Although this should be obvious, it often times isn’t. Thanks for the reminder, it really helps.

Kelcy

I’m almost at my one year anniversary of eating NT (on Feb 4)and feeling great.  I am now seeing changes in my eating patterns; I’m eating less amounts and less times a day than in the previous months, and desiring different types of foods, but still obeying hunger and fullness cues.  I never want pleasure foods!  I still remind myself that each day can be different, and very often it is.  Sometimes I want dinner, sometimes I don’t.  It wasn’t until the 11th month that things really began to feel comfortable about the way I eat.  While there was doubt in the beginning months if I was doing things right, I seem completely confident about eating now.  I eat when I’m hungry, whatever I’m hungry for, and stop when full.  It’s as if it’s the most natural thing in the world. What a feeling!  I give my eating less and less thought, it’s up to my body to be in charge, and I just obey it without interference. (those days in food jail were the most unnatural days of my life!)

I hope this encourages anyone just starting out.  Even though you’re probably scared to death as you start down this path, I want you to know that it is all worth it.  It took me 11 months to feel completely comfortable and relaxed, but it was worth every single second to get this far.

Swan

I’m thankful that holidays are no longer the horrible, looming, inevitable weight-gain spectres that they were for me before NT.  When you are always satisfied, the opportunity to gorge yourself on holiday treats doesn’t hold power over you anymore.  You can treat the day and the eating event just like any other, and not feel deprived.  This is truly freedom from food jail.

Swan,

I’ve been plunking around the forum reading the older posts, and I just read yours - you really do offer encouragement.  We love it!  Us newbies needs lots and LOTS of encouragement.  I can’t wait to be at the point where you are now.

Thanks!
Sindy

Sindy,

I loved reading all the other older posts when I was starting out. They really helped me.  I had a lot of the same questions others had already asked. I am thankful Jean is always available to answer questions and keep us on the right path. I’m glad my posts have helped you and others.  I believe I am just about at the weight now as I was when I began NT. (I had been at a lower weight prior to this because of dieting, then gained right before starting NT because of overeating, due to the dieting of course!) I gained about 20 pounds on my NT journey, and now have lost it. It took 26 months for me to get to this point. Any poundage I lose now is icing on the cake!  (Not that I’d want either the icing OR the cake!)  So hang in there everyone—a few years is NOTHING. Hear me?  NOTHING. If it had taken me 5 more years on top of these 2 years to get to this point, it would still be worth the time. I’m on the other side looking back, and I do remember the frustration of not knowing when changes were going to happen, and if maybe I was doing something wrong. More often than not I felt I was probably eating too much.  Keep at it.  Keep eating. Don’t eat too late.  Don’t go hungry. Stop when you are full.  If it feels like you are dieting in any way, you better pause and reexamine what you are doing now. Remember if you are skimping with food and not listening to your body, you are in fact still dieting.  Take food with you when you go out!  I STILL do this, and always will—it’s ingrained now!

Do all of you have any idea how many people are struggling with trying to lose weight by dieting?  I feel there is a tremendous amount of people!  Young, old, male, female, already thin but making their body suffer to stay that way, obese, and all weights in between!  Count your blessings TODAY, that you know about Naturally Thin, that you are eating according to your body, not your mind, and that your struggle with eating is over.  OVER!

Swan,
It’s nice to know someone else gained about 20 lbs on NT.  That’s a tough pill to swallow.  I’m looking forward to the day when I feel like my weight is going down, not up.  Even if it is VERY slow.  It WILL be the last time…

Munch

Swan,

You are so inspiring!  And so right.  A couple or few years is nothing because the time will pass anyway.  At least this way we will get somewhere.  Yes, it’s great that Jean can advise us here!

It’s new territory for all of us who have dieted or restricted food in the past; and I do feel like I’m eating to much, like you also said when starting out.  There’s always the worry of gaining too much, too.  And if we’re doing it “right”....It’s just nice to hear that you’ve been living it successfully for over 2 years and that things can and do change.

I know, it seems like everybody is dieting these days….My husband’s workmate was just put on WW by his wife.  I don’t seeing that lasting very long.  My mother in law (who is 73) joined JC, as did my sister-in-law.  My SIL is a lifelong member and has been doing it for over a year and is still waiting for real results (she’s lost some, but is not yet at her goal.)  What a waste of money!  When my MIL comes to visit us, she cheats on her diet like crazy - it’s insane.  She has met her goal, but I’m sure she won’t stay there.

Yes, I am counting my blessings that I found NT, absolutely!  Three cheers for NT!

-Sindy

Swan and Sindy,
I’m confused when you both say you think you were/are eating too much.  If I add up calories then yes I guess I am eating too much also or I wouldn’t be gaining weight, but my body seems to be demanding it if I am only eating when I am hungry and stopping when I am full (not stuffed).

Help me understand…

Munch

Munch,

This is what I meant when I said I thought I was eating too much when I started NT.  First let me say I had a lot of make-up eating to do, due to a last ditch attempt at dieting around the holidays in Dec. of ‘07, in order to fit into a sultry little black dress for my husband’s office Christmas party.  I was consuming about 900 calories daily, for several weeks before this. Well I got my wish, it fit, was 124 pounds, but soon after I was a bingeing beast.  Then came Feb.‘08 when I began NT.  I think I was still make-up eating for months on end.  There were times I felt slightly overfull after eating.  Somewhere I read, not sure of which book, Jean said we should stop at fullness, and try not to go even a spoonful over, because that would be too much.  Well, I’m sort of an “exact” kind of gal, so based on that, I felt there were many times I went beyond that one spoonful.  I was never full to the point of having to lie down and unzip my pants, and based on my diet history, this was a lot of food I was eating by comparison, so I was always thinking that probably eating less food would have been the right thing to do.  But it was tricky for me in the beginning—getting it right—I certainly didn’t want to undereat. That would only keep me stuck. I think I was probably more scared of undereating and staying on the cycle, but was still concerned about overeating at the same time, and felt I was doing this frequently in the beginning.  But maybe it was just the right amount for me at the time?  Who knows? I just did my best, what I thought my body was asking for, but still had the feeling I probably should have stopped a few bite-fulls ago, many times in the beginning.  Let me know if this answers your question.

Swan

Well, like today at lunch I had a homemade rather large salmon sandwich on seeded bread.  The bread was big, and I stuffed the rest of the salmon mix in it (not wanting to waste any - there wasn’t enough filling for a future sandwich, but too much for one sandwich).  And I had leftover chicken noodle soup as well…although, I couldn’t finish that.  I felt uncomfortable for 1.5 hours after lunch, overfull, almost like the food was trying to come up…ugh.  I should have only made 1/2 a sandwich and had all the soup, and chucked the rest of the filling away.  (Or just wrapped up the other half for later.)  Hindsight is great.  Well, the good thing is I couldn’t even imagine having a piece of chocolate….the thought didn’t even cross my mind.

I never seem to overeat breakfast, though…I always need a second breakfast (snack).

Dinnertime is main problem time for me as far as overeating goes.  Hubby is a meat and potatoes kind of guy.  He only likes fattening salads, like Caesar and Greek, so we eat a lot of those; and I make myself another veggie, like carrots or corn or beans.  I’ve tried making lower-fat Caesar dressings, but he doesn’t like them.  So, I use olive oil and lemon juice.  At least olive oil is good for you.

I was tracking everything I ate on FitDay just to see what I was eating.  As it turns out - a LOT!  I stopped doing that now.

I think if you are eating only when hungry and stopping when full, then you’re doing fine.  That is what we are supposed to do, right?  You sound like you’re on the right track to me!

-Sindy

Swan - you’ve been told this by others and I’ve got to say it too..your words are so, so, so encouraging.  Maybe I’m just reading them at the right time, I don’t know, but reading your posts here today, I am teary eyed! Thank you so much.  Many of the words you wrote (especially the last 2 post) have hit me straight where I am (scared of undereating & staying on the cycle, the make-up eating: I went straight from dieting to NT, and feeling frustrated wondering when the changes are going to happen).  Please don’t get me wrong, I do see changes, I guess I’m a bit impatient.  BUT, I’m not so impatient so that I’ll go back to dieting. 

Again, thank you for your words, and for sharing your ups n’ downs, victories and struggles.  And for writing in a way that is so easy to understand & so easy to relate too!

Lucy

Lucy,

You are welcome, I’m glad to have helped. I know I said it before, but I would refer back to the book often.  When I would get frustrated or even afraid, I would look in the book, and wouldn’t ya know, I’d read where Jean would say things like, you’ll feel afraid, it takes a lot of courage, and you will wonder if you’re doing things right….well it would pretty much sum up everything I was feeling, so that would tell me I was going through normal stuff!  My worry was that I would gain 100 pounds (based on my history of dieting) and that it would take me 20 years to lose it all, and by then my life would be over….but I knew I had to keep going forward, not go back to dieting, NO MATTER WHAT.  The explanations Jean gave based on the principles of adaption were very believable to me, right from the start.  They allowed me to see through diet propaganda, realize why I would binge after dieting, and understand why everyone I knew who dieted had a big struggle, and why they all gained the weight back.  I totally got it.  But it was scary, as I’m a vain person, I admit.  I didn’t want to have to face people with extra weight on.  I didn’t want to have to buy bigger clothes, I didn’t even feel comfortable wearing the same styles of clothing, even in bigger sizes. My bust got a lot bigger, and I felt I only looked good in certain necklines with the extra weight, so I didn’t like feeling limited to certain styles.  And if only I could explain to people in casual conversation—“You know, I gained this weight for a reason, and it is so I will lose weight.”  Most people would think I had a few screws loose if I said that.  I have explained NT fully to several people in my life, and have given copies of books away to a few interested people.  Some people are just not open to such wonderful news, and it is a pity.

One sentence Jean wrote that has always stood out to me, and this may not be word for word, but she said every single eating problem/disorder that she has ever encountered, began with a diet. 

Munch had asked about my feeling that I overate a lot in the beginning, and I remember mostly I felt this way after dinner, my last meal, and not so much during the earlier meals.  Another thing I remember that made me feel this way is that I know it is preferable to go to bed a little empty, and once in a while I did, but not with any regularity.  And for this reason I felt it was probably due to eating too much at dinnertime.  But again, this could have been in my head, and I could have been eating just the right amount.  I still don’t feel empty going to bed many nights, maybe once a week, at most?  It is just something that happens.

Many, if not most people starting Naturally Thin eating are coming off a diet or informal undereating.  This makes it impossible for them to start NT eating by stopping at “full” all the time.  They have make up eating to do, and their bodies will drive them to it until the physiological need is met.  This is why you shouldn’t panic about some overeating at the beginning.  Remember, your body is in control, and its needs, not yours, are in charge.  Once the last feast is over, you will notice a new ability to stop when fullness sensations begin.  In fact, you will want to stop, as over-full feelings are naturally uncomfortable.  Remember how little kids eat?  They just stop, no matter how good the food tastes.  I do encourage people to stick with real foods from the start, to minimize initial weight gain and to start learning about quality food from the beginning.

Sincerely,
Jean

What a great thread.  It was exactly what I needed today.  Especially the first post by Jean.  What a great reminder.  I find myself just moving along and months later realizing that I haven’t lost a single pound.  Why?  I KNOW that when I “PAY ATTENTION” and “take care of myself” as Jean said, that is when I feel like it is working. That is when I see the pounds slowly but steadily coming off. 

It doesn’t seam like it should be that hard, but it IS hard to always be in tune.  It takes effort, but a very different and natural effort from dieting.  When I am not really tuned and not paying as much attention as I should, I find myself clearing my plate without a thought and then feeling just a little overfilled without meaning it.  Those are the days that I go to bed still feeling a bit full when I know I should be feeling “comfortably empty”. 

It is time for me to start reading again :)  I have loaned my book out a few times and it has been a struggle to get it back in my hands.  So, I just ordered my second copy ($4 on Amazon, shipping included). That way I can have one that I always have on hand and one I can loan out. Can’t wait to get it. 

Anyway, thanks for the reminder Jean, and for all the inspirational posts.  Swan, inspirational as always, and all you newbies that are gaining faith in the NT lifestyle.  Hang in there.  It is truth, and it will work, eventually! 

Darcy