Stefan:
>With most foods I can do the "imagination test": Just imagine how it
>would be to bite in it now. To be done before a meal of course and best
>before the meal where I would eat it (noon/evening). If the answer is
>"would be great, go for it", then I buy it. If I have problems to
>imagine me biting into it and the picture always seems to fade away
>or if the answer is "buh, forget it, it's awful" then I let it be.
>Hey, who on this list can do this too?

Sometimes, when I feel a little bit hungry but don't quite know what I want
to eat, I also use the "imagination test" as you describe above. It feels a
bit as if I am asking my stomach whether it would find a particular food
appealing at that time, and it gives me a very definite response one way or
the other. I go through various foods, and mostly the answer is, "No,
that's not want I want to eat right now". But usually I come up with
something eventually, although sometimes I end up deciding that I'm not
really all that hungry after all and don't need anything.

However, I only do this at the time that hunger occurs, and not a week in
advance! :) And mostly it is with foods that I have available (so why not
just smell them, you might say?), but if none of those seem to fit, I will
also start thinking about foods that I don't have on hand.

I have watched the various discussions on this list about instinctive
eating with great interest. I am not an instinctive eater (at least not yet
- I am now in the process of reading through the Anopsology pages; thanks,
Mike, for posting the details), and so I have been particularly bemused by
the idea of a "taste change" letting one know when to stop eating.

For me, the "stop" is usually similar to the above reaction to the
"imagination test", i.e., a very definite message from my stomach saying,
"I've had enough of that for now, thanks". This happens with all foods, not
just raw ones, although I am noticing that the more raw food I eat, the
easier it becomes to be aware of and heed this signal. I think that I
previously used to overeat on many occasions (and feel awful afterwards),
but now I hardly ever go over the limit of what is comfortable. And,
whereas I might previously have binged on chocolate (or other sweet foods)
if I started to eat a little bit, now I have to stop after a few pieces
when I (only very occasionally) feel like eating some - any more just
doesn't seem appealing.

In a way, I now feel as if my cravings have been turned upside down.
Diet-conscious people will often refuse something that is offered to them,
because their mind tells them that they shouldn't be having it, while at
the same time they crave it with their body. I don't consider that I've
ever had a big problem with cravings, and so I don't indulge in this
"mind-over-matter" thing, or feel guilty when I do satisfy my cravings.
Nevertheless, I have still been aware of that "difference of opinion"
between my mind and my body at times, when I have eaten or drunk something
less than nutritious.

Lately, though, this seems to be operating the other way round. I may be
offered something that looks appealing and think, "Ooh, yes, that would be
nice for a change - I'll have some". And then my body comes in with, "Don't
be silly - I don't want _that_". So my cravings are now in my mind more
than in my body. On these occasions, I don't even feel that I would like
something else instead - I'm quite content not having anything at all.

Sometimes, though, for social reasons or whatever, I do have something that
I would previously have enjoyed but no longer do (e.g., alcohol). Then my
body's responses always serve to remind me that it's really not worth it.
No doubt these occasions will become quite rare as I increasingly allow my
body to dictate what it wants, without letting my mind interfere.

Regards,
Barbara