So I have been doing IE for a couple weeks now, it is something I really have to think about and is VERY hard to keep myself from falling back into the diet mentality that I need to restrict certain foods and can not think of any food as "good" or "bad".
Every diet I have attempted labeled pizza as high in points, high in calories, to many carbs, not enough fiber ect... And, I LOVE pizza pretty much any kind. If we ended up having pizza for supper, (frozen, homemade or delivery) I automatically was thinking well my diet is screwed for today since "Pizza is EVIL " So instead of just eating what filled me up I would take like 5 pieces, because since I was I might as well go all out and get as much as I could, since I was really going to start following the current diet plan the next day and not eat pizza again. Ha!
What I have found in the couple times we have had pizza now with IE is that, instead of dishing up 5 slices right away (so I get enough, like before). I take ONE piece at a time sit down and eat the whole piece then ask myself am I really truly hungry for another piece? I had to remind myself that since I am not "on a diet" I can have pizza every night if I wanted. So both times I had 2 slices and was completely satisfied and not over stuffed and the best part since I didn't eat so much? I had left overs for the next day's lunch and the next day i didn't even eat all of the second one. It was a real ah, ha moment for me. Even my husband who is wonderful and super supportive asked me, does it taste ok since I only had 2 pieces. (He had made homemade pizza) I said yes it was awesome, but I am full.
I still struggle with not being restricted on anything, and really have to have a little talk with myself, and think about, am I really hungry or why am I eating this. It seems like something so simple, but really takes some good self evaluation. Thank goodness people cant hear my thoughts when I am debating with myself, they would totally think I was nuts or maybe they would completely relate.
So long story short I am grateful for 3FC for introducing me to IE and feel really good about my habits right now.
IanG, I have to respectfully disagree. Some people can eat normal portions of less than ideal foods on occasion, as a treat. I happen to not be one of those people but we're all different. Sure, eating like an angel is ideal but you don't eat like an angel either, do you? We all have things that aren't ideal but as long as most of the time, we're having nutrient rich healthy foods and we can manage to do so our entire life spans, then that's a fantastic compromise.
First, thanks for helping me decide what to have for dinner tonight. I've been racking my brain all morning about what I should cook tonight and now it's clear, PIZZA! Gosh we haven't eaten pizza since July, can you believe it???
That's what happens with IE. That's what happens when you legalize food. A food that was previous EVIL suddenly becomes no big deal - so much that you forget all about it for 2 months lol.
But seriously what you describe is only going to get better and easier. Food will lose that emotional charge that forces you to put 5 pieces of pizza on your plate for fear that tomorrow's drastic diet will leave you unfulfilled. This is all DIET NOISE. Diet noise is those pesky little rules that we've learned along the way that tell us that carbs are bad, calories are bad, fat is bad, hunger is bad, dessert is bad. Listen, if all the foods that we like to eat are bad then over time we become bad ourselves. And once we see ourselves as BAD we can't change anything, we're stuck in our own headspace judging every move and criticizing ourselves. It's not a place for growth.
When the diet noise starts to leave you can start to focus on the important voices in our heads such as "am I hungry?" "do I want to eat another piece or not?" I can't tell you how small my portion sizes are now. They are not dictated by calorie counts, fist sizes, cup sizes, or any diet. My stomach tells me pretty consistently now that I only need a couple of slices of pizza to feel full.
Feel unrestricted on enjoying foods that are good for you and are less conducive to weight gain.
That was the change in my mindset that worked for me.
Not just eating tiny portions of the same old cr@p that made me fat in the first place.
Food did NOT make you gain weight. Lots of people eat pizza and are thin. Literally millions of people eat pizza without gaining weight. Pizza does not make you fat. The choice to overeat pizza beyond your body's needs is what makes you fat.
Everybody has to do what is right for them. You've found a way to lose weight, enjoy what you eat and be healthy. That's something to be happy about. I will say though that several of your posts mention that the foods you now eat allow you to eat a lot of them. You might be a little hung up on wanting to eat ALOT of food and therefore you choose foods that you are allowed eat in big quantities. That's fine, but I'm not hung up on wanting to eat ALOT of food. My body doesn't need a lot of food. My mind doesn't need a lot of food either. We have to tend to our needs.
Demonizing food is dangerous for many reasons. It takes the focus off our own actions and puts blame in an inanimate object. For people who eat with emotional reasons (which you claim not to), eating bad foods eventually makes them feel like bad people. And food should not play a role in whether someone is a good person or not. When a person starts to see themselves as bad, and as a victim of food it becomes debilitating.
Though you don't care about the emotional ties to eating my own experience tells me that your desire to eat a great quantity of low caloric food is an emotional need, not a physical need. Your whole approach is to eat a lot of food. You used to eat a lot of bad food but then decided that you would just change the food, and not the need to eat a lot of food.
Last edited by Palestrina; 09-18-2014 at 10:43 AM.
Hallelujah! What an amazing realization, right? I hope things continue on this wonderful path for you.
Funny, I had pizza last night, too. I enjoyed every bite of my three very small homemade slices with a salad. We never, ever, ever eat pizza anymore because it usually results in me and my boyfriend scarfing down a whole, HUGE takeout pizza covered in grease. Instead, I actually lost weight after eating pizza yesterday LOL
I don't follow IE, but I don't like "rules" around what I can eat, either. I find myself eating a much healthier, well-rounded diet when I don't place restrictions on myself (I do a form of intermittent fasting, so there are SOME restrictions, just not on the kinds of food I eat). Restrictions always wind up in a binge for me.
I don't follow IE, but I don't like "rules" around what I can eat, either. I find myself eating a much healthier, well-rounded diet when I don't place restrictions on myself (I do a form of intermittent fasting, so there are SOME restrictions, just not on the kinds of food I eat). Restrictions always wind up in a binge for me.
Just a little disclaimer, there are rules and restrictions in IE as well. They're more like guidelines to tune into your body though. There are no rules about specific foods and specific meal times. But every food you eat comes with thoughts, questions, and self-assessment. Am I hungry, am I almost full now, do I want more, do I feel good eating this, do I feel good 60min after eating this, am I feeling real hunger right now or am I feeling something else that is causing me to want to eat, is this a physical craving versus habit or stress? stuff like that.
^^^ Yes, I just meant that I know IE doesn't regulate what foods you can and cannot eat, though I do understand there are other guidelines for IE. I try to practice some of those myself! The only exception I make is that I sometimes go alcohol-free for periods of time.
^^^ Yes, I just meant that I know IE doesn't regulate what foods you can and cannot eat, though I do understand there are other guidelines for IE. I try to practice some of those myself! The only exception I make is that I sometimes go alcohol-free for periods of time.
No, IE does not regulate foods you can/cannot eat. That doesn't mean that we eat everything all the time. In the beginning we are encouraged to go wild on all the foods we were banning before while dieting. But after those foods lose their "charge" we often do start staying away from foods that make our body feel bad. Sometimes if I'm feeling lethargic I'll make a choice to stay away from sugar for days at a time, or I'll make a conscious effort to avoid wheat. We can and do impose restrictions on ourselves when necessary, the difference in how we do it though is that we let it come from the inside out, we listen to our body and if our body says "I think we've had enough of fried foods!" we go with it. We don't let it come from an external voice such as being triggered by a low-carbing friend or because we have to fit into a dress by the end of the month. I don't know if I'm making sense, but you know what I mean?
I'm just trying to clear up misconceptions about IE, no worries.
So I didn't get to make pizza last night, I ran out of yeast so I headed to the supermarket this morning and got fresh yeast, mushrooms, peppers, fresh mozzarella, and a stick of pepperoni. I'm so excited but not half as excited as my son will be lol.
IanG, I have to respectfully disagree. Some people can eat normal portions of less than ideal foods on occasion, as a treat. I happen to not be one of those people but we're all different. Sure, eating like an angel is ideal but you don't eat like an angel either, do you? We all have things that aren't ideal but as long as most of the time, we're having nutrient rich healthy foods and we can manage to do so our entire life spans, then that's a fantastic compromise.
Agreed. But of all the foods I have eaten, pizza has to be the best for weight gain. It doesn't get much better than cheese and bread...combined! But I am open to suggestions.
I am a strong advocate of one-size-does-not-fit-all when it comes to weight loss so if pizza works for you so be it.
But pizza is not a food where you can assume an extra slice won't make any difference to the scale, like you can with salad or fish or this or that...
So the trade-off with not watching what you eat is with watching how much you eat of it.
The alternative is to eat foods you can pay less attention to on quantity that will not affect the scale.
Pick your poison. But one thing is for sure...eating lots of pizza will make you fat. That's pretty intuitive.
I do not follow IE but lately I found myself being much more mindful and most of all, grateful, for the foods that I eat. I think you achieved a great goal and it can only get better!
I love this quote from Dr. Yoni Freedhoff "eat the healthiest life you can enjoy" because it enables you to eat what you want while respecting your body's needs and limits. If that means absolutely no pizza for some, that's totally okay! I know I wouldn't want to leave chocolate, cheese or pasta out of my diet but I now know that I also don't want to have them as often as I used to.
Finding balance is a really hard thing to do and give yourself a huge pat on the back for being able to enjoy pizza in a healthy and joyful way
Pizza is not "EVIL" :)
" So instead of just eating what filled me up I would take like 5 pieces, because since I was 
or maybe they would completely relate.
We all have things that aren't ideal but as long as most of the time, we're having nutrient rich healthy foods and we can manage to do so our entire life spans, then that's a fantastic compromise.
