[BillBlueEyes]

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 our 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

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Exercise, CREDIT moi, was shoveling snow. A mere inch or so - much less than predicted. My class was transferred from in-person to Zoom by a decision made the day before using weather forecasts. We spent the first part of the class telling each other how little snow we had. But it's good exercise anyway. In the past, there have been occasions when I ignored an inch only to have it trampled down into solid ice that stayed for a month.

Trip to the supermarket again required navigating past aisles of Easter candy - out before Mardi Gras has faded from memory. Good to be reminded that sugar has one of the largest markups of substances sold in supermarkets. Dinner was a second dip into our soup made with curly kale and smoked sausage from the NY Times recipe. Soup does so well when reheated. A baguette appeared to go with it. To overcome any sense of healthy eating, LOL.

My not-procrastinated achievement was to contact a bank about paperwork needed for taxes, CREDIT moi. I'm not fond of manipulating money, not fond of banks, not fond of taxes, not fond of paperwork; this combined it all. The impending deadline for filing tax returns helps me overcome the desire to procrastinate just one day more.


Joy (gardenerjoy) - According to plan is a good day.

Silverbirch - Yay for a new de cluttering client to keep the fires burning. STOP IMMEDIATELY! You can't re-purpose a perfectly good 1966 paperback of In the Heat of the Night by John Ball - that's a treasure. Now you've made me want to see the movie again although it might seem a bit outdated 56 years later. Or maybe not. Don't know which would feel worse.

curlyjax - Good luck with the seemingly never-ending paper work with the RMV. Yay for a day working from home - even if the reason is foul weather.

Readers -

Chapter 6 Stage 3 - The Challenging Situations Plan

Create a Stressful Time Mindset

Prepare for such sabotaging thoughts by making Response Cards:

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 163.

[curlyjax]

Snow turned out to be a non event but that's better than the opposite in my book. It would be very stressful to be a school superintendent and have to make the call of closing school or not. I forced myself to get up two times to march around the house for 5 timed minutes, so I got a tiny amount of exercise in. I can't blame DD for my eating but there are more things like chocolate chips sitting around the house with her home, and I did get into them. We also ordered pizza for dinner- I held it to two slices and stopped eating at 8:00 so credit for that. I didn't get to the bank yesterday so I'm zipping over to it first thing and then if my car title is there, will proceed to the RMV and use some personal time to sit there and get this registration set. I did some research on a lunch program my aunt could go to as she has mentioned wanting more socialization, and talked to her neighbor about bringing her there to check it out, so i'm hoping that will work out. I'm realizing I need to pay more attention to what's going on with her.
It's been so grey out, that's what gets depressing. We really need some sun, and more than just 15 minutes.
Bill-that soup sounds great. Yay for getting some dreaded tasks done.
Silverbirch-I forgot you help folks declutter, that's great. If you lived close to me I would hire you in an instant!

[silverbirch]

Today was a strange day where I seemed to lose the plot somehow. Or found another plot. I’m not really sure but the upshot was that I ate too much bread, felt tired and got a bit upset. The garden is looking lovely, like it does in springtime, and that upset both me and the DD. We both miss my mother who loved gardening and gardens, and the DD is a country girl at heart and is living in a city. We’re also thinking of moving and that’s hard.

Bill, I know that coffee has a pretty large mark-up in cafes but I didn’t know that about the large mark-up of sugar in supermarkets. Interesting. You may stand down! That fantastic book, In the Heat of the Night, is definitely staying here. It’s almost unputdownable. I read it last night way past lights out.

curlyjax, thanks. I’d be happy to help you declutter and organise. It’s such a shame we don’t live closer.

[gardenerjoy]

I had a goal to attempt to stand on my left foot for 30 seconds every day every day in February. I successfully attempted it every day. I actually did it on 20 days. Which is pretty good from where I started. On Monday, this week, I stood on each leg for a full minute.

Unfortunately, that hasn't translated particularly well to balance exercises that I encounter in the strength-training videos or in yoga. So, I'm still experimenting to see what that might take. One thing, for the yoga, will be to practice balance barefoot, because I know that my shoes provide some stability.

In a slightly different arena, I was able to transfer success from one thing to another. The strength-training program I've been doing has a lot of planks and some push-ups. When I did Sun Salutations today, I discovered that my plank-chatarunga-updog combination is much improved. So much that I now understand why people feel good when they do Sun Salutations. That feels like a game-changer.

Exercise +80, 1650/1600 minutes for February

BillBlueEyes: Good for shoveling snow before it transforms to something else.

curlyjax: I hope the car registration process goes smoothly.

silverbirch: Happy St. David's Day! I got curious about whether anyone had designed a version of the Union Jack that incorporated the St. David flag and found some promising designs. I was most amused by the ones that posited a Scottish independence, negating the need to represent St. Andrew but preserving the St. George and St. Patrick representations.

[maryann]

BBE: Our taxes have been pushed back because of the farming issues that are threatening to bankrupt so many. Big win for DH who would have worried about it all Italy.
Silverbirch: Whereabouts in the country would you like to move? I love googling picturesque places in England. You have so many. BTW I was blue today as well and that translated into extra calories. Drat!
Curley: We have the sun but only for a moment.
Joy: In honor of you I am standing on one foot writing this.


So - food is way off and I am five pounds up on ticker. Blues? time zones? I can't eat enough carbs. What can I do to start this moment on a new path? I will close the kitchen. Dinner is a leftover for DH anyway. I wioll do strength and stretch while playing chess.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Excitement was picking up the (7 yo) DGD after school. It was too icy even by the kids' standards to play on the climbing structure so we drove her straight home. Good part for me was that I had a long discussion with our SIL about the new Pitch Clock in US Baseball - a move to make the game go faster since young folks are abandoning baseball our of boredom. The Pitch Clock is doing its job so far; the games are moving along faster. Not quite fast enough to get me watching. Way back when, before grand kids, I'd occasionally buy six tickets to a Red Sox game at Fenway Park for a family outing. Watching a game with family/friends works. As did the mounds of peanuts, popcorn, beer, hot dogs, and soda that are part of the scene.

Part of the class on the Ancient Near East was spent gawking at pictures of the funeral attire of a queen from some 4000 years ago. Had to get told that each 'bead' of a beaded bodice was made from a precious stone; the hole in each bead was drilled by hand (duh!) estimated to take 8 full days of one artisan. The full bodice represented amazing wealth. Had to swallow my thought of being so happy that I get to see this because the British Museum and the Louvre got their hands on this stuff before the "grave robbers" got it. I'm not a voyeur grave robber if I'm listening to a distinguished gentle with a British accent describing the clothing in academic terms. Takes some mental machinations.

Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, although still with daytime snacks - but reasonable sized ones. Roasted almonds sitting visible in the pantry call when I walk by.



Joy (gardenerjoy) - I continue to be impressed that you're working on standing on one foot.

Silverbirch - Wish you and your DD well facing gardening this Spring when it brings memories of your mom. And I wish you Happy St. David's Day - didn't know there was so much happening there. ( I can't get my computer to print D a v i 'delta as partial derivative symbol' like in the site of that link - don't seem to have a Welsh script.) So happy that In the Heat of the Night has been spared.

maryann - Gotta love the combination "will do strength and stretch while playing chess."

curlyjax - Only two slices of pizza is worthy of Kudos. Hope you have a good book to read while sitting at the RMV waiting in line - what a dreadful place.

Readers -

Chapter 6 Stage 3 - The Challenging Situations Plan

Create a Stressful Time Mindset

Prepare for such sabotaging thoughts by making Response Cards: . . .

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 163.

[curlyjax]

My car title was at the bank fortunately, and my trip to the RMV went smoothly,as I had all the documents I needed. I was out of there within an hour. The worker informed me I would have to get another state inspection since I was the "new owner" even though I was on the former title as well. I'm going to wait and see if I get a big brother email about that since I just had it inspected in november, that seems ridiculous!! They had a security guard who helped folks figure out what line to be in, and I actually was impressed by how orderly it was. Good place to people watch!
Eating was okay. I did some errands for DD and had a chat with my brother about my dad's taxes and what I need to send to the accountant so that will keep me on track. DD is gone all day for a new nursing clinical so I h ave the house to myself tonight, yay.
Bill-I have always found baseball boring but I'm sure its a fun outing with family/friends. Very cool about the funeral attire!
Silverbirch-I hear you about missing your mom, and certain things reminding you of her. Moving is definitely hard.
Gardenerjoy- I should look into your strength training course, I've been very on and off with mine.
Maryann- glad DH didn't have taxes on his mind and could enjoy the trip. Closing the kitchen is always a great idea.

[silverbirch]

Another day of schlepping about associated with the car and I’ve managed to rack up about 8k steps which isn’t bad. CREDIT. I dropped the car at the garage (full service, MoT) and caught the bus to the office. This was a first outing for my bus pass which gives people over 60 free bus travel throughout Wales (and the other countries in the UK have the same). Any hanging about was in warm sunshine. I’m decluttering at the office as well. We’d like to move from there quite soon as our working and domestic lives have changed and it would make very good financial sense. I tried out two of my bright ideas before I got on the bus: coffee with a spoonful of sugar so I wasn’t tempted by cake etc, and I bought cottage cheese and a smoothie as lunch. CREDIT. But I did eat the brownie in the SO’s drawer which he’d carefully drawn to my attention and told me that I could have. Next time I’ll tell him that I don’t want it (shop cake, really not very nice) as I’ve got this other plan.

gardenerjoy, that’s a great move forward with strength and yoga. I’ve moved into barefoot shoes in the last 18 months or so and it’s made a nice difference in how my balance works. Oh, the Union flag! It’s a challenge.

maryann, my sister and I have inherited our parents’ house in a small town in SW England. We can’t stay where we are in the countryside forever for a number of reasons, such as heating challenges, that the SO doesn’t drive, that we are getting older (OK at present but things will change one day). It’s a bit early, perhaps, but this house is an opportunity on a plate: in walking distance of shops, library, doctor, dentist, hospital etc etc. Generally on the flat etc etc. We know people, there's family (I was born there). The sea and nice countryside are very close indeed (but not right outside the window as they are here). I’ve talked myself into it, even though I’ve lived in the countryside for most of my life.

Bill, interesting about kids being bored with US baseball. I know next to nothing about it but isn’t American football also full of long pauses? Thank you for your St David’s Day wishes. Luckily the daffodils were out by yesterday. I notice much more mention nowadays of St David’s advice to ‘do the little things’ (gwnewch y pethau bychain), those things within reach and which make a difference.

curlyjax, I’m glad things were more straightforward with the car than you’d feared! Bureaucracy! Enjoy being alone at home.

[maryann]

Good Afternoon, Coaches.

Silverbirch: The cottage sounds like a little slice of heaven. But it is true, aging changes many things. My hope is to be healthy and keeping exercising so that "walkable" remains a selling point.
BBE; The kind of wealth attributed to just one treasure is what really kind of turned me off on all the churches I went to see. I think of the servitude and slavery required for the Basilica and Pope's tombs. Jesus never said he wanted that in any of my bible lessons. In fact, he seemed to promote the opposite. Also the fact the it is so many men in their tombs of power. I never consider myself "woke" but I really got pushed that way when faced with the wealth gap of ancient times.
Curly: yeah for a little bit of evening solitude.

Food was better today. I slept 12 hours last night. I know I must be adjusting. So yoga tonite and a kitchen closed. I only had one candy bar at school. Way down from three yesterday.

[BillBlueEyes]

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, albeit with some daytime snacks. Although no evening snack since we each watched a Zoom presentation starting at dinner time which crowded the evening. Now know more about knee osteoarthritis than I thought I'd care to ever know. But the interesting part, and the point of the lecture, was how evolution changed our knee so that we can stand upright and walk on two feet. These guys have detailed the genome to show which switches in our DNA have evolved from those of the other apes to get us up and about. State of the art is having grad students sequencing DNA of thousands of folks around the world to see how each of us grow our knees. Also showed us how our hip bones have evolved so that we can give birth to babies with larger heads enabling cultural evolution to move rapidly. So much good science going on.

Excitement was learning why we got detoured when driving home from our DD's house on Wednesday. Turns out that a truck hit a telephone wire; kept going; and pulled down five telephone poles. Five! Lots of homes without power. That street might be shut down for weeks. Can't imagine how difficult it is to replace fully loaded "utility poles." (They aren't called "telephone poles" anymore - I'm showing my age.) I'm impressed that telephone cables are that strong. Suspect that there's more to the story than what we've learned from the news so far.


Silverbirch - Moving to your inherited house does sound like a great opportunity. I like being reminded that right now you live right on the sea; can imagine that that's tough to give up. My dream is to live within walking distance of most places I want to go.

maryann - Yay for 12 hours sleep when that's what your body shows that it needs. I agree, the wealth gap from ancient times is hard to imagine.

curlyjax - Congrats for a successful and pleasant trip to the RMV. Worth writing a piece for the New Yorker since it's such a rare event.

Readers -

Chapter 6 Stage 3 - The Challenging Situations Plan

skills for when you are under stress

You will need most of the same skills as for other challenging situations:

• Review your Response Cards and Advantages Deck often.
• Use your Resistance Techniques.
• Check in with your Diet Buddy to stay accountable.
• Imagine the aftermath (gaining weight once this stressful period ends versus maintaining or losing weight).
• Use your Cheat Sheet.
• Weigh yourself every morning.

Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 163.

[curlyjax]

Work was very busy yesterday which was great, makes the day go by quicker. I made one family related call, did another errand for DD, dropped off very overdue books and grabbed a burger at a drivethru which was oh so satisfying even though its terrible for me. And ate chocolate. I am in a downward spiral again, ugh. Spent the evening just watching the telly in the quiet. A few of us from work were going to see a movie tonight but are dithering because its hard to tell when its going to start snowing, and we could get a lot of snow. That will impact me picking up DS tomorrow for his school break but he is only 45 minutes away, so I can time things a bit easier.
Bill-ugh, that is terrible about the poles being pulled down, especially right before another storm. So interesting how the body evolves.
Maryann-I can relate to eating one candy bar instead of 3, its so easy to just keep going with sugar.
Silverbirch-that sounds very sensible to move sooner than later. You can get acclimated and meet people while you're young and vigorous it can be much harder to make such a move when you're older. Being able to walk to stores etc sounds fabulous. I have watched so many British shows where people can walk to their nearby pub etc, it looks so lovely. I'm planning to move to a condo in about 5 years and have my eye on one where I could walk to a library branch, heaven!

[silverbirch]

I seem to be eating more food than I really want at the moment, and I only realise when I’ve finished. For lunch, for example, I finished off the brilliant celeriac and apple soup I made. There was no need for me to eat all of it. I think I’m probably on auto sometimes and I choose the wrong bowl. CREDIT for working that out. I’ll try to be more alert.

maryann, one candy bar is good going. And 12 hours of sleep is heaven.

Bill, for what it’s worth, I’m pretty sure we still call them “telegraph poles” here. At least, I do.

curlyjax, I hope you don’t get too much snow.

[maryann]

Silverbirch: Spot on when you said you choose the wrong bowl. If I use smaller portion containers I rarely miss the difference.
Curlyjax What movie when you going to see? I am trying to convince DH to go see Cocaine Bear for a lark.
BBE; The head /hip ratio is interesting. For awhile, I believe, evolution had a snag. The bigger brained version of us was smarter to survive but more dangerous to give birth making us less biologically fit. Took sometime to sort out.

Food Credits:
1. Woke up twice this week in the middle of the night and did not eat more.
2. Changed my afternoon snack to rice cakes and artichoke bruschetta instead of cheese and tortilla.
3. Did NOT eat in the car after grocery shopping.
4. Bought five, 16 ounce bags of frozen diced yellow squash for .99 each. They are nutritionally packed. I will roast them in olive oil with a little brown sugar and S&P. Healthy and cheap.

All small changes but my weight is back safely under the no no 80s decade.

[gardenerjoy]

I'm celebrating that I completed the 5-week strength-training program. For my "graduation" exercise, I successfully held a forearm plank for 75 seconds. On the first day, I held a plank on my hands for 15 seconds. A lot of progress for five weeks!

Exercise +60, 180/1700 minutes for March

maryann: I hope the 12-hour night helped with the jet lag.

BillBlueEyes: Such an interesting way to learn about knees -- starting with the DNA.

curlyjax: Here's hoping the snow isn't too big of an event for you.

silverbirch: That's the exact kind of observation that helps me in the long-run, but frustrating in the short-run. Before participating with this group, it was the kind of thing that I might notice but shove to the back of my mind rather than see what I could learn from it.