DAY 36: Long Live Tinkerbell

The sixth and final week is about fine-tuning our new skills, so the step for Day 36 is believing in your diet success.

I have been struggling a little with this concept. I do recognize my diet is successful and that it's because of the work I've been doing. But because my transformation into someone who thinks like a thin person was so dramatic and sudden, I don't have a lot of faith yet that this is the real me, someone I can sustain being. Honestly, I keep expecting to wake up from this dream and find myself emptying out a bakery display case directly into my mouth.

Thank goodness Dr. Beck addresses these doubts. She points out that, "You now have critical skills that you didn't have in the past, and you've learned how to use them consistently and successfully... Your progress won't disappear as long as you continue to use your tools".

To keep myself reminded of these points, she recommends creating a Believe It! Response Card, and so I have:

Believe It!

I'm losing weight because I've learned how:

• I motivate myself with my ARC and other Response Cards and by giving myself credit.


• I eat more slowly and mindfully, planning ahead what I should eat and saying NO CHOICE to what I shouldn't eat.


• I don't fight as much against things I don't like; I say "Oh, well".


• I know how to guard against overeating when dining out, on vacation, or feeling upset.

For further insurance, I created these Response Cards too:

Sabotaging Thought: If I start to believe that I can do this, I'll jinx myself.
Helpful Response: On the contrary, if I believe I can't do this, then I'm likely to run into trouble when dieting gets tougher. If I build up my confidence, I'll be able to keep plugging away.

Sabotaging Thought: If I recognize my progress, I'll get too confident and start to loosen up.
Helpful Response: I'll be able to catch myself, as long as I fill out the to-do lists every day.

Reading these three Response Cards every day, as well as rereading this blog from time to time, will help keep Tinkerbell (and my diet) alive and well!

It doesn't hurt that I've also reached my first goal before the end of the 6 weeks! I lost another pound, so I've lost the 5 lbs. I aimed for 26 days ago! Whether I believe I can keep doing this, I am so impressed that I've done this much!