Health Goal Update for February 16, 2009 (Blog)

[Erin Pavlina]

Use this thread to discuss the following entry from Erin Pavlina's blog:

Health Goal Update for February 16, 2009

[Jeff Lilly]

Erin, I totally understand where you're coming from with being a foodie!

When I went on the raw (811) diet last summer, I lost 17lb in three weeks. (I know you've already basically tried that, I'm not suggesting it -- I'm just setting the stage.) I had a lot of salads to eat, but I couldn't use any dairy, oil, or vinegar-based dressings. What I found is that adding just a LITTLE fruit to the salad worked wonders! Just enough fruit that I would have a shot of sweetness in each bite. Blueberries were the best, but chopped mango or banana was awesome, too. You can also make fruit into a dressing in the blender. It's like sitting down and eating a bowl of summertime. :-)

[Creative]

I think your honesty and awareness of how you eat will keep you in good stead Erin. Remember all the exercise you are doing may add on weight as muscle is denser than fat.

You ask how people who stay at their ideal weight feel about their diet. Well I have always been slim and I guess I just eat when I am hungry, I never counted calories and have never thought about fat content etc. The only time I think about food and what it contains is it is high in iron as I get a little anemic sometimes. I have really cut down on processed foods and replaced it with healthier alternatives. As weight isn't much of an issue for me, I just eat what my body tells me too. I often have no idea whether I've eaten three or six meals a day. I just don't let myself feel hungry. Another thing about me is food is fuel, I am not too bothered about the taste. In fact I prefer salads with lemon, or even with no dressing at all. If there's a glass of orange juice for me to drink with it I'll eat anything lol

Hope that helps Erin. In terms of my own update: I am now 100 pounds, have been walking a lot (yesterday I did 11,000 steps), and am eating healthily without much effort at all. Yoga is helping lots and I feel so good with the extra exercise!

[Creative]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lilly

What I found is that adding just a LITTLE fruit to the salad worked wonders! Just enough fruit that I would have a shot of sweetness in each bite. Blueberries were the best, but chopped mango or banana was awesome, too. You can also make fruit into a dressing in the blender. It's like sitting down and eating a bowl of summertime. :-)

Yeah I have had thick pulpy orange juice as a dressing it it added a yummy sweet taste to salad. Not that I'm obsessed with orange juice or anything...

[Andrew Brunelle]

When you're brought up as a child eating a certain way, it is so hard to break that habit, especially if the foods you ate contained lots of sugars and processed foods. Luckily for me, I was brought up in a healthy eating household. Mostly whole foods, so that's mostly what I eat now.

It's a good thing you have Steve there to support you and help you on your journey. He is almost at the peak of healthy eating, mostly because there is no peak. Like he's said before, when you eat something in front of other people, even if it is a little different, you're setting an example of what a healthy person eats.

I wish you luck on this and being healthy will only enhance your ability to serve. You'll slip up every now and then. Everyone does. But the next day, you can keep on eating healthy.

[Chris Jackson]

Hi Erin,

I suggest you explore what the "gains" are from holding to the weight you are at now. What is the negative contract that is keeping you "stuck"? As things stand there is evidently "something in it for you" to stay as you are.

There can be all kinds of psycho-spiritual reasons lurking deep in your subconscious that require you to hide or "protect" aspects of yourself by being overweight.

Balancing that enquiry with the vibrational "gains" of how it will be at the ideal weight could pay dividends.

Enjoy

[Anna Conlan]

I'm at my ideal weight (more or less), but I think I view food as something which is my fuel. I don't generally eat unless I'm hungry. If I'm not hungry until the afternoon, I just don't eat. If I put something in my mouth and I'm not hungry, it feels wrong to me. I guess my portions are pretty small, but I eat satisfying foods.

I did notice that in the past, I used to feel 'fake hungry'. Doing the raw food diet was helpful for that, because it meant I was able to sort of recalibrate and know when my body was actually hungry and when it was just bored or wanted some comfort food.

I do love food though. I can spend a whole Saturday browsing food shops, and cooking in preparation for a dinner or something. I always make sure the food I eat is good quality and delicious.

[Erin Pavlina]

Yes, Steve is very helpful. This morning after this post he was discussing what Chris just brought up. I am getting something out of being overweight. Until I let go of that, I can't be a vibrational match for slim and trim. We've identified some behaviors that have been insightful. I'll report on those next week as I am just becoming aware of them and must explore further.

[Erin Pavlina]

So, so far, the thin people have the "food is fuel" mentality that I just don't have. Steve has that mentality too.

Any foodies out there adjust themselves to the "food is fuel" model with success?

Any slim people out there think food is something to be adored, craved, and thought about constantly until their next meal?

[{aspiring_to_clarity}]

Originally Posted by Erin Pavlina

So, so far, the thin people have the "food is fuel" mentality that I just don't have. Steve has that mentality too.

Any foodies out there adjust themselves to the "food is fuel" model with success?

Any slim people out there think food is something to be adored, craved, and thought about constantly until their next meal?

My parents are foodies and overweight. I feel I've gotten more into that mindset as I've gotten older. When I was young and thin I ate when I was hungry and didn't when I was not. I didn't think much about it or wait longingly for my next meal like I do now.

Thanks for bringing this up, Erin. Good food for thought .

As for me, this past week I did so-so. Exercised two days and ate well the majority of the time. It seems weekends are when I slip up as I am home all day usually and so will eat whatever bf is eating. This week I want to up the exercise so that my food slip ups will be less dire. I say this because I'm having a harder time eating well than exercising. Last week's two times reflect that we had some big issues hit us this past week. However, I didn't dread exercise, I actually looked forward to it and went happily. Since I feel the food issues will take a little longer to sort out, I'll try more exercise to make up for it in the short term. By the time I'm eating my ideal diet, I'll already have the exercise program well installed!

[bdc]

I've struggled with my eating habits my entire life, and continue to do so. But I'll share my most profound observations:

1) It's not diet and exercise, it's exercise and diet. Exercise leads and diet follows. The more you exercise, the less you desire marginal foods. This change is so profound. You have to experience it to truly understand. During one healthful period of intense exercise, I had to spit out a cookie. I had given myself permission to enjoy my favorite junk food, but my body wouldn't let me swallow a single bite of non-nutritive food. I couldn't have eaten poorly if I'd wanted! My body physically rejected the cookie. Intense aerobic exercise is the key. If you're looking for a safe way to increase exercise intensity, ask your healthcare advisors about the stationery recumbent bicycle. I'm not supposed to run, and I can exercise very intensely on the recumbent without shock, in only a few minutes a day. I need only give my knees a break every few days, because joints recover more slowly.

2) Avoid supplements and fortified foods! Nutritional supplements cloud your senses. When I was following a mostly raw vegan diet, I discovered that eating any sort of fortified food would immediately cause my body to stop craving healthy greens. Instead, my desire would turn sharply toward premium foods (fats, sugars). This is a catch-22, because your diet may be nutritionally deficient, but taking the needed supplement will trigger junk food cravings. Just being aware of the phenomenon can help, so that you're on guard when/if you take a supplement or eat a fortified food.

3) Don't prepare a salad! Never prepare a salad. Instead, at the very beginning of the designated eating time, go straight to the refrigerator and begin scarfing down the veggies. Raw. Plain. Straight from the package! You'll be half-way done before your mind has a chance to complain about the lack of salad dressing. And when I start this way, I actually begin to find myself getting lost in the bliss that is nibbling on raw greens; even though I loathe raw greens! I usually start with handfuls of leaves, then move onto the carrots, celery, and other veggies. The salad is a trap. If you take the time to make the salad, you'll have too much time to dream about other foods and you will be defeated. The most important thing during this time of adjustment is overcoming temptation. If you start to think about junk food, toss another handful of leaves in your mouth and chew faster! It sounds crazy, but it works. There's no time to dream of fatty food when you're gagging on a raw cauliflower! After you've scarfed down the healthy greens, you can come in for a soft landing with the easy foods like fruit, or what have you.

Good luck! Be well.

[Erin Pavlina]

Yeah, when I was a kid we ate fast food almost every night because my mom didn't/couldn't cook. we were the "luckiest" kids in the neighborhood because we got happy meals many times per week.

But I was very thin. I was so slim my entire childhood and into my teen years. I could eat a Big Mac, Fries, and a chocolate shake every day and I was underweight! It wasn't until I went vegetarian that i started packing on the pounds.

That coincided, however, with the end of exercise. While growing up I played basketball in leagues all year long. I was easily running around for 2 hours during practice 5 days a week and then on weekends we had our games. I had a very athletic body and a poor diet.

When I got to college, the exercise ended and my eating stayed the same. Then I went vegetarian when I met Steve. Then vegan.

[Erin Pavlina]

Originally Posted by bdc

I've struggled with my eating habits my entire life, and continue to do so. But I'll share my most profound observations:

1) It's not diet and exercise, it's exercise and diet. Exercise leads and diet follows. The more you exercise, the less you desire marginal foods. This change is so profound. You have to experience it to truly understand. During one healthful period of intense exercise, I had to spit out a cookie. I had given myself permission to enjoy my favorite junk food, but my body wouldn't let me swallow a single bite of non-nutritive food. I couldn't have eaten poorly if I'd wanted! My body physically rejected the cookie. Intense aerobic exercise is the key. If you're looking for a safe way to increase exercise intensity, ask your healthcare advisors about the stationery recumbent bicycle. I'm not supposed to run, and I can exercise very intensely on the recumbent without shock, in only a few minutes a day. I need only give my knees a break every few days, because joints recover more slowly.

2) Avoid supplements and fortified foods! Nutritional supplements cloud your senses. When I was following a mostly raw vegan diet, I discovered that eating any sort of fortified food would immediately cause my body to stop craving healthy greens. Instead, my desire would turn sharply toward premium foods (fats, sugars). This is a catch-22, because your diet may be nutritionally deficient, but taking the needed supplement will trigger junk food cravings. Just being aware of the phenomenon can help, so that you're on guard when/if you take a supplement or eat a fortified food.

3) Don't prepare a salad! Never prepare a salad. Instead, at the very beginning of the designated eating time, go straight to the refrigerator and begin scarfing down the veggies. Raw. Plain. Straight from the package! You'll be half-way done before your mind has a chance to complain about the lack of salad dressing. And when I start this way, I actually begin to find myself getting lost in the bliss that is nibbling on raw greens; even though I loathe raw greens! I usually start with handfuls of leaves, then move onto the carrots, celery, and other veggies. The salad is a trap. If you take the time to make the salad, you'll have too much time to dream about other foods and you will be defeated. The most important thing during this time of adjustment is overcoming temptation. If you start to think about junk food, toss another handful of leaves in your mouth and chew faster! It sounds crazy, but it works. There's no time to dream of fatty food when you're gagging on a raw cauliflower! After you've scarfed down the healthy greens, you can come in for a soft landing with the easy foods like fruit, or what have you.

Good luck! Be well.

My problem is that even if I ate all the raw veggies I could possibly handle I would still eat something afterward to give me that sense of satiety. I often eat when I'm not hungry because I know I'll like the taste of something. I know this is a key problem for me.

When I scan a menu I am looking for the item that will taste the best. Steve is looking for the healthiest item he can find. Two very different mind sets. And you can clearly see the results.

[hayden tompkins]

I had C's in middle school, DD's in high school, and whatever comes after DDDs now.

I was a tomboy in an abusive, all-boy house and when my chest exploded I just wanted to hide myself. Middle aged men would check me out - I guess assuming that if I had boobs I was old enough or something - and sometimes those middle aged men were a little close to home. So I started wearing XXL men's shirts and never leaving the house if I could help it.

I wondered if gaining weight was a way for me to keep the 'dangerous' people away, a way to tell if a guy REALLY liked me for me and not my body.

I guess I am lucky that my weight is well-distributed (so I do have an hour glass figure) and now that I don't have those fears anymore you'd think that I'd be raring to get svelte. But my husband's MAIN attraction to my body is my chest and I wonder if he would still find me attractive if I lost weight and my chest was smaller. (No matter how much love there is, there has to be attraction.)

I can't tell you how happy I am that you are sharing your story!

[Rachelle]

Hi Erin,

I've gone through quite the journey in regards to my relationship with food and weight throughout my life. Here's a bit about my journey.

I grew up mainly with my mom, who was certainly not a healthy-eater. She was/is overweight and obese, and when I was growing up she was often on diets. Being her child meant I learned her eating habits and as a result I was overweight in my childhood, too. She even put me on diets, which I think was pretty horrible at the time. I'd say she was an emotional eater, often ate out of boredom or for comfort/entertainment, and focussed a lot on processed meats and fats and processed carbs.

my weight yo-yo'd a lot. At one point in my early 20's I was even at the point where I became borderline obese. It was realizing this that I decided things had to change.

I tried exercising and tried using an online diet plan called 'e-diets'. I actually found this to be extremely helpful and lost a lot of weight that way.

Then at some point I learned about veganism and decided to become vegan - not for weight reasons, but more for reasons based on ethics and compassion, and also for health reasons too. This helped, too.

As a vegan I was still overweight for a bit (mind you my weight yo-yo'd between being a bit overweight and being in the healthy range).

At the moment I'm at a healthy weight for my height and I think I contribute the raw diet and things i've learned or techniques i've adapted from that.

Right now I am exercising a fair bit. Instead of relying on the bus, I walk instead. Yesterday I probably walked about 75-80 minutes just walking to and from work.

I do think about food a lot and consider myself a bit of a foodie, but I suppose more of a health-foodie. The photos of creations that some raw chefs come up with totally make me drool. I get jazzed and excited about food that is colourful, beautiful, fresh, delicious and healthy.

- I start off each day with a fruit smoothie, often with a few greens thrown in for good measure

- I think eating a salad every day is a good start. I often eat salad with fruit on it, sprinkled currants and seeds. Fruit I've put on my green-leaf salads have ranged from orange and grapefruit, to apple, sliced strawberries, watermelon, and avocado.

I actually prefer a salad without oil for dressing. I love balsamic vinegar and will often use that as a dressing. Try blending an orange like the other person said and using that as a dressing, you can also spice it up with cinnamon and ginger; or blending raspberries and balsamic vinegar together, maybe with the tiniest amount of oil if you think it's necessary, or would prefer it that way.

- What flavours get you jazzed and excited about food? For me it's garlic, savoury herbs, onion, and ginger, and often balsamic vinegar. If you make your foods packed with flavour, you won't need the oil, or only a little bit. I find cooking things like garlic and onion mutes their flavour a lot. I have started making raw sauces for some cooked foods, and I find it's a good merging of the two worlds. If you love beans and chicpeas, try making veggie salads with beans or legumes thrown in, and instead of making an oil-based dressed try blending garlic, lemon, balsamic vinegar, herbs, green onions, some water and maybe *tiny* bit of oil - or even blending tomatoes into the mix - and use that raw sauce as your dressing.

- Fats are important (i think) - our brains are composed out of a lot of fatty tissues. I think the best fat sources you can choose would be: olive oil, fat from avocados, and coconut oil

- Try incorporating little bit of coconut oil into your diet a few times a week. It might seem counter-intuitive, but studies have shown that coconut oil can actually help you lose weight as it boosts your metabolism!

- Eat Organic - I'm guessing you do this already. I find organic veggies and fruits taste so much better than their non-organic counterparts, and since they taste so much better I'm way more inclined to eat fruits and veggies if they're organic.

- I've also tried to cut way down on soy. I might even cut it out (or nearly out) of my diet. Try almond milk instead of soy milk. I think soy does weird things to my metabolism.

I'd totally offer to come and be your personal chef. hee hee.

[yossarian]

Apparently the angel Raphael specializes in removing food cravings.

I have the same problem as you Erin.

To me it seems like the bottom line is we have to sacrifice the pleasure we get from food. We have to sacrifice it on the altar of something more valuable.

In my case it's not weight that is the issue, it's just energy-level. When I eat ideal food I have a lot more energy.

Is there a benefit in and of itself to losing weight? Or are you really looking for side benefits of that?

I have made slow gradual progress over the years. I figure I'll just keep making slow gradual progress. I mean looking back, even though my diet today is not Steve-Pavlina-perfect, it is still hundreds of times better than my childhood fast-food diet.

Just recently I gave up potatoes for good and I really do think I'm reaping the benefits. It's a small step but it is still a step.

My process has pretty much been removing foods and adding foods. I've never focused on weight but have lost weight incidentally while doing this. I'll remove a bad food like potatoes, and at the same time I'll add a good food like avocado, and over time my diet has been transformed and my cravings and weight along with it.

[Rachelle]

Why are potatoes bad?

[Erin Pavlina]

I just don't seem to be a fan of the healthy foods. I don't like greens. I love potatoes. I love corn and beans and all the starchy foods. I don't like brown rice, I do like white rice. Same for pasta. I like bread a lot. Bread dipped in hummus is the food I want to be eating when I get to heaven.

i wish I loved kale, spinach, collards, etc.

I do like broccoli, zucchini, cooked spinach (not raw), carrots, celery, peas, cauliflower, etc, but not plain. Gotta have some fat on em.

The boobs (that's funny!). I definitely had issues with not wanting to be attractive to men as I've been sexually assaulted and abused so many times in my past I've lost count. I figured it was becuase I was so attractive back then, so packing on the weight seemed like a good way to keep guys from looking at me. That isn't as big an issue today as it used to be, but it could weigh in. Forgive the pun.

My issues with food are obviously emotional. And Steve helped me see that something that triggers emotional eating is when I'm bored or faced wiht a mentally challenging task. I'll just be like, "Oh man, I don't feel like doing such and such, I'll go grab a snack instead." That happens a lot.

I've talked to my other foodie friends and we all have the same feelings/thoughts about food.

Someone emailed me something helpful from the book "I can make you thin" by Robert McKenna:

• eat when you're hungry
• eat whatever you want
• eat consciously and savour every mouthful
• stop when you're full

I think I violate all of these rules. No wonder I'm in this predicament.

I often eat even when I'm not hungry
I've stopped eating what I want but not becuase I don't want it but because I'll feel guilty if I do.
Eating consciously: I do this sometimes but not most times
Stop when I'm full: Pfft, I'll stop when I'm dead. But seriously, I rarely stop when I'm full. If there's something on my plate that tastes good there's no way I'm going to leave it behind.

So that's the problem in a nutshell right there. But what's the solution to overcming the addiction and cravings?

[Erin Pavlina]

Originally Posted by Rachelle

Why are potatoes bad?

Because they taste good?

Because they're carbs, they're starchy. Heck if I know. But everyone tells me not to eat them.

[Rachelle]

Originally Posted by Erin Pavlina

Because they taste good?

Because they're carbs, they're starchy. Heck if I know. But everyone tells me not to eat them.

I made a stew just the other day. It was fat free but it had potato, yam, carrots, mushrooms, onion, garlic, barley, and it was spiced with black pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, and a bit of salt. It was damn good! I made it at an outdoor local festival, over a fire, and the public ate some - and everyone liked it.

There are so many different approaches and opinions out there in regards to what is the best or ideal diet. I think the main point is that if you feel deprived, it's not going to work for you in the long run. Who wants to live a life feeling deprived?

I've heard of the MacDougal diet/approach. ... Maybe it's something that might work for you? Experiment til you find something that you're happy with.

[staceyterry]

Erin: "I’ve mentioned before that for me giving up is the only way I can fail."

I've been at this for over three years now. That's the one truth I hold onto despite the frustrations.

And you know, I really think I'm afraid. I've done very well overall. I've lost 85 lbs and there's at least another 20 to go, but the closer I get, the more often I'll find some excuse to swandive into old familiar patterns and regain. It's so perplexing. The only thing I've read so far really dealing with this fear is a book called Shrink Yourself by Roger Gould, and even with that, the self-awareness issues presented made me so uncomfortable while reading that I couldn't finish it. But that book is still nudging me in the back of my mind.

Reading your post today reminds me that it's still waiting for me to come and face it again.

[enigmania]

I am pretty close to my ideal weight and maintain it easily, so reading your post I wanted to respond. I hope something here is helpful.

Like other people have mentioned, hunger basically drives my eating. I eat when I'm hungry, I stop when I'm not. Although, I don't find it a big deal if I get a bit hungry sometimes, if I'm busy with other things; conversely I sometimes snack when I'm not really hungry. I have found that if my weight drifts upwards it's enough for me to shift the balance toward letting myself get a bit hungry sometimes, and if my weight drifts downwards I try to always eat when I get even a bit bit hungry.

No matter what, though, if I'm *really* hungry I will eat! Also, I will spend some time thinking about what my body seems to be craving and what foods will really *satisfy* that urge, sometimes nibbling on a few different things until I figure out what my body seems to need. And then I can eat rather a lot of that, often rather fat-filled foods actually.

I think I have a balance of foodie and fuel mentalities. Day to day, I guess my typical meal is more for fuel. But I love trying new foods, especially when traveling, and I frequently indulge in things I really love - cheese and chocolate, mostly. I guess my indulgence eating is mostly in social contexts.
Eating a really really scrumptious meal with some good friends and conversation in a lovely location is probably one of my favorite activities in the world. There's nothing I won't have a bite of if it's available and looks tasty. I try and minimize empty carbohydrate calories but often eat fresh bread or potatoes or pasta every day. I do try and eat mostly healthy things, which mostly involves eating all available vegetables and making sure I have frequent protein. I usually buy mostly healthy food to have in the house, plus my cheese and chocolate. As I think about the wonderful nutritional properties of healthy foods I find them more and more tasty.

Exercise wise, I'm less consistent. Just for busyness reasons I tend to shorter workouts. Working out for me is focused on keeping healthy muscle on my frame. Lately I've been working on the 100 pushups challenge. Yoga podcasts are another favorite. I like things I can do at home in my own time. However, I also walk a lot as transportation.

[bdc]

Originally Posted by Erin Pavlina

So, so far, the thin people have the "food is fuel" mentality that I just don't have. Steve has that mentality too.

Any foodies out there adjust themselves to the "food is fuel" model with success?

Any slim people out there think food is something to be adored, craved, and thought about constantly until their next meal?

I really empathize with your question. I'm part way through the transition, and I can see that I will ultimately succeed. The thing is, I haven't changed my way of thinking about food at all.

You won't succeed by changing your ideas about food. The debate about living to eat versus eating to live is a red herring. That's intellectual gobbledygook. When people say those things, they're describing things after-the-fact and they're missing the essence of the transformation. Those are intellectual words and eating is visceral.

Right now, you probably focus on the visceral experience of eating. The alternative is to focus on the visceral experience two-hours-after-eating. In both cases it's visceral, but that's the difference between living to eat and eating to live.

When you live to eat, you delight in savory, salty, sweet taste. Mmmmm! When you eat to live, you delight in buoyant, energetic joyful digestion. Wheee!

Both are totally visceral. Mmmmm! or Wheee! It's a subtle shift in where you direct your perception. Are you paying attention when you chew? Or when you digest? Do you heighten your perception at mealtime? Or two hours after?

In terms of changing mindset, that's the only distinction that has helped me. Before, I directed my awareness to the sensory experience of the meal itself. Now, I focus my awareness on the sensory experience of the food an hour after the meal.

Instead of asking how that salad dressing tasted for lunch yesterday, ask yourself how that salad dressing felt after lunch yesterday. Not emotionally. Not guilt. How did it feel, viscerally, two hours after lunch? That salad dressing kind of brought you down, didn't it? You felt a little lethargic? Or maybe a little run down, or depressed? You maybe never even noticed that you always feel that way when you eat your favorite, delicious salad dressing?

If you're paying attention an hour after the meal, you know. Fat and sugar kill the "Wheee!" Fat and sugar (carbs, starches) bring you down every single time.

It's actually a rather arbitrary and subtle temporal shift in awareness, but it leads you to radically different choices at mealtime.

The only caveat is that authentic nutritional deficiencies will continue to show up as cravings. But that's not an issue of mind or will, that's a technical issue. If you find yourself seriously not wanting to eat a fatty/sugary food that you used to like, but eating it anyway, then stop, take a deep breath, and search for a nutritional deficiency in your diet.

Maybe this helps somebody? Best of luck.

[Anna Conlan]

Any foodies out there adjust themselves to the "food is fuel" model with success?

Any slim people out there think food is something to be adored, craved, and thought about constantly until their next meal?

I'm wondering whether it's healthy to be thinking about food so much? I mean, isn't it possible to love food but not think about it a great deal?

I consider myself to be a 'foodie' in that I absolutely love food - shopping for it, making it, sharing it, eating it. And I only want food that tastes good. I don't really care too much how much fat it contains when I'm eating it.

But if I was thinking about food a lot, as in, between every meal and craving it even when I wasn't hungry, I'd consider that a mental distraction. It sounds like your mind is using food to avoid something or to avoid being totally present. If that's the case, there's an emotional issue underneath that you haven't looked at yet.

It is possible to enjoy food and for food to be a big part of your life but I think it shouldn't be occupying your mental space until you're actually getting hungry.

[lacinato]

I am not "naturally" thin in this food environment, but find it easy to eat healthily. I eat what I want, but I correspond how a food makes me feel (imagine consuming it and what it does in my body) with its desireability. I agree, suffering isn't noble. My tastes have changed over the years because it took time to really feel this. More than a limited amount of fat (2 oz nuts) makes me feel sluggish and prone to weight gain, so it doesn't seem so good. The idea of more makes me feel nauseous. I think of oil as processed, and it'll go straight to my fat tissue; I don't eat it and now I don't like it. I avoid trigger foods like sugar very strictly. No calorie counting, would make me insane.

I love fruit and eat close to half my diet as fruit, because it's a whole food and I enjoy it. I don't feel instinctively that this is bad for me and will change if I do.

I don't like preparing foods, so I have gotten used to bland food over the years. I will eat veggies plain, not even chopped. But I also use spices at times; I avoid salt.

Last, it took a lot of meditation and painful release during meditation for food to become fuel for me. Before, I could not moderate portion size without feeling like I was suffering and anxious. It took time. And I'd rather be overweight and comfortable, to be honest. But it didn't satisfy because I couldn't always be eating; that desperation is what made me look inside. Meditation wasn't even enough, I had to go inward with a medicinal plant ceremony to get past my blocks. Sometime after, the meditation finally began to fruit and a lot of things opened up. Just me.

[Laidiemoon]

I'm a foodie. I have amazed friends and family with how much I can pack away in a sitting or even a day. Luckily I've had a high metabolism most of my life, but I don't like being a slave to food. I'm also entering my late twenties and I see that metabolism thing starting to catch up with me. What really helps me is eating smaller portions of satiating foods. That's the only way I've been able to satisfy my hunger and get that food OFF my mind. I tried the vegan diet for a period of six months a while back when I was experimenting and I found that made me more obsessed with food because my options were more limited and I had to think even more about everything I ate (probably not a problem for you seasoned vegans out there though). I know many people are vegan or vegetarian because of moral issues, but the only thing that satiates my hunger is animal protein. Even eggs, not necessarily meat (but boy does a lean peice of meat stop my cravings). I can eat a salad the size of an elephant and still never feel satiated. Plus, since I've made exercise a habit for about a year now, I feel that it aids in building my muscle and burning fat. Forgive me for wondering if possibly the vegan diet might be working against a goal of weight loss and lean muscle gain? I got a lot of insight on the matter from a book entitled "real food (what to eat and why)" by Nina Planck.

Oh, and definitely make sure to add a little weight lifting to the aerobics if not doing so already. It makes a world of difference.

I wish you success! You will get there!

[lacinato]

bdc, that makes a lot of sense. You feel how the food feels not just in your mouth, but the whole path of the food. Then you can eat for enjoyment--but total body enjoyment. It's a subtle but extremely important difference. I love eating. But it doesn't feel good to eat when I don't need to or what doesn't serve me anymore. And I don't need a bunch of junk to distract me from the food's true flavors (like oil/sugar--very extreme, concentrated flavors/feels).

Also, I didn't used to like veggies. Tastes change. I used to subsist on french fries, popcorn with butter, potato cheese soup, and beans. Tastes change!

[Laura Bruno]

Originally Posted by Erin Pavlina

So, so far, the thin people have the "food is fuel" mentality that I just don't have. Steve has that mentality too.

Any foodies out there adjust themselves to the "food is fuel" model with success?

Any slim people out there think food is something to be adored, craved, and thought about constantly until their next meal?

Anyone who knows me will tell you I'm a combo of these. I LOVE to eat, but do stay slim and never had a weight problem (except briefly while cranking out the last chapter of my novel when I dropped below 100 pounds for a few weeks--way too low for me!). Yes, I have a high metabolism, but honestly, no one else in my family does. I just always knew that I loved to eat and so I've consciously utilized my energy in different ways. I burn calories doing lots of energy work for other people, using my energy to shift things, meditating, and just packing a lot of action into my day like taking the stairs instead of an elevator, walking far in a parking lot, carrying heavy bags of groceries, etc. I really don't work out, but my muscles stay strong from all the activities and making sure I get plenty of protein.

A few tips I've learned in my own life and from coaching a lot of people who wanted to lose weight:

1) Greens, especially green smoothies, really stave off cravings. Actually, they make you crave healthier foods. You have The Lazy Raw Foodist's Guide: read the chapter called, "Sneaky Ways to Get More Greens."

2) Finding the right protein powder can work wonders for you. If you don't like the taste, experiment with them until you find a combo or two that work. You'll keep your muscle while still feeling satiated. It's worth the effort to find one that works for you.

3) Get your vitamin D levels checked, especially in winter, as this can affect lots of things, including weight issues. Ditto with estrogen/progesterone levels if you are a woman. Higher estrogen to progesterone ratios can mimic hypothyroidism even though your thyroid levels test normal.

4) If you're someone who basically succeeds in every other area of your life except weight, then it's usually not about the food or exercise. I wrote this article quite awhile back, but I just reposted it because I've been hearing a lot from spiritual/intuitive people wanting to lose weight or heal their eating disorders: Coaching Yourself through Food Issues « Laura Bruno’s Blog.

Best wishes to everyone trying to lose, gain or maintain!

[tchoudomira]

Hi Erin. I am a foodie too. I am such a foodie, that I could as well starve, than eat anything not tasteful to me. There are two things that help me with my weight. The first one is yoga, and the second one is not eating after 16:00.
I have always had problems with emotional eating and slow metabolism. Doing yoga just after work, sorted things very well for me. Any undigested food would just create bad experiences during a yoga practice, and the great enthusiasm for yoga would easily keep me not eating after 16:00. If you would like to adopt yoga as part of your weight loss exercises, I would recommend exploring a fast pace style as viniyasa flow, or hot yoga, health permitting.
Love, Tchou

[mikeschu]

Hey Erin, I just had some thoughts about this.

Every time I see a diet update from you, I seem to get the number "170". Perhaps you've set too ambitious of a goal (140-ish, if I remember?), or maybe this number is closer to your ideal weight? What do you feel when you ask yourself what your perfect weight is?

Potatoes are of the nightshade family, which include legumes and tomatoes. There's something about them that isn't healthy for people, though I do admit to consuming a lot of potatoes. David Wolfe's book "Eating For Beauty" has a small section about nightshades, and I recommend the book. His "Sunfood Diet System" might have something in there too but I seem to doubt it.

Have you considered a high-raw diet? Maybe your body is tuned to more Atkins-style work than 811.

One other thought is to replace snacking when emotionally down with drinking a little water. It fills you up and it helps in keeping you much more hydrated.

That's all I'll post in regards to diet - just realize it may take a little time. I've been struggling with changing my diet for the past couple of years due to food allergies, and it's been totally worth it. Best of success to you!