Guest guest Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 YES!!! I so agree that there are many helathy foods I truly enjoy and want to eat. They make me feel alive, like my body is humming along. When I'm feeling that way, and taking the time to take care of myself, I mostly don't think of eating the junk foods. At the same time, I know if I really am craving non-nutritious food, I can have whatever I want. However, it's taken me a year to get to where you are in a couple of weeks! Great progress! > > When I decided a couple weeks ago that IE was something I needed to do for my sanity and quality of life, I spent the better part of a week eating junky foods that made me feel like..junk. I didn't necessarily have strong cravings for all of them, some of them were things that used to hold magic for me so I guess I was going back to check if that was still true. I felt like I was supposed to do this, otherwise it wasn't IE. > > But the thing I realized is, there are lots of healthy foods that I really enjoy and look forward to eating. I like the way they taste and I like the way they make me feel physically...not sluggish and tired, but energized. And then I realized...THAT is IE! I don't HAVE to eat junk food if I am not craving it, I am just as entitled to eat healthfully if that is what I am craving. I know that may sound sort of obvious, but for some reason it just wasn't to me, maybe because of the de-emphasis on nutrition in the book. > > Of course, in the past I had rules associated with eating healthfully...no starchy carbs after 3PM, junk food only on assigned " cheat " days or meals, stay within my calorie range, eat the right number of carbs, etc. So the difference with IE is that none of these rules exist anymore...if I feel like eating carbs with dinner, I will...if I don't, I won't. I will even drink a diet soda if I want it despite all of those artificial chemicals in it! It is a subtle mental shift, but it makes all the difference between following a diet and listening to what feels right. And the truth is, most of those rules were never about being healthy, they were about looking a certain way. Take away the rules, and you have IE. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 YES!!! I so agree that there are many helathy foods I truly enjoy and want to eat. They make me feel alive, like my body is humming along. When I'm feeling that way, and taking the time to take care of myself, I mostly don't think of eating the junk foods. At the same time, I know if I really am craving non-nutritious food, I can have whatever I want. However, it's taken me a year to get to where you are in a couple of weeks! Great progress! > > When I decided a couple weeks ago that IE was something I needed to do for my sanity and quality of life, I spent the better part of a week eating junky foods that made me feel like..junk. I didn't necessarily have strong cravings for all of them, some of them were things that used to hold magic for me so I guess I was going back to check if that was still true. I felt like I was supposed to do this, otherwise it wasn't IE. > > But the thing I realized is, there are lots of healthy foods that I really enjoy and look forward to eating. I like the way they taste and I like the way they make me feel physically...not sluggish and tired, but energized. And then I realized...THAT is IE! I don't HAVE to eat junk food if I am not craving it, I am just as entitled to eat healthfully if that is what I am craving. I know that may sound sort of obvious, but for some reason it just wasn't to me, maybe because of the de-emphasis on nutrition in the book. > > Of course, in the past I had rules associated with eating healthfully...no starchy carbs after 3PM, junk food only on assigned " cheat " days or meals, stay within my calorie range, eat the right number of carbs, etc. So the difference with IE is that none of these rules exist anymore...if I feel like eating carbs with dinner, I will...if I don't, I won't. I will even drink a diet soda if I want it despite all of those artificial chemicals in it! It is a subtle mental shift, but it makes all the difference between following a diet and listening to what feels right. And the truth is, most of those rules were never about being healthy, they were about looking a certain way. Take away the rules, and you have IE. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 YES!!! I so agree that there are many helathy foods I truly enjoy and want to eat. They make me feel alive, like my body is humming along. When I'm feeling that way, and taking the time to take care of myself, I mostly don't think of eating the junk foods. At the same time, I know if I really am craving non-nutritious food, I can have whatever I want. However, it's taken me a year to get to where you are in a couple of weeks! Great progress! > > When I decided a couple weeks ago that IE was something I needed to do for my sanity and quality of life, I spent the better part of a week eating junky foods that made me feel like..junk. I didn't necessarily have strong cravings for all of them, some of them were things that used to hold magic for me so I guess I was going back to check if that was still true. I felt like I was supposed to do this, otherwise it wasn't IE. > > But the thing I realized is, there are lots of healthy foods that I really enjoy and look forward to eating. I like the way they taste and I like the way they make me feel physically...not sluggish and tired, but energized. And then I realized...THAT is IE! I don't HAVE to eat junk food if I am not craving it, I am just as entitled to eat healthfully if that is what I am craving. I know that may sound sort of obvious, but for some reason it just wasn't to me, maybe because of the de-emphasis on nutrition in the book. > > Of course, in the past I had rules associated with eating healthfully...no starchy carbs after 3PM, junk food only on assigned " cheat " days or meals, stay within my calorie range, eat the right number of carbs, etc. So the difference with IE is that none of these rules exist anymore...if I feel like eating carbs with dinner, I will...if I don't, I won't. I will even drink a diet soda if I want it despite all of those artificial chemicals in it! It is a subtle mental shift, but it makes all the difference between following a diet and listening to what feels right. And the truth is, most of those rules were never about being healthy, they were about looking a certain way. Take away the rules, and you have IE. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Isn't it amazing, to realize that our body really does know what it is doing,if we can just get our head out of the way?when i have tried to describe IE to others, which i almost never do, people invariable say things like, " i could never do that. i would eat until i was the size of a house. " and there'sjust no way to convince them of the truth. i guess we each just have to experience this.also, i had the same epiphany moment (more than once) about realizing it was okay to eat healthy food! just yesterday i was at a brunch and i told myself it was okay to have a bagel if i wanted one, and as i was reaching for it...i realized i actually didn't want it, because all i could think about was how it would make me feel (i think i may be gluten intolerant -- it makes me feel sluggish and tired) and it was amazing to realize that just because i COULD have that bagel didn't make me in any way HAVE to have it. best,abby YES!!! I so agree that there are many helathy foods I truly enjoy and want to eat. They make me feel alive, like my body is humming along. When I'm feeling that way, and taking the time to take care of myself, I mostly don't think of eating the junk foods. At the same time, I know if I really am craving non-nutritious food, I can have whatever I want. However, it's taken me a year to get to where you are in a couple of weeks! Great progress! > > When I decided a couple weeks ago that IE was something I needed to do for my sanity and quality of life, I spent the better part of a week eating junky foods that made me feel like..junk. I didn't necessarily have strong cravings for all of them, some of them were things that used to hold magic for me so I guess I was going back to check if that was still true. I felt like I was supposed to do this, otherwise it wasn't IE. > > But the thing I realized is, there are lots of healthy foods that I really enjoy and look forward to eating. I like the way they taste and I like the way they make me feel physically...not sluggish and tired, but energized. And then I realized...THAT is IE! I don't HAVE to eat junk food if I am not craving it, I am just as entitled to eat healthfully if that is what I am craving. I know that may sound sort of obvious, but for some reason it just wasn't to me, maybe because of the de-emphasis on nutrition in the book. > > Of course, in the past I had rules associated with eating healthfully...no starchy carbs after 3PM, junk food only on assigned " cheat " days or meals, stay within my calorie range, eat the right number of carbs, etc. So the difference with IE is that none of these rules exist anymore...if I feel like eating carbs with dinner, I will...if I don't, I won't. I will even drink a diet soda if I want it despite all of those artificial chemicals in it! It is a subtle mental shift, but it makes all the difference between following a diet and listening to what feels right. And the truth is, most of those rules were never about being healthy, they were about looking a certain way. Take away the rules, and you have IE. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 A thought hit me while reading your post. In a dieter’s mind, the opposite of “dieting” is eating junk food. At the beginning of IE, many feel that IE is “not dieting” which could translate into eating junk food. I love your realization that you don’t HAVE to eat junk food to be “not dieting”. YAYYY for IE. Kate ] On Behalf Of twalker0475 Sent: Monday, January 23, 2012 4:11 PM To: IntuitiveEating_Support Subject: epiphany When I decided a couple weeks ago that IE was something I needed to do for my sanity and quality of life, I spent the better part of a week eating junky foods that made me feel like..junk. I didn't necessarily have strong cravings for all of them, some of them were things that used to hold magic for me so I guess I was going back to check if that was still true. I felt like I was supposed to do this, otherwise it wasn't IE. But the thing I realized is, there are lots of healthy foods that I really enjoy and look forward to eating. I like the way they taste and I like the way they make me feel physically...not sluggish and tired, but energized. And then I realized...THAT is IE! I don't HAVE to eat junk food if I am not craving it, I am just as entitled to eat healthfully if that is what I am craving. I know that may sound sort of obvious, but for some reason it just wasn't to me, maybe because of the de-emphasis on nutrition in the book. Of course, in the past I had rules associated with eating healthfully...no starchy carbs after 3PM, junk food only on assigned " cheat " days or meals, stay within my calorie range, eat the right number of carbs, etc. So the difference with IE is that none of these rules exist anymore...if I feel like eating carbs with dinner, I will...if I don't, I won't. I will even drink a diet soda if I want it despite all of those artificial chemicals in it! It is a subtle mental shift, but it makes all the difference between following a diet and listening to what feels right. And the truth is, most of those rules were never about being healthy, they were about looking a certain way. Take away the rules, and you have IE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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