I usually have a coffee & a yakult and often hot water with lemon when I get up, and forget to eat anything for at least a few hours. Then it's all down to my activity level. Last night I was ravenous after my workout for hours, today not so much. I can only assume that the instant you change things up, your body demands to be fed. Really needed the carbs last night!! My schedule's all over the place, so if I'm starting work at 12, I'll be pretty hungry if I walked a few miles on the way there, if not I'll just be a bit peckish. If I start at 5pm I'll usually get hungry enough to eat something before heading out mid-afternoon. If I'm in all day I won't get hungry until early evening. What I need seems to be based on healthy protein & fat like fish and nuts, with carbs (i prefer wholegrains) increasing proportional to time, length and intensity of activity on top of that. I HATE water but went through 2 pints of it during that workout, so I trust my body to let me know if it needs it. And if I'm seriously depressed I just want to eat donuts all day.
I HATE water but went through 2 pints of it during that workout, so I trust my body to let me know if it needs it.
So glad you brought this up. Another thing about IE I love is that I can practice ID (intuitive drinking). I bought into the idea that we must drink 8 8 oz glasses of water daily, and it just never happened with me. I was forcing water down. Ridiculous.
If I'm thirsty I'll drink it. Otherwise, I don't need it. I drink LOADS of black coffee.
As the gal (Sophia Moss, I think) from Beyond Chocolate says, "Our bodies tell us when we need to pee. Why wouldn't they tell us when to eat?" (or in this case, drink)
It really is that simple, I'm finally beginning to figure out!
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And if I'm seriously depressed I just want to eat donuts all day.
So I said I wasn't going to weigh myself until the first of April. But today I just couldn't resist. Woke up, went into the bathroom, and I felt so light and looked so much better in the mirror that I thought - "What the heck? I know it will be good news." So I stepped on the scale and had lost 2.6 lbs.
I last weighed on the 3rd of March, now of course it's the 14th. So that's 11 full days of IE exclusively, and to know that I have eaten exactly what I wanted to eat each and every day of those 11 days and have lost 2.6 lbs in the process is just wonderful!
The previous 6 lbs (taken off in four weeks) was mostly low-carb with a little calorie-counting thrown in toward the end - when I could no longer stand going without bread. I was proud of myself, but I also came to the realization that I was just done with dieting - that I'd never be able to do it with any consistency ever again. So it was a real leap of faith to jump into IE, but I'm so glad I did!
Thanks for reading - I believe I probably need to start a blog, because I feel so compelled to write about this.
I do need to watch my water intake. I am thirsty a lot and find it difficult to drink enough some days. But then I sweat a lot - with my exercise and Bikram yoga.
I have imposed some 'restrictions'. I'm avoiding crisps (chips) because they are a trigger food for me and a food I will binge on. They aren't forbidden, but I'm staying away from them for now. It's not like they're a healthy food that I'm missing out on!! But I'm also avoiding drinking calories (unless it's alchohol). I haven't been quite as successful with that. I used to drink a lot of juice and things like Lucozade. (Lucozade is a sports drink, but it also has a soda line which is glucose and caffeine in a tasty, tasty orange bottle. It's the only drink which makes me feel like I'm drinking SunDrop - a regional soda I grew up with in Tennessee*.) It was hard for me to go back to water, but now I'm drinking it plenty and enjoying it again. I like water again.
I did have a Lucozade yesterday though...
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*I could quite "happily" live off a diet of SunDrop, sausage biscuits, fried okra and a mess of cheese grits - with a bit of homegrown tomato and cucumber salad on the side. I do love salad. In fact, if I was on death row, that would be my final meal.
Hello, I'd like to join this thread if I may. Ive been on every diet under the sun and wind up in the same place. I have a closet filled with almost every diet book known to man. I used to be a skinny person and I remember that I just ate when i was hungry and I knew when to stop. Why that changed over the years remains a mystery. I'm also interested in fasting and have yet to read The Fast Diet but intend to do that this weekend. The past few days I did a fast of my own and lost two lbs. so there must be something to it. I felt hungry last night but I wonder if that is more a psychological thing because I am used to eating at night.....I'm excited about trying something new and look to this thread for support..thank you.
almost me, the only time i had sausage biscuits was when i visited florida and oh my Gosh now that's living...LOL...Noone eats better in America than people that live in the south.....
I do need to watch my water intake. I am thirsty a lot and find it difficult to drink enough some days. But then I sweat a lot - with my exercise and Bikram yoga.
I would imagine you do need a lot of water, AlmostMe. Whenever I was able to exercise (I'm really missing it now, actually) I always drank more water.
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I have imposed some 'restrictions'. I'm avoiding crisps (chips) because they are a trigger food for me and a food I will binge on. They aren't forbidden, but I'm staying away from them for now. It's not like they're a healthy food that I'm missing out on!! But I'm also avoiding drinking calories (unless it's alchohol). I haven't been quite as successful with that. I used to drink a lot of juice and things like Lucozade. (Lucozade is a sports drink, but it also has a soda line which is glucose and caffeine in a tasty, tasty orange bottle. It's the only drink which makes me feel like I'm drinking SunDrop - a regional soda I grew up with in Tennessee*.) It was hard for me to go back to water, but now I'm drinking it plenty and enjoying it again. I like water again.
I completely understand what you're saying here. Yes, IE means no restrictions; however, I find it actually quite motivating to say I'm just not going to eat/drink something for awhile - and we can do this for a variety of reasons.
I believe I mentioned earlier that when I finally decided to get serious about getting the weight back off I just stopped drinking my nightly wine. Not only was it adding additional calories, it also caused me to snack mindlessly. I haven't given up wine completely - who would want to do that?? - but I decided I'd do it for 90 days. Actually, just a bit more, as I made the decision to not have any until I attend my nephew's wedding in mid-May. Sort of an extended Lenten penance, if you will. And I've been feeling really good about it - PLUS I know it this has accounted for at least part of my 8+ lb weight loss.
I also haven't forbidden myself chips, but I've only felt the need to eat them once, and it was a very small amount. I only buy the ones my husband likes, so I don't have them around. There's one particular brand - Zapps Hotter 'N Hot Jalapeno potato chips - that really can set me off on a binge. Fortunately they are not available at my grocery store and I have to make a special trip to a store I don't generally frequent in order to get them. (The owner is probably wondering where the he** I've been, as I used to go in there weekly to buy them).
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*I could quite "happily" live off a diet of SunDrop, sausage biscuits, fried okra and a mess of cheese grits - with a bit of homegrown tomato and cucumber salad on the side. I do love salad. In fact, if I was on death row, that would be my final meal.
Girl, are you a transplanted Southerner??? Sausage biscuits? Fried okra? A *mess* of cheese grits? I feel like I'm talking to someone next door, not across the pond!
Hello, I'd like to join this thread if I may. Ive been on every diet under the sun and wind up in the same place. I have a closet filled with almost every diet book known to man. I used to be a skinny person and I remember that I just ate when i was hungry and I knew when to stop. Why that changed over the years remains a mystery. I'm also interested in fasting and have yet to read The Fast Diet but intend to do that this weekend. The past few days I did a fast of my own and lost two lbs. so there must be something to it. I felt hungry last night but I wonder if that is more a psychological thing because I am used to eating at night.....I'm excited about trying something new and look to this thread for support..thank you.
Welcome, Zumbachica! Glad to have you with us!
It's really not a mystery why you've lost the ability to eat only when you're hungry; if you've spent any time dieting at all, your whole approach to eating changes. But it can be re-learned.
If you haven't read it yet, be sure to google Rod Steven's "The Overfed Head" - it's a pdf book that you can find and read online. That really brought intuitive eating together for me.
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the only time i had sausage biscuits was when i visited florida and oh my Gosh now that's living...LOL...Noone eats better in America than people that live in the south.....
Obviously you and I were posting at the same time, so I didn't see this until after I posted above. I have lived in the Deep South all my life, and you are right about this! We love our food!
Oddly enough, however, I actually loathe grits. People say I'm not a true Southerner because I don't eat them, but I just don't like the texture. But I do like sausage biscuits, fried okra, and tomato and cucumber salads!
Welcome, Zumbachica! Great to have you with us, and I'm sure that eating like a small person will come back to you I think that your mental foundation for eating is just that, doing otherwise is just learned behaviour that overly restrictive diets teach us. The original neural and hormonal pathways are still burned into your mind and body, you just have to let go of the override switch, and chances are if you're at the point of WANTING to do this, you've already won the first big battle
AlmostMe, I get what you're saying about restrictions. As you know, since I've done that! I see that as a tool, not a way of life. It's completely different to an overall restrictive diet. The "diet mentality" has you going "I can't eat crisps because crisps are bad so if I eat crisps then I am bad". It's mindless faith in something that may or may not be true. Continuing to do IE, and making a mindful, considered decision that "I am not eating crisps right now because based on the evidence they do not help me achieve the health and fitness I want and deserve and I will reconsider them in the future" is coming from SUCH a different place. One approach is based on blind faith and adherence to abstract rules, another is being in touch with yourself enough to know from experience what works and what doesn't. Totally, TOTALLY different
PS: what are all these crazy southern foods you're talking about?! It's like a whole new language! Come to Scotland and try a deep fried mars bar and Irn Bru! Breakfast of champions, lol!
