Book Five, Intuitive Eating

Intuitive Eating A Revolutionary Program That Works, by Eveyn Tribole and Elyse Resch is the last book that I am writing about.  Tomorrow, I will try to have my Fit Mommy Update. 

This book describes an intuitive eating program that I once took part of when I was working as a nurse at the local health department, so it's kind of like finding my way back home after a long, long journey in which I am battered and beaten by the woes of life.  In a good way, really!  :-)

Intuitive eating is how God made us to be.  It is how the natural little toddlers are before the world gets a hold of them and shows them that they should not eat this and should eat lots of that.  Toddlers eat when they are hungry, stop when they are full.  Period.  If left alone, they are intuitively feeding themselves and over a time, say a few days, they get the nutrients that their growing bodies need.

Enter in dieting.  This destroys intuitive eating.  You are told to ignore your hunger signals. You eat dull, flavorless, unsatisfying foods.  You get frustrated.  You go back to eating what you like and lots of it because your body now needs to eat more in order to be sure you won't starve it again.  But, you do starve it again because you desire to be thin or thinner.  The cycle repeats again and again until you are 80# overweight and unsure how you got here.  (Just an example!)

This is basically my story from age 13 to now.  At age 13, I was 180# and told by the world that I was fat.  Looking back, I was not fat at all.  But that is not the message that I heard.  So, I spent the next 30 years trying to loose weight.  I think I was up to 230# in high school.  That's 50 pounds that I gained in a few years and I was so unhappy.  Each time I tried to loose the weight, more came back.  My last big effort, I lost 70 pounds, but it all came back and more. Last April, I reached a new high, well, not including pregnancy.  I saw that picture on my side bar and got an eye full of my sorry self.

Here I was, a successful wife, mother, teacher, but could not do this one simple thing, control my weight.  So, I started this blog and vowed to go forward.  Here I am, almost at 30 pounds lost and still so far to go.

And that brings me to the book, Intuitive Eating.  I've known all along it is the answer. Dieting doesn't work.  The only part of the book that I don't agree with is that it is a bit out dated in its view of fats. 

 Here are the take away points:

• Reject the diet mentality (diets don't work, lifestyle eating does)
• Honor your hunger (eat when you are truly hungry)
• Make peace with food (legalize all food, this stops binges)
• Challenge negative self-talk about food
• Feel your fullness (check in while you are eating, helps you eat less) 
• Discover the satisfaction factor (enjoy your food)
• Cope with your emotions (don't stuff your face instead)
• Respect your body (Your body deserves to be cared for)
• Disassociate exercise with weight loss (move for health, not weight loss) 
• Honor your health with "gentle" nutrition

"When you know you can truly have the food again, it doesn't take much to satisfy you!"

I know that I have a long way to go on this journey and it will be a life-long one.  I also know that I am the one who has to do the work. I believe that I have the tools that I need.  It will just be a matter of time.

Thanks for reading all these book reviews.  I hope you were encouraged.  Again, these books are just ones I found myself drawn to at the library.