Keep Calm and Spook/Spark on

Happy Halloween!

My costume for today is some gym clothes, and I am going out as the new, improved me. Well, I'm going to the gym anyway!!

A few of you got the impression that I am already IN maintenance, and that is just not true. I hope to be there within the month, but I have not finished the first segment of this journey, YET!

As I mentioned the other day, I got the Beck book. (The Beck Diet Solution...train your brain to think like a thin person Judith S. Beck Ph.D.)

I am starting to think that maybe we all need to read this book. I am reading this very slowly, and really taking all of her words to heart.

One of the things she starts with, is that she will never use the word "cheat", as in "cheating" on your diet. Here's what she says about that word:

"Too many dieters have an all-or-nothing thoughts about their eating: ""Either I'm perfect on this diet or I've cheated...If I've cheated, I've blown it -- I may as well continue to cheat for the rest of the day/week/month/year.""

Here's what she THINKS you should say to yourself:
"Okay, so I ate something I didn't plan to eat, or I ate more than I was supposed to. It was just a mistake, no big deal...I will get back on track for the rest of the day".

Hopefully us Sparkers are already using scenario B!!

We are all heading into what I would think would be the most dangerous part of the year for us healthy eaters. Starting with Halloween and it's infernal candy, then moving onto Thanksgiving and all the casseroles, pies, gravy, etc. Then, Christmas with all the goodies everyone bakes, fattening and useless calories everywhere.

This is the EXACT right time to arm yourself with a really positive and impermeable shield. If you have the tools to say no, if you are so determined that no food will ever taste as good as you feel, and you know exactly what you can eat, and the approximate calories, you will be able to sail through this time of year, and just enjoy it for what it truly is for....time with families and friends.

Beck and I are going to take this Season by storm. I am going out to California to visit my parents for Christmas, and I am so excited to be able to go out there on maintenance and blow them away, in a good way. I cannot wait to see them!

Keep calm and spook/Spark on.