Day 5: 100 days challenge - Magic Notebook - Eat it another Time

It is day 5 and I am very proud of myself that I have gotten up every single morning and started my day with a workout.  I am so looking forward to lighter mornings so that I can do my running/jogging route.  As the days get longer, I anticipate spring and warmer days.  However, I enjoy each season in its time.  I do love winter and everything that goes with it except dangerous, slippery roads. 

Today's topic from "100 Days" is the Magic Notebook. The Magic Notebook is a suggestion, not a command. The purpose of the Magic Notebook is to free our thoughts from obsessions.  It works like this.  There may be a food that you want that isn't in your plan.  You write it down.  "Just because you think of a food doesn't mean you have to eat it." But you don't have to say "no."  You can say "not now."  (This works with grandkids too.)  Not now sounds much better than NO!  I think that speaks to the little kid in all of us. The author goes further to say that you might write down when you will allow yourself a certain portion of the food - when and how much you will have.  This frees you up from having to argue with yourself.  Arguing with a 3-year old can be exhausting.  How much more exhausting is it to argue with yourself when you are constantly with yourself?

Today's Lesson
1. Whenever you think about a particular food you want, write it down in your notebook.
Have you ever wanted to eat something but just couldn't identify what it was you wanted?  When I get like that I find myself pawing through the cupboards taking a bit of this or that and never really finding what I want.  So I end up doing a lot of mindless eating with very little satisfaction. Having a list of things you like might save you from eating through an entire bag of chips when what you really might have enjoyed was a small bowl of really good ice cream.
2. Plan that you'll eat it at another time.  If you wish, add the amount you'll have and how often you'll fit it into your program.
For me, right now, I am better off leaving "trigger" foods off this list, or noting that I may have them in a few weeks or a month.  Or maybe I will limit those foods to special family occasions and not buy them at all.

3. Stretch the times further apart for eating this food.  You may discover that after a while, certain foods don't seem as important to you as they once did.
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I mentioned in a previous post that I am also reading "The Beck Diet Solution."  I read both of my books on the treadmill in the morning. This book is a 42 day program.  I've been reading the preliminary prep for working this program.  This morning I ended at Chapter 5.  This chapter is titled:  Week 1 Get Ready: Lay the Groundwork


These are the skills that we will be working on:


1. Talk back to your sabotaging thoughts
2. Reduce the frequency and intensity of cravings.
3. Remain motivated to follow your diet (plan), even when you experience intense cravings.
4. Be more conscious of every bite.
5. Increase your satisfaction during and after meals so you're less likely to reach for second helpings.
6. Solve problems that have caused you to go off diets in the past.
7. Feel more confident about your ability to follow your diet inconsistently, even when the going gets tough.
8. Feel more accountable for every calorie you consume.


You'll use Cognitive Therapy techniques to prepare your mind and environment for dieting.


I had considered not tackling the Beck book until after I was done with the 100 Days Challenge, but both book compliment each other so well that I decided to use them together.