The Beck Diet Solution is a psychological program, not a food plan. It provides a step-by-step program to learn specific techniques to stay on our diet, lose weight, and maintain our weight loss for life. The program is based on Dr. Beck's clinical research in Cognitive Therapy (CT).
The Complete Beck Diet for Life expands the earlier work and includes a food plan with suggested menus. From the cover:
With The Complete Beck Diet for Life you'll discover the 5 stages of successful dieting and maintenance. You'll learn how to motivate yourself, give yourself credit for every change you make, create time and energy for dieting, and handle hunger and cravings. Dr. Beck eases you into changing one step at a time. You'll master one task before moving on to the next. And you'll learn techniques to deal with challenging situations, such as sticking with ou plan at celebrations and dealing with "food pushers." With Dr. Beck's skills, you'll achieve a lifetime of healthful eating and lifelong motivation.
This is a place to discuss the Beck strategies and our daily efforts, to receive and provide support, and, for some of us, is where we serve as on-line diet buddy (coach) to each other.
If you’ve arrived from a search engine, you've landed at the site of 3 Fat Chicks (3FC), a remarkable place for those interested in a healthy life style, including mindful eating, exercise, and weight loss. More about the site, including how to register so that you can post, can be found here.
The books are available on Amazon through the 3FC store by clicking their names above; buying through 3FC helps to cover the costs of running this site.
You can find the list of previous (or more current) monthly Beck threads here on 3 Fat Chicks via:
Friday - US Bobby Fischer wins chess crown from SU Boris Spassky (1972, Reykjavik)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Walked, CREDIT moi, included stops at the library, Trader Joe's, Dunkin' Donuts, Whole Foods, T.J. Maxx, and Staples. I stopped everywhere, LOL. Got a book, roasted almonds, bags of Dark Roast ground coffee, a belt to replace the one that got wet in Costa Rica and never fully recovered, and a pack of index cards. Only Whole Foods yielded nothing since my goal was to see how its purchase by Amazon changed things. The fruit and veggie section was more open; fewer samples were handed out; salmon was cheaper; the same folks seemed to work there. Since I didn't buy anything I didn't learn how they'll know that I'm an Amazon Prime member.
Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, with few snacks. We had one small part of a cantaloupe for dessert (evening snack). The great news is that DW bought another three quarts of blueberries so that we can overeat blueberries for another week. Life is good.
Joy (gardenerjoy) – Glad your Texas friend is surviving. Yay for the benefits of a plan even when not perfect.
silverbirch – Happy 2017 Birthday!!! Kudos for recognizing that a birthday doesn't need sugar to make you one year wiser.
maryann - Thanks for "I note that the concert is the fun not extra food I can find." I wish that I'd stop thinking of food at every activity.
nationalparker – Kudos for planning a healthy meal for visiting friends.
Karen (karenrn) - Yay for "I just have to remember I don't need to fill all that storage" - there's joy in the thought that space remains for new items.
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 3 How Thin People Think
characteristic 4 You Fool Yourself About How Much You Eat
You'll learn how to effectively respond
to the voice in your headthat tries to convince
you that you must eat right now!
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), pg 37.
Still didn't manage to follow my plan quite as written, but it still helped to have it. One of these days I'll follow it 100%. Meanwhile, following it at all is making a difference. It's very much helping with my sabotaging thoughts. I wanted more after lunch, but was able to tell myself that I can wait until my planned snack.
Just back from the gym and I've had my snack, a smoothie with Premier protein drink a couple of table spoons of PB2 and ice whipped up in the blender. Next it's time to get cleaned up before dh and the pup get home in an hour. I have a hair appointment this afternoon and I consider that kind of a treat even though it's a routine treat. Heck I don't even go as often as the dog though. We don't really have any plans for the weekend except to go to our own house, give the dog a bath and swim in our pool. It's still a quiet time of the year here because it's still hot. What do the rest of you have planned?
GardenerJoy I was having a difficult time keeping myself from snacking yesterday too. I finally decided to have a little air popped popcorn which was okay. I do feel like some of mine is just from being home too much.
Bill That sounds like a really nice walk with all those stops. I haven't done that in a long time. I have some stores that are nearby, but they aren't open at the time I walk.
Silverbirch Happy Birthday! I don't know if I could go without a sweet on my birthday although I probably have. Enjoy your day!
Maryann I do hope you get some downtime this weekend. I bet the concert will be really fun.
Nationalparker It just freaks me out to think of those floating fire ant colonies. OMG things are so bad there and then to have that. I hope they don't get anybody. I about freak out when I see them on the sidewalk these days. Have a good time with your friends today. I love those kind of surprises. Our nephew contacted us yesterday about coming down for the ASU/UW football game in October. Turns out his girlfriend (who we have not met) is a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines. We could be seeing him even more. As soon as we get moved back in to our own house it will be time to gear up for the months of company. That makes 3 sets that I know of so far. Good thing I have a lot of down time. My friend who we are renting the condo from redid her cabinets. They are kind of antiqued and look great.
Well I had better get moving, now I have 50 minutes. Have a good weekend everybody!
Diet Coaches/Buddies – While shopping at the supermarket, I didn't buy any snack foods that weren't on my plan, CREDIT moi. There are many justifications for extra foods, but they more likely just get eaten without a noble reason. The real food news is that six large tomatoes ripened; we'll be having tomato salads for a few days. Not many left behind them.
Some walking in the evening to see a performance that stretched our normal range of music. It was LOUD LOUD LOUD with a bunch of talented dancers performing both onstage and on the dance floor where half of the audience stood - occasionally being moved about to make room for the dancers. We had reserved seats at a table. It was the very table whose top was chosen by one of the dancers to do a hip grinding love dance to her intended - right in my face. It wasn't a boring evening but I think I'll go back to wishing that I understood Dvorak rather than the latest music of the dating set.
Joy (gardenerjoy) – Yay for confronting Sabotaging Thoughts.
Karen (karenrn) - This just strikes me as so funny: "Heck I don't even go as often as the dog though." Otis is one well taken care of dog. Neat that you're taking a vacation trip to your own house.
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 3 How Thin People Think
characteristic 4 You Fool Yourself About How Much You Eat
You might tell yourself that what you're eating doesn't really matter - that is, the calories don't count if you're only eating the crumbs in the bottom of a bag of cookies, the icing that's left on the cake cutter, or a broken piece of pretzel. Maybe you justify eating too much because you're eating out, celebrating, or vacationing. Or you might make the excuse that you should eat something because it's free or someone is urging you to eat.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), pg 37.
My first Saturdays have barely enough time for lunch built in them. And, no time at all if I'm running the meeting. But, today, I'm not running the meeting! I plan to honor my young compatriots by eating my salad while they ably handle things.
BillBlueEyes: Good for you for stretching culturally. Many parts of our culture really our designed for the young. I suppose for obvious reasons.
karenrn: Sounds like a relaxing plan for the weekend! My Saturdays are busy, but I try to keep my Sundays a quiet and relaxed preparation time for the week.
Otis and I got out for our walk at about 5:30 this morning. It was 83 degrees, about the same as yesterday, but the humidity was much higher so it was way less comfortable. We did the short walk which is about 30 minutes and called it good. After that I went to my WW meeting. I was up 1.2 pounds, which is actually for 2 weeks cause I didn't weigh last week. I weighed at home, so I always know about where I am, but occasionally I go to the meeting for inspiration and don't weigh cause I go later and eat before or whatever. I am not deprived and seldom hungry, but it is always a balancing act. I have to remind myself that I like going to the closet and knowing the clothes will fit and remembering how healthy I am and that I do have some treat meals etc. I still think it will be easier when I can add in a couple of longer hikes when the weather cools down, but overall I know what I need to do to maintain my weight at this level of activity and this age.
GardenerJoy I hope you can enjoy attending the meeting that you don't have to run.
Bill I love to watch dancing, but I'm not so sure about a hip grinding love dance on your table, right in front of your face. Good job not buying any off plan snack foods. I find it best to keep them out of the house. There are enough opportunities to go off plan without semi-planning it.
I am very excited to be staying at home this weekend. The boys are in Tahoe.The only time I plan to get into the car is to go to the gym to wear in my hiking boots on the treadmill. The heat is outrageous here - 113 with an inverse layer that is keeping a nearby fire's smoke trapped in the valley. Nobody wants to be outside. I remembered to feel grateful that I have this lovely little house with air conditioning on a quiet street. It is safe and sound. A home is merely a dream to some people.
I was thinking about the posts from curleyjax and others on the unrest in our country. I certainly can get to feeling overwhelmed and panicked. Being a history major has always helped me work myself out of it. It has only been this tiny little slice of modern history that women have even been allowed to vote, that child abuse was a crime and not a privilege, that animals had any rights, that the common flu didn't wipe out hundreds of thousands. On and on I can go. We are certainly nowhere near where I think we should be in terms of kindness and integrity but at least the debate rages on in public. Had we been in the Stalin sweeps or the Mao revolution, there would only be a silent grief.
See what happens when I have time to write? I go on and on. How is this connected to peace with food? For me, I eat to temporarily numb myself. I want the anesthetic between me and fear or hopelessness. Unfortunately, there is nothing so bad that a compulsive bite can't make worse. Places to talk things through like this blog, exercise, small ways of taking care of myself like a closet full of becoming clothes, these are the tools that help me on my path.
So checking in:
I did change my ticker to reflect the first of the month's weight. It is up two pounds.
I have not purchased new clothes since March 1st (except to replace a pair of ruined jeans during summer travels. I also have to purchase a specific type of shoe for my bad feet.)) Shopping in my own closet has led me to make new and wonderful combinations with my existing clothes. It is amazing how much easier laundry is with fewer options. By next March 1st, I will know exactly the few precious pieces I will need to add. I consistently get remarks on how cute my outfits are. That makes me feel like i am taking care of myself. This is very healing for me after YEARS of never buying any clothes that fit and experiencing all the shame that went with that practice.
My G.G. who was kicking bootie and taking names at 98 said the secret of life is to learn three new things everyday.
Today I will look up how to cook spare ribs in my pressure cooker. i have never done it before. I don't know if I have ever eaten ribs before. I must have but they seem so messy it is never worth it. We buy an FFA pig, however, and ribs came with it. I am going learn how to grind up sorghum and corn in my nutrimill to make gluten free bread. I am going to read a book I picked up to help kids empower themselves with language :It was the Best of Sentences, It was the Worst of Sentences
A quick check-in here before I hit the sack ... we ripped out carpet, pad and tack strip and can get started on the flooring after the patch sets its 24 hours, so looks like tomorrow evening before we'll get rolling with that. Stuff is all over. Food has been close to plan but not 100% today. Yesterday was great until dinner out. DH couldn't get there until we were done, so I sat with him while he ordered his dinner and I ordered a slice of key lime pie. It was mediocre at best, then found they had fruit crisp, which I would have enjoyed much more for the splurge. C'est la vie. Our plan says if you go off plan with sugar, to savor it and not stress because that adds even more issues with your metabolism. SO no guilt but a bit of wallet frustration with the cost of the evening. Oh well.
Plenty of office work this weekend - just finished up a few hours of it after doing our marketing this evening.
Sunday - Viking 2 lands and photographs Mars (1976)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Still putting away stuff from the summer's trip to Costa Rica. CREDIT moi for doing it even if ridiculously late. Packing is one of my least favorite things; but unpacking is even more least. I got designated as the person to go buy a can of olive oil. We never run out, but we did since DW needed olive oil for the marinade on the steak for dinner with DS and for tomato salad.
Eating was OKish, CREDIT moi. To get DS and his SO to come over, we offer steak. They think that's great. DW also put several of our best tomatoes into a salad with just olive oil and basil. It just doesn't get better. I had less than I could have at dinner when there was a lot of food on the table being passed around. We got to hear about their vacation in the Berkshires of Massachusetts including outdoor concerts at Tanglewood. And an amazing exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Into the Light by James Turrell. Reminded us that we're seriously due to get down to New York City to see what's up.
Joy (gardenerjoy) – Letting your young compatriots run things is a big step.
maryann - Love the image of hiking boots on the treadmill. LOL at "It was the Best of Sentences, It was the Worst of Sentences" - what a neat way to bring the kids in.
nationalparker – Thanks for "savor it and not stress because that adds even more issues with your metabolism." Reminds me that Beck stresses enjoying our food.
Karen (karenrn) - A good summary of the process, "I am not deprived and seldom hungry, but it is always a balancing act."
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 3 How Thin People Think
characteristic 4 You Fool Yourself About How Much You Eat
You also fool yourself in other ways. You might use eating something that you shouldn't have as an excuse to eat more. Perhaps you've said to yourself, Since I've strayed from this diet, I may as well blow the whole day. So you eat and eat, promising yourself you'll start again tomorrow.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), pg 37.
Well I certainly had my treat meal last night. Patty melt and then some ice cream and cookies afterwards. I do track even when I'm having treats and I had my weeklies and a little more all in the first day. Oh well, moving on. Unfortunately one of the stores I shop at has a new case of individual cookies where we stopped after the burger. I'll have to remember not to go when I'm hungry or having a cookie craving. I was hoping the cookies were not good, but they are.
I did look back though and see I have been maintaining at my goal or up and down a pound or so since June 17th. I consider that a win especially cause it is during the time of year that is most difficult for me to balance it with exercise. Even though my gym workouts are strenuous they are only 3 times a week for an hour. The yoga I do on other days is good for stretching and balance, but not many calories burned. I sure do hope I can be active until nearly the day I die.
This morning I went over to our house and did a little cleaning. They have cleaned up some, but the bathroom and laundry room floors were so dusty and dirty and I really hate that when we go over to bathe Otis and swim. So they are clean now for at least a little bit. I also vacuumed all the hardwood floors just to get the excess dust up. It was kind of nice to reconnect with my own home and get a feel for what it will be like. I just love how open it is now.
Bill I think I'm opposite of you on the packing. It takes me awhile to pack, especially for long trips, or backpacks etc., but when I get home I put things away as quickly as possible. The laundry is started immediately, sleeping bag out to air, etc. By the next day you would't know I had been away.
Nationalparker You two are working fools. I thought you would take a little break on the floors, but I guess not. Bummer that dh couldn't get to dinner until it was over, especially since you were so looking forward to it.
Maryann Thank you for the reminder about our history regarding the current unrest. For me I also think the constant bombardment by the news and other media just pounds it in. Your temps are even higher than ours and although we don't have the best air quality, there is no smoke. I hope the training is going well.
Well have a great Sunday everybody. I had better do some meal planning for today and the rest of the week.
Took yesterday completely off from school: organized the freezer, organized my clothes closet, used up some ancient coconut flour. I am trying to limit grocery shopping to an hour a week. Specialty items like gluten free bread take an extra trip and are pricey. I have a few solutions now. Coconut bread is heavy on calories but filled with good stuff so I baked a loaf and cut it into twelve tiny slices then froze them with parchment in between the slices. My serving yesterday was with a little honey and almond butter on it. I was satisfied all afternoon. I also learned I can grind my sorghum into flour for another option. I figured out how to cut the other specialty store item. My protein drink , Evolve, can be mail ordered through Target once a month. Similar to the thrill BBE gets when he passes by a library with no items collected, I'm excited about streamlining my errands to the very minimum to allow time for the BIG priorities: DS and DH, training for Whitney, and school. I also need large batches of time to stare at the wall or I start to hit the blues.
Finished a preordered kindle book in one day. I was VERY disappointed. I didn't like any of the characters. Everything was more depressing than usual. Good thing the series is almost through. It is the ABC mysteries by Grafton and this was Y. This one was so bad I certainly won't buy Z but wait until a year or so and borrow from the library.
I have settled into my kitchen chair, my new favorite place to work. Funny how I had been in the habit of working in the places with the most uncomfortable chair and the worst light. Old dog, new tricks. About a year ago, my BIL demanded our kitchen chairs back claiming he had the table of the matched antique set. Rather than get into anything, we capitulated and bought brand new chairs made especially to fit the antique table we had. These had wide seats and sturdy backs. I had never really thought about moving my work station to the now most comfortable seats in the house. How in the world is this related to food? Well, as Beck writes, I must constantly question old patterns and habits. Do they still serve me? I don't have to go to bed stuffed. I don't have to have something sweet after a meal. I can walk for 30 minutes even if I don't have time for the usual 45 minutes.
Weight at ticker. Steely Dan on the stereo in honor of Walter Becker's passing. It is DS' favorite band and I bought tickets for him to a concert four months ago. I remember it was a pain in the backside and expensive. Now I am so grateful he had the experience.
A day of good progress on this end. Food could have been better as I was on the hunt for sugar all day. I can definitely see that eating sugar leads to desire for more. I think I need to hit the FMD 100% because 90% with treat including sugar is a bust. I can't honestly say this was my best effort. All other efforts of the day were good, though. Got some major tasks handled, including washing the flokati outside. It dried partly in the sun and then online I read avoid sunlight when drying them. Sheesh - they're from Greece, do we honestly think they wash and dry their rugs in the shade?
Fireworks tonight around us and pets are jumpy. The first time I was jumpy as well!
Tomorrow needs to be ON PLAN and i can do this. Birthday is in a week, so I know this month will be all over the place. MIL birthday is this week as well ...
Maryann - A quick thank you for the melon tip. A honeydew and a cantaloupe purchased this week have been DEELISH. I have spent enough moolah on mediocre bland, tasteless, hard melons. Agree on the fact that historically, we've made progress in areas in the past century, I loved seeing streets in so many Spanish towns named after Dr. Fleming ... all thankful for penicillin! Amazing when you think how recently some things came into our culture. I DO hope the debate continues to rage in public because when it's silenced, that's scary.
Bill - LOL at your unpacking ... I'm more like Karen except I like to pack and unpack quickly. The longer I take to pack, the more I forget what's already stacked up or packed. But my paperwork from a work trip? UGH - that takes forever. Pages of data and releases and what to save or just hold e-files.
Karen - When does your next houseguest arrive? Looking forward to your next wave of company?
Off tomorrow - just have a couple of hours of office work to do at home. We'll finish that room, get it trimmed out and start moving the stuff back in there to get the other room started, I think. I'm good with just waiting on that last one for the next weekend. I'd like to get some gardening done, a decent dropoff to Goodwill, and vac both of our cars out. I never think to do that until I finally look down and am shocked at how much debris we can track in.
Good morning. The Birch household is getting back on track for the autumn session.
Yesterday went well except I ate a bowl of muesli in the evening (fairly unusual for me). I will start having a cup of herbal tea after the evening meal to head off any bad habits getting their feet under the table.
And I slept poorly which is not unconnected with eating in the evening.
I have a food plan, exercise plan and most other things plan.
nationalparker, it's always good to see a post from you when I wake up in the morning! You've usually posted four hours or so before I wake up.
to all. And a belated thank you for your birthday good wishes. My only excuse is that it's been a complete whirl here.
Last edited by silverbirch; 09-04-2017 at 05:13 AM.
Diet Coaches/Buddies – A slow drizzley rain washed away the planned morning bird walk as well as the standard Sunday walk. Unfortunately, it didn't produce enough to make gardener DW happy. We're still a bit short of the needed rain to make the leaves less droopy.
Eating was OKish. Dinner was leftovers - but really good leftovers from the previous evening's steak dinner. It was debatable whether there was enough steak to call it a meal or to let me use it for lunches. I, to my surprise, insisted "Yes" - although it was much less than my normal presumed serving of meat. CREDIT moi for accepting that we need much less meat than we think.
silverbirch – Congrats for recognizing that autumn is here. Some of us are in denial.
maryann - Neat that you respect that you want your time available fot the big priorities in your life.
nationalparker – So awful and so true: "eating sugar leads to desire for more."
Karen (karenrn) - Kudos for "I do track even when I'm having treats."
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 3 How Thin People Think
characteristic 4 You Fool Yourself About How Much You Eat
could you have an eating disorder?
If you jump from diet to diet without being able to sustain your weight loss, you're an excellent candidate for the Beck Diet Solution.
If you have an eating disorder, however, you'll need professional help that is beyond the scope of this book. To make sure you don't have an eating disorder, answer the following questions:
Do you have a continuous obsession with food, dieting, weight, or appearance to the exclusion of more important aspects of your life?
Do you already weigh in the lower range of what is considered our ideal weight? (If you don't know what your ideal weight is, ask your health-care provider.)
Do you have a history of severe food restriction?
Do you frequently binge-eat and purge - that is, deliberately vomit after eating - or abuse laxatives?
Do you severely overdo exercise to try to keep your weight down?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, please make an appointment with a mental-health professional. This program is not suitable for you. In addition, if you have a health problem, make sure your health professional thinks it's a good idea for you to diet.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), pg 37.
Beck Diet For Life/Solution – September 2017 – Support, Discussion, Buddy/Coach
Friday - US Bobby Fischer wins chess crown from SU Boris Spassky (1972, Reykjavik)
Oh well.
to all. And a belated thank you for your birthday good wishes. My only excuse is that it's been a complete whirl here.
