Intuitive eating.

[Carrie482]

Aibu to suggest a person who has had food or weight issues and needs to lose weight can't physically eating intuitively according to hunger.

This is my last resort to lose the last few lbs. I've tried it all.
Intuitive eating makes so much sense but feels practically impossible to do.

Anyone else feel the same?

For me food has too many other connotations for that to work. Too much of an emotional eater now but used to be far too thin. I don't think there is a solution.

I should mention when I state intuitive eating I basically mean eat when hungry and stop when full.
I've had bulimia whilst I was a teenager that developed into binge eating disorder. I've had countless psychology work and counselling all to no avail.

Although I'm only affected now and again I can't ever recognise the correct hunger signals.
How does a person like this lose weight.

I struggled for years with my weight and food issues. I eventually got help from a specialist clinic and am now better. I'm better because I stick to a strict timetable of when to eat with all meals and snacks laid out for me. As soon as I start to rely on feeling hungry, or full, or thinking about what I fancy, it all goes to pot again.

Onlyonce what hope is there then?
I've tried the Paul McKenna book, I can make you slim and I agree with it but to practically implement it day to day is impossible when I don't recognise genuine hunger or emotional hunger.

Has any mumsnetter ever combated emotional eating successfully?

You sound similar to me. I'm into my second year of counselling. Have you read fat is a feminist issue? It didn't fix anything for me but there is a bit about reasons why people eat in certain ways that makes lots of sense. I felt less alone after reading it. Although I didn't agree with it all

Carrie your body won't be madly reliable re intuitive eating initially if you've emotionally eaten in the past. (You can feel 'hungry ' but it's boredom for example) that why the three meals 3 snacks training thing comes in so your hunger signals become more appropriate. It's really not easy is it . I worked with eating disorders for 10 years so I've seen / heard a hell of a lot . But I would say it's the best place to start until you can trust your body's signals again.

I read Fat Is A Feminist Issue after a friend told me she used to struggle with her weight until she read it. Sadly it did not work for me. Nor did Paul McKenna.
I think my awareness of hunger, satiety and what my body really needs is totally fucked so no intuition possible here. I agree it sounds wonderful but I think I need some kind of dictatorship

Cbigs something that straightforward is brilliant advice.
I will start that as of tomorrow. Eating every 4 hours, hungry or not.
I guess I wish I was normal of that even exists.

I've had a baby and managed to lose nearly all the baby weight and it has been a daily struggle going between different diets/ counting calories/ intuitive eating and then binging when stressed. A real rollercoaster.

Toxiclady if possible could you please share with me some tips on how you eat, the time gap you keep and what foods you choose to eat. It would be a great help in getting me to understand how another person in a similar situation resolved the problem.

I have 3 meals and 3 snacks a day. You can set the times yourself depending on when you get up/go to bed. But the most important thing is that you never go more than 3 hours without eating something. If you over eat at one meal still try to eat a little 3 hours later. This stabilises your blood sugar and reduces the drive towards quick, high calorie foods, giving you more control.

So my current pattern is

8.00 am - breakfast, usually 2 slices of toast and jam. Eating something for breakfast is my biggest battle.
10.00 am - snack, usually a banana
12.00 pm - lunch, usually a sandwich
3.00 pm - snack, usually something sweet like a small chocolate bar
6.00 pm - dinner
9.00 pm - snack either fruit or a couple of biscuits

So eating regularly is the first goal. Once you're doing that then you can start to adjust the meal contents to healthier options. I had a list of meals from the clinic but I use a weightwatchers weekly meal plan because it's healthy, varied and I really like their recipes.

I'm pretty sure after a veeeeeeeeery short Google that this is the new aloe Vera

I tried, and still to some extent do it now. And fail miserably. Especially if I get something nice given to me, I struggle to stop. But I found what worked best for me was to regulate myself and also to make sure when I had meals they were sustaining. I have lost 6 stone 5.5 after the holidays but I can't say intuitive worked. Different things work for different people though so don't be afraid to try.

Jellybabie 1 what do mean exactly? Have I missed something.

How are you all doing now you are the other side of Christmas? You posted this thread last year - I was bulimic in my teens and intuitive eating, mindful eating, and learning more about eating psychology have taken me to a much more peaceful place with food, and a pretty decent normal weight too. I'd just like to reach out to anyone who is struggling and say, I know exactly how you feel, I have been there too, and there is a way to reconnect with your body if you are patient and give yourself space to do it. I believe in you! Love and peace! x

Intuitive eating is a new phrase to me, but I guess is about retuning into the deeper messages our bodies give us, not just reacting to impulses/ urges that will pass. Mindful eating I suppose as others have said.

I think the key to making it through this retuning process, is what food you give yourself access to. If you only buy and make food that is very healthy and that you can eat plenty of, eg veggies, fish, lentil soups etc, then even if your interpretation of your impulses is off at first, you can't do much harm to yourself. We don't eat lots of bread or carbs (low GI but not obsessively so) and so have little sugar.

Buy the best quality food you can afford, value it and enjoy it.

Cook as much as you can from scratch; cook in bulk, freeze, keep jars of chilled soup etc. Reduce preservatives and ready meals etc.

I also buy very good organic chocolate which is rich, high cocoa and not sweet and tell myself I can have as much as I like, whenever I like - in fact a bar will last around 2 months. Sometimes I have a single section, sometimes a bit more, but I am intuitive about this and now do absolutely do trust myself.

If I do eat emotionally sometimes or over eat, I say OK, no one is perfect and I will try not to do it again, and this is what I will do to help myself.... then redouble my good shopping and meal planning efforts focussing on good food. I will keep an eye on the frequency of things going wrong so it stays within an achieveable margin - not expecting 100% but not allowing habits to deteriorate.

I don't always meal plan now, but focus on what ingredients I buy. I shop online taking my time, and don't shop on the spur of the moment or when I am hungry if at all possible. Hungry shopping is a disaster!

I like the perfect planning prevents piss poor performance!

This is my philosophy and it works most of the time, stress and lots of unpredictable situations in life don't help, but for me the key starts with good shopping and good ingredients.

I am sure you will find something that works for you :)