I can't believe this! I lost a long post but TG I saved it in Word so I will C/P it and hope this all makes sense to you.

4EverLearning Wonderful insights on the ambivalence people feel about meeting certain weight lose goals. Again, this is worth sharing in my other group. [P.S. when I share, I do not share personal details just the general content of your inspiring moments, thoughts, etc.] Good news is worth sharing. :grouphug:

Dr. Beck has a good dialogue in the hot pink book about a woman who was putting her life on hold until she weighed less. Any change, even good change, is scary but life is not static so we just need to learn to "go with the flow" and sometimes even "wing it".

It has been so long that I have been a "normal weight" that I am not even sure when that will happen. Something tells me it might even sneak up on me. I do have memories of when I was and I try to keep those fresh in my "inner memory box" so I know what I am "capable of". In the meantime, I am careful to think, do and behave in ways that support my emerging thinner self. I just feel that part of this journey is so vital. I am very careful about self-talk. Although I have eaten more than I would have preferred in the past couple of days I don't want to react hysterically (well, that is what it feels like sometimes) and then boomerang the opposite direction. I remind myself, "Calm down, you can correct this!" Then, I do and I am back "on track" to where I want and need to be.


Tazzy So, how is the project going with going through your closet? I am not sure if you had joined here yet when I was sharing about my same venture but I really feel that since Beck stresses the "mental, emotional and behavioral" aspects of both weight lose and maintenance, it would be in my best interest to get all reminders of my former "uber-fat" self out of the closet, out of my home and out of my life. Whoosh!

I have hung onto a handful of favorites though "justifying" that wearing a looser t-shirt when I sleep allows air circulation so I'm not having one of those "power surges" like I used to. Yesterday, I put on one of my favorite walking shorts to go to the library. I wore it with a top that tied at the waist, something I would never had dared before because of how my lower abs looked. However, when I caught the reflection of myself in the glass door, I realized that "Wow! These shorts are just way too big for me to be wearing them any more." I looked like I was a child wearing their parents' clothes. The first thought that raced through my mind is "Do people think I didn't look in the mirror before I left home?" Well, actually I did but obviously what I saw then was different than what I saw at that moment. I swear adapting my "inner body image" to "actual body image" comes at the most "unexpected times". At least, now, it is going in the right direction!

Beverlyjoy -- I hear your struggles, bev!! I am with you on this. Although I am very pleased to be able to "tolerate" the added work load of one more session on the treadmill, I fell into that "slippery slope" of thinking that now that you are busting your chops you can eat more!
Another fallacy that will keep me right where I am at. I am afraid of eating less and working out more. There I said it. I have this irrational fear that I will wilt like a daisy in the hot sun if I don't shore myself up for these work-outs. I C/Ped today's "Experiments" and I am going to tape a card to my hand and read it! F.E.A.R.= false evidence appearing real.

missyj -- I am ambivalent about competitions regarding weight lose since I think it can bring up a lot of unhealthy emotions, at least it does in me, about "best, better, worse and no show". However, it can be fun too as long as you don't get where it brings the out in you. I am starting a "Spontaneous Movement" at my BLC group. I have also shared with them many of these Beck tips throughout the current challenge since I just feel like without them you are like a small boat in a large ocean with big waves. You are just going to get tossed around a lot without the compass of Beck. The success of Bill et al is the proof Beck works.

Lexxiss -- Great Job on choosing well even when faced with an unplanned choice. That is Beck at work in the most sublime moments.

gardenerjoy -- Major Credit for an on plan day in the midst of not feeling 100%!

BBE -- I think we all have a love/hate relationship with how our computers perform. Great Job in staying OP in spite of life's curve balls. So, now that the World Series is coming upon us, are you rooting for one or the other team?

Stats for 9/28:
**2694 calories 7 grams fiber 3868 mg sodium
**5700 steps and 4-10 minute sessions on the treadmill (between 1.7 and 2.0 mph)
**F/V-spinach, broccoli, grapes, lite cranberry juice

Speaking of FREE I had a FREE appetizer with our "2-for house sirloin entrees" at Applebee's and when I got home and looked up the calories, fat, carbs and sodium, I almost fell off my chair! 1500 calories with 2300 mg sodium for the spinach artichoke dip and tortilla chips. Paul doesn't like cheese so I had it all to myself. All I can say is that it is amazing that I only gained .4 lbs but even so, I am so mad at myself for being such a fool.

Credit: for logging it and reporting it. Credit for getting back on the treadmill and walking some of it off. Credit for "hand to the plow" and definitely hopeful that it won't happen again any time soon. (it was sooooo good though!)
__________________

I am so tired tonight that I can hardly hold my head up, so this will be a short post.

my report: My weight was down .8 this morning. Had a session with my personal trainer (worked on upper body strength). Ate slowly and mindfully. Read my cards. Stuck to my plan. Contacted my diet buddy. Posted here.

I'm a slam-dunker of diet sodas, too, and have been since I was around 6 years old when Tab first came out, sweetened with cyclamates (ack). My mother actually gave me large quantities of Tab when I was a kid. I think she thought it had magical powers and would somehow make me lose weight. If only that were true; I'd have been skinny for years!! In graduate school, when I had to live on a $335 monthly assistantship and kept track of every penny I spent, Tab was actually my single biggest expense--more than my rent!!! I was never without a can of Tab in my hand. I can still picture myself when I first started teaching college classes (as a grad student). I always sat cross-legged on the desk, wearing my ubiquitous bib overalls and a T-shirt, my long straight hair down to my waist, with a can of Tab in my hand. Anyway, diet soda is my last really bad habit. And I do believe that it IS a really bad habit. Every time I have tried to quit, and I've tried many times, I've never made it through more than a few hours of "abstinence." I am absolutely addicted to it.

DUH on the "difference" between buddies and coaches!! LOL!! I had forgotten that Beck used two different words. I prefer the word buddy.

I am so looking forward to the Beck workshop this weekend. Then I will have just one more work day to get through before I have surgery on Tuesday.

Have a great day tomorrow, everyone!

Robin

I am overwhelmed with the new posts and short on time, so this is a quick drive by posting.

Hi and best wished to everyone <3

I didn't get far in Beck before, but I started looking at it after I had already been in an eating program. I am doing it right this time. I worked on my response cards. I didn't weigh because I was out of town. I did write down everything though.

Credits, I didn't binge on the salt that I am craving, and I went to dance class even though I didn't feel like it. My feet are paying, but I am feeling good that I went.

Current dischord in my life (won't go into it now,) but I am ripe for emotional eating, but so far I have resisted.

xoxo

So, here's the problem I'm having with exercise. Most of the last two years if I hadn't exercised by about 5pm, I'd do it then. This month, in which I've cut my afternoon snacks down from 2 to 1 and in which I am suffering from ragweed and mold allergies, when 5pm rolls around, I'm hungry and grumpy because it's more than two hours before supper and tired from my allergy malaise and usually behind on my to do list. Desire to exercise is not much of a match for hunger, grumpiness, fatigue, and overwhelm. I'm not sure what to do about this.

Some ideas:
Make the afternoon snack later. 4:30, perhaps.
Exercise earlier. Although that overwhelming to do list makes me resistant to taking prime working time for exercise.

I'm open to more ideas if anyone has any thoughts. I guess I'll try putting my afternoon snack off until later tomorrow and see how that works.

WI: +0.05kgs, Exercise: +15 600/1300 minutes for September, Food: 100%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

Friday
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Stayed on plan for the day (CREDIT moi) until I grabbed a fist full of DW's trail mix to ward off some feeling (ouch). I climbed up and down a zillion stairs as I chased after small problems with three contractors working at the same time. Yay for the benefits of being the diligent homeowner who gets to steer the contractors in places that are arbitrary for them but important to us.

And talk about instant gratification: I ordered a book from Amazon Wednesday afternoon and it was at my door Thursday morning. Unbelievable!


gardenerjoy – So clearly stated, "Desire to exercise is not much of a match for hunger, grumpiness, fatigue, and overwhelm." Sending supportive thoughts that you find your solution. It might be worth considering letting go some of the to-do list before the day starts - as a gift to your sanity.

Beverlyjoy – Neat that your laugh therapist is arriving early. LOL at "I am going to plan, plan, and plan some more. (and PLAN for my s'more, too)"

pamaga – Good Grief!!! That Applebee's appetizer at 1500 calories and 2300 mg sodium is so unexpected. I wish it was unusual - but apparently it's fairly normal for restaurants these days. [I'm still in shock about the Red Sox failing to make the playoffs, so haven't yet chosen my team to cheer for. Today's Boston Globe has a front-page article about the effect on young fans of the Red Sox not making it.]

missyj - Bon Voyage on your 10 month journey. Kudos for your first day OP.

BelovedK - Kudos for avoiding that salt craving. Sending supportive thoughts for finding a path through the discord.

Val (va1erie) – Yep, "Move on." Have a good trip. We'll be on the October thread when you get back. Love the use of those Bravo stickers.

Robin (4EverLearning) - Your Tab story is amazing. Gotta love the image of you teaching class, cross-legged on the desk top holding a can of Tab.

Readers -

Weighed today and was down 2 pounds :) This morning, I am going to get farther in the book, and read my response cards, I will also read them when I get home from work before I fix dinner.

Family is here. BTW - I was down two pounds yesterday. I have healthy food available - along with some goodies for my family. Time to play.

Have a great day.

Good Morning, Coaches
Every minute of the last few days has been scheduled. I took this morning off to pitter patter around and stare at the wall. Spent all day yesterday preparing my art curriculum for DS class for the year. Did a terrific interactive activity on collage with a smartboard and then we created multi media autumn collages. Lots of smiles all around. One little girl screamed over to DS "Your mom is awesome." Credit for letting myself feel good about it. After I taught then I worked out, then I went to a meeting, then , then. It has really been like that since Monday.

The good news is when I have been that busy historically, I head for a major break down. This time, although I haven't been comfortable with all the feelings, I am proud of my behavior. Good changes are happening. Still not completely OP. It has been nearly four days, but I ate no CRAP (see chocolate) yesterday which is a big credit. Two pounds from ticker.

4everlearning: Interesting ideas on plateau. It is quite possible I haven't lost the last 4 pounds because of self sabotage. I am comfortable staying within a healthy BMI and letting more be revealed. Developing and practicing healthy habits is the most important thing.
Beverleyjoy: Aren't you the one who made Kale Chips? How did they turn out?
Gardenerjoy: Have you thought about splitting your exercise. I seem to be willing to take 20 mins of exercise despite and unbelievable schedule even though I won't do 40 mins. I always think something is better than nothing.
BBE: Amazon is seductive, is it not. I feel like when I use it, though, I am putting small business America into danger.
Hope everyone else is well.

Hi Coaches & Buddies,

Thought about posting yesterday but had a pretty off plan day and did not even read my cards. I did however weigh and I've been wavering back and forth between .6 of a pound. I woke up with a headache and sore neck and just felt generally yucky all day. Started to track what I was eating and found myself randomly snacking all afternoon. I did write everything down and did add the calories up this morning. About 600 over where I should have been so it's back on track today. I took these 2 days off work to mentally and physically rest and I guess I made a good start yesterday, kept finding myself wanting to fall asleep and finally gave in for a nap.

Not much more incentive this morning to start on the to-do list but I'm not feeling guilty about it either. Will start to tackle the clothes closet soon. My plan is to get rid of the clothes that don't fit, big or small. I also want to clean out the ones that do fit but don't look good. I have a tendency to do this once in awhile and get in a purging mood and there's no mercy for anything hanging there. But after all if it's been hanging there since this time last year there's not much chance I'll wear it this winter! Last time I did it was 2 years ago, I had lost almost the same amount of weight I currently have and I decided I could do WW on my own, well the weight creeped back on and I was left with 2 pairs of pants that fit comfortably. I have a totally different mindset this time and have proven to myself that CC does work for me at home. I'm much happier to be spending the money I did on WW to go to my Zumba classes twice a week. And I can come here for a very supportive group of people, I would have never shared this much in a WW meeting. Thanks everyone for that! :hug:

I'm not sure how many CC on this board but I'm wondering if I'm at the right calorie level as I seemed to be stalled a bit again. I have a really good digital scale that I can program in my age, height, gender and activity level. It will then give me my weight, BMI, % of body fat and the calorie level I need to eat to maintain that weight. I am currently eating 1500 calories per day, based on a formula from the calorie counting book I use. My scale however says I need to eat around 2200 to maintain my weight and I would normally subtract the 500 from that to get the 3500 per week deficient suggested for a 1 pound loss. Any suggestions from anyone? My first thought is to lower the calories to lose but I'm wondering if I should be increasing them. I don't factor in my calories burned from exercise at all as I think I probably overestimate how much I actually burn.

Well that closet is calling so best strike while the iron is hot! Happy Friday everyone.

Pedometers and Calorie Counters
 

I meant to do this earlier but other things "beck"oned so I just got around to this.

Tazzy here is a link to calculate http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

In the pink book (Beck Diet Solution) Dr Beck recommends this: lower your calories by 200 per day and/or increase your calories burned by 200 calories until you see the scale go down.

The simplest and cheapest way I have found to accurately measure how many calories I burn each day is to wear a pedometer. The brand that I wear is Omron and it cost me $35. You can purchase it at REI (fitness and sporting store---chains are usually located within strip malls) and/or Wal-mart. I am sure they are elsewhere as well. You do need to program it to your weight (and need to reprogram it as you lose weight). However, once you have done that (instructions included) it measures: time, steps, aerobic steps (they are different), kcal(calories burned), miles "stepped/walked/run,etc".

You hit the Mode button to switch to each separate screen to view your "progress". It measures your "movement" from 12:01 a.m.-11:59 p.m. and it automatically clears itself out at the stroke of midnight so you need to be mindful of that if you are also keeping track somewhere else of your "movement". Now, if you wear it while you are doing toning exercises the only ones that it picks up on are abs since you are moving your torso. As many people I know who wear one of these, seeing the results of your "movement" really is an incentive in of itself to "move more". 10,000 steps per day is the "gold standard" that trainers and fitness experts like to see.

I have had mine for 8 months and purchased it for the sole purpose of being able to report my "movement" results within a group I was in at the time. I clip it onto my waistband when I am in the house and I put it in my pocket when I go out. Be careful when you bend over because it can go "flying" and I have had to retrieve it from some very unlikely places.

[There is also the Body Bugg which is even more accurate but that costs $150. I would like to purchase that when I have lost 100 lbs as a non-food reward]

I am a calorie counter. I also measure my foods every time except when I am out and then I have had to use my fists, etc. to determine portion sizes. I can not imagine not doing this. I just feel like our eyes fool us and as I have shared here from time to time it is shocking how many calories are in something as innocent as a shallow dish of spinach artichoke dip (double what my entire sirloin entree meal was).

I also log my food onto a food log on another site. There are several different sites. I so happen to use Biggest Loser Club because I am a member there but sparkpeople and livestrong both have good ones as well. I am not the best person when it comes to staying within my recommended calorie range (which BLC has determined to be 1400-1800 calories per day) but I still do it faithfully every day. I just think it is a good habit to get into.

The standard "rule of thumb" is to not go below 1200 calories per day for women because you risk not getting all of the essential nutrients. Also, as a person continues to reduce their body weight a reduction in calories is also needed because a smaller body needs less calories to "operate". Much like a smaller car engine needs less fuel.

I have already noticed that when BLC reduced my recommended calorie range from 1800-2100 as I lost weight that I now have to be more careful about how I "spend calories". When you are eating more you can be a little more sloppy. I am guessing that as I move down the scale, I will have to run a tighter ship when it comes to how I divide my calories. In fact, I am already learning the hard way how unplanned eating can sabotage the best laid plans.

It just dawned on me that I am posting late enough where you may not view this since we will be clearing this monthly thread to start a new one for October so I will save all of this information and share it with you tomorrow, October 1st.

report: read my cards (with bravo stickers!), weighed (down .2), ate reasonably but not particularly slowly as I was on the road all day and trying to keep moving. I stopped and had lunch sitting down at a restaurant, though, and made good choices there, left over half my meal. Dinner at a Moroccan restaurant. Fresh homemade pita, but I only ate about 3/8 of one pita. Ate half the entree, a meatball tagine with a perfectly poached egg in the center that I broke open and mixed into the tomato sauce on the meatballs. Heavenly sauce but the meatballs were tough so it wasn't hard to eat only half of them. Back at my cousin's now and having a glass of wine. No time for call outs as I want to spend some time with my cuz. Have a great day, all!

I set a goal to weigh myself every day in September and I managed all but one day. I may have even weighed myself that day, but forgot to write it down. It helped!

Thanks BillBlueEyes for pointing out that the problem might be rooted in the to do list. I tried a different way of managing things today and kind of, accidentally, finished the presentation that I'm giving next week! Apparently allowing myself to work on whatever is most interesting to me can be quite productive.

Thanks maryann for the idea to split the exercise. I acted on that advice immediately, asking DH to go for a walk. We did and then I did a little more later for a not-too-shabby 50 minutes today!

WI: +0.3kgs, Exercise: +50 650/1300 minutes for September, Food: 100%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

Tazzy: There were news stories just this week that the whole 3500 calories per pound thing is way too simplified to be accurate, and maybe too simplified to even be useful. I say give what you're doing a chance, say three weeks to a month, and if you're still stalled, lower the calories. Our individual experimentation is much more important than anything the books and experts say.

Discussion continues on the October 2011 Thread
 

Please join us as this discussion continues on

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/beck...ddy-coach.html

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List of Monthly Beck Threads for Support, Discussion, Buddy/Coach

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