I was thinking about the topic of nutrient-dense foods (that 200-calorie foods on a plate thing is going around a lot lately) and I thought about animals. Specifically pets. Normal, active, pets. You know how can get the pet foods that are mostly filler, the cheap kind you get at the grocery store, and you can get the more high quality less filler pet foods like Science Diet or Iams? The pets will eat more volume of the cheap stuff. It's like they know they need to eat more to try to eke out any nutrition from it. The good stuff - normally they just seem to know they don't need to eat so much of it. How is that for intuitive?

I get what your saying Spiny although some low cal. food are quite nutrient dense such as veggies but eating a plate of only veggies will leave you wanting. I always try to include high quality protein with most meals as I have blood sugar issues and without I tend to binge in the evening. Yesterday was an intense and stressful day and I noticed myself reach for sugar rewards to make the day better which of course just made things worse,so today I 'm paying closer attention to my emotional reponses and will try to take a few mental health breaks instead of reaching for sugar rewards.

Nina

Hi, everyone!

Rough weekend. Hubby was cranky.... well, cranky is a severe understatement. Don't want to get into it, but he gets that way a lot -- and "low and behold", I found myself at the end of the weekend having done a lot of emotional eating. Big surprise, huh? I knew/caught myself doing it, but kept on anyway. It's like I was trying to sedate myself with the stupid food. Did it help? Yes, for all the usual short-term reasons. But long-term? No-o-o-o!! And I knew it then at the moment of choice. But I kept on.

Deb, Hope you are having a better day today. I know all about cranky hubbies. But I suppose I have my days, too!! ha!

Nina, about the nutrient-dense foods I was thinking maybe the reason people keep eating lots of junk (betcha can't eat just one chip etc) is that there just isn't enough nutrition in there to satisfy them so they keep eating because they are unfulfilled - just like pets will keep eating more of the junk pet food. maybe we need Science Diet People Chow.
Deb - sending you cyber Un-Crank pills to slip in Husband's drink.

I changed my avatar - I felt guilty using someone else's mouse picture.
And I am so excited about this new book I'm reading - will post about it later after reading a little more--
jo

Jo I understand what your saying and wouldn't it simplify things if people chow existed although I'm sure I could find a way to emotionally overeat it.
I've read alot about how genetics can determine eating patterns and metabolic response to food and about how eating patterns are product of established patterns learned early and throughout life. Nature vs. nuture etc. both are connected. Even knowing why we overeat doesn't stop us from doing it until you actually stop and think about why the hand is putting the food in your mouth, hunger, appetite, depression etc.

More food for thought. Pun intended.

Nina

Deb, I'm not married, but I often wanna do wicked things to my boyfriend using a spork. Hanging in there.


Spiny I ate bad food because it tasted good, and didn't have a concept of moderation because of the dieting cycle and the subconcious fear I wouldn't be able to have it again. Also also add a touch of emotional eating and eating out of boredom. Thats just me.


Well I haven't posted in a while, Work has not been fun, so pretty busy.

Eating has been ok, I think I have some left over low carb brainwashing on the brain because I have been unconciously avoiding breads. Also I think there is a difference between eating till you're not hungry, eating till you're satisfied and eating till you're full. I was unconciously doing the first only to end up walking around hungry for most of the day. So I did some adjusting and now I have something carby in the morning with milk.

Have been exploring more vegetables. I have hated spinach pretty much all my life, but after eating it with Inidian food a while ago I realized it was just the way it was prepared. I made it last night with garlic, olive oil and some cilantro (also playing with spices) and I loved it.

Someone posted a recipe for hummus so going to try it and add that with some whole wheat pita as a snack (something other than fruit would be nice).

Excercise has been ok. I added the weights. Realizing lunges and squats are actually helping my knees...thinking about buying a stability ball and need to pick up a yoga mat.

extremely tired of walk away the pounds so trying to ween myself off of them, bougt some prevention magazine DVDs and will be trying those.

So First weigh-in for the month and between now and then I have dinner with a girlfriend (the one who likes to offer me her left overs) and an overnight to my parents who seem to love to order out, and generally don't eat well....

Wish me luck.

LOL, Ok enough about me.

-Obie

Ok, Obi - Good Luck! And the same to all of us!

Well I must say I am so amazed at this book I am reading and I will recommend it even though I am just at the beginning of it: It is The Yoga Of Eating by Charles Eisenstein.
I am just in a WOW stage about it all. And it's not like you would think, with "Yoga" in the title, that it would be at all about a regimented way of eating. Not at all; it is very much in tune with IE. And it even is beginning to address some of the points Nina made about our nature/nurture and emotional eating. I was reading with a highlighter in hand and realized that was going to be silly because I was going to be highlighting the whole book!
I don't know how much help just a book can be, but it sure does seem right on to me. Here's a peek:

"Often we try to use willpower to improve ourselves: our diet, our bad habits, our selfishness, our temper. The fact is that any effort at self-improvement or change - including dietary change - relying mainly on willpower is destined to fail....It means you are divided, that on some level you do not want to do it. ....Whereas willpower implies pitting mind against body, in the Yoga of Eating we develop greater sensitivity to the body, greater sensitivity and trust. We stop seeing the body and its appetites as the enemy, but instead listen to the messages encoded in cravings, appetites, and tastes."

That's from chapter one... I just started chapter 4 .....
more later!
jo

Hopefully there isn't a rule against this, but I thought the this thread was interesting. Seems like a good example of IE kicking in. I didn't post because IE never seems well received...wondering what every else thought.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=101775

why isn't it well received?

I think because people on a diet program don't believe in the concept of being able to eat anything. I noticed that after I posted "well why not go ahead and eat (insert so called bad food here)" there are usually about 5 more posts about how they couldn't possibly eat (insert bad food here, or even have it in the house) and I figure to each his/her own. Maybe "not well received" was the wrong way to put it, but I think the mindset to try IE seems to be something they have to already sort of open to.

Not even sure that all made sense, but there it is

-Obie

Jo I must look for this book it sounds very intuitive. I believe the reason so many diets fail is because of the "diet". We control our eating for a period of time and once goals are reached or a certain amount of progress is accomplished old pattern resurface and all progress is undone so why diet in the first place. YO-YO. I've been on this rollercoaster all my life so at some point I have to connect with self and come to terms with why. Accountability to self is key to success and this is why IE makes so much sense.
Obie the pattern of overeating or "binge eating" because diet is on the horizon is so self defeating. I've done it for years. Tommorrow I can't have chocolate so I'll eat 2 pounds of it today. I feel terrible for several days after. We won't let our children eat this way so why ourselves.

Nina

Wacky question, do you ever feel like you have to force yourself not to worry about the scale and just keep doing what your doing. I am just paranoid with as well as I have been doing I have gained weight. Not sure I could take it.

Spiny - this post made my day! If you notice my avatar, It is my cat, Pumpkin. I tried to save $$$ and bought him 9lives cat food. He went nuts and went from 18 to 20 pounds - fast! I put him back in Iams (but stayed at about 19 lbs). This is what I think is wrong with diets for humans, but you gave gave me more proof! Thanks!