Discussion Board

I am not new to these forums. I have been vegan for 2 years. I started out on a raw diet and lost a few pounds, then found Dr. Fuhrman's program and lost a lot of weight. Then, I gained it back only because I told myself Oh, one little cookie wouldn't hurt. I never quick eating my healthy food but then peanut butter, cookies, candy crept in. So, I am doing this again and using Beck Diet Solution. I used it before and I never should have quit. The plan helped me become a stronger person. I still love Dr. Fuhrman and for me there isn't a lot of difference in the 2 plans. I love beans and prefer them over anything else, but love potatoes in my soups and eating too much fruit makes me crave sweets. My plan is to post my daily menus so I have a record of what is working for me. I will also post where I am at on Beck's program.

I also have a SAD eating family. I am in control of what they eat, so they eat fairly healthy and I don't keep things around that are tempting for me. I'm used to cooking separate food for them so I am used to that.

I've spent a lot of time here on the forum's getting good advice from reading other posts and thread. My goal is to lose 10 pounds and then keep eating this way and see where this takes me for the rest of my life.

I also like to grocery shop. I know, weird right. And I like to cook.

Yesterday was great. I didn't eat a lot because I ate way too much the day before.

Todays' plan:

B: 1/4 c oatmeal with banana and soy milk. (This is my favorite. I could eat it 3 times a day I will probably eat it every day) Banana smoothy with soy milk and lots of spinach and one stevia leaf. This is the first time I grew a stevia plant. I don't know if this is better than the stuff in the container, but it was fun to try.

L; planning on large salad with apple, greens, and home made dressing. bowl of veggie soup

S: celery, tomato, and carrots

D: snap meal with potato veggies and quinoa plus more raw veggies
1/2 cup squash watermelon

Beck's: review reasons to lose weight
eat only while sitting (that alone I could lose 10 pounds)
read motivation cards

Food notes: I love veggies! I love the crunch and flavor and how they make me feel. I keep a bucket in the fridge with a microsalad of kale, carrot and other veg and mix it into my salads. I will eat mostly veg with my start mixed in or at the end of my meal. Today I will go to Costco to buy mushroom and melon and Caputos for more veggies, oh what fun.

Hey! Welcome.

I like your approach and how you organized your journal entry.

I like to grocery shop too.

Wishing you luck on your healthy life style.

Thanks, Nancy! I need the organization in my life right now. I hope this helps me keep my thoughts and progress organized anyway.

B: same as yesterday
church treat: coffee with sweetener, agave and soy milk
L: apple, carrots, 2 dates, squash 2 candies (oops)
D: snap soup, mini tomatoes


Beck diet solution: Eating while sitting is very challenging for me. I am realizing though that I have consumed a lot of calories in the past by grazing in the cabinets and fridge while standing. I will continue to work on this. Today it helped me stay on track.

Food notes: My fridge is stocked now will lots of veggies and I have a pot of veggie soup on the stove.
Veggie soup
1/2 dried split peas
3 onions
4 c carrot juice
1 large zucchini (about 6 cups)
1c. peas
one bag Trader Joes organic wholesome veggies
1/2 cup ric
2 large cans tomatoes
1 can water

This is pretty much a SNAP meal. It turned out delicious and I will eat it all week. I put the ingredients in cronometer and it makes 8 3-cup servings at 260 calories per serving.

I need to skip the coffee at church. My husband always gets a mocha and I drink some along with my decaf. I don't like it without stuff added. I really need to give it up because I've noticed that I get cravings for sweets when I have coffee. I ate the candy when we got home and remembered the rule about not eating standing up. I think this will save me from many mishaps. Two little pieces of candy aren't the end of the world.

Fitness: kettlebell workout

B: oatmeal 1/4 c with 1/2 banana, banana smoothie with soymilk and spinach, watermelon and mango

S: snap peas and tomatoes

L: veggie soup

dinner: salad of cabbage, apple, and greens with home made dressing
cooked mushrooms, onion, and winter squash, 1 date for a sweet treat

fitness: yoga

Beck Diet solution: reviewed goals, no eating unless sitting

Notes: Mondays are tough schedule wise. Nine elementary art classes on Mondays with 1/2 hour between am and pm classes makes lunch impossible. I ate a larger breakfast and had a veggie snack between am and pm classes then had my soup at 2:30 when school was out. This worked well and will plan on this again for next Monday.

I wasn't up for a heavy workout tonight and could have easily gone to bed after tucking in my youngest, so I did Skinny Girl yoga which is really a challenge, but so relaxing after a hectic day.

carrotlvr,

I've checked out the beck book several times from the library - never really got into it - finally picked up a copy for myself that seems to be sticking.

Do you think it would be worth having a thread for a book discussion group? I'm not far enough along to know if it would function well for a group discussion.

Congrats on refocusing. I'm also on my second go around. I'm back at a healthy BMI - but still not doing some of the things I think will be critical to long term success.

Vic

Hi Vic,

Sure I think it would be a good idea. The book for me is more of a manual that I check in with daily. It only works if you read it every day or at least do what it tells you to do each day. It worked for me once and it is helping me stay focused and on track again. Once I reach my goal I will always need to use the principles and there is always something to improve on. We could start a new thread and others could chime in if they want.

B: banana mango smoothie coffee
L: SNAP soup, snap peas, raw veggies
S: raw veggies
D: soup with potato added, banana/spinach smoothie, 1/2 apple, date

Beck diet solution:
*read advantages and goals
*only ate while sitting except for munching on veggies which I didn't need to do and may lead to other bad munching so I will stop doing this
*Eat slowly and mindfully-This will also be hard for me, but a key to my success. I am getting better at not eating unless sitting and am realizing how many extra calories I was consuming just munching mindlessly throughout the day. I think I will be eating a lot less over the next few days just by slowing down.

My new motto: To think like a thin person you have to learn to tell the difference between hunger and desire to eat.

I had trouble logging in yesterday and am really short on time tonight with more work to do before bedtime.

B the usual oats, banana, and green banana smoothie, coffee at work
L: salad with a dressing of mango, vinegar, honey mustard, and a little agave (just the right amount of sweet.
1/2 beans with sauteed mushrooms, onions, cheeze sauce, and salsa
D: salad with balsamic, bowl of snap soup, one date

food notes:

Cheeze sauce was a standard recipe

one can garbanzo beans
approximately one cup soy milk
2 T nutritional yeast
2 T lemon juice
garlic powder
1 T cornstarch
2 T salsa

This was the first time I made this with garbanzos and salsa and it was really good. This will be a staple in the fridge. A few tablespoons with the beans and sauteed vegetables from the previous day was a perfect combination.

I can tell the coffee is messing with my feelings of true hunger. Starting tomorrow I am going a week without it to see what happens. It will be hard when I know in the teacher's lounge there is always a hot pot and some other goodies, but I have to make a choice and still to it.

Beck Diet Solution:
Eating while sitting is still a real challenge but only a piece or two of popcorn and a few veggies crossed my lips. Oh yeah, and that mini malted milk ball. Oh well, overall not bad.

Also, no coffee, no eating while standing, NO CHOICE!

Kris

I didn't post my meals all weekend, kinda stressful and busy. I did fine though and made good choices. I haven't gotten on the scale for awhile. I don't think I have lost weight, I just don't feel it. I think I am eating a little too much even though I am eating a lot of vegetables.
Today:

B: oatmeal, banana smoothie, soymilk, coffee
L: salad with veg, berries, apple, 2 small chocolates
D: soup with cheeze sauce and sm. potato with mushrooms

Notes:

Okay the chocolates were a bad idea. I need to not help myself to the treats by the coffee. They were small though so it didn't ruin my day. I have to go to the store to pick up 3-4 melons and bananas. I bought 3 on Friday they were so reasonabley prices and my kids devoured them. Soup is a large pot of SNAP soup I made over the weekend with tomato, broccoli, kale, corn carrot juice, and eggplant from my garden. I added a little quinoa to thicen it. Again it was a busy Monday with little time for lunch, but I did get half a salad in.

Over the weekend I took my daughter to her harp lesson. My husband couldn't figure out what to eat so he took my son to McDonald"s! I wasn't very happy with him. They are not vegan by any means, but I try hard to keep out the jumk and give them small amouts of organic meat. He just doesn't get it!

Beck Diet Solution: eat sitting down: yes (this is huge for )

mindful eating: yes
This is new for me. I think this along with eating sitting down will be a key to my success. I checked out the book, "Mindful eating" and it has some exercises to practice mindful eating. I often make the right food choices but serve my self too much and think I should eat it all. I need to serve myself less and definitly slow down and stop before too full.

Wow, where did the time go. I have been eating well and managed to lose a few pounds, Yeah! It will start to get tougher and I feel that I have been eating way too much throughout the week even though I have dropped it little weight. Many times I get to lunch and eat just because it is time. Then I have a snack because it is time and then dinner. I feel many times I eat for many more reasons besides hunger. I need something to free me from the obsession of worrying about meals and always thinking about food. I need to reach a point in my life that I'm not going to die if I feel a little hungry and I don't have any food. I have been looking into intermittent fasting and have decided to try some mini fasts. I read Eat, Stop, Eat and don't think I needed to spend the money on it, but I was curious what the author had to say. There is a lot of support for fasting and the benefits of it. I will be monitoring my hunger along the way and still following Beck Diet Solution. I will fast 2x weekly and try two meals a day with a snack between to see how I do on the non-fast days.

Yesterday was the first day I tried a fast. I waited until 7:00 pm to eat. I did notice I had the urge to eat around 9:30 when I missed breakfast so I had tea and coffee and I was fine. My son and I went out for the day and I really didn't think about eating so much. I did get hungry around 4:00 and by the time we got home I was good and hungry. I found I didn't pass out from not eating. I actually felt good.

D: miso vegetable soup with rice and garbanzos, blended green salad, a few raw veggies and then had a little popcorn with our movie.

Today's 2 meals

B: 10:30 oatmeal, banana, soy milk, green smoothies, coffee

Dinner: planned miso veggie soup with rice and garbanzos with home made "cream" sauce, apple, carrots

I started to get a little hungry mid-afternoon so I started sipping mint tea. That really hit the spot. I think many times I may be thirsty more than hungry. I like the feeling I am getting from not always feeling full. Now it is a new feeling and I am embracing it. I know this will get more difficult as I am used to always feeling full and never letting myself get really hungry. I feel lighter and thinner and less bloated today and I am really looking forward to dinner. Tomorrow is the first day of a 24 hour fast. I plan on being done with dinner by 7pm tonight and eat dinner tomorrow night at 7. Tuesday will be a regular day of 2 meals and a snack for lunch. My next 24 hour fast will begin Wednesday evening after dinner.

I decided not to fast today as I had to take off work for a meeting and at home the rest of the day. I will fast tomorrow.
Today:

B: oatmeal, banana, cherries

S: I ate lots of vegetable as I cleaned out the fridge and steamed lots of them so I could eat them up.

D: (planned) sprouted wheat bread veggie sandwich with sauteed veggies and cheeze sauce, small confetti salad with home made cranberry, pineapple sauce

I started this journal for several reasons. I need support, accountablility, and want to be able to look back and see what I am doing that's working. On many of the days I'm not journaling I'm eating way too much or eating things I shouldn't so I am going to keep up on this journal. I love this WOE, but I am my own worst enemy. I make way to many excuses and am not setting enough goals. I have can come up with a million excuses to eat chocolate, eat when I am not really hungry, and on and on. But I could be making these excuses for the rest of my life or I could set some goals and strive to reach them and live happily with myself for the rest of my life. I choose reaching my goals!

Goals for the week:
Journal daily, work towards 1st weight goal of 135 by Oct 30th
stick to my plan, give myself credit ( a Beck Diet Solution technique) ,no excuses

Yesterday I ate well. My husband and son were camping for the weekend so my daughter and I went to whole foods and stocked up on bulk foods. We also bought the giant sweet potatoes and we enjoyed those for dinner with salad. We watched Gnomeo and Juliet (well I slept through the last 1/2) and enjoyed naked air popped corn. I really love this treat. Years ago I would have never had popcorn with out oil, butter and salt, but now I love it.

Today:
B: Oatmeal salad,coffee
L: roasted veggies with tomato bisque soup, handful of grapes
D: 1/2 c. rice with roasted veggies and steamed kale, butternut squash soup for sauce, sweet potato

Food Notes:
This week I went through the fridge, cut up and roasted a ton of veggies including eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, carrot and onion. I put them in a huge roaster and stirred in a can of tomatoes with a little carrot juice, apple juice and 1 TBS of maple syrup. I turned out well and I will eat these in sandwiches and with tomato bisque soup. I've adapted the recipe from Dr. Fuhrman's website. I cook onion, leek, celery with canned tomatoes and carrot juice. After simmering for 30 minutes, I blend 1/2 with 1/4 c. cashews and a potato. This will be a staple in my fridge. It is great over steamed veggies or with a sandwich. When I make soup or roast veggies it makes so much. I wish my husband would embrace this lifestyle. I'll be eating tomato bisque all week!

It's always interesting to see references to other books, so I'm going to see if our library has the Beck Diet Solution and the Mindful Eating book. First, though, I've got to finish the Engine 2 Diet book before I have to return it to the library. (Darn those "Hold" orders from other library patrons! )

And, I'm in the camp of liking to grocery shop, too, but not at the regular stores. I love browsing through natural food stores and the ethnic stores. There are always interesting foods at the Asian stores and the variety of legumes available at Indian stores is mind-boggling!

Chile-
I know what you mean about the library book thing. I am constantly checking out Esselstyn's book especially now that someone posted about a good recipe they tried. This time the book was checked out. I just need to put the darn book in my next amazon order.

B: oatmeal, cranberry salad
L: rice salad with 1 c. rice, shredded brussell sprouts, carrot, and broccoli slaw with 1,2,3 salad dressing and chopped apple
1c. rice with a little agave
D:tomato soup with roasted veg and rice
E: Jillian Micheal's 30 day shred DVD

Beck Diet Solution: reviewed goals, no eating unless sitting
Credit: stayed on plan with going to Panera with the kids

Notes: Part of the Beck Diet Solution is to give yourself credit for the good things you do daily. I took the kids to Panera since they didn't have school. I brought my own lunch while they had had theirs. I also got my workout done before the kids were up for the day.

The salad I made for lunch was really yummy. Next time I will add more veggies as I was left wanting more. The rice I had with the agave left me totally satisfied so I wasn't too hungry for dinner, so I only ate about 1/2 of it. Lesson learned: more veg, a little less starch at lunch or get in a little exercize to be hungry for dinner.

Yesterday was good, but I ate too much. These past few days I have seemed a little less hungry. I have eliminate most processed food. Today I had one little chocolate. That will be it for the day. The teacher lounge was filled with delicous treats today. I resisted them and took a bunch of grapes, a few apples and banana for later, Yeah me! Martha Beck would be proud of me. I give myself lots of credit for that one.

B: oats, banana
L: cabbage, carrot, brussel sprout, broccoli salad with pineapple/cranberry sauce, sm serving of chicpea with cooked veg.
D: rice with "stir fry" veg. 1/2 tsp Braggs aminos, 1 TBS ginger sauce, 1TBS orange vinegar raw carrots
E: Firm bootcamp

Notes: I had been eating the ETL way for so long and struggled for the past 6 months or so until I got used to this new way of eating. I love the rice, beans, and potatos I eat now and feel like I was overeating on them at first since previously they were "forbidden" exept in very small quantities. Now that I am not denying myself these things and I can eat them everyday I don't crave them as much. I'm also coming up with more combinations and recipes that are working for me that I like that are acceptable.

Busy, busy day tomorrow. I will leave at 7:30am and get home at 9pm. I will be taking lunch and dinner with me.

B: oats and banana
L: 2 c tomato bisque soup, 1 c cooked veg, 1/2 chickpeas, apple
D: same as last night