Hi All,
I've been reading lots of great info on these IE threads and started IE last week. On one of the old threads there was a post about a book that had 3 keys to intuitive eating (I think), written by a man, that said if you read those and can apply them you can stop reading there, but most people have trouble believing it can actually work or they can't trust their bodies for hunger/fullness or something similar. I've wasted so many hours searching for that post when I figured I'd just ask to see if that sounds familiar to anyone.
Thanks! Amy
ETA: I should have waited a bit! I started reading Overfed Head today and that's where it was. I downloaded the pdf and put it on my kindle.
[QUOTE=CindySunshine;4940777]Right answer wannabe! But I will say that even real hunger ebbs and flows so I can be starving and if I can't eat the intense urge passes. But it usually returns before very long.
I just got an email from summertomato that I thought was also worth sharing. I like this gal, she's a little paleo with excluding things but otherwise I like her approach.
Summer Tomato: Surfing the Urge: How to Quench Cravings
Surfing the Urge: How to Quench Cravings
Posted: 10 Feb 2014 11:00 AM PST
Photo by Aristocrats-hat
You probably know by now that I’m not the biggest fan of willpower. It’s weak. It’s fallible. And it often backfires when we need it most.
If you were dating willpower I’d tell you to dump the jerk immediately. Seriously, you can do better.
The reason I’m so hard on willpower is because the vast majority of the people I talk to still believe it is the solution to their health and weight struggles, and it’s not.
For long-term goals, willpower is far too unreliable to carry you through. Eventually it will break down, and the rebound you experience will be far worse than if you weren’t trying to control your behavior at all.
That said, willpower can be incredibly powerful for short-term goals. When you need to study for an exam or tolerate your family during the holidays, self-control is often your greatest asset. The most effective foodists must learn when and how to use willpower to your advantage, and when to let it go and fall back on habits.
When it comes to food, one of the best uses for willpower is when you’re experiencing cravings. Cravings are internal signals that drive you to act against your better judgement. They can come on suddenly and be intensely powerful, driving all else from your mind except the object of desire.
Cravings are insidious because they do not reflect a real need or emergency, but they seem to hijack your brain into believing that the universe cannot continue unless you get what you crave.
It’s almost like it isn’t you that controls your mind anymore, but some dark force that conspires against your best intentions. Giving into cravings feels so necessary when you do it, but totally icky afterward because you get this sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t you calling the shots. It’s almost like someone else took over your brain.
Fortunately, cravings can be tamed. But the most effective method for quenching cravings is very counterintuitive, so will require practice and a bit of faith in the method.
First, if you’re experiencing cravings regularly you should always start by ensuring your habits aren’t triggering cravings more often than necessary. Be sure you’re eating a wide variety of nutrient dense foods, and not lacking any major nutrients like protein, slowly-digesting carbohydrates, fats, vitamins or minerals.
Also use techniques to reduce stress, and put yourself on a regular schedule of eating, sleeping and exercise to optimize your natural biological rhythms.
Remove obvious triggers like candies and other snack foods from your house and office if possible.
Even under ideal circumstances, almost everyone will experience a craving at some time or another. When these hit, don’t try to fight them or distract yourself from them. As we’ve seen, these techniques tend to backfire and induce more frequent and intense cravings down the line. And when we give in, we tend to go overboard because of the what-the-**** effect.
Instead of fighting with your craving, use a technique called surfing the urge. Urge surfing is a technique for riding out a craving without giving into it. I first learned about this technique in Kelly McGonigal’s brilliant book, The Willpower Instinct, which is the best book I’ve read on self-control and behavioral change.
Surfing the urge is based on mindfulness practice, and has been shown to be far more effective at increasing self-control and decreasing relapse than methods that rely on distraction or trying to push the urge away.
The first essential component of urge surfing is understanding that all cravings eventually pass, whether or not you give in to them. The secret to getting through the craving is riding it out like a wave.
Instead of being afraid of failure and wishing the urge would away, observe it passively and without judgement. Understand that it will come on suddenly, grow and build, peak, then crash and dissipate.
Cravings almost never last more than 30 minutes, so once that time passes you will be in the clear.
Next time you feel a craving come on, don’t panic. Instead find a comfortable seat and sit up straight. Close your eyes and focus on your breath. When the discomfort of the craving grabs your attention, notice the feeling without judgment, as if you were on an alien planet and just trying to observe an interesting new phenomenon.
Notice if and where the feeling manifests in your body. Is your heart beating faster? Are you salivating? Is your jaw tense? Are your hands sweaty? Observe how your body reacts to the craving, then gently take your attention back to your breath and let the feeling go.
This urge surfing technique has been shown to reduce the intensity and frequency of cravings. More important, it makes it much less likely you will give in to them.
For this technique to be most effective, practice mindfulness when you are not experiencing a craving. Try spending 5 minutes each morning just sitting and focusing on your breath. When you notice an itch or a discomfort, observe it passively without acting on it. Notice how it dissipates without you doing anything. Bring your attention back to your breath whenever you remember.
You can learn the full urge surfing technique from scientist Sarah Bowen in this audio file.
Have you tried mindfulness or surfing the urge to quench cravings?]
I'm reading Overcoming Overeating and I've just gotten to the part where they suggest we clean out our closet.
First, we're supposed to get rid of the clothes that are too big, no sense in assuming our waist will expand. Give them away or hide them in the basement.
Then we're supposed to get rid of our skinny clothes - the clothes we used to fit into or wish we could fit into. Same as above, hide them or give them away.
Finally we have to go through the clothes that are left, the ones that fit us NOW. And we have to figure out why we keep them. Are we just making do with these clothes, do we really love them, do we secretely hate them, etc. I think this one is the hardest step of all because I can think of at least a dozen outfits that off the top of my head that I wear just because they fit.
Has anyone taken this step and if so, how has it helped you or not? What kind of process was it for you? Did you buy new clothes? Were you left with much to wear?
I'm about a month in to IE and a lot of things are starting to work. Paying attention to my hunger is getting a little easier. I'm still letting go of the guilt of eating and I like how that feels. I feel free.
Mindfully eating can be difficult. I notice that when I begin to eat I feel urgency but when I try to slow down during that urgency I feel anxious. So I've been letting myself enjoy the first part of eating with abandon. If I'm feeling urgency to eat I go with it. But at some point, usually the halfway point or when I'm half done with the food I pause. I put my fork down for a bit and wait for a minute or two. Often at that point I feel satisfied and stop eating. Or I decide to take 2-3 bites more and call it a day. Anyway this conscious stopping is working wonders!
I've also noticed that when I'm on my period my need to eat is a little more anxious. Yesterday for example I felt really ravenous and thought that I wouldn't be able to control myself. And so I didn't try to. I just went with the anxious feeling and prepared for myself 2 slices of cheese pizza with some spinach salad. I got through that first piece of pizza and most of the small salad. Then I paused for a minute and found that I was completely full. My old habits would have made me bulldoze through all the pizza. I put the other piece back in the fridge and haven't wanted to look at it since. Then I didn't snack, and my dinner was very small. I didn't even crave any chocolate even though I brought it into the house yesterday specifically to satisfy the chocolate craving I usually have during TOM.
Overall my anxiety around food is the lowest it's ever been. I've seen some weight loss, not a lot. But considering that I have not prohibited any foods including junk from the house this is nothing short of a miracle.
Last edited by Palestrina; 02-26-2014 at 10:15 AM.
Well I'm back. I missed being here but I think it was helpful to get away from the forum for awhile.
In the interim I've done a lot around the house AND...drum roll...I've taken a part-time job at a local Hallmark store. I haven't worked outside the home since 2000. My last regular job was done from home and I had to stop it in 2005 in order to take care of my father after Katrina. He died in 2011 and I've been considering going back to work ever since, but no way did I want any kind of stressful, high-pressure job. Not that too many people are interested in hiring a 62-year-old for that kind of job anyway - particularly one who is far behind technologically. I wanted something fun, and so far it's been that for sure!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wannabeskinny
I'm reading Overcoming Overeating and I've just gotten to the part where they suggest we clean out our closet.
First, we're supposed to get rid of the clothes that are too big, no sense in assuming our waist will expand. Give them away or hide them in the basement.
Then we're supposed to get rid of our skinny clothes - the clothes we used to fit into or wish we could fit into. Same as above, hide them or give them away.
Finally we have to go through the clothes that are left, the ones that fit us NOW. And we have to figure out why we keep them. Are we just making do with these clothes, do we really love them, do we secretely hate them, etc. I think this one is the hardest step of all because I can think of at least a dozen outfits that off the top of my head that I wear just because they fit.
Has anyone taken this step and if so, how has it helped you or not? What kind of process was it for you? Did you buy new clothes? Were you left with much to wear?
Wannabe, I actually did that very thing not too long ago - well, the part about buying new clothes, anyway. I have cleaned my closet of my skinny clothes & because I wasn't working, I had very little clothing at all...a couple of pairs of pants, a few skirts, and some blouses. Most of it was so worn that it really needed to be replaced, and even though I was hopeful I would be smaller when I went shopping, I really HAD to get some new clothes. (I think I may have posted about this earlier).
Now I need to get some MORE clothing because I can only wear certain colors to work - either black or khaki pants or skirts with white, black, or beige/tan shirts or blouses. I only have one pair of black pants (besides my leggings) and two white blouses (no black or beige) and they are all OLD. Fortunately I've only worked one day but I will need to shop before Monday when I go back in. (And I was thrilled to find out I can wear my tennis shoes; great news since I'm on my feet most of the time.)
So in this instance I am forced to purchase clothing that fits me NOW, regardless of how I personally feel about it. But I'm okay with it, just as I was when I bought all the new clothes right before Christmas. I wish I were in a smaller size, but I'm grateful I'm not in a larger one!
Congratulations on your new job, it's great to be away from the house isn't it? I work part time and take care of my toddler most of the day and i know that I need social interaction more now than ever.
Thanks for relaying your experience with IE. We're expecting a snow storm here on Sunday so I'm laying this weekend aside for clearing out my closet a bit - no way I think I can do it in a day or 2, this will be a big project. I don't have much cash to be buying new clothes right now so I think I will spend some time with the clothes that fit, or at least trying to hunt them down in my closet.
Congratulations on your new job, it's great to be away from the house isn't it?
Indeed it is! I am enjoying it a lot. They were asking for a volunteer to set up and maintain their FB page and I jumped on it, as I do love social media. I will be working on it at home and they will pay me for it, but I just enjoy doing it and it helps me to exercise my brain a bit more. I worked on it a bit this morning but not quite ready to put it out there because I need some pics and more information before I start promoting it.
Hope everyone is doing well with IE. It definitely has its ups and downs for me, but dieting is no longer an option. Sometimes I feel like I'm caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.
