wdarling

I wanted to continue posting things I wrote up as part of my Initial Assessment, which starts out the CBT program I’m following.

Here’s what I wrote about eating habits. Mind you, this describes my habits before I started the program. Still, I think it’s useful to remember what habits I’m trying to move away from.

Eating pattern:

I generally eat breakfast and dinner at home. For lunch I either eat something I’ve brought, either leftovers or something specifically bought for lunch, or I go out to a school food vendor or a local restaurant. I also have snacks at work, either things I bring in from home or things others have brought to the office. I drink a cup of coffee and often have a bagel or something in the morning. For dinner I normally either cook or put together a cold meal. I eat my leftovers as well, since often when I make soup or something there’s enough food for a few days. At night I usually have some type of snack, sometimes very late.

Amounts eaten:

My breakfast is usually fairly small, like toast or a bagel and coffee, some fruit. For lunch I sometimes overdo it, making up for breakfast perhaps. The worst is when I go to Saba and not only eat too much (salad/soup, major entrée, plus an alcoholic beverage) but spend too much ($15-20). For dinner it varies but I don’t think I go way over. I do, however, eat too many snacks and sometimes large quantities, like big bowls of popcorn.

Food choice:

I’m usually vegetarian and eat a lot of fruits, vegetables and grains. I eat a lot of carbs. My biggest problem is probably the fact I don’t eat that much protein, which I need to work on. I have a major sweet tooth, which I normally address by keeping sweets out of the house and drinking a lot of diet (no sugar) soda. I however have a couple of sweets a week, like a cookie at work and something at weekly breakfast with my friends.

Loss of control:

There are certain situations where I tend to go overboard. These include buffets, parties, visits home to family, holidays, and visits overseas. Sometimes I am just so tempted by delicious foods I don’t often get to try, so I’ll eat a bunch of pastries or chocolate cake or cream puffs or fatty meat. I hope to avoid this sort of thing in future by exerting some control, being more selective about what I really want, how much I can really “afford” to eat, and eating more slowly.

What I’m doing now:

I’m already on the 1,500 calorie/day diet and doing well at following the recommendations given in the book. I’m doing breakfast at home, lunch at work (but no more Saba unless I pick something reasonable to eat), and dinner at home. In addition I have an afternoon and evening snack allowance.

Other problems:

I’ve never done the whole puking or diuretics thing. Yuck!