South Beach Diet - Phase I Beachers - Week of May 6 to 12

This thread is for new folks, old folks restarting and anybody working on Phase I. Post your questions, concerns and helpful hints in here.

(Remember to join us on the Daily Chat too. There's more to life than dieting; it just doesn't feel that way sometimes. )

Does this include STARTING today?:)

I decided I HAVE to get serious about this after

A)Watching The Biggest Loser marathon on Saturday
B)Having a hard time finding something to wear yesterday, because all of my clothes feel too tight.:(

CA85, get in here! It means starting or ongoing for this week. Come on in - the water's fine - and drink lots!

OK, so I am still kinda sick and wanted to start out easy on the exercise. I know its not the best way to loose weight, but from being sick, I managed to take off another 5 pounds and wanted to make sure that it stayed off. So I figured, why not do some Wii sports. Well after some tennis, bowling and golf I tried 2 rounds of boxing. I am sweating buckets right now. I figure until I join a gym, this should be ok if I do at least 30 minutes of vigorous games everyday.

...and its FUN!! :)

Carey

Orangina, be sure you eat some slow carbs if you are exercising. Otherwise, you will be really draggy.

Orangina, be sure you eat some slow carbs if you are exercising. Otherwise, you will be really draggy.

What is a "slow carb"? :?:

Those are the carbs found in vegetables, milk and in legumes like beans and lentils. They are slow or good carbs because they slowly release glucose into your blood, keeping your levels stable and preventing cravings.

Remember this is NOT a low carb diet. Check out the Revised Phase I Food List in the FAQ Section. The food list in the book may be out of date.

Ahh, ok, yes, I have actually been eating tons of veggies, although since I was sick I wanted to see how I would do before adding in the ones that are harder to digest. I have to say I really think that the veggies are a highlight of this plan. I used to live in Italy and the bulk of all of our meals were veggies, and all different kinds, not just broccoli and carrots. After moving back to Canada my eating patterns changed significantly, and alot of those veggies were gone. It feels good to bring them back.

http://www.3fatchicks.net/img/bar-purp/slider-but1/lb/286/160/286/.png

So I have a question about going back on phase I when you back slide... do you do the whole 2 weeks all over again, or do you tailor it to how long you've been off track? I've never been able to find this definitively stated in the book, just vague statements in the case studies.

Right now, I've been bad since easter! :( So I should probably go on Phase I for the full 2 weeks...

comments?

Thanks!!

I'm really desperate to lose weight at this point. I had a good 3 weeks about a month ago and lost 12 pounds. Since then, I've gained back 13 so I'm feeling pretty awful. My clothes are tight again. 5 years ago I spent a year and a half on something called Prism that seems very similar to what I've read about South Beach - eliminating white/refined carbs and focusing on protein and veggies. So - I'm going to start this tonight. Any tips/words of encouragement out there? Thank you!

I don't know if this counts as words of encouragement, but I'm on Day 4 of Phase 1, and doing great. There are moments... but I'm getting past them, in part because I'm having SUCH great results so far.
I weighed and measured myself on Thursday morning, and sort of "tested the waters" with a couple of meals, but I didn't officially start until Friday. I didn't weigh myself on Friday morning, but on Saturday morning, I was down 3 pounds and an inch off my waist. I weighed myself Sunday morning and was down another 2 pounds, and again this morning, and I was down another 2 pounds, for a total of 7 pounds lost over the course of 3 days on the Beach!
This week is going to be a big challenge. Our 7th anniversary was today, and we went out last night to celebrate. We went to Outback Steakhouse, and I had the Victoria's fillet with steamed broccoli, and I didn't even taste the bread. Tomorrow is our daughter's 5th birthday, so it's going to be cupcakes and cake and ice cream city around here for a while, but I'm not even tempted at this point. The results are just too good to throw them away!

MissAnne, I totally agree with you! The results on this plan are phenomenal, and certainly good enough to give up the bland fluffy stuff. The more I think about it, it really gets rid of the "filler" which is good, because I certainly don't need any more stuffing than I already have, lol.

I also find it incredibly easy to stay on program, I really don't feel like I am missing out on much, and wherever the gang wants to eat out, I know that I can join them and eat as well as anyone else at the table. When I was doing weight watchers it seemed much more of a pain in the a$$, trying to figure out how much fat fiber and calories were in a dish, then calculating the points, ugh! In comparison I hardly even feel like I am on a diet, save for the fact that I am loosing weight. Can't get much better than that...!

Carey

Missanne & Freshorangina - thank you so much for your replies! I'm starting out today and I'm really excited to get the momentum started. Your words will help.

So far so good!:) I had a perfect Phase 1 day yesterday, and I already feel a hundred times better than I did the day before!

Hello!

I've been unsuccessful with Atkins this time around, so I'm turning to the comfort of SB! Tomorrow will be my first official day back on, so tonight I'm going to spend some time researching the diet again. I know in the past, I've just tried to eat low fat and low carb w/o really understanding what I've been doing.

Hope everyone is having a great day!

:D:D:D

Getupandgo...just had to point out that we're like twins...I'm also 5'2". My highest weight ever was 160. My lowest was 138. Currently at 146-ish. And my goal is 120.

We're in the same boat here!:)

Hi Getupandgo: if you don't have the book to read, there are some other resources specified in this forum, but there is no substitute for the book. Also there is an overview on the Prevention website:

http://www.prevention.com/category/0,5775,s1-4-86-0-0-0,00.html

I think SB is much easier to stay on than Atkins... it looks like you're off to a great start with 5lbs down!! :)

Getupandgo, :welcome: to The Beach. Be sure to check out the stickies in the FAQ section, particularly the one that compares Atkins and South Beach.

By the way, I think your nickname is terrific! I love positive names!

Just to update... today is Day 5, and as of this morning's weigh in (four days on plan), I've lost 8 pounds!!! I'm totally amazed! Today will be hard - it's my daughter's birthday (there will probably be leftover cupcakes that will tempt me...) and her preschool has a Mother's Tea this afternoon, which will also be trouble. So, I'm going to focus on getting my snacks in and drinking a lot of water, so I'm not tempted!

OK, back at work, and no troubles. Jelly beans out for the others, didn't get tempted. I actually brought with too much food, and its just going to be there for tomorrow. Switched out the coffee for the green tea (Stassen Jasmine Green Tea = AWESOME), salad with salmon, light swiss snack... Lots of water. It feels good to be doing something for myself, and at least it is really starting to make a difference. I had lost 6 lbs the week before starting my first round of SB before my vacation (March 28th), so overall I am down over 30 lbs! What kills me is how EASY it has been. I wore pants today that I haven't worn in over a year, and you know what I realized, they are out of style, and I need new pants for work, lol! I had 2 pairs of "fat pants" that I bought when I gained the weight, and I can't wear them anymore..YAY!!! NO MORE FAT PANTS FOR ME!

Carey :)

Carey, WTG - amazing progress:carrot:

I've lost zero.:( That COULD have something to do with the three cookies I ate last night (oops), but there is good news. My mom decided that she wants to do phase 1 with me, so we're starting today. So last nights mistake was actually just a temporary break before the real deal starts I suppose!:)

Thank you for all of the words of encouragment!!

CA85--wow! We ARE like twins!! Good, we can challenge each other! Did you find that it was hard to break 140? I did, but after I get down to 136, for some reason I always screw up and the weight creeps back on again. I'm hoping the treadmill helps this time, as I wasn't exercising much the last time I lost weight.

I was doing Atkins for a month, and I lost 8 lbs, and then gained 3 last week. I know I messed up, but I still think I should have been down more than 8 lbs. On SB, I lost 10 in the first two weeks...so here I am again!

Karin--I'm going to reread the book--although I think I only have the cookbook onhand. Thanks for the helpful link!

Ruthxxx-thanks for the compliment!! Staying positive is important in this frusterating life, lol.

Absolutely! I actually hovered between about 138-142 for the longest time, but my cravings eventually won and I broke past that...the wrong way.:( Which is why I'm here again, doing phase 1 again.:) I just need to try to break 130 this time, realizing that 140 is not enough for me. Besides, 136 is the weight at which I will no longer be considered "overweight" (although I don't trust this number completely, because body types vary so much).

Hello everyone,

Me and my boyfriend offically started phase I today. So far so good. :)
I just wanted to introduce myself. This is the first time I have been on a diet. A little nervous.

-nee

I am so proud of myself:carrot: I restarted phase 1 yesterday. Last night my MIL (who does most of the cooking our house since she is at home all day) cooked pillau (rice and mutton dish). She used brown rice too which made it even more tempting to have, but I didn't. I had salad and lamb. I didn't cheat.:carrot: :D

hi everybody im new and desperately trying to lose weight i started sbd on may 9 and its going good except a small amount like 2-3 bites of bread which i gulped while dining out its such a wonderful site with so much support and help i just wanted to know are u ppl eating only protein or salads and proteins i hope u understand my question i did atkins 2 yrs ago and it worked and now im really hesitant to add salads to phase 1 so plz tell me wat should i do?

First of all :welcome: to The Beach.

Now, do you have the book and have you read it? You must do this to understand the principles of this plan.

You can also check out the Phase I food list in the FAQ Section where you will see many more foods than just protein. This plan is not like Atkins - it focuses on good carbs and good fats and things like dairy and legumes are allowed.

Check the previous posts in this thread to see what people are eating. It's definitely not just protein. Salads and other veggies are essential as are dairy and legumes during Phase I.

thank you for such a bright welcome i ve ordered the book from amazon n it ll arrrive in a couple of days n i also looked at the food list and i think im getting the hang of things first 2 days on sbd i felt really hungry but yesterday after going thru the list i ate a green leaf salad with my chicken n i didnt feel hungry at all n im gonna do the same today its really easy this way thanks for the help n ill definetly check other posts to see what other ppl are eating

Please don't eat just salads! See the sticky above about vegetables.
Eating legumes and dairy is also very important!

thanks ruthxx i did add veggies n dairy n everything was going well but then came my first mothers day and my hubby brouht me an ice cream cake n i ate a piece so what do u think is gonna happen? should i start over again or should i see how my body responds i mean whether i gain or lose weight i can start over no problem so far i lost about 3 pounds in 4 days