If you've just arrived, or you'd like a review, check out my posts about sugar addiction and the solution to sugar addiction. I'm following the 7 steps outlined in Potatoes, Not Prozac.

Step 2 is keeping a food journal. In this journal you write:

1. The times you eat/drink
2. What you eat/drink
3. How you feel physically
4. How you feel emotionally

Why even do this? It helps you connect with your body. You will learn what your body needs, how certain foods affect you, that if you do "A," then "B" will happen.

The food journal allows you to see progression over time. As you wean yourself off sugar, you may see healthier food choices, steadier eating times, and more positive emotions. Looking back on the food journal can be an encouragement in that sense. You may be amazed to see how far you've come.

This step is difficult for some. It's challenging to figure out and face what we're feeling. We might feel guilty writing down everything we've eaten. It's actually pretty amazing how much of ourselves we have tied up in food!

But the food journal in this particular program is not about good or bad. There's no judgment involved. You're simply recording information as objectively as possible in order to help you learn connections between what you eat and how you feel.  It's all about learning so you can make positive adjustments that result in improved health.  The journal gives your body a voice.

"Your body doesn't provide a computer printout to tell you what's going on with it, but it gives you clues in the form of symptoms that hint at the bigger picture. These symptoms will be consistent and predictable. You just have to learn to read them." (Potatoes, Not Prozac, p.111)

I think this is an interesting way of using a food journal.  I've never done anything like it before, and I'm curious to give it a try.  I can't say that I'm going to love journaling what I eat or even remember to do it on a regular basis. But that's why I'm going about all this very slowly.

Photo credit: assiewin

Related Posts

• Working on the Food Journal I started a food journal last week with the ultimate purpose of helping me get control of my sugar cravings and eat cleaner. I've been jotting down breakfast and lunch, but that's as far as I get. I take my journal (which is just an inexpensive notebook) with me to......
• Breaking the Sugar Addiction Progress Report I've been working on slowly weaning myself off sugar. And when I say slowly, I mean s-l-o-w-l-y. That's just what I find works best for me. I've tried going off all sugar cold turkey in the past, but with disastrous results! I'm trying a completely different perspective I learned while reading......
• Solution to Sugar Addiction I've talked about the possibility of being addicted to sugar and more of the specifics on how sugar acts like a drug in some individuals. This post will cover the solution to kicking the sugar addiction, according to the book, Potatoes, Not Prozac. I think the following best sums up......
• Beating the Sugar Addiction - Steps 4-7 The steps I summarize here are discussed in more detail in Potatoes, Not Prozac.  If you feel you have a strong attachment to sugar that is keeping you from living freely and healthy, you may want to give this book a read. Click on the following links if you wish to......
• Noticing Habits - Discoveries From My Food Journal Since I've been keeping a food journal I've noticed a couple of things. First, I seem to crave something sweet after I eat, but it can't be just any sweet. If I try to eat what I'm not craving - say a banana when I really want a big, chewy......

Related Websites

• Lose Your Body Fat By Eating Fat? But what about the rest of it? Unsaturated fats, including mono and poly, are extremely beneficial fats that do a lot of great things for our bodies. One of the good fats are Omega 3. Omega 3 is a polyunsaturated fatty acid and is well known for its positive......
• Body Awareness The bodies awareness is not a source of evil. It’s the disconnect that is. Most people are actually very little present in their body, so food, sex, music, they are only half experienced, and people often seem very self absorbed. This is attributed to gratifying the body for some reason.......
• Become the MASTER of Your Life! Master: a leader; a person with the ability or power to use control; a person who is in command; a victor or conqueror; to rule or direct, to triumph over or to OVERCOME. Who is in control of you? Are you aware of the fact that the majority of human......
• Should You Wait to Swim After Eating? [caption id="attachment_339" align="alignleft" width="240" caption="Swimming and Eating."][/caption] One of the most common myths about swimming is that you shouldn't do it after eating - the amount of time varies, but most people usually say a half an hour to an hour. Is this myth true, and if it is, what......
• Fear of Hunger Does it Encourage Obesity Obesity now is a worldwide global phenomenon, so much so it is now being called globesity. There can be quite a number reasons why people overeat and become an obese person at the bottom of it all is just over eating.  But are there any other factors that we should......

Online Stores

• Tee Times Green Fees Golf
• Sugar Free Candy & Chocolate Candy, Gum & Chocolate Food & Wine Home Store

If you liked this article, vote for it on del.icio.us and stumbleupon.


Categories:

Sugar Addiction

Tags:

Food Journal, Sugar Addiction