The Awareness Diet

So in an earlier post I mentioned that I was not a big fan of dieting.

But I also mentioned that I'd like to lose about ten pounds and described how I wanted to gently, over time, introduce positive changes into my everyday eating habits. The goal for October was to focus on hunger/fullness. So the question is: did I do it? And the answer is: no.

(This failure to follow through with a goal might remind some of my more faithful readers that I also did not complete another goal I set a while ago. All I've got to say about that is that Abe got me hooked on watching old episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and all my good intentions went out the window. Oh, how I love you, William T. Riker.)

But anyway, needless to say, I still have fatty hips. Which honestly isn't a big deal, but I have noticed that sometime between my early twenties and my late twenties I have switched from intuitive eating (eating what I'm hungry for when I'm hungry) to the see-food diet (eating whatever I see whenever I see it). And that's no good.

So I've been contemplating how to change this without switching into a freaky diet mentality that will send me spiraling into a dark vortex of dieting/binging, and I've identified that the primary problem is that I'm eating mindlessly, without considering whether I'm actually hungry or whether I really want the food. I think that simply becoming aware of what I'm eating will enable me to cut out my excess calorie intake and lose a few pounds. Enter The Awareness Diet.

The Awareness Diet is very simple. For a minimum of three weeks (the amount of time it's supposed to take to ingrain a habit), I'll write down everything I eat--before I eat it. I'll also record the reason I'm eating it ("hungry," "anxious," "kid left it on his plate," "thought it looked yummy," "avoiding work," "bored," "afraid I won't see another one for a while," "afraid someone else will eat it before I can," etc). I'm totally allowed to eat whatever I want, whenever I want, for whatever reason I want. I just have to take fifteen seconds to stop and think before I stuff my face.

I've created an awareness diet log that I'm going to use to track my eating for three or four weeks--just until I feel like I've recreated a habit of awareness regarding the food that goes into my mouth. (Feel free to use it if you want to play, too!)

And, for accountability, I'll give you a quick update every Thursday about whether I've actually been following through with my goal and if it seems to be helping.