Hello all. I've been lurking here a while, and occasionally chip in. I started Foundation in June, lost 2 stone 13 lbs, and spent about 10 weeks in Developers, constantly lapsing and never reaching my goal. Decided to take a break in December, and have restarted back last week.
Anyhoo - my wheels fell off as once I lapsed I found it hard to get back on the wagon. Ghe first couple of times, I 'got away with it', didn't gain, and indeed sometimes carried on losing a pound of 2. That didn't last long. And I didn't bother with much of the homework. With perfect 20/20 hindsight, I now see how foolish it was to pay for this counselling and not actually take advantage of it or learn from it. My eyes were dazzled by the poundage melting, my mind not concerned with how I would maintain it.
I regained 1 stone 6 lbs, and am treating this all as a fresh start. I am ready, willing and able to reach my goal.
So tonight, we did Thought Records. Didn't really grasp it first time round, but tonight I did. It was like a light going on. I hope none of you mind if I post it here - hopefully someone might find it useful.
WHAT HAPPENED
I came home from my first weigh in, and I went straight to the fridge, and opened the cheese box. I unwrapped each of the cheeses and tasted a morsel off each of them. Put them back in the fridge and ate 2 pickled onions out of the jar.
WHAT WERE MY MOST IMPORTANT THOUGHTS (HOT THOUGHT IN BOLD)
a. I'm so hungry.
b. That cheese is so tasty, it's too good to waste.
c. I'll be back in ketosis by next week, I bet I'll still have a good loss even if I do eat tonight.
d. If I have this cheese, I might as well have some nice toast with it.
e. If I have cheese and toast tonight, it's going to be really hard to stay abstinent over the weekend when my friend is here.
f. The cheese needs to be out of the fridge for at least a couple of hours be at it's best.
g. Idiot!!! I make life hard for myself soemtimes.
HOW I FELT (%)
Annoyed (25%)
Deprived (25%)
Proud (50%)
WHAT I DID/MIGHT HAVE DONE IN THE PAST
Ate all the cheese. And had some hot buttery toast. And then made some popcorn. Or ordered noodles from the Chinese takeaway under my flat. Eaten it, felt sick, and be full of remorse and self loathing. Found it hard to get back into abstinence.
EVIDENCE FOR HOT THOUGHT
When I have laspsed in the past I have found it really hard to get back into abstinence.
I find it especially challenging to stick with the diet around my friends. A small lapse has turned into a weekend, has turned into a week, has turned into a weight gain.
EVIDENCE AGAINST HOT THOUGHT
There'sno evidence against it. It's a shame I didn't have this thought before I opened the fridge.
MORE REALISTIC THOUGHT
The thought is fine, and is what enabled me to halt before I did any serious damage. I just need to work on the timing.
HOW I FEEL NOW
Glad that I didn't let a nibble become a full blown lapse.
Foolish for even having the nibble.
More focused on remaining abstinent.
Optimistic that I can avoid making the same mistake again.
HOW I MIGHT BEHAVE NOW
Just take a few more minutes to think before I open the fridge.
Do the Thought Record before taking any action - if I had analysed my feelings/urges a bit more, I may not have even nibbled.
In the past when I have had even a teeny little lapse, I have tried to ignore it and it has just snowballed over the course of a few days. I'm hoping that by doing this exercise, I have acknowledged that it has happened, and I have drawn a line under it.
Anyway, a lengthy post!!! Sorry if I've bored you rigid. How are other people getting on with the homework - have you found the Thought Records useful?
Anyhoo - my wheels fell off as once I lapsed I found it hard to get back on the wagon. Ghe first couple of times, I 'got away with it', didn't gain, and indeed sometimes carried on losing a pound of 2. That didn't last long. And I didn't bother with much of the homework. With perfect 20/20 hindsight, I now see how foolish it was to pay for this counselling and not actually take advantage of it or learn from it. My eyes were dazzled by the poundage melting, my mind not concerned with how I would maintain it.
I regained 1 stone 6 lbs, and am treating this all as a fresh start. I am ready, willing and able to reach my goal.
So tonight, we did Thought Records. Didn't really grasp it first time round, but tonight I did. It was like a light going on. I hope none of you mind if I post it here - hopefully someone might find it useful.
WHAT HAPPENED
I came home from my first weigh in, and I went straight to the fridge, and opened the cheese box. I unwrapped each of the cheeses and tasted a morsel off each of them. Put them back in the fridge and ate 2 pickled onions out of the jar.
WHAT WERE MY MOST IMPORTANT THOUGHTS (HOT THOUGHT IN BOLD)
a. I'm so hungry.
b. That cheese is so tasty, it's too good to waste.
c. I'll be back in ketosis by next week, I bet I'll still have a good loss even if I do eat tonight.
d. If I have this cheese, I might as well have some nice toast with it.
e. If I have cheese and toast tonight, it's going to be really hard to stay abstinent over the weekend when my friend is here.
f. The cheese needs to be out of the fridge for at least a couple of hours be at it's best.
g. Idiot!!! I make life hard for myself soemtimes.
HOW I FELT (%)
Annoyed (25%)
Deprived (25%)
Proud (50%)
WHAT I DID/MIGHT HAVE DONE IN THE PAST
Ate all the cheese. And had some hot buttery toast. And then made some popcorn. Or ordered noodles from the Chinese takeaway under my flat. Eaten it, felt sick, and be full of remorse and self loathing. Found it hard to get back into abstinence.
EVIDENCE FOR HOT THOUGHT
When I have laspsed in the past I have found it really hard to get back into abstinence.
I find it especially challenging to stick with the diet around my friends. A small lapse has turned into a weekend, has turned into a week, has turned into a weight gain.
EVIDENCE AGAINST HOT THOUGHT
There'sno evidence against it. It's a shame I didn't have this thought before I opened the fridge.
MORE REALISTIC THOUGHT
The thought is fine, and is what enabled me to halt before I did any serious damage. I just need to work on the timing.
HOW I FEEL NOW
Glad that I didn't let a nibble become a full blown lapse.
Foolish for even having the nibble.
More focused on remaining abstinent.
Optimistic that I can avoid making the same mistake again.
HOW I MIGHT BEHAVE NOW
Just take a few more minutes to think before I open the fridge.
Do the Thought Record before taking any action - if I had analysed my feelings/urges a bit more, I may not have even nibbled.
In the past when I have had even a teeny little lapse, I have tried to ignore it and it has just snowballed over the course of a few days. I'm hoping that by doing this exercise, I have acknowledged that it has happened, and I have drawn a line under it.
Anyway, a lengthy post!!! Sorry if I've bored you rigid. How are other people getting on with the homework - have you found the Thought Records useful?