hi all,
I am doing pretty darned well so far on my "get my head back into the game" plan. I feel very positive, have been exercising (wii fit...) and eating a good, balanced diet while sitting down and in calm frame of mind. Big kudos for me. It feels great.

Mom sounds so much better. I do know how much kidney stones hurt when they pass and am just glad that she is with us, didn't have to go under the knife for anything with nobody there to help with decision making, etc... she has her percocet for when they start their YOWCHY journey.

A friend from work came over here at the last minute for dinner. I was proud of myself for successfully "throwing together" some healthy fare. I picked up a rotisserie chicken, had salad fixings, made some rice and we all visited and ate well. For me to have things on hand to throw together especially for guests used to be unheard of. Kudos moi!

I must share a recipe for salad dressing that my dad makes that is loved by most (even my 6 yr old as long as there isn't TOO much garlic...).
NO measurements..just "goodly amounts" of all...
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
grainy mustard
garlic
lemon juice
salt and pepper
This may be just a basic vinegraitte but he makes it all the time and I do too now and it is a hit...I make my salads the way he makes his...variations or not..
tonight's had spinach, walnuts, feta cheese, strawberries, onion, cucumber and the great dressing..
he usually makes his with grapes, walnuts, spinach, avacado, feta and tomato.. SOOO good...

If even one person is touched by my little salad diddy, it was worth posting. It is salad that I WANT to eat...still laugh when I think of RobinW's "salad is what food eats" comment.. I am with you!

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Did another session with my trainer. CREDIT moi. He added 12 pound dumb bells in each hand for the lunges. No big deal thinks I. That's nothing compared to the 81 pounds I've recently removed. Wrong. My legs felt those extra 24 pounds big time. A little sore from that. Feels good.

onebyone - Wow, she's on the wagon and driving it like Charleston Heston in Ben Hur. Major Kudos for taking a walk in the driving snow - that's dedication. Yay for beef and barley soup. Sounds good; kindly email me a bowl, LOL.

Heidi (landlady6) - Yep, Big Kudos for feeling positive for your "get my head back into the game" plan.

Thanks for your dad's salad dressing recipe - particularly like the "goodly amount" part. I'll give it a try, adding double "goodly" garlic, LOL.

Yay that your mom's situation is better. Continuing to send healing thoughts her way.


Robin (RobinW) - So neat, your shift from resentment to not thinking about the foods you cannot have. Yep, sounds like a major change in your way of thinking. LOL that we are now the soup and salad thread - good winter fare.

Yep, I concur; you can do this. Neat that you now can visualize maintenance as a positive way to live. It does last a long time.


Jean (kuhljeanie) - Ouch for sore. Yay for sore. Kudos for sore; a flying start to the flying pig. Thanks for the reminder, "ah, the thrill of organization! what a high." Yup, there's nothing like being on a roll.

Anne (wndranne) - Kudos for Anne-time at the cafe with your fancy coffee. And Ouch/Yay/Kudos for sore. My take would be to go for the 1800 while it feels right, with the 2000 in your pocket should marathon training call for more. Perhaps you could allocate that 200 (or part of it) to a daily treat, which seems to be an important part of CBDL.

Still pondering your "build the discipline for when I'm not so rolling." It so reminds me that rolling feels so self-righteously good, but the big thing is to continue to work my frame of mind for getting back to rolling. I do appreciate that thought.


Chris (angelmomma210) - Congrats on the heart rate. And congrats to your DH for winning his unemployment benefits. All headed in the right direction.

davidette - Neat analogy of conscious eating to listening to a song you like. Smart to work the basics before starting a diet.

Readers -

Hello coaches

And to all of you coaches who get up every morning to go to work..how the heck do you do this day after day and not become a growly bear???

I'm on my way to the school to work in the ceramic room...yowsa...gotta go now!

Will check in later... so far: I am OP had breakfast, packed a lunch and a snack, and will walk over the noonhour...

Have a good day.

Coaches,

for all the new Becksters posting since I was last here! Welcome!!

Regret begin MIA. Have been sick for so long I don't remember feeling well.

Have been working too hard...putting in 16 hour days working on a project that must be done in a couple of weeks. Stress level far too high.

Trying to get more attenttive to my diet and get back to some better Beck habits. Finding it hard to find the time and energy. I have not been overeating, but my food selection has been terrible. Far too much sugar. Guess I have to give myself credit for wanting to do better and planning to soon.

For now, just putting one foot in front of the other.

Hope to get back here soon...but can't promise. I will be thinking of you all though and could use your positive vibes.

to you all and sending a belated Happy New Year!

bennyhannahmama Kudos for not letting a sleepless night keep you from spin class - a.m. AND p.m. -

wndranne Followed through on your tip (5 minutes exercise is better than 0 minutes) with a few yoga poses - amazed how quickly the timer went off - and how good it felt to stretch. Thanks for the strategy. Knowing I struggle with all or nothing thinking is one thing; having a simple practical step to bypass it is another!

The Instinct Diet sounds very interesting; I'm looking forward to your review. I'm trying to steer my reading to material that encourages me to think about my eating patterns, even if I'm not sold on that particular theory.

RobinW Congrats for realizing you CAN do this - that's a big tipping point, overcoming that gut fear. After finally giving up smoking (25 years ago) I realized the biggest impedient had been thinking I could not do it. Thanks for the reminder as I struggle to overcome the belief that I will never be able to read and watch TV contentedly without my snack food nearby.


angelmomma210 Glad to hear the unemployment came through, and your med is working; it will all work out.

onebyone I love the idea of focusing on where our food comes from. An added bonus: it will probably remind me to eat healthier! And when I think of all the energy involved in bringing me this food, I can't help but feel it deserves a respectful appreciation.

landlady6 Thanks for the salad dressing receipe; I need inspiration to eat salads and you certainly gave me one! Yum! Kudos for "throwing together" healthy fare. My first reaction would have been to use this as an excuse to go off my diet. Impressive!

I finally made it one whole day with every bite eaten as consciously as possible, without distractions. I actually noticed a few moments during the day where I seemed to be less frantic about moving on to the next thing. I've never been able to develop a practice of meditation; conscious eating may be an effective substitute. I'm just amazed I can feel it extending to my daily activities so soon.

Now to move on peacefully to the next thing

Just a quickie today.....I went and decided to hold a network event sponsored by our business. The feedback was amazing yesterday ......and now the fun starts

Im 100% op.....even getting my exercise in.
Didnt get my soup made yesterday cuz I had to get on the treadmill....so its a chicken concoction for lunch

have a great day everyone!

Good morning! I'm really enoying all your posts and read them faithfully even if I don't get time to post.

I had been off work for 2 weeks over the holidays so it took a couple of days to get back in the groove. Now its all the year end reports that is keeping me under pressure.

I've been doing well with the new WW Momentum Plan. The brace comes off my hand tomorrow so I'll be able to resume more vigorous exercise come Monday. Trying to put a positive spin on it by telling myself it gave me more time to get back on my food plan and get meals planned ahead. I'll also be able to get back to hand quilting which I have sorely missed. NO CHOICE still works the best for me.

We got a tin of cookies at work yesterday and I took it upstairs to let the hungry men eat them. Credit Moi!
Have a good day.

got an email yesterday morning from the head of a steering committee asking for a headcount for pizza. wrote back that i'd be there, but was bringing my own lunch. CREDIT MOI! got back and walked 30 min on the treadmill, even though i was sore. still am - after today's yoga and hill run - but all that means is that "sore" is absolutely no excuse at all to skip a workout. my body is adjusting just fine.

have really started thinking about how to do my own bistro-style meals. i'm quite sure i'm capable of doing it, but i worry about my ability to make the time and do it CONSISTENTLY. the first week of breakfasts on my own has gone swimmingly, but i don't feel ready to cut the cord just yet. i'm working on a rotation system so that i only have to prep 2 meals a week, but make them in enough bulk so that i always have 6-8 different meals to choose from. i'm pretty sure it'll work (DH has offered to take one of the two meals, bless him) but if i quit bistro and decide to return again, i lose the promotional free shipping deal i have now. it works out to about $100 a month difference, so i'm hesitant to go off until i'm really truly good and ready, and i still have about 40 lbs to lose. boy, is that an effective marketing program, or what? maybe i can set a weight goal for it? say, 20 lbs from now, i should be ready? or do you think that might invite self-sabotage? hm. i don't have to make any decisions today - maybe i'll just do a few trial runs putting the meals together, and see how it goes, how long it takes. they won't go to waste in the freezer or anything.

woot woot robin, anne, and onebyone! THIS is how we roll. onebyone, i get up everyday and cheerfully go to work because...i can do my thing and know that my force-of-nature DS is having a wonderful time with a woman who's a trained professional in the art of childcare. i'm just a rank amateur. honestly, some mondays work is a relief after two days with him. i love him TO DEATH - and he's fun like you wouldn't imagine - but i'm out of the groove of watching a little kid all day, and work is a lovely counterbalance. and like i said, the structure makes it super easy to stay on plan and exercise. like today - ellen degeneres was on when i got to the gym. mindless me time! anne, sounds like a plan with the calories. if it ain't broke, why fix it? (unless you're an engineer, like my DH. or bill.) and robin, isn't it the coolest thing to stop feeling resentful? like a huge weight off your shoulders, just gone. i had a similar moment when i read that thin people have to watch what they eat too. they just don't get all worked up about having to do it. a big ole' HUH? really? for me. it's been much easier since then!

angelmomma - so glad to hear that things are looking up! even more glad to hear that you're making such strides taking care of yourself. just tremendous.

davidette - how lovely to have that moment when you realize that you're really enjoying what you're eating! go you!

thanks for the recipe heidi! sounds great - i'll have to use it this summer, once our CSA starts delivering mountains of salad greens to us again. it'll for sure come in handy. and GO YOU for getting your head back in the game! feels good, huh?

nice to hear from you quilter! great that you'll be getting back to the things you love. and wonderful that the new WW plan is working for you!

and a big GO YOU bill for walking lunges with weights! i get more than enough lunge action from yoga. HATE lunges. hats off! sore (but not incapacitated) is a delightful thing.

almost forgot - a little yay me. got on the scale this morning, and i'm officially back down to 170. WHEEE!

Coaches/Buddies DS got sent home from daycare with a fever today, so I'm here with him. He's current fast asleep, so if I leave suddenly, I'll be back later. Another on plan day today so far. My legs are telling me to take a break, so today will be a light exercise day if anything. I think I had the resistance on the elliptical a bit high Tuesday and tweaked my knee.

Heidi Glad to hear your mom is better. Nice to hear your head is in the game and that you threw together a healthy dinner. Subtext for that is that you have planned organized enough to have the right stuff to do that around the house, so keep it up!

Bill Nicely done on the lunges. I'm with Jeanie--I hate them. But then that is just a message that I need to do them more to get stronger. Clearly you got the memo on that!

onebyone Don't assume that just because I got up early (3:45 today, ack) that I'm not a growly bear. Surely you've noticed how often coffee comes up in my posts... Nice prep for the day!

shrinkin Sick, stress, and deadlines. Yep, just hold your own until it's over, and set a new date to dig into the Beck stuff. Maybe the day after your deadline. Then you have a plan and one less thing to worry about until then.

davidette Congrats on your mindful eating! I still find it weird that it is a chore, for me too. So counter-intuitive.

RobinW You go! Gettin' into that groove!

Susan Nice plan on moving the cookies! You'll have to tell me more about the WW Momentum plan. I'm unfamiliar.

Jeanie Congrats on the 170! I think your plan to try your own meal prep while still on Bistro is good. Then you can figure out how much help you need before you loose the discount. Nicely done on turning down FREE PIZZA! And, um, yeah, I am an engineer, but seem to have avoided some of the tinkering habits that many of the males of the species have picked up.

Probably won't get back tonight when I have both kids around. And my little boyfriend starts to coo now. Perfect timing...

Have a good one!

Anne

Yo, Beckies,

Hope to shoot off a cuppla quick thoughts before the site freezes up and is too busy to let me in. Have lost 2 thoughtful nights of posts. Well, two nights of posts anyhoo.

wndranne, I wonder if Beck falls on deaf ears (so to speak) with maintainers because they are all already practicing so much of Beck's strategies. As I read their posts, I see: planning..day by day, planning for eating at events, logging, exercising faithfully, coaching, asking for help, realizing they will be "maintaining" for life..and especially, acknowledging a slip up and promptly getting back to their plan.

And speaking of maintainers, did you see the post about resentment? Even they, even they(!) admit to sometimes resenting that maintenance is so much a reality. Imagine that.

If I posted this before, forgive me, but I think it was in one of my lost- in- cyber- space communications. In talking about her wt. gain, Oprah said she fell off the wagon because she thought she had it licked. She thought she had the wt. thing beaten. She got complacent. Constant Vigilance! We can resent it or not, doesn't change a thing. It is a lifestyle change, as our dear Cyber Sheppard BillBE wisely decided in the beginning of his wt. loss journey.

As for journeys, I inadvertently faced the scale this week. Wasn't ready, was waiting to be good for a while, but, I had to go to the dr. and you know what happens there. As I stood on the scale with my stomach sucked in waiting for the digits to settle, I know I just had that look of Bambi in the headlights, and when the 155.5 came clear, my jaw hit my chest. Had to confirm it with my old tried and true scale at work, and yep. 155 and a half there too. Absolute proof positive that I can eat like a sow and maintain this wt. The downside to that is two-fold. I don't want to maintain 155.5; I want to maintain 135. And I don't want to eat like a sow either. Have you seen what pigs will eat??

Having been just a chow hound for the last month, I have to believe in the "set point" theory. I have not denied myself anything! Logic says I am not back to eating what I was at my 220# set point of old, but I can't imagine how I could have eaten much more.

Now the question would be ..how long does it take for a set point to get set? I have maintained between 65 and 80#s lost for about 6 yrs..a little over. hmmm.

Am back to my old habits, found the volume control, so to speak. Feels good. Heading down, and even when I get there, constant vigilance!

Kudos, all, for the Beck behaviors practiced.

Had to leave work early today because I wasn't feeling well. Have been in bed since but not really able to sleep. Read most of the posts I had missed so far this month-- it was great to be able to catch up and motivating to remember that I have wonderful company on this journey.

Started reading the new book, but only the first few pages.
Wellness Challenge at my (recently joined) gym that will be taking place over the next 12 weeks. The first meeting is on Sunday at which time we'll be split into teams and will review the program. I got measured and weighed the other day. We will meet with our team regularly, go to nutrition meetings and then we'll get points for various things (losing weight, inches, body-fat, working out, logging food, attending team meetings, nutrition meetings, etc.) There are cash prizes for the top 2 winners (most points earned) and winning team gets bragging rights and t-shirts I was really excited to participate in this program as soon as I heard about it. Then I found out it only cost $25 and that they have a good number of people already signed up including many of the staff at the gym... seems like it's being very well received (1st year they're doing this) and there's lots of excitement and energy around it. Should be a lot of fun and another big motivator.

Sounds like everyone is doing well and getting back on track. I personally am really glad the holidays are over!

Hope to be back here with personals, etc. soon.

Diet Coaches/Buddies - Yahoo - the last piece of pumpkin pie that DW brought home from the New Years Eve party is gone!!! It bugs her that I no longer eat that kind of stuff to clear out the fridge; the whole responsibility rests on her shoulders. CREDIT moi for seeing that every day this whole year and thinking, That's not about me.

maryblu - Whopping Big Kudos for your six years keeping off the 65-80 pounds. I salute that accomplishment. And thanks for the reminder that it takes "Constant Vigilance!" Yep, ole Oprah seemed to have slipped there. With all her brain power, just let that one slip past her.

You raise an interesting point about set points. There's more to set points than I understand. I don't know if sumptin' happens, of if a set point refers to the combination of our bodies and our lifestyle, which support a specific weight.

Sending condolences for your continuing senatorial saga. Looks like even Illinois is going to beat you to the senate floor.


onebyone - LOL at your thought that going to work day after day makes one a "growly bear." Yep, recognize that. Yay for packed lunch and snacks.

Robin (RobinW) - Yay for stepping out and sponsoring the networking event. Neat that your treadmill topped making soup; that's one compelling treadmill.

Jean (kuhljeanie) - Congrats on the 170 milestone. Big Kudos for bringing your own food to a FREE pizza event. Admiring your thoroughly thinking through the transition from your working-well Bistro meals to the next thing. Kudos for that planning.

Anne (wndranne) - Ouch for a tweaked knee. Congratulation to your DS for processing one more of the bad guys so that he will have a strong immune system as an adult. My sympathies that you "seem to have avoided some of the tinkering habits that many of the males of the species have picked up." Wondering if you've considered testosterone therapy to help you out there, LOL. Tinkering is like male meditation.

Susan (QuilterInVA) - Big Kudos for promptly distributing that tin of cookies. Yay that you'll get your hand back for quilting. Ouch for the year end report stress - at least there's a known time frame for that to end.

Kim (bennyhannamama) - Your Wellness Challenge sounds fun, and as you mentioned, motivational. I especially like the team part - a small group of cohorts working to earn a T-Shirt together (and keeping people like RobinW in business, LOL).

shrinkin - Ouch for feeling sick. Ouch for sixteen hour days with too much stress. Kudos for "just putting one foot in front of the other." Sending supportive thoughts for your stress and virtual chicken soup to cure everything else. I thought of you when starting the Jan09 thread, recalling that you're the guardian when I forget and, in my morning stupor, continue posting in the old thread until you remind me.

davidette - Kudos for "every bite eaten as consciously as possible, without distractions." Beck has stressed that the core strategies are the key to success; sounds like you're on the way.

Readers -

Hi Coaches

I have 15min to get it together and get me out the door (TGIF for real for me today) but wanted to pop by and report in: OP98% yesterday (I subbed pea soup for barley soup by accident) - took my noontime 15+min walk - could have had more veggies at dinner. I had none.

Since I thought I set the alarm and didn't, sheesh I have no time for breakfast so will get one when I get to the school. "Yum, what a treat"" is what I say to the thought of that!

Gotta go.

Back for personals tonight.

I haven't read the other posts for a few days. I hope to catch up over the weekend. I told my coach that I've been posting to this board, and she suggested that I use this board as my coach. I wanted to do that anyway so that worked out. So good morning, coaches/buddies!
My new plan is:
1. Don't pull defeat out of the jaws of victory. I've learned a lot of healthy eating skills these last few months.
2. Read cards three times a day.
3. Reread Beck Diet Solution. (I started re-reading it and put the new book aside for a little while.)
4. Make a daily to do list or use the one I already made. Read it in the morning. Look at it later in the day to see how I did.
Credit moi-I exercised yesterday. PT exercises for a few minutes, but I did it. I also had a 6 block spontaneous walk. I created my new graph this morning. I was off my plan by lunchtime yesterday but I didn't use it as an excuse to binge. I limited it.
The to do list:
Plan and follow a healthful eating plan.
Monitor what I eat in writing.
If I make a substitution, keep it close to the number of points I planned for.
Eat slowly and mindfuly.
Give myself credit.
Read Advantages. Read response cards.
Reduce Stress.
Do spontaneous and planned exercise.
Tolerate negative emotions without turning to food.
Get back on track immediately.
Calm down before I eat.
Graph changes in weight daily.

had a good discussion last night with DH re: my eventual transition from bistro. it's a good plan; i'm working through about 10 meals in excel, which entails using fitday to tweak the right macro ratios and cals; going on to the dorothy lane market website to price out the groceries and quanitities required to make a batch (12 or 16 of a particular meal), and estimating the effort required by playing with the ingredients to see how low we can go with prep time. (can anyone spot the project manager? ) i'm almost through the list. when i'm done, i'll actually MAKE the meals (one or two at a time) and work on them until i'm happy with the way they taste (an aspect that i failed at last time - i'd wing my recipes, and sometimes they'd suck, so the food would rot in the fridge while i'd get pizza.) only once i'm satisfied with a meal for taste, nutrition, and effort to produce, i'll make it in bulk. when i have 10 -12 meals that i've successfully produced in bulk, i'll cancel my bistro subscription.

sounds pretty involved, huh? it kind of is - but i'm hoping that once i do all the foundation work, it'll be my plan forever - weight-loss-inducing, minimal effort (i'm guessing no more than 2 hours prep a week, max), and far more affordable than bistro over the long haul. if i get bored, i can do the groundwork and introduce a new meal - but a new meal every so often shouldn't be too much overhead. DH is behind my plan and has offered to help in whatever way he can - including prepping and eating these meals during the week himself. he's also willing to taste test. bless! this is in addition to taking el nino by himself saturday mornings so i can do my long run. what a guy.

was feeling really hungry last night, so i added an extra snack that put me 50 calories over my cal target. turned out i had burned 600 calories over the ole' burn target, so i'm all kinds of good - and maybe a little more trusting of my body's hunger signals. i woke up ravenous this morning. yay, exercise!

hiya anne! sorry to hear DS is sick. between that and a bum knee - glad to hear that you're listening to your body. cheers! mary, i know exactly what you mean. i ate like a friggin' HOG over the holidays, and didn't gain as much as i thought i should have. the set point theory makes sense to me. am guessing that a new set point is probably as "strong" as it is "long" - the longer you stay at a particular weight, the more strongly your body works to get back to it. i'm also thinking, though, that our ideas of gross overeating may have shifted. my physical perception of uncomfortably full may be completely different from what it was two years ago. hard to measure that empirically, though, since i didn't baseline it back when (not sure how you'd do that to begin with.) i'll stop here - dangerously close to serious geek territory. kim, that wellness challenge sounds AWESOME. i really love that they award points not just for the results (weight, measurements) but for the behavior too. right freakin' on! bill, interesting note about your wife. makes me wonder - are there small, subtle ways that my weight loss and new eating impacts my own DH? has my eating disorder helped me recognize other, non-helpful coping mechanisms in other people, making me more compassionate? (see mary's earlier reference to oprah.) will i forget that if/when i feel like i've finally got it licked? this sounds like yet another strong argument not only to persist in victory, but to persist in treating overeating as a chronic (as in for LIFE) issue. it's a mixed bag of good and bad...onebyone, here's to staying on plan even though you didn't get breakfast at home today. i know that's historically been a toughie for you! hi lily! lovely to hear from you! that's an awfully long list you've got - are there enough things on it that you already do, that you won't feel like you're changing everything at once (which is really, really hard)?

off to my first meeting of the day...have a great one, y'all!