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.
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You can find the list of previous (or more current) monthly Beck threads here on 3 Fat Chicks via:
Saturday - Fr้d้ric Chopin born (1810, Duchy of Warsaw, now Poland)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Two key items on my todo list yesterday were taxes and to finalize the exact time for the shade people to hang the new folding shades in our living room. Got the desirable first appointment with the shade technicians. Great for me, but annoying for DW: 6:45am. Yep, a service person will show up at our house before 7 am. The benefit is that the arrival time won't be delayed by delays in prior appointments.
Taxes? Did some paper grinding. Reminded myself that it's not my thing. I make no decisions; I make no designs. I just jump through the hoops set out clearly in hundreds of pages of documents. This is for my part getting stuff ready for the account who actually does the taxes.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Since both FREE gingerbread cookies have been consumed, I'm not being pulled. Dinner conversation revolved around the difficulty of buying chicken breasts in the size for cooking that we've been buying them for years. Now, they're a full pound for half a breast. A chicken walks about with two pounds of breast. And we get those pieces whacked and butterfly'd until we have quarter pound servings. Can't believe the chicken farmers are doing this to improve taste.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Congrats for beating your brother at chess. Proof that your mind is not yet wasted.
maryann Gotta love this, "went to bed hungry. I did not die of malnutrition over night." Just to remind you: Chinstrap penguin.
curlyjax - I join you in fascination with the 3-D printed houses. Do wonder how small changes are made after moving in. Staying out of sweets at work is a win.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 4How To Use the Beck Diet Solution
A Task a Day
But, most of the time, you'll do much better if you stick to one day at a time.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 46.
Very busy day at work. I was on my feet a lot which was good but I was wiped out at the end of the day, as we all were. I let myself take home one gigantic chocolate cookie and a croissant but that's it. I decided it was a lounging around day. Supper was the very last of the vegetable soup which is showing its age at this point. I'm going to eat out of the fridge and freezer today and deal with food tomorrow. Today I need to do my hair, do more trip prep, and look up one more thing for the taxes, at the minimum. It's going to be 50 out so i'll plan a walk later. I should download some books too for my kindle for the trip. I feel like there's all these things I should be tending to now so that I don't panic last minute (we're leaving next Sunday) I'm finding all this anxiety quite interesting-it's like I need to obsess for quite sometime, but as I get closer to the trip I get a bit more calm and rational. I'm sure its the current scene in the US that is contributing to my anxiety greatly, as it is for most people.
Maryann-great job with your intentional choices! I just started a tap dance class this week. It's either for 8 or 10 weeks.
Gardenerjoy-I like the idea of losing as an educational experience.
Bill-yay for getting the shads done early indeed.
I am so excited to be able to drop change my details down by a pound. It has been over a year since I saw the number 178. I am so grateful to have stayed the course over these last two months - especially on a 16 day trip with three delish buffet meals and very little exercise. I am grateful to you Becksters, as well. I had somewhere to post with during the vacation.
Yesterday I followed my food plan. I baked a yogurt bread to use up some homemade yogurt I stashed in the freezer before the trip. It was cinnamon and quite delish. I ate an extra piece but logged it so it is a YELLOW DAY. Also in terms of food prep, I defrosted some 13 bean soup and added mini meatballs. That will be lunch for a few days. Dinner I will continue the prepackaged salads. it feels good to have very few food choices after have so many food choices for so long. I am going to take a walk this afternoon for exercise.
I am declaring this month Modest March in terms of finances. ( I thought about "miserly March" but I don't want to feel like I am living in scarcity.) I want to pay back the emergency fund used for Antartica. I have plenty of pantry basics and lots of time. I am allowing myself to by a new pair of slip on Sketchers. I wear shoes all the time in the house ( protecting against a recurrence of plantars fasciitis) and the designated pair is literally 20 years old. i do have the Florida trip at the end of the month so I want avoid lotys of restaurants, etc. . . early on.
BBE: Exciting about the new blinds. Send a link to the type you are buying. I have 50 windows to cover somehow this year. Curly: So excited about your trip. You will love being away once there. Joy: I feel I have learned so much losing at Chess this past year. It is a quiet transformative experience for me daily which transfers to the rest of my life. I am starting to think it is a forma of meditation.
Today's adventure is watching the 9yo great-nephew's last basketball game of the season. Then, we'll go to their house for some part of the afternoon/evening.
I fixed cabbage salad yesterday, as planned here. CREDIT! I'm going to eat some now, at 10am, to be sure that I have some salad today. All I know about food, otherwise, is that there will be bbq and sides. My plan is tiny servings and only one starch. If there's potato salad, I'll skip any available bread or buns.
A brief post to say hello. Ive reached the point where the routine Ive set up is simply annoying. This has been facilitated by the SO being away again this past week but it was probably bubbling under anyway. Ill think about what to do. Perhaps I need a change, perhaps I need a break, perhaps I need simply to adjust a few things.
Sunday - The Convention of Constantinople guarantees free Suez Canal passage (1888)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - The cellular shades are installed. The tech did arrive at 6:45am. DW and I both presented as if awake and dressed. He cheerfully told war stories of bids for plumbing jobs that were too high. Done in ten minutes. Look good. We like them.
More work gathering info for taxes; more reading for classes. A gentle day avoiding the rain. With the interruption of discovering that the water heater is leaking. Will have to call a plumber on Monday - my plumber doesn't work weekends for sane amounts of money.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was chili made with ground turkey. So, not quite vegetarian for the day. Using ground turkey instead of ground beef does feel like a contribution to my heart and to the planet. DW reminded me that Gene Hackman played in The Birdcage. Now I want to see that movie again. Especially to see Robin Williams.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Does make a good plan to eat what's being offered by adjusting potion size to avoid the confrontational questions about why you're not eating.
Silverbirch Maybe you just need for your SO to come home and make tea. Wish you well dealing with 'annoying'.
maryann Our chili was made with 13 bean soup - love the coincidence. Installed shades are Bali brand, Light Filtering Cellular Shades, Single cell, Color: Antique White, Style: Halo. Bali site. We choose minimalist because we like exposing the old wood trim around the windows. Their options include opening at the top as well as the bottom, inside vs. outside the window channel, light blocking or filtering, zillions of colors. Our choice of Bali was driven by a 40% off sale the day we went looking. Even with that discount, the total cost was $1,000 for four shades. The bargain portion was only $135 for the tech to make two trips: one to measure and the second to install.
curlyjax - Turning calm during a crisis is one terrific talent. Love reading of your prep for getting to Hawaii.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 4How To Use the Beck Diet Solution
A Task a Day
I don't want you to take on too much too soon and end up feeling overwhelmed. Err on the side of going slowly.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 46.
Yesterday turned into just a relaxing day. For some reason I didn't want to deal with doing my hair or doing much of anything else, so I didn't. Lots of computer time. I did manage to figure out some of the clothing I'm bringing to Hawaii, and ordered some packing cubes for myself and DD which will be quite helpful. The two suitcases that could work as carry ons were brought upstairs and need to be cleaned off and aired out. The packing cubes will arrive today and i'm quite excited to see what can fit. I haven't been able to locate my swimsuits which got me quite annoyed at myself-and at DD-for the tv room being such a mess that its impossible to find things. And the fact that i've let the house get so cluttered etc that I can't find things. BFF might have some old suits that could fit so i'm going over there briefly today or tomorrow to see. I've read there's a correlation for some folks between cluttered house and being overweight and its definitely true for me.
To get myself up and going I bribed myself with pizza for dinner once I cleared up the kitchen and did the dump run, so that's today's leftover dinner. It will be so nice for a week to not think ahead about food-planning, shopping, prepping etc, just doing things in the moment, one of the best things about a vacation.
Maryann-great job on the 178! I love the idea of Modest March.
Gardenerjoy-you remind me that one can eat salad at any point of the day which is quite helpful.
Silverbirch-A break and a change can be quite helpful. Like bill says, maybe having the SO back will do it too.
Bill-beautiful shades and how wonderful they are up so quickly. Oh dear on the water heater; these houses are money pits.
Yesterday's plan for small portions worked well, including a half of a brownie fresh from the oven. Three bites were all I needed for it to feel like a treat but not an overindulgence. We got a text last night that the 6yo great-niece spontaneously included me in her list of gratitudes at bedtime for playing cards with her (Go Fish and Old Maid). That's a beautiful kudo for an aunt.
I hoped that I would increase my exercise goal in March, but I'm dealing with knots in my upper back muscles. I'm not quite sure what's going to work this month, and I don't want my exercise goal to add to the stress. I think keeping it at 1500 minutes will provide motivation to be creative about figuring out what works without added pressure.
Exercise: 30, 30/1500 minutes for March
silverbirch: I relate to it all getting annoying. It was one thing when that happened while I was still figuring things out. Quite another when I realized that it happens occasionally for no good reason, possibly out of sheer boredom. Usually what helped was reading another book about the food industry or weight loss and changing a little something that worked fine before but wasn't any more.
I dropped my details by one more pound. It was as thrilling as yesterday. At 177, I am closer to 175 than 180. I let out a little sigh of relief. Yesterday I took my walk and made slight adjustments to my food plan. it was a GREEN DAY. I take my turmeric and cinnamon supplements one at a time in the morning which seems to work best. Then I eat three or four cherry tomatoes. I notice the subtle sweetness of the tomatoes. It is delish. This is a NSV of reducing UPF in my diet.
Pretty excited about my Skechers Slip Ins as house shoes. I washed the 20 year old sneakers replaced and I am embarrassed. The tread is pristine but the cloth is completely shredded. I don't know if Goodwill will take them. I sent a picture of my new purchase to a young friend who teases me about old lady shoes. I told her Martha Stewart was selling them at the super bowl so they must be cool. She texted back that Martha is a good role model for me because she is a friend Snoop the rapper. Pretty funny.
We have rain today. I have copied food plan from yesterday to today since it was a winner. redundancy seems to be a winning tool for me.
Gene hackman is one of my favorite actors. I am especially sad and disturbed that his young wife ( 65) passed.
BBE: I love those Roman Shades on the blind site. I think they will fit. Joy: I bought this spot massage gun for tissue issues that stretching does not help. It has been super effective. https://rollrecovery.com/products/r1...QaAhpWEALw_wcB. Curly: I LOVE my packing cubes. I do think there is a correlation for me between clutter and food thinking.
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Didn't have our usual visit with the (4 yo) DGD because they were out of state visiting friends. It does remind me that for the three years she was foster - not yet adopted - they had to get permission from the State Child Services Agency to travel those two hundred miles because it crossed a state line. Made spontaneous adventure difficult. I missed her, of course, but also missed the exercise of running up and down the stairs to the basement to get the child table and chairs that she uses for craft projects while here.
Received a few more text messages that I had an outstanding toll bill; it could be resolved quickly, without police involvement, if I gave them a credit card or bank account. Right! It must trap someone or they wouldn't keep sending them out. Makes me angry that it probably traps those who are concerned about their citizenship status or job status enough to be afraid of police involvement. Dante's ninth level of h*ll is too good for those who specialize in taking advantage of the weak.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Frozen pizza for dinner. Meh! Solved the problem of dinner but little joy. Excitement was discussing that DW had purchased eggs for $6 a dozen. True, that was triple the price of a month ago, but $6 is not an impact on the total grocery bill. The price of salmon, scallops, and olive oil are more noticeable. Eggs do make for great Internet memes, I guess.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Making the list of bedtime gratitudes is just the best. Kudos, indeed. Do hope you can figure out how to get your back in line.
maryann I do know that feeling of replacing an item of clothing that is then deemed too worn even for Goodwill. Skechers Slip Ins look fun.
curlyjax - Good grief! Shopping for a swimsuit is the least desired event in DW's life. Wish you well finding one in your friend's closet. Look forward to your report on the success of packing cubes.
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 4How To Use the Beck Diet Solution
A Task a Day
It takes time for new ideas to sink in and to become proficient at changing your ideas and behavior.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 46.
Yesterday I followed my food plan, did my TRX at the gym and followed it with cold plunge and sauna. We did not watch the Oscar but in honor of them watched The Substance for which Demi Moore was nominated. I NEVERR watch horror movies for the exact reason I dislike for the exact reason I dislike it - 60 minutes of needless gore. The other 90 mins I found to be a poignant statement on unreachable expectations placed on women and the price we are tempted to pay to even try.
Today I am going to go skiing in Tahoe. We have a little bit of snow and I don't know if it will come again.
BBE: Having a life that includes grandchildren is wonderful exercise. I am intentionally adding a few dance breaks and minor trips because I find myself sitting too much.
I went to an Open House yesterday. The house's main selling point was that it's within walking distance of a large park with lakes and trails. I proved it by taking my walk there!
Much of it was paved with lots of bikes and dog walkers, going around a lake where the only wildlife was Canadian geese. About a third, though, was a gravel path with bikes forbidden and fewer dogs. There were dramatic bluffs on the left and wetlands on the right. I heard lots of birds but didn't see any well enough to identify them.
The house is too expensive, mostly because they put in a nice new kitchen -- unfortunately, it's not the nice new kitchen that we would design. So, that's not going to work for us. Now I know that I like that neighborhood, though.
Lots of walking and weird timing made for a good eating day.
Sure enough the weight loss from last week (I'm estimating about 1-1.5 lbs were actually lost last week when I was too bloated for it to show up on the scale) is now reflected on the scale along with this past week's weight loss. I'm also happy to report a few non-scale victories:
Child's pose (in yoga) is no longer uncomfortable now that I have less tummy in the way. Previously I always felt like I was suffocating when I tried to do the regular version with legs together and always ended up switching to extended child's pose (knees apart).
Today I tried on a bunch of old jeans that I had stored in the basement because they no longer fit and three pairs now fit, two were too big and only two were too small! I haven't really been a jeans person in years as I find them uncomfortable and don't even know if I want to wear them, but it is a nice feeling to be able to fit into old clothes.
Curlyjax- Tap class sounds like so much fun and great exercise! I used to do tap and various other forms of dance when I was growing up. The correlation between clutter and being overweight is interesting. There's a book called Lose the Clutter, Lose the Weight by Peter Walsh that I read a while back and it was great if you want to look it up. He also has a book called Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat? LOL. I haven't read that one, but love the title! Now that you reminded me of him I'm going to see if I can check out one of his books from the library as I'm trying to get organized myself and he has lots of great tips!
Maryanne- Great job making all of those healthy choices on vacation and dropping weight! It is not easy to eat at a deficit on vacation.
Silverbirch- I hope you can find a new routine that works for you. Is there a specific part of your routine that you're getting tired of or do you need to overhaul everything? Let us know if you want help brainstorming or want to bounce ideas off of us. I have to mix things up every so often or I get bored very easily.
Bill- I received a toll phishing text this morning too! I just block and report whenever I get those types of messages.
Have a great week everyone!
Last edited by MamaMia24601; 03-03-2025 at 08:32 PM.
Reason: Added additional information about Peter Walsh
Tuesday - Mardi Gras "Laissez les bons temps rouler"
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Overloaded day. One fun part was the discussion in class of leading Northern Bald Ibises (Waldrapp in German) across the Alps and Pyrenees from Bavaria, Germany, to Southern Spain. Being led by a diehard naturalist flying an ultralight plane. It's actually a seat with a rear racing fan held aloft by a sport parachute. The goal is to 'remind' the birds that previous generations did this migration so that they will migrate in flocks without a lead human controlled plane in the future. Lively discussion because everyone had an opinion about whether this was money well spent when there are maybe 10,000 species going extinct each year.
Most tiring part was arranging for a plumber to replace an old, failing, hot water heater. Not a big deal; they wear out; plumbers are hard to schedule and are expensive. I accept all that. The conflict is that the manufacturer required that I call their 'Service Line' directly to deal with its warranty. There, they denied ever selling a 12 year warranty, "We only sell a 6 year warranty. You must have bought an extension from a distributor. Talk to them." The good news is that my magic new iPhone was able to accept his phone's request to use my camera where I walked to the basement so he could photograph his company's warranty stuck firmly on the tank through my camera. Thought that was magic. CREDIT moi for having a phone capable of doing that. As for the financial benefits of having a 12-year warranty on a device that gave 10 years of faithful service: I may get a coin as prorated rebate. But feel like I've won the battle.
Eating was on plan with no daytime snacks, CREDIT moi. Dinner was rushed so that I could get to my evening Zoom meeting doing work for a non-profit. Conversation was casual, meaningful, and productive; the six of us meeting have known each other for years. Went to bed early feeling zonked.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - Good work getting out to physically look at houses that might serve your needs. You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince. Fun thought that you could have a whole new wetland to explore. Our wetlands are already hosting the returning Red-winged blackbirds.
maryann – LOL that you left Antarctica to take a cold plunge in warm California. Do enjoy the last of the season's snow at Tahoe.
MamaMia24601 - So good to be reminded of NSV's: jeans that fit and yoga pose that's now possible. Such feel-goods. I agree with your observation, "It is not easy to eat at a deficit on vacation."
Readers -
Quote:
Chapter 4How To Use the Beck Diet Solution
A Task a Day
On the other hand, if you find that one task a day is too much for you, implement changes more gradually.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 46.
Last edited by BillBlueEyes; 03-04-2025 at 08:10 AM.
Reason: Unnecessary change to order of sentences
Beck Diet For Life/Solution March 2025 Support, Discussion, Buddy/Coach
Saturday - Fr้d้ric Chopin born (1810, Duchy of Warsaw, now Poland)
