Discussion Board

I'm planning to go shopping shortly. It just occurred to me that I really should get enough fresh produce to carry us through Christmas so I don't have to do 'crowded' grocery shopping immediately before the holiday. Hopefully it won't be too bad already today.

I'm so spoiled in just being able to go whenever we need something. Sure, I combine trips so as to not waste gas, but there was still much freedom about it. Lol, 'holiday event's aside, I need to plan what food we'll need till next Monday.

I might not have made it in the ancient world.
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On the shortest day of the year, Dendra goes shopping for something warm and cosy.

Christmas Eve... only two more 'large' celebrations to go... I enjoy the season, but will be happy when it's over. It is just toooo looong.

I'm very pleased about how I've been eating the past few days - right on plan, even with 2 large plates of yummy traditional cookies sitting right there on the dining room table. That's a first - but now I know to not to 'break the dam' and not even have that first one. They will be leaving the house tonight to their final destination.

Tonight is a buffet at my brother's home. It's a nice gathering, but the food tends to be not very good. Crappy pasta salad, iceberg salad iwth slimy bottled dressing, overly salty ham, mayo, generic white bread rolls, enchillada mush...... There are generally many people coming and going and eating at different times that I think we'll eat here at home first and by-pass the sub-standard food. (sorry bro).

Tomorrow will be much different and I intend to fully participate (but not over-eat) -- it will be a quiet sit-down meal with high-quality food - far more appealing. And also a smaller event that we far prefer.
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Wishing everyone a bountiful Holiday Season...

The main social 'eating days' for us are now over. New years has never been anything too special food-wise. The past two days have been very nice. I ate to 'full', but not stuffed at meals away from home, and I definitely ate 'off plan', but not too terribly perhaps since I'm not 100% adherent to any 'plan' anyway.

But today is a new day. And I'm eating well again starting with breakfast. Just had a bowl of cooked, cooled green beans with onion, garlic, avocado and a light vinegrette. Big yum.

Today is going to be a cooking day. Gotta make a big batch of soup for the week, another batch of steamed veggies, and also prepare some salad greens.

Today is the start of the new year for me.

Happy new food year, Dendra!

Thank you.

Not too much to report. I made another batch of vegetable and bean soup today. I sometimes do wonder what I'll eat come summer, but now is now, and then is then.

I've been working in the garden getting the planting beds weeded, re-aligned, dug and covered with thick mulch so when planting time comes, they will be ready and weed-free. Lots of work, but it feels good to be outside doing physical labor. We are having just wonderful weather here, but no rain in sight.

We went to a birthday party tonight for a friend, and it was pretty nice. The food was low-key, and close enough to 'on plan' to enjoy. Mostly vegetarian, no dairy. But I'm so tired of parties... It must be a real bummer for those who have a b-day at this time of year.

Thank goodness New Years will be here at home, quiet, and not an eating celebration. I am however looking forward to the new year, and hitting the ground running. While I'm tired of the celebrations, I am very pleased with how the eating went. I ate off plan, but not that often, and most days, I actually ate 'good'.

The scale even is reflecting a slight loss the past few days. I suspect it's in part because I've stopped eating grains again. They have always been a bad influence in my diet. As in, when I eat them, I want to eat more and more of them. Fortunately when I don't eat them, I don't miss them. Too bad, I thought I'd give them another shot. Oh well....

I went shopping today, and stocked up on veggies. There was the nicest looking fresh kale - I think it's young enough to go into salads raw. Tomorrow I want to make up a big batch of cooked veggies for miscellaneous use. And of course for breakfast.

2011 is winding down. I'm pleased that I made it through December enjoying the season but not doing much, if any, damage. I changed my diet drastically close to 4.5 months ago, and I see no reason to ever eat another way.

I'm quite looking forward to the coming year and continuing the process of improving my health. I don't make resolutions but I am planning on continuing with what I am doing, and tweaking anything that needs it. Specifically, I need to work on certain aspects of hunger and getting more, consistent exercise.

If there was a crystal ball that would let me see Dec 31 of 2012, I'd be very tempted to look.


From Dendra and her Family, Happy New Year everyone!

Adventures in Hunger

One of my goals this year is to further explore feelings of real hunger. For most of my life I couldn't tell the difference between emotional hunger and physical hunger, and as a result, had significant eating and weight swings that for the most part, I didn't understand the dynamics of. I've worked a lot of the emotional stuff out, compulsivity re food, etc, but actual physical hunger is an avenue that I want to explore further - that we have for a reason.

Thanks to working for a number of years with the ideas of Geneen Roth and others, I now can tell when I am physically hungry vs when I am just trying to distract/entertain myself with food. While I do generally eat from real hunger these days, I find I tend to eat at the first signs of it instead of staying with it for a while. So that is the plan - to learn to let it grow stronger before eating. 'Ravenous' is not the goal at all, not do I intend to deprive myself, but my goal is to further explore and come to embrace healthy hunger.

I started looking yesterday to see what I could find 'out there' about it, and there was scant little. Mostly generic diet stuff, but I did find a couple of interesting pieces, but not much else on first looking. What I did find verified what I do believe and is common sense... That if you are going for weight loss, it's better to wait longer between meals, to allow yourself to get hungrier before the next meal. There was a good comparison - at night when you are feeling a bit sleepy, most people don't immeidately go to bed. Most people choose to ignor the first signals of sleepiness. And that's what I want to do with food/eating.

I've been practicing this about a week or so, and it is getting easier. Besides, food tastes better and eating is more enjoyable when hunger is stronger, and I do love to eat.


It is an absolutely gorgeous day here... time to go outside in the sun, play in the garden ..and let the boys watch all that boring football....

It's been another nice day here today. I was able to spend a lot of it outside getting the veg garden ready for this summers larger plantings. I got another entire bed dug and covered in thick mulch - that will keep the weeds down in case it ever rains again here. And more.

Eating-wise, I've done well - waiting for real hunger, watching it, and so forth, then finally eating. No new personal insights, just more practice accepting that I don't have to eat at the first real hunger signals.

I was reading more about ghrelin, the hormone that is produced when the body gets hungry and intensifies the feeling of hunger. It apparently helps keep us better focused and more alert. It's suggested that it might also have slight anti-depression characteristics - and hence might explain why some people with anorexia might be euphoric when eating so little. I am however at the other end of the scale (literally and figuratively) from anorexia.

Another couple good days here. Not perfect, but good.

It's absolutely glorious on the west coast, and I was able to spend several hours outside. I had a match this morning, but was running late so I didn't have time to heat and eat my steamed veggie breakfast, so I grabbed a granola bar. In the past I would have eaten the whole thing ("breakfast is the most important meal of the day...", bla, bla, bla), but today I had a couple bites as more of a security blanket, then went and played without having eaten much at all. No problem.

When I got home I was very hungry so had my veggie lunch instead, plus some dried persimmons (1 fruit's worth). And a cup of cocoa. Then I worked in the garden for another couple hours.

It's been rather interesting watching my hunger. I have to keep reminding myself that I don't have to eat when I feel it for the first time - let it grow. The first signs do not have to be a free ticket to the figurative buffet. I also find that if I am busy, especially when I am doing things I like and find absorbing, it's much easier to ignore the feelings of physical hunger. When it gets strong enough, it becomes insistent and lets you know it's time to eat. That is where I want to get more often.

It was a very good day today. I had soup for breakfast and dinner, and some fruit, and a nice large salad for lunch with avocado. And just now a spoon of peanut butter after a late dinner.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have time to steam up some 'mixed' veggies just to have them on hand.

I've been observing my hunger more, and have been letting it really build before eating. I did not have any snacks today. Unless one is trying to shift a meal in time for social reasons, one is either hungry enough to eat a real meal, or one isnt. Not sure what the purpose of snacking is besides entertainment or distraction.

I'm finding when I let hunger really grow my meals are getting further apart. And today the last one was quite late. I'm beginning to think maybe I should try to eat less at meals so dinner isn't so late.

Good luck, you can do this. I love your pictures of cats too!

Thanks Carollynne. I love the Kliban cats too. As I look for images, there are many I'm finding that I've never seen before. It's quite fun.

Yesterday was not the best of eating days. I sort of had rambling eating - perhaps too frequent grazing would be a better way to describe it. Not large amounts, but while not ideal, not a traditional binge... just on and off eating when not hungry, and worst of all, I knew and didn't seem to care. Oh well. Progress not perfection....

So here it is a new day with hopes for doing better. And I'm back to journaling. That really does seem to help, but it's easier not to do it, so I often let that lapse.

I've been reading more on hunger and saw an expression at the Fuhrman board that resonated.... 'hunger is not an emergency'. I like that.

And continuing with a thought I've had before - that we have many physical feelings that let us know we have bodily needs, but we dont always act on them immediately. Why does true physical hunger have to be different? When I feel sleepy, I don't immediately go to bed. When I am thirsty, I don't immediately get a drink. If I have a need to go to the bathroom, I sometimes have to wait. There are other examples where we delay satisfying physical needs even though our bodies tell us it wants something to be done.

So, the question - Why do we have to satisfy real hunger immediately? And the answer - we don't. Just don't let it get to ravenous.

Again, hunger is not an emergency. We won't die if we don't eat immediately. We all too often eat out of habit, emotional reasons, boredom, nearness to food, etc. not the necessity of preventing starvation.
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Dendra experiments with real hunger.

Yeah, realizing you don't have to eat the second you're a tiny bit hungry has been a big revelation to me, too. It's funny how much it's drilled into us that we have to eat every 2-3 hours.

Hi,Just read your journal.Wow you are doing so good. RAS