Welcome to the discussion group, support group, Diet Coach group, Diet Buddy group relating to the two books by Dr. Judith S. Beck:and the first bookThe 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 Therapy (CT).

The Complete Beck Diet for Life expands the earlier work and includes a food plan with suggested menus. From the cover: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 buddy (coach) to each other.

If you’ve arrived from a search engine, you’ve landed at the site of 3 Fat Chicks (3FC), 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 books are available on Amazon through the 3FC store by clicking their names above; buying through 3FC helps to cover the costs of running this site.

You can find the list of previous (or more current) monthly Beck threads here on 3 Fat Chicks via:

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Walk, CREDIT moi, included picking up How Big is Big and How Small is Small: The Sizes of Everything and Why from the library - a great book for a geek who loves size. And loves being reminded that there are 45 orders of magnitude between our estimated measurement of a Quark and our estimated measurement of the Universe. I am easily amused.

Food was only OKish, so CREDIT-OKish moi. The whole neighborhood wants to know why there's a tent set up in my driveway. I solemnly respond that we're going to take advantage of the high rates of B&B's in this town. But it has to come down today since winds could send it away just like in the Wizard of Oz.


Cheryl (GosfordGirl) – Yep, the trees and plants do seem to need a bit of winter before spring - hope your weather straightens up. Congrats for the final settling of your house.

maryann - Thanks for the reminder of 'hunger' verses 'desire to eat' and 'cravings.'

Woodland - Neat contrast between our 'eye hunger' and 'enough' per, "It was enough once I stopped dwelling on it."

nationalparker – Hope you're reading this at home snuggling with your kitties. LOL at, "No old adrenaline left in whatever it's in."

Tricia (AZtricia) - Ouch for two DS's sharing a bug. I recommend soft ice cream - it's more fun than chicken soup and who knows, it might help.

Readers -

Good Morning, Coaches.

And congratulations to me on my fourth anniversary on this blog. Thrilled that I enter the month back in the 150s!

Exercise today will be cleaning this house which feels like a pit. Food in MFP. Shopping for the month complete!!! I of course just now realized coffee will be short but I counted my tea bags and I should have enough to get me through the month. Searching the thesaurus for a little alliteration for this month's calorie and spending challenge. These are my choices:
Ascetic August
Abstinent August
Austere August

Which one do you folks like? None of them imply the sense of fun I feel. I have been amazed in planning for this how accustomed we have become to just eating out or going to the store. How different from a hundred years ago - or now in other countries. We talk a lot on this blog about how our diet has expanded but our bodies' needs have not. I have sacrificed health and economy for ease and comfort. I was just reading on one of my homemaker blogs about "The Wonder Bag" which cooks a meal over the course of the day after it has been heated once. This was big in the Great Depression. Would I ever think to save on fuel? Nope. OK only when I am backpacking.

Boy, do I live in abundance. Wait a minute - Abundant August?

GosfordGirl: Congrats on closing the house. That must be a great feeling and relief that it happened before school started.
BBE: We bought in June for a new backpacking tent. DS and DH slept in it in the living room a few times to make sure it was ok. Fun for all.
nationalparker: Hope by now you are home with a great sense of accomplishment.
AZTricia: Sending good thoughts your way as you get through this trying time.

Hello from my cozy home, though crammed with boxes and whatnot having unpacked the truck last night. Wrapped up around midnight and then I ran a hot bath to relax. DH and I snipped at each other through the evening. He gleaned from something I said that I'd miss my parents/love them more than he loves his, and I extracted that he was irritated the we'd bought a sewing machine a year before mom passed and we should have waited because I inherited hers. I was mad and he brought the annoyance level back down to manageable through asking what we were doing. Credit DH. I will stay mad for a long while if left to my own devices.

Weight is UNDER ticker - not sure how that is but will weigh again on the weekend and adjust if it stays there.

DH said he's 40 pounds heavier than he was when we met, and I said I'm 5-6 pounds, so let's aim for 50 pounds between us and see where that gets us. I would like to just start with 5 at a time So often we make plans and so rarely do they become reality, so we'll see. But good that it's on his mind for health reasons. I know he's avoiding going to the dr as well ...

Maryann - I like your choices, but like you, also like the idea of something that conveys a sense of excitement or thankfulness ... so I like the Abundance in August or Abundant August. Or august August! I read years ago about giving thanks for everyone involved in one part of your meal and use that less often than I should.

Bill - LOL at the tent in the driveway. I would like to loan you our pooch to enjoy the tent - she derives such excitement when we set one up here to check anything on it - she leaps about and runs inside and lays down - like, "I'm all packed!" I find it funny - DH tends to yell, "Watch out, she's going to tear it with her toenails!" Ehh - I know. Everywhere I want to store more "stuff" I find DH has found the nook first, and backpacking stuff is stored all over - down bags that can't go in the attic, etc. When is it that you head out?

My work evaluation was today and I had the best year I've had at work. And received a wonderful oral and written review. But for the letter that goes to HR, it was just "ok" in my book. I am pretty down about it. I asked what do I have to do, what am I missing, to score higher? Nothing. You're doing it all, and accurately, but everyone cannot be rated as excellent. BULL****. I am down and irritated and think, if I excel and am "ok" and I just aim to get my work done and not commit all weekends and nights, and am "ok" ... what, aside from my own ethics, makes me want to work harder? I need to journal about this because i'm frustrated. A position is opening above me in my department - RARE. Five of us will apply. Despite being here 13 years, I strongly feel it'll go to one of two people who are highly prized by the VP ... one who always says how when he was working at 2 a.m., this happened, or another one. I will prepare and interview but in a way, I feel it's just to do because I'm supposed to do it. What a downer of a workday to return to.

Sorry for unloading so much here lately. Hopefully August will be a better part of the summer.

Another widespread thank you to all for your support through this last year of my folks' lives. I know I bent a few ears on here! And i still owe some PMs and should be able to carve out time this weekend.

AZTricia - I hope you're able to stave off the bug and not come down with it as well. Hang in there!

GosfordGirl - How has your winter been? I find it hard to wrap my mind around the other hemisphere!

Diet Coaches/Buddies – Such fun: Walked, CREDIT moi, to pick up the 'fit kit' for the Thule roof rack for our car; it all went together perfectly. Perfectly - not easily. Jeepers, it's hard to believe that a roof rack has to be ordered in four separate packages. The transverse bars are spaced 26.75 inches! Not "about 27 or so." It's roof rack as rocket science, LOL.

Food continues as OKish. I'm not OKish with that; I'll continue to fight the snackies. I did have cherries as snacks which are more positive in my attitude toward food even if they do contain calories.


maryann - Congrats on your 4th Anniversary! May you have many, many more. I like "Ascetic August" - that word doesn't imply restriction to me but rather joyful choice. Enjoyed reading about "The Wonder Bag" - what a terrific idea. [LOL at testing the new backpacking tent in the living room. Reminds me of the fun of sleeping outside in our tent as kids. The excitement so far exceeded the reality of the situation.]

nationalparker – Congrats for surviving your unpacking despite the tensions. And Congrats for a stellar year at work. I've grown to despise the words "Meets Expectations" as it has come to mean "Isn't in the top 15% this year." If you have a history of exceptional work, then walking on water become your own "Meets Expectations." [LOL at your pooch exploring your tent.]

Readers -

A quick fly-in to say that I put a review of The Diet Fix on my blog this morning: http://www.joyweesemoll.com/2014/08/...eekendcooking/

I'm planning to get back to my routines tomorrow. Or the next day. My routines work, when I work them!

Hugs, nationalparker. This is going to be a tough time. Congrats on finding a DH with the patience to work through it with you.
I have yet to see a work evaluation system that works. It amazes me that they are still being done when every one reports that the most demotivating day in their work year is evaluation day. I think you found the answer -- your own ethics or some other source of intrinsic motivation.

Hi coaches

I am trying to change to a morning check-in. It would be good if it works but let's see especially given I will need to do it on my iPad. I am hoping it will help me reflect on the previous day and set me up for the coming day.

Yesterday's food was OK. Dinner could have been better -too much cheese. Steps at target and pushed myself out the door for late afternoon gym. That made three for the week. Today's food is planned with an outing for afternoon tea. Rules = no wheat, no sugar, no rubbish. Not sure what there will be to eat.

I had been planning to regroup and rein in my unruly behaviour in August too. I had been thinking of it as Austere August, but like Ascetic for the Bill's reasons. Or abstemious, ample, abounding, abundant etc. Not sure I can take joy in restraint and self denial but will try for ascetic. I do have a somewhat spiritual goal in all this.

Will come back and finish this on the computer. How do you do personals on an iPad! And there is no save function sadly

Hello coaches,

It has been such a long time but today I am stepping back onto the path to a healthy life. It feels very daunting and there is one almighty big sabotaging thought that is telling me it is all too hard. So i thought i would make one of my steps today to reach out and ask you all to remind me that it is possible, and worth it.

I thought when i started typing this that i would fill you all in on why i have been away so long. But now that i am here that doesn't feel necessary or helpful. Instead it feels like focusing on now, and committing to the future is what will help.

So - this morning i have weighed myself. 97.3kg. Which means i went backwards about 4kg in the last 4 months. OH WELL!!! I am inspired to get back on track because i am feeling that 4kg. My clothes are uncomfortable, my knees hurt going down stairs and I get breathless when i bend down! As i write it occurs to me that it is great that a measly 4 kg can make that much difference. So although there is a big goal to strive for i am going to get (almost) immediate rewards!

My challenges at the moment - it is winter in Australia at the moment. Our winters are infinitely milder than the US winter i was hearing about a few months ago. But it is still cold enough that going outside to exercise is daunting. And the last few months of trouble in my life have left me financially crippled so whatever exercise i do it has to be free! I choose to remind myself of my brother's saying "there is no such thing as bad weather - there is just bad clothing" - and i have good clothing, so i can get out and walk in the cold.

My commitments for the day:
I will go for a walk;
I will post to you again tonight to report in on my successes;
I will read the first chapter of Beck

Thanks for being there everyone. I'm going to do some reading now and catch up on all your lives.

Hi Coaches!

Food has been good. Credit. Unfortunately, I've got a bit of a bug so I've been taking it easy trying to not get sicker... Missing work and upcoming baby aren't on my agenda.fortunately, it seems to be working and I feel much better today. I enjoyed a tremendous success Thursday. Annual picnic with my Dh's support group. I usually bring my own food to potlucks yet this time I felt I could control myself and I did. Granted, there wasn't a bunch of crap food but still..I've been known to overeat almost anything. It was nice,our friend had picked some of our raspberries and she made muffins to bring. She made them with very little sugar...remembering we don't eat much anymore.

ForMyGirls, welcome back! Yes, today is what matters most.

Coaches

I am briefly back to finish this morning's post

BillBE - I like the look of HBiB&HSiS I have to say - it might be on the retirement reading wish list. LOL at kidding the neighbours that you are taking in paying customers. Your cherries are very enticing over here as well at the moment

Maryann - I like a project for August - was heading that way so this cements it. Not quite as ruthless as you (credit for counting tea bags!) - if I can stay on plan I will be grateful. I looked briefly at the wonderbag but have to look more closely - looks amazing

Nationalparker - Glad you are home and cosy and survived unpacking with the associated tensions. Yay for weight under ticker with all that has been happening. Not sure how needing to do nothing to improve doesn't equate with excellent - just shows they lack imagination and total lack of ability to provide direction and feedback. Shame when it actually amounts to a barrier to promotion. Go hard for it anyway

Gardenerjoy - will have to drop by and look at your review of TDF

ForMyGirls - good to see you back with a nice set of goals for the day and inspiration to get back on track - way to go. It sounds like the last few months have been difficult so good thoughts for moving forward

Debbie (Lexxiss) - Sorry you are sick. Credit for staying on track at a pot-luck - that's creditworthy indeed.

Tricia - hope everyone is getting healthy

I made a spectacular smoothy this morning that should have tasted vile (or maybe my poor body is just screaming for the nutrients). Carrot, cucumber (peeled), celery, kiwifruit (peeled), beetroot, ginger, purple kale, lemon with skin on, frozen banana, protein powder (vanilla flavour no sweetener), and gelatine! All blitzed together.

All the boys have been sick now and I'm really struggling. Don't know why

Hello again coaches,

Reporting in as I promised myself this evening.

THanks for the welcome backs Lexxis and GosfordGirl :-)

Meet my goals today - a nice walk with This American Life to listen to - there's a side benefit of exercise I had forgotten about! And I read the first chapter of Beck and wrote my new ARC too - decided to split it up into "Immediate" "Short term" "Long term" and "Life long benefits" to help me remember that there are things that happen straight away - it's not just about gritting your teeth until the 30kg are gone! Decided to restart my financial journey too - so wrote ARCs for that too.

Connected to that - my vote is for Ascetic August - it makes me think of that wonderful discovery that one actually gets more enjoyment from rich food when you have small amounts occasionally - somehow that matches up in my brain with the idea that depriving oneself of worldly pleasures is a way to realising or experiencing something higher.

Lovely to see so many familiar posts when I read through this August thread - and how perfectly timed Bill's "get back on track" snippets were.

Goals till next I post:
- read the next chapter of Beck - and do whatever is in there;
- go to bed on time (the lynchpin upon which all other success rests).

Diet Coaches/Buddies – The prep continues: borrowed a Thule roof top carrier to attach to my new Thule roof rack. It's on the living room floor being filled (for practice) with our camping stuff. Our friend has a normal sized one and a HUGE one. I think we'll need the larger - DW thinks she can squeeze it into the smaller. We'll see. Walk, CREDIT moi, got me as far as Trader Joe's to stock up for our trip.

Eating faced the challenge of a reception at the concert we attended last night. Ouch - I didn't need the challenge of FREE food when I was high from a glorious performance and chatting with friends unexpectedly met during the party thing. I have a standard Sunday opportunity to avoid an unneeded snack this morning - that's my goal for today.


Joy (gardenerjoy) – Oh Yes, "My routines work, when I work them!"

Debbie (Lexxiss) – Kudos for picking out your meal from a potluck. LOL at "... aren't on my agenda" - so much fits that.

Cheryl (GosfordGirl) – I like the simplicity in your plan, "Rules = no wheat, no sugar, no rubbish."

ForMyGirls - It is amazing that so few pounds can impact how we feel. Kudos for recognizing "it is all too hard" as a Sabotaging Thought and then Kudos again for countering it. Yay for a winter mild enough to enjoy walking.

Tricia (AZtricia) - Sending virtual chicken soup to assist in your struggles. A full family of sickies is a challenge.

Readers -

Hello, all! Just a quick check in this morning since I missed yesterday, and hopefully a more thoughtful one as the day is wrapping up.

Welcome back, ForMyGirls! Winter seems a difficult time for me to stay on course because I tend to spend more time indoors, especially after the last winter we had ... but other winters when I could go hiking or walking with someone else, I enjoyed it after being outside for awhile. I layered more than you'd think was possible, and never had to remove oe because I'm perpetually cold unless in summer sunshine. Even if I couldn't see a correlation to any weight loss or lack of gain, my attitude seemed better. Who knows.

Entire day yesterday was busy - unpacking, getting the pooch (yay), finding places for things, collecting the recycling and dropping it off, lunch and dinner both out so that was dangerous, AND I suggested stopping for a soft serve ice cream on the way home from DH's parents. What the heck? That's out of the ordinary for me. Dinner was light enough, but still ... I need to rein it in now that I'm home. DH seems shocked that nearly all of the boxes have been unpacked and dealt with - down to 5-6 or so now.

Tomorrow my folks would have been married 63 years. At Trader Joe's last night I picked up a bottle of sparkling grape juice for us to "toast" them or our own semi-anniversary (when met, which is the following week)- I KNEW I should keep it updated, but let it go for oh, 13 years.

Good Morning, Coaches.

Welcome Back ForMyGirls. Funny, I was just thinking about you yesterday. I had gained 10 pounds while still posting! The trick is the keep coming back part.

Aesthetic August it is, although nationalparker's August August was a stunning submission and almost won I because I can spell it. (I have to look up "aesthetic" every time.) But for me this is a spiritual journey in the most basic sense with a simple underlining principle: By consenting to be bound I am free.

So here is my A.A. List (aesthetic August List) for the first few days of this month:

Packed my lunch to go get DS from San Francisco - saved money and calories.
Picked fresh figs which I froze whole for smoothies (experiment)
Stopped by the melon packing shed to get six honeydews from our partner (Amazing. These ponyboy melons will be shipped to japan and you Aussie girls)
Menu planned for the weekend including homemade bread with wheat we grew and milled.
Trip to the library ( always exciting and free.)
NSD planned for today (No spend day) Just snuggle up in the air-conditioning with my boys.
Food in MFP/ Weekly calories on track and pilates planned
Weight one pound under ticker.

GosfordGirl: Glad to hear you are experimenting with posting. I have found changing things up helps give me new insight. Example: I count my weekly calorie total on Tuesday evening now. It is interesting because I feel I can make up larger calorie totals on the weekend by a smaller Monday and Tuesdays.

AZTricia: We are hear to listen. Sending good mjo your way.
Lexxiss: Take care of yourself. Always a good idea.
BBE: Better not sneak into REI. You will find and abundance of absolutely necessary items that you had never thought of before.