[onebyone]

Coaches

We've begun the re-organization of our apartment and I hate doing it as much as I hated moving as much as I hated the packing and as much as I hate finding places for the stuff I am unpacking. And just to reinforce how much I hate it, this morning, as I took 2 worthless candles off a shelf to toss into the garage sale box, I inadvertently hooked my favorite little ceramic sculpture that I made, and that I would look at as inspiration for making new things, and it smashed to bits on the ceramic floor of my kitchen.

To say I screamed is an understatement.

To say I sobbed is not doing me justice. I cried uncontrollably for quite some time. I just sat outside for a while crying.

That was hours ago now.

I didn't eat over it. It didn't even enter my mind to eat over it. Now, running away did enter my mind. Instead I did the dishes and tried to move forward. DH kept working at moving his desk from the alcove in the hall to a new space reclaimed from the second bedroom that was storing just boxes until today. I started to resent paying rent for a 2bdrm when we only actually use one bedroom. Now it seems we'll be using some of that room. And we'll use more and more of it as I empty my boxes or designate the stuff in them to the garage sale we're having at the end of the week.

I'm finding today tough but it's ok. I'll make it. My back is better. My leg hurts off and on; more off than on so that's good. I am planning to get to Ottawa in a little over a week and that'll be good too.

And DH found the box with all my paints in it. I'm very happy about that.

I did drive to a store for a scale. I weighed myself on one: 291.6. The scale was on a carpet, I was fully clothed, it was late afternoon, so the number is just a ballpark figure. I tried to buy it. My card was declined. It wasn't my 1st choice scale so I guess I wait a week or so. It's just not really my day.

The weather was good though and I was grateful I learned how to drive at the age of 40. I think my life is going to change very much once all this nonsense of settling in eases up. I can re-invent myself if I want. we'll see what happens.

Bye for now.

[wife2abadge]

Well, that was a fast weekend...but not a fat weekend! :-) Eating out on Friday night, I got the 7oz salmon (ate about 3oz), plain sweet potato (ate about 1/4 of it), steamed summer squash, carrots, and green beans, and a small salad w/no cheese or croutons. I skipped the bread even though it looked wonderful and our table ordered a second loaf. The six of us split the dessert sampler, so I had about 1 1/2 bites of each of the three desserts on the plate. I left feeling satisfied but not stuffed.

Last night we went out also, and I had the tilapia and plain baked potato, with no bread and a side salad w/no cheese and no croutons. They served ice cream for dessert, but I only ate about half of the scoop in the bowl. I realized it was just plain old ice cream that I could have anytime! Today I ate quite a bit of fruit -- I love that about summer! However, I resisted dessert when my dd's were eating it, and resisted joining the entire family in snacking on goldfish crackers and Triscuits this evening.

Lexxiss -- I love, love, love homemade pizza on whole wheat crust, I don't even put mozz cheese on it. Just lots of veggies, sun-dried tomatoes, and sometimes a sprinkle of feta. yummers. Too bad my family doesn't agree. DH likes meat lovers (ewww) and my kids like plain old cheese. No whole wheat crust either, if they can help it. Though they don't whinge if I make in on ww.

bigknitter -- 4.4 mile walk --wowie! I do walk that far with my dog sometimes, but not usually all at once. I try to get at least 10,000 steps on my pedometer every day, in addition to my cardio. It can be rather time consuming though. I agree that gradual changes are best. Gung ho seems to backfire for most people.

pamatga -- how was the cookout? It was quite warm here this weekend, but with all of our eating out, we didn't use our grill. I have several weight training DVDs that I really need to put to use. I have faithfully done daily cardio for most of my adult life, but I tend to neglect the weight training.

gardenerjoy -- what do you mean you have regrets about the way you used to eat? Do you regret that you did it or that you can no longer do it?

maryann -- how old is your ds? My two girls (8 & 13) have tried my green smoothies at times, but don't really like them much.

Chefjoona -- too many snacks do tend to make one feel icky the next morning. Sometimes I try to remind myself of that when I see a big ole table of them at a party. Heh...sometimes it even works as a deterrant. Or is it deterrent? Whatever.

Well, time for bed all -- 4:45 comes awfully early in the morning!

[Bigknitter]

Hello coaches, I hope everyone has had a good weekend! I did pretty well this weekend, better than any I can remember in the last 3 months. I tried to stay active instead of sitting around like I usually do. Last night we (boyfriend, daughter, and I) went for an unexpected bike ride for about an hour - I'm surprised my 7-yr. old lasted that long! She wanted to go for a walk tonight after dinner, who am I to say no? I decided to ride my bike the 3 1/4 miles to and from work today, got caught in a rainstorm on the way back It was fun. I did pretty good with eating, I've ended up having treats the last two days, which wasn't really on my plan. But I'm staying in my range, I'll just try and eat a bit cleaner the next few days. I almost don't care what I eat as far as too many carbs or fat or whatever, it is more important right now to not get down on myself or try and be too perfect. I will never live up to that and don't want to set myself up for failure. So as long as I stay under my calories I'm satisfied.

I was in the kitchen all day today making things, biscuits, muffins, hot sauce - I can't believe I was able to bake without tasting!! I waited until after dinner to have my muffin. Normally I'd have one right out of the oven and then one more later, hard to resist anything baked.

I still need to get to reading the green book. I've been resisting it so that's how I know I need to do it! I still haven't been the best at reading my cards and giving myself credit. But I'm feeling great about my progress this week so I think I'm doing okay

wife2abadge, sounds like you've been doing great with eating meals out! Nice.

onebyone, moving does suck. Sorry about all the stress but yay for not eating the emotions.

GardeningDeb, awesome shredding!

pamatga, I hope you can get some rest to help relieve some stress.

Lexxis, that is great news that your mind knows the old favorites won't really do it for you, I think that is good progress.

maryann, your trip to the zoo sounds like fun! I should take my daughter sometime soon. That juice sounds great.

Well I am looking forward to another good week. And I have another higher cal day on Tuesday, not far away at all! Things will be winding down for us as far as extra-curricular activities and it won't be a day too soon for me. I will be happy to relax and not have to drive so much, and hopefully get some good play dates in for my kiddo.

[gardenerjoy]

Day 37: Reduce Stress
Well, I don't see this happening this week. I'm too stressed to deal with my stress right now (ha!). But, I would like to revisit the ideas in Day 37 next month. (making a note to myself).

wife2abadge: you asked "what do you mean you have regrets about the way you used to eat? Do you regret that you did it or that you can no longer do it?" Both. But in the context of believing in the change I've made, I was thinking about how often that I wish that I could eat the way I used to. That makes me think that I haven't changed as much as I have. But, in fact, I don't act on those desires and that is a very big change. If I judge myself by my thoughts sometimes I can't see the change, but if I judge myself by my actions, it is there.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - It was a busy day - probably high end on-plan but CREDIT moi for a lot of stuff passed over. This morning there are four recycle bins full of paper and a full trash can of stuff out on the curb for pickup. Moving on one bin of stuff at a time.

onebyone - Sending supportive thoughts as you mourn the loss of your little sculpture muse. Kudos that you didn't turn to food.

Joy (gardenerjoy) - Kudos for night 6 out of 30 - Shreading one day at a time.

Debbie (Lexxiss) - Wonderful news, "they no longer hold their previous power."

ChefJoona - Kudos for "No to the bratwurst" - I don't see German stuff very often so those call to me. Kudos for moving on.

pamatga - Ouch for a "meltdown" when the feelings rise up, with Kudos for getting right back on track.

Susan (wife2abadge) - Terrific demo of how to enjoy a night out, "satisfied but not stuffed" - Kudos.

Lauren (Bigknitter) - Yay for DD lasting for an hour bike ride. And Kudos to you for that much kitchen work without tasting everything.

Readers -

chapter 3
Get Ready to Lose

Before you start, however, I would like you to do the following 10 essential tasks.
task 10
Make Response Cards

Below are three sabotaging thoughts that most dieters have. I would like you to create the corresponding Response Cards so that you will have them on hand once you start Phase I.

sabotaging thought:

Dieting should be easy and short term.

Here's the truth: Dieting is usually pretty easy at first, when you are highly motivated and see your weight going down fairly quickly. But then it gets harder. And this is true for everyone. Unless you have learned the thinking and behavioral skills you need, you are likely to give up when dieting becomes more difficult because you won't know how to motivate yourself to push through. There's good news, though: Hard times always pass, and as you keep practicing and mastering skills, dieting gets easier and easier and easier. True, from time to time, dieting will temporarily become more challenging, but every time you push through, it will get easier again.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D, The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), pgs 42-43.

[ChefJoona]

Good morning,

I got myself back on track yesterday! Made really healthy eating choices. DFiance ordered a greasy pizza for dinner and offered to get half of it with toppings I like, but I said no and had some left overs from a couscous dish I had made on Friday. I have a healthy chicken and veggie dish planned to make for dinner tonight and will have leftovers for the week.

Credit for a nice evening walk with DFiance last night!

I have to go into work today, when I normally have Mondays off... I will have Friday off instead, which will make next weekend a four day weekend!

Celebrate the successes, learn from the challenges and keep moving on!!!

[Beverlyjoy]

Hi friends.. I have not run away. I am trying to get it together... bit by bit. Today I get the foot/ankle brace. However, it is hurting from a foot/ankle yank last week.

The plant swap went well.

Thanks for your continued positive thoughts and support.

[gardenerjoy]

Day 38: Deal with a Plateau
I've dealt with several plateaus. It looks like this most recent one may be dealing with itself, although I had a plan to implement in June assuming that it didn't. I'm hoping this will be the last!

WI: NAkgs, Exercise: +60* 615/1200 minutes for May, Food: 75%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

[pamatga]

I agree with gardernerjoy regarding dealing with stress. In an ideal world we would read our cards, skip merrily along and it wouldn't impact us all that much. Well, I wish. Instead, I have deep deep talks with DH about existential issues, where we are going to eat and wanting/needing to "get out of Dodge"; pretty much in that order. I am going on 21 months of being unemployed and nothing in sight at the moment. It was a lose followed on the heals of losing my Mom. It is just terrible. I'm doing the best that I can. Period.

I did, indeed, have a meltdown, BBE, and I continued to have a second after shock last night. I couldn't fall asleep (after two nights of good sleep) until 5 a.m. I did awaken at 10:30 a.m. and it was neat to see some of the morning awake for once. Caffeine has become my new "friend".

It has gotten unseasonably warm this past weekend so we stayed indoors instead of grilling out (oven on! what were we thinking?) then visited our garden plot during the early evening. I was so excited when I saw my seedlings really pushing up through the ground. This hotter weather (90s and humid like our Julys) will really get them growing much faster now. The bigger plants are doing well although there were two other gardeners whose gardens were bigger and I had "garden envy". had to remind myself that they had theirs in 10 days earlier and I am not sure how large of plants they planted either but still I was a little . Just a little. I kept reminding myself my plants are 3x what they were when I planted them. Not bad for overcast and cooler temps. I'm satisfied.

This community garden is a point of conversation too. A lot of dog walkers stop by and ask a lot of questions regarding it. My years of marketing sure shine through. I was so promoting this it was unreal. You would think I was the Ambassador of Sandy Springs Community Garden. We are also growing for the local food pantry as well. I told one dog walker-come back with a bag in late June-early July and I will send him home with some home grown "treats".

Credit moi: Although I said to "Heck with It" (meaning sane eating) and I had a regular Coke with ff microwave popcorn and 2 sf Klondike bars for dinner last night, it all got logged. And, my middle of the night eating was also a "to Heck with It" attitudunial eating but it also got logged as breakfast, morning snack and a wee bit of lunch. Quite simply, my mind was not in a good place. My inner child was rebellious.

Credit moi (again): I bought quite a few books when I joined "Biggest Loser" online last summer but I never read them. I figured that since I watched the show I half-knew what was in them. As I was clearing out a small bookcase they were in, I thought "Hey, why not read them?" After all, you did pay for them! Duh! So, last night while having the afore-mentioned "dinner", I read the BL Fitness book while watching a dumb PBS show on "British UFOS".

Supposedly this is the workout they put the tv contestants through. It is circuit training done with only 5-8 seconds inbetween specific target exercise keeping your heart rate at 80-85% of his maximum. I was checking off all of the "equipment" I would need and I had everything but one thing. Well, I have a heart rate monitor on my treadmill but I can't very well use that when I am doing free weights, etc. so I bought myself a heart rate monitor to wear while I do these. I ordered it online so it will be here within the next week or so. By that time, I will have familiarized myself enough with this so I can get the maximum burn out of it.

Typically, what I have done in the past is play the dvd through once or twice and watch how things are done then I go through it making sure I get the technique down pat before revving it up and going the pace of the instructor. So, I'll do a trial run of this a few times so by the time my heart rate monitor is here I will be able to get to that 80-85% needed to maximum burn fat/build muscle.

Does anyone have the wii or X-box Kinect? My nephew does. I would so like to get one of those so I could do some of the BL workouts and even the "Dance Central" which really looks fun. I just wish you didn't have to buy yet one more piece of electronics just so you can do it. (sigh).

Credit moi: for being a tough nut to crack. I am not a quitter. I am down but I am not out.

Thanks for hearing me vent, Beckies. You are the best!

Onebyone I understand how it feels to lose something you really love. By any chance did you take a photo of it so that you could post it where you do your work? Or, if you are good at visualization, how about getting a clear picture in your mind. Or, if you can do a clone, how about that? Or, rise to the occasion, and make one even better (if that is possible).

P.S. This is my friend's oldest daughter, Lydia, at swim lessons. This is the picture of glee, joy, sunshine from the soul and what makes childhood a gift!

[onebyone]

Hi Coaches

Woke up to TOM today. ??? Oh well. Explains a few things.

This week my goal is to get to my downtown studio and to paint something. I am out of touch with my artist self and I'm feeling lost because of it. It'll help to be energized by the "Big City".

Today it's more dishes, and unpacking. My goal is to put the big shelf together and start to fill it up with books. Many of my boxes hold books. That will help free up space.

Very modest plan for the day. It's a holiday Monday here: Victoria Day.

Happy Holidays to my fellow Canadian Becksters!

Bye for now.

[GardeningDeb]

Good Evening Everyone,
Hope none of you are in the areas where tornados were last night and hope all are safe tonight as I am hearing more bad weather.

I was thinking tonight after the ridiculous way I fell off the wagon this afternoon that I need to come up with a plan and just stick with it. I have managed to stick with the 30 day Shred which I found so difficult the first day. I am on Day 8 and have managed to alter the program in places where I am not able to do the regular exercise. Well anyways if I can stick with that difficult workout and find a way to get through it then no reason why I shouldn't be sticking with my Beck Diet Solution and food program. I am the only person in the way of losing weight. My plan is to stay off the scale for a week and stick to my food plan. I continually weigh myself and if I see any slight weight loss, I use it as an excuse to sabotage my healthy foods and lifestyle change. No more rewards for slight weight loss.

Thank you for listening and for all your comments. I slept very little last night as my son was sick all night. Will be back in the morning to read posts. Have a good night everyone.

GardeningDeb

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Eating was OP, CREDIT moi, finally consumed the beef brisket doggied home from the BBQ place last Friday. Boy, some left overs are uber yummy. Seven boxes and bags of donations out the door this morning for pickup, and eight boxes to our rented storage unit yesterday - and there's plenty left to be dealt with. Think I'll become a Buddhist monk.

Best ever with my dumbbells at the gym, CREDIT moi, was sooooo happy. I have a hard time believing that muscles are growing, even though I can lift heavier weights. The cover of Men's Health Magazine tauts "Look good at any age - 20's, 30's, 40's and beyond." Good grief! I subscribe to a magazine where I'm included in a group called, "and beyond," LOL.


onebyone - Here's hoping that the artist made it to her new studio and got some paint on a canvas.

Joy (gardenerjoy) - Interesting that your plateau is dealing with itself - presumably independent of the 60 minutes of exercise you did yesterday.

Beverlyjoy - If my DW had said, "The plant swap went well," it would mean there was a wheel barrow of new plants for her gardens.

ChefJoona - Yay for healthy cooking and for four day weekends.

pamatga - I share your excitement seeing seedlings pushing up - just never get tired of watching it happen. Kudos for getting to your stash of books.

GardeningDeb - Ouch for a sick son, I hope he's feeling better this morning. Good analogy - if you can Shread for 8 days, you can do your food plan. Keep the faith.

Readers -

chapter 3
Get Ready to Lose

Before you start, however, I would like you to do the following 10 essential tasks.
task 10
Make Response Cards

Below are three sabotaging thoughts that most dieters have. I would like you to create the corresponding Response Cards so that you will have them on hand once you start Phase I.

sabotaging thought:

Dieting should be easy and short term.

Achieving success at dieting is just like achieving success in other aspects of you life. You may have to face challenges and overcome obstacles if your goal is to advance in your career, keep a presentable home, maintain your good health, enrich your marriage, or raise helthy children. But the rewards are so great.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D, The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), pg 43.

[ChefJoona]

Good eating day yesterday. I spaced out my lunch into two parts to accomodate a busy day.

Exercise is slipping. I haven't been feeling well- very exhausted- so the thought of a walk after work didn't even cross my mind when I got home. Perhaps one tonight if the thunderstorms hold off.

Food is planned and packed for the day

[Bigknitter]

Just wanted to check in since blew it off last night. Another good day as far as eating and exercising. I have mentioned before that I really would like to be able to lose weight and maintain doing more of an Intuitive Eating thing. I have put some things into practice and done them well for a long time, like eat only when hungry, not eating things that I really don't like just because they are there or available, and not eating until I feel completely full, just to the point of not being hungry anymore. I actually find these things to be very easy to do when I want to do it. I've also really tried to not put any good or bad labels on any kind of foods which has helped reduce cravings for certain foods, not having them on a pedestal. Anyway, I guess I'm wondering if it is possible to go with the IE way of eating and still use the Beck success skills. I'm finding that I plan my food the night before, rarely stick to the plan the next day, but still eat well and not turn to total junk, and stay within my calories. Does everyone plan their food and stick to the plan? Does it matter if I don't plan and eat healthfully and stay in my calorie range? I suppose I can try it and if I start to sabotage myself I can re-evaluate. I feel like as long as I keep some rules, like not going out for fast food or to restaurants, and not keeping many unhealthy foods in the house, and not eating something for emotional reasons, then I should be able to still do well. A big part of the reason I usually give up is because I don't want to stick to a rigid plan. So to avoid failure maybe IE style of eating is the best thing for me. Or maybe I should just suck it up and stick to a plan

Anyway, I'm going to have a good day today. I will keep busy and do my exercise as planned. I hope everyone else has a good day too

ChefJoona - Credit for planning and packing your food

BillBlueEyes - We finally finished off our brisket we made last weekend, one of my favorites.

GardeningDeb - Good idea to stay off the scale, maybe you can reward yourself in another way for sticking to your plan.

onebyone - hope you were able to do some painting and get a few more boxed unloaded.

pamatga - you are making me have garden envy! We just moved from a house that had a pretty big plot in the back yard to a house with nothing garden-ready. I am going to miss growing our own stuff this year.

gardenerjoy - here's to getting through your plateau

[pamatga]

Since you asked, bigknitter, I will give you where I am at regarding Beck Diet skills and my eating plan. (P.S. I'm not ignoring the rest of you. It just sounds like ya'all are doin just fine)

I had several books decades ago that prescribed IE (intuitive eating) and I believe to a certain extent that we will "intuitively" choose foods (after a brief period of OMG I can really eat this!) that are "good" for us. I have even practiced this in the past to a certain level of success. One might say that I am doing that to a certain extent right now.

I am following everything Dr. Beck has said up to Day 40 (which is where I am at) except for 2 "items": planned exercise (which is coming up soon) and pre-planned meals (which I doubt I will ever do to the extent that some people do--here and elsewhere). I am a very "go with the flow" kind of person within the structure that I have created in my life. As I have said before, I have a "clean" kitchen. When I want a binge or I eat emotionally, which I freely admit I have done since joining this group, I am binging on sugar free cookies, fat free popcorn, etc. There is a certain level of "damage control" I am practicing there. For example, I ate about 2 dozen sugar free pecan shortbreads cookies 1:00 a.m. (okay it was still a residual "binge" I was carrying over from this past weekend) The total calories was 570 calories. They had the crunch factor I like when I eat food.

I didn't eat again until 4 p.m. and I still wasn't very hungry either. I had some rice and barbeque pork. I skipped the vegetables and saved them for "later". I may or may not eat again for the rest of the day. I'm okay with that. In fact, I think on days when I'm not very hungry, it seems kind of dumb to "force" myself to eat if I'm not. There might be a new "house rule" coming out of this. I personally see a lot of inherent wisdom in IE.

I find that I can become obsessive when I am stressing about getting my "requisite" food groups in. After all, how much damage could I have done? I have taken One-A-Day for over 30 years, I take my Caltrate and arthritis medicine faithfully. I have eaten 4 servings of vegetables and 3 servings of fruits for 6 1/2 weeks. Initially, Sunday night, I was stressing about having a "unplanned" meal of fat free popcorn, regular Coca-Cola(it still is the One!) and no sugar Klondike bar but I was really relaxed, kicking back and reading my Biggest Loser books I bought a year ago. I mean, c'mon! Intellectually, yea, I was worried but emotionally (which is where our intuition comes from) I was happy as a clam NOT at a clambake(for all of your Northerners)

For example, we have been going through an unusually hot (temperature wise) period here in Atlanta. Not stormy just "July kind of" hot. My body reacts to that by wanting to drink more liquids and not want to eat much.
I want anything with ice in it, ice cream or frozen pops and very little solid foods. Hot foods do not sound appealing to me whatsoever. Salads however do. This is the time of year where I get very creative in how to prepare and eat a salad. I would call this "intuitive eating".

So, my answer is yes I do think you can IE and use the Beck skills to shape that. After all, she said to choose two plans. I chose Biggest Loser (as it is stated on my custom food page) with South Beach as my back up. I would just see IE as one of your food plans. The message that I take from Beck diet skills is that you are using these as a supplement to what your food plan and your exercise plan. She is not endorsing WW, SB or MF, just to find something that works for you and is respectful of your existing health conditions.

As you can read here, BBE can handle BBQ places and I pass, some of us are juicers(chefjoona or is marycontrary?) whereas I am a chewer. Some here can handle a small piece of dessert (any one but me) where I am much better in a "no sugar" zone. However, the one thing we all have in common is that we use Beck skills (or in the process of applying them) to our existing life and our food/exercise plans.

Long story short: I think you are on the right track and you are finding your own way. We are here to support you as you find your own "truth".

So, Yes, to what works for you and if it doesn't we will be here to help you find another way. Many paths lead to the same Truth. I just hope I can be respectful of all of you as you have been of me. That is my sincere desire.

Love Pam