Hey all.

On TV they're talking about warm brownies and chewy cookies. I'm not hungry so this isn't bothering me.
However:

I'm reading a book by Geneen Roth about intuitive eating, listening to your body cues, eating when you're hungry and eating exactly what you want. It's hard for me to just drop all 'dieting' ideas, so I've been trying to listen to my body's cues, but keeping tabs on my calories as well, kind of like a safety net.

I've been doing okay. Not working about as much as I'd like due to being really tired and busy, but I've been really good about the treats that patients bring in to the office- thinking a lot if I want it, why do I want it? Then eating it if I decide to with out guilt ( yay).

I thought I had finally found somethign I could do for life...for real. But then today I ate a bunch of Butter Finger "fun" sizes. Like 7 of them at least! I know that I shouldn't let one day get me down, but it's always one day...I do well for a few days, then have a day like this, and then be on plan again, and then fall off the wagon again....it's not the bad days, it's that it never gets better...it's a bad cycle and it's causing me think I'm always going to be this size...with saddle bags, and when I look into a mirror and smile and see my fat smile, too. It's not like I always think this way, but it does get me down. I'm just confused because there is so much out there, what to eat, what not to eat....(sigh). I've had so many 'epiphany' days where "This is it! For real! I'm sick of being this way, I'm going to devise a practical plan to get healthy! Yeah!"... well, now that excitement and energy just isn't there as much. Where am I going with this? I dunno. Just to vent I guess.

I'd love to sit down with out covering my stomach. And I hope to swim again before I'm 30 ( I am 28 ).

Thanks for your ears,

Og

You currently weigh 158 lbs, only 18 lbs over your goal. Why are you not swimming now??

For me, intuitive eating doesn't work because I can easily eat when I'm not hungry and have no sense of fullness (no stopping point). There is no way possibly I could "intuitively eat" Butterfinger fun size bars. I would not be satisfied with 1-2. I would want...10 or so. I hope it works better for you, but I had to plan meals (what to eat, when to eat it) to lose weight and keep it off.

I weigh 127 and still have saddlebags (in fact the left thigh is annoyingly, obviously bigger than the right). It's just the way I'm built. I don't let that keep me from swimming.

Hey OG... You have lost over 60 lbs so far, that is fantastic. Your starting weight is not much under where I am now which inspires me! What makes you think this is such a "bad cycle" that you're in? We all have days where we eat unhealthy things or off-plan... but the fact that you get back on the wagon is the point. I think you're doing great.

You have done fantastic. We all definitely eat off-plan at times. The important thing is getting back on plan after this happens. I agree with Glory, I couldn't eat just a couple of those tiny candy bars either, I'd eat half the bag. I have found that when I do eat sugar, that it takes me a couple days to get back on program. The cravings intensify so badly. When I was at your current weight, I had doubts too and thought I would never see my goal. I plugged along and it took a while but I finally made it. Good luck and best wishes. Know that you are an inspiration to many.

Hi--I just checked out this forum for the 1st time this morning.

What everyone has posted makes sense--you have to find what works for you. Some parts of intuitive eating make sense to me (listening closely to body's own hunger cues). OTOH, I have been a WW Lifetime member for almost 2 years (woohoo!) and still avoid ff sugar-free chocolate pudding. It's on their list as a calcium food, if you make it with skim milk. This does not really take into account the fact that I would inhale the whole bowl and then feel incredibly sick. So I avoid it. I make some very healthy treats at home that are whole-grain based and very low sugar (I substitute with applesauce, for example).

All in all, I think focusing on one small goal at a time can really. Also planning the food for the day the night before can be helpful.

Thank you all for your help. Today's a new day. I'm going to go the counting calorie route. I'm not exactly over excited about it, because I don't want to be a slave to numbers, but there are other chicks on this board (Glory) who have had great success with it over the long term...besides, it's not like I * wasn't*calorie counting before.

My plan: yes, listen to my body's cues, don't eat simply to eat, but eat when I'm hungry. Even though Butterfingers (why?? I don't even like them that much, they get stuck in my teeth!) can be allotted into my calories, that doesn't mean they do well with me. I am hypoglycemic and bipolar, so you can bet that the sugar messes with me on many levels. I would be doing myself a huge favor by cutting it out. Looking back on it, I fell into the pit o butter fingers because I was stressing and they were there. End of story. It's going to take some time for me to work through the emotional food link, but Geneen Roth's book helps in that respect. Last night I never would have come to this conclusion..thank you all so much.

With working out, I'm still working it in. Like I said, I've been so tired lately that I am trying to get back up to normal and rested before I take on a lot of walking...but also I need to understand that any exersize is better than none. if I can't do an hour, it doesn't mean that half hour or 45 minutes is out of the question. Thank you all so much!!

I'm doing the intuitive eating thing too.

It's good that you've already identified that eating the candy bars makes you feel physically icky afterwards. Next time you get a craving for them I bet you'll take that into account when you're considering whether you really want them.

Even though one of the principles of intuitive eating is that you can eat anything you want, there's nothing to say you can't teach yourself to want things that are more healthy than what you're currently eating. I used to be really hooked on junk food and sugary stuff, but I haven't had them for months and don't crave them either. It wasn't that I made a conscious effort to cut them out--I just started treating myself by cooking gourmet meals using whole foods and came to the conclusion that I like my own cooking way more than I like junk food, and it is more healthy besides.

So my point is, maybe with a little creativity and experimentation you can find something you like as much as the candy bars that is a little more healthy besides?

I definitely agree that a good eating plan can help manage bipolar disorder. Complex carbs. can be good for mood stability (whole grains, some cold cereals) and lean protein will help.

I use microwave popcorn to manage the salt/crunchy cravings. For chocolate, I eat a very small square of pretty intense dark chocolate. Tastes better than a 1/2 bag of, oh, lets say, Tootsie Rolls. Keeping junk out of the house is essential for me. If I really need ice cream I get a small cone at an ice cream parlor. I'd rather pay $3 for a kiddie cone than be surrounded by the temptation of more ice cream in my freezer.

It would be a better world if healthy food were as widely available as junk!

OG, there is an IE thread here that you might enojoy........intuitive eating #2. Also there is a REALLY good book on IE, The Overfed Head by Rob Stevens that answers just about any question you might have on diets.