women, food, and god

i've been on a kick of reading some of those self-help "diet" books - i've read Linda Spangle's Life is Hard, Food is Easy and a book that the WW.com editors recently wrote about called Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. both have been interesting reads, and have explored different areas of both emotional eating and the influence that crowds, perceived serving size, and other environmental factors have on what we choose to eat and how much we eat.

my ww/workout buddy kristen gave a book to read by Geneen Roth called Women, Food, and God, and she too has some interesting perceptions on how and why we eat the way we do. her concept is that our body has a natural weight, and that's the weight that it will return to when we give up on all our issues related to food and actually deal with what causes those food issues. as i'm interpreting, when we give up our food issues to god (or whatever we perceive as god), our body finds peace and returns to its natural weight. she does lay out some "eating guidelines," which serve as her "diet" guide.

1. Eat when you are hungry.
2. Eat sitting down in a calm environment. This does not include the car.
3. Eat without distraction. Distractions include radio, television, newspapers, books, intense or anxiety-producing conversations or music.
4. Eat what your body wants.
5. Eat until you are satisfied.
6. Eat (with the intention of being) in full view of others.
7. Eat with enjoyment, gusto and pleasure.

this all seems well and good, and the guidelines seem more common sense than anything. common sense in a perfect world. in a destressed, not full of work, boyfriends, pi phi, life kind of world. and i can keep coming up with excuses as to why these guidelines won't work for me.

the fact is that just like any other "diet plan," the success comes with how willing you are to commit to it. weight watchers works when i'm willing to track my food and put in the effort. if i make the commitment to eat without the tv and deal with how eating alone in a quiet space makes me feel, then i work through some issues in addition to my food issues. if i eat what my body wants (not excessive sugar, not oversized portions) when i'm hungry and until i'm satisfied, then yes, i feel better. but it's all about effort and my willingness to subscribe to this world view.

i'm trying to add these guidelines to my arsenal, but incorporating them to the other things i've learned from WW and my other reading. i can't just go all-out; there are too many other things i've learned that have helped me be successful so far.