Good Morning

kuhljeanie~ what a neat idea for a vacation! That sounds like something my daughter and I would enjoy. Hubby not so much

Bill~ WTG on keeping going!! That automatic response sometimes takes much too long to kick in doesnt it. When you think about missing totes at conferences, think too about the organizer that cant get all their ducks in a row to get the info to the printer. Ive got half the bag approved.....Im still waiting for the other side to be approved. I hope it happens this week, I really dont want to be doing this thru the weekends, and evenings when I dont have to.

shrinkin~ geez!!! I didnt even go there and figure that out for myself That is the state of mind I was in.....a bit too all consuming. Nothing seemed to seep in that I needed to. Thanks shrinkin

Food is packed and planned. Supper is too yah me! I missed breakfast tho Hubby was rushing me out the door this morning. I need to get the exercise back into my program....Im struggling with that one. Who really wants to go work out after being on your feet all day? I dont, but I need to figure something out.

Hey did you all know that when you heat press canvas tote bags that they smell like old socks?!?!! You can image how lovely the shop smells already Im off to get busy..........have a great day everyone.

Hey Robin! I used to regularly post on this ww site and they had THE BEST recipes. These are two favorites.

Potato Soup


6 - 14.5 oz. cans 99% fat free chicken broth
1 28 oz. bag Ore Ida Obrien Hash Browns
2 envelopes (makes 1 c each) Jimmy Dean Country Gravy Mix

Brown the hashbrowns. Let broth come to boil. Whisk in gravy mix. Add potatoes. Simmer 30-40 minutes. DONE!
NOTE: it can be pretty salty so I try to cut the sodium in the chicken broth and the gravy mix. I look for a low sodium type if I can find it. if not I just drink a lot of water! This super quick recipe is worth it.

AND

Roasted Garlic & Butternut Squash Bisque

8 cups

1 butternut squash (approx. 2lb or 3 cups cooked)
1 head of garlic
1/2c each chopped onions, celery and carrot
1 t ground/dried sage
4 c. fat-free veg. or chicken broth
1 c. skim or 1% milk
salt + pepper to taste

Cut squash in half and remove seeds and pulp. Wash and cut garlic in half crosswise (so that you are slicing all cloves in half with one cut) Place 1/2 garlic in hollow of each squash half, and place face down in 9x13 pan. Add 1/2c water, cover with foil. Roast 45 min. in 425F oven or until squash is soft when pricked.

Coat a large soup pot with non-stick spray. Sautee the other veggies until onions are soft. Add broth and sage and simmer until all veggies are soft. Scoop out squash and add to broth mixture. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins (should pop out easily). Mash with a fork, then add to the soup. Puree in batches until very smooth. When ready to serve, reheat on med-low and add milk. Add more broth if it is too thick. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

ooooo, those look good onebyone!! Thanks so much!

HI everyone!! I have been M.I.A since like July. So busy....moral of my summer is, I lost 11 pounds since July 1st and in 2 weeks, I gained 11, so I started WW the day I started my first day of college, and I am the same I was when I started July 1st for m first time. Anyways long story short, Bran new beginning and I am regularly going to school, and the gym, so i am on to a good routine! And I am following the BDS whenever I can, PLUS I am pushing it through my class, everyone is so interested in it! How are you all???? Bill- how are things??

Diet Coaches – Celebrated reaching three years on my journey by attending a talk by Frances Moore Lappι, author of Diet for a Small Planet. She's been ahead of the crowd since she published 36 years ago that the amount of red meat consumed in the US isn't sustainable. She has continued with her activist thinking about making Democracy work and about how to distribute food. An inspiring talk for someone celebrating his diet for one smaller person, LOL. For a day 40: Enrich Your Life experience, CREDIT moi.

Jean (kuhljeanie) - Kudos for getting back in your grove. Have an energetic vacation in Colorado. What a beautiful place to go hiking.

onebyone – Kudos that you are so regularly keep your movie date with you DH - that's taking care of yourself. Thanks for the recipes.

Robin (RobinW) - LOL at "smell like old socks?!?!!" Now that's a motivation for getting the job done. OK, I'll remember that a vendor can only produce if they are given the directions for the order. Ouch for going without breakfast; I just gotta have mine. Are there meal bars that you like for such emergencies? Or bags of trail mix? There are a few cereals that I can eat dry, without milk, that are suitable for having at the office as a backup: Oat Squares, granola, and Cheerios.

JennyG - Congrats and Ouch for the weight cycling. Great that you have friends who are also interested in Beck. Will you find a Diet Coach among them, or will you use the posters in this forum for your Diet Coach? When you post it reminds me that I want to visit Prince Edward Island again (summer of course). Seems that you are lined up with a full schedule with school and gym. RE "how are things?" I'm staying the course - keeping on keeping on. The challenge in maintenance for me is to stay energized without having the dropping scale as a motivator. It once dawned on me as a parent that each passing day, even without a major achievement of some sort, was a success by advancing my goal of raising my kids as they grew one day older. Success in maintenance requires finding the joy of having lived a day in accord with my goals; I'm working on finding that.

Amy (HisBeloved) – Congrats on the 10 pound loss. Kudos for tweaking your eating plan by doing 2 weeks of Medifast. For following or getting back into Beck, there are several posters on this thread who are starting (some again) from the beginning - you might care to join in. Did you take a hit from Hurricane Hanna where you are in North Carolina?


Readers – "How Thoughts can Sabotage Your Diet

Sabotaging thoughts allow you to disregard the advice in this book. "Beck, pg 28.

Morning coaches!

Yesterday OP for calories. With DH travelling, faced feelings of unfairness by treating self to sushi for dinner. Decided that with hectic day today and with tendency to eat after dinner with DH in absentia, best to do Thurday am pool workout on Wednesday night. So, is that planned or unplanned exerecise? LOL....CREDIT either way. Y pool schedule is annoying. Swim lessons until 8:30 and pool closes at 9:30. Managed to eek out 45 min of cardio time.

Today's weigh in: down 2, actually a relatively heavy weight compared to rest of scale bounce past week. Average wt loss: 1.12 pounds per week for past 4 weeks. As last six weight all less than 200, can now declare officially: AM IN ONEDERLAND!

Also met virtually simultaneous mini goal of 10% loss for this year! (One for each 5 pounds!) LOL.

Will be seeing internist first week of October. She will be surprised/pleased at my meeting that target.

OK, now have to get brain ready to PERSIST IN VICTORY...Not rest on laurels. Big challenge next few days with travels, weddings and then out of town meeting.

My next weight goal is to get the middle number to an 8. Longer term goal is to drop another 10% (19 pounds). Knowing how the scale bounces and takes its time, need some more nonscale targets.

BillBlueEyes-Three years...wonder if it feels like it flew by. Kudos for enriching your life. Methinks maintenance has fewer obvious rewards compared to losing. The only benchmarks...another day, another week, another year. Big credit to you for sorting out how to stay motivated to maintain. And your posting...priceless! Must say that antcipating posting sure does increase my sense of self accountability, and reading everyone's posts...big encouragment!

JennyG-Welcome back! Congrats on getting back into a Beck routine. Great that you may find friends interested in doing it with you. IMO, the more comrades and coaches the better.

robinW-OUCH for rushing. Kudos for getting your food planned. You know, sometimes those bags still smell like old socks when they hand 'em out to us..must be when meeting planners waited until the last minute and they are "hot off the press".

kuhljeanie-Have a great time in the gorgeous rockies listening to wonderful blues! Kudos to you and DH for deciding ahead of time to focus on good self care.

Hisbeloved-Welcome back to posting. Sounds like you have been creating time and energy to take care of yourself even in midst of life changes and busy schedule. Bravo for that! WooHoo for 10 pounds lost!

onebyone-Happy you are taking care of yourself and staying with your plan, packing those snacks. Wonder if your movie was a "good bad movie"?? Thanks for the soup recipes. Particularly like the sound of the squash one! Wonder if today is a gym day for you?

Sending a great Thursday to all!

Good Morning!

shrinkin~ Awesome job!!! Make your goal to still be in onderland when you get back from your few days away!! Im so happy for you!!

Jenny~ welcome back

Amy~ Great job on your loss!!

Bill~ 3 yrs!!! You have beaten the odds havent you!! You lost it, and kept it off for more than a year! You are an inspiration. Thank you for still coming every day and sharing your struggles and triumphs! I think we all need to understand that when the weight comes off, it doesnt magically stay off. We have to work it to keep it off. Congratulations

Got my breakfast in this morning I am not a breakfast eater....never was. Even as a little kid I hated eating early in the morning. So for me to miss it isnt a big deal......I just have to pay attention to what I eat during the day and not over do it. I usually just have a protein shake and a bit of cheese for breaky, and Im good til lunch. It is a habit I forced myself to start when I started having weight issues 15 yrs ago. I have learned tho, that I cannot have any kind of carb for breakfast!!!! That sends me looking for food about 2 hours after eating....and its usually not a pretty hunt!!

Imagine this.....shop smells like old socks (got 106 totes done yesterday) and then hubby microwaved some popcorn, and burnt it!! Oh...talk about stink!!!!!!

Food is packed for the day, but exercise is still non-existant. Yesterday it took all my effort to get off the couch to go have dinner. I just wanted a toasted tomato sandwich, but hubby said "No, I'll take you out to dinner tonight" I said sure, as long as I dont have to get changed and fuss with my face and hair Exercising in the evenings after days like yesterday is just not possible. I need to work on this. I need to schedule it in. I just need to get the job done.

Alright........Im off, have a great day everyone!

Good morning! I'm still alive and well and doing my Beck the second time around. I have been busy this week with quilting - guild and bees. Fun time.

I have to confess that I fell off the wagon yesterday. After quilting bee one of my friends suggested going to Wendy's for a Frosty and talk. Should have made it water and talk. Then I got home and had a peanut butter sandwich. Some days the gremlins get me. Now I'm fighting, and winning the desire for more junk today. NO CHOICE not going to happen!

Made it to Curves yesterday and I'll go afterwork today. I feel a lot better after exercising.

I'll catch up with everyone tomorrow when I don't have to go to work.

Keep on Becking!

QuilterInVA You made it to Curves? So your body must be feeling better then! That's great Good to hear you're doing well and enjoying your quilting.

RobinW It's taken me forever to figure out the exercise thing. You're really doing a lot right now. Don't stress over it. Try and do an extra 10 minutes of walking a day or maybe this will help, get a pedometer and see how many steps you do now! You need to aim for 10,000 a day. Great to see you doing so well.

shrinkinaand ato you for your 10% AND your entry into onederland. Oh that is so fantastic! KUDOS. Can't wait til I get there too. And yes, persist in victory for sure. I am so happy for you!

BillBlueEyes Three years eh? You're out of the terrible two's! Kudos! Now is that 3 years at goal weight or three years your started losing weight or three years on Beck? I too am glad you are here. Thanks for that BBE.

JennyGHi! Nice to hear from you. I too recently found a schedule and foodplan and all that that I can really follow too so I know how you feel... GOOD! Thanks for posting and saying hello.

kuhljeanieHi! Glad you are also doing well... your post reminds me that It's easier to stay on plan than to get on plan... it's right up there with persist in victory I think! Good going!

HisBeloved Nice to see you again!

I had a nice surprise today. I tried on my small jeans--16's--and the last time I tried them on I got them to the bottom of my upper thighs. Today they slipped right up and over and the waist is aboit 2" apart from closing. I had to peel them off my legs but I couldn't even do that 5 weeks ago. Wow. Good stuff!

I finished my first week of classes today. Very exhausted and feel behind in homework already. I am having a tough time getting 4 mini meals in during the day. Need to work on that still. I did get to the gym today. In between classes I have an hour and half and went there and did cardio. The plumbers were working on the water so I ended up with ice cold water in the shower. At least there was water... made me get out fast and to my second class on time!

And we saw the movie Vicky Christina Barcelona yesterday. It's Woody Allen's latest film. It felt very warm...the scenery was fantastic. The movie was interesting. It was a good good film, not a good bad one this week! And the popcorn was awesome. Very enjoyable.

Oh I made DH get up early (10am -he set his alarm) to make sure we got tickets to see Robin Williams this November. He got them! Row 25 on the floor. YAY! Something to sooooo look forward to.

Have a good evening coaches!

shrinkin

Just wanted to pop in and say CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

10% AND ONEDERLAND! A pat on the back and a high five. I know you'll not allow a victory slip. You should be very proud!

Thanks, coaches for your congrats and woohoos!

I have to be out early in the am to go to airport, so doing my am report the night before again.

OP for calories today so far and think I will make is as I have way too much to do to eat. Got my Thursday am pool workout done last night. Packing my suit for pool workout while travelling. Note to self: MUST STAY THE COURSE!

freer-great to hear from you. We have missed your posts!

onebyone-HURRAY for the jeans tryout! It won't be much longer before you will report wearin' those! WooHoo for the gym workout and for not being detered one iota by cold water. I know you are right behind me, matchinig for onederland.

QuilterinVA-keep up the good fight against the food gremlins. Kudos for getting right back on the wagon.

RoginW-EEW for old socks and burnt popcorn. High five for keeping your diet on track. Any way to get in even 5-10 min unplanned exercise before the end of the day? Starting small, even 5 min, counts a lot! Feel for you on the collapse at the end of a hard day.

BillBlueEyes-will not get your Friday morning daily wisdom until later in the day...but I will reading!

Hope to post a quick fly by this weekend, but if not, will report in on Monday.

Going to give it my best shot at persisting in victory in midst of multiple challenges. Have reviewed the Beck chapters and made my plan...lets see how well the execution goes.

Great weekend to all Beck coaches and readers!

Diet Coaches - Thank you all for the kind words for reaching my third year on my healthy lifestyle journey. Briefly here as I'm on a borrowed laptop. Passed on two opportunities for cookies. Both were relatively easy. The first was at a meeting at work and I had my morning snack of soy nuts before going, so not much of a challenge because I still could taste my snack. The second was in the late afternoon at an event where I had planned in advance how to deal with an anticipated snack offering, but I knew that apples would also be offered. Because I planned, I wasn't much tempted; I had looked forward to my apple and savored it. CREDIT moi. The key for me was planning both times. I harp on this because I'm still thinking about my two recent potluck-ish events where I arrived with no clear plans and ate more than I wish. Now I have to figure out how to plan when I'll be faced with similar potluck events. Will be working on that.

onebyone – LOL at "You're out of the terrible two's!" Yep, I'm in threederland. Three years on my healthy lifestyle journey; 18 months at my maintenance weight; one year on Beck. Kudos for getting to the gym again despite the cold shower. Thanks for the recommendation for Vicky Christina Barcelona, will have to get to that.

Robin (RobinW) - Kudos for getting your breakfast. Yep to "when the weight comes off, it doesn't magically stay off." I still wrestle with that; I have to plan because it doesn't magically happen. As stated in the signature line of one of the old timers around here, "We don't eat healty by accident." Good luck at working on some exercise.

Susan (QuilterinVA) - Ouch that the gremlins can sneak up when you're concentrating on something important like a conversation with a friend. Just love it when you plan to use NO CHOICE. That's what worked for me when the cookies appeared at a meeting yesterday.

shrinkin – Big Congrats for ONEDERLAND!!!!!!!! Onderful milestone threre. Kudos for packing your swim suit - now that's planning at its best. Have a great trip.

freer – Glad you stopped by. Hope your second graders are keeping you on your Teachercise program.

Readers – "How Thoughts can Sabotage Your Diet

Sabotaging thoughts allow you to disregard the advice in this book. "

Hi coaches

I feel like a lady of leisure this morning. Friday I have no classes but, for today, I still have places to go... but not until we get the car this afternoon.

I am going to the school for a social event. It's a pizza and beer "welcome" party for the new students. It's my 3rd year there and I've never gone to one of these but I am going this time because there are two speakers tonight talking about their residency experiences. Both are graduates of the school and one did an art residency on a Swedish island and another residency in Vermont while the other also did a residency but I don't know where. I WANT THAT! I'd really like to go on to an artist residency somewhere after school wraps up for me. They are supposed to be giving us the nitty gritty on how to do this... exciting! So that part of the evening starts at 5:30pm. Pizza and Beer starts at 4. I will skip the start and show up for the speakers. I have a hair appointment and am getting foil highlights today! I have NEVER had my hair coloured professionally. I used to give myself highlights all the time but now there are some strands on grey in there, not many but some and the stuff I used at 15 is not the same on me you know? There is a sale on the highlights so I am going for it! Sun-kissed here I come! Marie, the hairdresser, told me it'll be about a half an hour for the highlights. So that takes me to 3:30/3:45 and then I am off to the gym to do the full workout if possible and then off to the school for the speakers. Home by 9pm is my guess. And I have market tomorrow so I can't stay out too late for sure. 5:30am comes early.

So I got out the Beck Workbook and was reading up on Day 30: Eat Out With Ease and think I'll need to read Day 29: Say No to Food Pushers too. I flipped to the back of the book and saw the blank food chart and daily planner. i think I'll start using these again. My food on my carbup day (saturday and wed) when my choices are essentially unlimited, keeps growing in quantity. I am not setting limits on the amount/portion sizes and to be successful in the long term , I will have to do this NO CHOICE. Anyway what got me was once I looked in my book again i felt like I had found my toolbox for how to do my foodplan. There are all these practical suggestions in there. I just have to open the book and take what I need and apply it to my daily circumstances. I am happy to re-discover that. Often, after you've been on some diet following some book's plan, you just get rid of that book, toss it aside when it's over or it's just not for you. I know Beck is not a diet plan, but re-opening it and finding it to be just as relevant to me now as it was when I first started in Feb on Weight Watchers is fantastic. It is truly useful information
... Like a good cordless screwdriver (got my 4th replacement one btw for those who remember this story...and Canadian Tire has left 2 messages for me to call them back about my problems with this product. Pretty good service. Hope this screwdriver isn't a dud. But it looks like I can keep returning them for 3 years though...ha!)

Gotta go.

Enjoy your Friday.

Diet Coaches – Here's hoping for the safety of all our Texas and Gulf Coast members as Hurricane Ike comes ashore even as I type.

Alas, I made an after dinner run to the store to get blueberries for breakfast; they are no more, except those imported from Chili in half pint clam shells. A shocking moment, even though, best as I recall, it occurred at the end of last summer also. And the summer before that. Even more. Nevertheless, it's a shock.

At the gym, I increased my chest press from 2x15 reps to 2x20 reps. CREDIT moi. Got a nice compliment when my Personal Trainer (working with someone else at the time) looked at the weights I was using and said, "Wow, that's a lot of weight. Remember when I started you on those. You were using 10 pounds." Nice to be reminded that, despite my annoyance that I can't handle the 50 pounders without a spotter, I have moved along from where I started. And important because I still wince with a little envy when I see a guy using the 100 pounders, despite those being waaaay beyond my realistic dreams.

onebyone – Kudos for going to a pizza and beer party and skipping the pizza and beer. Thanks for the update on the electric screwdriver. It does amaze me that Canadians buy screwdrivers from a tire store. Reminds me that in Italy one buys salt from the tobacco store. When in Rome... Good luck with your market days this weekend. Do your markets come to a close with summer's end?


Readers – "How Thoughts can Sabotage Your Diet

Sabotaging thoughts allow you to disregard the advice in this book.

Bill I think you would love the canadian tire store!!!! You can get tires, dishes, toasters, car parts, and plants!! How cool is that! I truly believe a canadian tire would do fabulous here in the states. I miss it sooooooooo much!!! I still do that mental thought thing....I need something, where can I get it? I automatically think of canadian tire......well, then I have to think who around here would have what Im looking for. It usually takes 2 -3 stores to find it. You even get canadian tire money!!! 3% canadian tire money on all your cash purchases. I still carry a 10cent bill around in my wallet!

WTG on your weights increase Bill! Great job!!

Not much new around here, meeting with one of the contractors today about the bathroom. Im not sure if Im going into work today or not. I certainly have alot to do. But this might give me a chance to get caught up on marketing stuff.

I bought too much broccoli last week Im not eating it fast enough. I'll have to make some sort of casserole today.

Maybe I'll climb up on the treadmill today, or if it doesnt rain, I'll take a walk thru the neighbourhood. Hm...........I think Im talking myself out of going into the shop

Have a great day everyone!