Yea, to each his own. I needed shrinkage and analysis because I had a profound eating disorder driven by emotional issues from traumatic events. For me it was the only way out. But I could only take them as I needed them, no shrinkage was useful before it's time. The last "shrinking" and shrinking book was the last I'll likely ever need. I'll probably find the other books mentioned useful if I need them, which thus far I haven't. I am also anti-rule. I let a few basic principles guide me and I'm carrying on. I will never ever diet again. I'd rather be fat.

A good Monday morning to everyone!

I typed out the "Six Practices of People who follow their Thintuition" this morning to put up on my wall. So I thought I'd share them here to start out this new week.


1. I distinguish between appetite and hunger.

2. I eat to satisfy physical hunger.

3. I eat the foods I desire.

4. I savor each and every bite.

5. I regard food as fuel.

6. I stop eating when my hunger disappears.



Wishing everyone a wonderful week! :grouphug:

SoutherMaven Thanks for the list. I'm going to make a copy of that and put it on my fridge. I like that better than the original 4 that we had years ago.

What a strange experience I'm having. I don't think I can count calories or anything any more. I think it sets me up to overeat or indulge. Give me a limit of 1700 calories and I may not be hungry for but 900 or so, knowing I can have 1700 just gives me the go ahead to eat more. So no more counting any thing. Just eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm satisfied. That's it.

Hope all will have a great week.

Hi... I've been out of town to take care of my stepmom who shattered her femur bone. She's had surgery and is now in rehab for 6 weeks. I'll be going back. It's SO easy to get back to mindless eating. This is true, especially, because I had only been doing it for about ten days. The good news is that while I was away I only gained three pounds. I am grateful for that. Back to being more mindful.

Hope you all have a great day.

Trish - You're more than welcome. Even though IE is really the most natural thing in the world, for those of us trying to exit dietmania it's not always as easy as it sounds. I couldn't believe how much I'd strayed from the general principles that Rob lays out, and the weight that I'd lost from following the plan just crept right back on. But I'm not going to stress over it, just learn from it and move on.

Beverlyjoy, I am so sorry to hear about your stepmom. That is just awful. I hope she heals soon and has no lasting repercussions.

Believe me I know how easy it is to stray, esp. when under stress. But you are correct; just move forward and don't worry about the weight you gained. In the diet mentality I would have gone into panic mode and tried crash dieting to get the weight off, but no more of that for me.

You know, if you really want a great reminder of how unsuccessful dieting is in the long run, you have to go no further than the Introductions section of this very forum. If you monitor it for a couple of days, you see a definite pattern emerge. Notice the large number of "returning" dieters and the constant mantra of "I lost xxx # of pounds, but then gained (all, most, or more) of it back." And just perusing the forums in general you see this same refrain. People trying this diet, that diet, the other diet. It's never-ending.

I, for one, am done with it. I'd love to convince each and every one of them to STOP THE MADNESS but unfortunately people have to come to it in their own way. Occasionally I'll see someone post that they are trying to eat intuitively and I'll invite them over here, but unless they bring it up themselves I don't try and push.

IE and impatience can be an issue for me. If I "diet" I get quick results but IE is a slower paced but more reliable and safe vehicle for permanent change.

It's like driving a reliable old Saab and getting to your destination in one piece or driving a high performance car that breaks down halfway there. I'm feeling so good I'd like faster results but I know better.

I'm at a point where I lost momentum on previous dieting attempts. I got to roughly 210ish, was deep into "white knuckle" territory and failed. If I can rein in my impatience and carry on like I have been, I will get there no doubt but slower than I'd like. Akin to eating consciously I need to breathe and enjoy the body I have at this moment.

Just my affirmation for today from a recovered binge eater and serial dieter.

One day at a time.

Cat

Hi!
can you explain me plzzzz what do you mean by "intuitive eating "?? :?:

Intuitive Eating is learning how to follow the signals of feeling hungry by our bodies rather than following a diet and a clock. When we were born, we only ate when we were hungry. However, over the years we learned to eat when it was "time" to eat according to our environment and people around us. As we got older and became weight conscious, we learned to follow "diet plans" that told us what to eat and when to eat it.

Intuitive Eating is learning to tune into our bodily signals that we seem to have lost over the years. People who master this seem to be able to lose weight automatically although slowly. I personally believe we our main problem and reason for the slow loss is because we struggle so much with the ideas of diet ideas and thinking that we have to unlearn so that we can recognize those hunger signals. At least it is for me. Just when I think I have gotten to the place where I'm not thinking like a diet, I find myself slipping back into it. So we have to realize that unlearning the diet thoughts and ideas that causes us to continue losing and gaining has to become a process. And the hard part for me is patience. I think what SouthernMaven wrote earlier best describes how to eat Intuitively so I am quoting her here...

Quote:

1. I distinguish between appetite and hunger. 2. I eat to satisfy physical hunger. 3. I eat the foods I desire. 4. I savor each and every bite. 5. I regard food as fuel. 6. I stop eating when my hunger disappears.

There lots of books to read on Intuitive Eating, but most of us have come to
favor The Overfed Head by Rob Stevens.

Hope this helps.

I am going through the exact same thing right now and I couldn't have said what you did any better. Good luck on your journey as we go through this together. ONE DAY AT A TIME!!!

Have a great weekend.

Welcome newhealth!

Trish did a great job summarizing what IE is. What it is NOT is a diet; quite the opposite. It's learning to follow your body's hunger and fullness signals. It doesn't mean we can eat whatever we want, whenever we want. We can eat whatever we want when we are hungry and stop when we are full...not stuffed.

I want to clarify that those six tenets that Trish quoted are not my words but the words of the author of the Overfed Head, Rob Stevens. You can read The Overfed Head for free online. Google "Overfed Head pdf" and the link will come right up. (don't use the quotes). It's absolutely the best book on Intuitive Eating I've read - and I've read a lot of them.

SouthernMaven I love your Avatar "I eat carbs". I do too and I eat meals now without meat or protein.

I saw cooking show last night where they were making a really easy vegetable soup. So I got up this morning and put on small pot of a vegetable soup with a beef broth and organic stewed tomato base. Used some of the frozen veggies I had bought for stir-fry etc. and added some lentils for protein. I made enough to have it for supper for a few nights. And it tastes sooooo good and a wonderful filling change. I love salads, but I get tired of them all the time and I'm really tired of low carb diets. With cold weather coming around the corner, this is going to be such a nice change.

Y'all have a great weekend.

I went to our very favorite Indian restaurant today for lunch. They have a buffet which is always awesome. Weight loss and buffets don't normally go hand in hand so I have to be careful with the old eyes bigger than my stomach problem.

Today I took about 3-4 tablespoons of the two things I normally like to eat, vegetable korma (dessert) and chicken tikki masala in small bowls, no rice. I tried the braised mixed vegetables about a cup's worth (delightful) about a cup of lamb curry (new dish) and one piece of naan.

This constitutes quite a bit less than half of what I normally ate at this particular buffet. Lunch is our "big" meal of the day. The food was so good and flavorful that I didn't miss the excess quantity nor did I feel the need to "get my money's worth" by overeating.

This was one place I that could have failed but felt up to the challenge. Another day at a time.

Cat

As I think I've mentioned before, my hobby is entering sweepstakes. Well, right now there's one going on that requires you to submit a video telling your thoughts on a certain fast-food chain's new flatbread sandwich.

No purchase is ever required for a sweepstakes entry; that said, if they're going to give me the opportunity to win $6000, I don't have a problem springing for a sandwich. After all, the sweepstakes are there for them to promote product and as an avid "sweeper" I want to do all in my power to encourage companies to keep it up. If this method of advertising works for them, I want to support it as it keeps my hobby a viable one.

So I decided to purchase one of the sandwiches and use it in my video. I took a bite or two out of it and then videotaped it on my phone with my thoughts about the sandwich as per the rules. I then submitted it. The video is not judged; it is a random drawing. In fact, one of my local sweepstakes club members has already won one of the weekly $6000 prizes. How cool is that?

I wasn't crazy about the sandwich; in fact, I didn't like it very much at all. And I bought it really early in the day because it's already raining here and is going to get much worse so I wanted to get back home asap. So in fairness to the sandwich itself, I really wasn't in the mood for it. I took my few bites, made my video, and then promptly threw it away. (Offered it to my husband and he didn't want it either).

In the past I would have dutifully determined the calories in the sandwich, put it in my calorie counter, and then choked it down, regardless of how it tasted. Because I had "planned" for it.

No more. I didn't like it, I chunked it. Simple as that. Frankly I am hungry but I just can't decide what sounds good right now. Since I have now learned that hunger is NOT an emergency, I can wait until my head decides what my stomach wants! :)

What freedom!

It's so nice to see everyone having successes! I am still doing well too, I'm down to another new low 121.4 I don't even know what to think about it. Like in the overfed head the guy had a goal in mind but his body naturally dropped even more than that, the same is happening here. I'm aiming for 115 but I'll let my body decide along the way.
So much about my eating has changed. Since I'm honoring my hunger and only eating when truly hungry and only what I'm truly hungry for I find myself having chicken fried rice for breakfast or skipping lunch completely because I'm just not hungry. I eat peanut m&ms with no guilt when I want something sweet, just a few and my sweet tooth is satisfied and I'm happy to put the rest away or share them with the kids. No more tracking, or counting or beating myself up if I break a rule etc, its liberating. I am so excited to see where my body takes me and where my weight ends up. My size 5s are loose! Just nuts lol

I decided to wait till I was really hungry yesterday and got by with 2 meals. But today I think I waited too long because I ate my 2nd meal at 1pm even though I had breakfast at 10am. I don't think I'll make it till bed because we are having company at 6pm.