Beck Diet For Life/Solution – January 2014 – 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:

Wednesday - Happy New Year
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Exercise was two hours at a square dance, CREDIT moi. More of a folk dance than a square dance since there were some young folks who did quite well but only with the simple movements. I like the two-line dances where the head couple sashay‎'s down line in their own style. That's where the youngest remind us all how bodies were born to work. My walk was to do errands and remind myself that if I want to walk in the cold I have to move rapidly.

Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, including the 42nd day streak with snacks under control. Solved a micro-problem when I realized that I could crack the nuts left over from Christmas stockings for my peanut butter sandwich at lunch. So instead of pecans alone, they were joined by an almond, a walnut, and a Brazil nut. Kinda fun. Success was avoiding the big dessert buffet after the dancing. We simple didn't go into the room where the desserts and drinks were being dispensed - will take a separate CREDIT moi for that. I split a pear with DW at home, skipping the blue cheese that she put on hers. A lovely way to end the year working my Resistance Muscle.


maryblu – ROFL at the thought of arriving home with a Snapping Turtle in the trunk of my car. Thanks for the insight on eating them - DW was impressed when I sent her your comments. It's now on my Bucket List to find you in the "frozen northland" and test your chicken-fried Snapping Turtle. I'll start saving up some extra calories since it doesn't sound like diet food.

onebyone – "Hungry tummy" is such a great 'tell' that one's eating sanely. Kudos for inventing that. Good luck learning how to set your Wi-Fi router to 802.11b - Wiki can give you more than you ever wanted to know about the protocol, but you have to learn how to log onto your router from your browser to change it.

Joy (gardenerjoy) – Congrats for completing a year that meets your scale goal - right along with all the exercise goals you met month after month. [Drooling over homemade chicken stock in your fridge.]

CeeJay - Kudos for all those credits. Huge shudder for -39 degrees even though I've wanted to experience -40 degrees ever since I learned that it's the one temperature that's the same in Fahrenheit and Celsius.

Cheryl (seadwaters) – Then HNY, HNY, HNY, Happy New Year to you, also. Congrats for finishing up that writing project while on leave. Someday I hope to get over the feeling that it's unfair that you get to start the New Year half a day early down under, LOL.

maryann - Such fun to hear the Gulls from your condo - and the smells of the ocean. Ouch for the gingerbread hit with Super Kudos for such a speedy recovery. Bing Crosby would be pleased.

nationalparker – Kudos for enjoying your anniversary dinner while staying your plan. Skipping desserts in a restaurant is such an easy way to avoid an unwanted large calorie hit. Ouch for the reality that we men are so often clueless around spousal feelings about weight issues.

Beth (bethFromDayton) – Congrats for having a relationship with your DD that includes baking sweets together. Kudos for finding a bounded plan that let you experience the results and still stay within your calories.

Jo (veganasaurusrex) – Drooling at the thought of those "very fancy vegan enchiladas." Special Kudos for noting about your water intake, "enjoying how it made me feel."

ForMyGirls - Such smart thinking "to reduce the quantity of curry rather than increasing the quantity of rice!" - Kudos.

Readers -

Hello New Year. Welcome.
 

:cheer3:Good New Year's morning Coaches!:cheer3:

I just simply went to bed last night. We didn't even talk of the new year. Both DH and I just wanted 2013 to be over already. I am already looking forward to changes in 2014! My fitbit flex told me I slept at a 92% efficiency, up from the 87% the night before. hmmmmm. I took 6360 steps yesterday--all at IKEA no doubt as I chose, and retrieved, some new furniture for us! :woo: for that! I am getting a chaise lounge-a real dream for me to get that and a super-long sideboard/buffet thingy with customizable doors that have inserts so I can put whatever in there (poster, fabric, collage--it's a big picture frame in essence--totally sold me those doors did!). IKEA, thankfully, now delivers so I will have IKEA parts strewn all over tomorrow when it arrives between 9 and 1. So I have my work cut out for me today: move stuff around and clear space to receive the boxes. EXCITING I TELL YA!!!!!

I also got an answer to my question to the fitbit people about setting up my Aria scale. The email told me pretty much what I'd figured out by researching the comment board but in a more (kudos to fitbit customer service email writing lady) step-by-step-do-this-then-that way. I read it to DH who is simply uninterested in helping me figure it out (not his problem) but will probably take it over when he sees me fiddling about on his laptop trying to hunt down the router info. I have one more option open to me before I do that though. Apparently people have had success setting up their scales via their mobile phones. I have one I never use (a pay as you go jobby but it eats $$$$$ bigtime) so it needs charging and some $ put on it. That's my task for today--to see if I can do it that way. Once you're connected, you are just simply Connected to your fitbit acct and it will Just Work--or so I understand it. We'll see. I'll give it a shot.

Foodwise: I am logging my food *credit* and while I did not feel hungry immediately upon awakening, now, 20 minutes later, I am feeling it. I'm not sure if it counts as part of my streak of "hungry tummy"? Does it??

I didn't go to bed with a hungry tummy though. Maybe that's the difference I should aim for. I find it hard to get to sleep when I have a truly hungry tummy. I may pursue that over the week. See what happens.

I cooked from scratch yesterday *credit* making ham and bean soup using MIL's hambone and my own hambone plus some ham kolbassa and OMG how awesome and salty is my soup!? VERY AWESOME and VERY SALTY! I had one small bowl. *credit* will freeze half for later this year.

Still didn't get to the gym but I will. I am not concerned, so long as I start back this week.

billblueeyes I associate "hungry tummy" with Pooh Bear. I cannot take credit for inventing that! Though the Pooh Bear diet would be a very restricted diet, even knowing honey has many medicinal benefits--and many flavour nuances depending on the pollen sources used by the bees to make their honey. A honey guy I knew in Ottawa could just look at the colour of the honey in a jar and tell you what flowers were the source for that honey. It was impressive. I can't vouch for the flavour variations though as I *blecch* hate honey. Thanks for the link to 802.11b.info. Users were wondering why they go with such an old protocol...? Mysteries abound!

maryblu It really is you! How great to see you again. I have to say I gasped reading about eating snapping turtle. They are pretty rare up around here--not part of our culinary culture. Don't they eat baby ducks? I know in some of our waters/lakes we have muskies--my old BF used to call them the freshwater shark! They'd take your toes if you had them dangling off a dock and your fuzzy baby ducks anytime and I don't think people ate them--too boney maybe--they were fished for their fight. I know I've swum where there were muskie and it is better not to think about it. The water is what it's all about.

Must go! Back later!


ps. was at whole foods and saw Haggis and Cracked pepper flavour crisps. They stayed in the store *easy credit* jpg attached. No snapping turtle products as far as I could tell...

Happy New Year, everyone! I am so happy to be starting another New Year with you all!

My 100% OP streak count is back up to 1.

I just set up my Excel spreadsheet for 2014 to log my weight with a chart and my ARCs on separate sheet. I'm feeling accomplished already in the new year!

WI: NC in kg, Exercise: +45 1405/1400 minutes for December, Food: 100%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

I'm hanging in here. I am at my goal for Christmas which I am glad about. I am setting a goal of 5 lbs this month. I am starting an exercise program and continuing 5:2 fasting plan.

Happy New Year!!!

Happy 2014 All!
 

I was just informed that today is the first time in 19 years that the New Year started with a New Moon and that this is to signify "new beginnings". Well, I have always thought the actual day did anyway so I guess, it has been my tradition to do so but interesting trivia that I thought I would pass on.

I was here on this site yesterday but as life has it; wrapping up loose ends meant some overtime elsewhere so I never got to post.

My team leader, in another group that I belong to, sent out her idea of 'fun' for this coming year: multiple challenges (daily,weekly and monthly) as well as all kinds of documents to fill out and then report on. I was absolutely amazed by all of the work that she has done on behalf of a group of 25 people. I plan to take full advantage of all of her hard work. I already have an established system of my own but I will also give hers a whirl as well.

Credit: spent a good deal of time the past couple of days getting my computer set up to support my weight loss efforts. Now, all I have to do is the work and then report it.

Credit: Had a serious talk with my tentative exercise partner. I like to do things alone in this area but since hubby has expressed a passing interest in getting back in shape (he is about 20 lbs overweight--all in his tummy area) I have told him that I will be flexible up to a point. If he doesn't exercise with me by 5 p.m. today then I will do so without him since I would have done this first thing today. We are doing Leslie Sansone's Walk dvd.

Credit: Finding out the calories in Moscato and having one small glass with New Year's Day ham dinner. I had black-eyed peas for "good fortune".

FYI: I just wanted to say that ForMyGirls thread on the MSE site is excellent and it has been well-received. If any one of you are interested in also linking the BDS with finances, she has got a great thread going over there. I have sat in on it and it is very informative and it has become an immediate hit. WTG, FMG!:bravo:

For all of those who have posted today; maryblu, onebyone, gardenejoy and BBE, "hey", and for all of you who stopped by to read or lurk, "hey again".:wave::listen:

Pam :comp::coffee:

Weekly weigh in today reports 92.7 (a total loss of just under 14kg).

Sub 93kg is a big deal. The last time I lost weight (about 35yo) I stopped at 93 after losing 10kg. The time before (about 25 yo) I started at 93kg, lost 12 and am pretty sure I had bounced back up within a year or two. So this is the lightest I have been since my late 20's and the first time I kept going after 12kg loss. The very cool part though is that I don't feel the slightest temptation to stop here. Woohoo!

BBE - I have often read that it takes 6 weeks to form a new habit. If that is true then you've made it! Saying no to the pairing of pear and blue cheese is a heroic effort.

Pamatga - wondering with your DH joining you in exercise - would it work to still do your morning routine and then get some bonus exercise in the evening by doing it again with him? I know that for me being able to stick to my routine is crucial in staying on track and that it would be very easy for me to fall off the wagon if I was delaying my exercise to fit someone else's timetable. Thanks for your kind words about my MSE thread :-)

Hi all,

Happy New Year's Eve to everyone!

Today was a "get the house ready for the party" day--and we tackled tasks that have absolutely nothing to do with getting ready for the party.

I grant that there was a corner of the master bedroom closet I needed to clean out, but none of our guests are going to be in there!

Food wise, I've been totally OP. Food is up to date in MFP. I still have room for an evening snack, but have been doing fine--and it's been easy today.

I didn't do much cooking today, so that helps. I did put two large pork butts in to brine--but raw pork isn't an attractive option. When it comes out of the roaster tomorrow morning, though...

I actually have considerable calories left today--and just for a second thought, "I could eat.." and my brain snapped back "you're not even hungry" and so I didn't go down that path.

Weight at 198.6 (just below ticker), recording everything streak at 22 days!

ForMyGirls: I went to your thread in the MoneySavingExpert.com area--you are motivating a lot of people there! Big congratulations on getting down to a place that's a big deal! 27 days is awesome!

pamatga: I noticed last night that there wasn't a moon out--it was very dark when we went out to the hot tub after the ball dropped.

LoseToAll: Congrats on making your Christmas goal!

gardenerjoy: Credit for accomplishing the new year spreadsheet.

onebyone: Credit for perservering and getting the Aria set up. I'd never heard of measuring the efficiency of sleep! I guess the fitbit is cool!

BillBE: Square dancing is a riot! Congrats on 42 days! Keeping away from the dessert buffet is a wonderful accomplishment.

seadwater: Big credits for making the walk happen even when it's striding around your home.

Take care, all.

Happy New Year's Night! The day went fairly well - had DH's folks over for our holiday dinner/gift exchange that was postponed earlier. Made baked ham (their tradition) but I don't eat that, so just skipped it and had the sides. Could have done better by adding a salad, but ended up with breakfast and one other meal. On track because of the one-meal less day.

Snow is coming this evening - think we're heading out on the trail for a frigid walk. The forecast for next week has a day with a high of 0 and a low of -14 ... reg temps, not wind chill. I wish this came while we were on vacation. Yikes.

Hi Coaches,

Had a lovely quiet day at home. -36 tonight, with wind chill -41!! Not going to enjoy going out to work tomorrow. BRRRRR....

Credits today:
Weighed myself
Wrote down and followed food plan!!! YAY.
No sugar
Rode exercise bike
Read advantage and response cards
Did weights for shoulders/arms
Packed up lunch for tomorrow and dinner for hotel tomorrow night
Checked in with my coaches

Finally a day with no sugar. Grateful for that. No sugar streak=1 day!!

Take care and enjoy tomorrow!
:grouphug:

Hi everyone, Happy New Year!

First day eating on plan yesterday went fine, and I had a bit more energy in the evenings than usual - this is one of my big goals. Today am back at work so will be incorporating planned exercise into the day (a 10 minute walk during the day plus a 10 minute Pilates session at home in the evening once the kids are in bed).

Hello coaches,

Streak of 28 for me today. Team total of 132!! (Remember when were hoping to get to 50?!)

Some credits: entering the lamb shanks dish I cooked into MFP before I ate it - which enabled me to see that it wouldn't leave room for my planned evening hot chocolate - so leaving some behind, rather than blowing the calories for the day. (And as I write I realise that wasn't because of my streak - I just didn't want to short-change myself!)

Beth - yay for a day where it was easy and well done you for listening to your lack of hunger and not your calorie allowance

National parker - congrats on getting to double digits in your streak count :-)

Us Aussies always post on the wrong end of the year/month. I always forget to hold off. Not that it matters but I have to go back to last year to find out what was said!

Today
On plan with food
Weighed this morning - down a little
Walked my 5000 plus steps
Shopped for tomorrow
No wheat and carbs at 20g
Apparently 4 credits for today from HabitRPG - I need to work on how to understand what that means

Made a really nice Berry (Raspberry & Blueberry) Jelly with grass fed gelatin and frozen berries yesterday - an nice healthy dessert or treat so pleased about the result. Astonished at how many carbs it contains even with no added sugar. Credit for making things from scratch because packet goods just don't cut it

BillBE - I didn't know that - that -40 is same in F and C! Thank you. The other 'strange' thing I learned this week is that cicadas hatch every prime numbered year after 5 - this is because by the time they hatch there predators have supposedly forgotten they exist. Amazing. Except in Australia where they hatch in 3 or 5 years in such vast numbers that they outdo their predators anyway. Enough of that - back to your amazing snack subjugating streak

Onebyone - green with envy - I really wish that IKEA delivered here - if only! I find IKEA excellent exercise and the last time I went there I walked 9000 steps so I will have to visit soon. Enjoy putting everything together and getting your life and environment organised

Pamatga - thanks for that piece of arcane information about the new moon and new year - maybe that is why I feel so mobilized :) . Good luck with all the challenges. Thank you for telling us about MSE and FMG success on the blog and for being so supportive - I had a look and it is inspiring. It is interesting that so many of the members said they had problems with both money AND food

Beth(fromDayton) - LOL at the idea of guest peaking into a corner of the master bedroom closet - but I totally get what a cleaning frenzy does to one. Yes I played with my XL spreadsheet :) and was happy to see things going down. Good luck with your party days - you seem to have the planning under control. Great credit for recognising that you weren't even hungry!

CeeJay - it would be tough having to travel for work (not least because of that amazing cold) and organise appropriate food. So credit for making it work

Thursday
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Had a quiet New Years Day. Finally invented the need to go to the bank to withdraw cash from the ATM just to get a walk, CREDIT moi. Not surprisingly, I wandered into the local book store and there, surprisingly, found a mob of folks who knew of the sale of 20% off everything for four hours. I enjoyed the mayhem, but didn't buy anything.

Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, including snacks so that I'm streaked to 43. Evening snack was half a pear - they are so good right now. Again, I wanted more and, again, I reminded myself that I didn't need more; I just wanted more.


onebyone – Yay for ham and bean soup cooked from scratch. Double Yay for using someone else's ham bone. Loved the picture of "Haggis and Cracked pepper flavour crisps." I so want to taste those - but I remember that I don't do potato chips even with a new flavor. Perhaps I can buy a bag, eat one, and then hand it to the first teenager I see, LOL.

Joy (gardenerjoy) – Thanks for the reminder to set up a new Excel sheet for the year if I'm to track seriously.

CeeJay - Super list of credits, especially "No sugar" - Kudos.

Cheryl (seadwaters) – Kudos for the neat credits, although "Apparently 4 credits for today from HabitRPG" totally baffles me. That Berry Jelly sounds yummy.

Pam (pamatga) – When we were kids we always had black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. It was good luck to find the dime hidden in the bowl. Kudos for preparing your computer for tracking.

nationalparker – Kudos for skipping a meal without over snacking to make up for it.

Beth (bethFromDayton) – Neat dialog, "I could eat.." and my brain snapped back "you're not even hungry." Kudos for keeping eating under control even as you prepare a feast.

ForMyGirls - Congrats for breaking that 93kg barrier. (Had I thought of the phrase, "pairing of pear ...," I might have had the blue cheese just so I could write that, LOL.) Kudos for leaving some lamb shanks dish behind.

LoseToAll - Congrats for making your Christmas goal; Kudos for setting a reasonable goal for January.

systemsaddict - Great start using your eating plan.

Readers -

My 100% OP streak count is 2.

Today's planned exercise will be shoveling snow in 15-20 minute increments because our high will be 17 degrees. DH is still sick so he won't be helping. Except for the motivation because he gets stressed out about snow on our steep driveway. Fortunately, we don't need to go anywhere for a few days. Among other things, there's still leftover pizza -- which is not on my plan for today; DH can eat it.

WI: -0.25 in kg, Exercise: +45 45/1400 minutes for January, Food: 100%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

Good Morning, Coaches.

Happy New Year one day late. Packing to leave Santa Cruz so a quick hello.

I FINALLY figured out to to change my avatar. Had to go to a a website to shrink images. Was I the only one who didn't know how to do that? But I am pleased to start the New Year with the new me.

Having said that, I want to be really honest about posting a picture of myself. When I first saw the picture, I thought, "How happy that girl looks." Then, after a bit, my mind started its diabolical undermining. "You are not thin enough to be at maintenance." "People will think you should lose another 20." "Why do you even try?" Blah! Blah. I know this is my addictive disease trying to isolate me so that it can go back to eating like it use to eat. Drat!

Solutions:

1. Tell (or show the truth): This is me - a beautiful, flawed human - a sister among brothers and sisters who all suffer from the same fears and longings. Rejoice in the community.

2. Shrink my size. I don't mean physical. I mean mental. People don't really think about me that much. I am just one among many. They don't focus on my looks, my struggles, my mistakes. Most people are too focused on themselves to give me a second thought. This is very freeing.

3. The people who love me loved me fat. I freed myself from addiction for peace not for appearance. I have become a better mother, sister, teacher, friend because I don't spend twelve hours a day focusing on food. I focus on life.

Wave to all. Personals when my feet touch home soil.

Happy New Years everyone!

Living in New Orleans means that every event is accompanied by parades, fireworks and an awful lot of crowds. Normally I'm content to stay home but I have many friends in town so I felt obligated to show them a good time. We ended up in a throng of people in a very crowded club listening to exceptional live jazz and it was quite a way to ring in the new year. The next hour in the pouring rain trying to get a cab was less steller. We got "outbid" on one cab when a group of young men offered him $500! I hope they paid it.

Days off tend to throw such a monkey wrench in my plans. Monday - Friday I can be so on top of reading my ARC and following my steps but then a weekend or day off shows up and I forget to do all of it. I need better reminder systems that aren't tied to my cell phone because I love to turn that off when I'm out of the office.

That being said, I do have some credits for myself:
-I cooked baked cauliflower with hot sauce that was delicious on NYE before going out and managed to not eat excessive amounts of food at bars
-I made "hoppin' john" a traditional good luck food with black eyed peas and greens for NYD and it was delicious and I'm proud of it. I also stuck to eating that and some gluten free cake at the dinner and felt full but not overwhelmed.
-I ate almost everything sitting down and mindfully (the sitting is easy the mindful is challenging, as always)
-This morning I have read my ARC and taken my vitamins
-After eating my breakfast I thought "I'm still hungry" and then I reminded myself that I wasn't hungry, I just wanted to eat and that wasn't acceptable.

Todays' plan:
READ MY ARC THREE TIMES! It's not that difficult, really

Read and meditate on Beck Day 6 - Find a diet coach

----------------------------------

BBE Square dancing sounds delightful! Congratulations on the on plan and on the 42 days of snack control - you know that's the answer to life, the universe and everything right! It must be smooth sailing from here :) Your resistance muscle can clearly leap tall buildings in a single bound!


onebyone Happy New Year! Congrats on your efficient sleeping and good luck on the IKEA adventure you're about to embark on!

gardenerjoy Kudos on relishising the feelings of accomplishment and being "on top of things" that the new year can bring. !

LoseToAll Congrats on being at our goal and on setting a reasonable, achievable and ambitious goal for this month!

pamatga Kudos for setting expectations for a reluctant partner in something - an excellent way to push them and also hold yourself accountable and able to achieve what you want. Bravo!

ForMyGirls Kudos on the weight milestone! Even bigger kudos for feeling like you want to keep going past it - that's wonderful.

bethfromDayton The best way to get me to do a task I don't want to do is give me something else that is more urgent to complete - never is my house cleaner or my socks better matched then during finals period!

seadwaters I'm so excited someone else uses HabitRPG here! Are you already in a party/on a team or whatever that system is? That's one aspect I haven't explored yet.

nationalparker Kudos for adapting to challenging holiday eating.

CeeJay Kudos on a sugar free day! What an accomplishment.


systemaddict Happy New Year to you too. Isn't it funny how work makes it easier to have set routines?

Snow came last night - five inches so far. I threw in the towel early yesterday, deciding to take today and tomorrow off from work, and now I hear the forecast of -5 for the high on Monday. So my mind is already thinking, hmm... stretch it out even more, but I can't swing that. But now debating work tomorrow and take the miserably cold day off. I could NEVER live further north. My Canadian friends are my heroes. Snow is gorgeous when I'm inside and not driving in it.

Trail walk last night was cold ... but we're planning to do a short one with our pooch, who loves the snow and will have it stuck to her hair (not fur with this dog), and it freezes to her pretty solidly. I figure the treat followed by the **** of a warm bath for her will even it out.

Lazy day, and thoroughly enjoying it. I'm still a paper lover - I tear recipes and don't want to have to turn on a device in order to cook something, but as a result, I have a load of recipes to trim up and put in a book/folder.

Off to eat some lunch as I'm actually hungry. Not because it's nearly 12:30. An important difference in my mind.

Hello! Just logging some credits: second day eating on plan; first day not going to sleep on the sofa at 8.30pm (and yes, those things are related!); stuck to my written-down routines all day including 10 mins planned walk outside (which I was VERY resistant to) and my evening Pilates session.

My daughter helped me cook the meal tonight, she made a big bowl of salad and even ate some of it. She is 5, and has been a very picky vegetable-resistant eater since she turned 2. So seeing her eat lettuce was a big deal, and reinforced another of the benefits for me - if I eat well, the kids eat better too.

maryann I love that freeing yourself up from focusing on food to focus on life. That's where I want to get to as well.

one step forward
 

Coaches

I have not dealt with the Aria scale setup yet. Maybe tonight I'll take a stab at it. I have been enjoying my flex fitbit but don't really like wearing it. But if I don't wear it I won't know how many calories I burn ina day (always curious about this) vs. what I have eaten; all the steps I take and my sleep efficiency, which went up last night to 95% in spite of waking more than the night before.

I made and ate some cookies this afternoon. I fought the thought off for few hours then gave in, made them, and ate half+1 of the batch=10 cookies. I just wanted Sugar. I have been in the grips of Sugar for a few weeks now--ever since I got back from Florida on the 20th. I will have to make a conscious decision to stop eating it again. When I eat sugar I don't eat green things.

I'm off. DH is home. Time to get a screwdriver!

Hi all,

My January is starting out well, if a whole lot snowy. We had two forecasts: 1-3" and 2-4". We got about 6". I guess they should have added them together or something.

Today was a prep day in the kitchen--I cooked quite a bit and DD and BFF made and decorated cookies. I didn't nibble on anything while cooking or moving their cookies from the baking try to the cooling tray.

All my meals were OP (although I switched lunch and dinner around, time wise). I had planned on two cookies as my evening snack, knowing it'd be hard watching them being made. As they were being made, I told them myself I could have my two in the evening and that made it okay to wait. I had exactly my two cookies, enjoyed them immensely and feel very proud of myself for waiting to have two, to only having two, and being satisfied with two.

It was interesting to be aware of how much more I ate when preparing for this same party last year--how much I nibbled on all the pieces of each type of food as it was being made. Today, I ate what I intended and didn't nibble on anything while it was being made. In previous years, my binge party eating definitely would have started already--but not this year!

Weight at 198.6 (Correction after wannabehealthy noticed)--178.6--(I did not gain 20 lbs overnight!) again and my recording everything streak is now at 23 days!

I've promised myself a little shopping spree at the office supply store for keeping my streak up during the party!

nationalparker: Sometimes having a two meal rather than a three meal day is what it takes to stay OP for a big food day!

CeeJay: Oh my gosh does that sound cold! Definitely a day that would be better sepnt at home! Credit for all of your credits--and for a no sugar day!

systemsaddict: That's great that you had more energy in the evening--that's wonderful! It's amazing how our children are influenced by our decisions--and that's even true of my college aged ones.

ForMyGirls: Okay, so you didn't want to shortchange yourself--but you did it within plan--that's awesome!

seadwaters: Credit for makng jelly from scratch--that's impressive!

BillBE: Definite credit for going out for a walk to visit the ATM--your evening snack probably didn't require any money!

gardenerjoy: I hope the shoveling wasn't too overwhelming. If it's anything like our house was today, there was a lot of it to do!

maryann: You look gorgeous. You do look incredibly happy and you should--you're amazing. Big credits for responding to those sabataging diabolical thoughts.

veganasaurusrex: Credit for recognizing the difference between hungry and wanting to eat. That's such a hard one for me! (DH is worse than I am about doing tasks that are non-critical when there's a time crunch.)

onebyone: Credit for letting us know what you did with the cookies. It's hard to have sugar calling. {{hugs}}

I don't know how much I'll be able to check in the next few days--I'll post but know I won't have time for personals when I have a house full of people.

Take care, all.

update
 

Back on track after cookie collision. I also have a screwdriver and even a level to continue my Ikea furniture adventure. Made plenty of progress today. I've attached a jpg of my completed chaise lounge. I *love* it even if DH thinks it's only "half a sofa". :shrug:

My fitbit also lit 5 lights--more than before. I wish I remembered what it was counting though as I know I changed it from the default setting=steps taken. Oh well. I'll check in the morning.

I return to WW meetings on Saturday. This feels right. I'll be back at the gym after tomorrow too. Time to start firing on all cylinders.

maryann You look fit and happy and your backdrop is intriguing! Kudos for posting!

Have a good night coaches.

Well, my streak ended today. I would love to try to figure out a way to still pretend that it was legit eating because of 45 minutes of snow shoveling/pushing/flinging, but in all honesty, I just can't claim it as a day on track. ARGH. Can I not keep a streak going here?

So, committing to not beating myself up tomorrrow, and just getting rolling again. Credits today did include getting outside with the wind chill below zero for the shoveling, coming in when my heart felt like it was pounding a bit harder than I thought it should, even though I still had a bit more to do, skipping all cookies in the house, and choosing a grapefruit between meals and some home-popped popcorn tonight (done in a pan with a bit of olive oil). Lunch and dinner seemed light, but I had two slices of biscotti for 200 calories, picking the puniest that are left, but STILL eating them. I need to start tracking again, Beth - I feel silly restarting at MyFitnessPal AGAIN, but clearly need to monitor. Great job on skipping the pre-festivity food. Pulling hard for you to get that shopping spree for sticking on plan during the party time. Even if it is at an office supply store -ha ha!

Typically I never eat standing up, and don't think about it, but today I stood at my back kitchen window with my grapefruit and watched and listened to the hundreds of Canada geese in the field next to us with the snow coming down. So peaceful, though they sounded quite vocal. I might be the lone Canada goose liker; everyone here gripes about their pooh, their noise, etc., but hey - I like 'em. Did you know (well, Bill, I know YOU know) that if one is injured, another one goes down with it to stay with it while it hopefully heals. IF that's not true, don't tell me :) because I like to think of them as caring, as a wildlife officer told me at a Nat'l Park :) ha ha. Denial, my DH says. Odd fact (?) of the day.

Maryann - Wonderful picture - thank you for posting that! Love the joy on your face.

Hm - I think I DO need to track because looking back at my food intake, I let the two biscotti take hold of my whole day, thinking I was doing terrible. Lunch was pretty light, and dinner was the comfort food fave of tomato soup with 1% milk and grilled cheese, which came in under 500 for the meal.

Coaches
I have had a busy day getting chores done. I went to IKEA - always challenging but a great way to get my walking done. And I picked up some things to make my environment more organised.

I have been following a primal/paleo diet and trying to incorporate current best wisdom into my diet - and today my jars to begin fermenting food arrived! It will be fun to learn how to ferment foods and make things like sauerkraut, kefir, dill pickles etc. It is quite hard to get unpasturised pickles (salted not vinegared) in Australia at all or for a reasonable price so I am going to prioritise my health and give it a go. Plus a fine distraction to learn a new food related skill.

I am struggling with choices for food tomorrow. I am going out for breakfast and one place we could go has food I need to stay away from. I need to work out how to deal with the options

Credits today for:
Checking in
Weighing in (up again!)
Walking to get my steps in
Looking at all the food on offer in IKEA and sticking with what I had planned
Giving myself credit for making good choices
Keeping my carbohydrates low
No sugar and no wheat

Friday
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies – When I tried to buy some lower body base layer (long johns if you're not hiking Mt. Everest), the clerk, in her best 'of course' voice, said, "you know that's a seasonal item. You have to buy them when they come out in October." Ouch. So I ordered them on-line with guaranteed delivery yesterday. They didn't because it's 2 degrees Fahrenheit outside with the snow still falling. It's hard for me to imagine a life where I think of buying long johns on the beach on the Fourth of July. Oh Well. Walked, CREDIT moi, to the library to pick up one of the Mary Poppins books and the Walt Disney movie. After seeing Saving Mr. Banks I realize that I've never read the real book. At checkout the librarian called over to the children's librarian to ask if she'd ever read it. Nope. Apparently I'm going to be the first; they had to ship it in from the suburbs.

Eating continued on plan including snacks, CREDIT moi, to increment my streak to 44. Evening snack was, again, half a Florida Navel Orange. It's a pain that DW only wants a half and I feel obligated to have the other half instead of a whole one for myself. But it tweaks my thinking about my relationship to food so perhaps it's a good thing happening.


onebyone – Be aware that you'll be the first person on planet earth to cobble together IKEA furniture using a level, LOL. Ouch for the attack of the cookies. Love the chaise lounge - it looks like it'll provide the same seating space as a couch using much less room. LOL at your DH's "half a sofa."

Joy (gardenerjoy) – I'll be joining you in this snow shoveling thing.

Cheryl (seadwaters) – Keep us posted on your IKEA results - there must be a whole division of YouTube devoted to constructing their stuff. Intrigued by the notion of salted rather than vinegar'd pickles. Good luck with that venture.

maryann - The goal for us all, "I focus on life."

nationalparker – So rare it's worth celebrating, "I'm actually hungry." Kudos for taking your Trail Walk in these temps. When I become Czar, all biscotti will be sent back to Italy where they belong. [Yes, Canada Geese mate for life, fly down with a wounded mate, bury their dead, and read Mary Poppins to their goslings. You're right; I'm not the person to ask, LOL.]

Beth (bethFromDayton) – Yes indeed, Kudos for, "waiting to have two, to only having two, and being satisfied with two."

Jo (veganasaurusrex) – Now you got me drooling for some "hoppin' john". Kudos for recognizing, "I wasn't hungry, I just wanted to eat." [Neat to have someone Geek enough to appreciate the significance of hitting '42'.]

systemsaddict - Yay for getting something green into your 5 yo DD - wonder if she'd get suspicious if you asked her to help cook some spinach, LOL.

Readers -

[QUOTE=bethFromDayton;4909589]
Weight at 198.6 againand my recording everything streak is now at 23 days!

Beth, I am not a stalker, but I have watched you come down from the 190's, and I sure hope this is a typo!!! It gave me quite a jolt!

It was a typo! 178.6 -- kinda a big typo, huh? 179.8 this morning--but I'm still under 180!

It made me smile that you notice!

My 100% OP streak count is 3.

It was either warmer than expected or I'm more acclimated than I thought. I had no problem spending more than an hour outside working yesterday. I even unzipped my jacket at one point. I got it cleared off enough to get out. Today's chore will be to get it all off in advance of the next system -- more snow on Sunday and a high of 3 degrees on Monday. We have lots of years when our temperature never dips to 3 degrees as a low, much less a high!

Great to see all the New Year energy on this thread and elsewhere on 3FC! I'm borrowing it for my own purposes to stay on plan and get things done.

WI: -0.2 in kg, Exercise: +70 115/1400 minutes for January, Food: 100%op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

maryann: love your picture! You look terrific. No one would look at that picture and see someone who needs to lose 20 pounds. Except, apparently, you. ;) I think that will improve over time, especially with your thoughtful solutions.

veganasaurusrex: yay for making hoppin' john part of your credits for the New Year!

bethfromDayton: impressive restraint around the cookies! Cool that you can compare your actions from last year to this -- and appreciate the improvement and what it's doing for you!

seadwaters: can't wait to hear about your fermenting. I read Cooked by Michael Pollan last year and have been fascinated by the idea, but I haven't taken the plunge yet.

BillBlueEyes: I've never read Mary Poppins either. I started it once and it was so not Julie Andrews that I couldn't continue. I should try again now that the shock factor has worn off. But I'll wait and see if you like it.

Coaches

*credit* for weighing in at the exact same as 2 days ago. Rare that. I'm about to go tackle the Ikea furniture assembly. I have screwdriver. I have patience. I have instructional graphics that sort of make sense. I also have coffee. Will checkback in. BTW we had frostquakes last night. :?: new to me.

Billblueeyes and gardenerjoy: admittedly, I love cranky old people. I really do. I love it when people say exactly what they mean. So, here's a link to Harlan Ellison, famous sci-fi writer and thought to be erratic, angry and really hard to handle, discussing the movie Saving Mr. Banks and the writer of Mary Poppins. Watch it to the end. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNIFEHN1_cY

Good Morning, Coaches.

Back on home turf with a big sigh of relief. I had many credits. I weighed everyday (brought my scale); drank all my water everyday; exercised; focused on getting in all my fruits and veggies in between sugar mania. In the five days I was gone I saw the scale go up as high as five pounds. Today I weighed in at just three pounds above maintenance weight. This seems a manageable amount to lose again. I am committing to the first week of the JJ Virgin Diet that I did back in September: off the 7 most common food allergens and two vita mix shakes a day. We'll see how much of the gain was water weight.

So for today, I plan to cook a bunch of grass fed beef to portion out for the next three days; stock up on berries, spinach and chia seeds; and make a Pilates run. As of this moment, I have logged 17 hours of my first day :)

veganasauraus rex: baked cauliflower is one of my favorite things. I also have a wonderful mock mash potatoes that uses cauliflower.

nationalparker: you are my hero taking a trail walk in 0 degrees. I take my weather for granted. I think tracking does help. My mind is a terrible neighborhood. Better get things down in black and white.

systemsaddict: It is a wonderful feeling to know my kid is seeing a healthy model. He automatically orders sandwiches on wheat bread. He thinks about how many fruits and veggies he has had for the day. Feels good to be a positive influence. Could you tell me what your name means? Are you a techie?

onebyone: I am researching flex fitbit. Thanks. It might be something I am interested in.

bethfromDyaton: You constantly amaze me with your ability to bake. I am no that evolved yet. So proud of you for getting back under 180 when you were struggling just a few short weeks ago. Terrific.

Ceejay: fascinated by fermenting jars. Is this part of the paleo plan? Just read about a new book Cavewoman Don't Get Fat.

BBE: My goal is to see Saving Mr. Banks this weekend, head cold permitting.

gardenerjoy: Thanks for the boost. I think my body image will improve over time as well. It will also decrease in importance.

Hello all!

I am taking a cue from something gardenerjoy said some time back in December about her monthly exercise challenge (paraphrasing): "we do more [working out] and less chatting". My "spirit" was "convicted" and I realized that rather than just "talk the talk" I really needed to take all that energy that I had been reserving for reading and posting (for me, it had become 3 hours on average because of the many groups that I belong to) and put it into "self-improvement".

So, as a "heads up": I am reading all of your posts but, alas, in the interest of time, I will not be doing personals every time I post and try to keep this as reporting and giving credit from now on. If I have not responded directly to your individual post please do NOT take this as a slight. I am just trying to get done what I need to get done this year. I hope you understand.

BBE: I do think that realizing that you automatically felt the need to eat the other half is exactly one of the behaviors that Dr. Beck addresses: really thinking through whether we need to eat that (was it planned?) vs eating it "because that is what I have always done or it is there". Good job in seeing the connection between your thoughts and then actions.

beth: Glad that you too have seen a big difference in your relationship with food between this past holiday season and last year's. Progress is measured as such. Good Job!

vegan: Yup, I could not pass eating my black-eyed peas for New Year's Day either along with the ham, yams, peach cobbler and two small glasses of Moscato wine. The fact that I was able to change my ticker down today was a nod that I ate "just enough" and not "too much".

maryann: You said it so eloquently, I can only say, "By George (or Maryann), you got it!" I remind myself that it is not "all about me", the world doesn't care whether what I weigh and those who do love me have always loved me. You do look happy. Now, let that sink in. You are a beautiful and gentle soul.:hug:

seadwater: As a person who now has to know the carbs in everything I am now learning how to have "my carb and eat it too". ;) Not an easy venture but I love homemade fruit spreads and so "less is enough" when it comes to carbs. At least, that is what my blood glucose is telling me.

FMG: I am doing my best to get back over to MSE but I am trying to get some things set up the past couple of days but I will be back there soon and very soon. Well, that has been my plan all along. If DH comes in and doesn't want to exercise then he is on his own. That is what happened yesterday and I had already done all of my exercises before he got home. He did them last night. This afternoon we do have a "date" with Leslie Sansone and "walk, walk, walk." I think she sounds like a duck so when I imitate her he laughs. I swear that is the only reason why he likes doing her dvds. He is just so juvenile. :lol:

onebyone: your sofa looks nice. My DH would love the royal blue. Dark chocolate (the more cacao the better) does it for me when I crave sugar. One square and I am satisfied. Hope you find what works for you. How is the gym working out for you?

Credit: I finally got to move my ticker down. Bummer that I still haven't lost enough to put one snow person for my first 5 lbs since incorporating BDS along with my diabetes weight loss plan (start date to remember: December 21st, 2013). However, it does give me an incentive to work even harder!:D

Love, Pam :comp:

Today has been good so far. I'm really enjoying the feeling of a tabula rasa that a new year always grants me.

My boss surprised me today by giving me an office! We have run out of space in the tiny room where 7 of us currently sit scrunched together. It was a fun perk and I've been nesting all day and really enjoying having a little space to call my own.

I'm on track with reading my ARCs and completing my steps. I'm taking a second day on Step 6 - Finding a Diet Coach because I didn't have time to really engage the support system I wanted to yesterday.

I have noticed myself working on my resistance muscle even though I'm not on that "step" yet. It's been really interesting to see how working on my mindset automatically makes me say no to food I don't need more often then I would otherwise. This Beck lady really has some smart ideas.

Plan for today is to re-read Day 7, read my ARC tonight and reach out to my support network more concretely.

Weekends are killer for me because I lose all the structure of work. My weekend plan is to maintain reading my ARC and posting here at least once. I'm not going to try and tackle steps when I know that it's too much for me amidst all of my other weekend plans.

Credit for today: Having a meeting suddenly moved to McDonalds and choosing not to eat anything even though I was craving french fries. Taking my vitamins. Reading my ARC twice at scheduled times. Adding another format to my ARC so I have NO EXCUSES for not reading it. Writing new response cards. Eating sitting down. Choosing to say no to extra food at breakfast because I was desiring to eat for the pleasure of eating not because I was hungry. I can have that pleasure when I need it just not when I only want it.

______________________________________

nationalparker As a former New Yorker who has relocated to the south I miss snow and I'm so enjoying reading about it (even though I know it's frustrating when you're in it and much more romantic when you're far away). Excellent on recognizing your body's hunger and recognizing it!

systemsaddict Amazing job on helping your child enjoy healthy foods- what a great side effect of the wonderful work you're doing for yourself.

bethFromDayton Your self control is INCREDIBLE! Wonderful job!

nationalparker I'm restarting myfitnesspal too - I'd be happy to be accountabilibuddies on there

seadwaters Ikea is such a fantastically distracting and wonderful place. Seems like our forum is on an Ikea spree!

New here
 

Hi all,

I somehow stumbled upon your message board and am considering learning more about the Beck Diet Solution. I requested the book from the library. Would you recommend that I buy it instead?

Team total 131. Streak for me is 29.

Credits for yesterday. Had a long battle with a craving yesterday and i won! Long time since cravings have reared their ugly heads. I actually think it was a habit thing. I got to spend a few hours with my girls yesterday (they are having a long stay with their Dad at the moment and the younger one needed a Mummy fix). We were having such fun - playing musical bobs, card games, writing stories together and then suddenly my brain says "this is so much fun - why don't we go get icecreams". WTF? In amongst the debate inside my head there was even a line of "we've all used up lots of calories dancing" that i managed not to be tricked by. I am really pleased i saw sense in this one - it is so important for my girls to know that fun can be had without unhealthy food so it would have been an awful shame for me to disprove that for them yesterday.

Maryann - i was delighted and inspired by how fabulous you look! And even more inspired to read your thoughts about why my thinking or not thinking that is irrelevant!

Vegan...rex - I am horribly jealous of NYE in New Orleans. We spent NYE watching the final episode of Treme - i don't think i have ever been so sad to see a show finish.

National parker - i thought that as the keeper of stats i might point out that this is the longest streak you have had - which is a definite plus! Good on you for being honest with yourself and us about it ending though.

Systemsaddict - loved your story of 5 year old eating salad

Pamatga- it is totally fine for you not to be posting personals. And also totally fine for you to be quiet on the MSE boards. These things should never, ever, be an obligation i reckon. If posting here and other places helps you reach your goals then do it. If it hinders you the don't! (IMHO) LOL about your husband's motivation for exercise - i so love a bit of silliness in a grown up!

Hi everyone,

Just a quick check in tonight. Three days of healthy eating and exercising under my belt. It sure feels good to say that. Thanks to all of you for the inspiration and support.

I am finding that telling myself stop thinking about food is helping. As soon as my head drifts to sabotaging thoughts of eating something unhealthy and off-plan I am noticing and telling myself to stop it. I have been telling myself that I just need to not do it right now. Trying not to think about the big picture too much. It just feels too overwhelming.

Welcome Moebug. I think you will find the book helps. For me, I bought both of Beck's books and have reread them when I needed inspiration, a kick in the pants or both. :D

pamatga- I hear you on the effort and time it takes to personally respond to everyone. You are wise to focus on using your time to do what is healthy for you. I have gotten hung up on not being able to keep up with personals and at times have not posted because of that. That definitely is not helpful.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hi all,

It's pretty late here (1:00 am) and the party is still going strong. I've got the breakfast casseroles in the fridge to make tomorrow morning easy. Several people had to cancel because of the bad weather in southern MI/northern OH. Disappointing but I'm glad they've made choices to stay safe.

I've eaten lots more than an "OP" day--lots more--about double my normal OP calories. I've also recorded everything and that has kept me eating less than I did last year at this same party--a lot less. I've eaten everything sitting down with a plate--very deliberate and paying attention to what I was eating.

Since that's how I'm measuring success this weekend--recording and eating sitting down on a plate (no "on the run" eating sitting down"!)

I can't count how many times I've been aware of something that I would have stuck in my mouth at a previous party--and had the "I'm not doing that" response.

I have lots of thoughts that are helping, including that I've managed to stop eating sweets at work, I can stop overeating at parties. It isn't hard anymore to turn down sweets at work--most of the time it's really easy. So that means that if I persevere, it's entirely possible that not overeating at parties will get easy for me, too.

So. Friday night done--and if not OP, I give myself credit for success at meeting a low bar--but one I've not met at other similar events.

Oh--and I lost 3 euchre games in a row and then won 3 in a row.

Take care, all.

Hi coaches

A quick Saturday night check-in. Fortunately my IKEA visit didn't involve any putting together of furniture - all small bits and pieces so no 3 dimentional challenges. This morning I was going to breakfast with a friend and because yet again my weight was the same I was inclined to think - forget it, I will eat what I want because the diet is getting me nowhere. However I didn't do that and decided on a sensible breakfast that obeyed all the food rules I am following at the moment. I don't think I will lose weight in any amount until I get off the medications I am on - which won't be for a few years. And the spectacular results that others get by reducing carbs and sticking to food made from scratch won't impact my weight loss because except for the odd lapse I have eaten that way for a long time. I don't eat processed food and I have avoided wheat and sweets for years. However by avoiding foods that I react to I do reduce inflammation and joint pain so I need to stick with it and who knows - I might lose some weight as well.

I have read more of the fermentation book and am getting ready to have a go. I have read "Wild Fermentation" in the past and know of Fallon's "Nourishing Traditions" (will need to look at Cooked thanks GardenerJoy - have read his other books but not that one yet) but the book at the moment seems more accessible (Lisa's Counter Culture: Pickles and other well bred food"). They all mount a very good argument for the inclusion of fermented foods in the diet as do a number of food blogs. I have been buying sauerkraut and kimchi for a while but it is far more exciting to try and make them myself. Will let you know how it goes!

Credits for today:
Logging on to my coaches
Eating on plan all day including when there were many alternatives for breakfast
Finishing my steps for the day
No sugar or wheat

Thanks, seadwaters, for being there at the breakfast table with me this morning! I was considering a slice of toast but checked in here first. Your post (above) headed me off!

I lurk, as you know, and post sporadically. Thanks for all you do here. I really appreciate it. And a Happy New Year!

Welcome Moebug! Do you have an iPad or iPhone? If so you can get a sample of Beck Diet Solution in the iBook store while you wait for the library copy to arrive. You might also be able to get an Android or Kindle version - i only live in the world of Mac though so i am not sure how to achieve that.

In any event - however you get access to the book i hope you find it as life changing as i have.

Team points are 135. My streak is 30:-)

Credit for today: when i realised i had miscalculated my snacks and was over calories at the end of the day i corrected it by doing an hours cleaning. Extra credits for the fact that when the cleaning took 2 hours i didn't then 'correct' that by eating more food i wasn't hungry for!

Beth - i am so pleased to hear you are achieving your goals at the party and that you are able to see the positive changes you are making

Seadwaters - woohoo to you for not giving in to that dastardly "bugger it, it's not working anyway" sabotaging thought.

Welcome Moebug
 

:welcome: Moebug :welcome:

And, on the occasion of your first post, :wel3fc:

How did you come to have "stumbled upon" our Beck forum here on 3 Fat Chicks?

(I take it that you found this forum before you discovered the books.)