Re: What I have learned about IE Food journaling in a day

[Guest guest]

Casey

you can also use colored sharpies, draw little smiley faces or any other

pictures of what's going on, and have fun!

A wise lady told me: Sitting down with your journal is like having a nice chat

wiht an old loving friend.

Enjoy

foggy (I also struggle with this, but I KNOW self-awareness is empowering)

>

> Hi everyone!

>

> I have recently starting working with Gillian at Healthier

> Outcomes<http://www.healthieroutcomes.com/>,

> who some of you recommended to me. We had our first " real " meeting and she

> was talking to me about the idea of keeping a food diary, and we talked

> about how that made me feel really uncomfortable. This is because in the

> past documenting my food intake was my go-to method for tracking my

> progress, or just a way for me to reflect upon how " good " or " bad " I was

> doing (this was all under the surface at the time, it's only now that I've

> come to recognize those motivations).

>

> Gillian encouraged me to think of the practice as more of a data gathering

> project, which was useful for me b/c I'm a researcher. She also helped me to

> identify an issue that I was curious to explore more via food journaling (my

> possible " fear " of being hungry). So, I started trying it out yesterday, and

> have found myself much more comfortable with the process that I thought I

> would be. On reason for a lot of this is the method Gillian recommends is

> very simple: Rate your hunger (and use any hunger scale you're comfortable

> with), write about what you ate and any related thoughts on feelings,

> sensations, etc. So, without further ado, here is what I've learned so far

> over the course of about 24 hours!

>

>

> - *It doesn't have to make me obsess. *I tried a method of journaling for

> IE a long time ago (Christie's " Food Mood

> Journaling<http://www.nourishingcircle.com/food-mood-journal/> " )

> and really only did it for a day or two. This is both b/c it made me recall

> my days of food journaling during dieting, but also b/c this particular

> method required a lot of time and attention. It focuses on writing about

not

> only your hunger levels and emotions, and other observations during eating

> to emphasize mindful eating. I'm sure this can be a great way to practice

> mindful eating and really learn more about yourself, but for me it was just

> *too hard*. The method required writing before, during, and after a meal,

> and if one were to eat 4 meals and a few snacks during the course of a day

> that's a lot of writing and time being taken! It felt like I was always

> having to think about about food and me feelings, and I know that this can

> be very helpful, much like the hyper awareness that's talked about in the

IE

> book. But for me it reeked far too much of food obsession that I've been a

> slave too for so long. Maybe it's also helped that I've gotten some time

and

> distance from that place in my life and am no longer so afraid of it.

> - *It doesn't have to effect my behavior. *This is related to the above

> point that the journaling method I was practicing took so much time and

> attention that I was worried that it would change my behavior. Not only

does

> behavior modification also make me itchy (b/c as Gillian says a lot its the

> way of the dieting world and Weight Watchers in particular, which I did for

> a long time), but I really wanted to learn from my own behavior, not do

> something that would cause me not to act or eat like myself. I felt that

> this journaling was turning me, like it had in the past, in to a " model IE

> citizen, " and IE is not about being good or perfect or a model citizen.

It's

> about doing what works for you and being flexible, there's nothing model

> about that.

> - *Use it for data gathering, not for reflection or archival purposes.

*What

> I mean by this is, the journal should be a tool for me (and Gillian) to

> learn about my behaviors, nothing else. This take-away is also coming from

> my fraught history with journaling. Like I said, in the past I used to

spend

> a lot of time food journaling for different purposes. I also LOVED reading

> food blogs where women would take pictures of and write about *every

> single meal they ate.* This really emphasized for me the idea (as if I

> needed it more) that food is a reflection of myself, that I can be judged

by

> what I eat. So it's key for me to remember that neither I or Gillian really

> are about what I put in my mouth, but about what I do and how I feel about

> it. There's no need for me to say how large a banana is, or emphasize the

> fact that the bread in my sandwich is artisinal whole grain made with water

> from the dead sea to augment nutrient absorption. It's not about the food!

I

> shouldn't judge me, and Gillian won't judge me. So I actually set up a

> method that will make it easier for me to log/enter my journal entries

> without necessarily having to read or review everything that was already

> entered (a google spreadsheet with form attached). It is research--I can

> look back to view trends, but don't need to sit and read each single entry

> to contemplate my self worth from them.

>

> I think that' all for now. Sorry for writing such a long-winded post but I

> was excited about all of these mini-revelations I've had and to have

> something to share with everyone! Have any of you tried food journaling for

> IE and what have you learned from it?

>

> Best Wishes,

> Casey

>

[Guest guest]

What great ideas! Thanks for sharing to both of you. Sandy

 

Casey

you can also use colored sharpies, draw little smiley faces or any other pictures of what's going on, and have fun!

A wise lady told me: Sitting down with your journal is like having a nice chat wiht an old loving friend.

Enjoy

foggy (I also struggle with this, but I KNOW self-awareness is empowering)

>

> Hi everyone!

>

> I have recently starting working with Gillian at Healthier

> Outcomes<http://www.healthieroutcomes.com/>,

> who some of you recommended to me. We had our first " real " meeting and she

> was talking to me about the idea of keeping a food diary, and we talked

> about how that made me feel really uncomfortable. This is because in the

> past documenting my food intake was my go-to method for tracking my

> progress, or just a way for me to reflect upon how " good " or " bad " I was

> doing (this was all under the surface at the time, it's only now that I've

> come to recognize those motivations).

>

> Gillian encouraged me to think of the practice as more of a data gathering

> project, which was useful for me b/c I'm a researcher. She also helped me to

> identify an issue that I was curious to explore more via food journaling (my

> possible " fear " of being hungry). So, I started trying it out yesterday, and

> have found myself much more comfortable with the process that I thought I

> would be. On reason for a lot of this is the method Gillian recommends is

> very simple: Rate your hunger (and use any hunger scale you're comfortable

> with), write about what you ate and any related thoughts on feelings,

> sensations, etc. So, without further ado, here is what I've learned so far

> over the course of about 24 hours!

>

>

> - *It doesn't have to make me obsess. *I tried a method of journaling for

> IE a long time ago (Christie's " Food Mood

> Journaling<http://www.nourishingcircle.com/food-mood-journal/> " )

> and really only did it for a day or two. This is both b/c it made me recall

> my days of food journaling during dieting, but also b/c this particular

> method required a lot of time and attention. It focuses on writing about not

> only your hunger levels and emotions, and other observations during eating

> to emphasize mindful eating. I'm sure this can be a great way to practice

> mindful eating and really learn more about yourself, but for me it was just

> *too hard*. The method required writing before, during, and after a meal,

> and if one were to eat 4 meals and a few snacks during the course of a day

> that's a lot of writing and time being taken! It felt like I was always

> having to think about about food and me feelings, and I know that this can

> be very helpful, much like the hyper awareness that's talked about in the IE

> book. But for me it reeked far too much of food obsession that I've been a

> slave too for so long. Maybe it's also helped that I've gotten some time and

> distance from that place in my life and am no longer so afraid of it.

> - *It doesn't have to effect my behavior. *This is related to the above

> point that the journaling method I was practicing took so much time and

> attention that I was worried that it would change my behavior. Not only does

> behavior modification also make me itchy (b/c as Gillian says a lot its the

> way of the dieting world and Weight Watchers in particular, which I did for

> a long time), but I really wanted to learn from my own behavior, not do

> something that would cause me not to act or eat like myself. I felt that

> this journaling was turning me, like it had in the past, in to a " model IE

> citizen, " and IE is not about being good or perfect or a model citizen. It's

> about doing what works for you and being flexible, there's nothing model

> about that.

> - *Use it for data gathering, not for reflection or archival purposes. *What

> I mean by this is, the journal should be a tool for me (and Gillian) to

> learn about my behaviors, nothing else. This take-away is also coming from

> my fraught history with journaling. Like I said, in the past I used to spend

> a lot of time food journaling for different purposes. I also LOVED reading

> food blogs where women would take pictures of and write about *every

> single meal they ate.* This really emphasized for me the idea (as if I

> needed it more) that food is a reflection of myself, that I can be judged by

> what I eat. So it's key for me to remember that neither I or Gillian really

> are about what I put in my mouth, but about what I do and how I feel about

> it. There's no need for me to say how large a banana is, or emphasize the

> fact that the bread in my sandwich is artisinal whole grain made with water

> from the dead sea to augment nutrient absorption. It's not about the food! I

> shouldn't judge me, and Gillian won't judge me. So I actually set up a

> method that will make it easier for me to log/enter my journal entries

> without necessarily having to read or review everything that was already

> entered (a google spreadsheet with form attached). It is research--I can

> look back to view trends, but don't need to sit and read each single entry

> to contemplate my self worth from them.

>

> I think that' all for now. Sorry for writing such a long-winded post but I

> was excited about all of these mini-revelations I've had and to have

> something to share with everyone! Have any of you tried food journaling for

> IE and what have you learned from it?

>

> Best Wishes,

> Casey

>