DAY 3: Sit, UBU, Sit!

The third step in the Beck Diet Solution is to sit down whenever you eat.

I was skeptical about this at first; of course I'm always sitting when I eat because who can juggle a plate, fork, knife, and glass while eating? But Dr. Beck's point is that we don't notice the calories we consume when we eat standing up because when we're standing up, the things we eat are usually small things, but they add up!

She mentions:

• taking samples at grocery stores/warehouse stores
• nibbling on food as you prepare it
• finishing the food on another's plate as you clear the table
• having a treat out of someone's snack jar

but none of these are a problem for me since they all seemed like obvious bad dieting ideas.

Then I thought when I do eat standing up: buffets. I attend a lot of parties that feature a smorgasbord of snacks, and many is the time I've parked myself next to that table and chatted with folks while nibbling this, that, and the other thing. After the party, when I make an attempt at a food diary, it's always hard to remember: did I have 5 buffalo wings or 10, 3 chocolate chip cookies or 5, half a bag of potato chips or more? The only thing that is clear is I've eaten way more than I should and it was mindless eating.

So now I am resolved to always eat sitting down, if only so I'll be prepared for those occasions when I usually (over)eat standing up.

This could be a hard concept for me to embrace, so I'm creating my first Response Card (an index card with a sabotaging thought along with a helpful response to keep me strong):

Sabotaging Thought: I don't want to stop eating while I'm standing.
Helpful Response: I need to sit down to eat. When I eat standing up, I just don't notice what I'm eating. I could eat way too much without realizing it. If I want to be thinner, I have to impose this rule on myself. I might not want to give up this behavior, but I'll enjoy being thinner so much more.

The underlining is mine; this sentiment could apply to all of the negative behavior that has kept me fat for so long, so I particularly want to think about that when reading the Response Card. And I'll read the Response Card before each meal today, and until I get to the point where sitting to eat is automatic.

Now I'm off to drink my shake, sitting down!