The Beacon Program

01/03/2022

08/09/2020

WE LOVE A SIMPLE SKILL. HERE’S ONE THAT’S MIND-BLOWINGLY SIMPLE: USING ICE TO RELIEVE STRESS.
WHAT BETTER SEASON THAN SUMMER TO PUT STRESS ON THE ROCKS.

At Beacon, we use Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and DBT creator Marsha Linehan developed distress-tolerance skills that help people use more adaptive, less destructive strategies when in crisis.

We all face situations that make us feel out of control or cause us to reach for comfort food instead of sitting with difficult emotions.

Cue the TIPP skills from DBT. Today we focus on the “T” in TIPP, which means:

Tip the Temperature! (Read more here: https://beaconprogram.com/ice-as-a-skill/

07/12/2020

TRANSITION TO SUMMER!

This transition to summer can be such a thrill -- or not!! For people with a history of food and weight issues, there might be a shrill of horror rather than a thrill of summer.

Even if you have released some weight and made enormous progress, the well-worn summer groove of fear and panic might set in at the precipice of summer. We get it.

If diet culture has had you in its grip for years, the conditioning when flowers bloom and humidity rises might be to feel dread. Anticipation of bathing suits, beaches, picnics, barbecues, tank tops, jean shorts and sleeveless nights might trigger terror, not excitement. Summer might conjure up dreams of ice cream binges, not sunbathing and swimming. For some, summer means chafing thighs, belly rolls and sweaty strolls.

Years of internal conditioning do not dissipate with the release of weight. It is common to be at a healthy weight and get retraumatized by summer.

But we can reimagine summer and create new memories from this day forward. We can create new conditioning.....

Read more:
https://beaconprogram.com/transition-to-summer/

Photo by Hannah Morgan on Unsplash

07/08/2020

THE MOST PORTABLE SKILL: YOUR IMAGINATION!!

Using your imagination is a valuable skill for building a healthy relationship with food and self. Here is a creative exercise to try: pretend your mind is a movie camera in fast forward mode!!

Imagine you have an urge to grab a slippery treat that you know will steal your serenity. You know, the food that always steals your serenity. Maybe you can’t sleep and decide it is a good idea to eat a couple of scoops of peanut butter from the jar or delude yourself that corn chips are a vegetable. Read more: https://beaconprogram.com/use-your-imagination/

07/06/2020

JUMP FOR JOY!

At Beacon we are advocates of sustainable happiness, even in the face of short-term setbacks. We are in this for the long haul. However, here’s what we see all too often: fear of the other shoe dropping.

Let us explain: When clients enjoy a stretch of serenity, they mar their joy by waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Read more! https://beaconprogram.com/jump-for-joy/

07/03/2020

RECIPE: HERBAL ICED TEA!

On ice!! Herbal teas on ice are delightful. No sugar or sweeteners needed! The fresh fruits and herbs in these four healthy iced teas definitely help naturally sweeten the iced teas. . There are tons of different ways to make …

read more: https://beaconprogram.com/herbal-iced-teas/

06/29/2020

WAVES OF EMOTION

ONE THING WE KNOW AT BEACON IS THAT WHEN WE CREATE A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH OURSELVES AND WITH FOOD, WE DIVE INTO AN OCEAN OF FEELINGS TOO.

We use Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) skills that include emotional regulation, which helps us process and manage our emotions. DBT invites us to see the uniqueness of our human needs in multiple dimensions. It is rare that we feel one feeling at a time. There are usually multiple currents simultaneously.

To read more! https://beaconprogram.com/waves-of-emotions/

06/18/2020

RECIPE: BUTTERY SPINACH SALAD WITH TEMPEH

We love a colorful summer salad that combines interesting texture (pumpkin seeds) with warm ingredients (crumbled tempeh and crispy shallots), along with a buttery tahini dill dressing and peppers for color.

Ingredients

1 cup gluten-free tempeh, broken up into little crumbles
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 shallots, finely chopped
1 medium green pepper, seeded and chopped
4-5 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup buttery tahini dill dressing
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
Buttery Tahini Dill Dressing:

1 cup extra virgin olive oil
juice of 4 fresh lemons
1/2 cup tahini
2 handfuls fresh dill, stems removed
For the Dressing:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor.
For the Salad:

Preheat oven to 375F.
Combine 1 tbsp olive oil, cumin, garlic powder and paprika in a bowl. Add tempeh and mix until coated.
Spread tempeh on a foil-lined tray and bake for 20 minutes until browned.
In the meantime, prepare your dressing per the instructions at the link below. Set aside in the fridge.
Heat remaining oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and cook for 1-2 minutes until softened. Add green pepper and continue to sautee for 4-5 minutes more, until shallots are crisped. Remove from heat and set aside.
Toss greens with dressing, then top with tempeh, sauteed veggies and pumpkin seeds. Divide into bowls and serve.
Prep time: 20 minutes

Serves 2

Recipe taken from One Green Planet: https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-recipe/buttery-spinach-salad-with-crumbled-tempeh-and-crispy-shallots/BUTTERY SPINACH SALAD WITH TEMPEH

06/15/2020

Recipe: Grilled Watermelon, Avocado & Shrimp Salad

We love the philosophy of cooking that everything tastes better grilled!! We are obsessed with a healthy, robust grilled summer salad!! Enjoy!

What you will need:

Gas Grill
Skewers
Platter
Large Bowl
Ingredients:

1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp
3 lb. watermelon, cut into 2-inch wedges
3 spring onions, trimmed, green parts thinly sliced, white parts left whole
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
5 tbsp. olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 lemons, zested and juiced
1⁄2 cup basil leaves
1⁄2 cup mint leaves
1 English cucumber, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Instructions:

Light a grill; thread shrimp onto skewers. Brush shrimp, watermelon, white parts of spring onions, and avocados with 3 tablespoons oil; grill, turning once, until charred, about 4 minutes for shrimp, 7-8 minutes for watermelon, and 2-3 minutes for scallions and avocados. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a platter.
Remove watermelon rind and cut into 1-inch pieces; place in a large bowl. Remove shrimp from skewers and add to bowl with watermelon; cut spring onions into 1-inch pieces and add to bowl. Add spring onion greens, avocados, remaining oil, salt, pepper, lemon zest and juice, basil, mint, and cucumber and toss carefully to combine; transfer to a serving platter. Yield: serves 6, Time: 30 minutes.
Recipe taken from Saveur.com: https://www.saveur.com/grilled-watermelon-avocado-and-shrimp-salad-recipe/

06/12/2020

The 4 C's of Success!

There are many ways to create winning formulas for success! One formula that works -- the four “C's."

Connection / Community / Continuity / Coaching

When it comes to managing our relationship with food and ourselves, doing it solo is a formula for failure. When we rock these concepts, we rock our recovery. For real.

Connection: You've heard it before from us: the opposite of addiction is connection. It is the most powerful shield against the dark forces of food addiction. If we are connected, we have the capacity to thrive and the strength to overcome cravings. That’s right: connection conquers cravings. Nowadays there are myriad ways to creatively connect with our fancy gadgets, social media, support groups galore, bookending text messages before a party and after a party, support groups, Zoom parties, start a sugar-free meetup group, good old-fashioned phone calls, walking buddies and meditation groups.

Community: Be part of a buddy system or power circle. There are 12-step fellowships and a variety of Zoom circles to commune in. Building a power circle builds power building to help with food-related drama. In a power circle, you might even build lasting friendships with people who come to you to know you deeply. Shout out for the Breaking Up With Sugar page!

Continuity: This is paramount. Showing up to the same communities consistently is important. When we spread ourselves around to a wide array of support systems, we are a moving target. Active food addiction is like radar - it loves a moving target. It has a good aim when we are all over the map. An example: we call Sally one day, and Jane the next. Or we try different support groups each month. Filling up on smorgasbords of supports is dangerous. Continuity, on the other hand, provides no opportunity for active addiction to zero in.

Coaching: The best form of connection is a trusted coach who knows your personal struggles, sees your patterns, helps you strategize with skills, and celebrates your victories. One-on-one coaching sessions give you accountability and undivided attention. The support of a dedicated coach can surpass casual supports and the helplessness of a multitude of unskilled friends and it can give a quick boost to get started!

The ideal is to have all the C’s sashaying together at once — it is a perfect concoction for success!!

Shine bright!

Photo by Paweł Czerwiński on Unsplash

06/10/2020

GIFT OF BEGINNER'S MIND!

Changing our relationship with food takes a "Beginner's Mind." That means keeping a wide open mind!! It means acting as if this is the first time you are hearing something. It means being willing to try things as if you have never tried them before. It means letting go of all your opinions, judgements, ideas, techniques and even your beliefs.

This might not be easy. Especially when cynicism and “been there done that” kick in. We get it! We also get that this kind of thinking hijacks hope -- and we are all about hope here at Beacon.

What is hopeful is the idea that we never give up. Every single day is fresh - and anything can happen. This is beginner's mind -- in other words: tabula rasa —clean slate; an absence of preconceived ideas or predetermined goals.

At Beacon we look closely at what gets in the way of our healthy relationship with food and the preconceived ideas that get in the way look something like this: "I will never get this," "here I am again," "who cares." Well, what we say to this is: you will get this, yes -- here you are!! -- and we care!!!

We will tell you that having a beginner's mind will be your bestie on this journey.

This is not possible all of the time. Years of cynicism do not disappear in a flash. So take it slow, observe your thinking and give it your best shot.

Aim to approach this time, this moment as the newest of beginnings. There is cause to have wonder and a sense of hope.

Shine Bright!

Photo by Jack Ray on Unsplash

06/04/2020

RECIPE!! -- SPAGHETTI SQUASH BOATS!

There are so many things to do with spaghetti squash and we love the texture and deliciousness of making a small squash into a whole meal with a mix of protein and veggies.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 spaghetti squash, cut lengthwise and seeded
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup diced yellow onion (approx 1/2 small onion)
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 (4oz) can green chilis, drained
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese (I used Pepperjack, Colby, and Monterey)
Optional: Extra cilantro for garnish
For the sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon oregano
1 cup vegetable stock
3 tablespoons tomato paste
INSTRUCTIONS

For the spaghetti squash boats:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Brush spaghetti squash with one tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place squash cut side down on a baking sheet and bake for 60 minutes, or until squash is tender.
Meanwhile, make the sauce and start preparing your filling.
In a large sauté pan, add olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook another minute, or until garlic is fragrant. Stir in beans and chilis and cook until heated through.
When squash is ready, scrape with a fork to create long strands.
Spoon black bean mixture into squash boats. Top with cheese and place under the broiler for few minutes, until cheese is melted and slightly crispy. Top with enchilada sauce.
Optional: Garnish with extra cilantro.
For the sauce:

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Whisk in chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt and oregano.
Slowly pour in vegetable stock and whisk in tomato paste until lumps disappear.
Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until sauce has thickened.
Spoon sauce over spaghetti squash boats.
Shine Bright!

Recipe taken from: https://karalydon.com/recipes/vegetarian-enchilada-spaghetti-squash-boats-2/

06/03/2020

Quiet food = Quiet Life

Shhhh...we have the best secret for peace of mind and less emotional drama.

Lower the volume of food, and it will lower the volume of life.

The quieter the food, the quieter the life.

When there is less noise and chatter about food choices, we have less drama and upset in our lives. How do we lower the volume of our food?

We create foundations. We have strong pillars. Yes. Imagine three pillars. What is a pillar? It is a structure that provides essential support for something. Key-word alert: ESSENTIAL.

If we want a life that is quiet and peaceful, we can make the best possible decisions — like big life decisions, we need some supports.

The pillars we talk about all the time at Beacon are threefold:

1. Self-Monitoring

2. Meal Regulation

3. Food Plan

We are giving a LOUD SHOUT-OUT to one key pillar that contributes to this quiet mind we want.

Food Plan.

Having a food plan is a sound equalizer. It doesn’t have to be the perfect food plan, but having one helps enormously. At the very least - letting go of the flour and sugar is a major contributor to a quieter mind when it comes to cravings and a noisy brain. Managing the times that you eat and knowing the food groups can absolutely control the volume dial in our brains too.

As a result, we have the bandwidth to think about the fun in the day vs. the food in the day. We don’t have to wonder what we are having for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack. It is there. We have it in our bags, we have it in the fridge, and we have it lined up. Often it is when we get spontaneous about food that the noise level increases. We can reduce those decibels with a plan.

Quiet food. Quiet mind.

Shine Bright!

Photo by Kristina Flour on Unsplash

05/31/2020

YUM!

READY, SET, RECIPE!!

Stuffed mushrooms are a beautiful and well-loved appetizer!

Especially when there is no flour needed!

Ingredients:

20 small mushrooms (white or baby bella mushrooms)
½ red pepper, finely diced
1/8 cup red onion, finely diced
2 green onions, finely diced
¼ cup finely Ecelaial bread crumbs.
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/3 teaspoon dried mustard
1/8 cup chopped fresh parsley + more for garnish
Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Gently wash mushrooms and remove stems. Put stems in a small bowl and place mushroom caps on prepared baking sheet, stem side down.

Place caps in preheated oven and bake 10 minutes or until excess water has leaked out of the mushrooms but they have not yet browned.

Remove caps from oven (keep oven on) and place them, top side down, onto paper towels to cool slightly.

To make filling, finely dice mushroom stems into small pieces and place in a bowl. Add diced pepper, onions, toasted bread crumbs or tortilla chips, nutritional yeast, olive oil, cumin, salt, pepper, dried mustard and parsley and stir to combine ingredients.

Spoon dollops of filling into cooked caps, pressing to pack filling into each cap and adding more filling to mound.

Reline the baking sheet with fresh parchment paper. Place filled caps onto prepared baking sheet. Place in preheated oven and bake 10 minutes or until mushrooms are lightly browned and filling is crispy. (Watch to be sure caps do not overcook.)

Serve warm.

Recipe taken from: gfjules.com

05/28/2020

Permission To Feel

When it comes to feelings, we don’t have to wait for someone to hand us a permission slip to feel them. We can give permission to ourselves to feel the full range of our feelings -- like sadness, gladness, grief, peace, contentment, worry, helplessness, joy, anger, fear, fear and more fear — we get to have them all.

Life can get overwhelming. No one escapes hard times as we float along in our little boats on this ocean of life, but we are all in the same storm when it comes to our relationship with food and ourselves.

Stuffing ourselves with food might be familiar, and we hold onto food and food behaviors for safety when we think we might drown in feelings.

The opposite of addiction is connection. With added support, it is easier to sustain the high, low and medium tides. Sometimes we have many feelings all at once.

In the DBT language here at Beacon, we use the word dialectic. A dialectic is a synthesis or integration of opposites. So, at the same time we might feel some contentment and worry, we might have gratitude and fear. All are okay! It is when we are not giving ourselves permission to feel the full array of our feelings that we get off track.

We promise you this: if you give yourself permission to feel your feelings, you will see how they come and they go — just like the waves, just like clouds overhead.

Marc Brackett, the founding director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, makes a persuasive case in his book Permission to Feel. He writes that our feelings aren’t impediments. In fact, they provide important information that can change our lives for the better – when we give ourselves permission to feel them. Just like us, he uses acronyms. He uses the word RULER, which is made up of five emotional-intelligence skills for accessing feelings.

Recognizing

Understanding

Labeling

Expressing

Regulating

This is a practice - and we love all sorts of practices at Beacon! The practice challenge today is this: give yourself permission to have all the feelings, because it will lead to a truly amazing life. Give yourself permission to get the support you need.

Oh, and a beautiful quote as an endnote:

“Let everything happen to you. Beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.” — Rainer Maria Rilke

Shine Bright!

Photo by Sean O. on Unsplash

05/27/2020

Mmm, Mmmm good!

Once in a while a cozy soup is so satisfying. Add one portion of a healthy flour-free cracker and yum! One of our fave cracker brands has a simple recipe for when you are in a soup mood!

Classic Tomato Soup - enjoy with one serving of Mary's Gone Crackers

(gluten free)

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 90 minutes

INGREDIENTS

•3 tablespoons butter or oil of choice

•1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

•1 small carrot, finely chopped

•2 cloves of smashed, peeled garlic

•3 cups chicken or vegetable stock

•28 oz can of whole, peeled tomatoes, pureed in the juice

•1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

•Salt & pepper to taste

PREPARATION

•Heat a large pot over medium heat;

•Add the butter/oil and allow to heat;

•Add the onion, carrot and garlic, cooking until soft (about 8 minutes) – turn down the heat if it starts to brown;

•Add the stock, tomatoes and thyme;

•Bring to a boil, stirring to ensure the starch is incorporated;

•Reduce heat, simmer for 40 minutes;

•Turn off the heat and allow the soup to cool before processing in a food processor or blender in batches;

•Serve with Mary's Gone Crackers & enjoy!

Recipe taken from:

https://www.marysgonecrackers.com/recipe/classic-tomato-soup/

05/24/2020

WE INVITE YOU TO CONTEMPLATE SOMETHING WITH US.

SHORT AND SWEET:

If you are wondering WHY you might be compulsively overeating or emotional eating.

… and you really want to know WHY.

….and you simply can’t figure it out.

STOP.

Stop compulsively overeating or emotional eating.

You will have the answer.

We know. It is a humbling little inquiry that leads to much deeper questions, but here’s the most magnificent and significant pondering of all: It is possible to end the exhaustion and all the diet drama and trauma by proclaiming, “Enough is enough,” and practice some skills - and we have loads of skills, my friends!

One of the first is stopping — and you are in the right place here on our site where we have oodles of tips and tools on how to stay stopped —- plus we have the best coaches in the world! --- because, here's the thing, the biggest prize of all is this: your big beautiful life awaits!

We’ve got your back.

We love you.

Shine Bright!

Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash

05/21/2020

LISTS ARE YOUR POWER TOOLS!

When we are stressed, overwhelmed, underwhelmed or just plain tired, our brain can shut down, and suddenly we are in a meltdown and wise mind had gone missing.

Solution: We grab our list.

What list?

The list of 4 at-a-glance skills created to have on hand Be-4 a triggering event.

Like when you are hungry and shopping (never a wise-mind thing to do), or when you are in a conflict with a roommate and you are about to scream at them, or when suddenly you are hungry at 12:30 and lunch just happened at 12:15. There are so many touchy or stressful or indecisive moments we might encounter that were not, shall we say, planned!

A cheat sheet can help us manage our emotions — and it can lead us to the next right action. We want a sense of inner mastery, but sometimes a prompt helps us be proactive! — not reactive!

So when the brain shuts down under stress and it needs a brain boost to recalibrate and reorganize - go at it! Grab that mini crib note to ace the situation! Here is where the at-a-glance little list comes in.

Simple: Jot down 4 skills on a piece of paper to put in your pocket or in the notes section of your phone.

Let’s call it a Be-4 list!

An example:

STOP, breathe
Take a walk
Call/text a friend
Put ice on your neck
Whatever is on your B-4 list will be a barrier between you and a harmful behavior.

How could something so simple work? It does.

Don’t knock it ’til ya try it!

Shine Bright!

Photo by Angèle Kamp on Unsplash

05/19/2020

My loves! I have literally been manifesting this forEVER and can hardly contain my excitement for the launch of the NEW virtual Foundations Coaching Group!!!

I've lined up my incredible team of Behavioral Coaches from Beacon to help you achieve your food and weight goals, increase accountability, build your power circle, and enhance your healthy relationship with food.

Added bonus...if you register before Wed, May 20th midnight EST you get 20% off!!! Click the link below for more deets:

https://mollycarmel.lpages.co/foundations-group-coaching-sp/

Yay!!!!! 🥳🥳🥳

05/19/2020

RECIPE!!

We love a wholesome vegan dish, especially when it has no sugar & flour -- and when it is hearty and healthy. Lentils are so satisfying and we bet you have plenty in your cabinet as we speak!

Healthy Indian Potato & Lentil Cakes

2 medium sized potatoes

1/2 cup of orange split lentils

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 tablespoon mustard seeds

Paste Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped coriander

1/4 cup chopped mint

2 fresh green chilies

2 tablespoons tamarind paste

2 cloves black garlic (normal garlic is fine if you don’t have black)

Pinch of salt

Oil for frying

Here's what you do!

1. Cook lentils. Add a little oil to a pan, add the turmeric, mustard seeds and curry powder and allow to cook for 2 minutes. Add the lentils and stir them around the spices for 1 minute. Add 11/2 cups of water to the pan. Bring to boil and allow to boil for a couple of minutes. Then simmer until water has gone and lentils are cooked. (About 25 minutes)

2. Cook potatoes. Just wash the potatoes, don’t peel them (more nutrients this way!). Chop into small pieces, place in a pan with cold water, bring to the boil and then simmer until they are soft. (About 20 minutes) Drain and then mash them without butter, cream or milk. (You want to keep the patty dry)

3. Make the paste. Add all the ingredients to a small blender and whiz until you have formed a paste. (Note you will only be using 1 1/2 tablespoon of this paste. There will be left overs for another day.)

4. Bring them all together. Wait until lentils and potatoes are cool. Place in a bowl and add 11/2tbsp of the paste. Mix them all together.

5 Form into 6 patties. Dust the outside of each patty with a little flour (optional)

6. Heat a little olive oil in a fry pan, and cook patties until brown on each side. Don’t overcrowd the fry pan.

Shine Bright!

Recipe taken from: https://kriscarr.com/recipe/healthy-indian-potato-lentil-cakes/

These are so easy to make and even easier to devour.

05/12/2020

Creature Comfort vs Comfort Food!

Sweetness alert!! We're about to get a wee bit corny and a wee bit cute. Mainstreaming cuteness is mandatory in a time of crisis. So here’s to NOT using excess food and using healthy distractions instead!

At Beacon, we are all about developing skills instead of turning to food to "soothe". One skill we love is a pure, unadulterated overindulgence that has nothing to do with warming up the stove, and everything to do with warming up the heart.

Cuddling up with your pet, or a viral puppy or kitty video is a coping skill we ADORE. Hit replay and scroll the cuteness. We are begging you to do this for 5 minutes or 500 minutes a day. Why? It’s fun, and ---- there is science behind it!

Pet therapy is excellent for physical and emotional health. It comes down to a hormone called oxytocin. Sometimes known as the "cuddle hormone" or the "love hormone,” because it is released when people snuggle up or bond socially.

Who doesn’t feel a smidge better just looking into the eyes of pure animal love? Interacting with animals increases levels of oxytocin, according to the Research Center for Human/Animal Interaction at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. Emotionally this is A-MA-ZING. And access to animals reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Other benefits include simply feeling cozy inside and smiling!

If you don’t have a pet of your own — borrow, foster, or just click onto some cuteness on your computer screen.

The best “eye candy” ever!

Shine Bright!

Photo by Kim Davies on Unsplash

05/10/2020

Self-Love 💕in a FREE webinar? Yesssss, please!

Note from Molly about an amazing webinar - Wednesday!

Friends, I am soooo excited to be chatting with one of my fave therapists and friends, in our free upcoming webinar: NAVIGATING YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOURSELF IN THE TIMES OF CORONA.

So be sure to sign up today - tell allllll your friends and family 👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 and get ready... this is going to be everything + MORE!!!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Here are the deets:
🔹 Wed, May 13th, 2020
🔹 7:00 PM EST
🔹 Register for free here: https://view.flodesk.com/pages/5eaefdc682272f0026fe81ba

05/07/2020

EMOTIONAL IMMUNITY!

We are hearing about underlying conditions and the role they play in our physical immunity.

Emotional immunity is just as important!

Emotional and physical immunity. That’s right. Both our emotional and physical immune systems need our utmost attention. We know you know this already, but we love to nudge in our oh so delicate way!

Understanding our underlying emotional and physical conditions and how they impact our lives is key. At Beacon we are strong advocates of being in our absolute best physical health. We use our skill lens with a soft empathetic filter to see ways that we might use food as a coping skill. It is typically an “underlying” condition that causes us to overeat. Rarely is it true hunger.

As we say alllll the time: food is NOT a coping skill. The more we use our actual coping skills, the healthier our emotional immune system will be. We don’t like to dwell on the dark side, but let’s take a beat here to remind you that weight-related issues can be fatal. Not only when it comes to your life — but when it comes to the spirit too.

These are the hard facts. According to the CDC, obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer that are some of the leading causes of preventable premature death. PLEASE, pretty please, keep in mind this stuff is serious!

Speaking of PLEASE, we love a good acronym at Beacon!

One of the primary skills in DBT is emotional regulation and one strategy we recommend is based on the word PLEASE(S): Let’s break it down!

P L E A S E (S)

The gist: Do what PLEASES your mind and body — both physically and emotionally.

P: Physical Health: Stay healthy physically.

L: Logging: Log your food.

E: Enjoying Mind and Body Exercise: Make it fun!

A: Abstaining from Mood Altering Substances.

S: Sleeping: Simply that — get abundant sleep.

E: Eating: Eat well — so important!

S: Spirituality: Doing a spiritual practice or mindfulness practice.

Emotional and physical immunity by any means necessary is not only pleasing, but it is also the most powerful thing we can do for ourselves.

Please keep it in mind because we adore you.

Shine Bright!

Photo by KS KYUNG on Unsplash

05/06/2020

LETTER TO SELF

At Beacon, letter writing is a thing. We send a love letter out every Sunday offering up all sorts of strategies and good news -- because, well, we adore you... we're also HUGE fans of YOU writing all kinds of letters! Since many of us are hunkered down at home, this may be the perfect time to pull out your pen and paper...

It is pretty easy, and an excellent tool that builds on the skills we are using to maintain a healthy relationship with our food and our lives.

In DBT a skill set is Interpersonal Effectiveness that helps us attend to relationships -- and we know that richer relationships with others start with a richer relationship with self. These skills are ENHANCED with that deeper relationship with self. So that’s why we want you to become your number one fan.

The idea of the day: Fanmail!

Simple. Bring out some pretty stationery and a lovely fine point pen - or whatever you have laying around the house. Post-it notes and postcards are okay too.

This is simply about writing a letter to yourself.

And hey, if you're thinking this is NOT a simple exercise for you. We get it, and here’s a tip: surrender perfectionism -- you are the only reader, be kind, and push through resistance by starting small.

Keep in mind how good it feels when any writing is done. As the great American writer and satirist, Dorothy Parker, was known to say, “I hate writing, I love having written.”

Here are some letter writing exercises that can bring you to a deeper connection to who you are, who you want to be, and what you want to let go of. Pick one!

1. The farewell letter. As you may know, a big thing in Molly Carmel's, Breaking Up With Sugar book is this: Write a breakup letter to sugar and let all the feelings rip as you kick sugar to the curb. Signed, sealed, delivered. No reply necessary!

2. Love letter to self: Yup, we suggest a big swoon to self. Write about how you want to feel six months after your breakup. At our 8-week Core group this is one of the final exercises, and, we offer to mail it to you in six months. Or just write "I love you" over and over. Pretty wild huh?

3. The rant: The angry letter. Yeah, write that rant to Sugar or to that harsh inner critic. You can even create a ritual where you light a flame to the letter and symbolically release all that it represents. Burn up confusion, criticism or craving. P**f!

4. Gratitude letter: Write a thank you note to self. We hear about gratitude journals, and instead, this can be in the form of a short & sweet snail mail to self -- and in three days, voila, a gift to self that lands in your mailbox at a moment when you need it most.

5. Letter to distant self: The simple act of penning a note to your future self 20 years from now, 10 years or 66 days from now can be powerful. What choices today could have far-reaching implications? Or far-reaching healing and joy?

5.5. Pen pal: Hey, as extra credit you can write to a friend. Remember pen pals? Snail-mail? Surprise them with an inspirational quote or love note. Think about that warm fuzzy feeling you get when opening up your mailbox and seeing something other than ads and bills.

Writing letters can be extremely therapeutic as they ignite insights and offer perspective as we build a healthy relationship with food and ourselves.

Write soon!

Sincerely yours,

Your Team at Beacon.

P.S. We love you.

Shine Bright!

Photo by Diane Helentjaris on Unsplash