You've mentioned before that you could eat thousands of calories at one sitting, but can you really? I' curious as to how you are able to stop eating, what gauge do you use to stop? Is it a physical gauge or a mental one? Perhaps you can use mindful eating tactics to garner more satisfaction to your meals and learn the nuances of feeling satisfied.
Yes, I've done it numerous times. Last year I conducted a, um, scientific experiment to find out how much I could eat in one sitting. The answer: 5,000 calories. I started feeling a little uncomfortable around the 4,500-calorie mark.
Your questions are good ones. Here's what I think is going on with me: It's not that I lack fullness signals entirely, but the enjoyment of continuing to eat more than offsets the discomfort of being overly full, which I perceive as very mild. I also like the feeling of being full enough that I no longer want to eat, and it takes a lot to get me there. So I would say that my gauge combines physical and mental cues.
I like your suggestion about incorporating mindful eating tactics and intend to start doing this... today, of course.
Happy New Year to all.
F.
Edited to add: According to your description, I'm definitely not in restriction mode. I don't count calories (just have a loose awareness of them), don't weigh myself obsessively, don't feel guilt about eating whatever, and don't feel scared around food.
As for deprivation, I wouldn't say that I don't feel deprived at all, but my sense of deprivation is relatively mild because I refuse to eat foods I don't enjoy and I don't worry about nutritional details beyond "mostly healthy." I also love the feeling of rocking my thin wardrobe, and this bit of vanity helps keep me on track.
Last edited by freelancemomma; 01-01-2015 at 03:17 PM.
I have finally officially changed my life style, as of maybe a year or so ago. (Long journey involving a change of mind but anyway). My main eating does not change or waver. I eat about 80/20 around the holidays and more 95/5 the rest of the year.
I normal prepare and eat whole foods. Meats, fresh veggies, fresh fruits, whole grains, and dairy, but due to my own luke warm feelings about dairy I don't eat it daily.
My meals are all nutritious, and while pregnant I don't count calories, and I have gained too much due to that. Around Christmas the 20 % comes from treats, cookies and cakes. Which I only eat if I home bake. And they are good! lol And as of Dec 26th all the ingredients are gone (thanks to final batches of cookies the week leading up).
Its hard to say weight wise because I'm gaining anyway because I'm pregnant but I do believe that the Christmas treats added to the weight gain more than they should have.
I will say that it used to be that I started baking around Sept (apple cakes, pumpkin bread etc) and cookies stated around the beginning of Nov that rolled right up to Christmas, that was our yearly tradition. But hubby and I a few days before Christmas decided this was ridiculous, and time consuming for me. So next year it is our plans that I will do one pumpkin bread or pie or the like for Thanksgiving, then the beginning of Dec make and freeze cookie dough, and that's it. One month of treats, not 3-4!!
There's nothing to get back to since I healthy eating is no longer a chore and neither is exercise. Its finally a life style! (At almost 34 years old)
After I have the baby, and when BFing is done I will have to go back to counting calories though. While nutritious whole food is an everyday way of eating now, portion control is not. :P
Last edited by GlamourGirl827; 01-01-2015 at 03:11 PM.
I ate a whole bunch of chocolate. Then went on vacation (still on vacation) and have been trying to be good but not always succeeding. Hoping for the best when I get home and do the weigh-in. May need to adjust my ticker upward (hope not!) Feeling really bloated so maybe it's mostly water.
I do best when locked into my daily routine. I've managed a calorie deficit then. Always these holidays and vacations that throw me off.
I got home and was glad to see the scale only 258 (and I weighed in the afternoon, in the morning I should be less.) I don't think it's enough to change the ticker.
I ate like a pound of chocolate on Xmas and I'm not exaggerating. Glad it's only once a year...
Well my newborn daughter weighs in at just over 3 kilos and I had received more in chocolate gifts than she weighed and I ate it all. As a result I have gained more than 7 pounds over Christmas
Though I expected it and it was nice to have a couple of weeks off and now I am back on it and on a detox as of this morning.
Yes, I've done it numerous times. Last year I conducted a, um, scientific experiment to find out how much I could eat in one sitting. The answer: 5,000 calories. I started feeling a little uncomfortable around the 4,500-calorie mark.
Your questions are good ones. Here's what I think is going on with me: It's not that I lack fullness signals entirely, but the enjoyment of continuing to eat more than offsets the discomfort of being overly full, which I perceive as very mild. I also like the feeling of being full enough that I no longer want to eat, and it takes a lot to get me there. So I would say that my gauge combines physical and mental cues.
I like your suggestion about incorporating mindful eating tactics and intend to start doing this... today, of course.
Happy New Year to all.
F.
Edited to add: According to your description, I'm definitely not in restriction mode. I don't count calories (just have a loose awareness of them), don't weigh myself obsessively, don't feel guilt about eating whatever, and don't feel scared around food.
As for deprivation, I wouldn't say that I don't feel deprived at all, but my sense of deprivation is relatively mild because I refuse to eat foods I don't enjoy and I don't worry about nutritional details beyond "mostly healthy." I also love the feeling of rocking my thin wardrobe, and this bit of vanity helps keep me on track.
Yea mindful eating is good on so many levels, it helps with a lot of things. There is a benefit to it way beyond hunger and fullness, it helps me extract all the pleasure I can out of a meal, it makes me completely present in enjoying my meal, it helps avoid guilt over mindless eating, it aids digestion, and it makes me aware of how little food I need to reach satisfaction.
It's all about building a healthy relationship with food, the less "charge" there is around food the less of a problem it is for me.
