I'm actually really excited.

My long and boring story:

• Was heavy my whole life until I was 18
• Went on a crash diet and got "skinny" -- 145lbs and looked scrawny, but of course felt I was huge
• Met my (now) husband, and our courtship revolved around food -- we both quickly piled on the pounds
• 3 years later, we got married, and I was up to a size 18/20 and 180ish lbs
• A year later, had our first son, and weighed right at 200lbs
• A stay-at-home mom for the first time, I fought boredom with food -- quickly ballooned to 240+
• Got on the scale one day and realized HOLY *BEEP* I'm "morbidly obese!" - weighed in at 246 - my highest weight ever
• Started South Beach, and over the course of a year and a half, lost around 80lbs
• Got pregnant, lost the baby, and my weight loss stopped -- stayed within a 5-10lb fluctuation for several months
• Got pregnant with my youngest son, and went WAY off-plan -- I ate and ate and ate and quickly put on most of what I'd lost
• After my son was born, over the next couple years I fluctuated and ended up 230ish
• Went on Weight Watchers, and got close to 200lbs
• Had a LOT of stomach trouble, so I went on an "elimination diet" to find out what my problem was -- lost 15lbs
• Here I am! 190.2 this morning

So anyway, here I am, rejoining The Beach, and I'm really excited because I only have 45lbs to lose I know that sounds silly to some, but the last time I started SB, I had a 100lbs to lose, and since I already lost 80lbs doing this, I KNOW I can lose 45

I'm struggling a little bit more than last time because of two main factors. First, I can no longer have dairy (by doing the elimination diet, I found out I have a dairy allergy), so a lot of my old "standby" foods and snacks from last time won't fly... Second, is I'm REALLY trying not to do artificial sweeteners, because I've read numerous articles on how artificial sweeteners can actually make you crave them more.

And I tell ya, I'm really craving that can of frosting that's in my fridge

I'm strong though! I'm not going to eat it, and instead I'm drinking my last bottle of water for the day, bringing my water to a grand total of one gallon

Anyway, I look forward to getting to know y'all, and working together to meet our weight loss goals

Wooo hooo! Welcome! Great to have you at the Beach. Oh man I wish I could get a gallon of water in a day...that's fantastic!!!

welcome back to the beach! best of luck on ur continued journey


p.s. da** girl! you can KEEP frosting in ur fridge??!! kudos to ur willpower

It's nice to meet you and I look forward to getting to know you.

Be sure to join us in the daily thread(s)!

Throw out the icing. Nobody *needs* it.

Welcome to the forum! We're glad to have you here!

Nice to meet you!

Very nice to meet you!

Welcome!! I also can not have dairy. I have lots of nuts as my snacks.

Welcome!!! I'm going with TomandKara...throw out the icing!!!

Welcome! Can you have soy milk or cheese? I love the unsweetened Almond Breeze products. Otherwise I think I would get plenty of beans in daily. They are very filling and give you some healthy carbs.

Thanks y'all!

Turns out, my husband did throw out the frosting lol He said it was too much temptation for him as well :P

I can have very limited quantities of soy, as I seem to be sensitive to soy and peanuts So, a splash of soy milk in a cup of decaf or something seems to be okay, but a glass of soy milk, using soy butter, or eating tofu is completely out... I've got some unsweetened Almond Breeze actually, but wasn't sure if I could have it in Phase 1 so I haven't had any yet :P

Unfortunately, most of my standby snacks from last time involved dairy or peanut butter, so I'm struggling to find snacks that aren't just raw veggies or eggs..

how about hummos or some kind of bean dip? That will be satisfying plus it is dairy free.

Welcome!

Unsweetened Almond milk or hemp milk are allowed in Phase 1. Hemp milk is a little richer if you can find it and unsweetened vanilla almond milk is definitely tasty.