Liannie, great points about recognizing your hunger levels. It is most difficult for me to tell the difference between mild hunger and desire also. That's great people are already starting to comment on your weight loss!

I forgot to mention earlier that today I am wearing a pair of pants I haven't worn since my first trimester of pregnancy! I tried them on a month ago and they were way too tight, although I did get them buttoned. I'm very excited about it (and of course want to try on all of my clothes now) and hope it means I'm down another pound or so, but I'm going to try to hold off on the scale for a few days. I don't think anyone else will notice my weight loss for a while, though...my weight loss happens all over, with my face last (we are a family of chubby faces lol).

HI everyone,

what fun to get into pants you had prevously couldn't. yeah..I am even finding some of the my pants looser. not ready to go down a size, but soon.

I also am finding dealing with hunger very important. I have learned to tolerate being hungry and it truly does come and go during the day and night. I used to use hunger to justifiy eating even after I had a ton of other foods to cope with emotional stuff. The counting of calories is making me select more nurtitious and less caloric foods. I had one cookie which was 65 cals-I ate is soo slowly and really thought this is not worth 65 cals. My true hunger is so messed up after years of obesity. If busy I can go most of the day without eating, I make myself eat to not to get too depleted. It is nighttime that hunger, reward, craving gets all confused. When my calorie alottment is met, I stop. I really don't feel full, but if I don't stop I will not lose weight.

By counting and recording the cals I know what a "normal" eater does eat, But it will be a long time before I trust myself eat in moderation intuitivley. I know that processed carbs, sugar ect make mefeel very hungry and crave more.

I really blew it yesterday-even after I wrote here, we went to see a play and then came home and had wine, wine, wine -But have been very on target today.

keep sharing, I find it all helpful and thoughtful.
sue

Good Morning All,

Hi Stacy, and Welcome Back! Great job on a Vacation Without Weight Gain! That's a real accomplishment!

Karina, congrats on getting into the old pants! Isn't it a great feeling? The Incredible Shrinking Buttocks! Woohoo!

And I agree with you Sue, about counting and recording calories. It *does* make you a more thoughtful eater! There have been scientific studies that showed the simple act of keeping a food diary causes weight loss because you start thinking about it.

A couple days after one of my typical "eat whatever I want" weekends recently, I went back and put down everything I could remember into Fitday. Get this: 2951 calories on Saturday when I ate at home, and 4156 calories on Sunday when I went out for a wine-soaked dinner at a tapas restaurant with a couple of binge buddies. That's over 7000 calories in 2 days! And that was my normal eating pattern: 3-1/2 days worth of food crammed into 2 days with NO exercise to offset them. No wonder I'm fat! And this is how I ate day after day, then was surprised to find 30 lbs hanging off my haunches. Granted, the 4000 calorie day was an exception because we stayed at the restaurant talking and drinking sangria for like 3 hours--but that NEVER would have happened if I had been recording all along. I would not have allowed myself to eat that much if it had been mindful instead of mindless. So you're right on target there. I don't trust myself to eat intuitively in moderation either, not for a long time. Maybe never.

Anyway, yesterday's lesson went well. I noticed when I was hungry and definitely knew when I was craving or simply desiring more food. I think I'm going to do that lesson again today and tomorrow. I want to get it right before I go on to really tackle the cravings. Those evening cravings are so much my undoing! I caved in last night with half a protein bar and a big mug of herbal tea--much better than the ice cream I used to have--but I want to develop the skills I need to squelch them completely.

I hope you all have a great day!

And yes, I agree we need a new thread....Want to start one on July 1? (To someone who asked if they could find us. Yes, we'll be in the same place.)

L

Howdy,

Lianne, I have spent years having such binging events. I put on 180 lbs after started having wine with our meals. Just what I did not need-more late evening calories and less awareness of the volumn of food I am eating at night. Then our lot of activities were around fine wines, foods, and resturantes. Been slowly re-educating us. Luckly my husband has been supportive to increase of veggies and fruit and a big reduction of alcohol.

this changing of habits takes alot of committment. I know that genes do play a part-both of my older brothers are +300 lbs. My husband put on 25 extra lbs with the increase of food and alcohol. He has already lost about 15 lbs of the gain. I put on 180 and have lost 42.

mindfulliness is such tough thing for me in all areas of my life-my crazied mind wants to focus on many petty feeling or thoughts verus eating slowly, enjoying the moment and appreciating what I do have.

success to all
sue

Hi everyone,
Just checking in! I have a stress-filled 24 hours ahead of me, but I will try not to overeat. I am defending my dissertation tomorrow at 10, so hopefully I'll have my Ph.D. by this time tomorrow! I'm still finishing up my presentation slides, and then tonight my husband's work is throwing him a surprise going away party. I hope I'm not up really late practicing my talk because of it, but it's a really nice thing for him. We're eating at a restaurant tonight (big overeating trigger for me), but luckily it is seafood, so I think I'll be able to find some healthy choices. I'm on the day where we don't eat everything on our plates, so I think that will be helpful, too.

Sue, I completely agree with your post--I feel the same way. Daytime is not a problem for me, and I don't really mind being hungry even, but it's like a switch is turned on after dinner. I just want to eat, and I feel like I'm really hungry. there are some desserts in the volumetrics book I'm going to try, like grilled banana with a few chocolate chips melted into a slit in the banana. It says to include a little frozen yogurt, but I think just a chocolately banana would be yummy! There is also a recipe for a cup of strawberries...add a little sugar and drizzle with balsamic vinegar and chill for 1 hour. You can't taste the vinegar, but it makes the strawberries very sweet tasting. the whole cup has 55 calories.

Liannie, I will have to try that Fitday log. Good for you working on your evening cravings and changing them for the better. Maybe soon you can just switch to the herbal tea and leave it at that!

I'm nervous about the weigh-in tomorrow. I feel like the weekend and lack of exercise will equal no weight lost. We'll see, though...

Take care!

Sue, I also have a weakness for wine in the evening. I'm trying to cut back now, but it's not easy! After 9 months of pregnancy and 9 months of breastfeeding, I have been enjoying the spirits a little too much lately! I think it's in part because I want to start trying for another baby in October and know I won't be able to drink for a long time, but I also think it so quickly moves from 1 glass twice a week to 2 glasses several times a week. Just like food, it's something we really have to keep an eye on!

Karina, may I ask what you wrote your dissertation on? Good luck with the next 24 hours Dr. Karina Myself I'm a lifelong student. Started out with Business, went to Graphic Arts, and now Kinesiology. I don't think think I'll ever make it to the doctorate level!

Lianne, I've done the same thing where I'll go back and record a "bad" day and think "oh my god, how is that possible?!" It's crazy to think that we ate like that every day before.

sue, I know what you mean about the cookie not being worth it. We have donut holes in the house all the time (for the dog's medication, he gets two a day with a liquid medicine shot in them...) and any time I'm tempted to put one in my mouth I have to think that it's one bite for 50 calories. Sooo not worth it.

Things are going pretty good for me. I've gotten up to day 26 but I'm going to go back and reread some of the book, make sure I'm still doing everything before I go any further. The scale also said 178 this morning! How crazy is that, 10 pounds gone in under a month!

Hi Guys,

karina-what a feat to being a doctoral candidate.-best wishes for your presentation.!!

Stacy all your hard work has paid off at the scales-yup 10 pound in a month is great. Glad things are going well for you.

Lianne-hang in there-it was brave of you to record food for the past week end. What activities work for you to ignore cravings?-

This has been a tough craving day for me-no reason for it other than it just is. Sometimes I tire of the routine of dieting-recording, measuring, prerecording, and eating non-sweet foods and forgoing other high cal but favorite foods. I have weathered it ok-could have done better, but could have been worse. I find dieting and making most of our food ( to control the fat)at time tiresome and boring.

thanks for letting me whine- There is the an over indulgent little girl who wants to take over while the older arthritic gal is working hard to keep her in check.-humm i really do sound crazy. I know I am lucky and why I am perserverating and whining about food is a mystery.

sue

Good Evening Ladies,

Just checking in for the evening and confessing to have binged on granola tonight. Not really "binged", like ate a gallon of it, but ate way more than I should have (which was NONE) and then didnt stop when I realized I was doing wrong. I just felt driven to keep eating, first plain, then with some sugar free pudding, then in a bowl with milk. I bought the granola to have in the morning as my first non Phase 1 South Beach food. Now I have heartburn and I dont want anymore. WHY DO I DO THIS?

Anyway, I guess we're all perseverating about food, Sue. It has taken over our lives now that we're trying to change our crazy relationships with it. And go ahead and whine, it IS a lot of work and recording and measuring and planning to do this. It gives me extra stress just keeping up with it all, as well as the other million things I have to do in a day. But "OH WELL", like Dr. Beck says. Let's just do it, right?

Hey Dr. Karina! Congrats on the PhD. What hard work! I hope you've gotten through everything with flying colors by the time we hear back from you.

Stacy, you go girl! 10 lbs in less than a month would have me throwing a party. I just bought my 5 lb. gift today. Are you going to buy yourself something special for this great accomplishment?

Well, I'd better go to bed. I have 12 hours shifts at work on Wed. and Thurs. of this week so I should try to bank some sleep.

Thanks for being there, ladies! I'll holler back at ya tomorrow.

L

Hi Folks, happy to join, haven't even read the thread yet. :-)

But I have a lot of exerience with CBT, and the work of Judith Beck's over many years, and just got the book last week, and am working through it. Its truly an amazing book.

I have made the commitment to work through the principles from book for the rest of 2007. Just keep going back and reviewing, and working it over and over. Anyway, things have started well.

I think its a great idea to have an Online Support Group for the Beck Diet Solution. Too bad we couldn't have our own Forum, so we could have different threads for each day and topic? That would be rule....

Ugh....just a quick pop in to share my revelations of the evenings. I'm soooo over sugar. My husband started working on my birthday cake and of course I started snacking on extra pieces and frosting. And I feel absolutely horrible. I got an almost instant headache and my stomach started hurting. We agreed that we'll be taking pictures and a forkful or two then throwing it it. It's the thought that counts right?

I guess I need to review some of the book huh. She gives us all these tools and we just ignore them. *Sigh*

ok, I read the thread.
I am part way through the Beck program already.

I just wanted to mention to everyone, that the CBT behind the Beck book is extremely powerful and well-tested. Its not some type of "folk-wisdom" or psychobabble. All of those exercises she is giving come from science based CBT research.

The challenge for folks is actually figuring out how to do it from a book. That is not easy. So if you can get with a real, trained CBT expert for a while, I would recommend that.
I have been fortunate enough to have done a lot of CBT work and training for many years, and I can see what Judith Beck is saying in this book.
She is really one of the worlds top experts in CBT, and trains professionals in CBT. Her technical books are excellent.

Anyway, in my view, pretty much everything we need is in that book. Except, as she says, for those with eating disorders. That level of difficulty needs some professional work. They do CBT for eating disorders. If you have something serious like that, please, get some pro help in person.

Anyway, as I said, I am going to do the Beck CBT diet thing for AT LEAST the rest of 2007. I copied the book for myself, and have a copy with me, so I can make notes.

I am also condensing all of the key info from the book onto a double-sided paper to keep in my wallet. That is going to be very cool, but will take a while.

The Beck Solution is extremely powerful stuff. The challenge is not having someone like Beck to lead a group in person, over a long period of time. But, she is doing some training now, so there will be people to go to at some point.

That being said, The Beck Institute does referrals, and if you could find a CBT therapist in your city, there is a good chance they could help us with the Beck Diet program. I am looking one up now,

Find a Certified Cognitive Therapist
http://www.academyofct.org/Library/C...?FolderID=1137

but unless you have good insurance, that stuff ain't cheap. But even 10 sessions in person makes all the difference.
Like I said, I am fortunate to have had a ton of CBT work over the years. It changed my life. I can say this, I know that this book has the tools to manage one's weight.

The challenge is getting ourselves to follow through on all the details. Its like CBT, truly, one needs to be trained in person first, to get the best results, and learn how to do it. I compare it to a musical instrument...is it a good idea to teach yourself the violin from a book?

Anyway, the Beck Diet book is probably the best book out there that gets into the psychology of all of it, and does it in a science based way.

I have read all of her "dads" books, Dr. Aaron Beck, and let me tell you something, that guy is one smart cookie. His technical books are terrific. Also his book The Integrative Power of Cognitive Therapy is great. (technical book). But he also has more basic books for the general reader.

ok...
I just wanted to put it out there that the Beck book is based on solid science, and literally hundreds of studies for CBT.
You will see the Beck Institute now do many studies on CBT for weight-loss, and they will improve the methods over time.

But seriously, there are about 100 fantastic tools in that book we can all use today.
The Anti-craving techniques are extremely powerful, but the catch is that its hard to learn that stuff from a book. I feel like I "get it" but I can see how others might not. But it takes time...and persistence. That is why I am giving it until the end of 2007, at least.

Just watch, in the next few years, everyone in the diet industry is going to steal the Beck CBT ideas for weightloss, and distort and wreck them in the process!
:-)
that's my "Fortune Telling" for the night. (page 195 in the book)

Hi everyone,
I passed! I'm now Dr. Karina! Thanks everyone for your encouragement.

Stacy, I agree it's hard to pick one subject when so many are interesting! My dissertation was on how work characteristics (like autonomy, amount of conflict, supervisory roles, etc.) impact women's lives. Anyway, I totally know what you're saying about our bodies accepting changes faster than we realize it...I ate what normally would have been a fairly filling meal of Indian food last night, but I didn't just feel full, I felt like my stomach was going to burst! I was so uncomfortable, it definitely made me realize it's just not healthy to eat like that.

Liannie, we all have our moments of weakness. It's just important that we don't let them get us down to the point where it turns into something worse! Sounds like you are getting back in control. Hang in there!

Sue, can you make multiple meals at once so you don't have to do it every day? Maybe make several on Sunday and freeze? I know everything is tedious now, but I think it will become a matter of routine after a while, something we don't have to think about. You know, Dr. Beck's comparison to brushing our teeth--we don't even think about it, just do it.

Welcome, CBT! I have found this support group to be very helpful, and I hope you do too!

As for me, I was down a pound on Wed., but I have done so poorly the past 2 days, I'm sure it's probably gone back up. I will say that I did not do as poorly as I would have before the diet, but I've got to get back in control. My portions were just too big. At least now I will have some time and energy to focus on doing this right!

Take care!

Hi,
In my desperate, funk last night, I somehow came across Beck's books, and I ordered the Diet Solution and one other of hers. I've been trying to get what was once a small amount of weight off for 10 years. Now I'm 180, and I'm OK, at 150ish, but my best weight is at 135-138.

I'm like that mythological character....the one who has to push the huge boulder up the hill, and then every night it rolls down, and he has to push it back up the hill the next day--for eternity.

I tried OA faithfully for 6 months + a million other things you don't even want to hear about. I KNOW how to eat, I know a couple of diets that work for me, it's mostly just getting past the first hump and then not letting my compulsive eating jump in again. And if I cheat, then I get back into not being able to move past the first hump again, and I waste months being there.

I know we all have unbelievable power and strength and light inside of us; it's just learning how to find that again.

Do you have suggestions for the next week while I'm waiting for the books? I wrote out the list of 8 things. I was already convinced about writing out my meal plan the night before and making sure I have the stuff ready. I like the idea of "no choice" as a mantra as far as not veering off of the plan. I can do all that. Any other things that have been super key for you? (I've read thru most of the thread....will read it one more time) I'm not in a place financially where I can find a counselor at the moment....

Thanks....
girliethin

girlythin!

There's nothing really you have to do to "prepare." In fact you don't even start your food plan until two weeks into the program. She talks you through choosing plans and if you're already writing stuff out you're waaay ahead of program! My advice would be to just be concious of what you're eating and doing now so you an see how it changes as you start the program. You could also start thinking about the advantages or reasons for losing weight. That's I believe the first task in the book and gave me some trouble. Also, hang out and get to know us! We're a pretty active group so you'll always have someone to talk to!