CommunityBrowse groupsBlogEtiquetteInvite Your friendsSuccess Stories

Lounge
Community 


Intuitive Eating

I've heard so much about this book and am considering buying it. Looking for feedback before I do... if you've read it, does it work for you? Not? I'm hoping it's not one of those things that sounds good in theory, but just doesn't work.

Mon. Aug 28, 1:23pm

Add comment  
I'm beginning to think it's spam or self promotion. I've seen it too many times over the last few weeks not to be suspicious. If it's good fine, but I'd like to hear a real story about it.

Monday, August 28, 2006, 1:38 PM

Add comment
I'm currently in the process of reading it. I wouldn't consider it spam or a hoax at all. At the risk of sounding like a "book groupie" many of the points made in the book make total sense. I definitely plan to use it and continue it. Since I'm in the early parts of the process, I haven't lost weight. However, the process emphasizes slow weight loss. Perhaps some of the IE veterans could be more helpful...

Monday, August 28, 2006, 1:49 PM

Add comment
I borrowed it from the library. It's interesting in theory but just not realistic for me. The basic idea is to only eat when you are truly hungry...if it was that easy I wouldn't be trying to lose right now.

Monday, August 28, 2006, 1:56 PM

Add comment
not spam

well, i don't know, it could've started as such but i, margeis32, am currently reading IE. this book is for people who can not do "one more diet". this book is about shedding the "i shouldn't eat that" mentality and all the "good" and "bad" labeling we dieters do. IE is about returning to the innate ability to eat healthfully and to be satiated that has gotten buried due to years of dieting, societal pressure, family expectations, etc., etc... has it worked for me? i don't know if i've lost any numbers on the scale b/c i just started it a week ago (and haven't felt like weighing myself). i DO know that almost immediately i feel like the uncomfortable pressure cooker of dieting has been released. i eat what looks good, i try not to get too full, and i go about my day. i do not feel like i wasted my $13.95 even if i don't lose any numbers on the scale!

Monday, August 28, 2006, 1:57 PM

Add comment
I got this book in May on the recommendation of my therapist. While I am following my own version of the plan (aka doing what works best for me), I would honestly credit this book for preventing me from developing a binge eating disorder. It prevented my relationship with food from taking over my life.

The thinking in this book goes against everything our culture has taught us about calorie counting and dieting. It teaches you to listen to your body's natural hunger and fullness cues, which you are told to basically ignore if you are on a diet.

Also, for the principles to truly take affect could take several months. This is the opposite of a quick fix. If you are interested in a new way of developing healthy eating habits for a lifetime, check it out.

Monday, August 28, 2006, 2:09 PM

Add comment
Ditto

This is not a quick fix.. like anything, you have to stick with it to get results. I have been on Peertrainer for over a year- went from 238 down to about 207 but then was in a rut. I did not want to diet- had spent that whole time not dieting but just trying to fess up and make better choices.. if I was going to eat something I wanted, fine- but try not to make a whole day of it. Even before peertrainer I was doing parts of IE on my own. Trying to listen to my body, and my tummy and be satisfied with just a little less which was by no means a dieters "portion." Trying to do something else besides eat when in a transition or feeling like eating just for the heck of it. To embrace IE though and for it to work you have to let yourself see no food as forbidden. Sure, at first, experimenting with this, you will eat more things that are considered less healthy than others.. but after awhile, a few months, more fruits and veggies will creep into your diet because you want to eat them, not because a nutritionist tells you to.
I have made most of the postings about the book probably -here. I am no way affiliated with the book, the authors, the publishing company. I got the book through interlibrary loan and have since returned it, not yet being able to purchase my own copy yet. SO the beauty of this is, you don't need to spend a dime on learning about how to do IE. There are many free references to it on the internet. and it does not get much simpler than.
Eat what you want when mildly hungry- the reasoning behind this being that if you wait until you are starving you are more likely to over eat.
Eat until mildly full- aim for neither hungry nor full.
Eat again what you want when hungry.

This leads itself to a lot of self exploration. It is ok to eat for taste- if you know in your heart you can allow yourself to eat as much of whatever you want when you are hungry it is easier to just have a tiny bite or so for flavor.
Like there was a post today? about someone wanting a snickers bar for breakfast. An IE'er would go ahead and have it.. be saitisfied and probably not crave chocolate or end up eating another 1000 calories to just avoid the initial thing. An IE'er may start eating the snickers bar- realize halfway or a bite into it that that was really not what they wanted, stop and find something else they wanted to eat. The reason being that once we truly let ourselves eat what we want holding nothing back, we have a chance to truly taste it without feeling the guilt that society has taught us to feel about certain foods. We find that we may have just wanted or liked or craved something because we were taught it was something to avoid, not because we neccesarily really loved the taste and texture.
If you are thinking, but you are eating all these fattening things? How many times have you just gorged yourself on whatever because you have this what the heck I have ruined my diet day so I may as well give up until tomorrow? With IE- the thinking is you can pick right back up when you are hungry again... just let yourself get hungry again and you are at square one... you can always learn from your eating experiences good and bad- and it is not to judge, just learn. There is no urgency to have a "one last meal" or "one last great indulgence" because nothing is forbidden.. so one ends up over time, just eating less of whatever and feeling satisfied.
ANother part to it is really analyzing and feeling your stomach as it gets empty or fills up... making mental notes of this in numbers and I have seen some creative ways of looking at it like a gas guage... If you overfill your tank full of gas, it just spills out, so you don't really want that, right?
IE has helped me break 200 and I am sure I am around 190 now- getting into my "smaller" clothes and the ones I am wearing are getting looser all the time... and I am enjoying what I am eating and eating when I want to boot.

yahoogroup where you can come and learn about IE for free...
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/IntuitiveEating_Support/

link below leads to other links about IE... it is not my blog though.
hope this helps... no one really likes dieting it is just a vicious cycle that makes money for some people

Link

Monday, August 28, 2006, 3:32 PM

Add comment
Making Peace With Food

I recently read Intuitive Eating and found it quite similar to a book I read in 1987 right before going to college - Making Peace With Food: Freeing Yourself From the Diet/Weight Obsession by Susan Kano.

In a number of ways, Making Peace With Food was really helpful. I never did develop a full-on eating disorder and have not have any serious problems with binge eating. Over the years I lost and gained weight for a variety of reasons (depression, quitting smoking, reaction to medication, etc.) but did not go on a diet for about 10 years, nor did I weigh myself during that time.

Over time, however, I have returned to more restrictive eating patterns - nothing super low cal and nothing that leaves me hungry - but I have found that, for myself, without making conscious choices around healthier eating, I have a killer sweet tooth and find comfort in comfort foods. My weight is much higher than I would like it to be and negatively affects my health; it also continues to go up.

So for me, books like Making Peace With Food (not talked about a lot here on PT - in fact, I've never seen it mentioned) and Intuitive Eating have not provided the definitive answer for me. That said, I think that (a) these books do provide a definitive answer for some people and help them to regain sanity over their eating and lose a lot of weight; and (b) these books and the approach outlined in them have positively influenced my approach to food and eating and body image even though I do not follow them entirely.

As to Intuitive Eating showing up a lot on PT, I really don't think it's some kind of spam or marketing technique. I think the ideas in Intuitive Eating resonate with a lot of dieters which is why folks are talking about it here. But as an earlier poster mentioned, Intuitive Eating, as well as plenty of other books on dieting, eating, etc. are readily available at most libraries. Many of us here on PT have probably spent a small fortune on dieting books and we would all do well to remember that the vast majority of us are probably lucky enough to have access to free loans from our local libraries.




Monday, August 28, 2006, 9:27 PM

Add comment
When I read the book IE, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders - no more food guilt! no more yo yo dieting! It is not a quick fix, and as previous posters have said quite elegantly, a new way of understanding and developing a healthy attitude toward food. Highly recommend to all to check it out. Thanks to the poster about the Making Peace book. I am interested in getting more input on this subject. Obviously you still have to take in less than you put out to lose weight, but this book really does offer useful insights.

Monday, August 28, 2006, 10:12 PM

Add comment
to 9:27 poster

Hi!
I appreciate your feedback. The book does delve into detail about not using food as comfort- and finding other ways to comfort oneself- retrack and reprogram ourselves into other ways of thinking. It takes awhile.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006, 2:47 PM

Add comment
IE does not work for everyone

Some people are not able to stop when they are full, so if IE tells you to stop when you feel like it, many may just eat and eat and eat. I too believe that there should be no foods that are "off limits", but still believe that you should count calories - no matter if it is a snickers bar or a salad. Also, I think anything in moderation is fine -- I'm not saying a very small "diet" portion for dinner -- just eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full, monitor your calories as some food has much higher calories than we think, and keep up with daily exercise.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006, 3:06 PM

Add comment
For me IE helped save me from moving into a full blown eating disorder. I become obsessive with my calories very quickly so I'm unable to count them. Once I start counting them, I get more and more obsessed. Quickly falling into the trap of less and less calories. I had a bout with anorexia when I was a teenager so it's something that is easy for me to slide back into.

I agree though, IE may not be for everyone. But then I think that everyone needs to find the lifestyle choice that is right for them. We're individuals so it only makes sense that the same thing won't work for everyone.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006, 3:14 PM

Add comment








Related Content:

How To Lose Weight- The Basics
Weight Watchers Points System
The Fat Smash Diet
The Eat To Live Diet
The Beck Diet Solution
How To Get The Motivation To Lose Weight

 

How To Be Successful Using PEERtrainer

How To Burn Fat
Online Weight Loss Support- How It Works
Does Green Tea Help You Lose Weight?
Tips On Using PEERtrainer
Visit The PEERtrainer Community
Diet and Fitness Resources

Fitness

Weight Watchers Meetings
Learning To Inspire Others: You Already Are
Writing Down Your Daily Workouts
Spending Money On A Personal Trainer?
How I Became A Marathon Runner

 

Preventive Health

How To Prevent Injuries During Your Workout
Flu Season: Should You Take The Flu Shot?
Are You Really Ready To Start PEERtrainer?
Super Foods That Can Boost Your Energy
Reversing Disease Through Nutrition

New Diet and Fitness Articles:

Weight Watchers Points Plus
How To Adjust Your Body To Exercise
New: Weight Watchers Momentum Program
New: PEERtrainer Blog Archive
Review Of The New Weight Watchers Momentum Program
 

Weight Loss Motivation by Joshua Wayne:

Why Simple Goal Setting Is Not Enough
How To Delay Short Term Gratification
How To Stay Motivated
How To Exercise With A Busy Schedule

Real World Nutrition and Fitness Questions

Can Weight Lifting Help You Lose Weight?
Are Protein Drinks Safe?
Nutrition As Medicine?
 

Everyday Weight Loss Tips

How To Eat Healthy At A Party
How To Eat Out And Still Lose Weight
The Three Bite Rule
Tips On How To Stop A Binge