I discovered the same thing recently and when I started looking into it I found Paul McKenna's system. Google him and you'll find he's a "self helf guru"/hypnotherapist. You might have heard of his TV show I CAN MAKE YOU THINK.
Bit late now and haven't got time to explain how it all works but look up his book on amazon and read the reviews. I read it, decided it was EXACTLY what I need, started following his plan and listening to the accompanying CD and have comfortably lost 2lbs in a week with no hunger, no giving up any of my favourite foods and feeling absolutely IN CONTROL. Cannot recommend his plan enough! If nothing else, its an interesting read and at £3 on ebay (CD included), an absolute bargain!
If you're used to eating a small amount (which I am NOT), wouldn't your stomach be smaller, and therefore you'd get full faster?
I can eat quite a bit, even though I've changed my eating habits and I'm eating healthy...I think my stomach is still the same size. If I have a big salad, then a measured dinner (like 4 oz chicken, and 2 servings of veggies), that's a lot of food.
Maybe one day I'll be able to eat less, but until then I'm sticking to my alloted cals/carbs/fats/protein a day - which allows for something sweet & "legal" (hate that word in regard to food, but you know what I mean).
The OP made me laugh out loud! I can picture skinny people as some kind of Snidely Wiplash villains; twirling their mustaches saying: "We will secretly eat tiny bits but make them think we can eat whatever we want!"
But, @kaplods, I really, really related to what you had to say!
Quote:
Originally Posted by kaplods
I got a lot of advice over the years from well-meaning, "naturally-thin" family and friends, and the funniest (in hindsight) was "only eat when you're hungry." What they didn't realize was that I was hungry all the time.
"Mindful eating" doesn't work for me, because I can't trust my body's hunger cues. They're unreliable and invariably lead to overeating. I need to manipulate the hunger (by eating a low-carb diet, which acts as an appetite suppressant) and control the calories (I may always have to use a counting method to control portions).
I do suspect that there are both thin-prone and fat-prone people (and a lot of people in between). Why shouldn't this be true, scientists have bred rats for their weight tendencies to use in weight research. There are obesity-resistant strains (which tend to stay thin even when overfed) and obesity-prone strains (which gain weight easily), and I think the same is true of humans.
Whether it's genetic, learned, or triggered by environmental event(s) thin people and fat people may have fundamental differences. Emulating thinner folks may work - if you emulate their actions, but I don't think emulating internal processes always works very well. For example, the assumption that thin folks only eat when hungry. I can emulate that and still not be thin, because I may be naturally hungrier than thinner folks. Perhaps I was always hungrier, or perhaps I learned to be hungrier because of all the crash diets I've been on since kindergarten.
I don't think I can turn myself into a naturally thin person. I may always have to count every bite I put in my mouth. But that's ok. I don't care whether the process is "natural" or not, as long as it does the job I want it to do.
THIS! This is so totally my situation. I tried the Geneen Roth, mindful food thing, and it went totally into binge-city. Maybe it's because I have been overweight since I was 10 and obese since I was 14, but I just can't be like thin people in this regard. It's taken me a long time to stop being bitter about this, but it's just the way it is. Like you said, whatever works!
[FONT="Verdana"]The OP made me laugh out loud! I can picture skinny people as some kind of Snidely Wiplash villains; twirling their mustaches saying: "We will secretly eat tiny bits but make them think we can eat whatever we want!"
HAHAHAAHAH oh my gracious! thats how I feel ! I came to the bottom of this!
I've been a preschool teacher for 6 years, and have seen the eating habits of many toddlers and preschoolers, and even into elementary school age over time. They start out like that, and many are finicky eaters. The most judgmental people I know about the weight of others are very picky about their food, or they are very slow eaters and just give up after so long, and I know they've been that way since childhood, and have never had a problem with their weight. It's so easy for them that they have no clue why it should be hard for anyone else.
I see it this way - Everyone has their hangup, and many people who don't struggle with food struggle with something else just as major (or worse). I really don't know how to be like them since it's an integral part of who they are and who they have always been, but I do know that there are other ways to achieve goals that can be just as successful. I can adopt some of the things they do, but I doubt it will ever be subconscious for me. However, I have strengths that many people I know don't have, and what is easy for me is just as difficult for them.
Last edited by IndigoBanshee; 05-19-2012 at 10:14 PM.
If you're used to eating a small amount (which I am NOT), wouldn't your stomach be smaller, and therefore you'd get full faster?
I can eat quite a bit, even though I've changed my eating habits and I'm eating healthy...I think my stomach is still the same size. If I have a big salad, then a measured dinner (like 4 oz chicken, and 2 servings of veggies), that's a lot of food.
Maybe one day I'll be able to eat less, but until then I'm sticking to my alloted cals/carbs/fats/protein a day - which allows for something sweet & "legal" (hate that word in regard to food, but you know what I mean).
This has happened to me and my Mum actually. I used to be able to eat a whole thin-crusted medium pizza and still have a couple of servings of fruit and cake/icecream but now I feel satisfied at 3-4 slices (just under half). I could eat more but I know that I'm no longer hungry. Maybe I just got better at recognising my body's signal that I've had enough to eat? It often happens earlier than I used to think it would.
I can never understand it either... like those people that say you can have 3 bites of dessert and after that it will be tasteless, so just stop after 3 bites.. yeah, ok!
THIS! This is so totally my situation. I tried the Geneen Roth, mindful food thing, and it went totally into binge-city. Maybe it's because I have been overweight since I was 10 and obese since I was 14, but I just can't be like thin people in this regard. It's taken me a long time to stop being bitter about this, but it's just the way it is. Like you said, whatever works!
I too have tried to listen to my body's hunger cues and I can't quite seem to do it all that well. I don't know if mine are broken or if I'm just not trying hard enough, but it just doesn't work for me. Listening to my hunger cues makes me think about food too much; I'd much rather just look forward to the next planned meal or snack than worry about whether or not I feel hungry. I know lunch is going to be at 11, I know what I'm going to have for lunch; I don't have to worry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ringmaster
I can never understand it either... like those people that say you can have 3 bites of dessert and after that it will be tasteless, so just stop after 3 bites.. yeah, ok!
Oh but you can. I do it all the time. More than 1 bite isn't necessary, actually. I get the taste, enjoy it, and move on.
Hello all .. I hope you don't mind my dropping in on your conversations. VERY interesing to say the lease! There is a thread here on Intuitive Eating, which is how most naturally thin people eat. There are really good books on the subject, Paul McKenna's I can make you thin is one. The others are The Overfed Head(excellent!), The Eden Diet, and Intuitive Eating. Thanks for posting this!
I can never understand it either... like those people that say you can have 3 bites of dessert and after that it will be tasteless, so just stop after 3 bites.. yeah, ok!
even in the 130s, i still LOVE dessert. so yeah, i will be that person to take 3 bites and be done with dessert, because i'm strict with myself. however, i usually want more and have to tell myself no!
I don't know about that. My brother has a crazy metabolism (must've took all the metabolism from the women in the family somehow) cause he can eat nonstop all day every day and not do a single thing and never gain weight. It's offensive to me. ROFLMAO.
Very interesting indeed! It kind of makes me wonder if all this talk about 'you have to eat this much calories a day or your metabolism will lower' principles are even viable to everyone's lifestyle, even those naturally thin.
I went out for sushi with my girlfriend last night. She's my height and about 105 lbs and has never had eating issues - she's just always had a small appetite (and a history of health problems). It took her 30 minutes to eat 12 pieces of sushi and I was trying to keep her pace and really struggling with it!
I am getting better at this. I can eat ice cream out of the pint and stop at less than a serving.
I see it this way - Everyone has their hangup, and many people who don't struggle with food struggle with something else just as major (or worse)
I agree completely. I remember reading The Rules of Normal Eating and reading just that comment about normal weight people having problems, too. It seems silly to think of that as a revelation, but it was. I guess I always had thought of myself as such a freak because I love food so much and cannot manage to eat it in moderation normally. I realize now, though, that others may not be able to spend in moderation or gamble in moderation or whatever, and I can do those things effortlessly.
I think skinny people eat. Maybe they are just embarrassed to eat in public, or maybe they prefer to eat their own food instead of restaurant food because of hidden calories. I think they just have self control. When I have guests over and they are thin and I put out some munchies they always eat, but maybe they will have two chips with guacamole and a cookie, just to get a taste. I think that's a pretty healthy way to live.
