Chapter 4

[Guest guest]

Hi, I'm fairly new to IE and new to the group. Thought this would be a fun way to introduce myself. I'm so happy to have found IE and this group especially. I've really enjoyed reading all your messages.As you read the principles, one by one, think about where you are in the process, whether it feels easy or nearly impossible to maintain, whether you agree with the principle or will just try it to see if it works, etc. Be honest and share your thoughts and feelings on each one! You can divide this into parts, answer 5 one day and 5 the next. In this way we will get to know each other better and will also be able to share our hopes and fears about this program.I'll type out the principles here:1. Reject the Diet Mentality: This is something I'm coming to terms with. I'm enjoying the freedom that comes from not constantly thinking about losing weight. I've stayed away from the scale and I'm learning to just be happy with the "me" that I am right now, not worrying too much about what I will become. I have confidence that as I become a better intuitive eater that my body will find it's happy place. Today I went out and bought some new clothes in my current size. This is something that I would never do if I were dieting because I would convince myself that I was too fat to deserve them, that I shouldn't be buying more clothes in this size and that I should just wait and buy new clothes when I lost the weight. I think buying the clothes and looking nice in my current body size is helping me to honor myself and this process.2. Honor your Hunger: I think I'm doing pretty good with this one. I'm constantly doing little self checks to monitor my hunger level. Hopefully this becomes more of an automatic thing as I progress.3. Make Peace with Food: When I read the book I was hesitant to really let loose with this one. The idea of going out and buying all my "no no foods" and having a big food throw down sort of scared me. But I do allow myself to eat anything that I'm currently desiring or craving, be it cookies, donuts, whatever. I'm still nervous to bring too much of that in the house however because I find that when it is around I reach for it in place of other things that I might normally choose (and that might be more nutritious or satisfying). Now that I think about it, maybe I haven't made peace. Might need to explore this one some more.4. Challenge the Food Police: I'm pretty early in the process so I haven't faced much external food police stuff at this point. It seems like everyone around me is losing weight through methods that I believe to be self-destructive and extreme. I have to remind myself that "to each his own". It's hard when they are obviously looking for praise and compliments and all I can think is how they are damaging their bodies and setting themselves up for future failure. My internal food policing is getting better, but also a work in progress.5. Feel Your Fullness: This one is difficult. I'm finding that it helps to take a smaller portion than normal and to analyze my satiety after eating that portion. I really need to slow things down. Often I discover that when I eat too fast I eat more than I needed and I'm uncomfortably full.6. Discover the Satisfaction Factor: I think I need to reread part of the book, not sure how this is different from the last principle.7. Cope with Your Emotions without Using Food: I am a stress, boredom, excitement, happy, sad eater. Any emotion and I tend to gravitate to food. I work at home and I find myself getting stuck on a project, or frustrated with something and I automatically head to the kitchen. I've had to physically stop in my tracks a few times and say, "What are you doing? Are you really hungry?" Most of the times I'm not and just asking the question is enough to stop me from unconscious eating.8. Respect your Body: Think I'm pretty good with this one. I've actually never been too hard on myself with my body acceptance. I am unusually tall (6 feet) so I always stand out from other women in a group. I think this keeps me from comparing myself too much. I always assume I'll be one of the larger women in a room so I don't play that game too often 9. Exercise--Feel the Difference: I am a pretty regular exerciser but in the past it has always been in conjunction with dieting. I would wear my heart monitor, track my calories burned, journal my exercise, etc. When I was "off plan" or "off my diet" the exercise always stopped, I mean what was the point? Now I'm really starting to see exercise as something different. I no longer track my calories burned. I do it because I do feel better afterwards. It helps to relieve my stress and it gives me valuable alone time (away from my kids) when I can work things out in my head. Exercising is so much more enjoyable now that it's no longer about the numbers.10. Honor your Health--Gentle Nutrition: This is always on my mind. As a mother of three small girls I want to expose my kids to nutritious foods and nourish their bodies. I'm trying to teach this principal to my girls. We no longer talk about bad foods and good foods. We will explain that some foods provide protein, others calcium or fiber,etc. We also say that some foods are treats and we eat them because they taste good, but we don't want to fill up on these foods because then we won't have room to give our bodies all that they need to function properly. I'm also really trying to respect my girls' fullness levels. When they ask for a snack I say, "What is your tummy telling you? Is it really hungry or are you bored?" If they tell me that they're really hungry than they can always have something to eat. I want them to be aware of this process and to be able to honor their own hunger. I don't think this was something I learned as a child. I was definitely a member of the "clean plate club".