Now I've created a website, too! LOL. For Intuitive Eating Information... more of it, anyway... see here.

New Blog & IE Links

Yesterday I created a new blog to ramble & muse about the different facets of becoming an Intuitive Eater. I often come across interesting tidbits in my non-dieting groups that cause me to stop & think about how I got to where I am as an eater. I needed a place to ramble on about those things, so I created yet another blog. ;o)

Also, I needed a place to store (and be able to share about) all of the links to different sources of IE Information I've collected. So, I added a page to my website where you can get all of these links. Feel free to browse there! I've included websites, blogs (yes, my friends are linked on there!), and books. I may add more categories later. Hopefully people will see it as another handy resource. :o)

REVIEW: "Super-Size Me" [DVD]

Today I watched the movie, "Super-Size Me". Very interesting, and very true! The part where the guy gets the Super-size meal, and proceeds until he's so stuffed that he pukes ... case in point that we eat TOO much!

Here are some notes I took from the movie .. stuff that I found really interesting:

"In the ER, people who've overdosed on heroine to the point of a comatose state are given a drug called "Noloxone" (sp?). This drug blocks the opiate receptors in the brain, thereby stopping the heroine and 'waking up' the addict from his comatose state....
If you take a chocoholic ... someone who eats chocolate like it's going out of style, and you give them this same drug, Noloxone, they will lose interest in chocolate!
--> it's the drug effect of the food on the brain that keeps us going back again & again." (Neal Barnard, M.D.)

"in the last 20-25 years there's been a doubling of overweight children & adolescents -- this is linked to countless health problems for them later in life."

* "If current trends continue, 1 out of every 3 children born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime."

* "17 million Americans have Type 2 Diabetes -- that's one out of every 20 people." (Tommy Thompson, Secretary of Health & Human Services)

* "If Diabetes starts before the age of 15, you lose between 17 and 20 years of life span." (William Klish, M.D.)

* "20% of obese children have elevated abnormal liver function tests ... now doing study... biopsying... 1/2 of these children already have scaring of their livers and cirosis...
--> If their habits don't change, they'll end up with liver failure, or require transplant -- or face death."

* "The cost of a healthy school lunch program is the same as an unhealthy school lunch program" ... only reason the schools don't switch is because the junk food companies put up too much of a stink!

* "The average American child sees 10,000 food advertisements per year on T.V. (95% for sugared cereals, soft drinks, fast food, and candy)." (Kelly Brownell, Ph.D)

* "The most heavily advertised foods are consumed the most."

* "Americans eat out for 40% of their meals."

* "McDonald's is the worst because they aim at the kids (big advertising -- clown, Happy Meals, birthday parties, etc)."

* The "Biggie" drink at 7/11 is 1/2 gallon .. contains 48 tsp. of sugar (approx)!

My Journey, So Far

Today, in a group I belong to, one of the ladies posted about her journey with non-dieting to date. I liked her post a lot! And, I got the idea to post, here, about MY journey, so far, with non-dieting! :o)

Here's how it went for me:
- Found WD, then Thin Within. Learned to eat "intuitively".
- Legalized all of my "formerly forbidden foods" (no foods are "good" or "bad" or "forbidden" any more!)
- Learned to appreciate my body more -- it's a "temple of the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20)
- Released 25 lbs in first 6 months, but I was still pretty emotional around it. I think it was a real "honeymoon" period in which I felt thin, powerful and in control of my eating.
- I saw my next layer of eating issues, namely stopping at satisfied.
Had to work through more emotional issues around being thin and
losing weight. Gained back 12 pounds of the 25 I'd "released".
- Am now in an experimental phase. I am reading books on non-dieting, and even some diet books, in order to personalize "Intuitive Eating" for me. Am still learning how to eat 0-5. I am working more on the emotional side (internal), instead of the physical side (external).

In summary, I am now more in control of my eating and my emotions, but not to the extent that I'd like to be. I can wait until I reach "0" to eat, but I still struggle with stopping at "5". I can CHOOSE to think positively about my weight, and my weight-loss journey. I am in a state, right now, where I'm not altogether concerned with releasing the weight -- I want to get the emotional side worked out first. The weight-loss will come when I've reached a certain understanding of things.
It's still a learning process, but it's far easier to do than it was a couple of months ago!

(Thanks to Karen for posting her version of this!)

More notes from the book....

[from "Thin People Don't Clean Their Plates" by Jill Fleming]

** ""Change the way you think about your trigger food. Instead of thinking that you can't stop eating it once you start, think that you are the one who chooses to continue to eat the food. In the second scenario, you are in control, not the food. Remember, you are ultimately responsible for what goes into your mouth and body." (p.68) **

* Re: Carbohydrate Addicts / Carbohydrate Sensitive people: should stay away from or limit simple carbohydrates and processed foods. "...the fewer of these items you eat, the less intense your cravings will be. You will experience fewer fluctuations in blood sugars, which will help you feel more in control of your food choices." (p.69)

* Benefits of drinking water:
- helps rid body of fat & toxins
- keeps skin healthy & resilient
- helps minimize sagging skin as you lose weight *
- helps maintain proper muscle-tone
- will help relieve & prevent constipation
- helps suppress appetite
- essential for digestion, absorption of vitamins & minerals, circulation, excretion, transporting nutrients, building tissue, maintaining body temperature.
- more water intake = increased energy levels *
- more you drink = more your body craves it **

* "Another advantage of SLOWER EATING is that chewing your food thoroughly aids your body in digestion." (p.31)

* "When you consume fat following/in combination with sugar (ie: Coca Cola!), the fat is then more easily stored in your fat cells." (p.57)

** "Your attitude will determine your success... you alone are responsible for your body and its size." (p.11)

** "...the more positive choices you make, the more positive choices your body craves. The more unhealthy choices you make, the more unhealthy choices your body craves....
Remember: your body will start to desire more of the choices you predominantly make. IT WILL BECOME EASIER WITH REPETITION." (p.118) **

A New Hunger Scale

Today I finished reading "THIN PEOPLE DON'T CLEAN THEIR PLATES" by Jill Fleming. She claims it's "not a diet", and it has a Hunger-Satisfaction Scale! She says "don't limit your food choices". But, then she contradicts herself and suggests you eat mostly low-fat food! It's a diet, if you ask me! :-? Her Thin Choices program follows the following guidelines:
- eat mostly low-fat food choices
- have 8-10 servings of fruits & vegetables daily
- drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water daily
- get at least 7 hours of sleep
- breathe deeply for 10 minutes a day
- move your body for 30 minutes most days of the week

While these are all great suggestions, and they'll probably get you healthy and help you lose weight, I still don't agree with the "eat low-fat food" bit! I'm a walking-talking example that you can lose weight while still eating full-fat *REAL* foods ... so long as you only eat when you're hungry, and you stop when you're satisfied! :o)

Now, that all said, I have to say... I REALLY liked the Hunger Scale that Ms. Fleming uses in her book! I think I even like it *better* than the Thin Within one! This is what it looks like:

HUNGER - SATISFACTION SCALE (HSS)

10: Stuffed to the point of feeling sick (Thanksgiving full!)
9: Very uncomfortable, tired
8: Uncomfortably full
7: Feel you have eaten just a little bit too much
6: Comfortable, satisfied [stop eating]
5: Just noticing the first signs of hunger [slow down, if eating]
4: Hungry, ready to eat [Eat at this point]
3: Very hungry
2: Extremely hungry, irritable
1: Starving, can't concentrate, dizzy


Doesn't that make a lot of sense? I think it's great! And, here's why:

1) It doesn't give you a ton of room for humming & hawing about whether/not you're hungry & ready to eat ... either you ARE or you're NOT.

2) It defines / adds in the numbers for going PAST hungry to the shaky point (which I often do)

3) Your eating range should fall between 4 and 6 on the scale ... and this can be visualized like a Stop Light: 4=Green Light --Eat! / 5=Yellow Light --slow down & pay attention / 6=Red Light --Stop Eating!

I'm thinking that I'm going to give this new hunger scale a try ... see if it works better for me than Thin Within's did. Theirs seems to give me too much room for error... Just my personal observation.

Thoughts...

I've discovered that Intuitive Eating is not a cut & dried method for weight loss. There are many, many ways 'out there' to "do" Intuitive Eating.

What works for one person won't work for the next because each person is unique -- an individual. Therefore, Intuitive Eating (IE) has to be unique, individual, personalized.

One way to "personalize" IE for me, I've discovered, is to read a bunch of different books on the subject, and then pick and choose what works *for me*.

As you can see from this blog, I've been "researching" a lot! :o)

I've read books like...

• "Thin Within" by Judy & Arthur Halliday


• "Overcoming Overeating" by Jane R. Hirschmann & Carol Munter


• "Fit for Life" by Harvey & Marilyn Diamond


• "Weigh Down" by Gwen Shamblin

From all of these books I've gleaned a bit of wisdom here, a little bit of insight there. And, I think that that's the best way to go about learning how to eat "intuitively".

I've just put in a request at my library for several more books...

• "How to Eat Like a Thin Person" by Lorraine Dusky


• "Emotional Eating" by Edward Abramson


• "Thin People Don't Clean Their Plates" by Jill Fleming


• "Thin For Life" by Anne Fletcher


• "Intuitive Eating" by Evelyn Tribole & Elyse Resch (had to interlibrary-loan this one!

I'm especially looking forward to the last two! I've not actually read the "Intuitive Eating" book, yet, but I feel I should, since a lot of people that are joining my Yahoo support group are ordering it! LOL. And, "Thin For Life" supposedly details the success stories of a bunch of people who've lost 20+ lbs and kept it off for at least 3 years! I love inspiring stories! (if you have one, feel free to leave me a comment!)

Anyway. I just thought I'd post some thoughts. This has been playing around in my head a lot, lately. :o)

Quotes from "FIT FOR LIFE" by Harvey & Marilyn Diamond

[The following quotes were taken from "Fit for Life" by Harvey & Marilyn Diamond... While I don't recommend the book for weight-loss (it's basically a "diet" book, though it swears up & down that it's not!) I liked some of the ideas in it.]

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

* "Belief systems can be the biggest obstacle to one's progress." [p.44]

* "All animals in nature are naturally trim." [p.33]
(does not include pets & zoo animals)

* "There is nothing to feel guilty about. You have certain cravings that you have built up over the years. It's going to take a certain amount of time for you to overcome these cravings. The idea is not to upset the balance more often that you maintain it. You eat heavy one day, and then the next day comes. It's a brand-new day." [p.33]

* Set your own pace; don't try to switch over all at once. Baby steps!

* It took you X number of years to put the weight on, so it's not going to come off overnight ... "the important thing is to START" to make changes that move you TOWARD your goal!

* "You are on a journey; let it be fun, not an ordeal. You can drive from the West Coast to the East Coast in three days at breakneck speed and miss all of the sights & splendor this country has to offer; or you could take three weeks and enjoy yourself. Take your time, and be confident that you will reach your destination (goal) a happier, healthier person for the effort expended on your own behalf." [p.97]

*** "The practice that will help you eliminate that craving for sweets more than anything else is the correct consumption of FRUIT. The sugar in fruit is untampered with and supplies the body with the nutrients it craves." [p.98]
Emphasis mine ... this is my BIGGEST issue!

* "Whatever you have added (meat) to your salad will break down more quickly & pass through your system more easily due to its properly combined nature and the presence of all the fresh, raw vegetables." [p.139]

RE: Eating at buffets, etc:
-> "Before taking a plate, survey the offerings & decide
what your plan will be." [p.??]

---

Causes of OVEREATING: [p.146]

1) "When no nutrients are being absorbed by your intestines as a result of clogging, the body sets off an alarm that it has not been fed, and even though we have just eaten, we want to eat more."

2) "There is no better way to malnourish your body than to eat processed & junk foods excessively... If they are large quantities of junk food, the body experiences slow starvation. Our bodies set off the alarm, once again, for more food because they are literally starving ... NUTRITIONALLY!"

---

* "The key is DIRECTION, not speed." [p.224]

[from chapter 7]:
* "Fruit is the most important food we can put into the human body

* "Fruit has the highest water-content of any food ... all of it is 80-90% cleansing, life-giving water."

* "All of the vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, amino acids, & fatty acids that the human body requires for its existence are to be found in fruit."

* "Fruit requires less energy to be digested than any other food."

* "By its nature, fruit affords the body the opportunity to cleanse built-up residue from the system." (p.50)

** "Fuel value should always be the foremost factor in determining the worth of any food." [chapter 7]

* Try different salads as meals ... add some meat to it, and lots of raw veggies. (ie: Chicken Caesar Salad)

**** "Calorie-counting is a very antiquated and ineffective means of trying to regulate one's weight. It looks viable in theory, but so does the theory that the sun orbits the earth. Calorie-counting is an unrealistic guage by which to measure one's progress. That is why so many calorie-counters do not find the results they are looking for, even though they diligently count their calories." [p.58] ****

* "Any time you alter your eating habits, your body has to adjust to that change, and in so doing, can initially leave you feeling out of sorts." [p.63]

* "You have the rest of your life, so don't put undo pressure on yourself." [p.66]

* "If the principles [of Intuitive Eating] make sense to you, and you're willing to try them, that's all it will take!" [p.66, in brackets mine]

Helpful Info.

Came across this very helpful website, today. Enjoy!