I am new

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  • RDmommyto3
  on Nov. 14, 2008 at 12:53 PM

• Welcome, I am a registered dietitian. The book Intuitive Eating is excellent, but you should realize that most people gain some weight before they start losing. It sounds like you might not have the patience for that at this time. There really is no quick answer to weight loss, especially for weight loss that is permenent. Have you ever looked into some of the self-hypnosis diets? I think they could work for binge eating. Hope that helps. You can find the self-hypnosis diet books through Amazon- just type in self-hypnosis diet.

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• by
  • anneb123
  on Nov. 17, 2008 at 10:31 AM

• Hi and welcome,

  I've read a lot about intuitive eating, so I think I understand the mechanics of it, although I still struggle with practicing it.  The core idea seems to be taking the focus off of controlling food as a means of weight loss and trusting and respecting your body instead.  I'm starting to realize that as long as I keep making weight the measure of sucess, I'll be stuck in this same cycle.  It sounds like you're going through something similar?

  The difficulty is how not to make it about weight.  I've gone for as long as 2 weeks eating exactly what I want when I'm hungry, stopping when I'm full, etc., and I felt great, lots of energy and a kind of freedom from all the negative self-talk and food obsession.  And then I stepped on the scale.  Only 2 pounds?  What's the point?  Rationally, I know that feeling great is a reward in itself, but somehow I always go back to the scale to tell me whether I'm 'winning'.  Maybe part of it is finding an inspiration beyond weight.

  Binging is an issue for me, too.  I know I shouldn't abuse my body.  It makes my body feel uncomfortable and queasy.  But once I get going, the compulsion is very strong.  Here's something to consider (I read it somewhere): the binge does do something for you or else you wouldn't keep doing it.  For me, it calms my anxiety.  Well, if I'm going to be honest, it doesn't calm it, it just takes the focus off of it.  For me, I've started taking walks as an alternate coping mechanism.  It's only been a week, but I've noticed my binges haven't been as frequent this past week.  What does your binging do for you?  (It sounds nuts, I know, but there might be something to it.)

  Anyway, sorry for the huge post, but I'm really struggling to learn this, too.  Two things that I know (and am working on actually believing) are 1) intuitive eating cannot be about weight loss, it has to be about trusting, listening to, and responding to your body and 2) binging is a way to cope, but it's a destructive habit that only makes you feel bad.  You deserve to feel good!  Repeat as many times as necessary until you truly believe it.  :) 

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