Re: Re: My IE journey so far

[Guest guest]

Well, my own experience has not been good with the " you MAY NOT have that. " i do tend to rebel. but then, i don't do well with authority, in lots of areas of my life. i mean, i don't get arrested or anything, but i do better when i'm in control.

HOWEVER, i am finding that when i say, " you can have this when you really want it, but how about we try avoiding it when you don't care as much? " .. that seems to help. also making VERY GRADUAL changes. so today i ordered middle eastern food, and normally i eat the whole pita, and as first i wasn't eating any of it, but then i decided i wanted some... so i ate half, and was satisfied. 

and then someone on my other list serve suggested pureeing steamed spinach and adding it to my smoothies. i am proud to say that i motivated myself to not only buy the organic spinach ($3.99 a bunch but gorgeous!) but also wash it and steam it. and then... it looked so yummy i had to gobble some up, right out of the pan! that's the first time dark greens have looked good to me since i've been pregnant. and i definitely give some credit to the fact that they were so fresh and organic. they smelled better than i've ever smelt spinach! 

so it's all a work in progress. my hat is off to those that can do strict elimination diets... that your psyches don't respond with an " oh yeah? i'll show YOU! " but i think this more gentle path is working well for me. Rome wasn't built in a day, nor did my hormonal changes happen in a day (though i think they were more dramatic -- the result of taking hormonal birth control). also, although i make changes slowly, i am a person that is able to sustain change long term, perhaps as a result.  i did decide to schedule the consultation with the Weston Price expert. and i'm excited to hear what she has to say... while still being very cautious to remind myself to proceed slowly and gently with her advice. 

best,abbyIE since 11/08

 

The previous poster you are referring to said the following:

" Being an intuitive eater doesn't mean you can't be gluten free, dairy free, vegan, high raw, whatever "

I think you may have mis read this in that it says " it doesn't mean you can't be gluten, dairy...free " .

It doesn't say you can't be these things.\

I can understand how these sorts of " experiments " of eliminating certain foods can bring out the rebel. It is a mental kind of thing.

One first of all has to figure out what they would be afraid of if they had to give something like that up.

I am always doing some sort of experiment to try and figure out what feels best to my body. I have done the entire elimination of dairy, wheat, sugar, and caffeine to see if I have any allergies or intollerances to them. I have continued to remain gluten free for the most part aside from sprouted wheat or as whole wheat grain as possible like bulgar wheat. I just feel better when I don't eat processed wheat products. Right now I am trying to eat as little sugar as possible. I think it just means, I really think before I eat something.

If you are going to do this sort of experimentation, I think it is important to get into the right mental and emotional state, whatever that might mean for you. And I think it's important to be gentle to ourselves. Not set up too rigid of rules. I am very flexible and if I end up eathing something that I was trying to cut out, it's not the end of the world and I don't beat myself up. I just try again tomorrow and I might even decide this isn't for me.

But what is so awsome about IE is it is 100% tailorable to each individual person. There are no rules and you get to figure out what is best for you.

Alana

>

> I read a couple of days ago that one of the members saying that she was

> thinking about trying to abstain from sugar for a couple of weeks, to see

> how it feels. (Sorry I forgot who it was.)

>

> I didn't have time to respond because I've been traveling, but I wanted to

> say that my personal experience is that these " experiments " don't work out

> well for me. I find that whatever the reason for the experiment, my psyche

> reacts exactly the same, as if I were going on a diet (Last Supper eating

> and then very quickly, rebellion). But then I also thought, hey, maybe

> experiencing this " phenomenon, " if it can be called that, is part of the IE

> journey. And who am I to try to short circuit that experience (if that's

> even possible) for anyone else? So that's my experience, anyway... hoping it

> might be helpful for someone else.

>

> I also found the " IE Truths " that someone shared to be very, very

> interesting... that you can't be gluten free, vegan, etc and be doing IE. I

> don't know that I agree... I'm still mulling it over. But I think I might

> agree... if people are abstaining for reasons other than allergies, ethical

> dilemmas, etc... in other words, for other than non vague health concerns.

> Otherwise, I do think the Diet Rebel is roused.

>

> Which brings me to my own journey. I've been practicing IE for about two and

> a half years. I'm also currently 25 weeks pregnant. Which brings its own

> twist to IE.

>

> I've been thinking about trying to shift the way I eat just a bit. (It's

> funny, when I think about " changing my diet " in a more dramatic way, it's

> much more exciting... but I am FINALLY learning that this excitement is

> dangerous... it's a red flag for a Diet with a capital D). Just thinking

> about changes in eating caused me to eat more sugar for a few days (right

> along with the diet excitement), but luckily I now know this is the fear of

> my Inner Wild Child (see Four Day Win) and the best way to work through this

> is to just gently reassure myself, " shh, it's all right, we aren't going to

> take anything away from you, or make you go hungry. " After a mere 3-4 days,

> my psyche was reassured and the sugar cravings dropped off.

>

> (My reason for wanting to do all this, by the way, is because my body has

> been showing signs of PCOS, a hormone imbalance, for several years. These

> signs aren't exactly pleasant -- acne, skin tags, increased body hair --

> even without considering weight gain, which I am leaving out of the picture

> for the time being, given the pregnancy.) Also I want to give my baby the

> best and healthiest start I can. I'm not unhappy with how I eat, exactly,

> but I'm lazy and tend to eat the same things every day because they are

> quick and I know I like them. I think I could do and feel better and also

> ENJOY eating a lot more with just a bit more effort.

>

> Anyway, I've started to make some very gentle, gradual changes -- things

> like buying fish more often (okay, twice so far, but it's a start!). A thing

> I focus on, and one I would like to share... along the lines of the " gentle

> nutrition " that the IE authors describe... is what works best for me with

> dietary changes is to focus on the things I want to ADD to my diet, not the

> things I want to subtract. If I load up my refrigerator with tasty things,

> I'm much less likely to reach for prepared, sugary snacks... and without any

> feeling of deprivation!

>

> This sounds so simple that I think it's easy to gloss over, but I urge

> others to really think about this idea, and maybe try this... splurge on

> beautiful food and see how easy it is to WANT to eat it. Especially now, in

> spring, when fresh foods are abundant. Things I'm looking forward to

> splurging on: shitake mushrooms, fresh sugar snap peas, organic strawberries

> (I have feasted on these the last week while traveling in CA... there's

> nothing better than a perfectly sun-ripened strawberry!), avocado, wild

> salmon, grass-fed organic milk. Why did I ever think some of these are too

> expensive??? I (we) am (are) worth it!

>

> Now I am debating whether I want to consult with an expert on this

> particular way of eating (based on the research of Weston Price, a dentist

> who studied a variety of " native " populations in the 1930's and found much

> improved health, compared to those consuming a western diet, despite the

> fact that the " natives " ate much more saturated fat than we've been told is

> healthy). We have been emailing, and I have shared my commitment to IE with

> her. She is supportive, and doesn't advocate abstinence necessarily. She in

> fact does not support cutting out things like white flour and sugar, at

> least, not right away... she wants me to add cod liver oil, and cooking with

> natural fats (butter, coconut oil, pastured fats), and to eat more fermented

> foods. Yet I'm still worried that merely talking to her could cause

> resistance and rebellion... while simultaneously fascinated by her wisdom,

> and honestly, also by the success she has had treating her hypothroid

> (weaning off meds) with a more restrictive diet... but then I wonder if that

> is the old diet excitement, rearing its head...

>

> Sorry this is so long... it really helped me to write it all out, instead of

> obsessing on the thoughts swirling around my head. Hopefully I haven't

> triggered diet mentality in anyone else... thanks for reading! Feedback

> would be most welcome.

>

> Best,

> Abby

> IE since 11/08

>