Day 15 - Beck Diet Solution, Monitor Your Eating

Smallest Forest - Allium Flora blank book/journal via Flickr

Today we start food journaling in earnest, and keep it that way as long as it takes for these skills to become automatic, for us to use them without even thinking about it.  Last night or maybe prior to that we wrote down and planned out our food for today.  Now we’ll add an important follow-through every time we finish eating: we’ll review our food plan and ask ourselves “Did I stick to my plan just now?  If not, what was different?”  If we didn’t eat something listed on the plan, cross it out.  If we ate extra of something on the plan, write that in and circle it.  If we ate something not on the plan at all, write that in and circle it as well. (Or if you keep your food plans in Word, use the Track Changes command which will monitor all additions/deletions for you)

This follow-through with our food plan is essential for a number of reasons:

1.      Every time we follow our food plan and eat what we’re supposed to, it’s another opportunity to give ourselves credit, which will in turn boost our confidence and reassure us that we can follow our plans;

2.      Even if we didn’t follow the plan to the letter, we can still praise ourselves for having written the food down.  It’s even more important to monitor our food when we stray so we can address the accompanying STs.  If we don’t they will just build.

3.      If we stray and have STs, we can talk back to them and write Response Cards.  Don’t beat yourself up and feel guilty.  Instead, say things along the lines of “Ok, I ate something unplanned..not the end of the world..I can get back on track this second, and it’s so great that I wrote everything down so I know where I stand.”

4.      When we monitor how well our food plan and reality correspond, we can troubleshoot and brainstorm as to how we can stick to our plan better if we stray.  If you get too hungry between meals, perhaps you should add something richer at mealtime.  Keep trying out different activities from the distraction chart to find the most effective ones.  And so on.

It’s common to have STs about this food-journaling and review process, such as “This is too much work,” “I can remember what I ate without writing it down,” “I’ll start writing things down after I’ve lost weight – I’ll be more motivated then,” etc.  Write a Response Card if necessary with HRs such as

·         “I won’t have to do this for the rest of my life.”

·         “How much time does it really take anyway – what’s the big deal?”

·         “I already know that not writing my food down doesn’t work – why not give the best option a try?”

·         “Chances are good that if I wait to do this, I never will."

·         “Most people are not able to remember everything they ate unless it’s written down – to make sure I’m accountable for everything I eat, I need to write it down.”

Maintaining this food-journaling and review process will make you more aware of what you’re doing every time you eat.  This awareness is a gold mine for credit, confidence, motivation, and improvement.