Beck FB = Think Thin Thursday Tip: All-or-nothing simply doesn’t work. When dieters are all-or-nothing about being on a diet, believing they are either totally perfect on their diet, or totally off of it, it makes it much more likely that one mistake will spiral into more. When dieters are all-or-nothing about food, believing that there are some foods they should cut out entirely when they’re dieting, it makes it much more likely that once they start eating a “bad” food, they won’t be able to stop, because they’ll have the thought, “I don’t know when I’ll allow myself to eat this food again, so I better eat as much of it as I can right now.”

Grilling Salmon for dinner. OP today for food and exercise. Tomorrow will be busy and late with an award ceremony/banquet for dh in the evening and all morning in the park for an end of year party.

millie56 Kudos for not gaining during a celebration week.

flnu When you get to the part about cheat days/free weekends in DF you'll have to post your thoughts, I'd be interested.

Lexxiss Happy smoothie and enjoy soaking.

gardenerjoy Yeah for a new fitbit!

Lorrie77 Welcome! You are in the right place, hop right in :D

BillBlueEyes Lingering coughs are so wearying.

GosfordGirl/Cheryl I love Mexican soups, yum! Great list of credits.

CeeJay Awesome list, great credits.

Friday
 

Coaches

I had a bad sleep because I have a really sore throat and snuffly head. So got up feeling bad. But I had papers to grade that I am running late with and which will occupy me most of the weekend - my fault for being distracted during the week. Today is a fast day which is proving difficult - a bit starving because of the cold (virus not weather) and desperate for something sweet. Not usual as I always want savoury. Good thing there is none in the house (except some dark chocolate). I upped the calories from 500 to about 800 to deal with being sick and sedentary today. Drinking lots. Making hot tea to deal with desire / cravings / empty feelings. A bit hard to distract myself beyond this

My chilli soup last night (and today) was really good. Simple, low calorie and fat, no carbs to speak of, and really spicy. The recipe called for 2 (not 1) 200g cans of Chipotle Pepper in Abobo Sauce! I used 2/3 for 4 serves and that was about right - burn that virus right out (don't think the chilli was the cause of the sore throat :))

Credits for today:
Logged food before I ate it and then checked it
Did my fast day - a few more calories than needed
Walked dogs and sat at desk all day so won't make 5K steps
Listened to motivation recording today
Tried no choice quite a lot so as not to snack

BillBE - I wonder if colds are catchable by Internet? I need a DW type person in charge of my catering - your food always sounds interesting

Lorrie77 - you are indeed posting to the right place. Hang around and see how it all works and then tell us a bit about yourself

Gardenerjoy - Yay for Fitbit Ones - just remember that when you wash it accidentally you can dry it out by sticking it in a container of rice. I was so annoyed that my Flex did not count floors - I had been used to that with the F1 (before I washed it and didn't know about rice). I would go looking for stairs to climb. Now I don't.

Debbie (Lexxiss) - Hot springs sound good right now. Good luck on the run

flnu - Your plan looks really interesting. Although I have implicit rules I think I need to create a few very specific boundaries around eating behaviour. You have inspired me. Good operationalisation of Diet Fix - I do find it frees things up a bit. But boundaries are necessary too

Millie56 - love your strategy for square dancing night. Love your enthusiasm - it rekindles mine and it is great to read. You will slow down with practice and awareness

Tricia - I like this week's tip thanks. Exactly my thought processes when I have a forbidden food - so in this she and Diet Fix are really in agreement aren't they? I tend to think "I shouldn't be having this and won't have it for months so go for it" - she is so right and I need to think more about that list of rules and forbidden foods

Have a good Friday coaches

Welcome Lorrie77
 

:welcome: Lorrie77 :welcome:

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

How did you find out about the books by Dr. Judith Beck?

And how did you find our Beck Forum here on 3 Fat Chicks?

Friday
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies – I sat through a one hour lecture without offending the others in the audience last evening. CREDIT moi for making the attempt since hiding under my bed had more appeal.

I did a short walk, CREDIT moi, and wandered past a high school baseball team playing a game. Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, with lentil soup for dinner. It would have been a low calorie meal if I hadn't had extra chips to wash it down.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Welcome FitBit One! 19 is a lot of floors (equivalents) to climb in a day.

Debbie (Lexxiss) – Thinking of you soaking in the hot springs today.

Cheryl (GosfordGirl) – That much Chipotle Pepper would burn me for sure - otherwise I drool for a bowl of your chilli soup. I wish you well with your "snuffly head" - It's hard to imagine that viruses can travel the Internet, LOL.

Tricia (AZtricia) - Have a fun day in the park - if that implies a whole day around picnic'd food, I wish you well in avoiding it.

flnu - Love the simplicity of limiting food to the chosen plate size. I'd have avoided all my weight gain if I'd just followed your rule, "don’t be an idiot."

millie56 - Happy Birthday. Kudos for maintaining weight with an impressive list of foods.

Lorrie77 - Yep, you're in exactly the right place. Are you reading the Pink Book (Beck Diet Solution) or the Green Book (Beck Diet for Life)? Kudos for changing forth making your lists. Glad that you've joined us.

Readers -

Thanks, AZTricia, for Thursday's Beck thought. Logging seems to be getting me there. I find that I'm developing the same attitude I have for the daily scale reading -- it's just data. If I eat something unexpected, but write it down and take a stab at guessing calories, it seems to corral it. So, I end up with a higher calorie day, but within the range of normal for me. I keep being surprised that one small slip doesn't mean that much at the end of the day. How many times have I let one small slip lead into days of overeating?

WI: NA kg, Exercise: +40 360/1500 minutes for May, Food: 100% op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

Hello to All,

I’m pleased that I’m down two weeks in a row for this Friday’s weigh-in: lost 2 lbs. down to 163. And I get to knock down another 5 pound goal. I got a little walk in this morning and was OP for the day (Fridays are my hardest day).

I did get to the DF section on cheat days but didn’t feel like it applied to me. What most diets miss, but DF and Beck get right, is the element of psychology. So my weekends are not to me a cheat and that sets ‘em up with a different psychology (no element of write off, no element of I must vow to never cheat again, no element of I must eat it all now because I will never get it again, etc.) I consider myself on plan on the weekends too. It’s just a different plan. It’s got a lot of similarities with intermittent fasting with more restrictive times and less restrictive times. It’s just that instead of fasting for short periods of time, I am only moderately restrictive but longer periods of time. I need the weekends as a release valve. And my weekends don’t look worse than how I used to eat 24/7. The great thing is that I look forward to weekend eating but then I look forward to Monday eating too.

A question for maintainers: Which is harder, losing or maintaining?

BBE: Why did you force yourself to go to a lecture that had no appeal? Congrats on your credits. Lentil soup would hit the spot.

Cheryl: I’m sorry you’re snuffly. Clearly you are making thoughtful choices about how to deal with be sick so kudos. Thanks for your encouragement. The other thing that works for me with my diet strategy is that the rules can kind of run quietly in the background without me needing to pay much attention.

Tricia: Can I come for dinner? So for the banquet, do you have a strategy pre-planned? Because that would be a challenge for me. Thank you for the Beck snippets (you too, BBE). It is SO GREAT to have these reminders just pop up like magic where I can’t miss them.

Millie: Huge credit for the weigh-in. I know I’m not too motivated to weigh-in on a week that had a lot of unplanned eating. I make myself but I don’t like it. (By the way, I finally looked closely at your avatar-that is a dog, not a sheep.)

Joy: Kudos for tossing it every which way until it lands right. And being thoughtful about it.

Ok, coaches, I’ll sign off for now. Have a great weekend, all.

Good Morning, Coaches.

I feel like I keep getting swallowed up whole when I am working. I run on coffee, sugar and Lunesta. I don't exercise or post daily. Blick. I do like my job but I don't like having another set of living rules there which has nothing to do with my living rules at home.

I am not sure of the solution. But credit for a least logging in my food for a third week, eating healthy green smoothies and keeping weight one pound below ticker. So it may FEEL like a hurricane but the reality is I am controlling my behavior to certain degree. I need to focus on the positive.

I went to a counseling session yesterday and the gal told me I need to have more acceptance of myself for the mood swings I am experiencing (entering the big M - sorry for the topic BBE) Not accepting myself is only adding extra stress to an already crazy time. She also cautioned that my son is at the age that I was when my life took a disastrous turn. Subconsciously, I might be feeling the stress of protecting him from things that happened to me.

In a nutshell I am experiencing the pressure of being 12 and 50 simultaneously:)

All this makes me want to eat a giant cookie.

So I have planned for a giant cookie today and also a nap. These are two of my favorite things.

flnu: Maintenance is difficult in that it doesn't live up to expectations. Once I am "there" It should be easier. It is never easy to take responsibility for my eating. I keep diligent because I don't want to lose the perks - my new wardrobe, lots of nice comments, healthier body.

Hello and Happy Friday. I read all the posts in between working online last night and then forgot to post. This is one of the busiest weekends for me, work-wise, and in years past, I've sent DH off on a vacation during this span. Forgot about it this year. He looked to head out camping but have possible severe weather moving in and hunkering down at home seems a better idea. I worry when he's out hiking alone.

Food has been okay - struggling mentally with the scale up a bit after a few good days on track. Realizing that retaining water just happens - I know I didn't eat over my range at all.

Health issues continue to hound my folks. Dad is back in hospital now with blood clots, so I'm worrying. Mom is not doing well, either. I thought she'd be hospitalized today for IV antibiotic. Not yet.

Credit me - read my advantages response cards, posted a sit down sign on my refrigerator door, and finished day on diet coach in Beck.

Oops - Ate a few bites standing up while putting away left overs last night. Had an unplanned 1/2 cupcake of left over birthday stuff. The carrot cake I made isn't very good and I need to throw the rest away I am just really thrifty and the idea of throwing away food that is still good is a very hard one for me. Maybe the dogs could get birthday cake.

Yes my avatar is my puppy - she is 8 months old now but that is my favorite picture of the day we picked her up from the breeder.

Going to the library today after work to pick up the Volumetric's book didn't get it last night cause we found out the car we just bought 6 months ago needs major engine work so we will be looking for another car soon. Ugh!

Today is on arranging your environment which is going to be kind of a challenge. My DH knows I am making changes for my health and he is tall so putting things up high is good for me and him but my son still hasn't moved out. He & his daughter leave food all over the counters which is challenging.

Hello coaches. Home from the park feeling sticky from sunscreen and the heat. Will clean up after the boys are done as they are grass covered & muddy as well. The only food I had to avoid at the park this morning was slushies and they are not a temptation for me. I packed a healthy lunch for my family and have had a fine/OP day so far. I don't know what food there will be tonight, but dinner is not served till after 7:00pm which is well after I'd normally eat. My plan (thanks flnu! I had not thought of this previously) is to eat at home and have veggies mostly and a bit of protein possibly. I can give most of my meal to dh who has a metabolism to be envied and will be hungry for more than whatever is served. Need to start "at home" dinner plans soon as everything is in the freezer.

"Water Day" photo at the park with the display from the local fire department...the grass which the heat has already killed needs all the help it can get.
http://i1274.photobucket.com/albums/...psd8e5afe5.jpg

millie56 Kudos for reading those ARCs. Cake is no better for doggies than it is for you, let it be good compost for your landfill would be my recommendation. Your pup is adorable, what kind?

nationalparker Sorry to hear there are more issues with your parents. Wishing you OP during this stressful weekend :dust:

maryann Kudos for self care. Hope you find the peace you need during this emotional period.

flnu Sorry, no dinner invite as the salmon is all gone! :lol: Thanks for the reminder to plan for tonight and your eval of DF. I enjoyed reading of your different plans both being plans.

gardenerjoy Awesome progress on the logging and using the info.

BillBlueEyes Lentils are my favorite beans :) kudos for being a polite audience, your posts often have me smiling.

GosfordGirl/Cheryl Sorry you are ill, that is not fun! Glad the Beck post has you re-evaluating, makes long term healthy eating easier and with fewer long back-slides.

BECK FB - Friday Weekend Warm-up: Remember, losing weight does entail turning down some food some of the time, but not all food all of the time! This weekend, focus on the food that you WILL be eating, not on the food you won’t.

making things but unmaking others
 

Coaches

Argh I say. I have had a very productive last few days in the ceramic studio. I have a deadline of May 16th by which I must have created whatever it is that will be fired in the bisque kiln (first firing) then when removed I can glaze fired it (2nd fire) then whatever is good enough in a photo will be submitted for the consideration of a local prestigious art gallery for their fall show and sale. Deadline for submission is May 31st.

After I realized, by organizing and creating a calendar and a list, all written down (thank you BECK!) that I had so little time, I just started to work and now I am on to something! It's like an open-ended idea that is fairly limitless and fun to boot so I am thrilled and it wouldn't have happened except I have placed myself in the studio whether I want to be there or not.

But what happens when I am so single-minded is I am spent by the time I get home and the last thing I want to do is *anything*. So my place is cluttering up again and my food prep is 50/50 homemade vs. takeout. Plus my neighbour has been bringing me food again and sometimes I resist. Sometimes I don't. I didn't yesterday and had A LOT of amazing rice. I stepped on the scale this morning to see where I was at and it showed a 6lb gain (in 3 days) and I thought I'd better pay attention again. I stopped tracking in those 3 days as well and didn't do the toothbrush level of exercise either.

You know, it's May. I will be at that medical clinic in early September. Will the time just pass, like it already has, and will I walk through their doors the way that I am now or will I actually be fitter and lighter and stronger? Why isn't it important enough for me to keep it at the front of my brain anyway? Oh well, this is not to be answered tonight. For today I did not have seconds. I cooked from scratch. And I posted. The scale# is info and I am grateful to have it. It doesn't hold that power over me it once did. Actually it hasn't for quite some time. As of now I am OP again but I think I need a more structured plan and I need a healthy dose of no choice. I need to write things down and to keep them with me.

I really do want things to change - Iwant MY BEHAVIOUR to change.

Oh! Whilst decluttering this week I found both Beck books. I will begin the green one tomorrow. THAT WILL HELP.

Have a good night.

Hi Coaches,

Well I made it, SEVEN days of healthy, on plan eating. I am so thrilled-- I can't tell you how good this feels. I have not eaten any sugar and have been really light on the carbs and wheat. I feel so much better than I did a week ago. I am going to get on the scales tomorrow morning and no matter what the number is, the fact is I feel better and that is progress.

Hope everyone is well.

:grouphug:

Snuffly Saturday
 

Coaches

Still sneezing and snuffling and croaking. Shame when I have so much work. I was going to go to gym today but it was too hard - might feel able tomorrow. Did a bit of work and had to get some food. While out bought a cinnamon scroll - I had been craving sweet things and saw it where I got take-out coffee. I have to say that it was delicious - enjoyed every bite and then I logged it and will carry on with my plan. I don't want to stay off track but enjoyed the indulgence. Not something I should repeat too often

Spent a bit of time on the internet looking at units to buy if I sell mine. I am hopeful that there are a few in my price range and when I get the time it will be exciting!

Credits for today:
Logged food before I ate it and then checked it
Logged off plan food
Walked dogs and sat at desk and got to 6K steps
Checked in with my coaches
Looked at A&R cards
Weighed myself and I was a bit down this morning

BillBE - Credit for restraint and turning up. Something about a cold demands carbohydrates I think

Gardenerjoy - yep - logging does seem to keep one on track and honest

Flnu - Great to see your ticker change - you are doing well consistently so credit. I have stalled on DF because I haven't got time to focus on it - will get back there. Your plan works for you so that makes it a good plan. I think from my failure to maintain in the past (even though the question is really for Beck maintainers) that maintaining is way harder than losing

Maryann - credit for maintaining under difficult circumstances. LOL at being both 12 and 50 yo - I totally get that. The Big M is not to be taken lightly so I am glad you are prepping for it

Nationalparker - Credit for doing what has to be done for work. You must be going back home soon?

Millie56 - Credit for getting on board so quickly. Your puppy is very cute - what brand is it? Good luck with Volumetrics

Tricia - The "water Day" seems like a blast - judging by the look of the heat I would have been happy to be under the jet. Good planning for an evening event

Onebyone - Credit for catching yourself and getting back on track. Your life sounds hectic and it is really hard to maintain focus across a couple of really demanding things - your creative work and your diet are both really important and really consuming. I can see that it is difficult to focus on both when you are on a creative jag - so credit for getting back down to business

CeeJay - great to see you here. And thrilled that you have had seven - 7! - days of healthy eating. It is good to see you feeling positive about your great progress.

Saturday - International Migratory Bird Day
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Used a magic elixir of cough medicine that kept coughing at bay sufficiently to get out to hear the opera i Puritani last night - Bel Canto singing at its most melodic. Thanks Bellini. Cromwell kept appearing in the background so I'm glad I've made my minor efforts to understand England during the time of its civil war when Royalists were out of favor. CREDIT moi for the minor walking across the Boston Common and to and from the subways.

Food was on plan, CREDIT moi, since my accounting ignores cough drops consumed during a performance. I now contain enough zinc to be rust proof as well as unattractive to any invading foreign bodies. Dinner was the last meal of ham left over from our 'Easter' dinner. I savored every bite. It may be that ham is just an excuse to over indulge in Trader Joe's course ground dark mustard. There may be an internal battle between the zinc and the salt right now.


onebyone – Yay for productive time in your ceramic studio - with Kudos for getting yourself on-schedule instead of on-panic. Welcome back Beck books from the void.

Joy (gardenerjoy) – Neat validation that writing down an unexpected consumption "seems to corral it." I share your fear of the slipping out of control.

CeeJay - Yep, Seven Kudos for seven days without sugars. Glad you're feeling better.

Cheryl (GosfordGirl) – Ouch for "Snuffly Saturday" - from a guy consuming tissues by the case. If you're going to have an indulgence, then having a good one that's savored is the only way to go.

maryann - Sending supportive thoughts for "experiencing the pressure of being 12 and 50 simultaneously" - your imagery always blows my mind. Kudos for mushing forward at work so you can continue to serve your kids.

nationalparker – It's Kudos worthy when "I know I didn't eat over my range at all" despite the crazy busy and ongoing concerns about your parents.

Tricia (AZtricia) - Cringing at the memory of what our bathroom looked like after the kids cleaned themselves of grass and mud. Yay for a healthy picnic in the park.

flnu - This makes such good sense, "I consider myself on plan on the weekends too. It’s just a different plan." [The lecture had great appeal, it was leaving the house with my coughing that was unappealing. The lecture was going to help me understand what caused the bursts of migration of early humans out of Africa - possibly volcanoes, but almost certainly climate driven. So little data looking back 70 thousand years ago. Had to be some serious motivation for such a long walk from Oldupai Gorge to Tierra del Fuego.]

millie56 - Learning to throw away food is just the hardest strategy to learn. DW reminds me that I'm feeding our compost worms and they have to live also. Kudos for solving your Diet Coach problem before you got there.

Readers -

Hi Coaches!

My food choices were less than stellar the past few days and with new projects/stresses coming up it's time to get back on track NOW and get back to my written plan. I've written my plan for today and have posted it beside the refrigerator. We are starting work on another rental project, which has been ongoing since May of last year. (I just took a moment to look back-it seems like forever). This is a personal project which was put on the back burner when my mom's rentals needed immediate attention last fall.

BBE, I wouldn't count cough drops, either, lol! Glad you enjoyed your opera.

Cheryl(GosfordGirl), great credits as you are going through some major shifts, not to mention being sick. Home shopping and talking to bosses regarding retirement plans are major transformations. Credit for walking through them with a solid food plan!

CeeJay, kudos for 7 days of healthy eating! Keep up the great planning!

Onebyone, great getting back on track right away! Glad to hear you found your Beck books-another great reason to keep decluttering. I have two copies of each, one for each house, and I keep them in an eyecatching spot where I can pull them out and read from them often.

Aztricia, thanks for sharing the photo and credit for coming up with a food plan for your event VIA flnu!

Mille56, great job listing your credits and checking in with your coaches. As to food left on counters (by my DH), I have designated one shelf inside a cupboard. When he leaves stuff out it just gets stuffed in that cupboard. It's one I've designated off limits for me. On the other side of the coin, I have foods especially for me and he will eat them if they are accessible. I stash them in a spot he won't go for so they are there when I want them.

Nationalparker, yep, retaining water happens when stressed, in addition to lots of other unnamed reasons. Forge ahead since you recognized you didn't eat over your range at all.

Maryann, focus on the positive! Credit for planning for the cookie AND a nap!

Flnu, kudos for 2 weeks in a row with weight loss.

Gardenerjoy, great insight on your logging your food.

OK, off to do my short exercise and more household chores.

Thanks for being here everyone!