Weight loss question

[Guest guest]

Hey Lise,

Actually, it's CW that wrote she experiences a sigh. I half my food - not intentionally, but I end up eating a half of my plate and stopping to see if I am still hungry. I use mental imagery (I used to be an intuitive eater when I was a teenager and used imagery as well). I've been doing this for a long time, where I gage my hunger by thinking about a Big Mac and fries. If my mouth waters or my mouth waters, it means I am VERY hungry. If I think on it and only want the fries, I am at a 2-3. But the imagery does wonders for me because I am semi-vegetarian and don't eat beef. So, for my mouth to water with that, it means I am FAMISHED! The next thing I do, is really think hard on what I want.

I just went to the kitchen an hour ago and took 30 minutes to figure out exactly what I wanted. So much junk food in my cupboard and only a little bit of healthy food, so I had some peanuts.

But, I don't experience the sigh....or perhaps I have not noticed??

Emma

Re: Re: Weight loss question

Emma- I wish I could experience that sigh! I'm actually having the hardest time figuring out when I'm hungry. I swear, I must have a very low metabolism, because I rarely feel hungry enough to classify myself at a 2 on the hunger scale! Is that possible? I am having an easier time feeling full, but still no sigh.

-LiseML Carver <CarverMLDzYahoo (DOT) com> wrote:

Emma -

I have also noticed that I am satisfied on WAY less food than I've ever eaten in my life and my clothes are fitting better and maybe even a little loose, but I think it's because now I really pay attention to when I'm hungry without getting too hungry. My IE therapist suggested I always eat at a minimum of two, that 1 or 0 was too low FOR ME (everyone's different, so do what works for you;-). Anyway, I read about a physiological, unconcious "sigh" that your body gives you as a signal that you've had enough to eat. I started paying attention to it, stopping when it happened (because it really does) and waiting 10 - 20 minutes to see if I'm still hungry. SO FAR, I haven't been, I've been very satisfied, not hungry and eating everything I want. I have also noticed that I want stuff like fruit, salad, oatmeal, not just chips & dip or cheeseburgers - although when I want them, I absolutely have them. I'd be interested if anyone else has heard of or tried looking

for their "sigh" and what they think of it.

Peace & Blessings,

CW

P.S. I think I read about it on a Weight Watchers message board re: their Core Plan, it was one of the ways people indicated they were comfortably full, but not overfull (a 6 or 7 on the hunger scale).

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[Guest guest]

Hey Lise,

Actually, it's CW that wrote she experiences a sigh. I half my food - not intentionally, but I end up eating a half of my plate and stopping to see if I am still hungry. I use mental imagery (I used to be an intuitive eater when I was a teenager and used imagery as well). I've been doing this for a long time, where I gage my hunger by thinking about a Big Mac and fries. If my mouth waters or my mouth waters, it means I am VERY hungry. If I think on it and only want the fries, I am at a 2-3. But the imagery does wonders for me because I am semi-vegetarian and don't eat beef. So, for my mouth to water with that, it means I am FAMISHED! The next thing I do, is really think hard on what I want.

I just went to the kitchen an hour ago and took 30 minutes to figure out exactly what I wanted. So much junk food in my cupboard and only a little bit of healthy food, so I had some peanuts.

But, I don't experience the sigh....or perhaps I have not noticed??

Emma

Re: Re: Weight loss question

Emma- I wish I could experience that sigh! I'm actually having the hardest time figuring out when I'm hungry. I swear, I must have a very low metabolism, because I rarely feel hungry enough to classify myself at a 2 on the hunger scale! Is that possible? I am having an easier time feeling full, but still no sigh.

-LiseML Carver <CarverMLDzYahoo (DOT) com> wrote:

Emma -

I have also noticed that I am satisfied on WAY less food than I've ever eaten in my life and my clothes are fitting better and maybe even a little loose, but I think it's because now I really pay attention to when I'm hungry without getting too hungry. My IE therapist suggested I always eat at a minimum of two, that 1 or 0 was too low FOR ME (everyone's different, so do what works for you;-). Anyway, I read about a physiological, unconcious "sigh" that your body gives you as a signal that you've had enough to eat. I started paying attention to it, stopping when it happened (because it really does) and waiting 10 - 20 minutes to see if I'm still hungry. SO FAR, I haven't been, I've been very satisfied, not hungry and eating everything I want. I have also noticed that I want stuff like fruit, salad, oatmeal, not just chips & dip or cheeseburgers - although when I want them, I absolutely have them. I'd be interested if anyone else has heard of or tried looking

for their "sigh" and what they think of it.

Peace & Blessings,

CW

P.S. I think I read about it on a Weight Watchers message board re: their Core Plan, it was one of the ways people indicated they were comfortably full, but not overfull (a 6 or 7 on the hunger scale).

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[Guest guest]

Hi! Thanks, tha'ts great. Yesterday I ate from fatigue not hunger. I

ate because I had ice cream in the fridge and crackers in the pantry

and my hubby made dinner, and I was feeling down. I didn't really binge

but I didn't eat from hunger. And though it's not ideal, I think it's a

step up from stuffing my face. Did this happen to you all when you

started? Where you just wanted to eat because you were allowed?

>

> Hey Marina,

>

> I just composed a whole e-mail and then lost it!

>

> But what I wrote is that, IE works differently for everyone. When I

first learned of IE, it was late Feb and I was so sick of logging

[Guest guest]

Hi! Thanks, tha'ts great. Yesterday I ate from fatigue not hunger. I

ate because I had ice cream in the fridge and crackers in the pantry

and my hubby made dinner, and I was feeling down. I didn't really binge

but I didn't eat from hunger. And though it's not ideal, I think it's a

step up from stuffing my face. Did this happen to you all when you

started? Where you just wanted to eat because you were allowed?

>

> Hey Marina,

>

> I just composed a whole e-mail and then lost it!

>

> But what I wrote is that, IE works differently for everyone. When I

first learned of IE, it was late Feb and I was so sick of logging

[Guest guest]

Marina,I still do that its been about a month I have been trying IE and at first I ate like you would not believe. Everything I was told was bad I ate. Now its not as big a deal because I know its ok to have it, but sometimes I still get that feeling of being bad. That's when I tend to test the plan. The worst thing for me is chocolate its been forbidden for me for so long that it became my binge food. Now most chocolate that I would usually binge on does not even taste good to me. I know now it was just my emotional eating tool. You noticed what you were doing and can handle it differently next time. Bonniemarina23u wrote: Hi! Thanks, tha'ts great. Yesterday I ate from fatigue not hunger. I ate because I had ice cream in the fridge and crackers in the pantry and my hubby made dinner, and I was feeling down. I didn't really binge but I didn't eat from hunger. And though it's not ideal, I think it's a step up from stuffing my face. Did this happen to you all when you started? Where you just wanted to eat because you were allowed? > > Hey Marina, > > I just composed a whole e-mail and then lost it! > > But what I wrote is that, IE works differently for everyone. When I first learned of IE, it was late Feb and I was so sick

of logging

Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect. Join Yahoo!'s user panel and lay it on us.

[Guest guest]

Marina,I still do that its been about a month I have been trying IE and at first I ate like you would not believe. Everything I was told was bad I ate. Now its not as big a deal because I know its ok to have it, but sometimes I still get that feeling of being bad. That's when I tend to test the plan. The worst thing for me is chocolate its been forbidden for me for so long that it became my binge food. Now most chocolate that I would usually binge on does not even taste good to me. I know now it was just my emotional eating tool. You noticed what you were doing and can handle it differently next time. Bonniemarina23u wrote: Hi! Thanks, tha'ts great. Yesterday I ate from fatigue not hunger. I ate because I had ice cream in the fridge and crackers in the pantry and my hubby made dinner, and I was feeling down. I didn't really binge but I didn't eat from hunger. And though it's not ideal, I think it's a step up from stuffing my face. Did this happen to you all when you started? Where you just wanted to eat because you were allowed? > > Hey Marina, > > I just composed a whole e-mail and then lost it! > > But what I wrote is that, IE works differently for everyone. When I first learned of IE, it was late Feb and I was so sick

of logging

Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect. Join Yahoo!'s user panel and lay it on us.

[Guest guest]

Marina,I still do that its been about a month I have been trying IE and at first I ate like you would not believe. Everything I was told was bad I ate. Now its not as big a deal because I know its ok to have it, but sometimes I still get that feeling of being bad. That's when I tend to test the plan. The worst thing for me is chocolate its been forbidden for me for so long that it became my binge food. Now most chocolate that I would usually binge on does not even taste good to me. I know now it was just my emotional eating tool. You noticed what you were doing and can handle it differently next time. Bonniemarina23u wrote: Hi! Thanks, tha'ts great. Yesterday I ate from fatigue not hunger. I ate because I had ice cream in the fridge and crackers in the pantry and my hubby made dinner, and I was feeling down. I didn't really binge but I didn't eat from hunger. And though it's not ideal, I think it's a step up from stuffing my face. Did this happen to you all when you started? Where you just wanted to eat because you were allowed? > > Hey Marina, > > I just composed a whole e-mail and then lost it! > > But what I wrote is that, IE works differently for everyone. When I first learned of IE, it was late Feb and I was so sick

of logging

Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect. Join Yahoo!'s user panel and lay it on us.

[Guest guest]

I agree that Mindless Eating is an excellent book. It does reveal a

lot of the roadblocks to intuitive eating. It's amazing the research

that's done to get people to eat more, thus buy more. Marketers use

all kinds of psychological tricks to get people to eat more. As a

result of reading this book, I've started to do some very simple

things to cut back on how much I eat without sacrificing what I like.

I really love the concept of the mindless margin--the 100 to 200

extra calories we eat each day without realizing it.

For example, we have a Mexican take-out chain that has these wonderful

grilled shrimp burritos. The burritos are 710 calories each. That's

a lot, but they are delicious and they are full of healthy stuff like

shrimp, rice and beans. They serve the burritos with a little bag of

tortilla chips. Now, the burrito is very filling and a smaller one

would probably be satisfying. But, it tastes so good, I always eat

the whole thing. The chips aren't so good, but I'd eat them too and

add 220 calories to my meal that I didn't want and wasn't hungry for.

I've started requesting my burrito with no chips. I don't save any

money, but that's 220 calories that I'm not mindlessly popping into my

body. I've also started ordering my burrito without white sauce. I

like the burrito just as well without it and I'm practicing what

Wansink calls " The Mindless Margin " .

The key with the mindless margin is to just leave stuff off that you

won't miss. When you go to a restaurant, ask for fruit instead of

fries. (My son has always done this because he hates fries.) If you

get fries, give half to your spouse or kids. The idea is to only have

the amount of food in front of you that you know will satisfy you. We

Americans have no idea what a " serving " of anything is. Restaurants

have conditioned us to see oversized portions as normal and desirable.

The bag of chips you buy at the convenience store is 2.5 servings.

Are you going to eat less than half the bag? No, you're going to eat

the whole thing. Manufacturers know this. People won't buy a

one-serving bag because they don't see it as a good value.

As I see it, we are in a constant battle between trying to eat

intuitively and overcome the marketing ploys of the food industry. If

you read " Mindless Eating " , you'll be more aware of what forces are

working to get you to eat more than your body needs.

[Guest guest]

I agree that Mindless Eating is an excellent book. It does reveal a

lot of the roadblocks to intuitive eating. It's amazing the research

that's done to get people to eat more, thus buy more. Marketers use

all kinds of psychological tricks to get people to eat more. As a

result of reading this book, I've started to do some very simple

things to cut back on how much I eat without sacrificing what I like.

I really love the concept of the mindless margin--the 100 to 200

extra calories we eat each day without realizing it.

For example, we have a Mexican take-out chain that has these wonderful

grilled shrimp burritos. The burritos are 710 calories each. That's

a lot, but they are delicious and they are full of healthy stuff like

shrimp, rice and beans. They serve the burritos with a little bag of

tortilla chips. Now, the burrito is very filling and a smaller one

would probably be satisfying. But, it tastes so good, I always eat

the whole thing. The chips aren't so good, but I'd eat them too and

add 220 calories to my meal that I didn't want and wasn't hungry for.

I've started requesting my burrito with no chips. I don't save any

money, but that's 220 calories that I'm not mindlessly popping into my

body. I've also started ordering my burrito without white sauce. I

like the burrito just as well without it and I'm practicing what

Wansink calls " The Mindless Margin " .

The key with the mindless margin is to just leave stuff off that you

won't miss. When you go to a restaurant, ask for fruit instead of

fries. (My son has always done this because he hates fries.) If you

get fries, give half to your spouse or kids. The idea is to only have

the amount of food in front of you that you know will satisfy you. We

Americans have no idea what a " serving " of anything is. Restaurants

have conditioned us to see oversized portions as normal and desirable.

The bag of chips you buy at the convenience store is 2.5 servings.

Are you going to eat less than half the bag? No, you're going to eat

the whole thing. Manufacturers know this. People won't buy a

one-serving bag because they don't see it as a good value.

As I see it, we are in a constant battle between trying to eat

intuitively and overcome the marketing ploys of the food industry. If

you read " Mindless Eating " , you'll be more aware of what forces are

working to get you to eat more than your body needs.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the review of this book Sandi, I am going to check it out!Sandi wrote: I agree that Mindless Eating is an excellent book. It does reveal alot of the roadblocks to intuitive eating. It's amazing the researchthat's done to get people to eat more, thus buy more. Marketers useall kinds of psychological tricks to get people to eat more. As aresult of reading this book, I've started to do some very simplethings to cut back on how much I eat without sacrificing what I like.I

really love the concept of the mindless margin--the 100 to 200extra calories we eat each day without realizing it.For example, we have a Mexican take-out chain that has these wonderfulgrilled shrimp burritos. The burritos are 710 calories each. That'sa lot, but they are delicious and they are full of healthy stuff likeshrimp, rice and beans. They serve the burritos with a little bag oftortilla chips. Now, the burrito is very filling and a smaller onewould probably be satisfying. But, it tastes so good, I always eatthe whole thing. The chips aren't so good, but I'd eat them too andadd 220 calories to my meal that I didn't want and wasn't hungry for.I've started requesting my burrito with no chips. I don't save anymoney, but that's 220 calories that I'm not mindlessly popping into mybody. I've also started ordering my burrito without white sauce. Ilike the burrito just as well without it and I'm practicing

whatWansink calls "The Mindless Margin". The key with the mindless margin is to just leave stuff off that youwon't miss. When you go to a restaurant, ask for fruit instead offries. (My son has always done this because he hates fries.) If youget fries, give half to your spouse or kids. The idea is to only havethe amount of food in front of you that you know will satisfy you. WeAmericans have no idea what a "serving" of anything is. Restaurantshave conditioned us to see oversized portions as normal and desirable.The bag of chips you buy at the convenience store is 2.5 servings. Are you going to eat less than half the bag? No, you're going to eatthe whole thing. Manufacturers know this. People won't buy aone-serving bag because they don't see it as a good value.As I see it, we are in a constant battle between trying to eatintuitively and overcome the marketing ploys of the food industry. Ifyou read "Mindless

Eating", you'll be more aware of what forces areworking to get you to eat more than your body needs. allie

Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows.Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the review of this book Sandi, I am going to check it out!Sandi wrote: I agree that Mindless Eating is an excellent book. It does reveal alot of the roadblocks to intuitive eating. It's amazing the researchthat's done to get people to eat more, thus buy more. Marketers useall kinds of psychological tricks to get people to eat more. As aresult of reading this book, I've started to do some very simplethings to cut back on how much I eat without sacrificing what I like.I

really love the concept of the mindless margin--the 100 to 200extra calories we eat each day without realizing it.For example, we have a Mexican take-out chain that has these wonderfulgrilled shrimp burritos. The burritos are 710 calories each. That'sa lot, but they are delicious and they are full of healthy stuff likeshrimp, rice and beans. They serve the burritos with a little bag oftortilla chips. Now, the burrito is very filling and a smaller onewould probably be satisfying. But, it tastes so good, I always eatthe whole thing. The chips aren't so good, but I'd eat them too andadd 220 calories to my meal that I didn't want and wasn't hungry for.I've started requesting my burrito with no chips. I don't save anymoney, but that's 220 calories that I'm not mindlessly popping into mybody. I've also started ordering my burrito without white sauce. Ilike the burrito just as well without it and I'm practicing

whatWansink calls "The Mindless Margin". The key with the mindless margin is to just leave stuff off that youwon't miss. When you go to a restaurant, ask for fruit instead offries. (My son has always done this because he hates fries.) If youget fries, give half to your spouse or kids. The idea is to only havethe amount of food in front of you that you know will satisfy you. WeAmericans have no idea what a "serving" of anything is. Restaurantshave conditioned us to see oversized portions as normal and desirable.The bag of chips you buy at the convenience store is 2.5 servings. Are you going to eat less than half the bag? No, you're going to eatthe whole thing. Manufacturers know this. People won't buy aone-serving bag because they don't see it as a good value.As I see it, we are in a constant battle between trying to eatintuitively and overcome the marketing ploys of the food industry. Ifyou read "Mindless

Eating", you'll be more aware of what forces areworking to get you to eat more than your body needs. allie

Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows.Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.

[Guest guest]

Chocolate is a biggie for a lot of us, isn't it? To be honest, most

of the chocolate you find at checkstands everywhere is just crap.

Because chocolate isn't off limits, I have discovered that Hershey

bars are crappy. Snickers don't taste as good as they did when they

were forbidden either. Darned IE makes stuff taste worse than it used

to I guess.

I have two bags of Dove dark chocolate squares in my freezer right

now, unless my husband has devoured them. I know they are there if I

have to have chocolate. I let one melt on my tongue and it usually

takes care of the craving because it's very chocolaty. I don't think

I've had one in 3 weeks now. I also have some Dreyer's light

chocolate ice cream that has probably gone bad. I'm just not craving

it. I have had a hankering for a Baskin Robbins chocolate ice cream

cone the last few days, but I've been to darned busy and lazy to walk

down to the store and get one. I guess I just don't want it badly enough.

> >

> > Hey Marina,

> >

> > I just composed a whole e-mail and then lost it!

> >

> > But what I wrote is that, IE works differently for everyone. When I

> first learned of IE, it was late Feb and I was so sick of logging

>

>

>

>

>

>

> ---------------------------------

> Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect. Join Yahoo!'s

user panel and lay it on us.

>

[Guest guest]

That makes so much sense - thank you! I guess the " alone " stuff isn't

so much about being alone (I spent much of my college years/early to

mid 20,s alone, and ENJOYED IT,lol!), but the idea of being LEFT

alone, because I'm not good enough, or not loved, etc. I know this

fear goes waaaaaaay back into early childhood, and needs some examination.

>

> Hey Alyzul, you might consider re-thinking the

> whole " alone " thing while you're working on

> the IE thing, too. Seriously, I'm speaking

> from experience as both a world-class worrier

> and someone who actually lives alone and spends

> time thinking about the what-ifs of that - what

> if I'm 60 and I'm living alone - what if I get

> seriously injured and I'm living alone - etc,

> etc, etc. But it finally occurred to me one day

> that I can spend my time worrying about that

> or I can spend my time DOING something about it.

>

>

> In my case, the thing I worry the most about

> being " alone " as I get older is being ABLE to

> take care of myself. So what I do about that

> is do what I can now to insure that I will be

> able to care for my own needs if I find myself

> with myself alone in years to come. The whole

> IE thing combined with exercise is all my

> " insurance policy " I'm building up right now

> so that I will be able to take care of myself.

> That's not necessarily a thing to be SAD about -

> I think it's a thing to be EMPOWERED about! It's

> like they tell you on an airplane about if the

> emergency air masks drop, pull YOURS on before

> you pull your child's mask on - because if you

> don't take care of YOU first you will be of no

> use to the child. So you've gotta build into

> your life that part where you take care of YOU

> first, as a first priority AND as a means of

> equipping yourself to help those around you.

>

[Guest guest]

So true! It would really stink if all this was going on PLUS I was

living on tuna and celery,lol!

The journaling does help, as does the crying. It's the 2:00 am part

that doesn't work so much, lol!

Thanks!

>

> Alyzu1--You have lots to be stressed about. I guess this is what

would be considered emotional eating (the bingeing behavior). Does

the journaling help at all? Also sometimes just sitting alone in the

middle of the night and having a good cry might be the best thing in

the world for you. Right now, it sounds like you need it. Hang in

there and keep your chin up! At least you're not on a diet right?

[Guest guest]

Amen, Sandi!

This is exactly what I thought when I read the first few chapters in a bookstore. Mindless Eating is the next book on my list to buy!

Emma

Re: Weight loss question

I agree that Mindless Eating is an excellent book. It does reveal alot of the roadblocks to intuitive eating. It's amazing the researchthat's done to get people to eat more, thus buy more. Marketers useall kinds of psychological tricks to get people to eat more. As aresult of reading this book, I've started to do some very simplethings to cut back on how much I eat without sacrificing what I like.I really love the concept of the mindless margin--the 100 to 200extra calories we eat each day without realizing it.For example, we have a Mexican take-out chain that has these wonderfulgrilled shrimp burritos. The burritos are 710 calories each. That'sa lot, but they are delicious and they are full of healthy stuff likeshrimp, rice and beans. They serve the burritos with a little bag oftortilla chips. Now, the burrito is very filling and a smaller onewould probably be satisfying. But, it tastes so good, I always eatthe

whole thing. The chips aren't so good, but I'd eat them too andadd 220 calories to my meal that I didn't want and wasn't hungry for.I've started requesting my burrito with no chips. I don't save anymoney, but that's 220 calories that I'm not mindlessly popping into mybody. I've also started ordering my burrito without white sauce. Ilike the burrito just as well without it and I'm practicing whatWansink calls "The Mindless Margin". The key with the mindless margin is to just leave stuff off that youwon't miss. When you go to a restaurant, ask for fruit instead offries. (My son has always done this because he hates fries.) If youget fries, give half to your spouse or kids. The idea is to only havethe amount of food in front of you that you know will satisfy you. WeAmericans have no idea what a "serving" of anything is. Restaurantshave conditioned us to see oversized portions as normal and desirable.The bag of chips

you buy at the convenience store is 2.5 servings. Are you going to eat less than half the bag? No, you're going to eatthe whole thing. Manufacturers know this. People won't buy aone-serving bag because they don't see it as a good value.As I see it, we are in a constant battle between trying to eatintuitively and overcome the marketing ploys of the food industry. Ifyou read "Mindless Eating", you'll be more aware of what forces areworking to get you to eat more than your body needs.

Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games.

[Guest guest]

I've actually discovered through intuitive eating that I don't really like chocolate all that much. And yes chocolate bars don't really do it for me anymore! Unless they are good ones. I've discovered I LOVE white chocolate and will buy the more expensive white chocolate bars which I never used to buy. I used to only get white chocolate at Easter in the cheap bunny form. The only chocolate bars I really love are Reese peanut butter cups. And I think that's more the peanut butter I want than the chocolate. Sandi wrote: Chocolate is a biggie for a lot of us, isn't it? To be honest, mostof the chocolate you find at checkstands everywhere is just crap. Because chocolate isn't off limits, I have discovered that Hersheybars are crappy. Snickers don't taste as good as they did when theywere forbidden either. Darned IE makes stuff taste worse than it usedto I guess. I have two bags of Dove dark chocolate squares in my freezer rightnow, unless my husband has devoured them. I know they are there if Ihave to have chocolate. I let one melt on my tongue and it usuallytakes care of the craving because it's very chocolaty. I don't thinkI've had one in 3 weeks now. I also have some Dreyer's lightchocolate ice cream that has probably gone bad. I'm just not cravingit. I have had a hankering for a Baskin Robbins chocolate ice creamcone the last few days,

but I've been to darned busy and lazy to walkdown to the store and get one. I guess I just don't want it badly enough. .

Be smarter than spam. See how smart SpamGuard is at giving junk email the boot with the All-new Yahoo! Mail

[Guest guest]

This sounds like a really interesting book. The trick, for me, in

dealing with these issues is being aware of what people are trying

to push on me without being tempted to " count calories " and get back

into the " diet mentality " . It is so easy for me to slip back into

restrictive thinking. I used to just accept whatever a restaurant

wanted to serve me without questioning, and overeat things I didn't

really want " mindlessly " as a consequence. Through IE I am learning

to be more assertive in asking for what my body wants. If I want

fries, that's what I order, and eat then until I have had enough. If

I want fruit, that's want I order. If the reaturant doesn't want to

make the substitution, I don't go back. I used to hate leaving food

om my plate. Now I am fine with it. It is a real learning process

and not quick or easy. I think we really like manufacturers and

restaurants act as an authority for us instead of listening to our

bodies. It is hard to get out of this habit. - Janet

>

> I agree that Mindless Eating is an excellent book. It does reveal

a

> lot of the roadblocks to intuitive eating. It's amazing the

research

> that's done to get people to eat more, thus buy more. Marketers

use

> all kinds of psychological tricks to get people to eat more. As a

> result of reading this book, I've started to do some very simple

> things to cut back on how much I eat without sacrificing what I

like.

> I really love the concept of the mindless margin--the 100 to 200

> extra calories we eat each day without realizing it.

>

> For example, we have a Mexican take-out chain that has these

wonderful

> grilled shrimp burritos. The burritos are 710 calories each.

That's

> a lot, but they are delicious and they are full of healthy stuff

like

> shrimp, rice and beans. They serve the burritos with a little bag

of

> tortilla chips. Now, the burrito is very filling and a smaller one

> would probably be satisfying. But, it tastes so good, I always eat

> the whole thing. The chips aren't so good, but I'd eat them too

and

> add 220 calories to my meal that I didn't want and wasn't hungry

for.

> I've started requesting my burrito with no chips. I don't save

any

> money, but that's 220 calories that I'm not mindlessly popping

into my

> body. I've also started ordering my burrito without white sauce.

I

> like the burrito just as well without it and I'm practicing what

> Wansink calls " The Mindless Margin " .

>

> The key with the mindless margin is to just leave stuff off that

you

> won't miss. When you go to a restaurant, ask for fruit instead of

> fries. (My son has always done this because he hates fries.) If

you

> get fries, give half to your spouse or kids. The idea is to only

have

> the amount of food in front of you that you know will satisfy

you. We

> Americans have no idea what a " serving " of anything is.

Restaurants

> have conditioned us to see oversized portions as normal and

desirable.

> The bag of chips you buy at the convenience store is 2.5

servings.

> Are you going to eat less than half the bag? No, you're going to

eat

> the whole thing. Manufacturers know this. People won't buy a

> one-serving bag because they don't see it as a good value.

>

> As I see it, we are in a constant battle between trying to eat

> intuitively and overcome the marketing ploys of the food

industry. If

> you read " Mindless Eating " , you'll be more aware of what forces are

> working to get you to eat more than your body needs.

>

[Guest guest]

This sounds like a really interesting book. The trick, for me, in

dealing with these issues is being aware of what people are trying

to push on me without being tempted to " count calories " and get back

into the " diet mentality " . It is so easy for me to slip back into

restrictive thinking. I used to just accept whatever a restaurant

wanted to serve me without questioning, and overeat things I didn't

really want " mindlessly " as a consequence. Through IE I am learning

to be more assertive in asking for what my body wants. If I want

fries, that's what I order, and eat then until I have had enough. If

I want fruit, that's want I order. If the reaturant doesn't want to

make the substitution, I don't go back. I used to hate leaving food

om my plate. Now I am fine with it. It is a real learning process

and not quick or easy. I think we really like manufacturers and

restaurants act as an authority for us instead of listening to our

bodies. It is hard to get out of this habit. - Janet

>

> I agree that Mindless Eating is an excellent book. It does reveal

a

> lot of the roadblocks to intuitive eating. It's amazing the

research

> that's done to get people to eat more, thus buy more. Marketers

use

> all kinds of psychological tricks to get people to eat more. As a

> result of reading this book, I've started to do some very simple

> things to cut back on how much I eat without sacrificing what I

like.

> I really love the concept of the mindless margin--the 100 to 200

> extra calories we eat each day without realizing it.

>

> For example, we have a Mexican take-out chain that has these

wonderful

> grilled shrimp burritos. The burritos are 710 calories each.

That's

> a lot, but they are delicious and they are full of healthy stuff

like

> shrimp, rice and beans. They serve the burritos with a little bag

of

> tortilla chips. Now, the burrito is very filling and a smaller one

> would probably be satisfying. But, it tastes so good, I always eat

> the whole thing. The chips aren't so good, but I'd eat them too

and

> add 220 calories to my meal that I didn't want and wasn't hungry

for.

> I've started requesting my burrito with no chips. I don't save

any

> money, but that's 220 calories that I'm not mindlessly popping

into my

> body. I've also started ordering my burrito without white sauce.

I

> like the burrito just as well without it and I'm practicing what

> Wansink calls " The Mindless Margin " .

>

> The key with the mindless margin is to just leave stuff off that

you

> won't miss. When you go to a restaurant, ask for fruit instead of

> fries. (My son has always done this because he hates fries.) If

you

> get fries, give half to your spouse or kids. The idea is to only

have

> the amount of food in front of you that you know will satisfy

you. We

> Americans have no idea what a " serving " of anything is.

Restaurants

> have conditioned us to see oversized portions as normal and

desirable.

> The bag of chips you buy at the convenience store is 2.5

servings.

> Are you going to eat less than half the bag? No, you're going to

eat

> the whole thing. Manufacturers know this. People won't buy a

> one-serving bag because they don't see it as a good value.

>

> As I see it, we are in a constant battle between trying to eat

> intuitively and overcome the marketing ploys of the food

industry. If

> you read " Mindless Eating " , you'll be more aware of what forces are

> working to get you to eat more than your body needs.

>

[Guest guest]

I have been 'doing' IE since about Feb. and while I am hardly a

shinning example of IE, I have learned one thing - focusing on WEIGHT

is as big a distraction as eating for non-body hunger reasons. Weight

is the result of more than just the food I put in my mouth, its how I

'see' myself, either fat or thin, and WHAT being this 'size' does for

me right now. I have lots of body image work to do and digging deep to

find what I really feel how I look vs. why I am this 'size'.

[Guest guest]

I have been 'doing' IE since about Feb. and while I am hardly a

shinning example of IE, I have learned one thing - focusing on WEIGHT

is as big a distraction as eating for non-body hunger reasons. Weight

is the result of more than just the food I put in my mouth, its how I

'see' myself, either fat or thin, and WHAT being this 'size' does for

me right now. I have lots of body image work to do and digging deep to

find what I really feel how I look vs. why I am this 'size'.

[Guest guest]

I have been 'doing' IE since about Feb. and while I am hardly a

shinning example of IE, I have learned one thing - focusing on WEIGHT

is as big a distraction as eating for non-body hunger reasons. Weight

is the result of more than just the food I put in my mouth, its how I

'see' myself, either fat or thin, and WHAT being this 'size' does for

me right now. I have lots of body image work to do and digging deep to

find what I really feel how I look vs. why I am this 'size'.