Diet Coaches – Lunch yesterday was red beans over broccoli slaw (slivered broccoli) - an idea from Meg on the Maintainers Chat. I cooked the red beans several weeks ago and froze half; this is reaping that effort – you regular cooks probably do this all the time, but this is the first time I’ve pulled a quart of something out of the freezer that I had cooked earlier. CREDIT moi.
I ate on plan at a buffet spread last night, even though slightly overdoing super crackers with Tapenade ("Combine garlic, olives, anchovies, capers, thyme, rosemary and lemon juice in a food processor. Slowly add the olive oil.") CREDIT moi.
Sue (CoastalSue) - Kudos that you just keep banging forward. Is yoga an old friend that you're getting back to?
Heidi (hbuchwald) - I always appreciate your thoughts about self care and managing time. And your comment about Saturday Night Live (SNL) reminded me that the Court Jester could say with humor what couldn't be heard otherwise. So, SNL was our generation's Court Jester!!!
CherryAutumn - Good luck with your work on meal planning. Methinks Beck has more lessons for us in this than just the obvious. I have room to work on this since I opted for the more generic version offered in the back of the book for maintenance. But I did work out my leeways for parties, restaurants, celebrations, and samples that help me to remain responsible in situations that might otherwise tempt me to act out of control.
CatR - Terrific insight, "If I eat sugar ... it is going to affect how I function." It continues to amaze me that different foods really do affect each of us in our own way.
Mez (mezmerize) - Seems to me you capture the essence of Beck with, "It’s a mind game that works very well for me."
Readers – "When you hear that little voice in your head say Oh just eat it, it won’t matter, you’ll be able to tell yourself, Yes it does matter… I want to be thin …" Beck, pg 18. [Continued...]
Hbuchwald - I found that when I hit the 200 mark I sabotage myself. I just can’t seem to get below that. Fear is what one of my feelings and others I can’t put my finger on. That is my main reason for the Beck book. I heard from many others that they to have this. Many have different views to why this happens and I think they are all right since I’m sure there are many reason for it. I just have to find mine and work through it. I know I can do this and it’s going to be one major victory once I hit below 200. You can get your own personal Icon at http://www.mvm.com/index.php It’s a URL to show you how clothes will look on you. I use it to be inspired on what I look like at each weight loss stage. I like to make my own tickers since it keeps me busy and focused. Yes I’m very close body wise to looking like that. My hair is longer almost to my hips. Which program did you go with?
BillBlueEyes – That sounds very good. Thanks for the Tapenade recipe.
CherryAutumn: I have set my goal between 120-125 because I felt better during the brief period that I was below 125. That was about 30 years ago. My big health-related concern is my abdominal fat, so a more reasonable goal might be to attain a waist/hip ratio of .80, above which the risk factors for Type 2 diabetes and other health nasties begin to climb.
Regular exercise is really important. I would weigh a lot more than I do now had I not exercised regularly over the years. When I slack off on exercise, I usually stop planning my meals and gain a pound or two.
Meal planning did get easier for me over time once I got a general pattern established. I am using Mastercook now, but I used to work out several menus for each meal and put each menu on a separate index card, and then picked the cards that would make up the next day's meals.
CoastalSue: Amen to the conflicting info! Letting go of the mind games concerning weight loss is a big deal. I have moments of acceptance, then I am off and running with the sabotaging thoughts.
Heidi & Mezster: I think one of the factors behind my sabotaging behaviors has been fear of failure---fear that I might not actually be able to attain and maintain a healthy weight. Also, the time and energy I have spent on reading diet books, trying diets and so forth could have been a distraction from dealing with other life issues.
I didn't have any Super Bowl challenges so have been able to keep on plan. Since I have a better idea how I need to eat in order to feel my best, my card for social situations will be: choose the best proteins and vegetables/fruits I can and no sugar.
Hello everyone,I am plugging along.We had a lunch and meeting today provided by one of the drug representatives.I ate one plate of what was served and some salad.They had big cookies for dessert and I did not have any of those,that is a big step for me because I love the sweets.I kept thinking to myself,NO CHOICE NO CHOICE NO CHOICE! We also have a dinner out on Thur. at a fancy italian restaraunt provided by one of the representatives for some of the medication we use.I was thinking on Thur. I would just eat a fresh mozzarella appetizer,salad with blue cheese and walnuts and a grilled chicken and pasta meal.Do you think it is sometimes OK to have a meal of just what you want without usual diet restrictions. In the past I have reserved one meal a week kind of like a cheat meal to have what I want without guilt and then get on with my usual plan.
BillBlue Eyes-You are doing just great,you seem to sail thru buffets and meals out so easily,you are an inspiration to us all.Plus you are on maintenece and you follow the steps and exercises to the letter.
CostalSue-You are so right about us just accepting this is what we need to do and if we fall off the wagon just get up and keep on going.It takes time and we must go at our pace.I can so identify with your picture of a small child stopping her feet refusing to cooperate with myself.That is the perfect description.
hbuchwald-We really are together in this sabotaging ourselves,thank you for letting me know I am not alone in this.Ican do really well and then I just get a moody disgusted feeling and lose ground.I am also looking for the root of this.keep up the good work!
mezmerise-Great job on the 2 pound weight loss!That is the best we can hope for!Do you live in an area where you can swim regularly?I also think I have some thoughts behind sabatoging myself that I can't put my finger on.
cherryautumn-I have set for myself at least 4 exercise sessions per week lasting 30-45min.I usually swim laps at local YMCA and I have worked from 20-40 laps over the last 5 weeks.Sometimes[like tonight ]I take a 45 min water fitness class and my boys come with me for rec swim.When I don'twant to go they are pulling me out the door.I also have treadmill and bike at home.In warm weather I take a 30 min lunch break walk at work.Exercise really boosts the spirits and gives me energy.
catr-Great job at picking the best diet for you!Sounds like you know what your body needs and we do know best for ourselves.
eusebius-Great job avoiding a binge and to crave things like peace good feelings and jacuzzi instead of food! Great progress.I had a thought a few days ago when really stressed out "I can't wait to get in the pool" Wow and so much better than I can't wait to eat a carton of icecream.!!!Good job eusebius!
kuhljeanie-Great job at getting your diet under control and weighing your food to be sure!
I am very happy to find this forum. I am working on Beck's book and workbook and it has given me great hope I will succeed this time! I'm 50 years old and need to lose weight for my health + I really want to! I am working on my resistance muscles, getting exercise and giving myself credit for every challenge especially not overeating in the afternoon and evening. I started at 140 lbs and have lost 3. Getting close to my first 5 lb goal. I look forward to reading your posts and am already encouraged by all the little lines at the bottom of posts showing weight already lost.
I have been rereading the chapter to refresh for our discussion.In the first paragraph Judith Beck talks about studying weight loss of participants at the National Weight Control Registry that have lost 30 or more pounds and kept it off.She writes"nearly 90% of dieters who lose weight and keep it off do so with a combination of diet and exercise."So we can see that exercise is not optional if we want to kep the weight loss off permanently.
The book goes on to list the other benefits of exercise:
Exercisee helps you stick with your diet
Exercise might help control appetite
Exercise boosts mood and sooths stress
Exercise burns calories
Exercise preserves muscle tissue
Exercise builds confidence
Exercise makes you feel better physically
Exercise improves your health and helps prevent disease
The book goes on to discuss spontaneous exercise and planned exercise
Spontaneous being things you do in your regular life to increase your movement like park further away and walk,take the stairs.Alot of people on the board use a pedometer to track steps to make sure they are moving enough.Personally I find this exercise a little harder,I arrive at work sit down in the nurses station and plant myself for the day.Nursing has become alot like secretarial work.Answering phones,questions,calling doctors and a ton of paperwork,not alot of physical laborat least for psychiatric nursing during the day hours.Even at home I ask the kids to take things upstairs or carry in groceries.
Planned exercise,she writes is not optional if you want to lose weight.Also chose a form of exercise you like and can stick with.Start out at a reasonable level and increase over time.I have already talked about swimming being my exercise of choice and in Dec I signed up for the Y with my two boys so we can go together.My husband complained at first because of the other times I joined for a membership and quit after a few times.But with the kids reminding me and going with me when he is working nights we are averaging 4 times a week.I add on to my workout a little at a time.
The chapter goes on to discuss sabatoging thoghts regarding exercise and then ends with the thought
"Once I accept that exercise is esential and start doing it consistently,dieting will be easier."
Coastalsue: The library for exericise videos-I am going online tonight to see what is there… great way to get some variety without spending money! You really sound like you are in the groove of this stuff. I also really hate to be told what to do, hate that I have (in the past) felt like I HAD to lose weight…I was thinking mostly of others' expectations of me to be thin and wasn’t feeling like I needed to do it for myself. It feels different this time. I can definitely relate to the emotional eating cycle you described as well.
Sue, Mez and CatR: About the sabotaging thinking… I sometimes wonder if I am scared of successfully losing weight. In that way, it is good for me to lose slowly-take any strong reactions/attention from others and then let it die down…then lose some more. ??? I really don't like the head trip I have put on myself in past attempts when everyone comments and then stops commenting after awhile... I would wonder if I still looked okay/acceptable. Ick... I am stronger than that and can handle whatever comes my way. Weight is such a personal thing yet so publicly acknowledged/discussed. I prefer to keep it close to the vest but obviously cannot do that forever since people do notice when a person loses a lot of weight.
Billblueeyes: That recipe sounds really delicious (and healthy and hearty too). It would be really helpful if Beck wrote a book about maintenance… It seems that it will be or is a need for successful beckies who are done losing.
Mezster: Thanks for the url for the virtual model-I will check that out. I got the FitDay program. Do you use one to record what you eat? I like seeing the nutrient breakdown.
CherryAutumn: I know my “goal weight” from doing Weight Watchers in the past and from other charts that I have found online. I also just know what weight works for my body from being that weight way back when. I am aiming for 170 which is the top of my range for my height but any less than that, I look skinny.
CatR: I have been doing a similar system with meals on index cards. I love having a system that works and is easy to manage! Do you use mastercook to put recipes in and see the nutrient values or just to store recipes? What did we ever do without computers and especially the web? Hard to imagine huh?
Wendylan: I definitely think that it can be fine for a person to eat “non diet” stuff. I think that is what helps many of us not feel deprived. Portion control and recording it would be important to stay on track. I really think that we all have to tweak things or choose programs that suit our lives. I love how you take your kids to the pool and they count on going so it helps you stay in the game with your swimming! Thanks for taking on Day 9! I have a few exercise videos and followed a show on tv to do some yoga (which I had never done before). Of course this is the most fun with a 5 yr old doing it with me! It LOOKS so easy when I watch the people on tv do it but it was challenging and I felt like I got a great workout even though I did 30 min instead of the whole hour. I find myself “loving it” when I have to go to the office at school or walk somewhere else in the building..I walk fast and try to get the most out of my steps for that spontaneous exercise.
Welcome lewarner! Yes, people do lose using BDS. I think that the biggest benefit using this program though is that we gain skills that we can apply for the rest of our lives (and even in other areas of our lives). So we know what to do if we gain a few pounds in the future. It sounds like you are really getting into it!
NO SNACKING for me tonight! I am SOLID on that… done eating for today. Credit moi! My teammates at work are razzing me a bit since I have been cooking so much lately…they see all the stuff I have been making. I already feel so great about this big change but it is nice to hear others acknowledge it too. A few of us took a healthy cooking class a month or so ago and are looking into taking another-FUN!
Diet Coaches – Caught up in a big crunch at work. No walk; no gym; little time for 3FC. Oh Well. But, I didn’t turn to the vending machines to deal with the tension as in days of yore. CREDIT moi. Just thinking, This too shall pass.
Re: Day 9 – Select an Exercise Plan. My initial plan came from “my” (seldom utilized) personal trainer at the gym. The surprise to me, and the joy, is that I tweak it rather regularly. It’s a huge emotional lift to me when I add a few pounds to my weights or slightly increase the number of reps. There is plenty of room here for me to get more deeply involved in mixing up my daily plan to get the most out of my exercise time. When my SIL heard that’d I’d joined a gym, her response was, “Give it six months.” I thank her for an additional motivator to keep at it for 2+ years now.
Heidi (hbuchwald) – Kudos for your ” NO SNACKING”. For me, the current Beck book does serve as a maintenance guide, despite its constant reference to weight loss. I only found Beck after I was six months into my current maintenance phase and was looking for something to increase my sense that I could remain responsible for maintenance just as I had been responsible for weight loss. I’ll report back in 5 years, LOL, if it works to help me meet that goal, since I’m counting on the studies that show that people who have kept it off for 5 years tended to keep it off thereafter.
wendy (wendylan) – Kudos for your performance during the drug company meal. You ask about special meals. I like that Beck states that she doesn’t use the word ”cheat” for special meals, but encourages that we plan extra calories for special occasions. She seems to push us to avoid a sense of failure with its invitation to abandon responsibility. Sounds like in the past you got great benefit from a special meal each week without guilt. Is it possible for you to incorporate that into your current eating plan without using the word “cheat”?
CherryAutumn – My goals are to stay within 5 pounds of my current maintenance weight and to keep slowly increasing my exercise plan. Hadn’t thought this out loud before, but it seems realistic to suppose I will reach a “maintenance exercise level” at some point and then to slowly reduce that with age.
CatR – What a great testament to the benefit of exercise, ” When I slack off on exercise, I usually stop planning my meals…” Slacking off exercise has a similar effect on me – I can feel myself drifting away from personal responsibility for my life.
Mez (mezmerize) – It’s neat that you are phrasing your concerns in Beck terminology so that you can apply the Beck strategies to overcome them. It does encourage me to apply Beck to my blockages when I see Beck being used by others.
Lewarner – Yep, that old “afternoon and evening” is great time to shift into eating, LOL. Even though some people swear by early morning exercise, my afternoon walk or trip to the gym helps me to avoid the mindless eating I had been doing during this period.
Readers – " … you’ll be able to tell yourself, Every time I eat something I’m not supposed to, it makes it more likely that I’ll give in again in the future …"Beck, pg 18.
CatR – I declined the invites to the Super Bowl parties. I knew it was too early and I didn’t have the skills to say no. I’m so happy about doing that!
Wendylan – Nice job avoiding those cookies! As far the fancy Italian dinner I think that we all know deep down what is best for us and if we truly feel that it won’t hurt our progress then do what you feel will work out for you. I live in northern Iowa recently we’ve been hit with many snow /ice storms. I don’t belong to a gym so swimming will have to wait till this summer when the pool is open.
Lewarner _ Welcome!!
Coastalsue – I’m not from a very big town and our library has a wonderful selection of workout videos. So do check into yours. When I 1st started my journey I used the Walk Away the Pounds Videos. I lost 40 doing that. I have bad knees and doing them didn’t bother them in the least. I did put on my own music. I record my food on Weight Watchers Pure Points software. A friend bought it for me long ago. It’s Weight Watchers Points on a disk it’s wonderful it has everything you need journals, fitness, food measurement , inspiring quotes ... The only problem is it is a British program and most of the preprogrammed points food aren’t found here in the states. So when I 1st started I had to log in all the nutrients to get the point values. It comes with a Calculator (in the program) that figures points quickly for when I don’t have time to log in the info. I’ve heard great reviews about fit day even way back when I started it still going strong so it must be a very good program.
BillBlueEyes – Congrats for not going to that venting machine and tweaking your workout. Is your SIL still wiping the mudd from her face after that comment? Hehe
Well as for me I asked my husband to be my diet coach. He had some misgivings about it. He wanted to know what he had to do. He didn’t sound all that trilled about it. I did say he didn’t have to. He’s now insisting on it. I don’t feel he really wants to. I think he fears me asking him not to snack next to me. I have learned to deal with that for the most part. I do have my bad days. I do have a plan of action. I asked him not to leave his “treats” next to my computer and if his munching is starting to get the best of me I’ll let him know and we’ll work it out from there. This was one of the hurdles I had to overcome in the past to lose my 40 lbs. Sometimes one has to find a way since all things can’t be changed.
Thanks for all the welcomes and encouraging words!
Bill, I like the suggestion to exercise in the afternoon after work. I am going to see how that works for me. I do have less hunger after exercise.
What a great thing that you avoided the cookies at the meal, wendylan. So many choices and so many chances to practice resistance. I've always seen resistance as a negative thing. But turns out that being resistant can be a good thing!
You can get under that 200 lb mark, mesmerize! You must have plenty of reasons you want to do so that are very important to you.
I am just pleased to learn that maybe I am not so weak willed as I always thought. Turns out my will has needed more support and nurturing to make it more powerful. I am just looking forward to every situation not being such a temptation. Such a pull. I do like NO CHOICE, NO CHOICE, NO CHOICE, though.
After 2 weeks on 1600 cal/day, I notice being not really full or being a little hungry makes me feel emotionally uncomfortable. Being over full (my idea of full) makes me feel at peace or secure or something. I'm working on a response card or two to try to combat this. If anyone has any ideas I'd love to hear them. I just need to remind myself that being hungry, not hungry or over full has no relationship to the quality of my life or my day or me. It's just food in the stomach!
Exercise: The land right above our property belongs to the Forest Service, so I jog and walk there when conditions are good. I alternate that with weight training DVD's. Right now I am doing step aerobics because of the snow.
Hi. Lewarner. I joined this group a couple of weeks ago and have gotten a lot out of reading the other posters' comments. It is a big help finding out that others are dealing with the same weight loss issues. I am in my third week of my eating plan which is also 1600 calories. I was disturbed about feeling so "light" and not being stuffed "full". I have gotten used to feeling that way now. So maybe you just need some more time to adjust to your diet.
Heidi: I use Mastercook to lay out my meal plan for the next day. It provides the nutritional information for the day and the number of exchanges for each food group so I can double-check that my vegetable/fruit intake is enough.
Mez: Good luck with working through your issues with your husband.
BillBlueEyes: Maintaining a healthy weight for the long term is a challenge, since I have never done that. It is nice to find out it is possible.
My quilt group potluck is early this month, like this Saturday. So in addition to picking the best proteins/fruit/vegetables and no sugar I think I'd better add no alcohol. It will just add more calories and probably undermine my good intentions. If I am careful, I am should be able to keep the total day's calories below my maintenance level.
Billblueeyes: I can see how adding weights to your workout would be highly motivating! Maybe that kind of thing can serve as the “carrot” for me after I lose weight. Being able to do things that you couldn’t do before is very exciting (exercise related or not)…
5 years-oh yes, you can do it!!!
Mesmerize: Great job on knowing your limits on the superbowl parties!
Lewarner: have you done the hunger exercise yet? I cannot remember what day you said you were on. That is a good one for putting hunger in its place.
CatR: How nice to have a trail right next to where you live! Your quilt group potluck sounds like a challenge. Will you feel deprived if you don’t indulge with your friends? Can you bring a veggie tray or something that you are excited about eating or drinking? Someone (was it you?) went to a woodworking party and brought some nice smelling tea to sip on while others were snacking on stuff… sounds like fun though. Maybe quilting will be enough of a distraction from the food????
I did some yoga last night and my “core” feels like it got a great workout-I LOVE that feeling! I got lots of spontaneous exercise in today as well-credit moi! I ate on plan and don’t even want any snack food-I think I am back on track which feels so wonderful.
Gearing up to sign up for the dance class..I am sort of chicken but also excited. I also need to get a current schedule for our pool-it is indoors and my daughter is old enough and can swim well enough now that I could swim laps for part of the time while she plays in the other part of the pool…even once a week would be grand and I can do my home stuff the other times.
Welcome Lewarner-glad you are posting with us. I have been eating at 1600 for about 5 months with some regretable binges with company and during the holdiays. But I finally have gotten comfortable with that amount of food during the day. The other day we went to resturant and some of choices sounded so rich and heavy-a friend walked by groaning about how full she was from the rich breakfast. I easily changed to two eggs on the side and a great fruit bowl. I also have learned via Beck that I need a full 20 minutes once the meal starts to really have hunger pass and it does.
Catr-Great plan for Sat. after months with out wine, I have started to add it back at 2 oz a glass-got some really small glasses and drink it very mindfully-much easier to do it at home than at social gatherings-I get too distracted. I also am very leery of sugar and much white flour.
mesmerize- In our small area the library is one my main activities, do a lot of volunteer work there-once a week we get a book deliverly of books which patrons can order from other branches. Love the free options available. I am using the free options of fitday and find it works for me, really learned about portions and calories from doing it daily. There is cold hard truth when recording the figures. I had a bit of candy-about the half the size of my baby finger-I had to add 72 calories to my amount-I bet I'll never have that bite again. Hey that vitural model site is a gas.
Wendylan-thanks for doing # 9 I need the reminder. Swimming is my biggie-you plan to include the kids is also great for them-Another good habit to them to learn. PS I have spend soo much money on gyms and used exercise equipment also. But one keeps trying to find the right activity.
Heidi-important goal of no night time snacking-In the past it was one of my dearest unhealthy habits-late, alone, binging-I bet I added 200-500 calories every night with that habit. It took awhile to learn to go to sleep without of very full stomach-occassionally still a bit restless at night.
Well I remain on the Beck Plan but I have been crabby lately-thought it was the rain, but we have had 2 days of sun, but I am still crabby and easily annoyed. I think I'm like a smoker who quite smoking and fighting withdrawal-I am just plum agitated to lose the quick relaxing feeling( but very temporary feeling) of eating when and what I want. In the past I would be on target then would have a big blow out-have a small gain and then get back on the Beck plan. I think the blowout was a tension release. I am tired of yoyo effect so am very commited to staying on plan. I am not overindulging but am weathering this short fuse about very minor things. My work schedule has not allowed for me to swim much-the pool has very short hours in winter. Swimming is very calming for me ( that and shopping and still have been able to get out of town yet) Anyway I am eating healthly, losing very slooowly, and a bit annoyed at everything.
sue
Last edited by coastalsue; 02-06-2008 at 11:43 PM.
Super Tuesday
Hi. Lewarner. I joined this group a couple of weeks ago and have gotten a lot out of reading the other posters' comments. It is a big help finding out that others are dealing with the same weight loss issues. I am in my third week of my eating plan which is also 1600 calories. I was disturbed about feeling so "light" and not being stuffed "full". I have gotten used to feeling that way now. So maybe you just need some more time to adjust to your diet.
