Robin I’m so glad you are had a relaxing fun Saturday – credit! And I’m glad you are getting the hang of the blog – I don’t have any html experience, so I’d be of no help. Hope the gym works out!

Tera down 2 lbs – wow! Your pain seemed a bit better, so I’m glad of that. Really excited about your new apartment -- every bit of extra space helps! Credit for good food choices – veggies and portion size.

one by one ouch for the cravings! The best you can do is exercise your resistance muscles right? Just be sure to give yourself credit for every time you resist – it’s just as important as each time you give in.

Anne I LOVE the parking lot idea!! I think I’ll try that when I get home – thanks! Have fun on the bike race today!!

Kim and I’m hoping you get back in that wonderful groove you were in last week. Credit for posting and the reasonable computer time limits!

Bill on the Sole elliptical! And for having a DW who’ll let you put it in the dining room! I’m afraid I wouldn’t be so flexible. You were wise to get the home delivery and set-up. We spent a Saturday putting ours together! Yum strawberries – making me hungry for breakfast! This is a lovely time of year, isn’t it? I love being able to sit outside again.

davidette for finishing up the yard work that needs to be done. For us, we hope to finish that next weekend… LOL for recognizing the line that should not be crossed – cookies! I like the idea of graphing my fatigue and weight – it’s exactly the kind of thing I want to explore by having daily fatigue ratings. I just might find out something very useful… It’s nice being up before everyone so I have time to enter my calories from the previous day and analyze where I did well and where I have room for improvement. I don’t do desserts very often, so I’m treating the crème brulee as a one-off. I don’t crave sweets (usually), don’t make or buy desserts. (Well I do buy some low cal ice cream, but I eat that once every couple of weeks…) I rarely can eat dessert at a restaurant because they are almost never GF. And I don’t mind having big splurge once every 4-6 months. But I can’t take leftovers home, that’s just not very smart. ‘GA pitstop’ – I believe Bill mentioned feeling the need to attend Gamblers Anonymous after reading about getting lucky in Men’s Health. That anecdote really tickled my funny bone!

Hi coaches

I have just realized I have a very strong resistance muscle: I resist cleaning and de-cluttering very easily. Should be easier to locate the resistance muscle now when looking for it to help me curb food intake.

I've been reading this book called In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan. It's really a radical book about food and I am totally into it. Very eye opening. Much to think about but it's helping me make decisions to cut the processed food out of my diet and go toward the whole foods the way they grow. You'd think I wouldn't need a book to help me get there? And that's what the book is all about! Man.

Anyway other than this things are good. I ate over-salty food last night. Oh well. I am on track this morning. I have to get some more work done toward my bus strike project today. I am scheduled to print it on Thursday so I have to get my linoleum carvings made. No choice.

ChinaMaine I think credit is due to you for planning and following your plan while away from home on a trip. You are keeping your foodplan and goals right up there at or near the very top of your to-do list BIG KUDOS for this!

davidette Kudos not "filling in" with cookies. I have discovered that just cause I can and it would be ok is not a good enough reason to actually eat something I know will trigger me in the long run... or something I will obsess over the second after I've eaten it. It's just not worth it, even if, technically, it was okay. Tough to look long term when faced with it in the here and now.

BillBlueEyes Where are your strawberries from? The Boston area doesn't have some freakish early summer microclimate for strawberry growing does it? Glad to see your elliptical purchase was painless... can't say that working out on the elliptical will feel the same

twilit tera Congrats on loading up on raw veggies during dinner. I am aiming to do the same things. I told DH that I am going to start planning dinners around veggies. Green veggie first then the other elements. I am inconsistent so far but I keep trying. Very happy to read you're moving to a bigger place! It feels great to have more space. It is something to look forward to!

angelmomma210 Well you've certainly had a tough 2009 so far. I hope things get moving in a positive direction for your DH and I also hope your new meds work for you and you can get back to driving that bus... I also wish for you another trip to the ocean for rest and relaxation

bennyhannahmama Slipping is much better than stopping and giving up. Glad you come back and post and happy to hear you are trying new strategies! Credit to you for this!

wndranne I LOVE the parking lot idea. Oh boy. This is something that will work for me for sure. And I wonder how many of the parked foods I will actually want the next day? Good luck on your 27 mile ride! And in the Arizona sun too... I can imagine the sun, I can imagine the scenery, I can't imagine riding in it! Credit for doing the challenge!

Tera wrote:

"There is one thing that I like about Dr. P -- He doesn't take himself too seriously. That said, the question you quoted of his, why do we choose to be fat, is a serious one. B and I were discussing the key to successful weight loss the other day in the supermarket. Wanting to lose weight isn't enough. You have to want to lose it more than you want to do what makes you fat. Why do we choose to be fat? For many of us, it's that we think the price of getting thin is too high. Its got nothing to do with how we feel about the fat itself.

I think a good follow-up question would be: Are you happy with your choice?"


Tera, your assessment is so right on the mark. The price of getting thin being too high is something Beck addresses well in TBDS, helping ups get to the point of accepting that the cost is not too high, and that we can get used to and even enjoy paying the price. She reminds us that even thin folk do "watch what they eat."

The part that I am struggling with right now is wanting it more than I want to indulge in recreational eating. Definitely have been making some progress, and the power shopping trip (well, OK, I have to *admit, it was more than a pilgrimage to Trader Joe's) did help put some more fuel in the incentive tank.

I came away from clothes shopping in the not-until-I-lose-the-wt. mode. Spent 43 bucks total on 3 pieces. J Crew had some great markdowns; I couldn't resist that. But have new incentive and ready to take advantage of the mood.

The past week SO and I spent eating healthfully, which focused a lot on reducing consumption of processed food and the obscenely high sodium content therein, hence lots more whole foods, and btw, onebyone, I am a Michael Pollan devotee. The Omnivore's Dilemma changed my life.

In just a week's time, I noticed a change in SO's appearance that could only be from less water retention. Sodium is such and enemy, and gets such a pass from most diet gurus and unless a patient has Congestive Heart Failure or high blood pressure, even most doctors don't give stern enough warnings. The AMA is pressuring the FDA to consider sodium and additive and therefore regulate it; I sure hope it happens. There is just a way too casual attitude about the toll sodium takes on health. Sodium stiffens arteries, and it is a problem whether you have high blood pressure or not.

Just one side trip rant. I live in the sticks, so lead a sheltered life. I really don't get much exposure to the way many of my fellow Americans consume. I freely admit, I am a hick. That said, will someone please explain to me what about a purse....oh, uh, excuse me, a *handbag* is worth $150.00? Or $279.00? Does calling it a *handbag* make it worth that amount? Or does that fact that there is 30% off a $279.00 price tag make it a smart purchase?

I stood in the Coach Outlet store where my BFF bought at least 3..may have been 4....I was too horrified at the prices I was seeing to even know...don't know the final damage to her credit card, but watched literally dozens of people in there buying these bags at those prices. And btw, what recession? People were scooping these things out of there, more than one at a time.

Now, I do realize there are lines of these things that sell for even more..in the thousands, but what is the deal? What is the deal? It is a bag to hold my stuff. I have one at a time, and think 25 bucks is too high. What is the deal? It is a bag that I hate to carry, avoid it if at all possible. What are pockets for? What about saying "Coach" on it makes it worth that much money? I overheard someone say, "Oh, good, it says Coach on it." Apparently that makes it worth more.

Hi, I'm not new to 3fc, but new to the Beck Diet for Life. I got the new book and reading it and have my materials ready for Stage 1. She says in the book that the diet doesn't start until Stage 2, but I'm already following dieting plan and don't want to mess it up. Count calories 1600 a day, but more with Intuitive Eating thinking. However, I really believe the Cognitive therapy skills are going to be a tremendous key to helping me stop my years of yo-yo dieting and help me get to goal and stay there. My story isn't much different than others. I've been close to goal before, but never actually made it and like others gained back what I lost and more. My question is this. Is this going to work with me just continuing my diet while learning the skills? I already have a Buddy who is the one who told me about the book. I've been reading your thread as well. I see a lot of you here with success which is an inspiration to me as well.

Thanks for your help.

Hi Pattygirl and

Eating was terrible yesterday. Today its just off But I have a pot of protein celery soup made and a batch of low fat cream cheese celery stuffing. I have a head of romaine shredded and ready for a ceasar salad, and I bunch of celery cleaned, chopped and bagged. So I should be good for an op week!

Decluttering continues...1 garbage bag from the dressing room, filled with stuff that we didnt want to throw away. 1 garbage bag from the dressing room of stuff that we never wear, but is still in good shape. Christmas wrapping paper is collected and ready to be moved into the attic. Probably another 2 hours worth of work, and it will be done. We didnt get into the attic this weekend, but we did start the yard. Progress is being made. Oh, and the buffet that I told dh we were going to clean off, conviently got put off. So its still a mess. Id say tho 65% of what we planned to get done, got done.

Im off to post some recipes and then do something to settle myself. (dont know what yet, but something)

Have a wonderful evening everyone!

Me again, literally popping my head in. I hate that I feel like I'm missing out on lots of great conversations, but I'm barely keeping my head above water. Hoping for a change soon. Thanks for the continued support.

No been a good 2 days for eating. Am in the mood for ice cream and it has been very hard to say no to it. Just trying to keep myself above water right now...or should I say above the ice cream. Gonna go and do some spinning wool and then do some knitting and see if that helps me to keep away from the food.

Coaches/Buddies Today was race day, and I did 27 miles in 1 hr 39 min on my bike. Just short of 17 mph for those not wishing to do the math (maryblu!) I worked with a friend, splitting the lead-out duties since the first rider gets the most air resistance. I feel great, but pretty much shredded my quads and triceps, since most of my training has been off the bike lately. I also burned about 1700 calories, so I adjusted my eating plan accordingly today. Did a reasonable job of sticking to the spirit of the plan as well, although as expected, I had to make some adjustments to match real life. Afterward, DD did a 4 mile kids "race" and beat her friend, one year older and a boy, and she was very excited about that. DH ran with her on the course.

I met the triathlon coach I often work with, and we are getting set to start up with training plans on June 1, with two goal races, an Olympic distance tri in October, and a half marathon in November.

I'm going to try to swim tomorrow if I'm not too sore, and get my plan worked out soon--I'm fading quickly tonight for some reason!

Kim I think 15 minutes of computer time is a perfectly reasonable thing. Just keep touching base.

Chris Sorry to hear the ice cream is calling. I think spinning and knitting should be a terrific distraction activity.

Tera Congrats on the bigger apartment! Nice work on the pizza and salad. I love that combo.

Bill Good luck creating some space for your new elliptical. Cheers for breakfast in the sun!

davidette Good job not filling in with cookies. Congrats on your "final" day of yard work.

ChinaMaine I think your travel food choices all sound very reasonable and restrained. I hope you're giving yourself lots of credit for that.

onebyone If a book gets you from here to there in getting done what you would like to get done, then hurray for the book. I'm really liking the parking lot for my cravings. It isn't just an abstract, "I can eat that tomorrow," which doesn't work so well with me. It is also helping me to remember and appreciate the "treats" I'm eating, instead of just taking it for granted. I still wonder that a simple list holds so much power.

maryblu Loved your side rant. I feel the same way myself about "handbags." I think I got my current one for about $16.

Trish/pattygirl63 I think you can continue your diet while learning the skills. You may have problems reconciling the menu planning that the Beck books advocate with intuitive eating, or you may not depending on exactly how you practice intuitive eating and how good your intuition is a day in advance, LOL. I like CBDL, but don't use the food plan. And as time passes I find myself going back to BDS (the first book) more, where you select any healthy, reasonable diet that works for you.

Robin Congrats on progressing from horrible to off. BTDT. It is a big step--don't underestimate it. Good luck decluttering.

See you all tomorrow. Zzzzzzzzzzz....

Anne

WI: none (mom's house)
Pain: 0/3/6

Credits: Taco salad for dinner. Shopping at Costco without tasting a single sample. Reviewing and rejecting numerous "healthy" dessert options 'cause they weren't good enough. Starting fundraising decision spreadsheet.

It was a pretty fatty day... pizza for breakfast, pizza for lunch. Not gobs of pizza, but the fat calories for today must be insane. Plan to find a good oatmeal/applesauce cookie recipe soonish. I've decided to make a spreadsheet to more easily compare fundraising options.

Bill: for the eliptical, the op eating, the cooking ahead, and the strawberries!

I don't know how much excercise I'll be getting in the move. Packing I can do, walking in small doses, but heavy lifting and carrying are out of the question right now. This is the first move we've done where I won't be on one end of a dresser or sofa.

We've already been working on eliminating unnecessary clutter, as well as getting the stuff we keep better organized. There is still a little ways to go, but not as much as in ages past.

Davidette: standing firm on your decision to not use cookies as a substitute meal. for continuing the fight against flora encroachment.

ChinaMaine: at I do not rhythm! for avoiding mashed potatoes and refined flour bun Icky buns!

onebyone: at resisting cleaning! Maybe I can leverage that same resistance! I hope you move forward on getting rid of the processed foods. I'm finding that they trigger a lot of bad choices. When I keep fat and sugar down and fiber and protein up, I just sail through.

I read in Breaking Through Your Set Point that for a healthy diet, our plates ought to be composed of about 50% veggies and fruits (I'm going to assume on average). I'm not there yet, but I do try to get some in at every meal. Huge for planning your meals around veggies!!

Maryblu: Sodium regulated as an additive... Interesting. I agree that there's way too much of it in our foods.

I also agree with you about the rampant consumerism. It seems to me sometimes that the most valuable thing in our market is the right label.

Trish: to the Beck thread! I'm following a plan very similar to yours. I started with mindful eating, then added calorie counting as a supplement. I'm still putting more emphasis on mindful eating, but seeing the calories helps me resist temptations to go off plan.

I started with the Beck Diet Solution (the old book) which didn't have a diet plan in it. I haven't gotten the new one, and don't really plan to. Someone else here can answer your question better than I can.

Robin: for a very productive weekend. for cooking ahead.

Kim: Take care of yourself. Post as you can.

Chris: Great work keeping yourself busy to resist ice cream! I hope you let us know how it went when you check back.

Robin: What a great way to get out as a family! My congrats to your daughter!

Thanks Everyone for the warm welcome.

Anne & Tera - Thanks for advice. Although I do Intuitive Eating, I make my plans the day before and use calorie counting to keep my calories to a minimum so that I don't overdo while eating healthy at the same time.
The diet in the book seems to allow more calories than I am used to, but I have decided to do the recommended minimum of 1600 calories a day. So I will be following the plan as much as possible.

Trish (pattygirl63)

And, in case you didn't get one of these when you joined 3FC over 2 years ago,


How did you find out about the Beck thread on 3FC?

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Made a three bean salad for a pot luck using fresh green beans, canned chick peas, and canned red beans. CREDIT moi for working my learning-to-cook thing as well as making something that fits my notion of healthy on on-plan for me.

Managed to fiddle about and not walk despite being a clear sunny day. Oh Well.


maryblu - Kudos for your successes in the battle of wanting to be thin more than wanting "to indulge in recreational eating." It helps me to hear the phrase "recreational eating" because that makes it seem so silly.

If you're a "hick" then you're my kind of hick. Big Kudos for buying three pieces for 43 bucks. That's some astute shopping. (I don't do handbags.)

What did you buy at Trader Jo's?


onebyone - Yay for expanding the definition of Resistance Muscle to de-cluttering. Yep, that proves that mine is strong also, LOL. But real Kudos for expanding NO CHOICE to your linoleum prints. Good luck finishing up your last week.

Boston does in fact have its share of "freakish" stuff, but local strawberries live by the standard climate zones and we're not producing yet. We're getting them from California this month. Last month was the big Florida strawberry bonanza.


Robin (RobinW) - Yay for that pot of protein soup. And Kudos for continuing to de-clutter. You'll be my model as I work to make room for the new elliptical.

Anne (wndranne) - Congrats on completing your 27 mile bike race. And Kudos for your planned events including a half marathon - which seems a big step up from a 5K. Just WOW that you DD did 4 miles!!! That seems so long for a three year old.

Tera (twilit tera) - Honking Big Kudos for "Shopping at Costco without tasting a single sample." Not able to say, BTDT, since I haven't. You're my idle for that. If you can sell how you do it in a can, I'll buy a case of it.

Chris (angelmomma210) - Ouch for ice cream when it's calling. Kudos for spinning instead.

davidette - Yay for fighting the invasive plants. Yep, that's an ongoing battle. Kudos for holding the line against cookies.

ChinaMaine - Yay for the fatigue holding at a level that allows you to continue your visit. Kudos for holding close to OP as you work through the choices available. Did you find Martha?

Kim (bennyhannamama) - Waving back. Kudos for popping in when that's what you can do.

Trish (pattygirl63) - Kudos for charging forward and getting the materials for Stage 1 already.

My take is that Beck is suggesting that you not change your current diet while learning the new strategies - so staying with Intuitive Eating thing for now is just fine. There is a structural difference between Beck's NO CHOICE and "Eat when you're hungry, stop when you're satisfied." Beck is more into planned eating. I'm a fan of the concept of Intuitive Eating but have only been able to use the part of stopping when I'm satisfied. On the few occasions that I recognize that I've planned too much, I try to stop.


Readers -

Lets not talk about last night Its over, and Ive gotten myself back to where I should be!

I'll check back in later if I get a chance. I hit the floor running this morning.

Have a great day everyone!

Hi Bill, First let me thank you for such a fantastic welcome. It was very uplifting. I love your name BillBlueEyes. My precious DH of almost 31 yrs was Bill with "beautiful baby blues". The name made me think of him and you'll like a cute story about him and our DD when she was a little girl. He had her over his lap to spank her (which he didn't do often) and she looked up at him and said, "Oh Daddy, you have the most beautiful baby blue eyes". Needless to say she got a hug and the spanking was forgotten. One of many fond memories of him. He died over 9 yrs ago.

To answer your question, I decided recently to look for people who have succeeded rather than those like me who have yo-yo'd so much I've really played havoc with my metabolism. I seem to lose slow, but I was amazed to find so many successful stories out there. I first came across Anne Fletcher's books with loads of success stories in them. I noticed the Beck thread as I came to the General Diet groups going to IE and read a little here, but still wasn't sure what it was as I was checking other diet plans and seeing what others were doing to succeed. About a week ago a friend called me from another state saying she had found The Complete Beck Diet for Life book. She and I both had swore that we would never buy another diet book. I figured my DH would flip if I bought one more book and they all basically say the same. And I was tired of the promises that don't always work. Any way she said she found the book at Target and looked at it and decided to buy it. As she read it she thought this was what she needed and asked me if I would see if the library had it and check it out. She wanted me to consider being her buddy. I was skeptical, but I did some research and read reviews and then ordered the book and got it Friday. I was so impressed with it from the Introduction of the book on that I decided that the cognitive therapy skills are what I need as well. I've lost weight before, never made goal, but have come close even within 20 lbs once. This is Day 2 for me and I can't begin to express how energized I felt this morning after reading my cards. To say I feel hopeful and empowered doesn't come close but will have to do. I'm thinking the skills might be the key that has been missing all these years and just maybe they will be my way to success. I am thrilled to have found this book and this group.

Thanks again to you and others for the welcome.

Hello coaches

pattygirl63 I am sure you'll like it here. We're a warm friendly bunch!

So coaches I am following my foodplan and fighting my foodplan as I follow it. par for the course. I was thrilled to read the big bold NO CHOICE underneath billblueyes' post today. It about says it all for me today.

I have been co-ordinating so many things just sitting here with this laptop on my lap it's incredible. Reaching our to a caterer friend to arrange food for our graduation. I have her agreeing to 1000 pieces of food for $400. A real bargain. Made from scratch, fancy food. Wow. I have coralled my fellow grads to meet at 10am tomorrow for our group photo shoot. I am the photographer and just want to get the shot now. It seems impossible somehow... but it'll happen. I've proposed to reach out to a flower grower I know but need details of the $ we have to spend for this. the school provides the grad class a budget from which we buy the stuff for our grad: food, brochures, flowers/decorations, music/DJ etc. I think I just want this thing wrapped up already but from here on in we have weekly grad meetings until we actually have the grad June 26th I believe.

Also, I am working on my linoleum carvings. I just transferred 1/2 of what I need to carve onto the linoleum blocks. My job now is to carve them. I am also waiting on DH to wake up so we can go grocery shopping. I don't want to shop today. I just want to sit here and carve now.

maryblu I have The Omnivore's Dilemma too. I'm reading it next. I am a total and complete convert. I just need to apply more of this to my daily life. As for bags with the name Coach on them, well we got a Coach store here last fall. I don't get it either. And I think the bags are ugly. But I prefer my pockets too and I have a tendency to just leave a purse behind. I always feel self conscious with a handbag that I need to carry by the handles. I like the shoulder bag, slung diagonally across my body, or the packsack on my back. When I was reading your post about ladies buying three at a time I thought "Ebay" and immediately wondered if they were selling them on Ebay. Guess I don't assume women would actually use them eh

oh! DH is up. Guess I'd better get it together. Will be back later to finish personals. everyone.