Good morning, ladies...I hope you are all doing well today. It's very cold and a little bit snowy here in Vermont today, a great day to be doing some baking, which I am. I made pumpkin muffins for breakfast, then, because I don't like to waste the heat when the oven's been on, I baked a batch of cupcakes, and now have scalloped potatoes in there, which will be wonderful for supper tonight.

It also frees me up for the rest of the day to do other things because I won't have to wonder what to make for supper later.

JamieJo, the further I get away from "diets", the less I'm depending on my scale to tell me "how I'm doing".

I've been a dedicated daily weigher for many years though, so it's going to take awhile to ditch the scale permanently, if I do. I'm not so sure any more that that needs to be a big goal for me.

Right now I've got myself down to weighing, at the most, every other day. Sometimes I even skip a few days at a time, but not often yet. Just as with diets, I'm not fretting about it.

I'm trying to go more by how my clothes feel now because I think that's a more accurate way to tell what's going on anyway. Every couple of weeks I try on my next size down jeans, and that seems to be a good progress measure.

Several years ago, when I first discovered non-diet methods, I hammered my scale and threw it away, but weighing was such an ingrained habit in me by then that I ran right out and bought a new one because I couldn't stand not knowing what my weight number was.

So, for me, I'm not going to throw away my scale again. I'm going to keep it and just weigh myself when *I* want to. If that means I weigh every day, great, if I don't weigh often at all, that's good too.

Happy weekend all!

I guess I should answer my question about IE and the holidays...this is the first year I'll be doing IE going into the holidays, and I feel a lot less stressed out then when I used to. Just eating till I feel full is guide enough for me and that feels great!

Hey guys...

So here is something I'm really trying hard to work with as far as intuitive eating...and that is principle #8:

Respect your body.

On pg 170 of the book it talks about the "body checking game." That is the game that I play a lot of times when I walk into a room or interact with different people who I don't know personally. I immediately start comparing myself to people and I especially compare myself to the person who I think is the most attractive in the room.

I hate that I do this and I now how unrealistic it is. I don't have time to get into it now, I plan to do it later on my blog...but do you guys play this game?

Here is a quote from the book:

"The game of body-checking revolves around the theme, How does my body compare to the rest of the crowd? Perhaps you've played the game (and maybe aren't aware of it): Am I the fattest one here? Who's got the best body? how do I compare with others?" pg 170

Yu, I do this. I am always comparing myself to other people. I think it takes a long time to respect yourself and be truly aware to change it.

I'm just checking in for accountability. Sorry for lack of posting, my laptop bust so I'll try and catch up with you all, hope you're well. I havent been listening to my body lately and I'm going to start right now.

I remember doing IE last Thanksgiving, and it felt SO WEIRD to leave food on my plate... and to not go back for seconds (and I even got some looks from family members)! But I realized that there's always next year: We will eat these foods again! And there are usually leftovers, so just wait till you're hungry again later in the day or eat a turkey sandwich with taters and gravy tomorrow!
Blessings and have a wonderful T-day.

A little slow here again. That's ok. I don't have much to add. I've been reading that book I mentioned awhile back. So many IE books push fat acceptance which is not for me. Oh, I don't think you should hate your body but I do want to lose weight and be satisfied with what I way which might not be where I was in my 20's but that's ok. Other wise the book is good but not much different than most I've read.

Hey everyone! Thanks all for your replies. I'm about half way done with the book but obviously still having a hard time letting go of the "diet" in my head...Looks like I might be a phase I person for awhile!!! ...At least until my trip to Cabo is over in Jan!

Jamie, I think Cabo would be a fantastic place to practice eating what you want, when you're hungry, and stopping when you're full. Guilt, stress and worry have no place in Cabo !

I can't remember what the "phases" are! Maybe I'll get the chance to do a little re-reading this weekend.

Hey Jamie,
Julie is right about Cabo. I did IE in Hawaii, and it was a great place to try it and practice the IE part about since there is no wagon or diet to get on and fall off. I was worried about vacation eating when I got to HI, but I did my best to do the IE thing.

xoxo,
R

Hey everyone, just a quick check in for me. Every day is truly a learning experience.

I am quickly realizing that I need to get my evening snacking under control. Must have something to do with not having very satisfying meals lately. Need to get to the grocery store real bad! lol

I also thought that I could try to allow myself to eat at times when not physically hungry, as with a belly growl, but I think I tend to give myself too much freedom. I was better off holding myself back a bit. Not like a diet, but at least waiting to hear from my stomach before eating.

Also, Carol, you mentioned body acceptance. I want to lose weight and shape up too and would not like to remain where I am at now for the rest of my life. One trap I find myself falling into is that when I look in a mirror and I am not satisfied with what I see I keep feeling like I've got to do something to change what I see. It feels like the diet mentality and that is causing a little stress. I even find myself thinking (just tonight for example) that I may as well just eat how much I want to eat even tho I know I just ate something. Like with the snacks I had tonight (yeah, it was a binge night). It was almost like I was thinking "why bother" because I try to eat IE and then look in the mirror and am disgusted with my mid section and I start thinking "well at least when I was watching what I ate my middle wasn't all bloated and gross like it is now." But I refuse to go on a diet. Just need to assess everything that's going on and take if from there, I guess.

I hope things will get better!

I think if something makes you bloated, that's your body telling you something that you can to listen to, same as hunger.

It's definitely got to be stuff like white flour products: pastries, pretzels, pasta, graham crackers, etc. They do it to me every time. Not to mention that I tend to be a salt-a-holic. I thought I could cut it out but I miss it when I do. I just gravitate towards salty-bready stuff. In the past I cut those things out and that helped the bloating a lot, but that's what gets me into trouble with IE ... the whole deprivation thing. So I've been eating those things that I've avoided in the past and they blow me up like balloon. I retain water very easily. It's disgusting. It may also be related to a lack of meal satisfaction (as explained in the book). I don't think I gravitate towards those foods too much when I'm really eating things I love and here lately meals have been ho-hum. I'll get it figured out. Thanks.

Well, I did it. I gave in and got on the scale. Day before Turkey Day and I couldn't resist. After feeling so BLAH last night and this morning I just had to know what my weight was. Not horrific or anything, I was at about 188-189. I searched around my old posts and I think my last weigh in was end of October at 187. Not bad considering all the garbage I've been feeding myself since then! LOL! I would attribute the increase to the bloating (maybe a little fat).

So I've learned that I can eat terribly, as far as my "healthy" vs. "non-healthy" food choices and still maintain for nearly a month. I've learned that I don't like to feel and look bloated because of something I've eaten. I've learned that the food is still going to be there and I can always go back for more. I'm in the process of learning what triggers me to eat when I don't physically need to eat. I've learned that I do eat for hard-to-detect emotional reasons like boredom. I've learned that just because I am free to eat unconditionally that I don't have to. And I'm sure there are more things I've learned so far, but that's what pops in my head at the moment.

Now, what to do with what I'm learning ... I think I will experiment with waiting for true hunger again. I started off doing this and that seemed to be going well for me. I felt better and could really detect hunger and fullness better than grazing when I wasn't really hungry like I have been doing lately. I think that may have helped keep the bloating in check too. But I will definitely try to listen to what it is that I really want to eat and eat for satisfaction so that I don't feel the need to snack when I'm not hungry. I can really see how this is all interrelated. I have been craving BLTs again. The two I had in the past month really hit the spot. Something about gobs of mayo and the tomatoes. Mmmm!

How is everyone else doing?

Well, have a Happy IE Thanksgiving everyone!

Good stuff

Oh Blue, that was so inspiring. I've learned that if you eat your favorite food (chocolate cake roll) nearly every day for a month you WILL get tired of it. Can you believe it? As for healthy food, I try to think back when I was a kid to my favorites like tomato soup with just juice and milk, juicy pears, tuna burgers, asparagus.....things like that.

From the Beyond Chocolate newsletter.

PRINCIPLE NO. 6: Stop when you're satisfied
Remind me what these principles are about.

Enough is enough

When does 'healthy eating' become 'restrictive eating'? That's a question that Dr. Michelle May, recovered yo-yo dieter and author of Am I Hungry? What To Do When Diets Don't Work, explores in a fascinating article entitled 'Paint-By-Number or Masterpiece?'

"There is a harmful idea virus," she begins, "that has become so widespread, so ubiquitous, that it is accepted as normal. It has subtly integrated itself into our beliefs, our thoughts, our language, our behaviour and our reality. It's so pervasive that it has become 'conventional wisdom'." And that "idea virus", she explains, is that deprivation is somehow healthy. "It usually starts with information about nutrition or weight management that mutates into rules and restriction. But the blurring of the line between healthy eating and restrictive eating is the difference between a work of art and paint-by-number. Either way, you end up with a nice picture - until you get up close to take a look."

You may have noticed how each of the slimming clubs has, one after the other, in recent years, re-branded its regime as a 'lifestyle change'. But, for 'lifestyle', read 'lifelong', because, take our word for it, they'll be expecting long-term commitment. In withdrawing dieters' rights to freedom about what to eat and in what quantity, they keep them right where they want them - dependant. You pays your money, they takes your choice.

May, like Beyond Chocolate, urges women to inoculate themselves against the "idea virus": "Take a close look at the 'picture of health' you're painting. Is it constrained by rigid lines and someone else's choice of colours? Or does it express your individuality, your preferences and your lifestyle? Choose now how you want to create your work of art."

Learning to trust yourself to eat whatever you want and stop when you're satisfied is healthy both in the physical and the emotional sense. As we explain in Beyond Chocolate: How to Stop Yo-Yo Dieting and Lose Weight for Good, "We are born knowing exactly how much nourishment we need and when we need it. The truth is, our body knows; it has been designed to give us clear signals so that we can tell when we are hungry and when we have had enough to eat. There's a very good reason for this. By eating just as much as we are hungry for, we make sure that it is receiving the amount of energy it needs - no more, no less. Not only is this more satisfying, it is also healthier for our bodies and essential for long-term weight loss."