How can we break this self-destructive cycle? Any diversion may work for a while but loses its strength with too many repetitions. The secret is to have multiple alternatives available. If one doesn't work at any given time, try another. Mix and match as your likes, preferences, and moods dictate.

KEEP YOUR HANDS BUSY

When your hands are involved in a task, it is difficult to eat. Finger foods and dull television are inextricably bound together like flies in a spider web. Some activities to tie up those hands include: sewing, knitting, giving yourself a leisurely manicure (wet nail polish is a sure fire defense against eating), water plants.

Turn television off and try such pursuits as model making, card playing, videogames (that require both hands on controls), sending e-mails, embroidery, and all kinds of crafts.

A food diary can become so much more useful for your weight wars if you use it as a tool for self-exploration and self-discovery. It allows you to create an oasis of support that anchors you in a world tossed by competing priorities, overwork, incredible dietary temptations, and social pressures that all lead to frustration, inwardly directed anger, diminished self-esteem, and terminal fatigue.

What do we need to do to create such a tool?

1. Buy a good spiral notebook with lots of pages and a hard cover - you're going to keep this for a long time so avoid anything that's going to easily fall apart.

2. Enter date you started your journey: this is baseline against which you will compare your entries for next several months. Under date, enter following information as accurately as you can make it, as of this very moment:

Age Height Weight Measurements Waist Bust Hips Thighs Upper arms Clothing size Type of hairstyle Any daily exercise obtained Today's primary mood Self-Appraisal (find 3 adjectives for each area) General appearance Size and shape Personal characteristics Interpersonal relationships Self-value Family or romantic relationships Level of self-satisfaction

3. Each day, you are going to enter not only what you ate, but thoughts and emotions that accompanied food. Note: Don't become obsessive - it more productive to keep this daily but if you run out of time and energy now and then, skip it, and get back to it when you can.

4. It is going to take some thought and memory-searching to ferret out what you need so find yourself a quiet spot where you can be alone and quiet. Keep your book there, close at hand, so you can quickly visit when you want to record anything that occurs to you.