Re: Fighting the plate-cleaner mentality

[Guest guest]

, you are doing well to discover such habits that are not what is best for

you. Needing to 'finish' without regard for satisfaction - taste or biological -

has to be a factor in your physical comfort/life. Changing a long established

and compelling habit is quite a challenge for any of us. I have had not positive

results be trying to force myself as that results in my INternal rebel being

triggered. That turns out to be a good thing for me since that inner being is

more in touch with my actual needs than what my conscious mind thinks I 'need'.

Rather than force yourself to do X behavior, how about you consider seeing if

you can do a few less intrusive but better learning steps instead? 1) simply

observe how you go about eating - what your eyes focus on, how your mind reacts

to the sight of food, what emotions arise as you begin eating 2) IF you can

choose to react a bit different during your eating, can you slow your chewing,

really TASTE the food in your mouth, rest your fork or spoon in between bites?

3) before you begin to eat, see if you can PREpare yourself for a little change

- like telling yourself that it is OK to stop when you are full or to leave A

mouthful of food on your plate or whatever you think would be a good

accomplishment for you at that time. YOU are worth the effort and deserve to

have GENTLE consideration in this worthwhile return to eating as your body was

always meant to have for itself.

One thing that helped me when I began IE was that I told myself that IE was a

huge feast that I couldn't and didn't need to eat in one big gulp! The IE feast

has food that will never cool down, go stale or disappear if I don't hurry to

eat as much as I can. I can and have found that eating just want I want, as much

as I want and when I want is very possible and really delightful too. Wishing

for you to join us at this banquet!

Katcha

IEing since March 2007

(also a member of the Clean Plate Club!)

>

> Hi everybody,

> today I learned something about me: I'm not satisfied by the very act of

eating, i.e. tasting and enjoying food, but rather by the idea of " having eaten "

something.

>

> I'll try to make myself clearer: I tend to taste something, decide I can have

it, and eat it all. It can be a plate, two, as much as I have access to; after

deciding I can have it, " allowing it to myself " , I'll just eat it all, without

tasting it or anything.

>

> I also have difficulty in leaving things for others or for later. If my mom

has cooked four slices of chicken breast, it's very difficult for me to leave

any. If someone else eats it, I eat what's left; if nobody else eats it, I'll

eat it all.

>

> As a possible solution to this, I've decided to try to FORCE myself to leave a

bite of everything. I have to understand that there's nothing wrong in leaving

something, but I just can't do it. Maybe by leaving a spoonful of everything

I'll get used to this idea.

>

> What do you think about it? Any suggestions? Any things I could do to correct

this?

>

> Thank you very much

>

[Guest guest]

, you are doing well to discover such habits that are not what is best for

you. Needing to 'finish' without regard for satisfaction - taste or biological -

has to be a factor in your physical comfort/life. Changing a long established

and compelling habit is quite a challenge for any of us. I have had not positive

results be trying to force myself as that results in my INternal rebel being

triggered. That turns out to be a good thing for me since that inner being is

more in touch with my actual needs than what my conscious mind thinks I 'need'.

Rather than force yourself to do X behavior, how about you consider seeing if

you can do a few less intrusive but better learning steps instead? 1) simply

observe how you go about eating - what your eyes focus on, how your mind reacts

to the sight of food, what emotions arise as you begin eating 2) IF you can

choose to react a bit different during your eating, can you slow your chewing,

really TASTE the food in your mouth, rest your fork or spoon in between bites?

3) before you begin to eat, see if you can PREpare yourself for a little change

- like telling yourself that it is OK to stop when you are full or to leave A

mouthful of food on your plate or whatever you think would be a good

accomplishment for you at that time. YOU are worth the effort and deserve to

have GENTLE consideration in this worthwhile return to eating as your body was

always meant to have for itself.

One thing that helped me when I began IE was that I told myself that IE was a

huge feast that I couldn't and didn't need to eat in one big gulp! The IE feast

has food that will never cool down, go stale or disappear if I don't hurry to

eat as much as I can. I can and have found that eating just want I want, as much

as I want and when I want is very possible and really delightful too. Wishing

for you to join us at this banquet!

Katcha

IEing since March 2007

(also a member of the Clean Plate Club!)

>

> Hi everybody,

> today I learned something about me: I'm not satisfied by the very act of

eating, i.e. tasting and enjoying food, but rather by the idea of " having eaten "

something.

>

> I'll try to make myself clearer: I tend to taste something, decide I can have

it, and eat it all. It can be a plate, two, as much as I have access to; after

deciding I can have it, " allowing it to myself " , I'll just eat it all, without

tasting it or anything.

>

> I also have difficulty in leaving things for others or for later. If my mom

has cooked four slices of chicken breast, it's very difficult for me to leave

any. If someone else eats it, I eat what's left; if nobody else eats it, I'll

eat it all.

>

> As a possible solution to this, I've decided to try to FORCE myself to leave a

bite of everything. I have to understand that there's nothing wrong in leaving

something, but I just can't do it. Maybe by leaving a spoonful of everything

I'll get used to this idea.

>

> What do you think about it? Any suggestions? Any things I could do to correct

this?

>

> Thank you very much

>

[Guest guest]

, you are doing well to discover such habits that are not what is best for

you. Needing to 'finish' without regard for satisfaction - taste or biological -

has to be a factor in your physical comfort/life. Changing a long established

and compelling habit is quite a challenge for any of us. I have had not positive

results be trying to force myself as that results in my INternal rebel being

triggered. That turns out to be a good thing for me since that inner being is

more in touch with my actual needs than what my conscious mind thinks I 'need'.

Rather than force yourself to do X behavior, how about you consider seeing if

you can do a few less intrusive but better learning steps instead? 1) simply

observe how you go about eating - what your eyes focus on, how your mind reacts

to the sight of food, what emotions arise as you begin eating 2) IF you can

choose to react a bit different during your eating, can you slow your chewing,

really TASTE the food in your mouth, rest your fork or spoon in between bites?

3) before you begin to eat, see if you can PREpare yourself for a little change

- like telling yourself that it is OK to stop when you are full or to leave A

mouthful of food on your plate or whatever you think would be a good

accomplishment for you at that time. YOU are worth the effort and deserve to

have GENTLE consideration in this worthwhile return to eating as your body was

always meant to have for itself.

One thing that helped me when I began IE was that I told myself that IE was a

huge feast that I couldn't and didn't need to eat in one big gulp! The IE feast

has food that will never cool down, go stale or disappear if I don't hurry to

eat as much as I can. I can and have found that eating just want I want, as much

as I want and when I want is very possible and really delightful too. Wishing

for you to join us at this banquet!

Katcha

IEing since March 2007

(also a member of the Clean Plate Club!)

>

> Hi everybody,

> today I learned something about me: I'm not satisfied by the very act of

eating, i.e. tasting and enjoying food, but rather by the idea of " having eaten "

something.

>

> I'll try to make myself clearer: I tend to taste something, decide I can have

it, and eat it all. It can be a plate, two, as much as I have access to; after

deciding I can have it, " allowing it to myself " , I'll just eat it all, without

tasting it or anything.

>

> I also have difficulty in leaving things for others or for later. If my mom

has cooked four slices of chicken breast, it's very difficult for me to leave

any. If someone else eats it, I eat what's left; if nobody else eats it, I'll

eat it all.

>

> As a possible solution to this, I've decided to try to FORCE myself to leave a

bite of everything. I have to understand that there's nothing wrong in leaving

something, but I just can't do it. Maybe by leaving a spoonful of everything

I'll get used to this idea.

>

> What do you think about it? Any suggestions? Any things I could do to correct

this?

>

> Thank you very much

>

[Guest guest]

I don't know....I think all that analysis while eating is thinking a whole lot about food and eating. What I'm trying to do is forget about being obsessed with it.I think leaving a bite on the plate is a really good idea. Just to show myself that I can. I could extend this.... throw away the last bite of the cookie. Small changes add up to changed lives.Ellie

Rather than force yourself to do X behavior, how about you consider seeing if you can do a few less intrusive but better learning steps instead? 1) simply observe how you go about eating - what your eyes focus on, how your mind reacts to the sight of food, what emotions arise as you begin eating 2) IF you can choose to react a bit different during your eating, can you slow your chewing, really TASTE the food in your mouth, rest your fork or spoon in between bites? 3) before you begin to eat, see if you can PREpare yourself for a little change - like telling yourself that it is OK to stop when you are full or to leave A mouthful of food on your plate or whatever you think would be a good accomplishment for you at that time. YOU are worth the effort and deserve to have GENTLE consideration in this worthwhile return to eating as your body was always meant to have for itself.

> As a possible solution to this, I've decided to try to FORCE myself to leave a bite of everything. I have to understand that there's nothing wrong in leaving something, but I just can't do it. Maybe by leaving a spoonful of everything I'll get used to this idea.

>

> What do you think about it? Any suggestions? Any things I could do to correct this?

[Guest guest]

I don't know....I think all that analysis while eating is thinking a whole lot about food and eating. What I'm trying to do is forget about being obsessed with it.I think leaving a bite on the plate is a really good idea. Just to show myself that I can. I could extend this.... throw away the last bite of the cookie. Small changes add up to changed lives.Ellie

Rather than force yourself to do X behavior, how about you consider seeing if you can do a few less intrusive but better learning steps instead? 1) simply observe how you go about eating - what your eyes focus on, how your mind reacts to the sight of food, what emotions arise as you begin eating 2) IF you can choose to react a bit different during your eating, can you slow your chewing, really TASTE the food in your mouth, rest your fork or spoon in between bites? 3) before you begin to eat, see if you can PREpare yourself for a little change - like telling yourself that it is OK to stop when you are full or to leave A mouthful of food on your plate or whatever you think would be a good accomplishment for you at that time. YOU are worth the effort and deserve to have GENTLE consideration in this worthwhile return to eating as your body was always meant to have for itself.

> As a possible solution to this, I've decided to try to FORCE myself to leave a bite of everything. I have to understand that there's nothing wrong in leaving something, but I just can't do it. Maybe by leaving a spoonful of everything I'll get used to this idea.

>

> What do you think about it? Any suggestions? Any things I could do to correct this?

[Guest guest]

I don't know....I think all that analysis while eating is thinking a whole lot about food and eating. What I'm trying to do is forget about being obsessed with it.I think leaving a bite on the plate is a really good idea. Just to show myself that I can. I could extend this.... throw away the last bite of the cookie. Small changes add up to changed lives.Ellie

Rather than force yourself to do X behavior, how about you consider seeing if you can do a few less intrusive but better learning steps instead? 1) simply observe how you go about eating - what your eyes focus on, how your mind reacts to the sight of food, what emotions arise as you begin eating 2) IF you can choose to react a bit different during your eating, can you slow your chewing, really TASTE the food in your mouth, rest your fork or spoon in between bites? 3) before you begin to eat, see if you can PREpare yourself for a little change - like telling yourself that it is OK to stop when you are full or to leave A mouthful of food on your plate or whatever you think would be a good accomplishment for you at that time. YOU are worth the effort and deserve to have GENTLE consideration in this worthwhile return to eating as your body was always meant to have for itself.

> As a possible solution to this, I've decided to try to FORCE myself to leave a bite of everything. I have to understand that there's nothing wrong in leaving something, but I just can't do it. Maybe by leaving a spoonful of everything I'll get used to this idea.

>

> What do you think about it? Any suggestions? Any things I could do to correct this?

[Guest guest]

Good point Ellie - yes too much 'to do' can be a big stopper too :-) I forget to

add that one needs to keep in mind that you can choose to do any, all or none -

they are just suggestions and offerings of thoughts that I hope can assist - NOT

direct! your remark reminded me of the discussion we had not so long ago about

purposefully mindfully eating - especially solo - and how odd, hard and plain

weird that felt for most who have tried it. But again the purpose wasn't to have

us train ourselves to enjoy eating alone, rather instead to help us be mindful

of our eating experiences so we can learn from them.

Keep those astute observations coming!

Thanks, Katcha

IEing since March 2008

>

> I don't know....I think all that analysis while eating is thinking a whole lot

about food and eating.

> Ellie

>

>

>

>

> >________________________________

> >

> >

> >

> >  Rather than force yourself to do X behavior, how about you consider seeing

if you can do a few less intrusive but better learning steps instead? 1) simply

observe how you go about eating - what your eyes focus on, how your mind reacts

to the sight of food, what emotions arise as you begin eating 2) IF you can

choose to react a bit different during your eating, can you slow your chewing,

really TASTE the food in your mouth, rest your fork or spoon in between bites?

3) before you begin to eat, see if you can PREpare yourself for a little change

- like telling yourself that it is OK to stop when you are full or to leave A

mouthful of food on your plate or whatever you think would be a good

accomplishment for you at that time. YOU are worth the effort and deserve to

have GENTLE consideration in this worthwhile return to eating as your body was

always meant to have for itself.

> >