100 day Challenge July 19 – October 26.24

Day 1
Record the Advantages of Losing Weight
Today you will make your first Response Card (index card that you will look at least twice daily) that will help you change your mindset and overcome the sabotaging thinking that interferes with losing weight. The card you create today may be the most important one of all!
Write down all of the advantages of losing weight. How will weight loss impact your love life, friendships, family, career, social life, energy level, hobbies, body, health self-image and mental outlook.
Make your Advantages Response Card Now!
Use your Advantages Response Card:
1. Daily, at scheduled times.
2. Whenever you find yourself struggling with cravings, temptations, or sabotaging thoughts
Day 2
Pick Two Reasonable Diets
Even if you already know which diet plan to follow, you still need two diets, in case the first one doesn’t work out.
Guidelines for Doable Diets:
-Your diet should be healthy
-Choose a diet that includes food you like and can easily prepare -Choose a diet that’s flexible
-Choose a diet that allows you to budget for indulgences
-Learn from the past.
DON’T SKIP MEALS TO LOSE WEIGHT FASTER!
Day 3
EAT SITTING DOWN
Starting today, eat 100 percent of your food while sitting.
If you feel resistant at any point, ask yourself what's going through your mind. Are you having any of the following sabotaging thoughts?
-I'm too busy to sit down.
-It's okay because I have to taste what I'm cooking.
-If I don't eat the leftovers as I'm clearing the table, they'll just go to waste.
-I'm just having a little bite; it's not really a meal.
-Other people are standing up and eating (at a party, fair, food store, etc.), so it's okay if I do too.
-Whenever you have a sabotaging thought that undermines your motivation to eat sitting down, read your reasons for losing weight. Also, make your own response cards to counter sabotaging thoughts.
Why eat sitting down?
-You absolutely need to become more conscious of everything you put in your mouth. -You’ll feel more satisfied.
How to Sit Consistently:
-Remind yourself that even if you can get away now with eating standing, you’re putting yourself at risk for gaining weight at some point in the future.
Today's To-Do List:
-I read my list of reasons to lose weight -I ate everything sitting down

Day 4
Give Yourself Credit
Start by telling yourself "good job" when sitting down to eat, reading a response card or completing any other daily task.
Give yourself credit for things that you've ACCOMPLISHED (e.g., tracking meals, reading your response cards, exercising, and eating while sitting)
-And-
for things that you've REFRAINED from doing (e.g., taking second helpings, eating while standing, taking the elevator instead of walking).
Giving yourself credit is key to building your confidence. Watch out for self-criticism that undermines your confidence. When you eat something you shouldn't or skip a workout, think about what you'd say to your best friend if she made the same mistake.
--What can you give yourself credit for today?
--Have you noticed any sabotaging thoughts that make it difficult to give yourself the credit you deserve?
Day 5
Eat Slowly and Mindfully
Practice eating your meals alone without distractions (tvs, books, computer, conversations) so that you can learn to eat slowly and mindfully. Do this today, but also keep practicing this skill as often as you need to in order to get the hang of it.
Why?
-When you eat slowly, your brain has time to register that you’re full. It can take up to 20 minutes for this to happen.
-When you notice and enjoy every mouthful, you feel more satisfied when the food is gone.
How to Slow Down:
-Change something in your eating environment
-Put your utensils down between every few bites and then count to 10 before you pick them up. -Take sips of water after every few bites
-Eating something hot
-Pay attention to your body
-Look at the clock

How to Notice What You’re Eating:
-Eat in a relaxed atmosphere
-Focus intently on your food
-Train yourself to eat with some distractions
Remember, it's not all or nothing!
Day 6
Find a Diet Coach
Diet coaches can:
-Keep you motivated. -Build your self-confidence. -Help you solve problems. -Keep you accountable.
How to find a diet coach:
-Enlist the help of a close friend or family member.
-Consider starting this program with a friend or family member. -Join an organized group.
-Find a diet professional.
-Investigate Internet support.
Every evening for the first few weeks or longer, some people need to give an account of what they ate during the day.
Who is your diet coach? What kind of support do you seek out from them?
Day 7
Arrange Your Environment
Prepare your home and work environments by putting tempting foods where you won't easily see them-and by putting wholesome foods allowed by by your plan in plain view.
Changes at Home:
-Remove your personal temptations
-Rearrange your dishes
-Enlist support of others who may keep tempting food around. -Do creative problem solving.
Changes at Work:
-Ask coworkers who keep food on their desks to move it to less-visible location. -Ask coworkers who leave food in break room to move it out of sight.
-Talk to boss about starting a healthy campaign at work.
-Ask for more healthful foods in the cafeteria.

-Try to arrange for some healthier food selections at vending machines.
Consider a compromise, such as taking a small portion of food and saving it for later or eating a small portion at a time when you won’t be tempted to eat more.
Day 8
Create Time and Energy
Dieting takes a commitment that goes beyond eating differently, according to Beck. This time and energy doesn’t magically appear however. You may need to create time by looking at your calendar and scheduling in time for dieting. This may include decreasing, delegating, or eliminating some tasks and activities.
Figure out how much time it will take in your day and week to: *Plan your meals
*Shop for the food you'll need
*Prepare your meals
*Sit down and eat slowly
*Exercise
*Complete and check off the tasks on your daily to do list.
If you’re struggling with scheduling, you may want to create a Priority Chart as found in Beck’s book. This is a list of essential activities, highly desirable, and desirable. Start by scheduling the essential, fill in highly desirable where you have time, and if there’s still time left, include the desirable activities.
Some may enjoy being spontaneous people. Beck states that until we develop routines, we may have to give up some spontaneity (at least in this area). If you believe you don’t have the time, you may want to reframe and ask yourself if you’re not willing to *make* the time.
Day 9
According to Beck, exercise has many benefits: helps you stick with your diet, control your appetite, boosts mood, soothes stress, burns calories, preserves muscle tissue, builds confidence, makes you feel better physically, improves your health, and prevents disease.
You should engage in 2 types of exercise.
1. Spontaneous exercise - taking advantage of situations you are in to get more exercise - for example, parking as far from an entrance as possible, taking the stairs, walking a full circuit of the mall before you shop etc.
2. Planned exercise - try to schedule planned exercise at least 3 times a week. Daily walks or runs, work out to a DVD or fitness TV show, join a gym, swim or do water aerobics, sports, personal trainers, or exercise classes.
Beck says that we should be sure to choose a form of exercise that we like and can stick with. And remember, if you need to, start slow, a 5 minute walk is better than a 0 minute walk.

Day 10
Set a Realistic Goal.
Beck states that it’s natural to want to set a long-term goal, but this goal may not be reasonable or it may cause anxiety thinking about how far you have to go. Instead, set a short-term goal.
In regards to weight loss goals, Beck recommends starting with 5 pounds. Once you’ve achieved that set it for another 5 pounds. For many the goals start out at 5 pounds, 5%, 10%, and so on. If you are at your goal weight, maybe your goal is exercise or nutrition related.
In this chapter, we are also reminded that losing weight slowly is better. Beck tells us that there are no long-term benefits to losing weight quickly. If you’re frustrated with a slow loss, ask yourself, “How much will it matter a few years from now how long it took?”
What goals have you achieved? What is your current goal?
Day 11
Differentiate Between Hunger, Desire, and Cravings
Beck defines the following in this chapter:
True HUNGER – when you’ve fasted for several hours and your stomach is empty (e.g., haven’t eating for many hours and felt ravenous, empty sensation in your stomach, often accompanied by stomach rumblings)
A DESIRE to eat – not being particularly hungry but eating because there is food around (e.g., ate a big meal, yet want to continue to eat more)
A CRAVING – a physiological and emotionally intense urge to eat (e.g., very strong urge to eat, accompanied by a feeling of tension and an unpleasant yearning sensation in your mouth/throat/body)
Today is about being able to figure out if we’re truly hungry. Beck challenges us to note what we experience before, during, and after we eat (the book uses a hunger scale from 0-10).
- Before you sit down to eat each meal and snack, notice how your stomach feels
- Halfway through the meal, notice how your stomach feels
- Rate your hunger again once you’ve finished eating
Day 12
Practice Hunger Tolerance
Today, we’re going to learn how to tolerate hunger. Beck believes that when people who struggle with dieting get hungry, they often:
- feel anxious

- feel hunger pangs intensely
- interpret the sensations as an emergency
- focus all their attention on how uncomfortable they feel
- focus all their attention on when and where they can get food - think they won’t be able to stand feeling that way
If you fear hunger, you might routinely eat to avoid the feeling. It’s important to learn that we CAN tolerate hunger. If we can experience this, hunger won’t seem like such a big deal.
Today’s task: Purposefully skip lunch (do not do this if you have a medical condition (e.g., diabetes) that requires you to eat regularly). If today doesn’t work, pick one day in the near future.
Create a discomfort scale from 0-10 where you can write in a situation where you’ve felt each level of discomfort (e.g., level 3 = job interview, level 10 = broken leg). Then, on the day you skip lunch, record your current level of discomfort (using the discomfort scale as a point of reference) along with the range of discomfort you’ve felt in the last hour. Record these two items every hour between lunch and dinner.
Day 13: Overcoming Cravings
Learning anti-craving strategies through Mindset and Behavioral Techniques make dieting easier.
When a craving hits, record how uncomfortable you are on the Craving Ratings Chart.
---What Are You Thinking?
Sabotaging Thought: The next time I have a craving, I won’t be able to tolerate it.
Response: I couldn’t tolerate cravings in the past, but now I have lots of anti-craving techniques that I can use, which will make the cravings go away.
Sabotaging Thought: I know myself. The next time I have a craving I won’t want to control myself.
Response: That’s probably true. But I can keep reminding myself that I don’t want to be at the mercy of my cravings forever. To get rid of them, I’m always going to have to do one of two things: either give in and never lose weight, or use the anti-craving techniques so often that I just won’t have many cravings anymore.
The Anti-Craving Strategies include:
Mindset Techniques
1. Label it (e.g., this is just a craving, it’s uncomfortable, but not an emergency)
2. Stand firm (tell yourself your absolutely not going to eat the food you’re craving)
3. Don’t give yourself a choice (the craving will diminish once you tell yourself there isn’t another choice but to withstand it)
4. Imagine the aftermath of giving in.
5. Remind yourself why you want to learn to withstand cravings (e.g., read your Advantages

Response Card)
Behavioral Techniques
1. Distance yourself from the food you crave 2. Drink a no- or low-calorie beverage
3. Relax (e.g., deep breathing)
4. Distract yourself
The book gives a great list of distractions. If you do not have the book and would like me to post this list, just let me know. After trying a number of distractions, make your own list of what works best for you.
Beck promises that over time, food cravings diminish and we won’t have to do battle whenever we see our favorite foods or foods we haven’t planned to eat.
Day 14: Today you will write a food plan that includes EVERYTHING you're going to eat tomorrow.
Once you accept the fact that you have to write a food plan EVERY DAY for the next day, dieting will be easier.
---What Are You Thinking?
Sabotaging Thought: I don’t want to write anything down. Response: Which is stronger: wanting to lose weight or not wanting to be inconvenienced? I want to lose weight, and it only takes 5 minutes. I have a choice. I can listen to my resistance or I can firmly decide to do the writing even though I feel resistant.
Sabotaging Thought: I’ll write it down later.
Response: I may not get to it later. I have to make this a priority right now.
Sabotaging Thought: I can follow a diet without having to do this. Response: That might be true—at first—but why not maximize my chances?
Day 15
Monitor Your Eating and Start your Diet:

-Follow your food plan
-Monitor your eating
-Give yourself credit every single time you
stick to your plan
-Weigh yourself before breakfast. Get on the scale just once.
-If you eat something not on your plan, write it down in the unplanned section. -Cross off food you didn’t eat but had on your plan.
-Respond to sabotaging thoughts if you eat
something you shouldn't.
Day 16 - Prevent Unplanned Eating
Say NO CHOICE to unplanned eating
Put the issue of not giving in to unplanned foods in the no choice category, just as you would other must-do activities like brushing your teeth.
If you haven’t already, make your “NO CHOICE” response card and carry it around with you to look at as necessary.
"You made a plan, and you'll follow that plan - no ifs, ands or buts."
Say **NO CHOICE** to unplanned eating
-Put the issue of not giving in to unplanned foods in the no choice category, just as you would other must-do activities like brushing your teeth.
-Indecision about whether or not to eat causes tension, and you'll be tempted to relieve the tension by eating.
If you haven’t already, make your “NO CHOICE” response card and carry it around with you to look at as necessary.
-Consider making other rules that guide you to make healthy choices within your plan such as "Eat only raw vegetables while preparing dinner."
In the past, spontaneous eating has led you to overeat, so: "You made a plan, and you'll follow that plan - no ifs, ands or buts."
Day 17: End Overeating
"In order to successfully lose weight and keep it off, you have to stop eating when you've eaten the amount of food on your plan."
Overload your plate:
-Today, deliberately measure out your food carefully but put extra food on your plate

DON’T eat it all:
-Push the extra food to the side and only eat the amount on your food plan.
-Not eating the extra food is strengthening your "resistance muscle".
-Use anti-craving techniques (Day 13).
Throw the extra food away or save it for another meal:
-Tell yourself, I’ll either waste food in the trash or waste it in my body as fat. Either way, it’s wasted.
Day 18: Change Your Definition of Full
"Most of the dieters I've counseled didn't know how to recognize when they were really hungry and when they weren't."
"If you can't easily take a moderate to brisk walk after a meal, it means you've eaten too much and you might have an unrealistic definition of fullness."
"In order to lose excess weight and keep it off, you must break the connection between overfullness and normal fullness."
Monitor your Eating:
- For a month, after each meal, ask yourself, "Am I overfull? Could I go for a brisk walk?"
- If you are not overfull, tell yourself, "This is what normal fullness feels like.'
- If you are overfull, tell yourself, "This is overfull, not normal, next time I will put less food on my plate."
- If you are not overfull, give yourself credit.
- If you ate too much, look for overeating triggers, for example, the serving dishes are close to you or leftovers.
- Respond to sabotaging thoughts: "I want to be thinner, so I'm going to stop eating now."
- If you feel anxious, remember that hunger is not an emergency (Day 12).
“If you feel disappointed that you can’t eat more after finishing a meal, remind yourself that it’s okay—you’ll be able to have a meal (or snack, if you planned one) in just a few hours.”
Day 19: Stop Fooling Yourself Some Sabotaging Thoughts: It's okay to eat this because...
- it's not a whole piece.
- I'll eat it only this one time. - it's not that fattening.

- I'll make up for it by eating less later. - it won't matter.
- I paid for it.
- it'll go to waste.
- I'll disappoint someone if I don't. - everyone else is eating it.
- I'm celebrating.
- no one will see me eating it.
- it's just the crumbs.
- it's free.
- I really want it.
- it's a special occasion.
- I'm upset, and I just don't care.
- I'm craving it, and I'll probably just eat it eventually.
If you notice that you’re starting to think, “It’s okay to eat this because...” even if it’s not on your plan, it’s probably a sabotaging thought. Read a response card at this time (e.g., No Choice, It’s not Okay, etc).
Stop fooling yourself about portion sizes:
Are your measuring your food precisely? Are you writing down everything you’ve eaten? Don’t deceive yourself
Day 20: Get Back on Track
Day 19 was about some "fooling-yourself thoughts". Day 20 is devoted to one very important fooling-yourself thought:
"I've really blown it...I might as well eat whatever I want for the rest of the day and start dieting again tomorrow."
Don't be fooled into believing that this is a good idea: GET BACK ON TRACK!
Here is what can happen:
Large piece of frosted cake: 500 calories
Add doughnut: 800 calories
Add ice cream: 1200 calories
Add candy bar: 1500 calories
Add potato chips: 2000 calories
Add 3 pieces of cheese: 2300 calories
Add 2 chocolate chip cookies, large muffin, 3 TBSP peanut butter, soft pretzel: 3500 calories
"It's destructive to continue to eat in an unplanned way for the rest of the day just because you ate something that wasn't on your food plan."
"If I've eaten something I shouldn't, I haven't blown it. It's not the

end of the world. I can start following my plan again right this minute."
Day 21: Get Ready to Weigh In
Weekly weigh-ins help you in these ways:
-They allow you to celebrate & build up your confidence when you've lost weight.
-They keep you honest if you've gained weight.
-They help you stay committed to the program.
But be careful: WI can erode your motivation more than it helps if you step on the scale with the wrong mindset.
If you view your weight as an indication of how weak, inadequate, or out of control you are, then gains (or small losses) can
easily result in overeating.
It is important for you to start using the scale as an INFORMATION TOOL that provides data that you can use to guide your eating.
If you gained, ask the following:
-What would I tell a friend in this situation?
-What makes me think I'll lose *every* week? Most don't. -What do I need to review with my diet coach?
Respond to Sabotaging Thoughts- DAY #22 (that can lead you to unplanned eating)
Expect to face times of doubt and disappointment - but once you truly accept that you need to follow a program, your struggles will diminish!
Practice saying: "Oh, Well!"
"I don't like this but I'm going to accept it and move on when I want something I shouldn't have."
The idea is to change your mindset and work toward acceptance for your own peace of mind.
While you might not like following an eating plan, it is your reality...it is what you have to do to reach your goal.
You can't stop sabotaging thoughts from arising but YOU can

RESPOND to them.
Use the Oh, Well technique:
Want to eat something that is not on your plan? Change your mindset by saying: Oh well...and even possibly give yourself a star or place a checkmark on one of your Advantage Response Cards when you use the Oh, Well technique. Give yourself some positive reinforcement!
Stick with it! Remember to plan and monitor what you eat, continue to learn to tolerate cravings, and use good eating habits.
Counter the Unfairness Syndrome DAY #23
"Life isn't fair. Dieting isn't fair."
Don't dwell on those negative thoughts..instead say: "That's true. It's not fair. Oh, well."
Refocus your thoughts on all the advantages in life you have...put fairness in perspective:
*remind yourself why you decided to diet in the first place. read your Advantages Response Card
*make a mental list of the advantages in your life
*create a response card:
Dieting might not be fair, but I have 2 choices: feel sorry for myself, stop following my plan, and never reach goal
OR
Everyone experiences unfairness in life. This is one of mine. The greatest unfairness to me would be if I let this excuse prevent me from reaching goal.
When it seems unfair to me that I can't eat something, acknowledge that I'm right. The ask myself:
"Which unfairness would I rather have: not being able to eat this or not losing weight?"
Then say: "Oh, well," and get on with it!
Day 24 - Deal with Discouragement
It is normal to feel overwhelmed or discouraged at times. When you have discouraging thoughts, you always have a choice:
1. Give up/abandon your goal OR
2. Vigorously respond to these sabotaging thoughts. The result is feeling better and becoming more motivated.

It's important to remind yourself that you CAN do what you need to do: i.e. follow your lifestyle change, your program, and it will and does get easier!
So DO THIS:
1. Read your Advantage Response Card more often.
2. Add up the difficult hours. For example, if you struggle for 20 minutes or 1-2 hours per week there are 164 other hours that you are not struggling!
REMIND yourself that dieting is not difficult most of the hours of the week!
3. Focus on what you can do today.
For example, say to yourself that you don't have to learn everything in one day. You can re-read this book and keep practicing...
"I may be overwhelmed at the moment. It will feel easier again. Once I focus only on what I have to do today, dieting will be easier for me."
Identifying Sabotaging Thoughts DAY#25
It is important for you to learn to recognize your unique sabotaging thoughts and to respond to them effectively.
Before you take a bite of something you did not plan to eat, you almost always have a thought or series of thoughts.
Once you identify and respond to these thoughts, you will be better able to control your eating.
THINK ABOUT IT!
Write down sabotaging thoughts as you identify them. When you are tempted to eat something not on your plan ask: What was I just thinking???
REMEMBER that eating is not automatic. Usually we try to ignore our thoughts so we can eat!
Exercise:
1. Spend a few days looking at sabotaging thoughts (see page 193 in Dr. Beck's book for more clarification of sabotaging thoughts).
2. Identify and write down one or more of your personal sabotaging thoughts. (Don't worry about what to do at this point as you will learn how to respond in a few days)..
Once you get good at identifying your sabotaging thoughts (so you can respond to them), dieting will be easier.

Day 26 - Recognizing Thinking Mistakes
Realize that thoughts are just ideas, not necessarily truths. Nine Common Thinking Mistakes:
1. All or Nothing Thinking
I am either off or on a diet, this is black/white thinking with NO middle ground
2. Negative Fortune Telling
Predicting the future negatively with NO middle ground i.e. I didn't lose, I'll never lose.
3. Overly Positive Fortune Telling
So positive..i.e. I can eat a little of that (not on my plan) and stop or I can estimate without using the scale for my portions.
4. Emotional Eating
One we all can relate to!!! I have to eat this NOW. I am stressed and will feel better.....
5. Mind Reading
Others will think I am strange or rude if I don't eat or drink ___________.
6. Self-Deluding Thinking
Rationalization that it won't matter, won't count/won't hurt my weight loss.
7. Unhelpful Rules
I can't waste food (there are starving children in China as my mother would say to me!) or I don't want to inconvenience someone else.
8. Justification
I deserve this because I have worked so hard/am so stressed or fruit doesn't have points so I can have as much as I want.
9. Exaggerated Thinking
I have NO willpower. I will never have the willpower to lose and keep off weight.
Exercise for Day 26: Look at your sabotaging thoughts from yesterday's exercise. Write down your thinking mistakes (use the list of 9 Common Thinking Mistakes).
Remember the important thing is to learn what to do about your thinking mistakes or sabotaging thoughts and take the first step NOW by identifying them!

Day 27 - Master the Seven Question Technique
For this exercise you need to have your list of sabotaging thoughts and thinking mistakes that you wrote the past two days. Initially, look at your common sabotaging thoughts and ask yourself:
"What do I wish I could remember the next time I have this thought?"
Write down your response.
Then take the following seven questions and write responses to the questions using your list of sabotaging thoughts. You may feel that you can do this in your head, but writing down spontaneous free flowing answers can give you some insight into how you often sabotage yourself and go off plan. This is a SKILL that you can learn and need to practice! It is hard work to do this, but the results are immeasurable.
The Seven Question Technique
1. What kind of thinking error could I be making? (refer to p. 195- 198 in book)
2. What evidence is there that this thought might not be true (or not completely true)?
3. Is there an alternative explanation or another way of viewing this?
4. What is the most realistic outcome of this situation?
5. What is the effect of my believing this thought and what could be the effect of changing my thinking?
6. What would I tell (a close friend or family member) is he/she were in this situation and had this thought?
7. What should I do now?
Over time, as you practice these ideas again and again, you'll automatically respond to your sabotaging thoughts even without Response Cards. You can use the Seven Question Technique in full or write/read short direct statements as a result of this exercise. For example, "I'd rather be thin." "No excuses!" "This is just a craving! It'll go away! Don't eat!"
Get Ready to Weigh In DAY #28

Dr. Beck's program has you beginning to follow a diet for the past two weeks and to face the scale on day 28.
For fellow members who already weigh in weekly (or daily), here are some of her suggestions:
Learn to use the scale as information to guide your efforts. Celebrate and congratulate yourself for following your plan. There will be successes (weight loss) and non scale victories (NSV) and times you don't understand weight gains (read online about Why the Scale Lies) or even when you lose weight in spite of being "off target" with your food choices.
Re-read Dr. Beck's
How to Lose Weight and Keep It Off suggestions:
1. Choose a healthy diet.
2. Create time and energy for dieting.
3. Plan what and when you are going to eat.
4. Seek support.
5. Deal with disappointment.
6. View overeating as a temporary problem that you can solve. 7. Cope with hunger and cravings.
8. Eliminate emotional eating.
9. Give yourself credit.
So take her suggestions into account the next time you step on the scale and continue to journey toward goal or maintain your goal and healthy life style!
Day 29 - Resist food pushers
• You’re entitled to work toward your goal of losing weight as long as you're not maliciously trying to make someone feel bad.
• It’s okay to disappoint others. Disappointment is a normal part of life. Their disappointment most likely will be mild and fleeting.
If you find that you’re assuming others will be disappointed if you turn down food, ask yourself:
• Won’t I be disappointed if I accept the food and stray from my food plan?
• Why is it more important for me to please them than it is to do what is best for me?
How to say no
• Create a sense of entitlement about turning down requests to eat.
• Prepare your initial response.
• Visualize your plan in action.
If you haven’t had much practice in turning down food, you might get a little nervous the first time you try. It’ll definitely get easier to

do over time, as you see that nothing terrible happens
DAY 30
Today we will create a plan for eating out and set a date to implement the plan. Do the following to get ready:
• Choose a suitable day and place
• Go with a friend
• Plan in advance how much you’re going to eat • Plan what you’re going to eat
• Anticipate the sabotaging thoughts you
might have
• Plan how you’ll tolerate cravings
• When your food arrives, portion off the
food you can eat
• Assess your success
• If you did well but feel disgruntled
because you couldn’t eat everything you wanted, work on your sabotaging thoughts
Dining out strategies:
• Tell the waiter how you’d like your food prepared
• Order smaller portions
• If you’re eating at a buffet or family- style restaurant, look at all food
options before filling your plate
• Practice what you know
• When you’re finished eating make it final
Change your mindset about parties, celebrations, and special events
• You’re likely to encounter special
circumstances repeatedly
• You might go overboard in making exceptions
• You might find it difficult to return to restricted eating one the event is over
Day 31 - Decide About Drinking
How Much, How Often - you can decide to not drink at all or decide to set a limit. It is all about choices. Once a day, week, month, special occasions or anything in-between.

Ask yourself, Do I really want to spend my calories this way? Would I rather eat ______ instead?
Create a plan that works for you.
- Don't skimp on food
- Plan when and how much you'll drink
- Calculate beforehand how caloric the drink is
- Don't allow alcohol to lead to unplanned eating
TIP! When you drink notice and enjoy every sip. Drink slowly so it'll last longer. As soon as you've finished your drink, order a no- calorie beverage, so you won't be tempted to order another alcoholic beverage.
Once I accept the fact that I need to limit my drinking, dieting will be easier.
Beck Day 32 - Prepare for Travel
Does this sound like you? "How can I possibly follow my diet when I won't be in charge of the kitchen and when I'll be eating out a lot?"
About a week before your trip, create a diet strategy. Think about this in advance so that you can remind yourself of it every day BEFORE you leave.
Decide how closely you'll follow your diet, specifically what exceptions you'll make and how much weight, if any, you'll allow yourself to gain. These decisions are individual.
- Allow yourself a few hundred extra calories every day
- Follow your usual plan every day but add minor splurges on a few occasions
- Follow your diet every day except for a splurge on the last day
- Exercise more
- Eat brunch instead of breakfast and lunch if you are sleeping later than usual
- Carry food with you or fill the mini fridge at the hotel with "good things"
- Differentiate hunger from cravings and how to tolerate them, prepare for unplanned eating and overeating, how to get back on track ... all the lessons we've learned
If your eating rules are too strict, you might get fed up and abandon your diet altogether.

Day 33 - Eliminate Emotional Eating
Food can be an effective distractor - temporarily.
But eating doesn't solve the problem that led to your distress in the first place.
Do you eat emotionally?
- feeling sad, lonely, worried, embarrassed, frustrated, angry, guilty
- feeling at loose ends, unsettled, bored
- avoiding something what you do not want to do ... procrastination
You have to deal with distress in non-food-related ways if you want to sustain permanent weight loss.
Use Mindset Techniques - label how you're feeling; stand firm; don't give yourself a choice; imagine the aftermath of giving in; read your advantages response card
Use Behavioral Techniques - distract yourself; drink a smoothing no- or low-calorie beverage; relax;
Once I start using strategies other than eating to calm down dieting will be easier.
What I remember most is ... why compound the situation ... eating to solve problems only causes more of them.
A very common sabotaging thought is, “Just this one time won’t matter,” but regardless of the situation, every time DOES matter. Every SINGLE time you withstand a craving, resist emotional eating, and say no to unplanned food, you increase the chances you will the next time. Each time you give in, you increase the chances you will give in the next time, too.
Which method helps you most conquer the emotional eating roller coaster?
Day 34 – Solve Problems
To solve a problem, you first have to define it.
Identify the Problem
1. WhatkindofthinkingerrorcouldIbemaking?
2. Whatevidenceistherethatthisthoughtmightnotbetrue
or might not be completely true?

3. Isthereanalternativeexplanationoranotherwayof viewing this?
4. Whatisthemostrealisticoutcomeofthissituation?
5. Whatistheeffectofmybelievingthisnegativethought
and what could be the effect of changing my thinking?
6. WhatcouldItellmyfriendifshewereinthissituationand
had this same kind of thought?
7. WhatshouldIdonow?
Think of various solutions and weigh the pros and cons of each. Pick one solution to see how it works.
You can’t solve every problem. Be realistic. Some things may be beyond your control. Whether or not you’ve drawn unrealistic conclusions ... seek support. They may have some ideas of what you can do to make your life better, given these uncontrollable circumstances.
Once you recognize that food won’t make your problems go away, dieting will be easier.
Day 35 – Get Ready to Weigh In
Before you step on the scale, remember that whatever number it shows is just information.
If you expect a gain, it is very important to step on the scale. If you’ve lost a half pound, great! If you haven’t, don’t get discourage.
We did not gain this weight overnight ... we have a plan to lose the weight in a healthy way ... be patient ... celebrate your losses ... review and continue to execute your plan if you see a gain.
You deserve CREDIT for stepping on the scale each week and being accountable to yourself. Once I develop realistic expectations for weight loss, dieting will be easier.
We are now in Week 6 ... Fine-Tune Your New Skills Day 36 – Believe It
Need to change your perception of yourself from someone who can’t lose weight to someone who can lose weight.
You now have critical skills that you didn’t have in the past, and you’ve learned to use them consistently and successfully. Your weight loss is not a fluke. Your progress won’t disappear as long as you continue to use your tools.
I’m losing weight because I’ve learned how. I now know:
1. What I have to do (e.g. plan my eating, eat slowly while sitting down, use anti-craving strategies)

2. What I have to remind myself (e.g. hunger and cravings are never emergencies, NO CHOICE, Oh well)
3. How to motivate myself (get support, read my Advantages Response Card, give myself credit every day)
4. How to keep honest (report my weight change to my diet coach weekly)
Build More Confidence – Remind yourself what you were like five weeks ago, before you started this program. If that’s hard to do, picture yourself during a holiday or special event that occurred around that time. Takealookatthechangesinyourbehavior.
Before you started this program: How often did you
- eat standing up?
- eat mindlessly?
- eat to quickly?
- plan ahead of time what you were going to eat?
- overeat or eat for emotional reasons?
- criticize yourself for what you ate?
- fool yourself?
- dwell on injustice?
- concerns about other people?
Write your own list to remind yourself of how far you’ve come. Whenever you have a crisis of confidence then read it to remind yourself just how much you’ve changed.
Once I believe that I’ve lost weight due to my own efforts, dieting will be easier.
Day 37 – Reduce Stress
Mild stress can actually be helpful if it motivates you to be productive. BUT moderate to high levels of stress are counterproductive.
Three Steps to Lower Your Level of Stress
1. Solve the Problem
2. Relax
3. Change Your Mindset
Identify the rules you have for yourself ... “should” “shouldn’ts” change to “It’s realistic to expect that”.
Relax your self-imposed rules. You’ll exclude reasonable solutions when problem solving if your rules are too rigid.
- Think of someone with more relaxed standards. What rules do they go by?
- Consider whether you would want your loved ones to live by a particular rule. What rule would
you rather they have for themselves?
- Think of the advantages of changing your rules.
- Take the words always and never out of your rules.
- Insert the word reasonable into your rules.
Relax your rules for others. You’ll be stressed if you have unreasonable expectations of other people. Other people
- Should always be perfect?

- Should be able to read your mind? - Should always be grateful?
- Shouldn’t make you unhappy?
- Shouldn’t treat you unfairly?
- Shouldn’t misunderstand you?
Recognize that you don’t have control over other people. The only one you really have control over is yourself. You can change your own thinking & behavior, but you can’t necessarily change other people.
Day 38 – Deal with a Plateau
Mini Plateaus are normal. They might be due to water retention, hormonal changes, or biological influences. Or maybe you took in too many calories that week or exercised too little. Occasional plateaus and small weight gains are inevitable, even if you’ve been doing everything right.
If you expect the scale to go down every week, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. You might find that you plateau for several weeks in a row. Nearly all dieters with significant amount of weight to lose hit a plateau within first 6 months.
You have 4 options:
1. Continue to do what you’re doing and see if you start to lose weight again.
2. Reduce your daily calorie intake by 200 calories, which should allow you to lose about 1⁄2 lb / wk.
3. Increase your daily exercise by 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Call this your goal weight and move into maintenance.
Deal 39 – Keep Up with Exercise
You know the benefits of both planned and spontaneous exercise, but are you still exercising? Are you resisting exercise because you don’t like it, you’re too busy or stressed or you have a physical problem?
- Have you, over time, increased the amount of exercise?
- Is exercising still near the top of your priority list?
- Do you have a positive attitude toward exercise?
If you answered no to any of those questions, you’ll need to respond to your sabotaging thoughts and solve some problems.
How You Can Change
- Focus on how you’ll feel after you finish exercising
- Put exercise in the NO CHOICE category
- Meet a friend or trainer
- Give yourself lots of credit
- Focus on your progress
- End your session with something positive
- Make sure you’re doing a type of exercise you like
Exerciseisanessentialpartoflosingweightandmaintainingweightloss. Idon’thavetobeanexercise fanatic.

Day 40 – Enrich Your Life
Are you putting your life on hold until you lose weight?
Do It Now
Put aside at least 10 minutes today during which you won’t be interrupted or distracted. Then do the following:
- Take out your diet notebook. Make a list of goals that you’d like to accomplish before or after you lose weight. Do you want to change your job in some way? Become more computer savvy? Join a club? Meet new people? Improve relationships with family and friends? Pursue a hobby? Travel?
- Look at your list. See which of your “after weight loss” goals you could actually start working toward right away.
- Take one goal. Write down the steps you’ll need to do to accomplish it.
- Get a calendar. Mark down when you’ll do at least the first step.
- If you’re uncertain of how to go about working toward a goal, ask friends or family for help.
- As you put activities on your calendar, watch for sabotaging thoughts.
- Respond to your sabotaging thoughts in 2 ways: Look at the advantages and disadvantages of
making this change in your life and use the Seven Question Technique to evaluate your concerns.
- Continue the process with a second goal.
Sabotaging Thought: I don’t deserve to reward myself until I’ve lost all the weight.
Helpful Response: Of course, I deserve to reward myself. Being overweight is not a moral failing. Everyone deserves to work toward having a better life.
Sabotaging Thought: I won’t have as good a time if I do this activity before I’ve lost weight.
Helpful Response: That might be true, but before I go I can work on the unhelpful thoughts that could dampen my pleasure. I can do this activity once I lose weight, but I should also do it now. There’s no reason to wait.
Day 41 – Make a New To-Do List
Do these activities daily:
- Eat a healthful diet with limited calories
- Think about what you’re eating before you actually put it in your mouth
- Sit down whenever you eat and then eat slowly and mindfully
- Eat only to mild fullness
- Monitor your eating through the day
- Give yourself credit
- Do spontaneous exercise
- Respond to sabotaging thoughts
Do these activities between once a day and once a week:
- Weigh yourself at least once a week
- Discuss your weight change and dieting experiences with your diet coach at least once a week
- Do planned exercise at least 3 times a week
- Continue to make sure that you have enough time and energy to devote to dieting
- Read your Advantages Response Card as needed
- Use anti-craving techniques
- Use the Seven Question Technique when you’re upset
- Prepare yourself psychologically for special-occasion eating

- Do problem solving to reduce stress - Take steps to enrich your life
Do these activities as often as needed (once a day, once a week, or less often, but certainly whenever you’re in danger of straying from your diet):
- Plan and monitor what you eat.
o Themomentyouhitaroughpatch–wheneveryoufindyourselfeatingtoomuch–start
writing down what you plan to eat and monitor in writing what you actually do eat every
day. Don’t give yourself a choice about this.
o Themomentyoufindyourselfeatingtoomuchornoteatinghealthfully,gobackto
planning in advance. - Read your Response Cards.
o The moment you start to struggle start reading them daily. Don’t give yourself a choice about this.
Once I create a consistent routine of using my weight-loss skills, dieting will be easier.
Day 42 – Practice, Practice, Practice
Congratulations! You’ve learned the Cognitive Therapy skills you need to think like a thin person. The longer you use these new thinking skills, the more automatic they’ll become.
Remember you’ll hit rough patches from time to time. All dieters occasionally give in to cravings, forget to give themselves credit or neglect to follow their food plan. All dieters occasionally question whether losing weight is worth the time and effort. When you think these thoughts flip through the book and reread the passages and start doing the relevant tasks again.
Rough patches are TEMPORARY. You’ll be glad that you persevered.
The richer your life, the less you’ll focus on your weight. Recommit yourself if you gain 3 pounds.