Before we begin to look at this program, I need to speak of one primary aspects of it:  commitment to action.  For it to work, you have to be willing to commit to following the mindfulness regimen I am about to explain before eating.

Here is the crucial key to this working (or at least giving it a chance):  you do not even commit to not eating!  You just commit to do these things before you pick up that first compulsive bite.

Why not make this exercise a commitment instead of eating?  Simple.  I had it drilled into my head, first in one program then another, that if I had an urge to eat or drink that I should “pick up the phone and call someone.”  Did I?  Nope.  Why?  Because they might talk me out of it and right at that moment I wanted to eat! 

Am I saying it’s okay to go eat?  No.  I truly hope you do not eat, but at the same time I’m trying to stress that the important thing is committing to “following the plan” no matter the outcome.  Maybe this activity won’t stop it today, but perhaps the knowledge you glean from the experience will help you the next time.  When it comes to a relapse, I always say “you may lose the days, but you don’t lose the lessons learned.”

This program is one of discovery:  discovery of yourself, discovery of your disease, discovery of what kinds of lies your disease is telling you.  It’s discovering which of the many threads might have triggered this urge.

It’s also discovery of the machinations of the relapse process, an examination of it from first inkling to the first compulsive bite.  It will be like taking a snapshot of your brain at a specific point in time, and in the peculiar mindset of a craving.  What you do with that snapshot will be totally your choice, but what it will do is give you more knowledge about how the process plays out for you.  Everyone is different, so your path to the first bite will be different from others.