Beck Diet For Life/Solution – August 2022 – 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:

The Complete Beck Diet for Life
and the first book
The Beck DIET solution: train your brain to think like a thin person.

The 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:
With The Complete Beck Diet for Life you'll discover the 5 stages of successful dieting and maintenance. You'll learn how to motivate yourself, give yourself credit for every change you make, create time and energy for dieting, and handle hunger and cravings. Dr. Beck eases you into changing one step at a time. You'll master one task before moving on to the next. And you'll learn techniques to deal with challenging situations, such as sticking with ou plan at celebrations and dealing with "food pushers." With Dr. Beck's skills, you'll achieve a lifetime of healthful eating and lifelong motivation.

This is a place to discuss the Beck strategies and our daily efforts, to receive and provide support, and, for some of us, is where we serve as on-line diet buddy (coach) to each other.

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

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

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

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

Monday - English chemist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen by isolating it (1774)
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Walked for two hours with DW, CREDIT moi, despite the heat. We found sometimes shaded paths within Mount Auburn Cemetery, paying particular attention to the very old trees. And we paused for a spell admiring the mausoleum of Isabella Stuart Gardner - the founder of the Boston museum of her name. The plantings were meticulously balanced - nothing looking out of place. Like she was still in control. Don't know how much money you have to leave to keep that going for years. Were surprised to encounter few other folks out walking. Did get entertained by a Red tailed Hawk only a few feet away on a branch clearly aware of us and clearly not concerned. Few other birds; they knew it was hot.

The (2 yo) DFGD, DS, and DIL visited briefly in the late afternoon. Even more complex sentences, albeit of her own grammatical construction. Was demanding about exactly which adult cut her banana and handed her the pieces. Gladly took the box of refrigerator magnet images to stick on the lower portion. Took the two (40ish yo) cabbage patch dolls for a ride in the dolly stroller.

Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, with the only daytime snacks being sharing the roasted pecans put out for the guests. In the past, I've been meticulous about ignoring snacks for guests, but I just fell in when everyone else was nibbling. Dinner on the patio finished off the pizza from the day before along with the green salad using our cukes and cherry tomatoes.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Good luck choosing a new breakfast plan. There are some good cereal options - hidden beside a zillion terrible cereal options.

maryann - Such affirmation from a greeter at Crate and Barrel. Thanks for introducing me to the notion "Capsule Wardrobe." Good luck with your stint in gemology school.

nationalparker – Such a nice description of enjoying life. Sounds so encouraging that your DH is signing over the papers that will allow his parents' house to be sold.

Karen (karenrn) - Such fun to unexpectedly meet a guy who grew up near you. What a pleasant coincidence. Wave to your gorgeous Mt Rainier for me.

curlyjax - Your lavender farm is such a neat idea. DW asked me if they each smelled different; the website didn't say. Hope you enjoyed your walk around Boston.

Penny. - LOL at the weed finding its way into the pot with your houseplants. Good reminder that life is determined.

MommaMeli - Thinking of you and your family.

Readers -

Yesterday I zipped down to Boston via the subway to give DD stuff for her project,then I stopped off at Harvard square on the way home, my old stomping grounds from like 24 years ago. So much has changed but a few stores are still there. I treated myself to a greek lunch/brunch that was not very good, then I treated myself to a chocolate raspberry slice of cake that was worth every calorie, from https://www.burdickchocolate.com/location-cambridge, since Mike’s Pastry didn’t have what I wanted. Groceries on the way home, and dinner was chicken sausages and air fried zucchini and onions. Went to bed a little hungry and proud of myself for it.
Exercise was walking around and climbing some stairs which left me breathless. I think the heat must contribute a little to that although i certainly need to work on my endurance.
Ugh I did not sleep well last night, my hip was killing me. Not sure if I overdid it or just need to stretch more or what.
Gardenerjoy- good luck with the new changes to diet.
Nationalparker-sounds like a lovely mellow day.
Karen- glad you’re having fun. So cool about meeting that guy in the plane.
Penny- yes, one successful day at a time is a good strategy. My brain is obsessing about food too.
Maryann-that is awesome that the greeter said that! What good ideas to make the hotel feel like home.
Bill- they don’t smell different to me but maybe they do have their own scents. The whitish ones are supposedly better for cooking- they are all edib

CREDIT for meeting my July exercise goal. For August, I'm going to try yoga every day, using this YouTube playlist from Adriene: BEGIN - YWA August 2022 - YouTube

Exercise +60, 1645/1600 minutes for July

karenrn: Thanks for the diabetes info, I'll pass that along.

Good morning!

I did manage one successful diet day and aiming for another.

Maryann, how fun to have your outfit noticed! Good luck with your diamond classes.

Karen, it sounds like you're having a good time in your old stomping (hiking) grounds. Too bad the temperature drop isn't as significant aa it usually is but it's supposed to start cooling down I think.

Nationalparker, are you getting sick of your dh being around so much or have those fears been eliminated? You sound like you're enjoying your summer now.

Joy, you could join the avocado toast trend. I wonder if those fats are problematic.

Curly, your day sounds very nice. I love tooling around on my own with various stops and a meal out. It's so relaxing! Except for maybe your hip. I hope it calms down.

Bill, kudos for the two hour walk. I sat on the deck for 10 minutes and had to run back inside. It was 100- it feels like a nice warm hug from the Earth but then I'm ready for it to not be so clingy. Lol

Log in troubles
 

I recently switched from a PC to a Mac, and I can’t seem to log in. It’s been a busy month, but here I am saying I didn’t drop out, I have had connection issues.

I had no loss the first month of the Mediterranean diet, but my monthly weigh in showed a 4.5 lb loss today. :)

I hope I can get the login issue fixed, but if not, thanks for being here for my jump start.

Good Evening, Coaches.

I define success in many ways today.
1. I wore another capsule outfit and had two people mention my accessories.
2. I held my own in a class with people from much more experienced backgrounds in the jewelry biz ( as opposed to my zero experience) and in a class with 80% of the people twenty to thirty years younger than me.
3. I did not shoot a diamond across the room when do our preliminary grading for clarity characteristics. :) I did drop a few in the microscope but the teachers said that was fine because it meant I wasn't holding the tweezers too tight. DH was appalled that we don't mount diamonds to grade as he would his specimens in his ag pest classes. I told him you can't because you are constantly twirling and upending the diamond so the light is reflected through all angles in order to plot a gem.
4. I didn't let the fact that I was up every two hours last night from nerves interfere with my good day.
5. I only bought a banana and a diet coke. Ii brought the rest of the food with me.

The class is well taught and set up to give everyone success in what could be a chaotic environment. These professionals have articulated the curriculum beautifully and as a result I feel more secure about everything. I know I will sleep better and I will commit to a yoga with Adrienne before I go to bed. I brought my mat. I will weigh myself tomorrow.

Mrs. Calypso: Many people are struggling with connection issues. It takes me several minutes to hit the home page and then a few minutes to go to the last page. I don't go to all the pg in between or it would take for ever.

Wave to everyone else.

A good day again - I hope this trend continues. I think I was bouncing around the edges of depression for a while. Met two good friends for one's birthday lunch at a restaurant; checked the menu online and had my planned meal set. That menu changed and there were literally two things on the menu that were vegan - a house salad and french fries. I ordered that and ate half of the fries and brought the rest home to DH. Fries out are a treat and I'm tired of feeling guilty when I order them since it's not a regular thing. They were delish, but that is not a place I'll return, I don't think. I feel torn, because it's definitely the favorite of one of our trio- the choice for a holiday meal, etc.

My passport arrived, so I'm relieved about that. I don't have an international trip in the plans, but did want my new one in hand. This afternoon I decided to go see the Elvis movie again, I really thought it was good. This evening I think I'll haul out my painting stuff again and enjoy a bit of puttering. It was pouring this morning, and my yard and gardens really needed it. None was in the forecast for the next eight days, so not sure how that popped up, but the line of severe storms moved through before noon.

I zipped into a Fresh Thyme market and picked up Mykonos liquid dairy free mozzarella to give it a try on homemade pizza. It sounds a bit off-putting, but boy, the ads sold me and reviews in U.K. plant-based magazines were so positive. I don't care for the Daiya cheese so have just been getting MOD pizza without cheese, and not making it at home at all. I hope this is a good find. I also picked up some blueberries at a low price and when I was walking through the produce area, a man stocking the shelves started a conversation and then when I was moving on, he said "you have such a beautiful smile, seeing it was the highlight of my day". It caught me unawares and I thanked him, but I think it was coming from so few people here are masked now. I was not masked either. I was one of three customers in the store at the time!

Penny - DH has been really busy fixing up this truck from his parents (it's from mid-2000s, 189,000 miles on it), adding a backup camera to it, and getting it fixed up with hands free calling, etc., he's really worked a lot on it. Soldering a bunch of wires the other night to get this all to work. I was impressed. So far, we've been able to have time alone as well as our own busy time. Tomorrow I meet a friend to walk in the morning, so that will be good for me, as well.

Bill - Laughing over the rules regarding who is in charge of the banana slicing and forking it over. My stepdaughter sent a photo of the latest T-Ball game and the four outfielders (yep!) were all doing something and only one facing the action. Our DGS was not the one facing the action. One kid was caught in bug stomping mode, leg up and ready to pound. I sent it to my brother and asked would he like to be a pitcher with this kind of support in the outfield :)

Mrs. Calypso - Credits on sticking with the Mediterranean plan and working for that loss. It seems like there are various issues with connecting we're experiencing. I'm only able to log in on my laptop, so I know I'll be MIA now and then.

Karen - What a small world - too neat that you spent time with someone who grew up so close to you. I love synchronicities like that. I picture you hiking much greener scenery on this trip. You do a good job of keeping friendships going - that is a credit as it is a lot of work.

CurlyJax - Your check in sounds like you spent a great day enjoying some soul lifting scenery and food. Credit for that. I am going to set my goal of dropping five pounds to be at 169 by the end of August. Now at 174 and just down from a few pounds higher. I'm finding that when I don't set any goals, I don't achieve anything.

Maryann - GOOD LUCK with your exam! You have studied and prepared as best you can, so I hope it goes well. Smart to modify the hotel room to fit how you want it to be. Credit to have worked toward a style and curated closet to make packing and wearing your clothes fun.

MommaMeli - Sending positive thoughts and strength your way.

Tuesday- James Baldwin American essayist, novelist and playwright born (1924, Harlem)
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Annoyance was arriving at the dentist's office only to find that he'd called out with an emergency. The dental office had tried to call me while I was taking a shower getting ready to go, but left no message. I'd just assumed that it was one more of their annoying calls reminding me of the appointment. Ouch! The good news it that it's not far so the travel wasn't a big deal. When I got home I had a strong desire to eat to salve the wounds. Made a new appointment for six weeks out. May all my problems be so small.

Walk after dinner, CREDIT moi, with DW in the most pleasant weather. Many folks were out on bikes, jogging, or with dogs. Saw ten species of birds including two Ravens circling high. Big deal! It's rare to see Ravens around here. Seeing Double-crested Cormorants reminded me that winter is coming. Hard to think of that. Saw a female Mallard duck without a nearby male; that was unusual also.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner on the patio of gazpacho and green salad - cukes and tomatoes from our garden. Vegetarian for the day. DW claims that she might have been vegan for the day since she uses soy milk in her tea instead of cow's milk. Maybe. Methinks one has to work a tad harder than to just fall into vegan.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - Congrats for meeting your July exercise goals. May you enjoy Yoga August.

maryann - Sounds like you've made a big jump in your confidence in your diamond skills. It is a jolt to watch younger minds having an easier time with new words.

nationalparker – Super Kudos for extracting a vegan meal from a non-vegan-friendly restaurant. And Double Kudos for bringing home half your fries for your DH. LOL at the little kids in the outfield being otherwise occupied.

curlyjax - Neat that you discovered the joys of Burdick Chocolate. I have to avoid that place - just too tempting. Sounds like you had a good day.

Penny. - Always Kudos for a successful diet day. LMAO at, "it feels like a nice warm hug from the Earth but then I'm ready for it to not be so clingy."

MrsCalypso - Congrats for a good loss for the month. I do hope the connection issues subside.

MommaMeli - Continue to send supportive thought to you and your family.

Readers -

It was so quiet at work yesterday and I felt unmotivated to get anything done, but I did not get into any candy, credit for that. And I stayed on program the rest of the day, except for some popsicles but at least they aren’t fattening. I felt melancholy in the evening but I didn't eat about it, yay.
Quick wave as I’m going to the beach today early with two friends I haven’t seen in a few years.
Nationalparker- okay my goal is to get to 175 by the end of August as I’m 181.

Today is a big day. I'll vote at my polling place this morning and hand out leaflets at a different polling location from 1pm to 4pm. That's not my favorite activity, but I prefer it over canvassing and, even more, over phone banking. A friend of mine is running for Congress, so I want to do something. Assuming that she wins her primary today, I'll give more money, so I don't have to feel guilty about being less willing to participate in the in-person activities.

For the second time in a week, I find myself amused to be the sort of person who can say "a friend of mine is running for Congress."

The challenges are numerous -- heat, spurts of extroversion interspersed with boredom, hours. Lots of water is going to help more than lots of food. Volunteers were promised snacks, but I'll bring my own 100-calorie granola bars and stick to those. Unless they give us something healthy like grapes.

I wrote out my food plan to help with the odd timing. Also, to account for the fact that I'll be driving home past a favorite frozen custard stand. There's really no point in pretending that I won't stop there, so I planned it, which really helps me keep treats like that in a box so that they don't turn into a habit.

Exercise +50, 50/1600 minutes for July

Nice.

I'd planned a larger lunch and small dinner, and it might be a very rare "fend for yourself" dinner. I had a bag of frozen Trader Joe's falafel and baked those to make some wraps with tomatoes, cukes, a bit of tahini and homemade hummus. Added a new recipe of slaw which will be made more often. (Penny, I thought this might be one you'd like as super easy to whip up!) I added extra carrots to my slaw mix, but skipped the parsley and cut the cumin down, which I find overwhelms too many recipes. Now the house smells of lemon and garlic. Mentioned to my DH that we need to eat more leisurely as prep and cleanup took considerably longer than the meal and neither of us are racing back to the office.

Walking with my friend this morning was a good catch up. Muggy as all get out. I stopped at the market after that and, while not looking like I was dressed to impress, at least I got what I needed speedily. Purchased some more peaches at under $1/pound and plan to make a dessert with them when they ripen up more. Corn still isn't dropping in price at all. And yet I live next to cornfields, drive by dozens every day, but it's all feed corn.

Joy - Credits to you for volunteering to support someone you believe in. The people handing out pamphlets at my polling location always are chatting and laughing with each other, even if opposing parties. That always gives me hope. I tried frozen custard when DH and I first got together, there is a stand open near us in the summers, but I haven't thought of it in years. Now I feel compelled to look to see if they have a vegan option. Power of suggestion.

Bill - Arriving to my dentist to find my appt cancelled is a joyful dream of mine, as someone who just gets too stressed at dentist visits. But I understand the annoyance. I'd give your wife credit for a vegan day :) sometimes the falling into it is when we realize it's easier than we thought. And more credits with all of the plant based options as it sounds like you did!

CurlyJax - Yay! I'm in. Now reading a book The Blue Zones Challenge and a good refresher on healthy foods. This books is a small one and just getting to the challenge part of it. I wonder why I'm always up for something like that. Even if I just challenge myself and make small improvements, that's good.

Good Evening, Coaches.

Day 2 - CUT of the 4 Diamond C's. Challenging but the math seems easier than when I first approached it last month.

Credit:

1. I weighed myself this morning. For some reason I went up .8 of a pound. Didn't let it defer me from healthy eating through the day.
2. I walk 45 mins of my 1 hr lunch. It is beautiful ocean bluff walk. I will do it again tomorrow.
3. I did yoga last night and will do it again tonite.

Oh Wells
1. I stopped by the paddleboard lagoon but found out I had to pay a 19$ city "permit" to enter the water. Ridiculous. I refused. I talked to DH and he said the price matched the price of a "doughnut bacon cheeseburger" at the California state fair. Tomorrow I will pay the extortion :(
2. I stopped by for frozen yoghurt instead. I will count it as dinner and move on. That is the only money I spent today so that is good.

Nationalparker: Depression would be easy to occur spending the amount of time and energy you gave to your inlaw's place.
Wave to all.

Wednesday-Opera house La Scala opens with Salieri's Europa riconosciuta (1778, Milan)
 

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Excitement was the standard weekly trip to the supermarket where I was in the 20% of folks wearing masks. Felt like an out-of-it old man wearing black socks with sandals, LOL. The good news is that the shelves seem more fully stocked than a month ago. Either they're more fully stocked or the workers are working harder to keep an unbroken line of items at the front of the shelves. Still no "Simply Jif" peanut butter that DW likes. Jif had a contamination issue and aren't back on the shelves yet.

Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner on the patio was my choice; DW was ambivalent due to still being in the 80's F. But a slight breeze make is just fine. SPAM phone call today was, again, from a nice lady from "The department of MasterCard and Visa." I'm unable to imagine such a department; I thought they were competitors. Just googled that phrase; I'm not the only person getting SPAM calls from a boiler room in India with that line.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - I like the awareness that you can plan for a stop at the frozen custard stand and then you won't have to deal with a failure. Hope your candidate does well.

maryann - Yay for getting more comfortable with diamond math. LMAO at comparing a beach fee to " 'doughnut bacon cheeseburger' at the California state fair." Now you can choose to save calories by paddle boarding.

nationalparker – Thanks for the reminder that slaw is fine eating. That's a good price for peaches.

curlyjax - Always Kudos for a no-candy day and for not eating against melancholy.

MommaMeli - Thinking about you and your family.

Readers -