Getting back to normal eating?

[hollybee]

I've finally lost all the weight I wanted-I'm slightly underweight now and really don't think it would be wise to lose any more. But I'm having trouble stopping the "dieting behavior." I am eating, but I have to psych myself up before I do so. I always have a smoothie for breakfast, but at lunch and dinner I always find something else to do and delay eating as long as I can. I do eventually eat, but I have to talk myself into it.
Has anyone else had this problem? Any ideas on how to fix it?

[puffin]

I have had this problem for many years, food is always a huge part of my life, should i shouldnt i eat at this time, maybe not think of the calories, but i should as i will be hungry later and eat loads then it will be worse. I think the best thing to do is eat as much as you feel you need. Try not to worry about putting the odd pound on or losing the odd pound, dont weigh yourself all the time, infact i would throw them away. Try and eat slightly more each day like an extra banana and dont feel bad if you eat 4 bits of chocolate instead of 2. I know its hard to break the cycle but eating regular meals at the set time will stop you thinking about food so much. Sorry, it might be rubbish advice but these are the things i try to tell myself :o

[hollybee]

Thanks, puffin. It's not rubbish advice at all. I guess I am afraid that I will go overboard, but that really hasn't happened when I've had the opportunity to eat a lot (friends of ours took us out to dinner last week. I had a big pata dish, ate what I wanted and took the rest home. I eventually finished it, but it took 3 days). I also have noticed that I just don't have much of an appetite-that might be just my metabolism slowing down. I need to bring it back up. I've been eating some seaweed, because a dietitian friend of mine suggested that my thyroid was not functioning properly (I was feeling very, very cold, even when the temperature was normal). That seems to have helped.

Thanks!!

[puffin]

Thank you :) I understand that, its hard to know when to stop eating once you have a platefull in front of you but it sounds like you listen to your body. I cant eat large amounts at one time so try and eat small things during the day, it keeps my energy levels up and stops me thinking about food all the time. Good luck and i hope you can find a happy medium where you feel comfortable :)

[Roxy]

Hi Holly

I sympathise with your struggle to get back to regular eating habbits and I am watching this thread, hoping for some good advice too.

From April through until about Octoberish last year, I was dieting, and lost 18 pounds in total. I thought that was enough, and when I tried to go back to regular eating habbits, I found it very hard not to calculate calories and analyse everything I ate.

For a couple of weeks over the Christmas holidays, I gave up on calorie counting and simply ate what I liked. At the end of the 2 weeks I felt really awful, and have now gone back to using Fitday and calorie counting.

I wish you all the best in getting back to regular eating habbits, without putting on the weight that you lost. That's my biggest fear......putting it back on. I worked so hard to get it off (and I'm sure you did too) that it would be a shame to put it all back on again.

[hollybee]

Congratulations, Roxy. It is so hard to successfully lose weight, then to pull yourself back when you start to go back to old habits. I lost about 50 pounds, and I'm so small now that when I went to buy new underwear I had to go to the children's department!!
I really think the key to my success was in going vegan, so if I keep that up and increase my portions little by little I think I can find that "happy medium." It would be nice to have a little bit of an appetite, but I believe that part of my problem with that stems from the fact that I learned to ignore my body's hunger signals for the year it took me to lose the weight. I will just have to eat when I know it's time, because if I wait until I feel "hungry" it will never happen.

Thanks again.

[Marrers]

I think the Paul McKenna approach is brilliant and is just as valid for those who have lost weight as for those who want to lose it. It's all about changing our relationship with food so we eat to live rather than live to eat, and so we think about and enjoy food while we eat it rather than at all time except when we are eating it. It is also about getting back in touch with your body so you learn to recognise when you are hungry and when you are full. Don't worry too much about never feeling when you are hungry - your body really will reset over time.

Amazon sell the book which comes with a good cd for about 7quid (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Can-Make-You-Thin-Book/dp/0593050541/sr=8-1/qid=1168392985/ref=pd_ka_1/026-3054573-2881226?ie=UTF8&s=books) or I think QVC do a package of dvds and the cd for about 40 quid.

[hollybee]

I've been thinking about that, Marrers. It's so hard to just ENJOY your food, when you've really fooled your body into thinking that you don't want it. I haven't been eating nearly enough over the past year-it's really a wonder that my weight didn't plateau a long time ago. I am a real exercise fiend, so that's probably what kept it going.
Yesterday, I made myself eat a veggieburger, and for dinner I had a 1/2 a bagel with homemade bean spread. I know, that's not a lot. But it's progress. Today, I actually felt hungry. I started to do what I normally do at lunch-have a coffee and busy myself with other things. I did eat (two pieces of bread with bean spread) and finished my son's potato.
Thanks for all your support. I was afraid that I would get a lot of backlash because there are so many on this forum who are trying to lose weight-and here I come with "Oh, but I just can't seem to work up an appetite..."

[Marrers]

I think Paul McKenna is doing a spot on GMTV all next week but no idea what time! May be worth setting the video if you want watch it, give you a bit of a boost (much easier to watch than read a book I think!)

[hollybee]

Thanks Marrers. but I am in Southern California and they never broadcast anything quite so intelligent in the mornings here!:)

[RedWellies]

Hollybee, you may have been feeling the cold more because you weren't eating enough. We need fuel to keep us warm. When it's cold, I eat loads more than when it's warm. I agree with what Marrers said. You need to let your body tell you when you're hungry and listen to it. Over-excercising can also diminish your appetite.

[hollybee]

So true-we are experiencing an unusual cold snap here in Southern California. The "cold" here really didn't bother me for the first winter we were here-I refused to wear a coat or sweatshirt because I always got too warm. Last year was more difficult, and now I am having an awful time with the cold.
I was doing ok at increasing my food until today, now it's back to square one. I had a long run around the park this morning, and I haven't been able to look at any food.
I know-I'm getting myself into a bad spiral, as well as sounding like a whiny brat. I'll go have lunch right now.
Thanks everyone!!

[Marrers]

Why not try writing a food diary as well? Even if you have an off day where you feel you haven't eaten enough you will see overall the pattern of your eating and what needs to change if anything.

And don't engage in negative thinking around your habits - you may have had an off day but you are not back to square one! Talk to yourself positively - about what you are doing well and about what you intend to do better, not what you are doing badly.

[hollybee]

I've thought of keeping a food diary, but haven't because I guess I just don't want to see it in print. I've been doing better over the past few days. I woke up the other morning feeling very, very hungry.
It's a bit of a psychological barrier for me, too. I convinced myself that food was an enemy (that was really the only way I COULD lose weight-I was nearly 50 pounds overweight); now I have to learn to enjoy it again. I was doing that, until today. We had to be out the whole morning, so I didn't eat lunch until 3 pm. Then I did the same thing-had a coffee and got busy with putting groceries away.

[Marrers]

. . .I have to learn to enjoy (food) again. I was doing that, until today. We had to be out the whole morning, so I didn't eat lunch until 3 pm. Then I did the same thing-had a coffee and got busy with putting groceries away.
Okay, but tomorrow is another day. Remember, don't talk negatively to yourself. So you had a blip today - shit happens, tomorrow you'll do better.

[hollybee]

Okay, but tomorrow is another day. Remember, don't talk negatively to yourself. So you had a blip today - shit happens, tomorrow you'll do better.

Thanks:)

[tammay]

Honeybee,
I've been reading a book that also addresses intuitive eating (i.e., eating when you're hungry, stopping when you're full, getting rid of the diet "good vs. bad foods" mentality and it's been helping me a lot. I also want to get off of the "diet" mentality and my fear of eating because I'll gain weight. For me, oddly, it's mostly related to carbs, but that's probably because I did lowcarb dieting for years and lost 30 pounds on it.

The book is called "The Rules of 'Normal Eating'" by Karen R. Koenig and it addresses both compulsive/binge eaters and restrictive eaters (or, if you're like me, a combination of both).

It takes a cognitive behavioral approach, so it really works on the thought/behavior/feeling connection.

Hope that helps!

Tam

[RachelJune]

Thanks for that book recommendation, Tammay. I've just looked it up on Amazon and I think I'll be getting it myself :D

I have a history of yo-yo dieting and for quite some time now I feel like I've been on one constant diet, afraid of eating anything without calculating the calories or excercising to compensate. Thing is, like hollybee, once I reached my desired weight it's just so hard to go back to "normal" eating. In fact, I don't think I can even remember what that is anymore :eek: Now I have to put on weight, which is a really scary thought.

I'm hoping that book can give me some useful information and tips on how to develop a healthy relationship with food.

[Marrers]

Paul McKenna is really good too RachelJune. I've not gone into it wholeheartedly yet but know some people who have.
Based on NLP it changes your relationship with food fairly instantly - comes with a very effective cd and is only aout 6 quid.

[wmenke]

I have finally had a break through with my weight, but now I seem to have another issue. I went from 122lbs to 112 lbs over the last few months. At first I really felt like I lost weight; 10lbs makes quite the difference because I'm only 5'1". Now that I've been at 112lbs for a few weeks, I feel large again. I don't feel any smaller than I did when I weighted 122lbs. Has anyone else experienced this? My goal weight is 105 lbs, which is still in the healthy range for my height.

[Marrers]

When I used to diet I'd hit these points - I think they call them plateaus. I would just not try so hard for a few days - still watching my food but eating a few more calories than normal as long as my weight didn't go up - then cut back down again and the weight loss would start again.

[Smoothie]

yeah, i feel like that all the time. but that said, i've been suffering from ed for the past 7 years. so yeah, i feel like i'm big, no matter what i do. the only time i don't feel like that, is when i've been fasting for a couple of days..

[RachelJune]

I have finally had a break through with my weight, but now I seem to have another issue. I went from 122lbs to 112 lbs over the last few months. At first I really felt like I lost weight; 10lbs makes quite the difference because I'm only 5'1". Now that I've been at 112lbs for a few weeks, I feel large again. I don't feel any smaller than I did when I weighted 122lbs. Has anyone else experienced this? My goal weight is 105 lbs, which is still in the healthy range for my height.

It's strange, isn't it? I feel that way too sometimes, I think it's why it's so hard to stop when you reach your goal. There is a sense of achievement when you succeed in getting there, but when this subsides you need to create another goal to reach, and it kind of becomes an obsessive cycle... Although I agree that 105 lbs isn't an unhealthy weight for your height, it's important to realise you need to stop once you get there. Sometimes we can't see what others see.

[RachelJune]

Paul McKenna is really good too RachelJune. I've not gone into it wholeheartedly yet but know some people who have.
Based on NLP it changes your relationship with food fairly instantly - comes with a very effective cd and is only aout 6 quid.

I might look that one up, Marrers. Thanks :)

[hollybee]

I have finally had a break through with my weight, but now I seem to have another issue. I went from 122lbs to 112 lbs over the last few months. At first I really felt like I lost weight; 10lbs makes quite the difference because I'm only 5'1". Now that I've been at 112lbs for a few weeks, I feel large again. I don't feel any smaller than I did when I weighted 122lbs. Has anyone else experienced this? My goal weight is 105 lbs, which is still in the healthy range for my height.

I'm 5'1", too, wmenke. I'm about 105 pounds. I never thought I'd reach this weight-at first I would have been thrilled to reach 120 pounds. I guess it's a bit like having a new hairstyle. The newness wears off after a while. Maybe the best thing to do when you reach your goal weight would be to buy some new clothes to complement your lovely new figure.