Becksters!!

Welcome to the weekend, for those who get to enjoy a little bit
of R and R come Fridays. I have a few minutes here and I can't
think of a better bunch to spend them with!

First I'd like to thank all of you for your comments and encouragement
about my time crunch and my hopes of finding a one-on-one coach. As
always the words I find here, I value.

I did find a coach and she has a lot going for her, especially as far as
what I was looking for...let's hope I don't drive her crazy in dealing with
ME! <smile>

What I want to share with you all is what I've learned over the past several
days about myself, the Beck Program, and being STUCK.

I had such success when I first joined this group and worked through the
plan, day by day, step by step, but then of course, Life in all its messiness
stepped in and I didn't come around here as much, and I was working the
Beck plan pretty much on my own, and ... the weight loss just stopped.

Well today I'm on Day 6, working through the book again, day by day, lesson
by lesson, and big surprise!! I'm learning again. What a difference it means
to be accountable to someone other than that easygoing, lackadaisical, too
forgiving inner "watchdog" of my own.

Though I thought I was using all the 14 most important Beck "tools", I was
starting to have those mini binges, and the occasional "lost weekend", and my
weight loss dragged to a halt.

Trying to get through "Slow and Mindful Eating" yesterday literally had me
back in the 80's all day, humming strains of "Hungry Like the Wolf"! WOW! Do
I EVER eat "slowly and mindfully"?! HA! Practice, practice, practice is what I
need, and I do believe, I am back on the right track.

So now.... the truth be told, to my ever excuse-making mind, I have not been
really working the Beck program because I sit when I eat, and mostly plan my
food. There's so much more to it than that. The ARC are SO much more
important than I would have ever dreamed. (And reminder here Ellen, planning
your meals is great, but only if you actually follow the plan! <smile>)

Well folks, I'm here in spirit most days. When my life settles down a little I
hope to be here and share more like I used to.

I agree with MaryB, you are the coolest people.....savvy, smart, and funny
and I feel lucky to have met you all!

I'll write soon.

Ellen

Saturday
 

Diet Coaches – The week is over. I survived. The work got done. I ate on plan without using the vending machines, and, so far, have done two out of three of my gym sessions. CREDIT moi. I did drug myself up with an extra cup of morning coffee; that does get me spinning, LOL. Thanks to you all for your support while I was feeling under the gun. My goal today is to buy too many cukes from the farmers' market, and too many blueberries from the store - the New Jersey blueberries have arrived. They are soooo good, and comparatively cheap. I do like this mode of paying attention to my food since I've started my journey. It indeed is easier to avoid stuffing myself with junk if I'm thinking about the good food that I've planned.

onebyone – Congrats on the blood pressure numbers. BIG Kudos for sticking to your diet and exercise plans to achieve those. LOL at being a "no nonsense mom" to get your DH to the doctor. (Ol page 23 does it again today, LOL.)

JennyG - Kudos for staying within your daily points. Keep the faith on the weight loss part; bodies have a short term independent streak, but with a bit of time, they come 'round.

shrinkin - Weight varying by 4 pounds is right on track. A friend who's been watching her weight for some 40 years tells me she stays within plus or minus 5 pounds. By contrast, this morning I noticed that I recorded the same weight measurement for the sixth day in a row, and immediately wondered if I had to change the battery since 6 identical weights looks out of place in the zigzag plot of my weight.

Kudos for consciously spotting that Sabotaging Thought to quit swimming due to "splashers." And Bid Kudos for giving yourself credit. Good luck with your weekend. Neat idea about the small dessert with its ultimate disposal preplanned so it doesn't end up on your plate. Kudos for good planning.

Susan (QuilterInVA) - Kudos for having your meals already planned for next week, and Big Kudos for giving yourself credit. Neat that you're a slow eater; many people report that they're aghast to first observe how fast they woof down their meals. Neat that "Just Do It" is getting you to the gym; I need that reminder, thanks. Yep, I feel physically great after a gym session, and feel a bit at peace that I'm living like I want to live.

Sheridan - Ouch for your book imbroglio. Kudos for your persistence. Beck is easy to grasp once you have the book; I can imagine the bits and pieces seem confusing out of context. Love that you heard of Beck in the subway - yep, "Gotta love NYC." As Susan (QuilterInVA) mentioned, posting every day is a great way to get the program. There's a larger group who post several times a week, and an even larger group who read but don't post (can't tell you much about them, obviously). About the only guideline that's evolved around here is that people are welcome to post after being gone without having to justify why they were away - very low barrier to making that difficult first post back.


Readers – "… You’ll learn how to think like a thin person. …" Beck, pg 23.

6ood Satueday to you all!
 

An OP week (many credits). Came up with a nonscale goal...found a long jacket in my closet that is about an inch too small in every measurement...will be wearing that with it fitting in 3 weeks. today is day 12. practicing hunger tolerance. This is a very interesting topic. If one is on a diet plan and reaches the end of planned eating, beck teaches to tolerate it. Hmmm..that is a bit counter to targeting your eating to your hunger. I will be reading this more than once and thinking about it. Not sure what day this week will be a practice day for me. it may take me several days to complete the work of days 11 and 12....but I will do it..BBB-Credits for staying on plan and resisting those vending "goodies" all week. Enjoy the well deserved R and R and the cuke and berry 'splurge'...credit for picking a healthy reward.onebyone-Wonderful news on the Dr visit. Good luck at the market!JennyG-Hang in there! You know every 0.6 pounds counts and the rate of wt loss is never smooth. Plateaus are really hard for me too...but I am going to watch you make it thru this one..and you will remind me later when I hit one. Persist, persist,persist...no matter what!Susan- envious of your slow eating. I have gotten pretty good at mindful eating, but my brain is still goes fast enough that slow eating is a struggle.sheridan-kudos for your pursuit of the book. it will be much easier when you have it. Your eagerness is inspiring!seachild-congrats on finding a one to one coach. Please stay in touch and share some of your experiences with us. Thanks for the reminder on the slow, minful eating. I am still working on that daily.Guests arriving in 2 hrs...yikes...got to get some last minute house and kitchen work done. Happy Saturday to you all!ps..posted on treo so forgive typos and cryptic, please.

I have so much to learn
 

Hi ALL,

Susan- I thought the credit was same as a reward for say losing pounds,etc. From grazing the posts ,I see it is for smaller things so I will have to decrease my motivators to a quarter or even lower if I become really good at getting credits. I do already have my eye on a great Nolan MIller piece of jewelry.

I need to refocus on what is important. I am struggling to make sense o this approach .It seems so time intensive. Did buy my indeck cards,post its and notebook so that is at least something. I don't think that qualifies for a credit though because it is not really much at all. I love to shop so that part was easy.

Have a great weekend everybody

Sheridan

Lots of new people I see,I better reintroduce myself.I have been through the Beck plan twice now and still struggle daily.I have seen the diet doctor specialist and am beginning Phentermine along with my Beck.I have had success with it in the past and are retrying.I have gained my weight back since I have been online and am starting over.I am going to reread chapters1-14 but I am starting day 15 for Sun.I will begin my plan given by the doctor and tweak it as I go along.It is very restrictive I think and uses a 100 cal protein[15g] shake for breakfast with fruit and juice,lunch is soup,salad or sandich and diner is lean meat,rice,vegetables,snacks are fruit,rice cakes,protein bars of shakes. Exercise per the doctor is 30 min per day at least 5x a weekThe medication will help but I do believe Beck has the answers for emotional eating.He did ok the med and I do have high b/p[controlled] and I have no thyroid and take Synthroid.Everyone seems to be doing well here,keep up the good work

Way to sleep in, BillBE. Credit you! Though it did give me quite a start to see two posts ahead of yours. I am kinda used to starting the day off with those golden pearls of wisdom!

Glad to see you, SeaChild!

Welcome back, Wendylan; of course we remember you.

Sheridan, I think part of the wisdom of Beck is the time-consuming, all-encompassing approach. To control the wt. once and for all is a major, major, life-changing deal. It has to be an all-consuming focus. Stick with us, read what BillBE has to say, and I still say, if you read the Maintainers' thread, they are all still REALLY focused, and consumed with the effort. It is truly a lifelong struggle, but one that can be won with Beck strategies. At least she gives us the tools.

shrinkin, I did not do well with hunger tolerance today. Will not even admit to this, my trust group, what I gave into because I was hungry. After one bite, though, I realized it was awful, so had a cuppla more to ease the hunger and threw the rest away. ...and yes, BillBE, I had paid for it! lol

What a great day. Not as planned, my 9:00 riding date got postponed until same time tomorrow due to rain, but it was a great day anyway. The rain stalled my date with my horse, but wasn't enough to derail some major gardening. Good news and bad news there. Bad news, the pea crop is a bust. I picked enought today for some fresh eating, not even enough to bother to cook. Due to the record late spring, I couldn't plant the first two rows until May 7th, and the second planting was delayed for 10 days after that. In Mn, the rule of thumb is that for each week you delay planting after May 1st, you cut the yield in half. This was more than a half...it was barely there. Shoot! Peas are alot of work, when you consider the trellising and the absolute need for perfectly positioned rabbit-proof fencing. Oh well.

The good news is that raspberry yield is extaordinary. We grow one of the ever-bearing varieties, so the big yield is in Sept., but this July crop is the biggest I have seen. That is really good news because Karen the wonder dawg is a raspberry eatin' fool. She just mows throgh those prickly rows, snarfin' all the low hangin' fruit. I was actually hoping they would make her sick so she would stop doing that, but since she has managed to make herself (at least) half-time in-house dawg, I guess it is well she did not. I hope she realizes we are counting on her to keep the coons outta the Sweet Corn....we do, for the most part, keep her outside at night..she needs to keep her nocturnal watch sharp; I know of no other fool proof method for keeping coons out of Sweet Corn, especially Candy Corn..has anyone had that variety? It is unbelievable.

Good tidings to all Beckie friends; I hope you are as joyfull about summer as I am!

Sunday
 

Diet Coaches – (Warning TMI for all you youngsters.) So I turned 65, a mixed bag. Good News: got a discount at the hardware store when I bought a bag of charcoal. Bad News: Young clerk waved me to lean close to the register and said loudly and slowly, "S E E, Y O U - G O T - N I N E T Y - C E N T S - O F F - O F - 8.99. T H A T - I S - T E N - P E R C E N T." So, I'm now deaf and stupid, LOL.

But I did my third gym session for the week. CREDIT moi. Increased the weights a little bit on two of my exercises just to convince myself that I wasn't frozen stagnant. CREDIT moi. And, big deal, had a Birthday Watermelon with candles. First time in forever that I didn't have a Boston Cream Pie for my birthday. It was really fun. Kids thought it hilarious, after, of course, rolling their eyes in the universal fashion of children whose parents are deemed odd. CREDIT moi.


MaryBlu - Ya, I got snookered by sleeping late and typing slow. Ouch for the peas. Congrats on having the world's only raspberry snarfing Coon Dawg, LOL. Drooling at the thought of your productive gardens. Had my first of the season local sweet corn - the farmer (the only one with corn this week) told me that he put fiber mats on the field which increase the soil temperature by some 20 degrees. I slightly undercooked them in the microwave then gave them one minute on the grill as we were sitting down to eat. SOOOOOOOO good. No need for butter or salt. And, there's leftovers to eat cold in my lunches this week.

wendy (wendylan) - Yep, "... but I do believe Beck has the answers for emotional eating," I agree with you there. Kudos for getting back on the plan with your new diet. You were having success before, sending you my best supportive thoughts for you to do it again.

onebyone – Oops... missed your post on Saturday morning while I was typing. Hope you made a ton of sales yesterday and have a relaxing day off today.

Ellen (SeaChild) - Oops... also missed your post on Saturday morning while I was typing. Kudos for getting a flesh-and-blood Diet Coach. That's pretty neat. Great that you're back into the swing of things with Beck. Perhaps you will tell us, from time to time, what inputs a RL coach makes that helps you. We operate here without guidelines on how to be diet coaches, just wing it as best we can imagine.

shrinkin - Kudos for an OP week, and Kudos for such a neat non-scale goal with your jacket. Good luck with Program day 12: Practice Hunger Tolerance. That exercise just boggled my mind; changed my attitude toward hunger, and made me appreciate the Response Card: Hunger is not an emergency.

Sheridan - Now that's a novel idea, awarding yourself dollars toward a highly desired piece of jewelry. Once you have the book, the confusion will go away.


Readers – "… These strategies take practice, but in time they’ll become automatic." Beck, pg 23.

Good Sunday to You All
 

Good morning coaches.

I really feel like I have a day off today. I feel like a happy slug, lounging here on the couch, laptop on my lap, writing to all of you. I was sitting on my back step in my tiny yard enjoying the foliage around me. My fence on one side is completely covered by lush green vines. I planted heritage tomatoes and peppers but they are really crowded out by the vines and the other things that share the small space. I hope I get a few tomatoes or peppers, but really, it doesn't get enough light. Early morning, gone by 11, shaded by a tree... a challenge, but I like to try and just see the plants grow no matter the end result.

We are going to see The Dark Knight at IMAX at noon today. Cannot wait! We have the rental car to get there instead of the bus too. Nice. UPDATE: got to the theatre and thenline up went all in front of the theatre and around the corner and across the street! We will wait a week or two until the hubub cools down... I really wanted to see it but not yet. Sigh.

And yesterday at the market I sold a big painting and I sketched in charcoal on 6 canvases and they were all new compositions! Finally. Phew. I was a little worried I wouldn't come up with anything new for the art in the park next weekend. It seems I am now doing a series of people, with animals on their head. The people in paintings have no idea they have an animal on their head. It's very intriguing. One has an alligator, another a hamster, there's a rabbit and then I have a couple of women talking, one with a cat and the other with a bird looking eye to eye at each other. It's very funny and I have no idea why. I guess it's just ridiculous, but I don't really need to know why something is funny... I just enjoy it and feel lucky to have come up with something again.

Maryblu I was reading about your gardening rule of thumb re: May 1st plantings. I checked to see what latitude you are compared to where I am and discovered that minneapolis is at 44N and ottawa is 45N. Very similar, unless you are in northern MN? Anyway, short growing season, summer is very much meant to be savoured! I am with you on that. raspberries are coming in now as is corn. My favorite. Candy corn I've bought at the market but never grown it. And you really have a lucky dawg don't you!

BillBlueEyes 65? Really? You work really hard for one that, judging by age alone, is on the verge of retirement. Are you? Retiring I mean? Do people do that anymore? And a big :nono: to that young pup at the store! Geez. It's not only that you can't hear, but apparently you can no longer do math when old. yikes! I remember when I first got called ma'am AND I remember this past year when someone stood up to give me their seat on the bus! OMG! THAT made me feel old! Did I look like I would drop if I didn't get a seat? I suppose I should be pleased we still have polite people on the bus, but I just couldn't believe that I was the oldster who needed the seat! I remember my grandmother when she was in her late 80's staring at herself in the bathroom mirror and telling me she always expected to see her 25 year old self looking back. Happy belated birthday:hug:

wendylan Hi! Nice to see you again. I see you've done everything you said you would re: doctors, meds, checkups, plans. That's great! Being here helps it all work over the long haul, day by day... glad you're back. All the best!

Sheridan Hello! I agree with Billblueeyes and the whole program will make total sense when you finally get your book. It sounds like the Beck plan is really time intensive but it's not. You are focused on changing habits and thoughts. It depends on what your personal challenges are how much work you need to do to "get it". And getting it means you will finally be on your own side as you follow your foodplan of choice. Beck is not a diet but a diet support. Use it and you will no longer sabotage your weight loss efforts. That's worth the work it takes to "get it" in my view.

shrinkin Kudos to you and your successful week. Hunger tolerance is really important. Being hungry is not an emergency is really important to understand. This skill will help you NOT reach for food X just becasue you are *gasp* hungry! You can wait... imagine! Beck is good stuff.

SeaChild Hello there! Happy to read such great progress on getting back to beck and finding someone to be accountable to. That's good! Much success to you :)

JennyG 0.6 of a lb down is still down. I know it seems like nothing but it's not. We have no control over our body and how it metabolizes the food we eat and all the other things our body does for us at the same time. Our job is to follow the plan, our body does what it does. We have to hang in there and the results will happen--what we want will not move that scale up or down. Following Beck will help deal with disappointment and move on, put it behind you so that you can get to next week and see that great number... or whenever you get that. Keep going!

QuilterInVA I really know you are going to succeed with all that pre-planning. It's such a key to success. And that you already eat slowly. Wow. Two real key habits we all need to practice to be successful getting and keeping the weight off. You deserve all the credit you can get! Kudos!

coastalsue Ah! Thanks for the artisan joke the other day. Yep. It's somehow comforting to know "it's the same all over" re: show fees, travel cost, poor sales, and all other hidden costs... what always gets me is whenever any show/event/charity wants to boost their image they always ask the artist to donate something for free. How many times have you been to a show where thay are having a draw composed of something that you are asked to donate? After a few years of donating (and the sunday market asks us to donate every week) you get a bit tired of doing it. Do you do shows every year and throughout the year? Hope you got some swimming in in between all the work!

Hi to all who read this but don't post -- hope things are going well for you too... and if not, hang it there, things change;)

Doing well today,stayed on program and have quite a bit of energy.I had some leaf lettuce,green pepper,jalapenios and green onions from the garden,only a few things ripe but I have a salad ready for lunch Wed also. We had strawberries, rasberries and black rasberries but they are finished now.Discovered 2 big yellow squash under a tomato vine,I did not even know they were there. I cooked one of them in some olive oil and garlic,poured in some stewed tomatoes and topped with a little mozarella cheese.I am on a countdown until vacation 8/2/08,a week at the beach.

Hi there everyone,
I am hanging onto the wagon by my fingernails.... I get so motivated after reading what everyone has written though-especially about all the fresh produce-I will be looking for the candy corn!

Camping was so fun-dd had a ball with her buddy and buddy's little sis. And I brought one of my dogs and he had a great experience too. So fun to get to know the new dog's personality as it unfolds before me as he gets more comfortable. We went on LOTS of long hikes and got some relaxation time in and I actually read part of my book! It was a great balance in that way. Eating...well... I am chugging water right now with hopes that I can flush my body and treat it the way it deserves to be treated from this moment forward.

onebyone: Your artwork and the process in making it is wonderful to read about. Hope the movie was as great as your day off was!

BBE: Happy Birthday to you! I love the candles in the watermelon concept. I can envision my dd rolling her eyes at me when she is older. When "solving the world's problems" around the campfire this weekend, we talked about how great it is to be in our 40's. It is true for myself and the two friends I was with this weekend that we shed focusing on trivial issues and see what is most important. I look forward to the 50's and 60's to see what I can learn and shed then as well. Your typing makes you look not a day over 49! If I were in my 20's, I would have thought of some really great comebacks for that clerk in the store...but now I am a mature 42 year old and am beyond thinking of some smart alec response. :)

Maryblu: I am sorry that the weather didn't coincide with your date with your horse. And what a huge bummer that your peas didn't produce. Love that Karen dawg-she knows a good deal when she sees it!

So many other great things happening on the list-weight loss, lowered blood pressure, more exercise.

Off to plan my food for tomorrow and READ MY ARCs!!! Thanks Mary for the reminder that people on the maintenance list put lots of energy into maintaining their weight loss. Bill is our example here everyday but I still like hearing that this is a trend and that we can plan on this being a lifelong focus. We have the tools!!!

Monday
 

Diet Coaches – Was surprised by violent thunderstorms. Just not used to those around here. Since none of my trees were downed, it was kinda neat to watch.

Walked past a yard sale where a grad student was ditching her old CD's. Got 13 for $1. Spent the thunderstorm time sorting thru oldies; I still nearly tear up from The Time of My Life from Dirty Dancing. Fun listening to Patty Smyth, Aerosmith, Jon Bon Jovi. Didn't care for Chantal Kreviazuk's version of Leaving on a Jet Plane. My head only wants to hear Peter, Paul, and Mary singing: Fun stuff; a good reward for being out walking.

Heidi (hbuchwald) - Sending supportive strength to your fingernails, LOL. Your camping trip sounds so much fun - all the hiking and getting to know the dog. An interesting thought, "we shed focusing on trivial issues and see what is most important." Seems that we have something big to learn at each phase of our lives. I'm currently in awe that people in their 80's are so accepting of the death of their friends. It makes sense, but hard to believe that I'll ever get there.

wendy (wendylan) - Kudos for staying on plan. Just love it that you "discovered" 2 Yellow Squash - that happens so often with squash and cucumbers. They just appear!

onebyone – What a hoot!!!! Paintings of people with animals on their heads. Sounds so fun; intriguing indeed that the people don't know that the animals are there. Kudos for breaking through painters block and getting started on your Art in the Park show. Congrats for selling a large painting.


Readers – "My Story

I personally can understand the challenges that dieters face, and I also can attest to the success of using Cognitive Therapy to overcome them. I started dieting as a teenager and went on and off diets for many years. I, too, had lots of sabotaging thoughts, such as:

• I should eat as little as possible. …" Beck, pg 23.

First post from a lurker!
 

Hello all,
I discovered the Beck book a little under 2 weeks ago after seeing an article in the paper about a woman who lost 100 pounds following it. I had never heard about this book. How did I miss it?! Maybe I just needed to be 'ready' to find it.

Anyway, after searching and for chatboards on Beck fairly unsuccessfully, I ran across this one. You guys appear to have the most active bb on this topic (that I've seen anyway). If anyone knows of more, let me know! I get so much inspiration from these things!

I have two questions. I can't believe it, but I am finding it hard to come up with a reward for losing my first 5 pounds. Anyone have any creative ideas?

Next question, I weighed myself today and the scale was UP 1 1/2 pounds! After having lost 2 1/2 pounds, I was quite surprised. When I 'do the math' on my calorie intake and the exercise I've been doing, this doesn't seem justified. I sense sabotaging thoughts coming in. I know logically this happens, but what does Beck say about dealing with all of the weigh in thoughts, especially when it goes up? (I have not yet finished the book so I may find this in there.)

Thank you all for being here!

Happy Monday
 

Hello coaches:

Seems we are back to the humidity again. Oh Well! It's SUMMER. Still filling the bodybank with hot weather to draw on during the long cold months ahead. Need more heat!

I have much to accomplish this week. Most of my paintings are just started so I have to systematically tackle them and finish them. this doesn't sound like the romantic vision of an artist does it? Nope. This has more to do with production and hopefully some Art sneaks in. Just have to get things done. Even if you do the thing you love, there is always the work of it. Myself, I like that. I like to work.

The building people are painting the exterior of our front door and our kitchen window. They both face the same side of the parking lot. I had to get stuff cleared off our counter so they'd have full access were they to need to come in and work for whatever reason that I can't imagine. My place is a wreck. Clutter city. It causes me deep shame. I need to face it and I have written about there here before. maybe I can get to it now. That small counter top is now empty, perhaps I can keep it that way? Problem is where do I put the stuff that I put over somewhere else? I always get bogged down in the details. Basically I need to throw things away! Of course, today, when I need to focus on getting the stuff for the show done is when I actually feel like cleaning! HA! Procrastination I see thine ugly head in there... no I cannot stop to clean I have to paint. NO CHOICE. Today's the day.

freer:welcome3: Thanks for joining us and de-lurking! :hug:You wrote

Good questions. First rewards: books, bracelets, movies, clothes, trips, basically something you have had your eye on but wouldn't let yourself have. I thought of a charm bracelet that I could add a charm to everytime I reached a 5lb marker. Still like that idea. Right now I might consider a cleaning lady! haha! manicure? pedicure?

And here's a url to my favorite article about the scale and the number on it. Don't panic! There are lots of reasons behind that measurement... take the time and read the article.
http://www.***************.net/articles/scale_lies.htm What Dr. Beck says is in the chapter "how to deal with disappointment". Basically you acknowledge your feelings and you move on. OH WELL is the response you want. OH WELL I am not happy with the number but I am doing my best and I will see a good result next time. OH WELL you stupid scale you're not going to sabotage me and my progress! I'll show you!*said while waving fists in the air* That kind of thing. Don't get hooked on a number. Get hooked on living a healthy life day to day.;)

BillBlueEyes We have had a plethora of fantastic thunder and lightning storms this year. Awesome. I love them. And I agree that unexpected treasure of dvd's are a great reward for walking. A soundtrack for your steps. I also wanted to mention that your de-cluttering/paper-shredding adventures of late are sticking with me. I know I too will get into it soon. If we are moving somewhere we will have to get rid of half of what we own I think. And I'm not talking furniture! Most of what I own furniture wise I will glady leave behind :P

hbuchwald My wagon is in park. I think I'm changing the tires on it as we speak! I'm not following anything written down and am waiting for Wednesday and the fitness assessment I am having and then I'll shift that wagon into drive. I am getting mentally prepared. it's good our wagons are always with us isn't it? thanks for the water reminder. Think I'll go fill a big container and drink it today. Have a good day today, and may you have more dog-bonding time today!

wendylan Funny how a bright yellow squash can grow under our noses and still be hidden! I love that. This really is a great time of year for veggies... you make me want to make something light and yummy for dinner. Kudos to you for staying on your plan yesterday! :cp: I wish for you more of that today!

All the best to all who read this...

monday all!

back to work after an exhausting weekend. delivered an anniversary cake on saturday morning, and as soon as my MIL emails me the pictures i'll post one. i'm very proud of this little cake - it's pretty. :) have another one next saturday, and i'm starting to try and understand the time management issues involved. i want to do as many as i can (definitely need the practice to build my skills) but while i'm still towards the front of the learning curve, i work slowly. my actual "real" job just takes so much time...they don't really need me around all week, do they? ;)

we're also moving into the weeds with packing and getting the dayton house cleaned and organized. our tentative move-in week is aug 17. not sure how i'm going to get everything done in time. everyone, sing along if you know the words. (sigh.) and of course now i'm deep in training for the sept 28 1/2 marathon, although it's easier this time. went for a 7 mile long run/walk saturday morning. it felt like running in a sauna, and we had a smog alert all weekend so i never felt good - but also remembered how BAD i felt after my 7 miler training run for the may marathon. worlds of difference. my feet are too calused to blister now, so at least there i'm pain-free. i also wasn't sore afterwards (though my arms were sore from rolling fondant.) go figure.

had mixed success with beck this weekend. we went to an airshow party on saturday, and even though i was insanely hungry, i held off asking dh to take me through a drive-through on the way there. once we got there, i held to a grilled chicken sandwich and cukes, instead of the skyline dip and chips and cookies and all the other assorted junky food people bring to those types of parties. credit moi. later, i plowed through a gourmet cookie and cupcake from the market as a "reward" for showing such restraint earlier. oh well! yesterday, no plan, and it showed. we were up at the dayton house without healthy food easily available, so i made my lunch out of tortilla chips and cheese i found. not the best choice. need to get better at planning for weekends when i'm away from home and not in control of my schedule.

onebyone, SO GLAD to hear that your BP is good! your description of your current series is wonderful. it reminded me of "to a louse" by robert burns:

O Jeany, dinna toss your head,
An set your beauties a' abread!
Ye little ken what cursed speed
The blastie's makin!
Thae winks an finger-ends, I dread,
Are notice takin!

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us
An foolish notion:
What airs in dress an gait wad lea'es us,
An ev'n devotion!


bill, your cd find sounds like fun! chantal kreviezuk's "all around me" always makes me cry, but i'm with you that "leaving on a jet plane" should only be done by peter, paul and mary. i'm taking a page from your book; we're swimming in csa veggies these days. it's all i can do to keep up with them. tonight i'm baking zucchini and carrot bread because i think it'll freeze okay, and then slicing peppers and onions to eat with italian chicken sausage. the more veggies i can work in a dish, the better!

freer, onebyone did such a nice job answering your questions - have just a little addendum. one of the cool ideas that onebyone mentioned (and which i previously adopted) was to buy an empty charm bracelet, and add a charm for every 5 lbs lost. i decided to also add one for completing a half marathon. not sure if i'll do it for the next 1/2 - i want them to really mean something! but it's a great way to reward yourself, and fairly inexpensive.

welcome back wendy! nice to hear from you!

hi heidi - your vacation sounds marvelous! wish we were able to do something like that. we're going to colorado in september, and it'll be a great time (www.tellurideblues.com) but it's just not that relaxing. really, nothing is relaxing with a toddler. he won't be a toddler for long, though, right?

hi ellen! from your lips to my ears. "there's more to beck..." i need to get back to reading my book every day. i just collapse into bed at night and toss and turn...maybe instead of doing that, i could take a few minutes and read my beck and remember all the good information beyond meal planning and sitting when i eat! thank you for the reminder and congratulations on finding a coach! i tried using dh for that, but he's happy to go along with my excuses for myself, so that didn't really work.

mary! you are so right about beck's idea being all-encompassing. i think it's one of the reasons people (and when i say people, i mean me) fall off the wagon. it's a lot of sheer work to change your fundamental approach to feeding yourself. it's engrained in almost everything, and it's constant effort. there aren't any shortcuts, either. oh well! :) send some of those raspberries this way! i'll make jelly for the winter.

Monday Up date
 

Coaches: Sorry for the no report yesterday. About 6 am Sunday, I started writing my post on treo via Verizon (it takes a bit longer) and surprisingly, our guests at the Lake house got up early! So my hostess role took over. The house is so small that we eat all three meals on the patio on top of the boat house over looking the lake. So, in addition, to the cooking there is a lot of "toting". Our guests this weekend were in their 70's and not in great health...so all the back and forths to the kitchen were mine! But, that got in some more exercise!

Good and bad news for the weekend: Bad news first: Had a couple of slips on Saturday and ended up about 200 calories over my plan. Slips were desert with guests on Saturday night (1 inch square of brownie and one scoop of low cal ice cream) and one extra glass of wine. No slips on Sunday! Credits for: skipping potato chips at lunch Saturday, limiting wine to one glass at cocktails and one glass over dinner on Sat (others were sure having more than that), small size desert compared to desire and others eating, staying on plan for exercise, planning ahead for snacks on plan (lots of fresh fruits and veggies), skipping french fries when we ate out on Sunday, getting back on plan after slips and "doing exercise penitence" for Saturday slips with an extra 30 min of water walking on Sunday! :carrot:

Not sure what the scales will say this week, but the extra exercise probably wiped out my extra Saturday eating calories.

Work is a challenge this week...must get on track to make progress on a long term goal due in October. I am a better sprinter than a marathoner....whether we are talking about work or diet. I can do pretty good on those short term goals (actually outstanding on the short term)...it is the long termers that are the harder part. So, in work, just as in dieting, I just have to reduce those long term goals to short term goals. Some times, I just have to say, what is the "next step". Otherwise, get overwhelmed. So, I am not thinking about doing this for the rest of my life...just for today and tomorrow and maybe this week. Todays challenges are enough for today.

Special greetings to those of you that I have not "met" yet!

Sheridan-Sorry I didn't post to you yesterday. Yes, Beck can be time consuming...but then dealing with wt issues is always time consuming, especially once the weight has clearly attached health issues. So, I view it as better to consume the time on the positive/preventive end than on the negative end. If I am not working on my diet/wt issues, I am feeling bad that I am not. I am dealing with clothes that dont fit and trying to find clothes for special occasions, feeling more pain from my joints, feeling bad that my weight is stopping me from doing activities with family and friends and worrying over whether my health is going to decline more from my wt. So, I am choosing positive time consumption!

wendylan-Helooo! Welcome back. I am one of the newbies. It must be great to have a garden and get the really fresh food every day! I love stopping at road side stands when we are travelling though the Wisconsin country side in the summertime. However, this year has been a bit sad. Many of the farmers lost everything in the recent flooding (you guys may have seen that house in Lake Delton that went into the Wisconsin River on CNN back in June. That is about 25 miles from us). Some of our favorite produce stands are either not open, or the farmers come but with very limited choices. Mostly raspberries (which are outstanding), a few tomatoes and a few strawberries and cukes, but not really any Wisconsin corn available yet (one of our local farmers usually does 7 different kinds...it is a real treat. Sadly, he was wiped out by the floods).

maryblu- Greetings to you in MN! Sorry to hear about your peas...what a disappointment. Just like you, WI had a very late spring and disastrous weather. I have not had Candy Corn, but the name sure sounds enticing. Will watch for it!

BillBlueEyes-A belated Happy Birthday! :bday2you:HUGE credit for forgoing that Boston Cream Pie and for the truly remarkable watermelon with candles. I, too, have kids who are great eyerollers (less so now than when younger). I broke the girls of that habit when they were teenagers by learning to do it back to them. They told me I looked silly...told them I was just being their mirror. Enjoy your "new CD"!

onebyone-Go girl, GO! You've got those paintings on the move....and you are going for broke....you can see that finish line! Congrats on selling the big one last week. You had a great week last week and this one is going to be even better. Getting that fitness eval done is going to be wonderful...and then the wagon will really be in gear!

hbuchwald-Wonderful to hear about the camping trip. Between the dogs and the hikes, sounds like a great way to balance life! Keep on hanging on!Thanks for mentioning the ARC...I have been weak on reading that lately and as you can see from my post above, food desire sometimes beats desire for advantages....particularly if I am not reading my ARC!

freer-Looks like you already have some great feedback on your questions. I rely most on nonscale goals and just take credits for staying on plan and/or getting back on track right away on "a slip". I only really record my weight once a week, but I deal with the scale by weighing every day and watching it bounce all over the place. I know it plays tricks on me, mostly from water weight varying up to 4 pounds. The way I deal with those daily wts is that I celebrate when I see a lower number that I have not seen before, even while I say to myself, "well, tomorrow it will probably be higher, but I WILL see this number AGAIN....probably within the next week". When I see a higher number (typically the next day), I just say..."yup, I knew it would go back up, but I will see that lower number again...just have to keep at it". My scale only weighs to the half pound. Not sure I could deal with 0.1 pound issues. I also can convince myself part of the issue is that the scale "rounds off" and their is a "rounding error". In any case, just remember...the scale does not rule your life...you do! Use it as a tool, control it, dont let it control you.

kuhljeanie-Sounds like you have a very busy life going! CREDIT for controlling your food choices at the airshow and for committing to getting better on planning. Planning when the schedule is variable is really hard for me too. CREDIT for that 7-miler! Look forward to seeing that cake picture. Hang in there with the move!

Wishing you all a great Monday!