The Beck Diet Solution: Day 4

We are now on the fourth day of the Beck Diet Solution, and today let's give ourselves some credit. It is true that most dieters can be self-critical when things aren't going to where they want things to be - happened to me when I couldn't finish the whole video workout because I couldn't carry myself long enough to finish it, and it happened to me when I gained back the 6lbs I lost sometime ago. While I am not so self-critical nowadays, I don't really give myself a lot of credits - Pipoy gives them to me... every single day. Not that I don't appreciate myself and my efforts, I just don't do it much often - because it felt narcissistic.

Well, part of loving oneself is by giving praises (even just by thought or a whisper - of course you don't want people to think you're so self-centered and all) and by crediting yourself each time you made a right decision or whenever you did something you thought you couldn't do.


One of the tips Dr. Beck gave was to make your own "Credit Account." For every positive behavior you acknowledge, drop a coin or a bill into one container and after a few weeks or a few months, count all the money and buy yourself a present. This is a tip I sooo love to do, so I checked the kitchen for the would-be partner for this activity. At first, I found a bottle of mayonnaise, but after a while, I saw this old coffee bottle which looks so sexy it has to be my bottle! :) I still haven't dressed it up yet - because I ran out of glue stick, but this weekend I will dress it up and share it here for you to see.

Currently, my credit account has 30 pesos. 20 pesos I gave because of the tears of joy I had when I posted my "Before and After" photo (see previous post) and commended myself for a job well done - enduring the hardships of exercises and cutting back on food and giving up on pork... 5 pesos I added because I smiled at myself and admired my new body while combing my hair in front of the mirror...and 5 pesos I added just now, because I impulsively went over mom's room, checked her closet and pulled out a blouse to see if I can fit into it. Oh wow! I did fit in it! Deym feels great to lose weight! Actually... I am now thinking of spending an hour tomorrow rummaging through mom's blouses to see which ones fit - in time I might open a fashion blog! Hahahaha.

Okay, going back to the topic. Dr. Beck listed some scenarios when you can give yourself a credit and yes, giving myself a credit is a skill I have to learn because whenever I do something awesome I'd always reach up to the heavens and thank God, not realizing I forgot to thank myself for the efforts and the enthusiasm to do it. If we are on the same page, well Dr. Beck shared some suggestions to help us get started:

• By writing down a word credit on a sticky note and place it on the refrigerator, your car's dashboard or in your appointment book.
• Once or twice a day, pull our your diet notebook and reflect about your actions then create a list of credit-worthy behaviors.
• Every time you checked off an item on your to-do list, say something positive to yourself.
• Reflect on your eating behaviors whenever you finish a meal or snack.
  

Of course, it's not all bright and shiny for us... I am sure there will be some instances when we will be self-critical when things aren't reachable even if we already gave it our best shot. Since I am in a life-long process of teaching myself to be positive at all times, I think this activity is all for the win.

Parting words...