Hello Slimpossibles!! This is a bit of a different start to a new month because I don't believe we have anyone new starting with us. So, I'm going to forgo my normal intro post since most of you know me by now!

I do want to talk quickly about the new 6-week challenge that I'm going to be doing on here with some of the other members. We will be going through the Beck Diet Solution book by Dr. Judith Beck. This book is geared toward cognitive behavior and will help guide us to train our brains to think like a thin person. I'm down with that idea!!

We are starting Monday and will do the first three days all at once because they are easy and sort of go together. I encourage you to join us and to get the book or even the workbook which is only .99 on Kindle. But if you don't then you can still join us by reading the daily post that will be put up in the morning and doing the task and answering the questions.

Not everything in the book might fit us and our unique health journeys and that is OK! If we get something from these next weeks that makes losing weight and keeping it off a little easier for us then what do we have to lose.

Except for those unwanted pounds of course!!

Beck Diet Solution

Beck Workbook

Fat2Fit's Habit Tracker –February Habit Tracker

Everyone on any F2F team is welcome to use our habit tracking spreadsheet. The tracking starts Sunday, January 31st. Click the link and follow the easy steps to set up your tracker.

@Katmary71 - I hope the clan claw trimming went well.
We got our cat at 0.8lb and it was super fun for a while and then she started getting stuck on carpets, couches, or drapes. I bought myself a trimmer and fixed it. As she got older it got harder and harder to do more than 2 nails at the time. So my teenager googled it ( millennials) and sure enough there are lots of videos on YouTube about it. So now I’m trimming them as late as possible because she makes this horrific sounds, but she forgives me, at the very next meal time 😁.
Good luck!!

It took me a while, but I found my mantra for this year : Form follows Process!
I’ve been so stuck in the current form to desired form thinking, I didn’t leave room to the fun, interesting and challenging part of it. I want this, I want to be here, it’s not another job I carved for myself, it’s my new toy. A new puzzle and I’m all the parts.
I’m ready for February, let the games begin!

@TeresaW1020 Wow what an incredible effort! You are doing so amazingly. I wish you the very best for the challenges you're facing in the coming weeks and I know you're ready for these tests!

@trooworld I confess I had to google what jicama is. The fries look amazing!

I have been thinking about my goals for February. I am still working on the sleep thing, so definitely having a goal around that as I want to average more than 7 hours a night eventually! I have been doing well with exercise, and my Apple Watch popped up this morning with a challenge to hit 660 mins for February so I will aim for that. I still want to work on meditation as I do like the feeling when my mind is clear - it's just hard finding the time to do it and I think part of that is because I'm not doing it regularly enough so I'm going to increase my goal for that. I have been doing well with consistently tracking what I'm eating so I'm glad that is working for me. But I am still eating too much, going over some days and eating back my exercise calories and I really think this is why the scale has stalled. I looked up what my maintenance calories would be when I'm at goal, and I would like to work towards eating at that level but I'm a way off that yet. So for February, I'd like to aim to keep my daily intake below 1,900 calories (which is basically what my MFP target is, but I won't be allowing extra for exercise calories). I'll be interested to see how much impact this has (you know I'm all about the data!). Last month, I had a goal around social media time. I actually didn't find it that difficult to restrict myself on that, so I'm dropping that as a goal. I still have the time reminder set in the app so if I were to reach an hour in a day, I would be aware of it (i.e. I can't get buried in posts and lose track of time) - I might even reduce the time limit in the app!

So, my goals for February:
1. Sleep: 193 hours (average 6.9 hours)
2. Stay below 1,900 calories in
3. Exercise: 660 minutes
4. Meditation: 12 sessions (3 per week)

Looking forward to seeing what everyone else has planned to tackle this month. I will be following the Beck diet posts with interest, but I couldn't buy the book. A hard copy was over AUD$75 here and for some reason, the workbook alone is not available on Kindle. But I'm interested to see what it's about and participate if I can without the book!

Happy February to you all!

Good morning and happy February! Today, we will begin the six-week Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person program. I’m excited to get started and really interested in how cognitive therapy techniques can be a useful tool in helping us lose weight and keep it off.

The Plan: Each morning I will make a post for that day’s tasks. If you are following along with me then it’s up to you to read your chapter. If you are not reading the book and have no interest in this topic, then just skip over the daily post and our discussion concerning it. But if you are interested then please feel free to participate as much as you wish. I will try to give enough information every day, so you can join in.

Sharing with the team: The point of doing this book together is to learn from each other, so please give us your responses to “Today’s Question” which I will also post with that day’s task.
Remember: Not everything in this book is going to work for all of us and that is OK. What I plan to do, and encourage you as well, is to work every day’s task to the best of your ability in the hope to learn something new about ourselves so that we can use it toward our health journey.

I’m giving you the first three days because the book said we can do this, and I thought it was a good idea since they all seem to go hand-in-hand. Read each day, do the task, and answer “Today’s Question.”

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Week 1: Get Ready: Lay the Groundwork

DAY 1: Write down every advantage for losing weight.

Make your first Response Card, (use an index card, reminder app on your phone, or whatever will be easy for you to hold and read.)
List every reason that you want to lose weight. You can add to this list as you think of new reasons. Read your response card (or cards) every day. Even several times a day! NOTE: This is one of the most important steps in the program so that your reasons for losing weight will be firm in your mind when you’re tempted with food you shouldn’t eat.

Today’s Question: What are some of your advantages to losing weight?


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Day 2: Pick Two Reasonable Diets and Commit to a Diet Plan

Pick two plans that are healthy. Focus on foods you actually like and will eat, are easily to make and accessible. Choose a primary AND a backup diet.
Be sure to pick plans that you can live with for the long haul. Quick, get skinny diet plans never work in the long term and usually have bad outcomes that lead to even more weight gain. We don’t want that!!

Today’s Question: Which plans will you use?


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DAY 3: EAT SITTING DOWN

The book says: "Most of the eating people do while on their feet is impulse eating, not food that they had planned to eat." So true! The nibble here, little bite there. It all adds up!
You also need to be aware of distracted eating while sitting down in front of the TV, your phone, or the computer screen. These distractions can be just as bad as standing in front of the refrigerator or mindlessly eating while cooking dinner.
So, decide right now that you will only eat sitting down and with intention and no distractions!

Today’s Question: How much mindless eating do you feel you do? How will you take steps to stop this behavior and become a mindful eater.

@TeresaW1020 I’m in for the 6 weeks challenge.I will do my best to stay committed.
Your recliner is so neat, I love it. And Maggie Mae oh my 😍 soo adorable...

@trooworld glade to know you had a great day yesterday, walking outside and getting the fresh air is nice.

@TwistedSassette and anyone interested in the Beck diet book; check your local public library. I didn’t want to buy either, I found both the book and workbook in our library and will pick them up today.
I love my Apple Watch challenges, keeps me motivated. The one that popped up for me this morning is to close all 3 rings 25 times this month. Let’s do it girl!!

Good morning Slimpossibles! I’m ready for a new month of meeting goals and facing challenges. As you can see above, I’ve posted the first three days of the Beck Diet Solution that many of us will be doing. Even if you aren’t reading the book, I still think the question of the day is interesting enough to get us thinking and talking.

Here are my responses to the first three questions:

Day One: My advantages to losing weight are to…
1. honor God by taking care of the body He gave me.
2. be in control of my eating and not my eating in control of me.
3. have good health with no weight related illnesses that require medications.
4. feel amazing, with no brain fog and tons of energy.
5. be able to wear stylish clothes in regular sizes. NO more plus sizes!!
6. have confidence wherever I go without feeling self-conscious about how I look.
7. be able to take care of my husband and my mom as they continue to age.
8. be able to do hard workouts as I build muscle and flexibility.
9. finally like having my picture taken.
10. be able to enjoy my life at a normal weight and focus on something other than dieting!


Day Two: Pick Two Reasonable Diets and Commit to a Diet Plan
My diet plan is to continue doing what has been working best for me for the last few months. I will continue intermittent fasting because it’s the best thing health-wise that I’ve ever done for myself. My eating plan will be to remain Keto and/or Low Carb.


DAY 3: EAT SITTING DOWN
At first, I didn’t think I had an issue with eating while standing up, but in reality, I do! I’ve been known to stand right in front of the fridge and grab a handful of pepperoni slices and dip them in my jalapeno cream cheese and eat right there with the door open! I’ve done more than sample a taste of dinner to check for seasoning. And I for sure mindlessly eat while sitting down! I’m especially bad at this when I get a snack while working on a jigsaw puzzle.

So, from now on I will NOT eat standing in front of the fridge or while cooking dinner. And, no more snacking while working my puzzle. If I need a snack (and truth be told, I don’t!) then I will have it at the kitchen table where there will be no distractions.

@TeresaW1020 It looks like your chair has a new owner! The pup looks like she's claimed her throne! lol

@krea4 Only 3 sugar days is amazing! It really worked for you...you killed it with the weight loss too!

@trooworld I've only ever had raw jicama, and I didn't care for it, but those jicama fries look really tasty!

@GabiV125 You've got a great attitude going into a new month! I think that makes a huge difference in our ability to reach our goals! Good luck!

@TwistedSassette Good luck with your Apple watch goal this month! Mine has set me a goal of 15.1 miles walking or running this month, which is completely doable since it is only 0.5 miles a day. I'm working on increasing sleep time too...it's hard to do but well worth it.

@tslose Great loss! Way to go!

@raleighgirl09 I love your approach to moderation. A range is quite reasonable...having a few extra calories one day and a few fewer another all comes out as a wash anyway.

@RYcare That's a great suggestion, thanks. I'll check out my library!

@trooworld I'm not sure if I can buy on the US Kindle store, there are a lot of licencing/copyright type of issues that affect us here in Australia so most of the time we aren't allowed to buy digital versions internationally - same with music and movies etc. I'll check out my library like RYcare suggested, otherwise I'll just follow along where I can!

@TeresaW1020 Thanks for sharing the tasks! I like your advantages list, it's inspiring!

@buniphuphu Congrats on your loss this week! You've got this - you know what works!

@Jactop Thanks, I'm not sure how Google Play will work on my Apple devices (I don't own anything Android) but I'll look into it. Might have the same international issues as Kindle does too!
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BECK DIET RESPONSES:
Day 1
My advantages for losing weight:

• Live a longer life
• Live a happier life
• Able to be active and play with Logie
• Reduce risk of health problems later in life
• Set a good example for Logie
• Fix my hormone imbalance
• Reduce damage to my joints
• Move faster
• Less judgement from others
• Less judgement from myself
• Reduced inflammation
• Less money on clothes (smaller sizes are cheaper)
• Have more confidence in myself
  
  Day 2
  I don’t actually believe in “diets”. I believe in living a healthy lifestyle rather than eating a certain way for a period of time (until goal weight) and then eating like a “normal” person. For me, a healthy way of eating is to include lots of fresh produce and less processed food. I try to stick to low-GI meals because these are effective for my insulin resistance. My bigger problem is my portion sizes, so my goal at this time is to reduce my portions which will limit my calories.
  
  Day 3
  I don’t do a LOT of mindless eating. It happens occasionally (and when it does, it’s a big blow out). Most days I have my meals planned out and I serve what I will eat so it’s not really mindless eating that’s my issue. I do have an issue with stopping when I’m full though - I will generally keep eating until my plate is empty. So that’s what I can work on, I think.
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  I had a good day yesterday. Didn't do any exercise, but stuck to my calorie goal and didn't feel deprived or hungry. Went to bed almost on time. Caught up with a friend and her kids in the afternoon, it was lovely but her kids are menaces! Every time they leave our house, we have to spend ages tidying up all the toys they've spread around everywhere!
  
  Saw a great whoosh on the scale this morning so looks like I might have released the water weight I was holding onto for some reason. Which I can also feel in my ankles and wrists - my boots feel looser and my watch slid around my wrist a bit so it's looser too. Woke up this morning and did 20 mins on the bike before work - a great start to the day! I expect today to be very similar to yesterday food-wise so I'm on track for a good day.
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  Goals for February:
  Sleep: 6.8/193 hours (average 6.8 hours) - AT RISK
  Stay around 1,900 calories: 1/28 - ON TRACK
  Exercise: 0/660 minutes (average 0 mins) - AT RISK
  Meditation: 0/12 sessions - AT RISK

@TeresaW1020 I know you asked @RYcare, but I thought I'd jump in with the answer on Apple watch challenges. If you go to your fitness app on your phone and scroll down on the summary page below Activity, Workouts, and Trends, you will see an area for Awards. This has the current month's challenge listed (as well as the other awards you've completed).