Freelancemomma - Honestly I thought about you while reading this book. I know you are a writer and I think you would enjoy this book. It's quite scholarly in my opinion and I had to really concentrate and read a few things several times to really grasp what was being said. It's been many years since I've read something like that that is not really written in laymans terms. Also, this AVRT is the whole basis for the book "Brain over Binge".
Thanks -- I'll be sure to check out the book. My own approach toward overcoming "addiction" has been unorthodox to say the least. Even with smoking, which most people consider an all-in or all-out proposition, I made the decision to put firm and restrictive boundaries around the behaviour rather than say "never again." I didn't want to be a smoker, but I didn't find the idea of "never again" palatable, either. So... I only smoke when I'm out of town on business, which happens about 6 to 8 times a year. I've been doing this for years and it seems to be working fine.
It looks like I'm following a similar path with eating. I don't like the idea of never bingeing (or perhaps more accurately, never eating with abandon) again, so I've decided to consciously plan for an unbridled food fest about once every two months. It's usually at an all-you-can-eat restaurant or catered event, and never at home, so there are clear limits on the behaviour.
Freelance
Last edited by freelancemomma; 05-06-2013 at 06:45 PM.
I am still reading the THIN book from Josie and really enjoying it. Great content!!!
Thinking about what to read next...Any suggestions?
Great content for sure. Also read Brain over Binge if you haven't already. And of course there is Breaking free of Emotional Eating by Geneen Roth. Also anything by Jack Trimpey. His work is mostly geared towards alcoholism but it is his work that inspired Brain over Binge and is what lead that author to recovery. I liked Brain over Binge, but it had much more significance to me after reading Trimpeys actual work.
Thanks -- I'll be sure to check out the book. My own approach toward overcoming "addiction" has been unorthodox to say the least. Even with smoking, which most people consider an all-in or all-out proposition, I made the decision to put firm and restrictive boundaries around the behaviour rather than say "never again." I didn't want to be a smoker, but I didn't find the idea of "never again" palatable, either. So... I only smoke when I'm out of town on business, which happens about 6 to 8 times a year. I've been doing this for years and it seems to be working fine.
It looks like I'm following a similar path with eating. I don't like the idea of never bingeing (or perhaps more accurately, never eating with abandon) again, so I've decided to consciously plan for an unbridled food fest about once every two months. It's usually at an all-you-can-eat restaurant or catered event, and never at home, so there are clear limits on the behaviour.
Freelance
I think the book could still be helpful even if you decided on clear limits. Your higher brain (conciousness) would be in control of the limits. I guess you could approach it as allowing the animal "brain/addictive voice" free during that time, just like you do with smoking. Obviously that works well with you. I think the only downside to doing something sometimes is that it keeps the brain connection. But that's not neccesarily a bad thing as long as you know you are in full control the other times. Maybe I don't make any sense since you have not yet read the book .
I think the only downside to doing something sometimes is that it keeps the brain connection.
I agree it's a risk, but for me, at this moment, it's a risk worth taking. I might also argue that the brain connection never really fades, even if we quit the behaviour entirely, so either way we need to maintain our vigilance.
So i think i'm ready to take the final step in fully committing to IE: i'm no longer going to count calories. But...HOW??? I am pretty much a walking encyclopedia of the calorie counts of every single thing i eat!! How do i forget that? When i decided to stop weighing, it was easy--i just put the scale away. But how do i turn off my brain to prevent it from adding up calories? I guess i will just try not to think about it--when eating, i'll try to focus on how good the food tastes and how it is making me feel, rather then thinking "ok now i've had 1050 calories today. Now it's 1100. After this sandwich it will be 1400." Kind of a sick way to go through your meal!!
I guess a good way to break the habit would be to eat things that are not in convenient calorie counts (this is also kind of messed up, but i used to try to eat foods in 100-calorie increments to make it easier to count). So maybe i'll eat like half of a 70-calorie cookie or something--just to throw myself off and discourage counting. (foods that aren't exactly 50 or 100 calories become pretty hard to keep track of)
Last edited by surfergirl2; 05-07-2013 at 12:52 PM.
Ha! I guess "stop eating so much processed food" would be an obvious answer! The more i think about it, calorie counting has been a detriment to me. 1) i like eating processed food because i can be sure of how many calories are in it, and 2) i'll often eat MORE to get a nice round number (i.e. if a serving of cereal is 180 calories, i eat 2 extra bites so i can estimate it as 200). With absolutely no regard to how hungry i actually am. I think giving up counting will be a good thing!
This is what I did, and I also did things like buy the big yogurts: that way there is no way of knowing the amount you put into a bowl. I basically just stayed away from single portion sizes where the calories were listed. Also, sometimes I found calorie numbers would pop into my head for single items like an apple for instance, but somehow I could prevent my brain from doing a tally. Maybe not everyone can do that depending on how their brain works, but it actually became easy for me. I don't even think about calories now. I thought it would be really hard, but it turns out it wasn't.
Last edited by veggiedaze; 05-07-2013 at 03:23 PM.
This is what I did, and I also did things like buy the big yogurts: that way there is no way of knowing the amount you put into a bowl. I basically just stayed away from single portion sizes where the calories were listed. Also, sometimes I found calorie numbers would pop into my head for single items like an apple for instance, but somehow I could prevent my brain from doing a tally. Maybe not everyone can do that depending on how their brain works, but it actually became easy for me. I don't even think about calories now. I thought it would be really hard, but it turns out it wasn't.
Yes, another good idea! It's starting to look like this will save me time and money too. I tend to prefer to buy single-serving things (like yogurt) because that way i know exactly how many calories i'm eating without measuring it. Or, if i buy a box of cereal, i'll try to make sure i portion out exactly 200 calories (even though i stopped measuring a couple weeks ago, i still have been eyeballing it). It will be great to focus my energy on more important things now!
It might even encourage me to cook more. Part of the reason i think cooking is a pain is because then i have to calculate how many calories are in each serving.
Last edited by surfergirl2; 05-07-2013 at 03:39 PM.
Great content for sure. Also read Brain over Binge if you haven't already. And of course there is Breaking free of Emotional Eating by Geneen Roth. Also anything by Jack Trimpey. His work is mostly geared towards alcoholism but it is his work that inspired Brain over Binge and is what lead that author to recovery. I liked Brain over Binge, but it had much more significance to me after reading Trimpeys actual work.
I did read BoB and Jack Trimpey, but even though I was impressed they did get my black and white thinking started. I felt like quitting has to be easy and "a piece of cake". I felt like a complete failure all the time so I guess it wasnīt fo rme. But I do believe these are great books and can help other people, just not me.
I stopped counting calories as well or letīs say tracking calories. I am very aware of portion sizes, so I think counting calories isnīt necessarily a bad thing. If you want to get lean/get to a healthy weight - calories matter.
It helped me to just not use MFP anymore and look stuff up. I know that half an avocado is a good portion for me and 2 slices of bread rather than 4. I donīt buy a certain bread because it has 20 calories less per slice, but I know by heart if my meal is more in the 500 or 1000 calorie range.
I donīt think knowing all this is bad - it keeps me aware of portion sizes especially when it comes to processed foods/candy/chips etc. These foods donīt fill me up and once I start there is no "ah I am good, I donīt feel like having more chips". I rather take chips out of the bag and put them in a separate container. I will not go back for seconds though.
I donīt know - I just donīt trust myself with a family size bag of Layīs BBQ. So it takes the stress away for me to portion out 2-3 serving sizes into a separate bowl. Out of curiousity I always check the calories but I donīt feel guilty anymore. I do want to know though what/how much I put into my body. I just donīt add numbers in a meal up. I know that 1 cereal bar is good, but 2 is my bingy eating coming back.
So I guess the not tracking/chasing a number was what really helped me. I have no idea how many calories I eat in a day. Maybe 1500, maybe 2000, maybe only 1200 - I have no clue. I just think about every meal separately and only have 3 meals, no more snacks. If it is not time for breakfast, lunch or dinner - I donīt eat. It is so refreshing to not have to think about foods, snacks, packing foods, preparing foods etc. anymore.
This is what I did, and I also did things like buy the big yogurts: that way there is no way of knowing the amount you put into a bowl. I basically just stayed away from single portion sizes where the calories were listed. Also, sometimes I found calorie numbers would pop into my head for single items like an apple for instance, but somehow I could prevent my brain from doing a tally. Maybe not everyone can do that depending on how their brain works, but it actually became easy for me. I don't even think about calories now. I thought it would be really hard, but it turns out it wasn't.
I think about them LOOSELY sometimes but I do not tally. It's ultra-liberating to just open a container/bottle and pour until it looks like an OK amount. And cooking is SO EASY when you just dump some veggies and meat into a pan or throw in a big tray to roast and don't measure ingredients.
The main reason that I don't want to stop counting calories is that I like to incorporate goodies (e.g., cookies, cake, homemade bread w/ butter, etc) into my weekly total, and I would have to sacrifice most of that if I stopped counting. Those foods still tempt me too much for me to eyeball them. I think I would have to be much more careful about what I eat if I stopped calorie counting.
I think about them LOOSELY sometimes but I do not tally. It's ultra-liberating to just open a container/bottle and pour until it looks like an OK amount. And cooking is SO EASY when you just dump some veggies and meat into a pan or throw in a big tray to roast and don't measure ingredients.
That's kinda how i feel, although it's only been less than a day. I've already realized that you (or at least i) really can't focus on your hunger/fullness sensations if i'm busy counting the calories. I didn't realize, until i stopped doing it, how distracting the calorie counting was.
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