Thursday, August 2, 2007

DAY 11: I Could(n't) Eat a Horse

The eleventh step is learning to tell the difference among hunger, desire, and cravings.

Well, duh. I suppose this could be a tricky wicket for some, but I think telling the difference among hunger, desire, and cravings is simple. (I could have called it "a piece of cake", but I resisted!) It's not giving in to desire and cravings that's the tricky part. But apparently I'll find out more about that on the thirteenth step.

For today, I'm performing the task Dr. Beck prescribes, mostly because it appeals to my obsessive-compulsive tendency to check everything off a list.

I'll be filling out the Hunger Monitoring Chart with descriptions of how my stomach feels and a rating on a scale of 1-10 how hungry I feel at these times of the day:
  • Before breakfast
  • Midway through breakfast
  • Immediately after breakfast
  • 20 minutes after breakfast
  • Before lunch
  • Midway through lunch
  • Immediately after lunch
  • 20 minutes after lunch
  • Before dinner
  • Midway through dinner
  • Immediately after dinner
  • 20 minutes after dinner

The idea is I'll learn to tell the difference between when I'm hungry and when I'm not hungry. Or, in this case, confirm I know the difference.

I don't have a lot of enthusiasm for this step of the program, obviously, but I am working to keep my motivation going by looking ahead to Day 13 when I'll be challenged again.

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