I mentioned in my first post that I think I have as much emotional and spiritual weight to get rid of as physical. While I believe this is true, measuring weight loss in ways other than physical is rather difficult. In fact, I do not know of a way to do it. I believe however, that these three areas of our life are interwoven, impacting and dependant on one another. When working on physical weight loss, therefore, we need to become more aware of what is happening in our lives emotionally and spiritually.
NOTE: Before I get to the point of this post I want to let you know where I am focused so you can decide if joining this journey is what you really want to do. First, I have never been a dieter. I know some diets can help people lose weight in a reasonably healthy way and have a certain measure of success with keeping the weight off. More power to the people who can follow through with those plans. My focus, however, is not on weight loss as much as it is on health gain. Thus, I am focused on long term changes of habits and thinking that translates into long term changes in eating and greater emotional, spiritual, and physical health. If that describes your focus too, then stick around, join in, and welcome to the journey.
To borrow and expand upon some advice I gleaned from The Skinny Daily, begin by journaling what you eat. Before going on any kind of diet take a couple weeks and begin to write down everything you put in your mouth. Note also the time of day, what you are doing in addition to eating—errands, fixing a meal, studying, watching TV, etc. And, here is my two cents: make note of how you are feeling or what you are thinking. To easily accomplish this task get a little notebook you can bring with you wherever you go–school, appointments, work, the gym, home, etc. Include everything, even the samples you eat at the grocery. At first you may self censor (not eat what you are tempted to eat). Or, you may exclude things like the tastes of dinner before the actual meal. After all, you are going to have it for dinner so why act as if you ate it twice? Quick answer: because you did. Better explanation: because you are looking at your habits as much as what you actually eat. If in the first two weeks you notice the “little cheats” happening then journal for a couple more weeks. Nobody is going to look at this journal except for you. And, while we are often our own worst enemy and biggest critic—this journal is going to quickly become your friend if you keep it honest.
Truthfully following through with journaling what you eat may be one of the hardest things you ever do but I believe it will be a worthwhile endeavor. By recording what you are doing, thinking, and feeling you will not only be able to track what you put in your mouth but you will begin to see patterns of how you eat, when you eat, and why you choose to eat the things you do. Making these connections—food to feelings, food to thinking—will help you begin to discover what emotional or spiritual baggage you need to address as you start to shed the physical weight you have been hauling around.
Note I said begin. Not everything is going to pop to the surface right away. And for some of us, that is a good thing. Do not put the journal away. Just because you may be ready to start the next step does not mean you should quit tracking what you are doing, feeling, thinking, and eating. In fact, as you make steps toward being in control of your eating (and thinking and feeling and life choices) instead of letting your eating control you it is important to continue to see and understand how each area of your life impacts the other areas of your life.
After your journal experiment has gone at least two weeks you may want to set some goals. Keep them simple. Maybe you want to reduce your caffeine intake or increase your water intake. Maybe you want to commit to taking a walk every day. Maybe what you decide to do is as simple as writing down something you like about yourself and repeating it to yourself five times in the morning and five times before you go to bed. For example, “I like my nose.” Or, “I am kind to the elderly.” Whatever you choose does not have to be huge, just a doable task that is a step in a healthy direction. Add another goal when you think you have been doing a good job at the first one. And, keep keeping track!
From here on out healthy change will mostly be a question of adding good habits, reducing bad ones, and discovering who and why you have been hiding.
Of course, the physical weight issue is going to be stronger for some then for others and the slow and steady approach may not be too satisfying. You may want to try to jump start the weight loss to give you incentive to keep with the long term challenge. If this describes you I have two options I would suggest.
Option A: As you are journaling for the first two weeks begin to pray about a possible fast. Fasting has several benefits. First it helps bring “life” to the surface. Often when we deny our physical body our emotions intensify. Warning: intense emotions are not always or even often very pleasant. We also spend more time in prayer since we are spending less time preparing and eating food. Finally, a fast will physically help to detoxify the body. If you end up fasting you may want to be especially conscious of what you put back into your diet as you come off your fast. If you are the kind of person who can make big changes starting from nothing (the fast) may be the best route because you discard all your bad eating habits at one time and only add the good ones back in.
Option B: Research or talk to a nutrition specialist about a good diet to start. Be as honest with yourself as you can be. Choose a diet that can fit your lifestyle. Take into account how much time you have to prepare food and what foods you really do not like. Again, as you come off the restricted diet, be aware of what foods and quantities of food you add back into your diet. Try to avoid the seriously bad habits and empty calorie foods you identified in your journal.
I will write more about learning from your journal in the coming weeks. For now, feel free to share what has worked for you, or what you struggle with the most, or how even thinking about change makes you feel. And KNOW you are not an island.
January 7, 2009...12:16 am
FOOD JOURNALING
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