Guest guest Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 I was remembering that section in the IE book " A Strange Gift " that talks about how we get signals as to when the stress in our life exceeds our ability to cope. I'm feeling that pressure right now. I'm going through an angry, tired, and low energy phase and have been challenged with not using food to cope with intense emotions. I'm wondering how I'm going to navigate through this. I recognize that I become much more vulnerable to using food when my energy gets low like now...and I noticed at the same time, last night I was paying attention to my fullness when I did eat to calm myself and that didn't seem to require any extra effort... I have a whole host of things to " do " to cope with my emotions without dealing with food including, just watching my thoughts and sitting with my emotions...and I don't want to " do " , nor do I feel like I have the energy to do any of these things...I guess what's nice is that I'm not using food regularly anymore...I have more confidence that what I'm feeling right now will shift sooner or later, I recognize that I'm facing alot of uncertainty in my life right now, and I went from my walk this morning. I had been skipping and dancing...it seems like it's back to putting one foot in front of the other.... Latoya Practicing IE since Jan '08 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 Wow Latoya! It sounds like you already know what to do. I appreciate your wisdom in the midst of your challenges. I guess the good news is that even when we use food in the way we don't want to, once we get the intuitive eating mindset in our heads, we know the way back to where we want to be. wishing you a peaceful day, Kari Subject: A Strange Gift...To: IntuitiveEating_Support Date: Tuesday, September 9, 2008, 9:02 AM I was remembering that section in the IE book "A Strange Gift" that talks about how we get signals as to when the stress in our life exceeds our ability to cope. I'm feeling that pressure right now. I'm going through an angry, tired, and low energy phase and have been challenged with not using food to cope with intense emotions. I'm wondering how I'm going to navigate through this. I recognize that I become much more vulnerable to using food when my energy gets low like now...and I noticed at the same time, last night I was paying attention to my fullness when I did eat to calm myself and that didn't seem to require any extra effort...I have a whole host of things to "do" to cope with my emotions without dealing with food including, just watching my thoughts and sitting with my emotions...and I don't want to "do", nor do I feel like I have the energy to do any of these things...I guess what's nice is that I'm not using food regularly anymore...I have more confidence that what I'm feeling right now will shift sooner or later, I recognize that I'm facing alot of uncertainty in my life right now, and I went from my walk this morning. I had been skipping and dancing...it seems like it's back to putting one foot in front of the other....LatoyaPracticing IE since Jan '08 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 Latoya, I found that my IE journey had peaks and deep valleys too. It was wonderful to look out over the land of delicious food and carefree life when I was standing on a 'peak'! But when I found myself down in a dark, less friendly 'valley', those peaks around me looked so hard to climb What I tried to do was just like you are doing - one step followed by another. And many times I ended up just walking around on the valley floor. But as I continued, the light of 'noon' showed me that there was a way out and little steps 'up' could and would take me to a 'peak' again. Over time the my IE landscape seems to have given way to more rolling hills and simple plains. Good for you to keep moving, forward too I'd say. Best wishes with your pressing emotions. Maybe one at a time can help there too? ehugs, Katcha IEing since March 2007 > > I was remembering that section in the IE book " A Strange Gift " that > talks about how we get signals as to when the stress in our life > exceeds our ability to cope. I'm feeling that pressure right now. > I'm going through an angry, tired, and low energy phase and have > been challenged with not using food to cope with intense emotions. > I'm wondering how I'm going to navigate through this. I recognize > that I become much more vulnerable to using food when my energy gets > low like now...and I noticed at the same time, last night I was > paying attention to my fullness when I did eat to calm myself and > that didn't seem to require any extra effort... > > I have a whole host of things to " do " to cope with my emotions > without dealing with food including, just watching my thoughts and > sitting with my emotions...and I don't want to " do " , nor do I feel > like I have the energy to do any of these things...I guess what's > nice is that I'm not using food regularly anymore...I have more > confidence that what I'm feeling right now will shift sooner or > later, I recognize that I'm facing alot of uncertainty in my life > right now, and I went from my walk this morning. I had been skipping > and dancing...it seems like it's back to putting one foot in front > of the other.... > > Latoya > Practicing IE since Jan '08 > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 latoyajw wrote: > I was remembering that section in the IE book " A Strange Gift " that > talks about how we get signals as to when the stress in our life > exceeds our ability to cope. I'm feeling that pressure right now. > I'm going through an angry, tired, and low energy phase and have > been challenged with not using food to cope with intense emotions. > I'm wondering how I'm going to navigate through this. I recognize > that I become much more vulnerable to using food when my energy gets > low like now... It's what I'm going through right now. It gets harder and harder not to use food and sometimes I just do it, either because I can't resist anymore or because I catch myself eating on some kind of auto-pilot. > and I noticed at the same time, last night I was > paying attention to my fullness when I did eat to calm myself and > that didn't seem to require any extra effort... It's definitely not like in the beginning, isn't it? But I think I'm far from " the goal " not to use food to calm myself. However, sometimes I ask myself if that is really possible. I guess we all know people who usually seem to be " quite ok " with food but eat emotionally from time to time. Exam preparing time seems to be a food challenge for a lot of people. They gain a few lbs because of more sitting at the desk, eating more candy and more convenience food and then lose the weight again without any effort (as it seems). So what I wonder is: how can I know I've reached this line that marks the end of being an " emotional eater " ? When I'm able to maintain a normal (healthy) body weight without effort? It all seems to be coming back to a " normal weight " in the end. I can't believe that someone who's 100 lbs overweight can not be a disordered eater to some extent (yes, we all know about these " medical conditions " that make you stay fat while eating 500 kcals a day, but let's be honest with ourselves: it's a little minority). Regards s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 10, 2008 Report Share Posted September 10, 2008 Hang in there, Latoya. Learning to become an intuitive eater is a process which involves its ups and downs. I'm sure you'll recapture your " up " soon. You certainly help many of us us with finding ours, with your inspiring posts! Hugs Sig xo ....I have more confidence that what I'm feeling right now will shift sooner or > later, I recognize that I'm facing alot of uncertainty in my life > right now, and I went from my walk this morning. I had been skipping > and dancing...it seems like it's back to putting one foot in front > of the other.... > > Latoya > Practicing IE since Jan '08 > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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