Re: My doctor says I need to Diet!

[Guest guest]

Yes....inside not outside! Loved your post!

From: aprimartin@...

Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2011 3:07 PM

To: IntuitiveEating_Support

Subject: Re: My doctor says I need to "Diet"!

What I came to think, however, is that yes, we do ultimately have to eat less in order to lose weight, but what's important is that the "less" comes from determinations we make INSIDE ourselves about what we FEEL, and not by following anyone else's prescriptions for us. So, I may enjoy feeling "comfortably full" but recognize that in order to lose weight I will have to make friends with a slightly lighter sensation of fullness. Which, by the way, I will do when I'm good and ready and not a minute before, and which I expect to be a process over time, not a program to follow mechanically, all the while paying attention to what different levels of fullness feel like to me and what emotional material may be locked into that "comfortably full" feeling I keep wanting.

[Guest guest]

Well, this would definately drive the diet mentality for me as it IS a diet.

Especially the counting of calories and limiting calories and writing things

down. That works for some, but it was very diety to me.

How long have you been doing IE?

My advice is continue to listen to your body and continue on the IE path and

doing what you are doing.

You know what? When I started adding, yes, adding, fat into my diet, I started

losing weight! But I looked at what types of fat I was eating and started

eliminating the trans-fats and incorporating those fats the diet industry told

me were " bad " - coconut oil (wonderful to cook with!) and avacado and real

butter amd cream and whole milk (I eventually settled on 2% milk). I find I am

much more satisfied with these types of fats, therefore I don't tend to eat as

much.

Only you and your body know what's best for you, not your doctor. Your doctor

probably has good intentions and is doing what she is trained to do, but she

doesn't know your body. Only you do. And when your body is ready it will start

to release the weight/fat.

Alana

>

> Hi all,

>

> I could really use your advice. I've been eating healthy (only because I

crave healthy stuff now!) and listening to my body. I feel like I'm finally an

intuitive eater. I've also been working out and feeling good and have learned

to be more mindful and present and deal with my emotions productively and not

through food. This has been HUGE progress for me and I feel more grounded than

ever!

>

> However, I saw my doctor today and while she supports IE and acknowledges that

I'm doing a good job at maintaining my weight, she is concerned about my (very)

high body fat % and that I'm not losing weight. She wants me to go on a limited

calorie diet and start counting calories. She says I don't need to do anything

drastic or deprive myself, but just gently keep track of what I eat (write

things down in non-judgmental way) and make some substitutions to get my daily

calories in the right range to create a deficit and lose some weight gradually.

She said that I should keep listening to my body and eating when hunger and

full, etc... but just try to stay in the range.

>

> It sounds reasonable, but I'm worried that I may get sucked back into the diet

mentality and start obsessing about my weight. It took me so long to get to

where I am and feel free from food... I just don't want to go back there. My

doctor seems to believe in me and thinks I'm ready for this, but I guess I don't

trust myself as much. I think I could do it if I remembered to be present,

continue to accept my body, be gentle, and do these things to take care of my

health, not to put pressure on myself to be thin.

>

> Any thoughts, advice?

>

> Thanks so much!

> M.

>

[Guest guest]

These are really good points. I think it emphasizes that there is no *one* way

of doing IE that is right for everyone.

My therapist has told me that she has had clients for whom their eating was so

out of control that, working with a nutritionist, they determined the caloric

amount the client's body needed each day and had her put that amount of food in

a cooler. Not to force her to eat only that amount, but to help her realize

that once she started eating more than what was in that cooler, she was likely

eating for emotional reasons and need to stop and examine what was going on.

Similarly, when she starts working with patients, she has them e-mail her every

day to tell her what they are eating and what their hunger levels were before

and after the meal (I did this for several weeks). She says that when she sees

a client say, I went to Mcs and ate a Big Mac, supersized fries and soda

and two apple pies and my hunger is now at a level 5, she knows that their sense

of fullness is out of whack and that this is something they need to work on

because they really should have been stuffed after that meal.

All of these are steps that could be considered dieting, but her motive for

using them is to build awareness so that you can recognize your body's true

needs and start to trust it again. Also, they may be something you do for a

short while then move on to something else. For example, I no longer e-mail her

with what I have eaten each day because she was able to see that I am able to

recognize what a reasonable portion and hunger level are, even though I may not

always stop at it. Plus, she does not use the exact same approach for each

person because their needs and issues are different.

Personally, I don't calorie count, but I do look at the calorie counts on foods

so I can determine if that's a food I want to have at this time or if I'd be

equally happy with something lighter. I try (but don't always succeed) to not

judge myself if I choose the higher calorie item or if I do, maybe I decide to

have something lighter at the next meal. I don't think that's a bad thing or

anything that has to be contrary to IE, as long as it does not trigger me or I

do not use it in a way that leads back to eating patterns that are destructive

for me.

Josie

> >

> > Hi all,

> >

> > I could really use your advice. I've been eating healthy (only because I

crave healthy stuff now!) and listening to my body. I feel like I'm finally an

intuitive eater. I've also been working out and feeling good and have learned to

be more mindful and present and deal with my emotions productively and not

through food. This has been HUGE progress for me and I feel more grounded than

ever!

> >

> > However, I saw my doctor today and while she supports IE and acknowledges

that I'm doing a good job at maintaining my weight, she is concerned about my

(very) high body fat % and that I'm not losing weight. She wants me to go on a

limited calorie diet and start counting calories. She says I don't need to do

anything drastic or deprive myself, but just gently keep track of what I eat

(write things down in non-judgmental way) and make some substitutions to get my

daily calories in the right range to create a deficit and lose some weight

gradually. She said that I should keep listening to my body and eating when

hunger and full, etc... but just try to stay in the range.

> >

> > It sounds reasonable, but I'm worried that I may get sucked back into the

diet mentality and start obsessing about my weight. It took me so long to get to

where I am and feel free from food... I just don't want to go back there. My

doctor seems to believe in me and thinks I'm ready for this, but I guess I don't

trust myself as much. I think I could do it if I remembered to be present,

continue to accept my body, be gentle, and do these things to take care of my

health, not to put pressure on myself to be thin.

> >

> > Any thoughts, advice?

> >

> > Thanks so much!

> > M.

> >

>