The 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:
With The Complete Beck Diet for Life you'll discover the 5 stages of successful dieting and maintenance. You'll learn how to motivate yourself, give yourself credit for every change you make, create time and energy for dieting, and handle hunger and cravings. Dr. Beck eases you into changing one step at a time. You'll master one task before moving on to the next. And you'll learn techniques to deal with challenging situations, such as sticking with ou plan at celebrations and dealing with "food pushers." With Dr. Beck's skills, you'll achieve a lifetime of healthful eating and lifelong motivation.
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 youve 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 - Cancelled another class to protect folks from the cough. Bummer. I can read the material including the slides presented. And I can stop feeling sorry for myself bringing to mind that some people have real problems - not just missing a class.
Picking up the (9 yo) DGD was the usual excitement. She and two buddies took off across the grass field toward some structures on the other side. "Just getting as far away from adults as possible," was DW's observation. She played with maps back at her house, naming a country and trying to find it. She's quite clear that she's not supposed to know geography because that's taught in the fourth grade. We were breaking bounds, but she was loving it. Easy to find Australia; Columbia, not so much.
Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, with a handful of pistashios during the time that I wished that I was at class. Snacking does not cure the blues. After dinner 'fun' was ordering four separate items for DW from around the web - stuff that she'd have preferred to get from a local garden center but is no longer locally available, such as bamboo stakes. Two different merchants charged fair prices that included delivery. We did it together, with DW sitting over my shoulder reading the fine print to differentiate between look-alike products. She's particular about gardening stuff; wants what she wants. Like a date night for only $40, LOL.
onebyone - I can feel the new spaces opening up as you continue with progress decluttering. Got caught up with the video of Depression era sandwiches. Bologna sandwiches were part of my childhood; I remember that I liked them. Was pleased that it included a sandwich in my current life, Elvis Presley's favorite of peanut butter and banana. Pictures of the Depression remind me that there was a time when life was tough.
Joy (gardenerjoy) - You are certainly getting your money's worth from a singe PT session. You might be making your therapist's day as a patient who knows which muscle is which.
curlyjax - Exciting that you're being presented with a whole new back yard. Just in time for the arriving warm weather.
Readers -
Quote:
day 1Record the Advantages of Losing Weight
You'll start making Response Cards now, on Day 1, because reading them is an essential strategy for lasting weight loss.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 55.
Verizon came and successfully installed a new router which is now mounted out of the way on a wall, and the password is easier to get to and read. Thus far everything works. Ran into a glitch with the patio-they need access to water and my spigot is broken, so they're going to snake in a hose and hook it up to the washer. Which i'm a little suspicious of but hopefully all will work out. I am going in this morning and then back home at noon for the furnace guy visit so they'll do it then. My green thumb friend will be come over around 1:30 and look at my yard for some ideas of what to plant etc, so a busy afternoon.
Maryann- have a great trip!
Gardenerjoy-wow, youo're in great shape if this is the first time you've had PT! Glad it went well.
Onebyone-yay for more decluttering! I'm with you on wondering where the resistance muscle is. I love your image of that chair.
Bill-sorry you're still not feeling well. Fun to order garden supplies together.
I did the most remarkable thing this morning, I went for a walk in my local park. And then I got a few groceries. Total walking time 40min. A phrase popped into my head after I got home: exercise is medicine. And then I realized that as I am afraid of new medications being pressed on me, I can simply choose to take a daily dose of exercise instead. Exercise=Medicine
That phrase means something for me. I think it may even mean enough for me to understand I need a daily dose to build my health.
At home I dabbled the day away. I will be teaching more at the maker space so I spent some time digging up and dusting off old course proposals. I have a few.good ones but they all need work.
Blood sugar wise I decided not to eat untily blood sugar dropped to 7 on my monitor. It took until 5pm to do that. I wasn't hungry today so I just kept on fasting until I saw a 7. And then, after dinner it was still a 7 so I chosey food well.
Tomorrow is the full day as cashier at the Potters' Guild sale. I will bring some boiled eggs or some cheese and an apple to get through the.day. Just something simple.
Bedtime once more.
BillBlueEyes: I love maps. Paper maps especially. And globes. I have trouble with Guyana and all the former Soviet 'stans. Recently I am very intrigued by rivers and their history. I once read a book about a father and son paddling from I think it's the Red River in Canada to the Amazon. A favorite read even now.
Paddle to the Amazon
https:/www.goodreads.com/book/show/7194221#CommunityReviews
Also
Swimming To Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer by Lynne Cox https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/153727.Swimming_To_Antarctica
And this guy has a book about when he swam the Amazon River. This is a good summary of him and there is a documentary on YouTube called Big River Man which is very good!
https://www.sportsnet.ca/more/martin-strel-distance-swimming-profile-big-read/
Curlyjax:; wow. Lots of leaps forward at your house! Happy to hear it!
Friday - Harry Potter Day: RIP Lord Voldemort in Second Wizarding War
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Major accomplishment in the most minor issue in my life. The digital FM radio station, SiriusXM, was installed on my car for a 3-month FREE trial. Kinda fun, even though I listen for only a few minutes a week since we don't do radio when DW is in the car with me. The problem is that it wasn't intuitive to me how to wander about its 100 or so channels, especially while driving. Bright idea! For the 24 minutes that I had to wait for my clothes to tumble dry at the laundromat, I sat in my car and wandered the SiriusXM landscape. Easy peasy! but only after one figures out that the obscure button marked 'tune' means "Bring up a key pad so I can select a channel by number". Each channel has a logo and a name as well as a number. Listened to an XL (adult language) comedian; about as funny as a G comedian with barnyard humor sprinkled about. Listened to a play-by-play sports channel which was uber boring since no game was being played. Lots of classical and popular channels to enjoy. I understand my SiriusXM; goal met.
Exercise, CREDIT moi, was walking to join a sign-holding crowd at a nearby busy intersection for a May Day demonstration. Bumped into several friends with whom I got to catch up even as we held our signs. About one-third of the passing cars honked back in appreciation; about one-third looked like they only wanted to get home. Enjoyed noting the large number of Electric Vehicles on the road.
Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi. I got into the pistashios for an unneeded afternoon snack because I'm still annoyed that the cough persists. After a snack, I was doubly annoyed. My little brain suggested that that called for another handful of pistashios. Separate CREDIT moi for recognizing the second call as bogus. Dinner was late due to being out waving at cars. DW had photos of folks holding signs on the Boston Common. I do love the wit and creativity that shows up on protest signs.
onebyone - Love it, "exercise is medicine". Doctors should write prescriptions on little pink pads to make it official. Trying to get my head around the notion of paddling for two years from Winnipeg to the Amazon River. And remain on speaking terms with my DS. May you persevere on your feet all day today as cashier at the Potters' Guild sale, possibly selling a few of your items, also.
curlyjax - Busy day to be juggling two contractors taking care of your house. Such forward movement!
Readers -
Quote:
day 1Record the Advantages of Losing Weight
Creating your first card should take you less than 10 minutes, and it should take you less than a minute to read this card each day.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 55.
Everyone came when they were supposed to and the patio is now finished, yay. I didn't realize they were going to seed so many areas and that I would have to water the seed, which will be complicated since my outdoor spigot isn't working. Fortunately it rained last night and is supposed to rain a bit this week. My green thumb friend came and gave me good ideas on what to plant where. There's really too large of an area for me to work with, so I'm going to tackle one thing at a time. I did want to plant some flowers on one side of the house that is seeded-maybe I can rake it up somehow. I'm a bit jealous of my green thumb friend who is now retired and going to the gym everyday and getting involved in all sorts of things. Not that I want to be retired yet, but I can see how it would be easier to get in better shape when you have such time. I have to remind myself that having DD so dependent on me is only temporary-in a month she'll be back at work. But I really need some good quality time to myself.
Onebyone-I love the idea of exercise=medicine. Those books look really interesting.
Bill-great job figuring out the Sirius radio, and figuring out a good time to do it. Car stuff is so complicated.
Coaches I'm here to say I woke up this morning, got dressed and went for a walk around the block. I'm taking the time to announce this because it's so important I do this everyday.
My walk was difficult today. I was out of breath after a mere 6min. I am in terrible shape. But I did it anyway. It wasn't even very long. 11 min. But it felt really long and I couldn't have done more. So scary this is reality. But I took my medicinal dose of walking and it takes time for things to improve. I have started which is the only way to get from here to there.
Saturday - National Public Radio Day (1967, President Johnson act led to N.P.R.)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Designed my walk, CREDIT moi, to run an errand at the drug store and to pass some new construction going up rapidly. It's getting warm enough to get back to my sidewalk superintendent duties. One house being renovated had all the windows installed, then clapboards. Looked great. Then one window was removed to be replaced by one slightly smaller. A week later, a different window was removed to be replaced by one slightly longer. In each case, the clapboards and trim are disrupted. That's gonna cost somebody good money for that change.
Gathered the bundle of papers that will live in the glove compartment of my new car. All go into the nifty envelope provided by the dealer with his name on it. That envelope has a diagram for recording an accident. Note to self: add a pencil and blank paper in there for whenever.
Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, with some afternoon snack to ward off feeling down that the cough persists. We ate dinner out on the patio - first time this year. Was warm enough to last through dinner but not to dawdle. Saw a Chimney Swift flying high catching bugs - one of the delightful signs of summer when there are bugs to be caught.
onebyone - Terrific "medicinal dose of walking". This can quickly lead to being a walking garden inspector.
curlyjax - Yay for a patio completed in no time at all. Getting a plumber to install a freeze-proof outdoor spigot should be an easy task; I've installed several and I'm not a great plumber.
Readers -
Quote:
day 1Record the Advantages of Losing Weight
Benefits of Weight Loss
So, why do you want to lose weight? Take a moment to think about this question.
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 55.
Work zipped along at a good pace; fridays are usually busy. There was extra breakfast on offer so I indulged in eggs and hash browns, and then had some chicken at lunch. The chicken was leftover from our dinner the other night and so tender but too salty. Had a good chat with DD at home and we went for a 20 minute walk to get her outside. She got ice cream and I nobly abstained, but I did break down and have some leftover giant cookie in the freezer later. If only there was a magic pill that would cure your sweet tooth, that I would take. I have got to get back to believing I can lose weight, and then actually doing it.
It's going to be a rainyish weekend on and off. No plans today except the usual groceries, dump run etc.
Onebyone-great job getting out and taking that walk! you will indeed build up endurance.
Bill-yay for first dinner on the patio. So fun to watch house construction -of someone else's house.
I took my medicine today in the form of walking to an art gallery and walking in the art gallery and then walking back to the car. Some extra walking with a visit to the grocery store for some cans of cream of mushroom soup for a comfort food I wanted. Credit
Debit for thinking I scored when Unearthed a pair of running shoes and wore them in my walk yesterday causing plantar fasciitis and sore ankles making a fierce comeback after being completely eradicated for a couple of years. Ugh! No wonder I put those shoes out of reach. They will go in the trash tomorrow. I will suffer foot pain again for a while. New shoes moved to the top of the to do list now.
Food was good today. No snacks. Low carb. At breakfast this morning I said NO to home fries and yes to tomato and coleslaw substitute. OMG was that me that did that? Yes it was! I had my dark rye bread but that was it for carby things. And that's the kind of action I need to keep doing daily to move the needle on the scale. It has dropped 2lbs. Blood sugar peaked at a ten today. Otherwise 7's. I'm revising my blood sugar goals to a 5. Consistent 5's = remission of type 2 diabetes. That's the goal.
So those were the highlights today.
Curlyjax: I have that sugar monster too. Thankfully it disappeared today. Sometimes the (Did Beck call this a saboteur? I think so. Sabotaging thoughts.) thoughts just plague me obsessively usually when I am driving home after teaching.Very annoying.
BillBlueEyes: Patio season returns! Today I watched several raptors fly over farm fields. They are so graceful. I liked your suggestion of being a garden inspector on my walk. I find walks really boring and I feel unsafe with earbuds in so I've always labeled walks as boring. Focusing on the gardens or the colour of front doors (this is a grey and beige community) might help spark some interest. Thanks.
Sunday - Spanish Pope Alexander VI divides Americas between Spain and Portugal (1493)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Bad news: due to my cough, I skipped an unbelievable brouhaha when The Boston Lyric Opera and half the children of Boston performed Noah's Flood in Symphony Hall. The mayor of Boston was on stage with her youngster. DW was able to give my ticket away (ticket required even though FREE). The entire audience of 2500 sang with the hundreds of kids on stage. She, like me, isn't ready for Benjamin Britten music, but grand brouhahas anytime.
Walked, CREDIT moi, to a tiny sushi place to pick up sushi made before our very eyes. We love the place because it's so fresh, so tasty, and stays in business despite having only six stools at the counter. After careful study of the never-changing menu, we order our usual: miso soup, seaweed salad, avocado roll; sushi platter of half a dozen fish; and mango ice cream. Brought it home to enjoy in our uncrowded kitchen. We left with the temperature a balmy 80 deg F but violent wind storm predicted to begin in an hour. Armageddon arrived just as we left the building; lasted fifteen seconds before devolving into light drizzle for the walk home. An advantage of being adult aged is that we brought wind-breakers, small umbrellas, and a sturdy canvas tote bag to carry our order home. Didn't have to change clothes when we got home.
Decided that this was just about the best meal ever - but we're happy to have it once or twice a year, not every day. Enjoyed hearing every detail of Noah's Flood without having to listen to the music that I don't understand. By end of dinner, the sun was shinning, sky was clear. Armageddon should always be brief, LOL.
onebyone - May the Fourth be with you! (Had to say that to someone, LOL.) Ouch for discovering that the old running shoes hurt your feet. You picked interesting places to walk; I think that's the trick. I'm not the kind of person who could walk around a track counting the circles. Neat to have the goal of self-controlled blood sugar.
curlyjax - Getting a walk and avoiding ice cream both on the same journey is a win. Good news that your DD is up for a twenty minute walk. Do hope she's on the mend.
Readers -
Quote:
day 1Record the Advantages of Losing Weight
Benefits of Weight Loss
How will weight loss impact the following? . . .
Your love life, friendships, family, career, and social life
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 55.
I jumped up after posting yesterday and did a 30 minute weight routine right away, credit me. I can't wait until there's an empty space for it because who knows how long that will be, so I just shoved everything out of the way and did it. I went outside to call BFF and chat, and think about what I might want to put where in the yard. It could be nice to put hanging plants, or large planters spaced out. A lot to think about. I picked up chipotle for lunch/dinner and got laundry done, but that was about it, a lazy day. I only dipped into sugar one time with two squares of chocolate and resisted the many many thoughts about more, so credit me for that.
Today I'm going off to the MFA with my garden friend to see Art in Bloom, so that will be fun. Then groceries on the way home. I need to eat something filling this am so I won't be too hungry there and overeat.
Onebyone-new shoes have made a huge difference for me; I have to remember to change them out for just those reasons. Yes, those sabotaging thoughts! Great job swapping out the fries.
Bill-sorry you missed the fun brouhaha. Never been a fan of sushi but I understand its delish for those who are. I was so glad the rain didn't become a violent storm too.
Today was a tough but productive day in my pottery class. The things my students are making! Wow. Very polished and professional. I had to help about 7 of 9 students. A couple were just good to go. This is what was made:
Bonsai planters
Wine carafe
Lidded butterfish
Painter's palettes
2 Sculptural vases
Sculptural garden ornament
Bowls
Tall candle holder
Two projects are in a Rubbermaid bin for next week
I am trying to prevent them from drying out so they are sealed from the air. I'll have to check on them in a few days.
We went 30min overtime so projects could be finished up. I had expected an hour so they were even efficient that way!
Tomorrow is Sunnybrook infusion day with an appointment with the oncologist. Let's see what the blood tests reveal.
I didn't take my medicine today. My feet feel better but I feel so tired. I may head.to bed soon and it's only 7;25pm.
BillBlueEyes: I, too, would have loved to have been in the big to-do at the concert. Your stop at the sushi place sounds exactly like what someone would do in Boston. I love sushi. Armageddon should be so refined.
Curlyjax; I'm looking forward to hearing about the Art in Bloom show. I'll bet some odmthose gardens you visit are gorgeous! No doubt you're going to get a lot of ideas for your own garden.
Monday - Cinco De Mayo (since the Battle of Puebla, 1862)
Diet Coaches/Buddies - Good news: I attended a brief meeting after lunch without disrupting the other 30 people. Only coughed once with a cough that didn't sound like the entrance to Hades. Only spoke quietly to a few people so I didn't fully test my head's ability to be in public.
Eating was on plan, CREDIT moi, with afternoon snack that finished off the bag of pistachios. Good riddance. I knew that, thus I'd planned that, I'd eat the whole bag - slowly over a couple of weeks. Did so. Now it's done and gone.
Dinner was burger, beans, and rice accompanied by Bok choy and my green salad. Conversation was the telling of DW's trip to a natural history museum with our DS and the (5 yo) DGD. She looked intensely at each exhibit, for the duration of a 5 yo's attention span. She joined a group with a docent showing them a dozen different meteors. She made herself central to the show carefully handling each one. DS proudly told someone that his parents had brought him here when he was about her age; he remembers every exhibit. He beamed that she was interested in the 'shiny rocks' in the minerals exhibit. I do recall that we'd have to pry him away from those rocks when he was young. Such a kick to have 40 year old memories come rushing in. Also kinda nice to hear that he remembers that he had a childhood with events.
onebyone - Wishing you well for your Sunnybrook visit today. Such a variety of projects by students in the same class; must keep you busy. The good, happy, kind of busy.
curlyjax - A whole yard to plan as if from scratch. What a fun project. Kudos for resisting the calls for sweets. Heard good things about Art in Bloom at the MFA but not sure it's my thing.
Readers -
Quote:
day 1Record the Advantages of Losing Weight
Benefits of Weight Loss
How will weight loss impact the following? . . .
Your energy level and participation in hobbies and recreational activities
Judith S. Beck, Ph.D., The Beck Diet Solution (Pink book), Pg 55.
Nice visit to the Art in Bloom. I didn't realize it was only one weekend, which made sense as some of the flowers were starting to wilt a bit. There was a really long line to get in but fortunately my friend had tickets so we walked right in. The flower bouquets were gorgeous and varied. Apparently the garden clubs are assigned a painting or sculpture in February, and then have a brief amount of time to assemble their translation of it on Thursday and the show started Friday. We walked all over and then split a quesadilla in the museum cafe. My friend asked if I wanted dessert but I nobly abstained. I was exhausted from both her chatting and walking around in the crowded show, but I'm glad I went. Quick trip to the grocery store after, home to deconstruct the rotisserie chicken, get into a scuffle with DD, then off briefly to visit BFF who is catsitting. I was aware as I drove in the rain I still need to get wipers for my car and then figure out how to put them on-I recall it being a challenge last time. It also needs to stop raining long enough for me to do that. Overall food not bad-some off plan but not over eating either.
Onebyone-sounds like a very productive pottery day!
Bill-great you got to get out finally. Nice that DS can share his memories of that museum with his own kiddo.
Beck Diet For Life/Solution May 2025 Support, Discussion, Buddy/Coach
Thursday - May Day, known as Lei Day in Hawaii
