[GardeningDeb]

Good Evening Everyone,
I am going to try to post tonight. I typed two posts and both dumped in two previous days. Kept saying I didn't get permission from the administrator to post but I do think I know what happened now. I had my security system scanning so I think it interfered with my ability to post here. I turned it off tonight.

Well, 3 days ago I was doing pretty well. I was very impressed that I have 6 Hershey candy bars for my gd's when they visit to make s'mores with. I haven't opened that package and they have been there at least 2 weeks. I did fall though eat the kit kat I bought for my gd on Friday. She didn't come but stress did and it was history. And today I bought a bag of smart food with the intention of only eating a small amount to tide me over til I got home for lunch. Didn't go well at all. I neglected to work on my book last night as I was tired so I am going in after typing this to read some more. What is done is done but I don't want to continue going down that road.

Lexxiss, Glad the yard sale was a success. Great idea to donate or dispose of anything you don't want or need anymore. I started clearing out my cellar last Fall but got sidetracked. Maybe a good idea to work on that again this week since we are going to get rain and more rain. Snow. Wow.

BeverlyJoy,
Great job staying on track for 3 days.

Happy Birthday GardeningJoy.

Thank you for all the encouraging posts. Need to work on my positive thoughts as I just noticed BillBlueEyes 100 per cent. Amazing. And many of the other positive notes. I can say I did work hard yesterday on my raised garden. It is all constructed now. Just needs soil and veggies. Gave me a good workout lifting all those blocks.

Well have a nice night everyone. Be back tomorrow.

GardeningDeb

[pamatga]

I decided to post after I did all of my "errands" today. I was able to sleep well but I wish it wasn't broken up into two parts so I end up doing the majority of my sleeping between 5 a.m.-2 p.m. "Oh, well." Sleep is sleep and I needed it badly.

I'm stumped on why I didn't lose any weight this past week. I had one of the best weeks for my calories in a very long time. I was in the range BLC sets for me regarding calories and macronutrients. I didn't overeat once. I had sugar once-in a small reduced fat vanilla cone at McDonald's. God, that tasted good too! I have really been missing a little sugar. I have been craving it actually but I haven't given in. Well, okay, that one time. (I reread this and thought what are you saying here-go back and correct that) I suspect it is TTOM. Instead, I am eating sugar free chocolate mousse right now. It works.

The only other thing is that I can figure is that I need to start moving. I am better at "spontaneous movement" but I am sucking it in and getting back to planned exercise tomorrow. I have noticed that I have two time periods during the year when my RA flares up: right after Thanksgiving to the New Year and then the end of March-Mother's Day. This has happened predictably for the past two years. Assuming that this is going to happen again and I have 6 1/2 months before the next one, I am really going to try and do all I can to strengthen my bones (weight lifting is one way) and I have a few dvds for joint flexibility. I listened to an RA expert on NPR talk about how important it is for good pain management. I am going to look into alternative techniques and see what I can come up. I might even consider acupuncture. My son does this for chronic back problems. I want to be more pro active and less pill popping. This last time my stomach really took some tough hits.

wife2abadge My plan is the Biggest Loser Food Plan. I am a member of that site. It consists of whole foods, minimally processed, emphasis on fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, all brown and no white "stuff", lots of H20, minimal eating out, calorie restriction. In other words, not that much different than a lot of other food plans out there.

beverlyjoy, ceejay,onebyone, lexxiss for really working your plans, both at home and away.

bigknitter I hate to admit this but when I first restarted Beck I was still eating chocolate chip cookies, V-Day cupcakes and such nonsense. And BBE still talks to me. This group should apply for sainthood, just sweethearts here. It wasn't until I had two horrible months that made me realize that not only was I in the right group but I really needed this stuff Dr. Beck was espousing.

I haven't done Day 29 yet, going to go and do that now so I will report on that tomorrow.

[CeeJay]

Another quick check in tonight.

Had a lovely day puttering about the yard. Spring is in full swing and it was about 18 degrees today and sunny. Love it.

Still trying to take it easy on my shoulder. Went to physio apt. on Friday and have two more next week. It is feeling much better though so I am grateful for that.

I ate very healthy today- not what I planned but everything on track. I am glad yesterdays troubles did not continue.

Credit for:

weighing in
walking 20 mins with DH and mom
eating healthy
planning tomorrow

Have a good Sunday everyone!!!

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Eating was on plan, with a peanut butter and banana sandwich lunch and a lamb dish at an Indian restaurant (another Groupon) for dinner - half brought home; CREDIT moi. The lentil soup starter was blended smooth - different than I expected - quite nice.

Got in a walk, CREDIT moi, but spent most of my time sorting stuff. I'm growing to resent all the junk I own - even the stuff I love. If I lived in a yurt, I wouldn't own this much.


CeeJay - Yay for combining your walk with your DH and mom. Hope that shoulder gets back in line.

Beverlyjoy -

oh Sadies got her new dress on
lord lord
Sadies got her new dress on
her mom's done and said she's old enough to wed
sadies got her new dress on

Debbie (Lexxiss) - Kudos for all the stuff move away - I get encouraged watching others making progress. Thanks for the reminder that neat looking pastry things start with shortening - just eating lard, LOL.

pamatga - Yay for sleep - whenever you can get it. And yay for getting into strengthening your bones.

GardeningDeb - Yay for the completion of your raised garden frame - just in time for the warm weather. Kudos for letting those Hersey bars sit.

Susan (wife2abadge) - If everybody brings Mexican dishes, your bean stew will be most welcome by those who aren't Mexican food fans. Yay for Greek yogurt - good stuff. My own diet is a hand rolled, portion-controlled plan, leaning toward the standard whole foods and lots of fruits and veggies. An important part for me is to cut out the sugar desserts and treats.

Lauren (Bigknitter) - Yay for "back on track today" - the secret of success.

Readers -

chapter 3
Get Ready to Lose

Before you start, however, I would like you to do the following 10 essential tasks.
task 8
Talk to your Family

If some family members are skeptical about your ability to change, shrug it off. They just don't know (unless you choose to tell them) why this time will be different.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D, The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), pg 41.

[pamatga]

GM, fellow Becksters!

BBE if we all lived in yurts, we would be having our grouptalk facing each other in a circle. So, I say, let's imagine this is our cyber yurt. How 'bout that? I don't think I have ever heard of one with electricity but you never know if someone would try and citify one.

It sounds like you like all things Indian and I like all things Greek. Any other favorites for cuisine in the house(I mean, yurt) here? BBE, have you tried Oikos organic Greek yogurt, caramel flavored? I think it tastes like very thick and rich butterscotch pudding.

Ceejay-I have heard shoulders are tricky to heal--circulation, I think. I mentioned I wrecked my right one twice. It will heal, just give it time.

Day 29-Food Pushers-Does anyone really see this "animal" any more? I think they are almost extinct. It seems to me that the social functions that I go to are of two camps: one where everything is white flour and sugar with a dose of caffeine or very nice display of whole foods, herbal tea and bottled water with the occasional chocolate chip cookie. The first is so busying feeding their own face I don't think they notice anything else. The second are those who are espousing something about health; whether from a medical, nutritional or personal viewpoint. Anyway, it was a good read.

Credit for:
Not eating at all during the night and instead chewing ice cubes (my new favorite) until I was shivering.
Saying "Oh well" about my screwed up sleep patterns and glad to get it when I do.
Spontaneous movement for 75 minutes.

FYI: My avatar is a sketch of the Saint Servitus, Feast Day is May 13th. He was a Belgian Bishop in the 4th century who was credited with driving out rats from the Netherlands. I would say no easy feat. He is the patron saints for or against, depending on whether you want to have something or get rid of something:

against foot problems
against lameness
against leg problems
against mice
against rats
against rheumatism
success

[ChefJoona]

Good morning,

This weekend has involved a lot of food- social plans out and here, and today will continue. I'm doing my best to practice Beck skills, but I feel a little out of control. I used to love the opportunity to eat go out to eat, or prepare something special for friends and family. Now I resent it for making Diet skills harder to use. I'm doing my best, but know I am going above my calorie limits.

Sunday morning weigh-in was up 1lb from Thursday- normal fluxuation.

We had a string of sunny days this past week, but we're back to rain. Bummer.

I'm needing to focus a lot on wedding plans... We have less than 4 months to go and a lot of planning left to do!

Wishing you all a good Sunday.

[Beverlyjoy]

Hi Becksters/coaches/friend - yesterday was a healthy day. I am grateful. I went to Max and Erma's for lunch with my mom. I looked ahead online and found a lovely salad of grilled chicken, greens, and fruit. It's so nice to be able to look ahead. - am grateful for the willingness to do so.

I have been getting lots of veggies this week. Early in the week I made some veggie stew (eggplant, onions, yellow peppers, mushrooms & a can of fire roasted tomatoes, oregano, garlic) I did different things with it all week. One day I ate some of it with garbonzo beans mixed in. One day I ate it with pasta. One day I added some ricotta cheese and parm cheese and as a side dish with parm cheese. I use Miur Brand tomatoes in the ‘health food section’ at Krogers.

I accomplished many goals yesterday:
planned/measured/logged food
exercise - stretches and strengthening
was seated while eating mostly - except a couple of unconcious nibbles (working on that)
tried to slow down and taste the food.
lots of water
read my Beck book
Said NO CHOICE a few times

working on:
fork down between bites
enjoying every bite of food
meditation daily
Reading arc/rc

big knitter/lauren - ouch - those cocktails can get us sometimes. Hop right back on your plan and you will be fine. Plan, plan and plan some more.

Lexxiss/Debbie - so glad your sale is over! It’s wonderful to get rid of the extra. Hooray for planning ahead and avoiding the Pasties. (when we lived in Michigan I learned of Pasties).

Gardening deb - sorry about your posts dumping. It used to happen to me. Since then I usually write it in my word processor area - going back and forth. No losses when I do that.) Good job staying out of the smores supplies. Dr. Beck says to keep your environment as friendly as we can. Sometimes, I’ll wait until the day I need a certain for to buy it. It helps me having to be tempted. I am sorry to hear of your RA, etc. I too deal with some chronic health concerns and don’t move much. It helps me when I do my stretches. I feel better.

Ceejay - Credit for your healthy day.. Even if the food took a few twists and turns. I hope your shoulder feels better soon.

Billbe - hooray for an OP day. I am always impressed how you can save extra food for the next day or week. Credit. Good job on the walk. BTW - LOVE the new dress ditty!

Pamatga - I am glad you don’t have a food pusher in your house! My DH brings in candy all the time. (he is not overweight) It drive me nuts. Wonderful credits! - spontaneous exercise is so awesome. Not eating in the night is major. Not letting your sleep patterns cause overeating is great. Carry on.

Chefjoona - I totally understand how uneasy we can feel face many food situation that are not in our food comfort zone. Plan the best you can. You CAN do it.

Have a great day.

[Lexxiss]

Hi Coaches!

Last night's food event was a success and I topped the evening by resisting the apple pie with processed cheese on top. Brunch today went well, too. I stuck with my usual choices and resisted the sugary desserts; instead choosing from the SF choices. I'm looking ahead since we travel early tomorrow morning. I'm going to sign off and read for a bit. My essentials will be to plan next week's meals and complete the clean up from my yard sale. Oh, and watch Survivor WITHOUT our usual OP pizza (too much food already today). Perhaps salad and popcorn for a snack.. Exercise was 6 m. on the indoor bike before brunch and umpteen trips up and down the stairs later today. Credit moi.

BillBlueEyes, I wish for less junk, too. *credit* for OP eating and a nice walk.

GardeningDeb, I use Micros. One Note to build my posts then transfer them over. The bonus is that I have an online journal, as well. Yay for saying what's done is done while knowing you don't want to continue down that road. Reading from your Beck book and working on positive thoughts and actions helps keep you on the alternate path...I think. *credit*

Pamatga, I don't have my book in hand, but one card right out of the book reminds us that will not lose weight every week. I think there is a great possibility that you, in fact, did everything right. "Success", what a great word to sum up something you want to have.

CeeJay, nice credits yesterday!

ChefJoona, I hope your Monday brings a more controlled experience with food. Doing your best to practice Beck skills during all those social events is really helpful.

Beverlyjoy, yay for a week with lots of veggies...and for many credits. Forgot to mention...last week I twirled and thought of you.

[RubyJan]

Hello Everybody --

Well, I don't want to dwell on it -- but let's agree that I have been offline and feeling utter;y fed up depressed, useless and all...I have followed no plan at all, and its already mid-May. SO I am using all my strength to write this post, and commit to a Beck Start again. I am going to use the basic old fashioned and safe plan of doing the Workbook and having a 1400 calorie/day food plan. I have got a little book ready to record everything, and am hoping for a good nights sleep and a trip to the gym in the morning.
As they say, it works if you work it, so I am going to work it! Sadder but wiser, RubyJan

[CeeJay]

Hi all!!

Quick check in tonight- am glued to the Survivor Finale (a guilty pleasure for sure).

Credit today for:

weighing in
eating healthy and on plan
reading a bit of the Green book
checking in with my buddies
planning tomorrow
Packing lunch for tomorrow

[onebyone]

Hello Coaches

This weekend was tough as I had to keep most of my planning loose. I stayed OP and said NO CHOICE more than once. credit

Tomorrow I am off to the ceramic studio. Hopefully I will return from there having started something exciting. We'll see. It's been a while.

My back pain is getting smaller and every 2 days or so it seems to move further down my body. Today it was in my ankle and the to of my foot. By my calculations it should be leaving me out the bottom of my foot in a few days.

bye for now...

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - I nibbled some home made coffee cake when I was bored at an event with food sitting about - Ouch - but otherwise on plan, CREDIT moi. I skipped my afternoon snack as a token compensation. Then took my long walk, CREDIT moi, in between rainy times in the afternoon.

I let go of some stuff I've saved for years. I had two old fashioned pressure cookers that I thought I'd use some day, but never had. First, I'd have had to replace the gauges since they were rusted, and I wasn't sure that the seals would hold. So, they're headed to the curb - just like how I got them years ago. Also dropped by a yard sale and passed on the opportunity to buy lots of stuff, MAJOR CREDIT moi. There was a nearly new Brookstone "Picnic Backpack" of impeccable quality with plates, utensils, wine glasses, cork screw, cutting knife and board, and insulated section. What a beaut! I could have bought it for $8 and kept it in my own attic for the next 40 years unused. It appealed to some romantic part of me who doesn't remember that you don't need a backpack to walk to a nice spot for wine and cheese, and when you need a backpack for a good hike, you don't need a cutting board, LOL.


onebyone - Yay for diminishing back pain - love the image of it dropping down your body and then out your feet.

CeeJay - The Internet news this morning says that a Boston dude won the Survivor Final last night. Am I supposed to celebrate that like the Red Sox beating the Yankees?

Beverlyjoy - Fire roasted tomatoes can liven up anything - I love those. Your veggie stew sounds yummy. Neat idea to mix up how you serve it.

Debbie (Lexxiss) - Kudos for resisting the apple pie - calling it "processed cheese" helps to keep perspective.

ChefJoona - Ouch for feeling the challenge of sticking to an eating plan at restaurants and events. My take is that it gets easier, but is never the same as the old carefree, eat everything in sight, before my journey. Good luck with the tension of the wedding planning.

Ruby (RubyJan) - Yep, back up on the horse and moving forward one day at at time - Kudos for the courage to get going again.

pamatga - Ice cubes sounds like a nifty idea - Kudos for that one. Yep, I think food pushers still exist often at family events where hospitality is equated with food consumed. Do you think he would be offened if I invoked Saint Servitus to drive the junk from my house?

Readers -

chapter 3
Get Ready to Lose

Before you start, however, I would like you to do the following 10 essential tasks.
task 9
Build a Sense of Entitlement

To succeed at lasting weight loss, you have to put yourself first. If you don't, you will have a hard time asking for support, turning down offers to eat, and continually making diet and exercise a high priority. Other responsibilities and activities will always get in the way of your best efforts.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D, The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), pg 41.

[ChefJoona]

Happy Monday...

Yesterday was brunch out with a good friend who is leaving the state. I had looked at the menu before going to the restaurant and picked out a veggie and egg based dish. I got there and was tempted by a sweeter dish. I went with the sweeter dish, ate half and had the waitress remove my plate. Not healthy calories, but I felt good with my level of discipline and did not feel deprived. As Billbe put it gone are the old carefree, eat everything in sight days!

My food is planned for today, and I'll be headed to the grocery store to stock up on fruits and veggies that are on special.

Its raining, but I'm going to go out for a walk in a bit. I'll also be active with some cleaning and bringing up my spring/ summer clothes from the basement.

Hope everyone has a good start to the week!

[pamatga]

GM and GD fellow Becksters!

Here is one example of me needing to apply some of these Beck skills:

Last night, I felt a lot of free floating anxiety and I could feel like I wanted to eat "just because". I didn't but it made me wonder how long it will take for me to get over this particular behavior. It has certainly done a lot of damage to what would have otherwise been really good days when I was dieting in the past. So, I need to give myself credit for being able to both recognize the cause and source of this desire but also not to act on it either. I was able to distract myself. I got a small book about "Square Foot Gardening". Between reading that and learning where our favorite networks are on this new channel system (we switched paid tv providers) I soon forgot about the desire to eat.

Credit: I was able to differeniate between eating for hunger and just wanting to eat "cause".
Credit: that I was able to distract myself without reading my cards, which were right in front of me, but I was preoccupied in trying to figure out how to record some of my favorite program/series.
Credit: although I feel it was more a miracle than anything I did. I slept from 1:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m. Yes, I laid there in pain 1/3 of the time but I didn't get up and I fell back to sleep.

BBE How's the renovation going? Are you doing any of it yourself or hiring it all out? You need to start texting when you are at events that are boring. It seems everyone and his cousin does that nowadays although I do think it is rude socially. It reminds me when people used to over do call waiting. I handled that by stop calling those people (sister Paula). Now, I hate it when I call a business and they put you on hold immediately rather than wait to hear your answer whether you want to be put on hold (I do not). I would say that if St. Servitus can drive rats out he is up to driving out junk, wouldn't you say? I think the people of Manhattan need to be invoking him. Sounds like the Upper East Side has been having some rodent issues in the past year.
Rubyjan You're back and that is the main thing. I had two stinker months -February and March-which I hope to never repeat now that I am up to my chest in Beck skills but who knows? for not forgetting you are among family here. The loving kind.
Chefjoona I understand how difficult it can be when each meal out can seem like yet another celebratory step towards your nuptials.I also understand the added pressure that you have of wanting to fit into your gown. It is so easy to get caught up in it all and be blindsided. I hear your frustration with it all. I think you have to remember that the next 4 months are going to be the most intense blur of activities you will ever experience(short of preparing for your child's birth) and anything you can do to anchor yourself will help tremendously. Take it one moment at a time, one meal at a time, one day at a time.
Lexxiss on resisting one of my old favorites: pie. Right now, I have distant memories but as we move closer to the year end holidays, that will be the challenge then. Anyone have a good healthier version(recipe) of apple pie to share with us who consider this one of the best desserts of all time?If not, I might have to sleuth one out for all of us.
Beverlyjoy all that sounds wonderful! I had a really good lo cal salad in Applebee's about two weeks ago. Fresh spinach for the base, chopped red onions, fire roasted red peppers, slivered almonds then topped with very small slices of medium rare lean sirloin steak drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette. It was even better the second time around later that day and very easy to replicate at home, which is what I often do.
Ceejay Sounds like a plan! Good Job!
onebyone Here's hoping your back continues to get better. I understand the top of the foot pain. Sounds to me like you have sciatia. That is the nerve that runs from the lower back down through your leg. Throw some clay for us all. I haven't done that in years and no excuse since MIL has a kiln in her double garage. Glad to hear you are back in your element. I know that is where you are happiest.

Have a great day all!

[GardeningDeb]

Good Morning Everyone,
I never got to post last night as I fell asleep waiting for my son to be done with the computer. Mom and Dad came with cupcakes yesterday with lovely pink or white frosting, shots and I totally caved and had one. They bring treats like this every week even though I keep saying I can't eat that sort of stuff with the type II. My mom has Alzthimers so she never remembers that I don't eat foods like that anymore. Usually it is chocolate bars of all kinds she brings me and I am doing really well resisting them lately. I tell her I am saving them for later and that makes her happy otherwise she gets upset with me. She didn't press me to eat one so was totally my doing, my weakness with sweets. I love her and pray I don't fall victim to the same disease in the future.

I haven't had the talk with my family yet but have in the past. I will talk about it later tonight. My son is all for better, healthier foods and dh is starting to turn some corners there. There are alot of fresh veggies/fruits in the fridge right now so no excuse for me to be eating other things.

For yesterday I can say

did a 30 mins. Power90 Phase I CArdio workout with 4 mins. Ab ripper, 100 reps.
finished my water requirement
got over 10,000 on my pedometer
pre-planned most of today's meals
I did ask myself a couple times was I hungry or just reacting

Pamatga, Great job resisting eating last night.

Chefjoona, Good idea to only eat half and have the waitress take the rest away.

Rubyjan, Welcome back.

I had a stressful weekend and didn't do that well with it but there were some moments of better self-control. I'll keep working on this concept.

GardeningDeb