The Beck Diet Solution is a psychological program, not a food plan. It provides a step-by-step program to learn specific techniques to stay on our diet, lose weight, and maintain our weight loss for life. The program is based on Dr. Beck's clinical research in Cognitive Therapy (CT).
The Complete Beck Diet for Life expands the earlier work and includes a food plan with suggested menus. From the cover:
With The Complete Beck Diet for Life you'll discover the 5 stages of successful dieting and maintenance. You'll learn how to motivate yourself, give yourself credit for every change you make, create time and energy for dieting, and handle hunger and cravings. Dr. Beck eases you into changing one step at a time. You'll master one task before moving on to the next. And you'll learn techniques to deal with challenging situations, such as sticking with ou plan at celebrations and dealing with "food pushers." With Dr. Beck's skills, you'll achieve a lifetime of healthful eating and lifelong motivation.
This is a place to discuss the Beck strategies and our daily efforts, to receive and provide support, and, for some of us, is where we serve as on-line diet buddy (coach) to each other.
If youve arrived from a search engine, youve landed at the site of 3 fat chicks, a remarkable place for those interested in a healthy life style, including mindful eating, exercise, and weight loss. More about the site, including how to register so that you can post can be found here.
The books are available on Amazon through the 3FC store by clicking their names above; buying through 3FC helps to cover the costs of running this site.
Diet Coaches/Buddies - It was nice to walk to the gym after work yesterday (CREDIT moi) in the sunshine after the last three days of rain that broke the all-time March record. The gym has lost the January-New-Years-Resolution crowd so it's easier to get a work bench in the weight section.
Eating was on-plan, CREDIT moi; my lunch included a sardine-can of "fish steaks" which I bought to see what they were. They're longitudinal slices of small fish, bigger than sardines for sure, in oil. Good enough, with the additional benefit of all that extra calcium of their cooked bones. It's time to start dreading that all that Easter candy will go on sale in only four days, LOL.
Kim (bennyhannamama) - Kudos for doing the Hunger Experiment, however unintentional it was, and then not overeating when you had food. Just nice to see that happening.
Yep, I've wished that I had had a Yiddish speaking grandmother ever since a co-worker used to teach me Yiddish words. My favorites (using his grandmother's definitions) are: schlemiel - the waiter who always spills a bowl of soup, and schlimazel - the guy it always lands on.
Susan (hikergirl) - Waving back; Yay for making your goal to post daily. And, belated Happy Birthday.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Such a good reminder, "I'm not really interested in blowing it just because I'm starting a new diet tomorrow" since that's one of the great Sabotaging Thoughts to lead to over-eating. Smart for you DASH diet to have you thinking about balancing instead of denying.
CeeJay - Gotta consider it moving forward when your off-plan bread is whole wheat, LOL. Sounds like a good day yesterday.
Shepherdess - Ouch for losing power in the midst of making dinner; I'd be gnawing on the steering wheel on that 45 minute drive to dinner. Kudos for eating sanely even if it included some chips and salsa under those circumstances. Hope your power returns soon - don't you keep a large freezer that would be in jeopardy?
Beverlyjoy - Just love reading that dark chocolate is beneficial, even though every time that hits the news all the rational nutritionists are obligated to remind folks that a small amount is beneficial, heaps of it aren't, LOL. Yay for spaghetti squash - I love that stuff.
silverbirch - Sending supportive thoughts as you support your mother on the second anniversary of your father's death. That's not just emotional, it can be physically wearing. Glad to see you write about your struggles, "You've gotta rock and roll with it a bit." Sounds like an attitude that speaks well for survival to me.
Cheryl (seadwaters) - Yay for over. Yay for done. "Astonishing" indeed. Now that your radiation therapy is behind you, it's neat that you have scheduled a time to recover. May your recovery go well.
Readers -
Quote:
Day 22 Just Say, Oh Well
Try saying to yourself:
. . .
I don't feel like exercising today. Oh, well.
I don't feel like writing down my food plan for tomorrow. Oh, well.
Yesterday I stayed in my calorie range but, not with my plan. I am grateful to have stayed in my calorie range. I was obsessing about weighing myself today. It had been two weeks - because of being out of town, etc. Also - the dark chocolate went into the trash covered in dish soap.
I stayed the same weight as when I weighed two weeks ago. As you know - I had to go out of town for a long weekend family celebration. Then I was working and visiting family for another week.
At first I was very disappointed with staying the same because I was careful and kept track of my food and tried to eat healthfully. I did all my Beck tasks almost every day I was away from home. I did, however, have a few evenings where I overate. I am trying to accept and learn what Dr. Beck says - that my weight is what it is for that moment I step on the scale. It all depends on what I have eaten, energy expended, fluid retention, hormones, body functions, etc. I think it's actually a victory to not gain weight away from home and all those gatherings, staying in homes full of trigger foods, not being in charge/control of many of my meals and many restaurants meals out.
It's funny - last time I was gone from home for two weeks - I lost some weight. I thought I had ate healthfully enough to repeat that. It wasn't to be this time. It's OK. - (at least I am trying to convince myself.) I did lose four pounds in March - I am grateful for that!
I am planning for a better day today!
Yesterday
planned food - but, didn't stay with my plan
logged all food eaten, planned or not planned
lots of water
read arc/rc
used resistance techniques a couple of times
ate seated only
wrote gratitudes
oops
did not stay with plan - was kind of 'snacky'
no beck book
half an attempt at any exercise
ate too fast
wasn't very mindful
I did my personals last night....I've copied
hikergirl - HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you!!! Hope you had a great day. Glad you posted.
bennyhm- good for you getting done with the hunger experiment. Ya know it seems almost silly - but, it's amazing how it can help when you might have to postpone a meal or eat much later. Hooray for the smiling brocolli's.
silverbirch - I understand how it can be hard going home for Easter - for your many reasons. It's hard after the loss of a loved one. Plus - the food. I am glad to hear you are feeling less tussled and back to being organized again. Yay.
shepardess - goodness - you have had quite a time with weather and it's impact. The chips and salsa incident is over...and just move on. Plus - it didn't cause a full blown binge which is good. Kudo's for finding exercise elsewhere after being blasted by the strong wind.
gardenjoy - sounds like you've got a good approach to your plan and planning your plan. Good for you for not planning to 'go crazy' before you start your dash plan. I read somewhere that bingeing before starting a new plan is like going on a trip with extra luggage.
seadwaters - hoooorayyy!!!! so glad your treatments are over. I like that you are taking some time for yourself - with plans to concentrate on yourself too.
billbe - so sorry it's still raining in your part of the world! I hope it doesn't do too much damage. The 'wrong' kind of exercise to have to do, of course. You are so right....so much easter candy. Worst of all...next week it will all my half price. Hang in there!
For today - I am so glad it's not raining today. I am so saddened to see what's happening in the northeast. Glad you are have been on plan with your food and could walk to the gym. Scream to yourself Not Fair/Oh Well/No choice at that Easter Candy -
Ceejay - I hope you are enjoying your week off! I love that you and dh get to take walks together.and pasted them for April. The toast and jam incident is over....carry on!
Last edited by Beverlyjoy; 04-01-2010 at 07:12 AM.
Coaches/Buddies Just peeking in to say hi. Let's just say that life has not been on the path where I have much mental energy these days, and although I'm keeping my head above water, it's been a little rough.
I continue, lurk when I can, and post occasionally. You all are an inspiration. No foolin'.
Week 3: Go: Start Your Diet
I fretted in the middle of the night, thinking that my DASH diet food plan has too many calories for me to lose weight. So, I threw it into SparkPeople this morning and it's fine. So there goes that excuse. I have my food plan and I'm ready to do Day 15: Monitor Your Eating.
WI: +0.55kg, Exercise: +50, 1855/1550 minutes for March, Food: 70% on, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes
BillBlueEyes- Credit for walking to the gym, working out and eating on plan.
Beverlyjoy- no weight gain despite 2 weeks away is fantastic!!! I hope you can accept that that is a huge accomplishment. The scale for me fluctuates all over the place, so who knows you may have lost a bit too. If not, no matter. The fact that you can practice the Beck skills while away from home is just incredible.
wndranne-nice to see you. Sending you positive energy.
gardenerjoy- best of luck today.
hikergirl- getting focused- that's what I am trying to do for April too.
Today I am headed out doors to clear out a new walking path we made through our little forest. This is one of my favourite things to do. Wind is gone so will be able to have a fire to get rid of some of the smaller stuff.
Credit today for:
weighing in
reading advantage and response cards
posting here
eating breakfast on plan
doing weights
Coaches/Buddies:
I'm doing well, but I can feel a "slip" trying to sneak up on me. I figured the best way to prevent that would be to come here. Last night was the 2nd meeting of my running group-- it was fantastic! After the run went with Dad (who arrived yesterday on a visit from NY) and Jim for dinner. I chose steamed mussels, and a warm spinach/mushroom salad with goat cheese. I had one slice of bread (unheard of for me) and a few spoonfuls of my dad's chocolate pudding. I did the best I could to calculate what I ate (without making myself crazy about it-- yeah!), and still ended up with a calorie deficit. Besides the 3 mile (ish) run, I also walked to all my errands in town yesterday afternoon!!
Tonight going to The Melting Pot (fondue restaurant) for dinner with my dad, Jim and my kids. I have never gone there without leaving stuffed. But I also have never "tried" while I've been there. Tonight I will concentrate on eating the food slowly and enjoying it. I will only try 1 of most things and if I really love something have a couple. They serve yummy salads that I can help fill myself up with and I can concentrate on veggies. I will eat an afternoon snack so that I'm not starved when I get to the restaurant.
Knowing that I'll be reporting back to all of you will help too!
Need to get back to work now. Hope you are all having a great day
Yesterday was a great day for exercise. I got some great spontaneous exercise when I helped DH unload 50 50lb blocks of salt off of his truck. I had a window to get my run in when the wind died down and before the dark rain clouds rolled in. I dropped everything and ran. It was wonderful. But we woke up this AM to snow on the ground and more falling. It looks like snow and rain for the next several days.
I did have some unplanned trail mix. I was a few hours away from dinner and hungry. I analyzed it and it was real hunger, so I decided on some trail mix. Im not sure if this is breaking the rulesif I should have just tolerated it or not. But other than that, everything was on plan.
SilverBirch, glad I was there to give you a little extra motivation. Sorry about the tussle over Easter plans. It does sound like a tough situation, needing an emotional break but feeling obligated. Sending comforting thoughts and hope you are able to find a way to have a wonderful Easter.
Bennyhannamamma, I think you came to a sane conclusion about the hunger experiment. I find the same thing, hunger isnt an emergency, but it does have some potential dangers. It was, however, an eye opener for me to realize how the discomfort from hunger comes and goes. Sounds like you did well with a dinner out and have a good plan for another dinner. Fondue sounds really good.
Hikegirl, waving back and giving you credit for checking in. Hope youre having a happy birthday!
Beverlyjoy, I am always thrilled to hear about the benefits of dark chocolate. So have some on plan and thoroughly enjoy it! Yay for maintaining on a trip! Its ne
CeeJay, great job saying oh well to the toast and jam (and remembering that it could have been worse). Sounds like you are back on track and doing great! Your day of clearing trails sounds wonderful. Enjoy!
BillBE, yay for the sun coming out. I get shiny when we get a bit of rain. I cant even imagine what record-breaking rain in Boston is like. Yep, the freezer is always a concern when the power goes out. Luckily it was restored quickly, but it did get DH and I talking about the need for a backup generator.
Wndranne, so great to see you again! Glad you are keeping your head above water in a rough patch, but hope things ease up soon.
Gardenerjoy, starting a new diet can bring some extra anxiety, but glad you got that settled. Yay for ending the month with a whopping 50 minutes of exercise!
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Took a nice walk in the sunshine to Trader Joe's to get some walnut halves; CREDIT moi. Decide to buy a pound of strawberries while I was there. Then decided that I might as well get two pounds. But, bad news: they had 4 pound clam shells of strawberries for $7.99.
Schlepped them home. They take up a BIG footprint in the fridge. DW snarled that she's going to get her own fridge. Now I have to eat them before they go over-ripe, the thought of which makes it hard for me to be angry at myself for buying too many; I drool sitting here thinking of having to consume an extra bowl of strawberries each evening. Maybe even try strawberries instead of banana on my peanut butter sandwich this weekend. All the vitamin C will cure anything that ails me.
Anne (wndranne) - Ouch for a rough patch; Kudos for keeping your head above water. Many thanks for a quick post to let us all know that you're still about. Send up some Arizona sunshine to dry us out.
Kim (bennyhannamama) - Yay for good busy entertaining your dad. Haven't had fondue in a while - not since back when stuffing myself was the response to the sight of good bread and cheese. Just because. Looking forward to hearing how you navigate that.
When I bumped into a friend who learned some Yiddish as a child, she was pleased to hear that I knew Mechutonim - the parents of your child's spouse. She reminded me that I also knew Schlepped. Then DW told me that she was told that when a schlemiel dropped toast, it landed jelly side down, and a mensch - jelly side up. What's not to love about a language that rich.
Susan (hikergirl) - Yay for getting focused. I wish I would go do 30 minutes of stretching; my body needs it but it just doesn't appeal to me.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Onto Week 3!!! Good work blocking that Sabotaging Thought; never ceases to amaze me what sneaky paths those Sabotaging Thoughts can take to undermine our efforts.
CeeJay - Now clearing a path through your "little forest" produces such wonderful images of your life. And such an obvious analogy to getting the brain in shape for healthy living.
Shepherdess - "50 50lb blocks of salt" - that's alotta salt. This ranching business seems to require a bit of hard work. My take is that responding to real hunger with a sane snack is a good mod to a plan. When it becomes a daily mod with a whole bag of trail mix then you'll have to re-evaluate, LOL.
Beverlyjoy - Kudos for working out your feelings about your weigh-in. Methinks it's profound to come to accept that "weight is what it is for that moment." Congrats on four pounds lost in March. Thanks for the tips for avoiding Easter candy sales.
Readers -
Quote:
Day 22 Just Say, Oh Well
You can't stop sabotaging thoughts from
arising, but you can respond to them.
Yesterday was a really good healthy day - I am so, so grateful. I was willing to use my resistence tehniques last night to keep from eating off my plan. yay! Once again I held the bowl for the sweet neighborhood youngsters when we had our peanut party and didn't eat any. Credit!
Now it's time to be planning for our special dinner on Sunday. DH's family has many food traditions. We have come up with a dinner for everyone. Some family will come from out of town and my mom. We've come up with lamb chops on the grill, asparagus, brown rice/wild rice dish, pickled beets and eggs (made with splenda), wilted lettuce salad (made with bacon fat) and pie. I will take the salad before it's dressed and forgo the pie.
I got past the hunger and remembered that food is not an emergency as we postponed dinner for 90 minutes last night.
You are all right....not gaining while gone for two weeks and using the beck principles at that time is a big credit. I need to remind myself it's not all about the scale...it's 'living' with food. Thanks.
credits
lots of water
gratitudes
tasted food, slowed down - alot of the time
planned and logged food
left a bite of food for meals and snacks
read arc/rc
used resistance tech.
wrote down a few credits after two meals
oops
no exercise
no spontaneous exercise
no beck book
billbe- gosh I wish TJ;s was in walking distance from my house. Good for you! Remember you can freeze some of those strawberries. Put them in the freezer on a tray of plate not touching each other. When they freeze solid put them in a freezer bag. As far as your Yiddish - I imagine you know 'oy vey'. and 'lic-hiam' (to life).
shepardess - such wonderful exercise and spontaneous exercise!!! Phooey on the snow and rain!!
kim - so glad you came here to post when you felt a slip. You did well on your restaurant trip. Hope the fondue went well. Enjoy the visit with your Dad.
ceejay- clearing a new path sounds great...good exercise, being outside, too. Hooray for doing your weights!
hikergirl- glad you posted. I stretch too - love it.
gardenerjoy - I am glad you put the dash plan into the sparkpeople thingy and it worked out well. Carry on!
ann - so glad you posted.. I hope things calm down for you.
Last edited by Beverlyjoy; 04-02-2010 at 11:21 AM.
Woke up to more snow this AM, so the long underwear is back on. We spent yesterday AM checking up on all the animals and hoping we wouldnt get stuck. Then it was stuck inside for the rest of the day. Ive been procrastinating on some work, so it forced me to do that, but it was still miserable. Exercise was yoga, which I needed. I had a snack that was larger than it should have been, but it could have been worse since I dont do great on days Im stuck indoors.
BillBE, yay for a walk in the sunshine. Enjoy your 4 lbs of strawberries. Ive wound up with unplanned strawberries in the cart on my last few trips to the store, but its impossible to resist while theyre in season.
Beverlyjoy, great job using your resistance techniques and for resisting the peanuts while holding the bowl. Sounds like you are coming up with a great strategy for Easter dinner. Kudos for thinking ahead.
My first day of the DASH diet went well. I was hungrier than I expected, but nothing I couldn't tolerate. And, I suspect that's the explanation for my two-month plateau -- I was eating too much, duh! I had to make a few substitutes for lack of planning, or change of plans, but it was all like for like, so I'm going to consider that largely on plan.
WI: -0.75kg, Exercise: +120, 120/1800 minutes for April, Food: 95%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes
Beverleyjoy -- Two weeks of travelling and no weight gain is a triumph, and you are proactively planning your food now that you are home. Congratulations.
Ceejay – I hope that you thoroughly enjoyed your favourite thing to do.
Bennyhann… I hope that you enjoyed the fondue. Overall, it sounds like you are getting into a good groove
Shepherdess – your trailmix situation sounds like it was well handled both before and after.
BBE – My suggestion --- take the excess strawberries and wash, pat dry, and then freeze on cookie sheet and then put into freezer bag. Yummy at a later date (either semi defrosted and popped into your mouth as a treat, or fully defrosted).
April 2
Weight 156.4
Exercise month to date -- 85 minutes of cardio, 30 min of strength or stretching
Days without compulsive overeating - 1 of 1
bennyhannahmama-yay for joining the running group. Good choices at the restaurant!!! Hope you enjoyed the fondue restaurant. I love fondue. I make it at home using chicken broth and we fondue shrimp, scallops and chicken and sometimes a little lobster. Fantastic and low fat. Fondue also forces you to eat slowly and mindfully so it is an all around win.
Shepherdess-sorry for your snow. We had a beautiful run of weather here but it is raining today and snow is apparently on the way. It actually is OK because it was too dry here and with such an early spring we always have to be concerned about fire.
BillBlueEyes-nothing like walking in the sunshine. And nothing wrong with extra strawberries-- yum. I love them mixed with plain yogurt or in salad.
I like your analogy of clearing the path and getting the brain in shape. That is really what it seems to be all about. I feel so much stronger in every way and that is mostly due to Beck's lessons about how to get healthy.
Beverlyjoy- good for you for using resistance techniques last night. Glad you took our congratulations about not gaining on the vacation to heart. Remember---- Credit!!!
gardenerjoy-good for you for completing the first day of DASH.
hikergirl- nice amount of exercise this month already!! Yay to the end of compulsive overeating and thanks for your inadvertent reminder to me to remember to credit myself for not engaging in compulsive overeating.
For me- yesterday was excellent. Did a lot of work in the forest and got a trail pretty well cleared. It was calm enough last night to have a small fire to burn up a bit of the small stuff. Today it is raining and cool. Mom and I went for a walk first thing this morning which was nice and got the exercise done before the rain became an excuse. Other than that it is a lazy day indoors.
Credit today for:
weighing in
walking 35 minutes
eating on plan so far
have a healthy dinner planned
reading advantage and response cards
checking in with my coaches
eating slowly and mindfully
Beck Diet For Life/Solution April 2010 Support, Discussion, Buddy/Coach
Thursday - Happy April Fools Day
) and pie. I will take the salad before it's dressed and forgo the pie.
