Today's reading from "100 Days of Weightloss" talks about the importance of keeping a notebook to write down ideas about managing your eating patterns. This isn't a food journal to track your calories, points, whatever. This is a journal to write about your food cravings and to take notice of food cues you experience. My favorite quote in this reading is:
"Just because you think about food doesn't mean you have to eat it."
Wow, what a concept! I am going to remember this one!!! The book gives an example of someone who used her notebook to write down whenever she had a craving which allowed her to stop thinking about it. And the assignment for the day was to write down whenever you think about a particular food you want along with a plan that you will eat it at another time.
Here are my entries from my notebook today:
1:30PM - I want to eat a 3
Musketeers bar and feel the comfort and pleasure of it's soft
chocolatey-ness. But I am not going to act on this impulse now. I
will eat it on another day when I am relaxed and can enjoy it rather than eating
it now at work simply to soothe stressful feelings.
8:15PM - I want to eat some ice
cream. I am feeling lonely and I want some sweetness and comfort in my
belly. But I am not going to act on this impulse today. Instead I
will enjoy 1/2 cup of ice cream on Thanksgiving with my yummy Weight Watchers
Crustless Pumpkin Pie. I am going to start eating ice cream as an
occasional treat to enjoy rather than as an everyday occurrence to soothe my
emotions.
So how did this tool help me today? Well, let's say I am batting 500. I did eventually give in to the 3 Musketeers bar. But I was able to talk myself out of the ice cream. That is progress for me and I fully intend to keep using this tool.
Posts
6 comments:
Way to go! It's the little steps that add up.
I like this idea (and the quote is awesome -- I definitely need to remember this) and am going to start using it as a tool in my weight loss (I need all the help I can get). And ... I'll post the meme after I give it some thought (you're right -- it's definitely thought provoking). Thanks for sharing the magic notebook idea.
Thanks for the reminder, this one helped me a lot. It's amazing how writing it down and why you want to eat makes you really think about it! Great job on avoiding the ice cream! As for the 3 Musketeers, well it's life and sometimes it's better to eat it than obsess over it all day!!! I'm thinking on this meme it is definitely thought provoking!!!
Deb, thanks so much for your visit. I have been hanging on to the back gate of the wagon for dear life lately. I want so desperately to get back on!
You sound like you are doing great, I hope that you will continue to share what is working for you. I know that your entries certainly help me!
What a great quote/tool. I'm going to give this a try, maybe using the journal feature in Fitday. Congratulations for passing on the ice cream!
I am so behind in my reading! My apologies for not responding sooner. It looks like an interesting meme - if I ever get a minute to reflect on those different periods of my life it would make a good post. Thanks for including me!
Post a Comment