Speaking of Geneen Roth July 30, 2008

So after my last post of five minutes ago I was looking through her book and came across her website: www.geneenroth.com I found a post that recommended this article on prevention.com. Why Am I Eating This? by Geneen Roth… please read!! I think some of us could relate: 
http://health.yahoo.com/weightloss-overview/why-am-i-eating-this/prevention–23297.html

“The moment I arrived, I headed straight for the food. It wasn’t exactly a binger’s paradise—sesame shrimp, polenta cakes, Swedish meatballs (none of those yummy, deep-fried, trans-fat, or insulin-hysterical foods), but I made do. Every time a tray came past, I took what was offered. Then I started following the trays around, after which I stationed myself in the kitchen and greeted the trays as they were taken from the oven. I felt like an overstuffed sausage. As I waddled from room to room, my belly preceded me.”

Research July 30, 2008

I’m in the process of reading two books dealing with emotional eating. I feel that I need to get a full understanding of why people do it and what they can do in order for my project to be successful. I am still working on one book and plan to get to the next one by next week.

I am reading Breaking Free from Emotional Eating by Geneen Roth. So far I have found some really great pointers why people do it. 

“We eat to satisfy emotional as well as physical needs and unless both are acknowledged and dealt with, we are setting ourselves up to feel deprived and go hunting for more food.” I pulled this out of her book because I find this to be very true. This topic of emotional eating really interests me because I do it a lot and sometimes can’t seem to get ahold of it. I don’t do it everyday, but I do it often enough to notice. I have lots of friends and family that deal with it as well. 

Most of Geneen’s facts come from women that take her workshops on emotional eating. Her work is supported by these women who come to her with their stories of why they can’t control emotional eating. She stresses that people who can’t control the eating need to listen to their bodies and not other people telling them what they should or should not eat. The main problem is recognizing when your body is telling you to eat. I can’t help but to notice that this is mainly geared toward women and not men. Before I started my research I made the assumption that this was more of a problem for women, however I am not ruling out males when I begin my user testing. I don’t want to assume and not test it out on men because that could possibly open some new doors. 

I am really enjoying this book and will post more when I am finished with it.

Assignment 1 July 30, 2008

Project title: Healthysupport.com (This name will change)  

CONCEPT:

Healthysupport.com is a social network designed to help users fend off emotional eating. Here they can gain the support and proper resources that will help them in their time of need. The main highlight of this site is that it offers instant support through any of the following methods such as text messaging, e-mail, or by a phone call. When a user reaches out for support the program immediately notifies the support personnel that is responsible for contacting the user enabling them to provide immediate response. The support system is created by peers who have, or had, similar experiences enabling them to relate to the users creating a comforted response network, versus treating them as an outcast in society. This network of peers creates a group of people who can create a supporting environment that one will be excited about being a part of versus viewing it as a negative experience.

Healthysupport.com also offers tools that can help educate and guide users to a healthier life style. Throughout the site there are educational and beneficial links such as healthy news, emotional eating, healthy snack alternatives, fitness, and support centers. Other links also include a join, blog, discuss, expert advice, food journal, inspiration and finally a support page. Each page is designed in an organized and user-friendly way so that the site is easy to navigate.

Emotional eating for all intensive purposes can be considered a disease and often emotional eaters seldom have any control of what kinds of foods they are putting in their mouths. Using existing technology such as the Internet, and text messaging HealthySupport.com can help these people communicate with each other and gain the support and knowledge they may need to make better choices in their time of need. 

Key Words July 7, 2008

Concept 1

social networks, emotions, eating, support, technology, text messages, feelings, interactive, e-mail, inspiration

 

Concept 2

Children, safety, Internet, protection, identity, Facebook, MySpace, chat groups, cyber bullying, privacy 

Introduction July 7, 2008

My name is Vanessa Panzarino and I’m a second year MFA student at Parsons the New School for Design. My first year at Parsons was somewhat of a rollercoaster for me. I came to Parsons with a print design background hoping to gain more knowledge and to make a future career change. I felt Parsons was the best fit for me because I would be able to explore many different avenues of study. My first year was no walk in the park; it was hard and at times very confusing. Most of my classes required me to learn many different skill sets that I never knew I would be interested in. Some classes I didn’t understand why we had to take them, but now that I am moving forward with thesis I have found those classes to be very valuable for me. I have picked my brain trying to figure out a thesis topic that I would truly be passionate about. I want my thesis to be something that can benefit society and something that I can be proud of when I am finished. This site and blog will be where I post all of my work related with thesis.