I don't agree with this bit of the Beck Diet Solution

  • Maybe I'm a weirdo, but I'm on the day of the Beck Diet Solution where she claims you will have to write down each evening exactly what you're going to eat the next day.

    I've agreed with most of her tactics and ideas until now. I've found great help in the advantage cards, response cards, and her method of addressing sabotaging thoughts, which I have a lot of. I am learning a ton about the way my mind works regarding food by following her ideas, but the fact is that I have never done well when trying to plan a day out ahead of time.

    I have a few 300-500 calorie breakfast options that I cycle through depending on what I'm feeling like, and sometimes I try new things if I'm feeling like having some variety. Then I will often plan what I'm going to have for lunch after I've had breakfast, because I can figure out what I'm going to feel like eating that day. I sometimes change my idea of what I want for lunch three times before deciding and then eating it. I just make sure it's not crazy high in calories, or isn't just plain junk food.

    Then, usually after lunch I plan what I think I want for dinner. Sometimes it changes, even up to the moment right before I'm supposed to be eating it. I decide no, I don't want spaghetti, I actually want a tuna melt. Same calories, both not unhealthy options, more satisfaction from eating what I actually wanted.

    I don't believe losing weight needs to be a rigorous regimen of planning all the time. I do believe a little planning is necessary, and sometimes you just plain can't have something.

    Anyways, what do you guys think? I'm inclined to skip this part of the Beck Diet Solution, even though it makes me feel like I'm half assing. I know that it isn't going to work out for me though, and might cause a binge in the end if I feel like I'm boxing myself in too tightly. Life is life and I need a little room to breathe. I can't say how many times I plan a dinner and then my sister calls and wants to go out to dinner. I just go to my app, delete what I'd planned, see what kind of meal I can fit in there for the same calories and with the same level of satisfaction. It works out for me.
  • I tend to think that the point of that part of the book is the idea of planning versus simply eating whatever sounds good at the time. It's the idea of choosing instead of giving in to impulses. You do what I do, have several nutritionally similar breakfast, lunch and dinner options, and pick based on what I'm in the mood for. I've already done the planning when I initially chose something as one of my options and don't feel the need to write it down. I don't think it's half-assing it; I think it sounds pretty normal. I know that many people swear by writing things down the night before because it takes the pressure off of them and gives them more structure, but we don't all have exactly the same food issues and don't all need exactly the same structure.
  • I plan somewhat like the OP does, have no desire to sit around & meal plan all the time but some sense of mentally knowing what I will be eating is good.
  • I do not follow and have not read the beck diet thing. But what I will say is that I do plan all my meals on my fitness pal the night before, and it's something I came up with on my own and live by.

    It keeps me on track, and is so much easier to have it planned ahead. That way I KNOW how many calories and fat I'm eating before it goes in my mouth. That way I don't have to sit here, look in the fridge, and think if i eat this will I still be able to eat xxx for dinner and stay within my range? I mean sometimes, I do change what I want to eat. In that case, I'll play around with myfitnesspal a little to see what I can eat instead. Usually I just stick with my planned foods though and it has helped me be so much more strict than when impulsively choosing my meals.

    Again, if I really don't want something I planned or if a problem comes up (overslept and dont have time to cook the breakfast I planned, or if I run out of something or forget to lay something out to thaw, etc) I will just wing it and pick something I know is similar in caloric content, and add it up later. If for any chance I was over (I never have been because Ive gotten to know my foods and their nutrition values pretty well) I would just work out a little extra.
  • I am not on the Beck plan but I do plan all my meals ahead of time. I do it the night before and it takes me about 5 minutes or so. I did it when I was losing and I do it as maintaining I am not so rigid that I can't alter it if necessary as long as I stay within my calorie allotment.
  • I totally agree with you. I wouldn't want to live with that degree of regimentation. Like you, I have a few go-to meals that I switch up depending on my mood.

    F.
  • I keep several options handy. That takes planning. So I see nothing wrong with not having the next days menu written in stone as long as you can adapt it to fit into the day.
  • I don't follow the Beck Diet, but I definitely agree with preplanning. On the weekend, I plan EVERY meal for the week. This allows me to know what to put on the shopping list, prevents food waste because I can mix-and-match ingredients, prevents impulse eating, and makes meal prep so much quicker and easier.
  • I skimmed it at the bookstore early last year and made a lot of mental notes that I applied to my own personal plan. I actually bought a copy a few months back and was surprised over how much information I'd retained and carried out through my progress. Changing my overall mindset into thinking more like a "naturally" thin person was the key. And something that was of little use to me all along was planning out and writing down meals for the following day.

    I think the point of that is to learn accountability, resolve, and discipline, but what worked better for me was to simply track all of my eating, period. I'd simply make sure I'd make a healthy choice with reasonable portions for each meal, and then I'd write it down. My lifestyle is a bit on the spontaneous side. While I'm careful to set myself up for success by the types of groceries I buy and through arming myself with nutrition info on restaurants, I don't always know what I'll be doing or where I'll be going the next day, or even this afternoon or tonight. Do the ladies want to go out? Does my husband? Are we ordering pizza (yes, I still eat pizza!) or am I fixing burgers (and yes, I still eat burgers!)? Or are we each doing our own thing (our tastes are typically very different)?

    I think planning ahead is great in concept and good exercise tool for some, but for me it's best to be adaptable and be able to make good decisions on the fly. Adapting and adjusting to the world around you is simply part of real life. Because in the end, you're the one that decides to order the side salad or the nacho platter; you're the one that decides to eat the party chips or bring in veggies to share with everyone; you're the one that decides to eat two bites of pie or two whole slices of it. If you can consciously control that as you go, it's all good. If not, that's what the planning ahead is for.
  • Thanks for all the replies everyone!

    I do make it a point to track everything everyday and it's more important that I end the day happy with my decisions and in calorie range than to have stuck to an eating plan.

    If my TOM has arrived I'll eat an entire box of Skinny Cow candies, log it, and get on with my life because it's within calories and it's something I really wanted. I probably would've been better off eating veggies, but if I did I'd just end up overeating later.

    I do usually plan my meal at least 2 hours ahead of eating it. I guess that's what works for me. I don't often find myself in the kitchen really worrying about what to eat for my next meal. I usually have a few ideas of what will fit for my calories that day and then I eat it. I don't feel like it's going to be a source of trouble for me to not have a meal plan set out for the next day.

    But I am glad that it works for some people, because if 3FC has taught me anything, it's that everyone is very different in what will work for them.