It was quite a storm here in VT. Its still dark, so I'm not sure how much more we got overnight. Luckily we did not get any ice. The plows woke me up early this morning. Regardless, I'm heading to work.
It was hard to be around the house yesterday- I tend to get anxious when I don't feel like I'm doing something "productive". I was preoccupied with my planned meals and snacks all day, so they grew to be bigger than planned. At the end of my afternoon snack I threw the rest of the item away, so I won't be tempted another day. It theory it was an ok snack- a reasonable portion of the frozen banana "ice cream" that I posted in the recipe thread. However, I felt the need to add some nuts and chocolate sauce to it every time I had some. Down the drain the rest went.
In the evening DP and I had a chance to go just down the street for a game night with friends. I jumped at the chance to get out of the house, but these friends are big eaters and suggested we order some take out from a fried chicken place to be delivered. I was so happy to get out of the house, that I had no resolve and said yes!! Luckily there was some roasted chicken, and I prepared some veggies to bring over. Over all not a total disaster.
Ok, onto credit for yesterday... I got out for a half hour snow shoe!! I must say though, it was a struggle... I just want to be able to enjoy exercise. The entire time I'm doing it I just feel resistant to it. I spend the time in my head, rather than enjoying how it feels in my body to be active. I criticize myself for not moving faster, and for not regularly being active and feeling out of shape. Does anyone know of any motivating resources for exercise? A book or website? I really want to tackle this challenge!
Stepped on the scale for my new mid-week weigh-in. I was down 1.4 lbs from Sunday. Feeling like this is deceptive and too much of a loss. We'll see what the scale says on Sunday.
Safe travels to everyone as many of us deal with the aftermath of weather!
We have a sparkly world this morning with ice on the trees, crystals in the snow, and the sun shining. Hope everyone is staying safe and warm today (well, and that seadwaters is staying cool)!
WI: +0.2kg, Exercise: +50* 100/1300 minutes for February, Food: 95%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes
I sit hear and read all of your stories about the weather and think about how happy I am to not live where most of you live. Here in Phoenix, Arizona; the daytime temperatures have been hovering around 40 degrees and everyone here is complaining. We are so cold. It was so cold and windy at the gas pump yesterday, I stopped pumping gas and left. The weird thing is people around here never stop to put on a heavy enough coat, gloves or hat. We act like we do not know how to prepare for the cold. STRANGE! I am from the east coast and never ever want to live there again.
I had to run out to the mall yesterday. That is dangerous territory. All types of smells in my nose and all types of goodies in my eyesight. I went into See’s Candy to buy my husband a small gift for Valentine’sDay, and the sales associate tried to cram a piece of chocolate down my throat. The customer in back of me finally said, “I’ll tell you what, I’ll eat mine and hers to”. He then grabbed mine and started eating it. I told him to enjoy. I then had to use every motivation skill I have ever learned in my life to resist temptation to eat oatmeal raisin cookies from Paradise Bakery. I think they are the best in the world. Don’t let me mention the sushi stand. But, I made it out and guilt free. I give myself credit for OP eating after all that temptation.
I had a pretty good OP day yesterday. There was a mishap with some candy that DH left in my car. It was a awhile ago and we’d both forgotten about them. I was looking in the center consul for something and found them and ate them on my drive home. It’s annoying to be so weak, but I logged them and skipped my planned dessert.
I got my weights in yesterday. This cold weather will be good for my strength. I’ve read that a lot of runners cut back on running during winter and focus more on strength, so I guess I’m inadvertently doing that. Today should be warmer, so I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll get out for a run. If my dog had fingers she’d cross them too.
SilverBirch, it’s great to know you still check in here regularly, even if you don’t post. It’s good to see you from time to time!
Beverlyjoy, LOL at eating to bring power back on. Glad to hear you still have power and I hope it stays that way! Great job shouting back to all those cravings—missing one isn’t bad!
Vibrantheart, it’s so cool that you were able to go to the Beck workshop. What a great and inspiring way to get started! Great job resisting chocolate and the bakery and for getting some exercise even though you didn’t make it to the gym. I have a very useful card that says, “5 minutes of exercise is better than 0.”
Lexiss, yay for getting caught up! It’s so much easier to stay OP when you’re feeling on top of things. Kudos for resisting stale doughnuts, for remembering that hunger is not an emergency and for remembering that food doesn’t fix tired even if it was a muffin too late.
Maryblu, it’s rare that you didn’t bear the brunt of the storm, but glad to hear it. It’s great that your local electric company knows how to deal with the winter (I suppose they get lots of practice!). Yay for Pilates. I’ve been doing a prenatal Pilates video in hopes that it will help with delivery and recovery. It would be great to have an instructor to make sure I don’t cheat!
Onebyone, sorry to hear you’re hit by bad weather as well, but glad you were able to take some advantage of it. Sorry about the continued apartment issues, but crossing my fingers that the perfect apartment is out there just waiting to be found. Ouch for food bad and weight up, but great job setting yourself up for a good day.
BillBE, my arms are sore just thinking about all that shoveling. I imagine that rain on top of that snow just made it all the more heavy. I’m impressed and inspired by your sane response to those nuts you just had to have. Who would have thought that actually using Beck strategies would work?
ChefJoona, I have a hard time when stuck indoors all day due to weather. It does seem like food becomes a bigger deal than it should. In the Green Book beck suggests having a distractions box. It might help to keep one full of projects that will keep you feeling productive. Great job making good choices on game night. Congrats on the loss!
Gardenerjoy, snow and ice can be so beautiful (unless I’m driving on it!). Glad you survived the weather and hope that’s the end of it.
Carols2, when I lived in Phoenix, a friend of mine from upstate NY used to make fun of people complaining about the cold. Of course, we were complete wimps about the heat. Great job dodging all that temptation at the mall. Yay for someone else eating your See’s Candy chocolate. When will those sales people realize that no means no?
Welcome my first post in February. Hello to anyone new I missed coming on. Masondixonmama: In terms of responding to people, when I have missed a few days, I just read today's post and take it from there. My philosophy is it is better to check in then not checkin because "I don't have time to do personals." Having said that, personals are a great way to get out of myself (an easy form of service) which then (counterintuitively) help me to stay OP by slowly down when I don't think I have time. On a busy day it reminds me what is important. So, it is a matter of balance - just my opinion. Gardenerjoy: I am in the last five pounds and your comment on the weight coming off slowly hit home. By charting my weight everyday I have come to accept that my pattern is .5 lb drop every 2 weeks. At that rate I will hit goal mid April -n time for Spring. I can swing with that. BBE: Nice resistance techniques. I used a few of those myself this week when I just didn't feel great and realized I wasn't going to feel great even if I ate. I envisioned waking up the next morning with my stomach feeling mostly empty - that good feeling which means I was OP the day before. It worked and I stayed OP. ChefJoona: I just saw you were in Vermont. I was just accepted to Goddard. Do you know anything about the school? Carols2: Yikes! See's Candy is what MaryContrary calls "my rabbit hole food" Congrats for getting out of there with your tail in tack. Shepardess: I wouldn't call yourself weak. Just human. We are, first and foremost, animals. Food is food. There is always a time lag between impulse and action. Credit for adjustment.
Hi friends/coaches/beckies - I am so glad the main part of the storm is over. Things are getting back to ‘normal’, kind of in town here. Most schools are open unless they have no power.
Our cousins with no power came for a while yesterday (with the dogs and cats) - they brought lots of ‘stuff’ from the freezer. They said it needed to be eaten or thrown away.Yikes! The freezer/fridge stuff included lots of ice cream, lasagna (had that for dinner), meat, sausage, pies, etc. We cooked up a bunch of chicken meat, ground beef, etc so that it can be used later. We put it in our freezer. We didn’t have enough room in the freezer for much except the cooked meats. I gave in to ice cream and chocolate cream pie and lasagna. I really wanted to dump dish soap on it all. I didn’t know they were bringing food with them.
But - I am not running away from Beck and you all. The food frenzy is over, cousin’s & food are back home, and I got up and planned for a healthy day. I had many ‘what the he**’ thoughts when I got up. I had to really shout back to those sabotaging thoughts.
I am trying to think of a plan for Disney world. My food should be chosen with many criteria in mind while there - low sodium, healthy, not spicy and softish. I don’t think I can incorporate all these components at each meal while at Disney. I suppose the most important ones are healthy and softish. I went to Target and got a smallish zip up cooler bag. I can use this for yogurt, soft cheese and other good snacks. I am feeling like ‘how can I possibly do this?’. But, I can do the best I can - and plan, plan and plan some more. I don’t want to give up before I even get there. I must have a good solid week of ‘food sanity’ before we go. Something to hold onto when I leave my food comfort zone. Dr. Beck mentions to maybe add a couple extra hundred calories a day when on vacation or save up for a special dessert. I am thinking I will add a few extra exchanges for my daily total. Folks say there are healthy choices everywhere along with the many unhealthy choices. My challenge is that I can’t chew crunchy foods (fresh veggies) because of my jaw joint popping out. This has been my year of real health challenges. I will move forward.
Do any of you know if I can buy fruit and yogurt while in the park. We are staying at a Disney hotel.
My mom and I are going to the beauty shop to have mother &daughter ‘hair day.’ Kind of fun.
Have a great day.
Thanks, as always, to you folks for your caring ways, friendship , support and wisdom.
Last edited by Beverlyjoy; 02-03-2011 at 01:06 PM.
I have had a great couple of days, realizing that I felt as if I was stuck in the 180s for months (which I was). I'm not sure if that's normal, to take so long to lose ten lbs? I know that weight loss tends to slow down, so perhaps that's what happened. BUT -- let's be honest -- I also know I stopped tracking my food and let myself indulge a bit. What with my grandmother passing, the stress of major travel to my hometown, and the tragedy of my kitty dying, I think I just held to the basics: trying to watch what I eat (though not challenging myself to be meticulous about it), getting back on track ASAP, and working out. Do I owe myself a credit for managing to lose ten pounds since the end of October? I really have no idea. Any insights on the pace of weight loss, on your own personal plateaus (or perceived plateaus), would be appreciated.
So I'm am living in the right now, and exceptionally happy to be in the 170s. I weighed in this morning at 177.5. Entering this new phase has given me some major motivation. I haven't been this low for five years.
Other credits:
using my iphone to help track calories, though NOT letting it substitute for writing down and tracking my food in my extra special purple spangly notebook (which is almost full, btw);
eating OP, and making healthy lateral shifts when necessary;
continuing to resist cheetos;
almost completely eliminating kitchen-grazing;
stepping up my work-outs with weights and an extra mile
beverylyjoy, the DP and I have yearly passes to Disneyland, and nearly every other food stand has fresh fruit. I'm not sure about yogurt, or other kinds of healthy snacks. In terms of the restaurants, some of the sit-down ones have healthy options (we always like to go to a restaurant that has a beautiful mixed green salad with grilled salmon).
Actually, some of the best fruit I've ever had has been at Disneyland.
Again, I'm not sure about Disneyworld, but I imagine they carry the same food policies. This may sound silly, but I recommend calling them. If you go onto their contact website, you should be able to find a number for "dining." And just present your questions. You can ask them about bringing a cooler into the park, for health concerns. Disney folks are some of the nicest people you will EVER talk to.
Good luck with your planning! Hope I haven't repeated what others have already told you.
I was thrilled to see how many of you know the British Library -- it makes me feel proud of it. And today I spent about four hours there, before going off to my swimming lesson. On Day 4 of Beck, and today I got to make my credit card, so I am going to do what some of you do, and write them here.
--
Credit: exercise, pilates in the am and swimming after work.
didnt eat between breakfast and lunch -- VERY RARE EVENT
Hope you all are doing okay -- oh, I realised that I haven't told you all that I am American!! I was born and raised in New York City, but have lived in England since the 1990s. Didn't want you to think I have the Queen's Accent -- no I speak Manhattan New Yorkese.
Coaches/Buddies, I’m really not clear how, since I have not been around anyone since Monday at 10:00 AM, but I’ve picked up a bug which leaves me sleepy, with sinus pain, and a sore throat. Yuck! So I’m back in bed for the next few hours to get some more rest after I post. Food is on plan and my husband should be getting on a plane late tonight to come home. Yea!
Today’s Essentials:
Weigh-in: -2 lbs.
Read Advantage Cards two times: once
Read Response Cards at least two times: once
Ate slowly, sitting down, noticing every bite: yes
Gave myself credit when I engaged in helpful eating behaviors: yes
Did spontaneous exercise: some miscellaneous housework
Did planned exercise: none planned
Wrote out food plan for tomorrow: half-way done
Tracked today’s food: yes
Left food on my plate: yes
Ate only to normal fullness: yes
Identified and responded to a self-deluding thought: yes & said NO CHOICE when I thought I was hungry after dinner last night.
BeverlyJoy, I’m really glad you have power at your home, in spite of the stress eating. Stay warm! How tough regarding the guests brining a freezer full of stuff! Your mother/daughter hair appointment sounds fun.
BillBlueEyes, great job with the water instead of nuts! Stay safe and warm!
Carols2, glad you made it out of the mall OK. What a trap! I hate the mall.
ChefJoona, glad to hear you made the most of the out of the house dinner with roasted chicken and veggies. The only way I get exercise is if I have someone to do it with me, whether it is my husband, dog, or trainer.
GardenerJoy, glad you are OK in St. Louis.
Lexxiss, sounds like things are going pretty well for you – such power you have over doughnuts!!
Maryann, I hope you are doing well! It was good to read your post.
Maryblu, glad you like your new pilates coach. Interesting that we have all been getting a glimpse of what you true Northerners experience all the time without much effect on you.
MaryContrary, you totally deserve credit for losing that 10 pounds. That is over 5% of your body weight which will have significant health benefits! I had to give up on trying to schedule my weight loss and just take every day as it comes. I spent years disappointing myself not meeting those goals and just couldn’t stand it anymore, but did not want to give up. Every pounds can be a struggle at times. Great advice for Beverleyjoy too!
Onebyone, glad to read about home cooking.
Shepherdess, I’m really glad today is a better day for you. Thanks for the well-wishings. Loved that the dog wanted to cross her fingers too!
Silverbirch, glad to see your post and hope you are doing well!
Vibrantheart , great that you have a plan in place for future lurking chocolate cravings!
silverbirch - Should you and Ruby (RubyJan) pass in the British Library she'll immediately recognize you by your distinctive hair and perfect posture. Now I have to add dining at the British Library to my Bucket List.
I must make sure I walk the talk! Thanks for the laugh, Bill, which was much needed today. It's been too demanding and I'm getting a cold.
FFC: did I catch my cold from you or was it the other way round? I'm doing quite well, thank you. I seem to be in a fairly calm space and I have the peace just to be. (Not sure how that fits in with what I told Bill above but it does.)
Shepherdess: I'm so pleased to hear your good news. Is your happy event expected in the summer? A good time to relax.
Everyone: thanks for being here and keepin on truckin. It is very impressive.
It's been a long day and it's time to get to preparing dinner. I stayed at the food bank most of the day-there was lots to do. I had another opportunity to remind myself that hunger is not an emergency as I didn't have lunch, although I could have gone home if really needed to.
Interesting about the donuts-yesterday as I said No Choice, I gave myself permission to put one into my plan today. I looked, picked, took two bites and pitched it. It just wasn't worth the calories.
I had a plan for dinner...wanted to change it, but there was no need. We'll have what I planned.
I have been watching your weather and have to say it looks appalling. It would be scary to have to travel, or drive, or even shop in that weather. I hope everyone is staying safe
I am struggling with work and ran out of food yesterday so the plan took a bit of a dive but overall not too bad. Yoga was cancelled yesterday which I was sort of pleased about! It is pretty difficult for me at the moment. I am working at home today so took my self to aqua at lunch time - it was terrific
BeverlyJoy - Ouch for surprise food - and credit for getting right back on track. Further credit for shouting back at the sabotaging thoughts! If I have gone off track, the next morning it is like there is nothing to look forward to. It is difficult to shake it off. I should learn that it is way better to stay on plan. Hope you enjoyed your ‘hair day’. Being an Aussie I can’t really help with the availability of healthy food at Disney! But I imagine it is challenging BillBlueEyes - Glad you survived snowmageddon (LOL) and turned it to your advantage to get some exercise. Credit for resisting nuts when I am sure all that exercise demanded extra calories. Your weather looked amazing - I managed to find a web-cam and a newspaper. Carol (Carols2) - You are right - most shopping expeditions mean we are assaulted every which way by food we have to resist. I like to stay focused on my shopping list and keep blinkers on. Credit for resisting temptation especially your favourites CeeJay - ChefJoona - Sounds like you are on track - great weight loss. Yay for snow shoe exercise especially when resistant to it. FutureFitChick - Ah - the sore throat bug. Not pretty - like the one I had. I am still stuffed up from it and coughing. Yay for your DH getting back. Yay for - 2 pounds too GardenerJoy - Your sparkly snow and ice crystals glittering in the sun just sounds cool thanks. It is not going to cool down here until Monday unfortunately but it is good inside in the air conditioning! Debbie R (Lexxiss) - Credit for resisting doughnuts and then planning to have your treat. Great job recognising that thinking about it is much better than the reality and not finishing the doughnut out of habit MaryContrary - You have had a lot to deal with so credit for losing 10 pounds and getting into the 170s. A good list of credits Onebyone - I looked at the ice storm link - amazing. Nothing like we would ever experience.Glad you got to the dermatologist. Sorry your offer on the flat was rejected - sounds nuts not to give it to a definite deal - hope it all comes together soon RubyJan - I like your strategy of working in the library to break eating (or smoking) habits. Good list of credits Shepherdess - Hope today is warmer as you expected. Sounds like swapping running for strength training is a good thing - I can’t imagine what it would be like to move across icy ground. Very scary and unsafe probably
Credits - Stayed within my food plan - 80% - Measured all my food - No - Logged food - No - Developed food plan for today - No - Sat down to eat - yes - Ate mindfully and enjoyed every bite - not really - Recognised hunger / desire / craving - getting better at this - I stopped eating when satisfied - yes - Drank water - yes - Checked in - yes - Weighed myself -yes - Read advantage cards - no - Read response cards - no - Read Beck - yes - Did planned exercise - yes - Incidental exercise - a little and used stairs yesterday
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Lived the day on a sheet of ice. I deserve CREDIT moi just for going to work and back. At a celebration event for a friend who had lost weight and chats with me from time to time about walking, there were two large chocolate cakes being devoured by the hoards and . . . a platter of fruit. I grabbed a plate of fruit without concern that it wasn't on my plan since my major goal was to avoid the cake - both for its immediate calories and to exercise my resistance muscle. CREDIT moi for that one.
I had another urge to go dip my hands into the jar of nuts during the evening. Used the old NO CHOICE and that passed; CREDIT moi. Don't know what this new thing is to start feeling hungry for nuts that I can't see. I can identify some tension; perhaps need to tattoo on my forehead, "Food doesn't cure tension."
FutureFitChick - Ouch for a bug when you have stuff to do. Hope your DH makes it home. I'll think of you using NO CHOICE after dinner the next time I need to use one.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Love your joyful description of a deadly ice world.
Shepherdess - Ouch for attacked by abandoned candy, with Kudos for a sane response after consuming it.
Beverlyjoy - Ouch for being confronted with your cousin's notion of freezer food; Kudos for putting that behind you and marching forth. Neat idea that little cooler bag for your Disney trip.
Cheryl (Seadwaters) - For your, "- I stopped eating when satisfied - yes" - Kudos. Shopping is difficult in the cold and ice. When I walked to the store for emergency rations, DW insisted that I bring an insulated cooler bag for the bananas - to keep them warm so they wouldn't freeze on the way home and become mushy.
silverbirch - Ouch for a cold and a tough day. And admiration for "the peace just to be."
Debbie (Lexxiss) - Kudos for putting a donut on your plan. And Double Kudos for throwing the rest away; that part would elude me.
MaryContrary - Congrats for dropping into the 170's. My observation is that the final pounds eek away veeeerrry slowly; patience is a must. Neat credit list including NO to Cheetos and YES to an extra mile.
maryann - Neat that you thought, "realized I wasn't going to feel great even if I ate"before you fell for it so that you resisted; Kudos.
ChefJoona - Kudos for your half hour of snow shoeing - what a great way to experience fresh snow. My thing was to read some dozen books about exercising to drum into my head 1) that it was easy, 2) essential, and 3) everybody who stays in shape does some exercise for life. I don't have a specific recommendation; different sections of random books moved me.
Carol (carols2) - LOL at, “I’ll tell you what, I’ll eat mine and hers too” - See's Candy is manufactured by Satan himself.
Ruby (RubyJan) - Both Pilates and swimming in the same day is a Kudos for sure. Did you plan to skip your morning snack?
Readers -
Quote:
chapter 1 Beginning a New Way of Life
You Will Change Your Mindset
By the time you finish the Beck Diet for Life Program, you will notice how different the "new" you is from the "old" you.
. . . The old you thought:I'm just a weak person where food and dieting are concerned. The new you thinks:I know that if I keep practicing these skills, I will gain control. I'm learning how to be strong.
How will you achieve this transformation? I'll teach you!
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D, The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), pg 19.
Had an on-plan day for the most part, until an off plan dinner out with a friend. I didn't go totally over board, and used some Beck skills, but it definitely wasn't nearly on-plan. I noticed when I got home my resistence muscle was shot. Dug into DP's candy stash and had a two mini candy bars. Not a disaster, but also not respecting my My No Choice sign. Just for information gathering I weighed myself this morning- up .2 lbs. Made me realize that everything I eat does impact my body.
Have no plans to go for meals at all this weekend. The Super Bowl is this Sunday, so I'll have to figure out how to navigate a gathering with snacks for that.
Maryann Yes, I'm from VT! I actually don't know all that much about Goddard. I know it has a good reputation. A good friend of mine did some part time work there last summer, and enjoyed it. Vermont is a unique place to live though- I love it! I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about living here .
MaryContrary I too am hovering around the edge of going into a new 10lb increment! I just can't wait to see that second number change. My 10lb loss has been since October. I took the holidays off, which didn't speed up my weightloss at all. This is the first time I've mindfully tried to lose weight, so I'm just learning about how fast my body drops weight. I think Dr. Beck writes about plateaus and weightloss rates in the last chapters of the Pink Book. Sorry I don't have an exact page....
The 170s, a nice place to be.
I must make sure I walk the talk! Thanks for the laugh, Bill, which was much needed today. It's been too demanding and I'm getting a cold. 
T G I F
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