Guest guest Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 Abby- thank you. Your experience is an inspiration to me. I think you hit it exactly- it's about the way you treat yourself more than anything else. I love how it feels when I tell myself- " you can eat as much as you want of (specific food) later- you will never be denied or deprived of it again. " Then, amazingly, I don't seem to need that food- if I want it I eat it, but never with the desperation it used to create for me. I had that experience with tacos the other day- which used to be a " bad food " for me. I enjoyed it immensely, promised myself that I would get more even that day if I really wanted it, then didn't have any strong desire to have more. Treating myself as a close friend has made me feel comforted in a way I have never felt before. > > I have been doing IE since 11/08. > > I have had GREAT results in terms of finding more peace and happiness in > life. I stopped hating myself for my changed appearance -- weight gain due > to PCOS. i am SOOOO much happier now! (and for the record, i think my weight > is about the same.) > > i have really worked hard on separating my value as a person from my > appearance. this is not easy!!! because this is a cultural thing... women > are very much judged by their appearance. without getting too political, > think about how people talk about hillary clinton's hairstyle, clothing > choices, and " cankles. " i have never heard this about a male politician! i > have stopped buying fashion and gossip magazines, and i already don't watch > TV... not being bombarded by images of unrealistically thin women has really > helped me! > > more recently, i have been able to make some gradual changes in my " diet " > towards foods that i felt would promote my health... but the way i do it is > so different now. instead of thinking about foods to cut out (which is > pretty negative), i think about what foods i want to add (much more positive > focus). for me, i wanted to eat more protein, partly because of PCOS, partly > because of pregnancy. so i tried to keep more protein-rich foods around... > but NEVER criticized myself for eating more carbohydrate-laden foods. and > was amazed to find, after a few weeks, that my consumption of processed > carbohydrates was gradually decreasing. but i never forbid anything, and > that makes all the difference! > > another change i've made is my relationship to exercise. i've never lost > weight through exercise, so that probably helps, in a weird way, to separate > it from dieting. but i found that i often dreaded going for my run. so one > winter, i decided to consciously take time off from running. especially > since my last marathon, which i overtrained for and didn't enjoy at all. i > did other things instead, and when the weather warmed up, started running > again... but without my old rule that anything less than 30 minutes " didn't > count. " i started running with 10 minute runs (and never wore my watch, so i > couldn't count!) and gradually increased from there. i never enjoyed running > so much! and i doubt i will ever train for an event again, because it puts > too much external pressure on exercise for my comfort. i like to focus on > exercise as being for my mental, emotional, and physical health. i think > this relaxed attitude also helped me to stay active throughout my pregnancy, > which has no doubt made pregnancy easier on me, both physically and > mentally, and will surely be a big help in labor and delivery! > > i LOVE IE. i will NEVER diet again. this doesn't mean i can never make > changes to my eating, my exercise, or even my weight... it means i have > promised to never hate my body again. after all that it does for me, how > could i??? > > all the best, > > abby > IE since 11/08 and 33 weeks pregnant > > ps it gets easier and easier. it's instinctual for me MOST of the time. just > keep taking baby steps, and give yourself TONS of encouragement! seriously, > don't be afraid to go overboard in lavishing positive feedback for even the > smallest of changes. it makes a WORLD of difference. talk to yourself like > you would a small child who is learning to use the potty, or to ride a > bike... something that seems so small to us now, but is monumental to a > little one. i think IE is much more about your relationship with yourself > than it is about eating. > > > >> I would love to ask: could anyone like to tell me how long they have been > >> following the IE program and at what point it started feeling natural, > >> instinctual, or even easy? > >> > >> > >> > >> > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 Abby- thank you. Your experience is an inspiration to me. I think you hit it exactly- it's about the way you treat yourself more than anything else. I love how it feels when I tell myself- " you can eat as much as you want of (specific food) later- you will never be denied or deprived of it again. " Then, amazingly, I don't seem to need that food- if I want it I eat it, but never with the desperation it used to create for me. I had that experience with tacos the other day- which used to be a " bad food " for me. I enjoyed it immensely, promised myself that I would get more even that day if I really wanted it, then didn't have any strong desire to have more. Treating myself as a close friend has made me feel comforted in a way I have never felt before. > > I have been doing IE since 11/08. > > I have had GREAT results in terms of finding more peace and happiness in > life. I stopped hating myself for my changed appearance -- weight gain due > to PCOS. i am SOOOO much happier now! (and for the record, i think my weight > is about the same.) > > i have really worked hard on separating my value as a person from my > appearance. this is not easy!!! because this is a cultural thing... women > are very much judged by their appearance. without getting too political, > think about how people talk about hillary clinton's hairstyle, clothing > choices, and " cankles. " i have never heard this about a male politician! i > have stopped buying fashion and gossip magazines, and i already don't watch > TV... not being bombarded by images of unrealistically thin women has really > helped me! > > more recently, i have been able to make some gradual changes in my " diet " > towards foods that i felt would promote my health... but the way i do it is > so different now. instead of thinking about foods to cut out (which is > pretty negative), i think about what foods i want to add (much more positive > focus). for me, i wanted to eat more protein, partly because of PCOS, partly > because of pregnancy. so i tried to keep more protein-rich foods around... > but NEVER criticized myself for eating more carbohydrate-laden foods. and > was amazed to find, after a few weeks, that my consumption of processed > carbohydrates was gradually decreasing. but i never forbid anything, and > that makes all the difference! > > another change i've made is my relationship to exercise. i've never lost > weight through exercise, so that probably helps, in a weird way, to separate > it from dieting. but i found that i often dreaded going for my run. so one > winter, i decided to consciously take time off from running. especially > since my last marathon, which i overtrained for and didn't enjoy at all. i > did other things instead, and when the weather warmed up, started running > again... but without my old rule that anything less than 30 minutes " didn't > count. " i started running with 10 minute runs (and never wore my watch, so i > couldn't count!) and gradually increased from there. i never enjoyed running > so much! and i doubt i will ever train for an event again, because it puts > too much external pressure on exercise for my comfort. i like to focus on > exercise as being for my mental, emotional, and physical health. i think > this relaxed attitude also helped me to stay active throughout my pregnancy, > which has no doubt made pregnancy easier on me, both physically and > mentally, and will surely be a big help in labor and delivery! > > i LOVE IE. i will NEVER diet again. this doesn't mean i can never make > changes to my eating, my exercise, or even my weight... it means i have > promised to never hate my body again. after all that it does for me, how > could i??? > > all the best, > > abby > IE since 11/08 and 33 weeks pregnant > > ps it gets easier and easier. it's instinctual for me MOST of the time. just > keep taking baby steps, and give yourself TONS of encouragement! seriously, > don't be afraid to go overboard in lavishing positive feedback for even the > smallest of changes. it makes a WORLD of difference. talk to yourself like > you would a small child who is learning to use the potty, or to ride a > bike... something that seems so small to us now, but is monumental to a > little one. i think IE is much more about your relationship with yourself > than it is about eating. > > > >> I would love to ask: could anyone like to tell me how long they have been > >> following the IE program and at what point it started feeling natural, > >> instinctual, or even easy? > >> > >> > >> > >> > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 , your post was very delightful. I feel the same way. I can tell myself I can have whatever might appear to be good to me (like a luscious looking doughnut) later if I want it. Yes, when I used to give in and buy the donut (usually at a gas station, lol) I would often be disappointed. It just wasn't as good as I thought it would be, but I might eat it anyway. Now at least (thank God) I can throw it out if it's not that good. :-) Yes, fear of food no longer has a hold on me, perhaps it is because of the year or so I ate all the candy I wanted. Of course I gained weight, LOL, but it's over, just as the IE experts say it would be! :-) Take care, nice talking to you and hearing your expressions. Tai To: IntuitiveEating_Support Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2011 4:52 PMSubject: Re: Thank you! Tai, what you say makes total sense to me. I truly used to believe I could never be satisfied no matter how much food I ate- that I would eat nonstop if I allowed myself to. And about 10 years ago, I developed bulimia because I would binge massively and then I would get sick from all that I had eaten. Thank God that is behind me- it was just a nightmare. Now I tell myself if I really want it, I can eat whatever and however much I want to. Sometimes I still overeat, but not anything like I used to and I never make myself sick. Then I don't punish myself when I overeat, I just note that I didn't feel as good when I ate more than my stomach needed.Now that I've given myself permission to eat anything I truly want and enjoy- a lot of those foods don't taste nearly as good to me. I get little sad when a food I used to covet doesn't taste that good to me- like the magic is gone- that food doesn't have the ability to get me "high" anymore. I actually had the experience yesterday of going into a bakery and being surrounded by pastries and donuts and I was astonished that I didn't want any of them. I really couldn't believe it. I checked in with myself to make sure this wasn't a diet "you can't have that" mentality- but I realized that they just didn't appeal to me at that time. I ordered a bagel instead. Then I promised myself that if I later changed my mind about wanting them - I would go back and get whatever I wanted. But that craving never came up. Today I have been craving fresh foods- so I went and ordered two salads and brought them home. They weren't as good as I thought they would be and again I felt sad. I felt cheated. But I realize part of the process is giving up how food used to be a substitute for other things.Tai- thank you for your kind words and sharing and support. I am very grateful to everyone on this site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 , your post was very delightful. I feel the same way. I can tell myself I can have whatever might appear to be good to me (like a luscious looking doughnut) later if I want it. Yes, when I used to give in and buy the donut (usually at a gas station, lol) I would often be disappointed. It just wasn't as good as I thought it would be, but I might eat it anyway. Now at least (thank God) I can throw it out if it's not that good. :-) Yes, fear of food no longer has a hold on me, perhaps it is because of the year or so I ate all the candy I wanted. Of course I gained weight, LOL, but it's over, just as the IE experts say it would be! :-) Take care, nice talking to you and hearing your expressions. Tai To: IntuitiveEating_Support Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2011 4:52 PMSubject: Re: Thank you! Tai, what you say makes total sense to me. I truly used to believe I could never be satisfied no matter how much food I ate- that I would eat nonstop if I allowed myself to. And about 10 years ago, I developed bulimia because I would binge massively and then I would get sick from all that I had eaten. Thank God that is behind me- it was just a nightmare. Now I tell myself if I really want it, I can eat whatever and however much I want to. Sometimes I still overeat, but not anything like I used to and I never make myself sick. Then I don't punish myself when I overeat, I just note that I didn't feel as good when I ate more than my stomach needed.Now that I've given myself permission to eat anything I truly want and enjoy- a lot of those foods don't taste nearly as good to me. I get little sad when a food I used to covet doesn't taste that good to me- like the magic is gone- that food doesn't have the ability to get me "high" anymore. I actually had the experience yesterday of going into a bakery and being surrounded by pastries and donuts and I was astonished that I didn't want any of them. I really couldn't believe it. I checked in with myself to make sure this wasn't a diet "you can't have that" mentality- but I realized that they just didn't appeal to me at that time. I ordered a bagel instead. Then I promised myself that if I later changed my mind about wanting them - I would go back and get whatever I wanted. But that craving never came up. Today I have been craving fresh foods- so I went and ordered two salads and brought them home. They weren't as good as I thought they would be and again I felt sad. I felt cheated. But I realize part of the process is giving up how food used to be a substitute for other things.Tai- thank you for your kind words and sharing and support. I am very grateful to everyone on this site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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