You on a Diet

I am reading an interesting book called You on a Diet by the Drs. Roizen and Oz from the Realage website. It's not a book that tells you what to eat to lose weight as much as it is a book that tells you why you gain weight. It's actually very fascinating to understand how the body works.

The part of the book I am reading right now explains how our emotions sabotage our eating habits. And, for those that eat for comfort and happiness, how and why that happens. Without going into the full explanation here, the abbreviated form is that the brain triggers a "feel happy" chemical when we eat certain foods (or take certain drugs). When the "high" is over, instead of feeling the low or down, we reach for the same food that gave us that high. Instead of being reasonable about it, we gorge ourselves. Satisfied, we roll back into the couch and say, "Ahh!" and the "happy food" turns to fat, that stubborn roll around our middles we then have to sweat to get off.

Earlier this morning I got to thinking about that "happy food" as it relates to other parts of our lives. It struck me that quilting falls into that category too. Or, maybe I should say the buying of supplies can give us that happy feeling. Then, once we have shopped til we are gorged, we fall back into the studio with overflowing closets. We try to exercise off the purchases by making some projects up. Like most good dieters, we get so far and fall off the bandwagon. The UFO stack gets as high as the ceiling. The way to hell is paved with good intentions.

Lordy, lordy! there has to be a cure! Well, the good Doctors tell us there is a cure and it is an easy one.

The simplest plan of All or Nothing (food or projects) just won't work. You will not love every project that comes out of the studio, not every piece will be juried into a show, some pieces are just experiments. . . and that is OK. The real change comes when you stop beating yourself up for not losing weight, or finishing a project or buying too many supplies. The 4 steps that are outlined are: (see how easily these transfer into quilting)

1. Be Positive. You need to think about what you can do, how you can do it, why it is good for you, and how you will succeed. By stripping yourself of the negative emotions of guilt and shame, you'll make the right and rational (& long term) decisions about your eating obstacles (or quilting journey).

2. Add Some Support. Develop a support system of people who know your goals, know your obstacles, know your weaknesses and know your strengths. These people will be your sounding board, your comfort system and your measure of accountability. With public accountability you are more likely to make a permanent change. [For those of us here at blog central, we are working very hard to develop that support system for quilting and for some of us with weight/health/exercise issues too. (see www.qlounge.blogspot.com for a spot on the webring for those issues.) The doctors' advice seems even more crucial that we not allude ourselves--that we face our demons. Can you see how easily this transfers to the studio?

3. Make a gesture. Begin with one small gesture and build from there. For those with weight issues, it could be something like increasing your daily water consumption. For those with supply buying addictions, it could be a pledge to stay out of a store or off on-line sites for a week. For those with unsurmountable UFO piles, it could be limiting projects to a smaller size. For those with Quilter's block, it could be making some postcards or participating in a friendly challenge. Research shows that one small gesture can produce change that is 3 times more successful.

4. Do It. Nike is right. The first step is the hardest but once you make the small gesture with one foot, the other foot has no choice but to follow. The next gesture is larger than the last one.

that is exactly what happened to me recently. . .

I signed up to do the 12 x 12 x 12 Portfolio Challenge because I wanted to experiment with some more crazyquilting ideas, to expand my embroidery stitch resume and to be accountable to a monthly deadline. In the process of creating the individual monthly pages, I was able to wrap my brain around an idea for another upcoming challenge. But, first, I needed the small gesture of the 12 x 12 to get me to the next bigger gesture. Do you see how that works?

While I am constantly reminded that most of us are at different levels of quilting commitment, I do see how these basic 4 steps can be adapted to any level of involvement. It doesn't just apply to our health issues; although, truth be told, most quilters could use some exercise, baby!
This is still a new year. Make a small gesture to change a habit. Let's see what discoveries you find along the way. We are here to support you!