Urgh! I had a terrible 2 or 3 days of IE starting from Tuesday afternoon. I've been really messed up with it.

On Tuesday I was depressed/over-tired, then Wednesday some stupid idiot lady shouted at me when I was already feeling depressed and made me cry for the next 2 hours and by that time my eating had gone to **** in a handbasket. Yesterday was slightly better since I took the day off work and had a filling breakfast, was hungry for lunch, then had a couple of small biscuits to keep me going for kickboxing, however when I got home I was kinda hungry, so I decided on PB on toast with an apple and that just escalated into lots of eating, and I was quite hungry, but quite a lot of what I ate was done in that standing-up-cramming-it-in way.

Today is going to be better, I feel well-rested. I have great food with me that I want to eat, I am going to go training tonight and all should be well.

Sorry you had a bad time of it and 2frus and here is something for the mean old lady for making you cry. Hope you feel better

Well realized why i am so obsessed with making my exercise goal. I was up late talking a friend and I didn't want to get up and work out. I got on the scale as motivation I was down, but no down as much as I would have been if I had exercised when I was supposed to. It just wasn't possible with an schedule change and still working the second job.

I bought a strictly weight training DVD, Jari Love. We'll see how it goes.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Obie, I totally love Jari Love! I do her "Slim and Lean" video almost exclusively. It's so much better than just doing weights on my own, as she really makes you do a TON of reps. I did it for a few months before screwing up my leg and oh my gosh it really made the inches fly off. I'm still doing the upper body segments of the video and it really shows on my arms. Tell me what you think! And don't be scared to increase the weight if it seems too easy.

2frus - I hope you're feeling better!

I'm doing pretty well with the IE these days. I'm also reading "The Beck Diet Solution" and really enjoying it. It has all these cognitive behavioral techniques to keep you motivated and change negative thought patterns. I'm a sucker for a good therapeutic self help book. LOL!

I got Get ripped since it is the first one and I read reviews and Slim and Lean is pretty serious. I give it a try tomorrow morning, will let you know what I think.

Ulapie - I've been inching my way through the Beck book, too, and I'm really enjoying it! It's not "IE" exactly, but as long as I skip some of the "ignore your hungry" suggestions, it's a really great addition to my usual cycle. I find that if I'm reading SOMETHING, I'm more likely to implement my IE/mindful stuff than if I'm just trying to rely on my memory (I tend to dig out the Koenig book about once a month and flip through it!)

I might have to try those Jari Love workouts - I'm always up for a new workout DVD! I personally ADORE Cathe Friedrich - if you want a serious weight workout, she's amazing! I tend to rotate a lot - I have a whole shelf of workout stuff - about 15 of the Friedrich ones, some Gilad, and some assorted kickboxing/bootcamp/bellydancing/etc. I find I don't like the perky stuff, but I have a few of the "Firm" ones, too, for days I'm ready for something a little more fluffy (still a good workout, but a little more cheerleader-ish).

Lately I've been struggling to find an hour for a lifting DVD, though - I just have too much on my plate to schedule more than 2 hours for workouts each day, and it takes that to get my tri training in (swim or run mornings, bike or lift evenings). I'm going to be lost when I move in July - I highly doubt I'll have much room for my current basement "gym" in an apartment on my own... I have a small bench with an array of free weights, an elliptical trainer, and a heavy bag on a big freestanding frame. Along with a bunch of little stuff - a swiss ball, balance boards, jump rope, bungees, etc.

I'm stressing at the moment after a long meeting with my mentor - I'm in full "writing" mode for my thesis, along with a few final experiments that need wrapped up. It's taking a lot out of me, especially considering that I've always used food to break up the monotony of a day at the computer. I'm managing to avoid the munching by doing the work at the library instead of my home office, though that sometimes make it challenging to eat when I DO need it! I've been spending my lunch hour at the animal shelter walking dogs, instead of at home staring at the TV and eating, which is really helping me break up my routine and get a little fresh air, too!

Even though the scale doesn't "matter" to me nearly as much, I'm happy to say that I'm back down to where I was a few weeks ago (a visit from my fiance tends to throw me off for about a week!) It may sound strange, but I'm actually really enjoying tracking my daily weight fluctuations and seeing where I end up. I don't obsess over the fact that I'm not losing quickly, because I know I'm learning better habits that will help me stay healthy long-term. Frankly, I don't really care if I stay the exact same weight forever, as long as I can be active and do everything I want to do (honestly, I know that I CAN'T do everything I want to do at my current weight, but I'm starting a rockclimbing class anyhow - I think it's going to be darn hard, but I figure if I wait 'til I'm "thin" I'm going to miss out on the fact that climbing will HELP me get "thin"!) If I want a climber's body, I need to climb - not try to get a climber's body in ORDER to climb!

Rock Chalk - could you recommend a Cathe Friedrich dvd that is a full body routine? I remember looking around Amazon for one and it seemed like all of her videos focus on a certain area. I prefer to do weight training 2-3 times a week and do the whole body.

I personally think Jari Love is pretty hardcore, so you might want to give her a try. Her videos are as tough as you want them to be depending on how high you go with the weight. The Slim and Lean is really good, although it could use additional ab work and maybe some calve raises IMO.

I have a few Firm videos that I used to love. I don't have a high step anymore, so I haven't thought of doing them for a while. I only have the ones from Tracy Long who is my favorite instructor of all time. She's all business and no annoying chirpy stuff.

Ok advice. I have the Jari love and she requires a step for some stuff. Can I do it on my mat since i have no desire to buy a step? Or can I do them with my feet hanging of the side of my bed or something.

Obi - a lot of "step" stuff can be done on the floor, especially at first, but there are some definite benefits to having a step before long. You can often improvise some of it - I used a heavy-duty step stool for step-up lifts (the only really good way to hit hip flexors and that butt-meets-thigh point) and similar stuff for a while. I'll admit, it's been worth it to me to have a step (I have both a standard two-riser step and a high step, both of which are used in a lot of the Cathe Friedrich workouts), but if you don't have the space, you can do some of the stuff on the floor and others with improvised stuff - a $5 rubbermaid step-stool worked for me through college (though you do have to be careful about placing your feet well).

As for the Cathe stuff - my standby for a full-body workout is the Muscle Max dvd - it's pretty darn thorough (and a heck of a workout!). She uses a step and various free weights for most of her videos, and I'm pretty sure this is the same (both barbell and dumbbells, though you can usually improvise if needed). Also good is the Supersets and Push-Pull (both on one DVD) - both thorough full-body workouts, though a little more specialized than the first one (good for rotating in, probably shouldn't be the only lifting DVD to do).

Hiya all! I'm new here and I just wanted to say how happy I am to have found this forum
I've dieted since I was 12 and right now I'm sick of it, I am always either on a diet when I eat very healthily or off a diet when I eat junk. I don't have a balance and I need to get out of the on/off diet cycle! I need to learn how to eat NATURALLY and just take it easy with food. So I'm hoping to learn a thing or two from you ladies and hopefully I'll lose this weight once and for all in the healthiest way possible.

Hi everyone Gemstar , hope you stay awhile.

Well this weekend was probably my worst eating weekend since I started IE. A girlfriend of mine came out to visit and I threw IE out the window. Won't go into everything i ate, but i felt HORRIBLE. I can't even say I enjoyed it. I hated feeling full, and the food was crap so I am suffering for it now.....blah. I don't feel like I feel off the wagon. I feel like this was a good reminder on why I do IE in the first place.

On an up note. I realized I have become more critical of my body image since I've been losing and this weekend was a nice reminder that my self image isn't tied to my weight.


Hope everyone else had a better weekend

Thanks so much for the welcome!! Can you please tell me the basic principles of IE? I know it eat when you're hungry stop when you're full but how do you deal with being peckish or breaking bad habits of eating just because its there? Thanx

If you're in the UK you might want to check out the book "Beyond Chocolate". I really enjoyed it. Their principles are in my signature.

I haven't figured out about being "peckish" but some folks use a hunger scale and only eat when they feel a certain level of hunger. Sometimes if I'm just peckish I'll have a cuppa or an apple or something and wait a little longer, or until I'm a little hungrier to have a full meal.

Re: Eating just because it's there. If it's there and you're hungry, then fine, eat it. If it's there and you're not hungry then you save it for when you are

Well I had a great day on Saturday and I probably overate just a little bit too much on Sunday, but I'm back feeling myself again. I have lost that "sigh" place when you are satisfied. Before my couple of bingey days I was getting really good at noticing when I should stop eating, but now it seems to have dissapeared... I'm sure I'll find it again. I'm going to work on concentrating on my food more.

On Saturday we went hiking on the Pennine way and I did a little bit of running and it was all fabby. Yesterday we watched the marathon and then went home and lazed in bed! Hee! Oh and I made a fantastic apple crumble, unfortunately it was very very hot and all the ice cream melted on top of it and I had to wait ages for it to cool down and I really wanted to eat it RIGHT THEN!

Today my marathon training starts in earnest. I have new shoes, new socks, clean gym gear and no excuses

Wow! Thank you so much for the tips. I've just been out for brunch with my boyfriend and I ate a ham and cheese sandwich with a cup of tea and I focused on what I was eating and really enjoyed every mouthful and when it was finished I felt satisfied and didn't want any more. I finished off with another cup of tea and I felt wonderful!! Usually when I eat "bad" food like ham and cheese sarnie I decide that I've messed up my diet and am already thinking of what else to eat without actually enjoying what I'm eating.
This has been such a revelation!! Its great! Now I don't have to feel apprehensive around food! Will it fit in with my diet, do I screw the diet and risk looking like a pig etc etc..... No more!!

As for the pekish I either wait and see if I am really hungry and if I am I eat and if I'm not I try and figure out why I am wanting whatever it is.

Well after being in bed most of Sunday and generally not feeling well. Got up and did my first full workout this morning. I finally added in weights (Jari Love). So 45 min cardio and full body weight workout. I've been working up to it for a while.

I love Jari Love. I like there are "regular" looking people and I felt it. I did 2 8lb weights for most of it and 3lbs when she said to use lighter ones. Only thing I need to use another DVD for the ab workout.

I am guessing since I am so heavy the scale will not go up since i a building muscle. Curious to see what happens at the next weigh in.

Cool! A workout is so exhilarating Thanks for the advice. Is there any chance you (or anyone else) could post a typical day's meals please? I'd really appreciate that.
Thanx