Hi, i been doing good gained this week but company and not off plan just to much watermellon. i love it and i gain eating it. so starting this week for a loss and good one. loss 7 lbs last week so happy. so i am lower now then in 20 some years. got my 34 off and 11 more lbs added to that. so i am happy. so happy for you to carol and everyone. we are doing it. lets hang in there and working together oh what fun. i have not gotten the book yet but is there a site on line for our program??? just wondering.. have a good week to all. LaDean

I am confused, how can you be on or off plan with IE? Isn't it nearly the abscenc of a plan in terms of dictating what food is eaten?

I guess when I hear the term 'plan' in the diet sense, I think of a plan with rules and stuff you have to do or must not do..

I'm curious if anyone has initially GAINED weight with I.E.? I am very close to just tossing the scales out. I think it's feeding into the diet mentality.
I've been doing IE since 8/8/8, and initially I did eat a lot of 'crap', food I haven't had in a really long time. Some days I can't get enough food other days I barely eat...

I realize that i shouldn't even be thinking of terms of weight but i can't help it, I dieted and got myself in to this predicament in my quest for losing weight. I cannot accept that 160 lbs is where my body wants to be.

Some days IE is easy for me, listening to my body and what it wants. Other days it's harder to hear. while I'm happy to be released from the restrictive clutches of a diet, i also don't want to gain weight, either...

One could say that I'm down today. And why? Because I stepped on that damn scale.

I guess the plan is to eat between hunger and fullness. Some people do initially gain weight but I don't think it always happens that way. It does seem to take longer to get to goal with IE but after you've tried so many things you kind of don't care.

Dropping from 20 to 18 in less than 6 months is a wonderful accomplishment!
I know I need a lot more exercise than I've been getting. My body is just so stiff and seized up that it's hard to get it moving. I love to walk, but have been battling plantar fasciitis for over a year now. It's finally starting to ease, so maybe by this fall, I can increase the walking I do.

I'm with you on the scale feeding into the diet mentality! Every so often I shove my scale under the bed and swear I will leave it there, but I get so afraid that I'll unknowingly have a huge gain, that I take it back out and start weighing every day again.

I've noticed, not so much on this board, but on others I visit, that quite a few people treat IE like a specific "plan" instead of just a natural way of eating. I wonder if those are the people that tend to gain on IE, because they still have what they consider "slip ups" and "eating off plan" and stuff like that going on?

I think sometimes even just the focus on "am I hungry" can throw one off and add to the obsession. For me, it's best to focus on what I'm eating, when I'm eating, and how much I'm eating as little as possible. I do better when I just ignore all the "focus" points, and either eat something, or don't eat something, but don't yell at myself if I do--if that makes sense.

Diets made me obsessed and brought me to this size, so the less I even *think* about it, the better off I think I'll be. I may be wrong, but I think it's helping so far.

I hope you have a better day, and if you feel comfortable with tossing your scale, I'd do it!

Thank you for the kind words. I'm just down today is all. Not really loving myself, if that makes any sense.

I guess I'm surprised at how much of that diet mentality I still have. It's hard to get rid of. It's kind of scary to not diet anymore, it's kind of a feeling of a loss of control.

Tomorrow's another day.

Optical Goddess--I would consider "off plan" as eating when not hungry and eating beyond full. But we shouldn't do that regardless if we are doing IE or anything else. I did initially gain with IE. I'm a binger and I just went crazy because I was just so used to restriction. Many of those that subscribe to the IE way of life do not use scales. In the IE book I read it talked about the scale being a false idol. I so agree. The scale is a huge sabotager for me. I do best when I'm no where near it.

Becky--Thanks!

Hi. Today is my birthday, and, for once, I'm not worried, and really excited about it. I've been three and a half months off lithium and prozac, and generally feel very good. I'd been on antidepressants for fifteen years, and my family said I was just a zomby. Bessides, the lithium caused a lot of problems with my weight and blood sugar.
I'm exercising because I really want to. I love my trainer, he's so upbeat and funny, we've been working out together for four and a half years. IE ensures that I can eat in any situation without being hyper vigilant. I did worry enitially about my health, with broadening my food selection, full fat dairy and meat,I was trying to be vegan, and found it boring and difficult to stick to. But, in the long run, I think my health will be better, because I'm not so rigid and restrictive. I think IE helps you to live a more full life, and tune in to what's really going on with you, instead of clouding painful issues wih diet obsession. Anyway, nice to meet you all, and to share IE with others on my 36th birthday.
Amie

Now that I don't diet, I'm noticing how much dieting is in our faces, every magazine has an article about the next great hope, banners on web sites, msn front page- and unless I specifically search for it, none of those articles address an IE approach, it's all restriction, it's all extremes...

I notice at work how much people talk about diet. A girl I work with is going to do a liquid diet. She'll probably lose weight, but what happens when she's faced with real food?

Man, I wouldn't go back to that dieting way of life for anything. No thank you!

I asked my husband if he's noticed anything different about me. His reply?
"You seem happier."

And even though I do have slip ups and fall back into the diet frame of mind, I am so, so much more happy. My life is mine again.

Optical goddess, you hitthe nail on the head. I know whatcha mean about diets. My employee is on a low carb cycling regime, I mean one day you eat a certain group of foods, and the next some other group to trick your metabolism? It's rediculous, IMO, I mean whatever force you personally subscribe to that put us here didn't mess up! We use food for all the wrong reasons, and there are so many foods that don't exist in nature.
Well, I am hungry now. I had a muffin and matee, but only ate half, cause it tasted gummy and gross. I intend to bake pumpkin bread later today. Had a great workout, now going to lunch with mom and daughter.

Sorry phone rang. For once, I won't make low fat pumpkin bread. I love eating real food again, whole milk yogurt, rosemary chicken, etc. When I was dieting, I wouldn't bake with my daughter, or cook any of my favorite foods. It's sad, to me. Some of you have been doing IE for a while, how is it? Do you ever wanna go back to dieting? Are you eventually able to relax around food? Does the alternative ways of dealing with emotions become more natural rather than turning to food? I just wanna be part of the nondieting world. My Bf dropped weight just by getting more active, and stopping mindless eating. He'll be happier, since he doesn't have to worry about what to cook for me since I am not dieting.

Mind if I join you guys. I started reading the book but I love this way of living. I had lost weight about 8 months ago living this way ( only eatting when hungry and stopped before full) but I gained the weight back when I was on vacation because I didn't follow these rules. I look forward to meet you all.

Bev

Hi Amie--Nice to see you again!

Welcome Bev! No need to ask permission. All are welcome!

Amie & Optical Goddess--I will never go back to dieting. I feel free too. I never have to worry when I go out to eat what to eat. Matter of fact this week I've had greek and bolivian. I have eaten several meals from the servings they considered one meal. If I wanted to eat it all I would have but I was satisfied with what I ate. It feels good to not obsess.

Hi,

I've been doing I.E. (I like to call it normal eating or appetite awareness) for exactly two years now. In August 2006, I had just gone off Medifast after losing 30 lbs because it was making my body very sick. (I had spent 8 useless years on Medifast and had lost and regained all of my weight three times). I blame Medifast for getting me to my highest weight ever. Really, I blame dieting in general for making me food obsessed and FAT. I believe if I had never dieted for the past 30 years, I would be very close to a normal weight! Well, after swearing that I would never diet ever EVER again, I gained back the 30 lbs. I lost plus a few more (diet rebound), and then my weight stabilized. I'll admit that I spent the first six months fighting the temptation to go back on a diet. But I held firm. At eight months, I noticed a "click"...I stopped browsing the kitchen and pantry for food. At the one year mark, I noticed that I could walk down the candy aisle or chips aisle, and NOTHING called my name! I remember that day, walking down that aisle at the grocery store with tears streaming and a big, goofy smile on my face! From Sept. thru Dec. 2006--The HOLIDAYS--I lost six pounds doing absolutely nothing different. Since January of this year, I released another 14...just by (mostly) staying within the boundaries of hunger and fullness. By that I mean I wait until I am empty, at a zero, and eat about a fist-sized portion of food...to a 5, not really full, but satisfied.

Food is just a THING. I enjoy it, but I don't love or worship it anymore. I won't love something that can't love me back.

My weight loss is slow, and I've had to be really patient in this process, but this is the way I intend to eat for the rest of my life. I'm hoping to release another 60 or so pounds....whatever my natural, biological weight turns out to be.

Joy

Hi, Bev, welcome. Hello, Shay, nice to see you again. This thread seems small but devoted. Shay, aggreed, about not being obsessed. I went out for a sandwich, yesterday, and Chinese this afternoon, and took a lot home. My birthday was very nice. The cake was too sugary,and, I love sweets. I know why I'll only eat it once a year, honestly, I didn't want that much of it. Have a lovely evening, all. My biggest challenge will be staying off the scale.