That is a great idea! I am terrible about tasting while I cook.

I agree. The first few weeks, I was constantly thinking the weight would come back. But I kept at it. And now that it hasn't (like it did with many diets I've tried), my mind is much at ease. I know it works and I know it will continue to keep the weight off, even if I never lose another pound (which would be okay).

Katterina, isn't that great when you find something that works? I just noticed that when I get busy at say the computer, I forget about hunger. I was really hungry before I sat down to type and then I forgot about it. I guess that is what I have heard about your body using fat when you can't get to food and your hunger goes away. It wasn't that I couldn't get to food, I was just busy reading and typing. Interesting.

Thanks, ALO22 and everyone, I guess I just need to get that off of my chest. I feel better today. It's just that I feel like I'm on a diet now with all of these restrictions.

Katterina, IE is wonderful. I will never go back to real dieting, even if I don't lose weight.

i just noticed something: I ate two slices of wheat bread and my belly BALLOONED!!!! It got all rounded and big and hard. It's the first time I actually paid attention to the size of my belly before and after eating a particular food. I can't believe it. Maybe I am not that big, maybe some foods do make me bloated?

I stopped adding salt to food and i've really noticed the difference. Specially at night, I don't have to get up and pee every time I turn around in bed (it was a weird thing that would happen before I stopped eating salt).

I don't know if I'll ever lose the 10/15 lbs i would love to lose, but it's a nice things to learn to know your body and its reactions instead of just bashing yourself every time you look in the mirror.

depressed about money... I just ate 2 scoops of ice cream that I didn't want and didn't enjoy...

patience..

On the flip side: IE is about accepting that there is little control in life. Maybe too much control is what leads us to eating disorders. The illusion of control. Maybe when we accept that life if unexpected, we will be better prepare to enjoy the ride... I think I'm onto something here...

Ladies, at what age did you have your first child? This is something I've been thinking about seriously for a year now, but we don't have health insurance yet. I know deep down in my heart that the moment I get HI, there won't be any rational force on earth to stop me, not even my husband :LOL:

I used to get very concerned about not being in the perfect situation to have a baby. You know: a phd, $200000 a year, the big SUV and $2000 monthly mortgage. Gosh, I would be 45 before I get that! IF I ever get that.

Now, don't get me wrong, I have plans: I want to sign up for grad school and I'd love a better job. DH has no college degree (*gasp*), he is still a bit lost. But he is super smart and really hard working. I know we will make it. I think we are adults now

Baby fever may sound cute, but it's one of the strongest feeling a woman will ever experience. People who haven't had it cannot understand it, and I know DH finds it cute, funny and a bit scary. Sometimes I feel I am going crazy, sometimes I walk down the baby isle in the grocery store and just stare. I've taken pregnancy test knowing that I wasn't pregnant.

I am glad I haven't had a baby yet. It's been painful, but I've learnt so much. Mainly to be patient and to understand that life can't be rushed. I think I'm a bit wiser.

It will happen when it has to happen and I will just hope for the best with the certainty that I will do my best and I will decide what I think is the best. I can't do much more than that.

Because life doesn't work in order. It seems like we all try to convince ourselves that life (and weight control, for that matter) is a straight line. All we are gonna do is hit the wall so hard. And then, we'll have to rebuild from scratch, without pressure, just enjoying being here and alive

ALO22, I had baby fever quite young.....22. We have 10 children so I guess I never got over it. ha! It has been extremely rewarding. My husband is a veterinarian and I have a degree in special ed but had a little girl before he got out of vet school and found out what I really wanted to do so I never taught. It was hard at first but his senior year he got an army commission so we got a good salary from that. It was harder when he first went out on his own as a vet but got better as the years went by, money wise. I had my last baby at 41 and never did anything to prevent it so went right into menopause after stopping breastfeeding at 43. Now all our kids are grown and we are expecting our 11th grandchild. I am 60 yr. old.

I had my first child at 23. I wanted to wait till I finished college but it didn't work out like that. I went back to school when my son was 3 months and graduated with a degree Bachelors in Social Work by the time he was 15 months. I had my daughter at the age of 25. Got my tubes tied cause I had also had two miscarriages and didn't want to take anymore chances.

I have really been struggling lately with wanting to start an actual diet. I even bought the Belly Fat Cure Book. I started reading it and realized this is ridiculous. I mean all the restrictions and special foods you have to buy. I can't afford to grocery shop just for myself and my family. Also, a lot of the things are in health food stores. They can be pretty pricey.

Anyways, I decided to just stick with IE and try to do my best and maybe I will start to lose weight again. I guess I am just getting impatient as I haven't lost any weight since Thanksgiving. Wish me Luck!!!

Carolr--Happy to hear things are okay with your husband.

Ladies--I subscribe to the thread with no e-mail notification. So each time I visit the site I go to "user cp" and I can look at my subscribed threads. That way you don't have to look for the thread each and every time.

I hadn't binged in a long time but I did 3 days in a row. I'm not sure I should be counting binge free days. Maybe that's too much focus on that kind of like dieting. IDK.

I want to cry!

I've been reading this thread for the past week as I've been giving intuitive reading a try.

Let me give a little background... I am SO obsessed with food. I have been for so long. Making plans, counting calories, feeling HORRIBLE if I go off plan. It's been such a negative thing for me.

I saw this thread a while last week and figured, what have I got to lose?

I can't even tell you guys how FREE I've felt. Now that NOTHING is forbidden I'm not over eating things. I eat when I'm hungry and if I'm okay then I don't.

I just want to SCREAM! Dieting has been a battle for the past 4 1/2 years (and I'm only 21!).

Today I had a bagel with peanut butter and a banana for breakfast. For lunch I had some ritz crackers and a salad with homemade dressing and croutons. For a snack I had a handful of chips and some hot cocoa. For dinner hubby and I have having tacos with beans, rice, avocados and salsa.

Not what I would have considered before "perfect" day by any means... BUT IT'S OKAY! I'm finally realising that it's okay.

FreeSpirit, that is just fabulous!

And what you want to eat will change over time, for all sorts of reasons. You'll realize something makes you feel sluggish, and then you won't eat it because you don't want to, not because you think you shouldn't. And man, treats are so much sweeter when you don't feel guilty about them

ALO22, I had my first baby at 27. I know! Kinda late, I guess, but I had just gotten married the year before. It was not planned, either, but it worked out so well, I can't complain. I had my second when I was one month shy of 31. I had gestational diabetes with him, so I figured that was where we should stop. Diabetes is no fun.

Since our first was such a surprise, I felt very much not ready to have him. I had never taken care of a baby before and it was a shock to realize how difficult it was. He was nine months old before I started feeling better about the whole situation. I know that sounds bad, but mothering didn't come naturally to me. When our second son was born, I was an expert. lol Really, I don't think there is anything that can prepare you enough to be parents, except just doing it, and then realizing you can! Good luck!

Natoshial, Shay, and Free Spirit,

WTG!!

All of that never really worked out for me, either. Counting, journaling, restricting, planning an entire week of meals in advance, OBSESSING...

I was flipping through another new diet book in November and realizing to myself, "I wouldn't last a WEEK on this one! My life will never be this predictable and two-dimensional... why bother???"

Hey, that's what hubby and I made for dinner tonight! Great minds think alike.