OA/IE (was: I'm so discouraged)

[Guest guest]

Kate, I think you & I are on some kind of parallel wavelength or something :-)I was reading on the OA list as well, and listening to your comments about somehow combining the two, and have come to the same conclusions you have. I've dabbled in OA several times in the last 25-30 years and always I come out with the same impressions: restrictive, forbidden, a lot of failure (and whining about it.) You're not even supposed to mention any foods by name because just hearing the word might trigger someone into wanting it and causing them to slip or relapse. I wonder, if you're having computer problems and it has something to do with "cookies," would that trigger a binge? But that's neither here nor there.Anyway, I signed off that list. I like it here. I like the positive

attitude. I don't always intuitively eat the right thing at the right time in the right amount, but I'm learning not to beat myself up when I eat unwisely, which I sometimes do. And when I do, I'm not kicking myself around; if I'm overeating, it's because that's what I choose to do right now. I'm tired of getting all bent out of shape about it. Ellie I wonder, also, if subconsciously I was

reacting to my brief forage into OA. I was seriously thinking I would be

able to merge OA and IE. However, after days of reading the OA lists, AND

posts from great people here, I realized it was not the way I wanted to

go. I think that reading all those posts about forbidden foods,

abstinence of particular foods, how most people are failing, that I got into

that mindset of not being to do this thing of eating healthy and being

happy. I started eating large quantities of “forbidden†foods

for me in the past. Pizza ($10 from Pizza Hut, and I got pan crust), ice

cream with peanuts, frozen pies baked fresh from the oven. Rather than beat myself up (my usual

thing) I thought – hmmm….must be some sort of

“rebellionâ€. Well, I said, go on from here. Which I am

doing. This list has been a tremendous help for

me. I went to our greyhound Christmas party last night, where last year I

was several sizes smaller. I got a lot of comments last year about my

weight loss and I felt really good about myself, even if it was artificial and

I was starving. This year, I was sort of reluctant to even go because of

the weight gain (again) but I thought, hey – my friends love me, they are

not going to love me less because there is more of me! I did have a great

time, eating everything I wanted to eat, even dessert, but not stuffing myself. So, thank you everyone, for your support

even though I’ve not met any of you in person. Even though I made

this email about me…..Tilley, you are in good and supportive company

here. Kate

From: IntuitiveEating_Support [mailto: IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of EHamilton

Sent: Saturday, December 03, 2011

11:16 AM

To: IntuitiveEating_Support

Subject: Re:

I'm so discouraged

OK, Tilley,

print out this paragraph from your post and tape it up somewhere where you'll

see and read it several times a day!!

"Many

things are going well. I have sweets in the house that I'm eating periodically

(I,m really enjoying baking again, and am surprised at how few of the baked

things I need to feel satisfied). I',m finding myself realizing when I'm full

and stopping, if not exactly at that moment then sooner than I would have

before. I'm not eating meals when I'm not hungry, and often skipping meals

altogether when I've eaten a lot earlier."

It is hard to

change habits. I'm working hard on it too. And in spite of our not wanting to

resemble dieters by thinking too much about it, we kind of do have to think

about it and make conscious decisions in order to turn it around.

I was thinking,

myself, exactly what you said about the sweets: enjoying baking, being

satisfied with less. I was just going to post, when I got online, that I'm

tired of cheap dollar-store cookies (I'll eat 10 trying to get satisfied) and

bought stuff to bake my own good ones. I'm going to keep the dough in the

freezer and just bake 6 at a time, keep the whole family from mindless

cookie-noshing.

Ellie

From:

tilley200

Many things are

going well. I have sweets in the house that I'm eating periodically (I,m really

enjoying baking again, and am surprised at how few of the baked things I need

to feel satisfied). I',m finding myself realizing when I'm full and stopping,

if not exactly at that moment then sooner than I would have before. I'm not

eating meals when I'm not hungry, and often skipping meals altogether when I've

eaten a lot earlier. But still.....

Sigh.