This is my week of stress, the biggest stressful work week I've had since autumn. It will all be over by Monday and if I can survive through this week I will be ok. I have a big presentation on Sunday for which I need to be prepared and yet all I can think about is how I look. What will I wear? How will everyone judge me on my appearance? Why do none of my clothes fit? Trying on things to buy is a huge nightmare, nothing fits, why don't they carry an extra large? The other presenters are so beautiful and thin, why must I be dumpy in comparison? Will I be taken seriously even though I look so bad? I'm obsessing about the way I look right now and it's derailing me.

Truthfully I've lost a couple of pounds this week, but at my weight that changes practically nothing in terms of how I look, feel or wear. I'm having weird diet thoughts like "if I eat 1200 calories every day until Sunday I'll lose 25lbs" which of course sounds soooooooo stupid but I can't help it!

Find something in a beautiful color that sings to you - turquoise, raspberry, lemon yellow, geranium red - make it in your shoes or a scarf or a top or whatever and let it bring a smile to your face and confidence in your step. They will listen to what you say, remember your glow and that beautiful color.

You can do this! You've done so well and on your way, we love you girl!

Good luck, Wannabeskinny! I'm sure you'll rock it!

I was wondering, does anyone else have difficulties with perishable foods? I have a bunch of shelf stable junk food in my house right now which doesn't bother me, but I get so antsy about the prospect of having to throw away sweet things. This morning I kind of binged on a huge brownie and a slice of red velvet cake, both of which were getting to the point that I would have needed to throw them out otherwise. I'm not too worried about the individual overeating, but I think this might be a sign that I shouldn't bring more than a single serving of perishable sweet things into the house.

edit: and less than an hour later, the sugar binge is catching up to me and I feel dreadful - hopefully I can remember this feeling the next time I have the urge to drown myself in brownies!

You can always freeze that kind of thing in indiviual servings.

@Littlegreen

I find myself constantly worrying about having enough food in the house and making sure that nothing goes to waste. If you think something's going bad do what carol says and freeze it. I have half a cake in the freezer right now, along with a few other items that were on their way out. Also don't be afraid to just toss it. It's only cake- there are tons of cake out there in the world; some even better tasting than what you've got!

I'm really fighting the dieting urges today. Not for weight loss, for health reasons. I started lurking in old forums- paleo, low fat high carb vegan. Not good. I have the uncanny ability to forget the errors of the past as well as the progress I've made. Anyway I won't be going back to those forums. /Sigh now I just feel all squirrely and dissatisfied.

Hi fellow IE's.

I was perusing the intuitive eating books on Amazon and I came across "Eat what you love, love what you eat, How to break your eat-repent-repeat cycle." I read the first two sample chapters and it looked right up my alley but Im a little concerned about the recipes and nutrition chapter. Has anyone read this?

I have come really far and Overcoming overeating is my favorite book ever. My copy is dogeared and actually is missing both the front and the back cover. I have had it since the 90's. I read the Trioble book and some of it just didn't click for me. So, Im always looking for another great book to help me.

I work at the Vice Chancellor's Office of my university and I meet professional women of ALL shapes and sizes! There are women there who make over six figures, are extremely educated, and who do great work even if they don't fit to our silly standard image of ideal "thinness"

Wannabee, I'm sure that you're going to do great at this presentation! Based on how well you express your thoughts and ideas on this thread, I'm certain that you will give a solid presentation at work. =)

Like the others said, find something that makes you feel great besides your weight. For me, I love doing something special with my hair, like curling it, when I know that I'm going to have to be presenting something. I find that if I have my hair done well, my makeup applied flawlessly, I care much less that I'm wearing a size up in jeans.

Good luck, we're supporting you!

Hearing all of the positive responses from reading Overcoming Overeating inspired me to finally buy the book

When I dieted I used a TON of resources to keep me on the diet, I'm finding that without dieting I still need resources too -like this awesome board. So I'm hoping I will find this book to be a support source too.

Thank you all for your kind encouragement. So far my track record for surviving tough days is 100% so I'm trying to remember that lol. It's funny though that all my energy is being directed towards "blaming the fat" at this moment of stress. I thought I made so much progress in accepting myself and here I am at square one level of self-confidence. My nutritional therapist did say that at times of high stress we always revert back to what we know best so I'm trying to hang in there and treat myself compassionately rather than berate myself for this weakness.

littlegreen, are you comfortable throwing food out? Some people have a very hard time throwing food away, it's one of those things that parents engrain unfairly into their kids when really all this teaches us is that our stomach is a garbage bin. I strongly urge you to consider throwing food away that has gone bad. Eating it so that you don't have to throw it away is the antithesis of intuitive eating and you're eating for reasons other than hunger. Remember that IE is eating what you want, when you want it and enjoying it. It's not right to eat foods just for the purpose of them not spoiling.

Casual observations - I don't snack. Ever. Haven't had the slightest desire to snack in weeks. My meal times are flexible but fairly regulated now. Amazing.

@Wannabe,

It's rare that I have to snack nowadays because I know intuitively how much I need to eat so that I'll be hungry for the next meal. Oh my, this is really happening, isn't it? :P

Im just jumping in again.

I have been practicing eating only when Im hungry for months now. It's crazy how something that "intuitive" can become so difficult. I feel like in the past week or so I have really made a break through. I have let myself get hungry enough times, and then eaten to the point of satisfaction but not full burstingness enough times that now I actually prefer it. I still have like "brain jerk" reactions of thinking about eating a certain food during key times in the day, like in the evening, or if something stressful is happening, or all the kids are yelling at once, but I don't act on it anymore. I check in with myself and realize I am not hungry so therefore I don't WANT to eat because I am finally feeling how much displeasure there is in eating when I am not hungry. This even applies to deserts. Last night I had made myself a "healthy" desert to eat after dinner. I sat down to eat it and realized it didn't even taste good to me because food really doesn't taste the same when I am not hungry. I didn't finish it. I left my desert sitting there and told myself that I would have it when I was hungry. But, that time never came and I went to bed without finishing it. I also no longer crave sugary things or chocolate because I have removed the guilt from them. I think I used to just want to eat them because I told myself they were "bad". I have had a bag of chocolate truffles sitting on top of my fridge for about 2 weeks now. When I first got them I had a couple for a few nights in a row. I had the impulse to eat the whole bag the first night of course and told myself it that is what I needed to do then I could but I quickly realized they were really rich and I didn't WANT more than a couple. So, the other night, I had a "brain jerk" reaction that I would eat more truffles. But I thought about it since there is no guilt associated with them and realized I really wasn't in the mood for chocolate. and so I didn't eat any. And I still haven't eaten any. As soon as I am in the mood for chocolate, I will but that time hasn't come yet.

As for snacking, I find that I need to still eat small amounts of food every few hours. It may be because I am nursing but for a few weeks I let myself get really hungry and then I would have a meal. That was good for getting in touch with what hunger really felt like, but it was uncomfortable and hard to sustain for me. It works much better for me to have a snack between lunch and dinner and sometimes after dinner. Although today I brought a snack with me just in case but I was never hungry enough to eat it.

Anyway, sorry for the novel. I just know that reading everyones thought proceses and experiences with this has helped me so much. I hope my ramblings could maybe help someone too.

Pinkhippie,

That's great! I can only hope for your progress.

I gave up caffeine a week ago and oh my goodness... Most of my mental issues have disappeared. I was drinking a ton of black coffee and diet coke every day to "give myself energy" and to also keep my feelings of hunger at bay. I knew that that wasn't following IE but it was a hard habit to break. Anyway I gave up the coffee and I've been strictly limiting diet coke/tea/caffeine drinks to two or less per day. Of course there was the first few days of being a raging beotch because of the withdrawals but I'm so calm and collected now. My energy levels are stable and I no longer have the tired/weak/depressed/irritable periods during the evenings. I cannot believe how good I feel.

So yeah now I'm off alcohol, coffee, and drugs and SURPRISE I feel good. I'm actually less hungry, too. I can't believe I let myself do this to my body this long. I was miserable! Now I feel like myself again.

Locke I worry so much when you refer to your drug use. IE is helping me face and resolve or deal with many issues that I was using to suppress. I hope it does the same for you and the you find some peace from substance abuse. I'm not a drinker and I don't do narcotics but I've battled a cigarette addiction for a long time, I know how a vice can derail someone.