Hey all...sorry that I have not been here, but it has been so busy. Dh got good news...last tuesday he had 2 meeting...the first was for the grievience that had to do with the copying of the material that was not searched for. Since he got the proposal for firing they changed the grievience to read for a repirmand against the supervisor. The second meeting was for a grievance for the firing. He got word today that another section supervisor is going to investigate the allegations made my dh. This is good...there are many people aware of what has been happening...and he will be on the payroll during this invesigation. We believe that the truth will come out. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Dh said to say Thank you and that those words are not enough.

Diet Coaches - Had a leftover mini-sandwich with my lunch because it contained real turkey. Just had the turkey, tossed the roll. CREDIT moi. That's a big deal for me because I never toss food (and it was an onion roll - a fave). Kinda groking in this because it's so new to just plan to have the turkey (lunch was otherwise only vegetarian yesterday) and not need to wrestle with whether to have the (white bread) roll or not. Hope this is progress, not just a one-time fluke happening. DW reminds me that when I put something in the compost bin, I'm not throwing it away, I'm feeding our pet worms.

onebyone - Waving. Hope you get some down time this weekend.

Jeanie (kuhljeanie) - Ouch for the continuing sciatica. Sending best thoughts for that going away sooner rather than later. Good luck thinking about changing jobs; methinks it's a good self evaluation even if you don't apply. Feeling empathy for the new laptop loaded by the powers that be. My company just gave me a new laptop, with, of course, all the approved applications. Their copy disk procedure doesn't include alien applications, including those I use so much I forgot I ever installed them. Wait until they install SafeBoot - that encrypts your hard disk so that, if stolen, no company information can be extracted without the password. As you have probably immediately realized, no data can be extracted by you if you forget your password. Forgetting your password includes changing (as required by company rules) the passwords for SafeBoot and MSWindows in the wrong order for which you are unrecoverably locked out with all data lost. Don't ask me how I came to learn this amazing undocumented tidbit.

Robin (RobinW) - Ouch for the hip issues. LOL at "ban Cadbury Chocolate Eggs." Yep, those are evil. Kudos for giving yourself a day off on Saturday - and thanks for the reminder that if I want to go into business for myself that taking weekends off is vacation time, LOL.

shrinkin - waving sending warm thoughts to nebraska in november with wishes for a soul satisfying mother of the groom experience and hopefully not embarrassing the young man with tears or memories that it wasn't so long ago you were reading him books at night and hoping that he remembers to choose underwear without holes for his honeymoon

angelmomma210 - Rejoicing at the positive steps. Continuing to send supportive thoughts as the real review just begins.

Tera (twilit tera) - Waving. In my imagination you are busy dissecting frogs in your Biology class.

Kim (bennyhannahmama) - Kudos for dedicating yourself to doing this right. Yep, gotta do all the steps - at least until you can see the impact on what matters. For the first weeks, I believe that it is important to isolate eating because it seems that Beck is trying to make us experience eating. We can't manage what we aren't aware that we're doing. The eating sitting down part was hard for me at first, primarily because I knew that it would be easy - me, I never ate standing up! Until I began to notice. Yep, that was me eating from the plate while I carried it to the table. That was me nibbling at the counter while I made a sandwich. That was me nibbling raisins with one hand while I added them to my cereal with the other. For me, and apparently for many of the posters here, the first chapters are a wrap upside the head with a 2x4 to see ourselves.

RE Diet Coaches: Many of us have asked each other to be our online Diet Coaches. Posting here is a report to our Diet Coach. A few people have reported that they have a face to face Diet Coach as well - the best situation for sure, but not an easy one to establish. So, I ask you to also be one of my Diet Coaches. The obligation of online Diet Coach is to read my posting and respond when you have time and where you think useful to note the Beck issues that have been raised. As you can observe, it's frequently just to note Kudos. There is no group of "such and such" people on the Beck thread - no popes, cardinals, prime ministers, leaders, followers, elite, or unwashed. We've all just wandered in and contribute as we choose. What you see is what you get.

On the other hand, the 3FC site has Moderators and a few rules to help control spam. Moderators will remove an offensive post or one containing perceived advertising. One of their rules is that you can't PM members until after so many posts and so many days. Another is that you can't have a siggy until after (best as I remember) 30 posts and 30 days. You can't advance the days, but you can advance the number of posts by posting a series of one liners on any of the chat threads.

For my Advantages List, I keep them in the Excel spreadsheet where I log my weight and number of steps from my pedometer. The spreadsheet works for me because that's what I'm used to, I open it daily, and I have shuffled the order and changed the items over the months.

Sorry for the long response, but you raise interesting questions.

Readers -

Diet Coaches Last night I took my kids to services at temple and it was my first challenging situation. First of all, I never had an afternoon snack and had eaten lunch at 12 so I was pretty hungry before we left. I know that it's okay to be hungry and just sit with that. But, I'd been hungry for quite awhile and was really worried that my choices would be impaired once I did see food again, so chose to have a snack. (I wonder if Beck discusses this aspect of hunger further along in the book.) Because I had tracked all that I had already eaten I knew that I was pretty close to reaching my protein goal for the day, but was low on fiber and carbs. I had a serving of Kashi Good Friends cereal and that was very satisfying.

Dinner at temple was mac and cheese (homemade, REALLY creamy and cheesy) and fishsticks and a salad bar. I immediately started to panic a bit when I found myself eating a piece of challah (egg bread) after the prayer had been said. How would I count this? What if I'm not precise? I didn't "plan" on eating this, so should I be? Then at the dinner table, I took a couple of bites of my son's mac and cheese and ate a fishstick. Again, panic, that unconscious eating. But it wasn't completely unconscious and I tried to estimate how much I ate. I purposely ate 1 fishstick so I could report that and I had about 2 tablespoons of mac and cheese. Phew. Okay, onto the salad bar. Again, since I knew that I had plenty of protein already, I just took about the equivalent of 2T of chickpeas and about 1T shredded cheese. The rest was vegetables and about 1T salad dressing.
So, although I am dealing with the discomfort of not being able to precisely calculate every morsel of food that has passed my lips, I am also trying to remember what I would have eaten last night had I not been aware. Because it was a new situation (never been to this temple and not a big temple person to begin with and recently separated from my DH, so there as a single mom with lots of "complete" families), I definitely would have eaten out of stress. Oh and what better comfort food than mac and cheese and fishsticks?? I definitely would have chowed on that and even with the salad my choices would not have been as good. I know I would have taken a lot more chickpeas (because I would have justified it by saying they are healthy and good protein. I would not have taken into account the fact that I had eaten a big serving of salmon at lunch.), shredded cheese and probably had more dressing. Oh and I definitely would have had a big piece of challah (bread) at dinner too. So, I must stop with the negative self-talk and beating myself up. This was a HUGE accomplishment and I should recognize it as that! I'm also in the preparation stage of all of this, so I should give myself a break for that too.


JeanieThanks for your reply (yes, our posts must have crossed in cyberland!) and your email. I have not responded to your email yet, but did put in an invite to add you to my gmail chat (no worries if you don't add me.) I am really excited that I bought the Sensewear and after just 1 day find it very enlightening. Thanks also for the link to the thread that discusses the Sensewear. I will definitely be checking that out.
I feel your frustration with downloading Java on your work computer. I called my IT department on Thursday to find about adding it and they never called me back. I'm also hoping that they don't end up asking me too many questions about why I need it, because if it's known that it's personal, they may not help me out (However, we have a program called "It's Your Life" and I think I'd have a pretty good argument based on that for using this at work.) *I tried posting a link to It's Your Life, but of course, I can't use links yet, so if curious you can probably find it pretty easily-- it's a corporate based health program*
My suggestion to you as far as the job situation is to try to stay in the moment. Don't make up too many "What if" scenarios.

Robin Thanks for answering my question re: the advantages cards. I'll let you know what I end up deciding to do.

Bill No apologies necessary for your lengthy response-- I really appreciate it! As you may be able to tell (LOL) I write pretty lengthy posts myself Thanks for cluing me in on all the board restrictions, etc. I know the answers are all here if I looked, but I have to admit, I wasn't that motivated to spend time looking.
Thanks also for the explanation on the Diet Coaches (makes perfect sense) and I'd be honored to be one of your Diet Coaches.

I'm glad you mentioned the computer-based advantages list. I'm a pretty big computer person and spend a ton of time on the computer. I think I may do mine as a computer-based list.

Diet Coaches - Walked over 16,000 steps for the first time in a while. CREDIT moi. Went foraging at four of my favorite stores for stuff for my lunches next week. Better stated, I went foraging because I wanted to walk and I like walking about fresh food. Whole Foods FREE samples included many parts of their Thanksgiving dinners: turkey, cranberry sauce, corn meal dressing, kale, crab cakes, chocolate pecan pie, fig jam covered brie, artisan coffee. I showed no restraint, Oh Well. I did OK having dessert with friends after dinner when I had only one slice of just-baked lemon poppy seed cake. Seconds were offered and consumed by the others. For having even the one, Oh Well. For not having seconds, CREDIT moi.

shrinkin - waving aware that some places on earth may be in fact too cold to be able to operate a keyboard and that primates are wired to make wise choices in use of their energy knowing that communication consumes resources better allocated to search for food or a pool which might be hard to imagine as unfrozen particularly when it's 19 degrees Fahrenheit while surrounded by a populace consumed with the day's victory over Kansas

Kim (bennyhannahmama) - Big Kudos for identifying that a situation was a potential source of stress and for recognizing "negative self-talk." Way to go with mac and cheese and fishsticks.

Readers -

Good Sunday Morning Coaches

I have been working so hard lately, non-stop it seems, that last night as I was in bed I wanted to sit up and started to do this by propping myself up witht one arm and the big muscle from the shoulder across the front that attaches to your rib cage just went "No!"->intense pain->collapse back down.

Ugh. This is my body without adequate rest or attention. I think I need to make getting into the gym my major priority now. DH has offered to loan me the $ to keep my credit cards (2) up-to-date and sometimes I loathe asking him for $. And sometimes I choose to let the cards slip past their due date because of my loathing to ask for $ especially when he has covered my tuition and the rent and the bills... anyway I will ask for the $ today so I can have enough on the card I need to use for the gym membership (they don't take cheques).

My program of eating is slipping from me. I have lost interest. And I stepped on the scale. Twice. I'm in a "I can't stick with this" phase. Soon to be followed by a "I can't stand it! I'm not doing ANYTHING!" over-reaction/depression phase, during which I eat too much and regain the 10lbs I have managed to lose, followed by a "re-dedication/renewal/positive" phase.

Which is why the quotes posted by Billblueeyes really hit the nail on the head with me today. There is a major connection between my shifting priorities when it comes to too-much-work-and-stress and too-much-food/offplan-food. There is a direct correlation as I am totally using food to relieve the stress. Hello? Isn't this classic emotional eating? When feeling really tired and exhausted I do not ever want to exercise as a stress relief. I guess I still haven't developed options to turn to? can that be? After all this time? My school schedule doesn't let up until the end of sememster now. All five classes have final projects that are due. All projects are about 1/3 complete. Scholarship applications are due this Friday. 4 submissions for that=gathering your best work and presenting it nice and neat to the jury. Two submissions this month for local art shows to "get your name out there and participate in the local art scene at these once a year events (my emphasis here)" one weekend of craft sales at a friend's place in the country which I would love to get out of now but can't; 6 items to be made for customers from the farmer's markets that need to be made and dropped off--one is really overdue now; plus firing the kilns at the school for the ceramics department full of extra large items that weren't brought into the kiln room for firing in a timely manner. now everyone wants their work NOW... and a kiln is broken. Not my fault but is my problem to do what I can with what we have.

The best part is in three weeks it's almost all passed. In four weeks it is done and overwith and I am free for two or three weeks and I currently spend my time riding the bus to and from the school fantasizing of going away for Christmas somewhere sunny and warm... brought this up to DH yesterday. There is no budget for it unless I make a killing at my big Christmas show at the farmer's market Dec 6/7 which could happen....

Anyway I did cook a turkey yesterday, thinking I can plan ahead for the week and have meals for the week. Today I have to strip the bird and pre-package the meat and then boil the bones to make my own soup stock that I will freeze for later. yum! I love turkey. So, I am trying to right myself.

Wow. Too long a post but it helps. Thanks for reading for those of you who did.

BillBlueEyes kudos for staying on plan and for getting back on plan immediately when you stray. It's very obvious you are ever vigilant. I seem to just toss that aside for days at a time, return to it, and by then have re-gained the weight. I think I am too comfortable at my high weight Maybe

bennyhannahmama It is a joy to read your posts. Welcome to the group in case I didn't say that! You are reminding me of important Beck principles. I need to read my book. Kudos to you for moving forward!

angelmomma210 Was happy to read of some positive moves in your DH's work situation. At least you know it'll get fairly heard and not quickly decided. Sorry this takes much time and energy from you both. I am glad you continue to check in here. I hope you really can leave some of your stressful situation with us so you don't have to carry the full burden in your heart, literally and figuratively. Again, very pleased to hear the good news.

RobinW You seem as busy as I am. Here's a for that! And yeah, my all-time favorites are those easter creme eggs. I love them. I find myself gravitating to all things carby right now. I really feel like a bear getting ready to hibernate. I want stews with big potatoes and carrots. I want fluffy creamy buttery mashed potatoes and I want sweet things--lots of chocolate. Ugh. I do not want cold watery lettuce or green things... so I understand the pull of the chocolates. And I recall that you never want that lettuce... Glad to hear from you. Thanks for posting.

kuhljeanie Hi! I did bring the cookies to class but they left 2 of them sitting in the container and I gobbled them up. So I suppose I get a 1/2 a kudo for not eating 18 cookies and attempting to get them away from me but in the end I caved. And THIS is what I am like these days. I start out okay, I mean well, and then I just give in. I don't feel like fighting the cravings/going out to find something more appropriate or simply waiting. I set myself up actually to be too hungry for too long and then excuse myself when I can't make it from meal to meal. It's supreme sabotage. And I ended up on the scale because I felt my body heavier and I am afraid if I don't have that reality check I will easily "forget about it" and right now I think I need to go back to weighing in. I will figure this out and I think that getting myself to that gym will be a key for me. I need to make that happen sooner rather than later.

twilit tera Hope you are having a bit of time off from your schedule this weekend... here's to getting through this semester (I toast you with coffee as we need everything we can get to stay alert!)

Diet Coaches - I'm psyched already about my lunch today. I made a big pot of turkey chili and cooked a large spaghetti squash for my lunches for the week. CREDIT moi. This seems big to me because I still see myself as a person who doesn't cook. One who, when he goes to put the squash in the microwave, is in despair because the two halves are bigger than any bowl - until DW suggests that I look in the bottom rear of the corner cabinet where the largest corning glass dish is kept. So I made it all and have already packed my lunch for the day. Chili is so easy to make. I went double on the garlic (used the equivalent of two cloves of garlic in a jar), and four times on the cumin (used a whole teaspoon) which I ground fresh in the spice grinder before using. The kitchen smells like cumin. My hands smell like cumin. Which is just fine with me because I'm a cumin guy.

I was struck last night by the thought that eating on plan this week will be much easier because of the planning work of making the chili and spaghetti squash. And that was possible because I got the seven ounce bag of cumin seeds from the Indian store via my DS, and got the ground turkey by walking to one of my favorite local butcher shops, and got the beans, and green pepper, and onions at my usual Saturday shopping trip for the vegetables for my lunches. It's a bunch of planning ahead and acting ahead. I salute all you homemakers who've done this for years and years.

shrinkin - waving hoping that you made it back from the wedding alive and unfrozen even though the web says temperature is up to 27 degrees Fahrenheit which of course is still not quite liquid enough for a swim unless perchance your accommodations have inside plumbing which would be convenient for other reasons as well

onebyone - A multitude of Ouches. Busy enough there even to spin the head of any mortal human. I hear the Sabotaging Thoughts, including "I think I am too comfortable at my high weight." Perhaps it's time to start reading your Advantages Card twice daily. You're not comfortable at your high weight - you are obviously uncomfortable when the stuff on your shoulders that you can't control (the late pieces, the large pieces, the broken kiln) begins to butt heads with the standard arriving-due-at-the-same-time responsibilities (your promised art, your class projects, your scholarship applications). You've demonstrated an amazing ability to hunker down and produce your required stuff under stress; you can do that again. Methinks you've got yourself in a spin here because of the stuff you can't fix. Is is possible to go back to the person in charge and ask for priorities for the ceramics room? You aren't responsible for the unhappiness of the students; you can't fix them. You deserve some support telling them that their stuff will be fired by xxx date and not before due to the broken kiln.

The broken kiln is not your problem, but you are a dedicated person who has made it her problem. I'm guessing that if you could get that off your brain, the remainder would seem large, but of the sort that you have faced and conquered before. And then, it might be possible for that part of onebyone who takes care of herself with a food plan and exercise plan to emerge again.

Sending supportive thoughts to work through this.



angelmomma210 - Waving. Sending supportive thoughts for you and your DH for the saga.

Readers -

Good morning coaches.

I spent the weekend in work mode. All I know is I have #3 of 6 "extreme crafters" now made of clay and I have 5 of 7 masonite plates carved and ready to be printed for one of the books I am making for my apprenticeship class. I will get the last two plates done at school today if I can get into the print room to work. I am crossing my fingers I can. Before I can print I have to fold the accordion spine of another book so I can complete it for tomorrow. It needs to go into a small old bookpress to be pressed flat. I hope to place it into the press all the while I am printing the pages of the book. I really really need this one done. I want to submit it to the jury for scholarship consideration at the end of this week. Also in that vein I have another print I am thinking about for the scholarships. I have a jester character and I am creating an overlay for it that I can print on top of him. An image of parliament hill. I didn't get around to carving it today but it's a sheet of plastic and I will use the dremel tool to carve it outn so once planned the execution will be a few minutes. Now, the printing, will be a few hours. At least an hour to ink the first plate. Another hour to ink the second. Yikes. Anyway it'll be my first double print and I saw another schoolmates very layered print and went "aha! that's what I need!" Gotta love school for that.

I got a surprise email about what classes I will be signed up to teach. "Stretch in sketch" a 30 min yoga/1.5hr drawing combo class with parent and child. 9-12 participants (don't know if this is couples or people total). I am welcome to do the yoga too and may need it to relax! then a 30min break and a 2 hr sculpture class. Don't even know the materials. It's scheduled for May 2-June 25 Sat 9:00-1:30. Great pay rate. I become registered as a "teacher with the City" and this can only be good and a very portable profession. There's a long line of artists who teach to make ends meet. So that was exciting. And one of my first thoughts as i ead the email was: get the weight off!
I need to get the weight off.

Oh 8:15am. better go.
Feeling better today, ready to face the world again.

BillBlueEyes I never see the "I am comfortable at a high weight" as a sabotaging thought. I see it as a statement of fact, a measure of acceptance. Interesting. But you are right, choosing to believe that statement is agreeing to maintain a high weight an that IS a sabotaging act and thought. I know it's not true casue I now feel motivated to lose weight again due to the notion of standing up in front of a group of strangers teaching. Would like to feel my best and that means being lighter in body and mind! The kiln guy is in today or tomorrow so I am allowed to not worry about it until Wed when I know the lay of the land. For now I will do what I can with what I've got. Thanks for the thoughtful response BBE

Gotta run! Have a great Monday y'all!

Hi everyone, I hope I can join this great group!

A little background: I'm a long time off and on poster and lurker here at 3FC (since 1999, I used to be Olive). I've actually been within 20 pounds of my goal weight a few times, but then life happens. I'm mainly a calorie counter and have also been successful with Weight Watchers. Well, when I found out about The BDS I thought this is exactly what I've been needing! I've had the book since it came out and haven't managed to get through all the steps yet. I put it away for a long time. I haven't been mentally ready to do this (lose weight) for a long time. But I am ready now to really commit to it and I knew if I searched I could find a support group here on 3FC and here you are. I've skimmed throught the previous posts and you all sound like a great group of supportive people.

I'm looking forward to getting to know you all and helping eachother with our journey.

happy monday my coaches!

onebyone, what bill said. he pretty much nailed it. if you need a little more support, PM me with your number and i'll give you a shout (in your copious free time.) there was such power in your voice when you were feeling good about being on plan; i can't help but agree with bill here. the kiln problems aren't yours - give them back to the people who rightfully own them and let it go! you're so good at taking care of your business, i have no doubt you're already on top of it. one last thought - when you're exercising and eating on plan, you always sound more in control of your work as well as your body. you can't possibly feel comfortable right now.

(climbing off soapbox.)

had an interesting weekend. felt stressed, depressed, and tired, which is not unusual for me this time of year. i suspect i have a little bit of seasonal affective disorder. anyway, i sort of had a parade of non-plan food floating through my mind. you name it, i thought about binging on it. was watching el nino both days so DH could do home remodelling stuff, and was unable to get any real exercise (this may have worked to my advantage, because my back is much better today.) the funny thing was, it was just easier to eat on plan, so i did. considered that food won't alleviate any of the issues that keep me up at night, and how i feel after binging, and, ugh. it pretty much killed my desire to actually do it. i'm still stalled - almost a month now - but can't imagine eating big quantities of greasy, salty, sugary nastiness just because i'm not seeing the scale move. not to say i'll never binge again - but it's definitely getting easier to let those thoughts pass in and out of my brain without acting on them. at some point, the scale will have to register a loss. it's impossible to average a 750 calorie a day deficit and not lose weight eventually. pants are fitting even more loosely, too, so something's changing for the better. i just have to keep at it.

good shabbos bennyhannahmama! i noticed in your post that you used the word "panic" more than once, mostly when talking about being unable to measure and log everything precisely. sounds a little like perfectionitis... i suffer from it, too. almost made myself sick on day 12, when i finally posted to this board for advice. (bill, remember that?) and with the advantage cards - on the computer is absolutely fine. that's where i keep mine. and girl, don't panic! you're doing GREAT!

welcome olive!!!

angelmomma, fabulous news. just great!

waving at tera, shrinkin, robin, and all who lurk!

Morning coaches,

Made it back from Nebraska in the wee hours of the morning. We decided to drive it all the way after dropping last of the out of towners at the airport at about 3:30 pm. Long haul but happy we did it.

Nebraska was quite nippy and WINDY. Glad I could wear that heavy dress coat. Received many compliments on my dress for wedding...would never have been able to wear it without dropping the weight. WooHoo for that! Interestingly found that those compliments were very motivating for me to get on with losing some more. All the events went off without a hitch. Bride gorgeous, groom smiling...and all round great time in spite of the weather.

Mixed food report, but overall pretty good particularly in view of 5 days of eating out with 5 party events. Did not get to record calories, but watched food choices very carefully and never ate past full. CREDIT MOI for those Beck principles....especially for the not eating past full. Old self would have said: "Well, this is a special occasion and the food is so tasty..." That sabotaging thought did NOT get me.

Passed up desert at RD, restricted myself to tiny sliver of wedding cake and grooms cake (split small pieces with DH). Passed up appetizers at wedding and by passed all of the bread and starches until yesterday (had crackers in the car on the way home). Confess to three glasses of wine on Saturday over about 8 hours (reception lasted 7 hours). Oh Well. Also had one cookie yesterday from a huge display. Oh Well. I think that persisting was much tougher yesterday after doing relatively well at the wedding buffet. Let down the guard a little.

Exercise report: As reported earlier by treo, Wed was a bust. On Thursday arrived at the Nebraska hotel. DH smug because he "knew" there was a pool at hotel. Well, pool was only 3 feet 4 in deep and about 10 x 12. A joke. But it could be made to look like a real pool in website pictures! LOL.

Found a Y about 15 min away...and yes, coaches, worked in a trip there on Thursday! WooHoo for getting over the inertia when there were plenty of excuses. Then, got up extra early on Friday to get a second work out in before "girls nail party". Extra credit for that! Wanted to get there on Sunday, but Y has limited hours and we had a "goodbye brunch" with most of our out of town family then went to DS apartment for afternoon "gift- opening" open house reception before making some airport runs with DDs. So, two pool workouts on the road, not bad in view of the amt of work needed to find unfrozen water! Yup BBE, the outdoor water was out of the question.

Lots of unplanned exercise...mostly dancing at wedding reception. WooHoo for prior pool exercise generating legs strong enough to really go the distance. Exhausted on Sunday am from too much time doing high energy dancing.

onebyone-sounds like you made great progress over the weekend. Congrats! You have gotten some great coaching on that sabotage of thinking you are "comfortable at the high weight". Sounded like a permutation of my earlier thinking that it was "time to yo-yo up." You would not be on Beck board if you were comfortable. It is your health(physical and mental), not a scale number that matters...and you know it. As jeanie said, we all have to get out that Advantages Card and reread, reread. Sounds like "Making time and Energy" for your health and not getting beaten down by all of the other responsibilities is getting tougher. When I hit those times lately, I have allowed myself to rock steady...just not gain, while telling self, "I will make a plan for more time and energy and then WILL LOSE again. So, even is you just maintain for the next few weeks, you should give yourself credit. Just don't throw in the towel and accept that you are staying at the high weight.

BBE-Thanks for all of your posts over past few days. I was reading but did not subject you to another treo post! It does not do the spacing well, and I don't proofread well. Not only is the screen small, the place you post to only holds about six words before scrolling. Kuods for the "bunch of planning ahead and acting ahead". One of the biggest things I have learned from Beck is that my downfall in past has been not making the time to plan. Wondering if the smell of cumin on hands reminds you of food and "keeps you hungry"? WTG on those 16,000 steps and all with a purpose! Neat that you integrate exercise while executing planning for healthy eating. for resisting that second piece of lemon poppy seed cake!

Kim-Big pat on the back for controlled eating at temple while faced with stress of new situation and feeling a bit out of your comfort zone. You are starting a whole new way of thinking and that too can be uncomfortable at first. BTW, none of us are perfect at Beck principles, that is why we call it "practicing Beck". The more you practice the better you get, just like anything else. Many of us wonder when (or if) it will become second nature. For me, a few things became fairly easy pretty quickly, others are still a struggle. Just keep on posting back and reading. It really can change the way you view food. BTW, one copy of my Advantages Card is typed in small font and inserted into the backside of the plastic case of my work ID. That way I can read it even in meetings, at my desk, in the elevator. I also have a set of index cards that have my Beckisms on them. They fit a particular pocket in my brief case when I travel. However, most of the time, I travel with Beck book in tow. Yes, it is heavy, but I have underlined in it, written all over it (both covers). So, it is not easily replaced by cards.

angelmomma210- Your last post was so encouraging!! Still sending you postive thoughts...hopefully victory is at hand. Wonder if you are still in touch with your personal diet coach?

RobinW-OK, you are going to resist those cadbury chocolate mini eggs...even if they look wonderful. Time for getting the resistance muscle ready! WooHoo for a day off...you deserve it! Ouch for hip issues! Hope they are not serious?

kuhljeanie-Ouch for your computer mess and for the sciatica. WTG on persisting at your exercise. What a great addiction! Sending you positive thoughts about the job change planning and prep.

twilit tera-What is new with you? Hope we will see another posting of lots of ! Bet your mom loved her flowers. I know it is crunch time for school work. I used to wish Thanksgiving was at a different time of year...always seemed crowded out by term papers, preparing presentations, studying for exams, etc. Hope the biology is going well.

Well,coaches, I am headed for the pool. Not due at work until noon. One reason DH and I persisting in driving back in the early am was so I could get a pool trip in before work. (Other reason was just to be home in our own bed.) So, no more coffee...just off to get wet.

Have a great day all posters and readers!

kuhljeanie- (See earlier post which passed you in cyberspace). Ouch for the "downer" weekend, but WooHoo for the "it's definitely getting easier to let those thoughts pass in and out of my brain without acting on them".

Olive2-Welcome to Beck and to the Beck board. We are a friendly group. Hope you will post back often! We accept all coaches...newbies and oldies!

Good Morning everyone

Thanks for all the support everyone, I appreciate it very much!! My hip has gotten so bad Ive started taking some of the pain pills my husband used after his shoulder surgery. Im even considering going to a chiropractor (which I hate) We'll see. I still cant pin point when or why this happens. Im off.......have a great day everyone!

Am still in touch with diet coach...live one. Not doing all that great as the stress has been horrible. Need to take some time to think what I want to do and just do it. Need to journal again...when I do that it is so much better. I have just been letting down some with the good news and just feel yucky. Gonna go and see some friends this am...maybe that will help.
Love the idea of being able to hear some voices...if that is permisable. I just nned a kick in the bottom....yeah.

Diet Coaches Saturday I had time to kill between my CoDA (Codependents Anonymous) meeting and picking up DD from her play rehearsal. It was also dinner time. So, I went to Panera, one of my favorite places and rather than ordering the calorie-laden sandwich I usually would (with a baguette on the side to boot!), I ordered a salad and low-fat black bean soup. I got a whole grain baguette on the side. I had my laptop with me and promptly looked up the nutritional info. and entered it into the Sensewear website to track my calories. I enjoyed my yummy meal sitting next to the fireplace-- it was blissful! Then Saturday night I took another huge leap out of my comfort zone and went to a singles dance. Unfortunately, it was definitely not my kind of crowd (most of the men there were old enough to be my father/grandfather), but I still made sure to give myself credit for doing something like that on my own. (It was actually the first "singles" event I've been to since my DH and I separated the beginning of August.) There were hors d'oeuvres served and I didn't even go near them until later in the evening when I started getting really hungry. When I did take food I took some baby carrots, grape tomotoes, about a tablespoon of dressing, a couple of whole grain crackers and 2 cubes of cheese. I was SO proud of myself for that. I didn't touch the brownies, meatballs, etc. Again, I normally would have been all about the food-- especially due to the stressfulness of the situation. I did have one drink and again was sure to enter that and my "rabbit food" (as one guy referred to it as) into the SW program. The dancing also helped me reach my exercise goal for the day.

Yesterday my DH had the kids for most of the day so I had lots of time to myself. I was really hoping to work on my Advantages Response cards since I didn't get them done Saturday as I had hoped. The whole day went by and I did some great things to take care of myself including: going for a run/walk in the rain/snow (which I thoroughly enjoyed and it really made me feel like a healthy/dedicated person to be doing that!) for about an hour (somewhere around 4 miles), then coming home and taking a nice hot bath. However, I never did "get around" to doing my cards.
Yesterday was a pretty big milestone for me-- a week of feeling good. Not great, not down in the dumps, just plain old conentment. I feel like I've been on a rollercoaster my whole life and literally, last Sunday was the first day I just felt peace. And this entire past week I have for the most part continued to feel that way. I feel like getting control of my life and feeling good about myself is almost in my grasp and quite honestly (pardon my French), it scares the **** out of me! So, I know that part of not making the cards has to do with self-sabotage and my fear of actually finding something that might work. BUT, I was fully aware of that and just let it be.

Today however, I did it! On my lunch hour at work, I typed up a list of all the advantages and then came up with the idea of putting each one on a separate card. And that's exactly what I did. I printed each one on a business size piece of pale yellow cardstock. Then I hole-punched them and put them on a ring. They are now in my pocketbook plus I have the list on my computer as well. Typing them all up and cutting them out gave me the opportunity to read each one several times and it was really empowering. I can see what an amazing tool they will be. And now, I can move forward with the book. Yippee


Bill So awesome that you planned ahead and thanks for the reminder on both turkey chili and spaghetti squash-- two of my favorite things. So do you put the turkey chili over the spaghetti squash?? Sounds like you've turned into quite the chef!

Onebyone First of all, I have to tell you that I relate to your ceramics, kiln firing, craft shows, etc. because my mom was a potter. Unfortunately, she ended up giving it up when my parents got divorced, but I have very fond memories of time spent in her studio (in our basement) and of doing different craft shows with her, etc. She also used to do raku workshops in our backyard every fall. The smell of leaves (especially burning leaves) still brings me back to my childhood for that reason. Sadly, all of her equipment (multiple kilns, slab roller, wheels, etc.) still sit in her basement unused for about 25 years now.
I was so glad to read that you woke up feeling better today-- it's amazing how much our outlooks can change from day to day. I think you should make sure to add I'll feel good to your advantages response cards!

Olive I just found this group myself last week, but already feel a great sense of community here. I seriously think that I wrote almost the exact same thing you did in one of my first posts. I've belonged to a lot of message boards over the years and have never felt so at home so quickly. Looking forward to being on this journey with you.

Jeanie Good shabbos to you too! I saw on another thread where you had wished someone Mazel Tov, so either you're a fellow Jew or just very familiar with the culture As far as the SAD, I too think I suffer from it to an extent (although it's difficult to tell since I have plain 'ole depression too!) and have had friends who have had some success with with exposure to an Ott lite on a regular basis during the winter months. I have one for my scrapbooking and crocheting, but have never tried using it regularly to see if it helps.

In regards to your plateau, first off, I think you should be congratulating yourself for staying in one spot and not gaining-- to me that's a pretty big accomplishment (imagine where you might be had you not started practicing the BDS). Secondly, have you consistently been having a 750 calorie deficit? I wonder if you might not benefit from switching things up a bit. Maybe only do a 200 or 300 calorie deficit for a few days. I have been thinking about posting on the BB/SW thread to ask what other's experiences have been as far as how much of a deficit can they have and still lose weight. I know at some point our bodies will go into "starvation" mode and start holding onto the weight. I definitely know there is an advantage to switching things around a bit. You might want to consider finding a way to switch up your exercise routine too.

Thanks for pointing out my use of the word "panic", I didn't realize how much I was using it. But I do know that I've been feeling that a lot lately. Of course this feeling good about myself and feeling hopeful is all new territory.

ShrinkinCongratulations on so many fronts. First of all, if I've gathered correctly from your post it was your son's wedding?? Second, it sounds like you did AMAZING under some very difficult conditions. How easy would it have been to justify eating, not exercising, etc. I mean it was your son's wedding (I think), you could have said, "This only happens once", etc., etc. I'm so inspired by your dedication, that you made it to the gym twice and all your great choices.

Thanks for pointing out the "practicing Beck" part, that's a great way of looking at it and will hopefully help me with my detrimental perfectionist thinking! Oh and I love the idea of keeping a small version in the back of your ID badge at work. I totally plan on doing that!

Robin I hope you can get to the bottom of your pain one way or another and are feeling better soon.

Angelmomma Since I'm new to the group I obviously don't know what's been going on with your DH, but it definitely sounds stressful. I hope the tough times will be ending soon and you can get back to concentrating more on your health. Take care of yourself!


Okay, I think that may have been my most long-winded post yet. Thanks for reading

Olive2

Welcome to the Beck Diet Solution Discussion Group, Support Group, Diet Coach Group.

And, in case you didn't get this when you joined 3FC more than 4 years ago !!!,

Pretty neat that you were already an active member of 3FC and knew to look for this thread after you discovered Beck, but how did you find out about The Beck Diet Solution?