Lists are good if they don't overwhelm.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I make a list to help me manage my day, and it has the added benefit of making me feel better about my level of productivity. Whether one has an eating disorder, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia or diabetes, a list can help make that person’s day flow better. Note of caution: revolving my day around the list did not work! My lists work better for me when I look at them a few times each day. This technique reminds me of what needs to be done, if possible (“if possible” meaning as long as I’m not so depressed I can’t move). It is of utmost importance to not obsess over the list or try to do everything on it – especially if it’s lengthy. My productivity goes way up if I focus on doing what I can manage, rather than rushing to accomplish everything I think needs to be done.

I have gone through periods of my life where food didn’t matter, times where I couldn’t keep food in my stomach, and other moments where I obsessively thought about food, and all things food related, all the time. None of these epochs were very enjoyable, yet they did not concern me enough to do anything about them. I have only been hospitalized a few times for eating disorder issues. Some people in those hospitals had been hospitalized twenty or more times. My heart goes out to all of them. I know about the daily struggle to eat correctly. To put it mildly – it’s a bitch sometimes!

Lists have helped me fight in the eating disorder arena as well. Personally, I try to write down everything that I put in my mouth. I only write my food intake down two to three times per day so it doesn’t become a chore. Every so often, I also go a couple of days without writing down my food consumption in order to give myself a break from routine, and avoid the unpleasant outcome of my list-making becoming a meaningless ritual. Using this technique, I am able to stop myself from eating foods that are not as healthy for me. When I know I am going to have to write down “two pieces of chocolate cake”, instead of actually eating that, I will eat only a half of a piece of cake. This list is often used successfully in Weight Watchers, but since I am a diabetic I have my own list made just for diabetics. I have used this list off and on for years now and it always gets me back on track. I am not a “skinny” person either. I am actually classified as obese. However, if not for the list and other coping tools, I believe I would already weigh six hundred to eight hundred pounds instead of just two hundred and eighty!

About seven years ago I gained a hundred and fifty pounds over the short time span of a year. A lot of my excess body weight is due to the psychiatric medications I was, and am currently taking. They make me feel like eating – plain and simple. Weight gain is the most common side-effect associated with psychiatric medications, yet very rarely do the prescribing doctors equip their patients with the tools necessary to deal with such adverse side-effects. I have weathered a lot of years being diagnosed as a diabetic but not paying much attention to the disease. I did not have a special nutritional diabetic nurse for most of the time I have had diabetes. As a result, I realized only a month ago that the way you eat is what directly affects the blood sugar. The main thing diabetics need to watch is how many carbohydrates they eat. Carbohydrates turn to sugar in the body, which raises the blood sugar level. By tracking how many servings of carbohydrates, protein, fruits, vegetables, milk, sweets and fat I eat, I can keep my blood sugar under control. Keeping it under control is vital, as a high or low blood sugar affects the entire body. This segment on making life a little easier through utilizing lists has been a pleasure to write. I hope it has helped some of you!