[BillBlueEyes]

Get to vote this morning. City council and school board are being elected. If I'm in line at 6:50am there's no wait.

At a potluck last night, I ate on plan, avoided the desserts. Then, when cleaning up, snarfed down the last four cocktail shrimp rather than throw them away. Arrrrrrrrgh As Beck would say, I'm fooling myself. Done by a guy who just claimed to have completed program-day 19. Oh Well.


Sue - LOL at your description of Chilli's. That describes many of the chain restaurants - menus with killer pictures of food yelling "Eat me, eat me."

Perhaps you can invent a card for the rest of us, saying something like, "Doctor prescribes children's portion for Human Being eating mindfully." You could sell them on eBay to the zillion or so people on diets.


Bethany - Thanks for the link for mini portions. DW likes the individual mayonnaise packets so she can have tuna salad sandwiches when out hiking on hot summer days. Might also try Sue's idea of bringing my own single serving dressing when eating where my choices might be limited.

DD told me that the Donnie Darko movie "had been out forever," that she had the DVD and would lend it to me next time she comes over. So, I'll get to find out if it helps.

Flu shot for me, also, next week. I fit into the recommended group: seriously ill, chronically ill, hospitalized, infirm, insane, perverted, or over 50. Reminds me that until recently medical schools taught the course "Pregnancy and other Female Diseases." (Apparently, allowing more women into med schools fixed that one.)

Good news that you're back on track. Eight hours in front of a candy dish is more than I could do.


Readers - May you find one specific occasion today to Stop Fooling Yourself at some little eating opportunity.


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Completed Beck Program-day 19. 23 to go. Keep going!

[coastalsue]

Hi to everyone

Bethany thanks for the web site-planning on ordering some packets. Very impressed with coping with a candy dish for 8 hrs a day-can you get extra hazard pay for working near toxic but addicting stuff? Glad you feeling the success of being in control.
BillBlueEyes-thanks for the voting reminder -for us it is just a school board elections so that has not been much ads about and I forgot. Boy resisting those cute little low cal shrimps to be toss would have been a toughie for me also.

That Beck-the list is straight out of my brain-uuck Kind of scary to see all of my food "logic" look sooo stupid. My biggies are I'll eat less later, I AM celebrating or at least today has been so crummy I deserve some type of celebration. A hugh one- I am upset and I don't care. I think alot of my behaviors are an attempt to raise my dopamines-or at least have a sugar rush that can give a quick artificial shot of "feeling better" I am sure that any addictive behaviors have the root of a person trying to feel better about themselves.

Yep I need a card that read-Must have children size portions or soon will be unable to fit in your booth and can never return here again.
That one resturant has more people in it than if all the resturants in our area were filled -this includes a 20 miles stretch of highway 1. We do like our slower pace at times.

Had a very tough emotional day yesterday-the good news -really big for me is that I didn't use food or drink to change emotions. I have been reading about power of mediatation and looking at how we construct our own emotional response to life's challenges. So much of my reactions are based on ancient history-really not relevant now-but the feelings return as if the past and it's pain were today.

I have not be able to swim due a very annoying and long term sinus infection-That outdoor pool is such a cool temp when the days stay in the 50's. So i have started kind of silly exercise dvd. I am glad to be moving but it is so corny i hate it.

take care you two
Other folks please join us this changing eating habits is a tough but powerful process.
sue

[BillBlueEyes]

from Beck:

It’s destructive to continue to eat in an unplanned way for the rest of the day just because you ate something that wasn’t on your food plan.

Get Back on Your Diet Now.

If you’re tempted to keep on eating when you know you shouldn’t, do the following:

• Acknowledge your initial slip.
• Recommit yourself to your diet.
• Draw a symbolic line. …right here where I stop this unplanned eating.
• Give yourself credit for stopping - at any point.
• Watch out for feelings of failure and helplessness.
• Continue to eat normally.
• Learn from your mistake.

 
 
The business of feelings of failure for eating something off plan is the big one for me here.

If I counter that, then all of me is available to draw the line, eat normally, climb right back on my horse, and learn from my mistake.  

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Completed Beck Program-day 20. 22 to go. Keep going!

[BillBlueEyes]

Still smarting a bit about gobbling down those four last shrimp the other day. Four shrimp is small calories, not a problem, but it exposes my sabotaging thinking.

Sabotaging Thought: Discarding unneeded food is wasting , but eating unneeded food is not wasting.

Helpful Response: I can avoid wasting food by putting it in the gas tank of my car. [ /sarcasm] This will, of course, destroy the engine, but I can replace the car. I can't replace my body.

Just boggles my mind that I could NEVER put shrimp in my old worn out Volvo, but have no problem just dumping it down my throat.

Ate on plan yesterday. Dinner was pan grilled tilapia, Oyster Mushrooms, Buttercup Squash with Macintosh Apple, Brussels Sprouts, all but tilapia from the farmers’ markets. Honeydew melon for snack – good enough not great - the season is OVER, time to quit buying them.


Sue - LOL at your "Must have children size portions or soon will be unable to fit in your booth and can never return here again."

I hear your struggling with emotions. BIG congratulations for avoiding using food for instant comfort. When you note that the emotions are from the past, you remind me of a favorite Faulkner quote:

"The past is never dead. It's not even past."

Bethany - Hope you are having a good day. I still shudder every time I think of facing a dish of candy for eight hours. I like the idea of demanding time and a half for facing a dish of hard candies, double time for facing a dish of dark chocolate.


Readers - May you stay the course. And when you falter, may you Draw a symbolic line and immediately get back on your horse.


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Completed Beck Program-day 20. 22 to go. Keep going!

[coastalsue]

Hi folks,

billblueEyes- remember your own posting about watching out for dealing on negative feelings of failures and the need to give yourself credit for stopping.

While remaining on my food plan- I am now reading working on a book dealing with using meditation to fight depression. He had a great story about a man who was to be served a great treat- an unusual fish which was a real delicacy- the man focused on every bit and found the meal unbelieveable good. Turned out he was not served the unusual fish but a more common type-but because he had been so mindful he enjoyed each bite unlike before when he would eat a meal mindlessly.
I have been focusing on being mindful and not ruminating about some emotional stuff. I have increased mindfulness in doing my handcrafts, chores and really been enjoy my food and wine. I actually can feel full on 500 cals or so for dinner. Really feel I am so obese due to stuffing myself to deal with negative feelings. We were rasied in an very anxious family with lots of stress-both of my older brothers are also over 300lb. Eating was an ok thing to do to calm oneself.

Right now my focus is doing the mindful activities in my current book-It is such an important tool for me that I feel I'll be so much will be better both emotional and health wise by paying attention-

We have had no company nor eaten out since Sunday-The diet has gone just great. I think we may have similair menusBillBlueEyes-the bulk of our veggies is from a local organic farm. Friday a couple should be up here for the 3 day weekend-Here is when the real challenge for me will start.

sue

[BillBlueEyes]

from Beck:

On any given day, the number on the scale is exactly what it should be, given what you ate, how much energy you expended in the last few days, the amount of fluid your body retains, and other biological influences.

Don’t expect your weight to down every week - it won’t.

If the number on the scale doesn’t go down – or doesn’t go down much – and you suspect you’ve been eating too much, don’t waste time blaming yourself and having negative thoughts. Consider what you might be doing wrong and do something positive to solve the problem.

Plot your weight on a graph.

• This is an easy step for me, since I’ve been recording my daily weight for two years now. I enter it into Excel which plots the graph. Looking at that graph is a great motivator.

• Beck, like many others, recommends tracking weekly weight, so I also estimate my weight each Sunday by eye balling the scale readings for the last week. I record and plot that separately. During my losing period, this weekly filtering of the weigh ins allowed me to see the steady lose within the wiggling numbers and isolated me from the negative feelings of seeing a gain during a week of on plan eating and exercising.

• After I my weight remained at 158 for several months, I assumed that to be my maintenance weight.

• My weight has been holding for eight months now cycling in a six pound range beneath my maintenance weight.

• I really like that, one more time, Beck emphasizes: Don’t blame, take action.  
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Completed Beck Program-day 21. 21 to go. Keep going!

[BillBlueEyes]

I didn’t get to walk at lunch yesterday and CRAVED not walking in the evening because I was leaving work late, it was dark due to recent fall back from daylight savings time, and I just didn’t feel like it. Then, drum roll, insight Aha !!! I recognized these as Sabotaging Thoughts.

After I labeled it, I knew what to do. Clicked into Helpful Responses: Went over my Advantages Card (from memory) as I drove home. Thought about previously being winded when taking the stairs. Thought about the negative feelings I’d have for wimping out with such lame excuses and the heroic feelings I'd have if I did walk after all this thinking about. Even had the thought that I would post my success to my on-line diet coaches. <Thank you diet coaches>.

So, committed seriously to at least a half walk, with strong intentions to do the whole thing.

Then went for a good hour long 4 mile walk on my favorite urban path.


I felt disappointment when the scale read 155 this morning – expecting no less than the 153 of the past four days – maybe 152 due to an on plan day. Good opportunity to practice today’s step Prepare to Weigh In, which, for me, means: Don’t get wrapped up in the short-term scale readings; take action on the trend. OK, self: Give yourself credit that the scale reads right in the 6 pound band it has for eight months; you're on track. Get over that addiction to seeing the weight drop off. That part is so over.

Remembered to update the duration of my maintenance from six to eight months in my 3FC user profile. I do admire the 3FC folks here with several years of maintenance.


Sue - Thanks for the reminder to avoid the negative thinking and to give myself credit. Went to my journal and did that.

Great to hear your continued efforts on mindful activities and using meditation as a response to emotions.

Good luck on your upcoming 3 day weekend. I'll be sending positive thoughts your way each day, thinking of you combining the social and mindful eating parts of yourself.



Bethany - [ font = diet coach] Check in, we miss you. [ /font]

Hope all is going well.



Good guys all - May your scale reading be pleasing this week, and may your response to it be without blame.


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Completed Beck Program-day 21. 21 to go. Keep going!

[coastalsue]

Hi everyone,

Billblueeyes- good to hear that you are mindful of your successes-envy you urban walks-At times walking and window shopping sounds like fun-plus you can it after dark-Those annoying scale days-Sometimes following the food plan is so easy other times I am so hunger/craving/lusting-then when I stay on the plan I want to lose 2-3 lbs just because it was so much hard work the days before. The lower blood pressure and sugar count was a great reminder of healthy success even if the scales are going down so slowly for me. I am rather anxious to get out of 300s. Think my age and slow mobility due to the arthritis really slows the loss.

I have done the quick fixes-optifast, atikin and always regained-Pleased that the 55 have stayed off and I am working on losing the next 5 lbs. I post my graph of weight loss on Fitday. It does help to see the past successes. The good new is that the line is NOt going up only down.

Got a call and definitely company is coming-thoughtfully they are bring food but much of the treats I will not be eating. Got plans for lots of salad to fill up on-
Sometimes I find limiting my food kind of boring-wanted to stop by a mexican food place and pick up something to go-knew I couldn't get any thing which I knew for sure would be about 350 cals for lunch- It is so hard to eat out I can never be sure of cal count and how much fat was used in preparing the dish. Just a bit of whining-thanks for reading. I guess I can use food for entertainment value-sort of amazing with many people in the world are underfed and I want my food to "fun", "easy" and "interesting". We are such a rich nation.
The weather is cold, foggy, and dreary and I think my mood is matching the outdoors. But a hugh success-I am eating according to plan(even if it is boring)!!!!!

Much success to all- hope the sun is shinning where you are
sue

[BillBlueEyes]

from the Beck DIET Solution:

You can’t stop your sabotaging thoughts from arising, but you can respond to them. When you notice such thoughts as

It’s not fair that I can’t eat this,

or

There must be an easier way,

just say to yourself,

Oh, Well.

Or, in other words,

I don’t like this but I’m going to accept it and move on.

Doing so eliminates the struggle, helps you feel better, and allows you to focus your attention elsewhere.

This is absolutely one of my favorite Beck strategies. I just love it.

It works for me when I make a choice to avoid a food I crave.
It works for me to accept that I didn't get to the gym as I had planned.
It even worked for me yesterday when I felt a funk because I was missing a party because I had chosen to attend an event.

Perhaps Cognitive Behavior Therapy was really invented by Crosby Stills, Nash, and Young:

There's a rose
In a fisted glove
And the eagle flies with the dove
And if you can't be with the one you love
It's alright
Go ahead and love the one, love the one, love the one you're with.

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Completed Beck Program-day 22. 20 to go. Keep going!

[BillBlueEyes]

I ate well today including a meal sized bowl of miso rammen soup for dinner at a Japanese restaurant. I tipped the waitress more than 20% just because she was obese – as a small step to work on my own prejudice toward fat people (despite having been one most of my adult life).

Thank you Volumetrics people for reminding me how much soup makes me feel full.

Ate a Bosc Pear for evening snack. It was sweet and also crispy like an apple. The crispy was different than the smooth feel of the Bartlett Pears we usually eat. So this is a good reminder to keep exploring new foods.


"Hungry/craving/lusting" Sue - What a wonderful image you paint of yourself

Glad that the pounds continue to drop, even if slow for your wishes. Might be time for an Oh, Well .

Great idea to continue to fight boring in your food choices. Seems to me that one of the great ideas is to always choose food you really love. This requires exploring new foods to have healthy choices in the calorie range of your plan. Is Eating Well Magazine expanding your food choices?



Bethany - Did Crosby Stills, Nash, and Young disappear long long ago or have you heard their Love the One you're With. Just writing down the lyrics gave me an earworm that I'll have all day.

Hope all is going well.


Readers - May all your choices be on plan today. And may you Oh, Well the roads not taken.


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Completed Beck Program-day 22. 20 to go. Keep going!

[coastalsue]

Happy Friday everyone,

Just loved the quote from that great song-heard the tune in my mind-I played great old classic rock and roll all day yesterday to change my mood-even DH said it made the day more fun.

Like hearing what thoughts work for you to "forgive " your self. For me the self judging between who I think I am and who I think I should be which causes a great deal of disappointment and guilt for me- This recrimination is often the basis for an deep low grade depression-I am really focusing on trying to determine what am i feeling so I can face that feeling-recgonize it is only a feeling and most likely not a realistic pic of who I am. I Am learning that eating is Not the solution to releasing a feeling and getting some new skills to get on with my day with calm Surprise, surprise I have lost 4 lbs.

BillBlueEyes-you are amazing -your weight loss, changes in eating, and focus to doing The beck book-feel your successes. Thank you so much for your continue posting-I thank you for being my diet coach.

I love the mag eating well, and in general enjoy cooking and doing new foods-There is bit of a spoiled girl who wants a maid and cook to come in and take care of me for a couple days every once awhile. We very rarely eat out-so few places and rather expensive. Any way had one of those whiney days yesterday-today back to being a domestic goddess again. Already got my cardo moving furniture vacuuming and getting ready for guests.

While I do post what I eat on Fitday- when we have company or visiting family it would be great to have some thing to record and calculate the cals of what I am eating or drinking on the spot. -something small and handheld so I could keep up with what I am consuming-sometimes I just do not preplan for the resturant, a treat or a drink-this would help me not to fall in to the what the heck you have blown it and continue on over eating. Recording the cals is a great clue for me stay within the cal count. Know of anything?

Bethany-hope you have a great weekend-

take care
sue

[BillBlueEyes]

from the Beck DIET Solution: (Available thru the 3FC Store) http://astore.amazon.com/3fatchionad...216363-1799918

Many dieters give themselves permission to eat when confronted with issues of fairness. You might be one of them.

We’ve all grown up with the idea that life should be fair – but life isn’t fair.

It isn’t fair that some people have to struggle with their weigh.
It isn’t fair that some people (for economic conditions) go hungry every day.
It isn’t fair that some people die young.
Life isn’t fair.
Dieting isn’t fair.

Once I stop telling myself that dieting isn’t fair, dieting will be easier.

This appears in me as several sabotaging thoughts, for which I can think of helpful responses.

Sabotaging Thought: I should be able to eat like those people.
Helpful Response: My body stays healthy the way I eat.

Sabotaging Thought: I should be able to have Girl Scout Cookies because I like to support the girls selling the cookies and because I’ve always eaten a bag or two of the thin mints. It’s not fair to give that up.
Helpful Response: I can support the scouts by buying two bags and putting them out for the troops at work; they will disappear quickly. (Recall that DW has asked that I not bring any home for her because she likes them, would eat them, and doesn’t need them. And she has a pretty rational relationship with food.)
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Completed Beck Program-day 23. 19 to go. Keep going!

[BillBlueEyes]

I worked yesterday on getting my head back into wanting to do my gym routing. My friends at work who are into gym and have good muscles for their efforts, assure me that one MUST consume protein 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after weight training for it to have any value. Some people believe this, some don't. My DW, for example, thinks this is just another misguided male fantasy. But, couldn't hurt to try.

So, before gym I had a serving of soy nuts and immediately after had a protein smoothie with 18 grams of whey protein. Then spent the day just feeling my muscles repairing themselves. It worked in my head; knowing I was going to do this motivated my to workout to a good burn.

If it takes a white feather for me to fly, I'll use a white feather.


"Domestic Goddess" Sue - LOL at playing classic rock and roll all day. That's a classic Beck move to take a positive step to cause a change. < Taking notes for my use. > Your DH sounds like a good sport.

On the days that the maid and cook are taking care of you, might I suggest that you have the butler follow you around doing the fitday calculations. Certainly Queen Elizabeth II wouldn't carry her own PDA - why should you?

Hope your weekend with house guests goes well.


Bethany - Hope all is well in your world. Weekends are such a welcome time for outdoor activity, even if the snows are arriving in your area.



Readers - Should you feel the unfairness of your diet today, may you find a helpful response to get you head back to a grounded place before you respond by eating.

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Completed Beck Program-day 23. 19 to go. Keep going!

[surrealchereal]

Originally Posted by BillBlueEyes

Help !!!!!!!!!!!
Has anybody left food on their plate at a restaurant that they would be willing to share? I could use some help on this one. It seems impossible to me. Perhaps some non-Beck person has a success with this.

I have to grab the first wait staff that passes and just hand them my plate before I have a chance to loose my resolve.

I have just discovered her book and yesterday I went out and bought the book and the workbook, however it looks like the books are pretty much the same. Will I miss anything if I return the more expensive hardcover (the first one) book and just keep the workbook?

[BillBlueEyes]

Welcome to the Beck thread, surrealchereal


That's a great way to pull it off not eating all the food served in a restaurant.

I have to grab the first wait staff that passes and just hand them my plate before I have a chance to loose my resolve.

I'll have to try that. No sitting and staring.

An earlier poster was satisfied with the workbook alone. They weren't interested in the discussion chapters, just wanted the exercises. If I can find that posting, I'll post a link back to it later.

I'm quit happy with the hard cover book alone. I really appreciate the initial four chapters that set the stage before the 42 program-days, and the final two chapters that cover the rest of life after the 42 program-days. I haven't read the workbook, but the main use that I assume it could have been for me was to replace a lot of time writing out checklists. However, I solved that problem instead by typing the final checklist once in Excel where I check it off each day.

Good luck in choosing.


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Completed Beck Program-day 23. 19 to go. Keep going!