RE: planning versus restricting

[Guest guest]

Hi Jon,

Nice to hear from you. I was just thinking last night you'd been

pretty quiet.

I think this is a stage on the way to finding a balance between what

your head vs. mouth want. I was doing something similar pretty often

when I was really trying to figure that out. The problem is that you

have to be fair with yourself and make sure that once you're hungry in

the morning, what you still want is those wraps. I found that I might

have said, "Hmmm, this sounds really good for dinner, so I'll have

that" at 3:00 in the afternoon, and then by 7:00 when I was hungry,

something entirely different appealed to me. So be sure to honor

that. I don't think it's realistically possible to not do *some* meal

planning.

And relax. Making choices is a lot easier when you don't have too much

"stuff" bouncing around in your head.

Sohni

Karlen wrote:

Hi All!

I’ve missed being in regular communication with

all of

you. My work schedule has been absolutely insane so I’ve been a bit

quiet.

I have been finding that when I leave my food

options to

chance I end up with food choices that make me unhappy because I feel

like I’ve

eaten less nutritious food than I want. It’s not that I want to

restrict myself from eating a cheeseburger and French fries if that’s

what I want but when I let life dictate that to me that I feel like I’m

eating “poorly” and I feel the negative physical side effects.

So my question is “planning” my food bad

different from restricting it? If what I really want is egg white and

spinach wraps for breakfast is it wrong to mentally commit to myself

that this

is what I’m going to do and then make sure I have a bomb shelter supply

of egg whites and spinach in the house so I don’t end up at the

McDriveThru?

All thoughts welcome.

[Guest guest]

Hi Jon,

Nice to hear from you. I was just thinking last night you'd been

pretty quiet.

I think this is a stage on the way to finding a balance between what

your head vs. mouth want. I was doing something similar pretty often

when I was really trying to figure that out. The problem is that you

have to be fair with yourself and make sure that once you're hungry in

the morning, what you still want is those wraps. I found that I might

have said, "Hmmm, this sounds really good for dinner, so I'll have

that" at 3:00 in the afternoon, and then by 7:00 when I was hungry,

something entirely different appealed to me. So be sure to honor

that. I don't think it's realistically possible to not do *some* meal

planning.

And relax. Making choices is a lot easier when you don't have too much

"stuff" bouncing around in your head.

Sohni

Karlen wrote:

Hi All!

I’ve missed being in regular communication with

all of

you. My work schedule has been absolutely insane so I’ve been a bit

quiet.

I have been finding that when I leave my food

options to

chance I end up with food choices that make me unhappy because I feel

like I’ve

eaten less nutritious food than I want. It’s not that I want to

restrict myself from eating a cheeseburger and French fries if that’s

what I want but when I let life dictate that to me that I feel like I’m

eating “poorly” and I feel the negative physical side effects.

So my question is “planning” my food bad

different from restricting it? If what I really want is egg white and

spinach wraps for breakfast is it wrong to mentally commit to myself

that this

is what I’m going to do and then make sure I have a bomb shelter supply

of egg whites and spinach in the house so I don’t end up at the

McDriveThru?

All thoughts welcome.

[Guest guest]

And “being pretty quiet” is not something I do either often or well.

I think the thing of the matter for me is that I actually like

nutritious food. If I lived in a grocery store I think I’d be able to eat

intuitively and be a very nutritious person. I’m morbidly overweight because I’ve

struggled with compulsive overeating my whole life but with the proper support

I’ve learned to get that somewhat in check but outside of binging if I had my

choice between “healthy” and “unhealthy” most times I’d pick healthy. I love

fruits and vegetables and fresh and nutritiously beneficial foods. But the

problem is I don’t put myself in the best position to eat the foods that make

my body feel better. When you have to make food choices in a hurry and late at

night the options that are available to you are not likely to be in the healthy

column.

From:

IntuitiveEating_Support

[mailto:IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of jeanniet58

Sent: Monday, March 29, 2010 9:19 AM

To: IntuitiveEating_Support

Subject: Re: " planning " versus

" restricting "

Hi Jon,

Nice to hear from you. I was just thinking last night you'd been pretty

quiet.

I think this is a stage on the way to finding a balance between what your head

vs. mouth want. I was doing something similar pretty often when I was

really trying to figure that out. The problem is that you have to be fair

with yourself and make sure that once you're hungry in the morning, what you

still want is those wraps. I found that I might have said, " Hmmm,

this sounds really good for dinner, so I'll have that " at 3:00 in the

afternoon, and then by 7:00 when I was hungry, something entirely different

appealed to me. So be sure to honor that. I don't think it's

realistically possible to not do *some* meal planning.

And relax. Making choices is a lot easier when you don't have too much

" stuff " bouncing around in your head.

Sohni

Karlen wrote:

Hi

All!

I’ve

missed being in regular communication with all of you. My work schedule

has been absolutely insane so I’ve been a bit quiet.

I

have been finding that when I leave my food options to chance I end up with

food choices that make me unhappy because I feel like I’ve eaten less

nutritious food than I want. It’s not that I want to restrict myself from

eating a cheeseburger and French fries if that’s what I want but when I let

life dictate that to me that I feel like I’m eating “poorly” and I feel the

negative physical side effects.

So

my question is “planning” my food bad different from restricting it? If

what I really want is egg white and spinach wraps for breakfast is it wrong to

mentally commit to myself that this is what I’m going to do and then make sure

I have a bomb shelter supply of egg whites and spinach in the house so I don’t

end up at the McDriveThru?

All

thoughts welcome.

[Guest guest]

And “being pretty quiet” is not something I do either often or well.

I think the thing of the matter for me is that I actually like

nutritious food. If I lived in a grocery store I think I’d be able to eat

intuitively and be a very nutritious person. I’m morbidly overweight because I’ve

struggled with compulsive overeating my whole life but with the proper support

I’ve learned to get that somewhat in check but outside of binging if I had my

choice between “healthy” and “unhealthy” most times I’d pick healthy. I love

fruits and vegetables and fresh and nutritiously beneficial foods. But the

problem is I don’t put myself in the best position to eat the foods that make

my body feel better. When you have to make food choices in a hurry and late at

night the options that are available to you are not likely to be in the healthy

column.

From:

IntuitiveEating_Support

[mailto:IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of jeanniet58

Sent: Monday, March 29, 2010 9:19 AM

To: IntuitiveEating_Support

Subject: Re: " planning " versus

" restricting "

Hi Jon,

Nice to hear from you. I was just thinking last night you'd been pretty

quiet.

I think this is a stage on the way to finding a balance between what your head

vs. mouth want. I was doing something similar pretty often when I was

really trying to figure that out. The problem is that you have to be fair

with yourself and make sure that once you're hungry in the morning, what you

still want is those wraps. I found that I might have said, " Hmmm,

this sounds really good for dinner, so I'll have that " at 3:00 in the

afternoon, and then by 7:00 when I was hungry, something entirely different

appealed to me. So be sure to honor that. I don't think it's

realistically possible to not do *some* meal planning.

And relax. Making choices is a lot easier when you don't have too much

" stuff " bouncing around in your head.

Sohni

Karlen wrote:

Hi

All!

I’ve

missed being in regular communication with all of you. My work schedule

has been absolutely insane so I’ve been a bit quiet.

I

have been finding that when I leave my food options to chance I end up with

food choices that make me unhappy because I feel like I’ve eaten less

nutritious food than I want. It’s not that I want to restrict myself from

eating a cheeseburger and French fries if that’s what I want but when I let

life dictate that to me that I feel like I’m eating “poorly” and I feel the

negative physical side effects.

So

my question is “planning” my food bad different from restricting it? If

what I really want is egg white and spinach wraps for breakfast is it wrong to

mentally commit to myself that this is what I’m going to do and then make sure

I have a bomb shelter supply of egg whites and spinach in the house so I don’t

end up at the McDriveThru?

All

thoughts welcome.

[Guest guest]

And “being pretty quiet” is not something I do either often or well.

I think the thing of the matter for me is that I actually like

nutritious food. If I lived in a grocery store I think I’d be able to eat

intuitively and be a very nutritious person. I’m morbidly overweight because I’ve

struggled with compulsive overeating my whole life but with the proper support

I’ve learned to get that somewhat in check but outside of binging if I had my

choice between “healthy” and “unhealthy” most times I’d pick healthy. I love

fruits and vegetables and fresh and nutritiously beneficial foods. But the

problem is I don’t put myself in the best position to eat the foods that make

my body feel better. When you have to make food choices in a hurry and late at

night the options that are available to you are not likely to be in the healthy

column.

From:

IntuitiveEating_Support

[mailto:IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of jeanniet58

Sent: Monday, March 29, 2010 9:19 AM

To: IntuitiveEating_Support

Subject: Re: " planning " versus

" restricting "

Hi Jon,

Nice to hear from you. I was just thinking last night you'd been pretty

quiet.

I think this is a stage on the way to finding a balance between what your head

vs. mouth want. I was doing something similar pretty often when I was

really trying to figure that out. The problem is that you have to be fair

with yourself and make sure that once you're hungry in the morning, what you

still want is those wraps. I found that I might have said, " Hmmm,

this sounds really good for dinner, so I'll have that " at 3:00 in the

afternoon, and then by 7:00 when I was hungry, something entirely different

appealed to me. So be sure to honor that. I don't think it's

realistically possible to not do *some* meal planning.

And relax. Making choices is a lot easier when you don't have too much

" stuff " bouncing around in your head.

Sohni

Karlen wrote:

Hi

All!

I’ve

missed being in regular communication with all of you. My work schedule

has been absolutely insane so I’ve been a bit quiet.

I

have been finding that when I leave my food options to chance I end up with

food choices that make me unhappy because I feel like I’ve eaten less

nutritious food than I want. It’s not that I want to restrict myself from

eating a cheeseburger and French fries if that’s what I want but when I let

life dictate that to me that I feel like I’m eating “poorly” and I feel the

negative physical side effects.

So

my question is “planning” my food bad different from restricting it? If

what I really want is egg white and spinach wraps for breakfast is it wrong to

mentally commit to myself that this is what I’m going to do and then make sure

I have a bomb shelter supply of egg whites and spinach in the house so I don’t

end up at the McDriveThru?

All

thoughts welcome.

[Guest guest]

This is something I'm grappling with as well. I really cherish the psychological gains I've made -- I'm more in touch with my body, I listen to my hunger signals, I recognize emotional eating signals, and have gotten pretty good at addressing my feelings in ways other than food.

But.

I'm more than 200 pounds overweight, and it's seriously affecting my health and lifestyle. So I'm trying to lose weight. My first step has been to reduce my sugar intake. I found I was eating sugar every day -- in the evening, typically. So I've been substituting fresh fruit, and eliminating sugary soda from my diet (I still drink juice).

I'm not completely eliminating sugar, or making it "forbidden", but I notice that sugar kicks off an addictive cycle for me. I don't like what it does to my body, so I'm choosing to mostly refrain. Just as I mostly refrain from eating shrimp, which I love, but which cause me to break out in hives.

I don't know how this experiment will work, and I'm leery of any food restrictions. But I must lose weight.

Harry

-----Original Message-----From: IntuitiveEating_Support [mailto:IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of KarlenSent: Monday, March 29, 2010 9:05 AMTo: IntuitiveEating_Support Subject: "planning" versus "restricting"

Hi All!

I’ve missed being in regular communication with all of you. My work schedule has been absolutely insane so I’ve been a bit quiet.

I have been finding that when I leave my food options to chance I end up with food choices that make me unhappy because I feel like I’ve eaten less nutritious food than I want. It’s not that I want to restrict myself from eating a cheeseburger and French fries if that’s what I want but when I let life dictate that to me that I feel like I’m eating “poorly” and I feel the negative physical side effects.

So my question is “planning” my food bad different from restricting it? If what I really want is egg white and spinach wraps for breakfast is it wrong to mentally commit to myself that this is what I’m going to do and then make sure I have a bomb shelter supply of egg whites and spinach in the house so I don’t end up at the McDriveThru?

All thoughts welcome.

[Guest guest]

This is something I'm grappling with as well. I really cherish the psychological gains I've made -- I'm more in touch with my body, I listen to my hunger signals, I recognize emotional eating signals, and have gotten pretty good at addressing my feelings in ways other than food.

But.

I'm more than 200 pounds overweight, and it's seriously affecting my health and lifestyle. So I'm trying to lose weight. My first step has been to reduce my sugar intake. I found I was eating sugar every day -- in the evening, typically. So I've been substituting fresh fruit, and eliminating sugary soda from my diet (I still drink juice).

I'm not completely eliminating sugar, or making it "forbidden", but I notice that sugar kicks off an addictive cycle for me. I don't like what it does to my body, so I'm choosing to mostly refrain. Just as I mostly refrain from eating shrimp, which I love, but which cause me to break out in hives.

I don't know how this experiment will work, and I'm leery of any food restrictions. But I must lose weight.

Harry

-----Original Message-----From: IntuitiveEating_Support [mailto:IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of KarlenSent: Monday, March 29, 2010 9:05 AMTo: IntuitiveEating_Support Subject: "planning" versus "restricting"

Hi All!

I’ve missed being in regular communication with all of you. My work schedule has been absolutely insane so I’ve been a bit quiet.

I have been finding that when I leave my food options to chance I end up with food choices that make me unhappy because I feel like I’ve eaten less nutritious food than I want. It’s not that I want to restrict myself from eating a cheeseburger and French fries if that’s what I want but when I let life dictate that to me that I feel like I’m eating “poorly” and I feel the negative physical side effects.

So my question is “planning” my food bad different from restricting it? If what I really want is egg white and spinach wraps for breakfast is it wrong to mentally commit to myself that this is what I’m going to do and then make sure I have a bomb shelter supply of egg whites and spinach in the house so I don’t end up at the McDriveThru?

All thoughts welcome.

[Guest guest]

This is something I'm grappling with as well. I really cherish the psychological gains I've made -- I'm more in touch with my body, I listen to my hunger signals, I recognize emotional eating signals, and have gotten pretty good at addressing my feelings in ways other than food.

But.

I'm more than 200 pounds overweight, and it's seriously affecting my health and lifestyle. So I'm trying to lose weight. My first step has been to reduce my sugar intake. I found I was eating sugar every day -- in the evening, typically. So I've been substituting fresh fruit, and eliminating sugary soda from my diet (I still drink juice).

I'm not completely eliminating sugar, or making it "forbidden", but I notice that sugar kicks off an addictive cycle for me. I don't like what it does to my body, so I'm choosing to mostly refrain. Just as I mostly refrain from eating shrimp, which I love, but which cause me to break out in hives.

I don't know how this experiment will work, and I'm leery of any food restrictions. But I must lose weight.

Harry

-----Original Message-----From: IntuitiveEating_Support [mailto:IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of KarlenSent: Monday, March 29, 2010 9:05 AMTo: IntuitiveEating_Support Subject: "planning" versus "restricting"

Hi All!

I’ve missed being in regular communication with all of you. My work schedule has been absolutely insane so I’ve been a bit quiet.

I have been finding that when I leave my food options to chance I end up with food choices that make me unhappy because I feel like I’ve eaten less nutritious food than I want. It’s not that I want to restrict myself from eating a cheeseburger and French fries if that’s what I want but when I let life dictate that to me that I feel like I’m eating “poorly” and I feel the negative physical side effects.

So my question is “planning” my food bad different from restricting it? If what I really want is egg white and spinach wraps for breakfast is it wrong to mentally commit to myself that this is what I’m going to do and then make sure I have a bomb shelter supply of egg whites and spinach in the house so I don’t end up at the McDriveThru?

All thoughts welcome.

[Guest guest]

You touch on another thing that I’m grappling with, Harry…

I’m 330-350lb (trying desperately to not weight so I haven’t).

That will kill me in not all that long. I’m only 31 so it’s

not immediately life threatening (most likely) but I am very conscious of

it. Last night I found myself really wondering what it is I’m doing

not being in a fully immersive weight loss clinic as I was sitting on the couch

with an aching knee from running around after my three year old daughter for a

half hour. When you’re in this neighborhood of weight it permeates

every minute of your being. It’s hard to not think about weight

loss and make it the only thing that matters. But, that’s an

emotional reaction when I need to be as reasonable and rational as possible.

So while I see and love all the changes that have come in myself

– I really do as last week I was summoned unexpectedly to a series of

meetings in New York on literally no notice and absolutely dominated in a way

that I know I didn’t have in me 3 months ago – I’m still

feeling like a man without a country a lot of the time.

From: IntuitiveEating_Support

[mailto:IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of Harry

LeBlanc

Sent: Monday, March 29, 2010 9:51 AM

To: IntuitiveEating_Support

Subject: RE: " planning " versus

" restricting "

This is something I'm grappling with as well. I really cherish the

psychological gains I've made -- I'm more in touch with my body, I listen to my

hunger signals, I recognize emotional eating signals, and have gotten pretty

good at addressing my feelings in ways other than food.

But.

I'm more than 200 pounds overweight, and it's seriously affecting

my health and lifestyle. So I'm trying to lose weight. My first step has been

to reduce my sugar intake. I found I was eating sugar every day -- in the

evening, typically. So I've been substituting fresh fruit, and eliminating

sugary soda from my diet (I still drink juice).

I'm not completely eliminating sugar, or making it

" forbidden " , but I notice that sugar kicks off an addictive cycle for

me. I don't like what it does to my body, so I'm choosing to mostly refrain.

Just as I mostly refrain from eating shrimp, which I love, but which cause me

to break out in hives.

I don't know how this experiment will work, and I'm leery of any

food restrictions. But I must lose weight.

Harry

" planning " versus

" restricting "

Hi

All!

I’ve

missed being in regular communication with all of you. My work schedule

has been absolutely insane so I’ve been a bit quiet.

I

have been finding that when I leave my food options to chance I end up with

food choices that make me unhappy because I feel like I’ve eaten less

nutritious food than I want. It’s not that I want to restrict

myself from eating a cheeseburger and French fries if that’s what I want

but when I let life dictate that to me that I feel like I’m eating

“poorly” and I feel the negative physical side effects.

So

my question is “planning” my food bad different from restricting

it? If what I really want is egg white and spinach wraps for breakfast is

it wrong to mentally commit to myself that this is what I’m going to do

and then make sure I have a bomb shelter supply of egg whites and spinach in

the house so I don’t end up at the McDriveThru?

All

thoughts welcome.

[Guest guest]

Hi Jonathon

I struggle with this too, I'm double my healthy weight range so it is no small

deal.

I also love healthy food but it needs to be available when you want to eat it.

Sometimes I look in the fridge at work and see the nice meals others have

prepared and wish I could have them! But to have this food available you do need

to prepare it in advance - I love salads and eat them all the time but when I am

hungry it takes too long. I think if I had a chef on call with ready made meals

this would make the issue far easier. One problem is if you go out to buy a meal

the available choices are often not healthy, it can be difficult to find

something quickly.

On Saturday I was out shopping and needed lunch but had to run some errands

first, the last one took far longer than I expected and I was nearly fainting

from hunger. The salad bar had such a queue I gave up and went to the bakery. I

was about to buy the white cheese and tomato roll, not my best choice, but I was

starving. THen I spotted a dark rye version with salad and my heart leapt with

joy because that was what I REALLY wanted, but how often does this kind of

choice appear without me planning well ahead and making it myself?

I think the solution is to have several options available in the fridge/pantry

all the time. And to start cooking well before you get too hungry, that is my

downfall. If I am hungry I will make something that is quick over something I

really want (which is usually the most nutritious choice, as I love fresh

vegies, followed by something sweet). I also buy lunch when working in the city

and have found 2 favourite places- one makes nori rolls and the other great

salads and soups.

I think I would do better if I was more organised and had plenty of prepared or

partly prepared meals on hand, eg if I made bigger batches and freeze my

favourite meals. Trouble is when I do that my partner eats them for lunch!

Today we are off to the markets for fruit and veg, we've run out and I have been

missing fresh fruit and tomatoes, my favourite food.

Fiona

>

>

> I think the thing of the matter for me is that I actually like nutritious

> food. If I lived in a grocery store I think I'd be able to eat intuitively

> and be a very nutritious person. I'm morbidly overweight because I've

> struggled with compulsive overeating my whole life but with the proper

> support I've learned to get that somewhat in check but outside of binging if

> I had my choice between " healthy " and " unhealthy " most times I'd pick

> healthy. I love fruits and vegetables and fresh and nutritiously beneficial

> foods. But the problem is I don't put myself in the best position to eat

> the foods that make my body feel better. When you have to make food choices

> in a hurry and late at night the options that are available to you are not

> likely to be in the healthy column.

[Guest guest]

For those that don't have time to cook/prepare your meals I thought I'd suggest

something. We have here what is called Super Solutions. They have several menu

items you can choose from. They do all the shopping and prep work and you go

into their kitchens and put it all together. And then they do all the clean up

work. You get to take home all the food you prepared the way you like it home

in reheatable containers. I don't know how expensive it is, but it might be a

way to get some homemade meal items all ready to go when you don't have a lot of

time and I think their meals are pretty healthy. Might be something to check

into.

Alana

>

>

> Hi Jonathon

>

> I struggle with this too, I'm double my healthy weight range so it is no small

deal.

> I also love healthy food but it needs to be available when you want to eat it.

Sometimes I look in the fridge at work and see the nice meals others have

prepared and wish I could have them! But to have this food available you do need

to prepare it in advance - I love salads and eat them all the time but when I am

hungry it takes too long. I think if I had a chef on call with ready made meals

this would make the issue far easier. One problem is if you go out to buy a meal

the available choices are often not healthy, it can be difficult to find

something quickly.

>

> On Saturday I was out shopping and needed lunch but had to run some errands

first, the last one took far longer than I expected and I was nearly fainting

from hunger. The salad bar had such a queue I gave up and went to the bakery. I

was about to buy the white cheese and tomato roll, not my best choice, but I was

starving. THen I spotted a dark rye version with salad and my heart leapt with

joy because that was what I REALLY wanted, but how often does this kind of

choice appear without me planning well ahead and making it myself?

>

> I think the solution is to have several options available in the fridge/pantry

all the time. And to start cooking well before you get too hungry, that is my

downfall. If I am hungry I will make something that is quick over something I

really want (which is usually the most nutritious choice, as I love fresh

vegies, followed by something sweet). I also buy lunch when working in the city

and have found 2 favourite places- one makes nori rolls and the other great

salads and soups.

>

> I think I would do better if I was more organised and had plenty of prepared

or partly prepared meals on hand, eg if I made bigger batches and freeze my

favourite meals. Trouble is when I do that my partner eats them for lunch!

>

> Today we are off to the markets for fruit and veg, we've run out and I have

been missing fresh fruit and tomatoes, my favourite food.

>

> Fiona

>

> >

> >

> > I think the thing of the matter for me is that I actually like nutritious

> > food. If I lived in a grocery store I think I'd be able to eat intuitively

> > and be a very nutritious person. I'm morbidly overweight because I've

> > struggled with compulsive overeating my whole life but with the proper

> > support I've learned to get that somewhat in check but outside of binging if

> > I had my choice between " healthy " and " unhealthy " most times I'd pick

> > healthy. I love fruits and vegetables and fresh and nutritiously beneficial

> > foods. But the problem is I don't put myself in the best position to eat

> > the foods that make my body feel better. When you have to make food choices

> > in a hurry and late at night the options that are available to you are not

> > likely to be in the healthy column.

>

[Guest guest]

Forgive me for 'butting in' here. I'm brand new to the group, this in fact is

my first post, so bear with me please.

But both of you really touched a note with me. I too am struggling with my

weight, I have managed to take off 50 pounds in the past year without dieting,

by doing my best to choose healthier foods each day without restricting anything

from my intake.

What has, I am sure, made the biggest difference for me in these months has been

the addition of exercise. Neither of you mention it at all in your emails. I

do realize that you may have in other emails but I had to wonder.

I personally have found that it is easier for me to 'listen' to my body and eat

what it desires in the right amount on a day that I've exercised.

Just a thought,

fireangel who also still has about 70 pounds to lose before reaching a healthy

weight

>

> You touch on another thing that I'm grappling with, Harry.

>

>

>

> I'm 330-350lb (trying desperately to not weight so I haven't). That will

> kill me in not all that long. I'm only 31 so it's not immediately life

> threatening (most likely) but I am very conscious of it. Last night I found

> myself really wondering what it is I'm doing not being in a fully immersive

> weight loss clinic as I was sitting on the couch with an aching knee from

> running around after my three year old daughter for a half hour. When

> you're in this neighborhood of weight it permeates every minute of your

> being. It's hard to not think about weight loss and make it the only thing

> that matters. But, that's an emotional reaction when I need to be as

> reasonable and rational as possible.

>

>

>

> So while I see and love all the changes that have come in myself - I really

> do as last week I was summoned unexpectedly to a series of meetings in New

> York on literally no notice and absolutely dominated in a way that I know I

> didn't have in me 3 months ago - I'm still feeling like a man without a

> country a lot of the time.

>

>

>

> From: IntuitiveEating_Support

> [mailto:IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of Harry LeBlanc

> Sent: Monday, March 29, 2010 9:51 AM

> To: IntuitiveEating_Support

> Subject: RE: " planning " versus " restricting "

>

>

>

>

>

> This is something I'm grappling with as well. I really cherish the

> psychological gains I've made -- I'm more in touch with my body, I listen to

> my hunger signals, I recognize emotional eating signals, and have gotten

> pretty good at addressing my feelings in ways other than food.

>

> But.

>

> I'm more than 200 pounds overweight, and it's seriously affecting my health

> and lifestyle. So I'm trying to lose weight. My first step has been to

> reduce my sugar intake. I found I was eating sugar every day -- in the

> evening, typically. So I've been substituting fresh fruit, and eliminating

> sugary soda from my diet (I still drink juice).

>

> I'm not completely eliminating sugar, or making it " forbidden " , but I notice

> that sugar kicks off an addictive cycle for me. I don't like what it does to

> my body, so I'm choosing to mostly refrain. Just as I mostly refrain from

> eating shrimp, which I love, but which cause me to break out in hives.

>

> I don't know how this experiment will work, and I'm leery of any food

> restrictions. But I must lose weight.

>

> Harry

>

>

>

> " planning " versus " restricting "

>

>

>

> Hi All!

>

> I've missed being in regular communication with all of you. My work

> schedule has been absolutely insane so I've been a bit quiet.

>

> I have been finding that when I leave my food options to chance I end up

> with food choices that make me unhappy because I feel like I've eaten less

> nutritious food than I want. It's not that I want to restrict myself from

> eating a cheeseburger and French fries if that's what I want but when I let

> life dictate that to me that I feel like I'm eating " poorly " and I feel the

> negative physical side effects.

>

> So my question is " planning " my food bad different from restricting it? If

> what I really want is egg white and spinach wraps for breakfast is it wrong

> to mentally commit to myself that this is what I'm going to do and then make

> sure I have a bomb shelter supply of egg whites and spinach in the house so

> I don't end up at the McDriveThru?

>

> All thoughts welcome.

>

[Guest guest]

Forgive me for 'butting in' here. I'm brand new to the group, this in fact is

my first post, so bear with me please.

But both of you really touched a note with me. I too am struggling with my

weight, I have managed to take off 50 pounds in the past year without dieting,

by doing my best to choose healthier foods each day without restricting anything

from my intake.

What has, I am sure, made the biggest difference for me in these months has been

the addition of exercise. Neither of you mention it at all in your emails. I

do realize that you may have in other emails but I had to wonder.

I personally have found that it is easier for me to 'listen' to my body and eat

what it desires in the right amount on a day that I've exercised.

Just a thought,

fireangel who also still has about 70 pounds to lose before reaching a healthy

weight

>

> You touch on another thing that I'm grappling with, Harry.

>

>

>

> I'm 330-350lb (trying desperately to not weight so I haven't). That will

> kill me in not all that long. I'm only 31 so it's not immediately life

> threatening (most likely) but I am very conscious of it. Last night I found

> myself really wondering what it is I'm doing not being in a fully immersive

> weight loss clinic as I was sitting on the couch with an aching knee from

> running around after my three year old daughter for a half hour. When

> you're in this neighborhood of weight it permeates every minute of your

> being. It's hard to not think about weight loss and make it the only thing

> that matters. But, that's an emotional reaction when I need to be as

> reasonable and rational as possible.

>

>

>

> So while I see and love all the changes that have come in myself - I really

> do as last week I was summoned unexpectedly to a series of meetings in New

> York on literally no notice and absolutely dominated in a way that I know I

> didn't have in me 3 months ago - I'm still feeling like a man without a

> country a lot of the time.

>

>

>

> From: IntuitiveEating_Support

> [mailto:IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of Harry LeBlanc

> Sent: Monday, March 29, 2010 9:51 AM

> To: IntuitiveEating_Support

> Subject: RE: " planning " versus " restricting "

>

>

>

>

>

> This is something I'm grappling with as well. I really cherish the

> psychological gains I've made -- I'm more in touch with my body, I listen to

> my hunger signals, I recognize emotional eating signals, and have gotten

> pretty good at addressing my feelings in ways other than food.

>

> But.

>

> I'm more than 200 pounds overweight, and it's seriously affecting my health

> and lifestyle. So I'm trying to lose weight. My first step has been to

> reduce my sugar intake. I found I was eating sugar every day -- in the

> evening, typically. So I've been substituting fresh fruit, and eliminating

> sugary soda from my diet (I still drink juice).

>

> I'm not completely eliminating sugar, or making it " forbidden " , but I notice

> that sugar kicks off an addictive cycle for me. I don't like what it does to

> my body, so I'm choosing to mostly refrain. Just as I mostly refrain from

> eating shrimp, which I love, but which cause me to break out in hives.

>

> I don't know how this experiment will work, and I'm leery of any food

> restrictions. But I must lose weight.

>

> Harry

>

>

>

> " planning " versus " restricting "

>

>

>

> Hi All!

>

> I've missed being in regular communication with all of you. My work

> schedule has been absolutely insane so I've been a bit quiet.

>

> I have been finding that when I leave my food options to chance I end up

> with food choices that make me unhappy because I feel like I've eaten less

> nutritious food than I want. It's not that I want to restrict myself from

> eating a cheeseburger and French fries if that's what I want but when I let

> life dictate that to me that I feel like I'm eating " poorly " and I feel the

> negative physical side effects.

>

> So my question is " planning " my food bad different from restricting it? If

> what I really want is egg white and spinach wraps for breakfast is it wrong

> to mentally commit to myself that this is what I'm going to do and then make

> sure I have a bomb shelter supply of egg whites and spinach in the house so

> I don't end up at the McDriveThru?

>

> All thoughts welcome.

>

[Guest guest]

Forgive me for 'butting in' here. I'm brand new to the group, this in fact is

my first post, so bear with me please.

But both of you really touched a note with me. I too am struggling with my

weight, I have managed to take off 50 pounds in the past year without dieting,

by doing my best to choose healthier foods each day without restricting anything

from my intake.

What has, I am sure, made the biggest difference for me in these months has been

the addition of exercise. Neither of you mention it at all in your emails. I

do realize that you may have in other emails but I had to wonder.

I personally have found that it is easier for me to 'listen' to my body and eat

what it desires in the right amount on a day that I've exercised.

Just a thought,

fireangel who also still has about 70 pounds to lose before reaching a healthy

weight

>

> You touch on another thing that I'm grappling with, Harry.

>

>

>

> I'm 330-350lb (trying desperately to not weight so I haven't). That will

> kill me in not all that long. I'm only 31 so it's not immediately life

> threatening (most likely) but I am very conscious of it. Last night I found

> myself really wondering what it is I'm doing not being in a fully immersive

> weight loss clinic as I was sitting on the couch with an aching knee from

> running around after my three year old daughter for a half hour. When

> you're in this neighborhood of weight it permeates every minute of your

> being. It's hard to not think about weight loss and make it the only thing

> that matters. But, that's an emotional reaction when I need to be as

> reasonable and rational as possible.

>

>

>

> So while I see and love all the changes that have come in myself - I really

> do as last week I was summoned unexpectedly to a series of meetings in New

> York on literally no notice and absolutely dominated in a way that I know I

> didn't have in me 3 months ago - I'm still feeling like a man without a

> country a lot of the time.

>

>

>

> From: IntuitiveEating_Support

> [mailto:IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of Harry LeBlanc

> Sent: Monday, March 29, 2010 9:51 AM

> To: IntuitiveEating_Support

> Subject: RE: " planning " versus " restricting "

>

>

>

>

>

> This is something I'm grappling with as well. I really cherish the

> psychological gains I've made -- I'm more in touch with my body, I listen to

> my hunger signals, I recognize emotional eating signals, and have gotten

> pretty good at addressing my feelings in ways other than food.

>

> But.

>

> I'm more than 200 pounds overweight, and it's seriously affecting my health

> and lifestyle. So I'm trying to lose weight. My first step has been to

> reduce my sugar intake. I found I was eating sugar every day -- in the

> evening, typically. So I've been substituting fresh fruit, and eliminating

> sugary soda from my diet (I still drink juice).

>

> I'm not completely eliminating sugar, or making it " forbidden " , but I notice

> that sugar kicks off an addictive cycle for me. I don't like what it does to

> my body, so I'm choosing to mostly refrain. Just as I mostly refrain from

> eating shrimp, which I love, but which cause me to break out in hives.

>

> I don't know how this experiment will work, and I'm leery of any food

> restrictions. But I must lose weight.

>

> Harry

>

>

>

> " planning " versus " restricting "

>

>

>

> Hi All!

>

> I've missed being in regular communication with all of you. My work

> schedule has been absolutely insane so I've been a bit quiet.

>

> I have been finding that when I leave my food options to chance I end up

> with food choices that make me unhappy because I feel like I've eaten less

> nutritious food than I want. It's not that I want to restrict myself from

> eating a cheeseburger and French fries if that's what I want but when I let

> life dictate that to me that I feel like I'm eating " poorly " and I feel the

> negative physical side effects.

>

> So my question is " planning " my food bad different from restricting it? If

> what I really want is egg white and spinach wraps for breakfast is it wrong

> to mentally commit to myself that this is what I'm going to do and then make

> sure I have a bomb shelter supply of egg whites and spinach in the house so

> I don't end up at the McDriveThru?

>

> All thoughts welcome.

>

[Guest guest]

My sister-in-law goes to one of these places. She has two kids and she loves it! I'm so jealous, we don't have anything like this where I live. She told me it was fairly reasonable in price, especially considering the convenience. I do not like to cook so I know if I had access to a place like this I would probably eat more hot meals, what a concept! My husband would sure love it!

If anyone has gone to one of these places, let us know what you think!

Thanks!GillianGillian Hood-son, MS, ACSM

Get your report, "The 6 Steps to Guilt-Fr*e Eating" at http://www.HealthierOutcomes.com Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/gillianhood

From: IntuitiveEating_Support [mailto:IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of AlanaSent: Monday, April 05, 2010 4:36 PMTo: IntuitiveEating_Support Subject: Re: "planning" versus "restricting"

For those that don't have time to cook/prepare your meals I thought I'd suggest something. We have here what is called Super Solutions. They have several menu items you can choose from. They do all the shopping and prep work and you go into their kitchens and put it all together. And then they do all the clean up work. You get to take home all the food you prepared the way you like it home in reheatable containers. I don't know how expensive it is, but it might be a way to get some homemade meal items all ready to go when you don't have a lot of time and I think their meals are pretty healthy. Might be something to check into.Alana