CC, that's too funny about the page 18. But you're right! I didn't realize that IS where they stick their diets! ha ha!.....wish I had the money I've wasted on those magazines over the years...
Hunger scale Rating your appetite can help you reduce your calorie intake and lose weight by preventing overeating. In his book The Blue Zones, author Dan Buettner explains that the Okinawans of Japan (who live very long lives) adopt the concept of hara hachi bu ("Eat until 80 percent full"). The hunger scale is similar: On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is ravenous and 10 is stuffed, eat when you're at a 3 or 4, and stop when you reach a 6 or 7. Never get too hungry (or you'll eat more than you need) or too full (which means you may have consumed too many calories).
I hope y'all don't mind if I come back to IE. Just doesn't make sense to do anything else. Eating intuitively is so much easier and freeing. I honestly think I eat less and I know I am more satisfied when I eat what I want when I want it. I'm tired of trying to get all this and that "healthy" foods into my day. I've got to read up on past posts. I think I still have the old archives marked, not sure and I'm going to go back to reading them as well.
Y'all have a great day!
Thanks Carolr. I think I will do better if I stay away from reading about different diets as that seems to be where I get messed up. I guess it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks as they say. And that old "diet thinking" that maybe there is something out there that will work easier. And then I get caught up in the hype and then find it really doesn't work. One day, I decided to just eat what I wanted when I wanted and right down the calories/WW pts and I found that I am satisfied way before I eat as much as they think we should eat. That has always been my major problem with dieting. I just don't think it is smart to eat when you are not hungry because that just stretches the tummy... defeating the purpose. It goes back to the old saying that "if you keep doing the same old thing that you have always done, you will keep getting the same old results". Don't think I quoted it exactly right but the same meaning. LOL
So my plan is to stop even reading about any other diet sites and just learn to listen to my body and eat when it lets me kno it wants to eat and eat what it signals to me that it wants.
Carol, you just find the best information! I was just on amazon looking through that book The Blue Zones that you mentioned, and the excerpts seem fascinating (can you tell I'm a sucker for good books?). Sigh. Another one on order.
Thanks for posting about that. I actually have a book about how the Okinawans eat, and it is very interesting indeed. They follow "non dieting" weight loss principles and they don't even know it! No wonder they're so slim.
Thanks for posting about that. I actually have a book about how the Okinawans eat, and it is very interesting indeed. They follow "non dieting" weight loss principles and they don't even know it! No wonder they're so slim.
Found this when searching and reading different sites on IE and found it very helpful. Hope it will be helpful for others as well.
7 Habits of Successful Intuitive Eaters
by nina v on December 20, 2010
This week the focus is on intuitive eating and how those with disordered eating habits can be restored to a place of being able to eat intuitively, mindfully and without the guilt that can arise after eating food that has typically been labeled as “forbidden”.
When I first started on my journey towards becoming an intuitive eater, I found it very helpful to examine the habits and attitudes of those people who were “normal eaters”. Here are the main 7 habits that they exhibit:
1. Intuitive Eaters do not label food as good or bad. No food is off limits – the only requirement is that they are genuinely hungry for that particular food. They do not adhere to any diet rules, eating plans and do not avoid food simply because it has been labeled by others as “unhealthy”. They tap into the wisdom of their own body to decide what they will eat.
2. Intuitive Eaters eat food that they actually like. They have the freedom to choose what they want to eat without fear and would only eat something if they had a genuine hunger and desire for it.
3. Intuitive Eaters only think about food when it is time to eat. This means that they do not spend time creating food plans, reading labels and crafting diet plans far in advance. They trust that their own body will provide them with the best plan and advice on what to eat.
4. Intuitive Eaters eat when they feel hungry. This is the key! They know how to recognize hunger based on internal cues, as opposed to external ones like diets or rigid calorie controlled plans.
5. Intuitive Eaters do not obsess about what they ate after they have finished their meal. Once a meal is done, it is over. There are no rigorous gym workouts to compensate, no eating guilt or remorse.
6. Intuitive Eaters do not eat for emotional reasons. They eat to satisfy physical as opposed to emotional hunger. They also recognize the difference and when emotional hunger arises it can be nurtured in more appropriate ways like social connection, exercise, sleep or creative expression.
7. Intuitive Eaters enjoy their food. Being an intuitive eater certainly does not mean that you are not able to enjoy the food that you are eating. Quite the opposite is true. Food is meant to be flavorful and enjoyed, and those who are in touch with their bodies know exactly what they are hungry for and eating is a pleasure. They also know when they have had enough and their natural satiety signals kick in and they stop.
Carol, the name of the book is The Okinawa Diet Plan. The author wrote two books on the subject, but that's the one I like. I hate how they give it that name - publishers probably pushed the word "diet." It really talks about how they eat foods naturally low in caloric density and gives the obligatory recipes, calorie counts, etc., basically turning a culture's way of eating into another diet. I just ignore that.
Another interesting book I learned about is called Why the Chinese Don't Count Calories.
I like reading about the eating habits of cultures that have traditionally always been "thin." What I've learned is the bottom line they all have in common is focusing on foods with low caloric density (called Volumetrics). They just do that naturally.
Welcome back Trish. And thank you for that article. I might even tape that on my refrigerator...
Plugging along here. Have just lost another 2 lbs. Slow but steady.
I have added exercise, but I try to keep that separate from IE. I am exercising to feel better and be a little healthier, not so much to lose weight.
IE is the constant regardless of if I exercise or not.
Glad to see the board is a little more lively lately! Hi to everyone.
Joyceln Thanks for the name of the Chinese book. I went to Amazon.com to order the book and they are out of new books and had only one used. Checked another place online and it said they were out of stock. I also found a website for the author of the book and the 15 secrets were posted there. So I copied them. I'm posting them here. Hope maybe I can read the book.
The Fifteen Chinese Secrets to staying thin...
By Lorraine Clissold, author of Why the Chinese Don’t Count Calories
‘Why the Chinese Don’t Count Calories encapsulates a fascinating food culture into fifteen secrets that enable the reader to enjoy food, eat more and feel better.
1. Stop counting calories
Find out how the Chinese consume more calories than Americans but keep slimmer
2. Think of vegetables as dishes
Learn why Chinese chefs give vegetables the same attention as the finest cut of meat
3. Fill up on staple foods
Dispel your fears about carbs: staple foods have kept billions of Chinese people fit and slim for thousands of years
4. Eat until you're full
Accept that, if you eat the right foods, it is possible to eat until you are satisfied three times a day
5. Take liquid food
See how simple soups and Chinese porridge can help you lose weight
6. Bring yin and yang into your kitchen
Discover a mix of different cooking methods and a range of ingredients to keep your body in balance
7. Balance the flavours
Understand how the Chinese diet nourishes the five energy centres of the body by encompassing five different flavours
8. Master your ingredients
Simple techniques from the Chinese kitchen can transform your cooking and eating experience
9. Choose 'live' over 'dead' or processed foods
Instead of calorie counting take on board the concept of 'qi' or lifeforce and improve the quality of your diet
10. Respect the body's climate
Find out why salads and ice-drinks may be preventing you from losing weight
11. Use food to keep you fit
Learn how Chinese people go to the larder not to the chemist when they feel out of sorts
12. Make an occasion of meals
Explore the idea of a meal as an opportunity for giving and sharing more than just food
13. Drink green and herbal teas
Enhance your new diet with energizing brews
14. Take restorative exercise
Say goodbye to punishing regimes and learn to exercise without getting out of bed
15. Avoid extremes in all areas of your life
When you realise that food is only one aspect of a philosophy that has helped Chinese people live in harmony with nature for thousands of years you will be better equipped to face the stresses of modern living
To find out more about how China's age old food culture can keep you fit and slim while eating delicious meals read 'Why the Chinese Don't Count Calories'.
Blues Traveler Thanks for the welcome back. I did print a copy of the article as well as the one I found on the 15 Chinese Secrets. They both have very good guidelines.
Carolr I noticed there seems to be loads of IE information online these days which makes a lot of good reading out there.
I've had a busy day which has helped with the eating some. I went to the store and bought groceries and I shopped with the idea of "what do I want that I like" rather than what do I need to get because the latest "diet" says I need to eat it. I actually enjoyed shopping and I got a good combo of healthy and "play" foods.
I went to the store and bought groceries and I shopped with the idea of "what do I want that I like" rather than what do I need to get because the latest "diet" says I need to eat it. I actually enjoyed shopping and I got a good combo of healthy and "play" foods.
So I've been focusing on adopting intuitive eating and remembered this great article for people who are struggling to transition...
Here is how to transition from restrictive eating on a low calorie diet to Intuitive Eating without falling head first into an endless binge.
Know Where You are Coming From
The first step is to assess your starting point. How many weeks/months/years have you been eating according to some pre-determined system that counts calories, portions, or food groups? If it has been a long time, then expecting to be able to adopt the principals of Intuitive Eating without any issues is
You need to take ease yourself in gently or you will feel out of control and quickly scurry back to the safety of a traditional diet.
- Eat When You are Hungry -
From Dieting to Disordered Eating : A Cautionary Tale
Sarah's weight loss success was effortless and rapid. By eating less than her normal portions, eating only healthy food and exercising daily, she quickly dropped 50 pounds and was suddenly the smallest she had ever been in her life. Step 1 Modification -- only eat when you are physically hungry
The simplest thing about this approach to conscious eating is that the cue to eat is familiar and unmistakable. It is when your stomach is empty and starts to rumble. True hunger is the physical sensation you have tried to ignore when you have been limiting what you eat. When you start to feel physical hunger look at the clock and then wait 30 minutes until you eat your meal.
Things to avoid
- having a post workout meal if you are not hungry
- eating every 3 hours if you are not hungry
- not eating when you are hungry because it was only a short time since you ate
- delaying your next meal until a pre determined time on the clock
- eating because you still have calories left for the day
- not eating when you are hungy because you have no calories left for the day
- carb loading or free meals
- starting this journey when you are pre-menstrual
that's only step 1, this atricle is really helpful for people getting started..
Since I haven't made enough posts yet I can't put the link,
but if you google "How to Transition to Intuitive Eating after a Low Calorie Diet", you should be able to find it.
back Trish.
And then I get caught up in the hype and then find it really doesn't work. One day, I decided to just eat what I wanted when I wanted and right down the calories/WW pts and I found that I am satisfied way before I eat as much as they think we should eat. That has always been my major problem with dieting. I just don't think it is smart to eat when you are not hungry because that just stretches the tummy... defeating the purpose. It goes back to the old saying that "if you keep doing the same old thing that you have always done, you will keep getting the same old results". Don't think I quoted it exactly right but the same meaning. LOL
