Intuitive eating | Imamother

imasinger

Tue, Nov 12 2013, 9:08 am

Here's what I AM doing, as of yesterday:

Paying attention to what "hungry" and "comfortably full" feel like.

Eating sitting down, with a plate, and without anything to read.

Noticing when I start to "chase the taste" -- eat only because the food isn't as delicious after I've had enough, and so I start to want to duplicate the experience by taking something more.

Reading after I finish eating, with some hot tea.

Eating whatever I want, and noting how certain foods make me feel, in the moment, and after 30-60 minutes.

Here's what I am not doing yet:

Throwing away my scale. Right now, I'm happy with what it said this morning!

Blue jay

Tue, Nov 12 2013, 9:14 am

imasinger wrote:

Imasinger, Im following this thread too and really like what your are doing! Good for you! Very proud!

amother

Tue, Nov 12 2013, 9:47 am

imasinger wrote:

I love what you're doing and I've been doing this awhile besides for the reading. I've been reading and eating since I'm about 8 years old and as many times as I try I'm not succeeding in breaking that habit. Sad

Now this, reading AFTER eating with some tea is an awesome idea, thanks for that I'll try it!

imasinger

Wed, Nov 13 2013, 7:07 am

So yesterday, we got a call in the afternoon inviting us to a sheva brachos last night. We really haven't been out in a while, and the kallah is one of my stepdaughter in EY's best friends, so we dropped everything and went. The event started at 7:30, and we didn't sit down till closer to 8:30.

I found myself hungry at 5:30, so ate lightly with my kids, and went to try IE in this party setting. Normally, I have found that if I eat any time after 6, I overeat and gain.

I wanted some challa and spread, a little salad, some tofu, some roasted veggies (the couple are vegetarians), and a slice of cake. I ate what I wanted. I noted that I have not reached the point of knowing the fullness feeling so well that I leave food on my plate once I reach it. That is something to work towards. I only ate about half the slice of cake, but I have often done that in the past.

I expected to see my weight rise from yesterday (Late night eating! Cake!), but when I stepped on the scale this morning, it was exactly the same as yesterday. I still don't have full faith that I am going to keep losing the pounds that I have been trying to take off for so long by "regular" dieting, without any real effort. But I am optimistic.

FranticFrummie

Wed, Nov 13 2013, 7:15 am

imasinger wrote:

Keep it up! Remember that it can take your brain a month or so to retrain "understanding satiety". All those times you've eaten when you weren't actually hungry, or ate too much, have confused your body's feedback system. You can't undo that in just a few meals.

I absolutely agree with you about not doing anything else while you're eating. My DD has the opposite problem, and can't sit still long enough to get enough food in her. The only way I can get her weight UP, is to plop her down with a video. She'll finish a whole plate of food without thinking about it, and not even complaining about something being "too spicy, touching other food, looking weird" or any of her other usual criticisms. Sometimes she'll even come back and ask for more! Very Happy

zissy2004

Wed, Nov 13 2013, 8:29 am

Great imasinger!!
I have the same thing here, yesterday I also ate some food which in the past I would have labeled bad, And I was really expecting the scale to go up but it's also stayed the same! It's absolutely amazing this!
I also have the most difficult with doing nothing when I'm eating! It's hard to unlearn such a long-standing habit!
Love love love this way I'm eating!

chocolate moose

Wed, Nov 13 2013, 7:17 pm

Yes, I read the book & and it was paperback.

imasinger

Wed, Nov 13 2013, 7:22 pm

CM, was the paperback published in the US?

zissy2004

Thu, Nov 14 2013, 9:01 am

Cm, there is no way this book is in paperback. Someone emailed author and she said only kindle. Josie spinardi- how to have your cake and skinny jeans too. That's the book?

amother

Thu, Nov 14 2013, 9:09 am

I've been trying this way of eating for several months and it has changed my life. (I never read the IE book, I use Geneen Roth's method)

I had a funny experience yesterday and was wondering if anyone else who used to binge feels the same way.
I had a few cookies at about 11 am, I wasn't very hungry but I decided to have them anyways. Afterwards I felt extremely, uncomfortably full. About 4 hours later I still felt so full as if I had just binged on a whole package of cookies 10 minutes beforehand - even though I hadn't eaten for 4 hours. I couldn't believe that a few cookies would fill me up for so long, and in such an uncomfortable manner.

Anyways, I went home and smelled my soup cooking. Then I realized - I was NOT full but rather I was starving, and I mistook that bad feeling in my stomach for fullness rather than hunger. Once I ate, I felt so much better.

Isn't that strange?? It's like I don't even know my own body signals after years of eating too much.
Does anyone else have a similar experience?

imasinger

Thu, Nov 14 2013, 9:36 am

I can totally relate.

Remember, sugar can cause an insulin reaction, so your discomfort could have been related to that, too. I think it's great that you are thinking about what your body is telling you.

Mine requested breakfast, even though usually I'm not hungry till lunchtime, and I had a big dinner last night.

I made scrambled eggs, and after a minute, found I enjoyed them more for not having something to read, and really savoring the taste and texture. Yet, even though I liked them -- get this!! -- I DIDN'T FINISH THEM! Why? Because I was full before they were gone.

I said Asher Yatzar with a full heart this morning.

Whoever invented the Clean Plate Club should... well, ... read this book.

amother

Fri, Nov 15 2013, 6:36 am

amother wrote:

I have similar experiences with my mother. I love her dearly but I have no idea how much to cook for her. She is the kind who would give her child the last piece, but on the other hand, finishes child's food if it will get thrown away. So when we have little food she says she is not hungry, but if there are leftovers in the fridge waiting since yesterday, she will eat them even if she just had dinner.
I find that so unhealthy, especially on the psychological level - as if she has no needs of her own but only adjusts to whatever is expected of her!! this is so sad.

FranticFrummie

Fri, Nov 15 2013, 7:05 am

amother wrote:

I know this all too well. Between the survivors of the Holocaust, and the Great Depression in the US, we've been raised by a few generations of people who are in famine mode. When you look at it that way, it makes perfect sense.

What helps me, is to constantly remind myself that Hashem provides, and that He won't let me go hungry. I have to have emunah and bitachon! I have the same conversation with myself around some minor hoarding issues, as for me they tend to go hand in hand with the food issues. Throw some depression and an anxiety disorder on top of it... well, B"H it's a miracle I'm doing as well as I am so far!

imasinger

Sat, Nov 16 2013, 8:02 pm

Second half of Thursday:

So, after eating the eggs for breakfast, I was not ravenous like I usually am at 12:30 when I finish work and go for lunch. So I decided to run an errand first. On the way back, I felt hungry, and asked my stomach what it wanted.

"Tuna melt on a bagel."

I LOVE this treat. It is one of my favorite foods. Usually, when I break down and have it, I make a whole bagel, and then feel stuffed and guilty for a long time afterwards.

"Really? I've been giving you just protein and veggies for lunch for a really long time now. Tuna melt is scrumptious, but it's a binge food, with lots of calories!"
"That's what I want."
"Okay, then, the new system is I listen to you. Are you SURE?"
"Half a bagel should fill me up nicely."

So, I toasted half a bagel. I haven't eaten a bagel in months. I made the tuna, toasted the bagel, loaded it with tuna, sliced tomato and cheese, and let it melt. I sat down with no book or distractions, and went into heaven with every mouthful. Unlike my breakfast, I was not leaving anything of this baby behind on the plate! After I finished, I topped it off with some fresh cranberries and raspberries, and felt like smiling all afternoon, even though I was dealing with some pretty stressful stuff. That night, I was still only a little hungry, so I had half a spaghetti squash with spicy vegetables.

I realized later that my overall calorie consumption was less than usual, because I was not as hungry and stressed out at the end of the day, and therefore didn't overeat.

Oh, and the scale read another pound and a half less the next morning.

This approach is like magic!

More about Shabbos tomorrow...

zissy2004

Sun, Nov 17 2013, 5:26 am

Imasinger, I was really enjoying your description above lol!
I haven't been eating intuitively over shabbos since m not feeling good, my head isn't working properly and I haven't finished the book. Today haven't eaten anything yet, I'm hungry and I can't decide what I really want. I have candida induced sinus and I know I have to abstain from white flour and sugar. So that's listening to my body but I still feel restricted.... I love bread but at least I can eat spelt. But one thing I love about this approach is the no stress. And NO guilt!
Keep on giving updates, it helps me Smile

imasinger

Sun, Nov 17 2013, 8:01 am

Zissy, have you gotten to the section about the four categories of activity choice -- will do, should, shouldn't, and won't?

It speaks directly to the dilemma you are facing. When you can let go of the chatter and note (in a notebook is helpful) how you feel after eating certain foods, you can move the ones that seem desirable but make you feel bad from the "shouldn't" to the "won't." Stay in tune with yourself.

Refuah shleimah!

amother

Sun, Nov 17 2013, 12:10 pm

Imasinger I loved reading your success above, may you continue BE"H!
zissi, refuah shlaima!

I read some good articles recently:

http://dropitandeat.blogspot.c......html

http://180degreehealth.com/201.....time/

enjoy

imasinger

Sun, Nov 17 2013, 7:52 pm

Thanks, amother, for those links. I appreciate your input.

Here was the rest of my weekend:

Friday - I decided once again that I wanted a light breakfast. Hmm. I wonder if I eat less at dinner, then I want breakfast? Maybe that's going to be the new pattern. I don't know yet. A small bowl of Cheerios and milk did the trick. At lunchtime, I was both hungry and stressed, because I had a lot of cooking left to do (I work in the mornings), and not much time, and my DD and family were coming from 5 hours away for Shabbos for the first time since YT. Just as I was about to eat, another family member called, and wanted to talk for a long time and get advice on a personal matter. I made the mistake of eating lunch while stressed out and distracted. I don't even remember all of what I ate, but I know I had some of the Shabbos food, and some more stuff. By the time I finished both the conversation and the food, I felt uncomfortably full. At dinner, I had 2 slices of challah, 2 big bowls of chicken soup with lots of chicken and veggies, and a little butternut squash and some green beans. I also drank 2 big cups of seltzer with a splash of juice, and then got myself a cup of tea.

We had lots of other fantastic food on the table -- steak, chicken, couscous with onion, mushroom and pepper, sauteed mushrooms, white asparagus, as well as the aforementioned green beans, and the butternut squash, and a fruit salad and poached pears for dessert. But I was full already, and chose to save the rest of it for a time when I would be hungry enough to really enjoy the taste. When I sat with my cup of tea, I had this moment of utter, contented bliss. I let out an audible, "Ahhh," and others at the table commented on my expression. I felt like I was starting to learn that when I don't go past satiety, every aspect of eating is very pleasurable.

The next day, I ate a lot when I made kiddush for myself -- 2 bowls of mushroom soup, and some salmon. When we sat down to lunch only an hour and a half later, I was still pretty full. This time, I tried some of most food on the table, and was too full when we finished. It wasn't as comfortable.

A while after bentching, I decided I wanted to sample the cake that my YDD had made in school, that I hadn't had room for at dessert time. I made sure to sit and eat it from a plate. It was really good. Afterwards, I definitely felt a sugar rush. My friend stopped by, and a bunch of us decided to go out for a walk. DS, 7, wanted to run, and I had so much energy that I easily ran with him till almost the end of our block, about 1/4 mile (in my Shabbos clothes!) We ran most of the way back, too. About half an hour after that, I felt the crash, and was tired, spacey, and a bit irritable. I really understood how there may come a time when I choose not to eat something sweet because I really won't like the way I'll feel afterwards. Not about the guilt at all, but about what feels good to me.

As I posted on the weight loss challenge thread, I didn't get hungry again until around 8, but then was dealing with a child who was constipated and "leaking". Yuk. I decided I could wait until morning before eating again.

Today, I managed to add Intuitive Exercise into my life. I went down to exercise, focusing, not on how many calories I was planning to burn, but rather, on how I would feel good after exercising. I took an easier pace, and just concentrated on the positive mood benefits of the workout. In the end, I burned maybe 75 less calories than I would have otherwise, and felt enthusiastic about doing it again tomorrow, time permitting.

I ate a strange but delicious brunch (quinoa and chinese eggplant) and this time, was careful not to go past the good feeling.

In the afternoon, I took myself out shopping for a new dress to wear to a chassuna I'm going to next week. Friends, two years ago, I was wearing a size 16. This time, I bought a size 6!! It's really pretty. It's a little snug, but at the rate I'm going, should be less so by Sunday.

At dinner, I had a perfect burger on a bun with avocado, sliced onion, tomato, the last of the sauteed mushrooms from Shabbos, ketchup, and mustard. And mushroom soup. And fries (DH makes them every Sunday.) I left some of the soup and some of the fries because I was full. I have to keep exploring where "full" is, when to drink, so that I don't take up some of the space in my stomach with food before I have satisfied my thirst (QB, maybe I'll try your secret), and how it would feel to have a little less than what I think is "enough", so that I can gauge exactly where to stop.

Overall, a really good day.

Thanks to all of you who are following these posts, and offering encouragement.

FranticFrummie

Sun, Nov 17 2013, 8:10 pm

Oh my gosh, from a 16 to a 6 in two years! shock

That's incredible!!! It took me almost two years to go from a 16 to a 12, and I thought I was tough stuff. Wink

Right now I'm having a hard time, because I'm on a medication that requires me to eat 350 calories with every dose, or it won't get digested properly. I take it twice a day, and sometimes I have to force myself to eat. It feels SO weird to be trying to get the calories in when my body is not in the mood. The morning dose is the hardest, evening I try to take with dinner.

amother

Sun, Nov 17 2013, 8:29 pm

imasinger, thanks for sharing your experience with us! I love reading about it, and it is very inspiring to me!