Re: Guess It's Time For An Introduction....

[Guest guest]

I am pretty new to this, but I'm a snacker. It's good for my blow blood sugar.

It kinda falls into the whole listen to your body thing,at least for me.

Warrior

>

> Hello Everyone,

>

> I've been lurking on this forum as well as other Intuitive Eating forums

> and felt it was time for an introduction. I've pretty much been dieting

> since I was 10 years old, I am now 30. I've gone from starving myself

> for days at a time to living off crackers and water to counting calories

> to Atkins to Weight Watchers to Fat Smash and so many more diets. I will

> say that I enjoyed Weight Watchers initially, the excitement of learning

> the system and eating " anything " I wanted. It just got to a point where

> counting points were unbearable... This obsession I now have with

> dieting and food is not healthy at all....

>

> I started reading the Intuitive Eating book in April and have since been

> working on mastering the principles one at a time. I've thrown out my

> scale and dieting books and I'm ready to be put back together. My

> largest concern is the weight gain. Even though I no longer use a scale

> I know I have gained weight, seeing as how the pants worn in April are

> either very snug or just don't fit...sigh.. So, I try not to focus on

> the weight gain. For some reason the diet mentality is still in me... I

> still find myself eating when I know I'm not hungry. I try to tell

> myself I can have that food when I'm hungry and I still end up reaching

> for the food moments later. Another concern is snacking...Can a snacker

> make it in the IE world? I ask this b/c when only eating when hungry

> snacks take a back seat.... And those very foods that I reach for are,

> of course, snacks like skittles, peanut-chews, swedish fish, etc...(I

> guess I should say candy). I can snack all day....

>

> I still find myself thinking about doing a detox to lose the weight I've

> gained but I won't do it.. I know I'll end up in a worse predicament. I

> gotta tell you, this book is so overwhelming to me. Thankfully, I've

> found the throughthickandthin forum and their words of encouragment are

> amazing. I truely want to be an IE and must take it one day at a time...

>

> I know this is a long one but I thank everyone for reading. I'm open to

> suggestions regarding snacking...

>

> Meikmeika

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Meikmeika,

Welcome to the group! For me, the basic premise of IE is about following my body

hunger cues to eat. Figuring out what are true hunger signals versus

mouth/emotional hunger signals has been a real journey for me and completely

worth it.

When I start to think about/want food, the basic question that I would be asking

myself is am hungry? Are you hungry when you snack? My guess is probably not.

Snacks like skittles, peanut chews and such get me " high " because of the sugar

content. I wonder if you're more attached to snacking because it's a form of

blissing out and distraction...maybe snacking is more emotional...more of a

habit and helps get you through the day?

Do you really love/like the skittles and peanut chews or do you have them around

because of habit? Have you really tasted them? I ask this because I went out a

bought some skittles and crazy core skittles (I saw them on a commercial and had

to have them). I waited until I was hungry...and when I really tasted them I had

a " yuck " response. I could taste the food dye and they were just too super sweet

for me.

I never really thought in depth about what snacking means to me until I started

responding to your message. I don't really use " snacking " in my vocabulary

anymore....I eat intuitively (as best as I can). So, I looked up the definition

of snack online: snack - a light meal; an item of food eaten between meals; to

eat a light meal; to eat between meals. So, I suppose I do " snack " . I keep foods

that I love/like around. If I'm hungry and I don't have a formal " meal "

prepared, I'll eat some trail mix, a cookie, some carrot sticks, etc. to respond

to my hunger. For me, the important point is to be aware of and respond to my

true biological hunger.

L.

I'm open to suggestions regarding snacking...

>

> Meikmeika

>