Welcome to The Beck DIET solution discussion group, support group, diet coach group relating to the book by Dr. Judith S. Beck: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 Behavior Therapy (CBT).

There are no eating plans, calorie counts, recipes or exercises; according to Beck, any healthy diet will work if we learn to think differently about eating and food. Beck's book is like an extended therapy session with a diet coach.

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 coach to each other.

If you’ve arrived from a search engine, you’ve landed at the site of 3 fat chicks, a remarkable place for those interested in a healthy life style, including mindful eating, exercise, and weight loss. More about the site, including how to register so that you can post can be found here.

The book, The Beck Diet Solution, is available on Amazon through the 3FC store by clicking here.

Previous Beck threads on 3fatchicks.com:

The Beck Diet Solution – April 2008 – Group for Support, Discussion, Diet Coach
The Beck Diet Solution – March 2008 – Group for Support, Discussion, Diet Coach
The Beck Diet Solution – February 2008 – Group for Support, Discussion, Diet Coach
The Beck Diet Solution – January 2008 – Group for Support, Discussion, Diet Coach
The Beck Diet Solution – December 2007 – Group for Support, Discussion, Diet Coach
The Beck Diet Solution - November 2007
The Beck Diet Solution - October 2007
The Beck Diet Solution - September 2007
The Beck Diet Solution - August 2007
The Beck Diet Solution - July 2007
The Beck Diet Solution - May/June 2007

Found it!

Diet Coaches – Had tofu stir fry for lunch - leftovers. Such good stuff tofu and broccoli and pea pods. And yet, CREDIT moi for eating on plan, for having a small bottle of tamari in my desk, and for adding a large serving of broccoli because of my amazing discovery that the microwave cooks broccoli while warming the other stuff (Duh!). Kudos to the inventor of the microwave and to the inventor of the Glad microwavable containers.

This thread begins the second year of a continuous discussion of The Beck Diet Solution on 3fatchicks.com. Big Kudos to those who found Beck's book when it was published in May 2007 and started the initial thread that month. Thanks guys for establishing a style of providing positive tone, support, and on-line Diet Coaching.

Sue (CoastalSue) - Ouch for having to face "stressful family problems." Kudos for working them. Sending my best supporting thoughts for getting through all that. Perhaps you can feel encouraged thinking about the fortune you can make with your new book, The Stomach Flu Diet, LOL.

Heidi (hbuchwald) - Just drooling over your "grilled portabello with grilled peppers and goat cheese number for breakfast." Now that's a diet one can live with for life!! Kudos for your dance class. Is this for social dancing or performance dancing?

Ann (Newlifestyle) - Yea for roasted veggies!!! You must be doing something right for that impressive weight loss to date. Whatever you're doing, stay the course.

redballoon - Kudos for recognizing the Sabotaging Thoughts bombarding your brain and for journaling to create some Helpful Responses to fend them off. And Kudos for your success for a week on plan. Ouch that it doesn't show up on the scale as fast as you'd like; scale readings are like that. Your real metric for success is your wonderful sentence "OK, OK, I admit it...I DO feel a bit...well, let's say, less fat." Trust your feelings, they know you better than the scale.


Readers – "They hadn’t lost weight or kept it off because they didn’t know how. __________________
XXXXXXX 7 XXXXXXX 14 XXXXXXX 21 XXXXXXX 28 XXXXXXX 35 XXXXXXX 42
Completed Beck Program-day 42. You’ve met your goal. Congratulations!

subbing in... not that i'm a good friend or coach lately.

last night i ate past full... i've had 32 clean eating days in a row.. .meaning my food is beachy but i just eat too much of it!

oh and today is my 2 yr anniversary of starting South Beach Diet AND the day I am going back to the gym!

g'afternoon

Bill~ I haven't been brave enough to try tofu good on ya!!

Yesterday was a "blah" day....but I "did it anyway" I got thru the day, food and exercise on plan, but unfortunately not without alot of negative thoughts. On the plus side, yesterday is gone!!

Today is turning out to be a very busy day, folks are walking in like crazy ordering shirts and signs. Its a wonderful thing!!

I meet with my new personal trainer in about an hour and a half

Have a great day everyone!

oh Robin good luck!

One year of this these monthly threads!!!! That's great. Credit you BBE for keeping it going, and for everyone else who posts here -- long term or new, daily or sporadically.

I'm very happy and somewhat amazed to report that things continue to go very smoothly for me. Some days are easier than others...some take some real work and responses, but overall it's going very well. I'm working on believing it. I'm working on not thinking that it's a house of cards that's going to come crashing down. This morning, I came up with the idea of replacing the image of a house of cards with a lovely palace....decorated with momentos of my success, my ARC, response cards, and images of my supporters...including you all.

One big piece of news is that after 30+ years in my profession and 11 years at my current job, and a lot of thinking over many years, I've decided to leave both. I've just had enough of the business world...particularly the business of health benefits. I've long had a part of my that pulled me towards the social services, and that's where I want to head...eventually...I don't know if it'll be for employment or as a volunteer...it'll take some exploration. I'm in a somewhat unique position, and I've agreed to stay through the summer, while they hire someone new and I train the person. After that, I may keep doing a little consulting here, at least for a while, but the great thing is that I started the process.

I think it's in part due to Beck and in part due to the reality of finding out I have cardiac issues that I was finally able to do this. But, I am so releived, pleased, and empowered having taken this step.

On another note, I have a big weekend ahead, in terms of needing to be vigilant about my food....eating some foods that I don't eat on a regular basis, passing up some things, and not overeating. Dinner Friday night at the synagogue, home cooked Chinese food on Saturday night with my new couples dinner club (5 couples, everyone making something), and soup and salad night on Sunday. I know I could handle one of these events in a weekend...but 3 nights in a row is a bit scary.

BillBlueEyes: Here here on toasting to the inventor of the microwave! A year of discussion-whoo hoo! Wonderful group this is..thanks for keeping the culture the way it is! SOCIAL dancing!!! Laughing at the thought of a recital with me dancing in it.

Nessa-Good work on the clean eating days and on going back to the gym. Hang in there girl!

RobinW: Let us know how it goes with the new personal trainer. Great that business is going well!

Barpos: What a big and exciting decision to have made! I am so glad that Beck is going so well for you! Good luck at your dinner club three nights in a row-wow!

Things are going just fine here. Tomorrow is my mental health day and I am so excited to “chill”. Being a teacher, I am with kids 24/7 unless I carve out time otherwise. My students will have a more relaxed teacher on Monday! I realized that I am three lbs away from HALFWAY there! Not JUST focusing on the number mind you but what a milestone. I had the portabello mushroom sandwich for breaky again today-yum! Credit to moi for resisting the homemade streusely stuff in the staff lounge today and for conitninuing to eat on plan and for getting more exercise in. I need to remember tomorrow that, just because I don’t have many responsibilities, that it doesn’t mean freedom to eat whatever I feel like. I will be planning my food tonight and sticking to it. Sometimes I equate being child free with being free to eat. I will have to journal a bit to see more about what that is about.

Hope you all are doing well-Happy Friday tomorrow!

Diet Coaches – Facing an overbooked weekend. All good stuff of my choosing, but definitely restricting the down time I need in a weekend to get recharged for the work week. I will miss gym today so I have to find a slot on Saturday or Sunday to keep my plan of 3 workouts a week. Saturday I'll get my bicycle back all tuned up by my friend. He says it rides like a new bike. CREDIT moi for getting that done. The big feel good of yesterday came during my evening walk when I bought a piece of ginger the size of my thumb, per explicit request from DW, at Whole Foods for only ten cents. $0.10!!! Felt so smug that I didn't notice the prices of the other items I picked up. Life must be good if that's all it takes to make me happy.

Heidi (hbuchwald) - Kudos for standing down the "streusely stuff." I can picture it, but prefer to picture the portabello mushroom breakfast. Such an interesting thought, "that, just because I don’t have many responsibilities, that it doesn’t mean freedom to eat whatever I feel like." Gotta admire the ingenuity of Sabotaging Thoughts to slither their way into the brain. Great reminder. Have a happy mental health day.

Barbara (barbpos) – Really like your "lovely palace" image to replace the "house of cards." House of cards is one of my recurring Sabotaging Thoughts. I find that Believe It can ward it off but I keep hoping that it will just go away. I'll try the palace notion. Kudos for making the big decisions to change careers and fields. Yea for the Beck contribution, Ouch for the cardiac issues. Look forward to hearing your progress moving with those changes. Good luck with your hat trick weekend; that's a bunch, particularly if I recall that "soup and salad" rather understates the amount of food presented.

Nessa (ladybugnessa) - Kudos for two years on the Beach. And Kudos for heading back to the gym. Is that your daughter's picture in your new avatar?

Robin (RobinW) - I just love it when someone pulls a "did it anyway." That's such a good reminder to me. Congrats on the business coming in. Kudos that you keep your perspective to visit your personal trainer even though busy.

redballoon - LOL that you snuck in and I didn't see you. How goes the good fight? Hope you continue to " feel a bit...less fat."


Readers – "They hadn’t lost weight or kept it off because they didn’t know how. __________________
XXXXXXX 7 XXXXXXX 14 XXXXXXX 21 XXXXXXX 28 XXXXXXX 35 XXXXXXX 42
Completed Beck Program-day 42. You’ve met your goal. Congratulations!

OMG BILL I LOVE YOU!!! NO that my dear is what 2 years of clean eating does to a 48 yr old woman!

I"m saving this post for days like today when i feel old and fat.....

good morning all.

Heidi, do enjoy you day. You deserve it. Have fun.

Bill, way to go getting your bike tuned up and ready to ride. I need to get my bike out of the garage and get it ready to ride. I haven't found a love of riding my bike over the years so I leave it in the garage and only go out on it when ds begs. DH and DS go biking all the time as tandem bike attachment hooked up to DH's bike. I guess that is an excuse isn't it. Having faith in you that you will make wise choices on your overbooked weekend. You truly get it.

Nessa, what an awesome picture of you. Congratulations...wow 2 years of eating clean. Yeah you.

Sue, I do hope you are doing well and I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers, hoping the stresses of life subside/become easier.

Redballoon- yeah for NSV. I know you can do this. Someone once wrote, that we should focus on all the positive changes we have made instead of the one slip up. Remember you can do this and give yourself credit.

Barbara, congratulations to you for making decisions that are best for you, even though change may be scary. Yeah for having the courage to do what you need to be doing.

One by One, thinking of what an enjoyable lifestyle you appear to have. You are doing what you love to do.

Robin, congratulations on the "Did it Anyway." I know that one gets me out of many tricky situations. I hope doing all this business you remember to take care of yourself. It sounds like you will.
Here is hoping you change those negative thoughts into positive thoughts.

Hello to everyone else.
Enjoy your day.

Good morning coaches.

So, I had my first gallery opening last night in the student gallery at the art school I attend and work in. I have a show because I won a scholarship and I am paired up with Corianne, a first year student (I just finished 2nd year) and she isn't returning next year, heading off to NASCAD in lovely Halifax Nova Scotia. We set up our show on our own in the little gallery, she left to go home when we were done. I left to set up neat exhibit space comprised of a set of three bay windows attached to a brick wall on the outside of a building in the neighbourhood I lived in for about 10 years. My 8 spaceman-themed paintings are in those windows at street level for all to see. it was really hard to walk away from them once they were in place. To walk away and not look back was tough. But boy! If I say so myself, they look great!
Once that was set up I bought some food for the opening, the vernissage as it's called, and I had to rush up to the computer lab to make labels for the gallery work and a sign for outside the door and out the food in bowls and plates and get cups and then it was 5pm. The opening was from 5-7. I pretty much sat alone for about 15 minutes, and then a friend came by and then DH arrived and then it was all okay. My fellow gallery exhibitor did not come until 5:30 or so. And then I had to go up a floor to the library and participate in the print exchange for the year of the rat show. That took an hour.

So all went well and I got through it and I felt good. I now look forward to setting up my indoor booth at one farmers' market tomorrow and being out for the first market day at my other farmers' market. Next week I am switching to a DASH based diet for the weekdays, weekends are more open. DASH is the recommended diet to combat high blood pressure and I am very interested in that. Without Beck I wouldn't have any hope that I could maintain a diet plan of any sort. I can see now that with Beck and her techniques I can actaully plan to make a change and I have tools to see it through. What I am learning is that some really worthwhile things take a lot of sustained effort. Somehow from somewhere you need to have help to stay on course while the changes are happening that we never see until we are already there you know? Anyway, glad to have found Beck, and you guys. Have a great day today. I have a lazy day planned visiting my brother and delivering his Harry Lauder (aka. corkscrew hazel) trees that were delivered to me two days ago in a 6 foot x 3 foot box that's sitting by the fishtank. That's the highlight of the day. I am excited to finally visit his new house and give him the trees. Anyway, this is a novel yet again. Thanks for reading.

BillBlueEyes A few days ago you mentioned the word "panier" and asked how it is pronounced here. Well I spelled the word for several people and got them to say it. It's always a puzzler. I let the person I know from France try it last night. 3 syllables, "pa-ni-er" she says. It'd be two if it was spelled "pangner" or something but it's not. She added, "It's not even a real word" ... not in France anyway. We were all remarking on how the people in Boston are very concerned with the correct pronunciation of a French word. Interesting and charming BBE. It gave us all a big smile thinking of boston accents speaking french. Nice BTW DH says that he can pronounce it with 2 syllables "Pa-nier" but if he's thinking about pronunciation he'll go with three. My limited French gave me 3... but I really have to think when I speak French, like a 5 year old sounding out words.

Newlifestyle Hello! Enjoy your Friday!

ladybugnessa I'm with BillBlueEyes, nice picture! I too felt old and fat last night sitting next to Corianne who was absolutely beautiful in her 20 year old skin, slim body all in basic black (art school dontchaknow!) and bright uncompromising red lipstick. *sigh* still, I got over it, and enjoyed the evening. Those of us who were there were great.

hbuchwald I'm with you on the mental health day sister! Here's to both of us and our well-earned rest.

barbpos Congratulations on honouring your self with your decision to leave something behind that no longer fits you. Yay! Be brave and move forward. That's so good. Awesome.

RobinW How'd the personal trainer go? Hope you loved it!

CoastalSue Hi! wishing you a great day today.

redballoon Wishing you a good day too... keep thinking positive thoughts...

Hello to anyone else reading this...

am thrilled to have found this site as got so inspired by the Beck solution but got to day 6 and was struggling with the prospect of finding a diet coach. Need one - and want to be one!!!
Laine

Good Morning!

Bill~so we can all assume you'll be out riding tomorrow??

Nessa~ I agree! You look so vibrant and happy, and much younger than in your other photo

Onebyone~ I hope you took photos of your set up. (because Id love to see your work!) Good Luck at the market!! We've thought about doing that, but its just another one of those things that make it on the list, but never gets crossed off.

I envy all you canadians here who are getting your bikes ready to ride. I cannot say it often enough or loud enough.....the states needs CANADIAN TIRE!!!!!! OMG how I miss that store!! I even keep canadian tire money in my wallet ....its a principal thing, and no my husband can't have it! (Im a transplanted Canadian )

Food and exercise were right on yesterday!

Meeting with my trainer (Michelle) was great!! She has a very good understanding of where I am coming from. She asked me how much time a day I want to devote to this. Right away I pictured the chapter in Beck about making time to diet and exercise. So I answered her with..."what ever it takes, and I'll work everything else around it." She works with alot of small business owners, and knows the time constraints most of us have, and was will to work around any time allotment I gave her. I go for my first workout on Monday, and from the sounds of it, it isnt going to be easy (not even sorta easy) But thats ok, its what I need to whittle off the lbs, and get back into shape.

After my first workout, she is going to put a program together for me to follow for the week until I see her next. She expects the program to adjust weekly...gave me instructions on what and when to eat after a workout, and told me we wont get into food issues for another 2 weeks. Im thrilled!!!! I just need to sell more t-shirts to pay for all this

Once things get started on a regular basis, I'll post it all on my blog. I can get long winded at times, and if anyone is interested they can go there and read about it.

Have a great day everyone!!

HI Everyone - I haven't posted in a few days due to time constraints but I do pop in to read what everyone is doing. I'm doing great with the exercise and pretty good with the food. Yesterday I had a "Beck" moment but didn't react in time but at least I realized it. I went home for lunch and was planning on eating a salad but I was so hungry that I fixed a sandwich as it was quicker. I still kept within my calorie range for lunch but my goal is to add more veggies to my diet and that was why a salad was planned. I then realized that hunger is not an emergency and a few extra minutes was not going to cause me to pass out from starvation. Point well taken and in a few minutes I am going home to prepare a salad for today's lunch.

I have been getting up in the mornings to exercise before work for 3 weeks now and it gets easier every day to rise and shine. I have taken my walk/runs out of doors to enjoy the sunshine that we are finally getting.

Have a great weekend everyone and I'll check in with ya later.