I'm snuggling with the Caesar Cat right now. He's sound asleep on me while I hold him up with one arm and type with the other-well not type with my whole arm; I type with three fingers.
We're about to get on the road. I have to get my soup and stew into freezable shape so it doesn't go bad. I had a really lousy sleep last night. No word on whether we can see the place today. Maybe when I check in from Toronto I'll know then. Hopefully we can view it tomorrow if not today but either way I'm coming home Tuesday.
Coaches I'm stressed. Maybe tomorrow I'll go to the art gallery or something.
I have a question... what does DH stand for? From what I can gather, it appears to stand-in for partner's names?
My weekly weigh-in showed a loss of .6lb. I'm disappointed, as I wanted a repeat of the 2lbs lost at last week's weigh-in. But thinking back on the week I should be happy the scale showed any loss. Three days in a row of evening social gatherings which = going off plan during my most difficult time of the day aren't going to help me reach my goal. There's more in store for this week too... Football this afternoon, and a work retreat on Tuesday. I guess I have to really decide what my priority is- enjoy food during these occassions, or reach my weight-loss goal. I can't do both.
I had a good day yesterday. My mom (also doing the Beck plan) came over for lunch. I made some roasted onion and garlic butternut soup with a side of edamame and whole grain bread with roasted red pepper spread. Full of flavor but on plan portions. For dinner I made lettuce wraps with grilled chicken and carrots. Lunch and dinner today will be leftovers of both.
Starting a new week, which will result in a better weigh-in next Sunday!
We went to Indian food last night with a friend and as a bonus for keeping my portions reasonable, I have a good lunch leftover for today. I did succumb to some chocolate when I got home. I had some on the plan, but ate more than I should have. The answer, of course, is to get myself the intended portion and put the rest away, but I just didn’t do that last night.
I did get in a quick weight workout yesterday and got some incidental exercise by cleaning out a room in the basement where we’ve been using as a storage space. If I get it all cleaned out, I’ll organize it as a wool room.
ChefJoona, yikes for temps that don’t get over 0! Exercise in the winter can be difficult. Give yourself plenty of credit for bringing healthy options to the pot luck and taking sane portions of the healthy main dish. Cocktails can be a resistance killer, and you can still enjoy those social occasions. One possible way is to take a single, small plate and fill it with small tastes of the different choices, then enjoy the socializing. Congrats on another loss! Lunch with your mom sounds wonderful.
Maryblu, have fun on your weekend adventure, after the long drive, of course. I hope your adventure takes you to warmer climates! Yay for continuing to be in the sane food zone. Thanks for the reminder that waking to hunger is a good thing.
Gardenerjoy, sorry that the weather didn’t get the memo that you need to change your workout everyday. Yikes for more snow on the way. Hope your shoulders get a chance to rest before you’re back at the shoveling. Then you could probably use a nice, long yoga routine!
Maryann, jealous of your hike in sunny 60 weather. Yay for your veggies for meat swap paying off! Ouch for the self-doubt that the MFA applications are bringing on. It’s always so difficult to put them out there when some unknown people will be evaluating you. Kudos for resisting the urge to continue to rewrite.
FutureFitChick, ouch for a day that goes off track, but great job getting back here and posting. Don’t beat yourself up over it too much. You’ve been under a lot of stress recently.
Madrikh, sorry for the return of depression, but great job continuing to post through it. Hope the walk in the sun helps!
CeeJay, great job turning around a lousy couple of days and getting back on track. Kudos for returning to Beck from the beginning. I know what you mean about not doing enough talking back. The answers are all right there in Beck if only we’re willing to use them.
Onebyone, ouch for a DH who brings doughnut holes as a “treat.” Great job skipping the pub and cooking from scratch instead and for getting rid of your other unhelpful food gift. Hugs while you're stressed and hope your trip goes well!
Nature girl, kudos for posting on your way to bed. Glad to hear the pain is better. You’re right that reading the cards is important. I always have the same thought that I already know what they say, but it’s true that they stay fresh in the mind when read regularly.
Lexiss, ouch for a hard fall on the ice, but glad it wasn’t worse. Great job getting back on track after a lousy day. It’s tough when your schedule has to accommodate another person, but it’s good that you recognize it and are planning for it in the future.
BillBE, great job using a glass of milk to go with your ibuprofen rather than using it as an excuse to eat. Ouch for the continued back pain that necessitates the ibuprofen. Decluttering is so difficult, so big credit for continuing to do it.
Snowing, but maybe only a couple of inches. I can't believe I'm saying "only" there!
WI: +0.35kg, Exercise: +55* 965/1300 minutes for January, Food: 70%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes
maryann: Good job with the big "Oh well" during a stressful time. I remember feeling that same anxiety applying for library school.
FutureFitChick: Credit for reporting in, even after a crash. Hope things are picking up today. I am counting shoveling because it seems to require as much exertion as some of the other things that I count as exercise. I usually count gardening at about half the time (60 minutes of gardening counts as 30 minutes of exercise) unless it's really energetic.
madrikh: yay for getting out of bed. And checking in and the other credits!
CeeJay: yep. I know exactly what you mean, about stewing instead of really doing the work to develop a strategy for the situation, especially the somewhat predictable ones.
onebyone: exciting about the house. Sending happy thoughts!
Nature Girl: LOL at actually reading the cards. It took me months to come up with the right strategy that would get me to do that. I ended up using BillBlueEyes method and putting them on a separate sheet in the same Excel file where I record my daily weigh-in.
Lexxiss: Hope you heal quickly from your fall. That sort of shock and pain is a trigger for me, too. Good job getting back on track and working out how that can happen.
BillBlueEyes: yay for milk as a pill buffer. LOL about weather never changing in California--that would be me, too. I'm looking at a beautiful snowfall right now and I will appreciate it, even if I have to shovel it later!
ChefJoona: DH=Dear Husband (you'll also see DW for wife, DP for partner, and DD/DS for daughters and sons). The soup sounds delicious!
Shepherdess: yay for the bonus lunch leftover -- that's my single most effective restaurant strategy. Yep, I'm thinking yoga in the next day or two. I did Nia last night and that was pretty effective at loosening everything up.
Hi Beckies - home sweet home. We got up and out early for the drive home. The dedication to the new children's art center was wonderful. There were at least 300 people at the ribbon cutting, the mayor, other politicians, the children, family, community, teachers, supporters, staff and more. It was grand. Really joyful, too. The new center offers drama, choral music, instrumental music, drumming, practice rooms, art & pottery, photography, sewing, dance, a wonderful gathering area, and a state of the art theatre. The children did performances and demonstrations all afternoon. This new art center in a real treasure in the middle of a struggling urban area. It is now my mission to encourage them to include storytelling in the oral tradition (telling stories without reading them from books) in their programming!
The children were excited and felt so much pride that this wonderful place was for them. Original building started as a settlement house 104 years ago and changed focus in the 70's to the arts. Ninety three percent of the children participating in their programming go to college. This is not the usual thing in this area. So anyone who says the arts don't have a positive effect on learning, thinking, self esteem, focus, etc - is so wrong. OK - I'll get off my soapbox!
My food was on plan until dinner. I did not use the best judgement of how much of different foods to take at the Chinese restaurant. I asked them if they could steam some fish for me and they said no - only a whole flounder. I really didn't want that - plus is was very expensive. It was $40! Alot to spend on something you don't really want. It was my stepmom's treat - I just couldn't get get. I had planned to have a small piece coconut bar (small yellow cake with choc. & coconut on the outside) in the evening. Instead of the small peice of it I ate the whole piece. It tasted like 'childhood'. However, it just didn't feel that worth it afterwards. It's always a learning process with food.
I got up this morning and have hopped back on my plan. I am now thinking about sodium, etc. Hoping to carry on today with healthful eating.
I hope you are all having a healthy day. Thanks to you all.
Last edited by Beverlyjoy; 01-23-2011 at 01:19 PM.
My name is Carol. It has been a while since I have posted on any of the forums. But I am always lurking in the background reading what others are dealing with. But, now I think it is time to join in with rest of you Beckies.
I recently lost a great deal of weight, about 60 pounds. And of course it is a struggle keeping it off. I lost the weight by doing a very low carb diet, and I hate to say it but; I also used diet pills. Before the low carb/diet pill program, I struggled for years trying to lose weight. I would do really good going to the gym and then something in my life gets in the way and I may not work out for months at a time. Many times, I end up injuring myself or something happens to my body, or work gets in the way. It is always something. About a month ago, I had surgery on my shoulder. I just started back biking, but even with biking I have to be very careful because the movement of my body affects my shoulder.
I bought the "Companion to the "Beck Diet Solution, Weight Loss Workbook" months ago. But just can not commit to it. I have such a hard time carrying through with new projects. I also see a nutritionist and a weight lost psychologist. It's free for me, so why not take advantage of my benefits. The therapist has really made me see why I eat, I now need to develop the skills necessary to control my eating. I know the Beck Diet will help me, if I could only commit.
One of my main problems with food, is that I find a food item I like and I have to eat it. I obsess over it, untill I get it. For months I was doing so good. Then once I lost the weight I discovered fruit tart. I would not eat carbohydrates for the entire week, just so I could eat a whole fruit tart on the weekend. Within 2 hours, I would demolish the entire fruit tart. The fruit tarts have not been very good lately, so I stopped buying them. At Christmas my husband brought home a red velvet cheesecake. So now, I am obssessing over red velvet cake and low fat icecream. I just buy a single serve size cake and a small container of icecream (enough for one serving), but I have been doing this everyday for about a week now. It's like I can not control it.
Do any of you have any ideas that I can use to get over this obsessive behavior?
Hi Coaches I turned the computer off early yesterday before I realised I hadn’t checked in. So here I am early today. Sunday was so-so. I forgot how many calories that salmon has so when I logged my food I was a bit over - good fats or not it is high in calories. I also realised that when I go out I have a large full milk latte - and don’t count it. It is like coffee doesn’t count! I usually have black coffee at home so it doesn’t count. So on Saturday when I was out I had black espresso and enjoyed it as well.
I need to get more practice with resistance. I find myself having small bits of food thinking that they don’t count because it isn’t much and I don’t go over (usually), but I am getting lax - need to retrain myself and get used to doing without and sticking to planned food only. Also doing a bit of eating while serving and preparing food. So that needs work. I have a really busy day so had better keep moving
Credits - Stayed within my food plan - 80% - Measured all my food - yes - Logged food - yes - Developed food plan for today - yes - Sat down to eat - meals but have been nibbling when serving - Ate mindfully and enjoyed every bite - sat at the table 2 out of 3 meals - Recognised hunger / desire / craving - work in progress - I stopped eating when satisfied - no, when finished - Drank water - yes - Checked in - today - Weighed myself - yes - Read advantage cards - yes - Read response cards - no - Read Beck - no - Did planned exercise - no - Incidental exercise - yes
Coaches/Buddies, energy is still really low and yesterday was way off plan. I got somewhat back on track today. My husband helped me out in the kitchen today, which was both totally amazing and completely unusual. I love it!
Today’s Essentials:
Weigh-in: -1 lbs.
Read Advantage Cards two times: once
Read Response Cards at least two times: once
Ate slowly, sitting down, noticing every bite: no, ate while watching a pathetic football game
Gave myself credit when I engaged in helpful eating behaviors: yes
Did spontaneous exercise: a tiny bit
Did planned exercise: no
Wrote out food plan for tomorrow: partially
Tracked today’s food: yes
Left food on my plate: no
Ate only to normal fullness: no
Identified and responded to a self-deluding thought: no
BeverlyJoy, great job hopping back on plan after the coconut bar and the Chinese restaurant. Both of those are tough ones!
BillBlueEyes, I hope your back is feeling better soon. I feel your pain on the unfinished project clutter that haunts you. Thanks for the Boston recruitment. My husband has been eager to get overseas for a few years once I’m done here, so our destination is somewhere with good public transportation that doesn’t speak English, providing some magic dust from the language fairy is sprinkled on me so that I can operate in a technical field in a foreign language. It terrifies me, but it is an adventure I definitely signed up for!
Carols2, welcome to posting here. I am still pretty early in my Beck journey (though I started over a year ago). I wish I had some helpful advice, but I’m sure some of the maintainers will post very soon.
ChefJoona, your at home cooking sounds wonderful. Sorry about the -.6, but congratulations at being down another week! Gardenerjoy once pointed out to me that social events aren’t about the food (which often is terrible compared to what you are making at home). I try to focus more on the people and I’m learning to say NO CHOICE to OP eating while eating out.
CeeJay, glad you were able to have an OK day after several bad ones. Credit to you for rethinking your preparations for going out. Is it possible that your first time around in the pink book you made a step of progress in that area and now you are realizing it is time to take another because you have felt pretty comfortable with your first step?
GardenerJoy, hope you were able to keep up with today’s snow. We didn’t get any here today, so it must have stopped at the Missippi River. Only 335 minutes of exercise left to meet your monthly goal. You can totally get that in during this week!
Lexxiss, sending you healing thoughts as you nurse your bruises and get things in order. Great job looking ahead and formulating a plan for how to handle that oft situation you encounter.
Madrikh, sorry to hear you are feeling low. Sending you hugs and celebrating your credits for getting up and out today and posting.
Naturegirl, I’m glad your pain is improving and your able to get out and about Costco and stay relatively on plan! Good job!
Onebyone, you sound very secure in your plan for the coming days. Good for you!
Seadwaters, your posting about nibbling when serving makes me need to come clean and admit I’ve been doing that the past several days too with some foods. Thanks for that. Good catch on the lattes. Those calories definitely can add up if you get into a period of getting them regularly. I know from experience too!
Shepherdess, how fun to have a wool room! Wow! Great job planning for next time to get your portion and then put the food away. You’ll do it!
Hi Coaches! Today went much better. I was willing to use my resistance skills . What was so disconcerting yesterday, was not the quantity of unplanned food but rather the voracity with which I ate it. I'm grateful that my Beck skills do help me to get back on track and not beat myself up.
Carol(carols2), to our Beck forum. Thanks for trusting us as you explained some personal experiences you are having with certain foods. You asked if any of us have any ideas to get over "this" obsessive behavior. My suggestion would be to start reading from your workbook. There are tools which you can learn to use daily which will help you, and...you can even learn to plan for a piece of cake and enjoy it in a new way instead of obsessing over it. Most of us try to establish a check in routine...and don't feel pressured as far as personals go...they happen if and when it ever works in your life.
BillBlueEyes, I hope your back is one day better. Great for a useful round of de-cluttering, especially the unfinished projects and ones that just don't apply to your current situation.
ChefJoona, DH=Dear Husband. Here's a list of others. http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/sbd-...-acronyms.html Great that you were able to analyze your past week when weighing in and making a plan for the coming week. "I can't do both" is such a great statement to remember.
Beverlyjoy, thanks for getting "on the soapbox" and sharing your opening of the art center with us. I teared up a bit, and think it's just great that the children are excited. *credit* for doing the best you could do at the Chinese restaurant. "It didn't feel that worth it afterwards" is an experience worth noting.
gardenerjoy, thanks for letting me know I'm not the only one who is triggered by shock and pain.
Shepherdess, I think it's such progress, when we know the answer, even when we just don't do it. We always have the option to try again next time.
onebyone, I hope your day went well and your stress lifted a bit...sending you a bottle of virtual dishsoap for use with MIL's thoughtful gifts.(PS I have been known to give cookies to homeless people, too)
Cheryl(seadwaters), *credit* for recognizing you weren't counting your latte and making an adjustment.
FutureFitChick, glad to hear that today was improved for you. Sorry your energy is still low. Great news about DH helping in the kitchen. I've learned to ask, and have found my DH really enjoys it. We are preparing more meals together now.
everyone else! I need to go for some "me" time. I'll catch up more tomorrow.
onebyone- darn right that sugar triggers more sugar. Nasty stuff. The place you are going to check out sounds fantastic. Fingers crossed for you.
Nature Girl- good call about reading the cards. Sometimes I am just cruising through them and not really thinking about them.
BillBlueEyes- credit for the de-cluttering and going to bed without snack.
ChefJoona- DH can mean dear husband or damned husband depending on the day. . Thanks for your words about chosing your priority- eating off plan food or reaching our goal and that we "can't do both". I am going to repeat that often this week. Your meals yesterday sounded fantastic.
Shepherdess- credit for not overeating at the restaurant.
gardenerjoy-waving hello!!
Beverlyjoy-sounds like fun at the art center. I don't blame you for not paying $40 for a steamed flounder.
carols2- welcome to you!! I think you will find Dr. Beck's advice helpful. Just do what you can, a little at a time.
seadwaters-nice list of credits. I know how a little bite here and there can add up.
FutureFitChick- yay for your DH helping in the kitchen. And for 1 pound gone!!! Thanks for your words about taking the next step by rereading the Pink Book.
Lexxiss- sorry about your D- day but impressed about how fast you get back to doing what you want to. Are you feeling better after falling? That must have really hurt.
For me- 2nd day back on plan. Yay. Off to the hotel tomorrow for one night. Armed with a plan.
Did a bit more reading of the Pink Book tonight. I am so glad I am slowly reading it again and trying to really think about what she is saying. So I was reading the part about why some people have such a hard time. You know the list- eating when not hungry, being concerned about not having the opportunity to eat, eating past mild fullness, fooling yourself about eating, comforting self with food, abandoning effort when scales go up, eating because it is not fair other's can eat it, and stopping diet when losing weight. I have engaged in all of these for 49 years. Well maybe not when I was an infant.... So no suprise it is so hard to change all of this. I need to remember that when I get discouraged.
Credit today for:
weighing in walking 30 mins with mom tracking food and eating on plan checking in here planning tomorrow reading cards reading the Pink Book
Oh I was doing so well today until I had a low sugar episode after my walk this afternoon. The teeny tiny good part of this is I usually have this problem when I'm eating too little food. The bad part is that when I get all shaky & stuff, I tend to eat like crazy until I feel better. Today's gobbling included two healthy snacks and one really junky pack of donuts. (Just the little ones, but still...) The good news is once I felt better I got back on track for dinner and I've been OP the rest of the day.
Redid my cards
Went for a hike
Planned and stayed OP except the episode
Resisted several temptations other family members enjoyed
Will plan for M-W after I hang up here.
And I've posted 4 nights in a row! Once I get through the week and it feels more like a habit I'll start personals, etc. I sure pay close attention to what you all post, and keep you in my thoughts during the day - hoping for success in all the various challenges we all meet.
Hi Coaches Time to do personals before dinner. Today was 37 and it is still really hot (7pm). The next couple of days will be the same. I want to move to somewhere it snows - now! BeverlyJoy - The new art centre sounds amazing and I love your passion for it. Difficult to eat out I know - you did your best and now you move on. BillBlueEyes - Good thought to use milk rather than nuts. Hope the back thingy improves soon Carol (Carols2) - Welcome - this is a good place to be to think about long term maintenance. Congratulation on the weight loss! Thank you for sharing some of the difficult aspects of dieting. Establishing a checking in routine and being accountable may be helpful to you. I like the way that bearing witness for each others efforts keeps one honest and open to new learning CeeJay - It does help to read the book - I am finding that too. I also have to remember that it took a long while to get to this place so it will take a while to sort it all out. Credit for turning things around and getting back on track - and having a plan for tomorrow ChefJoona - Your lunch and dinner with your mom (I’m speaking American here!) sound yummy and so on plan. Good that you lost weight this week - and that you are being positive about the next week FutureFitChick - Not good to have low energy from fibromyalgia. Nasty condition so sending healing thoughts your way. That eating in front of the TV is a menace. Yay for DH helping out in the kitchen. Nibbling is a difficult habit to break. It seems insane to be obsessive and not even lick my fingers but I think it is the only way to break it GardenerJoy - I am jealous of your snow - but not of having to shovel! But it would be worth it to have real seasons. Debbie R (Lexxiss) - Glad things are improving. Ouch - your fall sounds awful. I have had one bad fall as an adult - also in a car park - and I couldn’t believe how much it hurt and shook me up. Not sure how kids survive it actually! Naturegirl - Credit for posting 4 nights in a row - it works its magic for sure. “Reading” the cards is difficult when they become familiar - taking a breath and slowing down to look at their real meaning for you is really hard Onebyone - Hope the trip goes well - the place you are going to look at sounds amazing. I hope it is what you want/need Shepherdess - Clever keeping half your Indian food for lunch tomorrow. A good use for a spare room by the sound of it
Diet Coaches/Buddies - A long cold day. Some de-cluttering; CREDIT moi. Eating was not so good at too many events, back to back, four with home made goodies, with some continuous nibbling. Ouch. For some unexplained reason, I decided to sample a broken piece from a platter of nearly black cake labeled "Death-by-Chocolate" and I could have finished the whole thing. Ouch again. There is a draw to me of a broken piece of something: eat this to remove the flaw; there's no calories in a just a piece.
A good enough walk, CREDIT moi, even though this back thingy isn't right yet.
onebyone - Yay for an art gallery to counter stress. Will keep my fingers crossed for your quest for that mansion.
FutureFitChick - Kudos for "somewhat back on track" and Kudos to your DH for kitchen help when that was useful. [Paris has such a friendly subway system and Sanofi-Aventis of Paris and Genzyme of Cambridge are dancing about a $18.5 billion take-over offer; there's an opportunity to have a foot on each side of the Atlantic, Ne c'est pas?]
Joy (gardenerjoy) - LOL at "only" for your snow. We've got more predicted this week, only three inches, also. On top of twice getting thunked already.
Shepherdess - Yea for cleaning out a room; Ouch for chocolate. I feel like I'm reading my own post today, LOL. Will be drooling at lunch today because I'll remember that you're having left overs from your Indian restaurant.
Beverlyjoy - Yay for the joy of the dedication of your stepmom's building - sounds like a fun weekend. Ouch for the 'childhood' treats.
Cheryl (Seadwaters) - Kudos for recognizing that zero calorie coffee doesn't remain zero when it become latte. I, too, have noted that conundrum; Salmon is good for me because of those healthy fats, which don't contain any less calories just because they're healthy.
Debbie (Lexxiss) - Ouch for "voracity" - I hate being reminded of the behaviors that lurk within. Kudos for stellar response, "not beat myself up."
ChefJoona - My take is that we're trying to learn to both "enjoy food" and "reach goal" - using the strategies to bound the volume of the food to fit within our plan. Some of the posters here are very explicit in detailing food that's enjoyed within their plan, for example, your "roasted onion and garlic butternut soup" makes me drool. Event food isn't only healthy food, but usually has some options that can be cobbled together for a healthy path. Sending you supportive thoughts as you wrestle that one this week.
Carol (carols2) - Congrats on your recent 60 pounds lost. Yep, Beck's Cognitive Therapy strategies work well to keep them gone for the rest of your life. You can develop these skills, as those of us posting here are working to do, by taking the small steps laid out in the workbook and by using the support of the posters here as Diet Coaches/Diet Buddies. It's neat that you have a real life weigh loss psychologist as well.
Big Ouch for that shoulder surgery with Kudos for working to get your exercise on biking. I assume, since you're from Arizona, that you're biking outdoors - or do you mean a stationary bike? I don't have specific suggestions "to get over this obsessive behavior" that differ from the Beck strategies for making a daily plan for eating and for exercise and sticking to those plan like glue. It seems simplistic at times, but it seems to work for those who follow the recipe, one day at a time, for those. Look forward to you joining us doing that.
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 1 How the Program Works
Researchers have demonstrated that Cognitive Therapy works for eating disorders - and for weight loss. In a Swedish study of 54 women, participants who enrolled in a Cognitive Therapy weight-loss program for just 10 session lost an average of nearly 19 pounds, compared with an average of just 1.5 pounds for study participants who received advice about exercise and other weight-loss behaviors but did not learn essential Cognitive Therapy techniques. A year and a half after the end of the program, the participants in the Cognitive Therapy group maintained most of their weight loss (keeping off 13 pounds), whereas the non-Cognitive Therapy group gained weight, ending up heavier than they were before the study began.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D, The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), pg 17.
Sunday Morning
I was willing to use my resistance skills . What was so disconcerting yesterday, was not the quantity of unplanned food but rather the voracity with which I ate it. I'm grateful that my Beck skills do help me to get back on track and not beat myself up.
to our Beck forum. Thanks for trusting us as you explained some personal experiences you are having with certain foods. You asked if any of us have any ideas to get over "this" obsessive behavior. My suggestion would be to start reading from your workbook. There are tools which you can learn to use daily which will help you, and...you can even learn to plan for a piece of cake and enjoy it in a new way instead of obsessing over it. Most of us try to establish a check in routine...and don't feel pressured as far as personals go...they happen if and when it ever works in your life.
everyone else! I need to go for some "me" time. I'll catch up more tomorrow.
weighing in
Welcome Carol (carols2)
