So, you remember all those books I bought on Amazon. I didn't end up reading any of them last night, but today during lunch I decided I needed to take a break from work. Luckily I still had some of the books on my desk. So, I picked up The Beck Diet Solution and started reading.
This book was a last minute add to my Amazon cart. It was a bargain book, so I only spent like $5 on it. It had gotten good reviews. So, I figured, the worst that happened is that I'd be out $5.
So, I've started to read it and I'm really digging it thus far. Basically, it is written by a therapist who specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and has experience counseling dieters. She has created a 6 week program to help retrain your mind to think like a thin person. She starts off the book by outlining how a thin person things. Things like thing people don't comfort themselves with food; they find other ways to comfort themselves. That maintaining these eating habits is a life-long undertaking; thin people are always mindful of what and how they're eating. I've heard some of these things before, but they do make sense. One of the many reasons that I am fat is that I do comfort myself with food. I do justify eating too much or the wrong things by saying "I deserve this" or "I've had a bad day", etc.
Let me also say that I am a huge believer in therapy. I have a standing weekly appointment with a therapist whom I've been seeing for probably 6 months or so. It is, quite seriously, the highlight of my week. That is my hour to talk about whatever the hell I want to. I can bitch about my husband. Admit to being a crappy mom. Talk about how my parents screwed me up (and whose parents haven't screwed them up? :-) ). For the last two weeks we've talked about the new house we're trying to buy. Some sessions are more productive than other sessions, but I am happy to pay this woman $20/week to listen to me.
So, the author breaks down this books into six weeks of daily activities. There seems to be lots of checklists and writing activities. Today's assignment is to take an index card and make a list of advantages of losing weight; why you want to lose weight. I have written my list on my index card (actually two index cards). You are supposed to read this card twice a day at specific times that you chose as well as refer to it whenever you need a reminder of why you're doing this so you don't lose view of the big picture.
I love this. I need reminders and having things written on an index card is a portable, private way of doing so.
The second part of the assignment is to commit in writing when you will read the Advantages Card. I need to do that. I think that I will read it just before bed. I'm struggling with the second time during the day to read it. I don't know if I should read it at home or at work. Work is so stressful sometimes and so busy that finding time to read this, even the 5 minutes it will take, is daunting. But, since I spend so much of my day at work, I have a feeling that I'll have to pick a time. Or, I could read it in the morning during our commute when my husband takes my daughter into the babysitter's. That would give me a few free, private minutes, and help me start my day off on the right foot. I like that idea. I'll try it out and adjust as necessary.
We're also supposed to set up a reminder system, both of what our reasons are as well as to actually read the response card. If I don't have a time to read the cards at work, I think that it'll be best to set an alarm on my phone. But, I also like the idea of having an email or appointment or something pop up during the course of my day that reminds me of what my responses are. I think I need to see how to get Outlook to do that. Or, maybe Gmail has a function like that -- Google Calendar perhaps?
So, in summary, I like the plan thus far, but it is just day one. We will see if I work the program.
On a related note, I'll weigh in for WW tomorrow. I have been taking peeks at the scale and I think I'm on the right path. I am nervous but excited about tomorrow. I'm trying not to get caught up in what the number on the scale is. After all, I've been within my points and there is nothing wrong with slow and steady weight loss. But, we all want to lose 5 lbs in a week, don't we?
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