tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-239703775224526488.post7780578967506379887..comments2023-05-03T03:01:09.021-07:00Comments on Screaming Fat Girl: I no longer scream (for ice cream)screaming fatgirlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09556199963917842135noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-239703775224526488.post-63555077514174613032010-08-11T23:06:08.756-07:002010-08-11T23:06:08.756-07:00Thank you, Karen. I really, really appreciate your...Thank you, Karen. I really, really appreciate your taking the time to read and to say such a lovely and kind thing.screaming fatgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09556199963917842135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-239703775224526488.post-46010861909678673372010-08-11T18:19:53.469-07:002010-08-11T18:19:53.469-07:00I want to chime in and compliment you on your writ...I want to chime in and compliment you on your writing. Reading about your journey has been a great inspiration to me. PS. I've never taken a psychology course, but maybe I should! Thanks for blogging!Karennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-239703775224526488.post-57558114587191830052010-08-11T08:21:17.243-07:002010-08-11T08:21:17.243-07:00I know this might not be possible where you live, ...I know this might not be possible where you live, but if you can, try and find a "yoga therapist". They actually have an international association (http://iayt.org/).<br /><br />As someone who has physical limitations, I have found working with a yoga therapist to be absolutely incredible.NewMehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11172571318565002724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-239703775224526488.post-90197805419820495382010-08-11T03:21:10.763-07:002010-08-11T03:21:10.763-07:00Thank you so much, emmabovary. What a wonderful th...Thank you so much, emmabovary. What a wonderful thing to say to someone. It meant a lot to me.screaming fatgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09556199963917842135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-239703775224526488.post-76389930169571910912010-08-11T01:30:39.309-07:002010-08-11T01:30:39.309-07:00Every single one of your posts is such a breath of...Every single one of your posts is such a breath of energizing, sane air in this fatosphere. Thank you so much for the effort and time you take to put your clear and lucid words out there. You truly get it and you turn 'it' into words which resonate with me each and every time I read you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-239703775224526488.post-48479631094741254452010-08-10T17:39:29.470-07:002010-08-10T17:39:29.470-07:00Florida Food Snob: Hi, and thank you for commentin...Florida Food Snob: Hi, and thank you for commenting!<br /><br />My brain won't shut up, and that's a part of this awareness. Frankly, and I say this with no pride or grandiose notions of who I am or what I am capable of, I believe I was born with a gift in regards to insight. The way that some people have artistic or musical talent, I have psychological insight. I have had it for a very long time, and I don't think I earned it but rather was born with that capacity and my life experience has helped it develop. It is a gift, but it's also a curse. Sometimes I'd rather just be oblivious. <br /><br />The other parts are from studying psychology, and having a relationship with my husband which encourages both of us to understand ourselves better through our association with one another. <br /><br />A huge part of that aspect is related to how he and I got together (a long story that I can't tell yet, but will get to at some time) and our relative isolation from other concerns while living in a foreign country. In many ways, being cut off from family and friends has left us living in a fishbowl and what sustains us is each other. I'll actually be sorry to lose this part of living abroad.screaming fatgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09556199963917842135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-239703775224526488.post-71126779656529154812010-08-10T17:14:28.765-07:002010-08-10T17:14:28.765-07:00Each of your post makes me wonder how you became s...Each of your post makes me wonder how you became so AWARE! It is so promising to hear someone be able to identify with their selves so well.Florida Food Snobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03874387461141027609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-239703775224526488.post-47380398107308852732010-08-10T16:52:06.705-07:002010-08-10T16:52:06.705-07:00Rachel: Thank you so much for your kind comment. :...Rachel: Thank you so much for your kind comment. :-)<br /><br />RedPanda: I think part of the problem for me is that I can deal with stress more effectively now, but depression (which is often unpredictable and likely biochemical) is not really laid to rest by anything. Sometimes, I have a lingering sadness in which clouds cover my perspective and there is frequently nothing that relieves this. It defies everything but time.<br /><br />I tried yoga before, incidentally. In fact, I have a couple of DVDs around including a beginner one, but my body isn't strong or flexible enough to do anything (at least not yet). It frustrated me greatly that I couldn't even do the most basic things because I was too fat or fragile. Maybe some day!<br /><br />Thank you for you comment!screaming fatgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09556199963917842135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-239703775224526488.post-86145574763183049012010-08-10T16:48:55.463-07:002010-08-10T16:48:55.463-07:00First of all, thanks to everyone for taking the ti...First of all, thanks to everyone for taking the time to comment! I really appreciate it!<br /><br />NewMe: I agree completely about adding things to your life - I think that is part of the key to not only getting your eating in order, but also to finding real happiness. I've ready that creative endeavors and goals play a key role in happiness. It's not even reaching your goals, but working toward them. To that end, I have my other (non-weight) blogs, but I also need to add in more things. As I grow physically stronger, I'm hoping to be capable of doing some things I hadn't been able to do before (like hiking in modest mountains). <br /><br />One of the things I'm hyper-aware of right now is that when I go home from the country I'm living in, there will be a lot of how I define myself that is lost, so I need to have something else to go with. I have to feel I'm integrated with some sort of image other than being fat and living here as a foreigner - something which has come to strongly define me since I've been in this place for a very, very long time.<br /><br />Grump: What you say about not being able to avoid food has always been a crucial part of my thinking when I tried to lose weight in the past. I often felt that if I could give up food forever, it'd be easier than if I had to keep eating. That being said, alcoholics don't drink alcohol, but they do drink other things. I have found that selectively giving up things helps a lot. In many people's cases, they give up sweets, carbs, or salted snacks. In my case, I gave up large portions forever. It's a fine distinction, I know, but it's the way I've looked at it. <br /><br />I hope to give you some confidence in yourself by saying that I do not have a will of iron at all. I built my "will" one inch at a time using delayed gratification techniques. Willpower really is just delaying gratification and you can teach yourself it, but it takes time, patience, and work. The fiddly nature of dealing with food in the way it requires makes it very irritating. The temptation to say, "I can't be bothered with this", is very, very high. <br /><br />I should also say that I *did* get a high from food. Honestly, when I was miserable and tucked into a carton of ice cream, I got a huge rush. I'm only guessing that this had something to do with psychological conditioning causing my brain to release endorphins when given such things and a sugar rush, but it was definitely a palpable high. I've read that other people have had this as well. It's often how I can tell the difference between serious addiction and mere struggle for self-control. Those with serious addiction had a sort of transformative experience due to indulgence. <br /><br />And it will become second nature eventually. It has come close to that for me. Though I can't know how much to eat and will always have to monitor calories, I no longer feel starved or that I'm fighting my impulses so hard.screaming fatgirlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09556199963917842135noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-239703775224526488.post-54945170157621914252010-08-10T14:12:17.964-07:002010-08-10T14:12:17.964-07:00I have to grit my teeth and bear it, because I'...<i>I have to grit my teeth and bear it, because I'm guessing that's what most people who aren't medicating themselves with food, drink, drugs or sex are doing.</i><br /><br />Yep, that about sums it up.<br /><br />Exercise, particularly yoga, works to relieve stress for me. Bitching and sulking are good too.RedPandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05610706186691466899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-239703775224526488.post-4192007559321705512010-08-10T10:06:42.751-07:002010-08-10T10:06:42.751-07:00Incredibly thoughtful and thought-provoking at the...Incredibly thoughtful and thought-provoking at the same time.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14022747825668587117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-239703775224526488.post-34711856521979637102010-08-10T09:33:47.894-07:002010-08-10T09:33:47.894-07:00"I have to grit my teeth and bear it, because..."I have to grit my teeth and bear it, because I'm guessing that's what most people who aren't medicating themselves with food, drink, drugs or sex are doing."<br /><br />Re. the depressed moods. That's interesting. However, we can live without alcohol, tobacco, drugs and sex, but not without food...so I think the 'addiction' we have, the mood-soother, isn't as easy to shrug off. There is always going to be the temptation to over-eat, have large portions or to choose foods which aren't particularly good for us. WE don't get a high from food..but we do feel soothed, and food is all around us, easily obtainable and offered to us in all sorts of situations. The same can't be said for the other 'substances'.<br /><br />I suspect all people endeavouring to lose weight have to develop a mental toughness, a steely resolve, every single day and in every single eating situation to ensure they turn their backs on their addictive 'substance' or at least limit the amount of it they have. I am hoping that my thinking about food, and my feelings towards foods will change - forever - if I habitually eat sensibly and well. <br /><br />The gritting of teeth that you mentioned...I think that relies on having a will of iron, and I am not sure I possess that, alas. All I can say is, I am learning not to beat myself up if and when I allow myself to 'indulge' in my favourite substances. <br /><br />I really, really hope making sensible food choices and feeling satisfied within my calorie allowance will become second nature to me. I'll endeavour to change my relationship with food - but will it be for always? I want to say it will be, but I can't guarantee it, given the availability of our drug of choice. Can any of us?Fat Grumphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14563154952353175490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-239703775224526488.post-83126128036130228582010-08-10T06:06:57.669-07:002010-08-10T06:06:57.669-07:00I have never used food as medication. I like the t...I have never used food as medication. I like the taste of food and have therefore eaten more than my body needed, but medication no.<br /><br />However, like all people, I know what it means to suffer psychologically. Right now, I'm going through a subtle yet major shift in my life and I know that I have to *add* positive things and activities to get me through this transition.<br /><br />I am realizing that personally, I need to add to my life, not take things away, if I am to come out better on the other side. Fortunately, food is relatively speaking, only a minor element in the equation.<br /><br />As always, I admire your analytical sense and truthfulness towards yourself.NewMehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11172571318565002724noreply@blogger.com