Welcome to the Group
1. History with weight loss:
2. History with Calorie Count:
3. Reason for joining this group:
4. Some interesting details about yourself, such as your job, your family, your pets and your interests:
And now just go ahead and make that first post!
I just got the book Intuitive Eating from my therapist.
1. I exhibited anorexic behavior from 1991 till Nov 2006 when I checked myself into an inpatient program. I have been in recovery since the summer of 2007.
2. Joined CC I think in may. have used it to know I am not eating too much to gain weight
3. interested in talking with others who use intuitive eating instead of counting calories
4. I do ceramics and sometimes sell or give away my work. I have been in one show.
Hi Everybody,
I’m Mary Hartley, the group founder. I started the Intuitive Eating Group as soon as the switch was flipped on Groups. By “flipped switch”, I mean that legions of extraordinarily talented people working in concert for several months completed the development this fine product for us. My part was easy.
I’ll be checking in every day, Monday through Friday. I am here to incite meaningful discussion and to untangle the group if it gets too confused, but the Group’s job is to figure out solutions and help one another. The ability to help another person is the final stage of change.
I have been a dietitian for 32 years, and I have been working with Calorie Count since October 2006 when I was hired as a consultant to do work at home. In January 2008, a full-time position was created for me. I’m glad to be associated with this free, high-quality nutrition tool.
My weight history: In high school and college, I used to be a bit overweight by 10 – 20 lb (but I’m very short - less than 5’0”.) I would try to diet sometimes, but I finally figured out how to eat when I was 24 years old and a new RD. I modeled myself after someone who ate yet looked great – go figure. I was actually doing Intuitive Eating but the concept wasn’t invented. I lost 20 pounds over two years without dieting and it stuck. Intuitive Eating is the only thing that makes sense for the long-term.
I started working with compulsive eaters in 1985, when I worked with a gastroenterologist on an obesity procedure. I interviewed many, many lifelong dieters who told me about emotional eating. (I remembered that I had binged for awhile when I was under a lot of stress in college.) I read everything available, worked with therapists, and learned how to treat CE. I ran Breaking Free from Emotional Eating (Geneen Roth) groups for many years. I love Geneen Roth.
I moved to NYC in January 2008 and it’s difficult to get established in a new place, especially when you’re older. But I am making an effort because I realize there was no way around it. (Gee, I wasn’t rescued again.) I am single, and my 25 year-old daughter lives close by in Brooklyn. I don’t have any pets because I am away from my apartment a lot, but I do have a garden and have to care for my plants. I love the outdoors, socializing, needlework, and indy movies. My friends and family live in Rhode Island which is three hours away.
Thanks for reading - Mary
Hello, I'm Jennifer. I have a bachelor's degree in Dietetics from Arizona State University, but have yet to apply for internships. I became interested in Nutrition and Health at a very young age, about 7 or 8. It was for very unhealthy reasons, as I battled with anorexia and bulimia throughout my youth. I developed the "diet mentality" early onand have since struggled to rid myself of it. I was introduced to the book Intuitive Eating after reading an article on Katherine McPhee in People magazine and her struggle with bulimia. I have also read the book "Diets Don't Work." I have tried to embrace the Intuitive Eating mentality and for the most part have done well. As someone with the knowledge and desire to counsel others on weight control, I would definately say this approach is most realistic.
Hello, I'm Brent (earth_mom)--not a proessional anything...
1. I've been thinking about losing weight for about ten years now...making itty bitty changes (like drinking water, keeping a food log), and trying harder than that as well, such as Weight Watchers and joining a gym. Then I would lapse into lazy thinking and eat fast food and frozen dinners all the time. In my 20's I lost and gained weight easily over a matter of weeks or months. Now I'm 60 and almost 100 lbs overweight: morbidly obese, and the scale hardly moves at all.
2. I joined CC in May 2008, more than a year ago. I was trying to use a similar program sponsored by my company's insurance program. I like online resources, and CC provided many more and better tools, so I switched. Then I discovered CC's real strength: the community.
I have met all kinds of people and found support in their sharing. I have lost 20 lbs, but even more important to me, since joining, I have begun exercising more often, tried new foods, and learned a lot about the obsession and compulsion of eating and dieting--how it masks other feelings and issues in life.
I like most foods and I enjoy cooking, trying new recipes. I'm a fan of the recipe analyzer, and the browser, and I participate in challenges, too. I have been logging my food almost daily, and planning weekly, for more than a year now. I think one thing I have learned about myself is that I can make a commitment and keep coming back in spite of puny results. I'm not in charge of the results, I'm in charge of making the effort, doing my part.
3. I had heard about Intuitive Eating and the book, and a couple of days ago decided to look further into it. I was disappointed in the authors' website, but the links were interesting, especially the blog throughthinckandthin. I've been reading the basics from the posts of Shannon and her friends. I may just have to fork out the $14 to amazon to find out what it's all about.
IE seems to say "back on track" is "diet mentality." Interesting all the various self-regulating thoughts and behaviors that IE labels "diet mentality" and rejects. Including "ever" weighing and counting calories, plus exercising except for the sheer joy of moving around. I'm approaching this cautiously.
What I'm looking for is an open and free-flowing discussion of IE, what it is, what it means, how it works (if it does), personal stories, success, principles...
4. I got back on the wii fit last night, after a few days off, and did 14 minutes including finishing up with hula hoops. I got good scores, too. As I work through my day at the office today, I'm trying to remember to do leg lifts, and kegels, and neck stretches...take all the meditation breaks I have scheduled (one per hour)...all these self-care routines may or may not be "diet mentality" but they are improvements and they work improvements physically and spiritually.
To me "self-improvement" is a life-long journey, and being obese is not healthy. I did read some of the published research comparing different diet studies. It showed that over a long-ish haul (2-3 years or more) "diets" actually caused the participants to gain weight (rebound). I don't call what I'm doing "dieting." I'm just looking for more healthy foods--fat free whole grain chocolate cake, that kind of thing.
I am counting calories, and I intend to continue until I reach normal BMI. Right now I'm trying for a deficit of 500-700 calories, which means eating a little bit less than the 2000 calories I've been averaging the past year. I have been trying this for about 4 days...and I'm waking up very hungry, getting hungry for lunch and dinner as well. In the evenings after dinner I am not hungry, but I tend to snack a little anyway: an ounce of dark choc, a half ounce of munchy crackers & nuts.
I'm waiting for the day I go "off track" and pig out on something...could be chocolate or could be trash...and I guess I wish I wasn't anticipating failure. I'm also lusting after ice cream...
Hello!
This is the second time in my 54 years to be fat. When I was in my early 40's I lost 40 pounds by eating mindfully (asking myself what is the healthiest and lowest calorie meal of the choices available to me right now). Often I ate vegetarian.
The new 50 pounds made their entrance via two solid years of the usual life horrors that hit people at one time or another. Suddenly I was much larger (or at least it seemed sudden to me). I am back to mindful and often vege again. If I can just figure out how to have "life experiences" and eat this way I am content to do so forever.
In February, I joined CC at a nice round 190 pounds. I've lost 15. Logging the calories buttressed the mindful eating very nicely. CC gave me a goal weight, but I disagree with it as it is way too low for me and am happily ignoring it except for the cool spaceman that is on a journey in space on my profile!
Taught painting and drawing to kids and adults for many years, but now work in non-profit organizing academic seminars. For the past 35 years, my husband and I have been parents to a number of animals and later added a daughter (22) and son (20). I am a voracious reader and collect reader firsts. I love yoga, meditation, sudoku, and having a good time with friends.
I am not familiar with the book Intuitive Eating, but the premise looks much like what I already do, so am here to find out more and hopefully meet some people that are not all bent out of shape because when they weighed themselves this afternoon they weighed more than they did earlier in the morning and OMG they went 100 calories over their limit of 900, a goal that they SWEAR CC gave them, and does this carrot make me look fat?
For me, it's health first. Weight will follow and end up where it is right.
Hope the group grows as we all shrink!
1. History with weight loss: I had never eaten properly, dismissing breakfast and sometimes, lunch, then indulge in a big dinner. My highest weight was 180# and I decided that I didn't want to huff 'n puff to just tie my shoe strings.
In 2005 I was diagnosed with ruptured L-3, L-4 discs, spending time in physical therapy; upon release, I decided to join a gym to continue PT exercises and took a weight loss package too in 2006. My loss was down to 130 in 2007 but I gained 10# over Thanksgiving and I've been trying to lose those last pounds again ever since!
I'm at a healthy weight and just learned that those last lbs are 'vanity lbs' and I just need to tone. I could just go to maintenance, exercise and continue healthy eating then let the chips fall but the last 5 # are in my thighs and I want to accomplish my goal of removal.
2. History with Calorie Count: Upon searching for the calories of a plum, I found CC in Nov '07 then started counting calories online at the beginning of 2008. I was using a Weight Watcher's Excel spreadsheet to track my calories offline but didn't get the points thing. My gym gave me a sample diet and an 1840 calorie plan but I switched that early for an online Slim-Fast diet plan of 1500, finally modifying to my own plan of 1100-1400 over the 2 years which was essentially what CC+ teaches, except I went below 1200 to get there fast.
The past 1.5 years involved building up metabolism and lean muscle which I'm afraid I will destroy again by lowering calories to meet my overall goal.
I never had an eating disorder before but I've become obsessed with the weighing every day, logging food and checking analysis to see if I'm eating healthy to the point that I wonder if I don't have an ED, in opposite meaning, now!
3. Reason for joining this group: I was invited by a Buddy and decided to accept. Now I'm a bit confused as the title says "Intuitive Eating" Group but the Welcome email that I received had a link to "caloriecount.about.com/disordered-eaters-reco very-g152" and I am not a disordered eater or am I?
Sometimes I will not accept a dinner invitation for fear of not eating healthy food and prefer to eat at home.
4. Some interesting details about yourself, such as your job, your family, your pets and your interests: I am retired from a scientific career, single 5'6.25" female still learning to live a new life style at age 71. I quit smoking in 2002 and learned to eat healthily in 2006, almost at a too late age!
I'm into computers and try to restrict my online time but I'm also webmaster for our local historical group which does take time; however, I do enjoy it and the learning of new techniques.
Lately, I spend more time online reading about healthy eating. From CC forums, I've learned to make my own bread, cakes, fudge, muffins, protein bars and yogurt. I'm shooting for 30/30/40 ratio of fat/prot/carb from Jillian Michael's oxidizer test at this thread since I am a balanced oxidizer which also agrees with The Zone Diet principle.
I've read a lot about a lot of the good diets and they all promote healthy eating which is my lifestyle change. Right now, I'm fascinated by the Zone Diet as it does not allow bread, peas and potatoes which is what I eliminated when I got down to 130. The Zone menu is repeatedly below 1200, which surprised me, but they claim that it forces the body to burn fat which requires less calories, according to their forums.
It's been stated that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise but for some Zoners, it is 10% exercise. One stated that any exercise over an hour is wasted; another clarified that exercising increases cortisol levels which inhibits fat burn. This bothers me because I live 40 miles from my gym [any gym] and spend an hour on the floor then an hour in the swimming pool, the latter being my favorite exercise. I can only drive to the gym 2-3 times a week; not every day to break up the exercise.
Hope to meet some new buddies, trade secrets [if there are any] and lose weight together or tone, if I come back as I'm not sure I belong here due to question #3 above. Good luck to all.
Hello I'm Jane.... I was asked to join the group recently and it seems like an interesting topic.
My history with weight-loss is one that started about 20 years ago when I made the mistake of looking for 'quick-fix' solutions to a few extra lbs. I think I had two serious attempts to lose weight ... both were temporarily successful but, in turn led me to be larger than ever by the end. About 4 years ago I had another crack at it, although this time with something less dramatic and more well-researched..... the 'lifestyle change' that gets mentioned a lot. I lost 50lbs+ that time and have spent the intervening time trying (with varying degrees of success) to maintain that loss.
I'm not sure you'd call it 'intuitive eating' at first. It took quite a lot of application and effort to turn things around.... attention to detail, good planning.... and also a heavy dose of realism. e.g. much as I love a glass or two of wine, it had to go.... It took several months to turn the process from a conscious effort to something more intuitive and automatic.
Not sure how long I've been with CC but I used it to start with for the recipe analyser (part of my new lifestyle is that I'm a very keen cook). Have since got interested in the message boards and enjoy reading the threads. I use the food log to check my intake from time to time.
Something interesting about me?.... A single mother of one who works full time in an international business which involves quite a few foreign trips. I sing with a jazz band and have been learning the ukulele for nearly a year! Is that interesting enough? 
My dietary philosophy could be summarised as 'there are no bad foods, only bad diets'. I believe all foods are there to to be enjoyed, savoured and appreciated - some lavishly, others in moderation. What saddens me is when people fear food, treat it as some evil necessity or attempt to muzzle it into submission... trying to deny the pleasure it affords or feeling guilty because they ate something 'unhealthy'.
Original Post by jannid:
I just saw the Welcome link too. Is the book for victims of eating disorters?
Not sure of the intent for this forum but the authors of the book are counselors to Eating Disorder Centers according to their website at http://www.intuitiveeating.com/
yes, I guess I glossed over the "eating disorders" part...It's the "Intuitive" part that hooked me. I want to return to the time(s) in my life when I just ate and enjoyed life (or made a mess of it) without worrying about numbers, calories, logs, scales, fat ratios and "good" and "bad" foods.
I'm kind of discouraged right now, and I guess I keep dipping into new ideas to try to re-energize my spirit. I realize that I took all that good health for granted...and it's gone now. So, yeah, maybe none of us belongs in this group...I don't know.
I think my new life style has become intuitive because I made a concerted effort to make it such but if I let down barriers and really ate "Intuitive", it might be PB&J sandwiches and Milky Way Bars!
On another site I've joined there is a member who is a recovering Bulimic and is eating quite wrong as I see it. Three servings of PB&J on wheat thins for dinner every day; 3 serv Fosted Flakes for breakfast; a lettuce leaf, cheese, ham for lunch and some yogurt as snack is way too many carbs & fat and not enough protein but must be her intuitive meal as it repeats!
The gal asked for help is what to eat but has not taken advice so far. I've suggested upping the protein and cutting back on PB but who knows what the real story is for this person so I won't suggest[or nag] again.
It's sad to see people hurting themselves especially when you think you can help but can't.
When I decided that I was going to lose weight at 180[174 by the time I got to gym], all determents were removed from my sight at home. When I reached my goal of 150, then 140 and 130 seemed a better goal. When I got to 130 then chocolates, mashed potatoes and fried shrimp etc were reintroduced into my diet and I'm still adjusting for that 'Intuitiveness' I guess.
end of rant
"As you think so you are and you make or you mar your successes in life." (can't remember)
Quoting from the blog: "In our modern times, it has become customary to eat in at a hurried pace, often unconsciously in front of the television or computer. It seems that eating has been stripped of its potential to serve its purpose of deeply nourishing our bodies and spirit. It has become a tool of distraction; a way to escape day to day stresses or difficult emotions. Sometimes, we can't even manage to find the time and space to eat a proper meal in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. Lunch breaks at work have become shorter in duration and often, by the time we arrive home after a busy day, the last thing on our minds is putting in the effort to make a home cooked meal.
"We must begin to ask ourselves however, at what cost to our health and well-being have we sacrificed pleasure in favor of the quick and convenient? Food is nourishment. It provides us with fuel for life. It also has nurturing values beyond the culinary. To sit and eat a meal, without distraction, savoring the moment and appreciating the time and space to care for ourselves and tend to our needs; is to experience the healing nature of food. "
I just need to get my head into this space. I was raised with whole grains and green leafy veg's, as well as plenty of whole eggs, butter, whipped cream on special occasions, and meat at every meal. So my training and inclination is to eat healthy foods, no artificial anything. I just eat too much, eat too fast, don't chew enough, distract myself and don't enjoy the food.
Perhaps instead of intuitive eating, for the non-ed individual, this quote really describes Mindful Eating.
Maybe you and I should start a group for that? I would co-moderate it with you. Email me and we'll talk about it....or rather, I'll email you. I like this idea.
Original Post by earth_mom:
Quoting from the blog: "In our modern times, it has become customary to eat in at a hurried pace, often unconsciously in front of the television or computer. It seems that eating has been stripped of its potential to serve its purpose of deeply nourishing our bodies and spirit. It has become a tool of distraction; a way to escape day to day stresses or difficult emotions. Sometimes, we can't even manage to find the time and space to eat a proper meal in the midst of all the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. Lunch breaks at work have become shorter in duration and often, by the time we arrive home after a busy day, the last thing on our minds is putting in the effort to make a home cooked meal.
"We must begin to ask ourselves however, at what cost to our health and well-being have we sacrificed pleasure in favor of the quick and convenient? Food is nourishment. It provides us with fuel for life. It also has nurturing values beyond the culinary. To sit and eat a meal, without distraction, savoring the moment and appreciating the time and space to care for ourselves and tend to our needs; is to experience the healing nature of food. "I just need to get my head into this space. I was raised with whole grains and green leafy veg's, as well as plenty of whole eggs, butter, whipped cream on special occasions, and meat at every meal. So my training and inclination is to eat healthy foods, no artificial anything. I just eat too much, eat too fast, don't chew enough, distract myself and don't enjoy the food.
My eating habits never were healthy while growing up or until 2006 when I made a lifestyle change. It was always quick-easy-out-the-door-meal or maybe nothing for me; then a Milky Way bar for energy later on.
That has changed and my second nature is to eat healthy now but I have to have barriers to be reminded of such constantly.
Have you guys started the "Mindful Eating" yet?
Upon looking at Phord's site I went to the Hacker's Diet and downloaded the Excel spreadsheets to do calculations of my weight loss and trend offline. Great stuff! The science behind it might even be the basis for online programs now.
Three important things stated were:
- Exercise will not help you lose weight the way you think it will.
- Hunger is the way to lose.
- Learn to appreciate the feeling of hunger as your body burning fat.
Well, that was written the better part of 18 years ago and I've learned to eat so that I don't feel the hunger pains of my body burning fat but eating less is the key.
My cravings come and go but seem to be under control for chocolate since taking my own protein bars, full of chocolate, to the gym with me. I'm not hungry for everything in the store when I go shopping afterwards!
I just started it about 30 seconds ago! So search Mindful Eating in Groups and be the first to join me!
1. Was a high school athlete at a good 160 lbs, intuitive eater, then went to college, gained 10 lbs within 8 weeks, so i started to diet and exersixe more, dropped my wieght to 120 lbs with litle eating and rigourous exersize to the point where i was emaciated with a 35 bpm heart rate. i had many food fears and after coming home i was trying to obtain a healthy weight, but gained 35 lbs in the past 2 months. i went from 125 to 160 in 2 months due to binge eating.
2. started with calorie count after googling anorexia symptoms...i had all of the sypmtoms...now i am a binge eating trying to recover from this eating disorder
3. joined this group because i want to become an intuitive eater i hope that i can magically get some helpful advice (i hope you are not too busy). i read the book but i dont think i have made much progress, today was my worst binge and i am in pain i have cramps in my back from m y stomach pressing against my back.
4. I am a swim teacher at a city pool, i love teaching kids how to swim, during the school year i am a student at UCLA studying pre med. My family consist of mom dad and two brothers. i look up to my younger one...i have a g uinea pig, 3 leo geckos, and 2 dogs whcih i enjoy taking to the dog beach. I love helping others and have an obsession with making others feel good and helping others.
2
