The following is copied from diet-blog.com:

The Writing Diet: A Creative Approach to Weight Loss

by Mike Howard

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Among the seemingly endless angles and spins on weight loss, creative writer and teacher Julia Cameron has introduced yet another "key" to shedding pounds... writing.

The Writing Diet: Write Yourself Right-Size focuses on using the creative outlet of writing to help break down the emotional issues of overeating. The book raises and tackles some very valid issues about the causes of overeating.

Here are some of Cameron's ideas on writing as a weight loss tool:

She is big on "morning pages", a concept that was a central theme in her previous publication "The Artist's Way". This entails writing 3 stream-of-consciousness pages every morning as a way of keeping channels of creativity flowing.
According to Cameron, the morning pages are the "bedrock of creative recovery, and the bedrock of weight-loss recovery."
The Writing Diet also uses a food journal to record not only the what, but also the whys of your eating. "The journal makes it very specific: It is a way of becoming accountable" says Cameron.
The food journal allows you to interrupt a binge. The minute you write in a journal, you become conscious of the direction you're going.
As a fringe benefit, the binge interruption may also lead to better creativity
People often use food as a creative lock
4 questions to ask yourself before you eat:
1. Am I hungry?
2. Is this what I want to eat?
3. Is this what I want to eat now?
4. Is there something else I can eat instead?

Among Her Guidelines:
Never let yourself get too hungry, angry, lonely or tired; enlist a kind but truthful "body buddy" and make weekly "Culinary Artist Dates" with yourself, whereby you make an interesting meal or attend a cooking class.

The book also includes essays about weight-related topics such as; exercise, body image, relapse and dessert.
Ms. Cameron is not positioning this book as a diet book, but rather a tool to use alongside any diet plan.

My Thoughts

I have become decidedly jaded about the diet book industry as a whole, and the complete lack of scientific and common sense that accompanies it. That said, I think Cameron's concepts address an issue that diet books very seldom tackle. I think journaling can act as a powerful impetus for change and help us give insight to our cravings, behaviors and counterproductive thinking.

Realistically, however I don't think most people would have the time or the wherewithal to complete many of the suggested exercises outlined in the book. Consequently, I think an entire book on the subject may be superfluous and too one-dimensional. Writing is not everybody's cup of tea in which case other interventions may be necessary to evoke change.

All in all, I think this book could provide a unique angle that may help people break through some of the emotional issues of eating - something that many people desperately need.

Other sources: The Dallas Morning News

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