Beck Diet For Life/Solution – September 2013 – Support, Discussion, Buddy/Coach
 

Welcome to the discussion group, support group, diet coach group, diet buddy group relating to the two books by Dr. Judith S. Beck:and the first bookThe Beck Diet Solution is a psychological program, not a food plan. It provides a step-by-step program to learn specific techniques to stay on our diet, lose weight, and maintain our weight loss for life. The program is based on Dr. Beck's clinical research in Cognitive Therapy (CT).

The Complete Beck Diet for Life expands the earlier work and includes a food plan with suggested menus. From the cover:This is a place to discuss the Beck strategies and our daily efforts, to receive and provide support, and, for some of us, is where we serve as on-line diet buddy (coach) to each other.

If you’ve arrived from a search engine, you’ve landed at the site of 3 Fat Chicks (3FC), a remarkable place for those interested in a healthy life style, including mindful eating, exercise, and weight loss. More about the site, including how to register so that you can post, can be found here.

The books are available on Amazon through the 3FC store by clicking their names above; buying through 3FC helps to cover the costs of running this site.

You can find the list of previous (or more current) monthly Beck threads here on 3 Fat Chicks via:

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

Diet Coaches/Buddies – It seems that Oregan is more than just expresso drive-thru kiosks and used book stores - although the abundance of both brings joy to my heart.

It also has wifi so I can start September's thread.

We're wandering down Route 101 headed toward the Redwoods. The ordinary Spruce and Pine are unusually tall compared to those that remain around Boston. Taking time to see Gray Whales each day. It's amazing. Around here you go to the beach and look west and there they are.

Even though it is merely hours since my last post (because I did yesterday's soooo late) here I am again. But this time in September! OP today except for meditation. Have decided that in light of my revelation that at the moment stretching is more importwnt than meditation I am going to aim to meditate 5 days oer week and stretch everyday, instead of the other way around.

bBe - glad to hear the trip is going well! Oregon made me think Portland, which made me think Portlandia, which made me think of this Portland based company that makes panniers that I stumbled upon a month or so ago - they look like awesome bags - but why I thought of them is that they have a video on there that could truly have come straight out of Portlandia :-) I will put a link, hopefully you will all find it as amusing as I did :-) http://northstbags.com/blogs/north-s...-top-hip-pouch

Welcome to September! I got half-way back to maintenance weight in August so I'm aiming for the other half in September.

WI: +0.15 in kg, Exercise: +40 1420/1500 minutes for August, Food: 80%op, Read my Advantages and Responses:

Thanks, BillBlueEyes, for getting us started for September! Your vacation sounds wonderful.

ForMyGirls: Good for you for switching up your plan to suit your needs.

Hi all--I started Atkins last Thursday and have stuck with it. I haven't stepped on the scale but my tummy is flatter already :)

And I didn't let my hormones get the better of me which means I ate plain ole almonds when I had a chocolate craving. Credit ME!

Hi everyone,

Food has been OP today although no exercise--I did enjoy reading on the deck in the sun, though!

At lunch, I finished eating before I ran out of cheeseburger--and at dinner, I stopped with corn on the cob, pineapple, and stuffed green pepper still on my plate. I was full--and I stopped. Credit for that!

My weight is below ticker--I'll probably update the ticker tomorrow. Between us, DH and I have lost over 70 pounds this year. We're pretty pleased with ourselves :-)

Tomorrow, I'm planning a light breakfast and light dinner, because DD has asked if we can go to Uno's. (I'm picking her up for room decorating retail therapy and Uno's is right next to the Ikea.)

I have a big party to go to next weekend and am hosting one the weekend after. Time for me to do some soul searching--do I want to lose more weight and reach my goals or do I want to eat nonstop/constantly at parties? I can't do both--it just doesn't work that way.

I'm taking time for personals today--new month, new stone--I think doing personals keeps me more connected to all of you and that much more committed to my path and goals.

Newlifestyle: Credit for putting together a few alternatives to switch between for breakfast and lunch! That makes things so much easier, I think--simple is easy to follow and it leaves only dinner to really "plan".

ForMyGirls: Credit for holding out the fruit bread--that sounds delicious! "Not feeling well" or "injured" is a slippery slope for me--sometimes, I truly can't exercise, but I don't want to strengthen my giving in muscle, so I struggle with it, too.

BillBE: I'm jealous of your whale watching! Thanks so much for taking vacation time to set up this new thread for us!

ForMyGirls: I think it's great that you're recognizing that while meditation is so important to you, stretching is even more so. Credit for keeping both of them at the forefront.

gardenerjoy: You were really close to your exercise goals for August--it's got to be inspiring to watch the minutes add up.

happyhoustonmommy: Serious credit for almonds over chocolate. Lots of people have great success with Atkins. I hope it's a good fit for you!

Take care, all.

Hello coaches,

A less than perfect day. Was my elder daughter's birthday so cake and dinner out. Definitely ate more than my share of carbs and ate beyond normal fullness! But the cheesecake was planned for and I had a sensible sized slice. And I didn't have any alcohol with dinner. So there were good decisions in there :-) another credit is I did ALL my stretches this morning. Oh - and I got some serious spontaneous exercise playing elastics with my kids this afternoon!

Gardener joy - yay for being halfway back to maintenance weight.

Happy Houston mummy - well done for overcoming a chocolate craving

Beth - stopping eating when full is a huge achievement. And twice in one day. Way to go.

Today's challenge is a family gathering. I'm bringing salad and I'll skip snacks out there.

This is an extra challenge with MiL in rehab care. We'll visit her on the way to the family gathering. It's hard to tell how things are going. She doesn't seem to be getting all the therapy we expected, but making judgments during a long holiday weekend probably isn't fair.

WI: NC in kg, Exercise: +60 60/1400 minutes for August, Food: 90%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

happyhoustonmommy: yay for trying something new!

bethfromDayton: congrats on you and hubby losing together! DH and I seem to take turns, which is a little crazy-making.

ForMyGirls: one of my principles for celebratory meals is wine or dessert, not both. So good job there! What is "playing elastics"?

:wave: Just popping in to say hello! And to say I had a little bet with myself that the expression "playing elastics" probably wouldn't have made the journey to the Americas. I'll leave ForMyGirls to explain but I'd say that knicker elastic is good for this game.

Trying to reimplement "eat only when sitting down" with poor success so far.

Hello coaches,
Haven't checked in for a while and while my weight is down I've started back sliding on the good habits. I've realized that when the scale doesn't go down I quickly start losing my commitment/zeal. I'm going to have to re-read several sections of the Book. I've been dealing with back spasms for the past couple of weeks and although I'm on the mend, it has made fitness training impossible. I always find that if I can work-out then I tend to stay on track much better. I was able to do 20 minutes on the elliptical today without pain so I'll give that a try each day this week and see how it goes. Wish me luck! It's a holiday weekend here in Canada (Labour Day) - hope all of you have a great holiday weekend or a decent Monday as applies :-)

Hi all,
Not been here a while. Just busy with end of Summer hols stuff. But I have been sticking OP most of the time and have lost 5lbs :-) So feeling pretty good. DS now in half cast up to knee and can bear weight which has made a big difference all round. They are back at school tomorrow so I expect to be here every day to give and receive support. And also commit to exercise again.

Hope you're all doing well. I will catch up on personals tmrw. I just wanted to post and not let another day go by without doing so.

3TL

Hello! Back from my trip to Lexxiss' stomping grounds in the Rockies and now feel like there is SO MUCH oxygen here :) having sucked wind on hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park. All went wonderfully, and now I'm actually dreading returning to work. Have been reading "Finding your own North Star" by Martha Beck, along with some other small books on living mindfully... And feel that I'm really in a wrong career for me. But it pays half of our bills... hard to rethink a career change at my age.

Will catch up on how everyone was doing tomorrow, hopefully, in the last pages of the August thread. 60 Days until Halloween ... DH is joining me in this challenge. He does and then fades out a few days later, but I'm going to keep a tight grasp this time :)

Hi all,

My plan for today had been a light breakfast, Uno's pizza for lunch, and a light dinner--managed it. The pizza was delicious--but I managed to hold myself to eating half of the individual size--and felt quite satisfied with it. DD will enjoy my leftovers--I left them with her.

Exercise today was shopping--not enough to make up for the 4.5 hours I spent driving, but that's okay. I'll be back walking at work tomorrow.

My scale is finally showing a downward trend again, and like Tracey_on_a_Journey, my commitment seems tied to my successes. Hmm--being committed leads to success, not the other way around. But it does feed on itself.

nationalparker: I'm glad you had a great vacation. I hope DH stays with you on the Halloween challenge--being able to do it together can be really supportive!

3rdTimeLucky: Congrats on the 5 lbs. It must be great for DS to be able to be weight bearing again, especially with school starting again.

Tracey on a journey: I hope your back spasms cease--back pain is so debilitating. Good luck on the elliptical--but don't overdo, if you can help yourself. It's Labor Day in the US, too--I loved having a 3 day weekend!

silverbirch: Hey for checking in! You're right--that phrase isn't one I know!

gardenerjoy: How did your family party go with regards to food? I think "skip snacks" is challenging!

ForMyGirls: Credit for stretches. Credit for a reasonable size slice of cheesecake--and for defining reasonable! I googled "playing elastics"--I don't know that we called it anything when I was a girl, but we did play it!

Take care, all!

Good Evening, Coaches.

It must be a Labor Day (end of summer trend) to be back and recommitting. I took the week off traveling and working through the blues. I was not near a scale and was in the high altitudes so I am going to postpone my first of the month ticker move until Monday. I want a good idea of my weight without excuses.

Food is planned and in MFP for tomorrow.

hello coaches,

We had the most glorious spring day here today. I wore a short sleeved top and summer shoes and delighted in all the blossom in the trees. Had a great work day with an activity I was leading that went off really well and got to the end of a really busy patch so felt like I could draw breath at work for the first time in a while. Food and exercise were totally OP and I got back on the bike for the first time in a month and my back is totally fine tonight. Hooray. I had missed my beloved Lucy (the bike). Also felt a bit of loosening up in some muscles in my stretching today. Love how the body rewards you when you do the right thing by it :-)

Gardenerjoy - hope the family gathering went well. Elastics is a game my kids have just discovered that I used to play when I was a kid (and I am pretty sure my Mum played when she was a kid). Great big loop of elastic. Two people stand about 2 metres apart with it around their legs and then the person in the middle jumps - first on one side, then the other, then both legs in the middle, then both on the outside, then inside, then landing on the two strings. If they do it without a mistake then the elastic is moved up the people's legs - the goal being to see who can get the highest. It is SUCH hard work! So amused though - my kids have 'taught' it to me like it is the newest thing on the planet :-) And thanks for the thought re 'wine or dessert' at gatherings.

Silverbirch - intrigued to see if your bet wins out - hard to believe "elastics" isn't a global phenomenon. Good luck with reimplementing "sitting down" - for me it is and incredibly helpful boundary definer.

Tracey on a journey - great observations about what helps you keep motivated. Shall be sending wishes out for a back pain free week for you - it does make it sooooo much harder to stay motivated when exercise options are limited I think.

3TL - yay for not letting another day go by. And yay for 5 pounds gone forever!

national parker - welcome home - LOL on the so much oxygen

Beth - well done for your restraint in the face of pizza. Your and Tracey's comments about the link between success leading to commitment made me think of a mantra that a psych introduced me to years ago when I was recovering from post-natal depression. The mantra goes "action leads to motivation". I find it incredibly useful - so, for example if I don't want to exercise I just tell myself 'action leads to motivation' so that I remember that if I actually do it my enthusiasm will follow. ANd pleased to hear the 'elastics' is indeed a global game (even if the name isn't) :-)

Maryann - welcome back from the blues and well done for having your food planned for tomorrow!

Oh Beck Buddies, I'm really having some regression issues. Haven't moved forward past monitoring hunger/cravings... And haven't tracked calories in I don't know how long. Going to try and do my advantages and check-in FIRST thing in the morning before I get sidetracked with anything else. On the upside, I have been refining my advantages so that I'm quite happy with them. I remember reading that it is helpful to visualize each advantage, rather than just rush through them, so I've added extra comments after each to help me do so. I've also been reordering them until they seem "just right". Hope my OCD tendencies will eventually spread to my diet!

I didn't write down a plan, but the day went according to what I had in my head. I was hungry some, but that's okay, food came along before I really missed it.

I have a written plan for today.

WI: +0.05 kg, Exercise: +45 105/1400 minutes for August, Food: N/A op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

silverbirch: lovely to have you pop in and assist with our intercultural understanding!

Tracey_on_a_journey: glad to see you back and that the elliptical is working for you as you recover.

3rdTimeLucky: cool that you're using back to school as a good time to get things in order.

nationalparker: sounds like a wonderful trip!

bethfromDayton: great job negotiating a day that had Uno's Pizza in the middle of it.

maryann: glad to have you back as well. It does seem like we suddenly pulled in a lot of energy.

ForMyGirls: yay for all the good spring activities! Thanks for the information about playing elastics -- I've never heard of or seen it!

reesuh: welcome back! You've picked a good time to get reoriented with lots of us here working through what it takes to sustain a healthy lifestyle.

Starting over..... again!!!
 

Hello All,

Just coming back to tell you that I bought a brand new pink Beck book and workbook. I am going to start over and write new notes and ideas for THIS time around. I am still recovering from my 7/16 foot surgery, but I hope to get the okay to exercise today at my doctor appointment. Foot is still really swollen, but the pain is getting better each day. If you'll have me again, I'd like for you all to be my coaches. I will do my best to do personals, but it feels overwhelming right now. I need time to catch up and get in the swing of things again. I have looked around on the internet for the "perfect" group for me, but all signs tend to point back to the "healthy lifestyle" changes advocated by Dr. Beck and this group. After my foot surgery and free eating during recovery, I have my work cut out for me. I am at a NEW all-time high. :o :cry: I am still on meds that make my weight loss more difficult, but I know it can be done since I've lost weight on these meds one other time. I deserve to give myself another chance, so here I am. It is good to see that some of the "regulars" are still around and I look forward to getting to know all of the new people (since I was last here). I will weigh myself tomorrow morning and adjust my signature accordingly. My goal weight is still 150 lbs. I am thinking I have about 65 pounds to lose. I can do it...... one pound, one day, one healthy choice at a time!

Waving hello to everyone!!! :wave:

Welcome back, IBelieveInMe2! I've been struggling myself without having had surgery to limit my activity, just choosing to do other things instead of what I should be adding to my day. MAJOR CREDITS to you for coming back!

59 days until Halloween - well, that was this morning through end of Oct... but it's easy for me to stick with that countdown :) SO far, no changes - hoping that the scale will drop a smidge here soon. Ate well again today, plenty of veggies and non-processed foods.

First day back at work was busy and strange. I missed a meeting that was on my calendar - totally forgot about it. The sun still set tonight, and will come up tomorrow. Guess we're all expendable :)

Not much news on this end ... trying to get caught up after the trip. I'm already counting down the work days until the weekend. DH works Fri-Mon, so little together time now. At least it's days.

Need to redo my advantages card yet again. I started writing in the morning and then with the trip I skipped that - I liked the early morning fresh focus, and will do that again tomorrow. Writing seems stronger than reading to/for me.

Good Evening, Coaches. Long day which is still not over. I am finishing some work up in the library while DS is at music lessons an hour away from our house.

Dinner was a green smoothie. Too much snacking to label the day OP but credit for lots of fruits and veggies and at least some sort of structure to meals. Work makes me an amnesiac. I forgot that eating in a disciplined manner is important to me. I am also a grand martyr. Look how hard I am working. I deserve chocolate. Yikes!

Grateful to checkin and recenter myself.

Hi all,

Today being Tuesday and the first workday of the week kept confusing me--but I had my OP breakfast, lunch, and snack, and then made a pretty reasonable dinner out choice--but blew it by eating past fullness so that I was actually uncomfortably full. Still some credits there for picking grilled chicken and provolone over a calzone!

Exercise was two walks--I still have to figure out what I'm going to do next week when I start my new job and won't be able to take "walk breaks".

Take care, all.

Hello coaches,

I realised that yesterday I forgot to include credits in my post (well at least explicitly) so I am making sure I do it tonight. So: i am giving myself a huge whopping great credit for the fact that my back troubles (which touch wood seem to be resolved) did not make me fall off the wagon. Who knows how many 'health kicks' of my past have been waylaid by an injury - so to stay on the path through an injury is a really huge change. Credit today for not adding in a carb serve just because a slice of crusty bread would have gone so well with the dinner. Credit today for recognising that I was due and needed a relaxed day and taking it. Credit for eating my lunch outside in the beautiful sunshine and taking the time to relax and soak it up after I finished eating.

Reesuh - it can be so hard to know sometimes what is procrastination and what is taking our time to do things properly - but ultimately I figure as long as you're moving in the right direction (i.e.: changing the way you think) then it doesn't matter how slowly you move!

Gardenerjoy - "food came along before I really missed it" was a helpful thing for me to hear - I shall remind myself of that next time I have an explicably hungry day

IBeliieveinMe2 - absolutely I'll be one of your coaches! Someone a while back had a fabulous quote in the signature line - a Margaret Thatcher quote - something about "the most important things in life have lots of failed attempts before success" or something like that. Wish I could remember it because it was so right for where you are at. Getting back on the horse is way harder than staying on so yay to you for coming back! And don't let concern about doing personals hold you back from posting - I know that for me reading about everyone's day is motivating and powerful, whether or not there are personals - and I tend to write personals every time because it helps me feel connected to you all - not because I think I need to.

National parker - hang in there with that belligerent scale of yours - one of these days it will move!

Maryann - "I deserve … " - man I know that saying oh so well. Well done for all those fruit and veggies.

Beth - it is great that you are thinking ahead to how you will fit in your exercise once you start the new job. I a remembering that there is a bit in the book (pretty early days) about creating your schedule and prioritising what you do to work out where you can make time for exercise and planning. Maybe use that to work out where your exercise will fit in?

I had to quickly come up with a new scheme for lunch when what I thought was in the fridge wasn't. And another change at supper to accommodate DH's touchy tummy, probably due to stresses related to MiL's slower than expected recovery from knee replacement surgery.

WI: -0.3kg, Exercise: +45 150/1400 minutes for August, Food: 80% op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

IBelieveInMe2: no worries about doing personals! I started with the green book and then, about a year or so into this, went through the pink book. It really helped to go through all of it from the beginning. Like they tell smokers -- the previous times were practice! Glad to have you back.

nationalparker: the scale will catch up!

maryann: I'm an entitlement eater, too. Structured, pre-planned eating doesn't address the problem directly but still is the best solution I've found. Also, a response something like this: "I deserve a healthy, fit body and all of the other things I put on my advantages card."

bethfromDayton: yay for a mostly OP day. I loved when I had a job on a campus where walk breaks were an easy way to exercise. Will you need to change both the timing and the type of exercise?

ForMyGirls: I think one of the big changes for me on this journey (as opposed to previous ones) was continuing through injury. There's even better news to come -- I injure myself much less frequently at my lower weight and heal faster!

Just finished going over my advantages and want to keep doing small things that will keep me on track and moving in the right direction. My biggest issue is eating *after* dinner. I know I'm not hungry, but I wind up eating anyway, on autopilot. Need to figure out some strategies to stop this.

This is my first attempt at personals, It'll probably take me a little while before I'm able to give coach-like feedback. Please bear with me!

gardenerjoy: thanks for the welcome back!

IBelieveinMe2 Hi! I joined the group last month.

NationalParker I like the early morning focus, too!

Maryann This board has helps me recenter, too.

BethfromDayton credit for staying OP during the day, getting exercise, AND making a reasonable dinner choice!

ForMyGirls thanks for the insightful feedback. I'm committed to sticking with it and moving in the right direction!

So far, so good in getting back into our routine. Made dinner last night that was on plan and tonight’s (knockoff chipotle chicken burrito bowls) looks good already. Have the lime and cilantro ready for the rice, and will do that, black beans, grilled chicken, pico de gallo and add a little shaved corn on the cob. I’m more excited than I should be about dinner tonight  - actually just hoping the rice comes out good.

Scale finally nudged down a bit, so I’m pleased that it’s not staying up there. Hope to be able to drop my ticker by the weekend. Even by a pound. Set 165 as my goal for Halloween and plan to keep making progress.

Reesuh – I often face the temptation of eating after dinner, especially when I eat earlier. Can you save a treat from another time of the day and enjoy it then? Or would something like hot tea or light coffee drink or light cocoa fit the bill? I don’t like hot drinks in the summer, but I do like them at night to signal “off” …

ForMyGirls – Great credits. I’m thankful that you include them because it makes me think about what I should get credit for. I’m going to take credit today for going home and making a salad for lunch when our lunch plans to the farmer’s market folded. Saved some calories for dinner, and while it wastes gas, I listen to a good book on cd and enjoy the summer sunshine here.

GardenerJoy – Love your line about the previous times being practice. I’m a practice pro, in that case (in weight loss removal).  Kudos to you for making good choices when situations have changed at last minute. I tend to view that as a freebie – like when in college and a professor didn’t show up. I used to be excited – not thinking – hey, I’m paying for this! I’m paying for the choices I make with my healthy eating, too – I can pay for it or it can pay me back, I suppose!

Beth – Congrats to you and your hubby on your combined loss! That’s awesome. I’d love to see my DH get on board with me … so far so good  but we’re only a few days in.

Maryann – Add me to the grand martyr list. I need to write that down – chocolate is not the reward. Fitting into clothes is a reward!

Bill – Hope you’re enjoying a wonderful trip! I’m trying to find the money and time to take DH to Rhode Island (visit extended family, Federal Hill, Waterfire in Providence) and Mass. (whale watch off P-town and Cape Cod league baseball games, etc.) so reading your description of just looking at the ocean to see it, is magical. We’re a ways from it, so savor those glimpses. Ahhh…

:dance: OMG - I cracked the 100 today! Sooooooo stoked :spin:

bethfromDayton: Planning for excersise is always problematic, especially after a work day. Zero motivation. I hope the difficult transition works out for you.

ForMyGirls: Three cheers for back problems exiting the scene. Today is the first day I felt no pain at work. What a relief!

gardenerjoy: You are right. I need to have a post it on my desk: I deserve a healthy, fit body. I will also add: Breathe.

reesuh: gardenerjoy had a trick after a meal. She would tell herself "The kitchen is closed." Nationalparker, I think, added to it by putting a stoold in front of the kitchen entrance.

Today was a better eating day at work. I stuck 90% to plan. Yeah! Weight is 1 pound above ticker.

Whoo hoo!!
 

ForMyGirls - MAJOR :carrot::carrot::cb::cb: dancing icons for breaking that mark. Good job! It's motivating to see success here!

My dinner went great - the new recipe was a big hit for both me and DH. I stopped soon after being satisfied, so didn't do perfectly, but am proud of how the day has gone so far. Now to keep that kitchen closed!!

Good evening! Today is a pretty good day. I did give into a craving. Had chocolate pretzels for dinner. Boo. But I was on plan for my other meals so that is good.

Credit? Hmmm...let me think. I vacuumed my car out today and sweated A LOT for a couple of hours (work, plus doing a serious vacuuming in my car).

Hope everyone starts out strong tomorrow!

Hi all,

Just going back over the posts. How are you doing reesuh? I could have written you post about not getting past that exact same stage! And I too have vowed to start each day as I know I'm meant to! I'm following Joe The Juicer's plan at the moment. In the evenings I have the most delicious juice - red or black grapes, blueberries and a bunch of mint. It is sooo refreshing.

ForMyGirls well done - that's fab!

I pigged out on crap yesterday. Not as much as I would have before Beck but enough to make me feel utterly yuck. And in fact I actually rated how bloated and uncomfy I felt on the discomfort scale and I got up to an 8 at one point. When doing it to record hunger it only got as high as a 5. That's a BIG lesson for me.

Anyway, feeling good today and going to keep on keeping on.

Have a good day everyone. Back later...

Hi Coaches!

I've been absent here yet I've been reading posts and keeping up. I have checked in with my diet buddy every day via email. credit. That is easy for me to do from my iphone yet I've been finding it increasingly difficult to get here from my computer where I can actually "type".
This past week was our busiest of the season at work. I came home every day absolutely whipped yet grateful I can do this work now. My coworker always wears a pedometer and last Sunday she logged 16,875 steps and 6.5 miles during our shift….most at a very brisk walking pace. We do get our exercise in. Prior to my day off yesterday I worked 8 of the 11 previous days. Although I have done many different things in my professional career I have always liked waitressing on the side and now as a semi retired person it fits well into my weightloss plan. To me, it doesnt get much better than getting paid to exercise. :lol:
Foodwise, I did great for those past 11 days and my stable lower weight has reflected that. credit. I "hit the wall" Tuesday evening after we traveled over to our other home (right after my shift finished). I had my planned dinner then crunched through the evening with unplanned snacks. My saving grace these days is that my unplanned snacks aren't off limits from my chosen food plan. I had popcorn, NSA icecream w/raspberries and organic chocolate. Not a diet breaker.
My sense here, as I journey forward, is that it would have been far better for my head if I would have planned these into my daily plan instead of eating spontaneously, otherwise my choices were ok.
I have a more difficult time here at our second home. This used to be our primary home and I'm pretty sure I encounter some sort of sadness over here, if even on a subconscious level. I have to plan all sorts of events into two or three days...setting appointments to visit with very good friends I used to see every day. My once beautiful garden is barren and I'm going to go out and dig a rose to haul back over. It's special and I don't want it to expire...."Julia Child" it's called...from the DenverBot.Garden. This used to be my normal life and now it's the only vacation I ever get.
So, what do I do to stay on track while I'm here….make a plan ala Beck and stick with it. That's what I'll do today. credit.

ForMyGirls, kudos for cracking 100. I did the math :lol: That's a substantial amount of weight you have lost so far. I enjoyed reading your credits from yesterday morning. To me, sustaining weightloss is about many large and small changes, some of which many of us tend to "not notice" as important. Taking a relaxing day is important.

happyhoustonmommy, great that you took time to give yourself credit. I'm imagining that you sweat a lot vacuuming in Houston this time of year.

nationalparker, glad you had a great vacation and that you're happy to return to oxygenated life. I thought of you as we peaked Vail at 11,000 ft Tuesday afternoon. I took some deep breaths. lol. Kudos for finding a new recipe you both liked and committing to closing the kitchen afterwards.

maryann, kudos for a 90% day. I'm curious as to what you find with your weight fluxuations with the ups and downs of altitude.

reesuh, you said, "I want to keep doing small things that will keep me on track and moving in the right direction." That's a great intention which is card worthy….I wrote it down. Credit.

gardenerjoy, yay for a good day which included switches in your lunch and supper.

Beth(fromDayton), what is your new job going to be? Kudos for thinking ahead as you anticipate switching your exercise.

IBelieveInMe2, welcome back! I'm glad your foot is mending slowly but surely. Remember, personals are not required here. I do what is comfortable for me. The most important thing for me is being able to report in here "stress free."

3rdTimeLucky, congrats on losing 5 pounds. Glad to hear, too, that DS is progressing well.

Tracey on a journey, kudos for getting back here and committing to start rereading your Beck book. Congrats, too, for the weight you have lost so far.

silverbirch, :wave: back!

Although it is still early here I'm glad to have found some peace and quiet for checking in. I think I'll stay up and find some more time for me. I get very little of that.

Thanks for being here everyone!

Evening coaches,

Some credits for today - stopped eating because I was full at dinner even though there was more that I was "entitled to". Did my full stretching this morning and got out for a walk at the start of the day even though it was a work from home day so easy to do the "I'll do it later" thing. Been noticing lately a yearning to just eat whatever I want without calculating whether it is on plan. Oh well!

Gardener joy - well done for managing to adapt your plan on the fly. And thanks for the good news that injuries happen less and resolve quicker at a lower weight :-)

Reesuh - my Mum (who has thought like a thin person all my life - it has only been since reading Beck that I have realised it is not just luck that she is a healthy weight!) has a strategy of brushing her teeth after dinner - as a signal that the eating part of the day is done now. Another possibility might be to plan for an after dinner snack - that way you get to have the experience without blowing your plan. Good work on the personals too :-)

National Parker - yay to that moving scale. Your burrito bowls sound yum - and I am all in favour of being excited about a meal - in fact I count it as one of the side benefits of this gig - I am enjoying food so much more than I used to.

Maryann - pleased to hear you had a pain free day at work. Here's to many more.

Happyhoustonmommy - yay to you for being able to strike that balance between seeing where you could have improved while still being clear that you deserve credit for your achievements

3TL - that juice sounds beautiful. How cool that you took the opportunity during your pig out to really notice how it felt! One of the biggest differences I am finding with Beck is that I am really noticing how I feel when I eat the wrong things, or over eat. It really brings home just how much I was operating in auto pilot before.

Lexxis - I loved your being paid to exercise :-) and wow to 16,000 steps in a days work. When I was working part-time when my kids were very little I went through a phase of wearing a pedometer - on work days I went for a 45 minute walk and struggled to get my 10,000 steps - on days home with the kids I would clock up 12,000 without even leaving home! Wow for thinking through why things are more challenging in your second home and how to work through/ around that. Hope you had some good time for yourself.

I ate all the right foods yesterday (with an equivalent substitute at supper to please DH's whim), but not all at the expected times. I realize that I'm using my snacks and timing them in such a way as to treat an emotional need -- getting the courage up to work on my project -- instead of anything to have to do with physical hunger. I'm not sure how much to worry about this since I'm staying on plan, but it's worth taking note of and seeing if I can move away from it. Like, I could take a brief walk outside instead and probably get the same effect.

WI: NC in kg, Exercise: +45 195/1400 minutes for August, Food: 90% op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

reesuh: Is it possible for you to mentally (or physically) close the kitchen? I do best when I can mentally close the kitchen and, physically, move to another floor (we have an open floor plan so it's hard to physically close things). Our TV is on the same floor as the kitchen, so on movie nights I have to be more creative. Hot tea is the best, but sometimes I'll allow myself to have candied ginger in the house to have after supper as a kind of dessert -- I can eat that as a tiny portion and be satisfied. Lots of options to experiment with and I've tried them all. They all helped at one time or another. Now, I'm pretty used to the idea that I'm done eating after supper and the thought rarely arises to do anything else.

nationalparker: your chicken burrito bowls sound wonderful!

ForMyGirls: Since my scale is in kgs, I loved the day I broke 100, too! It doesn't mean as much around here as getting below 200 pounds, but it was still fun to see on the scale.

maryann: yay for finding a path to a better eating day at work.

happyhoustonmommy: yay for the spontaneous exercise of vacuuming the car! What's your strategy for avoiding chocolate pretzels in the future? I eventually decided to give up on those completely -- something about the salt & sweet that makes them too hard for me to control.

3rdTimeLucky: that's very insightful that the discomfort scale got higher from overeating than from hunger. That would probably be true for me, too, but I never thought of it that way.

Lexxiss: I tend to get blindsided by grief that I'm not acknowledging -- good for you for being aware of the sadness and taking steps to improve things anyway.

ForMyGirls: Yay for all those credits! I've been noticing that yearning lately, too. I was chalking it up to the change of seasons, but you're changing a different season so maybe not.

Good morning Beck Buddies! Thanks for all the great ideas regarding my post-dinner eating issues. I wish my kitchen had a door on it and could be closed off (out of sight, out of mind) but it opens up into the family room where we spend most of the evening. I managed to avoid snacking last night, but regretfully it was due to overeating my dinner. My plan for tonight is to eat a reasonable dinner, follow it up an hour later with some hot tea, and then immediately brush my teeth. Have a great day everyone!

Quick thought, Reesuh - can you post a note to yourself where you first look for something in the kitchen? I have a note in my desk drawer - it's actually a large piece of paper - that reads "what you're looking for isn't in here" ... I open that dang drawer at work whenever I'm overwhelmed or bored. It's a reminder to me that I'm not hungry. If you don't want it to be obvious to others, can you write a motivating quote that might help refocus you?

My day has gone well enough. Volunteering reading gig at elementary school on Thursdays started up and I have two good kids, so that'll be a positive for each week. Lunch was at subway and while I had chips, I chose the baked ruffles for a treat; they never have them and while it certainly isn't a rare treat, I allowed the 130 calories.

Scale dropped down another pound this morning to a tick under my ticker :) so I sure hope that wasn't in my thought process to enjoy the chips.

DH picked up a variety of peppers, all degrees of heat, to make with turkey sausage and peppers tonight. Cabbage, and caprese salad will round out the meal. This week seems to be going well so far ... will make it a point to come to the forum or read a few chapters of Beck's when alone and tempted this weekend. I struggle when alone - with disordered thinking of I can have this and no one will know. He doesn't monitor it when he's home so what do I do that for? I need to figure that out. Thoughts? I never was a sneaky eater, so not sure why I'm tempted now.

Good Evening, Coaches.

Eating was again a sound 90% OP. Last night ended with a green smoothie and so will tonight. Step class tomorrow. It is my Friday and I am glad to have some time to clean house, catch up on appointments, etc. . .

Lexxiss: I lost two pounds in two days after elevation. That is about normal for me.

Weight is at ticker.

Hi all,

Today was a good food day and a good exercise day. I didn't post yesterday because I didn't want to admit that "just 3 peanut butter cookies" turned into 6 and then into 9. But they did. I need to get those cookies out of my freezer! Fortunately, I generally think of frozen goodies (being saved for parties) as off limits. However, I saw cookies at Subway, which is what set me off--I'd have been better off getting one cookie there and eating it, rather than exercising my giving in muscle in my own freezer. Today was cookie free, so I'm back on track, so definite credit for that.

I need to plan tomorrow's lunch--we're going out (a farewell lunch for me since I'm changing jobs). The other team I'm on took me out today--and I did great--stayed totally on track. Tomorrow will be harder, but I can do it! (I just checked the website and picked--I'll be fine.)

Because of Labor Day and Tuesday plans, I didn't make it to the grocery store for my regular Monday night shopping. I went tonight and refreshed our produce and bought what I need for meals through the weekend.

I'm worried about the party we're going to Saturday evening--I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, but I do not control myself at parties. I talk about changing that but haven't done it. I have planned what I'm bringing, though--I bought hummus and I chopped a bunch of celery sticks. I'll augment that with petite carrots, green pepper strips, sliced zuke, and sliced cuke. It'll be a nice tray and something that even if I "overeat" from it won't do too much damage.

G'night all!

Hi coaches! :)
Sorry I haven't been here for a while, I just didn't have anything to report. My weightloss is going fine so far. So far if I slip up I get back on track but the problem is that it happens so often. I'm having difficulty sticking to any planned food. Got any advice for sticking to my meal plans?

Hello coaches,

Pretty close to OP today. Had a glass of wine with dinner which despite having had all my "indulgences" for the week. Noticed that I was trying to find an excuse or justification for it and then realised that I just consumed something I shouldn't have. End of story. Tomorrow I won't do that! Some credits - stopped myself from licking the beaters on my daughter's birthday party cake. I have a habit streak of 9 days for stretching :-) and back up to 6 for my lights out by 10:30 habit.

Gardener joy - was really interested to read your thinking about eating for emotional reasons even when it is on plan. I notice that I "hoard" my snacks and indulgences - I have to keep one up my sleeve so that I will be able to have something when I NEED it - but frankly is cake or wine ever a need??? Will ponder that some more.

Reesuh - looking forward to hearing how your plan to tackle the evening snacking went

National Parker - loved your "what you're looking for isn't in here". Works on so many levels! A thought for your challenges with the "I can have this while no-one is watching" - maybe write yourself some response cards and then make sure you read them in the lead up to being alone

Maryann - yay to you for another 90%OP day

Beth - congrats for feasting up to the PNB cookies and for getting back on track (and frankly for ever being able to not eat PNB cookies that are in your freezer!) with your party on the weekend - what are the sabotaging thoughts that have led you to overeat at parties in the past? What could you do to prepare yourself for those thoughts arising again?

VioletDolphin - did you choose a Plan B diet when you did that day in the Beck book? If so - do you think you should change to the Plan B diet? If it is consistently difficult to stay to your meal plan it might be that your meal plan is not the right one for you. Maybe you need a different balance of types of food - or maybe there are not enough foods you like or too many that you are not very excited about.

Hi Coaches!

I stuck to my plan yesterday specifically resisting the "goodies" down at our corner store. I have an ongoing issue with them even though I haven't purchased now for months. credit. Exercise was pool x2 and I'm tired his morning. Definitely feeling like I have to fit all kinds of stuff in before our warm weather ends.

VioletDolphin, you say you are still losing weight doing what you're doing. Is there a possibility that what you are eating fits into a plan that you could follow better. I know, following South Beach that often starters want to follow the menu exactly as it's written in the book, which includes foods they don't enjoy. Instead, they could use the parameters of the plan and tweak it so they ate foods they enjoyed.

Beth(fromDayton), great job getting on back on track with the cookies. I purposely avoid eye contact with items that aren't on my plan. I specifically noticed this yesterday at the grocery store. I was looking for day old bread on the sale rack which also included the day old pastries. I focused on the bread and did not make direct contact with the goodies. I notice that when I do it sets in motion a craving that I'd rather not deal with.

I travel today and have lots to do.