I’ve never been one for “affirmations”. I can’t picture myself looking into a mirror and repeating, “I am beautiful” and “I am a confident leader” and “the universe will send good things to me”. But, a cornerstone of the weight loss program my group is using is learning skills, such as “motivating yourself” and “remembering in the moment why you really don’t want that brownie”. My group is using a format devised by psychologist Judith Beck, PhD., who applies the principles of cognitive therapy to weight loss. (You can read my review of the Beck Diet Solution here.) A basic … Continue reading →

“You wouldn’t take only half the medicine your doctor ordered,” said my weight loss book, The Complete Beck Diet Solution. Why, Dr. Judith Beck continues, would you expect to lose weight by doing some of the things you need to do and not others? Well, it seems logical to me that I’m better off implementing some healthy behaviors than none. In fact, Beck herself encourages people to change one habit at a time. Her plan, though, calls for changing several habits before officially entering the weight loss phase of the plan, which does involve carefully sticking to a planned diet … Continue reading →

The Complete Beck Diet Solution is one of the mainstays of my new eating plan, along with The Good Mood Diet. Judith Beck is a psychologist and the daughter of Dr. Aaron Beck, who pioneered cognitive therapy. I explained in my first Confessions of a Foodie Mom that I’m in a weight-loss group patterned on Beck’s work. In my blog about countering sabotaging thoughts, I explained that cognitive therapy focuses on challenging one’s assumptions and reframing one’s thoughts to better meet both the real situation and your goals. Beck earlier published The Beck Diet Solution and the Beck Diet Solution … Continue reading →

I’ve whined about my plateau in several of the last blogs. I’ve talked about my problems. (I hope they’ve been some use to somebody, if only to let you know I commiserate with you.) Now I need to consider the recent past as well as previous weight losses and ask myself: What does work? When I was a teenager, I would designate every other week as a “diet” week. No matter what, I wouldn’t eat sweets that week. (My mom, who wanted me to lose weight, still thought I was silly to pass up strawberry pie, given that it was … Continue reading →

This week I finally dropped below the level where I’d plateaued for so long…and then, according to this morning’s scale, I put four pounds back on. In four days. I know that weight can vary by a couple of pounds just depending on whether you’re dehydrated or not, so I’m trying not to panic, but a four-pound gain does—and should—get my attention a bit better than a two-pound gain. It’s been a few weeks since I made time in my schedule to write everything down. I did, this week, fulfill the resolution I made to my diet group to spend … Continue reading →

The Good Mood Diet, by Susan Kleiner, is a book this “Foodie” mom has found helpful. Kleiner is a registered dietitican experienced in working with both weight loss groups (which included people with chronic illnesses) and also professional- and Olympic-caliber athletes. The jacket blurb says: “One day to feeling better than yesterday; one week to erasing depression ; one month to lasting weight loss!” Normally such hyperbolic statements make me avoid a book, but incredibly I found the first two statements fairly true—I was in a much better mood with much higher energy after several days following Kleiner’s advice. (I … Continue reading →