Diet Coaches – Made my batch of granola for the next two weeks. CREDIT moi. Made enough black bean salad for lunches this week: black beans, jalapeno peppers, corn (substituted 3 ears fresh for canned), tomatoes (substituted a pint of grape tomatoes for chopped since they last are better at lasting a week), cilantro (substituted half of what we had for half a cup - cannot imagine how to measure chopped cilantro, it sticks to everything and the thought of trying to get it into and out of a cup is beyond my skill level), 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt (substituted a heaping teaspoon of chopped garlic - hmmmm... might miss the salt part), green bell pepper and 4 ounces pimentos (substituted half a red bell pepper and half the purple bell pepper that I've been waiting to try - the red takes the place of the pimentos and the purple tastes just like the green), with half cup of Italian dressing (substituted balsamic vinegar in the Italian dressing and used only a quarter cup). For a non cook, I've become fairly arrogant in my substitutions, LOL. CREDIT moi. Hands were still burning 30 minutes after chopping the jalapenos; must be a secret I don't know yet.

Alas, at a noon event I took apple slices rather than home make cookies, but at an evening event, I took way too many smoked almonds. CREDIT moi and Oh Well.


onebyone – Ahhh, but a little gravy is still some gravy. Kudos for the neat moderation with the apple strudel and ice cream. Ouch for continuing in the exhausted mode. Know about that chill in the air stuff; spent part of the day getting our heating system going again - DW complained about being chilly at night. Needed to get the air out of the forced hot water system. It's designed to do that automatically, but the little automatic vents also automatically clog themselves over time and vent no more. It takes just long enough each time I've forgotten how to make it all work again and have to reinvent the simple solution.

Robin (RobinW) - Yeah for totes done. Cheering you on for the bathroom. Wincing, from very recent memory, at the difficulty of pulling off a personal renovation project as a married couple. For DW and I, it sometimes brings out the remarkable increased strength we have when we combine our different talents. And other times it also brings out the worst tensions when we seem to try to stand in the same spot, LOL.

Readers – "… So whenever you feel the urge to eat something you’re not supposed to, think about which muscle you really want to strengthen. …" Beck, pg 29.

Hello Coaches!

I completed 6 of 8 weeks of my foodplan and am embarking on the final phase: 2 weeks of maintenance. All food amounts are upped. More food, all food I daresay, is back in, but there is still a cycle, a pattern to maintain even in maintenance...
This is from the text and I think I'll list them:

CREDIT MOI
1) Have stayed On Plan for 6 weeks with very minor deviations
2) Have stayed OP during all kinds of emotional challenges and time challenges and changes
3) My regular jeans are very loose everywhere---belting them makes them bunch up... am now comfortably wearing my jeans that are the "same size" yet always fit smaller.
4) Can pull the truly smaller size jeans up and over my hips.
5) My scale shows that the weight I have lost has stayed lost. I am no longer 260 but in the 250's. 240's will surely follow.
6) I have found a foodplan that does work for me and is forgiving at the same time.
7) I applied Beck principles as needed and knew they made a world of difference in keeping me on track especially when I was faced with emotional challenges as I am an emotional eater.
8) I kept contact and I did not give up.
9) Even though the scale has not cooperated as I wish it had, and even though some folks have lost 2x or 3x what I have lost (mind you this is at the end of the 8 weeks so I cannot draw a fair conclusion here yet as I am still 75% of the way in, not at the finish line) I remain confident that this is working for me and that it will work for me as well and I can look forward to wearing my fake fur full length coat this winter after having it hang in my closet for the past two winters...
10) I found a trainer, a gym, and a program. I even got assessed and discovered I was better off than I feared! I have made attempts to get to the gym and need to make an appt to get the membership and a visit with my trainer to get a refresher and to tweak my program to fit my, now, hectic schedule.

Thank you thank you thank you coaches for being here and for trying to do what you are doing too. It helps so much to hear the truth about trying to get fit and lose weight. it helps to know we are in the same boat. And it helps to see that Beck works and you always give me a clue about using the tools in a more effective way. I send a big out to you all: active posters, posters-on-hiatus and lurkers. Thanks.

I've been remiss at personals lately. I have the "day off" (as in no classes) but much work to do but will get the groceries done first and then return the rental car and head off to school to do my ceramic studio duties and then my homework and then, hopefully, be able to print a print for submission to a gallery this week (time's really running out on that one!).

Will check in tonight. Everyone enjoy your day.

good morning my coaches!

i'm back from my 2-wk hiatus while on vacation. it was a mixed bag. i am very, very proud of how i handled myself around food and beer while in colorado. we had one planned fancy dinner out, at which i ate what i really wanted to try but in limited quantities, and the rest of the time we either cooked OP food in our fabulously-outfitted kitchen in our hotel suite, or i ate reasonably. with two exceptions, and both of them gave me heartburn, so it didn't go any further. got in lots of informal walking and logged my food religiously. most days i had a calorie deficit. not what it normally is, but a cumulative deficit for a vacation is unheard of for me (until Beck, that is.)

we got back on thursday and are STILL without electricity. this, dear coaches, is where the mixed part of the mixed bag happened. i was tired and looking forward to having a few days of doing laundry and recovering from the trip (it's not exactly relaxing, travelling with a teething toddler) but instead we are staying with my in-laws. they are wonderful people, but el nino has been completely off his game and has been running crazy. i can't blame him, can't blame my MIL and FIL for being so generous with their home, can't blame the power company for working as hard as they can but not yet making it to our house, can't blame God for the winds that took out all the trees and power lines. it just sucks. DH continues to struggle with some difficult personal issues, and i've been taking care of everyone and doing my best to include myself as a person to take care of. well, coaches, on friday night i just gave up the ghost and started EATING. crappy sweets, mostly, although i dipped into the crunchy salty stuff on saturday. yesterday i did marginally better, and managed to get a nap as i was falling over tired. today, i'm back on track, although i couldn't remember when yoga class was and missed it. not pleased with myself about that since i thought i had talked myself into looking forward to it, and probably would have enjoyed it had i made it. thursday i will be in class NO MATTER WHAT.

not going to wallow or beat myself up. i probably haven't set myself back all that far in reality, and asked DH to stop by the dayton house to pick up my gym bag and running clothes to get right back to the gym tomorrow. it's been tough living out of a suitcase significantly longer than i planned, and trying to cook out of someone else's kitchen. we don't have the fridge space to buy and cook for the week, and i never do as well when i can't do that. instead, i'll eat as many meals as possible from the cafeteria at work. discovered today that they'll saute my lunch veggies in Pam instead of oil if i ask. i'm guessing that there's lots i can do to make this work. will just have to get a little more creative and flexible. i will also make sure i go to bed earlier, because like onebyone pointed out, tired makes everything harder, and lordy, i am tired. wish i wasn't (especially after coming back from a spendy vacation) but it is what it is. Oh Well!

tried to catch up with everyone's personals, and i know i'll miss a few, so am apologizing in advance. onebyone, hungary! YES! i lived in slovakia for a few years and spent as much time as i possibly could in budapest. it's my favorite city in the whole wide world. szeged is gorgeous too, and the food is wonderful, people are beautiful, but more than that there's a witchy spell that place puts on you when you're not looking and makes you fall in love with it. as an artist, you should DEFINITELY try to make it there, even if it's not to live. and if you do, please let me know so i can come visit!!! all my hungarian friends have moved to other places or have lost touch. and i also hope for clarity for you with your understanding of what you need from your family. it's much less draining when you get that straightened out for yourself (but of course you already know that. ) i also love your current credit list. it's wonderful and you should be so proud of yourself!!! shrinkin, my thoughts go out to you with your sick friend. things just suck sometimes, don't they? bill, the one surefire way to avoid that burning is to wear rubber gloves when you prep your peppers. i have a box of latex-free surgical gloves i keep in the kitchen for making salt-free hot sauce, and for working with hot isomalt. they're cheap and effective. excellent thoughts on how to handle the walking reception buffet! if that experience gives you a better handle on how to manage the next one (actually ALL the rest of them) then they're calories well spent. kudos for immediately recognizing the old feelings that lead to the old behaviors! it's kind of like hearing an old lover start to whisper in your ear. you're married now and in a much better relationship. robin, congrats on finishing your monster printing job! that's got to feel pretty darned good. can't wait to hear how your project goes! we've got a ton of remodelling to do ourselves, and i appreciate learning from those who go before me. heidi and tera, i'm also a fan of YOAD because the principles are so sound and workable. like the recipes too! and heidi, i had a total "i waaaaaaaaa" moment myself this past weekend. or series of moments, i should say. i feel ya, girlfriend! just going to get past it and back on track right this very moment.

shout out to all the lurkers!

Morning, coaches

DH and I went to Lake on Friday night and posting from there is very tough. Have been reading your posts though and they reminded me to do what I know.

Here is my three day report:

Friday: Off plan for calories by about 500. Made several mistakes:

1) Took friend to lunch; she had requested we go to a microbrewery. When time for drink order, I actually said this outloud: "Who goes to a microbrewery and then orders a diet coke?" and then proceeded to order a beer, even though I normally have a diet coke and I am not a big beer drinker. I assumed she wanted good beer and would feel bad if I did not join her. Coaches, what happened to my thinking? She then said, "Well, I am having a diet coke because I can't have alcohol." Whoa, I was so stunned by the egg on my face, I did not change my order. I had opened my mouth and stuck both feet in it. LOL. My food order was great though...substituted extra grilled veggies for the cheese topped potates that came with grilled chicken breast. CREDIT MOI for that.

2) Late afternoon at office, wanted a diet coke. Went to vending machine and diet coke sold out. Decided on diet pepsi, but hit the pepsi button by mistake. What was that about? OH WELL. I decided to drink it, thinking how bad could it be? Shoulda looked first... About half way through, looked at label. Oh, NO...250 calores in that thing! Well, stopped drinking it then. CREDIT for better late than never.

3) Late night drive to lake house and arrived with the "munchies" even though I instintively knew my Friday calories were gone and then some. Started with some rice cake chips (not too bad), and a glass of wine (yup did not count that earlier beer in my thinking) but did not stop with one serving of "chips". After a double serving of rice chips, managed to get self under control. Unplanned eating...OH WELL.

Not a planned exercise day and no unplanned exercise. Just a down day dealing with sadness of friend's anticipated death. She let me know that she was calling all of the people that mattered to her and had been "good to her" to tell them goodbye. So, maybe that was part of eating/thinking errors...just could not get it together during a day of more emot than usual.

Saturday: Clear headed look at behavior to start the day led to dedication to getting back on track...and did! OP for calories. OP for alcohol...and OP for exercise. Actually, I am taking triple credit for Saturday exercise. Did not want to go, but got into lake water anyway, and it was, IMO, freezing cold. Our lake is made from a river that drains many rivers in northern Wisconsin, so the water temp is much cooler than the air temp this time of year. Managed to get in 40 min of vigorous exercise. DH (who had vowed it was "not too cold" at all), got out at the 20 min mark.

Sunday: Within calorie range. Decided could not do another lake routine, so called and found a hotel pool 30 miles from Lake that let me buy a pool pass ($10) to their indoor pool. Pool clean and deep water adequate, but no clock. Credit MOI for the 45 min drive each way and the 50 min hard workout. Good news is that on the way back, stopped at a motel about 11 miles from lake and they allow pool access for $3. So, discovered new alternative for next time we are at the lake that will not hit the wallet so hard for gas and pool access fee. for problem solving.



onebyone-Way to go for all of the great things on your credit list! Kudos for not letting family pain get in your way of getting healthier. Extra credit for reminding us that the scale is just a number. What really counts is getting healthier; every step counts, no matter how small. Sorry to hear the "gravy" was not as good as you had hoped this weekend. OH WELL. Glad to see you just keep movin' on.

BillBlueEyes-Yum for your black bean salad. Envy those blueberries. They are expensive here and I have been splurging but not on very many. Had a Cortland apple fresh from the farm this weekend. One big advantage of going to Lake is proximity to local farmer "Bob" who brings great corn in all the way into October. Bob is now beginning apple harvest and the fresh ones are awesome. He also does some great cherry tomatoes and slicing cucumbers that are the sweetest I have ever had. OH WELL for that reception behavior, but methinks if you have trouble, the rest of us could be easily done in by those wandering food pushers. I think the folks carrying those appetizer trays get to go home early if they get rid of their food quick. LOL. Kudos for working to come up with a plan for those receptions.

RobinW-WooHoo for getting those totes done! My DH, like yours, loves to be involved in any redecorating, and a renovation task...well, that is HIS domain! LOL. Yes, wouldn't it be great if they could just understand that we are right! Are you still walking to work together?

Happy Monday to all!

Hey all....this weekend was a quiet one for me as dh was gone most of it so I had time to clean and then time for me. Took the dog out for a nice long walk and then came home and got to read and just do what I wanted. It was nice.

I do read all the messages I just don't answer back...but to let you all know that you are in my thoughts.

The diet coach is a hard one...gets me to really think about what I am doing and she doesn't take excuses...like I would really use them...LOL. She is good as she tells me what I need to hear not what I want to hear. Well gotta go now...need to get ready to go back to work...I hate than 4 letter work sometimes. LOL

Afternoon

Im on plan today and plan to stick to my plan! or else!

Hubby and I have still been walking to work, even leaving the car at home knowing we will need it later in the day(except today)....so that we have to walk home and get it. Today I had a meeting right after we opened, so we brought the car. I even managed to get hubby out for a walk thru the neighbourhood last night! I love this weather!!!! I love how the air smells, I love how good the crispness of the air makes me feel. I just love it!

Im so excited......we purchased a "real time designer" plug in for our website when we were in at the tradeshow. Its actually coming together, and hopefully we will be able to go live with it within the next 2 weeks!! Im so excited because we had a student build one for us 3 yrs ago.....he built it, but didnt install it into our website....we needed to hire someone else for that. Well, the cost for all this was getting so out of control, that we cut our losses. But this one is actually going to happen!!! With managable costs too....even better thrilled thrilled thrilled!!

Ok, Im feeling good, motivated and on plan......the goal is to keep today a very positive day

Hey Becksters!

I have been reading today's posts and I must say I am very amused and pleased by our increasing inclusion of the more obscure emoticons 3FC offers us. Variety is indeed the spice of life!



Well got all the chores done this morning and I didn't get to school until 2pm.
Spent 4 hours in the ceramic room as there was no hope of getting into the print room today. So, by default, it's handprinting with a spoon for me!

I went to the Salvation Army and picked up three things that look like they could be converted into books: a fake snakeskin wallet with a buckle on the front, a silver metal eyeglass case that opens out flat, and a silver plasticized fabric clutch with metal hinge/border and satin lining, small zippered pocket right in the center that could remain in the book after I cut out the "web" pieces of satin that inhibit the clutch from opening out flat. I didn't okay this with Britt, my teacher, but I ony had to remake a fold out thing for tomorrow's class and I haven't wrapped my head around any stories yet, but at least she'll see I am searching for my angle when I show these to her.

And I am supposed to have something ready for Advanced Studio in the afternoon but as of now I have only vague ideas...and she wants sketches in a sketch book. And we're to bring in something for all of us to make something out of...yes, the instructions were that vague.

: Weighin tomorrow for the results of week 6. Looking for something good!

RobinW Hi! Good going on the walking with hubby! DH actually agreed to attempt the couch to 5K program. This really deserves this one: Now I have to pick up the ball and get us going. he's about 80lbs overweight is my guess. 6'4" or so.... but now needs to get rid of the middle stuff... I NEVER say anything as I am no shining example...yet and this isn't helpful and we all know it when we need to do it don't we? So anyway... nice to see you two supporting each other and fantastic job getting through those totes and now the website add on... what will it do? Could I, say, design something and then you have it and you make it for me? is that what it does?

angelmomma210 Good news that your diet coach is so supportive and with you on your journey. This is good! Asking for help is never the easy road but often the necessary one. Kudos to you.

shrinkin Oh my! How fantastic to hear of your pool tryouts! It's like a little game or a mini vacation..."and this one over here? What does it offer?" I think it's a bit fun isn't it? I admire your singleminded pursuit of your exercise of choice. Big Big Kudos. And your slips were all corrected and noted and you've made plans for the future. It doesn't get better than that... Awesome.

kuhljeanie Thanks for the report of your Hungarian experiences. gee. makes me really want to go even more... I see you have been very Becklike in your travels and continue to push forward in spite of really hard circumstances. Inlaws, upheaval, no kitchen of your own, or electricity! Yikes! Is okay, you're getting through it a day at a time. Enjoy yoga!

BillBlueEyes Found blueberries from Abbotsford BC at the store today: $3.99 for a half pint. I turned and walked away. Too spendy for me. Will spend whatever it takes in January though for Chilean blueberries and who-knows-where-its-from watermelon in mid-winter, but not now. Opted for southern ontarian concord grapes. They were $3.99 for a 2 litre box/basket vs the grapes from california, also black but seedless, for $1.99/lb. Think they were cheaper but look at the difference! How much further those CA grapes came vs the farmer who grew the concords... I am supporting my local farmers. Very important for us all to do this for sure. Yes it is. I don't know about you but I am able to *whisk* some thoughts under the rug in a second. Especially quick to go are new behaviours and those that I apply "situational ethics" to... ie cookie over apple. So I can see you will not slip down the slippery slope as you are wearing the Judith Beck brand of mountaineering cleats that stop you from sliding and help you scramble back up. Kudos for your strength of will and self-assessment.

Diet Coaches – The good and the ugly: The good was at the farmers' market where I found a box of heirloom tomatoes for $10 - that included 10 of the purple something variety at about 1 1/4 pound each and about 10 pounds of smaller varieties. I was in pig heaven. Now faced with having to give most away since I can't possible eat 25 pounds of tomatoes before they spoil. CREDIT moi.

The ugly is a head cold; that's not so bad except that by eating healthy food that was supposed to be history. Oh Well.

Jean (kuhljeanie) - That Colorado vacation sounds splendid. Kudos for keeping it all together and op.

In contrast, your story back home is boggling; I kept waiting for the plague of locusts while reading your story. Will keep you in my thoughts as you try to find a sane place to perch. Thanks for the tip of using gloves to dice jalapeno peppers.


onebyone – I salute your ten goals achieved. Kudos ten times. I particularly like 8) I kept contact and I did not give up. and 10) I found a trainer, a gym, and a program. You're a beautiful act to watch.

Ouch for blueberries at $3.99 for a half pint. By happenstance I just bought the book Superfoods: HealthStyle: ..., (new, for 25 cents at a yard sale) in which blueberries are touted as one of the 3 most important superfoods (with wild Alaskan salmon and spinach). I was on board up to that point, then it continues with "eat one to two cups per day." That's over the top for me.

Thanks for "the Judith Beck brand of mountaineering cleats that stop you from sliding." Will wear with pride.

Robin (RobinW) - Your tribute to fall is so nicely stated, "I love how the air smells, I love how good the crispness of the air makes me feel." Yep, gotta love a place with seasons. Need to be reminded of that when I get the longings to live in Florida or California when the snow needs shoveling, LOL.

angelmomma210 - Yeah for a quiet weekend. Your diet coach sounds great. Kudos for recognizing that being pushed is a good thing.

shrinkin - Nice weekend at the lake. Kudos for keeping your perspective for minor variations, and, no question about it, Triple Kudos for Saturday's exercise. Your farmer "Bob" sounds like a find.


Readers – "… If you want to lose weight and keep it off permanently, you need to take every opportunity to strengthen your resistance muscle and to weaken your giving-in muscle." Beck, pg 29.

Hello Coaches

Officially I am 252.4, down from 261.8 when I started my new foodplan 6 weeks ago. I am thrilled. 9.4lbs gone away.

I just wanted to report my results and now I have to really rush to get my lunch and some more homework done! Yikes! A full day today too.

Have a good Tuesday

Morning coaches,

Well, a slightly off plan day yesterday. Seemed hungry all day. I did OK until after dinner, still hungry after waiting 20 min. After about 2 oz of cold chicken breast, still hungry. Indulged in a protein bar. So, about 250 calories over for the day, but I do think it was hunger and the food choices were not bad. Not a planned exercise day and no unplanned to report. OH WELL.

I did some online shopping for some Zoomers fins to wear during work out. Credit MOI for being at the point that I need these. Legs keep getting stronger, just wish arms were ready to participate fully in work out. Still doing my shoulder exercises though.

onebyone-for your 9.4 pound loss! Great to see your efforts paying off on the scale as well as in other ways. Is today a gym day for you? Persist in victory!

BillBlueEyes-Heirloom tomatoes are hard to resist. Wish we could share in that give away. Ouch for the cold. Hope it won't last long.

RobinW-Kudos for being OP and for keeping up your walking! Awesome about the plug in.

angelmomma210-Woohoo for the great weekend of self care! You deserve it. Someone who doesn't take excuses for a diet coach is priceless. Hopefully, she will keep you reminded of the reasons you want to get healthier.

kuhljeanie-Missed your post yesterday. Must have crossed in cyberspace. for your cumulative deficit on vacation! Very Beckian! WTG! Ouch for the return to no power and staying with in laws. Glad they are there for you, but hard to get back to a routine.

Sending positive thoughts for a great OP Tuesday for all. Off to the pool!

Good Morning

Bill~ thatsalotta tomatoes!! I love the seasons too. I do miss the "real" winters from back home. Buffalo has a bad reputation for getting lots of snow, but what everyone doesnt know is that the snow comes, dumps feet at a time, then its gone within a couple days. So there really isnt any place close by to go skiing or ski-dooing. The closest cross country ski trails are 45min away. The park is only 2min away, but the trails always get walked all over Oh well.

Onebyone~ WTG on your lbs lost!!!!! The real time designer we are having installed will let folks design their own vehicle magnets, sidewalk signs, vehicle lettering and t-shirts. They will be able to either upload their own stuff, or use our clipart and fonts to build it themselves. Pretty cool stuff, Im looking forward to just playing with it

I didnt do too shabby yesterday!! I did some baking last night, muffins and loaves baked for 3pm coffee time I have discovered whole wheat pastry flour. I really like it, it behaves just like white flour, and doesnt have that heavy thick taste that you get with just plain whole wheat flour. It gives everything some good body to it. My loaves and muffins arent delicate, but they taste great, and are very filling.

Didnt get any exercise in yesterday......and I really had to think about this because I couldnt remember I really thought I had I'll make up for it today

Well, Im here nice and early this morning because I set my alarm for 6pm instead of am......I was suppose to be at my networking meeting at 7 this morning I missed it! I can only say that I must have missed it for a reason

Have a great day everyone!

shrinkin....we must have been posting at the same time.

good morning my coaches,

a challenging night last night. after eating OP during the day, and enjoying a healthy lasagna-style casserole i made sunday, i killed an entire bag of cheetos AND m&ms in front of the TV. could blame my lack of control on environmental factors, since in-laws keep junk in their house that i do not. unfortunately (or fortunately, maybe?) i can't do that, because i'm still wearing my big-girl panties. i ate crap because i wanted to. i even took a minute to ask myself if there was something else i could do to more effectively deal with my boredom/frustration/exhaustion, and thought, probably, but i'd rather eat right now. so i did. aaargh. lucky for me i log everything. in the clear light of day today, i finally had an oppty to record it in my online journal, and i can see that the damage hasn't been that bad compared with how bad i FEEL about it. which makes me feel better. good enough that my cafeteria breakfast choices were solid (oatmeal and raisins, and cottage cheese.) could have opted for bagels or doughnuts or breakfast burrito, so i feel good about this. DH also stopped by the dayton house last night and picked up my gym stuff for me, so i'll be spending my lunch break on the treadmill which will surely help me feel back on track.

it's challenging not to complain. last night el nino had a tough night. for some reason he woke up at 11:45, and screamed and cried until about 4:30. we tried rubbing his back, lying with him, leaving him alone, feeding, changing, etc. over the course of 5ish hours, we tried just about everything. this morning he was still clingy for no apparent reason. growth spurt? accumulated stress? hard to say - but it was the first time since he was about 2 months old that we had a night like that. i got about 3 hours sleep and am hurting today. i imagine DH is suffering at work as well. i do believe that working out will make me feel better instead of worse, and also believe that complaining just strengthens the inclination to a victim mentality. so, bearing in mind that i'm blessed to have a healthy family, in-laws that continue to graciously host us, the amazing support of my fabulous online diet coaches, the knowledge that DP&L (power company) is actively working on restoring power, and that 23,000 are still without power in dayton area. need to remember that it's not personal, it's only temporary, and i'm really really lucky to have the support i have. i hope that the folks who aren't able to stay with family, who are maybe struggling financially with being forced to eat out, get their power on before we do.

OK. now i feel better. it'll get easier. it always does.

shrinkin, why the Oh Well for not exercising on a non-exercise day? sounds like your metabolism is switched on. this is great! robin, how lovely to sleep in a little! i'm envious. i'm also a fan of the wheat pastry flour. i like it in spice cakes - gives it a little more texture. bill, THANK YOU. onebyone, believe it!!! and mazel tov! i like where you're going with the books. would love to see process shots as you bake your ideas. your weigh-in is inspiring! i haven't weighed myself since before colorado. feels very strange, not knowing. how are you feeling about your upcoming foray into the 240's?

cheers, all. hopefully tonight will be a quieter night, and i'll be a little less bleary tomorrow.

Good day, Becksters!

Sunday was my "day 12: learning to tolerate hunger" day. Results:

1. It took 6 hours to register any discomfort at all.
   
2. My discomfort did wax and wane, until my head started to ache, then it was a prettyy constant "4". I'm not sure, though, that the headache was connected to the hunger. It might have been on account of heat, dehydration or noise/stress.
   
3. I managed to eat a healthy dinner, in spite of being ravenous and grumpy. I did not remember to take my vitamin supplements, however, and got really mad at myself for that.

Beck talks about fearing the discomfort of hunger, but I think that the most important thing that I learned was that it isn't the discomfort that I ever feared - it's the loss of control. My thoughts just aren't very clear when I'm that hungry. On the other hand, considering how much time passed before I got "that hungry," I don't think I have to worry much about not getting a meal before I reach that point.

I was on plan yesterday, except for exercise. I woke up with a pretty severe back ache (about a 7 in discomfort) and when I realized I hadn't taken my vitamins at breakfast, I went back to the apartment instead of up to my mom's house where the pool is. Once I got there, I took the supplements, grabbed an ice pack and started trying to make myself as comfortable as possible. It was not a productive day and I felt sorry for myself off and on, but at least I didn't eat to soothe, something I've been prone to do in the past.

Today the back hurts, but less (down to around a 4) and I'm at Mom's house and the pool is heating. I can't wait til I can get in it and stretch! I did again forget my vitamins at home, though I'd brought breakfast with so that I could sit down and eat rather than on the go. Fortunately, Mom does keep vitamins around the house, it's just that the packaging is different and includes a lot more than the core nutrition vitamins that I take. I decided to go ahead and use hers today and when I get home, I'll pour some of my own into a travel baggie so if I need to take them after I've left the house, I can.

Other than that my motivation level is pretty low; I'm still tired from trying to sleep on a hurt back. Considering that I have homework due soon, I'd better overcome that!

Today I'm on day 16 and I'm now slowing down to one day per day, since it appears that Beck's caught up to me. I look forward to seeing how the rest of the program goes!

kuhljeanie..would love to get that lasagne receipe...sounds really good...boy do I remember getting up in the middle of the night. We had a disabled dd that had alot of medical problems and many a night we were at the er for a high temperature. She could go from normal to 106 in 45 minutes. We lost her in 02. Still miss her alot but doing better.

shrinkin..you have been doing so good...keep it up and spend time on you of course.

Everyone else seems to be doing so good and you all are an inspiration to me. I am now getting to the point that at my midday home I do not take a nap, but do things around the house...still get tired sometimes but think that those naps keep me from sleeping at night. Menopause doesn't help either.

Well doing okay so far...just need to re-read the book again...I know that I have said that before, but time seems to slip away before I get the book in my hand.