Beck Diet For Life/Solution – November 2016 – 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:

Tuesday - Sistine Chapel ceiling opens to public (Rome, 1512)
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Tried to convince myself that I had a reason not to walk to class, but it was a stretch. So, I put on my walking shoes before I left the bedroom to make my commitment in advance and walked, CREDIT moi. I hate that the old brain is so ready to justify not getting exercise.

We had about fifty Trick-or-Treaters last night. As usual, the little kids showed up starting about 6:00. It's become the thing that an older kid asks for an extra candy "for the baby." Doesn't seem to me that babies are eating candy bars. The kids next door showed up their loot from several hours out working the neighborhood. Their mom didn't look forward to waking them and getting them to school this morning. I planned to have a couple of our handouts; I did, then had a couple more. The remainder, however, will go to somewhere on Sunday - but not my belly.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Super Kudos for "No chocolate" - wish I'd planned that.

Nature Girl – Congrats for surviving Halloween with the Kindergarteners - it's hard to imagine. Kudos for making a November plan.

maryann - Smart to buy candy that you can resist.

nationalparker – So glad to hear the slightly better news for your brother. I know that need to run out to buy candy; we've had to do that once. DW spent the evening predicting that I'd bought too much, then too little, then too much again. It turned out to be about right since we change the limit from one to two bars as our estimate for how much we have left changes.

Karen (karenrn) - Kudos for "gathering the foods I need for the new food plan" - a real commitment. Glad that you'll get back control of your hiking. [Yes, the fob is needed for the car to start. I'd just have to come back inside and get it if I'd forgotten.]

Readers -

Good morning! Welcome to November, friends! I am trying a walking in the dark post this morning. I had to park my car quite a ways from home last night as they were going to entirely section off the construction zone to accommodate trick-or-treaters. My mom also needed her compression socks put on this morning so I took the trash and recycle and smoothie to my car before walking to her house. Now I'm walking back to my car around a giant excavator to drop her mail and post office keys in my car before returning home. I have to take both doggies to daycare this morning so juggling them will be enough.

I am in a bit of denial right now about what this whole process is going to be like once we get snow. I guess I should just enjoy the simplicity of it while it's here.

Anyway, I have a massage scheduled right after work to keep working on healing my body. That will be the highlight of my day! I am now walking around the giant gravel pile And my front gate is in view. LOL

Yesterday's credits, made my smoothie, had a homemade healthy dinner. Snacks, could have done better. I certainly could have done worse. Weight is holding. I'm grateful. I had a daily life credit, too. I spent almost an hour after work talking with T-Mobile trying to help my coworker understand her bill. She has gotten behind and The entire process is very frustrating. I did manage to find a $35 credit for her which will help. Today I will put the explanation on paper so that she might better understand what it is going to take her to get caught up. I went home and painted for 90 minutes anyway.

Phone check in.
Halloween pretty darn good. Two tootsies and two skittles. All fun sized. Scale still up a half of a pound but I know that will drop.
Cute to see many students dressed up. Even the over six footers are just kids

All Saints day so off to mass after school. That means some kind of takeout. Maybe I will substitute a meal with a smoothie.

I met my exercise goal for October! We exchanged our Monday night meal plan for a plan later in the week -- a reasonable swap that made things more convenient for DH.

What will I do today to eat light and healthy?

Plan. I've got a food plan, but I'm not doing well with making decisions about what really needs to be on my to-do list. This, oddly, leads to too much Facebook and, that, if I'm not careful will lead to frustration-eating. So, I want a more realistic plan for today and that means making some choices. Off to journal about that...DONE!

No chocolate. DH will be gone for 2-3 hours this afternoon. In that circumstance, if I start eating chocolate, I may not stop. So, my first chocolate treat of the week can wait another day.

Afternoon project. I have a response card that says, "Work on a project upstairs when I'm alone in the house." So, the day's plan includes exactly that for the time that DH will be gone.

Weigh-in: NA kg
Exercise: +35, 1300/1300 minutes for October
Food: 90% on-plan
Read my Advantages and Responses: yes
Refrained from eating in the car: yes

Happy November! Two months left in 2016. How will we use them? What will we achieve? What will we remove from our lives or add to them - issues, experiences, memories?

Another busy work day but the meeting with my director went well. He was frustrated hearing the issues and I didn't really come out with an "easy" plan. Feels good to have that over, though, and will handle the other uncomfortable meeting this week.

The weather is just gorgeous here - and we're going to spend the evening in the movies. We should have planned differently. I don't want to lose the $5 deal, though, and waiting until next Tuesday won't work bc of elections. I'm not INTO the World Series, despite the many Cubs fans around me. I ran home at lunch which is a waste of gas, I know, but I'm listening to an enjoyable audiobook and like letting the pooch out to sit in the sunshine, as well as pet the kitties a bit. The bowl of chocolate was there and I thought, well, one tiny cookies and cream bar isn't going to knock me off plan. Then I put it back and thought, NO, it's not ON my plan and now it's not the holiday, so popped it back. I have an outlet for them on Thursday. It makes me feel more powerful/in control vs. weak and wanting it. What a difference a few months make. Well, a few months of sticking to the foodplan.

Two months - my goal to be at by Christmas was going to be 153 but I might aim for 150 and see if I can make it there. If not, I'm no worse off for trying.

NatureGirl - Looking forward to your daily posts and good luck with your 21-day plan! And here's to some routine days/evenings before the next round of holidays hit!

Bill - I was wondering, too, on the fob :) I don't have one either, but didn't know if you could just keep it where you kept your keys before so you grab/go? I like the holiday traps note today - I always used to do a thanksgiving 5K/Drumstick Dash to raise money for the mission - walking with friends or jogging part/walking part - good fundraiser and got me out before food. Before that, it was bike riding with family. Last year DH and I took a walk, but nothing we planned. Maybe we start that back up again with a new holiday ritual, even just a good morning walk in the park nearby, being thankful instead of rushing to clean before company.

Karen - Hope you enjoyed a good hike today, and also that your temps drop a bit. I am so thrilled with our near-80, but imagine you're weary of your 100s. :)

Good afternoon coaches,

Yesterday I would have to say wasn't a good start to the new food plan. Not unless it included Halloween candy anyway. I remember now why I always used to buy the full sized bars instead of the juniors . . . I left them alone thinking they were too big to start. This year I bought two 150 count bags of juniors and had too many. We had probably about 120 trick or treaters last night. More than we have ever had. I gave each 2 pieces of candy and there were only 20 or left this morning that went out the door with dh. The trick or treaters were very cute and it was very fun to answer the door without having to worry about a puppy.

This morning I went to the Y for my strength training class, credit. I met a friend for lunch and had the small vegetable chopped salad. It did have tome feta in it, but no meat and a light vinaigrette. Tonight it is to friends for happy hour/diner where I hope to control my portions. Then I'll have two days with no social function, yahoo.

Tomorrow is also the first hike with the new women's group I joined. Hiking Suzanne is leading the hike. I hope the other women are used to going for a long one cause she is planning 10 miles. Sounds good to me.

I'm going to skip personals today. I just started on a fleece blanket for Otis and want to see how it goes. I have three more after that one. More tomorrow.

All on plan today, except tiny handful of those edamame fake peanut like things on the way home to stave off low blood sugar. Talked to DH last night about dinner and it was simple, quick, and on plan. (Did you notice I didn’t say delicious?)
No exercise except chasing 5 year olds. Heel is really painful right now. OH! Did I tell you all that I am going to have surgery on my heel? Dr. says it is “Recalcitrant Plantar Fasciitis” and nothing so far has worked at all so surgery is needed. Two weeks away from work. That’s a lot of lesson plans, and a lot of worry about whether I will heal quickly enough to continue chasing said 5 year olds. Debating two dates right now – one before Christmas and one right after New Year.
OK promised personals tomorrow night…can’t do everything the first night out!

Wednesday - John Paul Jones sets sail (1777, Portsmouth, NH)
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Walked to class, CREDIT moi, where we still wrestle with Dark Matter. You'd think we'd have found it by now, LOL. We live in an amazing universe. I personally fantasize that it'll collapse upon itself in some 13 billion years as in, "Not with a whimper, but with a bang" (in direct opposition to T. S. Eliot).

I did eat two of the remaining chocolates. DW was supposed to get rid of them but she did that by putting them in a bowl in the kitchen. Duh! I can see them. Lunch yesterday was a handful of stuffed grape leaves since they had to be soon eaten or tossed. I hate tossing food.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Big Kudos for meeting October's exercise goal. And Kudos again for waiting a day for a chocolate treat.

Debbie (Lexxiss) – Congrats for figuring out a T-Mobile bill - I find them super frustrating. Your street construction sounds like a nightmare.

Nature Girl – LOL at "I didn’t say delicious?" Seems to me that it wasn't so long ago that meals were only consumed to solve hunger - not always demanding a culinary treat.

maryann - Kudos for a good Halloween.

nationalparker – Congrats to the Cubs even if you're not into them. Kudos for giving your director the real news even if not what he wanted to hear. [I don't grab keys when leaving the house so grabbing the fob will be a change of habit.]

Karen (karenrn) - 120 is a lot of Trick-or-Treaters from my perspective. Kudos for sending the remainder out the door.

Readers -

What will I do today to eat light and healthy?

Follow the plan that I wrote last night. I mean to write my day plans the night before but it rarely happens. Yay, me. I needed to figure out if I could take the truck in for service this morning and that worked out. If the service takes too long, that will make lunch a challenge, but I'm going to assume that it won't take more than an hour or so to change oil and get new wiper blades.

Remember hunger is not an emergency. I had some hungry moments yesterday -- the first time since I got back to my lighter eating style. I worried about it last week so I had "hunger is not an emergency" close enough to the top of my brain to surface when I needed it.

Weigh-in: -0.15 kg
Exercise: +40, 40/1300 minutes for November
Food: 100% on-plan
Read my Advantages and Responses: yes
Refrained from eating in the car: yes

BillBlueEyes: Come to think of it, DH used to always have his keys in his pocket. He must have quit that habit when we got the fobs. These days, there's always a brief search for keys when he leaves the house. They're usually on the nightstand or in a bowl on the desk in the kitchen or in the pants he was wearing the last time he drove the car. It's easier for women -- the keys are in my purse and I'm in the habit of grabbing my purse on the way out of the house.

Phone check in.
The pound gained at the Kings game won't drop. Oh well. Walk planned even if it is on sidewalks in the dark. My sweets at work rule has slipped. Today is the day to begin a streak.

Good afternoon coaches,

So-so on the food plan yesterday. I did about as well as I could at lunch and dinner out. This morning I hiked with Suzanne and a group. We were hoping for a 10 mile hike, but ended up out and back to Bell Pass. The communication was not clear on the plan and most of them weren't up for that, so did a shorter easier hike. We started later than I like and it got warm. Today I'm doing my new food plan in earnest. I had a smoothie for breakfast and it's obvious I need a new blender or Vitamix.

Maryann Good luck on the new streak. I need a new streak too, of no beer or sweets.

Bill I can't have any tempting foods in sight either, for me it's more like I can't even have them in the house.

Nature Girl Yes, some times food is just fuel. I'm hoping I can get in that mind set.

Nationalparker Oh my, two months left to the year. What will I accomplish? I surely am planning on some weight loss even though for many this is a difficult time to lose. At least I will have the weather on my side. And we'll be adding a puppy to our lives.

Okay, I'm putting this down on paper . . . . tomorrow I will try the Zumba class before the strength training class. I may be on the floor having tripped over my own feet, but I am going to give it a try.

Scale stayed the same today; heading into Phase 2 of the week. NOT a good work day, but took the time to get out and walk for 45 minutes at lunch on a perfect weather day. I wanted to zip home and put in a few minutes with the pets since they didn't get much attention last night, but opted for the activity.

DH received a job offer yesterday that sounds like a better experience, and plans to accept. Hopefully he'll end up with a couple of weeks off this month before starting the new position - he didn't get any vacation this year, so this would be a good break for him. Immediately I piped up, Oh, we can do our new flooring then! I wish I hadn't thought that aloud. :) Nothing like him thinking he's got vacation and I'm trying to work him hard then!

Put a chocolate treat in my purse for the movie last night and even took it out at one point, but then put it back. I just wanted it because I had it and because others were chomping on popcorn. Bought a package of Quinn's popcorn and will give that a try another week. We stopped making microwave popcorn a few years ago because of the health issues with the chemical coating on the bag ... and this product doesn't have that and is non-GMO corn. Let me know if you've tried it. Credits for not taking any of the leftover candy that's at every turn in the office. I had someone say they missed me not bringing in treats on Halloween, which did make me feel like a slacker.

Last night after posting (shame on me for trying to sneak it in) I traded two protein exchanges and one fruit x for a small bowl of ice cream. Not on program but at least it wasn’t on top of a full day.
Early this morning two setbacks at the store: stopped for another item and planned scrambled eggs & two skinny slices of bacon for breakfast from their deli. Guy behind the counter: “Oh we quit serving those eggs a year ago” (really????) so I ended up with a breakfast scramble full of cheese, meats, salt, etc.  Strike two: brought a healthy lunch item to the counter and it had no price tag, upc, nothing. No time to dash back for another one for their scanner, so left without lunch. 
Somewhat rescued lunch with sliced turkey and too many wheat thins. But after school I just fell apart. An apple with peanut butter, more wheat thins. And on the way home (after our 1 ½ hr meeting after school) stopped for diet soda and did not resist the hostess like treats nearby. Can I offer an excuse? Besides exhaustion? We had a shooting across the street from our school and were in lockdown for a while…you keep it together for the kids but pretty much let down your guard and drop your resistance once you leave the building.
So small but balanced dinner and I’m done for the night.
Foot surgery scheduled for November 30.

Thursday - Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2 into orbit (1957)
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Exercised with DGD for the day, CREDIT moi. Her concept of stairs is to lift her foot to the next step and let the adult holding her hand pull her up. It works; no need to change the routine. I tried to show her an 18 month old boy scooting down the stairs on his bum. She didn't want anything to do with such a clumsy procedure. Spent time in the park without jackets in a perfect weather November day. And spent a whole hour at the library for a toddlers' sing-along. I've never seen so many kids and strollers in one place in my life.

The problem came when we got home. DW asked me to scout out a Green Bell Pepper for the dinner she wanted to prepare. I walked to the corner store where . . . much to my surprise . . . they were giving out FREE pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream because their freezer had turned off overnight. (Did I mention that they were FREE?) There were no neurons in my brain that thought that a bad idea so, along with a green pepper, a pint of chocolate brownie super rich ice cream followed me home. My only defense was to knock on my neighbor's door and tell them about the windfall so that someone else also got in on the deal. I've never had that happen before.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Yay for counting on "hunger is not an emergency."

Nature Girl – Recovery from a shooting across the street is worthy of Kudos on its own. Yay for a date for foot surgery.

maryann - Yep, it's a good day to begin a streak.

nationalparker – Super Kudos for putting that chocolate back when you didn't need it.

Karen (karenrn) - Kudos for planning Zumba - around here that means joining a class of super fit 20 somethings.

Readers -

CREDIT for splitting my snack with the need to eat an early supper before the evening activity. I saved an apple for when I got home and it was just right.

What will I do today to eat light and healthy?

Follow the plan. I wrote it last night again (go, me!) but just changed it a little to match the reality of the gloomy day. I'll run my errands at lunch and pick up a salad bar rather than try to get myself out there now.

Remember that food does not fix gloomy days. I can sometimes get myself in a nice cozy frame of mind on a gloomy day, so I'll aim for that. First, though, I'm going to pull up all the shades to let in as much light as possible.

Weigh-in: -0.6 kg
Exercise: +40, 80/1300 minutes for November
Food: 100% on-plan
Read my Advantages and Responses: yes
Refrained from eating in the car: yes

Good morning coaches,

Food was perfectly on plan yesterday, yahoo and credit. Maybe this is the start of a streak. This morning I followed through and went to Zumba followed by the strength training class. Zumba was a lot of fun and I have a long way to go, but I got a lot of exercise so I'm going to try to keep it up. It works out well because it is right before the other class. I came home and had a smoothie made with my new Vitamix and it was much smoother and better.

GardenerJoy We are having a bit of a gloomy day here as well. We even had a few rain drops this morning. It will be a perfect day to find an old movie to watch while I continue working on the blankets I'm making for the pup.

Bill The two gals that lead the Zumba class are young and very fit and boy can they move and I mean everything, but the rest of us are probably more like late 30's to Gerda who is 78 and takes about 4 classes a day. Lots of moving in that class for sure. Your time with your granddaughter sounds so fun. How nice for both of you that you live near enough to see her frequently.

NatureGirl What a horrible situation. Stress didn't help with my eating when i was working either. I know what you mean by holding it together for as long as you need to though. Glad you've got the foot surgery scheduled. I can't imagine having pain with every step.

Nationalparker Have you ever tried air popped popcorn? My sister in law bought me an air popper a few years ago and once in a while I make some. I will admit I spray some stuff on it to make a little salt or seasoning hold.

Waving to MaryAnn, Lexxiss, OnebyOne and whomever else is reading.

I'm finally remembering to include this quote that I loved from that author I mentioned last week: Guard me against the arrogance of privilege, against the indulgence of feeling that I don't have enough, and the poverty of spirit that refuses to acknowledge what is daily given me." Gunilla Norris - Being Home. I've just started her book "A Mystic Garden" which beings with a Spanish proverb, "In the garden more grows than the gardener sows." I was pulled in with her first line of the introduction, "To have a garden, even a small one, is a great privilege." ... That changed my stress about getting the gardens cleaned up for winter to a thankfulness that I have these gardens that bring me such joy and beauty through the spring and summer. Yes, I have to tend them and it's hard to find the time while working fulltime, but it's a blessing to enjoy them.

Scale dropped only a bit - at ticker still ... and had to reset my mind on that, as well. It's trending down over these weeks and to expect a loss every single week is fun, but might not be realistic. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Wearing a dress that I've not worn in two years. Plans are to hit the art museum this evening after our "lovely" tuna salad (my least fave meal of the week)... NatureGirl - i had to smile with your "not delicious" line. Hopefully at least that meal was spend with those you love and that added to your pleasure. I miss the lingering at the table with my folks and brother/SIL.

Bill - LOVE your description of your DGD climbing the stairs and providing your arm workout!

Karen - Glad to hear the Zumba class went well - I'm too uncoordinated and don't want to end up on someone's social media site as a flop. Fear of failure.

Joy - Credits for the on plan days this week! A dark, gloomy day here as well. One I'd love to be off to enjoy curling up with a pet and a novel.

Much better day at school today, Wednesday was just miserable even before the violence across the street. Stayed on program with breakfast and lunch – tiny snack on the way home and finally made dinner for DH & I: scrambled eggs, toast, grapefruit. Barely dinner, but I did it. And I’m feeling like I won’t have to eat anything else tonight. TGIF!!!

Friday - King Tutankhamen's tomb discovered (1922, Egypt)
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies – I learned that the two kids next door bugged their mother after I told her about the FREE pints of ice cream and got permission to go after them. They got a pint each. So soon after Halloween, their mother wasn't excited to see more sugar come into their house. But I get as much a kick out of their FREE pints as I did out of mine. With this kind of brain, how can I ever hope to think sanely about food?

Exercise was, again, taking care of the 13 month old DGD, CREDIT moi. When walking down the stairs, I paused to pat the balusters and say the word - our game - when she grabbed one and nearly pulled us over. There is much strength in the arm of such a little kid. I wish I was that strong, proportional to my weight. Dinner was, unfortunately, cheese and crackers from an unexpected reception after an evening lecture. Dessert was a smallish serving of yesterday's FREE ice cream. I'm hoping that DW gets interested before I consume the full pint on my own over the week.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – LOL at "food does not fix gloomy days" - useful for me as it's looking like a long slow rain day.

Nature Girl – Thanks for reminding me that grapefruit season is upon us - one of my favorite evening snacks. Kudos for recovering from your awful day on Wednesday.

nationalparker – Kudos for finding your gratitude for the great privilege of having so much in life that it can include a garden. Thanks for "In the garden more grows than the gardener sows."

Karen (karenrn) - Always Kudos for on plan food. [I want to be like Gerda when I grow up.]

Readers -

Phone check in. The streak continues of no sweets. It took one week to get back to ticker after the Kings game. Wow. That is something to remember one night of moderately overeating equals seven OP days. Oh Well.
It will be good to remember as I fly to San Diego for a conference tonite. My hope is lots of beach walking and to rediscover some kind of joy in my job. It is training for teaching advanced placement writing classes.

Wave to all.

What will I do today to eat light and healthy?

Make a plan around a morning conference call and an afternoon meeting. Done.

Be flexible, if needed, but keep in mind the goal of "light and healthy."

Weigh-in: +0.1 kg
Exercise: +40, 120/1300 minutes for November
Food: 100% on-plan
Read my Advantages and Responses: yes
Refrained from eating in the car: yes

Under ticker by one pound but know that it trends up on the weekend, so ... not moving it. Basically remained the same this week. Started to get bummed then realized I'm fitting into smaller clothes and that's what is visible, not the scale reading. Tomorrow evening is to be our every-other-week treat dinner and it's been the pizza spot the last few times ... thinking we might do Thai this time. Will see what DH wants. Voting early here must be done downtown at the government building, so will swing by and see what that's like after work this evening. I figure everyone else will be getting on with their Friday action and there will be no line. We'll see.

Not much to report here. Waiting for news on my brother, undergoing testing today. No thrilling weekend plans - need to get some deeper cleaning underway. By the end of the week, I have too much to get caught up on. DH and I could hit the trail for a good walk or relax by a woodfire on the patio. Both sound equally good, so maybe both?

I just typed a long post and by the time I was done somehow I was no longer logged in. Food on plan, credit. Six 1/2 mile hike this morning, credit.
More tomorrow,

Karen

Saturday - Guy Fawkes Day (London, 1605)
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Good news is that DW did have a serving of my pint of FREE ice cream. Bad news is that she doesn't plan to have more because it's just too "chocolatey." I had another serving for evening snack with one left. I suppose that I can give myself CREDIT moi for five servings from a pint of ice cream. In the olden days, I'd have been able to take down a pint in one sitting - but maybe not Ben and Jerry's which is super rich.

It was a rainy day with little getting out for exercise. I completed two tasks on my computer that had been bugging me for a week. One entailed logging onto a site with my laptop and simultaneously downloading an App to my smartphone to take a picture of the QR code (square bar code) on the laptop as the second step of a two step process of establishing a secure link to a server. I've never done that before against my own laptop and the process bewildered me until I did it. It was uber simple - just not intuitive since I never figured out why the whole 'two step' process was invoked.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – I like the phrase "light and healthy."

maryann - Waving back toward San Diego. Neat that you'll get refreshed as a teacher.

nationalparker – "Woodfire on the patio" sounds pretty good for early November. Kudos for recognizing that the fit of your clothes is a great metric.

Karen (karenrn) - Ouch for being done in by the gremlins who haunt computers. Congrats on yet-another 6.5 mile hike.

Readers -

CREDIT for remembering yesterday's advice to myself to be flexible. That was valuable when I realized that I didn't have any washed lettuce and hadn't allowed enough time to wash it for my lunch. I added some marinara to what I was reheating for a little bit of veggie and made a larger salad to go with my supper.

What will I do today to eat light and healthy?

Follow my plan.

Make decisions. My plan has some "or"s in it today both for food and for things to do. That's fine, but it is important that I make a choice when the time comes -- otherwise, bad things happen like spending too much time on Facebook while procrastinating a decision. I just scribbled "choose" at the front of those items on my plan as a reminder.

Remember that hunger is not an emergency. I woke up hungry and I have a lighter than usual lunch planned because it's the best choice at the restaurant where I'll be eating. No big deal because hunger isn't an emergency.

Weigh-in: -0.6 kg
Exercise: +20, 120/1300 minutes for November
Food: 90% on-plan
Read my Advantages and Responses: yes
Refrained from eating in the car: yes

My world was turned upside down yesterday evening. Brother has pancreatic cancer. Biopsy is out for testing, but dr. said it's a formality. Shocked that I was able to talk with him for quite a while and only when I was saying bye, love you, did I break down. I'm still holding out a bit of hope that dr. was wrong, but know in my heart that it's a slim to none chance because what dr. would say that. Finally fell asleep around 5 a.m. for an hour and again at 8 for another hour. He has been a best friend my whole life. As much turmoil as I have with my sister, there is NONE with him. His wife is on a family wedding trip and he had to insist that she go. I told him I would want him to call me and I'd return home on Sunday as I know she will. He didn't want to interrupt the trip with bad news. I said I'd be very upset if my DH didn't. He came 'round. I know them both well and she would want to return asap. She's an RN and will be a good asset at the next appt.

Scale at 156.6 this morning. Adjusting ticker to 157, don't think the 156 will stick. No walk nor patio fire last night. DH built one in the fireplace and we have one going again today. Will let it peter out and hit the trail midafternoon.

Good afternoon coaches,

Last evening we went to a surprise 50th birthday party for dh's boss. It was at some friends of theirs home which is huge, lovely and if it weren't tacky, I would have taken photos. It had huge furniture which was perfect because it was so huge. Then the patio, full tennis courts, pool with swim up bar, woodburning pizza over on the patio and garage with hydraulic lifts for the husband who collects cars was just something else. I am not comfortable at parties of mostly people I don't know, but it turned out to be pretty good and the best part, I didn't drink any alcohol and the food I ate was minimal and on plan except a couple of crackers that I took to put the hummus on, credit. They had Casino night where there was a craps table, roulette and black jack. A company came in and taught us (although I couldn't catch on to craps) and we played for awhile.

This morning I went to the Y because they had a 60 minute class so we could sample 15 minutes each of 4 classes, credit. I enjoyed 3 of them, so that was good. The two I liked the best were Barre and Kick Boxing. I'm going to go to church at 5 p.m. today so I can go to Zumba tomorrow morning at the Y with my friend Patrice who recently lost 75 pounds with WW and is being much more active.

My to do's for this afternoon are: laundry, remake the bed, finish the 4th and last puppy blanket and if there is still time, take a short nap since I didn't get enough sleep last night.

Nationalparker I am so sorry to hear your sad news. It sure puts anything annoying in my life in perspective. Do your best to keep taking good care of yourself. You will sure be in my prayers, and of course your brother and his family too. The church I belong to is very large, I will put you all on the prayer list this evening. I'm hoping more people praying will be better.

GardenerJoy Ahh, Facebook, the ultimate time waster. The breeder for our new puppy posts photos and videos, so you can imagine how I am wasting my time lately. It's such a happy way to waste time though. Rocky Mountain Cocker Spaniels if you need a good puppy viewing. Good for you for having a good list of things to do.

Bill I commend you for how many servings of ice cream you have gotten out of that pint. If I could do that I wouldn't feel badly about having some.

Waving to everyone else.

Sunday - John Philip Sousa born (Washington, D.C., 1854)
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Skipped a gathering of friends last night as I'm fighting a cold. I feel good enough but the coughing and nose-blowing is unfair to the others. 'Good enough' but not great. I'm at the stage where I'm susceptible to anyone who offers a magic pill that makes it all go away, LOL.

Part of not great meant that I just noticed that my computer is an hour earlier than my bedside clock. Duh! It's not like I've never had to do this clock setting before. Walk, CREDIT moi, included a stop at the drugstore for an errand. I almost got a flu shot but the waiting line was too long. I'll try to do that this week. Last year I put it off until the season was over.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Love that marinara is a veggie substitute. Reminds me of the olden days when ketchup was declared a vegetable so that school lunches wouldn't be so barren.

nationalparker – Sending supportive thoughts as you, your brother, and family work through his new situation. So glad that his DW is an RN to help find his treatment path. It's good that you can get out for an afternoon trail walk.

Karen (karenrn) - As always, Congrats to Arizona for avoiding all the daylight saving brouhaha. Certainly you must feel left out as the rest of us flap about. Super Kudos for eating mindfully despite the glamorous surroundings. Sounds like quite a home.

Readers -

Good morning coaches,

Food on plan yesterday, credit. I do think I need to be a little more careful about portions. Eyeballing may not be good enough. I will be going to Zumba this morning for my exercise, credit. I didn't get the blanket made yesterday, so want to do that today, so I can put away a few things I have out for the project.

Dh and I will go to the furniture store to select the leather for the new sectional. This probably sounds strange, but we're going to order the same sectional that we have right now in a different color and possibly firmer cushions. When my friend and I went to the store last week and they still had our file, I thought "How easy, we'll just get the same one." Dh agrees it is easy and fits in the room. Did I already tell you this?

Bill Sorry to hear about your cold. Since one of my motto's is "Better living thru chemistry", I usually take some kind of cold medication to reduce the symptoms. I doubt they change the length of the cold, but I usually feel a little better anyway.

Phone check in.

nationalparker, my heart goes out you as you have received news of your brothers diagnosis. It has been harder on me with my sisters diagnosis and ongoing treatment than many other challenges I have faced. I am grateful to have found a good balance between being involved in her continuing treatment AND just "Being a Sister". I think that's what we both want more than anything. PM me if you ever want to.

BBE, get better real soon! PS loved the free ice cream saga, especially DW having only one portion...too rich. lol

Karen, I looked up your baby on FB last night. So many pictures and videos! Cute cute

MaryAnn, continue to admire your ability to work through personal/food issues. Kudos!

gardenerjoy, I'm enjoying your daily "Light and Healthy". Thx

Me, holding my course. Making the best decisions possible and still going full steam outside as weather holds. Yesterday I finished my 1st big garden bed in the front. It will be watered by the existing lawn hose and is plant/seed ready. Credit moi!
Today DH and I are going to work on the bed next to it where I will plant the potatoes. Yippee!
Weight still holding, too. I'm heading out!

What will I do today to eat light and healthy?

Plan, plan, plan. Suppers for the week, grocery shopping for the week, food for today. DONE. I have some tricky nights this week, but with planning, I can manage it with only one carry-out supper.

Weigh-in: NA kg
Exercise: +60, 200/1300 minutes for November
Food: 100% on-plan
Read my Advantages and Responses: yes
Refrained from eating in the car: yes

nationalparker: so sorry to hear about your brother. Take care of yourself at this difficult time.

Thank you, all, for your supportive thoughts. I'm still having such a hard time processing my brother's cancer. We never, ever take pics when together - just not something we do. The last visit I said, let's just take a couple - first time in YEARS. So I'm glad I did. I wish I had heard of a case of someone with pancreatic cancer stage 3 beating it. (Karen, have you?) He's always had a huge pain tolerance, like our dad, and is curled up on his side with the intense abdominal pain. Hoping it's from the poking around they did/biopsy, etc. I'll be heading down there as soon as we know a little more. I don't want to be in the way, but can certainly prep meals, pick up Rx, clean, lend a hand however and hope I can down and back a few times, depending on the prognosis. It hurts so much to hear the pain in his voice. It's bringing back the time with my father to him and me.

Since I'm not one of those people who loses their appetite much when stressed, I've still been eating on plan. Lunch was chicken & apple sausage with cinnamon apples and green beans. Dinner will be chili - it's on the stove simmering now - loaded with onions, peppers, diced tomatoes and beans. I was going to prep the mini lasagna for dinner tomorrow night, but I'm using that same pot for the chili, so ... nope. Scale was at 155.8 this morning, down 19 total on this plan so far. I will wait to see if DH wants to go walk the trail with me and the pooch - he's at a matinee of Dr. Strange.

Monday - Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapses (1940, Washington State)
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Nothing to report. I spent the day moaning about with a cold. Best guess is that I caught this from the DGD so it's unlikely that I'll give it back to her later this week. I didn't even make the salad for dinner as DW didn't want me touching anything that she'd eat.

The only good news is that feeling under the weather doesn't make me want to eat. It just makes me want to crawl under the covers. So I went to bed right after dinner - earlier than ever.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Such good advice, "Plan, plan, plan."

Debbie (Lexxiss) – Great that you're getting your gardening done before the big snows fall. Congrats for "Weight still holding, too."

nationalparker – Peggy Kessler continues (12 years) as a Stage IV pancreatic cancer survivor. When I googled, I found a bunch of stories like hers and links to support groups. Hope you're able to find a real-life support group for yourself as well as one for your brother and his family. Chili "loaded with onions" sounds good to me.

Karen (karenrn) - Yay for being able to buy the same thing many years later - that seems to rarely happen. [I take the decongestant Sudafed to mask the symptoms. It makes me feel better while the cold runs its normal course.]

Readers -

What will I do today to eat light and healthy?

Be prepared to be flexible. It's not entirely clear that I'll have a chance to eat either my afternoon snack or my supper. I have a plan if I need to grab a little something on the run. I also know that I could go for 8 to 10 hours this afternoon and evening without eating at all and be perfectly fine.

Keep plugging along. The day feels too full, but it also feels possible. I want to minimize my distractions and maximize putting my head down and getting on with things.

Aim for calm. In spite of all of that, there's no reason to attack this list with a frenzy. Calm and steady is likely to get better results for me.

Weigh-in: +0.65 kg
Exercise: +40, 240/1300 minutes for November
Food: 100% on-plan
Read my Advantages and Responses: yes
Refrained from eating in the car: yes

nationalparker: continued warm and healing thoughts headed your way and to your brother

BillBlueEyes: hope you're feeling better soon

Good morning, Coaches.

Back from conference in San Diego. There were many good food choices; some less helpful food choices; and a great deal of walking. Ticker is up two pounds which is normal post- airplane ride. My bet is I will be back down by the end of the week (following the same pattern as the basketball game last Saturday.) If weekends were routine, would I make more progress?

I took an extra day in Coronado, a little peninsula/island thing on the very tip of San Diego. It has beautiful, broad beaches. The weather was 75, sunny with a perfect little breeze. I could easily live there except for the pressing crowds - even in November. The conference was to teach me to teach an Advanced Placement course for Language and Composition. I felt very lost - sinking in whiz bang rhetoric terms and arguments. Then the teacher got down to real lesson plans and I realized I had done 60 papers on rhetorical analysis while getting my MFA from Goddard. Who knew?

I planned for a personal day. I will vote, grocery shop, and do a hundred other little errands. For many years, I would never get a substitute. In fact, I would ruthlessly judge teachers who took personal days. But now I just do it. I am 26 years in. The alternative to not talking personal days is to quit entirely and that would be worse for the kids. Funny how my judgment and perfectionism are fading away with my age and experience. I think maybe that is a good thing.

nationalparker: My heart goes with you. DH has had a very difficult time walking through the liver cancer diagnosis of his farm manager/second father. I am sure it feels like the rest of the world should stop spinning with such news.

Good morning coaches,

Food remains on plan, credit. Amazing how easy it is to forego the beer when I just set my mind to it. This morning I hiked Sunrise hill for 90 minutes for exercise, credit. Both Suzanne and I have doc apps today, so it was a shorter one. I'll get out Wednesday for a longer one. I did go to Zumba yesterday, still fun but hope I get the moves down some day. I also finished the last of the pup blankets as planned.

After my hike this morning I stopped at the grocery store with my diet plan cookbook and purchased things to make a few of the recipes this week. So far, dh likes the food just fine.

Maryann Glad you ended up enjoying the conference. Southern California beaches are so beautiful. It was so nice you got an extra day in Coronado and what a good plan to take a personal day today. I do think getting a little older has it's advantages as in learning what is best to take care of ourselves.

GardnerJoy Sounds like you've got a very busy day going.

Bill Climbing under the covers and getting lots of sleep sounds like just the right thing to do with a cold.

Nationalparker I also found lots of resources online for support and information. Probably wouldn't hurt to get a little more information from the doctor before diving in. I do know a guy who is a friend of a friend who has had pancreatic cancer for a number of years now. There are new treatments and clinical trials all the time. Like Bill, I'm glad his wife is a nurse who can be a good advocate and also help him find his way through the medical system to where he needs to be. So sad that we have to advocate for ourselves so much anymore, but it is true.

Lexxis I'm glad you saw Otis. He is a little doll and we can't wait to get him.

My plan is to get a few things done around the house today. My doctor's appointment isn't until after lunch and shouldn't take long.

Have a great start to the week everybody.

Tried to stay on plan with lunch out with a coworker today ... I ordered arroz con pollo and left the rice/cheese mixture and ate the chicken, pico/lettuce. One chip. Didn't get in enough water, though, as I typically do.

Heard from SIL following the appointment and we'll have more info soon on type of tumor, growth rate, etc. It's hard to not see the better outcomes and really hope that his is very treatable, he responds to treatment, it's operable, etc. SIL asked me to bake a recipe of biscotti, so will do that and mail that off to him. That really surprised me!

Bill - Hope you're able to get some respite from your cold. We joke that how come when we catch kids' colds, they hit us so much harder/longer!

Tuesday - U. S. General Election Day
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Geeze . . . another dead day due to this cold. I made it to my two classes - isolated by elephant sized doses of drugs - without abusing the others present. And lasted through a half-hour meeting. But did little else.

Eating was only OKish. I snacked because I didn't have time for a proper lunch since I was in a meeting during my normal lunch hour. I just never found a good solution, possibly because I don't feel that good.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Thanks for "Calm and steady is likely to get better results."

maryann - I found rhetorical analysis under Rhetorical criticism on Wiki. I am no wiser, tripped up by words about words, but thanks for sending me on the chase. Congrats for taking care of yourself on Coronado Island.

nationalparker – Yay for baking biscotti to have a specific, immediate task to support your brother. Kudos for selecting a sane portion from your served lunch.

Karen (karenrn) - Kudos for setting your mind to forgo that beer. Sounds like you have a good day planned.

Readers -

Good morning coaches,

Food on plan, but I know I am eating back too many of my exercise calories, credit for realizing what I need to do. Today's exercise will be Zumba followed by strength training at the Y, early credit cause I know I'm going.

When I said my doctor's appointment shouldn't take long, that was an understatement. I have had a different gyn doc almost each year I've gone to this clinic. New doc again yesterday and I don't think she was in the room with me more than 5 minutes. I'm seeing a new female family practice/sports medicine doc on 12/20. If she does annual exams I will definitely be switching over to her.

This afternoon's plan is to get out everything I need to prepare to pack for the Grand Canyon backpacking trip. I also need to do the meal planning and be sure I have what I need to eat. I'm looking forward to the trip although I have not had the backpack on since last month. We are only going a short distance each day, so I'm sure I'll be fine.

Bill Sorry about your continued cold. It's lousy to feel lousy. The only good news is that you don't have to go to work; you can stay home and take care of yourself.

Nationalparker I'm glad your brother is wanting some of your biscotti. That will give you something to do for him right where you are.