The Beck Diet Solution – October 2008 – Group for Support, Discussion, Diet Coach
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: train your brain to think like a thin person.
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.
Had to check in afterall since I am up and about to buckle down to read three articles and write a page of something all for 9 am. Just waiting on the coffee!
Was my official weigh in today and I was up 0.4lbs which means nothing...no it's better than that. These are the results of my first (ever in my life) week of being officially on a maintenance plan and I maintained. Imagine. I am anxious to get back to losing again but it's good to know that this part of the plan works too.
Have to go and get my work done and my lunch packed before I am out the door at 8. Just wanted to check in.
Diet Coaches – Got in a walk at lunch - important to me since my lunch time walks have been squeezed away of late. CREDIT moi. Went to the market where I buy the oats I use to make my granola. They had almonds in one of the nut butter grinders, so I bought just enough almond butter for DW and I to each have a sandwich. Find it odd that I don't remember ever trying it, so I have a treat waiting for me this weekend.
onebyone – Neat that the ByWard Market meeting went so well, and super neat that you mentally prepared yourself to deal with your needs as an artist. Hope you guys get to reclaim your market and get your customers back. Kudos for keeping up with your homework stuff and Double Kudos for turning down the cookies.
Robin (RobinW) - My sympathy for your forum friend - for you as well as his family. Suicide is a rough one; I lost a friend to suicide some 30 years ago and still think of her regularly. Kudos for working through this while remaining on plan. And Congrats for the weight loss.
angelmomma210 - Sending best thoughts for you and your DH as you process his medical condition. Ouch for all the tests and doctors' visits. Kudos for all the walking.
shrinkin - Yeah that apples and oats are healthy; Ouch that too many are still too many. Kudos for focusing on the wagon moving forward and Kudos for looking at some possible sabotaging thoughts for wandering off the path so that you can generate helpful responses. This, "if no one sees it, it does not count" has got to be one of the world's best, ever.
tera (twilit tera) – Happy Birthday. And may you have many many more. Kudos for the spontaneous walking, especially on a day with everything else working on plan. Hope your strawberry shortcake and at-home dinner serve to honor your new milestone well.
Readers – " Eating Begins with a Trigger
… Then there are emotional triggers. These are unpleasant feelings, such as anger, sadness, anxiety, frustration, or boredom. You eat to comfort or distract yourself. Emotional triggers can also be pleasant feelings. You might think that if you eat or keep eating, you can keep that good feeling going. …" Beck, pg 29.
Morning Coaches,
Well, a long, but OP day for me yesterday. Many things dropped in my lap unexpectedly and already with a day of meetings planned. Behind on many work issues adding to stress. Looking honestly at the recent slip, I think it was a combo of so many things: stress, being alone, rebelliousness (just not going to limit myself anymore). Just need to move on, but seems processing it is not over yet.
Bad news on the elbows...PT started me on 3 reps of one strengthening exercise last Friday. By Monday, spontaneous pain returned and even minimal activity (lifting an empty coffee cup) generated sharp pain. So disappointing to be going backwards. Felt bad yesterday all over and with elbow and yuck, did not meet with the pool. First time in 3 months I have neglected my schedule. No time for it today, so will have to wait until tomorrow which is my regularly scheduled day. So, a true MISS. That combined with recent slip pushing the brain into the "see you can't do this. You should just give up now and skip the misery." Fighting back the thoughts and need to create some time and energy here.
BBE-Credit for your lunch walk! Yum for homemade granola.
onebyone-WOW, you are doing great for resisting cookies when busy, tired and on the run all day. Thanks for the ...I needed that! Mostly, I think the threat of one sometimes helps! LOL. Happy to hear your market issues are going your way!
angelmomma210-Woohoo for you and your diet coach! Still listening to hear that DH's job issues are resolved.
twilit teraYour last post had so much confetti in it, looks like the BD party started early! LOL. Congrats on getting yourself totally back in your zone! What a great BD present that is. WooHoo for your mom coming back and for giving her the official title "diet coach".
Robin-Ouch for the triple trouble. Had a colleague to commit suicide several years ago. I was the last person to talk with him when he called to ask if I could cover his weekend assignment. Never saw it coming, he was dead the next morning. Methinks that suicide leaves us with a touch of guilt for not having done enough, even if we did not know the person well. Guess it is because suicide stikes us as so outside the norm/usual that we think we should have sensed the problem. Just isn't so, but it is hard to accept. That gets added to the usual grief. as you think about this. Glad you have DH to give the real hugs and to help you stay on track with your healthy plans for eating.
Have to get to work! No extra coffee today. Sigh.
Great Wednesday to all!
Wednesday check in, which is really regarding Tuesday, right? Anyway...
Good morning lovely Becksters!
OP Food OP Supplements Planned Exercise: 40 minutes Spontaneous Exercise: on campus
Nothing really major to report planwise, other than I'm really working on making spontaneous exercise a habit. I was rushed last night and tempted to park closer to my class, but caught myself, looked at the clock and realized that I had time for a walk after all.
Mom is back! I got to see some of the pictures she brought back from the Rhine and the photography convention. She's doing well, in spite of some ongoing health problems that manifested during her trip. The good news (?) is that they were brought on because she's lost inches around the middle making the apparatus she's got kink and get backed up. They worked out how to make it stop kinking until she goes in for a scheduled replacement next week.
I'm going to do something special for myself to celebrate some time between now and when my DH comes home to take me out to get Costco groceries. He bought me a really sweet card and gave it to me this morning. (He always picks out the best ones.) Also on the agenda is a walk to the closest grocery store to buy some fresh veggies to make chicken soup with, so there's my spontaneous exercise today! I never thought I'd become an exercise junkie, but the difference it makes in my mood makes it habit forming.
angelmomma210: for you for working in time to read Beck, even though you're so busy and have so much to deal with!
onebyone: I'm glad things worked out at the meeting. for you taking a pass on those cookies and another for maintaining!
Bill: for your walking. I hope you enjoy the almond butter. It's one of my favorite things to spread across toast.
shrinkin: So sorry to hear about the elbow. You just tell that voice in your head that for 3 months you DID do it, proving that you can, and that you will recover from this and do it some more!
I'll keep cheering you on!
And on the confetti, heh, I decided after reading this thread for a couple of days that I'd use to give kudos/credit because smilies make me smile and this one especially.
Thanks everyone for the birthday greetings! You know, this is the first birthday in a while that I've positively looked forward to celibrating. My life was just so rough for so long... Well, technically, I guess it still is... I just don't see it that way so much.
I'm so blessed by so many things - being able to attend school full time, having parental figures who understand me and give me encouragement, support and occasional necessities, a husband I love and get along with... oh, and coffee.
Happy Wednesday, everybody. Thanks for being here.
also saw some sadness earlier this week. a friend of a friend, not close, but saw her occassionally and liked her very much, died in her sleep with no forwarning. she was in her early forties and the shock is terrible. was it quilterinva who said that it was important to be grateful to wake up on the right side of the grass? wow. had a yearly checkup with the obgyn and got the message about sophia while in the waiting room. i'm nice and healthy, and seeing all those pregnant bellies - i really, really badly want a second child. turning 38 next year, and that particular window will not be open forever. with all DH is going through, the idea of another baby usually sends him spiralling into his unhappy place, so i am generally hesitant to bring it up, although i regularly worry myself sick that it won't happen. was thinking about this all the way back from the doc's office. what's the best way to handle this? pizza, you say? a whole pizza? yes, that's generally a productive, healthy way to deal with a difficult issue compounded by grief. folks, i'm not happy about how i handled this. not happy at all. i wish it HAD made my body feel worse - but oddly enough, eating an entire small pizza, and washing it down with a package of chocolate-covered pretzels, didn't make my stomach hurt at all. what the HECK is that about? what is going on with my hunger signals???
i guess the good thing is that later last night i did go there with DH, and while he is not OK with the idea of a second child, he's willing to deal with whatever emotional fallout that creates for him because he trusts my take on it and at the end of the day, he puts my happiness right at the top of his priority list. he's worried that the second one won't be as great as the first, that he doesn't have room in his heart for another one, that there will be something wrong with it, that it will be hard, that the first one will be angry when the universe stops being all about him, etc. DH also did a little passive-aggressive maneuver that i called him on, but at the end of it, he's willing because i feel so strongly, and he's willing to trust me when i tell him that his heart is more than capable of opening a little wider for another baby, that we'll get the kid we're supposed to get, that no, i won't start in on #3 if i get my way on #2, and that #2 will almost certainly be unlike #1, and that's perfectly OK. he doesn't really believe me, but i'm pretty sure i'm right, so we're going to go for it when i get back from india and don't have to worry about malaria pills.
the a-ha from all this: i don't need an entire pizza to avoid a difficult conversation. emotionally, it's much easier on myself to simply have the conversation, and eat a regular lunch. also, pizza doesn't seem to have any magical properties that make me less sad about my friend's passing, or having an unplanned refresher in understanding that the only predictable thing about life is its finiteness.
tera, thanks so much for your suggestions! i can drown myself in water and protein and my stomach is still screaming at me for more food. one of the challenges i've had with binging is that i actually LIKE the feeling of being stuffed. it's comforting. not so thrilled with the emotional crap that goes with it, but physically it's not at all unpleasant. my hunger exercise got me feeling panicked and nauseated. glad that bistro MD comes with access to licensed dieticians. right now, i'm working on finding a pen to corral those worrying thoughts, because they're totally useless. i have no idea how i'll do on bistro MD, so i'm not going to waste time on it now. if and when there's an issue, i'll deal with it. thank you!!! and happy birthday! shrinkin, kudos on an immediate return to "just need to create the time and energy." what affirmative thinking! sorry to hear that your elbow is giving you trouble. bill, that IS kind of funny, that you don't remember ever trying almond butter. i have a super-sharp memory for food. probably a question of focus, huh? onebyone, here's to maintenance! my wish for today is that you quickly slip into that marvelous state of mind where you're effortlessly focused, and the work just gushes out of you. robin, so sorry to hear about your crap day. thank god for wonderful DH's! hoping that the rest of the week gets better. maryblu, so with you on the honeycrisp apples. it's our new year, and a traditional meal includes apples and honey. these are the BEST. makes it OK that summer's ending, you know? and once the honeycrisp season is over, it's pomegranate time.
have a good day, all!
Last edited by kuhljeanie; 10-01-2008 at 10:53 AM.
kuhljeanie~I understand that stuffed feeling and how it makes you feel comforted. Ive always wondered when and where that started. Ive been known to overfill on water just to get that feeling. It seems to calm me down. Still not the best behaviour, but its better than doing something else. I also understand the eating and eating and not feeling full....I think its all connected some how. Im glad you pulled out of it, and got your conversation in with hubby.
Tera~ Happy Birthday!!! It sounds like you are doing a great job staying op Great Job!!
My eating is good
I havent worked up to get on the treadmill yet, but Ive been doing a bit of spontaneous exercise. Ive been having hip issues again......something that started when I was working out with my pt, and a stretching exercise pull the crap out of something. It hasnt been the same since. At least now when it acts up motrin takes care of the pain. I was dipping into my husbands shoulder recovery pain killers when it first happened.
Today is grocery shopping day.
Does anyone have a favourite veggie recipe they could share with me. Im not adventurous when it comes to that stuff, and I get broccoli over loaded. I intensely dislike salads, so you can leave those out. I'll only eat ceasar salad, or a souvlaki. Rarely will you hear me say....Wow that salad was good
So....pls post your easy veggie stuff.
Im printing aprons again today. Yesterday I did some aprons for a woman that is going to be on the Montel show!!! (his new one) She's going to be wearing them on the show!!!! I hope it brings her website loads of hits, and loads of purchases! She so deserves it!
I better get some work done, before hubby comes out and starts nattering at me
Getting my DH to swallow a vegetable is nigh impossible! So I started using the food processor to grind up broccoli and cauliflower and started slipping it into things like spaghetti sauce. :shh:
I'm also pretty illiterate in the kitchen, so I'm making new discoveries all the time, for example, I decided that soup would be a good way to get more veggies. The chicken soup I'm making today is mostly vegetable (celery, carrot, white onion), with some whole-grain rice and chicken (of course). I'm seasoning it with salt, pepper, sage, and thyme.
Jean: It sounds like there may be some medical problem contributing to the issue. Enjoying the feeling of being stuffed is psychological, and I think that most of us who are significantly overweight have had to overcome that mindset, but I don't think that feeling physical hunger all the time is physiologically "normal".
I forget whether you mentioned having read YOU: On a Diet. The Drs. Roizon and Oz do a really great job of explaning the "mechanics" of appetite in language that normal people use. If you haven't read it, it might be of help. If you have, then obviously it wasn't.
onebyone..you go for maintaining. You are such an inspiration.
Robin...my thought for you and your friend's family. That is so hard. Hope that your hip is doing better.
Bill..congrates on your walking....I have never had almond butter...will have to try it. Please take your time with it.
shrinkin..hope that your elbow is doing better for you. Take some time for you.
tera..happy birthday a little late. Hope that your day was great.
kuhljeanie...congrats about the pizza..that is good. Hope all goes will with trying to have another baby.
Dh is still not sure what is happening..we will see some of it today. If it is not good he will push the problem up another notch and if needed go to arbitration. Please keep us in your thoughts. It has been rough..but have been trying to do anthing but eat. So far so good. I am really cold today so am not gonna walk the dog today...but plan on doing some exercise in the house. Doing pretty good food wise. Seems like this time with the emotions I am not all that interested in eating...hope that that continues.
Getting my DH to swallow a vegetable is nigh impossible! So I started using the food processor to grind up broccoli and cauliflower and started slipping it into things like spaghetti sauce. :shh:
I do the same thing, my hubby wasnt too happy about all the veggies I dumped on his plate last night I used to do that "little bits" too, then I'd hear from the dining room (very loudly) "WHAT ARE THESE GREEN THINGS IN MY FOOD!!!" He's too funny sometimes. But he ate it. Now he's graduated to chunks of veggies
angel~ Im confused....is this a health issue for your husband or something else? The word arbitration messed up what I had been thinking. Regardless, I hope everything works out just fine for him.
Diet Coaches – Was in a schedule squeeze but made it to the gym anyway. CREDIT moi. Great news: I did two pull-ups. But it came with a sobering awareness. The fixed structure that I used two days ago for my first successful pull-up was in use, so I had to use the one that is some six inches higher and its small handles go off in a different direction. Well, when I jumped up to grab the two handles, I missed!!! It wasn't even in my mind set that I couldn't just jump up and hang on. I was entirely focused on whether I could do the pull-up. I hit my hands on the handles and came right back down. I was stunned! Haven't figured out why I missed. Maybe it's more difficult than I'm thinking. Maybe, in this area, my head still thinks I'm 20 years old. Perhaps I misjudged how to jump 10 inches, or perhaps 10 inches is a stretch for me without some jumping practice. Anyway, I was more stunned by my first failed jump than I was stunned by doing two.
Jean (kuhljeanie) - My sympathies for having to face the loss of a friend so unexpectedly. And Ouch for slathering your feelings with pizza and pretzels. Big Kudos for having the courage to just have the difficult conversation with your DH. That's such a good reminder to me that all the difficult conversations that I avoid for some magnificent reason or another might work out if I just have them. Interesting comment that you "have a super-sharp memory for food." I suspect that when I eat the almond butter, I'll remember whether it's a new taste or not.
Robin (RobinW) - Ouch for the recurrence of the hip pain. Double Ouch that it started while doing supervised exercise with a physical therapist - thought that was why we were supposed to use PTs, so we wouldn't hurt ourselves on our own. My all time favorite vegetable recipe is lightly oiled and grilled with whatever herbs are fresh. It also works to roast them in the oven. We almost never have any left over when we serve them to guests. For dinner last night, DW did roasted sweet potato slices with Asian 5 seasonings. Luscious as always.
angelmomma210 - Sending positive thoughts to you and your DH for promptly getting on top of his health issues. Understand that uncertainty is so difficult.
shrinkin - Ouch for the elbow news; do you cut back on the new exercises because you, perhaps, got ahead of yourself? Do you have to wait to see the physical therapist or can you just call for advice. Wishing you well of that - you've been working so faithfully to take care of it.
Yep, "need to create some time and energy here." Big Kudos for keeping your head clear about what's going on. I know that work stress stuff when you're behind on being behind. Sending some positive energy your way.
tera (twilit tera) – Kudos for continuing with the spontaneous walking, especially after the Sabotaging Thought that you were too rushed to do it. It continues to amaze me that as soon as I start doing something positive, this whole army of Sabotaging Thoughts deploys attempting to knock me off track. Your chicken soup sounds super.
Readers – " Eating Begins with a Trigger
… Or you might eat because you think your good feeling will go away if you restrict yourself. …" Beck, pg 29.
Got a lot of spontaneous exercise in yesterday. Lots of walking to take pictures of road markings. I kept thinking "wow these are going to be the most boring poictures in history" but looking at them now (I have to go work on them after this post) they are intriguing. My task f msyelf was to make them look unrecognizable, mostly by the angle of the shot, as "road". They are odd. Have no idea if I understood our assignment but suspect that over 1/2 the class is much more lost than I am. So will go with that thought. getting the images was a 45 minute walk that I had to push myself to complete. And then I had to return to the school to meet with the 2 new ceramic insructors and I thought it'd be a talking meeting but it was a cleaning meeting so that was hard. Much scrubbing and filling of garbage bags and toting to the basement for me. One instructor is a clean freak which is tough in a clay studio... and as we know coaches, cleaning is a MAJOR challenge for me though much easier in a public space than my private home. Also under the category of exercise was the fancy dancing I did to come up with the $ to cover my 2 of 3 tuition payments. I am now flat broke. *sigh*
While out and about I was starving and really wanted to eat. Was planning this and that and almost went in there or there and instead waited for the bus and ate the boiled egg and the cucs I had left from lunch when I got sidetracked. Was eniugh until I got home and DH handed me chicken. Ate that and it was enough until...oh! I remember what I did... ugh. We got some whipped cream in a can to try out. it's allowed so there's nothing wrong there, but I stood AT THE FRIDGE and did the whole spraying this stuff in your mouth thing, like 6x? Have never done that before. I think it's way more fun when you are 4 vs. 44. Anyway after #6 I thought "What are you doing?!" and stopped. Was using food as fun. Sheesh. Did not trigger me I just thought what are you doing...
Oh better go. Another killer day ahead of me. Last one for the week.
Thanks for your good wishes. Yesterday felt bad most of the day and actually stayed home from work. Actually lowest calorie day (somehwere between 1000-1100) I have had in many weeks, mostly from lack of appetite, headache and bodyache. My usual intake is between 1300 and 1400 and with that I am content or mildly hungry.
Weigh in day today: Down 2.5 pounds. I doubt the number is totally "real" as it is unusually low. So, have to mentally be ready for the upward bounce. Probably some wt loss though. With that reading, 4 week average is an unreliable 1.75 pounds per week.
This am would be pool time but have decided to wait until tonight to decide about going today. Have PT this am and will be a sad session to report and see what she has to say. I am very discouraged with this as the minimal increase in activity set this thing almost back to the beginning.
Pool decision in part because I want her to assess the arm without having the thought "well, maybe its worse right now because of what you just did in the pool." Other part is that I am just discouraged. It will be very hard to go tonight, but I must, I must, even if tired and I only do 20 min. Got to get the routine back in motion. Got to keep my legs as healthy as they are now...irrespecitve of the elbow.
Will look for the chapter in Beck on dealing with discouragement.
With today's weight, I am at the lowest scale number in over 2 years. Methinks I am having trouble believing that I can continue going down, instead thinking "OK, its time to yo-yo up now." I know there is a day called "Believe It". Probably need to read that too today.
Any other thoughts are very welcome coaches. Will try to post some personals later. Limited energy here this am and need to talk to DH who returned at 1 am last night.
thanks all! feeling strange. my head is still doing odd things to me. stopped by the store last night for sea bass and spinach, then DH and i agreed that we just did not have time to mess around with cooking and got drive-thru instead. fries and a burger - but no cheese or mayo, and i enjoyed the heck out of it. my first bistro MD order shows up today and i suspect that i'm going "storing up in advance" to make up for some future missing of crap food. third verse, same as the first. this is a pattern for me. need to reassure self that
1. i will always allow myself to eat enjoyable, tasty food
2. i won't be constantly hungry
point #2 is a biggie - need to take a more serious look. i've been hungry a lot lately, and subsequently eating more. still haven't gained - even with eating an entire pizza on monday. i'm going to pay very, very close attention to my calorie intake v. burn, and what my weight does. i have a suspicion that figuring that out may be the key for me, like the carb cycling is for onebyone. guessing it's a combination of total calories and macronutrient ratios that i need to track carefully against results. bistro MD is an expensive plan, but it comes with unlimited access to a dietician. you can bet your patootie that i'll be bugging them on this one.
sounds like we're all in a little bit of a funk today...here's to a better day, everyone.
I was OP almost all day with Food, but since part of the plan includes writing foods down at the time that I eat them, and I left my journal at home last night when we went out to dinner, I can't honestly say I was comletely OP. I was very well behaved at dinner none-the-less, KFC with corn-on-the-cob and green beans instead of my beloved potato wedges. I ate slowly and paid attention to my hunger levels, quitting when I was satisfied before I got "full." for that.
The soup smells fantastic, but I haven't tasted it yet. We got home late after running errands, so I probably won't get any til tomorrow, since we have leftovers to polish off tonight.
Must focus on homework today. I'd hoped to have my biology reading for this week finished already and be starting my next set of essays for Early Childhood Education class, but photosynthesis is not easy for me to grasp. Any time I'm faced with a bunch of unfamiliar scientfic terms, my brain short circuits.
shrinkin: for the elbow thing. I hope you PT comes up with a good plan for getting recovery back on track. Putting off further strain until after you see her makes perfect sense to me. I look forward to hearing how it went.
Bill: Thanks again for the kudos! I'm not sure what the difference is, but so far, this time (there have been other attempts to lose weight) I'm experiencing fewer sabotaging thoughts and handling them better than in the past. That might be because of the work I've done recently on other issues. What I learned dealing with that stuff might be carrying over into this.
I've noticed, though, that the more I'm OP with my supplements and exercise, the more I'm OP with food and the easier it is to avoid temptation. Everything seems to be linked to everything else.
Sorry to hear about the jump. Your hand hit the bar, so it sounds like you weren't off by much. I hope you countered sabotaging thoughts yourself by reminding yourself that anyone can miss on a single jump and that you can work on that, just like you've worked on your upper body strength! Two pull ups! That's amazing!
onebyone: all over the place! First for all that exercise! Then for pushing yourself to do all that cleaning! Then for eating your own healthy snack instead of choosing something more fattening and probably more expensive! And finally for noticing what you were doing with the canned whipped cream and putting a halt to it! Just try to put that in perspective and go on to what's next.
Being a full-time student is hard. There's so much pressure, not just to perform in classes but also in the financial struggle. Good for you for finding ways to pay tuition instead of taking out loans. This is *not* a good economic climate for going into further debt. IMHO, it's never a good time to add more debt, but not everybody thinks that way. Hang in there!
The Beck Diet Solution – October 2008 – Group for Support, Discussion, Diet Coach
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thoughts and need to create some time and energy here. 
...I needed that! Mostly, I think the threat of one sometimes helps! LOL. Happy to hear your market issues are going your way!
Your last post had so much confetti in it, looks like the BD party started early! LOL. Congrats on getting yourself totally back in your zone! What a great BD present that is. WooHoo for your mom coming back and for giving her the official title "diet coach".
as you think about this. Glad you have DH to give the real hugs and to help you stay on track with your healthy plans for eating.
OP Food 
40 minutes
on campus
I'm going to do something special for myself to celebrate some time between now and when my DH comes home to take me out to get Costco groceries. He bought me a really sweet card and gave it to me this morning. (He always picks out the best ones.) Also on the agenda is a walk to the closest grocery store to buy some fresh veggies to make chicken soup with, so there's my spontaneous exercise today! 
I never thought I'd become an exercise junkie, but the difference it makes in my mood makes it habit forming.
onebyone, here's to maintenance! 
my wish for today is that you quickly slip into that marvelous state of mind where you're effortlessly focused, and the work just gushes out of you. robin, so sorry to hear about your crap day. thank god for wonderful DH's! hoping that the rest of the week gets better. maryblu, so with you on the honeycrisp apples. it's our new year, and a traditional meal includes apples and honey. these are the BEST. makes it OK that summer's ending, you know? and once the honeycrisp season is over, it's pomegranate time. 
It sounds like you are doing a great job staying op Great Job!!
I do the same thing, my hubby wasnt too happy about all the veggies I dumped on his plate last night 