BBR -- Tuesday, 01/31

Good Morning Judy,
Very busy yesterday and didn't get here. Weekly goal continue to pay attention on my water consumption. Need to drink more water. Also ordered a new fitbit as mine went through the dryer. That will get me moving again.

Me Time - Finish my novel
Marie

Oops, missed a couple days. Weekly goal to stay on plan and continue to track and try to get in as much movement as possible. Me time--I have to skip yoga and knitting with friends today while I do my civic duty. Me time will come later in the week I guess. I'll take some time to knit and read this evening. 

Goal is to just keep working it and stay the course. Me-Time will be an afternoon nap.

Black bean and corn salsa with rice for dinner

Goal:  Stay with the idea of more points, with the "more" being protein.  Last night for a snack I had container of Greek yogurt:  protein AND dairy all in one package.  Linda had mentioned that she was upping her standard 2 oz of turkey to 4 oz, so I'm doing that too.  Minimal points hit.  And I pulled the reduced fat cheese sticks to the front of the fridge from where they had migrated to the rear.  Also (following the suggestion of several others here) more veggies and less fruit.  For lunch today I had a big bowl of lettuce and cucumber, with some turkey meat.  Tonight for supper it's veggie/noodle soup and English muffin with turkey. 

Me-time:  Playing games on the computer.  I'm in to Candy Crush.  I don't make good progress and it times me out.  DH thinks it's a total waste.  That's what makes it "me" time.

Good evening all. Am sorry I didn't post this morning but I ended up rushing to work after packing breakfast, lunch, snacks and fooling around on my computer too long.

Near the beginning of the Beck blue book she has a section titled, "Change your thoughts, Change your brain." I love this. She talks about practicing new ways of thinking and behaving until they become almost automatic. She notes, "When you think in a certain way for a long time, your brain becomes more and more efficient at thinking that way." When we are on auto pilot in the car or brushing our teeth, for example, these are activities that seem automatic because we've done them over and over again and they have woven their way into the networks of our brains while alternatives have been selectively "pruned out." She concludes that we have power of choice and the power to change.

I find this all immensely helpful. I was in OA for 6 years during which time I was told that I was helpless around food and that a power greater than myself would have to give me recovery because I couldn't do it for myself. This never really worked for me although many aspects of the program did. I read a book called Brain Over Binge which talks about reprogramming your brain but doesn't offer the actual tools that Beck does. And then I read Beck again and was so relieved that with the help of her suggestions, I can actually change the wiring of my brain and not live in that miserable place of food obsession. It's been 5 weeks and I am finding this to be true and for the first time in my life I am not obsessing about food 24X7, not overeating, feeling in control (mainly because I'm not working at "control") by practicing a few simple steps every day. It's just amazing.

Sorry this got so long. Plus it's late and most probably won't see it, but it's good for me to put it all out here.

I don't really have goals for the week - just to keep to my food plan, practice the Beck tools daily, get more active. But these are my goals every week...

And as I've said, I have plenty of me time after work since my kids are grown and I live alone. If I could only get to the gym...

Becky: If you search on "knee strengthening exercises" you'll get a bunch of hits. You'll have to figure out which ones work best for you. The ones I saw essentially have you working most of the different muscles in the legs. I chose some to add and I'll see how I do. Have decided maintaining my legs is important since so many people as they age end up losing their mobility.

Andi: I am going to repost your post on the Wednesday thread so others can see it and chime in.

keshet51  I went to my weekly WW meeting and the topic was how your thoughts are powerful and how to identify them and get them to work for you. They also gave us a copy of the new magazine that is called the Oprah magazine with the words Weight Watchers on the front. (and, of course, with a picture of Oprah on the front). The magazine, while only 12 pages, did have some good ideas in it. It's all about making small changes that can change the way you think and these new thoughts can bring big results. Sound familiar? Sounds like one of the chapters in the Beck books!