Beck Diet For Life/Solution – December 2009 – Support, Discussion, Buddy/Coach

[bennyhannahmama]

Coaches/Buddies:
My days have been very up and down. Trying to figure out how to deal with my food issues and what's the best way to handle things. Trying to avoid become obsessive, yet also need to stay focused. I had put exercise on the back burner, thinking once I got some of the other habits down, I would then add exercise. I think this was a mistake for many reasons. Exercise helps me deal with my emotions and without it, I'm of course turning to food. I know when I was doing my best I *needed* to exercise everyday. I didn't make myself crazy about how much, just that I needed to break a sweat everyday in order to feel right. It could just be 20 minutes on my elliptical.

So, here are some great things I have done for myself since that realization.
I finally used my elliptical (the first time since moving in mid-October), which is set up in my scary Michigan basement and wasn't too bad at all. Having a tv with Tivo down there helps tremendously! I also opened my Wii Active (which I purchased a few weeks ago) and have done the workout 2 days in a row. Last night after doing the elliptical and Wii Active workout, I went out and shoveled for 45 minutes (probably could have skipped it since we didn't really get too much snow, but I enjoyed the extra workout!)

So far today I have:
Weighed:+2.5= 129
Worked out: Wii Active
Ate slowly and mindfully: yes
Tracked my meals: yes
Checked in here: yes
Read Advantages Deck and Response Cards: not yet

midlifecrisis57: Funny that you should expect this, but I didn't I seem to very easily forget all that I've gone through and am going through and then don't have very realistic expectations of how things are going to play out. I was anticipating a flood of emotions the day of my divorce and when that day came and went and the only thing I felt was relief, I stupidly thought that was it. Your compassion and empathy mean so much to me-- thank you for taking the time to reply to me.
It's strange to be receiving kudos for my "simplicity and directness", I just didn't know how else to put it out there. I so many times avoid posting at all because I am overwhelmed and just don't know how to put things into words. I'm trying to just post something- anything, when experiencing that. It's good to get positive feedback on my attempts to do just that.

Thanks everyone else for all the supportive thoughts too-- they mean a great deal to me. Need to get back to work so I will stop here for now.

[CeeJay]

Hello Everyone:

BillBlueEyes- thanks for posting through Christmas, have been reading everything. Kuddos on your sane eating through the holidays. What an inspiration that is to me.

maryblu- Size small? I say fantastic. What a wonderful accomplishment.

Nuxmaga- sounds like you did very well over Christmas resisting all the temptations. Credit for tracking food.

wndranne-credit for mindful eating at Christmas. Thanks for your advice re reading the cards, I am not doing enough of that. Sorry for your tough days and good for you for getting back on track so quickly.

gardenerjoy- congratulations on achievement of weighing below 100kg. What a fantastic Christmas present you gave yourself.

onebyone- Hello to Ottawa, I lived there from ages 7 to 27. Love Ottawa. How are you coming on your 4 things to do in 2009? Rooting for you to get them done. I will be doing a kitchen cleanup this week also. All Christmas stuff into the freezer where my DH can have at it and I can't see it.

bennyhannahmama- I understand the difficulty of figuring out food issues. Seems that is all I think about some days. So good that you got on the elliptical and are using the Wii. Fantastic stress relief.

For me: not even going there about how I have been eating. I am up again and have changed my counter at the side to reflect that. It is hard to do that but I am trying to be honest about what I am doing and face it. This year Holidays= Stress= Mindless Overeating and not trying. We lost 2 family members this year in terrible circumstances and this Christmas it seems that everyone is in a mess. I am trying to stay positive but it has been hard. Overeating is just making things harder and I feel I let myself down (again) in a big way. Need to move on though cause these thoughts definitely not helpful.

So for today:
weighed in
ate a healthy breakfast, slowly
ate a healthy lunch, slowly
posted here
am just about to get on the exercise bike and read my advantages and response cards while doing that.
planned a healthy dinner
packed a healthy lunch for tomorrow.

So onwards and downwards, not upwards (LOL- you know what I mean).

One of my response cards, lifted directly out of the book says:

"It is true I'm under a lot of stress right now. But sticking to my plan isn't hard every hour of every day. And in fact, there are times when sticking to my plan has made life easier because I don't have to think about or struggle over food. It is not worth it to me to throw in the towel and stop watching what I eat because I will definitely gain weight, feel bad about myself and feel even more stressed."

Take care

[CeeJay]

A quick check in to keep myself on the path.

I did ride exercise bike for 30 minutes.
I did read advantages and response cards today.
I did eat a healthy dinner slowly.
I am resisting cookies that DH and mom are eating right this minute.

Finally, a day of sane behaviour.

[onebyone]

Evening Coaches:

I can't believe I missed posting yesterday. I can't even say what I did yesterday. I'm sort of in fog right now. I was supposed to go in to the school today to do some work in the ceramic room, mostly cleaning it up for the new semester, but I blew it off. The school is actually closed until Jan 4th and 3 people are in painting the classrooms so if I wanted in I'd have to call one of them on their cell to get them to open the door for me.

It all just seemed like too much today.

I'm dealing with some low level anxiety coaches. Several new things onthe horizon and I'm just sort of turtling my head in and under untiul I have to face them. The first is I think I may actually, finally, have enough enrollment in one of my continuing education art courses offered by the City to have to step up and teach it this winter. Of all my courses the Stop Motion Animation wiht Puppets may be a go.
Yikes I say.
All of a sudden I feel *completely* unprepared and unskilled. How could I, how did I, ever think I could do this?!

The other issue is with DH. He's waiting to have a phonecall with the owner of an online poker site. DH is a professional poker player, full time now for 4 years, part time 6 years or so. he's a moderator on the biggest poker info/chat site on the net and blahblahblah... he doesn't do anything halfway that man! Anyway, the poker site is offering him gainful employment with their organization and once he's done his probation and if it all works out he'll be offered a position at "the office". This could be the office in London England, Sydney Australia, Costa Rica or even The Isle of Mann.
*deep breath*

Really, I just want to hear what the offer is.
Really, I just want to know our bills will get paid every month.
Really I just want this financial stress to lift already. It's flattened us under its weight for a few months now. I'd be grateful and VERY lucky to see it lift in only a few months.

So due to the finances I can't get to the store to just buy what I need to follow a certain foodplan I'd like to follow. I need to survey the freezer and continue to use what I have. I do need to spend a bit on some fruit though. I have had precious little fruit and that always makes me feel yukky.

I haven't started cleaning yet but will. And I did not buy cheap sweet things on sale at the drugstore when I went to mail a package this morning. I thought about it and walked away. credit.

I'll say goodnight on that happy note.

[onebyone]

Originally Posted by CeeJay

A quick check in to keep myself on the path.

I did ride exercise bike for 30 minutes.
I did read advantages and response cards today.
I did eat a healthy dinner slowly.
I am resisting cookies that DH and mom are eating right this minute.

Finally, a day of sane behaviour.

Credit x 4

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - A normal eating day, perhaps even better since, due to schedule crunch, I didn't have time for my afternoon snack and got home too late to bother with my evening snack; CREDIT moi. Feels particularly good since I'm still smarting a bit about falling into the bowl of cocoa covered almonds on Sunday.

The gym (CREDIT moi) after work was crowded. I wasn't expecting that until after New Years. A guy kindly let me work-in using his bench - an unusual courtesy at our gym - that gave me the extra exercise of getting up from the bench lifting my dumbbells back onto the rack between sets. Did some good walking when we took the subway downtown and walked across the Boston Common at night. The trees are covered with strings of lights and one huge pile of ice blocks was already in place for the ice carvers of First Night. Frog Pond was frozen but no ice skaters were zipping around. Very few people about which is so striking since there will be zillions to celebrate First Night on Thursday. Was windy and cold which encouraged a brisk pace. The best of winter.


onebyone - Big Kudos for ignoring the sweet things on sale at the drugstore even when feeling bunches of anxiety. You're facing a lot of unknowns. Does working at the home office mean actually moving there? Isle of Man - just WOW. Googled its flag to see the "triskelion" - the three legs. Hope your continuing education class comes about. Despite the anxiety it causes, it should do it's own part in replacing the other anxieties in your current life.

Anne (wndranne) - Yay for holding out. I presume that both your kids are at home full time for the holidays; hope you're remaining sane.

Kim (bennyhannamama) - Yay for TIVO to give a scope for working out on the elliptical. Kudos for getting into your wii. Yep, I've also found that exercise does more for my brain even than it does for my body; just gotta have a dose each day.

CeeJay - Ouch for stress but Kudos for facing it. Reading your Advantages Card and Response Cards while biking is a great idea. And Kudos for eating "slowly."

Readers -

day 13
Overcome Cravings

Anti-Craving Strategies - Behavioral Techniques
If you're still tempted to eat something you shouldn't after you've done all five mindset techniques, then try as many of the behavioral techniques below as you need:

. . .
4. Distract yourself. . . . You'll probably initially find that you need a pretty strong distraction to get your attention off the food you crave. Many dieters try to distract themselves by watching TV or reading. I've found that most of the time these kinds of activities are just not compelling enough. If they work for you, that's fine. But you'll also find a number of activities that are potentially more distracting in My Distraction Activities Chart of the facing page. Try as many as you can and assess how effectively each works. Rate each on a scale of 0 to 10. . . .

The Beck Diet Solution, pg 133.

[FutureFitChick]

Coaches/Buddies, I made it through that! Yea! My holiday plans ended up changing dramatically at the last minute and I ended up with my grandmother rather than my husband’s family. It resulted in a lot of time in the car by myself. I definitely used food to keep me awake, which I’m not really that upset about. I guess I am just glad to have made it there and back safely and quickly and to now get back on track.

I got my husband a BOSU for Christmas to help with his ski training. I’ve been surprised how into it he has been since receiving it. My trainer and I are going to be working out a schedule when she returns from break in January which will likely incorporate the BOSU as well.

Several of you commented on food nostalgia. I think that there are a few dishes (that as a child I was only luke-warm about) that I am nostalgic for, and none are healthful recipes. Most of them are meat centered, which I was not that crazy about as a kid. But, now having a vegetarian husband they’ve become special treats to me. A problem with that is that when I’ve a special treat/occasion foods around, I feel like I need to finish it up fast so I eat more of it. It’s odd because part of my mind thinks I’m doing something good to get rid of the temptation… Even more finny is that my mother has attached what she thinks is her kids’ sentimental foods to stuff we never had regularly growing up. Makes me laugh when she prepares something that is “our favorite” in her mind, that I don’t remember ever having as a kid.

I’m thinking about giving up TV for 2010.

Hope everyone had a good holiday and is back to their routines!

Today’s Essentials:
Weigh-in: - 1.0 lbs.
Read Advantage Cards two times: read them this morning and will read again tonight
Read Response Cards at least two times: read them this morning and will read again tonight
Ate slowly, sitting down, noticing every bite: not so great at breakfast, but did eat most of it sitting
Gave myself credit when I engaged in helpful eating behaviors: somewhat
Did spontaneous exercise: no
Did planned exercise: none planned
Wrote out food plan for tomorrow: plan to this afternoon/tonight
Tracked today’s food: yes

BennyHannahMama, oh, sweetie! Big hugs to you. I’m sorry you were struggeling last week. Good job for going to bed and getting some rest when that happened. You can overcome this. Good job on realizing the importance of exercise to you. Don’t forget to let yourself rest some too.

BillBlueEyes, excellent job with the spontaneous exercise in the snow. I wax and wane on my fish eating. I know it is good for me, but I never feel motivated to prepare it, even though I’ve lots in my freezer. I got a kick out of

my memory is tilted because the supermarket has narrow aisles where it's not possible to ignore size.

Veggie wars also made me laugh! I’ll have to find a recipe for the “you-hafta-try-this muffins”. Sounds good. Great job on sharing the sweets at the party. As far as the gym ego, if you’re like me, it’s probably a good thing that you’ve developed (or begin to for me) one. “Spaces between portions” isn’t something that has really occurred to me before to look out for. Thanks for that seed. “Having the tree to myself for my second cup of coffee” sounds like an endearing event and lovely for a Christmas morning. I think I’d just want to add falling snow with a picture window to look out of (oh, and a fireplace) for a perfect Christmas morning. Bummer about the unexpected holiday indulgences. But, in your pre-journey days, would you really have stopped at only 6 walnuts? I had another laugh at

We rehashed the whirlwind 24 hours chuckling over how much work is required to present a leisurely appearing magic event

CeeJay, glad you are finding this group helpful. I really do too. Good job for confronting the weight through honesty. Hugs to you for dealing with difficult losses. I liked your new response card and copied it into my deck. Thanks for posting that.

GardenerJoy, good job for checking in! Great job for planning ahead with your dinner party strategies. The Mexican theme sounds really fun. I am so happy for you about reaching your 1st mini-goal. On Christmas! With all of the other life chaos you’ve had lately! You are awesome! Followed by a loss the day after. Wow. Just wow!

Maryblu, oooh! You had horses. That is so great. Another someday goal for me. Great attitude about snow and food preparations. Thanks for sharing the OA story. That was really poignant. What an amazing Christmas present to consider needing an XS. Can’t even fathom that for me yet.
This gave me chills, literally:

but I can hardly remember what it's like to be that big

Midlifecrisis57, I can really sympathize with your weariness regarding the time commitment for this. It really does take a chunk of time. I’ve just been trying to tell myself that it helps me to realize the future self I have been dreaming of for years, even if it delays the current trajectory I’ve set myself up on in other projects. It sounds like your new location has a lot to offer. Much nicer than my Midwest! I am really impressed. I know you’ll get to know other people and make friends soon. That is one thing the Midwest is often said to have over the coasts.

Nuxmaga, great job at leaving chocolate chip pancakes on your plate. I’m sorry to hear about the car accident. Those insurance things are always nasty to deal with. Good job for getting back on track after your slip-up though. Congratulations that the test results are all normal. You are a powerful woman to have all of that success at a holiday party. Great for you.

Onebyone, bummer about the secret sweet indulgence. Can’t say I haven’t found myself doing that in the past. So sorry to hear about your mother’s travelling woes. That is really terrible. Treasure those dishes from your mom’s place. I looked for months trying to find old-sized dishes to downgrade too. I ended up getting Japanese style dishes that you put a single food item on a single tiny plate. Good luck on your new plans. I’ve decided to give my pantry a makeover, including a special non-opaque box for my husnand’s goodies so that I’m not tempted to get into them. I think it will have to wait until we are back from vacation, as laundry and packing is on my to do list in the mean time. The class you’re going to be teaching sounds really fun! You can get it on track, or at least fake it ‘til you make it with the teaching. I hope things go well with the phone call for DH. Also, I thought this link might be of interest to you. It is the Thrifty Food Plan from the USDA. I’ve used it a bit and found the information helpful. http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publication...=&id=4ace7defc
Here are some sample recipes, but I think lots of them would need modification to accommodate weight loss. http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publication...RecipeBook.pdf

Shepherdess, really glad to hear about your relaxed relationship with your mother-in-law. As far as getting everything done, guiltily, I really let myself sit back and let my husband handle the stuff for his family. I felt bad, but at the same time, he really stepped up and got it all done. I did help a little bit, but I didn’t take on the responsibilities for things that should have already been done which weren’t. It was a new experience for me that I’ll have to try again. Interesting observations you made about the holiday baking being more about you. I think that is true for most people, as it seems to get them feeling like making these things will bring joy to others. Really great job at planning for stress relievers before heading out on your family visit.

Wndranne, hope you are feeling more energetic or at least got some answers from your doctor and the tests you had done. Great job on getting back on track. Bummer about the migraine, but glad to hear you had success with Imitrex. Sorry to hear about the tough emotional days. Super kudos for not giving in to the junk food and posting here instead. Really super!

[onebyone]

Hello coaches:

I ate a small, but tall, jar of pimento stuffed olives, spearing them with a fork one by one as I held the jar over the sink.
Needless to say I was standing up.
Why you may well ask.
Well it was my 1st compulsive reaction to the news that DH is to be in Nassau, the Bahamas, on January 11th for his job interview with the poker company. The owner called him today and requested his presence. He definitely has a job with the company as a "poker expert" but there may be another position for him, but everybody has to meet everybody as so far it's been all on the net and on the phone. There is a giant poker tournament in Nassau and I imagine all the bigwigs will be there so it's a great oportunity to see if DH is a good fit.

OMG.

Now I did let DH know that job or no job we will get by. And we will. But he needs to go for this 100%. At the very least he'll go to the Bahamas; alas, without me WAAAAAHHHHHHH!

I don't think I should go. It wasn't clear whether I could or not.

If he gets the job there will either more trips there OR we will have the $ to take trips there. This is business and he doesn't need me tagging along. H needs to give them his full attention. His brother has lent him the $ for the plane fare + spending $ in case it's all a big bust and he has to find his way home. Always have a plan B. Always. The company says they will reimburse him the cost of the flight and the accommodations are free. Can I say it again?

WAAAAAHHHHHHH!

and Ya-HOOOOOOOO!



Anyway I ate a jar of olives to quell my nerves. I was actually shaking.

I did begin the clean up today.
credit
The space beneath my desk is now free and clear except for my bandsaw and some wood and a rolled up carpet. I think the carpet has to go. Tomorrow I will tackle the space around the sideboard and behind the couch..."the back wall". Don't let me off the hook here coaches! I need you to keep asking me how the clean up is going

Thanks for listening.

[CeeJay]

Hello Coaches!

onebyone- sorry for what you are going through. But having your course fill up sounds like a good thing, even though I am sure the anxiety of teaching is fairly high. You can do this, you just have to believe that and start preparing. Hope things work out for your partner in the Bahamas. And thanks for the big thumbs up.

BillBlueEyes- credit for the better than normal eating day.

FutureFitChick-I can so understand eating the treat foods fast to get rid of them. Have done that many, many times. Giving up TV?? Wow. Kuddos for another pound gone.

For me, today was 100%. Second day of 100%.

Giving myself credit for:

-weighing in.
-eating healthy breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner, all slower than usual.
-riding exercise bike 30 minutes this morning.
-reading response and advantages cards while riding bike and listening to my beloved Zeppelin.
-going for a walk with DH this afternoon.
-planning meals and packing lunch for tomorrow.
-resisting goodies at the neighbour's tonight.
-posting here.

I am so grateful to be back on track. Tomorrow is in the bag, as long as I follow my plan. Same for everyone here.

Hope everyone has a great day tomorrow.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Cold today; beginning to feel really like winter. Finished the last bagel and whipped cream cheese left over from Christmas, so I will be able to have my granola this morning for breakfast. Getting one step closer to my routine. When I started my journey, I wouldn't have thought that routine would seem desirable to me, but it does now. Contents of lunch vary from week to week and dinner varies every night - both usually from a limited menu with occasional excursions. For eating on-plan, CREDIT moi.

No walk in the bitter cold. Besides I had to revisit the programmable thermostat that I had installed because it wasn't yet working right. Got it on-plan, CREDIT moi, LOL. Then turned up the temperature of the hot water that flows through the baseboard heater to the "winter" level; it just couldn't get the house warm set to the "fall" temperature. Seems like a little denial on my part; yes, Virginia, it's winter.


onebyone - Ouch for pimento stuffed olives as tranquilizer pill substitutes. Your DH's trip to the Bahamas is just so amazing. Working a poker tournament is so out of my experience. I wish him well and hope the results are good for both of you. When the trips do include you, you'll get some warm water swimming which appeals to me right now.

So, we're to ask you to track

Okay so in this last week of 2009 coaches I will do 4 things:

(1) Clean up the living room area so I can use the floor space to do my work outs

(2) Clean and tidy the kitchen counter and the stovetop so I actually want to cook here. Box up all superfluous dishware, mugs and glasses to be given away to charity. Replace with dishware that holds meaning for me.

(3) Clear off the kitchen table so I/we can eat at it for some of our meals

(4) Make a weekly foodplan/buy for it/follow it for the first week of January. Follow Beck to help me stick to it.

Kudos for taking the first steps.


FutureFitChick - Yay for BOSU - that demonic device that makes any exercise more difficult. I love it, although it isn't in my routine now; might try to change that. Ouch for the extra driving caused by change of plans. Nibbling while driving long distances is still part of my life. Fortunately, baby carrots appeal to me. I tell myself they're helping my vision, LOL, although I've never bothered checking whether that little bit of childhood wisdom has any basis in reality. I do laugh at your notion of quickly eating up the special treat food to get it out of the way. We're doing that now.

The secret of my “you-hafta-try-this muffins” was lots of orange zest as well as Triple Sec orange liqueur. Seems a waste to use a liqueur as a flavoring for baking, but the flavor was definitely strongly orange. Thanks for the reminder that stopping at only six walnuts was an improvement on my pre-journey behavior.


CeeJay - It's sooooo Beck to be thinking, "Tomorrow is in the bag, as long as I follow my plan." Kudos for that. Yay for Led Zeppelin. Double Yay for Stairway to Heaven. Was a pity that when DS moved out he took all his Zeppelin CDs; I miss them both, although I don't recall feeling that it was about time that Zeppelin got his act together and found a place of his own, LOL.

Readers -

day 13
Overcome Cravings

Anti-Craving Strategies - Behavioral Techniques
If you're still tempted to eat something you shouldn't after you've done all five mindset techniques, then try as many of the behavioral techniques below as you need:

. . .
4. Distract yourself. . . . After you've tried a number of techniques, make a list of the most helpful ones in your diet notebook, starting with the activities that were most effective. As you discover additional possibilities, try them out and add them to your list.

The Beck Diet Solution, pg 133.

[patchworkpenguin]

Good Morning.

I was originally introduced to Beck by Gardenerjoy in another group. It took me a while to find the book, then a little longer to start it. I'm on page 18, but I wish I had started earlier. I don't like to think of myself as a seasoned dieter, but since most of the techniques of the book are familiar to me, I guess that makes me one. .

However, I love the 'credit' principle. Normally I am very critical of myself, so this is new to me. And amazing!

I'm a 40 year old, vision-impaired, stay at home wife. Because of a health scare, I lost 70lbs a few years ago, but didn't realize there was this thing called 'maintainance' and I gained about half of it back before I came out of denial. I tend to emotional and bordom eating.

One thing I can say about Beck's techniques, this is the first year I've gotten sugar cookies from my Mom and they have lasted this long. I've been known to eat then all the first two days, and its been a week now and half of them are still left. I also fall into the 'eat them now, so they won't tempt me tomorrow' catagory. Hubby isn't a big help he forgets they are there, so I end up eating his half too.

Looking forward to getting to know you guys.

[FutureFitChick]

Coaches/Buddies, truckin’ along here. Getting ready to head out of town for a ski vacation. Knock on wood that I don’t break anything while I’m at it. I am going to try to look at the tourist information to find out where we will be eating and scan some menus to get an idea of what’s there. I have packed lots of snacks to take along (dried fruits, fruit leather, a few power bars). I also need to check if they have Wi-fi at the hotel or not. Looking forward to being outdoors, but hope the altitude and my asthma allow me to still breathe.

Today’s Essentials:
Weigh-in: +.5 lbs.
Read Advantage Cards two times: no
Read Response Cards at least two times: no
Ate slowly, sitting down, noticing every bite: mostly; had snack while driving
Gave myself credit when I engaged in helpful eating behaviors: somewhat
Did spontaneous exercise: yes
Did planned exercise: none planned
Wrote out food plan for tomorrow: no
Tracked today’s food: yes

BennyHannahMama, I do hope you are feeling better.

BillBlueEyes, credit for working your way back to happy routines. It’s really nice that you help keep us all going and accountable to the things we say. Thanks!

CeeJay, you’re on fire! Look at all of the great things you did yesterday! Keep it up!!!

Onebyone, congratulations on getting started with cleaning. That is great. Hope the interview goes well for your husband. Maybe you could take a short walk next time the olives are telling you they will quell your fears?

Patchworkpenguin, welcome to the forum. This is a really great group of people here and I hope you will find it as supportive as I have. Big credit to you for savoring your cookies. That is really terrific. I’m with you on the forgetful husband that leaves tempting food around for me to have to stare at. I’ve decided to make a special basket for him with his treats and foods in it (labeled with his name) to remind him and me that those are his foods he needs to eat. Maybe I should incorporate expiration dates too… Anyhow, welcome to you and I look forward to journeying with you.

[Shepherdess]

I finally got back home Monday evening. We got back to Casper Saturday night and found a foot of snow. It took us a while to dig our way back to our house, so we stayed with dh’s dad. Jackson barely had any snow, and there were lot of grumpy skiers around town. I was happy not to have much snow up there since dh wouldn’t be able to do any winter sports on his knee and I wouldn’t want to leave him alone. But we didn’t have to worry about it. The highlight of the trip was a sleigh ride out on the elk refuge. It was a lot of fun to see them up close. And, of course, watching nieces and nephews (five in all ages 2 to 8) open their presents was a lot of fun as well.

I was worried about weighing myself when I finally got back, but I am down a half a lb since before Christmas. Eating on the trip slowly devolved from virtuous to what I felt was pretty sloppy. But, as I think back on it, it wasn’t terrible. I only had one small slice of pie (yes, BillBE, with the crust) over the trip, when normally I would have had a piece almost every day, and even though I ate too much chocolate on Christmas day, it was less than what I normally would have eaten. However, I did indulge in more sweets than normal, and apparently made up for the calories by not eating as much in the way of real food—it also explains my sluggishness. So I’m trying to get back to healthy eating. The freezer is filled with veggies and I chopped up veggies for quick salads and snacks.

Exercise has also been good. I did get some running in up in Jackson. And also some much needed yoga to calm fraying nerves. Now that we are back, I’ve been getting plenty of exercise doing the feeding. We had a number of the ranch trucks break down all at the same time, so dh and I have been doing most of the feeding since we’ve been back. And since there’s too much snow to run outdoors, I’m back to jumping rope in the living room. I’m thinking of that famous Charlie Russell painting, “Waiting for a Chinook.” I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’re not facing a similar winter.

Maryblu, I hope you survived the snow storm. Casper was on the very eastern edge of it, and it was a doozy! Of course you were hit much harder than we were. Kudos for stepping on the scale even though you were dreading what it was going to tell you. But so cool that even a small is a bit big.

Wndranne, good for you for getting things back on track. Exercise and eating may not be perfect, but neither is life. I’m intrigued by your vacation from thinking about food. Is that just to take a break from an extra stress and is it difficult to go back to tracking the next day?

Nuxmaga, so sorry about your husband’s accident and the stress eating it caused for you. Glad to hear that he is OK, but kudos for getting back on that horse. Yay for good test results and one less stress in your life. Good job eating for eating better than last year—always good to keep that in mind when we’re tempted to beat ourselves up over mistakes.

Gardenerjoy, I’m glad to hear that you kept up your family Christmas traditions. Your holiday may not be festive, but it will be good for all of you to be close and give each other some support. That’s an important aspect of holidays as well. Yay for the gift of losing weight! You deserve that post-Christmas smugness.

BillBE, I continue to be impressed with your ability to handle party-eating. A muffin split five ways is amazing as well as a plate with space between the servings and seconds on the veggies at Christmas Eve dinner. I liked the trade of chocolate truffles for walnuts. Sounds like a great Christmas, even if there were a few program bumps. Good luck with your calendar full of more difficult food situations.

CeeJay, it is a very difficult time of year, but good for you for realizing that you need to come first. So sorry about the tough year and tough holiday, but good for you for getting back on track.

Onebyone, kudos on maintaining weight, and if losing weight is a cliché of a New Year’s resolution, then I am willing to be cliché. The important thing is that this year, I know I’ll be successful. Creating an environment to support your goals is key—I say that as I look around at the huge mess in my house. Isn’t it funny how large dishes have gotten. I remember when we packed up my grandmother’s china being struck that her dinner plates were the size of most salad plates. And we wonder about our growing waist-lines.

Bennyhannamamma, kudos for exercising again. I always find it helps enormously with my stress levels.

FutureFitChick, I hope that Christmas with your grandmother was a positive change of plans. I know spending the holidays with your husband’s family was an added stress. LOL about your mother making your “favorite” dish that you never remember having. I am so impressed that you are thinking of giving up TV for 2010. I wish I could think about that, but it’s just so easy to veg out at the end of a long day. Good job planning for eating on your ski trip. Hope it is fun, safe and on plan.

Welcome Patchworkpenquin! I have found the idea of credit so helpful, though often hard to implement. So credit for starting Beck and credit for savoring the cookies.

[CeeJay]

Hello everyone:

BillBlueEyes- I liked your comments re routines being desirable- this is what I am striving for. I have a good routine for breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack with a bit of variety but not a lot. Dinner is still a work in progress. Credit to you for eating on plan. Here's a line from Stairway to Heaven that I love- "Yes there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there's still time to change the road you're on." Beckian? Really, you need to replace those CD's or arrange to "borrow" them from your son.

patchworkpenguin- welcome, welcome, welcome. Hope you enjoy the book. I also was really taken with the credit principle. How lovely- just to stop beating yourself up and to celebrate each and every step.

FutureFitChick- enjoy your vacation. Sounds like fun.

Shepherdess-the sleigh ride on the elk refuge must have been awesome. Congratulations on being down half a pound, that is no easy task over Christmas.

For me, another 100% day. Third in a row. Grateful for that.

Giving myself credit for:

weighing in
riding exercise bike 30 minutes this morning
reading advantages and response cards while riding
eating on plan and healthy- 3 meals and 2 snacks
doing quite a bit of strolling while shopping
planning tomorrow and packing lunch
posting here

I am going to do the Beck exercise of tracking whether or not I feel like eating hour by hour and trying to distinguish between hunger, desire, and cravings. I am going to try this for a few days both while at work and also on the weekend, just to see where the differences are.

Thanks for listening

[patchworkpenguin]

Thanks for the warm welcomes! {don't be offended if I don't post to everyone. And please calll me Penguin, LOL, save yourself some keystrokes!} I had a good day as far as eating. My schedule is off because of the holidays {aren't they all}. I ate out with a HS friend I only see once a year since she moved away. Nice to catch up. I ate half of a BBQ Salad; brought the rest home for tomorrow. What do you guys do about planning what to eat when you don't know where you'll be eating???

I'm following a three meal and two snack plan I got from a Kathy Smith book. {my backup is Intuitive eating, which I have done before}. The plan has you eating small meals every few hours. I have tried this before with some success but them the small meals become huge meals, but I didn't have Judith on my side before! The meals consist of 1 protein and one veg. The snacks I either eat an apple of a choc fiber bar. I either never get hungry or I'm hungry every few hours. From other plans, when I get hungry I eat, so not eating when I'm hungry is a little counter to what I'm used to, and I catch myself thinking "I'm hungry so I get to eat now!. I haven't had a big 'craving' yet but several small ones. I wrote the Overcoming Cravings list and the Behavior list on the back of my ARC along with a short list of distractions.

Credit for:
taking vitamin
eating on plan; all sitting, slowly, but ate an apple while reading/posting
not eating extra snacks {cookies!]
Read ARC before lunch {but not dinner I haven't read it twice a day yet!}
wore pedometer {6678 steps so far}
sitting here hungry but not eating


Not so Much:
I skipped exercise {took a rest day} because I'm so sore from my first kettlebell workout that I'm walking funny.
Didn't plan meals, althought I do follow a generic daily food plan {I did pick out four meals to make this week; I usually just wing it deciding what to to eat based on what i feel like making/eating.}

Futurefitchick, If I don't remind Hubby he has snacks to eat he won't eat them and they go bad anyway. We brought home a slice of Sweet Pot pie from his Mom's at Tday and he never ate it, so I threw it out. Have a good vacation.

Hope that made some sense!