OK...OK.... I Will Start! The First Beck Discussion Post!!!

HI!!!!! Sounds like many of you got the Beck Diet Solution Book and have started reading! Good for you! It is such a good read and so glad you took my advice. I hope you find it as helpful as I did and still do! I purchased the CD's and listen to them in my car. I love doing that! I can listen to them over and over and have different "a-ha" moments each time I listen to them. So lets try this every thee times a week... I think that gives us enough time to read a chapter. Once a week will be too slow I think. The chapters are short. I think if we start at this pace, see how it goes, we can tweek it to make it faster or slower if need be.. how does that sound? So how about Monday, Wed, Friday? Then you have the weekend to really absorb it. This will of course work out best for my work schedule. Let me know if this is just too fast. I hope to keep up with it also.. you know I can get lost in the shuffle on here.. life takes a hold. I am hoping it will be fine. I do work wednesdays so worst case I may need a fill in on wednesdays.. Mondays I will post before I go to bed for the day (work sunday night). This will give me something to focus on rather than eating before bed! A good thing! Fridays are easy for me. Chapter 1 - The Key To Success Dr. Beck talks about the power of Cognitive Therapy and why it really works. She says it "helps you to identify your sabotaging thinking and effectively respond to it, so you feel better and can behave in helpful ways." She explains that in six weeks we can change our sabotaging thinking patterns and basically change our relationship with food as a result. That we will get to a point where we react differently when we see food that we shouldn't eat. Overall.. "dieting will become easier". So what are your thoughts on this first chapter? What do you think about cognitive therapy? Do you believe its more about the mental aspects of this process making us successful? Like how do you handle stress? Do you manage it well? Do you think those of us that have found a way to successfully manage stress will do better with food and have a better relationship with it then those of us that don't (that would be me!). I truly do believe that this journey is 99% mental, I have always said that I am not changing my mind on that any time soon. I do believe Judith Beck with the help of her father have really come up with a real solution by focusing on the CT strategies we can THEN change our relationship with food. I so agree. What do you think so far? Please provide feedback!

Hi Melissa, Thank you for coming up with a schedule for this discussion...sounds good! I don't know anything about book clubs so I will follow your lead on this. As far as the first chapter, it seemed like a lot of salesmanship to me. We've been hearing about this type of therapy for years now and it seems like a very good tool and as far as depression goes, it was in the news within the last few years that cognitive therapy was proven (in a study) to be equally as effective as drug therapy. To me that really speaks highly for the effectiveness of these techniques. I don't know why Dr. Beck felt the need to 'sell' this as much as she does but then maybe that is just my perspective as a person who has had weight loss surgery and not facing the u nending prospects of a lifetime of diet failure. Those of us lucky enough to have had wls of any type have the blessing of HOPE and I'm sure we can remember those days of feeling that even though we'd get all hyped up for a new diet we knew in our hearts in the end we'd just fail eventually. I love that Dr. Beck tries to encourage readers that the CT techniques will help them get past those times. I guess that must be the ultimate goal of the oversell in the first chapter. I'm looking forward to making changes in my thinking that will help me deal with food in terms of not using it as a stress management tool. It is always going to be a struggle for me but I'm willing to keep on trying, my health is too important to throw in the towel and give up in hopelessness. Molly

Hi Molly! I hope you don't mind that I went ahead and started on it! As for leading a book club.. I am clueless also? I am just going to read each chapter and quote some things and come up with discussion questions. She also has her own questions throughout that I will copy and paste here as well.. they are good to ponder on. Yes, I can see where you felt the first chapter is about salesmanship. Maybe she felt that CT hasn't been used for weightloss enough? Since it has always been more for depression like you said? Maybe she is saying it can be used for ALL addictions? I guess I do see it differently than you.. even though I have had weight loss surgery to me I will still be "dieting" forever.. I know that may offend some of you to hear me say this.. but I do believe that now. When they said surgery doesn't fix our brains they meant it in my book.. I will always have to be conscious of what I put in my mouth, ever meal/snack is a decision I have to make.. in my mind.. well that's a diet. Now the word "diet" always has a negative stigma.. to me, being a nurse, a diet represents an "eating plan".. specific for that individual.. so maybe I see a diet in a different sense. I am also looking forward to working on permanent changes with my thinking with food and my relationship with food as it coinsides with stress and emotional eating. I agree with you.. our health is way to important and we have made drastic permanent changes to our anatomy to throw in any towels. Good feedback Molly! *hugs* Tomorrow is chapter 2.

Thought that it was just me about the "oversell", but then many people haven't heard of CT techniques. The info box on page 37, which advises AGAINST who should not be using this book was placed "just a little to far" into the book to do the "buyer" much good, if they meet those descriptions.

I can not find my BOOK!! I bought it and put it SOMEWHERE and now I can not find it...UGGGG. Hope you are doing well..I am BUSY and have not been on much at all.. I need to get back here and get WITH IT!! Hugs

Oh No! Please try to dig it up.. at least the chapters are very very quick reads, you can get caught up in a jiffy once you locate it Diana.. looking forward to you being able to participate! It's a great ready.. now get to searching! ;) haha Love ya!

Page 24's comment that..."You'll get to the point where you react differently when you see food you know you shouldn't eat" holds the promise of this book. CT aids the client to make pre-planned, better choices through repeatedly practicing the skill until it become a habit. Beck's 6-week format works IF the habits take hold, which takes commitment to changing one's thinking and life-style. Life-style...is basically "forever". Handling life's stresses is a component that is included in CT. IF a problem arises, it's literally back to pre-planning better choices to resolve the conflict or situation. Having a planned response IS much better than fumbling or needing to make excuses for me. Managing stress or reducing stress? Say we choose to take-on ALL of the stressors, overwhelming! Now we choose to take-on the top 5 stressors, which we can actually make some change within our lives (basically, forget about trying to change other people... it can not be done), that's more managable. Of the 5 stressors, which DON'T we want to address... Move that one to the top of the list! So it's part Serenity Prayer & part de-stressing through new, better "Habits"... Re-learning. CT works, especially when the client has "Lost" skills (say through an injury) because they don't have the luxury of deciding IF they will follow the plan today or not do so. CT works for the general population IF it is incorporated as the "daily goal", which is what THIN PEOPLE have used the plan to do... change their lives... all at once... ditching the bad habits and forgiving the occasional mis-step BY including it in the plan... that would mean... Mis-step leads to review of the goal...including re-directing away from the problem... by repeatedly making better choices.

Reading the initial chapters and then working through the day-by-day goals are key to making lasting behavioral changes toward "normal" eating. The above info should be reviewed. Hopefully, more Dec. Babes will join the discussion. Melissa... Thanks for direction with this undertaking! XOXOXO