Endless Summer Creations

Piyushgiri Revagar via Flickr Today’s exercise focuses on how to end overeating.  This prepares us better for the times what food is served and how much of it are out of our control, like restaurants, events, friends/families’ houses, and so on.  How many times have we been served a portion much larger than what we would have given ourselves, but because it’s already on our plate, along with sabotaging thoughts (STs) we might be having (“It would be a shame to waste this,” “I’m hungry and I want to eat the whole thing,” “I don’t want to offend the cook,” etc.) we finish the entire plate of food.  Cue the feelings of guilt, discouragement, bloatedness, wanting to throw in the towel, and so on. There’s a better way though, where we can practice for this exact kind of situation to the point it can actually get easy to leave extra food on our plate.  Today, the assignment is: 1. Pick a meal for your experiment, preferably lunch or dinner.  2. Serve yourself whatever you ha

Mark Morgan via Flickr For those of us following Beck, Dr. Beck gives us another invaluable tool to keep us on our plans and not succumb to unplanned eating: NO CHOICE.  There’s a lot of beauty in these words.  They solve many cravings and triggers for us for the outset, because the decision not to eat is already made.  Beck tells us that drawing a line in the sand and deciding NOT to eat relieves the tension and anxiety over the food just as much as a decision to eat does.  It’s like having a protective force field around us wherever we go, insulating us from the landmines of unplanned eating that exist in everyday life.  Brownies someone brought into the office?  Everybody having wine at a party?  After a hard day, are you getting seduced by the late night pizza commercials?  “No thanks, I’m good” (NO CHOICE) These words can be as magic as you want them to be.  Just add them to the list of non-negotiable rules we have in our lives every day, like brushing our teeth, taki

It's not blood that makes family – it's love. Without love, blood might just as well be ice.       

Smallest Forest - Allium Flora blank book/journal via Flickr Today we start food journaling in earnest, and keep it that way as long as it takes for these skills to become automatic, for us to use them without even thinking about it.  Last night or maybe prior to that we wrote down and planned out our food for today.  Now we’ll add an important follow-through every time we finish eating: we’ll review our food plan and ask ourselves “Did I stick to my plan just now?  If not, what was different?”  If we didn’t eat something listed on the plan, cross it out.  If we ate extra of something on the plan, write that in and circle it.  If we ate something not on the plan at all, write that in and circle it as well. (Or if you keep your food plans in Word, use the Track Changes command which will monitor all additions/deletions for you) This follow-through with our food plan is essential for a number of reasons: 1.       Every time we follow our food plan and eat what we’re supposed

icewerks via Flickr In homage to all the insurance commercials we see today - if we had an insurance policy for losing weight and keeping it off, chances our policy rates would go way down with today’s Beck component in place: writing out and planning all our meals and snacks in advance. Planning our meals out carries multiple advantages: When we plan out our meals, we can also plan out how to get and prepare the designated food; Instead of wondering about when we’re supposed to eat and hoping we make the right choices, it becomes automatic.  It’s like we’re riding a weight-loss train which makes all the right stops and which will take us straight to our destination – all we need to do is stay on; Speaking from over 20 years of counseling, Dr. Beck has identified the habits which keep the weight piling back on – and spontaneous eating/grazing is one of them. When you encounter occasional hunger/cravings but stick to your plan, you’ll learn that you can withstand these

CCK - 'Gunks via Flickr Doing this Hunger Challenge today.  So I just ate breakfast and will not eat again until 6 p.m.  I really need this refresher on experiencing hunger and reminding myself that it is not an emergency!  I will update this post after 6 pm with my Hunger Challenge chart with my hunger ratings throughout the day. **Update** - 7:00 pm Well I made it.  This "Hunger Game" was tougher to me than some past ones: My Hunger Discomfort Chart September 27, 2017 Time         Current Level of Discomfort     1-10           Range of Discomfort in Last Hour 1-10     noon 5 7 1:00 6 7 2:00 6 7 3:00 6 6 4:00 6 6 5:00 7 7 6:00 8 8 But I am very glad I did this exercise again.  It just reinforces to me, once again, that hunger is not an emergency.  It can be withstood.  Sometimes dieting is uncomfortable.  But as Beck suggests, if you count up the minutes out of the entire day that were truly uncomfort

Alex Iwashyna via Flickr Following the theme of the last few days, today we expand on what we’ve learned about experiencing and withstanding discomfort to beat another weight-loss saboteur: cravings.  We all know the drill of giving in to cravings.  First, we feel that sharp, nagging urge to eat.  Sometimes we don’t even fight it at all.  Other times we may try to fight that craving but the craving is stronger.  So the craving wins and we get up and eat, usually far too much.   It doesn’t have to go like this however, and Beck encourages us that even though we may feel intense cravings in the first weeks of our weight loss plan, these cravings will soon diminish and not be so daunting – as long as we keep increasing our resistance muscle and not giving in to the cravings. Start by definitively deciding you are not going to give in to the craving.  Don’t give yourself a choice to eat.  This concept is expanded on when we get to the NO CHOICE chapter.  But for now, we also

This is the day to stare down hunger and realize it’s not the insurmountable foe we think it is.  When it comes to the uncomfortable situations in life, people often find that hunger ranks way behind a multitude of other things.  How does hunger rank for you?   The first part of today’s training is to use the book’s Discomfort Scale chart or your journal to think of times you’ve experienced every level of comfort/discomfort.  The left-hand column represents your discomfort level on a scale of 0 – 10, where 0 = no discomfort and 10 = the worst discomfort you’ve ever had.  Now in the right-hand column, write down a number of situations which correspond with the discomfort levels.  For one client, 0 = relaxing in front of the TV after dinner, 3 = a job interview, 5 = waiting for a medical test, 8 = root canal surgery and 10 = broken leg. This exercise will help you prepare for and withstand the next exercise, where you deliberately experience hunger.  On this day (it could be

To lose weight and keep it off, we need to have the skill of differentiating between 1) hunger, 2) a desire to eat and 3) cravings.  Beck defines these states as: Hunger: when you’ve fasted for several hours and your stomach is empty and may be rumbling; A desire to eat: not being particularly hungry but eating because there is food around, like wanting seconds or dessert after a meal; Craving: physiological and emotionally intense urge to eat, tension and yearning in your mouth, throat or body. Know the difference between the three – your success depends on it.  And chances are, if we struggle with weight, we don’t really know yet.  Today’s exercise will sharpen our ability to differentiate between hunger, desire and cravings, and know when it is truly time to eat. We start by rating our hunger on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0=no hunger and 10=the hungriest you have ever felt.  Today, we will do this four times whenever we eat: 1) right before we start eating, 2) halfw

Today, we take a stand against those Sabotaging Thoughts decreeing that we must get to our weight goal before the reunion/wedding/cruise/fill-in-the-blank-event-by-which-we-"MUST"-be-thin, lose 10 pounds per month, or otherwise lose weight fast; and if we fail to do so we deserve no credit.   Au contraire , counters Beck.  Indeed, as uninspiring as this is to hear, the slower we lose weight the better.  That doesn’t mean we have to resign ourselves to losing no more than half a pound a week, every week.  Assuredly there will be weeks like that, but Beck gives its stamp of approval to losing 1-2 pounds per week, a common weight loss benchmark. Slow weight loss can be a difficult pill to swallow, especially with the unrealistic expectations perpetuated by other weight loss plans and society in general.  This is especially evident in the scrutiny of pregnant women, especially celebrities.  Some critics ridicule new mothers for not being back to bikini shape within 3 month

Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned athlete, you'll benefit from what BDS has to say about the importance of selecting an exercise plan as a component of successful weight loss.  Even if we have a well-established exercise routine, it can be easy to forget *why* we need it.  Just some of the benefits of exercise include: A solidified commitment to your healthier lifestyle; Despite what many people believe, exercise can actually reduce cravings; Elevated moods and reduced stress; Preservation of muscle tissue so that we lose fat while staying toned; Boosted confidence and feeling better about ourselves; and Protection against disease. In keeping with yesterday’s step, we probably already have exercise scheduled into our day.  But there’s another type of exercise which BDS calls for and that even seasoned athletes may forget: spontaneous exercise.  Opportunities to be more active constantly arise in everyday life, some expected, some not.  Park further

To be successful in losing weight, we have to make time for it.  Subsumed within this objective come many necessary tasks, such as planning meals, working out, cooking, journaling, and so forth.  Today BDS has us take an inventory of our typical days and break them down into our specific activities.  On a calendar, list all your activities for a typical week and weekend day – the next step is to prioritize them.  There are three categories: essential activities, highly desirable, and desirable.  For example: Essential Activities Parental responsibilities Work Exercise Preparing meals Paying household bills Highly Desirable Long phone conversations with family or friends Watching some TV Relaxing in the bath Desirable Surfing the Internet Volunteer work Additional house chores or projects After we’ve made an inventory of our typical activities, BDS tells us to cut back on the desirable or non-essential activities to make time for weight loss.  This is not a

Get it here - this deal won't last long! About the Book:  It's not blood that makes family – it's love.  Without love, blood might just as well be ice.  What would it have been like if you had been truly loved?  And what would your children say to them if they could?  Charlotte and Johnny were born of not only these questions, but of a mourning process. Charlotte came from a dysfunctional but very artistic and creative family. While there was often pain and struggles, there were also happy times. Charlotte never imagined that one day her family would no longer be there. Her family was far from perfect, but it was her sanctuary.  And then one day it was just gone. Over. Charlotte was left reeling. She was in shock for so long she wasn't sure for exactly what. But eventually she came to realize that it was a death. That she had to mourn it as such. And to do that, she needed to share these vignettes; scenes from this family that once was.  Then

If your environment is not in line with your goals, then you need to change it. Environment is everything. As Joel Osteen said, you can't soar with the eagles if you're pecking around with the chickens. So too is it with dieting.  If, in your environment, you're surrounded by junk food, temptations, a lack of organization and putting everybody else's needs ahead of yours, you are not soaring with the eagles yet. Set yourself up for dieting success.  Throw out the junk food and any trigger foods.  If you have other people in your house who eat that food, ask them if they would be willing to eat that food outside of the home, or at least put in a place that is out of sight.  If those other people are children, you might want to make that decision for them. Maybe you have small children and mealtimes can be hectic, where you feel like you have to rush through your food just to attend to them.  You could consider having two separate courses or mealtimes, having somethin

Well I'm still up late tonight doing laundry.  So I thought I would blog for today's task: Getting a diet coach. Beck explains that having a diet coach, or someone to help hold us accountable, is another key component of successful, lasting weight loss. Dr. Beck tells how many of her clients confessed that the only reason they didn't overeat is that they would have to tell her about it. While neither Dr. Beck nor a good diet coach would ever berate or put you down for temporarily falling off the wagon, they still hold you accountable.  And they give you necessary support on your weight loss journey. Diet coaches can also help you brainstorm solutions to problems you might encounter on your weight loss journey.  If you fall off the wagon, your coach can constructively help you look at what went wrong, and how the pitfall could be avoided next time.  They can also celebrate your successes with you and keep you feeling inspired and excited about your goals.

It's not blood that makes family – it's love. Without love, blood might just as well be ice. What would it have been like if you had been truly loved? And what would your children say to them if they could? Charlotte and Johnny were born of not only these questions, but of a mourning process. Charlotte came from a dysfunctional but very artistic and creative family. While there were often pain and struggles, there were also happy times. Charlotte never imagined that one day her family would no longer be there. Her family was far from perfect, but it was her sanctuary. And then one day it was just gone. Over. Charlotte was left reeling. She was in shock for so long she wasn't sure for exactly what. But eventually she came to realize that it was a death. That she had to mourn it as such. And to do that, she needed to share these vignettes; scenes from this family that once was. Then we meet Johnny, Charlotte's eleven-year old son. Johnny has been given so

See the newly revised Charlotte and Johnny: A Series of Vignettes in the Amazon window below!  I have added back in previously unreleased content.  I decided the book wasn't complete without it and found a way to make all the stories work together, by dividing the work into Part One and Part Two.  My first edition was comprised of the current Part Two (my favorite part of the book).  But I think you'll have a better appreciation of Part Two after you read Part One.    Love, "Carly" and Endless Summer Creations

A very challenging task for me personally.  But so important for success on the Beck program and beyond.  After years of struggling to make this habit, I happened on this helpful book on Amazon, which puts a fun spin on the slow eating challenge by turning it into fun games you can play with your kids, or anybody for that matter! Once again, we can come up with plenty of excuses as to why we eat fast: I don't have time to eat slowly. I like to eat fast. I don't want to think about that stuff when I'm eating - it just stresses me out! I have to eat fast so I can get back to taking care of the kids/spouse/dogs/fish...in other words, everybody but me! How would you answer these excuses back with Helpful Responses? Eating slowly is another element of the mindful eating we are striving for in Beck, and for the rest of our life.  We want to enjoy our food, be satisfied by it, be nourished by it, celebrate living with it!  The next time you're eating, take th

This is one of my favorite Beck days.  Learning to give myself credit did feel a bit weird to me at first.  But once I got into it I started to really enjoy it! 1. It Feels Good to Brag and Celebrate Your Accomplishments Guess what - you deserve  credit for everything you do that brings you closer to your goals, no matter how insignificant it seems.  I don't think it even has to be food related!  Yes, give yourself credit for buying healthy foods, sticking to your plan, doing your workout.  But don't hesitate to give yourself credit for every accomplishment as well!  Did you finish that work report on time?  Did you manage to save a bit more money this week?  Did you make your bed?  Hug your family and tell them you love them?  Yes, give yourself credit for all of that! Beck suggests a number of ways you can keep track of your credits.  My favorite way is to keep a daily list of everything I'm proud of.  Here's an example of one I did a few years ago: Credit-Wo