Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am concerned that because I am not following SBD super strictly that it's going to negatively effect my weight loss. I have lost 7-8 lbs in the 1st week of Phase 1. Today starts week 2 of Phase 1 for me and I am feeling like I have stalled my weight loss. The following ways are what have not been "true" sbd. Maybe you can give me some hints to what would be adverse effects of my actions.

• If I go to a restaurant, I have full fat cheese
• I had a few onion rings this weekend when I was out with some girls, and a few bites of non-fat lactose free ice cream
• I eat a more than 1 serving of nuts a day.

Does anyone know if this will ruin the diet?

The full fat foods will slow your loss but right now the sugar in the ice cream and the breading on the onion rings are the things to watch. Those bites could prevent your Phase 1 detox from doing what it's intended to do. Without the detox you might still have cravings. If you haven't read the book that might help explain things better than I can.

ETA - if it was just a few bites that one night I wouldn't stress it. Maybe just keep an eye on cravings toward the end of the 2 weeks and if you're still experiencing them add another day or two.

Ruin is a hefty word.

Maybe next time you go out to eat try eating some veggies that are roasted, steamed, or ****, order a salad. You could always order a meat-dish; ask waiters what it's cooked with and see if you can get them cooked with olive oil.

It also really helps to explain to your girlfriends that you're dieting. Most of the time, they get it. If they don't, just stand your ground and say no. Might hurt their feelings at first if they're really sensitive about sharing food with you, but over time they get used to it.

Are there other foods you can eat? Stock up with foods you can cook and eat that taste good. But I do admit, I have a fatal attraction to almond butter and dairy. Today I had 4 servings of almond butter, and 5 servings of dairy. However, I don't let it get me down; tomorrow I plan to have veggies with every meal, and only one serving of almond butter and dairy. I'm sure my weightloss will be fine; I'm sure yours will be too. Get back on the saddle!

It's also really helpful to write stuff down. This diet is kinda intense at first. Writing it down helps me see what I need to eat more of and what I need to eat less of, and what made me feel more tired during the day, and what foods made me feel energetic and full. Those records are important, don't forget them!

Thanks! I dont feel that the few bites of no-no foods this weekend is going to ruin anything, and they havent made me crave anything. I am really sick of salads at this point and I am getting a little bored with the foods. I think that has made me cheat the tiniest bit. Luckily I am not getting hungry at all when I am at school ( I am a teacher) when I make sure I peck at my lunch and have a snack of nuts. Blah. I just wan to have lots of options, but I want to lose weight too. I am also sick of eggs.

Have you seen the WONDERFUL south beach recipes threads on this site? I cook once or twice a week and have goodies for days!! The spaghetti squash italian pie (from Schmoodle, I think) is dee-lish. Lots of good stuff! Breakfasts for the "sick of egg" phase I think we all deal with.

Get back on and don't stress out! That's one thing that starts the cycle of yo-yo dieting...the thinking that "I was horrible this one time...I can't do it..." and then they go onto falling off the wagon and just giving up. It's a psychological thing (according to YOU: On a Diet). This is real life...if we can't make a few exceptions every now and then how are we supposed to live w/ real life situations? Just keep moving forward

I'm with the rest of the chicks here...a few bites of this or that does not a diet make or ruin.

But still, I understand! I accidentally drank a full sugar soda this weekend (since WHEN did Sierra Mist start putting regular in a white box?????) and basically started crying when I realized. However, I also had about a cup of Chinese food (no rice or noodles, but those sauces will kill ya) because my in-laws had nothing else.

You can do this!!!

PS The full fat stuff will slow down your weight loss, but I still think it makes a better snack than anything with sugar or flour!

Also, keep in mind that for many, weight loss slows significantly after that initial drop. My thinking is that our bodies are catching up to a big water loss.

We've all been there, everyone has the sick of eggs thing...trust me. I try to mix it up a little, one day I do an omelet, then I try scrambbled, then I over easy a couple eggs. I change it up with back bacon and ham, I do cheese but not even .5 of an ounce...just do it to change up the taste. I do it with salsa too.

This is certainly a diet where you have to love veggies and meat. I also cheat a little in the nut department, but nothing major...I eat about 1/3 cup of peanuts as a snack. So far I've dropped 13 pounds on day 4 of Phase 1 which is ridiculous I know. I'm not exercising yet and I eat A LOT, but as I said, it's meat and veggies, tons of them. I also use 10% cream 2 tsps in my coffee each morning. I've done the SBD before and it worked amazing...unfortunately I fell sick and then standing to make all this fresh food all the time wasn't an option and it caught up with me when I fell out of the zone for a couple years...

So now I am back to it, giving it my all. I actually remain on induction stage for as long as I want to lose and then skip to 2nd phase once I have the last 20 pounds to lose...but I am a meat and veg lover, I also take B12 supplements, vitamin and potassium as well.

But that's just me.

Agree with Cyndi - at this stage it's the bad carbs that will/may be a problem for your phase 1, rather than the nuts or cheese.
Phase 1 - the goal isn't really to have a huge weight loss, although that is a nice side effect - its about getting rid of the cravings.

The first time I did SBD most of the cheese I ate was full fat - this was back in 2004 and it was almost impossible to get any type of reduced fat cheese where I am back then. My weight loss in P1 was very good, but the key was that I stayed away from the bad carbs and so my cravings disappeared.

You don't have to have eggs for breakfast!

When you fall off the wagon, just get back on. Don't wait until tomorrow, start the second you fell off. I have messed up a time or two, I just don't make a big deal out of it. As long as the scale keeps moving I am happy. When it stops, I will have to take a look at what I am doing and try to improve from there.

I usually eat full fat cheese when I eat cheese (shhh don't tell) and it hasn't really impacted my weight loss, or cholesterol levels either. I have cut down drastically on the amount of cheese that I eat since I've been on this way of eating, though.

The nuts - do be careful with those, I think that too many nuts can definitely stall your weight loss (it did with me).

/side note - The Sierra Mist thing pisses me off! They got me too. And has anyone else noticed that it seems like the diet Sierra Mist is getting harder and harder to find (at least it is here)?
--threadjack over...

I don't think it'll ruin your diet, but I *do* think that the mindset of "I'm sick of this, I'm bored w/ the foods" WILL do more harm than good when it comes to staying on plan. Just remember that just b/c it's breakfast doesn't mean you have to eat breakfast foods. There are SO many recipes here on the website that nobody should get bored w/ the options they have. Cyndi made a valid point, which is that while it may not significantly stall your weightloss it could sabotage your detox which, IMO, is one of THE most important parts of the whole SB plan.

Good luck w/ everything!!!

Your post makes it seem like you have no control over these choices. You said "I eat more than one serving of nuts a day" not "I was at a luncheon and the only thing I could eat was nuts so I ate more than one serving." If you eat more than one serving a day of nuts, just cut back. If you eat full fat cheese, buy low fat. Yes, it will slow your weight loss, but these seem like easy issues to resolve.

Just curious? Anyone know if its okay to eat sugar free -fat free chocolate pudding? Cause its my lifesaver for choclate cravings...I could eat a cup of that stuff in a night...Also i eat like 3tbsp of dip with my veggies..is this cool or no? Cause i dont know if im ruining it by doing these few things..cause the rest of the diet i stick to like mad..is there a limit on milk for the day? in terms of servings?