July 13, 2009/beckadmin
Sue is getting good at giving herself credit—saying “That’s good!” every time she reads her list of advantages of weight loss, every time she stops herself from eating while standing, every time she chooses healthy food to eat. . .
July 6, 2009/beckadmin
Sue did a great job of reading her list of reasons to lose weight twice a day, every day this week. Doing so really prepared her for the tempting French fries on a communal serving plate at lunch with her coworkers.
June 30, 2009/beckadmin
Sue has a very demanding job. She can’t predict when she’ll have time to eat or what food will be served. We talked about the necessity of always bringing a back-up meal with her on workdays, something that won’t spoil. If it turns out that the food that’s served is healthy, she can save the back-up food for another day.
June 23, 2009/beckadmin
I started working with a new dieter today. Sue has already lost 50 pounds on her own. In fact, she has lost 50 pounds several times in her life—and always gained it back. She doesn’t want that to happen this time. She’s committed to learning the lifetime skills she’ll need so that this time, she can be successful.
June 15, 2009/beckadmin
Many dieters have an interesting sabotaging thought: “Because I wasn’t perfect on my diet just now (i.e., because I just cheated), I may as well give up (and start again tomorrow).” It’s a cleverly hidden excuse.
Dieters who have read The Beck Diet Solution (or one of the other books) may also have a sabotaging thought about the program contained in it. “Since I’m not following the program perfectly, I may as well stop following it altogether.”
But these ideas really don’t make sense.
June 3, 2009/beckadmin
People often ask me why I suggest that dieters (without eating disorders) weigh themselves daily, instead of weekly, monthly, or not at all. Here’s why:
April 27, 2009/beckadmin
A new dieter, Alan, consulted me this week. He weighs 265 pounds and is 5’6”. He would like to weigh 100 pounds less. “It’s a mistake,” I told him, “to set a big goal like that. First, we really don’t know whether 165 pounds is a reasonable weight for you to get down to and maintain. Second, it’s too far away.” Alan immediately became discouraged and we had the following discussion (see pages 113-114 of the Beck Diet Solution).
April 20, 2009/beckadmin
Melanie, a dieter who consulted me a few months ago, recently contacted me for a “booster” session. She was doing great, still losing about 3 pounds a month. She was no longer writing down her food plan in advance, nor did she need to. Instead, she was able to decide at each meal and snack what she wanted to have and to eyeball her portions instead of measuring her food.
April 13, 2009/beckadmin
This past week, I met Jon socially, at a party. We had known each other slightly. He told me he had read my cognitive therapy books on dieting and wanted me to know which technique had helped him the most. It had been emailing his “diet buddy,” when he was tempted to eat something he wasn’t supposed to. With his permission, I cut and pasted below an old email he forwarded to me.
April 6, 2009/beckadmin
A number of dieters have come to see me in anticipation of the holidays. Here’s what I asked them:
When Passover or Easter is over, how do you want to feel about yourself?
Proud that you followed your holiday eating plan? Motivated and in control? Pleased with yourself? Confident that you’ll return to your usual eating routine?
OR
Upset that you abandoned your plan, distressed that you gained a significant amount of weight, and unsure that you can get back on track?