In the meeting yesterday, Lori talked about what a busy week she has coming up. Lots of meals out, a business trip out of town, and on top of it, her birthday on Friday. In the past a week like this might have completely derailed Lori’s diet, but now she is going into it with confidence.
Lori has several strategies that will help her handle the coming week with ease. First she will make sure to eat a normal breakfast and lunch every day. Some dieters try to eat very little, if anything, for breakfast and/or lunch so they can eat big meals later in the day, especially if they are eating at a restaurant. Lori knows that this simply doesn’t work and that not eating enough in the beginning part of the day will only lead her to significantly overeat later on (discussed on Day 2 of The Beck Diet Solution).
Second, Lori is not at all concerned about her business trip because she knows that she will make wise decisions when eating out. Because she won’t have complete control over her food, Lori also knows that it’s possible she will feel more hungry than usual, but she also knows that this is not something to fear and she most definitely can tolerate it (Day 12).
Last, in terms of her birthday, Lori has firmly talked back to her sabotaging thoughts that in the past would lead her to have a really big blow-out meal. She now says that, “I know I have to eat mindfully for the rest of my life, so just because it’s my birthday, that’s not an excuse to eat a huge meal and dessert.” (Day 19). Of course, like everyone else, Lori doesn’t necessarily like that she can’t eat with abandon on her birthday, but she’s accepted it and moved on because for her, being thin is so much more worth it.