I hadn’t seen Ellie for several months. At our last appointment, she had been doing quite well, having lost 30 pounds in 7 months. She called me up one Monday, several weeks ago, because she had gained weight after a weekend of eating more than usual.
When we analyzed what had happened, it became apparent that Ellie had not only overeaten over the weekend, but that she had also gradually returned to some of her previous unhelpful eating behaviors. She had been on a slippery slope for about a month. For example, she was nibbling on food leftover from her family’s dinner plates. She was eating snacks standing up at the cabinet or refrigerator, instead of setting one portion on the table and sitting down to eat it. She hadn’t read her list of reasons to lose weight for a couple of months. No wonder she was having trouble!
Together we developed a plan of action. Ellie committed to reading a new Response Card (pages 20-21 of The Complete Beck Diet for Life) every morning. It said:
“I can nibble on leftover food and eat standing up OR I can continue to lose weight. I’m much happier with myself when I don’t do those things.”
Ellie also decided to go back to filling out a Success Skills Sheet (pages 274-275) every night for two weeks.
When Ellie called me this week, she was happy to report that she was once again easily using good eating habits and following her eating plan, and that she was continuing to lose weight. Now she knows precisely what to do in the future to get back on track.