Re: Just picked up Geneen Roth's Women, Food and God

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Welcome to the group! Glad to have you with us.

Yes, a lot of us have read or are reading Geneen Roth's new book. I, myself, and in the midst of savoring the last few pages. I think it's the best book I've ever read about these issues. I have been amazed by what I have learned. Especially how much it's not about food at all!

So by all means, I think a book discussion would be great. There's lots of " good stuff " in the book to dissect.

For what it's worth, I am also struggling with fertility issues, so feel free to email me offlist about that if it would be helpful for you.

As for support groups, I know that some of our members have had good luck with Overeaters Anonymous. Apparently a small subset of members follow a no sugar, no white flour rule that, to my mind, goes against IE, but many members do not do this.

Feel free to use us as a sounding board as well as an in person group!

Best,

Abby

 

Good Morning All,

I'm new to this forum, so I wanted to introduce myself and say hello. I appreciate all of the posts and all of the support here. I've really needed it at this time. Over the past 15 years, I read and followed a couple of " no diet " lifestyles such as Weigh Down, Thin Within, The Light Weigh, and Intuitive Eating. Loved them all!!

Of all of the many diets and plans I've heard about throughout my life, this concept has rung the most true for me, has made the most sense and has given me success. This concept of listening to our bodies and eating only when hungry is very grounding for me. And of course, trying to explore the drive to eat when we're not hungry has been very inspiring as a means of spiritual and personal growth. It all made perfect sense (still does!) and it was a big help for me in losing the weight I wanted to lose 15 years ago.

However, in the past five years, I've gone through some huge life changes that have thrown me way off track. All in five years, I got married, moved three times and changed jobs three times. Plus I turned 40 in the middle of all of that, and have been struggling with infertility. So, needless to say, the weight crept back on (with interest!) due to all of the stress (good and bad stress) and I'm back at square one again. I'm so disappointed with myself for letting this happen!

When my doctor diagnosed me this week as pre-diabetic, I wasn't surprised. Instead I was overwhelmed at the thought of losing the weight again. I can still hear his words ringing in my head " You need to lose 20 pounds. You are seven points away from being a diabetic. " Diabetes runs in my family on both sides and I'm a high risk.

The first time I followed the program (it was Weigh Down about 15 years ago) I only had to lose ten pounds. Now I'm facing losing 20 pounds. Again, I'm overwhelmed by it all.

So, with that all said, I'm grateful for this supportive forum. I live in Northern California (in the wine country) and I wish wish wish there was some type of actual meeting to go to around here (whether an Intuitive Eating support group, a Thin Within support group, a Weigh Down support group or a Light Weigh support group) but have never been able to find one in my area.

I find I do much better when I have somewhere to go every week, see other women (and men, as well) who are also working on the same issue/growth, check in with eachother, support eachother, and actually make friends as well. Does anyone else have that same experience? That in-person meetings are the most helpful? If anyone knows of any type of support group in the wine country area of California, please do let me know! Thank you!

In the meantime... I continue to gather support from wherever I can, and I have just picked up a great book. Which leads me to my subject heading.... I recently heard about Geneen Roth's latest book " Women, Food and God " . I picked it up yesterday for myself and am savoring every word of it. Has anyone else here read it yet? Or are in the middle of reading it? Would love to discuss it.

I'll close with a quote from Geneen Roth that I found to be helpful: In discussing the women she's come in contact with through the years who are struggling with weight and eating, Genee says, " ... the promise of weight loss is that it will allow them to live on a magical piece of earth from which everything else will be manageable. "

I found this to be helpful in that it reminded me that this weight loss journey is not ALL about the end result. Life isn't going to be perfect when I reach my ideal weight. I don't need to be 125 lbs to deal with my life and problems. I won't magically have that ability if I lose the weight. Geneen Roth's idea is that when we look at the reason (and more importantly, the emotions) that go into eating when we're not hungry, if we explore those issues and emotions, be kind to ourselves and learn how to manage them without food, THEN the weight will come off. She asserts that weight loss is only the end result of looking at why we eat when our body isn't calling for food.

I know this is a concept we all know well, but Geneen puts it in a wonderful clear way (for me anyway!). Thanks for listening, and it's great to be part of this group!

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I live in West Sonoma Co., but don't know of groups, although I'm sure

there are some. My schedule is usually pretty hectic and I live a ways

out of town, so I don't know if I could make meetings easily anyway.

I so agree that much of IE is about the journey, and not the end. You

learn so much in little bits along the way--sometimes things that you

don't realize until later. While I would be fibbing if I said I no

longer wish to be thin, at this point in my life I'm more comfortable

with myself than I ever have been. For me, that's saying something.

Welcome to the group!

Sohni

Good Morning All,

I'm new to this forum, so I wanted to introduce myself and say hello. I

appreciate all of the posts and all of the support here. I've really

needed it at this time. Over the past 15 years, I read and followed a

couple of "no diet" lifestyles such as Weigh Down, Thin Within, The

Light Weigh, and Intuitive Eating. Loved them all!!

Of all of the many diets and plans I've heard about throughout my life,

this concept has rung the most true for me, has made the most sense and

has given me success. This concept of listening to our bodies and

eating only when hungry is very grounding for me. And of course, trying

to explore the drive to eat when we're not hungry has been very

inspiring as a means of spiritual and personal growth. It all made

perfect sense (still does!) and it was a big help for me in losing the

weight I wanted to lose 15 years ago.

However, in the past five years, I've gone through some huge life

changes that have thrown me way off track. All in five years, I got

married, moved three times and changed jobs three times. Plus I turned

40 in the middle of all of that, and have been struggling with

infertility. So, needless to say, the weight crept back on (with

interest!) due to all of the stress (good and bad stress) and I'm back

at square one again. I'm so disappointed with myself for letting this

happen!

When my doctor diagnosed me this week as pre-diabetic, I wasn't

surprised. Instead I was overwhelmed at the thought of losing the

weight again. I can still hear his words ringing in my head "You need

to lose 20 pounds. You are seven points away from being a diabetic."

Diabetes runs in my family on both sides and I'm a high risk.

The first time I followed the program (it was Weigh Down about 15 years

ago) I only had to lose ten pounds. Now I'm facing losing 20 pounds.

Again, I'm overwhelmed by it all.

So, with that all said, I'm grateful for this supportive forum. I live

in Northern California (in the wine country) and I wish wish wish there

was some type of actual meeting to go to around here (whether an

Intuitive Eating support group, a Thin Within support group, a Weigh

Down support group or a Light Weigh support group) but have never been

able to find one in my area.

I find I do much better when I have somewhere to go every week, see

other women (and men, as well) who are also working on the same

issue/growth, check in with eachother, support eachother, and actually

make friends as well. Does anyone else have that same experience? That

in-person meetings are the most helpful? If anyone knows of any type of

support group in the wine country area of California, please do let me

know! Thank you!

In the meantime... I continue to gather support from wherever I can,

and I have just picked up a great book. Which leads me to my subject

heading.... I recently heard about Geneen Roth's latest book "Women,

Food and God". I picked it up yesterday for myself and am savoring

every word of it. Has anyone else here read it yet? Or are in the

middle of reading it? Would love to discuss it.

I'll close with a quote from Geneen Roth that I found to be helpful: In

discussing the women she's come in contact with through the years who

are struggling with weight and eating, Genee says, "... the promise of

weight loss is that it will allow them to live on a magical piece of

earth from which everything else will be manageable."

I found this to be helpful in that it reminded me that this weight loss

journey is not ALL about the end result. Life isn't going to be perfect

when I reach my ideal weight. I don't need to be 125 lbs to deal with

my life and problems. I won't magically have that ability if I lose the

weight. Geneen Roth's idea is that when we look at the reason (and more

importantly, the emotions) that go into eating when we're not hungry,

if we explore those issues and emotions, be kind to ourselves and learn

how to manage them without food, THEN the weight will come off. She

asserts that weight loss is only the end result of looking at why we

eat when our body isn't calling for food.

I know this is a concept we all know well, but Geneen puts it in a

wonderful clear way (for me anyway!). Thanks for listening, and it's

great to be part of this group!

[Guest guest]

Hi , and welcome to the group! I just finished reading " Women, Food and

God " and agree with Abby that it is one of the best books I have read on the

relationship women (and men) have with food. Count me in on any discussions

around the book. It really, really spoke to me, and I underlined so many

sentences because they really jumped out at me.

I just started one of her older books, Breaking Free From Emotional Eating. I'm

getting alot out of that as well. If you look at some of the previous posts,

you will find reference to some other books that the group members have

recommended. Geneen also has Podcasts available, if you have access to ITunes.

I agree that it would be great to go to a support group, and I'm not aware of

any in my area either, but this group is the next best thing!

Look forward to hearing more from you.

PJ

>

> Good Morning All,

>

> I'm new to this forum, so I wanted to introduce myself and say hello. I

appreciate all of the posts and all of the support here. I've really needed it

at this time. Over the past 15 years, I read and followed a couple of " no diet "

lifestyles such as Weigh Down, Thin Within, The Light Weigh, and Intuitive

Eating. Loved them all!!

>

>

[Guest guest]

Abigail Wolfson wrote:

> I think it's the best book

> I've ever read about these issues.

Interesting. So far it's my least favorite Roth book. I won't go as far

as saying that it was kind of... boring? ... as that word doesn't seem

to fit 100%. Maybe I'm not in the right mood for that book now. I found

myself thinking a few times " Would you come to the point of what you

want to say NOW, please? "

Regards

s.

[Guest guest]

Abigail Wolfson wrote:

> I think it's the best book

> I've ever read about these issues.

Interesting. So far it's my least favorite Roth book. I won't go as far

as saying that it was kind of... boring? ... as that word doesn't seem

to fit 100%. Maybe I'm not in the right mood for that book now. I found

myself thinking a few times " Would you come to the point of what you

want to say NOW, please? "

Regards

s.

[Guest guest]

Abigail Wolfson wrote:

> I think it's the best book

> I've ever read about these issues.

Interesting. So far it's my least favorite Roth book. I won't go as far

as saying that it was kind of... boring? ... as that word doesn't seem

to fit 100%. Maybe I'm not in the right mood for that book now. I found

myself thinking a few times " Would you come to the point of what you

want to say NOW, please? "

Regards

s.

[Guest guest]

S.- I've already expanded on my response to the book, but I had my mother read it also, and that was her complaint. She felt it was hard to follow and to keep the point. Dawn RTo: IntuitiveEating_Support Sent: Sat, June 26, 2010 2:25:24 PMSubject: Re: Just picked up Geneen Roth's "Women, Food and God"

Abigail Wolfson wrote:

> I think it's the best book

> I've ever read about these issues.

Interesting. So far it's my least favorite Roth book. I won't go as far

as saying that it was kind of... boring? ... as that word doesn't seem

to fit 100%. Maybe I'm not in the right mood for that book now. I found

myself thinking a few times "Would you come to the point of what you

want to say NOW, please?"

Regards

s.

[Guest guest]

S.- I've already expanded on my response to the book, but I had my mother read it also, and that was her complaint. She felt it was hard to follow and to keep the point. Dawn RTo: IntuitiveEating_Support Sent: Sat, June 26, 2010 2:25:24 PMSubject: Re: Just picked up Geneen Roth's "Women, Food and God"

Abigail Wolfson wrote:

> I think it's the best book

> I've ever read about these issues.

Interesting. So far it's my least favorite Roth book. I won't go as far

as saying that it was kind of... boring? ... as that word doesn't seem

to fit 100%. Maybe I'm not in the right mood for that book now. I found

myself thinking a few times "Would you come to the point of what you

want to say NOW, please?"

Regards

s.

[Guest guest]

S.- I've already expanded on my response to the book, but I had my mother read it also, and that was her complaint. She felt it was hard to follow and to keep the point. Dawn RTo: IntuitiveEating_Support Sent: Sat, June 26, 2010 2:25:24 PMSubject: Re: Just picked up Geneen Roth's "Women, Food and God"

Abigail Wolfson wrote:

> I think it's the best book

> I've ever read about these issues.

Interesting. So far it's my least favorite Roth book. I won't go as far

as saying that it was kind of... boring? ... as that word doesn't seem

to fit 100%. Maybe I'm not in the right mood for that book now. I found

myself thinking a few times "Would you come to the point of what you

want to say NOW, please?"

Regards

s.