Ok, pals, I have another peeve - "Secrets." I just got some email (again) trying to entice me to learn weight loss "secrets." First of all, it's not a secret if it is something you are sending to hundreds of thousands of people, is it? How can that be a secret???
Click here for "beauty secrets of the stars" ARRRGH! -- they aren't secrets!!!!!!!
Second of all, when you click on the dang thing it's never anything new, just stuff you've heard all along.... where is the big SECRET? That's like saying "not to mention" and then mentioning whatever it is that you weren't going to mention.
Now if I have a SECRET, then, it's a secret so why am I going to tell somebody what it is?
I don't get it.

Welcome, Ebb. Had a funny day today. Had soy milk and wasa crisp bread for breakfast and then went to cook 440 meat balls for a Bible conference later this month. I had help, of course, but then my DD wanted to go shopping. I was really tired but said yes. After shopping for a few hr. she wanted to eat. I wasn't starving but agreed. Funny thing, after we ate I was really hungry. ha! Couldn't seem to get satisfied.

Then it probably wasn't really hunger, but you stimulated your appetite. (??)

Hi Ebb!

Spiny - I feel LOTS better today, thank you!

Carol, I just did something a bit like that - I ate a (HEALTHY) muffin for a small snack and was hungrier after than before. I know what you mean about stimulating appetite Spiny. Fortunately I've had lunch now and feel satisfied again. I'll probably be ok till round about 3pm, when I have some more nice things with me to eat Then the 'rents are coming tonight and that will be the real test. I tend to regress to 14 year old eating habits, ie eating everything in sight!!!

Oooh and a small IE victory last night - I waited until DH came home to eat my dinner. When I got in I'm usually starving, but yesterday I realised that I wasn't so I sat down with a cup of tea and a tiny snack just to put me on. Then DH came back and we had jacket potatoes. I swear mine was about the size of a child's fist! Then after that I decided to make healthy muffins and DH wanted me to make something else because he didn't like them last time I made them! He he he, all the more for me So I made cherry oatmeal cookies. They were pretty fab, and I managed to bake the whole lot and only eat about a teaspoon of mixture, licked the almost-clean bowl and then had 2 tiny tiny cookies. Then after that I could leave the rest alone!!!! They even made it to the cake tin Then I sent DH with a load for work and there's 4 left for me, DH, mum and dad tonight

THEN after that I baked those healthy muffins that I originally intended to bake and I didn't even want to eat one. I just put them in the fridge for today.

So 3 victories in one day I'm really really noticing that my attitude to food is shifting dramatically. I've noticed there are times when I don't even think about food! There are times when I've just eaten and don't want to eat more!

Can anyone explain that "stimulating the appetite" idea a little fruther? How does that happen? 2frus, Can we get that recipe for cherry oatmeal cookies? Sounds good.

You know how people pass round little vol au vents or crudites or crostini as "appetisers". I think what happens is that if you eat just a little bit of something when your body isn't hungry, it still whets your appetite and your body expects more. I think because all the digestive juices etc get all revved up even when you eat just a tiny bit, then your body is ready and waiting for more and is trying to get you to eat.

Also, how about the GI of your meal. Was it white bread/highly processed? Stuff like that tends to make you hungrier quicker. I did think about how my muffin should've made me feel and it was full of rye flour and hardly any sugar, plenty of pears and nuts and a little bit of fat so I KNOW that I shouldn't have been hungry, but my body obviously wanted more, since it was preparing to digest a lot!

I'll have to post the recipe for cherry cookies on Monday - it's at home and I'm at work!

There are certain foods that stimulate appetite due to how your body processes them...for example sugar and other refined carbs. One of the side effects of eating them is that it screws up your body's sensitivity to leptin, which is one of the satiety hormones. Insulin also plays a role.

Which is one of the reasons I've cut out processed foods.

When I have time I'll try to find you an article on it.

Thanks, Fiddler and 2frus. I just bought Andrew Weils book about aging and he has a lot of interesting explanatioins about out bodies.

I love this thread. I have yet to read a book on intuitive eating (thinking about picking up a book at the library tomorrow) but I read a few threads about intuitive eating here and it felt as if the thread itself was yelling out to me, "Look here! This is for you!" I've tried Atkins and South Beach, tried Weight Watchers for a little while as well. But I am so tired of counting calories, or carbs or points, or making sure I ate 6 mini-meals a day, even though I wasn't hungry. I gained so much weight because I'd give in to my cravings and eat, eat, eat! And once I had something "illegal", I'd beat myself up about it, thinking, "Well, I ruined my diet by eating this one thing. I might as well just quit." And then I'd go back to binging. It was a vicious cycle.

Then I learned about intuitive eating. And it makes so much sense to me. I need to learn to differentiate between a craving and actual physical hunger. That's what I've been doing all day today and I'm so surprised to learn that after my healthy and filling breakfast (which amounted to a almost 300 calories) I haven't felt hungry since. Craved food, sure, but not really felt hungry! And somehow, the knowledge of being able to differentiate the two makes it so easy to resist cravings.

I can't wait to read the book!

Welcome Dawn. There are a lot of books on IE. The Overfed Head is simple and short and the one I have enjoyed the most.

Hi Dawn -
I'm looking forward to your posts!

jo

Welcome Dawn!

Hello! I'm a stuffed-Frus today

I just about coped on Saturday with IE, however I did have stupid ice cream and cheesecake when I wasn't hungry, but

Yesterday I just blew it completely and this morning I am not hungry at all, so it's 9am and I haven't had breakfast yet - just 2 pints of water and a cup of tea!

I know why I ate at the weekend - it's the 'rents. For some reason they just stress me out, and DH can be a little abrasive with them and it winds me up big time. Also Dad is just getting bigger at the moment and he ate loads of yesterday. I am quite worried about him but he won't ever take the hint. Mum is doing well and is really excited about her new gym and losing weight and stuff.

So I feel like the damage I did yesterday will be undone today with a nice run at lunch and perhaps a long cycle ride on Wednesday if the weather holds.

Looking forward to getting my head back in the game this week and am going to try and lose a little bit of weight.

Beginning of an interesting post. Has IE all over it in my opinion

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106909

Second Link Added Later. Also thought provoking and I think it is about the same article.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106954

I'm not an IE person but I have been reading a book that I thought some of you might find is interesting. It is called "If Buddha Came to Dinner". Although non religion specific, it talks about eating what your "spirit" wants rather than what your stomach/head want. Also talks about the quality of the foods you eat and nourishing your body with those foods rather than just eating for eatings sake. I'm not done with the book but it is kind of interesting so far.

Anyway, I thought since it is on the vein of IE, that it might be something interesting to read. The book also has some recipes but I haven't looked too far into those yet.

Nelie, thank you for that recommendation - that is right up my proverbial alley! Another one I liked and am reading the second time around is "The Yoga Of Eating," it sounds like the Buddha book is along the same theme. Oh Boy, Amazon loves me!