Day 27 - Beck Diet Solution, Master the Seven Question Technique

Now that we have our list of sabotaging thoughts and have identified the thinking errors we might be making when we have them, BDS gives us a way to further diffuse these STs through cognitive thinking: The Seven Question Technique.  Each time you have an ST, write it down and run through the following seven questions.  Not every question will always apply to every ST but write responses to the ones that do:

Beck, Judith S. The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think like a Thin Person. Oxmoor House, 2008.

1.     What kind of thinking error could I be making (Review Day 26 to help you figure out the answer to this question).

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] if he/she were in this situation and had this thought?

7.     What should I do now?

See id.

It may seem like a lot to remember at first, but as you get used to this process, these questions and answers will come more automatically.

I went through this process with one of my own STs:

1.     “I just don’t care anymore.”

2.     The thinking errors are Emotional Reasoning, Self-Deluding Thinking and Exaggerated Thinking.

3.     Evidence that this might not be true includes the fact that at other times I do very much care about weight loss and sticking to my plan.  And if I stop losing weight, gain weight, or worse yet, go back to 211 pounds I’ll seriously regret having abandoned my weight loss plan.

4.     Another way of viewing this might be that I’m feeling worn out or tired.

5.     The effect of continuing to believe this thought – that I don’t care – undermines the outstanding progress I’ve made and puts my future success at risk.  If I do change my thinking and remind myself how much I really do care, I can move on to more productive ideas and activities.

6.     If I had a close friend who felt like they didn’t care about losing weight right now, I might remind them of how far they’ve already come and how great it will be when they lose weight, like being able to wear a certain outfit, being able to do a running event, etc.

7.     I should review my Advantages Response Card and remind myself of all the reasons I cared enough to start my plan in the first place.  If I need new inspiration, I could come up with more reasons.  I could also journal about it.