: Hi all,

: I have been lurking on the forum for
: a few days and thought I'd post
: for the first time.

: I bought Potatoes not Prozac last
: year and instantly felt like I
: connected with the philosophy.
: However, I did like many people
: did and tried to do Steps 1-4 all
: at once! That didn't work well of
: course =) I've tried the program
: again a few times, starting with
: step 1, and always felt like I got
: stuck on step 2. I think I
: resisted the journal because it
: felt to me a like a log of when I
: was 'good' or 'bad,' so I didn't
: like to write in it when I was
: eating 'bad' foods. Then I would
: lose interest in the program
: because I wasn't making progress.

: I restarted the program a while ago
: and I'm now back at step 2. I feel
: like I got breakfast down really
: well - some of my favorite things
: are smoothies made with frozen
: fruit, oatmeal, juice, yogurt, and
: protein powder; whole wheat
: chocolate chip pancakes with
: peanut butter and protein powder;
: or hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, whole
: wheat crackers, and fruit. This
: time I've been taking step 2 more
: seriously and just trying to write
: down what I eat and how I feel
: without judging it. It's been
: going really well and I'm starting
: to love my journal! Ever since I
: started step 2 (about a week ago)
: I have been very consistent about
: writing down all my meals/amounts,
: the times, and how I feel. The
: only thing I feel like needs work
: is making sure I write things down
: right after I eat...sometimes I am
: busy at work and it has to wait an
: hour or so until I get a free
: moment.

: My question is, when do you think I
: will be ready to move on to step
: 3? I don't want to rush too fast
: considering my poor history with
: step 2, but I also don't want to
: feel like I'm 'stuck' on this step
: and lose interest in the program
: again!

: Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi Kristin

You really are doing super well on breakfast - yummm really all the great food.

I think it is helpful to be in the habit of writing down your foods and feelings before you start step 3. For me it helped re seeing what nano steps I needed to focus on first. It also told me what was working and not working re my timings and snacks etc.

I find it very hard to write down the food if I am not eating according to my program. I feel guilty and just don't want to look at what I am doing However, I have found that if I actually write this stuff down I am able to right myself quicker and move forward with my program.

I like my journal now, but I didn't wait until I loved it to go to step 3. For me, this was the right thing to do. I spent a long time on step 3 though - had lots to learn like planning, cooking, food storage, trying new foods, learning to add in a planned snack etc.

It helps if I remind myself that what I write down is private and involves my relationship with my body. Being in communication is wonderful these days

Dori