You know how you always take a shower the same way? Or put your clothes on in the same order? Try changing the order and see how it throws you off.
We have standard procedures for doing certain things. They become ritualistic and if we start to do them in a different order we know something isn't right. We aren't following the ritual. Doing certain things the same way every time is reassuring and it becomes important to getting those things done satisfactorily.
My diet ritual involves record-keeping. Every morning I put my calendar in front of me on the kitchen table. I get my little note card with the calorie counts from the previous day. I open my little solar-powered calculator and make sure I have everything added up correctly. Then I transfer the important numbers to my calendar and figure my average caloric intake. After that, I get my little note card ready for the day's notations. It's always the same. I feel good when I've done that. It makes me feel ready to tackle another day of dieting.
I also read the backs of cans and boxes and bottles to make sure I get the correct calorie count. I use my nutrition book to determine the counts on recipes and other cooked food. If I cook from a recipe, I look up every ingredient and count the total calories, then divide by the portions I am serving to my little family. But those just are not ritualistic. The true rituals are a comfort.
I lost another pound.
Dolores – good for you! I think doing it with a blog will be helpful. I’ve been blogging at lifeinacannedham.blogspot.com about my silly adventures in our trailer and now just everyday life – it will switch to a garden theme when that season arrives. When I did the 30 pounds weight loss it was doing exactly what you are doing – writing down everything that goes into my mouth. I think I ate less sometimes because I was too lazy to look up the calorie content, it just wasn’t worth the effort. Consequently I started to eat similar things each day since it was easy – and this was never a problem with me, because then my goal was just not to be hungry. I’ll watch for a new you in the spring!
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