Honesty
Exercises

• Drive within the speed
  limit, even when you’re sure that you wouldn’t get caught if you didn’t
• When you hear yourself
  putting yourself down verbally or mentally (“I’m a slob,” “I can’t do
  anything right”), delete that thought. Blanket put-downs of yourself or
  others do not reflect the truth
• When you’re wrong, say
  so
• If a certain food has
  always been a problem for you (“One bite is too many and a thousand aren’t
  enough”), face the fact and leave that food alone
• Abandon the cover-up,
  for yourself or others. If you forget to return a call, say “I forgot.” If
  your child didn’t do her homework, don’t help out with a subterfuge
• Share with some else
  exactly what you’re eating, or at least write down honestly what you’re
  eating and share it with yourself
• Shop for food
  honestly. Do you really need to serve the scout troop your favorite kind
  of cookie? Are you truly expecting someone who dearly loves caramels to
  “just drop by”?
• Be completely honest
  about your life and your feelings with one or more people whom you trust
• Eat the same way when
  you’re alone as when you’re with people and vice versa
• Be who you are
  wherever you are. If you have a chameleon suit, trade it in. Your beliefs,
  opinions, and preferences needn’t be altered to fit one group or occasion
  and then another
• When you find yourself
  exaggerating, bring the story down to size
• Remember the important
  truth for food addicts: Alone, our prospects are grim, but there is a
  spiritual solution. Act on that truth.