I seem incapable of checking in 2 days in a row so the streaks I will try for are:
Checking in daily
Fully on plan daily
Thanks for thinking up the challenge ForMyGirls. Congratulations to all of you who have stayed on plan, and not been derailed by dinner out, and kept to your goals. And here is me recommitting along with a number of us back to rejoin the group
I had a reasonable day yesterday and today. Had a plan and more-or-less stuck to it but not good enough. I had planned lunch at work and they had arranged morning tea (all cakes) so I sensibly avoided that and then had to work out what to have for lunch. I think I made good choices. But that is why I take my lunch - the canteen is full of all sorts of things definitely not on any sensible plan.
Today I made a jelly out of unsweetened apple juice that I made. I am trying to increase gelatine (grass fed of course ) intake so thought this would help.
Tomorrow
Protein powder smoothy for breakfast (with gelatine added)
Big A** salad for lunch with tuna
Lots of low carb veggies and something marinated out of the freezer for dinner
Apple jelly with yoghurt for snack
Very small handful of nuts for snack
Walk 500 steps and keep moving regularly
Thanks everyone for your enthusiasm about the streaks challenge - it kept me on track today when the gremlins were telling me I needed chocolate mid afternoon - and pushed me to use some of the evening to do the stretching I ran out of time for this morning. Which means (credit) I was 100% OP today :-)
So - I am contributing 2 points today and am looking forward to hearing how everyone else has gone. I will tally them up when I post tomorrow :-)
Pamatga - I hadn't thought about how long to do it for so you got me thinking - maybe until early January? To get us through the holiday season? (Though speaking for myself it will be a question of whether I am on plan - which means the plan can be a bit different for Christmas Day!) and as for your question about whether one day falling short means back to zero - that was how I was thinking of it (mainly because a HabitStreak app I used did it that way) - but I figure we need to all make the goals something that will work for us -so there is no reason you couldn't have a rule for yourself that goes something like "6 days of 7 means you are still in the streak", or whatever works for you
National Parker - being 90% OP sounds like a fine streak goal to me!
Maryann - how wise you are to know when there is enough on your plate already. Loved your "have never thought 'I regret not eating that'".
Beth - 10.5 months of no sweets at work is amazing. You go girl!
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Sixth day of 100% on my food plan, CREDIT moi. I've modified 'No snacks' to 'No snacks other than the fruit that DW serves after dinner.' Last night it was half a mango. My food plan includes 'dinner as served by DW' so her choice of after dinner fruit goes with that and I label it as my evening snack. When I'm breaking out of my snack boundaries, I add an apple or some seedless grapes to whatever she serves with the 'magical thinking' that it's still fruit; that's what I wish to avoid. Ignoring afternoon snackies gets its own CREDIT moi since stuff for Thanksgiving is being collected and it all calls my name. And no snacks will include popping an extra pecan into my mouth when making my sandwich of peanut butter, banana, and pecans on whole wheat bread. Those little devils have been jumping from the bag into my mouth when I'm not thinking.
Exercise was my standard Monday walk, CREDIT moi. Loved walking in the cold since I was dressed appropriately to be able to ignore it.
Joy (gardenerjoy) – It's such a delight that you keep doing so well. Homemade bread is a challenge for me. We had a bread maker and have given/loaned it to one of the kids - I'm better off if it never returns.
CeeJay - Kudos for a neat plan, particularly, "-go buy a small kettle for my office and stop going into coffee room at all because I know it will be loaded with sugar from now to January."
silverbirch – Thank you for publicly counting your tree nuts. Especially since, by not giving units, I inferred that you didn't mean 'handfuls', LOL. (Nb to the picky: the comma outside of the quotes is a courtesy since this post is headed to the UK.)
Cheryl (seadwaters) – Kudos for avoiding "morning tea (all cakes)" - so many occasions where white flour is the only offering.
Pam (pamaga) – Yay for "vanilla creme whey protein smoothies" - particularly when they substitute for pointlessly high calories sides.
maryann - Thanks for, "If I resist today, I can always eat tomorrow." Three big meals in three days is a challenge.
nationalparker – LOL that "preservatives are keeping some folks healthy to ripe old ages." Kudos for "satisfied with no longer being hungry."
Beth (bethFromDayton) – Kudos for "right now" - the anticipation is always harder than the action for me.
ForMyGirls - Kudos for standing down the chocolate "gremlins" - think of them as agents of Hersey Corporation, LOL. I sign up for your streaking for my modified 'no snacks' plan.
Ilene - Ouch for the reality of Canadian cold. Hope ultra-sound works out for your mom.
LoseToAll - Super Kudos for, "Thanksgiving. I have a game plan."
Readers -
Quote:
day 8Create Time and Energy
Reducing Your Activities
Here is how one dieter, Lisa, found a way to make time for weight loss in her life:
Lisa's Daily Activities
Work: 8+ hours a day
Being a mom (play with Hillary, read books to her, follow bedtime routine): 3 to 4 hours a day
Household management (cooking, cleaning, bill paying): 1 to 2 hours a day
Exercise or walk: 20 minutes a day
. . . . .. . .
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), pg 100.
Just saying hi as streak through to my rental projects. I'm doing my best to find balance these days and continue to be very aware of the importance of my collective food choices as I move forward with my mom's rental projects. I'm meeting with a prospective renter this morning as he removes the upright piano which was left behind in another unit. It would be welcome news to get one re-rented. Carpet is being installed today and it could technically be ready by the end of this week.
I am really finding that my Beck skills are helping me to move forward with these daunting projects. I plan my days in advance and don't worry about what's "down the road" until I get there. Planning/doing something every day has made the projects more manageable and have also left space for me to plan for healthy eating/shopping and a bit of down time, too. credit.
Best wishes to all who are participating in the challenge. I look forward to reading, yet am realistic to the fact that I am up to my neck in my own personal challenge which leaves no room for anything new. I will give myself credit for accepting my reality at this moment.
Day 8: Creating Time & Energy This was something that I learned earlier this year and it was no surprise to me to see it listed as part of the Beck "arsenal". I agree with Lexxis that on the backside of that is also knowing what you can add to your "load" as well as what you will have to "pass on". If I have learned anything is that I can't do it all, I was never meant to do it all and especially not all at the same time so I have to be selective. I earmarked 2013 as the "Year of Me" but I can see that 2014 will again be that same clearing off the tables and only allowing those commitments that are directly related to me losing weight to be in the top five.
Already, I feel a sense of direction and clarity of purpose from bringing the BDS back into my life. The end result is that I feel a lot more calm because if you follow her directives, you know you have a plan of what works and all you have to do is "work it". I find that to be a great de-stressor.
ForMyGirls: I was OP with my food plan yesterday (Monday) as well as doing my strength workouts : so 2 points for Monday for me. I am following a customized food plan from a registered dietician for diabetes. I have three meal plans depending on my level of activity: non-aerobic days, strength training (with free weights) day and then cardio days. I have been following this since July so I have a comfort level with the meal plan. It does require pre-planning meals but other than that, it allows for my own personal choices and preferences. It will be the meal plan I will 'sign out with' on my last earthly day.
As for "how long"? I guess, as long as I can. This holiday season I want to put the "reason" back into the season and not throw out all "common sense". The "irrational reasons" that I had in the past (read: sabotaging thoughts) are just that. I want to approach this holiday season as though it was no different than January 2nd-October 30th. If I "accomplish that", I will feel like I have won!
BBE Great Job on staying OP for 5 days in a row. When I saw the recent coverage on the benefits of eating nuts on the national news this past week, I thought of you and your sandwich. I have a 1 oz. container that I especially use for eating nuts (a single serving) and I "love" showing others what single serving is because their expression is always the same
I can be so "naughty" sometimes.
Great job everyone else on meeting their daily goals. I admire those of you who try to do this at work since I remember my last "off site" job as having many landmines between the pot lucks, the ever-present candy dish on everyone's desk and the lunch rooms. I am so glad that I don't have to deal with all of that.
I can report to ForMyGirls that I was 100% OP yesterday and, thus, my streak number is 1. Woohoo! I've got a plan for today (which is always the first step to being OP).
WI: NA kg, Exercise: +50 1125/1400 minutes for November, Food: 100%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes
Sat in a meeting all day yesterday when I wanted to be with my boys. Double Whammy - candy in the middle of the table. Used the excuse of "It was not my real workplace (school) so I could bypass Beth's rule and have some sweets." Ouch. Credit for a healthy lunch choice and closing the kitchen at 3:00 to offset candy. Credit also for forcing myself to yoga class afterward.
Today same situation but WORK IS WORK and there are no sweets at work.
I read nationalparker's time schedule and related. Somedays every minute is sucked up by work, cooking, cleaning and DS duties ( homework, music) The boys are out of town for a few days and I was able to exercise but I need to do it when they are here as well. So I am reading BBE's Beck posts about finding time and hopefully I will have an inspiration.
Persimmon smoothie for breakfast, salad "out" with workmates for lunch, smoothie for dinner. Exercise will be cleaning house for holiday events.
Hello! An earlier post today because I know I won't have time tonight. Looking forward to the performance; will eat a light dinner and DH is picking something up that he can eat on the way home (Subway) to save time as he'll be in a crunch.
Work has been non-stop today, but wanted to take a few minutes during lunch. OP so far today - despite planning to go home at lunch, and not packing one. A salad left from yesterday filled the niche.
Nothing riveting coming out of this post My folks are not doing well. Thankful that I get to go there next week for a few days and see for myself how they're faring. Seems to be coming up quickly on the heels of Thanksgiving. The trip will start out with work stuff but then I'll head home to Florida for a few days to shop, bake, decorate, cook meals, and wrap for them. DH is still sick, and I'm trying to stave off his germs - absolutely don't want to bring a cold into their home.
Last edited by nationalparker; 11-26-2013 at 01:03 PM.
The more Advantages I gain from keeping OP, the smaller and further away seem the problems which started me off on all this.
So, as a precaution, I’ve written a Disadvantage Card. It lists all the Bad Things That Will Happen if I return to my old ways. It goes alongside my internal movie on the same theme (“Diet for Life”, p.193):
Quote:
“Visualise the future if you gain weight. Imagine in great detail the most likely scenario if you go back to your old way of eating. Can you see yourself getting heavier? Can you imagine how you will feel when you see the number on the scale going up . . . and up . . . and up? Can you picture having to put away your smaller clothes and getting out your bigger ones – the clothes you had promised yourself you would never have to wear again?”
For medical reasons, my worst-case scenario is much more serious.
Another plus is that, when I ate a slice of cheese this morning, I really tasted it. I don’t just mean that I focused on the taste; I mean that the flavour came at me like something fresh and new. According to neuroscience, out-of-control eating means one has to eat more and more to get the same feeling; cutting back, the feeling disappears for a while but eventually returns.
May I ask my North American Coaches something about Thanksgiving? I suspect that here in the UK there are many like me who have heard only the name. Our Harvest Festival is traditionally held on or near the Sunday of the Harvest Moon. This is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox. It's a church event, not a national holiday, and most people don't bother with it. But from what I can make out, you have to deal with it in November, and then you have the stress all over again in December plus with all the present-giving. It must be a serious challenge, and not just to the Plan. Have I got that right?
MikeB. Yes, Thanksgiving is a National holiday (last Thursday and Friday of Nov) where we get together with friends and family and stuff ourselves with food. Then deal with guilt and leftovers and extra lbs for the next week or so. It is really stressful too, there are no presents but getting together with family gives me anxiety. Not everyone has a great time together and usually the only good thing to look forward to is the food. So you set yourself up to medicate with food. It is just the start of the stressful holiday season stuffed with parties, shopping, and the stress of seeing family. It is supposed to be joyful and happy but stress and anxiety get to me every year. Not this year for me. The family situation has not changed but the eating stress is going to be different for me. I have a plan and I am going to be sticking to it.
Today is a fast day for me. I am doing them at the beginning of the week so I can be ready for Thanksgiving. I am doing a 4:3 fasting this week with 700 calories on fast days. Started my response cards today. Been reading the book and everything in the book for bad thoughts I say all the time. I am working on it though. I am really motivated with each card I write.
Today was a 100% OP day for me. My only deviation from my plan was that I ate less dinner than I'd planned. I actually handed my plate to my husband to put on the other side of him since I was full and knew I'd finish my plate if it was in reach.
I also had DD put the food away before DH and I finished--that keeps him from eating the leftovers rather than putting them away, which he has a tendency to do, even if he isn't still actively hungry.
I made 6 batches of brownies tonight--didn't lick the spoon, my fingers, or the bowl!!! MAJOR credit for that. I had exactly one brownie and one small crumb thing (which I took to the table and sat down and ate). I've cut and packed up 3 batches worth (1 12x18 pan). The other 12x18 pan still needs to be cut and put away--and DD said she would do it for me since I was starting to feel overwhelmingly tempted to have more brownie. Credit for just having the planned brownie (plus the little crumb thing)--I'm pretty pleased about that.
There were spice drops at work today and I felt my hand wanting to reach to the bag on the table. "Those don't exist", I told myself. And then "They have nothing to do with me." I'm not sure how they can simultaneously not exist and have nothing to do with me, but either way, they were still on the table and all I got out of the break room was the diet coke I had in the fridge.
Exercise still isn't happening--I have to figure out how to add that in. I hate cold weather--that makes it hard to make myself walk outside.
I'm getting ready for the weekend away--we leave tomorrow after work for St Louis to visit my in-laws. Eating on the road and while traveling is hard--planning that in advance is really hard since I control so little of it. I have a plan for tomorrow (driving day) and Thanksgiving day (predictable schedule and menu). Friday, I'll have to play by ear. I know what my Saturday breakfast is, but the rest of that day is uncertain, too, since we'll be driving back.
(Then I get to have 4 uncertain days in a row, since I'll be traveling for work--at least walking outside is easier in FL)
I'm taking my computer so I'll be able to check in--I don't think I can tackle Thanksgiving and travel on my own!
LoseToAll: Credit for having a plan for the holiday--and for not giving yourself eating stress. Response cards are powerful things, aren't they?
MikeB: Congrats on your stone! I think I'll write a disadvantages card, too--that's a great idea. I also wrote a "losing more weight" card to keep in mind what additional advantages I would have, since losing the first 50 lbs has really gotten me a LOT of my initial goals--including medical improvement.
As for Thanksgiving, it's a family holiday and pretty much everyone I know celebrates it. There's a traditional meal: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberries. Other sides vary by family (green bean casserole is very popular as is a jello mold). Desserts generally include pies, especially pumpkin pie. Although people who are religious generally give thanks to their deity, it is not a religious holiday--it's a celebration of the founding of America. People do tend to overeat for Thanksgiving--I know I did last year and didn't feel good afterwards (pre-Beck)--this year, I'm taking Beck's advice and thinking about how I want to feel at the end of the day--satisfied, comfortable, pleased with myself. OP for Thanksgiving isn't going to be 1200-1400 calories :-), but it will be comfortably full, not uncomfortably so.
I'm updating my ticker (don't wanna!) and moving forward...
nationalparker: Credit for having an OP lunch even with a change in plans. I hope the performance was enjoyable and that you can add more fun stuff into your time chart!
maryann: It made me smile to hear you refer to it as "Beth's rule". (All my friends say "Beth's rule" is that you always throw the cards in face down.) Except for my weekend parties, I expand the rule to "no sweets until after dinner". I'm afraid that if I break it once it'll be a horribly slippery slope. Big credit for closing the kitchen at 3:00!
gardenerjoy: 100% OP!!! Awesome!!
pamatga: I really liked your comments about the "year of me" and focusing on things related to losing weight. Thanks for sharing them! Credit for a 2 point Monday! (You're right about the landmines at work, hence the rule of "no sweets at work", which is really "no unplanned snacking at work".)
Lexiss: I love reading about how your Beck skills apply to other things in your world. Credit for planning and doing!
BillBE: I didn't catch up on everything I didn't read while I was off plan, but I see you are on Day 6 of no snacks (except DW's choice of fruit). Credit--and credit for fighting against those pecans. (Do you add pecans to crunchy or smooth peanut butter?)
ForMyGirls: Credit on your 2 points today! Also credit for realizing "goals..that will work for us". Sometimes, 90% on plan, or on plan 6 days out of 7 is pretty darned successful! I'm not going to do the streak-thing-but I'm cheering for everyone who is!
seadwaters: Credit for checking in (while we North Americans were sleeping). Good luck on the checking in daily--I know I shoot for not missing 2 days in a row.
Now I'm going to enter tomorrow's plan, pack quickly, and call it a night!
Provided I get to bed in next 24 mins I will be 100%OP today so can contribute 3 points today.
Which means the total streak count is 13! Go team :-)
Had this great "well duh" moment today. A month or so ago I changed my diet from a highish protein one to a higher carb one - in part to keep costs down but also because I was feeling deprived of carbs! But now on the new one I have been finding lunches really boring without the option of eggs, tuna, cold meats etc and also finding I often have carb serves left at the end of the day. so today I suddenly realised - I can invent something in the middle! Checked out the calories in a serve of protein and a serve of carb and it turns out they are roughly equal so it is an easy switch. Hooray.
A credit today for saying "no choice" when tempted by habitual chocolate eating at the shops.
Beth - I loved your strategy of asking your DD to put the brownies away for you. I shall remember that one.
Yesterday was a disheartening day at the project. The sabotaging thought, "This will never end", certainly passed through my stream of consciousness. I was able to say "Oh, Well", and readjust my thinking. I was able to accept that going into the ceiling and vacating the old "black pipes" now will most probably prevent a large problem in the future. It's far better to do it now. I'm certain that my willingness to use my Beck skills with the plumbing issue resulted in my choosing not to overeat yesterday. credit.
I've already been up to the project to dump the water bucket and I'll try to get a bit of rest before we head up for our day of work. Just wanted to check in....
Lots of great credits here! Let's set our sights for a successful holiday weekend! I'm "planning" on it!
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Seventh day of 100% on my food plan, CREDIT moi. I counted the pecans going into my sandwich since I'm perfectly capable of making it look like the top of a pecan pie, LOL. Lunches have recently begun to include the cumber portion of my 'man salad' that was a staple of my lunch for years. I drifted away; I need to drift back. DW asked the fishmonger for 2/3rds of a pound of salmon; got 1/2 - so my dinner seemed a little lean. Talk about a first world problem - my portion of fresh salmon was too small, LOL.
Did gym, CREDIT moi. I've been away since I had a lingering cough that I didn't want to share. As usual, absence makes the muscles forget they ever did work before; I will retrain them. My plan to walk to the dentist today faces the challenge of heavy rain. I need to recall that rain gear can solve that problem.
Joy (gardenerjoy) – Kudos for having a plan for today.
Debbie (Lexxiss) – Big Kudos for, "I will give myself credit for accepting my reality at this moment." It's so appealing to think that current reality is an exception to life - thus justifying falling off our plan.
Pam (pamaga) – Thanks for "reason" back into the season - trying to remember why over eating is such a part of Thanksgiving.
maryann - Serious step this, "closing the kitchen at 3:00" - Kudos.
nationalparker – Hope the concert met your expectations last night. Also hope the storm that's on the East Coast now is out of your way for the trip to Florida.
Beth (bethFromDayton) – Congrats for raising a DD who's willing to cut the brownies so you can stay away. I am uber impressed that you walked over to the table to eat your "one small crumb thing" - what a reminder to me that one can make Beck work even in the face of crumbs. [Pecans go on my Whole Foods ground smooth peanut butter. I haven't done crunchy peanut butter in years even though it was a childhood favorite - possibly because back then it was a rare treat.]
MikeB - Congrats on that lost stone. And thanks for the "Visualize the future:" quote. Yep, Thanksgiving being so close to Christmas is a challenge since Thanksgiving has morphed from one special dinner to a four day extravaganza and Christmas has morphed into a six week extravaganza overlapping Thanksgiving. The worst part of Thanksgiving is the tradition of over eating; celebrating the harvest moves from 'joy for enough' to 'joy for overconsumption.' At some tables, it's assumed that you'll have a slice of each kind of pie after a meal that includes seconds of everything.
LoseToAll - Kudos for sticking to your plan of "700 calories on fast days" - that's a challenge.
Readers -
Quote:
day 8Create Time and Energy
Reducing Your Activities
Here is how one dieter, Lisa, found a way to make time for weight loss in her life:
Lisa's Daily Activities . . .
Watch TV: 1 hour a day
E-mail and surf the internet: 1 hour a day
Talk on the phone: half hour a day
Volunteer with nonprofit group: 2 hours, twice a week
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), pg 102.
Another 100%OP Day which makes my streak count = 2.
I hadn't weighed myself in a couple of weeks because I was so worried about a gain that I didn't want to see from my few days off my routine. Turns out, I was working on a big drop and I'm now at my lowest weight since May.
WI: -1.15 kg, Exercise: +55 1180/1400 minutes for November, Food: 100%op, Read my Advantages and Responses:
BillBlueEyes: Love that you counted your pecans. I count chocolate chips. I've been throwing walnuts on my salad recently and I would do better to count them, too. Thanks!
ForMyGirls: I've also evolved into a middling approach. Less overall, of course, but more carbs than low-carb, more fat than low-fat, and more protein than I thought I would eat when I first started. Lots of vegetables! The trick, for me, was to keep the trigger foods out. Other than that the mix of macronutrients wasn't that critical.
Yay for 13! Hoping for a bigger number tomorrow!
) intake so thought this would help.
Tuesday
Day Eight: Creating Time & Energy
with my food plan yesterday (Monday) as well as doing my strength workouts 
: so 2 points for Monday for me. I am following a customized food plan from a registered dietician for diabetes. I have three meal plans depending on my level of activity: non-aerobic days, strength training (with free weights) day and then cardio days. I have been following this since July so I have a comfort level with the meal plan. It does require pre-planning meals but other than that, it allows for my own personal choices and preferences. It will be the meal plan I will 'sign out with' on my last earthly day. 
those of you who try to do this at work since I remember my last "off site" job as having many landmines between the pot lucks, the ever-present candy dish on everyone's desk and the lunch rooms. I am so glad that I don't have to deal with all of that. 
