Week 32 of our diet group and the pounds continue to come off! Our meeting on Monday was special because we were celebrating that now two of our dieters, Roxanne and Carolyn, have reached maintenance (discussed in Chapter 11 of The Beck Diet Solution).
Carolyn, 57, had lost 18 pounds before coming to our group. Since the group has started, she has not only maintained that weight loss but continued on to lose another 13 pounds. Carolyn says that the reason she has been so successful is due to the fact that she has learned to make permanent changes in her lifestyle in regards to eating and exercising. She says she doesn’t worry about gaining weight back because she will never go back to the way that she used to be.
Carolyn says that one of the biggest changes she’s made is learning to incorporate at least some exercise into her life each by taking every opportunity to do so (Day 9 of The Beck Diet Solution). She now always parks her car in a far spot, walks the five flights up to her office, and routinely goes on a lunchtime walk, regardless of the weather. She now also practices much better eating habits, both at home and when eating out.
Carolyn went last week to an all-you-can-eat buffet with her family to celebrate a birthday. “In the past I would have stuffed myself silly,” she says, “but this time was much different.” Carolyn looked at all of the food options and then picked what she considered to be the best choices based on what was available (Day 30). She took one plate that had a reasonable amount of food and did not go back for seconds, despite her husband’s urging. Even though her husband told her she, “wasn’t getting her money’s worth,” Carolyn knew that in fact it was worth money to her not to overeat. Carolyn left the buffet feeling satisfied and proud, and confident that this is a situation she can repeat in the future.