The Beck Diet Solution. How to think like a thin person.

debnu1

:flowerforyou: Steph, so what if they make fun of you...That is a sabotaging thought! You can put it up and before they say anything point it out and say something like I am putting this up so that I can remember some skills I am learning, it would really help if you didn't make any comments on it. My kids and hubby asked me what it was, and I just explained it, that was it. I am also emailing my daily journal to my hubby so he knows everything I am doing. I think that has made a big difference. I know that if I have to pull out a card and read it I won't do it, so I have to put things out where I can see it, if I see it I will read it (I am a little lazy that way) So, don't talk yourself out of something that will help. :bigsmile:

Today is give yourself credit day. I have always talked about being good or bad when it comes to being healthier (I ate a cookie, I was really bad). The book states that those who are hard on themselves have a harder time staying the course. So instead of focusing on the negative it is good to focus on the positive. For instance. I did really well at sitting down while eating today. The suggestion is to write the word credit on a sticky and put it on the fridge and list the good things you have done every time you see it. Pull out your notebook and make a list of credit worthy behaviors twice a day. Instead of saying that I am bad or being really hard on myself for eating while standing I will tell myself that this is hard But I can get better at it. Next time I will portion out a piece and sit and eat instead.



I feel that I am getting better at sitting while eating. I keep catching myself, but it is getting easier. Soon enough I won't even be tempted by the little snacky things. Progress...

Steph_135

I've been writing out thoughts about each challenge so far, but I have yet to post it, cause it's on my laptop... :laugh: I always say that.

I didn't read all of your last post, debnu, when I saw it this morning, but I just saw my name, and read the first 2 sentences, and I knew exactly what you were talking about, and since then, I've been noticing EVERY sabotaging thought that I've been having. It's a little funny, since in my "response" on my laptop, I was talking about Anthony Robbins, and how he says we should change negative/limiting beliefs. It's along the exact same lines. Thanks for the comment! :flowerforyou:

debnu1

Steph, I am glad I could help. I have been noticing all my sabotaging thoughts too--that's why it jumped out at me. It is sooo hard not to think that way, but that is why I am embarking on this journey to fix my thoughts so that I really don't believe that I need to eat half the pan of brownies or else I won't get any. (yes I really think that) Or all the other thoughts that lead me to eat fast or inappropriately. Really I do have control of myself I just need to not give myself permission through thought to eat all those brownies or to keep eating when I am definitely not hungry, etc. I am glad you are on this journey with me!:bigsmile: :flowerforyou:

Day Five, Eat Slowly and mindfully. If there is anything I am not that good at, it is eating slowly. It takes a lot of effort, and as I am sure you know, it is easy to forget! The book says to minimize distractions, and eat in a relaxed setting focusing on the food. Relaxed, no distractions?? You have got to be kidding me--3 kids and eating in a relaxed setting? So the book says to take turns with the husband on eating--trade off each day playing with the kids while the other eats. I guess in order to do that we would both have to be home for meals and have a real meal at the table. It then says that you need to practice eating with distractions--just minimize them, so no TV (what?) no books (really??) or computer (are you kidding me???) You mean I am supposed to pay attention to my food and my kids and nothing else? Go figure. I realized a while ago that I need to have meals with my kids during the day--I forget to feed them if I graze and am not hungry, they end up grumpy and mad at me and I don't realize why until after the fact. So each meal we are going to eat at the table. I have already started that for breakfast. Now to make the time and do it for lunch too. The ideas given to slow down are to pay attention to the time, then write down in your diet notebook or a sticky note how long it takes to eat a meal. (10 secs? ok not really but I do eat way too fast sometimes) It also suggests taking a sip of water every few bites. Those are the two strategies I plan on using. So ignore my stinkin' thinkin' above and lets think better--I deserve to enjoy what I'm eating and engage in healthy behaviors to reach my goals.

Being a fast eater probably contributed to my weight gain. Even though eating slowly will take effort and feel unnatural in the beginning, I'll get used to it and then I won't have to think much about it.



Kudos to those of you who eat slowly already, I am going to put forth the effort to make this work--I can be a slower eater. Even if I have to make the time to do it. I would make the time to go to a life-saving proceedure so why not make time to give my body the fuel it needs to be healthy.



Today I read my advantages response card twice, I ate slower and sitting down-for the most part- and I gave myself credit. I would even find myself smiling a bit when giving myself credit. It feels good to tell myself the good things I have done.

debnu1

Another day and more to do. Today I was wondering why I am even doing this. It is a lot of work. Reading my list of advantages helps and I keep remembering Dave Ramsey saying a child does what feels good an adult makes a plan and follows through. So my plan is to follow this book. Time to prove I am an adult and start living my plans instead of catering to whim and desire. Today is find a diet coach day. I am still sticking with all of you. Just having that expectation of my edition out there makes me more likely to write and complete the challenges.  Speaking of which  I have decided to start taking smaller bites to slow my eating. It's working so far although I  have yet to eat without distraction. I have also realized that as long as I put food on a plate I will wait to eat until I am sitting. If I am holding a food I automatically put it in my mouth. Sitting is going well too. So anyway. More tomorrow!!

sl1mmy

It is a lot of work to change habits. Some days are easyers some are not. Friends are there to tell you : You are doing the right thing by staying on track. Future begins now and everything you do well now will pay in the future. You had a good start and you are doing fine. Keep up the good work !

debnu1

Thanks for the reply. I found this quote this morning. It seemed very appropriate: Many people say, “I’m trying to think positively​” but behind those words I get the feeling of struggle, it’s hard, a lot of work, I’m in a battle… those words don’t feel good. They’re also a command to the law of attraction​, which must give more trying! “I love weekends” - was that hard, a battle, a lot of work, or a struggle to say those words? Do you get what I’m saying? Activate positive words! - Rhonda Byrne

sl1mmy

That is why my motivation response card are titles why I want to be thin instead of why I want to LOSE weight. I dont want to feel like a loser !

debnu1

I got this movie called the inner weigh. It says that if you lose something you automatically start looking for it, that is why you gain lost weight so easily. Changing how you think about it, so I am getting thinner, eating healthy that sort thing avoids that subconcious thought process. If you think of weight you think of something heavy, if you think of thinner or getting lighter....I am sure you get the picture.

All right Day seven. Arrange your environment. Do you have issues with see food?? I sure do. I see food, I eat it. Even if I am not hungry. I find myself now taking something and finding a place to sit so that I can eat it. So today's challenge is to "prepare your home and your environments by putting tempting foods where you can't see them--and by putting wholesome foods...in plain view" This won't be that hard of a change, it is just putting it together. I have a cupboard that all the snacks go into already. The real challenge is to put everything away. I already have fruit on the counter. So the next step is to clear everything off so that I can get to it. I am also going to not buy anything tempting--if I want a treat bad enough I can make it!!

debnu1

Day 8, time to make time. I again have left this til the last minute and so have not completely gone through what I have to do. Today's challenge is to make a schedule for yourself--listing what is most important to include in your day and what you don't have to do. I have thought about it but have yet to put it on paper. Tomorrow I will have the whole schedule made up leaving time for exercise, meal planning and prep, and reading of the next challenge. So until tomorrow when we have day 8 redo.

Oh today has been pretty good, I started logging my food again and actually got in some exercise. I talked myself into eating a chocolate treat my husband brought home, and come to find out it wasn't nearly as good as I had thought it would be. I ate sitting all day until dinner when I was starving and still preping the pancakes and bacon we had--so I measured out my food and ate standing up. I felt good because I was making sure I was eating within boundaries even though I wasn't sitting and not being distracted.

debnu1

I have a major confession to make. I allowed my thoughts to get away from me today and went on an eating spree. All my rules went out the window, I forgot about the book and I wasn't caring. I did really well this morning but 4 o'clock hit and I lost it. Part of me is scared of hunger, I was starving at 4. The other part of me was stressed and wanted solace. I also noted a loss on the scale this morning. I am about to throw the scale out the window. It seems that whenever I see a lower number I lose my drive to continue. I am excited about it but somehow it gives me permission to eat what I want that day. So tomorrow is another day. I will finish Day 8 tomorrow. I have already thought about schedules, but have yet to write it down. Tomorrow is the day. You will see it. If not--I will do 50 jumping jacks. So feel free to check up on me. :happy:

debnu1

OK, I finally did it. The threat of jumping jacks did me in. So the book says to look over your day and see what you can delegate to allow you more time to watch your eating habits. You can put your tasks in order of priority. I looked at my day and realized I sometimes wander a bit aimlessly. I doubt having a 4 month old has anything to do with that... :bigsmile: I am thinking that I can get more done if I actually follow the allotted time and have direction. So---here is my schedule.

6:30-7 am Exercise
7 am Eat breakfast
7:30 Shower get dressed
8:00 Get kids up and dressed
8:30 Kid's breakfast, Start morning cleaning routine
9, continue cleaning routine, run errands, daily work/play
11:30 start and eat lunch
12:30 Daily work tasks Afternoon cleaning
3:00 Snack--protein shake? I am thinking that may help a ton with my afternoon hunger... (I take water, an orange, frozen fruit, a banana and a scoop of protein powder very filling and tasty!)
4pm start dinner and evening cleaning routine
6p.m. eat dinner, clean up
8p.m. kids to bed
9p.m. plan tomorrow--meals, check calendar, email my daily task
10p.m. TV/ read
10:30 lights out

It seems as though the exercise and planning fit in very well. I hope I have allotted enough time for everything. I guess time will tell. I don't think I will be up at 6:30 tomorrow as it took til past my bedtime to do this tonight. It'll work though, it feels good to me.

So my to do list for today asks if I have completed last weeks tasks--I have my diet plan figured out, I had my environment clean--but I need to work on it more. If food doesn't get put away it becomes a target problem for me. I have food-seeking eyes (kinda like heat-seeking missiles!) I have also talked to my diet coaches--I started that before I had too!!

So today I read my advantages card twice
I keep forgetting about my other response cards (time to pull those out again)
I ate slowly, sitting and noticing my food for the most part
I gave myself credit some of the time
I scheduled my life


So there it is. Day eight in it's entirety--finally!

divalovely

bump

sl1mmy

debnu1 - keep going ! You are in the right direction!

Steph_135

Hope I can catch up again on the weekend!! Hope everything is going really well!

debnu1

I think I am going to take a day to regroup and put all my response cards together. Some days I barely have time to read the task of the day, let alone finish it out. I feel it is going well. How about you??

Today is the day to plan exercise. The nice thing is that the book says you don't have to start out full bore, you can just start with 5 minutes of walking and work up as you feel that gets easier. It suggests using a pedometer and tracking your steps each day, finding ways to get spontaneous exercise. Such as parking farther away so you have to walk more or pacing while waiting or talking on the phone. This morning I actually got up early and walked in place for about 10 minutes. Better than nothing. I also parked farther away than usual at my MD appointment. I felt pretty good about that. I am going to look for my pedometer and see if it still works so I can post my steps daily. I am also going to work up to 30 min of planned exercise every morning. I will alternate strength and cardio. Today I walked tomorrow I will do crunches, pushups, and squats. My eating wasn't the best but I did sit for most every meal--I only caught myself standing a couple of times. I am feeling good about my progress.

Have a great day!

katgirl57

Hello! Would like to join in if you guys are doing the Beck Diet Solution.. I have just finished with my Advantage Response Cards, set the 2 diets and will now be sitting down to eat.. I am so ready to conquer this lifelong demon of weight. When I was in the book, it asked how many diets I have been on... started counting.. WW.. yes.. 4 times.. life time member...Jenny Craig, yes, Atkins , yes and countless other ones.. over 8 that I could remember.. I have developed some bad, bad habits, gulping down my food, eating when not hungry and eating everything in sight when stressed, borded... I am presently on Nutrisystem but I have been using the the Myfitness pal for the last 2 months and love it as it has a great extensive database... I am hoping that everyone here could join together and be each others diet coaches.. i'll be back!!

debnu1

The more the merrier!! I love having supporters.

Yesterday I knew I wouldn't have time to read the chapter of the day so I read it first thing in the morning. The task was to set a goal. The issue with long term weight loss goals is that you don't know how it looks or feels or if it will work for you. So instead of the lofty goal just give yourself small increments to accomplish and then reward yourself. The book recommends 5 lbs at a time and slowly. Even if you are only losing. 1/2 lb a week it is better than nothing and besides the slower the loss the longer you'll keep it off! So my first goal is to lose five lbs which would take me from 188 to 183. When I reach this goal I am going to reward my self by giving myself a pedicure. Today's challenge is to learn to differentiate between hunger desire and cravings. That's going to take some time so I will write about it tomorrow.

Pam3

Why don't you just join me anyway. I will post the task of the day and you can do it too! First day is tomorrow. The task is to record the advantages of losing weight. Write them on an index card and post them here. The index cards are your response cards that contain messages to help you conquer your sabotaging thoughts. So let me know all your reasons for wanting to lose weight.

would love to join.....????

debnu1

Pam welcome!! The more people I have following the better I am. I realized yesterday that this is getting harder and if I hadn't already started writing these posts I probably wOuld have quit by now!! So the more the merrier. I would love to hear thoughts on how you have accomplished the tasks and how it works for you.

I will post the next one today. It's been a harder one for me to accept.

debnu1

So I have a major confession. I have been procrastinating this challenge because I don't want to do it. I don't like it. I will be a child now and have a mini tantrum. All I could hear in my head yesterday after reading it was "I don't wanna!" This is crazy but I realized that I was in a bit of a funk yesterday because of it. Really this isn't bad, I am just letting my thinking get away from me. You are probably wondering what today's challenge is...Well it is differentiating between hunger, desire and cravings. I have a major problem with this. I have always enjoyed my see food diet--I see it I eat it. Well this is going to change things up. My inner child doesn't want to change things up and is wanting me to rebel. You see I started wanting to quit yesterday. I just didn't want to write an email, I didn't want to read anymore. I wanted to just throw the book out and forget about it. I am glad I started this email from the beginning because that is why I am sitting here right now typing because I don't want to let you down. Letting myself down is easy, But I can do it for you right now. I watched this show called addicted to food and in it they said that they knew you were making progress when you wanted to quit. Well I must be making some progress then because that thought sure went through my head!


The big problem today is determining whether you have true hunger(where you have fasted for several hours and your stomach is empty) , a desire to eat(not really hungry but eating because there is food around, sound familiar??) and a craving (a physiological and emotionally intense urge to eat). According to this, 90% of the time I eat is because of desire. and I have not even filled out the hunger chart for today. I just already know. I frequently have the desire for sweets after dinner, for the food sitting on the counter, to the point where I don't really ever feel hungry. I have to admit that sometimes I forget to feed my kids because I am not hungry--they remind me so you don't need to call child services...besides this is something I want to work on too. Today I am going to take a chart and monitor my hunger

So to do this as you are sitting down to eat you think on a scale of 0-10 how hungry you are and write it down, then during the meal about halfway you do the same thing, and again right after you finish and then 20 minutes after eating. You also write your thoughts and how your stomach feels throughout.

The point today is that if it has been only 20 minutes and up to 3 hours since eating last the urge to eat is probably a desire, not hunger. So wish me luck today. I am off to start my day filling out my hunger chart and fighting the hunger demon--which I really am scared of, so I am going to conquer him today. The book says to do this chart as often as needed until you can differentiate between hunger and desire. I hope that only takes one day but I will probably be doing it again tomorrow as the title of the chapter is practice hunger tolerance. (Ahhh, I don't like that one either!)

Are any of you scared of being hungry? I don't like that uncomfortable feeling.

debnu1

So if yesterday paying attention to hunger wasn't bad enough, today was practice hunger tolerance day. I was not happy at all. In fact I tried to talk myself out of it. But the main thing that really hit me was the statement "hunger is not an emergency." How many times have I felt panicked because I was hungry. I just couldn't stand the feeling and wanted to put anything in my mouth just to soothe the feeling. So today the task was to help me see that I can tolerate hunger and that it comes and goes. Today I purposely skipped lunch. Oh I so didn't want to--but I knew that if I didn't do it today I would keep pushing it off, and besides what is one meal, people can live for a week without food. I will survive one meal--or 5 hours which was the time frame I gave myself. The book said to fill out a form with your discomfort level on a scale from 0-10 I didn't do that because I have a pain scale in my head from nursing. It works for me. That being said. My worst discomfort was about a 5 in the last 5 minutes of my challenge. The rest of the time I drank some water and told myself I could do it. I knew that at 3p.m. I could eat what ever I decided I wanted. And I was able to wait. It felt really good to be able to say I waited, and to not binge on everything in sight afterwards. I didn't feel that I was more hungry this afternoon--which sometimes I do after skipping meals. Instead I asked myself if I was hungry and paid attention to what I felt. It is interesting the difference it made. So helpful thought for today: Most people don't eat everytime they are hungry or see food. They wait until their next meal. I can do that too.

katgirl57

It blows me away how much I focus on eating! And then I realize that is my warped thinking processes and not everyone thinks like I do! I agree with you wholeheartedly that I really do not like the feeling of hunger.
I have been reading through this book and if I follow it, I can see how it could help me. My main problem is not following diets, it has been the mental piece and working through my emotions and what triggers me to eat incessantly.. Just the steps of eating sitting down and eating mindfully is a challenge for me.. I can eat food and then think about it 15 minutes later and think" did I just eat that?".. You would think that someone who LOVES eating so much would slow down and enjoying each bite!!!
Tomorrow is my day of hunger.. thanks for jumping in first Deb and now you have encouraged me to go ahead and get it done. I will survive!
Alot of mental, alot of positive reinforcement. Have my Advantage Response Cards programmed in my cell and I have been reading them daily. Thanks for starting this thread!! Be back later!

mamagooskie

I just called a bookstore near me and put a copy on hold....and my hubby is picking it up TONIGHT!!!

So I'm gonna start reading it ASAP!!!

debnu1

Thanks Kat and Mama! I am loving the book. I don't follow it 100% as I should, but any little bit is making a difference for me. Kat thanks for the idea of putting the response cards in your phone. I hadn't thought of that, I am going to make an alarm to remind me to read them, and if they are in my phone I'll always have them with me! Awesome! I have felt such a difference in my eating today, just from yesterday's hunger trial. I now know that I can be hungry and it actually doesn't bother me. I have changed my approach to food so much in the last few weeks it is amazing! I would love to hear more about how you are reacting to the tasks....Keep up the great work! (I bought the book too, more than worth it!)

debnu1

Today is anti craving day. Because I didnt read the chapter until really late I am going to do the tasks tomorrow. The book gives mindset and behavioral  techniques to use when a craving strikes. Give it a label don't give yourself a choice. Get rid of the food or at least turn your back to it. That sort of thing. You also keep a log saying when you have a craving how long it lasts and what you try to abate it. Also write down how bad it was on a scale of 0-10. Then you also make a list of what you do to distract yourself and how well it works.   So tomorrow I am going to strengthen my resistance muscle and as I do so my cravings will start to diminish. Thought for today "to weaken the intensity and reduce the frequency of cravings, you have to atop giving in to them."

I am feeling quite good about controlling my hunger. I was able to stop eating earlier. I have not felt an urgency to eat and feel rather on control that way. Yay. Me!!!

Steph_135

I am feeling quite good about controlling my hunger. I was able to stop eating earlier. I have not felt an urgency to eat and feel rather on control that way. Yay. Me!!!

Congrats! That's really great to hear!!

debnu1

Sorry I have been MIA. We went on a camping trip this weekend which was a lot of fun. Now it is back to the usual again though. As far as cravings go. I realized that I have not been craving anything lately as I don't give myself time to. I tend to just eat my desires which take care of the cravings before they hit. I have read the chapter twice and will do the challenge when a craving strikes. The next task or day 14 is to make a plan. When you fly by the seat of your pants it is difficult to monitor your eating let alone stay on track. So the book suggests writing your planned meals for the day the night before writing down all the meals and snacks you plan on having. This way if something isn't on your plan you can eliminate spontaneous eating, remember what you are supposed to eat and when. Make decisions about what you are going to eat before encountering trigger foods. If you have already decided what you are going to eat there is no struggle involved. This will only take a few minutes every night so why not maximize my chances of success by doing this one simple task??!!

debnu1

Today has been a good day. I didnt follow my plan exactly but I did stay within my calories and followed my basic idea. Today's task is to take the meal plan that I made and check off the foods I planned and ate, cross out the ones I didn't eat and circle and write the foods that I ate that were not planned. My plan changed a bit through the day but as I changed I changed what was written. 

debnu1

Today's task is to give yourself no choice. If you have no choice to make then you don't have any problems making one. So I now have no choice but to follow my eating plan. I realized that I should make more things "no choice" like loading the dishwasher every night, or folding laundry right after it is dried. No choice, to what I do. I did really well with my eating today again. Turned down icecream tonight--no choice.

debnu1

Today's task is all about ending overeating. This one just makes me nervous thinking about it. You are to purposely put extra food on your plate with the intention of not eating it. Then use the anti-craving techniques (no-choice, distraction, distance) to avoid eating more than what was planned to be eaten. I don't always clean my plate, but the thought of purposely putting a whole extra serving of something on my plate is very disturbing to me. Really though, this won't be a big dael the worst thing that could happen is that I didn't need to do it. I might not learn anything from this, or maybe I will learn a lot. The suggestion is to make a response card that reads, When I feel anxious about having extra food on my plate, I'lll remind myself that even if I want to eat it, I can use anti-craving techniques.



So I am going to try this tomorrow. Today I bought an extra sandwich for dinner and ate half of it. I didn't have a set plan today so everything changed eating wise, and I did sneak a few extra treats that I wouldn't have otherwise. But tomorrow I will be better.



Tomorrow I will purposely put more food on my plate and if I am tempted I will tell myself that it is great that I'm not eating this, II am getting closer to my goal, I am strengthening my ability to resist. I can always save it for another meal. Wish me luck. Its not going to be the easiest task!