[gardenerjoy]

I'm still not doing very well with food, but CREDIT for posting and for working through things that might get me to a better place this week.

WI: +1.6 kg, Exercise: +55 780/1300 minutes for September, Food: NA op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

For those of you looking for lighter books in the fantasy genre, I like the authors Sharon Shinn, Marie Brennan, and Gail Carriger. Shinn creates spiritualities in her worlds that I find very calming. Marie Brennan's worlds are intellectually stimulating. And, Carriger's books are full of humor.

[nationalparker]

Had a fairly relaxing morning and afternoon was spent in errands with a few quick phone calls. Dinner was turkey sloppy joes and nine tater tots. This is a top meal for DH, so while it's a bit random, he loves it. One of his daughters came over this afternoon. Since i found out, I've not been in a cheerful mood. I am still angry that she lied repeatedly to us and tries to play us as if we're dumb. So I seethed in silence.

I'm reading The Achievement Habit Stop Wishing, Start Doing and Take Command of Your Life by Bernard Roth. REALLY liking it so far. A lot! I was on hold for a few weeks for it to come up for me, and now I'm reading it and thoughts are resounding with me. "Who's Really Stopping You? ... If there's something you really want to do, often it's as simple as just doing it. Remember, I am talkign about the real stuff, not pipe dreams. In the end you don't need tricks or gimmicks. It comes down to the difference between trying and doing, between talking about it and acting; and ultimately it depends on the double bottom line: intention and attention. Do you really intend to do it? Are you willing to give it the attention it requires? If so, then you simply need to start. ..." Simple. Maybe I'm making things too hard - add in more veggies, eat larger breakfast, drink more water. Maybe it's just like my Dad used to say: the most important exercise is pushing yourself away from the dinnertable. I don't know.

Bill - Thank you for so often finding something positive in our notes. MUCH appreciated. We, too, are trying to grasp the last days of summer before autumn is here too quickly. This week looks to be gorgeous for us, though no rain at all.

KarenRN - SO good to hear from you and that it went well. Imagine how much stronger you proved to yourself than you thought you were. What an undertaking!

Went to the store to buy the scale and left without one, but did get a small 18months Beatles tshirt to go in a package I'm sending I got distracted by that and forgot everything else! I have to stop on the way home tomorrow for cat food as well...so will see what I can find for a more accurate reading, I hope. CurlyJax - Thanks for the reminder on the scale lighting. I want one that will read in the dark so I don't have to put the lights on bright for that when DH is sleeping. I can sneak weigh.

Stopped carrying my cell all over to see my steps... every day, home or work, I averaged 8-13K so figured I was okay on that front... but apparently I need to step up some more strength work. I feel weak.

Love2Garden - Boy oh boy, do I wish I had heard of that book you're reading last year. Thank you for sharing.

Thank you to everyone who is sharing books you're reading. I love that. I don't work with anyone whose reading material meshes with mine, and only get ideas here, NPR, and mt brother. So thank you. I add to a movie/DVD listing for winter, as well, so Grandma is going there.

Maryann - May this week be one with more YOU time than last week. I like having more personal events but not a lot of work events in my schedule. I feel I can exert more flexibility and control with that.

Cold is still hanging on in a hacking cough, which will be driving DH crazy before long, I know.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Standard Sunday walk, CREDIT moi, in comfortable fall weather. I chose a route to stop at two Micro-Libraries where I fondled but didn't take any books. Was stopped by my neighbor to talk about . . . the snow blower. <shudder> . . . I'm so not ready for that conversation.

Meals were on plan, CREDIT moi. I had two different group meetings each serving snacks that got under my Radar. At my evening meeting, the leader asked everyone to take a brownie on the way out so she wouldn't have to take them home. Silly me; I did. Ouch. As if I was doing her a favor of importance.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Yep, Special Kudos for posting when it doesn't appeal. (Pardon my picky, but shouldn't the colon in today's quote, "brain:" be the semi-colon, "brain;"? Since I overuse both with abandon, I'm always on the lookout for examples of their proper usage and this doesn't seem like one.)

maryann - That's a seriously emotionally-busy life. Kudos for typing it all down so you can see that and cut yourself some slack for feeling its burden. (New phrase for me: "a husband in harvest.")

nationalparker – Kudos for biting your tongue as the Step-Mom - since that's the only option possible in that role. Loved the phrase, "I can sneak weigh." I never thought of a scale with a light. I have to pass by several windows before I weight in the altogether in the morning; with a scale-light I wouldn't worry about window shades being left up exposing me to the world. Good luck figuring out a way to do more strength work.

curlyjax - LOL at, "couldn't find anyone to 'play' with" - I know that feeling.

Sandy (love2garden) - Thanks for the tip about Gail Sheehy's Passages in Caregiving: Turning Chaos into Confidence. I don't want to think about those years being inevitable in my future, so perhaps her book could wake me up. This is so Beck, "I made a list of a few that I've changed and celebrated the accomplishment."

SuzLen - Thanks for sending me to google images of Crepe Myrtle to remind myself how much I love that plant. Yours sound really huge. Kudos for the clarity, "Long. Term. Investment."

Readers -

Chapter 1 Are You Trapped?

Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Brain

The reason these activities seem automatic is that you have trained your brain: you have allowed these thoughts and behaviors to entrench themselves over many years of doing or thinking the same thing. You no longer have to consciously think about what to do, in which order, when you slide behind the driver's seat in your car. The alternatives have been selectively "pruned out" of your brain: their neural pathways withered away from disuse. Your current patterns of thinking and behavior got woven into the networks in your brain, where they repeat over and over and over.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., Deborah Beck Busis, The Diet Trap Solution, Train Your Brain to Lose Weight and Keep It Off for Good (Blue book), pg. 14

[gardenerjoy]

I've notice a pattern. I do okay on my big days, especially with a carefully thought-out plan. But I often sputter on the day after. And, that's even with a plan. It seems I need more than a plan; I need some significant self-care. So, I've come up with a routine to try, a Day After a Big Day Retreat. I'll get to try it out tomorrow.

Today's Big Day is an evening meeting called "Ferguson Commission: Where Do We Go From Here?" I'd like to read the full report that came out a couple of weeks ago today before the meeting. I've made complicated car pool arrangements to encourage as many people as I can to get there -- with the bonus that I don't have to drive anywhere that I'm not used to driving. Thank goodness for an adventurous friend who drives a van. Foodwise, everything will be in a rush but I have a plan that is prepared for that.

WI: -0.45 kg, Exercise: +40 820/1300 minutes for September, Food: 50% op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

nationalparker: Added The Achievement Habit to my list -- thanks! Strength-training makes a huge difference for me. I didn't know how weak I was until I got strong enough to do things without injuring myself. I'm especially grateful to squats and lunges that allow me to lift things without pulling muscles in my legs, back, and shoulders.

BillBlueEyes: I agree with your analysis of the colon vs. semicolon.

[maryann]

Good Morning, Coaches.

Home doing chores, bookkeeping, etc. . . feels good to work in the tangible. Currently on hold with insurance company for 5th time. I am using it as an exercise in building patience. My past sponsor of twenty years would always say, "There is no excuse for bad manners." I would like to be more patient. I push myself too hard and feel that I may push others to the same extent. Will I get more done with more peace if I back off? Interesting question.

As for today, I have changed food parameters once more. As I use the scale for information, I see that my plan is not working. I have 12 hours of 100% as of this moment. I am committed to a 20 minute bike ride.

[love2garden]

MaryAnn If your weather has improved the bike ride sounds delightful.

Luckily our fall weather is cloudy, wonderfully cool and allowed me to garden for 5 hours with stopping only for water, more water and a cup or so of coffee. Finally inside for second meal. Yogurt with fresh peach and how re refeshing this is.

I agree with GardenJoy, Strength building has made a huge difference in my ability to do those things I love to do, especially gardening. Moving plants around the gardens as neighbor cut down her tree giving me lots and lots more sunshine - suddenly. 2 summers ago I really was having trouble even walking 1/4 mile, certainly did little gardening.

DH has slow cooker going with a good pot roast, DD will do clean up so I can shower, and RELAX!!!!

[nationalparker]

Hello! An up and down day for me. Settling in for a very late dinner of misc. tids and bits while we watch the Colts game. Morning will come very early for DH, whose alarm goes off at 4a and the game is just starting. I used to get up with him to help him get his lunch, see him off. Now? Pfft ... I get up if it's been snowing so I can shovel the driveway for him so he can get out on time ... But then I struggle to warm up and get another hour of sleep, haha.Hope that's a long ways off.

Tomorrow's the last day of summer! Ack!

I didn't do great foodwise today ... I ate one Reese's pb cup that i had in my desk for a few months that someone at work gave me. I thought, I'll save this until it REALLY calls my name. Apparently today was the day. 105 calories I hadn't planned on. Then I felt like, this day could go either way, and tried to get my head back on track.

Credits: Ordered new scale (with light to enable nekkid weighing in the dark for the stealth weighing...)... decided i didn't want to wash a whole bunch of dishes so we're having a smaller dinner... skipped the huge sheet cake at work. Sometimes a HUGE cake is hard to skip bc there are so many pieces all over, but it was No Choice after the Reese's cup.

My favorite part of the gym used to be the strength stuff ... I worked hard to develop a good routine that I kept changing around for 7-8 years and then when we ended the gym membership, I stopped ALL strength stuff, even though I can easily modify a routine for home. Maybe I set out a simple routine this month to start. I really felt the difference in lugging in kitty litter 35 pound pails and the 45-pound case of artificial logs.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies – The only exercise was running from place to place all day - an overbooked day where stuff just kept adding on. After grabbing a quick, impromptu dinner, I sat at an evening meeting where a friend brought in an unopened box of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies. Presumably, he was waiting for the right moment to open the box and offer them. That never happened. As we were leaving, he tried to give them away; I started to drool; but someone grabbed them for a non-profit she supports. Good news: I missed the opportunity to overeat manufactured cookies.

Food was on plan, CREDIT moi, mostly because I didn't find myself near a source of nibbles or unnecessary stuff to eat. Perhaps the key to rational eating is to remain too busy to eat foolishly.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Yay for awareness of the need for self-care - so easy to overlook.

maryann - Ouch for having to deal with insurance companies with their indefinite loooooog waits. Kudos for 12 hours of 100%.

nationalparker – Ouch for a difficult game to watch for the Colts. I'm amazed that you kept a peanut butter cup on your desk for a few months. Kudos for ordering a "stealth" scale.

Sandy (love2garden) - Yay for a good pot roast in the slow cooker - I can almost smell it from here. Kudos for 5 hours of gardening for terrific exercise.

Readers -

Chapter 1 Are You Trapped?

Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Brain

But this is key: if you wanted to, you could change these thoughts and behaviors at any time. You could look in your rearview mirror only after you pulled the car out into the street. You could turn on your turn signal only after you had made a turn. You could speed up when you approach a red light - or slam on the brakes as you approach a green. Those choices are possible. We have power of choice, and therefore we also have the power to change.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., Deborah Beck Busis, The Diet Trap Solution, Train Your Brain to Lose Weight and Keep It Off for Good (Blue book), pg. 14

[Lexxiss]

Hi Coaches!

I have been busy following the path that for the moment, seems to have been chosen for me.

MaryAnn, thank you for posting and sharing so honestly. I am not alone in this journey and I took some time to really connect to my reality which is "I am not alone". I appreciate how you are able to connect with what you need to do in your daily practice with food and relate it to what we learn through our Beck practice. Credit.

I, too, am experiencing some new challenges. I am processing everything one day at a time and am spending time thinking through my new challenge and how I can continue to practice self care daily during this time. I have a special AA friend in Glenwood and I went to the Dr. with her 2 weeks ago when she received her breast cancer diagnosis. She has many challenges already as a formerly homeless woman with mental challenges. She has found 2 years of sobriety and wants to walk through this new journey in sobriety. I will walk with her. She has no family to support her and her closest friend (and mine) is in Denver still recovering from a heart virus. She cannot travel to the higher altitude until mid-December. This cancer is aggressive so surgery and follow up treatment is imperative. The next few weeks has many new events although she has not met with the surgeon yet. I will rearrange my schedule as best I can. Credit.

My DH is supportive of this process in theory, yet he has challenges right now which most likely will result in surgery, although he is in physical therapy right now. He has a tear in his long biceps tendon. He is having a difficult time with self care and is occasionally shifting his fear and aggravation in my direction. I continue to work my CODA program which reminds me to change myself not others and let others work on their own change.

What DH's injury means for me is that I have been sent to the front-line with home/yard/pet care. He is not supposed to lift a grocery bag. Ouch.

So…..after a bad day with food on Saturday I found acceptance of the fact that I need to be hypervigilant with my food/Beck program. I need to have a food plan every day and follow it to the best of my ability. I have 2 days of food planned and followed. I need to look back and remember what has worked for me in the past. When I looked back at former written meal plans I was reminded how I used to specifically plan my food at work. Yesterday I had one piece of toast with peanut butter, sliced banana and pecans. I still enjoyed it and will do the same today. Credit.

Update-I was able to make an appointment with the surgeon for this Friday and a conversation with the office helped me to plan ahead. They don't believe surgery will be for at least 2 weeks. If, in fact, that is the case my DH, 2 pups and I will venture in our SUV to Yellowstone and Grand Tetons next week. Grand Tetons is on his bucket list and he is getting excited! Yay!

Today is my last work day for the week and I take my mom to her monthly eye appt. tomorrow. Then I will head over to Glenwood for 2 days, which include the two dr. appts. I am working on getting everything done that needs to be done. This morning before work I have 200# of kitty litter (super sale) which need to be unloaded from the car and will ultimately land in the basement. I will pick up 200# more today. (That should alleviate hauling any more this winter LOL). I also have 4 barrels of yard waste that needs to find it's way to the curb. I've been keeping up with chores in my home. I WANT to remain organized and tidy during this time. I have 2 bills that need to get in the mail.

Dr. Beck has taught me that with practice anything can become routine. I now thrive on routine. I haven't figured out yet how to participate here more regularly but that will come. I have faith and know that the option of just giving up here is not for me. Truth is, you folks know more about me than anyone else here because it's always been a safe place to share honestly and I credit us ALL for that.

The clock is ticking….I'd best get to my weight lifting exercises. LOL. I laid out all my smoothie ingredients while coffee was making this morning so all I have to do there is blend.

[gardenerjoy]

My Big Day went well but not completely as planned, leaving some chores that will need to happen today even though I've declared this "Day After a Big Day Retreat." I'm working to not have all-or-nothing thinking about this. I can call it a retreat day even if it only ends up being a few hours devoted to self care. That's a few hours more than I would get if I didn't call it a retreat day.

It turned out that last night's meeting was really the taping of a radio show on the local NPR affiliate. I asked the first audience question so, assuming they don't edit it out, I'll be on the radio today!

WI: -0.2 kg, Exercise: +30 850/1300 minutes for September, Food: 60% op, Read my Advantages and Responses: yes

[onebyone]

Hey Coaches

I'm in the middle of lots of emotional situations I just have to see through. My food has been whack. But my sister has arrived and soon I'll have my new fitbit. Looking forward to it.

I don't have much to say right now. I'm fried but I knew I had to check in if only to share with the group this news item I read today about how badly some people behave around the free samples in Costco. We are smart to steer clear: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...921-story.html

MIL had lung biopsy today and her lung did not collapse or fill with fluid like last time. They may have even got a proper sample. One more test to go and then finally a diagnosis. We hope. DH is staying over for the second night. I was there last night but home cause... we are off to SIL's to stay overnight and pick up the final installment of my brother's stuff. Art supplies, art books and the desk he made. I am also picking up an antique chinese bench from my friend who has hung onto it for me for a few years now. I won't really see any other friends though because this is a trip orchestrated by my sister and I have minimal input. C'est la vie. I am now planning a trip of my own the first week of October to do some printing for my upcoming studio tour art show. I'll get my visiting in then.

That's that. I'll check in when I can and try to get back on track. That's the way we roll here.

[nationalparker]

Brief phone check-in. I knew I should have checked in before leaving work. This whole day could have been a better one, it seems in retrospect. Not one specific thing went poorly, just a vibe. I have GOT to get my stuff together on the evenings that DH and I both work. I am always the meal preparer, regardless of who works, but I want to make better use of my time these evenings. Be it an hour of project time, reading, exercising, journaling, learning something new...I am going to challenge myself to get cracking on that.

Tonight's revelation: DH says I'm critical of him. This is still stemming, I believe, from me saying he doesn't have to put the dishcloths in the load that has clothes...I'm always trying to get a loss of all bleach and want to bleach them. Apparently telling him that was criticism the other day. I'm cranky and just letting it ride.

Tomorrow night we're going to Warren Haynes concert. Hour we enjoy it. Bought cheap tickets. Need to come up with a dinner plan that might just be a sub sandwich.

New scale arrived today...a day early.well give it the test in the morning and most likely have to reset my ticker to a higher start but we'll see... tomato soup and grilled cheese at home late tonight won't help. It'll even out in a day or two.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Walk, CREDIT moi, included the community garden where I watered tomato plants that haven't received rain in weeks. The ground sucks up the water so rapidly. I picked a few larger tomatoes that looked like they weren't going to get much riper on the vine. It's become chilly and the vines are looking old. Dinner included a salad made from a one-pound tomato from our garden - just amazing. It was a distorted, heirloom variety that goes for $4.50 a pound at farmers' markets around here.

Meals were on plan, CREDIT moi. There was no evening snack just because there wasn't one. If I could figure out how that happened I'd capture the idea for afternoon snacks that are my nemesis of late.


onebyone – LOL at Costco violence. Good luck with the organizing in your dining room.

Joy (gardenerjoy) – Neat idea, "Day After a Big Day Retreat." Hope you're rejuvenated.

Debbie (Lexxiss) – Sending supportive thoughts for your emotionally busy week. Thanks for "I am not alone" - I need that one, also.

nationalparker – Thanks for sending me to listen to Warren Haynes as I type. Good luck with your journey into a new scale.

Readers -

Chapter 1 Are You Trapped?

Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Brain

While scientists once believed our brains to be static and immutable past a certain age, we know now that our brains are "plastic" - they continue to learn from the moment we're born, and they never stop changing. CBT provides a system for changing your thinking, deliberately and methodically, so you can change your behavior.

Now, it won't happen overnight. You may have had years (or decades) of giving in to sabotaging thoughts. But practicing new ways of thinking - every day - will help you change your responses to the traps you'll encounter. In fact, studies have show that CBT can actually produce physical changes in your brain.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., Deborah Beck Busis, The Diet Trap Solution, Train Your Brain to Lose Weight and Keep It Off for Good (Blue book), pg. 14

[Lexxiss]

Hi Coaches!

I have been loving the readings that BBE has been posting every day from the Diet Trap Solution. Thanks Bill! Yesterdays passage really struck a solid note with me. "We have power of choice, and therefore we also have the power to change." As I prepared to haul my trash bins down to the street I concluded I could bring two boxes of cat litter back up with me and I did. When I put the next bin (no wheels) on my handcart to take down I concluded I could put all the remaining boxes of litter on the handcart when I returned and I did. As I was pulling the cart up the sidewalk I concluded I could open the back door and wheel the entire cart right through the kitchen and unload them all at the basement door and I did. Credit Moi!

What does it have to do with dieting? I continue to recognize my brain can continue to form new pathways and ideas if I make the choice to change. As life gets crazier I strive to formulate new choices for positive change. Credit.
~When I'm by myself I make 2 smoothies and have one made for the following day.
~When I open a drawer and see something that no longer serves me I put it in my designated box for thrift.
~When I pay my bills I file them appropriately.
~When I open the refrigerator and spot something that I don't wish to consume I get rid of it-now.

Every step I take to save a step makes more time for dieting. It works when I work it. I've come to love "routine".

Good food day yesterday and another planned today. If I plan each day and follow to the best of my ability I have my best chance for success. Credit.

BBE, kudos for not missing that evening snack! I love a "free" tomato, especially a heirloom, which I've not tried growing.....yet. Perhaps next year in my tiny greenhouse. lol

nationalparker, I hope you like your new scale. Re:dishcloths....I dislike (very much) when they get yucky. My solution was to buy a large pack of dishcloths. They store easily and I have a s/s banana hanger next to the sink. My current dishcloth hangs there during the day. With an ample supply I use a new one every other day. I no longer have the urge to need to bleach as they never get yucky. LOL I do the same with the white cleaning rags. I have many....much needed in this house of pets.

gardenerjoy, sorry I missed your NPR segment. I hope it aired. Kudos for striving for balance when some unfinished chores found their way into your retreat day.

onebyone, sending support as you navigate your sisters visit and MILs health issues. Yay for a new fitbit soon to arrive!

[karenrn]

Good morning coaches,

I just finished reading all of the September posts to get me back up to speed with what is going on with all of you. I did check in with reading a couple of times in the past weeks, but it was so sporadic that I didn't think it counted.

One of the main thoughts I see is that September is kind of like January for many of us. Maybe I saw that because it is that way for me. I will say since I live in Arizona it doesn't seem like Fall yet, so it doesn't have quite the same feeling.

My trip, one day short of six weeks, was overall great. It was busy with visiting family, a memorial service for my husband's Aunt at the beginning of the trip, my backpacking trip, a girls trip in Seattle for six days beginning the day after the backpack, and then my niece's wedding last Saturday. My husband flew up at the beginning and the end and drove back with me. We got home yesterday and I have been busy since then doing laundry and putting things away. Because I drove, I had plenty of room in my small SUV and took way too many clothes.

I came home a pound lower than when I left. I totally attribute this to all the exercise I did. I was starving for the first three days after the backpacking trip and pretty much ate whatever I wanted. The meals on the trip were all vegetarian and we didn't have near the protein that I am used to. What they did increase to get calories in us was fat, which my system isn't used to. I'm very glad to be home where I can control what food I want to eat. During the whole trip I ate much less fruit than I had been having at home. Since the mango price has quadrupled it will be easy to reduce some of my fruit consumption. During the summer with the low prices I just enjoyed it tremendously.

Today I will finish getting things put away (the camping/hiking gear), take the old dog to the vet for a check-up and see the hair dresser. Tomorrow I'll get back to the exercise routine. As usual I need to get more focused on strength training and make a decision as to what I will do with that. My right arm/shoulder were fine on the trip and I even have more flexibility than when I left.

The gal that I was supposed to share a tent with on the trip fell in Seattle the night before the hike and broker her right arm/shoulder. She flew all the way from Florida for the hike and I'm sure it was painful flying home. I was awfully glad I also had my one man tent in the car and could carry that on the trip. It's less than half the weight of the two man tent we would have shared and both carried.

I'll get started with personals soon, but in the meantime hello and it's back to the routine for me.