and just hope it all works out. When they call and tell me everything is done I'll deal with it then.

runnin, I guess I don't see it like a diet. I figure if there is something I can do to help my blood sugar not plunge several times a day making me want to eat constantly then I will do it. I am not a bkfst eater and never will be...drinking the orange water makes me feel better in the morning plus it helps me get in the water I need during the day and it is easy. I like easy. When I drink it or don't drink it, I am usually ready to eat around 10-10:30, but would rather wait until noon to eat with friends. I do use little "tricks" she suggests to help with that, which would be to eat 2 pb crackers, or 15 peanuts, or a couple oz of ham, etc....In the past I would have grabbed a sandwich and then gone and had lunch. I have found that 2 pb crackers will tied me over for an hour or so. So I don't think the "tricks" are too bad. They are tools you can use if you want to, but you don't "have" to do anything.

She does say if you follow her advice you will get the best results. The same concept is still there. Eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full. She says to give your brain a chance to realize it has been fed, to eat slowly and take 20 mins for your meal. I do find that to be true and helpful info. When I took her class I met many returning people who had and are maintaining huge wt losses. More than half of the people in her classes were referred there by their doctors. Several were diabetics and had high cholesterol and it is amazing to hear how their blood sugar levels and cholesterol and are now manageable from the wt loss.

I like the "tricks" just telling me to stop eating when I am full is not enough...heck, you would think I should already know that. ;)

Today I had a kids chicken nugget meal from chik-fil-a. I gave up sodas a couple of years ago, so had unsweet tea. It was plenty for me and very satisfying...I LOVE chik-fil-a! We are having Mexican food for dinner. A "trick" would be to crunch up some chips and dip each in salsa, eating slowly rather than consuming a whole bowl so as not to be full when your dinner shows up and eating it anyway because it is there.

Have a good one! :dust:

I agree with you... Some stuff from my "skinny" days has been coming back to me. If I was hungry and dinner was something i really liked and was within a few hrs, Id have something really small or wait it out...I would rather have the good food.....SAVING room for dessert was something i used to do too...instead of cramming it in on top of a huge meal.

Ive been journaling since I started out on this...not to count or anything...just curiosity if I would start eating alot more. My calorie consumption is way way down, im just not hungry very often, and Ive dropped 1.5 lbs in the past week. I was actually under 700 yesterday, and full...had to fight off the little voices in my head saying "thats unheathy go eat some more" and "WOW, I have enough left over today to eat 1/2 pint of Ben and Jerrys Chubby Hubby" I just wasnt hungry tho so I didnt. When I was counting calories and eating stuff I wasnt really crazy about because it was low cal...I had a hard time staying under 1200 -1400...I realize now that it wasnt that i wanted more food, but that my appetite wasnt being fed with my hunger...does that make sense? Food is also much better when its A. exactly what you were in the mood for, B. you are hungry, and C. you are taking the time to really enjoy it.

Chewing food (suprising huh... who'd a thunk) has been working incredibly well for me...stop a second when you get your plate ready and look at it too (or if you are the praying type, use a second to thank your creator for the wonderful bounty he has put in front of you)....smell it, take smaller bites and chew them...really taste everything...give your brain a chance to catch up to what your mouth is doing lol....Ive also been trying to throw away at least a bite of everything on my plate (sounds weird, but its hard...at least for me...Ive been a member of the Clean Plate Club for 10 years now) I find that the portions im eating are much smaller before I am full...and if i get hungry later...the food aint going anywhere...I got a houseful ...lol

Button, I know what you mean about tasting your food. Once I started slowing down and actually tasting what was in my mouth I was shocked how many things I thought I really loved now are really gross.

I used to love lettuce wraps from a local chinese place. I could not get the first bite down after I let it sit in my mouth for a minute and actually tasted it. It was an eye opener, and kind of sad that we just shove in the food and never enjoy the taste of it. Or in this case, not enjoy the taste of it;)

Wow! so, I've been doing this Intuitive Eating thing for about 3 days now and I've lost 3 pound with no stress. I went to a friends house today for lunch. Any other time I would have felt stressed not knowing how many calories or points or whatever there would be and subsequently overeating.

Well today I had a victory that I wanted to share. I actually went to my friends for lunch and enjoyed my meal and the visit with no stress. I ended up eating half of what I would have on a normal day. I was just having so much fun with the conversation I didn't realize I had stopped eating and when I looked on my plate and saw there was still food I really felt comfortable and didn't want anymore and actually left the other half of the meal there instead of stuffing it in.

I went on the thintuition website today and ordered the starter kit (book and hunger guides) the one free guide I printed out is really helping me alot during this new adventure.

I have to honestly and with all my heart say 1000 blessings to who ever started this thread and a 1000 more to all of you who are sharing your experiences and stories during this process of IE. I truly feel free of diet stress - You've all truily made a difference in little little ladybugs life.

Thank you!
and I'll keep loggin' on with my stories and progress too.

WTG ladybug...thank carol for the thread...Im glad I found it too...helping me re-learn HOW to eat....such a stupid thing to lose touch with...Just wish I had found it sooner...would have saved me 5 months of calorie counting...pah...Thanks carol!!

Button and Chaz, you are so right about really taking time to taste the food! IE has really ruined a lot of food for me! Now that I am actually trying to slow down and taste food, lots of food isn't as wonderful as I once thought it was. Also, when I was binging for emotional reasons, stress, anger, revenge- (Which is a whole other point- I would get revenge by hurting myself with food!) I was so intent on the emotions that I don't think I actually tasted anything. I was just trying to numb the pain.
It is actually disappointing when Friday night comes because I used to take care of the stress by drinking lots of wine and eating chocolate. Now that I can do it, and it isn't a "reward" at the end of the week, I don't crave or even want it!!!! Jeez!! :) I feel like a party pooper! :)

BTW... the whole wine and chocolate thing has been a habit for more than 5 years and now its gone without a fight! Isn't that crazy! (I would usually make sure to indulge on Saturdays too) Now I would rather drink a couple of diet sodas!

Obsidian, I feel your pain with the house shopping. We were trying to buy a condo or townhouse when we live in Los Angeles and it was a nightmare. Then we saw how much cheaper everything was in Texas (and lots of family was here) so we literally quit our jobs and moved to Texas in one week. Our realtor kept calling our cell saying, "Where are you?" We said, "We moved to Texas." I trully think he thought we were lying. The only downer was that we had to live with my parents for 3 months while we found a house. Luckily we got jobs within 2 weeks. I love my parents, but you know, you can't go back and live in their house and feel quite right. If we went somewhere for dinner or something, I felt like we had to ask permission. We would never have been able to do it all without them though. Now my boys get to see their grandparents all the time. It is wonderful.

I was actually heading to bed, but wanted get this out before I forgot....

For me I had sort of start the IE on my own, but this thread (thanks to whoever started it) and the books that were recommended have given me a guide to focus on.

I think that whatever program chooses (IE, Low card, WW,..whatever) it is more of a guide than a hard and fast rule. A person need to do what they need to do to make it ok for them.

So for me my relaxing moment of the day is when I can settle down and watch the stuff I Tivo-ed. I don't really have a problem with food at home it seems to be everywhere else that is the problem, particularly work. So my challenges for next week are to not to eat at my desk and take the entire hour I get for lunch.

I have never been much of a calorie counter, but I seem to be doing 2 meals and 2 snacks. I eat more fruit and vegtables than I have in who knows how many years. I think alot of it is becuse I am not forcing myself to do it. I drink more water now than I did before and I don't seem to have to go to the bathroom as much as I once did. I still have some emotional eating issues to deal with but each day I get better at telling the difference between biological hunger and everything else.

I also had to do something that may not make much sense. I had to have a hamburger to prove I would not overeat and something bad would happen.

-Obie :carrot:

This week I bought 2 IE books.

The ten habits of Naturally Slim People and How to Make them Part of Your Life
and
Inituitive Eating- A Revolutionary Program that Works
(I am ordering the overfed head
They both advance the idea of eating when you're hungry, paying attention to nutrition, excercise, building self esteem and fighting the dieting mentality, and being ok with your "natural body weight".

Anyway in the IE book there is an appendix of the guidlines. This is for the people who haven't had a chance to pick up a book.



1 Reject the Diet Mentality
2 Honor Your Hunger
3 Make Peace with Food
4 Challenge the Food Police
5 Feel Your Fullness
6 Discover the Satisfaction Factor
7 Cope with Your Emotions Without Using Food
8 Respect Your Body
9 Excercise-Feel the Difference
10 Honor your Health

Each Guidline is a chapter in the book.

Ok. Off the soapbox for now. :D

I realize now that it wasnt that i wanted more food, but that my appetite wasnt being fed with my hunger...does that make sense?

Button, I cook almost everything I eat from scratch, and one of the interesting side effects of that is that I have found that just the process of cooking--handling the food, cutting it up, smelling the various spices and the cooking aromas--satisfies my appetite as much as eating it does. By the time I have finished cooking a meal, I rarely feel like eating much of it, and most of it gets frozen in single serving portions for lunches to take to work.

My daughter uses it and says it helps her maintain her weight loss equally as well as Weight Watchers . A lot of it has been said in other books and places but it can't hurt to read a book or two by the person who coined this-Geneen Roth I believe.

Checking in!

I was wondering if someone wouldn't mind starting an IE thread part2?
Sometimes this one, since it is so large, takes awhile to load especially if you are trying to flip through pages. I would do it, but since I am new I thought I would leave to one of you oldtimers:D

Tonight....I had some chips and salsa, not alot...I stopped and took pieces off of chips and dipped rather than dipping in the whole thing and shoving it in my mouth. It was nice because I was able to eat my spinach enchiladas with steamed veggies and wasn't miserable like I usually am when I eat mexican food.

Sounds like everyone is doing well...keep up the good work!:dizzy:

I went ahead and weighed this morning to see if I could get the little pig to move on my tracker. :D

Down 2 pounds, so he got to scooch over a hair. I will take it!

I went ahead and weighed this morning to see if I could get the little pig to move on my tracker. :D

Down 2 pounds, so he got to scooch over a hair. I will take it!

Congratulation Chazmom
:bravo: :bravo:

As for starting a new thread. I think the person who started this one should, and lock this one :carrot:

It's funny the feeling that come up when you stop shoving them down with food. I actually went for the ice-cream late last night and after one small mouthfull I stopped and thought ok, I still don't feel any better.... so I just went to bed (which is what I really needed to do was get some sleept. I have focused on food for so long that I don't know what to focus on. I'm not only relearning how to eat but relearning to focus on other things.

Has anyone else gone through something like this?

Captain Ladybug, yes, I have gone through something like that. But I usually keep on eating and then stop myself later. :( But I'm learning! Something that I ask myself during those times that I want to eat and eat and eat is "What do I really need right now? How can I take care of myself?" Because if I am hungry, yes, I should eat, but if I'm not, then there's something else I'm "hungry" for. Maybe it's a hug? Maybe it's sleep because I'm tired? Maybe it's a prayer? It's all about taking care of ourselves. IE teaches us to eat when we are hungry and stop when we are full--to listen to the needs of our body. And I also think it goes for the other needs we have too. We are learning to listen to what we really need.

I'm very excited to see how much this thread has grown! There are so many posts since I was last on...I'm not sure if I can reply to all of them right now.

Breakfast is the meal I seem to take the time to enjoy the most. Lunch is so-so and then dinner...yikes! The evening is the hardest for me. It's always been. I think it's mostly emotional stuff and I say "forget it" to what I really need and I just indulge! :mad: Sometimes I wish I could just say "NO" and then stay away from the food. What do you all do when you feel an indulgence coming on, but you are able to stop it? What works for you?

I get a sweet tooth when im tired too....maybe its the body saying "if you intend me to continue functioning, I need a cheap fast carb burn" (i.e. ice cream, candy etc)...Im not sure there are any BAD foods...they all do SOMETHING for the body..including processed sugar...its a great quick rush when the body needs fast energy....I do tend to stay away from sugar and sodas for the most part...mostly because its just so bad for your teeth....soda especially. With cake, you eat it and are done, with soda you are washing your teeth in sugar and acids over and over for an extended period. My parents spent way too much money on my mouth for me to just blow it and get dentures lol.

My problem has always been overeating...binging, now that I look at it (although at the time I really didnt see myself as a binge eater), even dieting I would pick as many really low cal foods as I could so I could eat as much of them as I possibly could fit in my stomach....I was reading a post on here where people were talking about sneaking candy and eating it in the car before they got home....man oh man was that me. I dont think I can live the rest of my life with anything really good off limits forever....Ill just screw up and beat myself up over it. I would rather learn to appreciate them, and keep them in proper perspective. I really think this is the way to go....eat what and when you want...dont eat because "you are supposed to" (dinner for me...lots of times Im just not hungry for it, but eat it anyhow), make concious food choices and decisions. Monitor your actual physical hunger and stop eating when you have satisfied it. Take the time to really enjoy your food and appreciate what a gift it is...and how great God is for putting so many great things on this earth for us to enjoy.

As far as just being in the mood for a little treat, I go ahead and have it....after dinner, IF I have room for it...but I take it really slow and easy......I found out the other night that you can indulge just as much in 4 or 5 spoonfuls of ice cream as you can with a whole gallon. Get really GOOD ice cream (not some low cal crud that just isnt going to satisfy your appetite for it) and just take your time with it.....really enjoy it..let it melt on your tongue..lick the spoon..lol. I had some the other night, and after a few really slow bites...it was just too rich to have any more. I got a pint of Chubby Hubby, about 1/8 cup is missing out of the carton, and I havnt been in the mood for it since...but if I am, its there and Im going to ENJOY it.

Christy When I feel something coming on I try and figure out why I want what I want and usually I will have whatever it is. I try not to treat it as a treat or eat it in secret. Yesterday I had a hamburger and really had to fight the feeling I had cheated or was eating something bad. Afterwards I didn't really feel any need to have another and the craving is gone. I think the food loses power when it isn't such a force on you...if that makes sense.

Something else I have noticed. I would always assume I have to have a large or upsize something because of course the small or medium would never be enough:?: . I only realized it yeterday when I was buying soup, so I am going to try and work on that as well.

i also have a half bottle of juice collection going in the refrigerator. I wanted something besides water so I had a sugary fruit punch and had about 1/2 the bottle left. Today I had some orange juice and it is still sitting there and not a drop of temptation.

Last thing I have stopped spending as much money as I used to because I am not eating what I was and I cook at home more.

Enjoyed reading everyone's post. We went on a 2 day vacation with about 20 of the family and eating didn't go so well. The hard part is that when away from home and driving you can only eat at certain times when others do. So I ate lunch without being really hungry because I knew that supper was 6 or 7 hr away. Then we had snacks at the motel which are hard to resist and go to a nice restaraunt which is also hard to resist. I could have gotten a lot of exercise because we were at a water park but I was so tired from a bad night before the trip that I didn't do that either. But tomorrow is a new day!!!! I did find out that we are expecting 2 more grandkids next year so that part was great!!!!!!!!

Forgot to say that I never have trouble finding this thread because I put a shortcut on the first page and then just click on last page. I know very little about this stuff as to closing and opening topics.

carol...hope you had fun on your trip, congrats on the new grandbabies to be:)
No, the thread isn't hard to find, it just takes awhile to download because it is getting so large. I don't know how to lock either...but, if you wanted, you could start an Intuitive Eating 2 thread. Just a suggestion....then again it could just be my internet poking along.

So I am totally STRESSING OUT! I have a wedding to attend on Saturday. It is an evening wedding with a very nice reception, so cocktail/evening wear is a must. I can't find anything. I can wear a size 18 in pants, but my chest is rather large and I am having a very hard time finding a top. I don't care for dresses as my chest causes them to balloon out. I am looking for a nice top that is long enough to cover my tummy and doesn't make me look like I am my grandmother. No offense, I am just not that old yet. Some plus size clothes are just soooo ugly!

I have tried Lane Bryant, but they seem to only have casual and business clothes out now. I have been to Nordstroms, Foleys/Macys, Avenue, JcPenneys.....On my list still to check out are Catherines, Dillards and Dress barn. Anyone have any ideas? I have been looking online via the list on the home page and I just hate to order stuff as I know it will end up being sent back.

So after shopping I was mad and picked up my dinner from Wendys. I really didn't need a cheeseburger and fries, and it really didn't make me feel any better, kind of made me madder that I ate it when it really wasn't what I wanted and it was crap food, but it was convenient.

Oh well...tomorrow is another day....Have a good one ladies!:dizzy:

GUESS WHAT?

I have a little victory to share! :D Tonight I was thinking about eating, but I wasn't hungry. At first I was thinking that I would just eat anyway, even if I wasn't hungry. :o But then I realized that I wasn't hungry and that what I really needed was something else besides food. I didn't eat! I took a warm bath and called it "good," after spending some time with my cats (they are like my kids to me!) Now it's time for bed!

Just wanted to share!! ;)

So after shopping I was mad and picked up my dinner from Wendys. I really didn't need a cheeseburger and fries, and it really didn't make me feel any better, kind of made me madder that I ate it when it really wasn't what I wanted and it was crap food, but it was convenient.

Oh well...tomorrow is another day....Have a good one ladies!:dizzy:

Congrats Chazmom :cp: I know it doesn't feel like a victory, but seems to me you realized why you were eating it,and I think that is a step in the right direction.


Christy- :bravo: I am sure you your cats appreciated the love :hug: and congratulations on the Victory :bravo:

Well I seem to be doing much better. I told my parents what I was doing and I think they're just happy I am doing something. Hopefully I can stick to this. I feel like if I don't I'll be disappointing them.

Funny thing. Both of my parents have been "dieting" on and off for a year. Last week the doctor told me father he needed to lose 40 lbs. So my father is low carbing. My mother had back surgery and was told she needed to lose weight and is counting calories. So my father was making this salad yesterday and my mother was sitting there making a face like who can you eat that because it looked pretty high fat and high calorie, but it was low carb. My mother was sucking down low fat popcorn and he was giving her the same look. I was sitting there asking them are you hungry...well than don't eat it. Just found it funny 3 different "diets" at the same table and how different they worked.

I was there for about 2-3 hours and my mother just kept reaching for stuff ....snacking...but not actually eating a meal...I finally asked her are you hungry why don't you eat something and she said no she wasn't hungry...Then she started doing again and I glanced at her and she said you know what I'm going to skip dinner and go upstairs so she won't snack (we were sitting in the kitchen).

So I said why don't you eat a meal and then you should be ok. Eat whatever is you want to eat. Then I told her that when I come over seems like you haven't really eaten a whole meal all day, your hungry but you don't want to over eat so you snack....and then eat stuff you're not really interested in just because you can eat small handfulls of it.

The other thing that happend was their car broke down and she couldn't walk 4 blocks. She's been watching calories, but not excercising. She says she needs to have something done to her arm and she'll end up back in physical therapy and she'll get regular excercise then. So I made the :?: face and said what happens when therapy is over?

Then I realized I had become the thing I always had hated. :doh: The person who has lost weight and swears they know eveything. (and all I've lost is 1lb LOL) So I said try only eating when you're hungry and shut up. :tape:


Ok, off the soap box

-Obie

I went ahead and started a new thread (figured it can't hurt)
Intuitive Eater #2
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93470

Breakfast is the meal I seem to take the time to enjoy the most. Lunch is so-so and then dinner...yikes! The evening is the hardest for me. It's always been. I think it's mostly emotional stuff and I say "forget it" to what I really need and I just indulge! :mad: Sometimes I wish I could just say "NO" and then stay away from the food. What do you all do when you feel an indulgence coming on, but you are able to stop it? What works for you?

Dinner and weekends have always been the hardest for me. I do better when I plan dinners. The weekends are still bad. If I am home, I eat mindlessly

Hi everyone!

Hope you are all doing well.

I"m not doing to bad - I have hit a little speed bump in my progress - I found myself starting to over eat again. So, I figured I need a little bit of hand holding until I get the process down.

I'm actually, after I've rated my hunger (that I actually am hungry), trying to choose mostly whole foods like on the WW Core list and trying to get a handle on a decent portion size and to hit the mark that I am comfortable and not slightly full or higher. I'm definately not depriving myself of anything I really truley want - but I'm trying to be more aware of the type of food I'm eating especially since I also have to watch my sodium.

Has anyone else found they needed to use IE with information from another program? And has this helped you?

Would love to hear some feedback/advice on this one.

I try to make intellegent choices. Nothing wrong with that.

BTW...we moved the thread to Intuitive eating 2 :)

Today was not so good. Breakfast went great; I really concentrated on how I felt. Lunch went well. After lunch things went downhill at work. I got bad news and once I got home, I made dinner, sat myself down in front of the t.v. and ate. I wasn't mindful, I didn't eat until I was full. I overate and now I feel like yuck. However, I know dinnertime is my most difficult time, so tomorrow will be better. I won't beat myself up.

I am going to buy the Overfed Head this weekend. I am going to re-learn how to eat. Food is not going to control my life anymore!!!

Ok, Button ewe see ya all at IE 2.