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The Beck Diet Solution: My Experience (Introduction)

Stuck indoors on a Saturday, shepherding six loads of laundry through a washing machine with a wonky control panel that required resetting multiple times at the beginning and middle of every cycle, I decided that the in-between waiting time would be a great opportunity to do a bit of reading.

You may have seen a post I wrote earlier this week where I shared some of my struggles with issues surrounding food and eating. I mentioned in that post that I’d been reminded via a fellow blogger of a book that had helped her with similar issues – The Beck Diet Solution – a copy of which actually happened to be sitting on my bookshelf.

So today, captive audience to a washer with faulty programming, I decided it would be the perfect symbolic moment to start doing some rewiring of my own brain.

I settled down on the couch and, in between running up and down the stairs to babysit the laundry, read through the introductory chapters in the first section of the book, entitled The Power of Cognitive Therapy for Weight Loss. As I read, one thought kept coming to the forefront of my mind, time and time again… and, at the risk of sounding over-dramatic, I’ll say it:

If I complete this program, my life will change.

What had initially intrigued me about this book is that, despite its title, The Beck Diet Solution is NOT a diet. If the words “Works with any Diet” emblazoned on the front cover weren’t hint enough, the introductory section makes it perfectly clear. Rather, The Beck Diet Solution provides cognitive therapy techniques that will teach you to develop new thought patterns and behavioural skills that will stay with you for life and help you stick to any healthy diet or maintenance program.

I am relieved… because what I do NOT need is another diet.

See, after a lifetime of dieting, I know all about dieting. I know what’s healthy and what’s not, that I need to eat less and exercise more, and the importance of drinking water. I know it, and I don’t need another book that gives me more of the same in a slightly different package. What I DO need are some tools and strategies that will help me actually put all my knowledge into practice, and stick with it, and stop the whole yo-yo weight gains and losses nonsense that has plagued me for most of my life. And, from reading even just as far as I have in The Beck Diet Solution, it would appear that that’s exactly what this book is about.

Realizing this really does feel a little bit like the light at the end of a long, long tunnel.

I’m excited (if a little nervous) about this process, and am eager to get started right away. The book is structured as a six-week program, so if I begin this week it means that I will be learning new techniques throughout the upcoming holiday season (a time of year that for me has always been a particular challenge). Finishing up the week before Christmas will be my gift to myself, and I’ll be ready to launch into the new year with a whole new approach.

I had peeked ahead to the “What You’ll Need” section near the end of the introduction, and discovered that the requirements are a) minimal, and b) my favourite sort of thing – office supplies! In addition to the book, it was just a matter of having some index cards, sticky notes, and a bound notebook, so while I was out the other day I picked up a couple of the items I was missing.

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(Looking at this grouping, I realize that that is a LOT of pink, and everything is very colour-coordinated. I promise I didn’t plan it that way! The books – I have the workbook as well – were out of my control, the sticky notes I already had on hand, the notebook happened to have a pretty cover that really appealed to me, and the package of index cards that came with the ring and poly covers – cool idea, by the way – was only available in one design. So there you have it!)

My experience in writing a weekly Meatless Monday post has shown me that accountability with my readers works very well to keep me going and on track with a project – so I’m going to do the same sort of thing as I work through The Beck Diet Solution. I don’t think I’ll post about it every day (I have other things in life to write about, after all!), but will probably do a summary at the end of each week.

I invite you to follow along on this journey I’m taking, and even join me in working through the book if this is something you feel would be helpful to you. I’m grateful for your support and encouragement, and will be happy to offer the same back to you.

Here’s to embarking on a new path!

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Laurel Storey, CZT – Certified Zentangle Teacher. Writer, reader, tangler, iPhoneographer, cat herder, learner of French and Italian, crocheter, needle felter, on-and-off politics junkie, 80s music trivia freak, ongoing work in progress.