Christmas Eve day might not seem like the right time to check in to see how the diet is going.

Between now and the time when our New Year's Celebrations end a week from tomorrow I've got a great deal of overeating planned. I'm not talking about healthy stuff either.

But in the December issue of the PragPub magazine I suggested we start a diet together. So far the rule is simple: eat what you want but write everything down. 

We'll add exercise and moderation and rest soon enough, but for now just write it down. If you haven't started yet, you may want to wait until Saturday morning to join in. When you wake up Saturday commit to writing down everything you eat or drink. Everything.

No guilt. No "oh I shouldn't have". For now we're working on the most important skill needed for success in your diet — noticing what it is you are doing and creating a record.

Enjoy your end of year celebrations  – I know I will.

This post originally appeared in the Pragmatic Life blog.