Loading - Labor Day 2012?

[julieboolie]

Thanks ladies!! Nothing like a shameless compliment fishing venture . Looking forward to playing with it tomorrow! Gotta' find things to do while I P2. I get so bored!!

WW-sounds like a full and fun day. 6 weeks? Hope it's nice and cool by then! My brother got married early Nov in his backyard in Ahwatukee. It was beautiful!! I'm sure your dd's wedding will be perfect!!

Reddy-Thanks!! gotta' love being called "thin" .

[lemonmama]

Ahh, Julie--LOVE the haircut. It is perfect for your face shape. Super cute!

[riss]

winders - good luck with the job hunt

reddy - yay for the apple day breaking your stall

julie - 0.2 doesn't sound bad with all that exercise, your new do is so cute!

dawn - only 13 lbs to goal - WOW!

[walkingwoman]

Originally Posted by Winders

Good Morning Ladies!
I am excited, I have a job interview today and hope to hear about another job tomorrow. Fun to finally have some possibilities in the job arena :-)
I am down 0.4. My scale is sure bouncing and yet not moving, however, I am losing inches, so am not complaining. I think salt may be the culprit, cutting down for the remainder of this round, that may help.
hope you all have a wonderful day!

How'd the interview go? Hope it went well

[walkingwoman]

Morning Ladies! I must be early to the party Lol. 8:40 in Az and no posts??

Scale is lovely this am!

[Reddy]

Hi Walking Woman! So glad to hear your scale was nice to you this morning.

Mine may get thrown in the trash! I'm UP 1.6 today! So upset. TOM is due today so I'm sure that has something to do with it, but I'm not a happy camper.

I've decided to call this round FOR REAL This time. It's just not working out!

Glad to hear others are doing well though! I will continue to check up on you all from P3!

[walkingwoman]

Reddy! Saw your story on the other thread. Hugs my friend Wishing you a fabulous P3 and we wanna hear all the details of your fun Saturday event!
Make it a great day!

[Stevie Renee]

Hi all...quick drive by. Just got back from the gym and LOVED IT! I need to sweat. lol
Had an awesome day yesterday and hope to continue the trend.

Julie! Love the hair your face is lean woman! Pretty lady that is for sure.

Reddy (((hugs))

Hi all...enjoy the day and the journey!

[Stevie Renee]

This is pretty good....it helped me a lot.
Its a matter of finding a way to see the protocol and it's limits as a benefit, a gift, and something to be grateful for rather than restriction, punishment, and deprivation. If you're not hungry what do you feel entitled to, therefore drived of? If we didnt have access to food in such excessive abundance, would eating for boredom or fun be an option? Rethink the protocol from the context that you are fullfilled and grateful we have food... and hold yourself accountable to seek other more creative ways to care for your feelings, emotions, and boredom.

[buttah]

Reddy, had you re-weighed after tea or whatever every previous day, THOSE weights would have been up from your first morning weight as well. You need to stop calling 1 lb 1.6lbs right this minute. I won't have it, dear.

[julieboolie]

WW-glad you're down!! Nice job!!

Chantel-thanks for that reminder. I like Robin's paradigm shift and the whole way we view food in the US. The real challenge is being alone in our new mentailities. Why isn't self control and eating to hunger in vogue? Why is gluttony so celebrated? Glad you had a great day and hope you're doing well!! Thanks. I lose top-down, so the lower half still needs work, but I'm pleased overall. Ready to be done losing and live life instead!

Reddy- you'll be fine. You're pretty lean, and goals are just random numbers we choose. Looking at your pics BEFORE this round, you looked "done" to me already! Any loss this round is just bonus wiggle room. Be gentle with yourself and you'll be just fine .

Buttah-you're doing well! So glad the second half of your round has been better than the start.

Lemon- thanks! appreciate it .

Riss-how's the scale for you?

I'm up 0.4 more today . Oh well. Exercise + TOM must be kicking up the water retention. I went for my walk w. dd(12) and sweat a bit. That should help . Whatever comes, comes. I am following protocol and will finish my round as planned. If the scale doesn't budge, I'll live. I look good. I feel good. I can see in the mirror that my middle has really leaned out this round (YAY!!) and dh was calling me skinny and little today . So, I'm adjusting my mindset, and accepting my body's limits. Disappointed? yes. Defeated? NO!! I am doing this for my overall well being. I'm hoping for some more reshaping and leaning while I finish off this round.

I will confess here that I did add a splash of half -n-half to my coffee this morning. I was upset at the scale being up again and really wanted to enjoy my coffee. It was about 30cals and I'm sure won't hurt me, but wanted to confess

[buttah]

A blurb from Robin I thought might be helpful to some of you these past couple days:

"I never suggest steak days (or apple days). Weight is the worst measurement of fat loss, and it is best to switch to an indication that is more reliable...hunger. Hunger indicates leptin levels are dropping and as a result, fat cells aren't supplying adequate fuel. If you are not hungry, your leptin levels are elevated and your fat is fueling the body. The goal is to eat as little as possible for a maximal healthy outcome. This way of eating is preventative, rather than reactive. Waiting to gain fat before you change the way you eat is too passive and usually ends up in fearing the scale, and for most, a "purge" after they eat too much. I don't even discuss or teach this to our patients...not worth the psycho outcome."

[shelbyla]

Sorry to poke my head in here guys (JULIE--nice new pic, btw! You are gorgeous!!! ).

Anyway, would love some thoughts on something from a WLA perspective. I have had minimal luck with the hunger scale because I really really do love the TASTE of food and have a very hard time distinguishing a 4.5 from a 6.5. I know when I am not a 3.5 any more but I get to a 4 by eating three bites of food, a 4.5 by eating 6 bites. HOWEVER, if I stop eating after 6 bites of food, I am hungry again within 30 minutes. That small amount of food does not keep me un-hungry for very long. I also feel like there is some truth and basis in fact for Jack Kruse's Leptin reset program and the No-S rule of not snacking, so eating every hour or so to get back to a 4-5, seems a bit counter-intuitive to me, Leptin-wise.

But I've been trying to pay more attention to these various shades of grey and I THINK I may be making some progress. Last night, I ate a decent sized dinner (about 9oz of catfish, 6oz of veggies, 3T of butter so NOT low cal at all). After dinner, I would say that I wasn't hungry any longer (maybe at a 5 or so?) but knew that if I stopped eating at that point, I would either be hungry right before I went to bed or I would wake up ravenous. I ended up eating about a cup of whipped cream mouse and 1 square of dark chocolate. After the mouse, I still had that feeling of, "I could stand to eat a bit more" so that's when I had the chocolate. Right after the chocolate (and it was literally like 6.5g of chocolate), I said to myself "Yep, that's it. Perfectly satisfied. Not too full yet no longer hungry. Perfectly and completely neutral. I won't wake at 2am with my stomach eating itself..." I'd say I was maybe at a 6. Not even a 6.5.

Now, I am not sure how much this had to do with my doing a cd on Monday or the chocolate itself--does it trigger something in me, even at that small amount, that makes me stop eating? OR...Is THIS what we are looking for? This feeling of "I'm done." Not satiated, not full, just done. Not empty, not barely taking the edge off the hunger, but done. Thoughts?

I am just FULL of contemplative thoughts today! (Full 'o SOMETHING, anyway! )

[julieboolie]

Shelby- and Thanks! .

RE: hunger scale- I am the last person to ask!! I had a similar problem. I wasn't "hungry" at meal times, so I would wait, then I'd be hungry at inconvenient times. I'd eat enough to "satisfy" but then I'd be really hungry an hour or so later! I ended up eating what I wanted periodically throughout the day "to hunger". I'm sure it ended up being the wrong foods as well, but since I was only have a little bit I thought I'd be fine. I gained . So, I decided to table that experiment to when I was under control more and my leptin sensitivity was in better shape. Sorry! Wish I could help more.

And, just a personal note on the hunger scale, for me; there will be times when I will eat even if I'm not truly hungry. Gasp! There are some social situations and events that I will be eating just to eat. I know that's taboo, but I think, occasionally - not a lifestyle of it, it's ok to use food to celebrate. I don't want to give that up completely. I am not a big drinker, but birthday dinners and desserts, anniversary and vacation indulgences are ways that I like to celebrate. I'm planning to keep those part of my life and still maintain. I like the concept of the hunger scale, but it's kinda' impractical as the mom doing the family cooking to only eat when I'm hungry. Dinner time etc. is a special time for our fam together.

[buttah]

Julie, the trick to getting the times to be convenient is to have a little snack until the planned meal. YOu begin to learn how much of a snack will get you back a 3.5 in the right amount of time. (I did this for YEARS successfully, remember).

As for having food to celebrate (or any reason) when you're not hungry - this leads to being overweight for me. Because one time becomes too many times. Eventually you learn that it does not feel good to eat when you're not hungry. And so, per my first paragraph, you plan snacks that will get you to the celebration with HUNGER. I hope that makes sense. It's really all in Robin's videos, if you watch them all. I simply don't see eating when you're not hungry as a bad thing to give up. (It's far easier to manage the hunger, timing-wise, than it is to diet off the pounds.) To me, the hunger scale is THE most practical way of eating there is. I think we're talking semantics, though, or at least there's still a fuzzy understanding of what Robin suggests because people are only getting snippets of it here and there. Robin even talks about "planning" her hunger to eat with her family, (and if she simply can't, she sits with them and enjoys their company, but the timing CAN be worked out). Her reward is having a great relationship with food AND a great body. That's my goal, anyway.

[cocoapeanut]

I know you know some of my thoughts, but I have many thoughts

My first thought is "DANG I want some mousse!!"

I completely agree with being in tune to your hunger levels and being aware of your body and what you're putting in your mouth. If you're going to eat, I think you should know if you're actually hungry or not. That being said, I personally think the hunger scale and eating strictly to hunger is a little bit optimistic, especially when your hunger doesn't seem to follow any sort of social/cultural schedule (see Julie's problem!). Even if you become very good at assessing your hunger levels, I don't think it makes as much sense hormonally if you are grazing all the time (to Shelby's point), and it doesn't make sense in terms of living life in our current society. I think it's more about eating when it's appropriate socially and when you are actually hungry -- not when you're bored, sad, tired, stressed, as a reward, etc. Making it an absolute requirement to eat the second you feel hungry seems a little weird and isn't always possible.

I am like Shelby in the sense where I'm the type of person that likes to feel "done." I don't want to be uncomfortably full, but I like eating meals that are decently-sized because I feel more mentally satisfied. I'm also a foodie and have always enjoyed the taste of food, so if I end up eating three bites past "not hungry", I don't really see that as a concern, as long as I'm aware that I'm doing that. I like that "full" feeling, because then I'm at a point where I'm not wishing I could eat more. That's probably a little more food than it would take to just "take the edge off," but that's what meals are for...being satisfied! After living a lifestyle of basically snacking 6-7 times a day, I've decided I'd much rather just eat meals.

I am also like Julie in the sense where I feel that it's okay to make food a part of celebration. It's okay to indulge sometimes, and it's natural to restrict a little bit afterwards, like a cycle of balance. We've been doing it for forever..it's very ingrained into us from a cultural perspective, no matter our background. People have been gathering around mealtimes for centuries and getting pleasure out of good food and drink. I don't think it's required to shun that in order to be thin and healthy. I don't think it was too many parties or too many vacations that made me fat (although I WISH it was too many vacations, lol!)...it was all the junk I ate on a daily basis for years. There's a lot to be said for simply eating the right things! I also tend to overeat at parties, but most people do..there are usually food items that you don't encounter frequently, and our brains don't ACTUALLY like resisting things all the time Yes, that is something I am working on, as I shouldn't use a party as an excuse to stuff my face, but thankfully I don't go to a party every day! I'm hoping that one day, I don't feel so "dieted out" and I WON'T feel the need to overeat so much at social functions just because it's socially accepted. I feel that's more of a personal problem in terms of where I'm at mentally, though. The less I feel like I'm deprived, the less I'll feel the need to binge. I hope!

Sorry for the ramble, I'm contemplative too I suppose To answer: yes, the "done" feeling is what I look for, personally. And I let myself be a little hungry if it's not quite meal time yet. A little hunger is natural, and always thinking about hunger and food is not! My opinion

[shelbyla]

Buttah - I am also of the "all or nothing" mentality (that is, I have to do something 115% perfectly or 0%) so I get the idea of never do it or it leads to a slippery slope. I low carbed successfully for years, never touching even fruit because it caused huge gains for me. I just don't think the the hunger scale 100% of the time is really practical for a lot of people. I agree with Julie in that there will be sometimes that I overeat just like (for me) there will be times that I drink too much. I think that unless you are the Buddha (buttah ) , most of us are striving for progress and not perfection. Kudos for you if it works for you and you can achieve it!

Do you have any thoughts on what I posted above re my interpretation? Not sure if it's making any sense and I HAVE watched all of Robin's videos--I am just struggling with personal interpretation of this point. I know she answers these questions directly on fb but I'm curious about your thoughts here...

[buttah]

Hmmmm. I asked Robin a similar question. I basically asked what if you "cheat" on the hunger scale, meaning eat above a 6, particularly when you're not even a 4 to start out... what's the "correction?" Obviously she doesn't believe in daily weighing or correction days, or anything like that. Her answer was basically that if you don't do it too often, it's self correcting. You will dislike the feeling (I know I do. For those of you who truly enjoy anything from "too full" to "stuffed," I think that's a question for someone else - not me.) And you will want to your stomach to get back to the empty feeling before you eat again.

One moment of gluttony is not going to make you fat. It's doing it frequently that makes you fat AND screws up your leptin levels, creating a big horrible vicious cycle of gaining back that, from what I can see, many HCGers have experienced. And I have to say, to me, even more so than with other WOE's; I do suspect, for some, there is a type of almost "eating disorder" with HCG, as does Robin.

So just like with any diet, just because you cheat or go overboard (and some people, usually naturally thin people DO NOT do this), don't let one meal become one day, one day become one week, etc. etc.

Robin said to me that she never really intended WLA to be a guidebook for eating via the Hunger Scale. It's more about Leptin and hunger. I think she needs to write another book, more of a "diet how to" to answer these questions.

There are just so many statements people make here and elsewhere that fly in the face of what Robin suggest. People who think they've tried the Hunger Scale, but I don't know that they really have. I wish she would write another book - there's clearly an audience.

I was lucky in that I fell into a "Hunger Scale" program in the 80's called Thin Wihtin, did a workshop, lost 20 lbs and kept them off for about 15 years, until a couple years before I got pregnant the first time. It really does work. The book "Thin Within" is still around on Amazon, etc, but it's very philosophical, not scientific, which is what the HS is. But it's helpful. The two nurses who wrote it went on to incorporate their method into book, but that one was semi-religious, which is frankly a big turn off to me. But I think that book is out there, too.

I hope that helps.

But one last thing, because I keep saying this. No where, ever, ever, ever, does Robin say anything about taking the "celebration" of food away. That is just a terrible misinterpretation of her work. She actually eats MORE like a "foodie," not less. She eats only good, delicious food, and totally enjoys it... when she is hungry. And you CAN manipulate the timing of your hunger.

I'm kind of done trying to be the ambassador for the Hunger Scale. It's hard to follow; I don't disagree with that. It means giving up the feeling that we deserve to have moments of gluttony, giving up food as a comfort, a friend, a sedative. That's hard stuff for us to give up. But it's SO MUCH easier than yo-yoing and cycling with diets for decades.

And finally, everyone has to do what works for them.

[shelbyla]

Sorry! One more...

@buttah specifically (and you are totally fine being the ambassador! I am looking to you as someone who "gets it" since I don't feel like I am quite there!) - how do you describe your feeling of "less than full"? Is it more like just "not hungry any more" or it it more like "done eating" without being full?

[cocoapeanut]

I do enjoy all the leptin talk in WLA. Especially the stick figures

Actually I think I may read some tonight! Was just thinking I need to brush up on some points, especially since I'm back in P2 now.

I don't think I meant any of my points against Robin. I just meant them in general. She may not necessarily think that we shouldn't celebrate food, but I feel like a lot of people do end up thinking that, and I wanted to say my thoughts. That is all

[Stevie Renee]

Great conversation ladies.

I am still very new at Robin's approach so I really don't know if I can eloquently say much to help. I do know for myself, I try to have a mind & body connection and see if I am hungry or thirsty or just mental cravings. Not an easy task but I do think I recognize true hunger. What I don't have a good handle on it the "scale" as a whole so that is too new for me to describe.

Good job Shelby for sure. I think you did an excellent job in trying to break it down. I know for me, a little snack or bite settles my stomach and makes me happy. I am not a foodie as one would describe. I also have no issue of entertaining or spending time with family and not eating. I recall times where my MIL would say..."You deserve the food"...and I would not agree.

My problem with food is usually associated with boredom eating (hence what Robin calls passive creativity) and drinking too much and throwing all caution too the wind. Also, I am not super over weight so I will impulsively say, awww screw it. I don't need to deprive myself! This package of Oreo's won't hurt me, besides, I am not that fat! I don't even know what all that means I also have some deep fear of actually being hungry, especially if I drink. There seems to be a sense of urgency of I drink that either one, I am afraid of being hungry while I drink? So dumb. Or that I may get too buzzed so I eat too manage that. Another problem in itself.

About feeling hungry or being hungry...there is almost an anxiety if my stomach rumbles and I may feel true hunger, especially before bed time. Is Robin saying, suck it up? Like she mentions with her anxiety of exercise? I am still pondering that. For me, if I am hungry at night, I won't sleep. I all ready struggle with insomnia.

Have any of you read the Thin Commandments? One of my favorites. I see some of the things he taught with Robin's philosophy.

One thing that helped me a lot with coaching with Biz was she told me that you CANNOT eat like normal and keep or obtain the body and health I want. The typical SAD diet ( hence "normal") eating, or 3 meals and 2 snacks a day...that many consider normal? Forgetaboutit! hahaha

Like I said, great conversation. I think we can all agree, what works for me,may not work for you, but in the end, I think we all want to be free of the yo-yo, have a wonderful sense of self-acceptance and be healthy and attractive.

[buttah]

Cocoapeanut, I didn't mean to imply you were speaking out against Robin or her methods. I'm so sorry if I came off that way. I just notice that many people here (not you specifically) say things that indicate they don't fully understand what Robin suggests. The hunger scale method doesn't mean we can't eat with our families, we can't enjoy food at celebrations, etc. It does mean that we can't stuff our faces, that more isn't better, that those foods or other good foods will be around the next time we are hungry. Or rather, we can stuff our faces, but there's a price to pay.

Originally Posted by shelbyla

Sorry! One more...

@buttah specifically (and you are totally fine being the ambassador! I am looking to you as someone who "gets it" since I don't feel like I am quite there!) - how do you describe your feeling of "less than full"? Is it more like just "not hungry any more" or it it more like "done eating" without being full?

I wish I knew how to do multi-quotes. So many people I want to answer. But I'll try anyway.

I think these are in WLA, but I am typing them from my Mind Body Bethod Workbook (you can buy it online - it's for use during HCG dieting.

HUNGER SCALE

5. Content: You feel nothing. Perfectly comfortable with or without food. Hunger is completely gone with no sense of urgency.
4. Patient: You're hungry, but it can wait a bit. This is a good time to start prepping food for a meal. Most people can tolerate the wait in a restaurant at this point (as in not dying to go to a FF drive through - my words, not hers.)
3. Urgent: You're uncomfortable and should have eating 10 minutes ago. Fast food is very appealing and restaurants less tolerable.
2. Critical: There's anger, irritability, your head hurts and you don't care what food you eat as long as it's fast and in large quantity.
1. Disparaging: Hunger is actually subsiding as you feel less energy, less focus and less desire for movement. Your headache continues and there may be acidic feeling in the stomach.

FULLNESS SCALE:

6. Satisfied. You sense food in your belly - feeling good.
7. Satiated. You're feeling a bit too satisfied, burping and feeling some discomfort in the belly. Because there is no hunger continued eating requires emotional justification (or... it just tastes so good - my words, not hers).
8. Full. You're uncomfortable and definitely feeling your stomach. There's still some room for food because the stomach hasn't started to stretch yet. Could wait 4+ hours before next meal.
9. Discomfort. You're very full and feeling sick. Stomach is distended and there is no more room for anything. Many have indigestion, a headache, and may need to lie down to reduce discomfort.
10. Pain. You've eaten so much you're contemplating inducing yourself to vomit to relieve the physical pain. You have to unbutton your pants and hardly stand to move.

To lose weight, years ago, I ate between 3 and 5. Robin says to eat beween 3.5 and 5.5 in P2 and I think P3. Some of us may be able to eat to 6 in maintenance. (my words, not hers, Ill ask her.)

But if you're attached to the idea of frequent 8's, then you've got to resign yourself to a life of HCG rounds, or yo-yo scale, or being overweight. Personally, I'd rather not do that.

Stevie, (I wish I could multi-quote), you are exactly right when you say that we cannot eat the what we perceive as "normal" (for whatever reason we perceive it - our culture, our mommies, our emotions) and NOT gain. That is what Robin would say.

And whoever it was that described the difficulty of going to sleep with a growling stomach, I first experienced that on JUDDD, and you know what? I survived. I knew I could eat in the morning. But that's JUDDD. In real life, I think Robin would say you should not go to sleep with a growling, churning stomach if you can't fall asleep. Have a bit of something. Not a sandwich!

Does that help?

And look. I really loved JUDDD. I loved what it did to my blood work. I found I was NOT glutinous on Up Days. I'm not sure yet how I'll incorporate that into my maintenance, with Robin's Mind Body Method. I may do one or the other. I will probably use the HS on UD's. But my DD's for maintenance will be 800 calories, and that's a decent amount of food. I don't know!

But I hope all this helps.

[buttah]

Oh, and how do you know you're doing it right? Because you're not gaining weight! And by "not gaining weight," I don't mean you won't have scale fluctuations. You can't be a woman and not have those (how's that for a double negative). You go by how your clothes feel, checking your weight only once in a while. You don't have salty food at dinner, then get on the scale the next day, and go "oh my gosh, I'm up two pounds!" and freak out. You don't have one episode of eating to a 6 or 7, then weigh yourself the next day and freak out. You get right back to the HS, and it balances out (like someone here said - I forget who.)

You trust that over the course of the week(s), your weight is staying basically the same (unless you're strength-training and building muscle).

And the more you move, the more you can eat without breaking the Hunger Scale!

And the thinner you are, the more food your body will actually tell you it needs. Because the less fat you have... the less leptin you have... the hungrier you'll get... and the hungrier you get, the more food it takes...

Okay, now I'm done. Back to just being an HCGer!

[riss]

I did read WLA but I still don't have the hunger scale down. Does anyone know where the link to print it out is located?

[buttah]

riss, you can buy the Mind Body Method Workbook online. It has the HS on every page. That's what I just typed from above (go up two of my posts). Robin's FB pages (WLA and Mind Body Method) are also helpful.

[shelbyla]

All right kids. So I ate exactly the same thing today as I did yesterday. The only difference was eating fish at lunch and beef at night. I feel exactly the same way. Done. Just above content but not full. Let's see what the scale has to say about to tomorrow!

[buttah]

Shelby, just because you asked me to keep being the ambassador, I wanted to point out, although I'm SURE you already know this, the reason for Robin's "no daily weighing" is that the morning scale is simply not, nor will it ever be until they invent a magic scale, an accurate reflection of what the previous day's eating did to impact one's weight (and more specifically, fat). I know the HCG diet likes to pretend it is, but especially for women, it just isn't. It's the TREND of the scale over time, or lack of trend, that's important. You have to eat that way for, say, the course of a week, then see where you are, if you must. But your clothes tell you anyway.

I'm sure if you've read the book, you know that, but I just wanted to mention it in response to your above post.



Having said that, it's nearly impossible for me not to weigh in P2! BUT, I don't take the daily number as anything more than it is... gravity's affect on my body (and all it's naturally fluctuating waters) that morning. It's where I am after a few days or a week that tells me what I need to know.

[Stevie Renee]

Good morning all.

Hope you are all well.

Riss, I found her Hunger Scale sheet on the FB page. I just scrolled down till I saw the picture and cut & pasted to Word.

Buttah,
I have learned more these past couple of days from your posts then anywhere. You are able to clearly explain things so I want you to know that I am getting a lot out of it. I hope you don't burnout on it and stop talking about it.

I am not weighing right now. Sure I have my moments where I want to but this has not been a stellar round with my illness, TOM, date night, blah, blah. I just want to move on and learn from the experience. Also, I am rethinking of even having a "weight goal". Maybe just a size goal (an average size of 6 probably)

Looking forward to more healthy, deep thinking conversations! ha

[Kateenie]

Originally Posted by Stevie Renee

Buttah,
I have learned more these past couple of days from your posts then anywhere. You are able to clearly explain things so I want you to know that I am getting a lot out of it. I hope you don't burnout on it and stop talking about it.

Absolutely agree!

We are all at different stages of our addiction (yes people, we are addicted - we wouldn't be here if we didn't have an unhealthy relationship with food AND dieting in general). Depending on the stage, some just are not ready to recognize that addiction (feeling "entitled" to food, making excuses for overeating, trying to talk ourselves out of moderation because we "deserve" it or "love the food.")

The hunger scale is BY FAR the hardest thing I have ever done. To just sit there in the evening without munching on something or drinking alcohol because I'm NOT hungry is just absolutely maddening. It forces me to think about things I don't want to think about and deal with things I've ignored. I have a LONG way to go, but the first step is realizing that food is not a reward or a punishment. It's just food. I love it, it doesn't particulary like me, but I hope some day I can just pause, listen to my body, and NOT FEEL PRESSURED by the situation to eat when I'm not actually hungry.

[buttah]

Originally Posted by Stevie Renee

Good morning all.

Hope you are all well.

Riss, I found her Hunger Scale sheet on the FB page. I just scrolled down till I saw the picture and cut & pasted to Word.

Buttah,
I have learned more these past couple of days from your posts then anywhere. You are able to clearly explain things so I want you to know that I am getting a lot out of it. I hope you don't burnout on it and stop talking about it.

I am not weighing right now. Sure I have my moments where I want to but this has not been a stellar round with my illness, TOM, date night, blah, blah. I just want to move on and learn from the experience. Also, I am rethinking of even having a "weight goal". Maybe just a size goal (an average size of 6 probably)

Looking forward to more healthy, deep thinking conversations! ha

Awwwww, thank you so much. I felt for a minute there I was being bombastic, and I don't want to be that way. I support any and everyone's methods for conquering their weight/food issues, and by no means do I think one person has the answers for everyone. The proof is in healthy maintenance, period. If you're getting that, you're doing it.

But... I just can't stand to see one person's answers/theories misrepresented or misunderstood repeatedly. So that's why I've tried to explain! Glad it's helpful.

Originally Posted by Kateenie

Absolutely agree!

We are all at different stages of our addiction (yes people, we are addicted - we wouldn't be here if we didn't have an unhealthy relationship with food AND dieting in general). Depending on the stage, some just are not ready to recognize that addiction (feeling "entitled" to food, making excuses for overeating, trying to talk ourselves out of moderation because we "deserve" it or "love the food.")

The hunger scale is BY FAR the hardest thing I have ever done. To just sit there in the evening without munching on something or drinking alcohol because I'm NOT hungry is just absolutely maddening. It forces me to think about things I don't want to think about and deal with things I've ignored. I have a LONG way to go, but the first step is realizing that food is not a reward or a punishment. It's just food. I love it, it doesn't particulary like me, but I hope some day I can just pause, listen to my body, and NOT FEEL PRESSURED by the situation to eat when I'm not actually hungry.

Yup. It's hard to give up eating for non-hunger, isn't it? But the rewards are huge. You get to be normal, eat what you want, and stay at a healthy weight. We just have to give up feeling entitled to, dependent on, or inclined toward gluttony.