Intuitive Eating #2
 

For those following the intuitiuve eating program.

Eating when your hungry, Eating til Your satisfied.

Thanks for the new thread!

I was a bad Obie today
 

Well I had a taste for Corn Beef Hash, there is nothing good nurtionally I can say about it, but I wanted it.

And of course since I was having corn beef hash, I had 3 eggs and 4 busicuits...Typing it even sucks. About half way thorugh it I thought all I wanted was corn beef hash, but I thought I might as well finish it...BLAH :(


So I ate till I couldn't eat anymore....Only good thing, no more corn beef hash for a good long while. :dizzy:

Hope everyone else is doing better.

Hey gals. Still trying to get over my cold.

You know I said before that it was easier to stay with IE when sick than WW. I think that's true, and yet, it's not. Yes, I don't have to count points in soup or OJ or anything. BUT I never realized that hunger goes away when you're sick. So this week I've been all messed up trying to "regain my hunger" and I don't think I've been doing too well. Hopefully I won't have a gain this week. We shall see tomorrow!

I went out for lunch yesterday to a new mexican restaurant--one of those little hole-in-the-wall places where you aren't really guaranteed of getting what you think you are ordering unless you can actually speak spanish.

I LOVE mexican food, and this place was great. Homemade tortillas, lots of different homemade salsas, and really really fresh ingredients. I ordered shrimp in Diablo sauce. I ended up boxing most of it and taking it home. Still wasn't hungry enough to heat it up at dinnertime, so I just had a piece of watermelon for dinner. Heated it up for brunch this morning and still couldn't eat it all. I ended up picking the shrimp out of it and throwing the rest away.

But there was a time when I would have eaten it all without a second thought.

With all my stewing about vacation eating I actually didn't gain any weight. Hope I can say that in a week, a month , a year from now!!! Sabrina, I know what you mean. I havn't been feeling well lately and the automatic thought is, "If I eat something, maybe I'll feel better". Now, where did I ever get that? So many situations, so many reasons to eat. I think of eating especially when I'm tired because I think it will pick me up.

Carol,

That's great that you didn't gain any weight on vacation. Good for you!

ok...Ive been doing pretty good monitoring my full levels....tonite, we had a treat for dinner...tortellini Ala Nonna (dont even ask...we dont have it often but my teenaged son LOVES it and begged) I managed to behave (stuff is GOOD) and was full (maybe a little much...but it was only like 1 cup of the stuff and I used to put away a plateful)...went upstairs to put my plate away and spotted my hubbys plate with one shrimp left. I thought "oh one shrimp, whats the harm" so I popped it in my mouth....20 minutes later...I was actually uncomfortable...one lousy shrimp was the difference between being full, and being STUFFED...who knew? Well now I guess I do!! I think my stomach is getting smaller.

Good evening ladies!
I can't remember who posted about eating a hamburger just to show that it was okay, but I used to do that a lot. Test myself by going out to eat this or that.
Isn't interesting now how just having a couple of bites of ice cream will suffice, when it used to take a whole bowl to get satifaction??? I think it is funny how lots of us have had that experience. I think it really pertains to food that used be used for emotional reasons. I used to say that I could actually feel the brain chemicals go to work and provide relief when I ate chocolate. I don't get that "buzz" anymore. Now I am realizing that it must have been psychological. I trully thought that I was addicted to chocolate.

Obi, I think you posted about watching your parents dieting and I totally related. It is so funny now to watch people suffer through whatever diet plan they are trying to adhere to. I love going to the table with only the desire to eat consciously and only foods I really want. I see myself eating less than my mom who is next to me agonizing over each bite and the number of calories she is consuming etc. She is always talking about how tomorrow will be a better day with her diet. I tell her a little bit about what I am doing, but she isn't really ready to do it.

Hey well I guess there is a wagon to fall off of. I was ok the rest of the day yesterday. Ate better and stuck to listening to my body.

I know with IE you are supposed to accept your body but how can you when you have this huge belly? I know everyone has a different trouble spot but when you have to wear a swimsuit or something like that you just feel so conspicuous. I try to tell myself there are better days ahead but it's just hard. Any ideas on this?

The Christina Aguilera Post.
 

Hey Carol
I kinda of struggled with low self esteem a few years ago (more like no self esteem) and I was actually much smaller than I am now.Not saying you have it, just a point of reference of where I am coming from.

I don't think the whole body acceptance thing means you have to love seeing yourself in swim wear. I think it is more, you are not a bad person because you look a certain way. You are beautiful at whatever size you are (love the Christina Aguilara song). Your size does not define you as a person. If someone has a problem with the way you look then f*ck them. It is their problem. (sorry for the profanity, but there it is)

With me I noticed I couldn't accept compliments because I didn't think they could be talking about me and I couldn't find anything good about myself.

Now I am over 350 lbs and I walk down the street feeling pretty good about myself. I don't think if I meet my goal my social life will change, men will chase me down the street (they do that now actually), or I will some how tranform into miss popularity. I do think I will be healthier, live longer and fit into the sexy boots I have been lusting after.

About the swimming outfit. Wear what makes you feel comfortable. Even if it is shorts and a t-shirt. I still have trouble walking around in shorts, so I am a work in progress.

Ok, no idea if that helped at all, but there it is

-Obie

I love corned beef hash. It is hard not to focus on the calories though.

Carol, Your post came at a good time. I woke up this morning and was just ticked off!!! Nothing I put on felt decent. I was just angry at being heavy and wanted to say phooey on the whole thing and crash diet. Of course then I remembered that I have never lost weight on any of those diets, so that was out of the question. :) Recently I have been so accepting of myself. This morning I was a "@itch" with a capital B!!! (Luckily just to myself and not to others.) ARGHHHHH!!!!! I don't know what the problem was, but I am still feeling sort of crappy.
At lunch I almost bought a candy bar. I actually wanted some mints but the vending machine didn't have any. I wanted something crunchy and my dollar bill was burning a hole in my pocket. I would have bought a heath bar, but the vending machine was out of change. I must not have wanted the candy bar too bad because I didn't hunt anyone down for any change.
This afternoon we had a faculty meeting after school. THey had mini candy bars and little bags of goldfish on the table. I was so hungry, I ate my share of the mini candy bars and 2 bags of goldfish (and I really don't like goldfish). I was hungry, and usually would go home and eat. I didn't eat carefully or consciously though. I shoved it down as fast as possible.
I am happy to say I came home and had a reasonable dinner. I will go to bed early and kick this mood of mine out the window.
Not every day will be perfect, but with reflection my food today was totally horrible. In the past I would have said, "I blew my diet with the snacks. I might as well go out and stuff myself at dinner." Today I was able look into my eating and let it go.

I think it means stop hating yourself and beating yourself up....I know that Im alot closer to goal than alot of you guys so it may sound like its coming from an idiot who has no idea...but I do know what binge eating is about, and I do know what its like to be obsessesed with food, lack of food, how much food, how many calories, carbs and fats...blah blah blah. Food obsession is a sign of an eating disorder...anorexics look in the mirror and see themselves as fat, they think of little else other than food and their weight, bulemics look in the mirror and see themselves as fat, and also think of little other than their eating and their weight, many of the people people who are at their goals still see themselves as imperfect and overweight (i.e. my butt is too big, i have fat on my back etc), and are obsessed with eating and weight. Dont we have better things to think of? Maybe we should make a list of things we would like to learn to do in out lifetimes and do those instead of thinking about "I look like crud in a swimsuit". I look terrible in a bathing suit too....redundant skin and stretch marks all over my stomach to the tops of my thighs....I still throw it on...who the **** cares anyhow? Perhaps we need to start thinking of ourselves as healthy fit people...and treating ourselves and our fuel intake accordingly. Patience...none of us put on weight overnight...its not gonna come off overnight. Learning how to fuel the body properly by making intelligent, non-emotional choices, and eating only until we are full...excercising...there are lots of reasons to excercise other than to be skinny and lose weight. Excercise releases natural endorphines, improves your stamina and energy, keeps your blood pumping and circulation going, burns up excess seratonin and fights depression and lethargy. It makes you stronger so you can do other things you like to do like dancing, 4 wheeling, canoeing, camping. It makes you stronger so that you can do the things you HATE to do easier...like take out the trash, mow the lawn, mop the floor.

To me IE dosnt mean stop caring, or taking care of yourself, its more stop hating yourself over fuel.....do you hate your car because you have to fill it with gas? Would you hate it if you were running it on empty and it left you on the side of the road? What about if you filled it up with dirt mixed with oil instead of fuel and it clogged up the engine and needed thousands of dollars of work to run again...would you hate the car? What about filling the gas tank until it was pouring over the paint job and blistered the paint? None of us (myself included) think twice over emotional self abuse over fuel for our bodies...that is something that has been learned...moderation is really the key to a happy healthy body....and life as well. Food is just what we feed our bodies to keep them running....better the fuel, the better the mileage.... we all have foods that are "good" for you that we love...I LOVE peppers on the grill, I love chicken breasts, I really like salad, and prefer salsa over dressing anyhow, I was eating whole wheat bread LONG before it was fashionable, I love oranges, apples, any kind of nuts, especially peanut butter....there is nothing wrong with making choices from better fuels, but if a little dirt and oil get into the mix here and there we need to recognize that it isnt gonna kill the engine.

What a great post, Button!

Trying Intuitive Eating
 

Hi,
I've been lurking on 3FC off and on for several months. I'm so glad I found this thread.

I've owned "Intuitive Eating" for 10 years and have read it several times, but I've only actually had success with it once. I lost 10 lbs. by eating intuitively, I felt great, and then I went on vacation, and while I was able to keep eating intuitively on vacation, it all went out the window when I got back. Now I weigh about 50 lbs more, and I feel awful.

So, I'm going to pull out "Intuitive Eating" again, and give it another try. I really feel it is the most sensible and natural way to eat.

Does anyone have any recommendations of other books I should read?

Thanks,
Nickole

Question: When was the moment that you FIRST started getting concerned about your weight?

Mine was:

3 months after I had my second child, I went to vist my mother. She looked at me and said "Wow you really have gotten fat, you need to do something about that", I told her "I just had a baby and Im nursing", her response was "Yes, but you look terrible and really need to do something about your weight, your rear-end is HUGE, and you really look awful".

Now understand, my mom has always been about how things look. I had a facial deformity as a child that was corrected in my teens, and until it was corrected, she was embarassed of me. At the time she said this, I had only had her approval for a few short years. I won the Young Authors Conference in my state when I was 12 (hard to believe with all my run-on sentances huh) and she refused to have her picture taken with me for the newspaper...for fear that someone she knew would know that I was her child. When she said this, I hadnt been too concerned about my weight, Id gained about the same with my first child, and it had come off for the most part after a few months (my boobs were bigger, and I had hips, but I still looked good and felt good in my clothes). This time the weight never came off on its own, and I started hating how i looked all the time. I started the whole "im not going eat anything but salad for a month" mentality, and then hating myself because my body just wanted more nutrients than that, then just stuffing it in because I was a fat cow anyway.

I was just thinking about this this morning, and it really pinpoints the exact moment that I started unhealthy abnormal behaviors about food.

So heres to my mom and how I should have responded "Mom, gaining weight after having a child is normal, and even if it never comes off...so what, Im still in a very healthy weight range. You on the other hand drink a quart of vodka a week, and look like crap for your age. You look like crap because you are a mean, bitter woman, and as you have gotten older, it has come out on your face and you LOOK like a mean and bitter woman. Id rather have a few lbs, than frown and scowl lines. Id rather treat my children with respect and love regardless of what they look like, than sit around pissed off because they are not "perfect" and be embarrassed because of something so superficial as their looks. I want my children to want to talk to me and spend time with me, instead of dreading it. Shame on you for failing to build your child up and succeeding so well in tearing her down. I would rather have a flawed body, than a flawed soul."

Enjoying reading all the posts so much but I was hoping that we could all refrain from using %@# words when posting. It's just kind of hard on the soul. Still working on hunger and fullness here. I finally finished Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Triboble and Elyse ???? I thought it was a good book but you could see that the nutritionist angle comes out kind of strong.

Nickole, The Overfed Head is the best book I have read on the subject of IE.

Okay no more potty mouth:(

:o me too :o

Well at least you can say we're passionate about what we believe in:D

Well yesterday was ok. I think I was trying to over compensate for Hash-Gate O6 so I ended up with 3 meals and 1 snack. Still did ok, and way more conscious about the good and bad foods. Find myself eating more vegetables and fruit.

One other sort of upside...I used to go to buffets and darn (see I can be good) near drool over all the food I could have.

So Yesterday afternoon I went to the buffet and just kinda really took a look at everything and just wasn't as excited. Then for my later meal (I was doing the late shift) I went to the wholefood supermarket which also has a buffet and just wasn't interested in much of it. I also have developed and aversion for things that look like lots of oily saucy stuff with bits of meat in it. I just think it is a big vat of badness.

Anyway, A question I was wondering. What other threads do people belong to? I do a walk away the pounds thread, a weekly challenge, and a walk challenge (100 miles in 4 months). Most of it is for accountability and a way to track my progress with the excercise.

There are some others I subscribe to, but I only lurk in those.

-Obie

Thanks, girls, I appreciate it. I just read here and don't get anything on email. I do that with all the sites I visit. I usually press "new posts" and see what they are saying. Aussie chicks is interesting and Summer Sass Plan though I don't often post. As for exercise, I have walked as much as 6mi a day and not lost anything. I think exercise is great for fitness but not for weight loss. I find Lilybelle's posts very encouraging even though she is on modified Atkins. She has lost over 90lb and takes prednisone!!!!!!! Now that is QUITE and accomplishment.

post from Captain Ladybug
 

This was on the old thread..posting it over here

Hi everyone!

Hope you are all doing well.

I"m not doing to bad - I have hit a little speed bump in my progress - I found myself starting to over eat again. So, I figured I need a little bit of hand holding until I get the process down.

I'm actually, after I've rated my hunger (that I actually am hungry), trying to choose mostly whole foods like on the WW Core list and trying to get a handle on a decent portion size and to hit the mark that I am comfortable and not slightly full or higher. I'm definately not depriving myself of anything I really truley want - but I'm trying to be more aware of the type of food I'm eating especially since I also have to watch my sodium.

Has anyone else found they needed to use IE with information from another program? And has this helped you?

Would love to hear some feedback/advice on this one.

i starte ie yesterday and feel so good and now notive that i have to eat. but i have a question. how much weight did you lose on the first week of ie? one more q... is diet soda ok?

Hmmm...

I think I've been doing intuitive eating while also keeping track of calories on fitday. Prior to about 5 or 6 days ago, I was eating 3 times per day to satisfaction, only when hungry, and this was an average of 1200 calories per day. Now whether this happened because my computer was in the shop for a few days and I couldn't get online or because I just decided I wanted to increase my calorie intake, I started eating a couple of slices of whole wheat bread with dinner. I think it was probably a combination of both.

I'm not trying to lose weight, and just want to maintain, and I was basically maintaining or rarely unintentionally losing very slowly on around 1200 a day. Since it seems like others eat more and maintain, I've been justifying to myself stuffing the extra bread down with dinner. The thing is, when I eat the bread, it's definitely not intuitive eating...when I wasn't eating the bread, I was perfectly satisfied with the dinner I was eating. I was full and didn't feel a need to eat more.

So, where do you draw the line with intuitive eating? I feel like I'm overeating when I eat the bread (and it does taste good), but is it necessary ignore the signals and overeat a little to take in more calories?

Any advice/suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks!

Tara,
I argue with myself sometimes about proper calorie intake vs IE. Sometimes when you don't take in enough calories, you can't lose weight. On the other hand, IE says that it doesn't matter how much or when you eat, your body will get what it needs. I think it is good to use IE to get control of emotional eating, binging, to try to get away from the extremes. When you have those undercontrol, it will be easier to make food decisions that are based on nutritionality. You can decide to eat that extra piece of bread to get your fiber or whatever. I think it is somewhat of a fine line. Okay, it is really a gray area!!
I have found that now that food is not an obsession, when I plan my meals I am focusing more on nutritional balance because I want to. I don't feel that great pressure of good vs. bad. Like Obie said- I too have started to get grossed out when I see things that look like a sea of grease. It's a nice feeling instead of wanting to eat that stuff! :)

I had an arguement with myself on this same subject, but my issue was that I noticed that my caloric intate was very low for the day. What I decided for myself was that overeating (eating past the sensation of satisfied) was not ok, and if I wasnt hungry dont eat. Toddlers and children self regulate very well....one day they eat you out of house and home, next day they have a glass of milk and 1/4 of a sandwich all day. I really think that IE, like every other eating plan out there, is something that you have to work out yourself and adjust to your own comfort.

I'm not sure who posted it, but there is a thread I was reading what soda can do to you so I am going to say it isn't a good thing, but to each his own.

Today was ok kinda ok day. I am curious how many calories I am eating because it can't be anywhere near what i was doing although carb wise I am probably better than I was, but bad from a low carb point of view.

I have been reading alot of posts about balanced nutrition so decided my morning snack will be yogurt and maybe some wheat toast.

I went to lunch with a girlfriend and she has this habit of eating half of her meal and offering me the rest and I pick out what I want. I knew this was going to be an issue and the first 2 times she offered I said no and then finally I gave in and picked out what I want. I was still a little hungry, but I feel like I should have said no....

But on an up note I managed to resist the cake at my grandmothers house and since I was at grandma's late I managed to avoid the fast food and donuts on the way home and eat what I had intended to eat when I got home.

Still a learning process, but definitely better. Than I was.
-Obie.

Obie, My sister does what your friend does. After my sis got her gastric bypass surgery, she would buy and ice cream cone, take 2 licks and then say, "Here, eat the rest." She does that with everything. It almost feels like she wouldn't be able to stand it if I actually lost my weight.
Button, You talked about how your mom put you down. My nutritionist says that any time some one comments about your weight- even if it seems to be nice like "You look like you've lost weight" it is really about them. They are criticizing themselves while they look at you. She has told me not to get into conversations with anyone about my weight, weight loss, etc. (You guys are all in this with me, so it doesn't count.) She says if they make a comment like that, just blow it off or change the subject. It's funny how that comment that seems nice can also make you start feeling insecure. You start questioning how they feel about you and your weight in the first place.

Obsidian, does your friend know about your eating lifestyle decision? It seems like she may be sabotaging your efforts. Sure, it is your decision in the end about what you eat, but do you think it might help to let her know what you're doing?

Hey everyone!

Found you at the new thread ( thanks button for the heads up on the new thread).

Has anyone already read The overfed head? I ordered the book a few days ago along with the hunger guides. Just anxiously waiting for it to come. If someone has read it - do you have any good information you can give me as a preview?

Thanks!

Stay healthy and possitive!

I was poking around the internet and found an artical about intuitive eating that may inspire some of you. Check it out if you'd like

http://health.dailynewscentral.com/c...ew/0001939/41/

Oh she knows we talk about it for about 20 min, but I have noticed just on general principle I am NOT eating from her plate anymore. I don't think she thought of it as sabotage, jut what we normally do and I guess if I didn't want it I won't eat it. So something else I'll be super conscious of from now one.

Obie, Have you ever thought of splitting a meal with her? Ladybug, You won't believe how that book inspires (The Overfed Head). I have read it 3 times. There is a good review on Amazon. Giovanni, Rob Stevens of The Overfed Head lost over 140lb in a year and a half. He wasn't sure of his highest weight but it was over 300. He was shocked when he got down to 160lb because with WW his goal was 185. There are so many theories about diet pop but I know Gwen Shamblin of Weighdown fame (another IE book) says it's all right. Tara, maybe if you found you were gaining eating certain things like the bread you might not want to eat it but I don't think it would really matter. I think most of us are still learning IE and it sometimes is tricky after years of dieting.

Shrinking Stomach?
 

Well today I went back to the soup spot before I went to work and also subway so I had a 6 in sub (tuna on wheat) and a small clam chowder and an orange juice.

By the time I had finished the orange juice and most of the sandwich and soup, I didn't really want anymore. I ended up eating the last bite of sandwich and throwing away the soup and feeling pretty full which is unusual since even last week I could have eaten a foot long 2 drinks and the soup and felt nothing?


I don't think I really want to share food I am too territorial :dizzy: I want my food and they can eat theirs. I will finish this later as someone needs to use my machine.

Thanks for the advice carolr. I'm just concerned about doing damage to my body like going into early menopause because I'm not eating enough food. (I'm almost 30, no husband/no kids). I guess even though I don't need more food based on intuitive feelings of hunger/fullness, perhaps I should still make an effort to eat more to allow myself to get more nutrients.

Tara, sounds like you are doing fine. I was always thin until I started having kids. I used to weigh 115 and I am 5ft 4in. I look back and think, what was I doing different then? I gained about 5 lb per child so that puts me 50lb over. Then I have been on prednisone 3 different times and gained about 30lb each time. I did mangage to lose some of that at times so right now I am about 60lb over my lowest. Most of my weight is in my belly and that is annoyingly uncomfortable. I was really sick last summer and now some better so I feel pretty good most of the time. But there is still that nagging question that I posed above. Never thought twice about my weight when I was a teenager.