Day One

Don't just eat right away because that's what you're used to. After a few days, you'll grow to love that empty feeling in your stomach and know that the initial headaches, nausea, and hunger were just your body's cleaning crew (142). This concept is one of the most "revolutionary" in the book. Many other nutrition books propose eating several small meals throughout the day. I looked at some sources on the internet and it seems that this idea is a debated because many times when you get really hungry you begin to eat too much food and eat very quickly. The Skinny Bitches have an answer to this: "If you're hungry, but not quite ready for dinner, have a small snack," "be sure that when you're full, you stop eating... imagine the actual size of your stomach (about the size of a one-quart container) or imagine the size you want it to be," "be sure to chew your food purposefully and slowly. Rest in between bites. Do not watch TV, read a magazine, talk on the phone or do anything else while you are eating" (pages 142, 130, 131 respectively).
Kim and Rory acknowledge that this will be difficult, especially the waiting till you're really really hungry. After all, they are human.

This is probably a big reason why I gained the freshman 15. I didn't stop when I was full or I ate while talking to friends or reading a newspaper or surfing the web. I also didn't wait till I was actually hungry. Before I went to college I knew that empty feeling in your stomach before you ate quite well and I could manage not to scarf down a huge amount of food just because I hadn't eaten for awhile. Once again, college is a different playing field especially when you're a) not living at home, b) not surrounded by an assortment of fresh veggies and fruits everyday, c) required to eat at a dining hall with buffet style, d) use the dining hall as a means to see friends, e) are homesick, and f) get really bored while doing work and have vending machines and Slayter food court full of junk food just a few minutes away. I believe that home is a more conducive area to try this at and once I have it under my belt, college won't make me gain a sophmore 5, 10, 15, etc. Also, I'm trying to beat the system and get a meal plan that only allows me to eat in the dining hall once every weekday. Why? Because it costs almost $1,000 less than the meal plan I'm currently on. I can then use this money to go and buy nutritious food at a grocery store. The problem is that this is meant for seniors or people who live in the campus apartments. Well, screw that. I'm not paying for 1) the footballers, 2)the mass amounts of non-vegan food I would never eat (like pizza, ewwww), 3) non-organic fruits and veggies that are the same EVERYDAY no matter what the season. I don't know how easily this will be accomplished, but - and as immature as this sounds, it's really true - it's completely unfair that I have to pay that much for food I don't even enjoy when I'm already paying a ridiculous amount of money to attend Denison.

Keeping myself busy will be a big part of my overcoming eating when bored. However, it's somehow hard to do when you don't have a job. Thus, cleaning the house, going on multiple walks, exercising, swimming, doing volunteer work, reading outside, learning how to drive, will all most likely become part of my daily routine.

Out of all the principals in this book, I think this one will be one of the hardest, but also one the most benenficial. What are your thoughts?