Consistency and awareness

As I continue with my own attempts at improving percent body fat (this is health related, not appearance), I am frustrated with my own lack of progress. Having said that, I am aware of what I am doing wrong, but I admit I have been unwilling to change. I was eating very little most of the day (pseudo fasting) but allowing myself inappropriate foods (excess carbohydrates) in the evening. I was allowing permission thoughts to enter; meaning, I felt because I had fasted all day long, it was ok to have extra snacks in the evening. Well, nothing happened of course. No weight loss, and energy wasn’t where it should be.I was listening to a brief TED talk by Tim Ferriss about being accountable and simplifying the things we do to maximize productivity in less time (based on his ‘4 hour work week’ book). He emphasized the importance of accountability. He also talked about a ‘flash diet’ where one takes a picture of everything he or she eats.So, I started documenting everything using Carb Manager, and I took pictures, which was illuminating. It has led to change. Writing everything down, no matter how bad it seems, leads to change. The pictures, well, I don’t like looking at them, but it emphasizes where I don’t want to be.In the past four days my careless, mindless eating and snacking has improved in the evening. I realize I must continue otherwise I can think I have eaten well, but really haven’t. It is funny how our minds can gloss over foods we ate that we don’t want to admit to ourselves or others.If I do this consistently the results I want to see will occur. However, I must be aware of those pesky permission thoughts such as ’It’s ok to have these snacks, because I’ll fast tomorrow”.For me, and I’m sure for most people, the danger times of eating are limited to a couple of hours (late afternoon or evening); if we can keep ourselves busy and document, it helps us through those times. Once through, we are fine.Anything you can do to make yourself more aware of what you are eating, the better. Take pictures, review them and critique them. Or, document them; either written or using an app you trust. However, be honest; document everything. That includes the cream or milk in your coffee or tea. Any little snack, no matter how small must be accounted for. We are human and as such, we allow ourselves to be a bit forgetful of what, and how much we eat. The odd thing is, we become frustrated because we truly think we are doing everything right, but when you write everything down, 7 days a week, you will find that your intake wasn’t perfect.Lastly, we can’t be ‘good’ for five days and careless for two; most of our metabolisms (most of us aren’t 20 any longer!), can’t handle two days of indiscretions. Stay aware.You can do it. Keep working at it and don’t ever give up!Dr. Doug