Re: First Steps?

[Guest guest]

Judi the first thing to focus on in my opinion is waiting for hunger and then dtermine your fullness this was the hardest part for me and took the longest time. Eva

I'm new to IE. I've spent 45 years dieting. I've been thin for short periods and loved it and me, too, then. But hated how my thoughts and life revolved around the calories, fat grams and/or points of whatever got me to thin. It totally took over my life.Now I want to come from within. I hope I getter thinner. But most of all I want to trust myself (and love myself).Right now I'm reading everything I can lay my hands on about IE. I'm bingeing on info about IE.Like bingeing on food, I been gulping down books and articles and emails. None of it is digesting. I'm overloaded and I'm so afraid of not getting it right. Of failing. Of judging myself as bad.I'm kinda in muddle right now and can't think/feel my way out.Those of you who have been down this path, can you advise me where to focus. What should I do first? Where, from your experience, would you recommend I start?I'd appreciate some pointers.Thanks.judi Psssst...Have you heard the news? There's a new fashion blog, plus the latest fall trends and hair styles at StyleList.com.

[Guest guest]

Judi, I look at IE as a 'feast' - you can try and stuff as much into

you mouth as fast as you can manage to do that, but mostly like you

wouldn't be happy with how you feel if you did that. Same thing with

IE - there is SO MUCH there, but you really can't 'take in' all of it

at one gobble. So what I do is to choose ONE thing/aspect of IE and

play around with that until I am comfortable with that practice. Then,

if I feel I can and am ready, I do another IE practice/suggestion.

Baby steps may frustrate us at first because we do want to RUN with

IE! But its like the turtle and the rabbit - slow and steady wins the

race.

Diets are about 'suffering' - depraving, shame and guilt abound. IE

suggests that eating is a necessary PLEASURE, and that is so foreign

to anyone who has followed the 'rules' of dieting. With IE YOU choose

and discover your own guidelines. And being gentle with one's self

during this process helps bunches too. If you had to choose just ONE

IE thing to do, what would it be? Take that thought and tip-toe into

that choice to see what it brings to you.

BEST to you, Katcha

IEing since March 2007

>

> I'm new to IE. I've spent 45 years dieting. I've been thin for short

periods

> and loved it and me, too, then.

> But hated how my thoughts and life revolved around the calories, fat

grams

> and/or points of whatever got me to thin. It totally took over my life.

> Now I want to come from within. I hope I getter thinner. But most of

all I

> want to trust myself (and love myself).

> Right now I'm reading everything I can lay my hands on about IE.

> I'm bingeing on info about IE.

> Like bingeing on food, I been gulping down books and articles and

emails.

> None of it is digesting.

> I'm overloaded and I'm so afraid of not getting it right. Of failing. Of

> judging myself as bad.

> I'm kinda in muddle right now and can't think/feel my way out.

> Those of you who have been down this path, can you advise me where

to focus.

> What should I do first?

> Where, from your experience, would you recommend I start?

> I'd appreciate some pointers.

> Thanks.

> judi

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Judi,

Welcome! I started focusing first on figuring out my hunger and fullness cues. Specifically, I started out with hunger cues first. I am also working with a nutritionist who teaches IE, and she recommended a food journal - NOT a "write what you eat" type, but a journal of how hungry you feel right before you ate and how full you felt after. I rate on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being starving and 10 being stuffed. I did the hunger/fullness cues/feelings for about 3 wks. It really helped me find out how hungry I was, and how full I became after eating different types and quantities of food. I would also jot down any feelings around how full or hungry I felt - like anxious, happy, upset, uncertain - whatever came up.

Hope this helps!!

Kim

IE since Aug 08

Subject: First Steps?To: IntuitiveEating_Support Date: Sunday, September 14, 2008, 2:41 PM

I'm new to IE. I've spent 45 years dieting. I've been thin for short periods and loved it and me, too, then. But hated how my thoughts and life revolved around the calories, fat grams and/or points of whatever got me to thin. It totally took over my life.Now I want to come from within. I hope I getter thinner. But most of all I want to trust myself (and love myself).Right now I'm reading everything I can lay my hands on about IE. I'm bingeing on info about IE.Like bingeing on food, I been gulping down books and articles and emails. None of it is digesting. I'm overloaded and I'm so afraid of not getting it right. Of failing. Of judging myself as bad.I'm kinda in muddle right now and can't think/feel my way out.Those of you who have been down this path, can you advise me where to focus. What should I do first? Where, from your experience, would you recommend I start?I'd appreciate some

pointers.Thanks.judi

[Guest guest]

Hi Judi and welcome!

I'm Dawn (dawnz) and pretty new here too. When I read your post, it

actually sounded like something I would have posted a month or so ago.

I was absolutely freaking out. Worried that I would " mess this up too "

and then there would be no options left (I was just coming off a

train-wreck of weight watchers, followed immediately by South Beach).

But you know what? I'm still here and I'm learning little by little.

I think the first thing to do is to dump all your diet books and tapes

and whatever junk like that you have in the house. Delete all those

memberships too. And lose the scale. Permanently.

Then take a deep breath and realize you are about to begin the rest of

your life. And it will be fine.

Next, start talking to yourself. A lot. Tell yourself gentle things

like, " it's going to be ok " , " baby steps, baby steps " , " I am

learning " , " this is a journey, not a sprint " ...all things that you

will need to begin to hear in order for this to really sink in.

Don't worry if you go crazy eating for a bit. You've deprived yourself

so long, that it's going to take you a little to realize that you

truly CAN have whatever you want when you are hungry. Try to aim for

listening for your hunger just once a day at first. Don't beat

yourself up if you can't get even that in the beginning. Realize that

if you just start to truly listen to yourself, it WILL come.

Hope this helps a little. Come here for support. It's an awesome group

of people, all walking along together and learning as we go.

dawnz

>

> I'm new to IE. I've spent 45 years dieting. I've been thin for short

periods

> and loved it and me, too, then.

> But hated how my thoughts and life revolved around the calories, fat

grams

> and/or points of whatever got me to thin. It totally took over my life.

> Now I want to come from within. I hope I getter thinner. But most of

all I

> want to trust myself (and love myself).

> Right now I'm reading everything I can lay my hands on about IE.

> I'm bingeing on info about IE.

> Like bingeing on food, I been gulping down books and articles and

emails.

> None of it is digesting.

> I'm overloaded and I'm so afraid of not getting it right. Of failing. Of

> judging myself as bad.

> I'm kinda in muddle right now and can't think/feel my way out.

> Those of you who have been down this path, can you advise me where

to focus.

> What should I do first?

> Where, from your experience, would you recommend I start?

> I'd appreciate some pointers.

> Thanks.

> judi

>

[Guest guest]

I will second this. I'm doing the same thing. Eating for pleasure is

so completely foreign to me. But after a month or so, I'm learning

that are actually foods I really don't like. I'm starting to get

finicky and I LOVE IT. I love being picky-picky and not feeling one

bit guilty. It's my " step " that I'm working on right now. I'm also

striving to feel my hunger for as long as I can take trying each day.

I know I can't make it a whole day yet, but each day I stay the same

or add a few more times in. Slow and steady.

dawnz

> >

> > I'm new to IE. I've spent 45 years dieting. I've been thin for short

> periods

> > and loved it and me, too, then.

> > But hated how my thoughts and life revolved around the calories, fat

> grams

> > and/or points of whatever got me to thin. It totally took over my

life.

> > Now I want to come from within. I hope I getter thinner. But most of

> all I

> > want to trust myself (and love myself).

> > Right now I'm reading everything I can lay my hands on about IE.

> > I'm bingeing on info about IE.

> > Like bingeing on food, I been gulping down books and articles and

> emails.

> > None of it is digesting.

> > I'm overloaded and I'm so afraid of not getting it right. Of

failing. Of

> > judging myself as bad.

> > I'm kinda in muddle right now and can't think/feel my way out.

> > Those of you who have been down this path, can you advise me where

> to focus.

> > What should I do first?

> > Where, from your experience, would you recommend I start?

> > I'd appreciate some pointers.

> > Thanks.

> > judi

> >

>

[Guest guest]

You are very welcome Judi I know I have to 're-set' my thinking

when it gets into the run-away mode. And this group helps me lots with

that too. I'm looking forward to reading more of your posts as you go

along your IE path. I'm happy you are along for this journey too.

ehugs, Katcha

IEing since March 2007

>

> Katcha,

>

> Thank you so much for your advice and encouragement.

> Your words made my heart sing.

> I love idea of picking what appeals me to work on. In that one

suggestion

> you redirected me back to myself and away from the rules of the

books, which

> is one of the goals of IE for me -- to trust myself. I think was

making IE

> another diet with steps to follow and rules with which to judge

myself as

> good or bad .

> I've decided my first step is to focus on the taste and pleasure of the

> foods I eat. To eat without fear.

> I usually wolf down my food, afraid I'll notice what I'm eating and

yell at

> myself, afraid I won't let myself have this food ever again, afraid

of the

> food itself and the power it seems to have over me.

> This morning I ate my breakfast quietly and slowly. With each mouthful I

> whispered in my own ear reassuring comments, like I would to an

upset child.

> " It's okay. You deserve this food. You can have it again whenever

you want.

> Enjoy the taste and texture. It's okay. " It was a new experience and

felt

> wonderful.

> I left for work quietly beaming.

> For me the best part was that this was something I " intuitively " came up

> with. I feel like my journey has begun.

> Thanks,

> judi

>