SMALL STEPS
Let me suggest some simple steps that you can take over a series of months.
It all begins by our deciding to take a first step and then deciding on the next step. Feel free to be innovative and creative in your approach. Rather than make it one more burden in an already over taxed life, try to make it more like a game.
The FIRST STEP is to raise the issue of food out of the unconscious habitual practices and to become intentional about what you eat. Many years ago, I read about a strategy by smoke-enders that they used to build awareness for people who wanted to stop smoking. The first step, they suggested, was to stick a small card in a packet of cigarettes and date the time and place when they had a cigarette. The idea was to make one aware of what had often become an unconscious habit. So for you, buy a small pocket calendar and make note each time you have something to drink or eat and what it was.
STEP TWO would be to Google healthy and unhealthy foods and make a list of ten healthy and ten unhealthy foods that you like to eat. For our purposes, make the list of ten foods that are frequently part of your eating pattern. It’s cheating to list alligator food as one of the unhealthy foods you want to avoid. Now with your list in mind, keep track of your eating habits for a month and give yourself a score of plus 5 for each healthy food you eat and minus five for each unhealthy food. Even if the food is not on your list, you might want to give it a score. Make a note at the end of each week of whether you are in the positive or negative scoring area.
STEP THREE focuses your attention on consuming fruits and vegetables. Depending on your size and age, healthy living suggests you eat between 5 and 13 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. In your case, keep track on the calendar how many servings you now eat. The website for Cooking Light has some instructions on how to measure servings, and also a downloadable calendar for keeping track. A beginning would be to intentionally add one extra serving for at least two meals a day. It can be as simple as eating an extra banana or apple as a snack food.
STEP FOUR would be to become conscious of how frequently you make use of having a snack or drink not because you are hungry but because you need a break. Have some fun with a colleague by brainstorming a variety of ten to fifteen minute break ideas that would be enjoyable but not add to your calorie intake. Many people used to smoke a cigarette for that break. That’s not a good idea but you can be creative in choosing more healthy alternatives. Because you are opting out of eating, it might be a good idea to begin with something that involves your lips and your hands. A glass of ice water might substitute for a coke.
STEP FIVE as a clergy person is to consider the spiritual and theological implications of what you are trying to do. You might do some research on the ways food play a role in the practice of faith and build a sermon around what you learn. There is a reason why fasting is significant in the faith story. It is not an accident that food and drink were the ordinary elements that were used in the central acts of worship for both Jews and Christians.
STEP SIX might encourage other members of your congregation or other clergy friends to join you in building support for a healthier diet. Each of you might do some research in a particular area of eating healthy and share your findings. It is a solid principle that making use of both the support of and accountability to others in making changes can increase your success rate.
STEP SEVEN might be to build a list of what you think are the most weight producing foods you eat over a month’s time. The first step is not to stop eating them but just to notice what you do eat. Once you become more aware, do some research on what might be some pleasurable but healthier substitutes. At some point in this process, you might want to note which of your changes are having a positive impact on your weight.
There are many programs like Weight Watchers, etc. that can be helpful. What I have tried to do in this blog is to suggest possibilities that don’t require a lot of additional time commitments as a way of integrating new habits into your busy life.
