Bites

[Guest guest]

I've read a lot of books about ie, and I haven't found anything about cutting up

food before eating it. As a kid, I was skinny and always cut sandwiches and

candy bars before eating them. This way, I believe, I could choose not to eat

the other half, or maybe I could feel a sense of accomplishment after being able

to finish half. I don't know but I do believe it was an intuitive thing.

Tonight I thought about it before eating my 3rd protein bar and couldn't bring

myself to cut it in half! I think it was because I was going for the sickish

feeling that I have learned to enjoy as an adult.

So, my two questions are: 1. Has anyone read anything about cutting food in

relation to ie? 2. Does anyone have any ideas for me to get past this addiction

to the sickish feeling?

Thank you..

Knobloch

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from U.S. Cellular

[Guest guest]

Hi , I've never read about cutting up your food, although it's really the same as only putting a small portion on your plate in order to reinforce that idea of pausing to check in before going back for 'seconds' ... I know if I have a big plateful of food I often forget to check in on my hunger signals.  But if I have to actually stand up and go get more, I ask myself if it is worth it LOL

 

The only thing I can think of for liking the 'sickish feeling' is to really " sit " with it, really get immersed in that feeling when you are there. Are you enjoying the feeling?  Or is it giving you some other form of 'reward'?  Maybe in the past you built an association that eating to sickness is the only signal of " enough " , and anything else was deprivation?  Or, on the flip side, eating to sickness was a form of self-punishment ... not only were you physically punishing yourself for " pigging out " , but then you get to beat yourself up for it? (I speak from experience here!!).  Only you can know ... once you find out what reward this feeling is providing you, you can consciously choose some alternative ways to meet that need, OR give yourself permission to release that need.  Then, the next time the urge hits you, you have CHOICES - eat to sickness, or try some of the alternatives you have lined up.  But I firmly believe that the 'cure' starts with finding out what your inner child is getting out of the feeling, THEN finding a way to meet that need in other ways...

 

Hugs

Mikki 

I've read a lot of books about ie, and I haven't found anything about cutting up food before eating it.  As a kid, I was skinny and always cut sandwiches and candy bars before eating them.  This way, I believe, I could choose not to eat the other half, or maybe I could feel a sense of accomplishment after being able to finish half. I don't know but I do believe it was an intuitive thing.  Tonight I thought about it before eating my 3rd protein bar and couldn't bring myself to cut it in half!  I think it was because I was going for the sickish feeling that I have learned to enjoy as an adult.

So, my two questions are: 1. Has anyone read anything about cutting food in relation to ie? 2. Does anyone have any ideas for me to get past this addiction to the sickish feeling?Thank you.. Knobloch

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from U.S. Cellular------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

Something I just thought about is how I would rather buy a whole bag of mini

candy bars instead of one full size. I can actually eat one mini candy bar and

be completely satisfied. Sometimes I eat more than one, but for some reason

when I do this I enjoy unwrapping multiple candy bars and enjoying a few of them

rather than eating one full size, even if I do wind up eating the equivalent. I

also like cutting my sandwiches in half, or making a half of a sandwich and

giving myself permission to eat another one if I want. For some reason I just

don't like eating a sandwich as a whole.

I also notice my mom will take a luna bar or something of the sort, cut it in

half, eat half of it and put the other half back in the cupboard. Most of the

time she will immediately go back and eat the other half she had put away, but I

find it interesting. I can't imagine (at least not yet) myself doing something

of the sort. She is basically intuitively seeing if half will satisfy her, and

even though it usually doesn't she still doesn't assume. She also gives herself

full permission to go back and get the other half!

I've been through the sick feeling with food, and even though I sometimes (very

rarely) get the urge to binge or eat until I'm sick anymore (it used to be

daily, sometimes multiple times a day that I would eat until I looked pregnant

and could only sit in a reclining position because the food didn't " fit " in my

belly!), I am able to stop myself because I know I don't enjoy the feeling. The

main thing that has helped me is giving myself FULL permission to eat whatever

it is I want, even if I'm not hungry. It has to be there for the eating at ANY

time, no strings attached. I know that goes against IE initially, but in the

beginning I couldn't handle the whole " eat what you want WHEN YOU'RE HUNGRY. "

It was like a rule that triggered rebellion. So I had to drop all rules which

did pack on a few pounds but they're golden to me right now as now I don't even

think about food unless I'm hungry for the most part. Eating until I felt sick

was basically a punishment for even thinking about a particular food or food in

general. Feelings and emotions also came into play and " The Food and Feelings

Workbook " (don't know the author off the top of my head) actually helped me out

a lot. Even though I didn't think I was eating out of emotions, I found I

actually was and I'm now able to identify a little better why I am eating and

determine ahead of time whether or not it is really going to make me feel better

or just make it all worse. It took a long time though. I would have one or two

" good " days a week, if that (days where I didn't eat until I was sick and

actually FELT good) to now having maybe one or two " bad " days a week, and

they're not even the intensity of what they used to be. I just had to be

patient with myself and really stop and think about my emotions and physical

feelings, as well as build up the number of days where I did not eat until I was

sick so see how it really felt and learn I enjoyed that feeling much more!

>

> I've read a lot of books about ie, and I haven't found anything about cutting

up food before eating it. As a kid, I was skinny and always cut sandwiches and

candy bars before eating them. This way, I believe, I could choose not to eat

the other half, or maybe I could feel a sense of accomplishment after being able

to finish half. I don't know but I do believe it was an intuitive thing.

Tonight I thought about it before eating my 3rd protein bar and couldn't bring

myself to cut it in half! I think it was because I was going for the sickish

feeling that I have learned to enjoy as an adult.

>

> So, my two questions are: 1. Has anyone read anything about cutting food in

relation to ie? 2. Does anyone have any ideas for me to get past this addiction

to the sickish feeling?

>

> Thank you..

> Knobloch

> Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from U.S. Cellular

>

[Guest guest]

Wow! What an insightful answer! I WILL find that book. When I was little, I remember my mom always asking for a plastic knife, or ordering my hamburger cut in half every time we ate Mc's or Hardees. I always thought the WHOLE (tiny little) thing would make me overly full and sick! And now I'm enjoying that feeling? OK, here's another question. Why is it that when I over eat to the point of being sick, I tend to feel more actual body hunger for the next day or so? And nope, I'm not telling myself that I have to cut back to compensate for 'over doing it'Oh yeah, another one that I've been "chewing" on lately. A certain breed of crocodile only needs to eat once every 6 months. I think that would be wonderful! I really don't think I'd miss the food if it wasn't so available. I don't think I eat so much because it tastes good. ( Maybe I'm fooling myself) It would actually be a blessing, not dealing with the confusion it causes, and not having it there 'like a beer in the refrigerator'. Oh, and another thought! I know that I can end or finish off my binge if I drink a huge glass of chocolate milk, but I don't do that if I'm eating for emotional reasons. I AM currently binging, and I am consciously aware that the milk, though it will satisfy me, is there, but now that I have eaten 4 peppermint Luna bars ( I have a stash of my three favorite candy bars in the cupboard, but they just didn't sound good!), after an all you can eat Chinese Mother's Day Buffet, I'm somewhat afraid that it will make me physically sick! I know for a fact that I would have stopped after one or two, but for some reason I didn't want to! Another thing I've been wondering as I read and eat...again I haven't seen it talked about in these books. How does availing yourself a drink with your meal (from start to finish, not as an afterthought) or snack fit into the picture of IE? As a kid there was ALWAYS a jug of milk on the table during supper! My gut says that availability of drinks with supper allowed the family to instinctively drink if thirsty and to fill in the cracks with it when finished.Other than during college (I paid my way completely), I don't believe I have EVER been deprived of food. I was naturally a size 8-10 most of my life at 5'7, but during college I was on the downside of an 8. Now I am at a size 14. For 8 years though, I wore a size 20. I carry it ALL in my gut. I lost 25 pounds in 6 months by counting calories and exercising, and that took me down to a size 14! Amazing? I suffer back pain if my pants are too tight, so I've worn bigger clothes to prevent that as well as to keep people seeing the enormity of my gut! (Thanks to IE and exercise, I'm now wearing the smaller clothes that look better on me. You can see my gut still, but you can also see my bird legs and nice butt! Lol). I've probably put back on 8 pounds or so with IE, but the 14-15s still fit, but I DO need to get a handle on my emotional eating SOON!! The primary emotion I eat over is anxiety, I think. Yep, I'm looking for that workbook as soon as I hit send! Thank you.! KnoblochSent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from U.S. CellularFrom: "abouttwodays" Date: Mon, 11 May 2009 05:54:57 -0000To: <IntuitiveEating_Support >Subject: Re: Bites Something I just thought about is how I would rather buy a whole bag of mini candy bars instead of one full size. I can actually eat one mini candy bar and be completely satisfied. Sometimes I eat more than one, but for some reason when I do this I enjoy unwrapping multiple candy bars and enjoying a few of them rather than eating one full size, even if I do wind up eating the equivalent. I also like cutting my sandwiches in half, or making a half of a sandwich and giving myself permission to eat another one if I want. For some reason I just don't like eating a sandwich as a whole. I also notice my mom will take a luna bar or something of the sort, cut it in half, eat half of it and put the other half back in the cupboard. Most of the time she will immediately go back and eat the other half she had put away, but I find it interesting. I can't imagine (at least not yet) myself doing something of the sort. She is basically intuitively seeing if half will satisfy her, and even though it usually doesn't she still doesn't assume. She also gives herself full permission to go back and get the other half! I've been through the sick feeling with food, and even though I sometimes (very rarely) get the urge to binge or eat until I'm sick anymore (it used to be daily, sometimes multiple times a day that I would eat until I looked pregnant and could only sit in a reclining position because the food didn't " fit " in my belly!), I am able to stop myself because I know I don't enjoy the feeling. The main thing that has helped me is giving myself FULL permission to eat whatever it is I want, even if I'm not hungry. It has to be there for the eating at ANY time, no strings attached. I know that goes against IE initially, but in the beginning I couldn't handle the whole " eat what you want WHEN YOU'RE HUNGRY. " It was like a rule that triggered rebellion. So I had to drop all rules which did pack on a few pounds but they're golden to me right now as now I don't even think about food unless I'm hungry for the most part. Eating until I felt sick was basically a punishment for even thinking about a particular food or food in general. Feelings and emotions also came into play and " The Food and Feelings Workbook " (don't know the author off the top of my head) actually helped me out a lot. Even though I didn't think I was eating out of emotions, I found I actually was and I'm now able to identify a little better why I am eating and determine ahead of time whether or not it is really going to make me feel better or just make it all worse. It took a long time though. I would have one or two " good " days a week, if that (days where I didn't eat until I was sick and actually FELT good) to now having maybe one or two " bad " days a week, and they're not even the intensity of what they used to be. I just had to be patient with myself and really stop and think about my emotions and physical feelings, as well as build up the number of days where I did not eat until I was sick so see how it really felt and learn I enjoyed that feeling much more! > > I've read a lot of books about ie, and I haven't found anything about cutting up food before eating it. As a kid, I was skinny and always cut sandwiches and candy bars before eating them. This way, I believe, I could choose not to eat the other half, or maybe I could feel a sense of accomplishment after being able to finish half. I don't know but I do believe it was an intuitive thing. Tonight I thought about it before eating my 3rd protein bar and couldn't bring myself to cut it in half! I think it was because I was going for the sickish feeling that I have learned to enjoy as an adult. > > So, my two questions are: 1. Has anyone read anything about cutting food in relation to ie? 2. Does anyone have any ideas for me to get past this addiction to the sickish feeling? > > Thank you.. > Knobloch > Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from U.S. Cellular >

[Guest guest]

I found it on amazon.com :]

I don't quite understand feeling hungrier the next day after overeating the day

before. I have noticed that if I overeat big time (not just get a little past

full, but really pig out) I wake up feeling hungry! If I eat little the day

before, the next day I wake up and don't feel hungry. However, something I have

also noticed is that I " feel " hungry, but it's not really hunger. Initially I

feel a sense of hollowness in my stomach which is very similar to a stomach

growl. Not intentionally, but due to having a baby who does not always let me

eat when I feel I need to, I realized that it goes from feeling as though I have

an empty stomach and feeling a bit nauseated sometimes, then it completely goes

away and I don't feel hungry at all. When I'm truly hungry, my stomach

continues to growl more and more and I get weak and dizzy etc. It's weird. In

fact, when I used to binge I would wake up the next morning and my entire body

would feel bruised. It would hurt to have my clothes rub against my skin! I

will never understand that, but I'm assuming it's the sodium that completely

dehydrated me? I would eat so much and be so thirsty but no amount of fluid

would even fit inside my tummy!

I tried a multitude of things to lessen the allure of food. I tried

intentionally eating it even if I didn't want it (in the food and feelings

workbook there is actually an activity on this), I would eat some of my scariest

food with every meal to prove to myself that it was there at all times, I would

allow myself 2 or 8 or whatever it was and make sure to tell myself that it was

perfectly fine that I was eating this food and eating multiple servings was not

BAD. By having a little with every meal I was never able to feel deprivation

from it and didn't feel like I could only eat it when I was hungry (for some

reason that made me feel deprived initially). Telling myself I could eat

however much I wanted at any time regardless and that it wasn't bad kind of took

the allure away as now it wasn't " forbidden. " When I would force myself to sit

down with a food and eat it when I was completely calm and not hungry, I

realized that this particular food was not magical, I did not walk away from

eating it feeling like a brand new wonderful woman. If it did nothing to me

then, why would I believe that it would make everything better when I was

feeling bad? Doing this I also realized that my most forbidden food (betty

crocker's rainbow chip frosting) actually didn't taste all that good! I have

eaten it ONCE since that " activity " and did not enjoy it and that 3/4 full can

has been sitting in my fridge for almost a month, and I still have another can

in the cupboard.

I was confused about the drink and snack thing as well. I think the rules of

drinking (juice, milk, alcohol, etc.) are the same as eating. If you are

thirsting for a particular drink, then drink it! But only continue drinking it

if you are truly enjoying it. If you are thirsty and know that water will

quench your thirst better than orange juice, then drink the water. Give your

body what it is asking for. If you are thirsty and milk will both quench your

thirst and make you feel good in a way that water wont, go for the milk and just

stop drinking it when you feel satisfied. My fiance asks me if I want starbucks

every time we pass by there, and sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. If it is

super cold and I want something warm and caramely, I take up the offer. I

remember a long time ago I used to buy a venti and reheat it all day long (when

I was a normal eater). Now I find I like to have it all at once but can't drink

a whole lot, so I order a tall and wind up throwing sometimes half away! If it

is hot out, I will only get something if I am a bit hungry because a frappucinno

actually fills my belly and I wind up feeling overfull if I drink one when I'm

not hungry and I feel icky. Again, I just get a tall because I have found that

is plenty for me. It took throwing out half of many grandes though to figure

this out. I had to have permission to have more before I learned I truly want

less.

The snacking thing still confuses me. I think it is because I put strong rules

on IE though. We all get what is called taste hunger. I can't eat a candy bar

when I'm hungry, and I don't always want one when I'm not, but every so often I

get " taste hunger " and crave a candy bar. So long as emotions aren't coming in

to play and you're not eating to block out thoughts or numb feelings, I'd go

ahead and eat the candy bar (or whatever it is) but make sure to truly enjoy it

and tune in to satisfaction levels. If it doesn't taste as good as you

imagined, don't eat it! Kind of the same as IE with body hunger.

I've still got to get a hold on my emotional eating as well. I am getting much

better though, as in the past I didn't realize I ate out of emotions until way

later in the day when I went and looked back on why I ate. Now I can actually

stop myself in the middle or I will find myself staring into the cupboard and

asking myself " which one of these foods will TRULY make my

frustration/anxiety/guilt what-have-you go away? " If I can find the miracle

food that will solve life's problems, then heck yes I'm going to eat it! But I

have yet to find that food so even though it is hard, I walk away from the

cupboard and talk my heart out to my fiance and feel a lot better both mentally

and physically.

Wow, I write a lot, I'm sorry!