Chap 1   Chap2  

THE LOVE DIET

Martha Brassil B.A., D.Th.D. & Dan Mahony, M.Phil.

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Chapter Three            FOOD AND MOOD CHECKLISTS             Dan Mahony

Exercises for Just Before You Eat

1. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and determine how you feel. Make inner awareness part of eating and drinking in the same way that taste is. If you cannot determine how you feel, simply choose a feeling 'at random' from the checklist. This 'random choice' can sometimes be a therapeutic tool.

2. Now visualize your "inner child" crying for food. Imagine she has food in her hand. Take the food out of her hand and give her a long hug for love and attention.

3. Close your eyes and think of someone in your life who deeply loves you or whom you love. Now visualize this love as an energy field that surrounds your chest. This exercise will after many attempts result in emotional release. When that happens, continue to relax, breathe deeply, and feel the love fully.

4. Close your eyes and think of someone or something in your life that you are angry at. Relax, breathe deeply, and feel the anger before you eat.

5. From day to day, keep a emotion-food diary. In addition to recording when and what you eat, determine which emotion you were having when you decided to eat and rate its intensity on a scale of 1 - 4.

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From Weight Watchers magazine, August 1994

Women are socialized to believe that it's not okay to be angry, and often wouldn't dream of confronting a boss, husband, friend or relative when they feel they've been mistreated. Ironically, women who repress anger often distance themselves from the very relationships they are trying to protect. Eating to soothe anger is a common response, becoming an alternative source of comfort, self-nurturing and companionship. To break the food/anger connection, recognize and acknowledge your feelings. Ask what action you might take instead of eating. Confiding in a friend can help release your anger and bolster your resolve to deal with the offending situation. Simply venting anger will not solve the problem; speak up for yourself and use your anger in a constructive manner. Think about the problem and clarify your position. Wait until you are calm enough for a discussion in a conversational tone of voice. Use "I" language, and be specific about your concerns. Remember that change occurs slowly - you may need to repeat your concerns at different intervals.

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Print out and hang this page on your refrigerator or some prominent place in your kitchen 'love room'. Just as you are about to eat, determine if any of the following triggers apply. Try not to eat until you identify two or more.

Emotional

seeking love?                                  seeking comfort?

stressed?                                          angry?

feeling guilty?                                 feel like crying?

somewhat tired?                              quite tired?

mildly depressed?                            quite depressed?

feelings of loss?                               sadness?

bored?                     

kitchen is 'love and comfort room'?

eating just to have something to do? 

eating without cause (unconscious eating)?

worried (anxiety) about money, relationship?

Thoughts

of pleasure of food?                             of family?

of someone you love?                          of childhood?

of yourself in the mirror?                    of an upcoming social event?

of something someone said?              

of food seen on tv?

clothes tight?                                 clothes loose?

is this 'reward'?                                   

Situational

pressured by others to eat?        holiday celebration?

are you watching tv?           others snacking nearby?

smell of restaurant food?                      smell of food?

food visible on counter?       

Are you preparing or cooking food?

Physiological

triggered by carbohydrates you ate 2 hours ago?

drank alcohol in last 2 days? 

normal time to eat (last meal 4 hrs ago)?

hyploglycemia symptoms? 

nutrient deficiency?

truly hungry? 

slightly hungry?

Can I avoid eating just now?

Psychology of Dieting

The psychology of over-eating is built upon food-activated brain chemistry causing hunger, and then complicated by using food as medication.

Denial

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Interesting link:

http://www.moodfoods.com/

In a mind/brain, the half-life of a typical protein is perhaps ten days. Thus a large part of one's deepest thoughts, feelings and memories are made up of the dietary ingredients of one's previous few dozen meals. So whereas philosophers have sometimes held that there is no way to penetrate the veil of perception and grasp the nature of the Kantian thing-in-itself, perhaps the best way to come to know about the noumenal world's intrinsic properties is to eat and self-incorporate (bits of) it. The role of edible knowledge, whether in nutritional or psychopharmacologic guise, has yet to gain epistemic legitimacy in academia.