identify hunger level

[Guest guest]

Hi Kath,

Welcome to the club! I had the same struggle--and still do sometimes--identifying my hunger/fullness level. The best way I found to become more attuned was to write down what I was feeling before and after I ate, even if I wasn't sure. (They say it takes 3 weeks to form a habit.) I really didn't think this practice was doing any good because I knew I was just guessing most of the time, but when I visited my parents for a few days, I found myself automatically stopping to assess my hunger before most meals. Incredible change for me! But I'm still learning. Sometimes I still can't discern what number I am. Lol.

Hope this helps.

Gracie

IE-ing since 4/2/09 > To: IntuitiveEating_Support > Date: Fri, 1 May 2009 20:52:33 +0000> Subject: Intro and some questions> > Hello,> > I'm Kath, a U.S. expat livig in the UK (and loving it!). I've been doing the IE thing for almost a week now and today I saw some results, so I'm feeling really good about it. I've known about IE for almost a year, but it took me yet another unsuccessful atempt at WW to realize that dieting isn't, and hasn't ever worked for me. > > I've been really angry the last couple of days because it takes me forever to figure out if I'm hungry and when I am satisfied. I realized that I spent my entire childhood turning off the, "I'm full" mechanism in my brain, (clean your plate!) and then my entire adult life turning off the, "I'm hungry" mechanism in my brain (I'm on a diet, I'm supposed to be hungry! Oprah claims that is when your body is burning fat!). I'm actually doing better with the feelings of satisfaction than I am with the feelings of hunger. I don't feel any sensation of hunger until I'm starving and have that knawing feeling in my stomach. I have to keep some sort of food ready because I don't want to wait too long after the knawing starts to eat. If I wait too long I will not be calm when eating, and almost always eat past my satisfaction point. I don't know what regular hunger feels like. Anyone have any tips for this? Is it something I can re-learn? > > Also, I'm not sure how to handle things like drinks. I'm a big water drinker, and most of the time I don't want anything else. On occasion I will want something like juice, milk or more rarely soda. I don't know what to do with this as far as the IE philosophy. If anyone can fill me in on that I would appreciate it. > > Thank you in advance! > Kath> > > > > > ------------------------------------> >