This thread is for all new and returning Phase I folks.
Please post your successes, problems and helpful hints in this thread where we can all share. If you are new, feel free to join in - there's lots of support here.
Hi! I am just about finished my first week of phase one and have done pretty good. I am gonna weigh tomorrow and see if I have lost anything. I have a total weakness for sugar so that has been HARD. I made the peanut butter cookies from the recipe thread and that has helped my cravings. On to week 2 . . . .
I'm nearing the end of my first week as well. It went smoother than I thought it would and I found I really don't have a craving for refined carbs at all (but for some reason, I really really *really* want an apple -- go figure). I did feel REALLY hungry the first few days. Not sure what that was about but I adjusted my intake (added more vegetables & beans) and am doing much better.
I looked at the pb cookies, shine, but didn't make them. How did they turn out? I tried the bean brownies and didn't like them at all. Too splenda-y. I'm a little concerned that making a bunch of the dessert recipes will steer me away from the whole, healthy foods I've been eating so I think I'll resist.
At least for another week.
Hey all,
So I am starting Ph 1 again. I had to get the cocktails under control. So far I haven't had a drink since Tuesday and tomorrow I plan on starting Ph 1 again.
I am also getting up in the morning and going to the Y now that my shoulder is better and I can work out again.
Yay for a good week Spooky! The cookies also had a splenda after taste. I thought they were okay otherwise, but my dh hated them. I was desperate for something sweet. I've also been having some sugar free candy, but I need to lay off of it this week and really try to get rid of that sugar craving.
mmacaskill - Good luck and have a great workout tomorrow!!
Hi, I started P1 yesterday with my husband, this is my second time around and we'll see how it goes.
Yesterday's Menu:
Breakfast: Egg Omelet with salsa and provolone cheese, turkey bacon. Decaf Tea with Splenda
Snack: Cheese stick
Lunch: Panfried Tilapia with bell peppers, tomato salad
Snack: pistachios
Dinner: Sliced chicken, Roasted Zucchini with bell peppers and onions, green salad
Mondays Menu:
Breakfast: Chocolate Cheesecake Smoothie (cottage cheese, milk, splenda, sugar-free cocoa mix in blender)
Snack: cheese stick
Lunch: Leftover chicken and roasted veggies with salad
Snack: lettuce wrap with ham and cheese and salsa-sour cream dip
Dinner: Roasted Vegetable soup with cheddar cheese
Dessert: maybe a sugar-free fudgesicle
mmacaskill: Good luck! I know sometimes alcohol can sabotage the best diet plan -- I used to go out once a week for pub trivia and that led to beer (and more beer) and bad choices (chicken wings always sound like a good idea after 2-3 beers). Now we host a 'game night' at our house and invite friends over and have healthy snacks and cocktails for those who wish to have them. For some reason I don't feel as much pressure to drink along with them. Go figure.
shine: YAY! Did you weigh this morning? How much did you lose? Good luck on week 2. I really haven't had any sugar cravings which is CRAZY -- if you only knew the crap I was eating before I started SBD.
dulcita: Good luck this week! I'm sure you'll do great.
AFM: I weighed this morning. Down an amazing 5.8#. The first week I felt a little 'off' the first few days - headache, sort of 'out there'. Difficult to explain. Now I feel better and I've sort of gotten into the swing of things and this plan is not difficult to stick to at all. No sugar cravings! I love it. I am looking forward to P2 so I can have an apple.
I did my 30 minutes on the elliptical and did my strength training. So 60 minutes of exercise.I'm off to the grocery store to stock up on cheese sticks and other PH 1 friendly food.
Spooky--I think you're on to something with the deserts. The first time I did Ph1, I stayed away from them, and had some amazing NSA icecream that DH got me about halfway through. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed it, I ate a small amount and saved the rest for later. But I didn't crave it and had more 4 days later or something like that. I didn't really want it. The second time I did Ph1, I started with the deserts on Day 2 or something like that. Even though they were Splenda, it was all downhill from there.
Dulcita--Your menus sound great! Good luck!
I'm starting Ph1 again. It seems like I'm starting over and over and over, but eventually I'll figure out what works. I have two little boys (3 and 10 mo) and until recently worked full time, but now I'm a SAHM. So I'm trying to figure out how to manage everything. I've decided that things have to be simple, and I can't plan to sit down for a meal. Even the meals that we are sitting down to, I'm feeding someone, getting something for someone, up, down, up, down, etc. So I realized that when the boys are napping, I CAN cut up veggies. And from now on, all my meals will be precut veggies (even if it's romaine lettuce leaves) that I can snack on while I'm preparing the boys' food, or feeding them, or getting them something or cleaning up.
Today I was soooo glad to live where I do. We have a discount produce place called Randazzo's and I went there to stock up on fruits and veggies. I'm so amazed at the prices (like red peppers for $0.99 a pound instead of 3 for $4 like they are at the grocery store, or red cabbage for $0.22 a pound), and the quality today was fabulous. So I'm ready to go!
Something that shocked me is that since I'm starting (again!) I took my measurements today and wrote them on a scrap of paper. Then I found a book where I wrote my measurements last June when I started to make a real effort to go to the gym (not perfect, but I've been trying). My weight hasn't changed, but I've lost about 2 inches on every measurement (bust, waist, hips), so the gym must be working!
fireball - it is difficult to actually sit down to a meal with kids....oh man, believe me, I know. You can also do things like make lettuce wraps ahead of time and wrap them in plastic wrap - they will be ready and waiting when you are ready to eat. I made a little stack of them this morning while DS was napping - I ate two of them and some cut veggies for lunch while DS ate his pasta. I usually use 1 romaine leaf (or butter lettuce, whatever looks good), 1 slice of all natural lunch meat and a small sprinkling of cheese as a base and then add whatever veggies I want - broccoli slaw mix is really a favorite).
These are the easiest for me, but I've also many times made up a bean salad and kept it in the fridge to just grab and go (it was especially easy if it was pre-portioned into containers). Hard boiled eggs are also good to have on hand. It is important to have protein with your meals, even though you aren't able to sit down to a full meal. There are lots of ways to incorporate grab and go proteins into your meals. Veggies are important, but it is the protein that will keep you going and full until your next snack or meal.
Just checking in as I cant remember when I last poked my nose in here- maybe a week ago? two?
Weighed myself today and Im down a good 4 lbs from when I started *yay!* which is amazing considering we went out of town twice in the last two weeks for 4 days at a time and I didnt have much control over what I could eat (or when- one trip was overseas). I had done a good three days of P1 before hand which I think helped keep the sugar and carb cravings down to a minimum. Must have ended up "carb cycling" in some way and reassured the body after a scant three days that it was ok to eat up some of those excess calories laying around!
Anyway- will be going back on P1 here for the next few days- until the weekend when my Swedish in-laws are arriving for their first visit to the US and meeting my parents for the first time for Thanksgiving. I do find I get into the nonsugar craving mood rather quickly when I swap vegetables in, so perhaps this cycling is ok and works for me rather than going whole hog on P1- though I do know how easy it is to get into a backsliding rut! Instead I start to crave salads and veggies and carry around a little box of veggies to snack on.
I have found Costco to be the best for veggie purchasing- I can feed the two of us for two weeks on one large bag of romaine, a box of mixed greens, a big bag of cut broccoli florets, a bag of 6 red peppers, and a three pack of cucumbers (all for around $20? $15?) for snacks and dinners and cooking materials. A little pricey, but not nearly as pricey as when you try and buy all that at the grocery store- what is up with $2.29 at Trader Joes for a single English cuke!?
Oh! Will also be starting the Couch-to-5K program tonight- I need something structured like that to focus on and since I used to run but fell off THAT wagon too.... this should be a good way to build things up again and get the boy to jog as well!
Last edited by bertinecranston; 11-17-2008 at 04:36 PM.
Hi all!
Just running in while the kids are sleeping and my deep dish pizza "crust" is cooking. I am starting week 2 of P1 today and it is going well for me. DH is feeling the "pain" of no flour tortillas or french fries, but I'm really okay with this.
Went to a bridal shower yesterday. So I had lettuce wrapped lf cheese and lunch meat before I got there. Once there I was happy to see it was a fondue party with chicken breast and fresh veggies! I left all the other stuff alone. I'm pretty pleased with myself!
Went shopping this AM and bought veggies that are all washed, cut, and in the pan to roast in a little bit. Hopefully, they will last more than just tonight. DH and my mom are in love with the roasted veggies in the SBD book! They are eating them up too! Now if I could get my 5 year old to eat them. I told her she had to eat one piece of zucchini last week, and she ended up throwing up her whole dinner (luckily) in the kitchen sink!
That's it for now.
Thanks for being here!
TripMom
Hi, I had a really good P1 day yesterday, my cheesecake smoothie was really good, I'm glad I found that recipe on the the SB recipe section, and my dinner was amazing! I roasted tomatoes, leeks, onions, garlic, celery and carrots (I know, I cheated a little, but it was only 2 carrots for a whole stockpot of soup and I figured that kind of cheating was better than eating my kids snack cakes). Anway, I roasted the veggies with olive oil, salt and pepper at 420 for 1 hour, then peeled the tomatoes and put them in a stock pot with 2 cups of vegetable broth, dried basil, dried oregano and some water and then I pureed that in the food processor. Served it with fat-free plain sour cream and some shredded cheddar, it was so good! And since I cheated with the carrots I didn't have my popsicle after dinner.
Today's menu:
Breakfast: Egg substitute omelet, spinach, salsa verde, and black beans
Snack: Tomato skins (from the roasted tomatoes, they are actually quite tasty) with 1 cheese stick
Lunch: Leftover Roasted Vegetable Soup
Snack: Pistachios
Dinner: Rachael Ray's Salad Capricciosa (Spinach, marinated mushrooms, arthichokes, bell peppers, prosciutto, pesto and fresh mozzarella)
Dessert: maybe some sugar-free jello
So I just started today. I'm gonna make the Grilled Salmon with Rosemry tonight and Steamed Asparagus. I tried SBD several years ago and made it ill about day 12 and had lost 9lbs. This time I plan on sticking with it and would like to lose 40lbs by my birthday in March. I've had a bit of success with losing weight since July but the last month and half I went of tracking my food intake and I haven't been making it to the gym. So I have gained back 6.8lbs since my low back on Sept 22. So I am not happy about that and yesterday I decided to do something about it! So I made a list before I went to the store and planned the next 4days out for Phase I. I can't wait to see the results in the next 14 days and to start a Phase II and go on my way to my goal.
Phase I Chick Check Thread - Week of Nov. 16
This thread is for all new and returning Phase I folks.
