December 4, 2009

As I mentioned in an earlier post, one of the drawbacks of NaNo this year was gaining six pounds. It really needs to go, but I hate counting calories, grams of anything, and points. Then last night when cleaning my office, I found a book I’d bought last year (post holidays) but never read called The Writing Diet: Write Yourself Right-Size by Julia Cameron.

I’ve been a fan of Julia Cameron’s writing since The Artist’s Way saved my sanity and career many years ago. I’m intrigued by her premise in the prologue of the writing-diet book (which is as far as I’ve progressed so far.)

Writing for Insight

Julia teaches creativity recovery classes, and she had noticed that her students were also losing weight by the end of her course. “Weight loss is a frequent by-product of creative recovery,” she says. “Overeating blocks our creativity. The flip side is also true: we can use creativity to block our overeating.” Wouldn’t that be wonderful if it were true?

She asks some questions that are “food for thought”: What if words can be consumed instead of calories? What if, struck by a Snack Attack, I said to myself, “What’s eating me?” What if I took a moment and jotted down my feelings? What if I gave myself food for thought instead of food itself?

She suggests that when a food craving hits you that you take yourself to the page to write instead of going to the refrigerator. Your magic wand is your pen.

Julia’s Promise

Her promise if you undertake her Writing Diet? “What I can promise you,” Julia says, “is increased clarity, increased energy, increased productivity. As you write, you will lose weight and gain creativity. As you unblock your feelings, you will gain access to the energy that they hold.”

Anyone out there who has this book want to try this with me? I think it would be fun to compare notes. I plan to use one of mymultiple journals  and dive into the rest of the book this weekend–AFTER attending a first-of-the-season Christmas party tonight!

7 Comments »

1. 

   Wow! This is a fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing.

   Comment by Jane Healy — December 4, 2009 @ 1:18 pm

2. 

   I have this book languishing on my shelf, too - thanks for the reminder. I’m going to dig it out and give it a try - especially since I have some Nano weight gain myself.

   Comment by Easter — December 4, 2009 @ 1:27 pm

3. 

   Ooh, thanks for the book info! I’m gonna put this one on my Christmas list and hopefully it’ll help me take off those holiday pounds! I loved Cameron’s The Artist’s Way as well!

   Comment by Emily — December 4, 2009 @ 3:35 pm

4. 

   Oh, I haven’t seen this book. I’ll have to check it out. I tell you though, writing about food makes me HUNGRY. My sister and I were keeping a food diary together in the earlier part of the year. She lost weight and I stayed the same. Over summer, I stopped keeping track. The only time I’ve ever lost weight was during Lent and it was because I fasted every Friday.

   Comment by Vijaya — December 4, 2009 @ 5:11 pm

5. 

   Thanks for all the comments, everyone! I do think I’m going to give this a try. Writing seems to cure about everything else for me–why not the extra pounds? If nothing else, my hands will be too busy to feed my face. (In theory anyway…)

   Comment by Kristi Holl — December 5, 2009 @ 8:19 pm

6. 

   What an interesting idea! I’ll get it out of the library tomorrow. Never thought about that…

   Comment by Amy Simon — December 6, 2009 @ 8:40 pm

7. 

   What a great idea. That seems to be a theme with dieting - find something, anything, else to do with your hands till the craving passes.
   For me if the craving persits I try a glass of Milk - so far that seems to help get past the craving - I know it’s giving in a bit but it’s a healthier choice to chips & pop.

   Comment by Ally M — December 7, 2009 @ 10:37 am

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