The Mindful Eating Project

I've been overweight for my entire adult life, and a little before that as well. I've never been much of a dieter, however; I tried Atkins - very briefly - as a teenager, and I had limited success with calorie-restricting diets (the usual story - lose, then gain back with interest, weight) through my first pregnancy six years ago. It was around this time that I gave up altogether on the idea of 'dieting' and entered into a kind of eating free-for-all until the present.

This isn't to say that I've become less concerned with my weight, but that my views on dieting have changed substantially. Influenced by books ranging from Linda Bacon's Health at Every Size, Karen Koenig's The Rules of "Normal" Eating, a growing body of writing on 'mindful eating', and books on the history and discourses of the dieting industry, my perception of the usefulness of "dieting" has changed. I no longer believe that "dieting" contributes to a healthy relationship with one's body, that it is helpful in the long-term in maintaining a state of physical healthiness, or that it isn't something that serves the interests of corporate players far better than it serves my own best interests.

As such, I'm embarking on a project of mindful eating. Inspired by the wonderful Habithacker's incremental approach to change (I'm in the middle of 'nest' right now, and what a difference it's made!), I'm setting aside three months to try and alter eating and health-related habits and behaviors that haven't served me well in the past. My goal here is not necessarily to lose weight, although I would not be heartbroken if some of this happened; rather, I want to begin to eat a wider variety of foods and start to shake my emotional dependence on eating.

In contrast with Habithacker, which suggests a small change each day, I'll be working on a weekly goal in the hopes that I can slowly get a feel for things before I complexify it with new behaviors. I am not a nutritionist, a doctor, or otherwise any kind of medical health professional; although I can't imagine having any readers at all, much less ones who would choose to pursue the same weekly goals, if you choose to do so you do it at your own risk. My fundamentally moderate approach to the whole shebang would suggest that you wouldn't be risking very much, but if you have an acute health problem related to your weight, please consult an empathetic doctor, not me.

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So, on to week one, in which I keep a food journal.

Why a food journal? Let me begin by explaining why not; as in, what I'm not hoping to accomplish through keeping a food journal. I'm not doing it in order to have a list of foods to castigate myself with at the end of the day, and I'm not doing it in order to tally up calories. I'm doing it in order to get a good snapshot of what, where, and how I eat during the course of an average week.

This week, I plan to keep a running journal of what I ate. I will make no adjustments or allowances for the desire to eat more healthfully, but just eat like usual and see what emerges at the end of the week. I'll keep track of what I ate, where I ate it, and my emotional state at the time (since emotional eating is a biggie for me). I'll save satiety until a little later on in the project.

The game is afoot!