Re: Introducing Myself and Requesting Support

[Guest guest]

Hi Lynne,

I came to IE after losing a lot of weight. It took me over two years of

constant dieting after my kids were born, but I lost over 100 pounds. The

problem was that I was a complete diet mess by the time I found IE, and I was

living with harsh food restrictions interspersed with crazy binge episodes. For

me, the heavy dieting put me into a state of very disordered eating, and

possibly even into a full on eating disorder.

When I started IE, I knew I might gain some weight back, but I could already

tell that dieting would also cause weight gain because the scale had already

started moving upward from my restricting/binging pattern. When I started

gaining weight, I panicked and second guessed my choice to be here, but instead

of giving in to dieting, I put away my scale and trusted the process. In fact,

as soon as I committed to staying off the scale, I stopped binging and started

finding a groove with IE. I estimate I gained somewhere between 5 and 10 pounds

and fairly quickly lost at least half of it as I moved past the initial stage of

adjustment (giving myself permission to eat anything but not being able to stop

when full, which I see from the board is a fairly common reaction at first).

I believe I am very close to the same weight I was when I started IE in January

based on the way my clothes fit. But, I do believe you have to accept an initial

adjustment period where you may gain some weight. I think the more you can let

the weight gain part go and focus on listening to your body and reassuring

yourself that you will never deprive yourself again, the easier the transition

will be. Before you know it, you will find it easier to listen to your body's

needs and your weight will stabilize. I guess what I'm saying is that you don't

have to gain all of your weight back, but the more you fight the IE process, the

more likely it is you will get caught in the initial stage where weight gain is

more likely. Kind of like, the only way past the storm is through it, so keep

moving and know there is calm on the other side. Hope that makes sense!

>

> Hello, everyone,

> I'm brand new to the group. I have read the " Intuitive Eating " book and I

want to try this process. The problem is that I just recently last about 40

pounds using online Weight Watchers. I decided to try IE because I don't want

to be a slave to counting points all of my life. I still crave my forbidden

foods and have the diet mentality. Anyway, I've been trying to practice IE for

the past month but I found myself binging on these forbidden foods. Now I have

gained five pounds and can no longer fit in my " thin " clothes. So I'm panicking

big time and wondering if I should go back to WW. How do I " stay the course "

without panicking about this weight gain? Is it possible for me to learn the IE

process without gaining more weight? Thanks in advance for all of your support.

>