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:
Thursday-Domestication of the horse in the Eurasian steppes, central Ukraine(4000 BC)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - I watched a demonstration of how culture is spread. We picked up the (7 yo) DGD after First Grade; she and a bunch of her girlfriends sat in a shady spot in a circle to eat the snacks they each had. A convivial group with lots of sharing, lots of laughter. Then one girl knocked over onto the grass the small container of Cheerios that was one item that we'd brought for the DGD. Immediately, as she hurried to pick them up and put them back in the container to be eaten, all the other girls started, "Five, four, three, two, one, done!". And she stopped. She'd saved as many as she could before the five second rule kicked in. They all knew the rule; they all honored it; they all continued to eat the picked-from-the-grass Cheerios. As you might have guessed, when that container got home to our house, our rule was that food that's been on the ground goes into the compost. I felt like I had to do it behind my DGD's back so she wouldn't know that I didn't honor the rule.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snack, CREDIT moi. Dinner was had on the patio as a touch of warmer weather returns.
Any thoughts about enjoying food was disturbed by reading an article in Natural History Magazine by Chris Van Tulleken about Ultra Processed Food (UPF). It was a preview of his upcoming book,
. He describes the food industry at war with any hope of healthy eating. He points out that the sudden weight gain of the entire population of the UK and the USA was not a sudden loss of collective will power, but a takeover of food production. Says that it's not just obesity, but heart and lung issues are a direct result on their own. Says that we are at the same place in the struggle as we were with the tobacco industry a few decades ago. It wasn't exactly new information for me, but was a whack upside the head that it's worse than I consciously thinking.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Super Kudos for smashing your May exercise goal. Yes, the lunch that I had at the Retirement Community would have given my a "Freshman 15" in short order. I don't know how folks handle that; my friend was still trim.
Silverbirch - Touching an apple to remind you that you eat 'food' - not whatever processed item your mind is drooling for - is a terrific Beck-like strategy. Super that you and your DD survived the first driving lesson - a good omen that'll continue that way. Love the image of "a cauldronful of bolognaise sauce".
curlyjax - Fun that you're continuing to pursue a Rick Steves video about Italy. Know that you'll get that trip. At least one trip - so many places to visit you might need a few.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 7Stage 4 - The Think Thin Lifetime Eating Plan Experiments to Vary the Think Thin Eating Plan
experiment 4 Trade Think Thin Initial Eating Plan foods with equal-calorie foods.
If you want to continue to include a particular new food in your repertoire, you many have to work harder to cope with hunger, cravings, and desire.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 172.
Last edited by BillBlueEyes; 06-02-2023 at 05:44 AM.
Reason: Typo
Fun day at work yesterday-the staff is going to do a dance at a variety show at our center in a few weeks, so we practiced that. It was my exercise for the day, along with going up and down stairs at home doing laundry. Finally got the warm weather clothes in my closet and the colder ones out. Dinner was more turkey meatloaf, with peanut butter and jam snack later when I was hungry. I need to get more vegetables in, but I think I'm eating less overall.
Silverbirch-that is awesome you are on your coach's Instagram! Glad the driving lesson went well. yay for losing weight for sure.
Gardenerjoy-interesting about the farmer's eggs. Yay for drop on the scale.
Bill-so funny about the shared culture and so true. yikes, that premise is disturbing about the food industry.
I’m going to sleep well tonight after a busy day. Logs in and timber out in a brisk NE wind. Blue, blue skies, though and quite warm out of the wind. The DD and I will go to the tip tomorrow. Another driving lesson went well this evening. Out of the small car park, junction, roundabout and back again. This is taking place in the evening on a very quiet business park so it all feels OK. This new sporty car of mine is far from ideal for learning but it’s all we have and things are going well. I’ve eaten more than planned today as I wasn’t going to have anything when we came in. But I found myself eating a small amount of not at all ultra-processed, homemade lasagne (from some of that bolognaise) and salad.
Bill, thanks for the link to the ultra-processed food book which is so shocking. I keep thinking about all those things that I haven’t consciously thought were so processed, like cooking oils. Grim. Glad you like my apple trick. I’m going to try that again as it was so powerful!
curlyjax, I love the idea of the staff dancing at the variety show. It’s such great exercise. Good to hear that you think you’re eating less.
Today's adventure was selling Dear Niece's handgun at a gun store. I also sold DH's shotgun that he used for clay birds a long time ago. I was successful. We are now a proud American gun-free household.
That took a lot of pep talk to get myself to do something that was well out of my comfort zone. I want to be careful with the rest of the day, because I know that can leave me with a reduced ability to summon will power for other things. I will rely on my usual scheduled food plan to get me through.
CREDIT for taking a walk at a nearby park after the adventure to blow away the adrenaline. It turned out to be a pleasant, long, level path along the Meramec River.
Exercise: 60, 1710/1600 minutes for May
BillBlueEyes: I put myself on the hold list at the library for Ultra Processed People. Since it hasn't been published yet, it will be a few weeks.
curlyjax: The dance sounds fun for a variety show.
silverbirch: Roundabouts are a fairly new feature in our local infrastructure. Fortunately, I had a nephew in the car when I first encountered one so that he could explain how to navigate them correctly. Missouri was the first place in the US to install Diverging Diamond Interchanges. We have two in the St. Louis Area. They are disconcerting to encounter because it feels like you're driving on the wrong side of the road, but they work just fine once you're in them.
Friday - Harriet Tubman leads Union guerrillas into Maryland, freeing slaves (1863)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Walk, CREDIT moi, included stopping by the hardware store where they accept CFL (compact fluorescent) bulbs for disposal. My heroic deed was to replace the flickering bulb in our bathroom light. Even more heroically, I already owned the replacement bulb and knew where it was. Only one of the two bulbs in the fixture work. I spent a bunch of time on google to learn my choices: either replace the ballast - a pricey option that would allow me to keep using CFL bulbs, or rewire to bypass the ballast and use LED bulbs that are manufactured to fit in the same sockets. I've delayed making that choice by agreeing to live with a single bulb for now.
Asked DW if she needed anything from the hardware store. "You do know that one of the refrigerator bulbs is out?" she asked. So I removed that and put it in my pocket to be sure I got a perfect replacement. Was struck at the store by the same choice: replace it with a standard incandescent bulb or replace both with new LED bulbs. I took the easy path with an incandescent bulb. If I'd gone LED, I'd have had to make the choice of 'warm' or 'white'. Just not ready to make such a major life choice about how I want to view my food, LOL.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner on patio wearing Polo shirts in the warm air. I had the urge for a snack in the afternoon which I answered with a 10 ounce glass of water. I drank 10 ounces so easily it makes me think that I should be getting more water. I forget to just drink water when I'm not hurting from thirst.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Super Congrats for going outside of your comfort zone to sell those guns. Took me a few minutes to understand your Diverging Diamond Interchanges. Just not intuitive, but they do seem to eliminate a bunch of lanes crossing each other at high speed. Wonder why they haven't caught on everywhere. (I'm #25 on the Hold List for our library system even before any books have arrived. I wonder if the libraries will order a bunch or just assume it's only for a small audience.)
Silverbirch - Cheers for "not at all ultra-processed, homemade lasagne." Sounds like you're keeping up your exercise with barrowing your logs and timber.
curlyjax - Great when your exercise is as much fun as dancing. Did your DD survive her night shift?
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 7Stage 4 - The Think Thin Lifetime Eating Plan Experiments to Vary the Think Thin Eating Plan
experiment 5 Add snack calories to the next meal.
You can plan in advance to skip a snack and use the snack calories (not necessarily a snack from the Snack Options) to add any kind of food with the same number of calories to your next meal.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 172.
Lots of exercise yesterday- I led an easy exercise class, and then I had my training class in the pm. My arms are sore today, but in a good way. I wrote down the combinations we did, as I would like to be able to continue on my own when this is done. Food was OP and I went to bed a little hungry which seems to be the key. I have my own personal trainer today so I'm going to tell him to do legs or core.
I've finished off my turkey meatloaf-it was a good strategy to make one thing and eat it all week-so i'll have to think about what I can do for next week. I also discovered I can microwave discs of zucchini, cover with a little fake butter and parm cheese, and its a quick tasty vegetable, so I will repeat that.
tonight i'm supposed to go to a concert which is over an hour away, and I'm not psyched about it as it is going to be thundering at times, but my BFF asked me to go so I will.
Silverbirch-yay for another calm driving lesson, and for homemade lasagna!
Gardnerjoy- I have never seen those diamond interchanges, fascinating! Thanks for the link. I remember when I first came across a rotary; it was confusing. Now I sail thru them although sometimes I have to go around the circle again if I miss my turnoff but that's okay!
Bill-DD did indeed survive her night shift, thanks for asking. And the car which was parked outside in a lot, survived too-I'm not thrilled about her choice of where to park, but I guess there aren't that many options.Yay for drinking water instead of a snack, that's a great strategy.
Gymn this morning which went well. I was pretty tired afterwards as there’s only been one day in between sessions this week. Then to the tip with the DD to offload all this unwanted timber. Into town to do a few things. Got home and was immobile with a cup of tea for half an hour. Eventually I ate lunch and then fell asleep. No driving lesson this evening as we both need time off.
gardenerjoy, very well done in selling those two guns and congratulations on becoming a gun-free household. That was such a good idea to walk to disperse the adrenalin. How beautiful the Meramec River looks. Thanks for the link to Diverging Diamond Interchanges. Of course, driving on the left is second nature to me so it took a while to work it all out!
Bill, the whole lightbulb thing is very trying. I think that incandescent and halogen bulbs haven’t been available here for some time and we have to use LEDs. I recommend ‘warm’ rather than ‘white’ unless you want the operating theatre ambience. The other challenge is that lumens are being used instead of watts. I understand the reasoning but the difference between 60w and 100w was fine for me and the number of lumens in a bulb isn’t quite so easy to compare. I could rant further but I won’t. Credit for drinking water and thanks for the reminder.
curlyjax, leading an easy exercise class sounds great! Credit for this and the other exercise. Good work on the meatloaf. It’s so helpful to have food ready and not to have to think about it.
I went to a Farmers Market on Wednesday evening, so I have a couple of new things to add to my plants list.
Today was busier than anticipated. I tend to underestimate how much time it takes to run errands and then, overestimate the number of things I can do that aren't errands. It feels good to go into the weekend with a good supply of everything from groceries to library DVDs.
Exercise: 85, 85/1700 minutes for June
Day 32 of 100 Plants in 100 Days
62-Panisse lettuce
63-Purple cauliflower
BillBlueEyes: DH has been gradually removing old fluorescent ballasts (if they're not too old, they're recyclable with electronics) and rewiring our fixtures for LEDs. We loved the warmth of incandescent lighting, so we've been opting for 3000K or 4000K tubes, which is an improvement over our old fluorescent tubes. We'd only go cooler than that for something like a basement laundry.
There are algorithms for how many books to order and "how many people put it on hold" is definitely one of the variables.
curlyjax: I hope your training session goes well today and that you enjoy the concert in spite of the drive!
silverbirch: That's good to recognize when some time off is needed.
Saturday - Jesse James & his gang robs Obocock Bank of $15,000 (1871, Corydon Iowa)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Read a news headline this morning about a couple who were asked to pay €45 each to bring a pastry onboard a Ryanair flight. As usual, the story was more nuanced; they were being asked to pay for an additional carry-on item, i.e. the pastry. Only so-so interesting. But I had to chase down their ensaïmadas, a traditional Spanish pastry. Now I've added Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain to my travel Bucket List just for a pastry. Sobering to see how my mind is drawn to the food in a news story. Those of you more neuro-typical might be interested in whether the airlines are gouging us with extra charges. Not me; I'm wondering who ate those Ensaïmadas when the couple chose to leave them behind rather than pay the fee.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. My excitement was receiving a phone call during my breakfast from the doctor's office having to reschedule a visit because the doctor had called in sick. I felt like I'd received a gift of a chunk of time. Got to have a second cup of coffee. Despite the heat of mid-day, I sat for a spell out on the patio to commiserate with DW because she'd bought four plants at a Massachusetts Native Plant sale. She wants to support the organization's fund raiser despite having no room whatsoever in our yard that isn't already claimed. She assures me that she left the sale with one of the smallest purchases. Others pulled wagons loaded with plants.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Purple cauliflower is one of my favs because it always catches me by surprise. LOL at your overestimating and underestimating. Thanks for the encouragement to get back to replacing our older 4-foot fluorescent bulbs. I just looked and the prices of LED equivalents are pretty reasonable now.
Silverbirch - Good to reward a day off to you and your DD so you'll continue speaking to each other. You captured it with, "the whole lightbulb thing is very trying." That's it. I've spent so many years simply replacing bulbs that cost almost nothing with so few variables. The Metric System and Celsius are easy enough for me to embrace because I can visualize the system. Lumens just don't grab me. I've seen a display at a hardware store demonstrating different levels of lumens but it was in a store lit up like an airport.
curlyjax - So you're a professional trainer yourself now leading a class at work. I do like the preparation speed of your microwaved zucchini dish.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 7Stage 4 - The Think Thin Lifetime Eating Plan Experiments to Vary the Think Thin Eating Plan
experiment 5 Add snack calories to the next meal.
This means you can have an extra side dish, a larger portion, or additional ingredients in your dishes. Maybe you would like to have a dinner roll, eat extra steak, or put a special sauce on your vegetables without using your Bonus Calories.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 172.
I'm experience FOMO about peak season strawberries, but not quite enough to get myself out to a Farmers Market this morning. I'm not sure my priorities are correct, but I'm going to let that go for now. I spent a lot of time running errands yesterday and I want a different energy today.
CREDIT for deciding a few days ago that I was going to skip a party that I was invited to today. I'm not experiencing as much FOMO about that as the strawberries, so clearly that was the right choice! My brother is going since it's with people from our hometown, so that will give us a fun topic for our traditional Sunday afternoon phone call.
I had fish for lunch which was quite good, plus veggies and rice, plus a warm biscuit which I slathered in butter and called my dessert. I rarely eat biscuits and don't make them at home so it was a treat, and I nobly ignored the real dessert. The training session went well and I did 10 minutes of the elliptical beforehand to warm up. My arms are killing me today but its a good sore.
My BFF and I ended up with snacks for dinner as we were late, so pretty bad nutrition. We had a very fun time laughing hysterically on the drive there. We heard Dar Williams who was wonderful, and then left during Leo Cochrun. He is a good performer but it wasn't our taste and we were stifling giggles which wasn't fair to all the Boomers around us
Today I slept in and having an easy day. I'm seeing another friend for early dinner and then a movie ( I can't remember what it is but its a comedy). Last weekend I was feeling lonely but this weekend is full of fun.
Silverbirch- sounds like a wise decision to wait on the driving lesson. The training sessions can definitely knock one out!
Gardenerjoy-I haven't heard of Panisse lettuce, it looks quite pretty. It's so nice to have the farmers market, ours will start next week I think.
Bill-too funny about those pastries! Hopefully the couple gobbled them down at the last minute.
Today is a day of recovery after the DD left on an early train. She made good headway in the garden and I’ve been doing more all afternoon. I listen to a podcast for half an hour and then have a rest. I started listening to one from the BBC’s Food Programme (radio) from last August, and found it was about the ultra processed food research we talked about a few days ago, the food industry and "reformulation" of food. Interesting and depressing at the same time.
I love my new bathroom scales and am happily recording the weight so a graph is produced automatically. The pleasure I get from this seems to be enough to make sure that I don’t eat too much and that I don’t bother eating if I’m not hungry. The weight trajectory is downward which I’m pleased about, of course, and my tummy aches have gone. It’s Day 10 today and I've lost a couple of pounds. Thanks for being around to support me. It's a total credit situation!
gardenerjoy, panisse lettuce is new to me. It looks very nice and I read that it has a “surprising nut flavour”. Do let us know if it does. Errands are so time-consuming but it’s great that you’re stocked up for the weekend. Credit. This is so good: “I spent a lot of time running errands yesterday and I want a different energy today.” Will good strawberries be around for a few weeks?
Bill, no daytime snacks continues to be extremely credit-worthy. My goodness, those ensaïmadas look troublesome. I do sympathise with your DW about the plant sale. I have a similar problem at our local botanic garden.
curlyjax, you’re having a busy weekend! And sore arms in a good way from the workout too. It all sounds good. Credit.
Sunday - Oldest Chinese recording of a solar eclipse (781 BCE)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – It gets worse. I chased down greixonera, mentioned in yesterday's Wiki article as what to do with leftover ensaïmada the day after. Even more decadent. Haven’t even had my first ensaïmada and I’m already planning for the day after. Perhaps that’s good news since it implies that I won’t be eating all of them immediately, LOL. This is hurting my prejudice that all Spaniards are lean and fit from their Mediterranean Diet. Definitely need a month visit to Spain.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Longed for something decadent in the afternoon, but we're out of decadence at the moment. Instead I went down the rabbit hole following an ad for a "Magic Portable Air-Conditioner" for only $39. Turned out to be a battery driven evaporative cooler - the very thing we derisively called a Swamp Cooler when we used to visit San Diego, CA. Comes with a USB cable so it can be recharged from your cell phone - a clear indication of how much power we're talking about here. I didn't stop until I was investigating a whole-house heat pump with 8 zone mini-split units. For AC and heat both, all in one. Loved the technology. Not so fond of the notion of running piping outside the house with holes drilled in the walls for the two Freon pipes, electrical wires, control wires, and condensation exit (which I assume just dribbles down the side of the house). When I finally reached the reality of a major HVAC project, I kinda slipped away. Not to mention that backup heat is needed in areas that get colder than 15 degrees Fahrenheit. A useful excursion - with no calories.
Since DW was away with a friend, I was leaving the house to walk to a Greek restaurant for dinner when the young neighbor walked down the street right in front of me, turned around, and walked back. "Is it raining?" I asked. "Spritzing," he replied as he walked back home. Alas, walking in the cold evening while it's 'spritzing' lost its appeal and I came inside to have leftovers. Dull, but dry and warm.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Thanks for the reminder that Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) is a subtle driver in my thinking. Love the notion of having an agent at a missed party who'll report on all the juicy parts.
Silverbirch - Yes, this Ultra Processed Food is "Interesting and depressing at the same time." Wish I could see an easy path to avoid it. Congrats on a downward weight trajectory.
curlyjax - Terrific to have a weekend of laughter. Congrats for having only one biscuit - a second one calls my name when I try to have only one. As does the third. Not a safe food for me to nibble upon.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 7Stage 4 - The Think Thin Lifetime Eating Plan Experiments to Vary the Think Thin Eating Plan
experiment 5 Add snack calories to the next meal.
Of course, this means that you will have to calculate in advance how much of the extra food you can have. If you would like to continue doing this, write to your Diet Notebook, "Add snack calories to the next meal as often as desired if food is healthful, up to once a week if food is not particularly healthful."
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 172.
Last edited by BillBlueEyes; 06-05-2023 at 06:28 AM.
Reason: Typo
I did nothing productive yesterday other than going to the dump and paying 2 bills, but that's okay! I ate a small pita with hummus for a late lunch, then had an early dinner with my friend which consisted of a very greasy but satisfying hamburger and fries. I really enjoyed the movie "You hurt my feelings". It is very slow moving and I could see how some folks wouldn't like it but I did. Also nice to be in a movie theater where I won't be interrupted. Afterwards I was craving ice cream so we went to Dairy Queen and had a small sundae each, which was quite satisfying. I haven't had any dessert since last Monday so felt good about it. The scale has inched back upwards after inching down; its going to be a long process clearly. I found out I can get 6 months free of either WW or Noom thru my health insurance, so I'm thinking of adding one of those to what I'm doing.
Today is a planned walk with a friend if it doesn't rain, and then a late lunch afterwards. I need to zip off to get groceries soon and plan what I can quickly make for the next few dinners.
I can't believe it was in the 40s when I woke up today, very unusual for June.
Gardenerjoy- I can understand the FOMO of seasonal strawberries, they're so good. Ours aren't in yet-that reminds me i should think about picking my own when they are.
Silverbirch-you're doing great! Yay for losing pounds and having a tummy that behaves itself. A day of recovery is a good thing for sure.
Bill-a month in Spain would be awesome! I can relate to those internet searching rabbitholes.
Beck Diet For Life/Solution – June 2023 – Support, Discussion, Buddy/Coach
Thursday-Domestication of the horse in the Eurasian steppes, central Ukraine(4000 BC)
although sometimes I have to go around the circle again if I miss my turnoff but that's okay!