Changing behavior begins with awareness, we all know that. Keeping a food log (commonly suggested by nutritionists) yields data. Numbers (ounces, calories) can be useful for quantitative analysis.
But keeping a food diary also tends to trigger shame.
And it’s boring.
I decided to try a more playful, compassionate, non-shaming path.
I began with the idea that when I wanted to eat something, I would draw an image of the food item. I would play with colors and talk to the food/myself about what I was thinking and feeling at that moment; creating drawings with words wrapped around them and inside of them.
Like so many people, I’ve spent years caught in a cycle of self-loathing, regarding my eating habits and my body. These negative judgements have been reinforced by contemporary culture. After decades of struggle to change my eating habits, I finally realized that being compassionate toward myself might take me further toward unlocking those habits than self-hatred has. Duh.
So, with this new understanding, I began drawing my Eating Art Work.
Move on to the EAW blog.