How to RE-Learn how to eat like a normal person lessons here:
http://www.nourishingconnections.com...uned_tools.htm
I calorie counted for 5 months and hit a plateau...gained and lost same 5lbs over and over...Ive dropped 2 lbs in past week doing this, and its really helping me re-learn my old skinny habits....stupid stuff I USED to do naturally...like DONT EAT ANYTHING until you are stuffed or eat when you are not physically hungry, not even celery...its a binge eaters mentality. Start getting comfortable with throwing food away when you dont want it. Eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full. Eat what you want, no food is truly BAD, it all serves its purpose in some way. Slow down and pay attention to your body and your appetite and take time to truly enjoy your meal. Stuff like that..may sound silly to some, but has been the best thing I have ever learned through this whole "diet" thing. It works on the precept that A. everyone has a "natural" weight that their body will return to if allowed to do so (not everyone is a size 4, but nobody is a size XL). B. Dieting can cause food obsession and helps teach the mind poor eating habits (i.e. "I cant wait to get off this diet so I can have ______ again." Or: "I ate a cookie and ruined my diet, so I may as well go eat 20 cookies because its blown for the day anyhow" Or: "Im going to have a slice of pizza....its the last pizza I will EVER have again in my life...Id better eat as much as I can") Here is some additional info:
Honor Your Hunger—Eat Only When Physically Hungry
Keep your body fed biologically with adequate energy, otherwise, you can trigger a primal drive to overeat. When you reach the point of excessive hunger, all intentions of moderation are gone. You will overeat (eating to a stuffed/full sensation.).
Eat only when physically hungry because any food that goes into your body when you are not hungry will get stored. IF you have any doubts about whether you are hungry or not, you probably aren’t! True hunger is unmistakable.
If you are not able to gauge your degree of hunger at first, this rule of thumb can help you get back on the normal hunger track: Go no longer than 5 waking hours without eating, then assess your hunger level. (Your liver’s energy tank runs out of “gas” in about 3-6 hours).
Assess Your Hunger Level
The hunger scale is a way to describe your level of hunger, by describing it you become more conscious and better able to assess your hunger and need for food. You can lose weight and never gain it back, if you eat only when you’re physically hungry (a 3 on the hunger scale) and only eat until you are satisfied (5 on the hunger scale). If you often eat until you are uncomfortably stuffed you will gain weight, especially when your physical activity is limited.
0 – So hungry that you are not hungry
1 – Headache, shaky, too hungry to care what or how much you eat—you WILL overeat
2 – Losing concentration, grumpy—seriously hungry – your stomach is empty, you must eat now
3 – I’m hungry, stomach growling
4 – Not hungry, but not satisfied
5 – Satisfied, comfortable, not hungry
6 – In slight discomfort, you feel the food
7 – Uncomfortable – sleepy, sluggish, you want to change into loser clothes
8 – “I ate too much – I am stuffed” Very uncomfortable, stomach hurts
9 – Overly stuffed
10 – In pain. Thanksgiving Dinner – take a nap
Assess Your Level of Fullness
Listen for the body signals that tell you, you are no longer hungry. Observe the signs that show you’re comfortably full…not stuffed. Stop when you’re halfway through your meal and ask yourself what your current fullness is. To control your weight under any circumstance you must develop good eating habits. The key to good eating habits is being able to eat when you are hungry and continue eating until you are satisfied and not a bite more. It is being able to choose food you like and consume it without the fear of weight gain. Regular eating habits distinguish good eating habits. For most people this means eating three meals a day and including snacks to satisfy hunger. Good eating habits should be regulated by internal signals of hunger, appetite and fullness. The goal is to eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied.
Healthy Eating Reminders
• Remind yourself constantly that NO food will make you fat, as long as it is eaten in moderation, moderation means eating when you are hungry and stopping before you are uncomfortably full
• Eat a variety of foods, eat a little of everything you are served. A wide variety of foods are essential for a balanced diet. Just as no one food will make you fat (eaten in moderation), no one food contains all the nutrients you need for a well balanced diet.
• Don’t feel obligated to clean your plate by eating every crumb.
• When you habitually clean your plate, your eating style goes on autopilot—you eat until completion, until your food is gone. You may certainly be aware that you are engaged in the act of eating, we find that somewhere between bites one and one hundred there is a significant level of unconsciousness
• Pause in the middle of a meal or snack. Are you still hungry? Do you feel unsatisfied, or is your hunger going away and you are beginning to feel satisfied?
• Satisfying your hunger means that you are no longer hungry—you have eaten the right amount of food to fill your stomach and take away any feelings of hunger
• Overeating means that you have overfilled your stomach—your waistband feels tighter, your fat cells are anxiously awaiting that extra serving of poogie bait, snack food, lasagna or extra bites of pizza.
• Resign immediately from the CLEAN PLATE CLUB! You can always eat again whenever you are hungry. Remember it is better WASTED than WAISTED.
• Cope with your emotions without food, don’t use food to bury your feelings. An emotional eater learns early on that food is a great way to cope. Here are some reasons why you may eat other than for physical hunger:
Boredom Procrastination Anxiety
Grief Frustration Stress
Rage Depression Anger
Habit Social Soothing
Is anyone
) is a great idea. It's what I currently do, and it keeps me from obsessing too much. The more I think about food, the more I'll eat. It's working well and my weight has been healthy and stable for some time now.
