Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 06-11-2007, 11:24 AM   #1  
Intuituve Eater
Thread Starter
 
Obsidianbbw's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: NY/NJ
Posts: 1,128

S/C/G: 378/378/320

Height: 5'7

Talking Intuitive Eating #5

Eat when Your hungry, stop when your satisfied.
Obsidianbbw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-11-2007, 12:12 PM   #2  
Senior Member
 
carolr3639's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 9,181

Default

How are things going for you, Obi? Looks like the scale is treating you well. Summer is finally here and maybe time to put the air conditioner in the window. Today it is watering garden and flowers all day since no rain is in sight. Thanks for starting this Obi.
carolr3639 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-11-2007, 09:21 PM   #3  
Senior Member
 
carolr3639's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 9,181

Default

Stephen Hawks is supposed to be releasing a book soon on IE. Here is an article about him.

PROVO, Utah (MedPage Today) -- Steven Hawks, a professor of health science at Brigham Young University here, says phooey to dieting.

Eat what you want, when you want, says Hawks. Just use common sense.

For most of us it sounds like a formula for obesity. Not so for Hawks. He was on the borderline of obesity when he gave up dieting. Now, living with his new credo, Hawks is 50 pounds lighter.

His secret, he claims, is "intuitive eating."

Clearly out of the mainstream in the conservative world of nutrition, Hawks proselytizes what he calls a common-sense, hunger-based approach to eating. Nothing in intuitive eating, he says, is taboo.

While intuitive eating doesn't involve measuring cups or calculators, it does entail a high degree of self-awareness. The individual must be constantly in sync with the body's satiety signals.

This doesn't mean that when the stomach starts grumbling, Hawks reaches for a candy bar.

"I'm not advocating nutritional ignorance," he said. "If a fruit or vegetable will solve that hunger instead of something from Cinnabon, then I'm going to be intelligent about it and choose the fruit or vegetable."

Nothing in Hawks' background, except 20 years of teaching and research, would seem to qualify him as a scientific guru in nutrition. His has an education doctorate in community health, an MBA in international business, a master's in international studies, and a bachelor's in East Asian studies, all from BYU.

But he teaches, among other courses, body image, self-esteem, and weight control.

And the 46-year-old Hawks practices what he preaches. He keeps a three-foot-tall refrigerator in his office stocked with everything from fruit to ice cream.

Intuitive eating isn't a license to eat badly, he says. Instead, it's a holistic approach that involves being highly attuned to hunger signals, sensible eating, and not denying the body treats like ice cream.

Now a lean 165 pounds at 5-foot-9, Hawks' intuitive eating style is getting increasing attention, most recently a prominent mention in a feature on the failure of dieting in U.S. News and World Report.

Chubby childhood
Hawks says he used to feel like a hypocrite, teaching nutrition while struggling with his own weight, a battle that had followed him since childhood.

"Third grade kids called me 'fatty,' " he said. This pivotal point was followed by years of dieting, short-lived weight loss, regained weight, and a constant undercurrent of failure, Hawks said.

Even though Hawks had jogged regularly since high school, the weight problems never went away. Junk food was banned from the house much to his six kids' dismay. He tried multiple diets, but nothing worked.

"Before I started intuitive eating, I would skip breakfast and then I would have a light lunch, like a tuna sandwich or an apple and a handful of carrot sticks."

By the time he left work at dinner time, Hawks was ravenous. He would lose control "and binge on whatever I could find, so that it was a constant struggle of restrict, restrain, feel hunger."

Epiphany in Thailand
Hawks' moment on the mountaintop came during a seven-week, work-related trip to Chiang Mei, Thailand, in the summer of 2001. He was working with his students at leper colonies and in poverty programs. During his almost two months in Thailand, he observed how the Thai people didn't obsess about their bodies or what they ate. They just simply enjoyed their food.

"Being in Thailand opened my eyes to seeing how people relate differently to food," Hawks said. The locals didn't have the kinds of anxieties about food that Americans experienced, he said.

He had an epiphany when he patronized a McDonald's in Thailand. "The portion size was about a third to what you get in the United States," he said. "My first reaction was 'What a rip off,' but then I started to see, 'Well, that was enough to be satisfied.' "

That got Hawks thinking. Perhaps the key wasn't so much about what he ate and when, but how he felt about what he was eating, he said.

By the time Hawks flew halfway around the world to return home, he was a changed man. He decided to change his relationship with food for good. His wife, who also wanted to lose weight, joined him in his quest. Within one year they each lost between 40 and 50 pounds following "intuitive eating." Five years later, they're still the same weight.

Intuitive eating not for wimps
Eating intuitively sounds misleadingly easy, but it's probably far more challenging than most fad diets. It involves round-the-clock conscientiousness about what you eat and why.

Hawks said there are three main types of unhealthy consumption intuitive eaters need to be hyper-aware of: environmental eating, such as snacking on chips in front of the TV; emotional eating, like nose-diving into Ben & Jerry's after an argument; and social eating, dipping the fingers into the plate of cookies a co-worker brought to the office. All three are unconscious ways of eating that quickly pack on pounds.

However, restriction just leads to lowered self-esteem and sets people up for binging, Hawks said, so he doesn't deny himself any food, including shrimp, his favorite, whether it's fried shrimp or a shrimp taco.

In his quest to lose weight, Hawks not only dramatically changed his eating habits, he also ate more food. While this may sound counter-intuitive to weight loss, Hawks said variety is critical to maintaining any sort of lifestyle change.

No eating solution would work without exercise, Hawks said. He jogs an average of 25 to 30 miles per week. Exercise enhances intuitive eating, he explained, because it strengthens the connection between mind and body.

Science supports intuition
Hawks published a small study a few months ago in the American Journal of Health Education on intuitive eating's potential. Carried out with more than two dozen female BYU students, it showed that intuitive eating reduced body mass index, lowered triglyceride levels, increased high-density lipoprotein levels, and also improved the students 'overall risk for cardiovascular disease.

Fad diets may, says Hawks, offer short-term weight loss, "but at one level or another they are not in harmony with what your body is telling you, which means you have to work against biological urgings and ultimately you're going to fail. It's not sustainable because it's not natural."
carolr3639 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2007, 09:32 AM   #4  
Senior Member
 
carolr3639's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 9,181

Default

How is everyone doing? I've been feeling pretty good lately, maybe because I've been sticking to the eliptical about 40min a day. I need to stay out of the sun so outdoor exercise is out even though I love to walk. I do garden but try to do it at sunrise or sunset (usually sunset as I'm not really fond of getting up early. ha!) I'll see if I can get some of the kids to do the tilling. I was always amazed that even when the kids were little and I didn't keep the weeds out very well, we had amazingly good produce.
carolr3639 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-12-2007, 12:39 PM   #5  
breakfast rebel
 
Spinymouse's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: CA
Posts: 962

Height: 5' 4.5"

Default

Hi Pals -
Carol, that was a great article you posted by Hawks; I especially liked the last paragraph, and the last sentence: "it's not sustainable because it's not natural."
and I like the idea about being conscientious rather than anxious about eating. it just makes SENSE!
Spinymouse is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2007, 11:35 AM   #6  
Senior Member
 
carolr3639's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 9,181

Default

Hi, Jo, I've run into a small snag with IE as I have recently had to up my prednisone does. Am I really hungrier or is the med just making me think I am? I haven't gained back any weight yet so for that I am thankful.
carolr3639 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2007, 02:50 PM   #7  
Senior Member
 
carolr3639's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 9,181

Default

That should have been prednisone dose! ha!
carolr3639 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2007, 06:21 PM   #8  
breakfast rebel
 
Spinymouse's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: CA
Posts: 962

Height: 5' 4.5"

Default

I wonder how it is that prednisone has that effect. I recently found out that my friend's dog wants to eat everything in sight when she (the dog) is on prednisone for her skin problems. They try not to let her eat as much as she wants but it is hard because she keeps begging!
Spinymouse is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-13-2007, 06:24 PM   #9  
Senior Member
 
carolr3639's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 9,181

Default

What's the old saying.......misery loves company........even if it's a dog!!!!
carolr3639 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-14-2007, 10:11 AM   #10  
Intuituve Eater
Thread Starter
 
Obsidianbbw's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: NY/NJ
Posts: 1,128

S/C/G: 378/378/320

Height: 5'7

Talking

hey everyone, seems like we lost a few people. I am not as pressed about losing x lbs in Z time. I know it will come off. I think it helps that I am finally seeing noticeable changes in my body and can shop in a smaller size. TOM came along and while I haven't don't as bad as previous months not happy, but it happens. Also I think one of the best things I did was start the weigh training. I think that has been responsible for the bulk of the changes I can now see. Ex and I are on solid footing, family is making my head hurt, but nothing too terrible. Other than that nothing to report. Monday will be a new effort to focus on only eating when hungry.
Obsidianbbw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-14-2007, 10:29 AM   #11  
Senior Member
 
carolr3639's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 9,181

Default

Obi, What kind of exercises do you do for weight training........free weights, machines, resistance bands.......and how long do you spend doing it? I've always disliked that kind of exercise. Anyway to make it fun?
carolr3639 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-15-2007, 12:52 AM   #12  
Senior Member
 
Gamerchick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Florida
Posts: 316

Height: 5'6"

Default

Hello all. I just started eating when hungry, stopping when satisfied. I find that I'm hungry every 5 hours. I could wait 6 but then I'd be too ravenous.

What I'm doing is I'm eating from the food pyramid and eating one portion (two portions usually if it's veggies).

I'm going to put in some exercise when my sleep is corrected.

I've been really happy about how I feel. I don't feel like I'm a diet and this is really the only thing that works for me because it's so common sense. When I'm faced with challenges like friend's house and restaurants I'm always going to choose the healthier thing and common sense it. I don't plan to bring home leftovers.

On the 7th I was 253. Today, the 15th, I', 247.5. I think that's awesome cause I'm gonna power past 242 where I haven't been able to push past.

I love these new habits!
Gamerchick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-15-2007, 11:03 AM   #13  
Senior Member
 
carolr3639's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 9,181

Default

Welcome, Gamerchick. Recently I've noticed that the hunger comes at different intervals on different days, maybe depending on how much activity one does Some days I really get the muchies and others I'm not too hungry most of the day. It all seems to even out. I do know if I am starving that I tend to over eat so try to eat before it gets to that. Let us know how you are doing as often as you can.
carolr3639 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-16-2007, 09:40 AM   #14  
Senior Member
 
carolr3639's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 9,181

Default

Has anyone been reading the nondieting thread? I find it very interesting that it has so many posts pro and con. Eating has been slow for me with the really hot weather we've been having. I did eat last night at a party and I wasn't very hungry but eating was very minimal so I was thankful for that.
carolr3639 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-16-2007, 09:42 AM   #15  
Senior Member
 
carolr3639's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 9,181

Default

A quick question. Does anyone find their appetite diminishing with hot weather? Maybe I should make that a general question but I wouldn't no where to put it. Anyone have any reasons why the hot weather should affect one's appetite?
carolr3639 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:58 AM.


We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.