Re: The myth of moderate exercise

[Guest guest]

Dianna Narciso wrote:

> Even while writing that, I can feel the diet zombie within awakening.

Yes, it's awful.

However, the article didn't exactly define what " moderate activity " is.

" Treadmill " can mean anything from walking to running after all. I don't

have any problems walking with my dog 2 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Plus, these women might have... exaggerated their exercise a bit while

maybe also having eaten a bit more than the allowed amount of calories a

day.

I felt a bit discouraged right after reading the article but a few

seconds later I thought " Wait a minute - I have lost 25% of my body

weight so far without restricting my food intake to measerable 1200

kcals a day and torturing myself with some boring exercise 5 times a

week for an hour. So go away with your questionable evidence, dear

authors. Duh! "

Regards

s.

[Guest guest]

Dianna,

I'm loving that quote in your signature by Saul Bellow! I definitely

think that Bellow's words are fitting for this article. There may be

some deep seated illusion that there is a magic " cure " for " obesity " .

It's so peculiar to me, yet typical, that the entire study was focused

on restricted diet and exercise. Humans are so multi-dimensional...and

I saw no mention of the impact of stress or other emotions. Yeah, I

can imagine my body cooperating on a plan that restricts its fuel and

puts it on a treadmill for at least 50 minutes/5 days/week...where's

the joy in that? Thanks for posting this article..the diet zombie...

funny!

Latoya:)

>

> http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1827342,00.html

>

> This article is definitely about dieting. But what I got from it is a

> feeling of letting go. If we have to restrict what we eat so severely

> and exercise so heavily to lose weight and maintain the loss, it's not

> for me. I don't want to exercise for at least an hour five days a week,

> even if it is Zumba. (Although, I suppose if I was offered more classes,

> I'd teach them.) And I want to eat chocolate. I think I will concentrate

> more and more on body acceptance.

>

> Even while writing that, I can feel the diet zombie within awakening.

> :-) Rotten zombie.

>

>

>

> Dianna

>

> www.diannanarciso.com

> Rational IE <http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/RationalIE/>

> www.atheistview.com

>

> " A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the

need for illusion is deep. " --Saul Bellow

>

[Guest guest]

>

> Dianna,

>

> I'm loving that quote in your signature by Saul Bellow! I definitely

> think that Bellow's words are fitting for this article. There may be

> some deep seated illusion that there is a magic " cure "

for " obesity " .

I enjoyed your posts, Dianna and Latoya. Thanks for sharing the

article, Dianna. And I think you raise a good point, Latoya, as did

Saul Bellows! :-)

I have thought of exercise as the " magic cure " for my obesity for a

long time. Every time I would try to diet, and, of course fail, I

would say, " Well, if only you would exercise, you would lose the

weight. " And yet I never exercised. Go figure.

I think I wanted to hang on to the hope that if all else failed, I

could exercise and lose the weight that way. But perhaps I resisted

exercising because I didn't want to find out that this, too, would

fail and I would have to face the reality of living in this very fat

body for the rest of my life.

And so I guess I am a little bit sad to read this article. No magic

cure out there, after all. And yet, to be honest, I think way down

deep I knew this to be the case all along. And so I agree with you,

Dianna. It is time for me to start working on accepting my body AS IT

IS RIGHT NOW, and living my life NOW, not " after I lose the weight " .

The reality is I may never lose the weight.

This is the second " wake up call " I have had this week about this

issue. I watched a television program about the life and death

of " The Last Lecture " Professor, Randy Pausch. After being diagnosed

with pancreatic cancer and being told he had only six months to live,

he was asked by the interviewer, " Aren't you angry? " He replied, " I

don't have time to be angry. "

That made me stop and think, " What if I was told I had six months to

live? " Would I think, " Wow, not much time left, I had really better

start that low carb diet tomorrow so I can lose the weight before I

die. " Umm, no, I wouldn't. That is the LAST thing I would do. I would

want to eat, drink, and be merry, and travel, and spend time with

friends so I could enjoy them and they could enjoy me while I was

still here.

And the thing is, maybe I DO have only 6 months to live. Or maybe 6

years. Or 6 days. Who knows? But one thing is for sure, I AM going to

die and I need to start appreciating and enjoying my life NOW.

It seems that the most powerful messages in my life have always

been " delivered " to me in threes. I think the third message I

received about the issue of body acceptance was a few days ago, one

of those silly bits of trivia that seemed to stick in my head. A pair

of bloomers and a chemise that belonged to Queen were

auctioned off this week. The waist of the bloomers was 50 inches and

the bust of the chemise was 66 inches. For some reason, that really

made me feel good, a testament to how powerful and respected a woman

can be, no matter what her size.

And so now the work begins on learning how to accept my body, even at

314 pounds. I suspect this will be MUCH harder to do than learning

how to eat intuitively. After a lifetime of self-loathing, I don't

even know how to start. But I MUST find a way. To paraphrase the

words of the late Randy Pausch, " I don't have time for self-loathing. "

B.

[Guest guest]

Dear , Thank you for sharing, Everything you say in here is the absolute truth. You are mistaken in only one thing: " the reality is I may never lose the weight" because you should have say: the reality is I may lose the weight so slowly that I better don't try.

Anyone can lose weight. why are you the exception?

It took a long time to put on the weight, It should take a long time to take it off. the problem is not that we want to lose weight the problem is that we want to lose it fast.

Which is unrealistic and unhealthy , that's why we are here. IE is like the normal thing to do. As we should have done it in the first place, I plan to stick to IE and let my body do its part. I hope this can encourage you a little bit and remember the reality is that you may actually lose the weight. In five years from now, who cares, nobody is counting. You are precious as you are now.

Subject: Re: The myth of moderate exerciseTo: IntuitiveEating_Support Date: Friday, August 1, 2008, 9:13 PM

>> Dianna,> > I'm loving that quote in your signature by Saul Bellow! I definitely> think that Bellow's words are fitting for this article. There may be> some deep seated illusion that there is a magic "cure" for "obesity".I enjoyed your posts, Dianna and Latoya. Thanks for sharing the article, Dianna. And I think you raise a good point, Latoya, as did Saul Bellows! :-) I have thought of exercise as the "magic cure" for my obesity for a long time. Every time I would try to diet, and, of course fail, I would say, "Well, if only you would exercise, you would lose the weight." And yet I never exercised. Go figure.I think I wanted to hang on to the hope that if all else failed, I

could exercise and lose the weight that way. But perhaps I resisted exercising because I didn't want to find out that this, too, would fail and I would have to face the reality of living in this very fat body for the rest of my life.And so I guess I am a little bit sad to read this article. No magic cure out there, after all. And yet, to be honest, I think way down deep I knew this to be the case all along. And so I agree with you, Dianna. It is time for me to start working on accepting my body AS IT IS RIGHT NOW, and living my life NOW, not "after I lose the weight". The reality is I may never lose the weight. This is the second "wake up call" I have had this week about this issue. I watched a television program about the life and death of "The Last Lecture" Professor, Randy Pausch. After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and being told he had only six months to live, he was asked

by the interviewer, "Aren't you angry?" He replied, "I don't have time to be angry."That made me stop and think, "What if I was told I had six months to live?" Would I think, "Wow, not much time left, I had really better start that low carb diet tomorrow so I can lose the weight before I die." Umm, no, I wouldn't. That is the LAST thing I would do. I would want to eat, drink, and be merry, and travel, and spend time with friends so I could enjoy them and they could enjoy me while I was still here. And the thing is, maybe I DO have only 6 months to live. Or maybe 6 years. Or 6 days. Who knows? But one thing is for sure, I AM going to die and I need to start appreciating and enjoying my life NOW.It seems that the most powerful messages in my life have always been "delivered" to me in threes. I think the third message I received about the issue of body acceptance was a few days ago, one

of those silly bits of trivia that seemed to stick in my head. A pair of bloomers and a chemise that belonged to Queen were auctioned off this week. The waist of the bloomers was 50 inches and the bust of the chemise was 66 inches. For some reason, that really made me feel good, a testament to how powerful and respected a woman can be, no matter what her size. And so now the work begins on learning how to accept my body, even at 314 pounds. I suspect this will be MUCH harder to do than learning how to eat intuitively. After a lifetime of self-loathing, I don't even know how to start. But I MUST find a way. To paraphrase the words of the late Randy Pausch, "I don't have time for self-loathing. " B.

[Guest guest]

Here, here!

I was 310 lbs 4 years ago...and now I'm at 265...did I exercise

moderately, rigorously, regularly? no. Was I focused on weight loss?

no. Occasionally, I took a long walk, I tried going to the gym but

that didn't last long. However, I was doing alot of healing work in

my life...helping make myself feel more comfortable in this world

and finding meaning in my life. Wow, I also just realized that I was

going to school at night...which probably cut out alot of my night-

time comfort eating. So, I definitely agree that accepting and

loving our bodies as they are is key and that the body's timeframe

for transformation is much longer than diets and studies allow for.

Because my weight gain was so much about protection and sadness, I

think a big part of my journey has been about making myself more at

ease within myself and in the world and my body has released the

weight naturally...and I say " released " intentionally instead

of " lost weight. " I want them to do a study about the need for

weight. Some part of me really felt like I needed the weight that I

put on...I was holding on to it. Working with IE has taken me to the

next level and has helped me understand that I have other tools now,

I don't have to hold on to the weight, food is only one solution to

discomfort, and that my body simply needs regular joyful movement.

I'm commited to steady intuitive movement over time and the rest

will work itself out.

> >

> > Dianna,

> >

> > I'm loving that quote in your signature by Saul Bellow! I

definitely

> > think that Bellow's words are fitting for this article. There

may be

> > some deep seated illusion that there is a magic " cure "

> for " obesity " .

>

> I enjoyed your posts, Dianna and Latoya. Thanks for sharing the

> article, Dianna. And I think you raise a good point, Latoya, as

did

> Saul Bellows! :-)

>

> I have thought of exercise as the " magic cure " for my obesity for

a

> long time. Every time I would try to diet, and, of course fail, I

> would say, " Well, if only you would exercise, you would lose the

> weight. " And yet I never exercised. Go figure.

>

> I think I wanted to hang on to the hope that if all else failed, I

> could exercise and lose the weight that way. But perhaps I

resisted

> exercising because I didn't want to find out that this, too, would

> fail and I would have to face the reality of living in this very

fat

> body for the rest of my life.

>

> And so I guess I am a little bit sad to read this article. No

magic

> cure out there, after all. And yet, to be honest, I think way down

> deep I knew this to be the case all along. And so I agree with

you,

> Dianna. It is time for me to start working on accepting my body AS

IT

> IS RIGHT NOW, and living my life NOW, not " after I lose the

weight " .

> The reality is I may never lose the weight.

>

> This is the second " wake up call " I have had this week about this

> issue. I watched a television program about the life and death

> of " The Last Lecture " Professor, Randy Pausch. After being

diagnosed

> with pancreatic cancer and being told he had only six months to

live,

> he was asked by the interviewer, " Aren't you angry? " He

replied, " I

> don't have time to be angry. "

>

> That made me stop and think, " What if I was told I had six months

to

> live? " Would I think, " Wow, not much time left, I had really

better

> start that low carb diet tomorrow so I can lose the weight before

I

> die. " Umm, no, I wouldn't. That is the LAST thing I would do. I

would

> want to eat, drink, and be merry, and travel, and spend time with

> friends so I could enjoy them and they could enjoy me while I was

> still here.

>

> And the thing is, maybe I DO have only 6 months to live. Or maybe

6

> years. Or 6 days. Who knows? But one thing is for sure, I AM going

to

> die and I need to start appreciating and enjoying my life NOW.

>

> It seems that the most powerful messages in my life have always

> been " delivered " to me in threes. I think the third message I

> received about the issue of body acceptance was a few days ago,

one

> of those silly bits of trivia that seemed to stick in my head. A

pair

> of bloomers and a chemise that belonged to Queen were

> auctioned off this week. The waist of the bloomers was 50 inches

and

> the bust of the chemise was 66 inches. For some reason, that

really

> made me feel good, a testament to how powerful and respected a

woman

> can be, no matter what her size.

>

> And so now the work begins on learning how to accept my body, even

at

> 314 pounds. I suspect this will be MUCH harder to do than learning

> how to eat intuitively. After a lifetime of self-loathing, I don't

> even know how to start. But I MUST find a way. To paraphrase the

> words of the late Randy Pausch, " I don't have time for self-

loathing. "

>

> B.

>

[Guest guest]

I have to agree that the mantra of exercise, exercise exercise is more

of a turn off for me than restrictive eating! And its not because I am

a couch potato either. Hardly - I played sports in school, and do most

things 'by hand' that other people use machinery for. I figure my

house is a 'par course' and that related work in and around it (huge

yard) are nearly 'full range' of motion too. I am constantly 'on the

go', sitting only for computer time and evening movie which is our

relaxation time.

I'd say that is as a good 'program' of moderate exercise as anyone

could manage Any excess weight I added to my body came from

non-body eating and IE is helping me with that more than any diet or

exercise program ever could.

Katcha

IEing since March 2007

>

> I have thought of exercise as the " magic cure " for my obesity for a

> long time. Every time I would try to diet, and, of course fail, I

> would say, " Well, if only you would exercise, you would lose the

> weight. " And yet I never exercised. Go figure.

>

> And so I guess I am a little bit sad to read this article. No magic

> cure out there, after all. And yet, to be honest, I think way down

> deep I knew this to be the case all along. And so I agree with you,

[Guest guest]

Gold star comment Norma!! I totally agree :)

ehugs, Katcha

IEing since March 2007

>

> It took a long time to put on the weight, It should take a long time

to take it off. the problem is not that we want to lose weight the

problem is that we want to lose it fast.

> Which is unrealistic and unhealthy , that's why we are here. IE

is like the normal thing to do. As we should have done it in the first

place, I plan to stick to IE and let my body do its part. I hope this

can encourage you a little bit and remember the reality is that you

may actually lose the weight. In five years from now, who cares,

nobody is counting. You are precious as you are now.

[Guest guest]

Good point Latoya When I started IE I didn't want to hear that I

would need to deal with emotions, I thought that only EATING was my

problem. And I felt I had already gone thru a 'wringer' with my

emotions when I did my dysfunctional family work/group, why would I

need to do that 'again' when I wanted to tackle my eating concerns?

Well maybe because eating is nearly as 'automatic' a practice as

breathing, I felt that finding how to 'do that better' was all I

needed to do. The catch is that eating, while it is a basic drive, is

also encumbered with more elements than simply breathing! Emotions are

definitely part of the practice of eating only they are as easy to

'see', or even feel as one would like to think.

I have come to learn that emotions related to eating are just another

step in the IE journey. Intuitively exercising is too. I also love,

and happily accept, the thought that my body will release excess when

it is ready. Strain is a drain!!

Katcha

IEing since March 2007

>

> Because my weight gain was so much about protection and sadness, I

> think a big part of my journey has been about making myself more at

> ease within myself and in the world and my body has released the

> weight naturally...and I say " released " intentionally instead

> of " lost weight. "

[Guest guest]

In all the times I was fanatic about what I ate, how much, wrote it

all down, calculated the points, calories or grams and excercised

for an hour and sometimes 5 or more days a week, I didn't loose that

much weight and I didn't have a life. I was obsessed! That to me

was the disease, not me being overweight. I feel like I now have so

much more sanity and that to me is healthy. I don't get as angry as

I used to. I'm much calmer and easier to be around. I'm overall a

much calmer and happier person. That is the benefit to IE! I

always hoped the day would come when once I had lost the weight then

I could relax and not have to worry about all of that so much.

Thank goodness for IE and that I can relax, righ now! , as far

as the body acceptance goes, I wish I had a magical answer for you.

I think first we have to be aware of what we are saying to ourselves

and work at changing it from a nagetive to a positive. And we just

have to be really kind and gentle to ourselves. We do deserve it.

Think about how you might treat yourself if you were a young child

or how you might treat your pet or someone else you really care and

love. Treat yourself in the same fashion. One day, it will just

hit you how beautiful and perfect you are, right now, just the way

you are and there will be no need to change that.

Alana

> I have thought of exercise as the " magic cure " for my obesity for

a

> long time. Every time I would try to diet, and, of course fail, I

> would say, " Well, if only you would exercise, you would lose the

> weight. " And yet I never exercised. Go figure.

>

> I think I wanted to hang on to the hope that if all else failed, I

> could exercise and lose the weight that way. But perhaps I

resisted

> exercising because I didn't want to find out that this, too, would

> fail and I would have to face the reality of living in this very

fat

> body for the rest of my life.

>

> And so I guess I am a little bit sad to read this article. No

magic

> cure out there, after all. And yet, to be honest, I think way down

> deep I knew this to be the case all along. And so I agree with

you,

> Dianna. It is time for me to start working on accepting my body AS

IT

> IS RIGHT NOW, and living my life NOW, not " after I lose the

weight " .

> The reality is I may never lose the weight.

>

> This is the second " wake up call " I have had this week about this

> issue. I watched a television program about the life and death

> of " The Last Lecture " Professor, Randy Pausch. After being

diagnosed

> with pancreatic cancer and being told he had only six months to

live,

> he was asked by the interviewer, " Aren't you angry? " He

replied, " I

> don't have time to be angry. "

>

> That made me stop and think, " What if I was told I had six months

to

> live? " Would I think, " Wow, not much time left, I had really

better

> start that low carb diet tomorrow so I can lose the weight before

I

> die. " Umm, no, I wouldn't. That is the LAST thing I would do. I

would

> want to eat, drink, and be merry, and travel, and spend time with

> friends so I could enjoy them and they could enjoy me while I was

> still here.

>

> And the thing is, maybe I DO have only 6 months to live. Or maybe

6

> years. Or 6 days. Who knows? But one thing is for sure, I AM going

to

> die and I need to start appreciating and enjoying my life NOW.

>

> It seems that the most powerful messages in my life have always

> been " delivered " to me in threes. I think the third message I

> received about the issue of body acceptance was a few days ago,

one

> of those silly bits of trivia that seemed to stick in my head. A

pair

> of bloomers and a chemise that belonged to Queen were

> auctioned off this week. The waist of the bloomers was 50 inches

and

> the bust of the chemise was 66 inches. For some reason, that

really

> made me feel good, a testament to how powerful and respected a

woman

> can be, no matter what her size.

>

> And so now the work begins on learning how to accept my body, even

at

> 314 pounds. I suspect this will be MUCH harder to do than learning

> how to eat intuitively. After a lifetime of self-loathing, I don't

> even know how to start. But I MUST find a way. To paraphrase the

> words of the late Randy Pausch, " I don't have time for self-

loathing. "

>

> B.

>

[Guest guest]

Alana - I love reading this, its a success story for sure :) I bet

you are as pleasantly surprised that this wonderful state of being

could be probably more what you are happy with than that 2 sizes

smaller body we all think we need when we start out with IE :)

ehugs, Katcha

IEing since March 2007

>

> In all the times I was fanatic about what I ate, how much, wrote it

> all down, calculated the points, calories or grams and excercised

> for an hour and sometimes 5 or more days a week, I didn't loose that

> much weight and I didn't have a life. I was obsessed! That to me

> was the disease, not me being overweight. I feel like I now have so

> much more sanity and that to me is healthy. I don't get as angry as

> I used to. I'm much calmer and easier to be around. I'm overall a

> much calmer and happier person. That is the benefit to IE! I

> always hoped the day would come when once I had lost the weight then

> I could relax and not have to worry about all of that so much.

> Thank goodness for IE and that I can relax, right now!

> Alana

>