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Originally Posted by jensassy
Hello all.... I'm also new to IE. I started in May and it has been a roller coaster so far. I had been a dieter since I was 12 years old and even dabbled in anorexia for bit then but settled on bulimia for most of my life. Three years ago I hit rock bottom with the binge/purge cycle and haven't done it since. This May is when I hit rock bottom with dieting. I just can't do it anymore. I hate the way I feel about myself when dieting and I hate being obsessed with food. I just can't live like this anymore.
I have lost 60lbs from my heaviest and want to believe that my body somehow will find it's true size and healthy weight, but I'm having a hard time accepting that this is not a weight loss program and the possibility that it may want those 60lbs back.
I'm also really working on my hunger, hunger cues and fullness cues. It is definitely a work in progress for someone who hasn't known hunger for a very long time. One thing that has helped though is that two weeks before I began IE, I ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. It got to a point where I'd look at food, completely not hungry but with license to eat it and would just got bleh. I can't. That's when I knew it was time to start IE.
I enjoy reading everyone's posts but I'm wondering if we could all talk more about what you feel physically when you are hungry3-4 and at a 6. I'm just not sure what "food" feels like in my stomach anymore and notice that I'm getting to a 7 more often than not.
Thanks much!
Welcome jensassy, starting IE can be a little scary so thanks for reaching out for support. Most of us here have a history of disordered eating so you are not alone in that.
Are you using the scale from the Intuitive Eating book? I would say that the middle of the scale is the most confusing 3-6 especially. Don't start there.
I started on the extremes. I was used to always eating all the time out of boredom, loneliness, etc. I had no clue what physical hunger felt like. I needed to get myself to a 1 several times so that my brain could register that physical feeling. It's about experimenting. Get to a 1 and sit there for a while being mindful of that, take note of what you feel. Everyone experiences the physical sensations of hunger a little differently, you may start to feel weak or unfocused etc. Then eat mindfully and slowly enough to be able to process the feeling as you climb up the numbers to satiety. In the beginning I would take myself to a 7 (satisfaction) a lot. Then I'd fall and have to eat often.
Just experiment with taking yourself back and forth on the hunger/satiety scale. Be curious about it, don't make any judgments about getting too full. Go up to a 10 if you feel like it, just think "hmm, I wonder what made me eat past fullness." Be very flexible and curious about your hunger, don't get caught up with doing it right or wrong. Being mindful and aware is the most important thing. You're practicing and believe me it starts to feel very normal after a while.
Here's a tip. If you can't decide what to eat, don't eat. Wait until you're certain what you want.
Now I eat when I'm at a 2 and I eat until I'm at 8. Solid. I'd like to whittle that down to a 7 eventually but I'm ok with eating until fullness for now.