I think this is very interesting.  I too, wish I could be an intuitive eater but instead, control everything myself (well, try to).  Like this morning, here I sit with my cup of green tea and bowl of oatmeal even though my stomach isn't growling.  I know I haven't eaten in 12 hours and I MUST be hungry right?  Or is it that advice to eat BEFORE you get hungry to curb overeating that makes me decide to eat a meal.  And at lunch, I eat sometimes when my stomach isn't growling yet because hey, it's noon, I need to eat lunch!

I am not sure if I could achieve intutive eating, though a recent trip had me believing it was possible too.  When we took a long weekend to Vegas and our time zones were 3 hours different I was very confused what time it really was and when I should be hungry so...I just listened to my body.  If I was hungry I ate, if I wasn't, I didn't.  Seemed easy enough.  I didn't find that I ate any more or less than I do now where I enter calories EVERY DAY.  Maybe I should risk it for a few months and see how it works?

Good article.   Good items to contemplate.   It would be good to be able to eat and excercise intuitively.

The book "Women Food and God' Is not just for women and does give some tools on how to listen to your body again. I think for many women and some men too we use food as an emotional damper. We've gotten so used to ignoring our body's signals that we don't even recognize them anymore. I'm glad you have come to transcend this.

This is what I want for myself. Very interesting. Now I have a title for something I have been searching for. Definitely will look more into this.

I think it depends on where you are traveling. If it's overseas, you are going to be eating healthier foods automatically and don't have to worry as much...

I have weighed everyday for over 40 years going from 125 to 210 counting calories, carbs, fat gram, fiber and everything else. The batteries needed changing in my scale and I decided not to weigh for awhile. I also stopped counting everything just eat when I'm hungry and continue to exercise on a regular basis.  I have never felt or looked better. I have more time, ( not counting everything)  when I'm tempted to get batteries or start logging everything I try on something and find that usually it still fits or fits better. It as much a struggle not to count and weigh but the freedom is worth it and it's gets easier. I also remind myself how I would feel if the scale had gone up or down.  Thank God I'm free.

I still check for inspiration, glad to see this blog.

I resonate with almost all of your comments.  A lifetime of struggle with weight control used to be fraught with negative thoughts of how deprived I was.  Now, I find that portion control is the most important part of controlling my weight, and when I have a treat that I know is very high in calories, fat, etc. I enjoy it because I am monitoring what else I have eaten.  My body tells me when I am hungry and I carry small snacks - my personal favorite is 1-2 tablespoons of unsalted peanuts.  Within minutes the hunger is quieted.  My practice is to check my weight once weekly and I am often surprised that my suspicion that I must have gained a bit is wrong!  On those occasions when the scale has increased a bit, I am reminded to be more vigilant.  It gets easier with age!!

Great article!  I grew up listening to my body and never obsessing or even thinking about weight or food.  I was active, happy, and if I was hungry, I ate.  I was thin and never knew how much I weighed unless I went to the doctor.  Even in my twenties and thirties, I had a healthy appetite, remained active, and never focused on weight or food.  I remained thin even after three pregnancies!  However, when I was in my mid 40's and now 51, things have definitely changed.  I have to pay attention to how much exercise I get, and what I eat.  It is a real bummer!  This summer I have decided to get rid of my scales and I am so much happier.  I am trying to get back to the mind set of eating when I'm hungry and making good choices.  I run a mile or two every day and I feel great.  I am getting in shape again and my clothes fit better, but I have no idea what I weigh.  I just couldn't take the pressure of watching that number go up and down everyday.  It made me so depressed.  Anyway, I love this article because it really spoke to me today and made me know that I'm doing the right thing for me.

I had a very similar epiphany about six years ago.  I suddenly realized I thought I needed external controls or I'd become obese.  I didn't trust myself at all.  My subconscious had become my own worst enemy in the weight management battle.  (The war analogy says it all, doesn't it?)  

As they say, realizing I had a problem was the first step towards my recovery. After 10 years as a "lifetimer" at Weight Watchers, I stopped weighing myself completely.  I re-learned how to eat intuitively by watching my young kids (2 and 4 at the time), for whom intuitive eating came naturally.

The one downside I've found is this: as a mom in charge of feeding my intuitive eaters when they get hungry, it's easy to fall into that trap of eating whenever they eat, whether I'm actually hungry or not.  Travelling exacerbates the problem.  You have to compromise  on an eating schedule, and that means sometimes eating when you find a restaurant that everyone likes.  I've found that by examining the menu carefully, it's usually possible to find something on the smaller side, or else I share something with my kids.  (They always want to try mom's food, so I just share generously.)  And of course, nothing says you have to finish what you ordered.  

I'm trying very hard to help my kids keep their intuitive eating ability by telling them to stop eating when they're full.  Only take a small portion and take seconds only if they're still hungry.  Choose fruits and veggies for snacks, rather than chips and pretzels.  I know all the right things to do, I just need to vigilantly practice what I preach!

this is what i am aiming at. this natural automated way of eating right and exercising properly without external tools or mathematical  calculations. i have not achieved it yet but hope to do that some day....

Amen! My family recently moved across the nation, and my 'weigh, plan meals, count calories' flew out the window! It has  now been half a month, and I find I not only maintained my weight loss, but lost 4 pounds! I did what you said; listened to my body! I make wise choices, but I allow myself to eat nice meals, and even dessert at times.  I gauged myself by a favorite pair of jean shorts I have as to whether I was gaining or maintaining. I do weigh again now, but I no longer religiously count every meal's calories like I did before.  Yes, it is very liberating!

I think the point of counting calories and understanding how it affects your weight is the ultimate goal for weight maintenance. I counted calories at the beginning of my weight loss journey to teach me what hunger signals my body was telling me, but now I listen to my body. We just need to feed our body healthy wholesome food and make sure we love to exercise and make a habit of it.

I've decided this month to learn intuitive eating as well.  I feel that after months of teaching ourselves what to eat,  the final step to being free from an obsession with our weight is learning how to eat.

I've been surprised to find that a meal half the size of one I used to eat is just as satisfying.  It just seems like all these lessons are finally coming together as I approach the end of the road less traveled, and it's made all the difference!

Thank you for this article! It comes at such a great time for me, since I just left the country for a few months. I've been stressing out a lot about gaining weight and getting off track, but I believe with what you just advised, eating when hungry and watching portions, and also jogging daily, that I can be healthy and not reverse my weight loss efforts. Thank you

I travel internationally often for business and pleasure.  I have always been so surprised when, on returning from a trip, I see that I have lost weight, even though it seems like I was eating so much more than I normally do.  The reasons are pretty obvious - I'm not sittting behind a desk all day, I;m not snacking (even though I seem to be eating much bigger lunches than normal) and I'm walking walking walking all day long.  The first time I went to Italy, (pleasure, not business), I'd get up, eat the delicious breakfast prepared by hotel staff, walk walk walk until lunch, eat a delicious lunch - maybe even pasta which i NEVER do at home - then walk walk walk until 5 or so.  I'd go back to the hotel, bathe and change for dinner, then walk to dinner.  We even drank wine every night.  After three weeks of what seemed like LOTS of eating, I came home 5 pounds lighter!  It happens every time I go to Europe.

I can SO relate to this! My boyfriend and I backpacked for 8 months and it was sometimes a real struggle to eat healthy or gauge our dietary progress but like you, we ate a lot of fresh fruit and peanuts as snacks and cooked on our own at the hostel whenever we could. But of course, sometimes neither of those were possible. We were in Cairo at perhaps the most inconvenient time of the year and got to experience the Haj/Christmas/New Year trifecta! Sadly, every shop was closed except Pizza Hut and McDonalds! We were stuck there for about two weeks in this situation with no kitchen and no idea where to find a market. I'm sad to say, eating at Pizza Hut and McDonalds two times a day for two weeks pretty much un-did all of the good progress we had made on staying healthy. And we felt *sick* when we finally left Cairo! But walking everywhere helps and soon we were back to our normal, healthy selves. Backpacking and dieting isn't impossible but like you said, sometimes you can't control your situation and intuitive eating becomes and acquired skill!

It would be nice to stop counting/weighing. But I don't trust my intuitive eating, because I was fat in the first place eating intuitively. Now that I'm counting my calories, I'm thin. Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to let all the tools go, but this won't be anytime soon.

loved this post! THANKS

Thank for posting this. Me and my husband are getting ready to leave home and liveabord on the boat. Frankly I am little scared because I know I will be loosing my routine. Now I work in office 5 days a week. My days are very similar and that is helping me right now to continue to loose weight. I am able to work out at least 3 times a week and once on weekend. I am not that far off my goal, 10 pounds but then I will have to maintain my weight. That is tougher than loosing weight. Just the thought that I will be away from my daily routine scares me. I know that weekends are being difficult for me, because being home with family means lot more food activities than at work. I am looking forward to your future posts and tips on how to keep the healthy weight while embracing new way of life. Till then:)

Great article! Varying the eating and weighing routine always seems scary. I too am now less scared when away from home about putting on weight, as I travel a lot on business and mostly manage to eat healthy whilst away. The real problem is coming home for me. That is when all the old bad habits come flooding back and I tend to slip into a massive binge like there is no tomorrow until I go to bed. Come the next morning I easily slip back to my healthy routing. Does anybody have this "coming home" problem?

Three days ago I returned to the U.S. after 18 months around the world.  And for me also, absence of a scale didn't go unnoticed. 

I also noticed not being able to see myself in a full length mirror regularly.  Or try on my "skinny jeans" because I had one pair with me and only a handful of cloths total.

At times I missed these ways to gauge where my body was at but it was also freeing.  I learned to trust that I know when my body is a healthy weight without attaching a number to it.

I wish I could trust this way more, I am currently at a friend's house in another state and he has no scale. It is scary for me because how do I know if I am doing well or messing things totally up?

Nice story.  I travelled for a long time also and found that the constant walking of sight seeing and the new environment keeps the appetite down and the calorie burning up.  

As far as intuitive eating goes.  I like to use the hungry scale (1 if not hungry 5 if starving).  It is still liberating as you don't eat at conventional meal times and you learn to listen to your body through a more structured way - no doubt something people who count calories will relate to.

I have finally come to realize that the scale makes me crazy! I see the number and I'm discouraged because I didn't lose any weight, or didn't lose enough; or I did lose, and immediately wonder if I can lose even more if I just push myself a little harder. It's nuts. I've spent years sabotaging myself this way.

8 weeks ago I started the South Beach diet. I cut out refined sugars and limited fruit. AND I cut out the scale! I've weighed in 3 times, but I had my husband weigh me, and jot down the number. Somehow this is keeping me accountable. I figure at the end of the summer, if I think I've reached my goal body size, I might take a look at the numbers. But not now.  I know I've lost weight because I feel fantastic (flatter belly, my clothes fit better, etc...) but I have no idea what the actual number is, and it's amazingly liberating.

I love not having to obsess over a number that in so many ways is arbitrary.

I have been reading ALL of Geneen Roth's books (She wrote Women, Food and God) and they have been so helpful. My thought is, if I have been dieting for 5 years and have still gained weight, then it isn't working. I am trying something radical because ultimately, I want to trust myself. Read Roth's books. They are amazing.

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