Welcome Owls and Nanu!

I am a perfectionist as well. It's exactly why dieting has never worked for me because I was always in the "all or nothing" attitude. If I ate something wrong I blew it for the day.

Wannabe...I liked what you had to say about me taking LC to a different level. I really do need to just dismiss the whole idea of it. Not sure why I keep trying LC because I'm not on it 2 days and I'm miserable because of all the deprivation!

I've done very well with IE this week. It's so freeing when you really let it work!

We're like kids taking off our training wheels. The dieters who depend on external forces to tell them what/when/how much to eat need training wheels to keep them balanced that's why they need the MFP, the daily way ins and the number obsession. Let us take off our training wheels, we may fall a few times but we will find our balance!

Me too. I can't even last 2 weeks in a diet. When I said that some of us have found success in CC I meant that the number crunching made so much sense. Even for 2 weeks, I'd see results and then I'd stop anyway. Which was infuriating because then I thought I was self sabotaging which further made me a failure. My inner rebel is a beast too

I've read Isabella and have come across this same argument against IE. I do believe that people who want to dabble in IE set about doing just this, eating when hungry and stopping when full. When that doesn't work they say "oh IE didn't work for me." There are people here who claim that they understand Iae and haven't read a single book on the subject. There are people here who claim that IE caused them to gain 100lbs, in fact people think that when they are not dieting they are IE by default.

I agree with Locke, there is a process here that some of us need more time with. I can imagine coming to a place where I don't want to be here, where the thought of food is not important, but right now I need to practice the skills I've learned. The hunger scale has been very helpful to me. I did it for a very short amount of time and took what I needed from it. If I was going to eat to satisfy my hunger I had to learn what hunger is.

@Wannabe,

Yes IE is definitely misunderstood. People think it means eating whatever you want for whatever reason you want. People think it means giving into all of the urges you have to eat junk food. People think that it just means whatever you do when you aren't on a strict diet. People think it's a way for fat people to feel good about their *horrible food choices*.

@Truffle,

I did lose all my weight through calorie counting. And weighing lettuce..and counting sugar free gum.

I was to the point that I would order black coffee at a coffeeshop because I didn't trust anyone to get the measurements right AKA: calories.

I have found IE is helping me build trust in food. The intensity of your CC indicates a distrust of food and a distrust of yourself around food. The more distrust there is the more rules we tend to apply. IE is a powerful way of countering that, this is so exciting isn't it?

I have discovered if I don't wait to eat until I am ravenous, that it is much easier to slow down and savor my meal while eating mindfully. I mean duh. But it took a while for me to make that connection. I noticed that in every IE book I read, I would usually wait to eat on the hunger scale until it was at a 1 or even a 0. So, I have really been getting in touch with more subtle hunger. It has been SO much more enjoyable. I used to try to force myself to eat slowly but would find myself wolfing food down. Now I know why, its because I was really really hungry.

I have been going back and reading through all the old IE threads on here and it has been so helpful. That is where I was able to begin to see the connection between waiting until I was so hungry and then being unable to eat slowly or mindfully. By reading others experiences.

I've been catching myself waiting to eat when I'm at a 1 or a 0 and then stopping at a 2 or a 3 for fear that I'll overeat, and instead I end up undereating all day.

I'm always a little hungry. But it's an improvement. When I was counting calories all I could think about was my next meal, my next snack, when I could have it, how long until then. Now, it's just a notion. If I really wanted, I could go get it. But why not wait?

If I want to eat and I'm not too hungry I usually just eat something light- fruit and yogurt, some toast, etc. If I'm really hungry I eat something heavier. That's how I approach that situation.

I've been eating very slowly lately. It took me about 30 minutes to finish my breakfast this morning. I know that every IE book and blog out there implores people to eat without distraction- no television, no reading, etc. I find that I eat best with some distraction. I thought about it after going on a date last Sunday and having such a slow and relaxed meal. Part of the reason I slowed down was because I was talking with someone and enjoying the fresh air outside- people watching, etc. So I've been eating while browsing the internet, working, etc. Don't get me wrong, I'm not shoveling food in my mouth with eyes glued to the screen- I savor each bite, eat slowly, pause between bites, and check in about hunger/ taste frequently. It's really worked for me to help me slow down.

I did the exact same thing when I started following IE principles. And then eventually I would just want to be FULL so I would overeat. Just recently I have started to let go of the fear of eating past satisfied and really just trying to enjoy my food and EAT. If I do eat a little over satsifaction, so what? It just means I won't be hungry as soon as if I had stopped a little bit sooner. It has made a difference in my overall satsifaction and anxiety level for sure. I don't feel so anxious when I sit down to food like "oh no what if I eat past satisfaction?" But its a process. I realize that one of my main problems has been to read what the goal is and think that is what I need to do from now on every time. And that just isn't the case. It's a step by step slow gradual process of learning to trust yourself and your body.

I have also been re reading The Overfed Head and that has helped me immensely with the "good food bad food" conundrum I was having.

My experience with eating at a hunger level of 1 and eating until only satisfaction was disastrous and then i moved past it. At first I forced myself to wait until dire hunger level 1 and stay that way just so that I would learn what this hunger business was all about. I never felt hunger before, not in a real physical sense. Once I got the hang of what physical hunger felt like I started eating only until satisfaction. That was the awful part, being satisfied is not enough for me and I accept that. I have to eat until slightly full. Then my mind turns away from food for a long time. It's a learning process and in still tweaking in some ways however I never get below a 2 in hunger and never go below an 8 in fullness. I will stay like this for as long as necessary and then will into experiment going down to. 7.8 in fullness lol.

I take these steps very seriously, I never plan on restricting anything at all. I pay no attention to nutritional needs whatsoever. I try not to put too much emphasis on the healthy food I eat. My only criteria for food is that it has to look appealing, and thoroughly enjoyable.

I still practice IE although I never lost all I wanted.

Hi Carol! Nice to see you! Like I mentioned, I have been reading the old IE threads and I thought I saw you mention that you lost 50 pounds?

More like 40lb. And at leasst I haven't gained it back.