Hello Bonnie If IE books interest you I have read 1 and am reading the second the first one I read is I Can Make You Thin by Paul McKenna and I am now reading the Eden Diet, which are basically about the IE system. Will post more as I read more, but I am in the first chapter and I like it!! God bless. Tammy

Carol, I'm like you, I like to eat while I'm on the computer. Multi-tasking just comes naturally. And I agree with CatholicCajun, within hunger and fullness, who cares if you eat and read! There are plenty of naturally thin people who eat and read or watch tv or whatever! But I guess the idea behind not eating and doing other activities is a way to avoid mindless eating. Might not be a bad idea at first when someone is learning to listen to their fullness signals but I don't see any reason to never again enjoy two activities at once. I did watch a video somewhere on the web a long while ago about the activity, such as watching TV and munching, becoming a trigger to eat anytime the TV is on. But again, if we are listening to hunger and fullness signals, that shouldn't be a problem.

EDIT: Just wanted to add this, have been meaning to share ...

Here's a funny, but true, thought I've been tossing around for a while now ...

I didn't become overweight because I wasn't counting my calories or watching my carbs. I didn't become overweight because I would have seconds on the mashed potatoes. I didn't become overweight because I ate too much fatty or fried foods. I didn't become overweight because I wasn't counting my points. I didn't become overweight because I didn't eat 3 meals a day. I didn't become overweight because I ate more than salads. I didn't become overweight because I combined the wrong foods. I didn't become overweight because I enjoyed occasional desserts and snacks. I didn't even become overweight because I ate too much from time to time ...

But I did become overweight because I overate regularly. I overate when my stomach wasn't asking for food with a little growl. I overate when my stomach had said "enough!" but I kept on eating anyway. I overate when I would pop a piece of candy here or there that I wasn't really hungry for. I even overate when I would nibble on the veggies on the veggie tray after dinner that I wasn't really hungry for ...

So why on earth do I need to count points, carbs, fat grams or calories or avoid certain food groups all together to lose the weight I gained OVEREATING?

Intuitive Eating just makes so much sense! Stop overeating and the weight will come off! Right? Now if I could just pound that in my head and STOP OVEREATING! lol!

I saw the show that ran on 'I Can Make You Thin' by Paul McKenna. I think it was on a couple of years ago. Very interesting and did help me alot with how I ate. Unfortunately I got away from it and binged again. I just order and read Women, Food and God. A great read and I am reading it again more slowly. It isn't about 'God' as we know it. It is about intuitive eating and getting control over the emotions that got us this way. I saw this first talked about on Oprah. I rarely watch her shows anymore, but am glad I did on this day. Anyway, thought I would share.

Wow Blue, you should write a book. Here are more interesting thoughts from Michelle May, M.D.

A Parable about a Hidden Force that May Be Keeping You Stuck

The sisters Regret and Guilt look a lot alike but they are very different.

When Regret makes a mistake she cries, “Oh, I wish I hadn’t done that!” or “Why did I do that?” or “I’m never doing that again!”

But when Guilt makes a mistake she yells, “You idiot, you blew it again!” or “You are such a loser—what’s the matter with you?” or “You might as well give up; you’re never going to get it right.”

Regret makes mistakes all the time. She figures that everybody does, especially when they’re learning something new. Regret doesn’t even really seem to mind making mistakes because she always learns something that helps her do things a little differently the next time. She even laughs at herself and shares her mistakes with others so they’ll learn too. She doesn’t care that other people sometimes do things better—but she wants to be the best she can be so she never gives up trying.

Of course, Guilt makes mistakes too but she blames herself because she believes she should know better. Instead of helping her learn, her mistakes just prove that she is a bad person and that something is wrong with her. She is often angry with herself and sometimes other people. Secretly, she feels unloved and unworthy so with every mistake she resolves to do things perfectly the next time to prove to everyone else that she is good enough.

One day, Regret and Guilt agreed that it was time to make some lifestyle changes. Regret regretted that her energy level was low and she wasn’t able to do all of the things she wanted. Guilt felt bad too—guilty that she was “too fat and lazy.”

Like most people, Regret had been on dozens of diets and knew they just didn’t work for her. She decided that this time she would make small changes to the way she ate. She started by paying more attention to her hunger and fullness cues. It sounded simple enough but it wasn’t as easy as she thought, especially when someone brought donuts to the office. After two days of eating donuts mid-morning, she realized she needed to make a plan. She gave herself extra time in the morning to have breakfast and pack lunch. She also made a list of other things she could do when the donuts were calling her. She continually tweaked her plan to figure out what worked the best and congratulated herself on her small successes.

A few days into it, she had a really stressful day at work and was thrilled when she remembered that it was her co-worker’s birthday because that meant cake! She wasn’t hungry but had a piece of the delicious chocolate cake while she celebrated with her friend…then went back for another piece after everyone else returned to their desks. Within an hour she noticed she felt tired and a little sick—but still stressed out. Regret regretted her decision to have the second piece of cake—but not the first! She decided that next time she felt stressed she would take a short walk instead of going back for more.

Guilt liked the idea of using hunger and fullness too—but she had failed on so many diets that she doubted she would do any better with this approach. She told herself that this was her last chance to get it right so every time she felt like eating she made sure she was hungry first. She felt great because she was doing it perfectly! After a week of only eating when she was hungry, disaster struck. She had already eaten most of her lunch at her desk when her boss showed up with cake to celebrate Secretary’s Day. She had a piece even though she wasn’t hungry. Within a few minutes she was berating herself for her terrible mistake, knowing that she had failed at this too. She gave up and went back for a second piece. She felt so bad about herself that she picked up a pizza and ice cream on the way home. After all, she couldn’t even get this right so what was the point?

Although Guilt was well intentioned, her unrealistic expectations and the shame and blame she heaped on herself were preventing her from learning, improving, and forgiving herself when she made choices that didn’t work out well. She even felt guilty for feeling guilty!

She finally asked her sister for help. Regret explained that while there's always room for improvement, toddlers fall down many times before becoming proficient at walking. They may cry but they don't feel ashamed. Instead they get up, make adjustments, and try again. Her favorite words of wisdom:

* Perfection is not possible--or necessary.
* When you make a mistake, don't miss the lesson.
* Small changes slowly add up to big changes.


Eat Mindfully, Live Vibrantly!Michelle May, M.D.

I've been focusing on just the thing she said above in the quote!

Excellent article! Love it!

Blue and Carolr thanks for the great post, it really makes me think

Blue and Carolr Thank you SO MUCH for those awesome articles, truly a gift to all of us. God Bless. Tammy

I try to weigh once a month and if I can make it longer then I keep going. I am tempted to weigh more then once a month but all it does is ruin my day and my mental/anti dieting way of thinking, so I talk myself out of weighing. The diet mentality is hard to break but I have stopped looking at labels or my watch/time for that matter. I can look at my watch but if it has to do with how long has it been since my last meal then I can not look at it. I also try not to eye ball or guesstimate calories, and I also don't play the guilt game of I shouldn't of eaten that. It is hard especially after years of dieting. Just keep at it and it will become easier.

Bonnie Getting over the diet mentality is a LOT harder than it sounds, we have all been brainwashed for so long that we have to try and de-program ourselves.

I had "fasted" from the scale for 2 weeks, it was an addiction I needed to break free of and I DID IT, it was hard, but I did it. I weighed in yesterday and did not lose but did not have a gain, so I am going to try and go another 2 weeks without the scale, otherwise, I will be on that thing everyday!

I just finished the Eden Diet, and liked it and liked what it said, it more or less reinforces the Lightweigh, Weigh Down and IE principals, but I like things in writing and I like them simple.

Have a blessed day all. Tammy

Tired today Busy weekend at a Bible conference. Ate food I really didn't care for and I know sometimes when that happens I go searching for things that taste good not always finding them. What to do then? You tell me.

Bonnie I hope we can be of encouragement and help for you.

Carol Good point. No answer for you. Hope you enjoyed the conference at least.

Have a blessed evening all. Tammy

The conference was great! Another question....I awoke at 5:30 am and was very hungry then went back to sleep and awoke at 7am....not hungry. What's with that?