Thanks for the suggestions. :-)
I really think my biggest problem is stress and anxiety during the work week. I have always dealt with a problem of comfort eating. While I have made huge strides in that area I still end up just feeling physically more hungry on work days than on days off. When I get home from work that starving feeling is real hunger but amplified by my stress. I have been making a real effort to change the habit of unwinding with food after a rough day. When I get home from work I am going to take a walk to help release some of my pent up energy from the day and then try to relax in a non food way until my family gets home. I always seem to do better with these things with people around.

I do know that I need to workout more. I am fairly active in my day to day life. Right now I am doing a lot of walking, running around in the park with my kids, swimming, things like that. I used to do weight training and really loved it but I kinda gave up when my gym membership expired. I really want to get back into it.

I struggle with breakfast too. My job is such that I can only eat during break times so I don't have the luxury of snacking while I work if I get hungry. I think I need to get over the fear of hunger. I often eat before work because I don't want to be hungry at work. Being a little hungry is not the end of the world. I get my first break not too far into the workday. I keep trying to remind myself of that.

I would say to eat if its a choice between being not quite hungry yet or starving a few hours later.

I had a good weekend with my nephews, but could definitely see a difference from when I'm alone and can just sit and focus on eating and my satisfaction level. Having two kids there, along with all the activity and talking, meant that I was eating in a more distracted manner than usual. Still I didn't do too badly.

I've also noticed that when I get myself in tune with IE for a day or two I start to feel more confident and calm and happier in general. And that's a good feeling to strive for.

Oh - and note to Spryng -you asked me for my recipe for baked spaghetti. I don't have a recipe per se, but here's how I make it:

Cook 8-12 ounces of spaghetti (depending on how big a casserole pan you have), drain and set aside. I use Ancient Harvest corn/quinoa pasta, BTW.
Cook ground beef (or turkey, or sausage or whatever you prefer) along with some diced onion & peppers & garlic & mushrooms (as you see fit). You could leave out the meat too if you prefer vegetarian.
Add a couple jars of pasta sauce to the meat mixture. Don't skimp on the sauce, this dish is better juicy than dry.
Beat an egg or two and about a half cup of milk together and mix it in with the pasta. Then stir in 4-8 ounces of shredded cheese (whatever variety you like or have on hand)
Pour the spaghetti mix into a 9X13 or larger casserole pan. Pour the meat/sauce mixture over it. Top with another 8 oz of shredded cheese (mozzarella is good on the top but anything will do)
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until the top is bubbly. Let it sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Thanks for the recipe! Looks delicious! :)

My week has been pretty good so far. Still working on pseudo hunger vs true hunger but I'm doing a good job so far. My dh wanted to make me a gluten free cake last night but I turned him down because I had just finished dinner and was completely satisfied and knew I wouldn't be hungry again before bed so nope, I'll pass, maybe I'll have some on the 4th :)

Anyone have big holiday plans? We are doing the 4th at our house this year, not sure what all we are making yet, I really want shish kabobs over some rice, Mmmmmmm...

Hi everyone!

My husband and I are leaving wed around 4:00 pm heading to Louisville, KY for for days to watch our oldest grandson (15 yrs) play baseball with his traveling team. Next week they go to East cobb, Ga for a week, he's a left hand pitcher and plays left center, right center, third base and sometimes 1st. Lol very versatile!!! I'm excited because he's been playing in tournaments for 4 wks and this is the first time we will get to go and watch him play. Staying at a hotel so i'm hoping all goes well with eating.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July!!! :carrot::carrot:

I'm going to be traveling as well, but more for work than pleasure.

In addition to my "day job" as a librarian, I am also a musician and that means that I'm often working at that job on holidays. So this afternoon I'll be driving about 5 hours, staying overnight at a motel, performing all day on the 4th and then driving home late. From what I remember of this gig most of the food available is of the funnel cake and hot dog variety so I'm packing a small cooler of fruit and nuts and cheese so I'll have plenty of GF snacks that I can get to.

On the good side I'll be busy and I generally don't have problems with wanting to overeat when I'm busy. I think a lot of my mindless eating crops up when I get bored.

I have this coming weekend completely free though, and I'm planning to relax and have my holiday then.

Have a Happy Fourth everyone!

Yeah tomorrow won't be a big deal for eating but this weekend DH and I are going out of town to meet up with some friends for an adult only weekend. I desperately need it, I've been surrounded by 7 kids all summer and need some adult conversation and an adult drink or two lol I'm not sure if it will be a challenge or not though, my friend in which we are visiting is an amazing cook and she knows I'm gluten free so she's planning on making all these dishes "just for me" which I keep telling her not to. Don't go out of your way for me, just make what you want to make and I'll eat what I can. If they make "special" stuff for me then I feel obligated to eat it or eat more of it to make them feel good for making it.. it's a double edge sword for sure. So what would YOU do? I'm gonna try my best to not get sucked into feeling like I need to over eat to show her how much I appreciate the effort and the food but just eat the IE way and verbally rave about it all to make her see how much I appreciate the effort. I don't want to over eat and feel stuffed, when I'm stuffed I just feel miserable and don't wanna get off the couch or bed to do anything and this weekend I want to feel light and energetic as we are planning some fun shopping, maybe a water park, casino etc.. I need to NOT over eat :)

I'd just eat a little of everything.

I think that is what I'll do too, I'll eat when I'm actually hungry and a few bites of everything she made special for me, but I'll stop when full. I want her to know how much I appreciate the work she went to but not at the expense of feeling crappy when I over eat :) gotta find that balance :)

Happy 4th of July everyone! Hope you are all enjoying friends and family and some great food too :) I just finished prepping the shish kabobs (chicken and steak, tons of veggies) corn on the cob, and I made some delicious G-free pasta salad....I'm so ready to enjoy today :)

Yesterday was great! I was so proud of myself for eating the IE way yesterday, it was nice to go to bed last night feeling light and not miserable :) Now this weekend will be my first real social challenge. I'm hoping I do just as well, just because everyone else might be pigging out does not mean I have to join them!

Well my weekend went all wrong, I overate but not to the point where I was miserable! Enjoyed 4 days with my daughter, son in law and three grandsons and of course my husband. Ate whatever I wanted but feel like I stopped when I was satisfied but I think I ate a lot even tho I wasn't miserable. But you know what I had a wonderful time. Tomorrow is a new day and I have no regrets! Hope everyone had a great holiday!

Not being miserable is a success! I have a success to share as well, so yesterday I did fantastic eating the IE way, we all went for cold stone creamery icecream and I got the smallest bowl, I got half sea salt caramel and half banana icecream and began to eat...well the sea salt caramel was delicious, the banana was just ok, so I ended up eating only the sea salt caramel because that is what I was truly hungry for and threw the rest out. I'm definitely learning to honor my hunger and to not waste my meals on just "ok" stuff. I was so proud of myself because normally I'd eat it all because it was a tiny bowl and who cares right? Nah....I just wanted to savor my treat and only the part that was downright delicious :)
How is everyone this weekend? We are headed back home today and I have to say I have not over ate once this weekend...I feel light and energetic, love it :) now I'm ready to start my week :)

well it's monday... back to the grind.. how did everyone survive the holiday weekend? I suprised myself over the weekend, I thought I'd be stressed out trying to eat IE with being at our friend's house and all her home cooking etc but it really wasn't.
My DH has been doing IE with me, he's lost about 3 lbs now. Well on our 4 hour drive home yesterday he had some reeses pieces and ate a few, then he said, do you have any m&m's in your purse, which I did (for emergencies lol) and I said yes but let me ask you, are you wanting them because you are hungry or because you are driving and bored and want something to munch on? he got really thoughtful and said, you know what? I don't want them, I'm not hungry lol I laughed and said, yeah those are habits we forget about, wanting to snack while on a long drive or eating while watching a movie or reading a book or surfing the net, just for something to do while doing the other activity.. but like him, you gotta take a sec, check your hunger and then decide do I want it because I need fuel or because it's just habit then go from there, I was so proud of him for turning them down :) Baby steps for us ALL :)

My IE ambitions crumbled a bit over the last couple weeks with holiday travel and excessive heat. I lose all focus on my efforts when I'm miserable. But over the last couple days, I've refocused on what I want to achieve and I feel more on top of things today.

This morning I wasn't hungry as I left the house, so I did my Pilates workout in a fasted state. I'm feeling bendy and energized now! Still not hungry. My goal for today is to work up to a real state of hunger and enjoy my meal. I'm looking forward to a big salad with tuna and home-grown tomatoes in it. I am so happy for tomato season!

Yesterday I spent the day cleaning house and getting all the laundry done. When the clutter is gone and I'm on top of chores, life goes better for me, especially my mental/emotional state. Hope my sons don't dismantle everything by the time I get home, or there will be HE** to pay!