[Alma4343]

Good Evening,

A lot of great stories from everyone. Thanks for the entertainment. (Sorry for those of you in pain.)

Kudos to me:
I am on plan and have been for quite a while (credit).
Exercise planned
Exercise unplanned
Read ARC's
Read chapter in book.

I am TRYING to avoid getting a glass of wine, it was not on my plan (but, I did mean to put it there) and I don't have enough calories left for it in my daily limit. I am hoping posting will help me forget about the lovely tasty red stuff I want to drink Just ONE glass. Haha. I will report in tomorrow on if I accomplished this. Tomorrows plan will definitely include wine!

Hope everyone is doing well, it is one day closer to Friday for all the Friday wishers (me included.)

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Made my excursion to get blueberries by choosing to walk (CREDIT moi for the walk) to a far away store that doesn't give samples instead of Whole Foods or Trader Joe's where the FREE samples call my name (CREDIT moi for that choice). Added cauliflower, Romaine Lettuce, and cukes to the 4 pints of blueberries. Felt like an advertisement for Whole Food Eating, LOL.

maryblu - You got me; no way to buy a book twice. Can't beat MorganleFay's sweet southern way of asking for it back. When you Fargoize sweet Southern, would you mind posting it on YouTube? I smell a big hit.

Shepherdess - Oh Yes, Spaghetti Squash is the greatest. What a gift from the gods.

Beverlyjoy - Congrats on conquering the staph; Big Ouch for having to deal with the rash. Sending supportive thoughts as you seek you way through a Job like abundance of body issues.

Cheryl (Seadwaters) - Sending my condolences on your loss of Bonnie with supportive thoughts for dealing with your loss and telling your family. Ouch for chocolate "on SALE" - there oughta be a law.

Debbie (Lexxiss) - Yay for 12 hours of sleep - obviously your body had a message for you. With Kudos for stopping a disaster before it happened.

Donna (new2me2) - Yay for a loving friend and new tastes; Ouch for a regular source of baked stuff - however gluten free it is. Kudos for recovery from the unplanned.

Houston2Command - Congrats to a horse and Congrats on inches gone. Ouch for having to deal with stress.

Amber (AmberPr) - Yay for the plan to stop at a fruit stand instead of donuts. Thinking that I'm better off not knowing what "hamburger gravy" means.

Mikkijoe - Your menu has me drooling. Gotta try that eggs over rainbow chard. Then Patty Pan Squash with basil butter. Then homemade blueberry ice cream with fruit as celebration food. Good stuff. Happy Birthday to your DD; May you both survive year 14.

Alma (Alma4343) - Kudos for recognizing that you have a choice with the glass of wine.

synger - Kudos for using "Oh, well!" in the way that Beck uses it - instead of the way a lot of us sometimes us it to mean "Oh D*rn, I ate too much." Hope you get your desire to get out camping.

MorganleFay - hmmmm ... I suspect that HRH has figured out that life is good just the way it is and that this growing up business is ultimately the pits. Advanced thinker you have on your hands - which will lead to its own set of challenges later. Just a thought for you to ponder in the middle of the night, LOL.

newbebop - LOL at, "There are time when I think to myself 'this is silly.' " Yep, that was my first reaction. And I still have to push myself to give myself credit - as if I were three years old. But it works; there's something to this Cognitive Therapy stuff.

Marci (madrikh) - Kudos for going right into "really battling emotional eating" - just seeing that is a big start. As you make your Beck strategies part of yourself, it'll be easier to let the "little rebellions" slide away as no longer needed.

Readers -

day 34
Solve Problems

Identify the Problem

Once you've defined the problem, be sure to identify the negative thoughts running through your mind. Then use the Seven Question Technique to respond to your negative thoughts. Think about the following that you learned on Day 27 (pages 199-203):

1. What kind of thinking error could I be making? (See Day 26 on pages 195-198 for help.)
2. What evidence is there that this thought might not be true or might not be completely true?
. . .

The Beck Diet Solution, pg 232.

[newbebop]

I managed a very nice walk last night and am a little sore for it this morning. ;-) but the good kind of sore, the kind that reminds you these sore muscles are the ones you have NOT been using. It is both good and bad that my treadmill has been broken for a while now. The good is I love walking outside much better, but the trouble is finding the time when the little man is supervised and the heat index is reasonable. This week I have also been fighting rain. The terrain makes for a good workout, there are some very steep hills along the way (and I don't usually do that on my treadmill since the incline is manual and you have to get off to raise it.) Last night when I was still a mile from home and good and winded getting ready to climb another big hill, I thought this would be about where I would bargain with my self and cut an indoor walk short. lol can't do that when you still have get home. ;-)

Today is a busy running all over kind of day. Eating a good breakfast before I head out and planning a healthy hearty dinner for when I return. Today is my Beck planned hunger experience day. yikes!

[gardenerjoy]

Home safe. We enjoyed our vacation! My eating choices got worse as the trip went on, accompanied by the sabotaging thought "I don't care -- I'm on vacation!" Not as bad, though, as it would have been in the past. And I did a lot of compensating by skipping snacks and walking every chance I got.

WI: -0.1kg (new low), Exercise: +50 595/1800 minutes for August, Food: 70%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: no

BillBlueEyes: I'm so impressed and happy that you did a Tandem Jump. That is so cool!

Welcome newbebop and madrikh!

seadwaters: so sorry for your loss of Bonnie, especially with her ties to your father.

[synger]

Celebrated my birthday last night by going out to dinner. Ate over my calories, but in a semi-planned way. Ate under my carbs, even with the extra calories. Drank too much.

Had a lovely lobster tail dinner, with Caesar salad and grilled zucchini. Ate "three bites of bliss" of chocolate mousse for dessert, and was satisfied. In fact, it was almost too sweet!

Got my leave approved, so I WILL be going camping this weekend. Yeah!!

[new2me2]

Sorry, quick post this morning...the computer is excruiatingly slow today...they must be running a program in the background or something.

Yesterday was a great on-plan day...no baked goods, lol. And, I was rewarded for that by getting back down to my newest recent lowest weight, lol.

Exercise was 50 minutes of Walk It Out. Today I'm in the mood for some kickboxing, so I think I'll pop in one of my videos.

Cheryl, I was so sorry to read about Bonnie!!! I'm so sorry!

Synger, Happy Belated Birthday!

[Alma4343]

I am posting early today because I am so excited about my 2.2 lb weight loss!

It only took 6 weeks to hit the 5 lb mark. I have now officially lost 7 lbs. And, I did end up resisting the glass of wine last night. Amazing

Credit:
Exercise
Planned
Not much more it is still very early on the West coast

new2me: Good luck with the kickboxing and the newest lowest weight

Synger: Happy Birthday! And, have fun on your camping trip.

newbebop: I love that feeling of sore muscles because you did the right thing. Almost makes you enjoy the pain.

Gardnerjoy: I have the same issue on vacation. I am really working on the "I will care later" phrase which I love. I am on a weekend trip with friends this weekend. So, I am going to see how it goes. But, hey, you did better than the pre Beck days so that is great!

BillBlueEyes: Credit for walking and credit for getting good stuff. You do sound like and ad for whole foods eating.

MaryBlu: I am thinking of your new found southern/fargo accent and laughing. Meteor shower will be wonderful

AmberPR: Sounds like a great trip to the doctor!

Seadwaters: So sorry to hear about Bonnie.

Morganlefey: I have a feeling that sleeping through the night must be your biggest wish these days. No one is more sleep deprived than a mother of an infant. good luck. Sending sleeping vibrations your way.

Houston2command: I thought another pound gone deserved a dancing banana. CongrAtUlaTioNS

madrikh: Congratulations on your 2 lbs and lot of exercise

Have a great day everyone!

[MorganleFay]

Hi all...

I'm sulking in my deep well of self-pity today. First, I gained two pounds back (probably from the large dinner I had last night). Second, I'm bored to tears with this temp job-the only challenge I have is trying not to sleep in my cubicle! Third (and final), I'm either in "radio silence" or I don't have everything the employer's looking for in the positions I'm trying to get. It feels like I'm never going to get back into my field and certainly not at my level ever again! I just want to hit the spare change in my car and raid the vending machine in the break room! Grrr!

*sigh* I'm hoping this vent will make me feel better. I'm hosting a networking meeting tonight and need to be positive. LOL

[onebyone]

Hi Becksters:

We got back from our trip last night. On the way home we *spontaneously* made a stop at Golden Lake so I could get out of the car and take a dip in the lake. *CREDIT++*

Sheer joy.

The sun shining through the water made lime green highlights. Very odd, but pretty. The water was so warm. I'm so glad I am letting myself swim outside again. *credit*

I also hopped on the scale this morning. *credit*

I've decided to simplify my life. I have to get back to throwing things away and clearing out our rented townhouse. I have approx. 12 spaces to deal with in this place (give or take a few). I have a 6 month deadline (self-imposed). So I can spend 2 weeks/per space and if I just do that, my entire townhouse will be dealt with. I start today in the living room as I need to clear the floor area so we can hook up the Dance Dance Revolution dance mats to the wii so I can dance my a*s off...and I mean that literally

I'm going to clean based on flylady suggestions of just setting a timer for 15 min and going for it. 15min x 14 days = 3.5[I] potentialI][/] hours of cleaning just by doing that.

I am looking to see myself be consistent and stay on task with this cleaning business and these are the same skills I need for the losing weight business. Day after day, week after week, month after month. Stay focused and keep moving toward the goal.

It is a very worthy goal, the cleared out house, which means we could move out of here much lighter, and not to mention the thinner more fit me who could just simply move around and actually be and feel lighter. Moving and moving. Keeping my eye on the prize from here on in. I am newly committed Becksters. Thanks for supporting me.

[Lexxiss]

Hello Beck friends

A good planned day, so far. I've made healthy choices; offered and split a veggie omelet w/Mom at lunch...one I usually eat myself. Cruised the grocery stores without even thinking of things that don't belong in my basket. Put my bike on the rack this AM and rode home from town even though I didn't feel like it...6+m. *credit* for all.

That said, I am trying to start to accept that I am coming into a period of my life that is going to have lots of ups and downs and on a regular basis. I know I have to learn not to eat over emotions. I have come a long way, and I know I have a long way to go. Yesterday, something came up with my Mom which was EXTREMELY painful and is a continuation of her unacceptable behavior which I have lived with my entire life. I keep thinking this will change, and on her 89th BD I think I had better start to accept that it probably will not.

So....keeping that all in mind, I sat down with my Beck notebook before finishing my post today. Started at Week 4..."Now it's time to anticipate and plan for the harder times, when you will inevitably feel a sense of unfairness, deprivation, disappointment, or discouragement." I read and reviewed thinking mistakes; "Emotional eating is not okay. I need to tolerate my distress or solve a problem." I read and reviewed the seven question technique. I read and reviewed Day 33, Soothe Your Emotions Without Food and reminded my self that I can learn I don't need to eat just because I'm feeling upset. I read and reviewed Day 34 Do Problem Solving.
I felt comfort reading Day 36, Believe in Yourself. The Believe It Chart is printed out and all these pages are bookmarked with yarn.

Thanks, all, for hearing me out.

BillBlueEyes, *credit* for walks to far away stores who don't give samples.
Alma4343, *credit* for resisting the wine. I'm curious, did posting about it help in your decision? Congrats! on your weight loss!
Donna (new2me2), *credit* for no baked goods and Congrats! on getting back down to your newest recent lowest weight!
Synger, Happy Birthday! What a nice way to celebrate by focusing on not totally going overboard with the celebration! *credit*
gardenerjoy, Welcome home and *credit* "....Not as bad, though, as it would have been in the past" is a good thing. I have started looking at the effects of some small decisions over the long run. " It would make a difference in the long run if I didn't TOTALLY blow it every time I went on vacation."
newbebop, I hope your hunger experiment went well. *credit* for walking outside and being persistant.
maryblu, you could always tell your friend she can have it back any time...it is hard for me seeing other people struggle.
AmberPr, *credit* for picking fruit stands, especially after having a good breakfast....great news that you are having medications decreased.
Cheryl (seadwaters), sending supportive thoughts your way.

Ok, off to print out my "Believe It Chart" and head to a friend's house. I will say no choice to unplanned eating while I'm there.

Thanks for posting, everyone!

[AmberPr]

Hello Everyone,

Had a pretty good trip today. Was humid and rained off and on -- did get home in time for dinner, so I feel less beat. Food selections were o.k. had an egg salad sandwich at the event and did bring along and eat my banana and apple for snacks. I'm fairly pleased with the days eating since I couldn't really plan much of it, but still made fair choices. Picked up some "peaches and cream" corn from the farm on the way home and had some for dinner. Wasn't too bad, but they were a little inconsistent in ripeness, color and kernel size - odd.

My weight was down a couple pounds this a.m. - that water weight I put on last week is coming off - gotta like that.


-------------------------- Credits---------------------------------

• Weighed myself: 202 - much better!
• Heading out to walk this evening
• Made good food choices

• Brought home donuts for the family and I didn't have one

--------------

Maryblu: Yuck, sorry about your basement! Thanks for reminding me about the Meteor Showers. Do you know what time they are suppose to start?

Alma: Congratulations on 7 lbs!

BillBE: Really??? You've never had Hamburger gravy? Well Sir, you are missing out on a Midwest delicacy. Hamburger gravy is just that. You serve it over mashed potatoes, noodles, rice or toast. Add your veggies and it's an instant hearty (usually winter) meal-- really sticks to your ribs!

Let's see if I can remember this correctly - It's been almost 20 years. I was nineteen, living in Switzerland with my relatives. The one thing I wanted to do before I left was go parasailing. Toward the end of the snow season we visited Chatuex Deux (I think that was the place) and a friend and myself signed up. We took one of those enclosed ski lifts to the top of the mountain and then walked to the jump off spot with our guides. They hooked us to them, gave us a few instructions and off we went. I'm pretty sure we pretty much "took a flying leap" (meaning we ran and jumped) off the side of the mountain. We landed in a snowy field. It was pretty cool. I would do it again.

Newbebop: Hope your hunger day goes well! Good for you for fitting in some walking time for yourself! It gets easier.

Gardenerjoy: Glad you had a great vacation! You know, at least we are more mindful of our bad choices and we can view them as choices. I think that is another kind of progress.

Synger: Happy Birthday to you!
Have a great camping trip.
New2me2: Congrats on being back to your low.

Morgan: Hope your day is going better. Sometimes you just have to be open to new possibilities… like a new connection at your networking meeting! Good luck.

Onebyone: Sounds like a very doable goal! I think that could even count as exercise!

Lexxiss: I don't know anyone who is as willing to work the program as you are. It shows every time you post and I can feel your strength in your commitment. You go girl!

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - I don't tire repeating this - like a guess in the board game, Clue: dinner, on the patio, with gazpacho; CREDIT moi. Harvested tons of tomatoes from our public garden; they're now coming in like the cukes did a few weeks ago. Did gym; CREDIT moi.

onebyone - Oh Yes, Kudos for a spontaneous dip in Golden Lake. Just love that when an artist goes swimming they see "lime green highlights," LOL. Neat plan for your clutter. If you post your progress, perhaps I'll join you a bit; I so need it.

Joy (gardenerjoy) - Kudos for fighting the Sabotaging Thought, "I don't care -- I'm on vacation!" And Congrats for reaching a new low while doing so.

Debbie (Lexxiss) - Ouch for the reality of facing an "ups and downs" period of your life, with Monster Kudos for realizing that your 89 year old mother is not likely to change. Sending supportive thoughts for you to find a way to deal with her painful behavior.

Donna (new2me2) - Trying to visualize, "I'm in the mood for some kickboxing" - standing back a bit, LOL.

Amber (AmberPr) - OK, I guess I've had hamburger gravy - just have never heard it called that. Your parasailing in Switzerland story is intriguing; now that's been added to my bucket list. With the landing in a snowfield.

Alma (Alma4343) - Congrats for a kilogram gone from the scales. With Kudos for posting about that glass of wine and them declining.

synger - Yay for getting the leave for camping this weekend. Your lobster tail dinner sounds delish.

MorganleFay - Venting is good. Kudos for networking - more people I know seem to find exciting jobs that way.

newbebop - Hope your planned hunger exercise went well. I also love when my muscles signal that I've actually used them.

Readers -

day 34
Solve Problems

Identify the Problem

Once you've defined the problem, be sure to identify the negative thoughts running through your mind. Then use the Seven Question Technique to respond to your negative thoughts. Think about the following that you learned on Day 27 (pages 199-203):

. . .
3. Is there an alternative explanation or another way of viewing this?
4. What is the most realistic outcome of this situation?
. . .

The Beck Diet Solution, pg 232.

[Lexxiss]

Hello Beck friends

As I read posts this AM, I found that somehow I missed onebyone and MorganleFay. Oh, well! I must admit I'm only semi-computer literate. I stuck with my plan yesterday, which included turning down ice cream, twice. I reviewed my "Believe It Chart" this AM. Throw away leftover or tempting food is so not me, but I have frozen the rest of the OP cake...just a small piece and I don't need it today. After posting, I'll simplify the rest of the refrigerator, too.

onebyone, I'm glad to hear from you! Many credits and I'm glad you're feeling newly committed. If you started a declutter thread I'd join in....it's how I found you Becksters in the first place. That said, I do find that my cleaning up my eating is easier when I am cleaning up my surrounding environment, too. It is about simplification, I think. I've tossed a few things lately that just don't need to take up space here anymore.

MorganleFay, I hope today is feeling better for you. I think one of the most helpful things for me has been to let go of the emotional entanglement with the scale. Don't get me wrong, I think it is important to recognize the significance of a large dinner on long term weight loss. Taking the information and moving on is much easier on the heart, especially since you are feeling job stresses, too. *credit* for posting and for knowing you needed to get positive for your networking meeting.

AmberPr, *credit* for bringing home donuts and not having any. I am not that strong.

BillBlueEyes, if I were closer, I would love to try your version of gazpacho. I have never acquired a taste but must admit I've never tried. I just think it is wonderful when we find healthy and satisfying foods that keep us interested in our food plan. I sense you have found that in gazpacho.lol

Have a good day, ya'll!

[gardenerjoy]

I met my next mini-goal -- weighing what my driver's license says I weigh!

I harvested my first tomatoes yesterday! I ate one bite standing up in the kitchen, still warm from the sun. So good.

We have contractors about to arrive to look at bathroom remodeling projects. I need to do some cleaning!

WI: -0.5kg (new low), Exercise: +0 595/1800 minutes for August, Food: 80%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

[new2me2]

Good morning Beckies! The computer seems to be moving much better today, lol.

Another good on-plan day yesterday, although I WAS desiring chocolate more than normal. Fortunately I had written in a piece of chocolate for my day, so I had it.

My kickboxing mood held until I got home so I did one of my shorter fun DVDs, TurboJam. It's 20 minutes, but a nice good workout in that 20 minutes. Later I did 30 minutes of Walk it Out.

My weight is still down this morning...hoping I can keep it there until tomorrow's WW weigh in.

I have a little note posted by my workstation that says "Give Yourself Credit"...one of our secretaries noticed it yesterday and really thought that was a great idea.

Alma4343 HOORAY for 2.2 pounds gone!!!! And, more credit for resisting the wine!

MorganleFay So sorry to hear about the job situation...I mostly like mind, but it does indeed get boring at times, and it has nothing to do with how busy I am, lol. They won't let me sleep here! Bah! LOL! Seriously though, sure hope you find that right one who will be the perfect fit. Put down the spare change and back away!!!

onebyone FUN!! A dip in a lake sounds very fun and a nice spontaneous thing to do! Yay for scale hoping! You've reminded me about the flylady approach and I think I need to adopt that for myself!

Lexxiss Yay for going through the grocery store without thinking of things that don't belong in your basket!!! Major credit for rereading relevant chapters in the book! Turning down ice cream twice? Amazing!!!

AmberPr Major credit for being pleased with your day!!! Yay for getting rid of water weight...hate that stuff, lol!

BillBlueEyes LOL on standing back! Yes, I actually LOVE to kickbox, but sometimes lack the stamina. I took Karate for 4 years, and got to brown belt level, but then dropped completely out. Kickboxing gives me the best of that little world without the drama that can come with a sensei (teacher).

gardenerjoy Yay on reaching mini goals!!!!