Re: Hoping this is normal...

[Guest guest]

Yes this urge will lessen. Keep reminding yourself of what you are doing -

mindful eating - savoring the food as much as possible, noticing your

satisfaction level as you eat, keeping the food police at bay etc. Its lots to

do at first, but with time and practice, you will start incorporating each step

a bit more until these become more the norm than your current habits are now.

The more you can remain calm about this process - including some weight gain

(very very usual) - the easier and faster your change over will be. Yes those

fears jump up and down inciting you! But if you can remember that those are

EXternal to you, then you will be able to see these for what they are - much

more diet mentality than INner directions and needs. (emotional eating is

another step - mindful eating helps to be done first ;-)

BEST to you, Katcha

IEing since March 2007

>

> I am having a really hard time being satisfied on less food. I am thinking

that it's because I am new to allowing myself whatever I want so being able to

eat a larger amount is part of my satisfaction at this moment. I've been doing

IE for about 3 weeks, and I am just getting worried that I am missing something.

I know it takes time though. It's just scary bc I am gaining a little bit of

weight, and I don't want it to spiral out of control. I am a personal trainer so

I'm afraid everyone is going to notice that I have gained a couple of pounds.

>

> Honey Bunches of Oats is one of my foods that I was always afraid of when

dieting. I bought a couple of boxes and have been eating them. I can't just eat

ONE bowl though. I always have to have a 2nd, and these are pretty big bowls of

cereal too! Also with ice cream. I bought a thing of it the other day, and I

always seem to have to have a 2nd bowl. I'm just hoping this will slowly cease.

>

[Guest guest]

I have the same thing about some cereals, including Honey Bunches of Oats (better yet Banana Nut Crunch) - I can eat several large bowls - and then my tummy sloshes for several hours afterward! NOT a good feeling!

This morning I experimented pouring only a little bit at a time but not limiting what i wanted - but I just kept waiting a few minutes before pouring more and noticing now Tummy feels. Since I waited a few minutes and really noticed when the full feelings began to hit my Tummy, I felt GREAT after only two very small servings with milk. And no sloshing. However, I am prepared to keep up the small servings every 10 minutes or so if Tummy is not yet full.

Once I am satiated, I am fine - my struggle is to make myself wait every few minutes for a few minutes to see what Tummy has to say about what I gave it.

Does that make any sense? The worst thing to do is to talk mean to myself and be judgmental, rather than looking at myself with real curiosity and kindness. Also, I keep slipping back in to thinking of certain foods as "good" foods and "bad" foods. There aren't any good or bad foods. There are just foods. It takes awhile for our tummies to reconnect with our brains, but if I restrict and deprive, I will never get reconnected. The signals should become more and more internal, rather than external, of what and when to eat.

Hope that helps - from one cereal lover to another!

Judi

Subject: Hoping this is normal...To: IntuitiveEating_Support Date: Thursday, August 13, 2009, 8:15 AM

I am having a really hard time being satisfied on less food. I am thinking that it's because I am new to allowing myself whatever I want so being able to eat a larger amount is part of my satisfaction at this moment. I've been doing IE for about 3 weeks, and I am just getting worried that I am missing something. I know it takes time though. It's just scary bc I am gaining a little bit of weight, and I don't want it to spiral out of control. I am a personal trainer so I'm afraid everyone is going to notice that I have gained a couple of pounds. Honey Bunches of Oats is one of my foods that I was always afraid of when dieting. I bought a couple of boxes and have been eating them. I can't just eat ONE bowl though. I always have to have a 2nd, and these are pretty big bowls of cereal too! Also with ice cream. I bought a thing of it the other day, and I always seem to have to have a 2nd bowl. I'm just hoping this will slowly cease.

[Guest guest]

I agree with Katcha, your eating will balance out over time. It's been important

for me to really pay attention to and experiment with what " satisfies " me. I've

noticed that I don't generally feel " satisfied " on grain (cereal) alone in the

morning. So, if I just eat cereal, I tend to eat more of it...which is ok...I'm

just glad that I know that about myself now.

Some type of carb like cereal and toast does help with my overall satisfaction

factor. However, I generally need a little protein too. So, I put a handful of a

combo of dried fruit, sliced almonds, and granola into my regular cereal or

sliced banana or strawberries, or blueberries. Or, I'll eat a bowl of cereal and

ask myself if there's anything besides cereal I want to eat to feel satisfied.

Same situation for ice cream too... some banana, strawberries, blueberries or

nuts tends to help in my satisfaction factor. I've found that yogurt and granola

really satisfies in the morning as well. You might want to experiment and see

what works best for you.

> Honey Bunches of Oats is one of my foods that I was always afraid of when

dieting. I bought a couple of boxes and have been eating them. I can't just eat

ONE bowl though. I always have to have a 2nd, and these are pretty big bowls of

cereal too! Also with ice cream. I bought a thing of it the other day, and I

always seem to have to have a 2nd bowl. I'm just hoping this will slowly cease.

>

[Guest guest]

Waiting for your body to really register that you've just eaten something BEFORE

going for a second helping is key. And like you said it can take some time (a

few minutes - 20 minutes). I find that if I tell myself that I truly can eat if

I'm still hungry, I panic less about feeling deprived.

> This morning I experimented pouring only a little bit at a time but not

limiting what i wanted - but I just kept waiting a few minutes before pouring

more and noticing now Tummy feels. Since I waited a few minutes and really

noticed when the full feelings began to hit my Tummy, I felt GREAT after only

two very small servings with milk. And no sloshing. However, I am prepared to

keep up the small servings every 10 minutes or so if Tummy is not yet full.

> Once I am satiated, I am fine - my struggle is to make myself wait every few

minutes for a few minutes to see what Tummy has to say about what I gave it.

[Guest guest]

Exactly! It is very calming to know that I can eat more if I turn out not to be full and when I am hungry again. Deprivation triggers the food panickies. Judi

Subject: Re: Hoping this is normal...To: IntuitiveEating_Support Date: Friday, August 14, 2009, 6:12 PM

Waiting for your body to really register that you've just eaten something BEFORE going for a second helping is key. And like you said it can take some time (a few minutes - 20 minutes). I find that if I tell myself that I truly can eat if I'm still hungry, I panic less about feeling deprived.> This morning I experimented pouring only a little bit at a time but not limiting what i wanted - but I just kept waiting a few minutes before pouring more and noticing now Tummy feels. Since I waited a few minutes and really noticed when the full feelings began to hit my Tummy, I felt GREAT after only two very small servings with milk. And no

sloshing. However, I am prepared to keep up the small servings every 10 minutes or so if Tummy is not yet full. > Once I am satiated, I am fine - my struggle is to make myself wait every few minutes for a few minutes to see what Tummy has to say about what I gave it.