[maryann]

Good Morning, Coaches.

OP yesterday except that the "planned" cupcake became one cupcake plus the icing of another. Credit for stopping. Credit for packing all the extra baked goods to go to nephew's house who is throwing a party. Credit for step class today.

I am seeing a big change in thinking regarding meals. I am almost exclusively eating veggies and fruits - (except for 1 oz. nuts, almond milk, one cup oatmeal and two ounces of animal protein) The veggies have become the main course. I used to believe the grains (pasta, bread, rice) were the center of the show. I still need to assure myself I am getting all the nutrients I need. My brain is trying to trick me. I am getting MORE nutrients than I was getting from all the other crap I was eating. Interesting my "Stinking Thinking"

My knock-off Magic Bullet died. I RAN to the store. I make smoothies everyday for DS and myself. Oh when, Of when will I get a Vita mixer?
Big family wedding this weekend. I am packing my scale with me.

Onebyone: Congrats for weighing in. That is the most critical act any of us can do.
Nature Girl: The ridge sounds terrific. Aren't you applying for teaching jobs? What grade level?
BBE: Your cukes sound fab. I love juicing cukes with an apple. Terrific drink.

[Tazzy]

Happy Friday!

I'm happy the weekend is almost here. Weighed today and down again so was able to finally adjust my ticker, not sure what exactly is making the weight go down now, maybe my body is ready to lose again after the 3 months of no movement. Exercise has been walking Dexter, sure get a lot more steps on my pedometer just from that. We have our first puppy class tomorrow so that should be an experience for all of us!

Dexter has been coming to work with me for the last 2 days as our DS is on a vacation with his mom and stepdad. 9 hour days are too long for this 3 month old dog to be alone. He's become the favorite office employee and when people are feeling stressed they come and visit with him. Could turn into a full time job for him, not sure how welcome he will be at 70 pounds.

Have a great weekend everyone!

[Newlifestyle]

Hello all,
Today was a great day- OP, exercised and ate what I had planned.

Bill -that storm must have been awful. I know in this area it knocked out power and there was a tornado very close. Credit for not eating junk due to stress.

Onebyone - I went to bed last night with a sink full of dishes, I felt bad about it but was just so tired. I woke up this morning to a clean sink, my DH did the dishes and dried them and put them away...it was so nice, and not to mention out of character. Kudo's for sticking to your no wheat plan.

Maryann- I drink smoothies every day, I just use the blender. Does the magic bullet work better? I hear people often talking about them. Oh yes, thanks for letting me know about using day old bread for french toast. I always used fresh bread and the older bread wasn't as mushy. Thanks again.

Nature girl - your hike sounded so amazing. I would have been terrified coming down. You are so brave.

Tazzy, what a wonderful experience having a puppy at work. I know the animals are used for pet therapy in some of the nursing homes in this area. People feel much more relaxed when in contact with dogs. I hope you have a great weekend.

Hello to everyone else and have a great weekend all.
Take Care
Ann

[gardenerjoy]

I didn't mean to disappear a few days there.

DH's eye problems continue to be in a monitor mode. Saw the retina specialist again this morning. If no change, we'll see him again on Wednesday. In the meantime, DH has to keep his head above his heart -- no bending, extra pillows on the bed -- and no jarring, so only gentle exercise like walking. He's also finding that his eyes are light sensitive and his vision isn't as good as normal. He's spending most of his time watching videos on his laptop in the basement. I'm just grateful that's working for him.

My exercise is on track. My eating is pretty close. There have been many moments in the last few days when the desire to overeat was nearly overwhelming. But things were better today, as they often are. Grateful for that.

onebyone: glad your back and back in the game. Trixie is adorable! And so is your mom! I hope the novelty of wheat-free works for you. My bread fast has been working for me this month! It worked really well for the first two weeks -- now I've kind of found other things to eat, so I may need a new novelty soon.

Welcome, vegasgal and grabec and soonfit!

[Nature Girl]

Got my bike ride done ASAP this morning despite threatened heat and very real wind. I'm beginning to feel progress--I can push harder, not just 'get through' the ride, and I have a tiny bit of "juice" left for the tough parts. The fresh air and heavy breathing are definitely therapeutic for handling the rest of the day, not to mention the satisfaction of early morning exercise and feeling like you have accomplished something right off the bat in the morning!
Eating was ok until the middle of shopping when I had a low blood sugar melt down and the best thing available was peanut M&Ms--really! Better than gummy worms or regular M& Ms, because of the peanuts. There are still some left in my purse, although not many. Dinner was 'out' and I brought 1/3 home--it was exception night for No booze so I savored my favorite local craft brew. Stopped at the store for something else and brought home more beer because that was soooo good, but had a moment of sanity (even under the influence!) and haven't opened it, so that will be next week's treat...maybe I'll have DH keep it in the barn, just to keep me safe!
Tomorrow: one more cardio workout for 6/7 days this week, arm strength workout for sure because I've been ignoring it and MAKE A PLAN for meals.
Onebyone: I think your plan to do the cumulative exercise minutes is brilliant--that way one messup doesn't ruin the whole week, and it's the total that's important, anyway.
Maryann: Yes it is teaching jobs I am applying for--K-3 is my preference--why is no one calling me back????Just one interview so far I am so psyched to be back in a classroom by fall
BBE: Very strong resistance muscle that the power outage was not something to eat over, especially the early morning treat possibilities,,,very tempting

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - The gym (CREDIT moi) had few others - summer days are better spent outdoors, I guess. All the dumbbells are back in place after the interruptions from installing the two air conditioning units. I miss the distractions. I'm glad that Beck doesn't suggest that we don't do something else while working out the way she suggests with eating; I enjoy letting the mind wander while the body does its thing.

Dinner on the patio would have been more comfortable in a long sleeved shirt! We went from too hot to slightly cool with the storm. But eating was on plan. Out attempt to give away cukes failed - when our harvest is in, everybody's harvest is also in. CREDIT moi for an on-plan day.


onebyone – I'm so sympathetic for that tossed tabbouleh - I love the stuff; it's my go-to afternoon snack. But Kudos for sticking to your no-wheat plan. The stuff I usually buy at the supermarket easily lasts a week, but the fresh made from the local Armenian store has no preservatives and calls to be eaten quickly. Good luck at your two food events today. What is a "Ghost Walk?"

Joy (gardenerjoy) – Good news that your DH is finding relief for his eyes - it's a new thought for me that one has to avoid jarring the eye balls.

Nature Girl – I finally admitted that one of my attractions to cheap trail mix was the M&M's - the stuff that only contains quality nuts and dried fruits costs more. Alas, I converted, and found that I'm less drawn to over eat the stuff. Kudos for stopping with some left.

maryann - Yep, Kudos for stopping. [You make me consider adding sliced apple to my cuke salads - but the apple season and cuke season don't overlap around here.]

Tazzy - Yay for Dr. Dexter stress reliever, LOL. Congrats to your body for finally letting go some unneeded fats.

Ann (Newlifestyle) - Can't do better than "OP, exercised and ate what I had planned" - Kudos.

Readers -

chapter 6 Stage 3 The Challenging Situations Plan
Confidently Follow Your Plan When Life Gets Stressful

You may also need to do some problem solving to reduce your stress. Ask yourself the following questions:

. . .

• Which tasks, responsibilities, or activities do I temporarily need to postpone, do less of, do less well, or delegate to others.
• Would anyone be as stressed in this situation as I am? If my negative reaction is greater than other people's reaction would be, maybe I need help to put things in better perspective.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), pg 164.

[Lexxiss]

Hi Coaches!

DH just drove off...headed West. It is a big step forward for us both. I work today and was hoping for 15 min. snooze but decided to check in with my smoothie in hand, instead. Weight is up a bit (expected with yesterdays BD cake) but credit for squashing the sabotaging thought that I wouldn't weigh today. I'm not taking lunch to work today since it's always too busy, but instead kicked up my smoothie a notch.

I have a "project" while DH is gone which my mind wants to get started on but I think I'll check in with my body after work before deciding. It's time for the next step on my project. New carpet is being installed Aug. 3 and I need to rip the old off the staircase and paint stairs, spindles, baseboard and part of the adjoining wall. I promised DH I would not get on a ladder while he's gone and I must admit there are several spots I haven't quite figured out how to get to anyway.

BBE, if I lived closer I'd be on your front step with a basket for excess cukes.

gardenerjoy, I hope hubbys eyes continue improving.

onebyone, "Persist to Victory"

NatureGirl, belated kudos for a victory on "The Ridge".

Tazzy, yay for scale movement paired with mindfulness!

Ann(Newlifestyle), yay for OP and exercise!

MaryAnn, enjoy your wedding weekend!

It's sure a tragic time here in Colorado. As I sit in the quiet morning and look out at my beautiful flowers with hummingbirds soaring I am reminded that there are many families very near with broken hearts. I will try to live my day to it's fullest.

[Nature Girl]

About all I did today was stay on plan and ride my bike--two of my three goals from here. Everything else was laziness....
I switch one snack from afternoon to evening and substituted another OP food for another, but no extra eating, even though I sure was tempted this afternoon. Why? Frustration...boredom...low grade anger...When I look at it now, I realize I need more distraction strategies just like Beck says. I also need to deal w/ the frustration instead of fantasizing about eating as revenge, which of course wouldn't end up hurting the right person in the end, even if that was a good idea.
Bike ride right up until too dark to see but beautiful. It was hard to think about doing my weights after 10pm, so I'm PROMISING myself I will get up early and do 'em before our little road trip tomorrow.
BBE: I'm jealous of your great variety of ethnic food markets and restaurants - we;re lucky to have Thai, and the only sushi in town is at the supermarket :/
Lexxiss: Good luck with your project; our road trip may yield a hum-dinger of a project; we'll see...

[MaryContrary]

Hello friends,

It's been a long time, so long I don't even know how to find my last post, so that I can see what issues I was dealing with then. I hope all is well for all of you. I have thought about this space every day, but am only just now getting back to checking in.

Long story short: in May I completed a full draft of my dissertation, defended it, earned my PhD Hood. On July 2nd I uploaded the final copy, and in August will receive my degree. Yay! I have two teaching jobs lined up for next year (not tenure-track, but good connections nonetheless). All good stuff, but . . .

Of course my eating and exercise have faltered, I can see that by the weight I just changed on my ticker and profile. I've gained about 12-15 lbs. mainly from emotional, mindless eating and not as rigorous exercise. So it's time to get back on track, which is why I'm here again with you all. I'm also here right now because I'm fighting the Late Night Food Monster.

Why my weight-gain happened: I was exercising SUPER discipline and resistance with meeting my dissertation goals, and finding it hard to be so disciplined with my eating and exercise. BUT -- the interesting thing is, I think (although I didn't keep track of it all) that I really slipped AFTER the big stress crunch, as I came down off of all the stress, what I think was post-dissertation depression. I'm not sure why that is, except that I think I really was just kinda depressed. There's more thinking to be done here.

Credits:
* Checking back in here.
* Hard exercise three times this week (second week in a row).
* Resisting Cheetos for a week (which leads me to resist other Rabbit Hole Foods).
* Reflecting on how my Beck habits have slipped.
* Locating my Beck books (under a pile of other books).
* Putting up new academic Writing and Workout Wall calendar, and already filling it with six stickers!
* Carrying around my Beck food journal, although not yet writing in it.

I can't hope to catch up with all of your lives, but I look forward to dipping back in. Thanks for always being here!

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Walked (CREDIT moi) to have late morning coffee with a friend at a place with dynamite croissants. I don't know what the French eat, but I always have two - with butter. Well, I skipped my morning snack so that I could have one - which I did, CREDIT moi, without butter. Since the only two obvious ingredients of croissants are butter and air, more butter wasn't really necessary. It was good to remember that I can wander from my regular patterns without dropping off my plan.

When feeling some tension in the afternoon, my neurons started touting a handful of DW's trail mix as balm. My choice for response was a handful of baby carrots, CREDIT moi. In my personal plan, carrots have zero calories so that worked. (OK, I just googled: chopped carrots have 52 calories a cup but dry roasted pecans have 201 calories per ounce of weight. 'Nuts' and 'handful' shouldn't be used in the same sentence.)


Debbie (Lexxiss) – Sending supportive thoughts for the tragic event in Colorado. May the apartment situation resolve so that you can all grieve and recover without the constant bombardment of high tension news. Thanks for your reminder "to live my day to its fullest."

Congrats for sufficient recovery for your DH to travel West alone - that's a big step. Kudos for planning how to deal with a busy work day.


Nature Girl – These I recognize, "Frustration...boredom...low grade anger..." - Kudos for choosing a non-food response. [We should do a house swap for a week each year so I could savor the grandeur of your outdoors and you could enjoy our city perks.]

Dr. Mary (MaryContrary) – Such glorious news!!! Congrats, Congrats, Congrats for sticking with your goals to become one of the Girls in the 'hood. And Kudos, Kudos, Kudos for your credits, particularly "* Resisting Cheetos for a week (which leads me to resist other Rabbit Hole Foods)" - there are trigger foods for each of us. It's such a joy to hear your success and to hear your determination to get back on your eating plan and exercise plan. Will your teaching jobs require a move? (Your recent posts.)

Readers -

chapter 6 Stage 3 The Challenging Situations Plan

Special Advice for When You Are Sick or Injured

Many dieters get completely derailed when they are indisposed. They view their situation in an all-or-nothing way: Because I'm ailing, I can't follow my diet at all, or, Because I can't do my usual exercise, it's not worth doing any. They frequently go back to old habits, gain weight, and have difficulty reestablishing their diet and exercise programs once they are well. They have many of the sabotaging thoughts described in the previous section, and the same Response Cards and skills apply.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), pg 164.

[Lexxiss]

Hi Coaches!

I continue to accept the challenge of maintaining my new and lower ticker weight. I'm still up a few, but within my acceptable range. I had an unplanned snack last evening, but give myself great credits for last nights' food behavior. Life has been so stressful and with DH gone, the sabotaging thoughts really ran through my mind about stopping at the store and just having "one night" of food food food.

I did not stop at the store *credit* and made a healthy dinner. *credit*. My after dinner fare included Health Valley snack bars and some rice crackers with tofu cream cheese.....a far cry from donuts, potato chips and ice cream.

BBE, credit for a new habit regarding your croissants. I often notice these days that most things DON'T need butter (or smart balance). They are just fine without.

DrMary, Congratulations! Thanks so much for stopping by to share your news! I hope we get to see more of you. Great that your Beck workbook is moving around with you. That is the power of intention.

NatureGirl, credit for a day which included OP eating and exercise, even when feeling stressed!

[onebyone]

Hi Coaches

Had a fantastic scale surprise this morning: 252.6. Yay I tell 'ya. Yay. I will do my best to maintain/continue/surpass this number until official weigh-in day on Thursday.

Yesterday was a walkathon marathon. Out by 9am back at midnight. We did the Ghost (Walking) Tour of Toronto. Not much murder and mayhen in this burg! Ghost of the loser of a duel; the suicide of a long time bank employee jilted by the bank manager who was having an affair with her; a liquor mogul whose wife and child died in childbirth who threw himself in the well after they died due to grief; a few ghosts of factory workers. The most modern ghost was that of Dorothy the bank employee from the 50's. There has to be just the right amount of time between the event, the survivors/family/community, and the telling of the tale. I wanted to hear about a disco ghost forever dancing the night away, but there were no stories.. yet. The tour ended at the Hockey Hall of Fame and I wondered if after Gretzky passes he will be heard to haunt the wall of the museum, gently sobbing, as he mourned the move from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings... that would be VERY Canadian.

The walk was 90 minutes. There was additional walking earlier in the day, more than an hour's worth for sure, so I pretty much met my weekly goal in one day. No wonder the scale dropped.

I messed up totally at the company bbq when they brought out what I thought were some kind of corn chip-y/salsa carrier thing and I LOVED it. I had three small triangles--would have easily eaten eeryone of them on the tray. I discovered after the fact that it was... FRIED BREAD! FRIED BREAD!!!!
For someone not eating wheat, this really should not have happened... and then I was asked "would you like a pita with that?" "Yes, please, that wuld be great." It was. I ate it. This was aftger the fried bread... nary a thought of avoiding wheat crossed my mind. It was just *poof* gone. Then we wanered through the Hot and Spicy festival and I sampled some mustard on a ...PRETZEL STICK! Argh! Wheat AGAIN! I looked at the pretzel and thought about it but did nt connect it to wheat; only to "pretzel". The rest of that day was clean though and I remain clean this morning.

Looloo my cat is receovering. I enticed her to eat with the stinkiest fish I could find: canned sardines in spring water. She ate last night and at 4am, then at 10am she got some canned salmon. Caesar is in heaven as he gets to lick the bowl AND eat his own share. I am relieved she is on the mend.

better go. We are off to visit the Muskoka Arts and Crafts Festival. I have wanted to sell my wares at this long running show for years and years. It is notoroiously hard to get into. I want to see if it is worth the effort to try for this next year...and I get another summer car ride = my favorite summer acitivity besides swimming in a lake. Whih reminds me, I'm throwing my bathing suit in the trunk. Just in case.

Have a good Sunday.

[Newlifestyle]

Good morning coaches,
Yesterday was op until someone at work decided to order chinese food, Since I don't really like fried rice I asked them to order me something without fried rice in it. I got chicken balls and chop suey. I ate the chicken inside the chicken balls and about 1/4 of the chop suey. I realized as I was eating it, it tasted fine but I wasn't enjoying it. I am not sure how many calories it was. Credit for realizing that foods that appealed to me before we just okay. I never thought I would get to that point with Chinese food. I knew with Burgers and things like that I was at the point of it really is no great meal so why bother eating it.
I am back on plan for today. I have ridden on my bike and I will go on the treadmill. I can't wait for it to be a bit cooler so that I can run outside without melting in the heat. I don't know how people in hot climates run out side. I have many things to do today so I am off. I just wanted to check in.
Have a wonderful day.
Ann

[gardenerjoy]

I was on plan yesterday with much less struggle and angst. I ate what was on the plan -- no need for fretting! I'm glad my brain found a space where something was more entertaining than food obsession. I'm practicing being grateful for the easy days as an antidote to the out-sized sense of bitterness that fills me on the harder ones.

WI: -0.45kgs, Exercise: +50 965/1400 minutes for July, Food: 100%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

Lexxiss: thinking of you and others in Colorado. The news seems relentless here, I can't imagine what it must be like there.

NatureGirl: yep, I'm also dealing with food does not fix frustration. I wish I knew what did! Distraction, as you say, may well be the best strategy. I'm thinking Pinterest.

MaryContrary: WooHoo on the Ph.D.! That is so exciting. What a terrific accomplishment.
I can so relate to the post-stressful event weight gain. I went to Ireland in June, my first overseas trip since I was in my twenties. It was great, my eating was good enough for a once in a lifetime event, and I gained a pound or two -- no big deal. Then something about the aftermath -- jet lag, depression, feeling out of sorts -- I gained 6 pounds in two weeks. Good for both of us for catching it before it was 20 pounds and for getting back to Beck.

BillBlueEyes: I love that you found a way to have a croissant in a sane (and probably French) sort of way.

onebyone: loved your ghost stories! I think your wheat experiences simply prove that you need more practice at that behavior. It would be a tough one for anyone used to the Standard Western Diet. My bread fast is easier in that regard. The pita and (maybe) the pretzel would have triggered my "nope, that's bread" response. I would have been tricked by the fried bread, too, just because I would have expected it to be a tortilla chip. One way that might help is to list the things that you will be eating instead of wheat: oatmeal, rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc. If you can get that in your mind, anything starchy that is not on the list will cause you to pause and think about whether or not there's wheat.

Newlifestyle: that's a great step to recognize that formerly appealing foods just aren't good enough any more.

[Elizabeth779]

oh my gosh -- this laptop hates me.....rofl with frustration.....can't get too upset, after all it's a machine.....but just lost another full post....there is SOMETHING I hit wrong on this computer....did it here instead of MS Word because I wanted to use the emoticons.....so I'm going to MS Word, and will be right back COPYING over my post.....geesh....lol