snacking update

it's been three weeks since i started the no-snack experiment. results so far:

• i've dropped three pounds (1 pound per week = 3500 calories per week = 500 calories per day. makes sense. i was probably eating about 500 calories in snacks per day).
• i feel thinner even though i would say i look the same.
• i drink more water (instead of snacking).
• i am less attracted to sugary food. in fact i don't think about it much at all. i used to crave sugar regularly. i wouldn't say that craving is gone altogether, but much reduced.
• i seem to naturally select nutritious foods during meals.
• i enjoy the food i am eating more, much more. knowing that what i am eating is it for the next few hours shifts my attitude toward it.
• i am less compelled to eat seconds, which for me was about hording, competing, racing and probably has something to do with being trained as a child to clean my plate for seconds.
• i feel more in control in my life. this one was unexpected.
• i never feel bloated.
• it has been easy to stay faithful, even enjoyable, unlike any other food regime i've tried.

edge portrait

this idea came to me late one night: to take a bunch of little pictures of someone, just of their edge, then layer them to create an outline portrait. here's the first one.

body stuff

okay, i'm sick of putting on weight. i'm a gay man and figure is important! so, i'm giving up snacks. i've tried diets, workouts, eating this, not that, eating that, not this. i've carefully combined foods, been a vegetarian, a carnivore, i've forsaken dairy and i've eaten pints of ice cream in a single sitting. i've slimmed my belly in photoshop. so, rather than add another impossible-to-maintain practice, i decided to keep it simple and real: no snacks.

i can tell its working already. i'm hungry before meals--a nice feeling actually--that's so different from the perpetually stuffed feeling i've grown accustomed to (as has my belly). stomachs hold only so much and this no-snacker "plan" takes advantage of that. i figure three meals a day, no snacks, that's just about the right amount of food for me. if i only eat two or three times a day, how can i really overeat? there's just not room. when i'm hungry, i tend to be attracted to healthier food, too, so i don't really have to worry about downing too many sweets. i do like a little chocolate before meals!

at dhamma dhara, where i meditate, we get two meals a day. in ten days i usually drop 5 to 7 pounds. i drink a lot of water, a dixie cup or two an hour. at least two of the pounds must be mental trash going out the door! but a lot of it is real weight loss, which just goes to prove that i'm on the right track with snackhibition. the two meals are breakfast and lunch, both vegetarian, no snacking between. this regime produces deep sleep with vivid (and informative!) dreams.

it's been fun to notice when and how often i feel like snacking. since i seem think about snacks almost as much as sex, it's clear i was a snackaholic. i'm thrilled by the sense of control i'm feeling when i ignore my snack attacks. not being a victim to an open bag of chips is profoundly empowering. going into a meal knowing i can eat it all guilt free makes dining almost ecstatic. americans are terrorized by food and the food industry. they've convinced us we need food all day long. forget drugs, it's time to declare a war on snacks.