So, I hadn't calorie counted for about a month and a half. Not on purpose, it sort of came about by accident. Then I thought, well, I'm already not doing that, I should read that Intuitive Eating book. But I love playing with data so I finally went back and entered a few days into FitDay. At least on those days, I was having less calories than I thought (I'm pretty sure some other days were higher). It was reassuring to see that my carbs, fat and protein all seemed reasonable, and other nutrients too.

But what surprised me was how doing that for just a few days already had me thinking about food differently, and I didn't like it! Not anything extreme, but I didn't like. I always planned to shift to an intuitive eating style eventually (albeit with more attention to nutrition; I'm into the whole foods and other things), but I expected not to even try until reaching my goal and maintaining for a while. It's a real trip to be doing it now .

The thing is, I'd like to track things just because I like studying it and learning from it. But I don't want it to change how I relate to food. I had an idea - maybe I can enter the food for the day ... but from a week ago ... so the choices are already made and enjoyed. Anyway, I was just surprised how just entering the foods into FitDay so quickly starting sucking some of the joy out of my food. So none of that for now.

Another success (I consider the post I just made a success because I learned something!): Yesterday at lunch and dinner, and today with snacks and meals, I waited until I was hungry. Yeah, seems obvious. It's not that I have really been eating when I'm NOT hungry, but I tend to like routine and I tend to eat when I planned to eat. But yesterday and today, I didn't.

Not only that, but I completely skipped what I had planned for dinner last night (a yummy Thai "pizza" [peanut sauce and pineapple are involved ] because it just seemed too heavy for stomach last night, and instead had a light "garbage" salad (clean out stuff that needed to be used up - spinach, chickpeas, avocado, tomato, bean sprouts, mint, scallion, plus added some cucumber and olives and olive olive oil). It wasn't a 100% success, because what I really wanted to have for dinner was nothing but a ton of fruit, but I thought I "shouldn't" - wish I had just done it. But it still felt good to have something closer to what felt right, instead of the planned meal. I'm not so great at giving up my plans once I make them, even on little things . That's more of a personality thing than a dieting thing .

And today I just finished having that Thai "pizza" - it was perfect tonight.

Hi, guys. OMG, this is a first! I made a curry dish for Bf and my dinner. It had pork, noodles, and lots of veggies, with curry spices and coconut milk, it was delicious. I ate a satisfying portion, and was full. We always have ice cream after dinner, and, he asked me, a couple of times during the d evening whether I wanted any. I didn't, and didn't eat any ice cream. This is major, I was really listening to my body.
Julie, I'm often reminded of what Geneen Roth says, why can't I get to my goal weight and then follow these principles? Glad you ate more along the lines of what you felt like having.
Carol3639, I aggree, I miss some who used to post here. Optical, you doing all right?
I read "The Secret"S take on weight loss, and found it similar to IE. To never thing think that food will make you fat, and to keep your ideal relationship to food firmly in your mind, excluding all other possibilities.
Amie

Anything with coconut milk or coconut has got to be good!!!

Eat when you're hungry, give your day a "spoil brat" meal day!

but remember too much of something is bad enough

Thanks for the encouragement Carol.

Julie, I too lean more towad the whole foods way of eating, but some times doing IE I have found myself eating some of the foods that I missed when dieting. I am learning that I don't like the way they make me feel though. So I guess it is trial and error that helps us learn that we really do like eating healthy after all and that those no no's we felt deprived of on diets don't really mean that much to us any more.

Amie I too find that I do pass up a lot of things I didn't use to pass up. We just became a part of a new church our pastor from our previous church started. It is contemporary and they serve finger pastries and coffee before church so we can fellowship and meet new people coming in. I was surprised that although I may have a cup of coffee on Sunday morning that I have never been tempted to eat any of the pastries. I see them, but they don't call my name. I guess that is a really big accomplishment that I haven't credited myself with.

Right now I just want to eat things that don't make me feel so full and stuffed. I really do love the feeling of just satisfied and feeling light.

Patty, sometimes it takes a very small amount to be satisfied.

I bet they're not homemade, more like inexpensive storebought stuff with lots of chemicals. The kind that don't even taste good but somehow still make it hard to stop once you start. At least I hope so!

I had a very good IE day today. I am please with the way things went. Hope everyone else has had a good day. Catch y'all tomorrow.

Good for you!!! I had a good day yesterday and today looks just as wonderful!

Hey everyone, I've been intuitive eating alright ... intuitively eating with my moods! lol Gonna have to break free from the diet/no diet binge syndrome. Not too much time to post right now, just wanted to say "Hey." I'm still around.

Hey guys...
I am basically lifting this post from my blog, since I don't have time to blog and post...this is a unique kind of IE victory:



I was at Whole Foods two days ago, looking to buy some Quality Bread.

Before you all start hating, hahaha, I only go to Whole Foods for very specific things, things that I know are excellent there. Besides in IE, it says you should eat exactly what you want.

But this post is not the bread, though it was good anyway.

I love the smell of real lavender in lotions and soaps, not the fake lavender stuff. But I would never allow myself to buy lotions that had real lavender in them because they were too expensive.

I checked out the body products aisle (and on the way there, ran into a bare-footed man with blond dreadlocks wearing a tie died sarong around his waist…haha…don’t you love Whole Foods) and inhaled all of the lovely lavender products they had to sample.

I smelled one that I really liked, and it was on sale for $5.00. I still thought that was really expensive and was kind of sad when I put it down.

Then the *voices* came back.

Head: Rachelle, are you for real? How much is that loaf of Good Bread that you have in your hands?

I gulped. The bread cost just as much as the lavender lotion.

Head: I love how you don’t blink an eye at spending $5.00 on Good Bread, yet you spend half an hour in the lotion aisle because you can’t bring yourself to spend $5.00 on something that you enjoy, you can use over and over again.

You know what? The voices were totally right! Why do I spend whatever amount of money on food, when I can spend the same amount of money on something that could pamper me and that I so truly enjoyed.

So I bought the lotion. And I love it. And every time I use it and smell it, I am reminded that I took care of myself without eating and that I DESERVE IT!

xoxo,

R

Lol, you made my morning I'll have that image in my head all day.

I've been craving lavendar lately too. My dishsoap has lavendar, but it's kinda overpowered by the tea tree smell.

I really agree about the intuitive living thing (not just intuitive eating). I think having all that happiness in other parts of our lives makes eating well all that much easier and more neutral. Plus those other things really contribute toward a more respectful and loving attitude toward ourselves, and that makes eating well easier too. Plus it's good practice.

I need to go grocery shopping really bad. I've decided to try something out that Paul McKenna had people do on "I Can Make You Thin" ... I have made a list of some of my favorite foods and I am going to purchase them all the next time I get to the store. I'm going to experiment with eating exactly what I love (not what I settle for in the name of health and economy).

Here's some of my favorite foods:
lasagna, spaghetti, homemade vegetable soup, rice (any kind), steak w/mushrooms or A1 sauce, mashed potatoes, macaroni and stewed tomatoes, matzo ball soup, taco salad, country breakfast with fried eggs, sausage and sausage gravy and biscuits, home fries (made of potatoes and onions), BLT sandwiches on toast with lots of mayo, reese cups, devils food cake with sour cream frosting, peanut butter cookies, oatmeal cookies, cheeze-its and potato chips with french onion dip.

Now if I don't go into this thinking that I'm "being bad" then I don't see how I could possibly end up binging. And if I go into this knowing that its OK to eat whatever I want and without any sense of guilt, all *should* be OK and no binge necessary. I'm a little scared that I will overdo it but I'm gonna try like heck to remain in control and just be natural around all of my favorites. A lot of that stuff I mentioned I have been avoiding because its either so high in fat or calories or sugar or whatever, but these are things I used to eat WHEN I WAS THIN!!! I didn't binge on them, I just simply enjoyed them. I'd love to regain that relationship with my favorite foods! Wish me luck!

WTG, Rachel! Enjoy the lotion. Side note, my Bf hates patchuli, I had a deodorant scented with it, and, he violently objected.
Anyway, I have a weird thing about whole foods. My family loves Home Town Buffet and fast food. I can't stand it, especially since my Dd wants to go to Home Town for Thanksgiving every year. This seems the antethesis of a lovely holiday traddition the food just tastes old and processed and all the same. When it comes to food, I like the best stuff, preferrably homemade. Went out and bought whole milk vanilla yogurt, cream cheese and pesto sauce. Going to make fresh hummus, macaroni ad cheese with green chilis, and grilled turkey and cheese sandwiches with pesto on sourdough bread. Even that weird sourdough bread you get in the stores, with all the weird ingredients that aren't supposed to be in bread, I took one bite, and said, yuck, this doesn't taste right, I can't eat this. Anyway, guess I'm just a food snob raised in California. Writing this, as I finish my yerba mate and breakfast burrito.
Amie