Re: being open and flexible about food

[Guest guest]

Ann,

My question for you is: how do you wish the outcome were different?

Do you wish that you ate fewer Wheat Thins so that you would have been hungrier for dinner? Or did your body not feel good at the time you ate too many Wheat Thins?

I think buying some Wheat Thins to have at home, maybe even several boxes so there's no feelings of scarcity, is a great idea. This will take some of the magic away from them, so you won't eat more than you want just because they are " special. " So that would address the latter possibility.

As for the former... if you got too hungry at the party, maybe eating " too many " Wheat Thins was the best option available to you at the time. In which case you did a good thing, listening to your body. And maybe for the next birthday party, you will be able to plan ahead that you tend to be hungry at x time, and to either eat a little extra ahead of time, or else bring a snack with you to replace or compliment the birthday party snack. I'm wondering if bringing something to have WITH the special foods might be less likely to trigger diety feelings while doing a better job of honoring your hunger?

Or you can decide to give yourself permission to enjoy birthday party foods for now... recognizing that at some point in the future, they may not be so appealing. For me, after doing IE for a while, tostitos, which used to be magically appealing, only appeal now if I'm hungry... and after a while, I want something with more protein or else veg.

Trust that the process does work, hard as that can be! Because you already know the alternative doesn't work! I wish I had trusted it a lot sooner.

All the best,

Abby

IE since 11/08

[Guest guest]

Hi Abby,

These are all great questions for me to think about. I so appreciate your

thoughts and suggestions. Thinking about it, i wish i was eating something

healthier because deep down i want to slim down a bit. As a result, when i came

home, i ate my dinner plus some extra stuff i wasn't hungry for. Perhaps if i

would have looked at it differently (as you pointed out that maybe wheat thins

were the best choice for me at the time), i would have responded differently. I

have to keep remembering to be gentle with myself, avoid the judgement and stop

looking at food as good and bad. Thank you for taking the time to comment.

Have a great day,

Ann

>

[Guest guest]

Ann, personally, I'm not very successful at dealing with food sanely at parties and social events. Fortunately, they don't come along often enough to be disruptive to my progress. But here's what I am SOMETIMES able to do: Just be conscious. I try to check in with my body and know whether I'm hungry or not. At social events, not being hungry doesn't stop me from eating, but then I at least know whether I'm eating from hunger or for other reasons. Ideally, I would like to check in, and if I'm not hungry, make a choice whether to eat or not. To date, the only choice seems to be eating, but at least I know it, and I let it be ok to do that. I have some social anxiety, and I don't know how to deal with it in those social situations. I want to fit in, so I do what everyone else does - eat. The difference for me now is that I am doing it consciously so I don't end up remorseful afterward. Today that's the best I can do..Rain

From: AnnSent: Sunday, July 10, 2011 10:21 AMTo: IntuitiveEating_Support Subject: Re: being open and flexible about food

Hi Rain and Carole,YOur posts were especially helpful for me since I ran into trouble yesterday when i wasn't prepared and got hungry at a party. I wish i had a few things with me so i didn't eat all the snacky foods at the party because i was hungry. I believe having something nutritious and more satisfying with me would have made a big difference.Have a great day.Ann>> Rain,> > I also like having something with me when running around. Just an apple, nuts or > a granola bar in my bag may make the difference between having something > somewhat nutritious (and which will satisfy me for longer) and grabbing a bag of > chips or a chocolate bar. My girlfriend used to just keep a small spoon in her > purse. If she got hungry she would just pop into a grocery store and buy an > individual serving of yogurt. I started doing this as well.> Carole> > > >> >> >To: IntuitiveEating_Support > >Sent: Fri, July 8, 2011 12:48:41 PM> >Subject: Re: Re: being open and flexible about food> >> > I like the idea of carrying food around in a bag (as someone mentioned), but I > >find it very impractical. I live in an urban area and ride the bus to work, and > >I carry many non-food things to work. The food I'm likely to want would be > >birthday cake and ice cream, deep dish pizza, pot roast... There is just no way > >I can carry around all that stuff just in case I want it!> > > >So, what I do is carry around fruit, nuts and sometimes cheese. I like those > >things, and if I get hungry, and I can't get cake and ice cream (or whatever) at > >the moment, I eat fruit and cheese to take care of my hunger until I CAN get > >to what I want. I might even crave more than one thing, so I write them down. > > Then when I am able to get somewhere, I might choose one of the things that I > >really crave, or I might be craving something else at the moment. This strategy > >has worked for me. When I do eat the thing that I want, I do it when I'm hungry > >and stop when I'm full.> >> > > >>

[Guest guest]

Thanks for your post Rain. Since I am new to this, i certainly found that I

didn't do very well at the party i went too. My behavior around food was always

challenged at parties. Next time I go to a party (and I seem to go to a lot

lately because my kids are invited to so many bday parties), i will try to be

more conscious and be gentle with myself if i choose to eat when i'm not hungry.

The guilt and shame use to send me into more overeating. It's such a new

concept to be kind to myself and remain conscious about my choice to eat or not

eat. Thanks again for posting. Have a nice day.

Ann

> >

> > Rain,

> >

> > I also like having something with me when running around. Just an apple,

nuts or

> > a granola bar in my bag may make the difference between having something

> > somewhat nutritious (and which will satisfy me for longer) and grabbing a

bag of

> > chips or a chocolate bar. My girlfriend used to just keep a small spoon in

her

> > purse. If she got hungry she would just pop into a grocery store and buy an

> > individual serving of yogurt. I started doing this as well.

> > Carole

> >

> >

> > >

> > >From: Rain <raininberkeley@>

> > >To: IntuitiveEating_Support

> > >Sent: Fri, July 8, 2011 12:48:41 PM

> > >Subject: Re: Re: being open and flexible about

food

> > >

> > > I like the idea of carrying food around in a bag (as someone mentioned),

but I

> > >find it very impractical. I live in an urban area and ride the bus to work,

and

> > >I carry many non-food things to work. The food I'm likely to want would be

> > >birthday cake and ice cream, deep dish pizza, pot roast... There is just no

way

> > >I can carry around all that stuff just in case I want it!

> > >

> > >So, what I do is carry around fruit, nuts and sometimes cheese. I like

those

> > >things, and if I get hungry, and I can't get cake and ice cream (or

whatever) at

> > >the moment, I eat fruit and cheese to take care of my hunger until I CAN

get

> > >to what I want. I might even crave more than one thing, so I write them

down.

> > > Then when I am able to get somewhere, I might choose one of the things

that I

> > >really crave, or I might be craving something else at the moment. This

strategy

> > >has worked for me. When I do eat the thing that I want, I do it when I'm

hungry

> > >and stop when I'm full.

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Ann,  I found that eating something before I go helps a lot.  That way I am not so hungry that I need to eat everything/anything in site.  It is hard to remember that there isn't any forbidden food either and that I always have a choice.  Today I ate emotionally and knew it.  I chose to not put any guilt on myself though, just to notice it. Sandy

 

Thanks for your post Rain. Since I am new to this, i certainly found that I didn't do very well at the party i went too. My behavior around food was always challenged at parties. Next time I go to a party (and I seem to go to a lot lately because my kids are invited to so many bday parties), i will try to be more conscious and be gentle with myself if i choose to eat when i'm not hungry. The guilt and shame use to send me into more overeating. It's such a new concept to be kind to myself and remain conscious about my choice to eat or not eat. Thanks again for posting. Have a nice day.

Ann

> >

> > Rain,

> >

> > I also like having something with me when running around. Just an apple, nuts or

> > a granola bar in my bag may make the difference between having something

> > somewhat nutritious (and which will satisfy me for longer) and grabbing a bag of

> > chips or a chocolate bar. My girlfriend used to just keep a small spoon in her

> > purse. If she got hungry she would just pop into a grocery store and buy an

> > individual serving of yogurt. I started doing this as well.

> > Carole

> >

> >

> > >

> > >From: Rain <raininberkeley@>

> > >To: IntuitiveEating_Support

> > >Sent: Fri, July 8, 2011 12:48:41 PM

> > >Subject: Re: Re: being open and flexible about food

> > >

> > > I like the idea of carrying food around in a bag (as someone mentioned), but I

> > >find it very impractical. I live in an urban area and ride the bus to work, and

> > >I carry many non-food things to work. The food I'm likely to want would be

> > >birthday cake and ice cream, deep dish pizza, pot roast... There is just no way

> > >I can carry around all that stuff just in case I want it!

> > >

> > >So, what I do is carry around fruit, nuts and sometimes cheese. I like those

> > >things, and if I get hungry, and I can't get cake and ice cream (or whatever) at

> > >the moment, I eat fruit and cheese to take care of my hunger until I CAN get

> > >to what I want. I might even crave more than one thing, so I write them down.

> > > Then when I am able to get somewhere, I might choose one of the things that I

> > >really crave, or I might be craving something else at the moment. This strategy

> > >has worked for me. When I do eat the thing that I want, I do it when I'm hungry

> > >and stop when I'm full.

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

>