Finally did ask about LAWL. Pretty expensive and I live in the country far from large cities. Sometimes that is good.

Obsidianbbw, congratulations on moving. It is such a stressor! We moved a few months ago and I am still not over it. I don't know if you just went through the whole sell/buy process, but we did and it was horrible. And then, of course, the actual moving of stuff. Ugh!

Carol, was crab ragoon something you felt bad for eating before?

Sometimes I go through days of just eating the one thing. Right now I have some french onion soup. I made a large pot over the weekend and I really love it. I don't think that is bad as long as we eat when hungry and stop when we aren't.

Is LAWL L.A. Weight Loss?

How do you all do at feeding your families while incorporating this change into your life? Sometimes I sit and just eat some green beans or other vegetable with some bleu cheese dressing. Sometimes I don't eat at all if I am not hungry and just busy myself in the kitchen or sit and drink some water with lemon.

We've always been an eat-together kind of family so to just have everyone come and go at will is not real workable at the moment, especially with kids.

One thing everyone likes is that we use small plates much more often, and we are far more likely to eat something pricier.

Any input on the above?

Wiffle, I guess all fried food is in my memory bank as not the best choice. Yes, that is LA weight loss. I'm the same with family eating. Last night I ate only the fruit but sometimes I don't eat. My dh likes to eat together. I am learning what works. I don't think it hurts to just sit and visit and not eat. If their are a lot of people no one will notice that you aren't eating. I have 10 kids but only one at home now so it is quite different. Lots of times the older ones families come over so we keep busy.

I thought it might be good to repost one of the first posts on Intuitive Eating for those who have never read about it.

"This study will evaluate the effectiveness of an innovative weight loss program, called thintuition®, that Lakeshore Athletic Club believes is the future of weight loss. The thintuition® weight loss program involves natural eating and weight loss and is built on the foundation of six basic principles:

1. Distinguish appetite from hunger: An appetite is thoughts about food, while hunger is an actual physical sensation in your body telling you to eat.

2. Eat to satisfy physical hunger: The goal of eating is purely to satisfy those physical sensations of hunger and not for any other reason. And other reason for eating is consider overeating, which contributes to weight gain.

3. Eat the foods you desire: Before sitting down to eat, you determine what food(s) will satisfy your hunger, and those are the foods you eat.

4. Savor each and every bite: Take time to enjoy the food you are eating. This means tasting the flavors, smelling the aromas, experiencing the textures, and appreciating how great the food looks.

5. Regard food as fuel: Understanding that food is not comfort or love is an important step toward following your thintuition®. Food is what you put in your body to keep it running.

6. Stop eating when hunger disappears: There is a moment when your hunger disappears. The feeling is like that of no longer being thirsty. It is a place where you feel most comfortable and when you should flip the “off switch” and stop eating.


In addition to the on-line program, daily emails and other materials, there is an optional exercise component that will begin in the second month of this study. At that time, you will receive two free passes each week to use at the Lakeshore Athletic Club you registered for. We will give you more information about the exercise component and when you can begin using your passes a little further into the study."

And his name is Rob Stevens and his book is called Thintuition. I'll let you know how the program looks, I'm a bit disappointed because I thought we would be having meetings but from this it doesn't appear that way. Now my problem is that before I heard about this program starting, I signed up for weight watchers at work and gave them a check (which hasn't cleared yet) so I may have to do both? I'm not sure if that's entirely possible. What to do?!

Linda

I have found that since doing IE at home. My 10 year old boy has become more of an IE eater. He will notice that he isn't really hungry or ask himself what he really wants. Whenever my dh tries to force our 3 year old to eat, I try to step in. My dh hasn't noticed, but he is eating better. As a wrestler growing up, he did a lot of starving, binging and purging, so he has had a lot of food issues as an adult- food restriction etc. Now he actually allowing himself to eat some foods! We used to sit down for dinner and all four eat different food! Now we are actually eating the same food a lot of the time.
It is a nice change.

I only did the buying part and I can't imagine doing selling and buying at the time same time. My realtor said my deal was pretty simple but it just seemed horrible to me. Really wanted to give up in the middle, but happy I didn't. I closed a month later than I was supposed to which meant I had only 4 days to move. I had planned on 30. Anyway I'm here now and very happy.

Eating today was a little wacky, at a cinnamon role because I wanted something in my mouth not out of hunger...Then had a nice size lunch (we were celebrating my moving into the condo and I got a lil tipsy so was more concerned with sobering up for work than how satisfied I was. I manager to be ok at work...lots and lots of glasses of water LOL).

Also I was in starbucks when I grabbed the cinnamon role and I grabbed a carton of milk as well. I said it was organic milk so I figured all the better....they added vanilla flavoring to it and all I could think was it was the worst stuff I ever tasted. I don't have a big sweet tooth...blah all I could think was give me the processed stuff.
No desire for dinner

I hope you all don't mind that I post a lot. I am online a lot and so I switch between sites several times a day.

Obsidian, there is a list somewhere of life events that cause stress. Moving is a major one, near the top of the list.

I was wondering if you finished the nasty milk from Starbucks or if you threw it away. I get a certain amount of "intentional" joy from throwing things away if I don't like them but I don't think I have fully gotten over the feeling of wastefulness. Also, I haven't yet gotten over the "rejecting food is rejecting who made it" dumb thinking.

Wiffle, we don't mind you posting at all! Kay, my hubby was a wrestler in college, too, and he did the same.......starving to cut weight. We were just talking about it last night. He once had to cut 13lb in 2 days so he didn't eat or drink for those 2 days. After wrestling was over in the spring he gained 30lb. He has never been more than about 30lb overweight in his 58 yr but he is a semiinutitive eater. He eats what he wants when he is hungry but has the diet mindset in the back of his mind so I think that's why he is not thin. I, on the other hand have been dieting ever since the birth of my first child 35 yr. ago.

I have finally realized that the wastefulness occurs at the point in time that I bought/prepared the product, not when I make the decision whether to eat it or throw it away. I never eat something just to keep from "wasting" it. My body isn't a garbage disposal. :carrot:

Here is another interesting article, author Nancy Hill.

Stop dieting and start living

According the National Eating Disorders Association,
the annual amount spent on dieting is over $40 billion
per year. Other sources put the figure at more than
$50 billion.

The diet industry obviously has very good reasons to
keep us hopeful and desperate to lose weight. Much of
what is reported as "scientific research" is actually
bought and paid for by diet companies and the
pharmaceutical industry.

These days there are two distinct groups within the
obesity research field:

~ Traditionalists
Those who favor the old ways of cutting intake with
restrictive dieting, diet pills, or surgery.
Researchers in this camp openly acknowledge that diets
do not work in the long-term. They acknowledge that
diets cause many side effects including weight gain.
However, they are funded by the diet industry. These
researchers' salaries are dependent on promoting
dieting or drugs.

~ Anti-diet
Independent anti-diet researchers have come to the
conclusion that diets do more harm than good. They are
the leading edge of studying how, and why, to get out
of the vicious diet cycle we've ended up in.

As Benjamin Franklin put it, "The definition of insanity
is doing the same thing over and over and expecting
different results."

As dieters, we've been brainwashed
~ We've trusted authority.
~ We've blamed ourselves for failing.
~ We've worked hard.
~ But we haven't been working on good information.

Our pockets have been thoroughly picked. And we've been
lied to.

It's time to return to childhood. When we were children
we knew how to eat. We knew how to stop. We knew how to
move our bodies and have fun. All that wisdom lives
within us still...it's just been distorted by the
effects of dieting.

If you're reading this email, you're on the cutting
edge of a growing movement in America. Clearly diets
don't work. It has taken us a lot of experimenting to
reach that conclusion.

As you return to your natural state of normal eating
you will be leading the way for others to heal as well.
Spread the word.

Every one of us has so much potential. It's time to
redirect all that wasted dieting energy and money to
endeavors that have real meaning and true worth in the
world.

Hey everyone ! Just wanted to check in with you all to see how you were doing. I'm doing well. It's funny my body seems to be maintaining at around 135 lb. I guess that's where I'm suppose to be. I'm still using the IE method of things even though I have to track stuff for my health. I finally finish The Overfed head (TWICE) and I recommend it to anyone on the board. It's great.

Ok, got to run just wanted to say hi and hope everyone is doing well.

Lots of love to you all!

I took a few more sips I really wanted some milk, but ended up throwing it away. I try and stick to the only take/cook/buy what I am going to eat so I tend not to throw away much and figure I can always go back.

I don't like throwing stuff out...I am also a clean plate person so it is a little hard, but I am happier in terms of food than I have been in a long while and it has only been a month.....

Ladybug, I noticed you lost 75lb on WW. You must think pretty highly of that program.

Hi All,

I am new to this site. I have read IE thread #1 and now #2. I am so proud of all of you!!! You girls have done a great job. I read the Overfed head about 3 weeks ago and decided to ditch my diet and start IE. I have been doing pretty good so far, I've lost about 5 lbs in 3 weeks!

It is a learning process, but so far so good!

I hope to participate in the discussions and get to know all of you better!

I do like that program alot, and yes I did loose 75 lbs. on it. I have about 10 more to go until I'm back at my goal weight. I've been doing it for so long that it has become second nature but after a while you just need something else to shake things up. That's where IE came in for me. I love the whole idea of it and it's help kick start my weigh loss again. I realize now that if I have a day that I ate more then usual - I was probably hungry for that much and the next day will balance itself out. I don't beat myself up any more over it and I've become a much happier and less stressed out person as far as food goes. I always have and idea of what I"m eating and how much is a portion - that I learned from weight watchers - but eating when I'm hungry and stopping when hunger disapears and truely being able to recognize those things is something IE re-taught me. I do still sometimes track what I'm eating but I incorporate IE with it. and it's working for me.

:welcome3: Ditchyoudiet, Glad to have you here. We are all very much still learning as we have been dieting for years (me personally it has been 30+yr.... I am 57) and that is sometimes hard to get out of your system. Recently I came up with the idea of having the things I like handy so as not to eat things I don't like or that are not what I need. Some of my favorites that I just made yesterday are fruit smoothies that are 100% fruit and homemade vegetable soup. Had a good day yesterday except that I made pizza for company and rather than make something extra for myself, I ate it and I know I shouldn't be eating calcium (I have trouble with high blood calcium). I have been surprised that there is so much info on the net on IE. Thanks for your story, Ladybug.

Suppose I should report in even though things are slow. Yesterday was a trying day eating wise. We went shopping and ate out and then to top it off I ordered a coffee chiller in the afternoon that didn't even taste good. You think at $3.85 for a small I would throw it out? Not me! My daughter always gets those but her's tasted better. Maybe it was just the camarderie of the thing. So for supper I ate mostly fruits and vegetables because we had company and I didn't want to sit down and not eat. My 16 yr. old daughter (the youngest of 10) ALWAYS wants so go shopping and I just sort of lost my zeal for shopping after all those kids. Hey, when you can get it on line why spend all that time running around? But she is a sweetie and I do like doing things with her so am torn. Hope someone starts posting again.

Maybe this thread will be coming to an end. I have been really discouraged myself and very hungry lately. Last night my dh was making cookies and the smell was so inticing. I ate 2 and had a stomach ache in the middle of the night. Makes me wonder if I should have eaten them. Was I hungry? I suppose not.

Hope you don't end the thread.
Today just sucked.....I just ate whenever. Will re-group tomorrow and monday back to my excercisng. Now that the moving and everything has settled down I am going to refocus. Hope everyone else is doing well.

Remember not to beat yourself up if you have an off day (I've been reading alot of posts like that). It's not the end of the world (although sometimes it can feel like it). If you overeat on one meal you can just get back on track at that moment and choose not to eat until you are hungry for you next meal. That's the beauty of IE. Even if you have a total day that is off - don't worry. When I have an off day instead of beating myself up (I did enough of that while dieting..) before I fall asleep at night I read something to inspire me or listen to an inspiring tape to help put me back in the right mind set.

Remember also it's all progress not perfection. You can't be perfect and eat the perfect foods or the perfect amount all the time - it is a learning process (I am still learning myself).

So, instead of beating yourself up on a bad day - do something loving for yourself - possitve reinforcement is much more effective the negative.

Hope this inspires you!

Carol, I haven't posted in a couple of days because my internet was acting up. Not deserting you!!!

This week hasn't been horrible food wise, but work wise it hasn't been the best. The full moon made the kids crazy. I know a lot of people don't believe in the whole full moon thing, but I do.

I had a nice 8 mi run yesterday. I don't feel quite 100% today, but am hoping I'll feel better this afternoon and can go for a run when my husband gets home from work.

I have just been tired of eating. Nothing sounds good, and I don't want to have to make a decision about food. I have been eating meals more out of habit than hunger. Trying to find my hunger here!!

Thanks everyone for those inspiring messages. I needed that!!!!

This hasn't been a very good weekend at all here. I feel discouraged in so many areas. The eating, upset with my husband and kid, etc. I feel like running away and my attitude has spilled over into my eating too. Kind of like no matter what I do everything ends up a miserable failure, so why not just eat whatever, whenever, and plenty.

I think I'm back on track though. At least with the food. At least for now.

I've been feeling like that too, Wiffle. I think I was the only one to post for 3 days and was getting really discouraged but then the posts came in and I felt like I could keep going with intuitive eating. I have been really hungry lately and craving sweets. Someone suggested extra protein so I will try that. So many here are on low carb but I am not a big fan of meat and I can't have calcium so no milk which I love. I have found that there are plenty of other things like soy milk which is very low in calcium if you don't get the fortiifed kind.

Hi Carol,

Do you like eggs? Sometimes the mere thought makes me gag, but other times I really enjoy them and they sure are quick protein.

Right now I have my timer set for 15 minutes. I am not sure if I am really hungry or just feel like eating. I just had my breakfast, and it seemed like plenty, so I really don't trust that I am hungry.

I went for a walk this morning, a couple of miles. I'm so miserable here at home that I stayed in my own world and didn't wave at the people I saw while I was out. Also, I just feel gross, like why would they want to talk to me anyway?

When I got home from my walk I decided to try my "Turbo Jam" cardio workout. Normally I do the 20 minute cardio and I really sweat. Today, I tried the 40 minute routine and decided that I'm really not ready for 40 minutes of cardio. That's scary because I used to be able to do 40 minutes of intense cardio, even within the last year. This tells me that regardless of my weight, I must exercise more. Otherwise I am going to die, especially with this stress.

It is so tempting to give up and diet again but I am not going to do it. NOT!

I realize I do better when I post here (accountability) and it has beenmy TOM so I am going to chalk up my eating badly to that.. Had too much of a subway sandwich today. Sticking to water...been VERY thirsty lately, again, think it is due to TOM. Hoping to have my DVD player setup tonight so I can get back to walking. On a good note, my new commute involves LOTS AND LOTS of stairs, :dizzy: and they haven't been a real problem.

Hi ladies,
We all seem a little down, but the neat thing I am reading or NOT reading is that isn't revolving around "Falling off" the diet wagon. Really, we are struggling with issues in our lives and dealing with them! It sounds like we are all in a "funk" right now. I stayed home from school in bed today. I felt really crappy. I slept most of the day, and feel ready to join the world again tomorrow. I guess I just needed to step back and take a break. Anyway, I am sending hugs to everyone! Hang in there!!!

Thanks, Kay. Way to go on the stairs, Obi!! Sorry, Wiffle, I never did like eggs too much even when I was a kid. We are just having leftovers tonight and that is always helpful in more ways than one. I usually don't eat too much then and not too much clean up either. Worked in the garden today. It is supposed to get really cold here in WI..... might even snow.

The Prodigal Daughter
 

Well, I'm back. I've spent the last few months trying to count calories and fat grams. I've hit diet bottom. Tonight I'll read more of Intuitive Eating. Hopefully, Overfed Head will get here soon. I thank everyone for posting even if the going is tough, and for sticking with it. I gathered ALL my diet books, materials, tapes, programs, and magazine articles and carried them to the dumpster yesterday. They must have weighed 40 pounds. What a load off my mind.

Stubborn-Time for a bonfire! :) If we all brought our diet books we'd probably have one big enough to be seen in space!

Well the subway sandwich lasted the whole day. When I got home had egg white omlet. I think until I get a better handle on the stopping when I am satisfied I'll try and stick to smaller portions.

My husband and I went out to eat tonight, a "date night" of sorts. We took our textbooks (we are in class together) and did some studying, had coffee, talked. It was nice, much nicer than the arguing!

There was a really good looking dessert in the case, something pumpkin and cranberry for the Thanksgiving season, but I was full. I will go back later this week and get that dessert, maybe for lunch.

I am going to order some clothes from LandsEnd.com. I need to get some winter pants. I'm not happy with my size, but no matter what I am going to need pants especially if I am going to work temp which I do at the end of the year. I guess that is some sort of acceptance, that I will buy pants that big... last year I refused and I was cold!

On a positive note, the clothes I did wear last winter still seem to fit, and I've eaten whatever I please and then some all year, but I didn't have enough of them and they weren't warm enough. Especially in our government offices, where I temp, good grief, I needed gloves indoors!

Anyway, feeling a little better tonight. Glad to see all of us here on the boards for each other. Excuse my blathering.

Good for you for dumping the diet stuff. :cp:

While I am not thrilled with my body, I am rather surprised that I've eaten whatever I've wanted to in the last year and seem to have not gained. When I think back to the diets and purging (through exercise) and the broken promises to self of never gaining any of it back after every short-lived "success" and then promptly doing so, I think this is better.

What are some things you will be allowed to eat now?

I have a huge love affair with ice cream, cheese, and premium bleu cheese dressing. I am to the point of moderation with all of those.

A new love of mine is balsamic vinegar with a little "good" bread or drizzled over tomatoes. That's a good dinner right there.

I'm telling myself that I can eat anything I really want; the key is that I have to be physically hungry and I have to pay attention and stop eating when I'm comfortably full. I can be a Champion Mindless Eater, so this is big step for me.
A nice lettuce/greens/veggie salad and fresh bread sounds like a great meal. I'd have to ease into balsamic vinegar or olive oil; way too exotic for my white food tastes at this point.

Well the commute to work seems to be getting better. I can take the bus in and walk up and I am there, no more 3 trains and up and down the steps nonsense. I think I want to be more active, but I am never going to like using stairs.....blah...

Yogurt and Toast for breakfast.....life seems to be settling down nicely.


Hope everyone has a good day. :carrot:

I had a great day yesterday.........ate when hungry, stopped when satisfied. That was a first in quite awhile and boy does it feel good today!!! As for cravings, it's crab ragoon for me. ha! Actually, I have been trying to remember all the things I like. It is funny how you can go for a long time and forget some of those. Awhile back I was eating sandwiches with thing ww bread, tomatoes, onions, lettuce and a little meat. I just remembered how good they were. I need to make a list like homemade veggie soup, fruit smoothes, etc.

That should have been thin ww bread!!!

I've been eating frozen taquitos lately. (After defrostin in the microwave first!) Four of those make a decent meal for me. I have noticed that I don't eat as much as I used to. I eat a small portion and I am satisfied. That is nice.
Carol, I thing I like thing ww bread better! hee hee

I haven't been posting here lately because I didn't feel like I had anything of value to add.

Just wanted to say "hi" to everyone.

Hi Fiddler! I'm sure whatever you add will be of value to someone here. Probably me!

Runnin Momma, taquitos and crab rangoon are sounding pretty good, thanks to this forum. Glad you are defrosting the taquitos first though, or they might be hard on the teeth!

Today I woke up with horrid backache. I couldn't figure it out. It came on overnight. By the end of the day it was just excruciating. I realized it was from my Turbo Jam workout that I did yesterday. I watched the DVD again, and realized it was from the "wheels" that I did with such vigor. OMG! At least I know it is just sore muscles and not a real injury. I'm looking forward to more "wheels"!

On a sad and serious note, there is a news item here in Texas of a middle school boy who died during PE exercises. He was 5'7" and 240 pounds and he died during some indoor sprinting.

People are talking about how fat he was and I think to myself that I was 5'1" and weighed slightly more than that at one time in my life. When I am doing this program that takes a huge leap of faith as far as food (and I have gained since starting the program), I know I have to continue to think of my cardiovascular health. As one who used to binge via exercise, I refuse to exercise compulsively anymore, but I will walk my pretty neighborhood, and I will go to the tennis courts, and I will do my Turbo Jam DVDs. I also need to get my bike out because the weather is beautiful.

These are things that normal people do, so I will do them too.