Re: Re: Hi! I'm New...and skeptical?!?

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Wow! Lexie your post couldn't have come at a better time for me. I was having a moment of panic because I had not lost weight yet and because of that I was worried that my friends and family members would think I was nuts and why was I doing intuitive eating and all the other negative comments like that. Your beautifully written post just hit home today. I know I need to work on self acceptance. It is going to take me a while yet, but I am closer today than I was years ago. Emotional eater ! Low self esteem = overweight. I have fought hard since leaving home to gain self esteem and acceptance and I have come along way. However, life keeps throwing me curve balls and I know I still have a long way to go. I think intuitive eating is going to help me to at least not take my issues out on my body and by dealing with the issues rather than hiding behind my weight and food hopefully I will become a successful intuitive eater. I am now going to stop this long winded post

before I over share too much. LeahLexie wrote: WOW thanks for sharing! and welcome!Now I'm going to tell you something youwon't believe....Total acceptance actually IS the way to go.Acceptance doesn't mean there is no room for improvement. Acceptance means you see,know, and live what is TODAY. Acceptanceallows you to deal effectively with today.In other words, TODAY you have high blood pressure and a bad knee.TODAY you wish you were 25-40 pounds

lighter.That's not going to happen today!What CAN happen today is that you choose tohonor what your body is asking for. By doing that, your body begins to trust you.You didn't ask for a how-to so that's all I'mgoing to say about THAT. :)But give it some thought! Today is what it isand all the small things that you do add upto make small changes tomorrow and intothe rest of your life.I consider myself a "success" on IE, thoughI am no where close to where I'd eventuallylike to end up as far as weight goes.It's taken me a REALLY long time to get to thisplace...and it will take me a really long timeto get closer to a healthier weight. But along the way, I will improve my health in other wayssuch as getting better at moving my body in waysthat I enjoy...like dancing! Along the way Iwill learn to eat the donut when I want, so I canfeel free to choose to broccoli without feelingdeprived. Along

the way I will learn to stopeating when I am satisfied, so I don't feel regretand the after-affects of over-eating...and I will celebrate those small successes thatwill lead to bigger and bigger changes.But most of all, along the way I will learn tolive for today, at this weight, with my currenthealth. Because the only other choice is to miss what life has to offer me now and I'm nolonger willing to do that. I could go on a diet tomorrow and within a coupleof weeks lose several pounds. But I know fromexperience if I do that then soon I will be right back where I started, having gained back anythingI might have lost and wanting to lose weight again.By choosing IE I am making permanent changes in mylife. The weight I slowly lose will stay lost, because I will have lost it by living intuitively.Acceptance doesn't happen overnight and beingskeptical is normal. Acceptance can happen and iskey

to succeeding at IE. If you only measure yoursuccess by the scale you will likely quit beforeyou see the results you want.>> So please share some success stories with me! I'm 28 years old, and > I > can't really remember a time when I WASN'T wanting to lose weight. > I > was chubby growing up, but athletic...got lazy in college and > eventually hit an all-time high of 225 pounds...lost 50 of it in > 2002 > when I broke up with a boyfriend...yo-yo'd from 175 to 165 until > spring 2004 when I discovered the South Beach diet and dropped down > to > 140 in just three months. I loved myself! But it was stressful. > Everyone knew me as the Girl Who Lost Weight and Got Gorgeous! I > got

> an amazing new job, was dating like crazy, it was the most exciting > time of my life! But I couldn't maintain it...and THAT'S when my > REALLY crazy eating started, because I was terrified of gaining > weight > again. Binge after binge...carb-cutting and more carb-cutting...I > could easily gain and lose 12 pounds every two weeks. I was > miserable. But my weight has slowly climbed and climbed since then, > back up to about 188, give or take. I went to see a "food > therapist" > in November who introduced me to Intuitive Eating. And my weight > has > been stable since then. Technically, I lost about five pounds last > time I got on a scale (about a month ago) but for me, that's > maintenance.> > Here are the GOODS of it, so far, for me: I don't think about food > first thing in the morning, as soon as I get out of bed. I binge >

less > often than I did at my worst, and when I do binge, they are pretty > small binges. Just a Skinny Cow and a bowl of chips instead of ten > skinny cows and a giant bowl of popcorn made with a full stick of > butter and maybe a box of pasta thrown in for good measure. I don't > feel crazy anymore, that's for sure. And I don't think or talk > about > food nearly as much as I did. > > I work five days a week, hard cardio and lifting, I don't just fool > around at the gym. So I thought, well, with this intuitive eating > thing, I'll just work out MORE and then the weight will come off! > So > some days, I'll work out before AND after work. (For the record, I > enjoy going to the gym and running outside, etc...it's not that > torturous for me).> > And yet I've been stable for four months, because, DUH, when I work > out more I'm hungry more. I'm

definitely happier than I've been in > a > while, and I certainly don't think I'm fat and ugly, but I > definitely > need to lose 25-40 pounds! I have a knee that's been worked on > twice > and pretty high blood pressure...so total self-acceptance is > probably > not the best route. Help me understand how the compromise works, > and > if and when I'll see results! > > > > Wow...that was very therapeutic! Slightly self-obsessed, but > therapeutic nonetheless!> > Looking forward to meeting many of you!>

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