Food monitoring and weight loss

Eating as a “practice” can be developed just like any other discipline. One must be able to create the necessary social and internal structures that support sustainable and optimal eating habits. One of the most important skills to develop in losing weight is the mindfulness towards what we put into our bodies.

A basic approach to developing mastery over this ability is the discipline of creating a food journal. For people disconnected with true hunger (i.e., those who use food primarily for emotional, social, or recreational purposes), a journal that identifies the qualitative aspects of hunger or appetite is very useful. The quality of the hunger, the time of day, the amount and type of food, all the way to keeping track of calories and/or nutrients that one eats can all contribute to understanding the dynamics of our eating behavior. Most often, the mere act of observing and noting the behavior is enough to change the behavior.

Monitoring can also be treated as an intermediate step; it is sometimes beneficial for a person not to “change the diet” as much as merely to observe what one consumes over a period of time. In the past I have organized groups to post their food intake in a site like Basecamp, where folks can see what everyone else is doing, and provide social support for each other. This can be very effective in developing a consciousness about food, and has the power to shape our behavior over the long run. A lot of times people become hopeless in their repeated attempts to lose weight, and bite off more than they can chew. Monitoring (as an individual or social activity), as a discipline and skill, installs accountability and provides feedback on our eating behavior. We measure so we can ultimately manage what needs our attention.

Depending on an individual’s psychological profile or “wiring,” monitoring can function as an outlet or activity for imposing or restoring order into an otherwise chaotic or stressful life. Of course, it can also become a burden — one more thing that has to be done. However, when done as a ritual (with the accompanying visual or tactile positive reinforcement, over a period of time) it can serve as an effective “infrastructure” for moving our goals forward.