"You Are What You Eat"

From November to April, I traveled quite a bit. From Detroit to Chicago to China to Chicago to Las Vegas, from China to Los Angeles to Portland to Chicago, I was always on the move. There was an abundance of holidays and birthdays in that time as well, meaning I was eating a lot of food, and most of it unhealthy and in excess. By the end of my travels, I was feeling pretty darn sluggish and unmotivated.

I didn't want to view food negatively and spend time tediously counting calories, so I decided to draw my food. That way, I'd be able to log what I was eating and practice art daily. I tracked my food from April 27 to August 4.

I tried to draw throughout the day, but sometimes I'd end up drawing everything at the end of the day. It took me much longer than I thought - maybe about 20 minutes per day. That adds up to 2,000 minutes total. (I'm gonna be honest... That's pretty nuts! There are only 1440 minutes in a day.) I also drew most of the food from memory, without consulting photos, and I also tried to make the format of each date unique. This was a fun creative challenge for me.

My most important takeaway was how to eat mindfully. I was consciously thinking about what I was consuming because I had to remember it at the end of the day. This was also insanely helpful when I went out drinking. Of course, I had some messy doodles at the end of the night - I would come home and diligently draw before going to bed - but I'm confident I didn't miss a single drink.

I still feel the positive effects of my 100 day exercise, and I feel like the mindfulness has seeped into the rest of my daily habits.

As for the second half of my journal, I'll be doodling away!