HI everyone,

An hello to Michelle, welcome to this great site. You are younger and thinner than me, but keep up the good work to avoid some of health issues I am working on due to the excessive weight. Fight that feeling of feeling very overweight in your head. I carried that feeling for years and then actually became very obese. It was like my body become my distorted mental image of who I was.

Liked your thought for tough times.
Eating away from home is soo hard for me. I have over many months mastered the foods in my own home. It is meals with friends and short trips that undo weeks of hard work. Next week a trip to San Francisco to house sit for 3 days. I need to resist all the different caloric ethnic foods. I think I'll take my old WW food counter into every restaurante. Maybe start every meal with a salad when I can. I really need be to alert to avoid the feeling of deserving a special treat because we are out of the house or with friends.

Some of the thoughts I am adding to my lists is the 1.each healthy action today will make tomarrow's healthy choice easier. 2.each actions which reinforces old habits will continue the addictive pattern, 3. each healthy change in eating lays the foundation to be thin. There is more "tomarrow" I will do better, It gots to be today because it will only be harder tomarrow. Catching those sabotaging thought before eating is a very critical step for me. Not an 100% success rate, but before the sabotaging thoughts won a100% of the time.

Liannie-best wishes on your move, Hope the new place is great. DH and I are hugh pack rats so moves are so much work-along with tons of sorting of half needed items.

Girlythin- Hope your life has calmed down It is very hard to make changes when stress and exhausted. praise yourself for each step that you make-even reading the cards get good info into your brain. You will pick up the program when you have the energy.

Karina Hope your trip is good?
Stracy-Bet you doing your amazing exercising program.

sue

michelle! Those really are some great reasons. I like the last one too. I think on my list it would equate to my "To be normal" but just said much more eloquently. The Beck Solution has made such a huge change in my relationship with food and I hope it helps you too!

liannie, good luck with your pack-a-thon!

girly, that's amazing that you know how to sew. I never tried anything more more difficult than a table runner! I bet you make some gorgeous stuff.

sue, good luck in San Francisco. Trips are the hardest for me too. Even if you don't do exactly as planned (and who does) 1 less pound gained (or 1 more pound lost!) is better than nothing!

Today was my 5K and I really have mixed emotions. I ended up with a time of 31:38. I was hoping to get under 30 or 31 so that's a little disappointing. The frustrating part was I was running a lot faster but had to walk a couple times because my stomach hurt! I wasn't out of breath or anything, my stomach just hurt from running after breakfast. I even had my cereal dry to avoid the sloshies from the milk but it didn't seem to help. Had I been able to keep my pace I would have WON my age division. As it was I came in 5th out of 40 and 140/400 and some overall. I know I should be excited but it's hard to not be able to perform at your full potential.

Not much going on besides that. The scale has shows a slight gain this week but my calories have been low. I'm wondering if it's not water from some extra salty foods this week and my poor sore muscles retaining water from a week of crazy workouts. I'm hoping that Monday morning it will be back down for official weigh-in. Tomorrow morning is my husband's triathlon so we'll be heading out at 5:30am for that. I know he's nervous, I wish I was as good a supporter as he is for me! He always knows how to calm me down and get me through a race.

Good Morning Everyone!

Girly - I can completely relate to wanting to be able to buy clothes that just appeal to you because they are cute, not because they fit. My mom used to call the whole buying clothes for fit thing, dressing in camouflage style (covering up the fat). LOL.

Sue - I copied down your thoughts to add to my list. I have many healthy days but then BLOW it. I think consistency is going to be my biggest challenge. I like your thinking...that each healthy action supports the next. So true. I know you are right that I must change the "fat tape" in my head.

Stacy - I wish I could make you feel better about your 5K. I would love to turn myself into a runner and make it through a 5K. I am impressed by your accomplishment. But I too, would be frustrated by not running my "personal best".

A question.....WHAT DO YOU ALL DO FOR EXERCISE? I am currently doing 3 times a week (30 min) on the elliptical, and 2x week strength training with videos for 30 min. I know I could increase things, but July has been my month to go from being sedentary to exercising, and I don't want to overcommit and then give up.

Have a terrific day, filled with powerful, positive thinking.
Michelle

Good Sunday Morning to All!

I wanted to pass along some of the quotes from the addiction article I read the other day.

"you are unable to stop when you want to, despite [being] aware of the adverse consquences. It permeates your life; you spend more and more time satisfying [your craving]....Addiction is not just about substances. Addiction is about disrupting the processing of pleasure; the balance point is shifted so you keep creating more and more urges and you keep wanting more and more.....The brain is saying 'this is good; we should do it again'."

That really hit home for me because I realized that this process is what I have to overcome by strengthening the resistance muscles, like Dr. Beck says. Everytime I cave and have a stress-inspired milkshake, I reinforce my perverted pleasure-processing habit and create another urge the next time I get upset. I have to retrain the brain to say "this is bad; we should find another way to alleviate stress." My major quest now becomes: what is that "other way"?

Girly, I am SO with you on your #23--feeling comfortable in your own body! Wouldn't that be a pleasure? Good luck with the extra portion avoidance lesson. That one got to be easier after a while for me and I think you will get it too once you practice a bit. I'm so impressed with your sewing skills! It's a creative outlet that must give you a lot of self-esteem.

Karina, I hope you're well on your way to OK and will be checking back soon.

Michelle, your reasons are so joyful and refreshing! To visualize that day when you are that person must give you a lot of inspiration. I know it gave me some, just reading your list. I've been doing cardio, weights, yoga and pilates consistently for about the last 2 months, and sporadically for the last 10 years. I usually do videos comprising a total-body weights workout once a week, a split UB+cardio/LB+cardio over 2 days, a circuit cardio/weights once, and one strictly cardio day with either a short yoga or pilates routine afterward. I strive for 5-6 hours a week, spread over 5 days. Sometimes life intervenes and sometimes I actually make it. Exercise is key in keeping my metabolism going, my aches and pains minimal and my mental state positive. I like the FIRM quite a bit. Whose videos do you do?

Stacy, You Go Girl! I know you feel bad about the stomach pain and not being able to reach your full potential on the 5K but you are doing SO VERY WELL just to be out there, and we are SO VERY PROUD of you. We know you'll end up first in your age division soon. Your commitment just radiates off the screen, and there's no way you'll stop before you reach your goal.

Sue, your post about the sabotaging thoughts really resonates with me. My sabotaging thoughts translate into action so quickly that they're more like pure reflex. I mean "thoughts" implies an internal conversation that involves words and dialogue. My self-sabotage goes from idea to action so fast, there's no time to talk myself out of it. Do you have any ideas on that? How have you been doing it? I'm really struggling with this one! Any advice?

Well, that's it for today. I've got to go out and buy Space Bags this morning and finish packing the bedroom before I move on to pack the pantry while I do my week's worth of cooking. But first... a work-out after Meet the Press.

My best to all. More tomorrow.

L

Sue, very powerful stuff there. I love your idea of starting the meal with a salad, too.

Liannie, loved the info on addiction. ding*ding*ding! Completely resonate with that bell. THank you for writing all that.

Stacy, you rock. Incredible.

Michelle, I play tennis once a week (wish I could find another partner so I could play twice a week--it's fun and such good exercise), I walk outside with an ipod and fast music, and I try to do the frisbee golf course once a week at a fast pace.

I'm trying to do deep breathing/reading my cards every hour today to somehow make it thru the day following my food plan. I still haven't made it thru a day. So far so good. 11:32.

WOW

I am so in awe of everyone insights, accomplishments, determination and incredible exercising programs. I am learning alot with every posting, plus it keeps up hope and support when I am down. It is helpful for me to share my struggles-well meaning friends of mine just minimize the difficulty to change-"just go on this or that diet, then you'll be fine" or " yea, you need to lose weight but just for tonight play and over eat/drink with me". Thanks to everyone here.

I think that much of the info that deals with addiction is so appropriate for my eating pattern. I have been in groups, therapy and classes dealing with how to have a healthy eating pattern and they all denied that there was a possble problem with addiction-just lack of knowledge or will power.-Heck I knew the cal and carb counter better than most instructors but still weighted over 300lb. The only thing left was that I was a weak spineless overeater who just didn't have the will to lose. Thanks to Beck and to all of you I do have some info that really makes sense. After hundred spent on diet books, it is not the food but the attitudes of the mind. Attitudes which are deeply embeded but CAN be changed.

I also want to be normal-believe me a 300lb person doesn't look normal. Yesterday went to a new hair dresser, who ensure me he was not prejudice against the obese(Some of his best friends were "large") Maybe with this new cut I would look "less like a man" "you so big," " You so there being big and everything". This is when silence would have been golden! If he was not prejudice he certainly fixated on my size. While hurt, the best new is that I did not change my food plan. I didn't need a treat because he was a jerk.

Another quote I like-The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice- R. D. Laing

sue

Hi Everyone,
This week I am going to try and break my latest addiction. I honestly don't know if I can. It is a soft serve vanilla cone with sprinkles, from my favorite place. I go every day even though it is out of my way.

We love soft ice cream and normally go out for it 3-4 times a week in the summer. This summer I was calorie counting so I would get a kiddie cone. This (of course) always left me wanting more. I began going EVERY day for a kiddie cone, still counting the calories and staying in my allotment. Then, when I didn't lose weight, I said "Forget this," upped my cone size back to a small (with sprinkles) and kept going EVERY day, rather than original 3 times a week (bad enough). This is once more instance of me trying to restrict my food intake and then then later rebelling.

I definitely fit into the addicted category. Lainnie, I appreicated all that info. I need to reformulate my pleasure pathways.

I am not sure (seriously) if I can go a day now without this cone, but I am going to try and have one tonight, and then NO CONES until Saturday. That will be five days w/o ice cream. Send me some positive vibes ladies. Maybe I will start craving carrots or something!!

Michelle

I'm proud to say that I FINALLY made it thru one day following my meal plan, as I had it written down.

Good Morning Everyone,
YOU GO GIRLY!!!! Every positive action builds a chain to the result you want.

SUE - That hairdresser deserves a swift kick in the shin. What an accomplishment, to come home and not eat.

Here is a THOUGHT for the DAY.

People Who Are Interested in Losing Weight...
1. stick with it until something better comes along
2. take action only if they feel like it
3. need to see results in order to stay motivated
4. blame people or circumstances for their struggles
5. easily give up when they face challenges

People who are committed to losing weight...
1. stick with their plans no matter what
2. take action whether they feel like doing it or not
3. assume that if they stay motivated, results will follow
4. take responsibility for their own actions
5. keep going in spite of challenges and setbacks

*based on 100 Days of Weight Loss by Linda Spangle, another good book about the psychological piece of dieting. She gives one task a day, just like Beck. This book is good too.

Have a wonderful day everyone.

Michelle
Mini Goal #1 - to STOP eating ice cream for five days

Woohoo girly!

Quick hi to eveyone else.

morning all

girlythin-yeah, you did it!!! Big Step as preplanning and awareness is what changes us.

Michelle Much luck in kicking ice cream habit. What a draw I have to it. I don't think that a carton of ice cream has ever made it thru the night in my home-ever. It calls to me all night. I just can not be around it. Is the family still going for ice cream?-what will you be doing?

Stacy-success in marathan competitions. You are amazing, but sorry about the stomach cramps which hamper your run. What a great sport to share with you husband.

Liannie, The work and chaos of moves. Hope it can calm down soon for you.

I'll be out of touch for a couple of days. best wishes to all for a successful thinning time. We are going to be in San Francisco one of my favorite cities. I am working on the challenges of not over eating.

attitudes to change
1. Since I paying big bucks for this meal, get what I want-why get foods I can cook at home-i.e. salad, fish, grilled meat. NO I need the health of salad. simply grilled meat/fish. Try to have a salad start each meal.
2. I'll never, never get this opportunity again to get this dish again. I must get this caloric yummy dish. NO you have lived a great life without this dish and basically Oh Well-you want to be thinner. This dish will not help that.
3. I bet it is not That Caloric. No, bring ww food counter and check how many cals that dish will be First.
4. It is party-sit back and enjoy the food and friends. No I can enjoy my friends without food. Have all snack/drinks placed far away as I may eat absentmindly when talking.

Going to be fun and a challenge, but I am hopeful to remain in control. If not I'll be soo mad at myself to have to re lose another 5-6 lbs. Currently down 48 lbs. Want to make that 50 lb loss soon.
sue

Wow Sue, I hadn't realized you had lost so much already! 48 pounds in a huge accomplishment. You need to get a ticker so we can all see how succesful you are!

awesome awareness, Sue. Good luck in San Fran...it IS one of the best American cities, I agree! I'll be curious to hear how the salad b4 dinner goes. I find that when I do fine dining, it's much easier to eat healthfully. (except for the drinking...that can be hard)

I made it thru another day of following my food plan. In the morning I was afraid, just sort of free floating fear at facing another day with limited food, I gues,s and now I feel really depressed. I'll just see where it takes me. I'm sure I've stuffed a lot of feelings in all of my eating.

talk with you all soon~
Michelle, I hope the ice cream task is going well.

Quick note to all...hey, I'm still out here. Just very very busy. More later.

L