Scared newbie

[Guest guest]

Hi,folks.

I've been at this for a couple of weeks now. At first I made the mistake of

doing it like a diet - focusing on trying to use IE to eat less and lose weight.

But I've let go of that and am really trying to develop trust in my internal

signals.

Has anyone else found this absolutely terrifying? I've lived with decades of

dieting deprivation, so on the one hand I'm afraid of not getting enough food -

I'm always wanting to be sure I can have more if I want it or that I won't have

to wait too long or get too hungry for my next meal. At the exact same moment,

I'm terrified that I'm overeating. I may well be overeating - I have no idea.

I'm not supposed to use the scale or count what I eat, just trust that my sense

of satisfaction about when to stop is accurate. This is SO HARD, given that for

so long I've held the belief that my appetite could NOT be trusted, that there

was something wrong with my satiety signals, that my desire for carbohydrates

was an addiction, etc.

So at the moment it feels like every single meal is an obsessive nightmare of

Am I hungry enough? Should I wait longer? But will that make me too hungry and

feel deprived? And am I full enough? Should I be stopping before I'm full? Isn't

it too much food to eat until it feels good? Did I just overeat? Will I look

like Jabba the Hut in another month?

I'd welcome anyone's wisdom, support, encouragement, or just a good laugh over

this.

April