Re: New Member - how to realize and honor fullness

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I am new to ie but for me, what works is waiting two minutes (or the time it takes for the toaster to pop...) and keep eating if I am still hungry. IHard sometimes with the chaos around me (husband, screaming kid, cats meowing, tv, etc...). I really have to think and breathe and enjoy my food. Create my own bubble of peace. I try to pick only food that I really really really like. That helps.

Take care,

Nat

Subject: New Member - how to realize and honor fullnessTo: IntuitiveEating_Support Received: Monday, August 18, 2008, 2:59 PM

I'm now reading IE and am having trouble with fullness. I can wait for hunger, but find that I usually end up eating too much and going past "pleasantly full". I don't realize this until about 20 minutes after I stop eating (even if my meal lasts half an hour or more). How do you know when to stop? Did anyone else have this challenge at first? I keep berating myself for overeating (especially now that I'm allowing myself cake) and worrying I will gain weight. Thanks!

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[Guest guest]

First step is to not berate yourself. Its totally unproductive and

doesn't do one thing to 'undo' what has been done or to really

encourage you to do differently. You are doing the best you can right

now and that is admirable.

Many of us have difficulty recognizing fullness, especially stopping

before being overly full registers. There are several ways you can try

to feel your fullness - eating more mindfully - which includes eating

slower so that your body has time to register what it has received

before you pack in too much. Some people choose to start with less on

their plate then reassessing if they want more when they finish that.

This can counteract the 'clean plate club' drive. Stopping a couple of

bites before you are usually finished then waiting 20 minutes to see

if you want more, has worked for some people.

And don't forget that there is a difference between FULLness and

satisfaction! If you haven't eaten what you wanted, you may get

physically full with food, but still have a craving for what you

haven't eaten.

Keep reading, play around with alternatives to your current eating

patterns and let us know what you find works and doesn't. We all learn

from such feedback

Best to you, Katcha

IEing since March 2007

>

> I'm now reading IE and am having trouble with fullness. I can wait for

> hunger, but find that I usually end up eating too much and going

> past " pleasantly full " . I don't realize this until about 20 minutes

> after I stop eating (even if my meal lasts half an hour or more). How

> do you know when to stop? Did anyone else have this challenge at first?

> I keep berating myself for overeating (especially now that I'm allowing

> myself cake) and worrying I will gain weight. Thanks!

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you so much for the replies! I will try your suggestions.

Margaret

> >

> > I'm now reading IE and am having trouble with fullness. I can

wait for

> > hunger, but find that I usually end up eating too much and going

> > past " pleasantly full " . I don't realize this until about 20

minutes

> > after I stop eating (even if my meal lasts half an hour or more).

How

> > do you know when to stop? Did anyone else have this challenge at

first?

> > I keep berating myself for overeating (especially now that I'm

allowing

> > myself cake) and worrying I will gain weight. Thanks!

> >

>