Success and Exercise (was Beyond frustrated!)

[Guest guest]

Could I say a few words about success and exercise?

I don't think success with IE should be measured in pounds. I feel the success I have found with IE is simply in a normalizing of my relationship with food. This may or may not result in pounds lost. And, many of us gain weight during IE, especially in the beginning (when we need to break old cycles by allowing ourselves to eat anything we like, just to show ourselves that we can). I am trying to remember how I felt in the very beginning, and yes, I probably started on IE thinking, finally, a decent way to lose weight! but eventually, the number on the scale means less and less and the freedom and peace in life means more and more. Even if I gained weight, at this point, I would feel more successful because the food-diet-bondage is long gone.

As for exercise, I don't know about anyone else, but I had to quit exercising for quite some time. The association between trying to lose weight and physically moving my body was so strong for me that it was counterproductive to try any activity. It was mentally painful, if that makes sense--exercise was a punishment and I could find no joy in it. I had to go a very long time until finally, like some of us experience when our bodies scream for salad and we are so surprised, lol, my body screamed for movement, and when I found movement for it, my body and I reached a nice, peaceful place. Now I have separated exercise from all the negative connotations (although that word, 'exercise', is still hated and I don't generally use it) and can walk and play and feel happy about it. So I would not recommend forcing yourself, but would recommend trying a walk (and by that, I mean begin with a stroll through a pretty plate) now and then to see how your body responds, or teaching your daughter how to do the Twist (hey, it might tire her out), or whatever sounds appealing, when it sounds appealing.

~

www.jenny-fair.blogspot.com

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I enjoyed your insights! Yes, I agree that the freedom from the diet/binge cycle, or whatever dysfunction we've had around food, is really the ultimate goal and the focus; weight loss would be a side effect. I think that anyone working the IE approach will come to their natural healthy weight, but I agree that it's much less important as we feel the benefits of intuitive eating. Self-acceptance is much more important. If someone is above this natural weight they will lose weight slowly, but if someone has undereaten and is below their natural weight, they may gain a little.

You know, we all try so hard to control our weight and body shape, and I think we have to let go of that a bit because 60% of our weight has to do with genetics.

I agree that exercise in pursuit of weight loss is just as unhealthy and obsessive as dieting. I am taking a break from exercise for this very reason.

I also agree with Jolene; there are benefits to exercise, and I look forward to re-starting it when I know my focus is only on health and fun, and not on calorie counting and weight loss.

Laurie

To: IntuitiveEating_Support Sent: Mon, December 7, 2009 11:27:59 AMSubject: Success and Exercise (was Beyond frustrated!)

Could I say a few words about success and exercise?I don't think success with IE should be measured in pounds. I feel the success I have found with IE is simply in a normalizing of my relationship with food. This may or may not result in pounds lost. And, many of us gain weight during IE, especially in the beginning (when we need to break old cycles by allowing ourselves to eat anything we like, just to show ourselves that we can). I am trying to remember how I felt in the very beginning, and yes, I probably started on IE thinking, finally, a decent way to lose weight! but eventually, the number on the scale means less and less and the freedom and peace in life means more and more. Even if I gained weight, at this point, I would feel more successful because the food-diet-bondage is long gone.As for exercise, I don't

know about anyone else, but I had to quit exercising for quite some time. The association between trying to lose weight and physically moving my body was so strong for me that it was counterproductive to try any activity.

[Guest guest]

I also think we will come to our natural, healthy weights with IE, but I think

many of us have to accept that this weight may be what we and others consider

'fat'. Especially since we have hurt our bodies by dieting, and lowered our

metabolisms, in addition to the unrealistic ideas of a healthy weight that we

have due to societal influence. I only began losing weight six months ago,

after more than TWO YEARS doing IE (and prior to that went up about 11 pounds,

IIRC, during the legalization phase). I think that must be when my body finally

realized I wasn't going to mistreat it anymore, poor thing! Every body is going

to react differently, but we can't control that portion of the process.

>

> Hi ,

> I enjoyed your insights!  Yes, I agree that the freedom from the diet/binge

cycle,  or whatever dysfunction we've had around food,  is really the ultimate

goal and the focus; weight loss would be a side effect.  I think that anyone

working the IE approach will come to their natural healthy weight, but I agree

that it's much less important as we feel the benefits of intuitive eating. 

Self-acceptance is much more important.  

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

Here's the thing; I read the Intuitve Eating book (which is very, very much like Overcoming Overeating) and I read a post like yours and thing, 'she's really got it!' What I mean by that is, it sounds like you're really following this approach as the authors meant it to be followed. Does that make sense?

And likewise, I am an opinionated person, one of my flaws I suppose, and I really have to work on my tolerance when I read an idea that seems really not at all what the authors wrote in the book. It seems the opposite.

Example; here's what the authors of Intuitive Eating wrote about stopping when full or just satiated:

"Respecting fullness, or the ability to stop eating because you have had enough to eat biologically, hinges critically on giving yourself unconditional permission to eat (Principle 3; making peace with food)".

they continue to say this:

"Unless you truly give yourself permission to eat again when hungry, or to have access to that particular food, respecting fullness simply becomes a dogmatic dieting exercise without roots."

My take is they want you to learn to stop when full and eat when hungry, but they want you to legalize all foods as well.

They want you to deal with emotions without food ideally, but they say in chpt 11;

"Becoming an Intuitive Eater means learning to be gentle with yourself about how you use food to cope, and letting go of the guilt".

They go on to encourage ways to cope without eating so that a person can become an Intuitive Eater most of the time, but they also say this;

"You may go for a long time without using food to cope, when all of a sudden emotional eating catches you by surprise. If this occurs, it's not a sign of failure or that you've lost ground; instead, it's a strange gift. Overeating is simply a sign that stresses in your life at that moment surpass the coping mechanisms that you have developed. "

What I get from the book is that this is a process over time, and that we need to be gentle with ourselves and not hold to super high rigid standards, even with regards to eating when hungry/stopping when satiated. And that we are developing a positive self-nurturing part of ourselves.

I know people are in different places on the journey and I feel it's the responsibility of those who have come a significant way to reflect the IE philosophy as accurately as possible for those who are newer and might not be as in tune with some of the ideas.

I think that happens here a whole lot, which is great. I think it's ok though, if we read something less in line with IE, to offer some advice and opinions so the true philosophy of IE is maintained.

Does this make me intolerant and opinionated? I don't know, lol, maybe. I mean I recognize that when I was first learning to eat intuitively, I was not getting all of it, nor should i have been expected to get it all at once; that's fine. It's just for the newer people, I think it's so important that they keep hearing an accurate reflection of the IE approach.

Laurie

To: IntuitiveEating_Support Sent: Mon, December 7, 2009 12:01:17 PMSubject: Re: Success and Exercise (was Beyond frustrated!)

I also think we will come to our natural, healthy weights with IE, but I think many of us have to accept that this weight may be what we and others consider 'fat'. Especially since we have hurt our bodies by dieting, and lowered our metabolisms, in addition to the unrealistic ideas of a healthy weight that we have due to societal influence. I only began losing weight six months ago, after more than TWO YEARS doing IE (and prior to that went up about 11 pounds, IIRC, during the legalization phase). I think that must be when my body finally realized I wasn't going to mistreat it anymore, poor thing! Every body is going to react differently, but we can't control that portion of the process.

[Guest guest]

Laurie,

I think I understand. I am a very black and white person, and so dieting made

all sorts of sense to me--nice rules, regulations, good, bad, etc. and a

supposed easily-definited end-product. IE isn't like that and you are right, it

is a process for all of us, and it is not going to be identical for all of us.

~

www.jenny-fair.blogspot.com