This diet SUCKS! Motivate me to continue(day 7 no weight loss)
So it has been a week(7th day) on phase 1 of SB. I have not lost any weight. And now I am starting to have incredibly low energy. I made another thread stating that I was exercising everyday(until about day 4) and have completely stopped exercising hoping that it was one of the reasons why I was not losing any weight.
I tried to add more calories everyday since I also thought this may have been another reason why I was not losing weight. Still no weight loss AT ALL.
At this point I am thinking about giving up this SB diet/lifestyle and just create my own type of diet with less carbs/ lots of veggies/ lots of fruit and GO BACK AND EXERCISE the way I was before. I used to exercise about an hour a day and was noticing small differences in my physique but no actual weight coming off.
However this SB diet limits almost all the food I eat(i am asian I miss my rice and other goodies! I miss eating PHO, I miss my Korean food. Heck I even miss pizza!) and have been thinking of splurging on just about anything at this moment due to my frustration.
Can someone please give me any good reasons to continue THIS particular diet?? Cuz I'm seriously thinking I'd rather have a low carb diet/lifestyle while being able to splurge here and there(with rice, pizza, pho, cookies) and just EXERCISE my butt off doing kickboxing and water aerobics.
I weigh 137 lbs and am hoping to get down to 115-120 lbs. And the SB diet seriously is just pissing me off. (I lost 15 lbs during phase 1 doing adkins 4 years ago and lost 5-10 lbs during phase 2-3 doing adkins for 3 months total, but I weighed 150 so was a little bit chubbier. Gained back to 140 after I stopped the diet and stayed this weight for past 4 years)
Hey hemy. Really, it's a personal choice what you do. South Beach is a lifestyle change, not a quick fix. I'd be interested to see sample menus for what you've been eating for some pros to look at and see if they can tweak.
But in the end, most of us on this forum have had success with it, but it's not for everybody. If you're miserable, you're not going to stick with it, and might be best advised to find something more suited for you and your lifestyle.
Thank you. I understand it is a lifestyle change, but I'm thinking at this moment maybe it is not the best fit for me at all. This is a sample of my menu
So breakfast is:
7-9 am (depending on what time I wake up)
3 egg whites
3 cups of salad(baby lettuce)
homemade dressing with cilantro, garlic, ginger, balsamic vinegar, olive oil (I use about 3-4 tablespoons I know it says to use 2 tbsp but I just can't)
snack
1/4 block of tofu with sesame oil and soy sauce
dinner 5-7 pm
1-2 chicken breasts
2 egg whites
3 cup salad(baby lettuce)
homemade dressing or caesar salad(with only 1 g of carb)
Snacks: low fat string cheese, fudgcicle
I am thinking of changing and tweaking a bunch of stuff and adding apples back into my breakfast part and add a little bit of some carbs back into my diet so I can exercise better. I miss exercising and sweating A LOT. (I really like doing HILTS and high interval work outs)
I was hoping this food change would push me to get leaner quicker, but I am starting to realize that I probably need to focus more on exercising better and more often(maybe 2 hours a day instead of 1 hour) to lose the extra weight. And yes, I am slowly getting miserable because I do not see any positive outcomes from my food sacrifices.
Hemy, maybe you might consider adding veggies to your egg whites for an omelet. If you have been exercising regularly (before SB) and I believe you said you only have 10 pounds to lose, P2 might be a better fit for you.
Please don't take this the wrong way, but your meals don't seem to be "varied" I like to eat a wide variety if food through the day to keep it interesting. I give you credit, I do not feel like salad in the morning. it is important to enjoy your food choices. Also, are you drinking enough water? If you are exercising at high intensities, you may be getting dehydrated and not realize it.
Thank you jekel383 for the help. You are absolutely right, I have NO variation when it comes to my food. Almost every meal has been chicken/salad/dressing and sometimes tofu. This is probably the main reason why I am getting so bored and tired of this diet and becoming so miserable.
And I definitely wanted to lose about 10 lbs but was REALLY hoping to make it around 15 lbs. But maybe you are right, I definitely will begin phase 2 of the diet and stick to that. So far I have been drinking about 8-10 500 ml water bottles a day. (Which has caused me to pee every 20-30 minutes....)
Also, if I'm reading it right, you consume 5-8 tablespoons of dressing a day? If half of that is olive oil, you're looking at 300 to 475 calories and 34 to 54 grams of fat, just from dressing alone. Are you also eating 2-4 chicken breasts a day?
Have you read the book? It looks like you need more veggies and some low fat dairy. South Beach is not a low carb diet like Atkins, it's a low fat, heart healthy diet. I like that you made your own dressing!
You should read the book too. It really helps understanding why certain food combinations don't work. Example, if eating fruit makes you hungry (especially for sweets) add a fat with your fruit. My favorite is an apple with sugar free PB. The fat keeps you satisfied. I downloaded the book which makes it easy for me to refer to it often. Good luck
Yes weezle you are reading correctly, I use 5-8 tbsp(sometimes A LOT more) of my homemade dressing everyday.... And yes it is made of extra virgin olive oil.. And yes I am eating about 2-5 chicken breasts a day(sometimes more or less depending on if I eat tofu instead). And thx weezle I like my homemade dressing more than the one I bought in store(the one in store is really salty but no carbs). Now when you put our the calories and fat of my dressing, I'm a little freaked out lol. Maybe I should use more balsamic vinegar and less olive oil??
Maybe I do need more vegetables. The only vegetables I have been eating is lettuce(and sometimes spinach or korean style bean sprouts). Also I do not eat any dairy except the mozzarella string cheese 1-2 a day.
Jekel383 what book should I get? You mean the south beach supercharged book or "The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss." They are both by Arthur Agataston. Or get both??
THANK YOU both for replying to me too! I am a lot more motivated to keep on going.(Was really thinking about getting a pizza today too cuz I was so miserable.)
Omg weezle you were not lying about the olive oil. I just looked at the bottle and am TOTALLY freaked out. This is probably where A LOT of my fat and problems have been coming from. I am definitely changing up my meal plans now.
Either book is fine Hemy. Glad you are identifying some problem areas (like the dressing). Most times, I only eat my salads with vinegar and no oil for that reason.
What about adding beans and yogurt to the menu, in addition to more veggies? Adding cucumbers or bell peppers brightens up most salads and are great for snacks!
Also, look through the recipes here! There are lots of on plan foods to make that are yummy!
I think another point is - is that if you ate fairly healthy before you started south beach, you are not going to drop the lbs on phase I. I ate lots o' sugar and flour before SBD, and I lost 6 lbs week 1 (for only needing to lose 20 lbs) and gained one on week 2. I have done phase 1 or 1.5 many times since, and I have only lost a couple of lbs (that rapidly come back after reintroducing grains) at most. I would bet that because you're in great shape and only have a small amount to lose, that you'll only lose .5-1/week.
I also agree with everyone else - variety is the key!! You need your 4.5 cups veggies, but yours are only lettuce - which isn't great (and quite boring). I think you'll be much happier with phase 1.5 or 2 (phase 1.5 for me is no grains, but I keep fruit for workout energy). Definately check out the meal thread!!
In my opinion, I would add veggies (non lettuce) to bulk up your lunch and dinner and cut the chicken breast amount down to 1/2 a breast to start with (approximately 3 oz... depending on the chicken of course.)
Then if your still hungry after you've had all your veggies and your 3 oz of chicken, then go back for a bit more protien.
Thank you all so much for the motivation! I have decided to add more vegetables into my plan(more bell peppers, cucumbers, and spinach) and add less meat. I also decided not to use my homemade salad dressing.
So yesterday when I weighed myself(did not eat any of my homemade salad dressing) I lost some weight! About 1-2 lbs. But today when I weighed myself it went back up again to 136.5-137 lbs. SO at this point I am definitely going into phase 2 since my weight loss in phase 1 is a little jumpy and the weight loss is definitely not permanent.
But I will continue with this lifestyle change. Wish me luck in phase 2 and I will keep you posted if I lose weight during phase 2.
This diet SUCKS! Motivate me to continue(day 7 no weight loss)
