For Evan and planning/not planning meals

[Guest guest]

Evan, I understand your point, I have a similar situation, and would like to ask you (because I have not read all the posts) what do you do if and when you are NOT eating intuitively? Tai

To: "IntuitiveEating_Support " <IntuitiveEating_Support >Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2011 2:48 PMSubject: Re: How do you plan your meals?

Evan,

I think there are many different approaches to how to plan for meals. Everyone finds something a little different that works for them. For me, since I am feeding a family of five, I have to plan ahead a bit. That's doesn't mean that I eat things that I don't like, it means this for ALL members of my family: There is food on the table that has been prepared. If you would like to eat that, you are welcome to. If not, there are always other options available in the kitchen.

For example: I may prepare grilled chicken and a roasted vegetable casserole, and baked potatoes. That's whats on the table. Other options available are: cereal, oatmeal, PB & J sandwich, leftovers, frozen meals, fruit, ingredients to make smoothies, soup, ice cream, Popsicles, and cookie dough.

The last three look silly in the example, but they are always available in my house. Why you may ask... because sometimes I choose to be an emotional eater and my emotional eating choices are those. Also, based on the weather we have had lately... sometimes a Popsicle is dinner. My point from all of this is that in our house the only "rule" that applies to dinner is that we need to sit together and share non-judgmental, non angry conversation. I don't care what is on someone's plate, as long as I am spending time with them. Sometimes even though I am cooking, I am not eating what I am preparing. I am a vegetarian for the most part, but I will still cook chicken and beef if my family have remarked that they are in the mood for it. This doesn't mean that I'm not honoring my body. In fact I'm honoring it more in my opinion, because my body has decided that it really doesn't enjoy

meat all that much. (I do still eat fish, eggs and some cheese)

I know this style can't work for everyone. I used to be the girl who counted out how many grapes I had in a serving and tracked them in my journal. I planned every meal for a week and knew exactly how many calories I would be eating at every meal. I also knew how much I would be exercising and exactly how hard I would be working. I did that for 29 years. And then I realized something. I WAS MISERABLE. So... I stopped.

Intuitive eating doesn't happen all at once. It happens a step at a time. It happens a bite at a time sometimes. Bite by bite, and then you find you've had a whole meal that you enjoyed, nourished you, and you walk away from feeling comfortable. Mind you, not all three happen all the time. I've learned to strive for progress, not perfection.

I hope this helps a bit...

To: IntuitiveEating_Support Sent: Sunday, July 24, 2011 12:16 AMSubject: How do you plan your meals?

For the life of me I don't understand how you can make plans to go out for Italian food next week or pack your lunch for this afternoon. How do you know what your body is going to be hungry for at another time? How can you plan ahead? How do I tell my wife what I want for dinner later tonight. The times I've tried IE I've become a little bit of a freak. How do y'all do it?Evan