Learning from our children

[Guest guest]

As a teacher, I am often amazed at how much I learn from my students.

Most of the kids in the room are normal eaters - they eat when they're

hungry and stop when they're content. They'll eat a fourth of a candy

bar and throw the rest out, saying " I'm full! " . Or at lunch time they

will take a lot of food on their trays - 3 or four cookies if they can

get away with it, and end up throwing most of the food on their tray

away, often including the cookies cause " They aren't very good. "

Yesterday we had a pizza party in class. Before we had pizza, we got

big cookies, and with the pizza mini cupcakes were served. Each child

ate a big cookie about half an hour before lunch. When it was time for

lunch, we gave every kid 2 squares of thin crust pizza and a cupcake.

There was still some left, so we told the students they could have

more food if they were still hungry. Most of the students said " I'm

full! " and didn't want anymore. However, I noticed that the overweight

kids in the class all went up for thirds and even tried to go for

fourths since there was still pizza there. That did not surprise me,

but I was taken aback one thing I saw. One of the " skinny " kids went

up for fourths, too. I said, " Didn't you have enough? " and he said,

" Yeah, but I still want more. " After he said that, one slim child

piped up and said, " One time I ate half a cheesecake! " . I said, " Oh

my, you must really like cheesecake. " He replied, " Yeah, it's my

favorite. " I said, " How did you feel after you ate that much? " He made

an expression that looked like he would hurl from the memory and said,

" SICK!! " .

All that to say this: skinny people are greedy sometimes, too. Skinny

people sometimes eat WAY too much - it's just not their norm. My

normal-eater kids don't make judgments about themselves after they eat

too much. They just make neutral observations " I feel sick " , say " I

ate too much! " , or even " I shouldn't have had all that! " . But they

don't try to compensate for their mistakes in eating. They trust their

bodies to regulate themselves in good time.

I guess my point to all of this is to say that since the holidays are

coming up, it's good to be reminded that we are human and we all make

mistakes. Some of us will choose to eat mindfully and stop when we are

satisfied, and that would be a great victory. But others of us will

mindfully choose to overeat and enjoy more food understanding that it

won't taste nearly as good since we're already full, but choosing to

give into our greed.

If that happens to you, admit that you chose to be greedy and forgive

yourself. Don't condemn yourself or try to make up for it tomorrow. If

you regret what you did, admit that you made a poor choice, and try to

understand why it happened and how you can avoid the situation in the

future.

Whatever you choose (and you do choose to eat too much or not), be

loving and forgiving. These are the holidays - times of peace and joy.

Do not let these special times be overshadowed with guilt over

gluttony. Let's focus our attention on enjoying all of our blessings

- our families, friends, and everything else we are thankful for.

[Guest guest]

Great observation and nice reminder too! Thanks for sharing ehugs,

Katcha

>

> As a teacher, I am often amazed at how much I learn from my students.

> Most of the kids in the room are normal eaters

[Guest guest]

I

am guessing that it is almost thanksgiving time judging by the holiday

talk? I don’t know anything about thanksgiving but this post really

did help me – thank you

sharon

From: IntuitiveEating_Support

[mailto:IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of julieca84

Sent: Saturday, 17 November 2007 10:32 PM

To: IntuitiveEating_Support

Subject: Learning from our children

As a teacher, I am often amazed at how much I

learn from my students.

Most of the kids in the room are normal eaters - they eat when they're

hungry and stop when they're content. They'll eat a fourth of a candy

bar and throw the rest out, saying " I'm full! " . Or at lunch time they

will take a lot of food on their trays - 3 or four cookies if they can

get away with it, and end up throwing most of the food on their tray

away, often including the cookies cause " They aren't very good. "

Yesterday we had a pizza party in class. Before we had pizza, we got

big cookies, and with the pizza mini cupcakes were served. Each child

ate a big cookie about half an hour before lunch. When it was time for

lunch, we gave every kid 2 squares of thin crust pizza and a cupcake.

There was still some left, so we told the students they could have

more food if they were still hungry. Most of the students said " I'm

full! " and didn't want anymore. However, I noticed that the overweight

kids in the class all went up for thirds and even tried to go for

fourths since there was still pizza there. That did not surprise me,

but I was taken aback one thing I saw. One of the " skinny " kids went

up for fourths, too. I said, " Didn't you have enough? " and he said,

" Yeah, but I still want more. " After he said that, one slim child

piped up and said, " One time I ate half a cheesecake! " . I said,

" Oh

my, you must really like cheesecake. " He replied, " Yeah, it's my

favorite. " I said, " How did you feel after you ate that much? "

He made

an expression that looked like he would hurl from the memory and said,

" SICK!! " .

All that to say this: skinny people are greedy sometimes, too. Skinny

people sometimes eat WAY too much - it's just not their norm. My

normal-eater kids don't make judgments about themselves after they eat

too much. They just make neutral observations " I feel sick " , say

" I

ate too much! " , or even " I shouldn't have had all that! " . But

they

don't try to compensate for their mistakes in eating. They trust their

bodies to regulate themselves in good time.

I guess my point to all of this is to say that since the holidays are

coming up, it's good to be reminded that we are human and we all make

mistakes. Some of us will choose to eat mindfully and stop when we are

satisfied, and that would be a great victory. But others of us will

mindfully choose to overeat and enjoy more food understanding that it

won't taste nearly as good since we're already full, but choosing to

give into our greed.

If that happens to you, admit that you chose to be greedy and forgive

yourself. Don't condemn yourself or try to make up for it tomorrow. If

you regret what you did, admit that you made a poor choice, and try to

understand why it happened and how you can avoid the situation in the

future.

Whatever you choose (and you do choose to eat too much or not), be

loving and forgiving. These are the holidays - times of peace and joy.

Do not let these special times be overshadowed with guilt over

gluttony. Let's focus our attention on enjoying all of our blessings

- our families, friends, and everything else we are thankful for.

[Guest guest]

I

am guessing that it is almost thanksgiving time judging by the holiday

talk? I don’t know anything about thanksgiving but this post really

did help me – thank you

sharon

From: IntuitiveEating_Support

[mailto:IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of julieca84

Sent: Saturday, 17 November 2007 10:32 PM

To: IntuitiveEating_Support

Subject: Learning from our children

As a teacher, I am often amazed at how much I

learn from my students.

Most of the kids in the room are normal eaters - they eat when they're

hungry and stop when they're content. They'll eat a fourth of a candy

bar and throw the rest out, saying " I'm full! " . Or at lunch time they

will take a lot of food on their trays - 3 or four cookies if they can

get away with it, and end up throwing most of the food on their tray

away, often including the cookies cause " They aren't very good. "

Yesterday we had a pizza party in class. Before we had pizza, we got

big cookies, and with the pizza mini cupcakes were served. Each child

ate a big cookie about half an hour before lunch. When it was time for

lunch, we gave every kid 2 squares of thin crust pizza and a cupcake.

There was still some left, so we told the students they could have

more food if they were still hungry. Most of the students said " I'm

full! " and didn't want anymore. However, I noticed that the overweight

kids in the class all went up for thirds and even tried to go for

fourths since there was still pizza there. That did not surprise me,

but I was taken aback one thing I saw. One of the " skinny " kids went

up for fourths, too. I said, " Didn't you have enough? " and he said,

" Yeah, but I still want more. " After he said that, one slim child

piped up and said, " One time I ate half a cheesecake! " . I said,

" Oh

my, you must really like cheesecake. " He replied, " Yeah, it's my

favorite. " I said, " How did you feel after you ate that much? "

He made

an expression that looked like he would hurl from the memory and said,

" SICK!! " .

All that to say this: skinny people are greedy sometimes, too. Skinny

people sometimes eat WAY too much - it's just not their norm. My

normal-eater kids don't make judgments about themselves after they eat

too much. They just make neutral observations " I feel sick " , say

" I

ate too much! " , or even " I shouldn't have had all that! " . But

they

don't try to compensate for their mistakes in eating. They trust their

bodies to regulate themselves in good time.

I guess my point to all of this is to say that since the holidays are

coming up, it's good to be reminded that we are human and we all make

mistakes. Some of us will choose to eat mindfully and stop when we are

satisfied, and that would be a great victory. But others of us will

mindfully choose to overeat and enjoy more food understanding that it

won't taste nearly as good since we're already full, but choosing to

give into our greed.

If that happens to you, admit that you chose to be greedy and forgive

yourself. Don't condemn yourself or try to make up for it tomorrow. If

you regret what you did, admit that you made a poor choice, and try to

understand why it happened and how you can avoid the situation in the

future.

Whatever you choose (and you do choose to eat too much or not), be

loving and forgiving. These are the holidays - times of peace and joy.

Do not let these special times be overshadowed with guilt over

gluttony. Let's focus our attention on enjoying all of our blessings

- our families, friends, and everything else we are thankful for.

[Guest guest]

I

am guessing that it is almost thanksgiving time judging by the holiday

talk? I don’t know anything about thanksgiving but this post really

did help me – thank you

sharon

From: IntuitiveEating_Support

[mailto:IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of julieca84

Sent: Saturday, 17 November 2007 10:32 PM

To: IntuitiveEating_Support

Subject: Learning from our children

As a teacher, I am often amazed at how much I

learn from my students.

Most of the kids in the room are normal eaters - they eat when they're

hungry and stop when they're content. They'll eat a fourth of a candy

bar and throw the rest out, saying " I'm full! " . Or at lunch time they

will take a lot of food on their trays - 3 or four cookies if they can

get away with it, and end up throwing most of the food on their tray

away, often including the cookies cause " They aren't very good. "

Yesterday we had a pizza party in class. Before we had pizza, we got

big cookies, and with the pizza mini cupcakes were served. Each child

ate a big cookie about half an hour before lunch. When it was time for

lunch, we gave every kid 2 squares of thin crust pizza and a cupcake.

There was still some left, so we told the students they could have

more food if they were still hungry. Most of the students said " I'm

full! " and didn't want anymore. However, I noticed that the overweight

kids in the class all went up for thirds and even tried to go for

fourths since there was still pizza there. That did not surprise me,

but I was taken aback one thing I saw. One of the " skinny " kids went

up for fourths, too. I said, " Didn't you have enough? " and he said,

" Yeah, but I still want more. " After he said that, one slim child

piped up and said, " One time I ate half a cheesecake! " . I said,

" Oh

my, you must really like cheesecake. " He replied, " Yeah, it's my

favorite. " I said, " How did you feel after you ate that much? "

He made

an expression that looked like he would hurl from the memory and said,

" SICK!! " .

All that to say this: skinny people are greedy sometimes, too. Skinny

people sometimes eat WAY too much - it's just not their norm. My

normal-eater kids don't make judgments about themselves after they eat

too much. They just make neutral observations " I feel sick " , say

" I

ate too much! " , or even " I shouldn't have had all that! " . But

they

don't try to compensate for their mistakes in eating. They trust their

bodies to regulate themselves in good time.

I guess my point to all of this is to say that since the holidays are

coming up, it's good to be reminded that we are human and we all make

mistakes. Some of us will choose to eat mindfully and stop when we are

satisfied, and that would be a great victory. But others of us will

mindfully choose to overeat and enjoy more food understanding that it

won't taste nearly as good since we're already full, but choosing to

give into our greed.

If that happens to you, admit that you chose to be greedy and forgive

yourself. Don't condemn yourself or try to make up for it tomorrow. If

you regret what you did, admit that you made a poor choice, and try to

understand why it happened and how you can avoid the situation in the

future.

Whatever you choose (and you do choose to eat too much or not), be

loving and forgiving. These are the holidays - times of peace and joy.

Do not let these special times be overshadowed with guilt over

gluttony. Let's focus our attention on enjoying all of our blessings

- our families, friends, and everything else we are thankful for.

[Guest guest]

"All that to say this: skinny people are greedy sometimes, too. Skinnypeople sometimes eat WAY too much - it's just not their norm. Mynormal-eater kids don't make judgments about themselves after they eattoo much. They just make neutral observations "I feel sick", say "Iate too much!", or even "I shouldn't have had all that!". But theydon't try to compensate for their mistakes in eating. They trust theirbodies to regulate themselves in good time." This was GREAT!!!!! Traci

Get easy, one-click access to your favorites. Make Yahoo! your homepage.

[Guest guest]

"All that to say this: skinny people are greedy sometimes, too. Skinnypeople sometimes eat WAY too much - it's just not their norm. Mynormal-eater kids don't make judgments about themselves after they eattoo much. They just make neutral observations "I feel sick", say "Iate too much!", or even "I shouldn't have had all that!". But theydon't try to compensate for their mistakes in eating. They trust theirbodies to regulate themselves in good time." This was GREAT!!!!! Traci

Get easy, one-click access to your favorites. Make Yahoo! your homepage.

[Guest guest]

"All that to say this: skinny people are greedy sometimes, too. Skinnypeople sometimes eat WAY too much - it's just not their norm. Mynormal-eater kids don't make judgments about themselves after they eattoo much. They just make neutral observations "I feel sick", say "Iate too much!", or even "I shouldn't have had all that!". But theydon't try to compensate for their mistakes in eating. They trust theirbodies to regulate themselves in good time." This was GREAT!!!!! Traci

Get easy, one-click access to your favorites. Make Yahoo! your homepage.

[Guest guest]

Thanksgiving (American style) is really based on a Harvest Festival.

The addition of sentiment regards the first settlers here with the

natives sharing of foods that helped the settlers survive. Of course

it has turned into an all out FEAST and now seen as a time to gather

with family and friends in a 'joyous' occasion (HUGE dinner and lots

of fancy foods). Picture any 'family gathering and you get the idea

about how this can be a 'mixed blessing' for many!

Ehugs, Katcha

>

> I am guessing that it is almost thanksgiving time judging by the holiday

> talk? I don't know anything about thanksgiving but this post really did

> help me - thank you

>

>

>

> sharon

[Guest guest]

Thanksgiving (American style) is really based on a Harvest Festival.

The addition of sentiment regards the first settlers here with the

natives sharing of foods that helped the settlers survive. Of course

it has turned into an all out FEAST and now seen as a time to gather

with family and friends in a 'joyous' occasion (HUGE dinner and lots

of fancy foods). Picture any 'family gathering and you get the idea

about how this can be a 'mixed blessing' for many!

Ehugs, Katcha

>

> I am guessing that it is almost thanksgiving time judging by the holiday

> talk? I don't know anything about thanksgiving but this post really did

> help me - thank you

>

>

>

> sharon

[Guest guest]

Thanksgiving (American style) is really based on a Harvest Festival.

The addition of sentiment regards the first settlers here with the

natives sharing of foods that helped the settlers survive. Of course

it has turned into an all out FEAST and now seen as a time to gather

with family and friends in a 'joyous' occasion (HUGE dinner and lots

of fancy foods). Picture any 'family gathering and you get the idea

about how this can be a 'mixed blessing' for many!

Ehugs, Katcha

>

> I am guessing that it is almost thanksgiving time judging by the holiday

> talk? I don't know anything about thanksgiving but this post really did

> help me - thank you

>

>

>

> sharon

[Guest guest]

Thanks

for explaining it to me Katcha, as an Australian all I knew about thanksgiving

was that it is a day that people get together with family (much like Christmas

lunch) eat large amounts of food and that includes pumpkin pie and

turkey. I think that is right.

Sharon

From: IntuitiveEating_Support

[mailto:IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of Katcha

Sent: Tuesday, 20 November 2007 6:21 AM

To: IntuitiveEating_Support

Subject: Re: Learning from our children

Thanksgiving (American style) is really based

on a Harvest Festival.

The addition of sentiment regards the first settlers here with the

natives sharing of foods that helped the settlers survive. Of course

it has turned into an all out FEAST and now seen as a time to gather

with family and friends in a 'joyous' occasion (HUGE dinner and lots

of fancy foods). Picture any 'family gathering and you get the idea

about how this can be a 'mixed blessing' for many!

Ehugs, Katcha

[Guest guest]

Thanks

for explaining it to me Katcha, as an Australian all I knew about thanksgiving

was that it is a day that people get together with family (much like Christmas

lunch) eat large amounts of food and that includes pumpkin pie and

turkey. I think that is right.

Sharon

From: IntuitiveEating_Support

[mailto:IntuitiveEating_Support ] On Behalf Of Katcha

Sent: Tuesday, 20 November 2007 6:21 AM

To: IntuitiveEating_Support

Subject: Re: Learning from our children

Thanksgiving (American style) is really based

on a Harvest Festival.

The addition of sentiment regards the first settlers here with the

natives sharing of foods that helped the settlers survive. Of course

it has turned into an all out FEAST and now seen as a time to gather

with family and friends in a 'joyous' occasion (HUGE dinner and lots

of fancy foods). Picture any 'family gathering and you get the idea

about how this can be a 'mixed blessing' for many!

Ehugs, Katcha