[coolflowers914]

Hi Everyone and good to meet you
I am a carb addict.

I don't even know where to start. Forgive this post, it is kind of a cleansing for me

I started SB yesterday at an all time high of 202.5. I am 5' 4.5", small boned and apple-shaped so this weight was really affecting my daily life. I've yo-yo'd up and down the last 10 years since last child was born...and I feel like it's messed up my metabolism. I'm also in the throes of meno and that's not an easy time to lose either!

I'd given up on losing. I was afraid...my cholesterol was 306 last physical (down to 199 on a statin drug now). At 47, I feel more like 67. The weight really, really hurts all my joints and feet and legs. Carrying most of your weight in your mid-section makes you out of breath a lot too. All in all...I just felt horrid.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to pick up a copy of the South Beach Diet. I read it and re-read it. It made such sense. I was one of those apple-shaped people Dr. Agatson was talking about. Maybe I'm insulin resistant from all the yo-yoing these years and all the carbs. I didn't want to do yet another diet...but I really want to choose a healthy life over health problems within the next 10 years.

I quit smoking last year....my family made fun of me because I was always trying to quit. But you know, the last time finally stuck. I'm looking at this diet the same way. I have tried and tried and tried to lose. I'm hoping this will be the one that sticks.

I would love to meet some of you and hear your stories. Is everyone pretty happy on this? I do know that, unbelievably, I had no hunger my first day at all. In fact, I had to force myself to eat dinner. If that's any indication...I think I'll like this!

Looking forward to chatting with you all~

coolflowers
Week 1
202.5/140
62.5 lbs. to go!

[fuzzy324]

Welcome, coolflowers!

So glad to have you on the beach with us! I remember being where you are back in January when I started...amazed that I wasn't starving. Truly, I haven't felt deprived in the 6 months that I've been on this diet, and I hope the trend holds for you, too.

Happy losing!

[sweet tooth]

Welcome to SBD. You have come to the right place for encouragement and help with any of your diet questions. The wealth of information on this thread is immeasuable...there are so many smart people here (don't count me, though).

I am also new to SBD, but decided to try it after my last medical. The dr. had given me 'heck' about my weight (I had gained 30 pounds this past year after have lost 60 pound the previous year) and suggested that I cut carbs and sugar out of my diet for a month - just to see what happened. When I told DH about it at home, he mentioned to me that everyone that works for him is on the SBD thing and they think it is exceptional. Like you, I bought the book, researched the diet and it made sense for what the dr. had suggested to me. I decided to stay on Phase 1 for a month because I had made a deal with the dr. to cut carbs and sugar for a month. The month actually became 5 1/2 weeks, but I am slowly adding Phase 2 things to the program. I find that, for the most part, I don't miss the carbs, which I thought would be a problem. I often have to force myself to eat because I am not hungry. I did stall last week and was extremely discouraged. However, I had surgery on my mouth the previous week and hardly ate last week. I think the stall was a result of not eating anything, rather than eating the wrong things.

I find that this is an easy program to follow... Good luck on your weight loss, use the people here (they are terrific) and enjoy your weight loss. You can do it.

[Barb0522]

Welcome, coolflowers! You will find the support you are looking for here. Make sure you look through the Frequently Asked Questions and the recipes. You will find lots of good information. I find that I don't crave the sweets and salty snacks any more. I can't wait to go back to my doctor soon to find out what my cholesterol is. She's been after me for years to lose the weight.

[sarahyu]

Hi
I started in January at 187 pounds, now I'm down to 160. I had family visiting for 3 months and the month before that my 13 year old cat who was like my baby got sick and we had to put him to sleep. So the last 4 months have been very traumatic, I was able to stay with the eating plan without any problems.

I've made some bad food choices...watch that peanut butter and the nuts. They have a bad habit of getting eaten without a lot of thought. "I don't know how that peanut butter jar is empty, I just bought it a couple days ago. And that pound package of mixed nuts I got at Trader Joes that was supposed to be my snack for a couple weeks, well...it lasted 2 days.

Lessons learned:
Always use a meauring spoon for the peanut butter and don't eat out of the bag when it comes to the nuts.

I'm only 5' tall. I was up to 197 last year. Slowly I was getting down but when I went to the doctors in December she said that my knee problems were due to osteoarthritis worsened by the excess weight and I had developed high blood pressure. I'm only 40 years old. I can't be having all these "old people" problems.

After 6 months eating this way, my blood pressure is normal, my blood chemistry results are fantastic. My doctor said, "What ever you are doing, keep it up." MY HDL/LDL and glucose were great. And with the weight loss my knees don't hurt. I can actually exercise now without taking the Advil every day.

I went clothes shopping last month and I'm a size 12! I was a size 16W.

So give it a chance, keep with the message board. Ask questions, join the discussions. Have fun, make friends.
Sarah

[ebplus3]

Hello all!! My name is Elissa (ebplus3...I have three kids). I've been reading your boards for the last week or so and decided to sign up myself. I bought the SBD book and have read it a couple of times and have been "on" this diet for almost two weeks now. I don't know what I'm doing wrong because as far as I can tell I'm following the rules, but I'm not losing that 8 - 13 lbs. (or any for that matter!). Other than a few pound fluctuate here or there, I'm not losing. Can somebody please help!!! Like, for example...Sarah...you lost weight. What did you eat the first two weeks? I do the eggs, low fat cheese, lean meats and fish, LOT of salads, veggies and nuts. HELP!!!

Thank you!!!

Elissa

[beachgal]

Welcome, Coolflowers! I think your smoking analogy is great...this just might be the diet that *does* work for you. This is the longest I have been on a diet without cheating in my whole life, and I feel like I could go like this forever. It is so easy for me compared to other diets I have tried. Hopefully you will feel the same way. As you know from quitting smoking, it only happens when you really, really want it. If that's how you feel about the weight, I think any plan will work. If you are addicted to sugar like I am, this one might be the perfect plan for you.

Elissa, can you start a new thread for us and list exactly what you are eating? That will help everyone on the board to understand better what is going on. And if you post it in a thread of your own, more people will see it. Okay? : I'm sure we can get you on the right track!