Re: Food choices and reality

[Guest guest]

Hi Dawn,I think we eat intuitively the best we can. One way I like to think about it is to picture a toddler... imagine that she indicates she's hungry. so you put out several options (or you offer one to start, and she flings it across the room, so then you try a different option) and she picks at what she wants, when she's hungry, but won't eat what doesn't appeal, and likely won't eat just because it's there, because there are so many interesting things to play with. on the other hand, if you put out several options, she won't say " I don't want apples, or raisins, or yogurt, or a bagel... only creme brulee will be acceptable. "

does that make sense? you do your best to provide yourself with some food choices that you think you will like, and to have them available at times when you think you will be hungry. but you're not a short order cook and you don't have to keep every conceivable food in the house. 

again, as far as eating when you have the chance instead of eating when you are hungry... you do the best you can. if you are really not hungry and you really wont have another chance to eat for hours and hours... have a small snack, whatever you can stomach. if you can find a way to take a quick (even five or ten minute) break later when you are actually hungry, all the better.

the point of this is not to please some external authority on how IE is " supposed " to be done, it's to make YOU feel like you are in charge of taking care of you, and that that is an important and worthy responsibility, one that you will honor to the best of your ability. 

also, this is not an all or nothing thing. you do the best you can with where you are right now.. things will definitely shift as time goes on.HTH,abby

 

Hi, Dawn,I think it comes down to making this plan your own. There is no perfect way to do it... just the best ways that work for you. I have read several Intuitive Eating books, and I take the best (for me) and leave the rest, and it's working well for me. As for not getting to eat what we'd like all the time, I think that's definitely something to work through.

I try to have foods i really like in my home at all times (I shop at least once a week to make that happen), but there are some days that food is just... well... food. I eat what is there, even if it is not something I really really want because I don't have time to go out to eat or I have other things to do (even if I would really like a cheeseburger). Sometimes, I also do work on what that craving means. Is it for something more than a cheeseburger can provide like love, companionship

or fun (that I can get in some other way that day)? And I also eat three meals a day; my body really likes to have three meals. The size can vary, and sometimes I have snacks. So, that works best for me; other methods might work better for you.

In your 7am example, if I were leaving home and would not get a chance to eat for a while, I'd eat then. I do best with eating within an hour of getting up; my blood sugar feels more stable that way. That's just what I have learned with my unique body.

I don't know if that helps at all, but I think IE is essentially about listening to your unique body and its signals, and that encompasses when you eat, why, how, and what.best,

 

Hi, I'm sure this has come up before, but, I'm new and haven't found it yet. How do you make IE and your food choices work with reality? I mean, you might want a cheeseburger, but you might not always be able to get that cheeseburger, or you might not be hungry at 7 am, but you know that you won't get the chance to eat again until noon.