Chicks in Control Overeating? Binging? Share uplifting support and gain control!

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Old 06-08-2013, 03:30 PM   #16  
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I was just kind of roaming around in the 3FC forums when I came across this thread. It really struck a chord for me as I just re read my old book Overcoming Overeating. It's an old book that I really recommend. I also love Geneen Roths stuff. I feel like I could write a novel for my first post here but I will try to condense it down.

I have loved reading all your personal journeys, experience and wisdom on this thread. I actually got a little bit of happy tears in my eyes, Veggiedaze to see your transformation as far as how you were thinking and your realizations. I guess I am posting to share my story.

I have a bit of a unique situation from what I see so far of who has posted on this thread. I have 3 kids and I am nursing my baby almost exclusively. She doesn't eat much solid food. She nurses constantly and it makes me SO HUNGRY. I am also a stay at home mom who homeschools so I am surrounded by food, children and STRESS. Lots of stress. In fact this might be kind of choppy as I have to hop up down and tend to the needs of said children through out this post.

I also have a history of ED. I was a weird combination of bulemic anorexic as a teen ager and my early twenties. I eventually healed myself from that with an amazing book that I can't remember the name of and also Overcoming Overeating. Basically the premise was the same as what in now called intuitive eating and also included legalizing food and body acceptance. So, I did. I legalized food, I worked on accepting myself as I was and I started eating only when I was hungry and seeing it as a gift I was giving to myself. Every time I ate when I was hungry and stopped when I was satisfied I saw it as an act of self love and self care. I pretty much stopped emotional eating which was a big one for me. I used to eat when I was angry or sad. I managed to stop doing that by doing just as was mentioned in the original thread, sitting with the emotion and letting it pass. I also got better at talking about my feelings. Eventually, I was one of those rare birds. I was naturally thin, I ate only when I was hungry and I ate whatever I wanted. I was passionate about how much diets didn't work and how I didn't agree with them. So, all was good until I became pregnant with my first child. I don't know if its because it threw my hunger signals off or if it was the weight gain triggering my ED but basically I couldn't lose the pregnancy weight. I did eventually lose my pregnancy weight through extreme stress when my husband and I got divorced when my first daughter was about 2. I basically just stopped eating and would only eat a few crackers to remove the gnawing sensation in my stomach. But once I was down to my pre pregnancy weight I stayed there with no trouble because I went back to eating the way I had been.

So remarried and got pregnant again eventually. As usual got into bad eating habits while pregnant (ie eating when not hungry) and after baby could NOT drop the weight. I just felt constantly hungry and was craving sweet stuff like a crazy person. I went from being the kind of person who would eat a few oreos and think they were too sweet and let the package get stale in the pantry to someone who could eat an entire package in ONE sitting. I started counting calories and exercising and keeping a food journal and I started to lose the weight very slowly. But, I never got back to prepregnancy weight. We decided to have our third and final child and I decided this time was going to be different. THIS time I would eat healthy and not gain tons of weight blah blah... RIGHT. This time I gained more weight and have stayed at a higher weight than last time. I have sucessfully dieted down to about 20 lbs this prepregnancy weight which is still 30 lbs over my ideal comfortable weight but then all my restriction kicks in and I go NUTS and overeat everything until I am back where I started.

So, all this to say that I started reading my overcoming overeating book AND came across this thread and from reading it I realized that my ED is back! I didn't realize it because I am not purging but all the same thoughts I had when I had my ED are in full force. I feel fat and hate myself and how I look after I eat, I obsess about food, I constantly go on diet after diet, I exercise like a maniac until I injure myself and can't do it anymore, foods are now GOOD or BAD. I am out of touch with my hunger signals, its like a horrible vicious cycle. I can only assume it was triggered by my natural weight gain of getting pregnant and then it keeps me from naturally losing the baby weight. So, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from me. I am trying to get back to eating only when I feel hungry and right now I am working on self acceptance. ( I realized I was having horrible judgmental thoughts about my appearance because it is so different than how I used to look which really just makes me want to eat MORE) I need to work on my stress eating and my "reward" eating. The eating I do when all the kids are finally in bed and its time to party. I cant wait for them to go to bed so I can have my treat. And I am working on legalizing foods. I am trying to get them back from BAD and GOOD to just FOOD. I also am working on trying not to eat when stressed out. I guess this is a big one for me.

A real lightbulb went on for me with this thread when I realized the reason I turned into a person who could eat a whole package of oreos was my restricting. ESPECIALLY while nursing! DUH. It never really occurred to me that my bingeing could be related to my restricting. I know that seems so obvious now. My body is trying to keep me and my baby healthy at any cost.

So the answer to the question: yes I managed to quit dieting with positive results and was happy and at a good weight for me for years and years. I also usually only ate about twice a day. lunch and dinner. Lunch was usually a sandwich and an apple and then dinner was dinner. I also was always very aware of my appetite fluctuations. Sometimes I was hungrier than usual and I ate more for a few days and then the next few days I wasn't as hungry and it would even out. I was a HUGE proponent of listening to my body. And now I am totally out of touch with my body and it shows. Anyway, thanks for this thread and to anyone who actually got through my novel.
WOW pinkhippie! I really enjoyed reading your story and am so happy this thread and my journey have helped you. You sound alot like me in some of your thinking, and I'm so happy to hear you have indeed had positive results with quitting dieting. As I am sure you have noticed, not dieting is and always will be a work in progress. I think the whole allure to dieting in the first place is thinking it will give us a sure thing where we will not have to worry about anything, having our preplanned diets "take care of it" kind of thing, and let us avoid having to actually make decisions spontaneously while listening to the needs of our bodies. We just don't want to put that work in and pay attention. But we lose in the long run when we try to delegate that to something other than our own instincts.

I hope you will continue to post and give feedback and give updates on how it's going and any lessons you learn along the way.
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Old 06-08-2013, 03:45 PM   #17  
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SouthernMaven, based on reading a few of your posts, I seem to share similar food preferences as you do. For example, I, too, need carbs as part of my meal to be full/satisfied (I fare better if those carbs are combined w/ some protein and fat, too). Also, I remember you mentioning on a previous thread that you do not get hungry until late morning. It's the same with me: If I follow my hunger signals, I usually don't get hungry until around 11 or Noon. If I eat exactly what I want in the amount I want, I won't be hungry until dinner. If I were to eat a big meal in the afternoon as you just described, I would not be hungry for dinner.

I've been giving intuitive eating some thought lately, and I realize that my two biggest impediments to it are these: 1) Even if I am not physically hungry, I mentally want to eat. Today, for instance, I overate just because I wanted to, not because I was hungry. I had gotten a bagel, and I was going shopping, so I had the cream cheese and the bagel in my car. I told myself I would not eat it until I got hungry, but I ate it before I even started shopping. (ETA: Later, I ate two candy bars---a rarity, I must say, but I have been craving Twix & Snickers for some reason. Later I ate a turkey sandwich and two peaches---at no point today was I physically hungry before eating any of this). It was as if I needed to eat even though I wasn't physically hungry. I tried to think about why, and I realized that maybe it's just that I want that pleasurable feeling from tasting good food. Do you ever have this challenge? 2) I really can get in tune with my hunger signals. I can distinguish when I'm physically hungry. The problem for me is knowing when to stop eating. I remember trying IE years ago, and this was my biggest struggle then, too. I realize that I actually like to feel full---not I-feel-sick full, but [B]full/B]--as in I can feel the food in my stomach and am satisfied. That may be the sticking point for me because in order to get to that stage, I have a feeling that I have to overeat. This is probably because I eat too fast (I say this because when I eat at a fine restaurant and the courses, obviously, are spaced out, I get full MUCH more quickly on less food).

Does anyone here struggle with the above two problems? Any advice for overcoming them? Also, for those on IE, I know you probably do not regularly weigh yourself, but do any of you know whether you've gained since you stopped formally "dieting"?
Lin43 - Yes I struggle with the whole wanting to eat just for pleasure thing. And have done alot of pleasure eating while trying to free myself from bingeing as I felt it was important to allow this to learn that it was normal sometimes and to not beat myself up over it. Before, eating for solely pleasure always turned into a binge due to the guilt. But my brain is starting to get rewired to know that I don't have to binge just because I ate something when I wasn't hungry. It has been a while now for me without bingeing and I am really trying to move more into the Intuitive Eating mindset, instead of only focussing on not restricting. Not restricting means eating whatever I want when I want too. It is part of the healing proccess from an eating disorder I am sure of. But I think to be a healthy person, and especially for a person who wants to lose weight (once a person feels like they have conquered or got their eating disorder under control), moving from simply not restricting to intuitive eating is the way to go. I am constantly trying to remember to ask myself "am I hungry?" before I decide to eat. I am getting better at this, and eating less just out of pleasure. But I am very careful not to engage in the all or nothing mentality and turn intuitive eating into a diet. I don't want a strict rule saying "never ever eat just for pleasure". Because if I applied such a rule, I believe my bingeing would return over the guilt of slipping up and succumbing to a pleasureable eating episode. Last night I had 4 pieces of pizza. The first 2 were for hunger. The second 2 simply for pleasure. I accept that. Next time maybe I will just have 2 for the hunger and none for pleasure; or maybe I will have 2 for hunger and 1 for pleasure; or I might just eat a whole pizza for pleasure. The point is to keep going forward and just do the best you can and try to get better at it. Like I've said before, progress not perfection.

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Old 06-08-2013, 03:55 PM   #18  
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Pinkhippie, I loved reading your story! I've never read Overcoming Overeating but it is a book I've considered ordering (since it isn't available anywhere in our very large library system).

Odd that you should mention you only ate twice a day when you were at a good weight. That's pretty much my normal eating pattern when I listen to my body and follow my natural hunger cycles.

I emphasized in your post what I think is really important to remember - we are just going to be hungrier some days than others, and it's okay for us to eat more on those days. Not binge or gorge ourselves, obviously, but it's okay to take that second helping if you've really listened to your body and you know you are still hungry.

So glad you posted here. I hope you will continue to do so.
Southernmavin, I too find that some days I am just so much hungrier than other days. It is an important thing to learn that it's okay to be hungrier sometimes and not to distress over it.
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Old 06-08-2013, 04:04 PM   #19  
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But I am very careful not to engage in the all or nothing mentality and turn intuitive eating into a diet. I don't want a strict rule saying "never ever eat just for pleasure"
Yes, this is exactly what happened to me in my past attempts at IE.

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Last night I had 4 pieces of pizza. The first 2 were for hunger. The second 2 simply for pleasure. I accept that
I realized that three pieces of a large pizza is enough to satisfy me. Two (maybe even one) will take away the hunger, but I will not be satisfied without three. Four, for me, would be eating just for eating's sake; that fourth piece would not be as pleasurable for me to eat as the previous three, so I'm okay with three. As I mentioned on another thread, I do not believe I am a binger. I am an overeater, though. If I get enough of what I want, I will not continue to eat or even think about food. For instance, on Thursday night, I had three slices of pizza. I did not think about food for the rest of the night. The problem is that to get enough of what I want, I would have to overeat, and then I would gain. Maybe not much (10 lbs or so), but for my mindset right now, that is too much. I have been toying with the idea of applying two rules that take into account my intuitive eating habits but still provides me with some structure: eat two meals per day (that seems to be enough if I really don't just mindlessly eat); don't eat after dinner, except occasional (2 times a week) dessert.

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Old 06-08-2013, 04:14 PM   #20  
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Does anyone here struggle with the above two problems? Any advice for overcoming them? Also, for those on IE, I know you probably do not regularly weigh yourself, but do any of you know whether you've gained since you stopped formally "dieting"?
I put on weight initially after going the non-restricting route - I did not weigh myself but my clothes were tight and in some instances, I had to move a size up. That was more than a year back. The last time I weighed myself (end May) was 127lbs and back to my old size.


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I realized that three pieces of a large pizza is enough to satisfy me. Two (maybe even one) will take away the hunger, but I will not be satisfied without three. Four, for me, would be eating just for eating's sake; that fourth piece would not be as pleasurable for me to eat as the previous three, so I'm okay with three.
Strange that you and Veggiedaze mentioned pizza. I had an entire large seafood pizza from Pizza Hut just last week - all in one meal. Plus 3 pcs of garlic bread. That was my meal for the day.
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Old 06-08-2013, 07:17 PM   #21  
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Pinkhippie, I loved reading your story! I've never read Overcoming Overeating but it is a book I've considered ordering (since it isn't available anywhere in our very large library system).

Odd that you should mention you only ate twice a day when you were at a good weight. That's pretty much my normal eating pattern when I listen to my body and follow my natural hunger cycles.

I emphasized in your post what I think is really important to remember - we are just going to be hungrier some days than others, and it's okay for us to eat more on those days. Not binge or gorge ourselves, obviously, but it's okay to take that second helping if you've really listened to your body and you know you are still hungry.

So glad you posted here. I hope you will continue to do so.
Thanks for the welcome Southernmaven. It is really true that sometimes we are just hungrier than other days. I remember sometimes I would have an entire 2 weeks where I felt like I ate a lot and just when I would start to get worried, I was just not that hungry for the next two weeks. I really believe our bodies know what we need and if we listen to them and give them what they need, we will be in harmony and balance and at a good weight.

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WOW pinkhippie! I really enjoyed reading your story and am so happy this thread and my journey have helped you. You sound alot like me in some of your thinking, and I'm so happy to hear you have indeed had positive results with quitting dieting. As I am sure you have noticed, not dieting is and always will be a work in progress. I think the whole allure to dieting in the first place is thinking it will give us a sure thing where we will not have to worry about anything, having our preplanned diets "take care of it" kind of thing, and let us avoid having to actually make decisions spontaneously while listening to the needs of our bodies. We just don't want to put that work in and pay attention. But we lose in the long run when we try to delegate that to something other than our own instincts.

I hope you will continue to post and give feedback and give updates on how it's going and any lessons you learn along the way.
Yeah when I first start eating more along the lines of waiting until Im hungry and waiting for what I want it seems like so much more work! I think that is why it has been hard for me to get back in the groove. It's easier for me to just wake up, eat my bowl of oatmeal and my apple snack whether or not I am hungry than to wake up and be like "what do I want to eat today and am I even hungry?"

The past few days I have waited to eat until I am hungry. Both days I haven't been hungry until 12 o clock. I have a hard time figuring out what I really want to eat. Made doubly hard by making the kids lunches and breakfasts. Yesterday I calculated badly and by the time I was hungry to eat we had to leave the house. I took some stuff to eat but it wasn't enough and I spent the whole time out of the house REALLY hungry. I tried to tell myself that hunger wasn't a bad thing but it wasn't very comfortable. I did much better today. Im also working on legalizing foods and body acceptance. I have been eating treats and trying to be aware of the fact that I am eating them and enjoy them but even if I am eating out of mouth hunger I tell myself it's ok and this is just how I am learning. I am working on body acceptance with an exercise described in Overcoming Overeating where you basically look at your body without judgement. HARD to do. The way they say to do and what I find helpful is to just observe it. Like instead of "wow my stomach looks so fat and I have no waist" more like "my stomach goes out here and curves in here but then curves back out." This has been SO HELPFUL I can't even say. Getting rid of those judgmental thoughts about my body has shown me how judgmental I really was and also made me feel more happy and comfortable. I realized when I feel "fat" I want to EAT! My goal right now is to just normalize my relationship with food and to accept my body just as it is right now. Im not worried about weight loss. I think like someone said in earlier in the thread, you have to treat the disorder before you can worry about losing weight. I am also trying to be more aware of if I am eating for reasons other than hunger. I realized I was feeling pretty unhappy lately and I sat down and talked with my husband and we realized we havent taken any time to talk after the kids go to bed so we have been doing that and I feel much less like bingeing on treats after kids go to bed. Also, I am tricky and I think I can often trick myself into eating less than I really need because I spent so many years ignoring my hunger. Which backfires at the end of the day when I eat the entire contents of my pantry to make up for it. Anyway after only a few days, I feel better about myself when I look in the mirror than I have since I had the baby. I notice when I feel good about myself I am also more active. So, here I am on this journey. I am so glad to be here. As soon as I saw this thread I knew this was the thread for me. I really appreciate everyones experiences and what they are learning. It is so helpful for me!
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Old 06-08-2013, 07:26 PM   #22  
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Oh and I also had pizza tonight! I had 3 pieces. I was really in the mood for it and i ate it slowly and savored it and then stopped when I felt like I was satisfied. 3 was enough. Then I had some cookies and really enjoyed those. when I was done I told myself what a great job I did listening to my body and eating what it wanted and felt really good. I did NOT beat myself up for eating too much or eating cookies even though the cookies were pure pleasure. It annoys me how much work goes into FOOD and thinking about FOOD. I can't wait until I am free from so much thinking about food. I hope that day comes soon.
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Old 06-10-2013, 12:43 PM   #23  
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It has taken a while but i think i am finally finished with the re-feed phase...where you (or at least i did) go a little crazy once you allow yourself to eat whatever you want. It took 2 or 3 months. i went through food phases...first i went crazy with protein bars, and most recently i ate a couple of store-bought cakes with the thick frosting...i ate a disgusting amount of cake but i think i'm finally over the obsession with cake. I am finally beginning to feel like i am not constantly craving food. Sometimes i still think about my next meal right after i'm finished with the last meal, but now it's more out of habit/boredom than anything--i don't actually feel like eating. Which is a change. I think i've probably gained a couple pounds (which is a lot considering i was already at my high weight when i gave up dieting 2-3 months ago), but i think i've stopped gaining at least. Now i have hope that my weight will eventually go down because my food obsession is finally over. I think the whole IE process takes a long time. It's not like you quit dieting and all of a sudden your problems are over. It's taken me a long time to get rid of my obsessions and i'm still not 100% there yet, for sure.
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Old 06-10-2013, 02:47 PM   #24  
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It has taken a while but i think i am finally finished with the re-feed phase...where you (or at least i did) go a little crazy once you allow yourself to eat whatever you want. It took 2 or 3 months. i went through food phases...first i went crazy with protein bars, and most recently i ate a couple of store-bought cakes with the thick frosting...i ate a disgusting amount of cake but i think i'm finally over the obsession with cake. I am finally beginning to feel like i am not constantly craving food. Sometimes i still think about my next meal right after i'm finished with the last meal, but now it's more out of habit/boredom than anything--i don't actually feel like eating. Which is a change. I think i've probably gained a couple pounds (which is a lot considering i was already at my high weight when i gave up dieting 2-3 months ago), but i think i've stopped gaining at least. Now i have hope that my weight will eventually go down because my food obsession is finally over. I think the whole IE process takes a long time. It's not like you quit dieting and all of a sudden your problems are over. It's taken me a long time to get rid of my obsessions and i'm still not 100% there yet, for sure.
Wow good for you surfergirl2!

I am going through that right now I think. I have been letting myself eat things like donuts and oreos and trying not to stress or feel guilty as I eat them. I DO feel like I am going crazy sometimes but I think I eat less of them because I do not yell at myself or feel despairing as I eat but try to savor it and feel enjoyment. Today for lunch I had two chocolate donuts and grabbed a third and on that first bite of the third I realized I was all done with donuts and didn't want any more. I think Im also kind of getting tired of Oreos. I have more foods to work my way through but I think Im getting there. I think legalizing food is SO important.

I have to admit over the weekend I felt a little panicked and wanted to count calories for a day or two but I reminded myself that that never works and If I was counting calories I would want to eat the entire package of donuts rather than just the 3 I had because I would instantly feel deprived. ( It was a donut kind of weekend. )
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Old 06-10-2013, 06:07 PM   #25  
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Strange that you and Veggiedaze mentioned pizza. I had an entire large seafood pizza from Pizza Hut just last week - all in one meal. Plus 3 pcs of garlic bread. That was my meal for the day.
I can see myself doing this if not for the fact that I am married, and my husband and I eat breakfast and dinner together. So, to some extent, the times I eat are dictated by that.
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Old 06-11-2013, 03:38 PM   #26  
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Btw this weekend, i went to a friend's party. I happened to have eaten something before, so i wasn't too hungry--ate a little food and didn't touch the desserts at all. I just remember around the same time last year, i went to the same party and i ate three cupcakes (and other stuff) and felt so awful about myself that after the party, i went home and binged. But more than anything i just remember the feeling of self-hatred that i had during that party, while i was trying to talk to friends and pretend everything was normal. It was so awful. I am so glad i will never go back to that again.
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Old 06-12-2013, 12:43 PM   #27  
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Isn't that the best feeling??? I reread my diet blog (linked in my sig) and I was so desperate and unhappy and, ironically, heavier and eating less than I am today. I sometimes reread my old posts in the binge-free threads around here and realize how far I've come and how fortunate I am that life basically dictated I drastically change my lifestyle and behaviors...
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Old 06-14-2013, 02:29 PM   #28  
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Yes, this is exactly what happened to me in my past attempts at IE.



I realized that three pieces of a large pizza is enough to satisfy me. Two (maybe even one) will take away the hunger, but I will not be satisfied without three. Four, for me, would be eating just for eating's sake; that fourth piece would not be as pleasurable for me to eat as the previous three, so I'm okay with three. As I mentioned on another thread, I do not believe I am a binger. I am an overeater, though. If I get enough of what I want, I will not continue to eat or even think about food. For instance, on Thursday night, I had three slices of pizza. I did not think about food for the rest of the night. The problem is that to get enough of what I want, I would have to overeat, and then I would gain. Maybe not much (10 lbs or so), but for my mindset right now, that is too much. I have been toying with the idea of applying two rules that take into account my intuitive eating habits but still provides me with some structure: eat two meals per day (that seems to be enough if I really don't just mindlessly eat); don't eat after dinner, except occasional (2 times a week) dessert.
Lin43 - hows the 2 rules working out for you? On my days off I generally eat just two meals unless I am unusually hungry. On my work days though I eat 3. The day is just too long, but my meals tend to be smaller than on days I eat just 2 meals. Every now and again I will just have one big meal but not very often. I pretty well never eat anything after dinner. When I do I tend to get bingeing urges. But on the rare occasion that I do want something, I have it and use it as practice to sit through those bingeing urges. I try to think of it as a positive opportunity to rewire my brain.
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Old 06-14-2013, 02:31 PM   #29  
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I put on weight initially after going the non-restricting route - I did not weigh myself but my clothes were tight and in some instances, I had to move a size up. That was more than a year back. The last time I weighed myself (end May) was 127lbs and back to my old size.




Strange that you and Veggiedaze mentioned pizza. I had an entire large seafood pizza from Pizza Hut just last week - all in one meal. Plus 3 pcs of garlic bread. That was my meal for the day.
Funny how we were all eating pizza
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Old 06-14-2013, 02:36 PM   #30  
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Thanks for the welcome Southernmaven. It is really true that sometimes we are just hungrier than other days. I remember sometimes I would have an entire 2 weeks where I felt like I ate a lot and just when I would start to get worried, I was just not that hungry for the next two weeks. I really believe our bodies know what we need and if we listen to them and give them what they need, we will be in harmony and balance and at a good weight.



Yeah when I first start eating more along the lines of waiting until Im hungry and waiting for what I want it seems like so much more work! I think that is why it has been hard for me to get back in the groove. It's easier for me to just wake up, eat my bowl of oatmeal and my apple snack whether or not I am hungry than to wake up and be like "what do I want to eat today and am I even hungry?"

The past few days I have waited to eat until I am hungry. Both days I haven't been hungry until 12 o clock. I have a hard time figuring out what I really want to eat. Made doubly hard by making the kids lunches and breakfasts. Yesterday I calculated badly and by the time I was hungry to eat we had to leave the house. I took some stuff to eat but it wasn't enough and I spent the whole time out of the house REALLY hungry. I tried to tell myself that hunger wasn't a bad thing but it wasn't very comfortable. I did much better today. Im also working on legalizing foods and body acceptance. I have been eating treats and trying to be aware of the fact that I am eating them and enjoy them but even if I am eating out of mouth hunger I tell myself it's ok and this is just how I am learning. I am working on body acceptance with an exercise described in Overcoming Overeating where you basically look at your body without judgement. HARD to do. The way they say to do and what I find helpful is to just observe it. Like instead of "wow my stomach looks so fat and I have no waist" more like "my stomach goes out here and curves in here but then curves back out." This has been SO HELPFUL I can't even say. Getting rid of those judgmental thoughts about my body has shown me how judgmental I really was and also made me feel more happy and comfortable. I realized when I feel "fat" I want to EAT! My goal right now is to just normalize my relationship with food and to accept my body just as it is right now. Im not worried about weight loss. I think like someone said in earlier in the thread, you have to treat the disorder before you can worry about losing weight. I am also trying to be more aware of if I am eating for reasons other than hunger. I realized I was feeling pretty unhappy lately and I sat down and talked with my husband and we realized we havent taken any time to talk after the kids go to bed so we have been doing that and I feel much less like bingeing on treats after kids go to bed. Also, I am tricky and I think I can often trick myself into eating less than I really need because I spent so many years ignoring my hunger. Which backfires at the end of the day when I eat the entire contents of my pantry to make up for it. Anyway after only a few days, I feel better about myself when I look in the mirror than I have since I had the baby. I notice when I feel good about myself I am also more active. So, here I am on this journey. I am so glad to be here. As soon as I saw this thread I knew this was the thread for me. I really appreciate everyones experiences and what they are learning. It is so helpful for me!
Just so true about how paying attention to when we are actually hungry instead of following a specific diet takes so much more work in the beginning. People who have followed diet plans for so long are just not used to doing this. It gets easier though, at least for me. It sounds like you are really learning alot about yourself and are coming a long ways with your thoughts. I am happy this thread has been helpful for you.
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