Dinner's simmering on the stove and I'm giving a quick check-in before I get down to it: homemade cuban chickpea soup (slightly modified from the Moosewood Daily Special book) and some crusty multigrain bread. My mouth is watering, but I'm trying not to be *too* excited.
Today, without a plan, I ate remarkably OP, following a mental schedule that I had kept last week, and tracking my caloric intake with my phone. I know that a big reason I haven't been writing down my food or making a plan is because of this application on my phone. I think I'll wrap up the academic work early tonight, so that I can get back on track with this recording.
I am still planning and perusing secondary sources, and it's a darned good thing I listened to my gut: today I read a chapter written by my former advisor, and she pretty much makes a version of the argument I was planning to make in my current chapter. SO -- this means some shifting in my thinking and my articulation. I knew, I just knew I was missing something . . . Now the chapter is coming quite clear in my head. Which means that the writing -- sentences into paragraphs -- will happen soon.
Credits:
* watching my calories and measuring my food, even sans plan
* giving myself credit for spending more time in a process that works for me, rather than feeling bad or stupid
* not taking family drama (too) personally
BBE, thanks for the resonant Beck quote. I wish you happiness in returning to the gym and your schedule, and re-achieving that balance!
Lexxiss, Good luck with the snow and the family, and thanks for your encouraging comments.
Shepherdess, mmmmmmm to whole wheat sugar cookies!
onebyone, thanks so much for letting us listen to that story of struggle and success.
pamatga, welcome, btw, and thanks also for your story and experience.
maryann, I sympathize with you on the quick weight gain followed by the slow trickle back down. Salt does that quite a bit, to me. And it's always frustrating. Feels like extra punishment from the Universe.
RubyJan, waving . . . I've decided to change my ticker at the end of every month, when I get measured. That way I don't have to show every one else the ups and downs. I love the word "knackered"!
ChefJoona, CREDIT for being able to taste the difference between boxed and whole food. And thanks for hearing my relief.
CeeJay, hang in there. Sending many positive thoughts your way.
Okay, I think I've calmed down enough to savor my meal. Hugs to all and thanks for always being here!
Just a quick check in. I came down to check on the old pup. My sis made it in just fine last night but it was almost 9pm before we arrived home to -15. We marvelled that her temperature change from Hawaii was 100 degrees. I made good choices and thought of my Beck skills when I was making them. Dinner was spontaneous (Noodle &CO) and I chose the combo which was a smaller entree/salad. I did have 1 taste at Costco (tilapia). It was a new food and I had a legitimate interest. I passed on everything else, even at Whole Foods. *credit* for mindfulness. My next hurdle is to get back over the Continental Divide. Probably very early tomorrow morning.
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Used the old resistance muscle at a meeting where the boss brought her homemade brownies with clearly delivered expectations that we'd all dive in to celebrate her largesse. She makes good brownies, it was late afternoon when a snack would have been welcomed, and she really likes being appreciated. My body just assumed I'd take one (or two) until I remembered that it was a perfect opportunity to strengthen my resistance muscle. Which I did; CREDIT moi. I needed that. Felt good.
Exercise was walking to the store to buy my first pair of prescription glasses, ever. CREDIT moi, but Ouch: strong feelings, out of place, didn't want to be there, bitterly aware that it's a one way transition. Up to now drugstore reading glasses sufficed as needed. The great thing about reading glasses is that style isn't an issue; reading is usually done alone, and I buy whatever's available at the drugstore when I walk in. This whole notion of projecting a persona of choice is a burden. "That makes you look so <this>" and "so <that>" and "You look like <so and so>" . . . just Ugh; not my thing. Paid a king's ransom then found out that I don't walk out with them; they take 10 days to grind the lenses. And they don't come to my house to fit them - I have to go back. The indignity of it all. I have a new appreciation for you long time wearers.
onebyone - <sigh> . . . this de-cluttering involves reliving one's entire life. No wonder it's so hard.
CeeJay - Hope you're feeling better - even though that means you have to go back into the arena with the lions.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Yay for busy and Yay for "Food: 100%op."
Shepherdess - All of Beck in one sentence, "had a plan yesterday and stuck with it."
Debbie (Lexxiss) - Thank you for taking our snow; we've had enough. My gardener DW usually wants more snow for its lingering delivery of water, but she admits this year that's she's had enough.
MaryContrary - Now I'm drooling over your meal. My prejudice is that all Moosewood recipes are great.
maryann - This is such a hard one to get though the brain, "It cannot process what TV/media TELLS me I can eat with no problem." It's like TV presents some separate reality.
ChefJoona - Kudos for food "packed and planned for tomorrow" - great way to end the day.
Ruby (RubyJan) - LOL at the source of knackered - never knew. Twelve hours is a long day.
pamatga - That's one of the best thoughts, "what works for me is if it's not in the house" - can't eat what's not there.
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 1 Beginning a New Way of Life
Get Ready to Strengthen Your Resistance Muscle
You strengthen your resistance muscle just as you would strengthen any muscle in your body - by using it over and over. If you want to strengthen your biceps, you lift weights, starting with relatively list dumbbells and progressing to heavier ones as your arm muscles get stronger. It's the same with your resistance muscle: In Stage 1, you will start out "light" as you strengthen your resistance while still eating your usual foods. in Stage 2, you will increase your resistance as you transition to the Think Thin Initial Eating Plan and eat in the controlled environment of your home. In Stage 3, you will strengthen it even more by increasing the challenge yet again, by learning how to resist temptation in more difficult situations, such as restaurants and social occasions. By Stage 4, you will have strengthened your resistance muscle enough to adopt the more flexible Think Thin Lifetime Eating Plan. In Stage 5, you will learn how to continue to use your resistance muscle throughout your life.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D, The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), pg 20.
I was having a pretty good OP day yesterday until after dinner. I was still hungry, logged my calories and found that I did need more calories. Of course, instead of choosing something healthy, I chose cookies instead. Oh well, I just need a better plan so I’m not making decisions in the moment.
We were having single digit temps, but not much wind. I bundled up and took the dog for a short run. It felt good to get out and once I got moving, I was warm. I did some yoga when I got back.
Onebyone, good job on a long list of credits. It’s hard to take an honest look at our history with weight loss. It’s great that now you’re more focused on your health than just the number on the scale. It’s important to remember that some of those methods of losing weight are more unhealthy than the weight itself.
Pamatga, congrats on getting to the point where you no longer obsess about food. It sounds like you have found a good weight loss system. I prefer to eat just normal food and just figure out how to live with food in the long run. 80/20 sounds like a good ratio; it’s healthy, but gives you room to treat yourself.
Gardenerjoy, waving back! I hope you’re all dug out and getting back to your old life.
Maryann, great job staying OP even when frustrated by the scale. Staying OP is the answer, but it’s so easy to react with the “why bother.” Our media likes to show very slim people overeating. Kudos for realizing it’s not for you.
RubyJan, thanks for the etymology of “knackered.” Yay for Pilates becoming so much of a routine that you forget about it! Kudos sticking to your plan while busy.
ChefJoona, good job staying OP and flexible while on the go. Love those fruits and nuts for things that can be eaten on the fly. It’s great that you are eating so many whole foods that the unhealthy stuff now tastes to processed. It’s a great sign of progress.
CeeJay, sorry you’re still under the weather, but glad you were able to work from home. I hope you got some good rest and are able to call off your trip if you need to.
MaryContrary, sounds like such a healthy dinner. I love Moosewood! Kudos for eating OP when you didn’t have a plan. It’s great that you’re able to do that with your phone.
Lexiss, yikes for your sister’s 100 degree temp change. Great job making a healthy choice at a spontaneous dinner and for having a sane reason to try a Costco sample.
BillBE, kudos for flexing that resistance muscle. Homemade brownies are a great test! LOL at your first experience buying glasses. At least it gave you an excuse for a walk and will give you another excuse when you go to pick them up.
Hi folks - yesterday was a whirlwind. I had to take my mom here, there and everywhere (it seemed). My food was slopppy. My plan went out the window. I must draw that line in the sand. I do NOT have to continue eating in a helter skelter fashion.
GS has a head cold. I hope he will feel well enough for Disney. I"ll know by tomrrow night.
Today I have more things to do to get ready. I overdid it with exercising the other day and have that ouch in my sciatica. I thought that was gone. I'll be very careful. I will be fine if I remember no bending, lifting or twisting.
Water 80 oz.
Steps:5358 (the most I have done since I began wearing this pedometer about five days ago). I find that it spurs me on to walk more.
Credit moi: stopping a mindless game of online mini golf to go to bed. I have wanted to start going to bed no later than 1 am each night so I am not sleeping in until noon. I had been slipping under the covers 3-4 am! I settled down around 1:50 am.
20% of 2100 calories is 420 calories so I had a large (by anyone's standards) Rice Krispie bar and a can of regular Coca-Cola while I was at my evening computer class. (I made sure I ate it and wiped my hands before touching the mouse) It's not as that big of deal as I hope I am not making it here except that it is one more step towards trusting myself with food. Period.
Eventually, I would like to see something tempting and shrug my shoulders and say "so what's the big deal?" I have glorious moments like that but I would like to have more.
Well that greeting looks way more enthusiastic and full of energy than I feel right now, though I am always happy to be here with you, my coaches.
*credit: weighed in at 279.2 (-4)
Very to see a number less than 280. This is my goal until I am moved. Perhaps I need to go get a reward smilie... sec.... I'll go get this one
Quote:
Okay so a good start to the day but then I was up and geez I feel crummy today. I have had shivers off and on for a day or two and yesterday I was coughing up a storm but it's a dry cough and truthfully I've been dry coughing for a few weeks now. It's kind of getting worse though/more frequent and sometimes my ribs are sore - guess it could be see the dr. time.... but today I feel worse. Nauseous. No appetite at all. I'm just drinking lemon tea mostly. Had a bit of cheese. Just want to go to bed and sleep.
okay *credit: as I just got off the phone with my Dr.'s secretary and I took care of myself by telling her what's going on and asking for what I need. I'll take another *credit: for that behaviour in and of itself.
I'm new to the thread - thought I would introduce myself.
I've just recently picked up the Beck book - starting week 2 this week. One of the things I needed to do was find a coach, so I thought the 3FC site might have a forum (as I don't really have anyone who could fulfill the coach role for me right now). And here you all are!
I'm trying to lose about 30 lbs - I think I've been working on this for the past 20 yrs - yikes! I think I've *finally* realized that most of the problem is behavioral for me, and I'm ready to try to deal with it. Frankly, I'm totally sick of the on-again/off-again dieting I've been doing all these years. It's really been taking up a lot of my mental energy, and I want to get beyond it. Plus, I seem to be getting nowhere with it.
So far, I think the program is working for me. The AR card has been really helpful - it keeps me focused on why I want to do this and how important it is to me. Trying to eat more slowly and mindfully has been a revelation - I've always been a fast eater and sometimes I can eat a meal so mindlessly that I don't remember much about eating it! Also - I often eat on the run (or standing at the counter). Just by sitting down and eating mindfully for the past few days, I've notice a huge difference in how satisfied I feel.
Another thing which is really working for me is just reminding myself that food or a meal will be there 'later' - I don't have to eat something now because I'm not sure when I'll be eating again. I won't starve
I just finished working for the day, sitting at my combination desk, library, dining table, and general place to put most things. Another long day, but I did make myself stop and go swimming -- I am very proud of swimming 16 lengths of bilateral breathing of the front crawl, though I found it pretty taxing. I am thinking that I may not be able to serve two masters, and might have to stop the weight watchers and go with the Beck SOlution plan that is in her diet plan book. ANyone here use that one? Its just that between the Beck tasks and the WW points, and all, I am feeling a bit confused. Tomorrow its back to Pilates and then to the BL for research all day.
MaryContrary -- glad to hear that your are sorting out your secondary sources and that you feel a chapter coming on.
BillBlueEYes -- Welcome to the Four EYes CLub -- its much better to have to wear glasses all the time -- you don't lose them because they are always sitting on your nose! YOu save time and the frustration of trying to find those reading glasses that have just slipped down the back of your sofa.
To those of you who are still struggling with the weather -- commiserations! Today it was acutally sunny-ish in London for the first time in about a month. London is actually at about the same latitude as Nova Scotia, so for most of November and December it gets dark by about 3 in the afternoon, but we have turned the corner now, and I could see my hand in front of my face at 4.30 today!
A bientot, RubyJan. Hoping to have a whole pound lost soon, so I can change the number on my track-thing.
A "hey" out to all. Triumph at the scale down 2 lbs. I knew (I didn't feel but I knew intellectually) that if I stayed OP it would be OK. So much of this program is understanding the difference between a feeling and a fact. I like the image of driving a car- my Intellect being the adult and my feeling being a five year old girl. My mind lets the girls talk, feel, sing, laugh but my mind DOESN'T let the little girl drive.
Just a quick check-in. Hope you are doing well. Had a nice dinner this evening with quiche and a side salad. Also chose to get a salad a lunch. yippee! More later...
So much of this program is understanding the difference between a feeling and a fact. I like the image of driving a car- my Intellect being the adult and my feeling being a five year old girl. My mind lets the girls talk, feel, sing, laugh but my mind DOESN'T let the little girl drive.
Well done, WL Twin! And I do like the above. Even if the little girl cried and stamped her foot, she still wouldn't be allowed to drive, would she?
A full day of travelling (I'm on a train at the moment) and meetings. I may have a cup of coffee in the British Library so if you see this, RubyJan, and fancy 20 mins break, drop me a PM.
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Lunch was just Man Salad and sardines; CREDIT moi. I've got it in my head that sardines are a super food because of their oil, which may or may not be true. But it's mighty convenient that I think so since I just plop the little guys on the Romaine Lettuce and think I'm dining at the Ritz.
Did gym; CREDIT moi. Wish I could strengthen my Resistance Muscle by a gym session and be able to physically feel it getting firm.
onebyone - Yep, Kudos for taking care of your health. You gotta be in good shape to face your busy month ahead.
FutureFitChick - Yay for salads. (Although, Ouch for salad dressings, LOL.)
Shepherdess - Running in single digit temps is heroic - even if your dog didn't mind; Kudos. By the by, I thought of you ranchers when I put on my new Christmas-gift wool socks to go walking yesterday. Just the thought that this is the very stuff that keep the sheep warm in below zero weather made me feel warmer, LOL.
Beverlyjoy - Ouch for a "whirlwind" day to challenge the best of plans. Sending virtual chicken soup to your DGS to be healthy enough for Disneyland.
silverbirch - Love the notion of reading a post that you sent while traveling on a train. It's not just the super high tech stuff that dazzles me, it's when good tech just becomes common place.
maryann - Love, Love, Love your analogy of your 5 year old girl in you; she sings but doesn't drive.
Ruby (RubyJan) - Ouch for dark at 3 in the afternoon; I hadn't remembered that London is so far north. LOL for using BL for British Library; on 3FC BL is used for Biggest Loser a lot - it took me a moment to digest your sentence. Kudos for that much swimming - all with proper breathing.
pamatga - When I first started with a pedometer, I'd even walk around the block before bed if I wanted to get my step count up to the next thousands number, LOL. Kudos for your vision of seeking the feeling "so what's the big deal?"
Jan (jmaf) - Yep, here we are - always looking for another group Coach/Buddy to encourage us along; we'll be happy to be your on-line Coach/Buddy in return.
So neat that you are ahead of the game with "I've *finally* realized that most of the problem is behavioral for me" - you're primed for Cognitive Therapy. The thought that food will be there later was one of the simplistic notions that just blew my mind when I finally figured out that one of my motivations for eating was in preparation for the oncoming famine, LOL. Glad you've joined us.
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 1 Beginning a New Way of Life
The Role of Thinking
Some dieters erroneously believe that they can't develop a strong resistance muscle because they think they eat "automatically." They say they don't know how they finished the box of crackers or the bag of trail mix. But eating is never automatic. Digestion is automatic. The beating of your heart is automatic. Eating is not.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D, The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), pg 20.
Just a check quick-in, as I missed my post last night. Feeling sick, and over did myself with a long day at work and social activities after work. I've been sleeping horribly the last several nights too. Might not make it through the whole work day.
Said No Choice to a couple off plan foods at social gathering last night.
Mid-week weigh-in this morning: no change + or - from Sunday. Its been a weird couple of eating days.
Smashing saffron.
I love the word "knackered"!
Wednesday
Wednesday & checking in
to see a number less than 280. This is my goal until I am moved. Perhaps I need to go get a reward smilie... sec.... I'll go get this one
