I'm beginning to discover that this sugar reaction is stronger than I realized. I had dessert at noon today and decided to lay down for a wee nap.....walla!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 2hr later I wake up groggy. It's amazing what you discover when you pay attention. I think I will leave any dessert type food until maybe say......right before bedtime when I need to get to sleep!!! Thanks for your responses Obi and Fiddler. They make a lot of sense.

Obi, I noticed you said, "I actually like feeling hungry." That's quite a revelation for me. Never thought about it like that before.

Yeah, its a cue for me to eat, something I didn't really have before. It was diet binge, diet, binge and following someone else's rules. Now I gauge internally how I feel and what i want to eat.

Although today I was probably at about a 7 when I finally went to eat and I overate....but it was mostly seltzer, vegetables and salad. Before IE it would have been cake, ice cream, french fries...you get the idea...

I second what Obi said. I like feeling hungry too. And I really abhor the feeling of being stuffed now. When I go out to a restaurant, I rarely get through more than the appetizer or salad and maybe a couple bites of the entree before I want to stop eating. The rest of it goes home with me in a box where it becomes one or two (sometimes even three) more meals.

LOL, before IE i never had left overs

Hi, Obi, are you still there. ha!

I tried to edit my signature but it didn't show up. Can you explain to me how to do it? Thanks.

I see it just showed up. Now how did that happen and why doesn't appear on all the posts? Computers baffle me. I have to go get a new tire for my dh so maybe I'll post later.

Hi all,

Long post/rant. Sorry!

I was looking at the reviews for Intuitive Eating on Amazon.com. Lots of "pros" a few "cons" and some not so sure. The cons seemed to be people with a disdain for fat people, those who think it is so simple to lose weight, just stop eating so much. That always makes me mad, but I know I cannot change their view, because as a fat person I must be in denial of the concept of self-control, and I also must be stupid, dirty and gross.

If the answer is to just not eat so much, anyone with an IQ over 80 would be fit and trim.

I spent about 10 years of my life socializing almost exclusively with members of a high IQ organization, and there you would find many people who were obese (must not have known how to lose weight - just stop eating so much - duh!) and even super-obese. Also, there were smokers (how smart is that?), heavy drinkers, and all sorts of "unwise" behavior. There were also quite a few that were unable to keep a job, or land a decent job, and several had very cluttered or filthy homes (obsessive compulsive in nature, perhaps, or even mental illness). I would say I saw a high occurrence of these behaviors in the high-IQ group than I do now that I am no longer associated.

My point is that intelligence cannot trump obsessive or compulsive behaviors. You cannot beat down that urge to eat with a simple "put the fork down" mentality. We all know that, but it irks me that there are a LOT of people out there who write us off as stupid, weak, and not worth knowing. This is an assumption that I make when I meet new people, that they will not like me because I am fat. When I do meet people and they enjoy my humor or see that I have common sense or intelligence, I feel that I have "overcome" their expectations of me. So, I have to win a friend by proving myself instead of just naturally acquiring a friend.

My husband has argued with me many times that this is in my own head. I've tried to show him things (TV, magazines, etc.) that prove a general hatred for fat people. I've also tried to show him examples of where "normal" sized people are labeled as overweight, as in some clothing catalogs, self-help shows, etc.

Now I think he sees the light, but also I am seeing the light that my own dislike of fat people (myself more than anyone else) is pretty strong too, so a lot of my bad feelings have come from within. It is very hard for me to accept that I could be this size forever but I am trying and maybe I am making progress there.

I have a new friend that I like very much. She's overweight too. She has been convinced that low carb was the way to go and she did that for a while, lost weight and gained it back. Now she is doing Weight Watchers with her fiance, and although I told her about Overcoming Overeating, I can tell she doesn't believe in it. I am not a good walking advertisement since I am not thin. Maybe someday though. I keep feeling that I am on the brink of a breakthrough.

Wiffle,

Which IQ society did/do you belong to? I'm a MENSA member myself.

I completely agree with you that your view of how other people perceive you is not "in your head" as your husband thinks. My experience has been the same as yours--that is, people like me once they get to know me, but because I am fat, they may not bother to try to get to know me.

Recently I reached the point in my weight loss where I apparently am not "invisible" to people anymore. And no, it is not because I am acting more confident myself due to the weightloss. I'm already one of the most self-confident (some would say insufferably so ) women you'd ever meet. I was trying to explain this concept of fat people being invisible to my counselor (she has never counseled an overweight person before), and she was so intrigued and distressed by it that she started trying to figure out if it was something she did in her own life, LOL.

With scientific evidence mounting daily that demonstrates that obesity is NOT just due to a lack of willpower, you have to wonder what excuse they'll come up with next to scorn fat people. It's almost the only remaining form of discrimination against a particular group that is still condoned by society.

Fiddler, I was in Mensa for quite a few years, before I met my husband. I found it to be a very accepting group, much more so than the majority of society. I was at my largest while in Mensa and still managed to have a good social life, while in the outside-of-Mensa world, I was excluded from the 5:00 happy hours and general parties at my job. Yet, all those people who gathered after work, the attractive single crowd, many of those people were friends with me one on one. I just didn't fit in with the flirty social circle.

When I lost weight (through obsessive exercise and calorie counting) I got so many more invitations to do things outside of Mensa. Of course my habits had changed (no drinking, I had quit smoking, etc.) and those after work drink and smoke fests were not interesting to me anymore! I do drink again, which I've been thinking might be a separate post.

Fiddler, do you socialize much in Mensa, and if so, have you found the acceptance level to be higher in that group?

At your height and size 18 I imagine that you are very visible! In a very good way!

But the prevailing thought still is, eat less, exercise more, weigh less. You can't get around it........so you HIDE......hide food, hide your behavior, hide how you truly feel about why you are fat. I spent many a day in tears last summer when they told me I had to start taking prednisone again......no compassioin from drs or others as to why you DON"T want to take it. So you just go along with what everyone says. I managed to go 25 yr. without going to the dr. (except for pregnancies) and I'm very glad I did. But in the end, I had to succumb to the dreaded drug. Hey! We all get to rant today!!

On the other hand........I had a good day eating wise today. Really busy running around getting tires, etc. Then dd and I kind of got lost on the way home because of a detour. We live an hr and a half from most any shopping area like Sams. Guess it's good to stay busy. DD does her school work at home so we stay home most days.

Unfortunately, I don't. The Mensa chapter here is mostly composed of retired people, and they plan their activities for when un-retired people are at work.

Hi Carol,

My husband has had to take prednisone for "bursts" when his asthma has been bad. I've never had to take it myself.

If it were me, I would be devastated to be getting things sorted out in my head regarding weight and yet taking this drug that undermines any good progress. Have you googled to see if there is a way to counteract the weight gain?

As I get older, I am more receptive to alternate treatments. I was recently upset because I realized that my doctor never recommends supplements and I took anti-inflammatories for months for my bursitis in my arm (which was almost unusable!) and it never got all the way better. Call it coincidence, but taking glucosamine cleared up what the drugs did not.

I'm not saying that there is something besides Prednisone, but rather something that may help counteract the weight issue.

Just thinking about you, and how understandably upsetting this has been.