one woman's personal thought lab
This happens a lot. I start to feel like things are relatively under control and that I might be able to get some work done on my longer term to-dos that have been weighing on my mind - and then something... something minor and mundane, like a cold, or even something sweet like a vacation... … Continue reading Crash
I started using the Fabulous app about one month ago today. If you're unfamiliar, it basically uses behavioural science principles to help the user build healthy habits. This isn't actually the first time I've downloaded it. I tried the app nearly 4 years ago, and back then I was intrigued. Maybe especially so because I … Continue reading Using Visualization for Personal Growth
My goal, again, is to eat sugar in mindful moderation and buy only fair trade. This past weekend I failed pretty badly. I definitely went beyond what I would call "moderation". And there was precious little mindfulness involved in the eating. In fact, I hardly stopped to think at all before having that piece of … Continue reading Dealing with Failure
It was raining in Vancouver yesterday (today, as I write) after a long stretch of sunny weather. I'm glad the plants in our yard got a nice, refreshing root-soak. But it's a bit harder to keep my toddler busy and happy on a rainy day. Thankfully we have a stroller with a very effective rain … Continue reading Banana Dates Turmeric
So far I've been writing about trying to stop a habit that hasn't been good for me: eating too much sugary food. But today I want to acknowledge a new habit that I want to keep: writing! Quite a while before starting Step Back Think Forward, I had a different blog. It meant a lot … Continue reading Establishing a New Writing Habit
External and Internal Cues I think it’s time to step back and look at the context of my cookie monster cravings. What are the triggers or cues in my environment that make me start to think about eating sugar? Being in my kitchen (we keep chocolate in the cupboard, and sometimes ice cream in the … Continue reading Sugar, Sugar Everywhere
Goal and Motivation Recap My goal is to eat sugar in mindful moderation and buy only fair trade. My motivation is to enjoy and have a healthy relationship with food, and to minimize any harm done to others by my consumption of luxury foods. This Is Your Brain on Dopamine There’s a reason bad habits … Continue reading Sugar, Are You Lying to Me?
Photo by Juan Pablo Arenas from Pexels I'm glad to say that I've been continuing to moderate my consumption of sugary foods. However, I’m starting to fall back into my old habit of impulsively reaching for and eating sweets or using them as an energy boost. (It can hardly be called a “boost” – it’s more of a … Continue reading Finding my Footing
Imagining myself as a sloth might not be the best way to motivate myself to get up and do something, but when my goal is to not do something, a key solution for me has been to sloooooow dooooowwwwn. ...one way to immediately boost willpower: Slow your breathing down to... ten to fifteen seconds per … Continue reading Self-Control Saint: The Sloth
Sugar and I have a long and touchy history. But I'd rather not go into the sordid (and chocolate-stained) details. So instead, here's an abbreviated summary of the cycle that has been repeating since my teen years: I tell myself (sternly) that I need to eat less sugary food. I successfully purge my diet of … Continue reading Hey Sugar, Here We Go Again
Step Back Think Forward 