Jennifer’s Struggle

August 16, 2010/beckadmin

Jennifer recently shared with me her struggle over whether to eat certain foods, particularly during evenings. Jennifer would finish dinner, and then, it was as if treats and desserts would start calling out to her from her refrigerator.

2 Reviews of Beck Diet Books by the American Dietetic Association

June 29, 2010/beckadmin

Reviewer Suzanne Farrell, MS, RD praises The Complete Beck Diet for Life for not sugarcoating the time and effort that […]

Inflexible Eating

June 25, 2010/beckadmin

When I introduced the notion of following a food plan inflexibly to Robert, he initially experienced both anxiety and skepticism. Robert asked me why he couldn’t just make substitutions when he felt like it as long as the calorie count remained the same. Here’s what I told Robert:

Amy’s Business Trip

June 18, 2010/beckadmin

Amy came in this week feeling quite defeated. Although she had previously been doing quite well with making food plans and sticking to them, she had been on a business trip earlier this week and hadn’t been able to write down her food. She viewed the trip as a complete “failure,” which left her feeling demoralized and unmotivated.

Cindy’s Anxiety

June 11, 2010/beckadmin

Cindy has been having some anxiety about the future. She successfully lost 43 pounds and has been maintaining that loss for over 8 months, but she still has negative thoughts and images that pop into her head from time to time. The most common one is that she sees her future self standing in front of the mirror, trying to zipper her jeans, and realizing that they have become too tight.

Katherine’s Changing Tastes

June 4, 2010/beckadmin

A dieter, Katherine, was recently talking to me about a subject matter I hear over and over again from dieters. She told me that one of the biggest changes she has undergone since starting the program is that now she is much happier and satisfied with less food. In the past, Katherine said she always liked to eat very large portions of food, and didn’t feel satisfied until she had eaten an enormous amount.

When Did Special Treats become the Everyday Norm?

May 24, 2010/beckadmin

When did it happen? When did we Americans go from an occasional piece of pizza to having multiple slices throughout the week? When did we go from the occasional soda to drinking sugary soft drinks throughout the day? When did we go from a weekly overindulgence, such as a big dinner on Saturday night, to excess food every evening?

Planning to Eat More and Gain Weight

May 18, 2010/beckadmin

I asked Julie what was the hardest part of sticking to her maintenance diet. “I’m just tired of what I’m eating. I want to eat more. I want to eat different things for lunch and dinner. I want to have a glass of wine when I go out with friends and dessert every night. I want to have an afternoon snack, like pretzels or crackers or chips. But I know if I do,” she said glumly, “I’ll gain weight.”

Calorie Counts on Menus

May 5, 2010/beckadmin

Earlier this year, Philadelphia joined New York in requiring that chain restaurants print calorie counts on their menus. Even I was astounded, when I ate out a few days ago. I was fascinated by how high the calorie counts were for almost every item.

One for the Memory Box

April 21, 2010/beckadmin

Joanna, who has been overweight most of her life, lost 65 pounds in the past two years. She told me a great story. This week her husband spontaneously picked her up and carried her over the threshold. He had not been able to do that when they had married four years ago.