DrPhil.com - Personal Environment Audit

Personal Environment Audit

Chapter 6, page 109.

Take a critical and probing inventory of the food in your home, office, your car, anywhere you stash food, encounter food, or are exposed to reminders of food, in order to see exactly how problematic your world is. Without this critical review, you will continue to be influenced by situations in your environment that are setting you up for disaster. In answering the questions below, check either yes or no for each of the twenty questions. Unless you are 100 percent honest in your inventory, you are doing yourself no good.

Yes No

1. Do you keep lots of junk food in your house?

2. Do you store food in your house in plain sight?

3. Do you have candy-filled dishes and/or bowls of nuts in your house?

4. Do you store food in rooms of your house other than your kitchen?

5. Does your desk drawer look like a convenience store?

6. Do you keep food stashed in your glove compartment or purse?

7. Do you routinely prepare family-style meals served on large platters?

8. Do you choose restaurants with buffets or family-size meals?

9. Do you have numerous diet books in your house?

10. Do you eat by the clock?

11. Does your daily route take you by vending machines, restaurants, bakeries, or other eateries?

12. Do you shop without a grocery list?

13. Does the presence of specific people trigger you to eat?

14. Do you prepare snacks for your kids or spouse?

15. Are you the only one who cleans up the kitchen after a meal?

16. Do you keep fattening foods easily accessible?

17. Do you buy fattening foods in large packages?

18. Do you buy extra-large bags of easy-to-eat processed foods (such as chips, candy, or cookies)?

19. Are you reluctant to throw out fattening leftovers?

20. Do you plan what you will eat prior to going to a restaurant?

Scoring:
For every "yes" answer, one point is assigned. Your score is the sum of "yes" answers.

Interpretation
Realistically, any score higher than two indicates that your environment is a standing invitation to eat. If your total score is ten or higher, your environment is riddled with problems. Food is everywhere you turn — your house, your car, your office. It's tough to exercise control when food and reminders of food are so prevalent in your life. Yours is a temptation-rich environment, for sure, but remember, it is the environment over which you have the most control.

		Yes	No
1.	Do you keep lots of junk food in your house?
2.	Do you store food in your house in plain sight?
3.	Do you have candy-filled dishes and/or bowls of nuts in your house?
4.	Do you store food in rooms of your house other than your kitchen?
5.	Does your desk drawer look like a convenience store?
6.	Do you keep food stashed in your glove compartment or purse?
7.	Do you routinely prepare family-style meals served on large platters?
8.	Do you choose restaurants with buffets or family-size meals?
9.	Do you have numerous diet books in your house?
10.	Do you eat by the clock?
11.	Does your daily route take you by vending machines, restaurants, bakeries, or other eateries?
12.	Do you shop without a grocery list?
13.	Does the presence of specific people trigger you to eat?
14.	Do you prepare snacks for your kids or spouse?
15.	Are you the only one who cleans up the kitchen after a meal?
16.	Do you keep fattening foods easily accessible?
17.	Do you buy fattening foods in large packages?
18.	Do you buy extra-large bags of easy-to-eat processed foods (such as chips, candy, or cookies)?
19.	Are you reluctant to throw out fattening leftovers?
20.	Do you plan what you will eat prior to going to a restaurant?