Hi everyone,
I have been on South Beach since November 1 (and have been lurking here since then), have lost up to 11 lbs (back down to 8 lbs lost today) and I'm starting to get really frustrated becuase I have hit a plateau! I was down to 152, 11 lbs gone on December 1st, now I'm wavering between that and 155 since then! What is wrong? One thing I have decided to do is start tracking weight watchers points along with south beach eating...I realized that I'm about 5 pts over where I should be every day. I guess I'm just frustrated that I have to resort to this because I was enjoying about the "no counting" aspect of south beach. I'm really just venting but if anyone has any suggestions I would love them. You seem like an extremely knowledgable group! Thank you!
Why don't you post your menu? You may not be getting the 4 1/2 cups of vegetables you should be getting but it is often easier to tell when we can see what you are eating.
Food Today:
1.5 poached eggs
1 cup tea with nonfat milk
2 Pieces lunchmeat
Baked chicken breast
2 cups Brussels sprouts
Dungeness Crab with garlic & I can’t believe it’s not butter light
1 glass white Wine
1.5 cups Tomato soup (from sb diet cookbook)
Food Today:
Scrambled egg whites with mushrooms and onions
Tea with nonfat milk
15 Peanuts
Baked chicken breast
1.5 cups Brussels sprouts
½ c.Butternut squash
2 babybel light cheeses
1 c. Spaghetti squash
Shrimp scampi (from south beach diet cookbook)
Glass of white Wine
Food Today:
Egg whites scramble with mushrooms and onions
2 slices Lunchmeat
1 c. Black beans
1 c.spaghetti squash with 1 tbsp pesto
Ham and cheese slices (deli tray)
Bbq’d filet mignon
1 artichoke with garlic mayo
1 1/2 C. Light Caesar salad (no croutons)
Looks like I'm maybe not getting in all 4 1/2 cups of vegetables a day. I feel like I eat so many vegetables though! What do you guys do to get all of your vegetables in? Any suggestions? Also, maybe I shouldn't drink wine? I know its supposed to be ok on phase II, but maybe I should omit it altogether? Thanks for your help!
You really need to up those veggies...I always plateau if I do not eat enough. Drink V8..snack on raw veggies, add veggies to your soups, add veggies to your eggs...Don't give up...and you don't need to combine the WW points...just add the veggies and drink your water...Also, don't eat too late in the day! Let me know if you need any help.....
Kathy
Some veggie soup before dinner is a big help - not only is it an easy way to get more veggies in, but it also helps fill you up so you don't eat more of the fattier stuff at dinner. I make Mamacita's Amazing Vegetable Soup from the phase 1 soups & stews recipes forum (with a few adjustments).
Adding beans to soups and salads helps a lot, too - it adds fiber, which makes you feel more full. I keep a good supply of navy and great northern beans in the pantry (be sure to get beans w/o added sugar and rinse them well).
Also, like Schatzi said, V-8 is a good way to sneak some more veggies in - and I find it to be more palatable first thing in the morning than a salad!
We eat raw veggies with hummus as an afternoon snack.
I have munching on veggies all day, and I already planned on making SOME sort of vegetable soup. I'll check out that Mamacita's recipie, I had just planned on making weight watchers vegetable soup. Another question, how do you count your V-8 towards your total vegetables? If you drink a cup of it, does that count as a cup of vegetables? Thanks!
I'll let someone else answer about the V8 since I don't drink it.
I love roasted vegetables with dinner. I add veggies everywhere I can. Spinach can be added to most casseroles and soups. I snack on raw cauliflower or raw zucchini or red pepper. You can eat it with hummus if you like although I like it plain. The soup sounds good. I think I'll have to make some up myself.
My dinner tonight is pork tenderloin, rice for DH and Brian and cabbage for me. I'm fixing asparagus and brocolli for the vegetables. I've been eating off plan more with the holidays so I'm cutting back my starches for a week to compensate.
DH and I drink a can of V-8 with breakfast in the morning and I make sure we each have 2 cups of veggies with lunch and then 2 cups with dinner. How about the WW Garden Vegetable Soup (o points) omit carrots for phase 1. What about milk?? You really should be getting in more Skim Milk and it is said to help boast weight loss. Try adding at least1 glass daily.
Thank you so much for your replies and advice. I ate a TON of veggies yesterday and I went to Trader Joe's last night and stocked up on more. Thanks for the milk advice Viking, I hadn't even considered that! I do put skim milk in my tea and I eat cheese and ricotta cheese and cottgae cheese, so I figured I was getting plenty of dairy.
Barb, you are amazing! You have lost so much. Are you happy with this plan on a long-term basis?
I love South Beach! I enjoy cooking and it has gotten natural for me to eat this way. I do occasionally eat off plan now that I am close to goal but I don't use that as an excuse to resume my old bad habits. I truly do see this as a way of life rather than a diet. For me it has truly brought good health. My cholesterol is normal and I am now off all three of the drugs I took for my high blood pressure.
I also love that my son eats much healthier than he used too. He has grown to love many vegetables that he didn't eat before. For the ones he doesn't like (such as zucchini or cooked mushrooms), I make the chunks bigger so he can eat around them but make sure I have enough veggies included that he will eat. I have noticed he seems to get sick less than his schoolmates who exist on fast food and processed food.
Barbara, You are such an inspiration. I too love too cook and am slowly getting used to the South Beach. I really feel like I could do this forever. It just takes a little getting used to. Unfortunately for me there are 6 of us and 3 of them usually refuse all that I cook for dinner and lunch. I make them separate meals and sometimes it can get pretty hard.
South beach plateau!
