Newbie

[Guest guest]

I am Dena from NC. I am 57 and have been trying to lose weight for 20 years. I have tried every diet under the sun and am very interested in this WOE.



Dena

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[Guest guest]

Hi Christen, thanks for the book suggestions. I put them on my list. I find that I get something out of every IE type book I read, and they help complete the pieces of my own eating puzzle for me. Anyway, I think it's good that you're noticing that you are stuck somewhere between diet mentality and binge mentality when it comes to knowing when you are full. Knowing this, I would start to experiment a bit. Try eating somewhere between the sip of water and that stuffed feeling and see how you feel. It may feel artificial and very non-intuitive at first, but you are attempting to re-connect with your physical sensations and it may take some trial and error to figure out where they are. Keep listening intently to your body and eventually it will begin to speak to you again.

Mimi

Subject: NewbieTo: IntuitiveEating_Support Date: Monday, November 7, 2011, 7:06 PM

Hello everyone! It's so refreshing to see a community of people helping and encouraging one another and I have very much enjoyed reading the messages on this site. I have been practicing IE for 2 months now. After years of depriving myself my mind and body had finally had enough and things needed to change. I read Fain's "The Self-Compassionate Diet" and Albers "Eat, Drink, and be Mindful". For me the most difficult part of this philosophy is knowing when to stop eating. The dieting part of my mind tells me I am no longer hungry after a glass of water while the binging side of my personality tells me to keep going until it's difficult to move. Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!~Christen

[Guest guest]

Hi Christen, thanks for the book suggestions. I put them on my list. I find that I get something out of every IE type book I read, and they help complete the pieces of my own eating puzzle for me. Anyway, I think it's good that you're noticing that you are stuck somewhere between diet mentality and binge mentality when it comes to knowing when you are full. Knowing this, I would start to experiment a bit. Try eating somewhere between the sip of water and that stuffed feeling and see how you feel. It may feel artificial and very non-intuitive at first, but you are attempting to re-connect with your physical sensations and it may take some trial and error to figure out where they are. Keep listening intently to your body and eventually it will begin to speak to you again.

Mimi

Subject: NewbieTo: IntuitiveEating_Support Date: Monday, November 7, 2011, 7:06 PM

Hello everyone! It's so refreshing to see a community of people helping and encouraging one another and I have very much enjoyed reading the messages on this site. I have been practicing IE for 2 months now. After years of depriving myself my mind and body had finally had enough and things needed to change. I read Fain's "The Self-Compassionate Diet" and Albers "Eat, Drink, and be Mindful". For me the most difficult part of this philosophy is knowing when to stop eating. The dieting part of my mind tells me I am no longer hungry after a glass of water while the binging side of my personality tells me to keep going until it's difficult to move. Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!~Christen

[Guest guest]

Hi Christen, thanks for the book suggestions. I put them on my list. I find that I get something out of every IE type book I read, and they help complete the pieces of my own eating puzzle for me. Anyway, I think it's good that you're noticing that you are stuck somewhere between diet mentality and binge mentality when it comes to knowing when you are full. Knowing this, I would start to experiment a bit. Try eating somewhere between the sip of water and that stuffed feeling and see how you feel. It may feel artificial and very non-intuitive at first, but you are attempting to re-connect with your physical sensations and it may take some trial and error to figure out where they are. Keep listening intently to your body and eventually it will begin to speak to you again.

Mimi

Subject: NewbieTo: IntuitiveEating_Support Date: Monday, November 7, 2011, 7:06 PM

Hello everyone! It's so refreshing to see a community of people helping and encouraging one another and I have very much enjoyed reading the messages on this site. I have been practicing IE for 2 months now. After years of depriving myself my mind and body had finally had enough and things needed to change. I read Fain's "The Self-Compassionate Diet" and Albers "Eat, Drink, and be Mindful". For me the most difficult part of this philosophy is knowing when to stop eating. The dieting part of my mind tells me I am no longer hungry after a glass of water while the binging side of my personality tells me to keep going until it's difficult to move. Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!~Christen

[Guest guest]

I sincerely believe, and feel that I have proven to myself, that it is possible to make any food "legal" and thereby lose the craving for it. Many foods that beckon you now when you are fully aware they are not the best foods for any body, will lose their appeal as you make them legal. For myself, I discovered I do not even like doughnuts or bagels (when I paid attention I found both of these foods too doughy, and the doughnuts doubly yucky because they also tend to be too sweet and too greasy for my mouth at the same time). Chocolate still beckons, but only one kind, and certainly less than in the past. Too sweet is a newish concept to me, and I'm surprised at the things it applies to. I take a chewable vitamin that I'm having to drop because the taste is overly sweet. I was

amazed to discover that when I actually paid attention to taste and mouth feel, I don't think I will ever want another french fry.

I think that it is our perception of these high fat, sugary, salty foods that is addictive, rather than the food itself. Once you make a food truly legal, and it's OK to have it anytime you are hungry and want it, hen these foods lose their appeal, and certainly no longer have a hold over you.

To: IntuitiveEating_Support Sent: Tuesday, November 8, 2011 1:30 PMSubject: Re: Newbie

Replying to my own post, I have spent some time today reading about intuitive eating. I think maybe what I was doing is a form of dieting, or bordering on it. But it did help me to learn what satiation feels like, which is for me the point where my stomach feels neither hungry nor full. I am not aware of having a stomach, just as I'm not aware of having an elbow or an ear as I go about my day. The thing I wonder about with intuitive eating is this....If there were only natural foods available, I can see where the process of using intuitive eating would work. But in a world where so much highly processed food abounds, I wonder if the processing can override the body's intuition, I mean high salt, sugar, fat. There was an article in our local Sunday paper about research now showing that these have the same effect on brain chemistry as alcohol. Yet there are many people in our society who do not have overeating issues. > >> > Hello everyone! It's so refreshing to see a community of people helping and encouraging one another and I have very much enjoyed reading the messages on this site. > > > > I have been practicing IE for 2 months now. After years of depriving myself my mind and body had finally had enough and things needed to change. I read Fain's "The Self-Compassionate Diet" and Albers "Eat, Drink, and be Mindful". > > > > For me the most difficult part of this philosophy is knowing when to stop eating. The dieting part of my mind tells me I am no longer hungry after a

glass of water while the binging side of my personality tells me to keep going until it's difficult to move. > > > > Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!> > > > ~Christen> >>

[Guest guest]

That is a very good point, and one that I have thought about a lot. When I am

eating " plain " meals, I lose interest in the food when I am no longer hungry,

but highly salt or sweet or fatty things seem to be overly stimulating, and I

don't lose interest in the same way. A lot of people have written about this,

and it makes sense to me. But on the other hand, the more we're able to listen

to our bodies, the more we'll be able to hear our bodies say, " enough. " . For

example, the past couple of days I have started feeling like I often feel when I

am on trips and can't wait to get. Home and start eating real food again. I'm

feeling vegetable-deprived, and over salted and over sugared, and so know

exactly what I need to fix for dinner....

Tilley

> > >

> > > Hello everyone! It's so refreshing to see a community of people helping

and encouraging one another and I have very much enjoyed reading the messages on

this site.

> > >

> > > I have been practicing IE for 2 months now. After years of depriving

myself my mind and body had finally had enough and things needed to change. I

read Fain's " The Self-Compassionate Diet " and Albers " Eat, Drink, and

be Mindful " .

> > >

> > > For me the most difficult part of this philosophy is knowing when to stop

eating. The dieting part of my mind tells me I am no longer hungry after a

glass of water while the binging side of my personality tells me to keep going

until it's difficult to move.

> > >

> > > Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

> > >

> > > ~Christen

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

That is a very good point, and one that I have thought about a lot. When I am

eating " plain " meals, I lose interest in the food when I am no longer hungry,

but highly salt or sweet or fatty things seem to be overly stimulating, and I

don't lose interest in the same way. A lot of people have written about this,

and it makes sense to me. But on the other hand, the more we're able to listen

to our bodies, the more we'll be able to hear our bodies say, " enough. " . For

example, the past couple of days I have started feeling like I often feel when I

am on trips and can't wait to get. Home and start eating real food again. I'm

feeling vegetable-deprived, and over salted and over sugared, and so know

exactly what I need to fix for dinner....

Tilley

> > >

> > > Hello everyone! It's so refreshing to see a community of people helping

and encouraging one another and I have very much enjoyed reading the messages on

this site.

> > >

> > > I have been practicing IE for 2 months now. After years of depriving

myself my mind and body had finally had enough and things needed to change. I

read Fain's " The Self-Compassionate Diet " and Albers " Eat, Drink, and

be Mindful " .

> > >

> > > For me the most difficult part of this philosophy is knowing when to stop

eating. The dieting part of my mind tells me I am no longer hungry after a

glass of water while the binging side of my personality tells me to keep going

until it's difficult to move.

> > >

> > > Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

> > >

> > > ~Christen

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

That is a very good point, and one that I have thought about a lot. When I am

eating " plain " meals, I lose interest in the food when I am no longer hungry,

but highly salt or sweet or fatty things seem to be overly stimulating, and I

don't lose interest in the same way. A lot of people have written about this,

and it makes sense to me. But on the other hand, the more we're able to listen

to our bodies, the more we'll be able to hear our bodies say, " enough. " . For

example, the past couple of days I have started feeling like I often feel when I

am on trips and can't wait to get. Home and start eating real food again. I'm

feeling vegetable-deprived, and over salted and over sugared, and so know

exactly what I need to fix for dinner....

Tilley

> > >

> > > Hello everyone! It's so refreshing to see a community of people helping

and encouraging one another and I have very much enjoyed reading the messages on

this site.

> > >

> > > I have been practicing IE for 2 months now. After years of depriving

myself my mind and body had finally had enough and things needed to change. I

read Fain's " The Self-Compassionate Diet " and Albers " Eat, Drink, and

be Mindful " .

> > >

> > > For me the most difficult part of this philosophy is knowing when to stop

eating. The dieting part of my mind tells me I am no longer hungry after a

glass of water while the binging side of my personality tells me to keep going

until it's difficult to move.

> > >

> > > Any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

> > >

> > > ~Christen

> > >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Sara, that's a point I have wondered about as well. I have a friend who is super-vigilant about her diet. She never lets processed foods cross her lips. When I told her about intuitive eating her response was "sure, but that only works after you've eliminated all the junk from your diet." I have also heard that the extreme flavors in artificial food products have an effect on brain chemistry that makes us crave them. So what to do? I think of it this way. While eating those chemical-laden potato chips may trigger cravings, restriction does not help either. In fact, restriction only makes me more ravenous for those foods. In this case, I think the mind and body have to work together. I know that I don't want these chemicals in my body. I also know that they taste great. So, I try to make different choices within my framework of preferences (thanks to Tilly

for the concept) whenever possible. But when I gotta have the chips, I get the chips. On average, this makes me eat fewer chips, not more. And I don't feel deprived.

Mimi

Subject: Re: NewbieTo: IntuitiveEating_Support Date: Tuesday, November 8, 2011, 1:30 PM

Replying to my own post, I have spent some time today reading about intuitive eating. I think maybe what I was doing is a form of dieting, or bordering on it. But it did help me to learn what satiation feels like, which is for me the point where my stomach feels neither hungry nor full. I am not aware of having a stomach, just as I'm not aware of having an elbow or an ear as I go about my day. The thing I wonder about with intuitive eating is this....If there were only natural foods available, I can see where the process of using intuitive eating would work. But in a world where so much highly processed food abounds, I wonder if the processing can override the body's intuition, I mean high salt, sugar, fat. There was an article in our local Sunday paper about research now showing that these have the same effect on brain chemistry as alcohol. Yet there are many people in our society who do not have overeating issues.

[Guest guest]

Sara, that's a point I have wondered about as well. I have a friend who is super-vigilant about her diet. She never lets processed foods cross her lips. When I told her about intuitive eating her response was "sure, but that only works after you've eliminated all the junk from your diet." I have also heard that the extreme flavors in artificial food products have an effect on brain chemistry that makes us crave them. So what to do? I think of it this way. While eating those chemical-laden potato chips may trigger cravings, restriction does not help either. In fact, restriction only makes me more ravenous for those foods. In this case, I think the mind and body have to work together. I know that I don't want these chemicals in my body. I also know that they taste great. So, I try to make different choices within my framework of preferences (thanks to Tilly

for the concept) whenever possible. But when I gotta have the chips, I get the chips. On average, this makes me eat fewer chips, not more. And I don't feel deprived.

Mimi

Subject: Re: NewbieTo: IntuitiveEating_Support Date: Tuesday, November 8, 2011, 1:30 PM

Replying to my own post, I have spent some time today reading about intuitive eating. I think maybe what I was doing is a form of dieting, or bordering on it. But it did help me to learn what satiation feels like, which is for me the point where my stomach feels neither hungry nor full. I am not aware of having a stomach, just as I'm not aware of having an elbow or an ear as I go about my day. The thing I wonder about with intuitive eating is this....If there were only natural foods available, I can see where the process of using intuitive eating would work. But in a world where so much highly processed food abounds, I wonder if the processing can override the body's intuition, I mean high salt, sugar, fat. There was an article in our local Sunday paper about research now showing that these have the same effect on brain chemistry as alcohol. Yet there are many people in our society who do not have overeating issues.