I wanted to share how I have been using this chart. The first example is Sunday’s chart.
Date: Sunday 02-15-09
|
Time
|
Start
# |
End
# |
Observations
|
Corrections
|
|
8:30am
|
0
|
5
|
Almost got distracted enough while I was eating to eat past satisfied. | Remain vigilant and focused, praising the Lord for my food when eating… 🙂 |
| Noon |
0
|
5
|
Should have planned. The meal wasn’t as “pleasant” as it could be…and I fear it won’t be sustaining. | Will plan the meals a bit more. Will sit down at the dinner table! |
| 3:20pm |
1
|
3
|
I think this “hunger” was “yucky taste in my mouth” hunger. | I should have tried a mint. Instead I had POTENT salsa (homemade) and chips. I will be garlic and onion breath for a few hours now… |
| 5:00pm |
1
|
7
|
I stopped at an appropriate stopping place. Waited…then ate the rest of one enchilada. | Go back to the practice of asking for a take out box to be served WITH the meal. That way, I can scoop stuff into it before I even start eating…planning to eat only a small portion of what is served (all I need). I had forgotten about this! |
| 8:00pm |
1
|
1
|
Intense hassles with ____ not handled well. | Need to take this stuff to God ahead of time. |
| 9:15pm |
1
|
5
|
Still should have processed how I felt. I WILL do this. BEFORE it happens. |
The following is Monday’s chart:
|
Time
|
Start
# |
End
# |
Observations
|
Corrections
|
|
8:30am
|
0
|
5
|
~
|
~
|
| Noon |
0
|
6
|
* Limited myself on the # of fries I ate. YAY! * Stopped eating before everyone else had. YAY! – Ate too fast. – Was thirsty at the end of the meal and drank soda…putting me over the 5 that I had stopped eating at. |
– I must continue to work on slowing down my eating. Putting down my fork or, in this case, doing something else with my fingers (it was all finger food) might be a good idea. In the past, I have gotten up to use the restroom in the middle of the meal to give my stomach time to process the meal. That helps. – I need to keep in mind that I don’t want to have more soda than one small cupful. I either need to drink water, too…or not drink anything until the end (not preferable…) or…Actually, eating slower will probably help me space things a bit better. Having less salty foods might help, too. |
| 6:00pm |
0
|
5
|
* Chose to have partial portion of dessert and the rest later. GOOD! 🙂 |
~
|
| 9:45pm |
0
|
5
|
~
|
~
|
I had more success keeping my eating between 0 and 5, but notice that I included POSITIVE “observations” as well. I wanted to recognize and share with my accountability partner some of the *good* choices that I made…
Anyhow, again, I hope this helps. We really do need to give credit to the Lord for the many ways he is working inside of us. Each time I say no to the flesh and deny myself, I am investing a bit more in what HE desires for me for all of eternity. The cool thing is, with God’s economy, when I “slip up” or “mess up,” it doesn’t negate all of the moments that I have made good choices. Not at all. Thinking that a “slip up” ruins the day is a vestige of my dieting days. The truth is, any time I capture this moment, this choice for the Lord, he makes it count as an investment in something much greater! THIS MOMENT MATTERS! 🙂
You did GREAT! Unfortunately, my chart doesn’t look as good as yours. I start out well, waiting for hunger and eating until satisfied. But then there are several other little entries on the way with eating from 2-4…so I wasn’t really hungry when I started and didn’t really eat much to satisfy me anyway kind of thing. I guess the chart is bringing this to my attention, so I guess this is good…but still…
Hi, Essy. Well, Monday was definitely progress over Sunday. I think it helps me to include the positive observations. I can praise the LORD for those! YAY!The chart does put into black and white things I might otherwise try to rationalize away.Hangin’ in there… 🙂
Thank you for posting the examples. Now it makes sense to me how the chart works.
Thanks Heidi! I started using your chart yesterday, and it has already helped me. I have a LONG way to go and have been feeling really discouraged, but your blog and insights have really made my heart feel lighter. I don’t have the thirty day steps book, but I’ve been reading Get Thin, Stay Thin and it’s been really helpful. Please pray for me! God bless,Claire
Hi, Claire. I am thankful that God is using the chart to help out! Keep on clinging to him. I am praying for you! (Please pray for me, too!)Heidi