Lemon Cake: Carolyn

Carolyn has pretty much mastered the skill of working any food into her diet.  Unlike a lot of dieters, she doesn’t have foods that are completely off-limits, and she doesn’t have certain foods that she labels either, “good” or “bad.”  Instead, she has come to realize that any food can be eaten, as long as it’s worked into a daily plan (discussed on Day 2 of The Beck Diet Solution). 

One of Carolyn’s favorite desserts is a special lemon cake she only buys at one store that she doesn’t get to very often.  Carolyn had thought she would go to this store on Friday and then plan the cake into her meal plan for Saturday, as a weekend treat.  However, Carolyn instead ended up going to the store and purchasing her lemon cake on Thursday, not Friday.  When she got home with the cake, Carolyn knew both that she would be very tempted by it and that she hadn’t planned to eat it until Saturday.  That night she was having all sorts of sabotaging thoughts that were urging her to eat the cake, “It’s ok to have just a small piece; it won’t really matter; it’s so good I can hardly resist.” (Day 25) Carolyn recognized, however, that even though she was craving it, it was important to not eat the cake, and not just because it would put her over her calorie limit for the day.  If she gave in and ate the cake, she would weaken her resolve to resist cravings in the future. However, if she answered back to her sabotaging thoughts and didn’t give into her craving, she would build both her resolve to resist future cravings and the confidence to know that she can withstand them (Day 13). 

Carolyn went immediately into the kitchen and put the cake on top of the refrigerator where she wouldn’t easily see it.  She also went and read her Advantages List and reminded herself why it was so important for her to resist the cake and lose weight.  She firmly told herself, “No choice, I am not going to eat the cake,” and within in minutes, her craving diminished.  After Carolyn used these techniques to strengthen her resolve, it was no problem for her to resist the cake on Friday as well.  She ate a piece on Saturday exactly as she had planned, and felt extremely happy and proud about it.

“If I hadn’t joined the group…”

We asked our diet group to complete the sentence, “If I hadn’t joined the group…” Here’s what they have to say about how the group, The Beck Diet Solution, and the techniques of Cognitive Therapy have helped them.

If I hadn’t joined the group…

Maria: “I would most likely have serious health problems and still would have been more than 44lbs heavier than I am today. I was becoming an introvert; I didn’t want anyone to see how fat I had become.”

Diana: “I would have gained 25 pounds.”

Brenda: “I would continue to try other fad diets and ultimately fail because I would not have learned behavior that would enable me to make conscious lifelong changes in my eating habits.”

Linda: “I would probably still be eating cheese steaks and chips and stopping by a fast food drive-thrus.”

Charlotte: “I would have continued putting on ~2 pounds/year for the rest of my life.”

Carolyn: “As a result of your weight loss group I have learned to take an active role in applying the following key words to my life: Decision – I have made a life-time decision to make positive food planning choices; Choice – I have learned that hunger is not an emergency and that I must practice “No Choice” on a daily basis; Lifestyle – Proper eating habits should be practiced as a way of lifefor the rest of my life; Maintain – Maintaining is worth the perpetual outcome it brings.  If I had not attended your weight loss group I really don’t believe that I would have the positive mind set that I have today. The phrase “Mind Set” being key.”

Reaching Maintenance: Carolyn

Week 32 of our diet group and the pounds continue to come off!  Our meeting on Monday was special because we were celebrating that now two of our dieters, Roxanne and Carolyn, have reached maintenance (discussed in Chapter 11 of The Beck Diet Solution). 

Carolyn, 57, had lost 18 pounds before coming to our group.  Since the group has started, she has not only maintained that weight loss but continued on to lose another 13 pounds.  Carolyn says that the reason she has been so successful is due to the fact that she has learned to make permanent changes in her lifestyle in regards to eating and exercising.  She says she doesn’t worry about gaining weight back because she will never go back to the way that she used to be.

Carolyn says that one of the biggest changes she’s made is learning to incorporate at least some exercise into her life each by taking every opportunity to do so (Day 9 of The Beck Diet Solution).  She now always parks her car in a far spot, walks the five flights up to her office, and routinely goes on a lunchtime walk, regardless of the weather. She now also practices much better eating habits, both at home and when eating out. 

Carolyn went last week to an all-you-can-eat buffet with her family to celebrate a birthday.  “In the past I would have stuffed myself silly,” she says, “but this time was much different.”  Carolyn looked at all of the food options and then picked what she considered to be the best choices based on what was available (Day 30).  She took one plate that had a reasonable amount of food and did not go back for seconds, despite her husband’s urging.  Even though her husband told her she, “wasn’t getting her money’s worth,” Carolyn knew that in fact it was worth money to her not to overeat.  Carolyn left the buffet feeling satisfied and proud, and confident that this is a situation she can repeat in the future.