Persisted in Victory
 

Hi Coaches , should I just say GOOD DAY!

I am doing a happy :carrot: dance this morning.
It's my official weigh-in day and I am 0.5lbs down from last Friday = 276 even. I saw a loss of 2.2lb this morning.

The happy :carrot: dance is not for the weightloss though I am relieved and thrilled to see it. (Thank you body.)
No, I am happy :carrot: dancing because for the first time is a very very very very long time I faced a stressful week, a very stressful day and night, a torrent of big emotions and I DID NOT EAT OVER ANYTHING.
I didn't!!!
OMG _THIS_ is what I have needed to do for years. When things are fine, I am fine but when they get tense or stressful or anxiety/crazymaking I used to eat. This time I didn't. I cannot tell you how important this is for me. YAY.
CREDIT CREDIT CREDIT.

Yesterday I also made a conscious effort to just eat less. I made my usual giant pot of chili and it was really good but I chose a bowl that was much more shallow than I usually do and it was smaller too. DH's was bigger.
I ate my bowl and didn't have seconds-I did succumb to a three tablespoonsful while at the stove in front of it when DH went back for seconds-and then I stopped. CREDIT.

I completed that 4 day win and read the next task, about the famine brain and making mental note/observing when I see a message around me that makes me a) think I must lose weight; also when I b) catch myself telling myself things to "make sure I'll lose weight"(you're tummy is so big you should lose weight-you don't have enough energy you should lose weight etc) c)then noticing which emotions are brought up by these thoughts (thoughts generate emotional states--sound familiar Becksters??) and d) holding these thoughts in my mind do I feel MORE of a desire to eat or LESS? She says, and this was radical to me:
This state creates a biological panic in our body which makes us afraid, and fear makes us keep our fat. Lean times ahead! So that means, as I understand it, our biology revs up so we eat eat eat to stop this life or death famine from happening to us. She says we can't keep fighting our biology. We will never win. I'm telling you, this book is really helping me and a great twin to BDS.

Everything worked itself out between DH and I btw. We've stayed together so long I think cause neither of us wants to live in tense, worried, stressful homelives. I noticed we were being extra kind to each other once more. It's a good thing. I can count on one hand the times we've had bad times. That's good for 19 years and 333 days, or close to that.

I think I am finally ready for the ceramic studio. I've decided to make Messenger Birds for my studio tour. We'll see where I go with that.

Bye for now... TGIF--long weekend ahead!!!

onebyone: huge credit for getting thru the stress without over eating. That is a triumph:
marycontrary: glad to hear from you.
gardenerjoy: I read a course in weightloss and parts of it were very helpful. I found my new favorite prayer in there:
God, teach me to forgive myself and others. Remove walls that keep love out behind which I am a prisoner. HEAL MY GUILT and REMOVE MY ANGER.
BBE: You need to read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. There is a buddha to be found in your stove.

Happy Vacation to all

I am packing this morning to camp on the Russian River on the northern coast. I am at sticker weight and am afraid I will gain after it has taken me a week to stay here. :( My plan: I will buy two prepackage salads for lunch and dinner so I don't have to worry about Friday. Saturday and Sunday will be exactly the same. Nothing new. Old, boring and I know exactly the calorie count. I will focus on my OTHER senses to fill me up with pleasure - sight of the beautiful ocean. Smell sound. Hugs from DS.
I am losing weight because I have proven I can do it. It is not a fluke. (ARC Card)

Hi all :) Welcome Lovely, I guess we're just one day apart on Beck now because today is the big day - Finding Diet Coaches/Buddies! Since I've been posting here already it was a pretty easy step. I do, however, need to be mindful and keep the momentum of posting here either daily or a few times a week. What good is would diet coaches/buddies be if I didn't check in with them, right? :D

Yesterday was an easy day on plan, I made it through my last very long shift at work and got news that I will be training for a new position in two weeks which I am very happy about. I give myself credit for not eating the extra calories I had left over last night because I wasn't actually hungry. My sabotaging thoughts tried their hardest, but I told them to GO AWAY :)

Today is going to be stressful. I am going to have a lot of times when I will be crossing temptation; going to the movies with a friend, then out to dinner, and finally grocery shopping. I am almost done making a list for the grocery store and plan to stick to it like glue and I am researching a few local chain places to get calorie counts to figure out what I could order. Popcorn is a huge downfall for me at the movies and I am planning on buying a 'Kids Pack' which offers around 3 cups of popcorn, small bag of fruit snacks, and a small sized beverage. That way I can still enjoy some but I won't be mindlessly munching on a huge bag for 2 hours. This friend is actually my former room mate from college and she is very supportive of my lifestyle change so I am going to tell her my above plan and ask her nicely if she could nudge me in the right direction if I try to stray off path today.

I think that about covers it for now, I will try to get back here and post an update on how I did tonight but if not I will have one tomorrow. Have a great day everybody :hug:

Hello Beckfolks/coaches - yesterday was a healthy day.. I am so grateful. I found the willingness to step away from the overeating I did the day before.

I got on the scale today and saw a two pound loss! YAY. My total for the month of August is down 8 pounds. I am very grateful and happy to find the willingness to try again.

We have a busy/food laden weekend ahead. My SIL is coming on Saturday from out of town and we'll have the cousins, etc over for a cookout here that evening. Monday - we are having a neighborhood cookout for two families moving on our street. The good thing is I have some control over what is served or available. So - on Saturday we will have London Broil, salad, corn on the cob and garlic bread. Cousin is bringing dessert. Monday will be hamburgers, veggie tray, baked beans (I don't like em). Someone else will bring dessert or it will be a watermelon. I am planning ahead but, taking it one challenge at a time.

Yesterday's I:
drank lots of water
planned/measured/logged food and put in food tracker
ate mostly seated
no seconds
tried to slow down
left a bite

Today I'd like to do the above things plus add: meditation, TASTE the food, stretches and strengthening (done) - read my ARC/RC/Beck info.

Thanks to everyone for your support, thoughts, and ideas.

:welcome: lovely to the 3FC Beck Diet Solution Group.

Slow and mindful eating is the only thing that I would get an A in. I am so accustomed to eating most hot foods cool that I don't know what I would do with a 30 minute lunch break like some people. If any of us here will ever get together, make sure you remember to order coffee or sip water after you eat because I will still be finishing up. (DH does this all the time) Scout's honor!

Great Job "right out of the gate". You will nail this. I just know.:D

Bill I wish we could get washers/dryers that would last. We have replaced the ones we bought new in 2004 and it looks like we need to get another dryer asap. Nothing seems to last including paying for all this. Did you do the electrical work for the stove?? My DH would never attempt this.

marycontrary Hey GF, glad to see you back! :congrat: on your 1 year anniversary of the "Beck way" and the weight lose to boot. You got 'er down! :woohoo: Thanks for thinking of us :grouphug: to share this GREAT NEWS!

onebyone Homeostatis in the home again. How lovely! My DH and I have only "quibbles" too. We once had a blow out fight and we both ended up bawling afterwards. It was such a mess! So, we just snip at each other once in awhile. Last night, I requested some raisins (having problems with C) and he forgot them. He said, "Well, if we would have a date more often, then I would remember your raisins!" :tantrum: Whoa!!! I said "Well, who was too tired last Saturday night?? Hmmmm." :dunno: I always win!:D :rofl:

Super Great Job in not overeating over the malaise of the moment, onebyone! I have found that when I began counting calories, by default, I was actually stretching my food dollar more since I wasn't overeating (or not on purpose). My food bill dropped in half when I really knuckle down. I spent a whole week eating leftovers for lunch a couple of weeks ago and I was not complaining. They were as good the second time as they were the first. You can do this!!

beverlyjoy You are always so hard on yourself when you have had a "not so good" day. Be gentle to yourself. You are doing so well overall. Don't let a bump in the road swerve you off course.

Miche702 Great Plan for the movies. I do this at McDonald's. I order a kid's meal and then turn to the nearest child and ask them which toy they want. The parents are always surprised and the child is delighted.

gardenerjoy The most profound event that happened in my life in the past three years was my mom dying. It was totally unexpected how the events turned out but it brought me such a different perspective on life, possessions, what is important (and what isn't) and just what a gift we have been given "being alive". I would almost say it was a pivotal moment in my life among others. I am a kinder, gentler, more tolerant and loving person as a result. I just have a hard time being mean any more. How can I be?? People are such wonderful creatures. I see you and eusebius are seekers. "Seek and you shall find."

Superchick, eusebius, tazzy Love goes your way.

Now, that you are all refreshed; naps, no chocolate (chocolate-debate continues) and cycling; have a great weekend!

Stats for Day 24 9/1:
**1917 calories, 20 grams fiber, 2497 mg sodium
**did 20 min low impact aerobic (left knee got in way of giving it 100%)
**increased Lower Body Strength exercises to 3 sets of 15 reps with 5 lb ankle weights (now, this felt like a workout!)
**increased abs to 3 sets of 15 reps =180 total(4 parts)
**H2O-64 oz (this time I actually counted how much I drank)
**walked 1.5 miles slowly
**F/V: spinach, tomato, carrots, red grapes, NS o.j., NS cranberry juice, whole apple, cooked cabbage, green beans

Lost sodium bloat so had to change my ticker again. Over the "white knuckling" of less calories. Doing okay with food plan. Need to go grocery shopping tonight. Get some movies. Got a coupon in the box (see next) for 2 free dvds from RedBox kiosk. We love Orville Redebachers 94% Fat Free "Pop Up Bowl" popcorn. Keep poppin all!

Like onebyone, I was struck by a quote from my reading today, too:
WI: +0.4kgs, Exercise: +45 90/1300 minutes for September, Food: 70%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

Great to see you, MaryContrary!

onebyone: oh yay! This feels like a real breakthrough for you!

and, greetings to one and all! Happy holiday weekend to everyone who has one!

Wow! Thank you all for the heartwarming welcomes! I feel so sincerely, well, welcome here! :D

Funny story... which I promise I'll try to keep brief as I tend to be verbose.

The VERY short version: Google brought me to 3FC a long time ago. I joined back in Sept/Oct 2007 under a different username. I lost over 100 pounds. Stuff happened. (No excuses, though!) Gained it back. Re-joined 3FC May of this year with my game face on (and a different name).

Finding Beck: I have to credit 3FC. I was glancing around the site. I realized that while I knew a little bit about all sorts of diets (Atkins, South Beach, Calorie Counting, IP) that I knew nothing of this "Beck Diet Solution". Come to find out while searching this section that it's not a diet program per say, but rather a program about making permanent, sustainable changes. I was on board immediately. Especially with having gained back 100 pounds once. I do not think that I can express in words just how much I never, never, never (ad infinity) want to go back to my highest weight. I thought, "If this book can give me even one tool that will help me maintain every pound I lose, this will be worth it." I ordered the book.... and here I am! :)

Day 7 was yesterday. Arrange my environment.

One of the benefits of already following an eating plan and all my past experience is that some of these steps are already ingrained in me. Still, I want to make this a conscious effort. It's a lot easier to avoid temptations entirely by keeping certain foods out of sight & out of mind. (And some foods out of house!)

I took a look around my kitchen, and the only thing I had out was onions potatoes and bread, as usual. I examined my cabinets, and I already have the semi-tempting foods in slightly awkward places that won't call out to me.

I did take the opportunity to re-arrange a few things on my usual shopping list. Not quite environmental in a home/works sense, but should help a smidge with grocery stores.

Again, thank you all for the welcomes! :grouphug:

Check List 9/2 (Day 7)
* Read my A&RCs twice: :yes:
* Ate slowly & mindfully: Twice today out of three meals. And 2 out of 3 ain't bad!
* Credit (Stickers for me!): Often!
* Made changes at home/work: :yes:

Saturday
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Big CREDIT moi for standing down a BIG urge to go eat something to resolve just-another-crisis. I pulled out "Just say NO" and continued on. The crisis resolved by a quick trip to the despised big box stores to find out why the stove was delivered with a dent and wasn't the one we purchased anyway. Turns out it was the one we ordered - it just didn't have the features that the salesman told us it would have, Ouch! The most amazing thing is that we were able to change models, get the same percentage sales price, and have it delivered tomorrow (Sunday) so that we will be ready for plumbers. Successful resolution made not eating about it all the sweeter.

onebyone - KUDOS for "and I DID NOT EAT OVER ANYTHING" - such joy in your post!!! Yay for making the decision on what to make at your ceramic studio tour.

Joy (gardenerjoy) – Love the quote, "One of the reasons people consume anything too much is because they don’t consume other things enough."

Beverlyjoy – Congrats on your eight pound August. And Kudos for "I am planning ahead but, taking it one challenge at a time."

maryann - Just love, "I am losing weight because I have proven I can do it. It is not a fluke." [Thanks for the nudge to Zen and the Art of Motor Cycle Maintenance - it’s been on my list for decades but I haven't picked it up.]

Pam (pamatga) – Kudos for continuing to increase your lower body strength exercises. [Yep, did the electrical for the stove. I find electrical easier than gas.]

Michi702 - LOL at "but I told them to GO AWAY" - but with Kudos. Neat to solicit your former roommate to stay the course at the movies.

Lovely - Thanks for the brief story - with big Ouch for the 100 pound round trip. Neat attitude to be open to "even one tool that will help me maintain every pound I lose" - seems like you're on your way.

Readers -

Hi friends... yesterday was a healthy day... I am always grateful for that.

I fulfilled many of my goals:
eat seated only - yes
fork down between bites - some of the time
no seconds -yes
leave a bite - yes
slow mindful eating - nope... stll too fast
log/measure/log/food tracker all my food - yes
journal - yes
meditation - YES
stretches and strengthening - yes
lots of water - not quite enough
weighed - yes
Arc/rc/beck - no

All the neighbors gathered and were chatting. DH didn't get home until 7pm. I had dinner ready (tuna salad). He/we stayed outside until 8:45 - I ate dinner then. It didn't 'kill' me to wait and realized that I don't have to eat by what the clock says. I did, however, have a slice of lite cheese at 6pm.

The little neighbors always run over to say hi when DH and I get home. They spotted Dh’s bag of BBQ Chips and asked to have some. After it was cleared with their parents I held the bag of chips for an hour as they came back and forth nibbling. I got through it thinking of their ‘grubby’ hands going in an out of the bag and I didn’t want to eat them after that. Said no choice… Credit!

Today we will have out of town company and a cookout: London Broil, tossed salad, corn on the cob, garlic bread, watermelon, & brownies (cousin bringing & will take extras or they go in the trash immediately.)

I have been waking up all week at 3 or 4 am. What's that about??? Maybe some cammomile tea. However, I haven’t been eating in the middle of the night except once all week.

Billbe - major credit for pulling out NO CHOICE when faced with all the stove drama.So glad it was resolved with no extra food in the equation. Credit!

Lovely - so glad you found Dr. Beck's techniques. You have a wonderful attitude about any and all 'advice' is in her book. Kudos for setting up your kitchen to exclude all the major tempting things.

onebyone - .5 down... yippee. (you know it's two sticks of butter!!!) Wonderful quote about being chronically hungry. Thanks for sharing. Glad you are ready for the ceramic studio.

maryann - thanks for sharing that prayer. Credit for bringing your salad. Have a good trip.

gardenerjoy - thanks for reposting onebyone's quote... good to read it again. Credit for reading your rc/arc!

pamatga - it's wonderful that you are slow eater... I struggle with slowing down. It show's me it can be done! I notice that you consistently have lots of fruits and veggies. Credit.

Michi - Credit for your good planning of your movie snacks... planning is key. You said: What good is would diet coaches/buddies be if I didn't check in with them, right? Yes, indeed!! It's easy to 'run away' when we aren't doing so good. But, ultimately it's the coaches and friends who may be able to help. That being said... there are times when I have 'run away' for a way... but, I always come back.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Already the 3rd of September? Really??
 

Hello Coaches

Woke up this morning and weighed myself *credit* and saw 0.0lbs change. ot up or down. That's pretty rare.

I went to the Y yesterday to get my free 2 week pass and they told me to come and get it on the day that I would be working out--which will be Tuesday, as I confirmed that it does cover water aerobics. :swim:

I was worried I didn't do my 1st of 4 daily 4 Day Win exercises from my book, the one about noticing when my Famine Brain is triggered. Then I remembered that right after I finished my dinner, like right right after I saw it was done, right away I had a series of thoughts: "this isn't enough. I want more. I'm not full" I then felt a strong strong urge to go get more. I felt a bit afraid. I felt very compulsive. It was all very very quiet. I really had to take the time to stop, be calm and listen. I told DH how I was feeling and he told me to "let it settle" so I took a deep breath and thought "what can I do to change this?" and I decided to have a cup of coffee. Coffee does wonders for me and it is like a period at the end of a sentence to me. It just gives me enough time and calmness to move on, put it behind me, start something else. *credit for taking the time to do the exercise, write it down and work it through so I do not eat food I do not need.

The only part of my new 4 day exercise I didn't do completely was my daily small reward of reading Buzz Aldrin's book for 30 min. I did manage 10min right before bed *credit

I am repeating my success today. That's my plan.

Have a good Saturday Becksters.

gardenerjoy April 2009; I decided to forego the monthly payment of $140 to our off-site storage unit and begin to sort through everything. It has been quite a journey spiritually as well. I gave away a recumbent bike that hurt my knees. It was barely used. I have given t.v., furniture, etc. You name it and it went to Goodwill or other charitable organizations. So far, to date, I have given away 15 lawn-size garbage bags of clothes alone!! Talk about excess! I am living proof of your quote.

Regarding the excess of clothes; I was desperately unhappy about my body image, my obesity, etc. (I mean duh!) so I felt like "if only" I had more, more, more clothes, that would somehow "fix my feelings so crummy about myself". NO! No! NO! :nono: Once I began to take the courage to donate all of those clothes that made me feel even worse when I either tried them on or just allowed them to hang there in my closet, and I began to focus on changing the actual "hanger" (my body) that those clothes hung on, then my body image began to improve.

Right now, I have empty pockets of space in my side of our walk-in closet. However, what I do own, I know it fits and it makes me look "really good". I always thought I had to be surrounded by lots of stuff. I am one of the "original Material Girls".:D I was always maxed out on my credit cards, I always a sucker for a last minute shopping spree and I was also heavily in debt most of my life. That was another stress on top of everything else. So, why not eat over that as well? The circle just kept going around and around and around.

Well, I have always said that I had a tri-core addiction: food, money and bad people. It is always interesting (to me anyway) that when I make steps in one area, the other areas improve quite a bit. As I organized my home space, which I was going for serenity and calm oasis (did it), it became easier to work on my weight, when I asked for what I really needed (a hug, an ear to listen or someone to laugh with and be silly) from only the very best people, I didn't need to be punished, shamed or criticized.

Now, that I am getting more full on the inside, I just don't need all that stuff sitting around on the outside. It used to absolutely panic me if the refrigerator and cupboards weren't brimming over with foods (usually bad ones too) but here I am several days past due for a complete grocery store trip and I looked into a nearly bare refrigerator, shrugged and had a cup of skim milk for breakfast. That was enough.

May you and everyone here be blessed with this kind of journey's end. The trip was tiring and at times I got lost but I believe I am on the final lap. Whew!

Stats for Day 25 9/2:

**1832 calories 31 g fiber 2229 mg sodium
**walked 2 miles (used pedometer for accuracy)
**did 3-10 minute sessions on treadmill---did interval walking 1.5-1.7 mph
**increased to 3 sets of 15 reps each for Upper Body Strength Exercises with 3 lbs hand weights
**F/V: banana, apple, red grapes, mixed vegetables on organic pizza
**Post: yes
**Planned:have a general idea what I plan to eat but wait to log it on BLC food log until it is prepared
**Log: Every day every bite No Matter What!
**H2O--I forget to keep count but chewed lots of ice (new favorite this past summer)
**Sleep-7 hours (burning the midnight oil too much!)

Hi Coaches!

I tried to post Friday morning and couldn't from my computer:
"Hi Coaches! I made healthy choices yesterday and used my Beck skills to successfully navigate an unexpected lunch out. Exercise was major painting and scraping, which included a skywalk on a big ladder I've been up 20 hours...frustrated by a section of roof which needs to be replaced which will necessitate another trip next week. Oh, well...for some reason, I didn't eat over my frustration...just couldn't sleep."

Since then....

We finished our painting job :woohoo:....I attended opening eve of my 35th class reunion enjoying water and about 4 or 5 tortilla chips....we traveled back over to our western locale. Today was a planned "off plan" day. We had our annual BBQ for our therapy dog organization. We're taking an official day off tomorrow...no church...no work...no obligations. We will eat leftovers, then Monday it will be back to basics. I made a giant pie today and was grateful to have the willingness to scoop all the extra pie crust into my compost pile, knowing I could enjoy it on the pie later. *credit*

Since my Friday personals are a little outdated, I'll regroup here very soon.

I finally posted a review of The Beck Diet Solution on my blog: http://www.joyweesemoll.com/2011/09/...judith-s-beck/

WI: -0.3kgs, Exercise: +45 135/1300 minutes for September, Food: 90%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

Sunday
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies - DW and I lost a virginity together - our first-time-to-Ikea virginity. Kinda WOW and OUCH simultaneously. We went because it had a unique light fixture we couldn't find elsewhere - including the high end lighting stores. Super low prices on low quality stuff with dazzling good looks. It's great college dorm furnishing for those who get out in four years. CREDIT moi for the effort to get what we needed to move our project along.

And Kudos to Ikea for selling a delightfully small, 75 cent, frozen yogurt when we were both looking for a fix to the brain damage that place caused, LOL. CREDIT moi for an acceptable substitute for my afternoon snack instead of the 99 cent large dark chocolate bars, in huge mounds, calling my name.


onebyone - Great advice, that "let it settle" - Kudos for taking that path and (re)discovering that coffee is "like a period at the end of a sentence" after a meal.

Joy (gardenerjoy) – Thanks for sharing the link to your review of the Beck Diet Solution.

Beverlyjoy – Kudos both for the NO CHOICE and for giving yourself credit. Great strategy to think of grubby little hands.

Debbie (Lexxiss) - Yay for finishing that painting! Kudos for sending the extra pie crust to the compost.

Pam (pamatga) – I know the thought that more clothes is the fix to not liking our bodies or our clothes. It was such a joy to discover that I didn't hate packing for a trip if I had a few nice clothes that fit.

Readers -

Morning and Happy Sunday everyone! :D

Yesterday was Day 8 (Create Time & Energy) and that went really well!

I've always made time for exercising and for shopping healthier and eating healthier, but I never before actually wrote down a schedule or priorities. At first I did not want to, but as I got into it... well... it got to be fun! I ended up with a pretty good starting schedule.

I was also feeling very organized and I had some extra patterned printing paper, so I typed up check lists and materials from the book for up through Day 14 (end of week 2) and put them into a three-ring binder. Essentially I printed out my own workbook/reply notebook. I'm loving it. I get to check things off and respond to the questions the book asks. And it looks pretty! :lol:

I also figured it would help me stay on top of scheduling and planning as I move along in the book. A giant rainbow sticker of credit for me and this notebook. (I ... really do have stickers I'm putting on the pages >_>)

Check List 9/4 (Day 8)
*Read my A&RCs at least twice: :yes:
*Ate at the dining room table: THREE times out of the four meals I had. Happy about this!
*Credit given (stickers!): Happily and often. :)
*Scheduled dieting into my calendar: :yes:

A happy credit/side note: My own mother uses WW, too, and while we talk every once in a while, I got the chance to ask her specifically if she'd like to talk at least once a week about the program and weight loss, etc. So, I added yet another diet coach/buddy. Also, it's my mother, so I know she'll love me no matter what happens -- and I'd have terrible guilt if I avoided speaking to my own mother after I tell her we should speak more often. :lol: A good way to stay on plan and keep in touch!
---

For today, I'm going to be working both Day 9 (Select an Exercise Plan) and Day 10 (Set a Realistic Goal). The only reason I'm combining is that I have already done both of them a long time ago. I'm not trying to rush through the program, though, because some days (like Day 5) I spent multiple days on before taking another step forward. So these two days I'm confident about putting together, only because I have no qualms about spending a few days on a single day's step in the future when I need it. :yes:

Have a great day, everyone! :high: