good points laciemn. I believe that not only is there not a weight setpoint, but metabolism can and does change. Especially with a combination of regular good eating and exercise, notably running. Cravings can and do change. The body/mind is amazingly resilient and can rebound back to 'normal' operating range.

There might be some tipping point where the body can't get better or back to a better operating level. But hopefully most take successful actions before then.

Overfed Head is, so far, the best book I've read on the subject of intuitive eating. It is so straightforward and honest, and no psychobabble, like so many of the others out there. Right now I'm reading Overcoming Overeating by Hirschmann and Munter. It's one of the better ones I've read, but still too much analysis in there to suit my taste. Yet, it does have some useful insights and I think many people might find it useful. Everyone's needs are different.

I'm glad to hear that you are having such success. I do want to provide a word of caution, however - it's just as easy to stray from IE as it is from a restrictive diet. You can go one of two ways - just ignoring your body altogether, in which case you will put on weight - and FAST! - OR.... not seeing any appreciable weight loss (or an initial weight loss following by no loss or some gain) and then jumping back on the diet roller-coaster.

It's very easy to make IE into a diet. Some people do. I was doing well on IE when life suddenly life got in the way and I just began to ignore my body's signals. For me, the most important thing to do is to always eat without distractions. That is the one thing that triggers my overeating. I've learned that about myself...the hard way. But I'm glad I had the experience.

It might, or it might not. After really studying and practicing IE for almost a year now, I am convinced that

1. It is NOT for everyone, and
2. Even if it IS meant for someone, it will not work until they reach the point in their lives when they know they simply can no longer diet, NO MATTER WHAT.

I also truly believe that a person has to accept that they may never lose another pound. I fought against this idea for a long time, but now I understand it, although I don't think I could ever explain it. You just have to come to it.

And most importantly, you really do have to get rid of the scale. Really. I'm convinced it won't work otherwise.

I agree with this. I refuse to believe that I'm meant to be 200lbs, that that is all I can ever achieve and that's all there is to it. And I hate the thought that dieting and changing my lifestyle will only result in more weight gain and that I'm always going to bounce back to 200lbs.

Somehow I think the universe thinks more of me than that.

I also wanted to add that I love that I can experience the euphoria of eating food but at the same time, through hard work and working with my "naturally not-thin" self, I can be thin on the outside! Seems like the best of both worlds! I know thin foodies exist, but I don't know any personally - all the naturally thin people I know are very "meh" towards food in general. I love the sensation of eating the food, as long as I can also maintain a degree of leanness at the same time.

I've been working on intuitive eating and to me it seems like the first few bites of food taste the best, then the taste rapidly diminishes. I think it is quite possible to really enjoy food and still eat very lightly.

I've had "set point" thrown at me a lot recently, because I went through a major long term plateau when I hit the weight I had more or less maintained at through college. Even my mom pointed out that my dad was at his healthiest and most active when he was around the same age and weight.

I refuse to believe that just because I function well at nearly 400 pounds means I'll never see 190 again.

Personally, I'm more of an eater - even if its not delicious, I love the feeling I get from simply eating a ton. I love both eating as well as taste, but if I had to choose one, for me, its more about the act of eating. I would try the eat the first 3 bites thing (I heard that Paris Hilton does the same thing!) but it never worked for me. Instead, I do the opposite, eat a lot of not super tasty but really low cal food. LOL

I know that its totally possible and quite common- such as Giada de Laurentiis and many food bloggers, I'm just saying that I don't know any personally.

I actually read a blog this guy wrote and he was freaking out (in a funny, overdramatic way) about how some of his friends don't view food the same way he does. I remember he said something along the lines of "I thought everyone loved food as much as I did! This is news to me! Whaaaat!"

Funny stuff. =P But it is interesting to hear about people who aren't that into food (especially trying new foods. Hello? It's fun.)

I found your post very interesting, pixelllate. I don't think I've ever heard anyone ever express that they actually prefer the act of eating over the taste of the food.

I wish I were that way! LOL

For those who truly believe that if they were to try and practice intuitive eating all they would eat would be [insert name of "bad food" here], I can guarantee that for virtually 100% of people this simply isn't true. I believed that as well, which is why I resisted IE for so long. Yes, you may eat "bad food" for awhile, but our bodies are amazing machines and if we pay attention to them, they will ultimately direct us to eat what we truly need.

Any woman who's ever been pregnant knows that. As expectant mothers I think we are all more in-tune with our bodies than at any other time. I had cravings, but it wasn't for pickles and ice cream (although those aren't necessarily bad either if they meet the mother's nutritional needs). Mine tended toward proteins and foods high in iron, which certainly makes sense.

I went back and watched the video again (and I still am not bothered by the annoying sounds others mentioned - they are barely perceptible to me). I wish she really had expounded more on the principles of IE itself, but I think her real point was to drive home the idea that diets don't work and that we need to make sure our children - particularly females - get that message. That's what I took away from it.

At the heart of IE is this; we need to listen to our bodies, learn to distinguish between mouth and stomach hunger, and I think most importantly begin then to address WHY we reach for food when we are not hungry.

Until people learn to deal with the real emotional issues behind their overeating, diets really will never solve the problem for the vast majority of overweight people. And part of practicing IE is exactly that - learning to not use food as a soothing mechanism. It may be that resistance to the whole idea of intuitive eating is that if we are only eating to nourish our bodies rather than soothe ourselves, then we will no longer derive pleasure from eating.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Noooooope. I'm very glad IE works for you, but I think you are overreaching when you think you know other people's bodies better than they do. You do not.

My bad; should have said "my opinion" rather than "I guarantee."

I think you misunderstand my tone. Think "amused" not "testy". :)


Edited to add: hard for this^^^^^ to makes sense since you edited your post calling me testy -- I can hear someone somewhere screaming CONTINUITY ERROR! ;)

Mrs. Snark - I realized what I had written after I wrote that and edited it before I saw this.

Sorry I misunderstood your tone. And I really meant to state that it is only my opinion; I hate when people think they know their bodies better than I do so I wouldn't blame you for being testy!

I'm certainly of the opinion that there is no one way that works for everyone. That said, I would have agreed with most of the people here that intuitive eating doesn't work for me until I had read books and actually tried it. I thought my body was broken and that I'd never be able to eat the way it wanted because I horked down hard alcohol like soda pop and binged terribly. Then when I actually stopped and really listened to my appetite and distinguished that voice from cravings I found that I tend to eat like a thin person.

If my cravings had their way I'd eat terribly, but my "real" hunger is satisfied with healthy foods and maybe a treat in moderation. I only learned that after trying to eat intuitively, although I'll reiterate that one thing doesn't work for everyone.

Isn't our weight set point the weight we were at puberty (after we stopped growing)? (Don't think it applies to those who were overweight at puberty but for others?)

I know that I'd struggle to maintain if I tried going below 125, which was my weight at puberty. Of course, if we continued to diet and restrict, we can get to whatever weight we wanted but that would have more negative effects than positive ones.

Sorry, I didn't actually watch the video, just reading the posts on this thread on set points.