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:
Friday- Rosa Parks arrested for refusing to move to back of a bus (1955, Montgomery)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – In my class on life in the universe, our guest leader was an astrophysicist who is actively processing data from the James Webb Telescope looking for the conditions that could support life. The very thing our class is about. She showed us the data they had been studying before. Then showed us the Webb Telescope data. For the work she was doing, the Webb data was orders of magnitude better. "I cried when I saw it," she said. They were able to detect methane and other gases that are artifacts of life here on dear old planet Earth. She scoffs at the idea of intelligent life out there, but thinks there surely must be other places with some form of life. Having to consider becoming an Astrophysicist in my next career.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was consumed on separate trays in our respective offices since DW had a two-hour Zoom meeting to attend. Dr. Beck suggests concentrating on our food when eating to prevent just woofing it down without engaging satiety. She has a point. Sitting at my computer catching up on emails and YouTube videos allowed me to only become aware that I must have been eating dinner when I noticed that the plate was empty. I remember what we had because I remember the visual of the plate when carrying it upstairs.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - It's pretty easy to come back from the grocery store hungry. When I shop while hungry, I find myself lingering over the hot-table with its fried chicken wings and meatloaf subs. By the time I get home, I'm ready to eat double.
Silverbirch - Snow, sleet, and cold are great incentives to sit warmly inside to do your annual accounts. My personal vision of Dante's ninth level of h*ll is where I have to sit doing annual accounts, LOL. You egged me into asking mother google for alternative uses for egg cups. Now I'm ready to serve kiwi in egg cups at Christmas dinner. Of course, only after I research proper kiwi spoons.
maryann – Letting go of a "very large, wood roll top desk" is a big deal. I do admire the clarity you have of what you want your environment to be like in your River House. Neat that your back is improving.
curlyjax - The thought of an "organizing workshop" appeals to me. Would be great if we made field trips to each other's houses to identify things that could be discarded. Wish you well with the mice - persistent little buggers they are.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 8Stage 5 - The Motivation-for-Life Plan The next few techniques will remind you what will happen if you abandon your efforts.
Remember the old you. Remind yourself what life was like when you were heavier and unhappy about it.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 193.
Last edited by BillBlueEyes; 12-01-2023 at 09:23 AM.
Reason: Typo
I ate lunch yesterday with some elders and had a nice long chat. I had a tuna melt which I hadn't had in ages, then indulged in some ice cream that was locally made and sooo good.After work I hit the bank, library and grocery store. Whole Foods has a great deal of a large plain pizza for 12 dollars, made fresh, which I brought home for dinner. Then packing and various phone calls; I'm going to visit my dad today through Monday and had to contact all concerned parties. I probably won't post until Tuesday so have a good weekend all!
The 6 ft roll top is gone. Wow! that was a big deal. I am sitting in a large chair with my coffee on the printer. Such is the price of change in the short term. this will force me to focus. First thing is a great office chair. Like shoes, anything that helps keep this body tip top is worth any price. I had a Steelcase Leap in a shopping cart online ready to purchase. $1,000 to deliver and assemble. Then sanity hit. I remembered my committment to sustainability in going forward - no impulse buys, consignment, vintage, less is more. So I was looking at Craig's list yesterday. The exact chair I was going to buy is about an hour away and by exact i mean 'sage green platinum finish." What are the odds? $350 cash. OK I am heading out after school for a quick trip then back by 6:00 for a fundraiser at a local museum.
Went to bed hungry. Stomach was actually rumbling at the massage therapist. Good. Exercise was getting rid of a piece of carpet in the garage that had been bugging me forever. It was filthy and kepting rolling up at the door. Everyday i was straighten it out. Two lost minutes everyday and dirty hands. The more I am aware of the present moments, the more simplify my environment. Same with food.
Curly: Safe travels to go see Dad. BBE: Yes, being surprised by an empty plate means I ate without thinking. Silverbirch: I think it is very English to have a surfeit of teapots and quilts. What is the equivalent in America? I hate to say it but probably tvs.
It was cold today so I decided to stay in the house and complete the business accounts and the tax return. All done! It feels great to have found all the bits of paper and digital equivalents, done the arithmetic and worked out what on earth the form was talking about. All this before the end of January 2024. I’ve got a busy time between now and then so it’s very good to have finished it off, rather than having it lurking balefully in the wings.
Bill, thanks for leading us into another month: December. That’s a good reminder of Beck’s: to concentrate on eating food. I often forget to do that and sometimes I don’t sit down, either. More work needed. Ha! Kiwi spoons! [pause] But they actually are a thing! I didn’t know that.
curlyjax, eating lunch with some elders sounds very nice, as does a good long chat. Safe journey to see your dad.
maryann, great work letting that desk go and serendipity strikes with the $350 chair. Ha about teapots and quilts (which I think I should have translated as duvets or perhaps comforters?). Anyway, you’re right!
I was very close to my Ideal Food Day yesterday. CREDIT!
I'm starting to freak out about my tooth extraction next week, particularly the uncertainty of the aftermath. Will I be able to facilitate book group 24 hours later, as planned? Will I eat nothing but ice cream for a week or more? Will I be ready for a normal festive meal to celebrate our anniversary, five days later? Will the changes in diet wreck my hard-won success at rational eating?
I'm reminding myself that I freaked out in exactly the same way about the colonoscopy diet, and I did just fine. The uncertainty is different, this time, because there is little guidance about how long soft foods will need to be consumed -- I assume because everyone is different.
What hasn't changed is that I know exactly what my Ideal Food Day looks like and how to implement it after a forced break. I will get back there when it's possible.
Exercise: 50, 1800/1800 minutes for November
BillBlueEyes: I've been enjoying Dr. Becky on YouTube. She's a young astrophysicist at Oxford who regularly releases engaging videos about the new research coming from JWST and other news.
Saturday - Napoleon crowned Emperor of the French (1804, at Notre Dame de Paris)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was a few minutes early so that DW could go to a flesh-and-blood presentation by Bobbi Angell, an artist providing illustrations for some of the plants from the five books on plants that Charles Darwin published. Apparently, Darwin was a meticulous observer but didn't bother with fine drawings. This artist is filling in those gaps with Darwin and the Art of Botany: Observations on the Curious World of Plants. So glad to know that there exist folks taking illustrating so seriously that they'd do that. Glad they're doing it; glad that I didn't have to be there, LOL. She made it clear that she enjoyed the lecture but didn't want to receive the book for Christmas - just as I was about to type in a buy order. I admire all of you who love plants undaunted that there are 380,000 known species (Wiki) out there to learn.
Excitement was trying to figure out why DW's cell phone will no longer call her sister in New Jersey. They talk every week so they have a clear record of being able to connect. Last week, she had to borrow my cell phone - an almost identical model - which worked just as expected. She went to a T-Mobile store for help but found the two clerks jammed; she'd have to join a queue with four folks in it already. I'm so old that I remember when I understood long distance phone charges. Now it's magic. It just happens. Online discussion groups are only interested in the challenges of international calling. Horror stories exist of people who get to Europe with the wrong Sim Card only to pay a fortune to call back to the States while their buddies standing beside them, with the right Sim Card, call home for coins.
I'm under pressure to come up with items I want for Christmas that my kids can give me. I keep thinking of very small items that I need to pick out myself. Finally realized that I want a new office chair. I'm using an inappropriate chair just because it was available and if I got a new chair would have to be put somewhere else. First glance: office chairs range in price from $79 to $2500. I can get a 'gamer chair' that envelops me as I spend my day fighting alien warships. Or a massage chair for $9999 that will put me right to sleep. I worked for a zillion years sitting in an office chair that was assigned to me with no thought that options were available. Will have to get myself to an office chair store to learn what I need (want?).
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Wish you well anticipating your tooth extraction and diet restrictions that follow. Maybe you can designate someone else to do most of the talking at your book group the next day to avoid the awkwardness of talking with a swollen lip. I was one of the lucky people who had little difficulties when I had one extracted but am well aware, as you point out, that we're all different. Just scanned the topics by Dr. Becky on YouTube. She does look animated. Look forward to dawdling about in them.
Silverbirch - Finishing both the business accounts and the tax return is just amazing. That gives you the holiday season to do something else. You'll be the envy of your friends. Good grief! Kiwi spoons are real. A set of 12 suggests that each guest gets their own.
maryann – Thanks for reminding me that I can look for used office chairs; Congrats for your bargain find. Love that you got rid of a piece of carpet that was just bugging you. I'll copy your mantra, "Simplify, simplify, simplify."
curlyjax - Have a good visit with your Dad. See ya when you get back.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 8Stage 5 - The Motivation-for-Life Plan The next few techniques will remind you what will happen if you abandon your efforts.
What was a typical day like for you? How did you feel physically? Visualize a specific experience or event that encapsulates the negative consequences of being heavier.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 193.
Last edited by BillBlueEyes; 12-03-2023 at 07:08 AM.
Big day yesterday. A full day teaching then hopping into the car and driving into the belly of the beast in Sacramento. Traffic is perilous and I had exactly 3 hours to get ther and get back before a couples date to a museum benefit. The used furniture store was no more than a warehouse - appointments only. I sat in the Leap chair by Steelcase which comes out tops in reviews. Then the very knowledgeable owner had me sit in the Herman Miller chair - refurbished circa 1998. No contest. it was the winner hands down. This is the style that made it to the Smithsonian in Washington as a groundbreaking example of ergonomics. It was $500 -with a 6 mos guarantee. Normally 1500 - 2000 new. I was sold. She also had a perfect stand sit desk for $300. So glad I reminded myself of the sustainability pledge I made on anything purchase here on out. It is fun to uncover bargains. Slow is better.
So now I can design my whole craft/home office with efficiency in mind. I am moving my iron in here - a triangle between cutting board, iron and sewing machine is best. I'll rethink storage. Silverbirch will be proud. The only thing surviving the purge and making it back into the room is items in actual use since this is prime retail space. What to do about a 1,000 page short stories thesis and old photos. Scanning might be in order.
Food was too much but focused on veggies. Up pound. exercise will be stretches and gardening.
Joy: It is easy to get paranoid about the future.I like the quote, "the worst problems I ever suffered never actually occurred." So true for me. BBE: An office chair is critical for long term back health. Check out Steelcase "Leap" and the Henry Miller certified refurbished. Great comfort.
On my way to N house and am breaking the journey at the DD's. Freezing fog most of the way with the trees covered in thick frost. So beautiful. Occasionally the sun broke through and the sky was blue - usually at very old larger settlements which probably developed because of their charmed locations. I packed sandwiches and had a free hot drink en route. The DD made lentils etc. So reasonable food for a journey. Onward today after a bit of work on her car.
Sunday - Anders Celsius' measurements confirm Earth an ellipsoid vs. sphere (1736)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Excitement was an in person attendance at Boston Baroque's Messiah. Can't believe that we don't tire of hearing Handel's Oratorio being sung. We were sitting only six feet from the right elbow of the Concert Master's violin bow arm. And only fifteen feet from the period horn blasting "And the trumpets shall sound." Each time I find another corner that becomes my favorite. The guy sitting to my right followed along on the full score - he'd sung it. He said that he'd never heard it sung finer. It's a good thing that it's only performed at Christmas since we might just sign up to attend weekly.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. The aura of Christmas food is in the air even though there's none sitting in our kitchen at the moment. But the draw is there. A walk is offered by a group of merchants not far from here who all will have festivities at their stores. And certainly snacks. I was immediately drawn to the idea of going. I suspect that the draw is my little brain wanting FREE snacks since, if handed out by a shop owner, would be calorie free.
Spent serious time on my computer shopping for an office chair. I've gone from 'maybe' to 'should oughta' to 'absolutely' going to get one. DW put her oar in saying she'd buy it for me for Christmas, volunteering to go with me to some store to try them out. The real affect of this is that she's pushing me to spend whatever money it takes to get one that serves my back. She's worried that I'll grab a $79 version with a pretty picture and she'll have to listen to me moan about it later. Hoping that it happens.
Silverbirch - It's terrific that you can drive through freezing fog and see its beauty. Fun thought that your DD would have lentils for you when you got to her house. Love the image that you're a mobile mechanic driving through the countryside fixing autos as you pass.
maryann – Congrats on the bargain on your Herman Miller chair. Now you've got me looking at their line. The Steelcase "Leap" chair also looks appealing. Its drawback is that I sat on Steelcase standard office furniture quality chairs for all of my working career. It might make me think of being at work, LOL. Gotta admire the speed with which you did this.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 8Stage 5 - The Motivation-for-Life Plan The next few techniques will remind you what will happen if you abandon your efforts.
For example, maybe your weight overshadowed what could have been a pleasant experience at a party or at the beach. Picture it in your mind. What were you wearing? Whom were you with? How did you feel about your appearance? What did you think others were thinking about you? Were you worried about what you were going to eat, how you would stay in control, and how others would view your food choices? Ask yourself, Do I really want to go back to that?
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 193.
BBE: Listen to your wife. Try out the chair. Get the refurbished to make you feel less guilty about the money. Think of ALL THE SAVINGS. I went to the used furniture store to get a Leap and it was ok but no comparison for me with the Herman Miller. It really depends on your body. Silverbirch: I know it is your real life but , again, frosty mornings in the English country side sound dream like- then again maybe our lives our dream like. BBE was in Boston at a Messiah concert. That is pretty iconic Christmas. Maybe the secret to life is remember we are living the dream.
Lots of triumphs on my part:
1. Literally 8 hours of basically destroying two rooms, two closets and a hallway in order to rebuild my vision of a perfect craft- room home office. There was a point where everything is out everywhere and I was exhausted. But that is the awesomeness of chaos. I had no choice but put it back together. I did make a great decision to re-box uncovered memorabilia for another day. I had bigger fish to fry like measuring out the square inches of space left to me andmeasure the square inches of what had to go in. Then I drew a plan. It worked perfectly. The guiding principle was only working tools remained - including DIY books, primers on Chess, spiritual books, sewing materials, sewing machine out ( yeah!) and enough room to get my ironing board in here. That is a biggie. All this require releasing about 12 cubic feet of books and odds and end. Two trips to the friends of the library and Goodwill. I have all the odds and end to finish today but that is the fun stuff. I am using mason jars for the crafts supplies.
2. I started a new skin care routine. I listen to Dr. Lancer's chapter on an audiobook How to look 20 years Younger. Of course he is trying to sell his own stuff but he has a method and talk about what to look for in lesser products. I have been blessed with good skin. Now I need to not take it for granted. My frugal plan: inexpensive hacks -grapeseeed oil for around the eyes, c less expensivie exfoliatant four days a week, a more expensive daily peel three days a week. A months supply with last 90 days. The sunscreen I got at the outlet store. I love it. The cleansing step is baby shampoo. The most important nourishment step I am will ing to go a little extra if they don't have it at the outlet. He said that is where you spend your money.
3. I sat this morning with my coffee comfortably. My back is nearly perfect.
A lot of fiddling about with the DD’s car this morning but it came right in the end. This made me late leaving. I filled a flask with soup as it looked as though my route would be on the edge of a possibly snowy area. I must be very tired or over-tasked as I took a wrong turning, ending up on the motorway which wasn’t my plan at all! I know the route pretty well so that was a surprise. Anyway, it’s always good to learn another part of the country. More than once I’ve found that it comes in quite handy another time. Strange but true. The journey wasn’t great overall and I was glad of podcasts and the soup. I didn’t have a good break at all because of the weather and also because I wanted to get home before it became very dark. I’ve had enough of all the moving palaver, the weather and various other challenges which are dragging us down a bit. The SO made me some hot chocolate when I arrived and salmon, potato, carrots and broccoli for tea. That was kind but I think I might have been better not having anything. I was probably too tired to eat.
Bill, lovely to hear of your familiar milestone of listening to the Messiah during Advent. Sounds to be dangerous out and about in Boston at present, what with shopkeepers offering free tasters. My recommendation is to remember hygiene! Other people have touched and breathed over that food. And it might have been sitting out for a while too. Great to hear of your chair exploits. Take DW to try some of those chairs out!
maryann, it was pretty dream-like driving for miles through still, white, frosted woodlands. Perhaps it’s about being present in the moment whenever that’s possible. Great to hear that your back is nearly mended.
Since I was so focused on the tooth extraction on Friday, I took some time to research appropriate foods and then, to find nearby places that make smoothies and milkshakes. But I wasn't happy with the prices or the ingredients.
So, yesterday, I looked up recipes. Since I've been making my breakfast in a blender for several months, recipes for smoothies and milkshakes aren't nearly as intimidating as they used to be. So, the plan is to make them at home. Besides being cheaper, healthier, and more convenient, I'll be able to customize how thin or thick they are based on what I need at any given moment.
The tooth extraction happens on Wednesday afternoon. Between now and then, I'm committed to eating my normal nutritious foods to build up my gut health ahead of a time when I won't get to eat whole grains and whole plants for a while.
Exercise: 60, 120/1800 minutes for December
BillBlueEyes: The last office I worked in had Herman Miller Aeron chairs. That's all that I will use now. We just replaced the final Steelcase chair that we owned. The oldest of our Aeron chairs is still functioning well fifteen years later.
Monday - English beer brewer, Nicholas Breakspear, elected Pope Adrian IV (1154)
Diet Coaches/Buddies – Excitement was a visit from DS and our (3.5 yo) DFGD. Learned that it's easy to solve the problem that the little tyke demands to win at a game. When playing the game of matching the image from a drawn card with the jumble of images on the boards, I learned that it was OK for me to be the first to spot the image without a tantrum provided that I placed the card in her ever-growing stack. The detail that mattered to her was for her stack of winning cards to grow. I also learned her style of Hide and Seek. Not only did she peek while counting for me to go hide, she specifically told me where to hide. She hid herself once on the couch by placing one cushion over her head and one over her feet.
DS also encouraged me to get the Herman Miller Aeron Remastered office chair; he has one! Wouldn't trade if for anything else. I threatened him that they last so long that he'd certainly inherit it. "I can use a second one," he grinned. Entertained myself researching the chair online. I now know the differences between the Aeron and the 'lesser chairs.' Know all the points that got 'Remastered' in 2016. Today's task is to read the review against the Steelcase Leap V2 from a dealer who sells both. DW again urged me to stop dwelling on the price, "It's rude to know the price of a gift and I'm giving this to you." Current goal is to find a place where I can go sit in one and see if I need every one of the "fully loaded" features.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was a cheese only lasagna bought frozen from Whole Foods. Good enough. We've not been able to figure out why, but DW's homemade lasagna is better than any frozen we've purchased. And hers is not a family secret recipe - just the recipe on the box of flat noodles. But she rarely makes it because it's a bunch of work. (She has, so far, refused to try the no-need-to-boil-first noodles.)
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Your plans for different meals made in your blender sounds like stellar prep for your tooth extraction. Thanks for the Herman Miller Aeron upvote. I'm impressed that your place of work provided such upscale chairs.
Silverbirch - Congrats for surviving your familiar journey taken via a less familiar route. Glad that your SO fed you to salve feeling a tad worn out by all that's stacked up in your life at moment.
maryann – What energy you've put into remaking your office-craft space. All possible only because you had the courage to let go the beautiful roll top desk. You're my inspiration.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 8Stage 5 - The Motivation-for-Life Plan The next few techniques will remind you what will happen if you abandon your efforts.
Recall the old feelings. Think about the last time you gained back weight. Did you feel guilty about eating foods you knew you shouldn't have? Were you unhappy, frustrated, and angry with yourself? Did you feel out of control and hopeless?
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Complete Beck Diet for Life (Green book), Pg 193.
The weekend was an "Ideal" if we think about health, creativity and relationship building. We had couple dates and enjoyed the outing to a local museum immensely. The theme was Christmas trees and the local children's dance troop danced to Nutcraker music as the crowds wandered through. Eager to finish my craft space/ home office, I hesitated going down to the River house with DH for "a few hours" to talk to demolition guy. note to self. Always wear work clothes to the River house or I won' have many clothes left. We ended up spending the day there but oh so worth it.
The art was done by the grandson of the former owners. It was abandoned in the barn. I love it. I have a cermic globe that will go on the top when we move permanently down there. DH and I had a great time replacing the borken arbor with a sturdy arbor elsewhere on the premises. Great save for dozens of thorn pokes.
I finished the office in the evening and sit her now with my sewing machine, ironing board and orgninized craft supplies in mason Jars. We go pick up the stand sit desk/ cutting board today.
Here is the big news. I ate a small yoghurt parfait in the morning and didn't think about eating again until we got home late afternoon. I had a big green salad and some home made taost and went to bed. That is the kind of food day I always want to have - one whne I forget to eat.
Beck Diet For Life/Solution – December 2023 – Support, Discussion, Buddy/Coach
Friday- Rosa Parks arrested for refusing to move to back of a bus (1955, Montgomery)
