New to the group

[Guest guest]

Welcome to the site & Congraduation on your Date.Your hubby

will be excited about it after the pounds start dropping off My

hubby was like your sightly apprehensive.But I'm down 59 lbs and he

always noticing the weight coming off.I wish and pray your approval

is soon.I thank God Everyday for my New wonderful life.Take care and

let us know how things are going.a friend debkroll of Iowa.Down 59

lbs in 1 month 18 days

out.

> I just wanted to take a second to introduce myself. My name is

> I'm 38 years old and I live in Wisconsin. I am scheduled

for

> RNY on November 12. I am in the process of waiting for insurance

to

> approve (crossing my fingers). I am very excited and nervous

about

> this, but I've decided it is the best thing for me right now.

>

> My husband is slightly apprehensive about it, but he says I have

to

> do what is best for me, and I feel this is the best thing for me.

>

> This site has been extremely helpful and full of information.

>

> Thanks

>

> Chris

[Guest guest]

nice to have you onboard, chris. best of luck w/ your approval. can

you take your hubb to an in-person support group?

lori h.

> I just wanted to take a second to introduce myself. My name is

> I'm 38 years old and I live in Wisconsin. I am scheduled for

> RNY on November 12. I am in the process of waiting for insurance to

> approve (crossing my fingers). I am very excited and nervous about

> this, but I've decided it is the best thing for me right now.

>

> My husband is slightly apprehensive about it, but he says I have to

> do what is best for me, and I feel this is the best thing for me.

>

> This site has been extremely helpful and full of information.

>

> Thanks

>

> Chris

[Guest guest]

hi and welcome

Jill H>

[Guest guest]

Barbara, I suspect that you are a high energy person? (me too!) One would think

that would be enough to keep 'extra' body concerns at bay, but it just doesn't

seem to work that way for me at least.

Welcome to the group and lurking is fine but I do hope that you will share what

you find is most important for you. Not only does it help to celebrate your

victories, it can inspire others too. Much as I am not shy about posting, I am

not a journal type person so my hat is off to you for doing what helps you best.

The one thing I have learned, 'new' to me, from IE and this group is that its ok

not to push or force myself into DOing IE. Slow and gentle seems to help more

than an 'accelerated' intensive course of learning. For me that was too much

EXternal and I really needed to re-learn what was my own INternal reality and

needs. And IE is all about NO rules, just suggested practices to help guide you

as you find the need and 'place' to work on these.

Happy to have you join us

Katcha

IEing since March 2007

>

> Good Day!

> I'm posting here with some trepidation... I'm new to intuitive eating,

although I'm not new to Yahoo! Groups. Right at the get-go, I cannot seem to

mask my old Yahoo! ID, which is based on my ex-husband's last name. I'm pretty

good with online id management, having spent a couple of years helping parents

in our schools with online safety, but Yahoo! has me in a swivet! Not enough of

a swivet to send me to the frig, tho'!

> My name is Barbara; I'll be 56 in a week; I've a classic yo-yo dieter until

I read " Intuitive Eating " (Resch, Tribole) this past month. Yesterday, I

recruited my nutritionist to read it and help me implement the principles in my

life. I'm giving him the same three months to read it that I'm giving myself to

journal through all 10 principles and make them part of my life. I'm pretty far

along in implementing; a little less far along on the journal. My " fiendish

plot " is that I have put the principles in an email, and since I have access to

my email everywhere I go, I can drop and journal most any time what's on my mind

on that particular principle. I've gotten a lot of benefit out of this method in

other endeavors, and I like to write (can you tell?

> When I was a kid, I looked roughly like a stick insect. I have photographic

proof! In my teens, I was tall, and I now realize, quite shapely, but my

mother's battle with her overweight spilled into my world, and I became

convinced I was fat and ugly (boy, did I resonate to that title on a recent post

here!). I also got a job in the bakery at college and put on the " freshman 25#. "

My first " visit " to Weight Watchers was senior year, and I was a howling success

- " You look like you've been sick! " was a most memorable " compliment. "

> Off to work in the Big Apple, and put it all back on sitting next to the

coffee wagon. That was almost 35 years ago. I've married, had two beautiful

boys, divorced, remarried, had a hip replaced, revised, and dislocated thrice,

stayed at the same employer all that time, commuted longer and longer distances

as I've moved further and further from the City - 2 hrs each way now, 4 days a

week. And to top it all off, my lovely new husband is a disturbed sleeper, which

means I've added sleep deprivation to my " collection. "

> I've been to WW now, I think it's 5 times, and the last time achieved

lifetime membership, a hollow honor now. I've done Suzanne Sommers, Weigh-in

(the origins of WW), Atkins, and a few original creations. Nothing works. Love

what my husband said the other day: " WW worked! You reached your goal! " Right!

But I didn't stay there!

> When I read IE, I had that " what are they doing in my head? " reaction that

tells me I've found the right book. In a moment of ironic blessing, I chose

Thanksgiving as my starting point, and am working on the first through fourth

principles as my " phase 1. " The hardest thing is not getting on the scale. So I

did. And I regretted it. And my weight has gone up and down over the month since

I began my return to intuitive eating, where we all started as babies. The one

day I hopped on the scale and saw the highest number I've ever seen, it did ruin

my day. So I soothed myself all day with the kindest words I could muster, and

went back to the principles.

> One " home field advantage " I think I have in this new phase of my " life

with IE " is that I am a Focuser, which is a method, if you don't know it, for

accessing my inner life and connecting it to my outer life. It's based on

relating to body sensations in a new way, and forming something called a felt

sense in the body, which is how the body is dealing with " something. " In terms

of IE, it's a fabulous way to assess hunger, and I've learned a great deal in a

short time by combining Focusing with assessing hunger, noticing emotional

reasons to eat, and relating to my insides with compassion and support, instead

of judgment and condemnation.

> I hope something here feel familiar, makes a connection, let's you know a

little about me. My one fear is that I'll be more of a lurker on this list than

an active voice - life gets in the way, you know! But I'll give it my best shot,

and use that sense of where is right for me to respond that comes from Focusing.

> Right now, where I live on the East Coast, it's storming outside -

blustery, rainy, trees swaying, like the nor'easter kept it's promise and came

back around, wet and wild. Yet, I feel content to embrace the day and do the

things I've planned as kindly toward myself and others as I can muster. Wishing

you kindness in your day, and perhaps just a bit of bluster!

> Barbara

>

[Guest guest]

WELCOME, Barbara! I'm glad you like to write so that I'm not the only one here

writing long posts. LOL I also gained the 'freshman 25' (although at that time

the average was a freshman '10'). I later bought the original WW diet book,

although I never attended a WW meeting, because I had lost my 25# and didn't

look like I needed to diet. However, that weight loss was followed by years of

restriction and/or bingeing.

I think you can certainly use your 'focuser' characteristic to your advantage to

master IE, because IE teaches us to obey our body sensations of hunger and

fullness, as well as observing which foods feel best in our bodies. I never

experienced the IE 'legalizing food' weight gain, which commonly occurs for

newbees, probably because I focussed on eating only when hungry and stopping

when I felt full. However, that focus also meant I didn't completely legalize

foods for many years. So I hung onto my bingeing habit with average once a month

binges, until a year ago, despite wholeheartedly embracing other IE principles.

Your progress with " combining Focusing with assessing hunger, noticing emotional

reasons to eat, and relating to my insides with compassion and support, instead

of judgment and condemnation " sounds FANTASTIC to me. I'm impressed that you

found a way to personalize the IE principles so that they feel like your own

'ideas', rather than following suggestions from a book. Good for you! Keep

focussing on what's working for you and other aspects of IE will fall into

place.

SUE

>

> Good Day!

> I'm posting here with some trepidation... I'm new to intuitive eating,

although I'm not new to Yahoo! Groups. Right at the get-go, I cannot seem to

mask my old Yahoo! ID, which is based on my ex-husband's last name. I'm pretty

good with online id management, having spent a couple of years helping parents

in our schools with online safety, but Yahoo! has me in a swivet! Not enough of

a swivet to send me to the frig, tho'!

> My name is Barbara; I'll be 56 in a week; I've a classic yo-yo dieter until

I read " Intuitive Eating " (Resch, Tribole) this past month. Yesterday, I

recruited my nutritionist to read it and help me implement the principles in my

life. I'm giving him the same three months to read it that I'm giving myself to

journal through all 10 principles and make them part of my life. I'm pretty far

along in implementing; a little less far along on the journal. My " fiendish

plot " is that I have put the principles in an email, and since I have access to

my email everywhere I go, I can drop and journal most any time what's on my mind

on that particular principle. I've gotten a lot of benefit out of this method in

other endeavors, and I like to write (can you tell?

> When I was a kid, I looked roughly like a stick insect. I have photographic

proof! In my teens, I was tall, and I now realize, quite shapely, but my

mother's battle with her overweight spilled into my world, and I became

convinced I was fat and ugly (boy, did I resonate to that title on a recent post

here!). I also got a job in the bakery at college and put on the " freshman 25#. "

My first " visit " to Weight Watchers was senior year, and I was a howling success

- " You look like you've been sick! " was a most memorable " compliment. "

> Off to work in the Big Apple, and put it all back on sitting next to the

coffee wagon. That was almost 35 years ago. I've married, had two beautiful

boys, divorced, remarried, had a hip replaced, revised, and dislocated thrice,

stayed at the same employer all that time, commuted longer and longer distances

as I've moved further and further from the City - 2 hrs each way now, 4 days a

week. And to top it all off, my lovely new husband is a disturbed sleeper, which

means I've added sleep deprivation to my " collection. "

> I've been to WW now, I think it's 5 times, and the last time achieved

lifetime membership, a hollow honor now. I've done Suzanne Sommers, Weigh-in

(the origins of WW), Atkins, and a few original creations. Nothing works. Love

what my husband said the other day: " WW worked! You reached your goal! " Right!

But I didn't stay there!

> When I read IE, I had that " what are they doing in my head? " reaction that

tells me I've found the right book. In a moment of ironic blessing, I chose

Thanksgiving as my starting point, and am working on the first through fourth

principles as my " phase 1. " The hardest thing is not getting on the scale. So I

did. And I regretted it. And my weight has gone up and down over the month since

I began my return to intuitive eating, where we all started as babies. The one

day I hopped on the scale and saw the highest number I've ever seen, it did ruin

my day. So I soothed myself all day with the kindest words I could muster, and

went back to the principles.

> One " home field advantage " I think I have in this new phase of my " life

with IE " is that I am a Focuser, which is a method, if you don't know it, for

accessing my inner life and connecting it to my outer life. It's based on

relating to body sensations in a new way, and forming something called a felt

sense in the body, which is how the body is dealing with " something. " In terms

of IE, it's a fabulous way to assess hunger, and I've learned a great deal in a

short time by combining Focusing with assessing hunger, noticing emotional

reasons to eat, and relating to my insides with compassion and support, instead

of judgment and condemnation.

> I hope something here feel familiar, makes a connection, let's you know a

little about me. My one fear is that I'll be more of a lurker on this list than

an active voice - life gets in the way, you know! But I'll give it my best shot,

and use that sense of where is right for me to respond that comes from Focusing.

> Right now, where I live on the East Coast, it's storming outside -

blustery, rainy, trees swaying, like the nor'easter kept it's promise and came

back around, wet and wild. Yet, I feel content to embrace the day and do the

things I've planned as kindly toward myself and others as I can muster. Wishing

you kindness in your day, and perhaps just a bit of bluster!

> Barbara

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I am so curious about the "Focusing" which you mentioned. I think it sounds like something very important if it gets you in touch with your innner life. I was wondering if you can elaborate on what it is?

Oh and of course I want to say welcome to the IE board; glad you posted here. Wow, that's awesome that you started IE on Thanksgiving!! I'm glad that it resonated with you when you read the book. I'd been in weight watchers a few times, but that was a long time ago. I love IE and would not return to dieting again.

So good luck, glad you are here.

Laurie

To: IntuitiveEating_Support Sent: Sat, December 26, 2009 9:34:18 AMSubject: New to the Group

Good Day! I'm posting here with some trepidation. .. I'm new to intuitive eating, although I'm not new to Yahoo! Groups. Right at the get-go, I cannot seem to mask my old Yahoo! ID, which is based on my ex-husband's last name. I'm pretty good with online id management, having spent a couple of years helping parents in our schools with online safety, but Yahoo! has me in a swivet! Not enough of a swivet to send me to the frig, tho'! :)My name is Barbara; I'll be 56 in a week; I've a classic yo-yo dieter until I read "Intuitive Eating" (Resch, Tribole) this past month. Yesterday, I recruited my nutritionist to read it and help me implement the principles in my life. I'm giving him the same three months to read it that I'm giving myself to journal through all 10 principles and make them part of my life. I'm pretty far along in implementing; a little less far along on the journal. My "fiendish plot" is that I have put the principles in an email,

and since I have access to my email everywhere I go, I can drop and journal most any time what's on my mind on that particular principle. I've gotten a lot of benefit out of this method in other endeavors, and I like to write (can you tell? :)When I was a kid, I looked roughly like a stick insect. I have photographic proof! In my teens, I was tall, and I now realize, quite shapely, but my mother's battle with her overweight spilled into my world, and I became convinced I was fat and ugly (boy, did I resonate to that title on a recent post here!). I also got a job in the bakery at college and put on the "freshman 25#." My first "visit" to Weight Watchers was senior year, and I was a howling success - "You look like you've been sick!" was a most memorable "compliment. " Off to work in the Big Apple, and put it all back on sitting next to the coffee wagon. That was almost 35 years ago. I've married, had two beautiful boys, divorced, remarried, had

a hip replaced, revised, and dislocated thrice, stayed at the same employer all that time, commuted longer and longer distances as I've moved further and further from the City - 2 hrs each way now, 4 days a week. And to top it all off, my lovely new husband is a disturbed sleeper, which means I've added sleep deprivation to my "collection. "I've been to WW now, I think it's 5 times, and the last time achieved lifetime membership, a hollow honor now. I've done Suzanne Sommers, Weigh-in (the origins of WW), Atkins, and a few original creations. Nothing works. Love what my husband said the other day: "WW worked! You reached your goal!" Right! But I didn't stay there!When I read IE, I had that "what are they doing in my head?" reaction that tells me I've found the right book. In a moment of ironic blessing, I chose Thanksgiving as my starting point, and am working on the first through fourth principles as my "phase 1." The hardest thing is not

getting on the scale. So I did. And I regretted it. And my weight has gone up and down over the month since I began my return to intuitive eating, where we all started as babies. The one day I hopped on the scale and saw the highest number I've ever seen, it did ruin my day. So I soothed myself all day with the kindest words I could muster, and went back to the principles.One "home field advantage" I think I have in this new phase of my "life with IE" is that I am a Focuser, which is a method, if you don't know it, for accessing my inner life and connecting it to my outer life. It's based on relating to body sensations in a new way, and forming something called a felt sense in the body, which is how the body is dealing with "something." In terms of IE, it's a fabulous way to assess hunger, and I've learned a great deal in a short time by combining Focusing with assessing hunger, noticing emotional reasons to eat, and relating to my insides with

compassion and support, instead of judgment and condemnation.I hope something here feel familiar, makes a connection, let's you know a little about me. My one fear is that I'll be more of a lurker on this list than an active voice - life gets in the way, you know! But I'll give it my best shot, and use that sense of where is right for me to respond that comes from Focusing. Right now, where I live on the East Coast, it's storming outside - blustery, rainy, trees swaying, like the nor'easter kept it's promise and came back around, wet and wild. Yet, I feel content to embrace the day and do the things I've planned as kindly toward myself and others as I can muster. Wishing you kindness in your day, and perhaps just a bit of bluster!Barbara

[Guest guest]

Thank you Laurie!

I am delighted to elaborate on Focusing!

Three years ago, at the end of a relationship with a therapist, he quickly

mentioned " something I might like, " and directed me to http://focusing.org. I

found a teacher in NJ where I live, and I have never looked back!

Focusing is a method developed by Dr. Eugene Gendlin, a philosopher, therapist,

and national treasure, which connects body and mind in a manner that is both

ancient and revolutionary.

Many Focusers I know, including me, try (hard) to put into a few words what

Focusing is. I never seem to get the whole sense of it! On the site, it says,

" Focusing is direct access to bodily knowing. " For me, the essence of Focusing

is what my body knows that my brain wouldn't otherwise benefit from without

Focusing.

There are so many instances in life where we just " know " what's the right thing

- for us, to do, for a child of ours. Where does that knowing come from? Some

say " spirit. " I agree! Some say " God. " I agree. Some say " inside. " I agree! To

me, they are all one - a " something " so hard to define, I give up! Yet it is

there, and it holds information for my life that I cannot always get by

thinking.

Focusing is enormously helpful in the realm of difficult emotions - it is THE

solution to managing my emotions without using food. The most important

revelation to me is the change in my thinking about my feelings. I used to say,

" I am angry! " and the anger became who I am. Now I say, " Something in me is

angry! " and I get in touch with part of me that is connected to the feeling of

angry that needs to be heard. Focusing provides the means for everything in me

to be heard in that meaningful way everyone knows who has ever known a

5-year-old. These young people are magnificent in their persistence until they

are heard. Ever had a conversation with one who hasn't heard the answer s/he

needs to hear? Something in me that is angry, scared, anxious, etc. is just like

that. Focusing allows me to " hear " what's going on inside and provide gentle

attention until resolution - living forward - occurs.

Similarly, in the realm of intuitive eating, many of us have lost the connection

to our real hunger and satiety. The process of pausing, checking, assessing, and

deciding - Am I hungry? Am I full? Am I just right full or too full? - is

accessing bodily wisdom.

You see?

Like right now - stomach gurgling, tightness in my gut - am I in need of fuel?

Or am I anxious about the trip I'm about to take? Not sure! I can pause for just

5 minutes - check the time since I last ate, sense all that my body has to

" say, " and make a mindful decision about what to do next - about food and

everything else.

That's all I have time for now, but I hope it helps explain what Focusing is,

and I am always happy to write on this topic, especially as it relates to

Intuitive Eating!

Cheers!

Barbara

>

> Hi,

> I am so curious about the " Focusing " which you mentioned.  I think it sounds

like something very important if it gets you in touch with your innner life.  I

was wondering if you can elaborate on what it is?

>

> Oh and of course I want to say welcome to the IE board; glad you posted

here.  Wow, that's awesome that you started IE on Thanksgiving!!  I'm glad

that it resonated with you when you read the book.  I'd been in weight watchers

a few times, but that was a long time ago.  I love IE and would not return to

dieting again.

>

> So good luck, glad you are here.

>

> Laurie

>

>

>

>

> ________________________________

>

> To: IntuitiveEating_Support

> Sent: Sat, December 26, 2009 9:34:18 AM

> Subject: New to the Group

>

>  

> Good Day!

> I'm posting here with some trepidation. .. I'm new to intuitive eating,

although I'm not new to Yahoo! Groups. Right at the get-go, I cannot seem to

mask my old Yahoo! ID, which is based on my ex-husband's last name. I'm pretty

good with online id management, having spent a couple of years helping parents

in our schools with online safety, but Yahoo! has me in a swivet! Not enough of

a swivet to send me to the frig, tho'!

> My name is Barbara; I'll be 56 in a week; I've a classic yo-yo dieter until I

read " Intuitive Eating " (Resch, Tribole) this past month. Yesterday, I recruited

my nutritionist to read it and help me implement the principles in my life. I'm

giving him the same three months to read it that I'm giving myself to journal

through all 10 principles and make them part of my life. I'm pretty far along in

implementing; a little less far along on the journal. My " fiendish plot " is that

I have put the principles in an email, and since I have access to my email

everywhere I go, I can drop and journal most any time what's on my mind on that

particular principle. I've gotten a lot of benefit out of this method in other

endeavors, and I like to write (can you tell?

> When I was a kid, I looked roughly like a stick insect. I have photographic

proof! In my teens, I was tall, and I now realize, quite shapely, but my

mother's battle with her overweight spilled into my world, and I became

convinced I was fat and ugly (boy, did I resonate to that title on a recent post

here!). I also got a job in the bakery at college and put on the " freshman 25#. "

My first " visit " to Weight Watchers was senior year, and I was a howling success

- " You look like you've been sick! " was a most memorable " compliment. "

> Off to work in the Big Apple, and put it all back on sitting next to the

coffee wagon. That was almost 35 years ago. I've married, had two beautiful

boys, divorced, remarried, had a hip replaced, revised, and dislocated thrice,

stayed at the same employer all that time, commuted longer and longer distances

as I've moved further and further from the City - 2 hrs each way now, 4 days a

week. And to top it all off, my lovely new husband is a disturbed sleeper, which

means I've added sleep deprivation to my " collection. "

> I've been to WW now, I think it's 5 times, and the last time achieved lifetime

membership, a hollow honor now. I've done Suzanne Sommers, Weigh-in (the origins

of WW), Atkins, and a few original creations. Nothing works. Love what my

husband said the other day: " WW worked! You reached your goal! " Right! But I

didn't stay there!

> When I read IE, I had that " what are they doing in my head? " reaction that

tells me I've found the right book. In a moment of ironic blessing, I chose

Thanksgiving as my starting point, and am working on the first through fourth

principles as my " phase 1. " The hardest thing is not getting on the scale. So I

did. And I regretted it. And my weight has gone up and down over the month since

I began my return to intuitive eating, where we all started as babies. The one

day I hopped on the scale and saw the highest number I've ever seen, it did ruin

my day. So I soothed myself all day with the kindest words I could muster, and

went back to the principles.

> One " home field advantage " I think I have in this new phase of my " life with

IE " is that I am a Focuser, which is a method, if you don't know it, for

accessing my inner life and connecting it to my outer life. It's based on

relating to body sensations in a new way, and forming something called a felt

sense in the body, which is how the body is dealing with " something. " In terms

of IE, it's a fabulous way to assess hunger, and I've learned a great deal in a

short time by combining Focusing with assessing hunger, noticing emotional

reasons to eat, and relating to my insides with compassion and support, instead

of judgment and condemnation.

> I hope something here feel familiar, makes a connection, let's you know a

little about me. My one fear is that I'll be more of a lurker on this list than

an active voice - life gets in the way, you know! But I'll give it my best shot,

and use that sense of where is right for me to respond that comes from Focusing.

> Right now, where I live on the East Coast, it's storming outside - blustery,

rainy, trees swaying, like the nor'easter kept it's promise and came back

around, wet and wild. Yet, I feel content to embrace the day and do the things

I've planned as kindly toward myself and others as I can muster. Wishing you

kindness in your day, and perhaps just a bit of bluster!

> Barbara

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Barbara,

Wow, thanks for explaining Focusing! It sounds like something really great for people who tend to eat over emotions; I think I'm going to look at that website and I feel quite sure that I will learn some of these Focusing principles/ideas because it sounds just like what I need to compliment what I'm already doing.

I also live in NJ, which is great because if he offers any workshops in NJ, I'd be able to attend.

thanks for the great info!

Laurie

To: IntuitiveEating_Support Sent: Sun, December 27, 2009 10:19:06 AMSubject: Re: New to the Group

Thank you Laurie!I am delighted to elaborate on Focusing!Three years ago, at the end of a relationship with a therapist, he quickly mentioned "something I might like," and directed me to http://focusing. org. I found a teacher in NJ where I live, and I have never looked back!

[Guest guest]

Hello all,

My name is , I'm 32 and have a soon to be 6 year old daughter and live

with my boyfriend of 7 years. I gained almost 80 pounds while pregnant and did

lose most of it with exercise and well, I guess diet lol, but then soon put it

back on. I've been yo-yo-ing for about 3 years now. This last year has been so

bad for me. I've started at least 4 different plans, ranging from low carb to

eating all raw foods for a month. I'm down overall 15 pounds this year but it

was at one point 15 more pounds than that.

I have realized that I just don't want to do it anymore. I don't want to diet.

I have been making myself crazy with dieting and failing and I am finally facing

up to the fact that I have to just make my peace with food and drink. I want to

just live life, without constantly being obsessed with food and what I should or

should not eat. I have only made this revelation a couple of days ago but I'm

really looking forward to this journey of finding my way to living an intuitive

life.

I have ordered the book Intuitive Eating but don't have it yet, I've been

reading on another diet forum about the idea though. I just can't bring myself

to go to a diet forum anymore!! So I'm looking forward to the support I hope

I'll find here

Thanks!

[Guest guest]

Welcome Good to read that you have ordered the IE book as that will

help you understand lots soon too. Meanwhile, I am sure that you will get a

pretty good idea about what we all are doing along these lines. For sure I bet

you find that a lot of what you read here 'clicks' with you too. Do share your

reactions, questions and comments when you are able and inclined to do so. Glad

to have you join us here -

Katcha

IEing since March 2007

>

> Hello all,

>

> My name is , I'm 32 and have a soon to be 6 year old daughter and live

with my boyfriend of 7 years. I gained almost 80 pounds while pregnant and did

lose most of it with exercise and well, I guess diet lol, but then soon put it

back on. I've been yo-yo-ing for about 3 years now. This last year has been so

bad for me. I've started at least 4 different plans, ranging from low carb to

eating all raw foods for a month. I'm down overall 15 pounds this year but it

was at one point 15 more pounds than that.

>

> I have realized that I just don't want to do it anymore. I don't want to

diet. I have been making myself crazy with dieting and failing and I am finally

facing up to the fact that I have to just make my peace with food and drink. I

want to just live life, without constantly being obsessed with food and what I

should or should not eat. I have only made this revelation a couple of days ago

but I'm really looking forward to this journey of finding my way to living an

intuitive life.

>

> I have ordered the book Intuitive Eating but don't have it yet, I've been

reading on another diet forum about the idea though. I just can't bring myself

to go to a diet forum anymore!! So I'm looking forward to the support I hope

I'll find here

>

> Thanks!

>

[Guest guest]

Hi and welcome! I am pretty new to the group myself. I really like what you say about just wanting to "live life" I totally agree! It's really not all about food. Tonight after my husband gets back from work we are having a salsa party - several different kinds of salsas, mostly new ones we haven't tried, with a couple old stand-bys thrown in for good measure. I like it when we have parties like this because I feel free to enjoy tasting different things but don't feel the need to gorge myself like I sometimes would if it were heavier cream/mayo/cheese based dips. We thought it was a good compromise and should be fun. Happy New Year all. - GeorgiaI have realized that I just don't want to do it anymore. I don't want to diet. I have been making myself crazy with dieting and failing and I am finally facing up to the fact that I have to just make my peace with food and drink. I want to just live life, without constantly being obsessed with food and what I should or should not eat. I have only made this revelation a couple of days ago but I'm really looking forward to this journey of finding my way to living an intuitive life.

[Guest guest]

Hey Georgia,

A salsa party sounds really fun - my husband is a huge fan and we are already

planning our party =) thanks for the idea =)

~

>

> Hi and welcome! I am pretty new to the group myself. I really like what

you say about just wanting to " live life " I totally agree! It's really not all

about food. Tonight after my husband gets back from work we are having a salsa

party - several different kinds of salsas, mostly new ones we haven't tried,

with a couple old stand-bys thrown in for good measure. I like it when we have

parties like this because I feel free to enjoy tasting different things but

don't feel the need to gorge myself like I sometimes would if it were heavier

cream/mayo/cheese based dips. We thought it was a good compromise and should be

fun.

>

> Happy New Year all.

> - Georgia

>

>

>

>

> ________________________________

>

> I have realized that I just don't want to do it anymore. I don't want to

diet. I have been making myself crazy with dieting and failing and I am finally

facing up to the fact that I have to just make my peace with food and drink. I

want to just live life, without constantly being obsessed with food and what I

should or should not eat. I have only made this revelation a couple of days ago

but I'm really looking forward to this journey of finding my way to living an

intuitive life.

>

[Guest guest]

"I have been making myself crazy with dieting and failing ......" YOU didn't fail; it was the diet!

Happy New Year and all the best,

Jeanne

[Guest guest]

I've been slolwy learning that. It's hard to look at the people around me who

lose weight with the old " diet and exercise " routine and don't seem to have

problems. I wonder why they have the " self-discipline " to do it that way and i

don't. I just have to remind myself that this is what is right for me and also

that i couldn't bear to be in my 50's and reading the calories off the side of a

box - too much else to be doing with life! =)

~

>

> " I have been making myself crazy with dieting and failing ...... "   YOU didn't

fail; it was the diet!

>  

> Happy New Year and all the best,

> Jeanne

>

[Guest guest]

I have been reading another perspective on what its possible that dieting

may be doing to one's body. If you are not in the PEAK of health, what could be

more healthy to do - decrease nutrition and exercise like crazy or eat what you

feel is best for you(r body) and give it some rest/gentle movement?!?

I have been looking at 'thin' people in a whole new way - asking myself are they

really as healthy as their looks would have us all believing? I do hope so, but

I also would not want to risk my own health by doing what is likely to be

depleting rather than increasing its health.

'Self discipline' and will power both hook into 'you are flawed' type thinking

for me. Don't see how I can be loving and positive if I start from that point

either.

Take care. Katcha

IEing since March 2007

>

> I've been slolwy learning that. It's hard to look at the people around me

who lose weight with the old " diet and exercise " routine and don't seem to have

problems. I wonder why they have the " self-discipline " to do it that way and i

don't. I just have to remind myself that this is what is right for me and also

that i couldn't bear to be in my 50's and reading the calories off the side of a

box - too much else to be doing with life! =)

>

> ~

[Guest guest]

Hi Katcha: GOOD POINT! Lots of people want to BELIEVE that 'thin people' can eat

anything they want and not gain weight. However, I know many 'thin people'

(myself included) who have celiac disease, food allergies and/or intestinal

infections which limit what and how much they can eat. I'm very sensitive to

'full', because I feel PAINFUL discomfort when I overeat. I also reflux more

easily when I overeat. Many celiacs, who complain about not being able to gain

weight, really don't eat that much because they fear painful reaction symptoms

when they eat.

I'm not saying that people should not lose excess weight. I'm not saying that we

shouldn't honor our body cues about when to eat (when hungry), how much to eat

(until comfortably full) and what to eat (foods that feel good in our bodies).

I'm not saying that people shouldn't move their bodies in pleasurable ways

(rather than 'exercise') like dancing or walking or yoga. I'm just saying

certain conditions (OTHER THAN EATING DISORDERS) explain why some people are

'thin'.

SUE

>

> I have been looking at 'thin' people in a whole new way - asking myself are

they really as healthy as their looks would have us all believing? I do hope so,

but I also would not want to risk my own health by doing what is likely to be

depleting rather than increasing its health.

> Take care. Katcha

> IEing since March 2007

[Guest guest]

, good for you on learning the lesson while you're young!! Dieting may work for some people but not me.

I am 59 and have starved myself (to the point of illness), taken diet pills, and dieted (restricted) over the years, chasing that elusive carrot of slimness. I thought if I were slim, my life would be perfect! The longest I was ever able to keep the lost weight off was about a year and then I would start bingeing and hating myself for "falling off the wagon." I made one more attempt at dieting in 2007 (guess I also may have needed a little more structure in my life too because I retired in 2006). But history once again repeated itself. I lost weight but maintenance only lasted about a year. Then I came across an old copy of Tribole and Resch's "Intuitive Eating." Guess I'd saved it all these years because I knew some day I'd better ready! I finally realized that my body wasn't the problem, it was my brain!!

Didn't mean to go on so, but I hope this helps someone stop the madness!

Jeanne