Helen Martin’s Blog

I can talk about it now because it is well underway and not a flash in the pan.

I’m back on the “eat only when I am hungry” wagon.

It’s about eight or nine pounds since the beginning of the month, but I really got serious in the last week or so and - this is nuts - I have lost over three pounds since the 24th!

Which is crazier: that I could lose that much so quickly - never going hungry and never being unsatisfied; or that I was actually eating enough extra food to keep that weight on?

My body wants this off and is cooperating beautifully, just like last time.

“Last time” was three babies ago when I lost 55 pounds in six months and kept it off until I became pregnant with Jack. After each baby, I gave it a few tries, but I had never gone “all the way back” to the thin-eating way of life that had become so comfortable and enjoyable. Now I wonder what took me so long.

Quick overview:

1. Redefine “hungry” and “full” to fit within physical parameters.
2. Approach the food prayerfully and calmly - asking for wisdom to know when I have had enough, and exercising self control to eat slowly.
3. Remember that any food I throw away (because I am satisfied) isn’t wasted. It would have been wasted if I ate it and it sat on my thighs.
4. Remember that I can let go of the last bite of ice cream that I over-served myself because (a) God has made more; and (b) I *will* have another chance to eat.
5. If I eat only when physical cues tell me that my body needs food, the urge to eat other times can be explored and the underlying need met, not masked.

Doing it this way is utter freedom. I enjoy every morsel of food I eat; far more than when the portions were larger and more frequent. I eat only what I love. I can eat *anything* I want, and every single time I am truly hungry.

“Hungry” is pretty easy to figure out, but can be hard to wait for. “Full” is a little harder for me to recognize, which is why eating calmly and slowly is so helpful.

Also, since I am eating about half as often, and then about half as much in each meal, I want to make sure that I am sitting down, or at least really *notice* that I am eating. If I ate on the run the meal would be over without me being aware that I got to eat.

Oh, and like the time I lost the 55 pounds, I am doing it without exercise. Not that I am against exercise. Except that I hate it.

Will I be back to my ideal weight by Easter? Oops, I’m not committed to that, am I?