Tried IF but just can't do it since IE. I get so hungry right away in the morning.

Lately I have been wondering if I actually don't eat enough and then get really hungry, feel deprived and overeat. My husband is always saying I don't eat enough. ( He could be full of it) I always point to my body as "exhibit A" that I obviously eat plenty. But, I think sometimes I don't eat much for meals because I am worried about overeating and then end up snacking a lot and eating lots of sugary processed stuff because I am still hungry. I have noticed that if I eat a really filling satisfying dinner, Im not really thinking about dessert, the way I am if try to eat less dinner, or even just eat until I can't feel "hunger" anymore.

So, Im still figuring stuff out. Still working on body acceptance, and I have my good days and my bad days. Hard to believe it takes this long to heal my relationship with food and my body. Oh well, onward.

I agree, it takes a long time to find balance with food but if we look at it optimistically it helps us grow and learn about ourselves. It's nice to always be open minded and looking at our food intake objectively.

One one hand I can attest to not eating enough being a small problem that continuously adds up. That's why I always tend to eat between a 7-8 on the scale. If I eat less than that I get snack attacks and frankly I don't have the time and energy to think that much about food. Plus snacks get in my way of truly enjoying my meals. On the other hand by continuously eating just past fullness is what keeps my weight from going down. But tipping the balance is risky because I go into binge mode very easily still.

Dessert - it's just a habit, it really really is. I'm not into depriving myself but I don't like the idea of having to contemplate sweets on a daily basis. If I'm out, if I'm at a party, if dessert is presented then I enjoy it. But if there are cookies in the house then I have to put myself through a decision process several times a day. So I've put myself out of the habit of thinking and contemplating sweets. My body is used to not having a bunch of sugar. So don't forget about the habitual aspect of food, it does a play a role.

I'm still hanging in there, too.

I know what you mean, I think this is my issue as well. Eating a little bit more than my body needs at every meal. It's true that dessert is pretty habitual, I used to have to chew a piece of gum after every meal but the artificial sweeteners started bothering me over time so I cut that habit. At first it was very hard but because I knew it would physically hurt me to chew the gum, I was able to break the habit. Right now Im eating some dark chocolate after dinner to fill the sweet habit. I know I don't really need it but I also know if I feel deprived I can go into binge mode as well.

I decided to finally start keeping a food journal of sorts. Writing down my meals, if I had mouth hunger or stomach hunger, and my feelings. I know writing really helps me, I just have been very resistant to it because it felt like restriction or dieting. I *think* I have reached a point where I can do it without feeling resistance. We will see. Today is only my second day of doing it.

Good for you! I think about abandoning things but then I realize it never works. I was looking at old pictures of me about 20 pounds lighter and I realized that every time I got to that weight was me doing calorie counting. And it never ever lasts. Even if I think it will THIS time. I just can't go back to it.

Pinkhippie, I see you are about only 20lb overweight. Now I wish I were only that. I was always trying to get back to my hs weight and if I had not dieted I think I would be fine. I am 5ft. 4in. and 165. I think if you stick with it you'll be glad.

Thanks Carol. It is hard for me because I spent most of my life between 145 and 155 and a size 8 to a size 10. (usually 10) Now I go between 165 and 175 and go between size 12 to a size 14. I know its not that big of a deal but I still miss my old thinner body.

Its funny though because I was reading an old journal from when I was 20 and I weighed 140 and I was unhappy! I felt huge and I wanted to weigh 125. Obviously now I would be thrilled to weigh 140 and I don't even look at that as a realistic goal for me.

So, I can definitely see what you are saying and I have tried so hard to accept myself at this size but Im still having trouble.

The argument that someone weighs less than you is reason enough to be happy has never worked. Everyone's internal struggle is real. I have friends that aren 140lbs and complain about their weight and I feel jealousy but I wouldn't tell them they don't get to feel what they feel. I think we all struggle with this.

Right now I wish I were under 150 but it just doesn't happen. I don't think about 120 anymore. The only time I lose weight is when I am sick and I'd rather not be sick.

I have been trying to wait until I am truly hungry before I eat. I notice that I seem to be much more sensitive to my feelings of satiety if I do that.

Today I waited until I was quite hungry for lunch. I ate a moderately sized lunch until I felt satisfied and then went and ran an errand. The errand had an unpleasant part to it, that involved getting slightly confrontational about money. The price on the website was different in person. I hated being confrontational and felt kind of icky as I left. Suddenly I was quite hungry. I drove home thinking about how starving I was and just thought to myself that I must not have had enough lunch. I felt a legitimate pang in my stomach. I got home, opened the fridge and eyed the chocolate cake left over from labor day. I reached out to take it but then thought, I don't really want to eat chocolate cake when I'm hungry, it will just make my head feel funny. I eyed the leftovers of my lunch that I had put in the fridge and that didn't look appealing at all. As I stood there, I asked myself " Am I hungry?" I realized that I was not, that I felt very uncomfortable about the errand and the confrontation. As soon as I realized that I felt uncomfortable about my interaction and that is what was driving me to the fridge, the pang in my stomach disappeared.

I realized I was not hungry at all. It was so crazy because I really felt hungry. But, I think by waiting until I am really hungry to eat, I have been really developing the knowledge of the difference between emotional hunger and physical hunger/

So, I closed the fridge and went on about my day, choosing to wait until I was physically hungry again before I ate.

It feels like I learn these lessons over and over again, for some reason the knowledge is easily lost. Im hoping that this learning experience will stick with me this time.

What a relief this must have been. This is the trap I fall in over and over again. I fall victim to my emotions all the time. Not as much as I used to but emotions are a food trigger. Anxiety especially, I am not good at dealing with anxiety, it keeps me in a heightened state of munching. You did such a good job at thwarting a binge (what I consider a binge anyway). You should be very encouraged by this, I am and it didn't even happen to me lol!

Thank you Palestrina! I really do feel good about it, and proud of myself. I feel like I have become much more aware. At the same time it amazes me how unconscious I have been for most of my life and it disheartens me that I feel like I keep figuring this out and then forgetting it.

Anxiety is definitely a trigger for me as well, and I don't even realize it, I just think I am hungry. And its subtle anxiety now. Big anxiety now will make me have a flash of wanting food but I usually recognize it immediately for what it is. It's the little insidious stuff that gets me now. All we can do is keep striving for awareness.

I was aware as I was coming inside the house towards the fridge that there was part of me that wanted to examine my emotions and make sure that I was really hungry and not emotionally eating. A larger louder part of me was pretty much like " Screw being aware and checking out emotions. I don't care, I'm so tired of being aware, just this one time, I just want to EAT!" And it felt very uncomfortable and hard to resist that voice.

I really think only my practicing of eating when I am truly hungry is what clued me in. Otherwise I would have stayed in the same pattern.

Anxiety usually turns off my hunger.

Hi. I am working on my IE habits as a countermeasure against the more and more frequent evening binging I've been doing the last 6 months with the completely predictable outcome that I've gained 10 pounds. My issue is EXACTLY the above. How is it intuitive to stop before I'm truly full? And if I do that repeatedly, the "poor me" feeling sets in just as surely as with any other form of restricting. But if I eat to just past fullness of foods prepared in ways that I truly enjoy, even practicing volumetric principles of loading up on veggies, I don't lose weight. Most days, I don't feel satisfied on fewer than maintenance-level calories. So, IE is feeling like a dead end as far as weight loss is concerned. Your thoughts?

I wouldn't say it is a dead end, I have managed to lose weight and keep it off with IE. Feasibly the only way I can lose the 50lbs my body doesn't need is to restrict. But for those of us with eating disorders diets are not even an option.

I would suggest examining what "truly full" means to you and your body. It is helpful to use the hunger scale for this. Mindful eating has been crucial for me to not only connect with my body while eating but also enjoy eating again. I always feel fuller 20-30 minutes after I've eaten, so it's important that I don't eat until I'm truly full, because I know I will feel truly full within a half hour after I stop. It takes time to learn, but it is difficult to learn if your're still thinking about calories and volumetrics and other dieting principles.