Where is everyone in the normal eating journey?

[RollerCoaster]

I have been working on it for almost two years. I have mentally legalized foods and stopped using the scale at all. I haven't lost weight but I have maintained. I am good at waiting to be hungry but still eat past fullness. I still eat when I am not hungry but it's concious. I have gotten rid of clothes that don't fit (either too big or too small) and sometimes do mirror work :)

I am working hard on changing my irrational beliefs and identifying my feelings when I have the urge to eat when not hungry. I am working on moving away from black and white/perfectionist thinking. I identified that my mother (and possibly my father) is a narcissist and read several books on it which have been hugely helpful.

I'd love to hear where everyone else is in the process!

[Christine]

I went to a nutritionist a few years ago, and she had me read Intuitive Eating and Making Peace with Food. They were really jaw dropping to read, and I loved what they had to say. I tried to apply their principles, but ended up getting scared of the lack of structure and went back to dieting (WW). It seems like over the past few years, I have gone back and forth between dieting and intuitive eating... not good. I want to get out of that cycle. I always feel great when I am "normal eating" but I give in to the pressure to lose weight or get scared because I am emotionally eating again, and so I diet.

I am 20 weeks pregnant though, and have been "normal eating" for the whole pregnancy. It helps that my appetite is not as intense as it usually is, and when I am hungry, it is for "whole foods"--my body is telling me loud and clear that it needs nutritious foods. It is wierd, and very refreshing! I am also better able to feel physical hunger and fullness. I wish my body always worked this way. Lastly, being pregnant has given me a reason for why dieting is bad, so I have been avoiding that whole mentality. Took me some time to get out of that mentality though! Anyway, the pregnancy has given me the motivation to keep eating this way after the baby is born, and I am so happy to have all of you as support.

I have put all my "normal eating" type books on my nightstand, and I am going to try to read from them daily. I am going to try to avoid all the diet literature. It is tough though! I always fall for that quick fix...

I look forward to getting to know all of you!!

[RollerCoaster]

That is awesome! I have heard from others that they ate the best when they were pregnant. I completely relate to having to fight against wanting the structure of a diet. My sister is losing weight on WW and when I first found out I was OVERWHELMED with emotion and it took a few days for me to work through that. It still comes back, though. It is really helpful if I avoid diet literature/commercials, etc. They are everywhere, though!

Congrats on the baby!

[Christine]

Hang in there Jen. School is SO stressful, but it sounds like you are mentally ready for the challenge. I'll be here to support you!

I am also similar to where you are in the process--aware, but having to implement that awareness on a daily basis. It is still really easy for me to slip back into the diet mentality. I like that I am more conscious of when I am doing it though! I think it is a long road, but well worth it.

[RollerCoaster]

Being mindful is so hard and so important. I am totally stuck here and trying to find a way to stop "checking out" at night. After work is the hardest time for me and the draw to eat/overeat is so strong! My main goal right now is to overcome this hurdle. Any thoughts or strategies from anyone would be helpful!

I've tried meditating and it really helps but for some reason I'm not doing it consistently. I think maybe the desire to eat is stronger than the desire to relax. I guess I'll have to give that some thought and try to figure out why. Then just bite the bullet, be concious, and do it!

[Janice]

I am at the point where I am tired of looking at the scale, I am tired of counting points and I am just don't want food to be THE dominate factor in my life. It is! Whether I am overweight thinking of my next meal or staying on plan with Weight Watchers and counting everything I eat...I just want to be healthy and be able to eat normally. That is where I am.

[Christine]

I can totally relate!! I have a book called Making Peace with Food--it is really good to read when you have burned out with the whole diet thing, but still want to be healthy.

[Wendy Greene]

All I can say is "ditto" to your post (except for the family thing). I'm very much a perfectionist and tend to beat myself up over the slightest transgression.

I love what you said about "legalizing" foods, perfectionism and identifying feelings.

I still use a scale, but try not to weigh myself more than once a week, or even longer. I have definitely lost weight since I started intuitive eating this January, but it's nothing spectacular. It's been very slow, but I haven't had any wild weight swings, which in itself is a great thing.

I'm absolutely thrilled to find this group. I read a number of diet (ew, I hate that word!!) blogs because I'm interested in being the healthiest me that I can be. But I just want to scream every time I read about "being on plan", eating x calories per day, having a "bad" day, etc. I really have to hold back and not start ranting about the havoc dieting wreaks on our bodies AND our minds.

Well, now that my rant here is over, I'd just like to say hello and that I'm really happy to be here.

Drop by my blog, some time too!