Yep, soy nuts are often my salvation when I have absolutely nothing with me. I keep a packet in my glove box.

What about everyone else...what's your combo???

I am in Phase two - I just can't help but think that I'm using them too much.
Can I have the Kashi Go Lean Cereal, then whole wheat sandwich @ lunch and finish my day off at supper with a Turkey Wrap?

I can't seem to find the straight answer on this. I have really been eating what I think is VERY healthy compared to what I used to eat. And I feel the benefits on a daily basis I just wonder if I could be doing better and if I'm hindering myself because I am not doing phase 2 correctly? Maybe my weigh in should determine this

Are u keeping food journals?

CinnabonK, Phase 2 and the amount of carbs your body can handle works differently for everyone. If you are eating a starchy carb at each meal and still losing weight, then your body can handle it. The important thing is to watch your calories, although counting calories isn't a usual part of the SBD. Most of us try to keep our calories around 2500 a day, more or less. A lot of the chicks here also use FitDay.com to track their daily food journal.
Good luck to you, and you are doing great so far! Congratulations!

cottage, did you mean 2500 or 1500? The calculator I used gave 2300 as what I would need to eat to maintain my current weight.

Actually, I should have said below 2500 calories, to continue losing weight. You would still lose at eating 2500 calories in a day, but at a much slower pace.

Thanks cottage, I'm still curious about this and wondering about if the calculator I used was giving me good information - it was just some random one I found online. It gave 2300 calories for maintenance for me, so if I was eating 2500/day, I would be gaining, according to that. What do you think about 1300 - 1500 calories/day, which is what I shoot for, is it too low? Lately, I've been hungrier, so I've been averaging closer to the 1500. I've been doing better with exercise, so that may be why I'm hungry. Also, it seems like 2500/day would be a LOT of food. Do you feel like you are eating a lot?

A couple things, just my personal experience:

• What you're looking for in your personal combo is one that allows you to lose weight, feel healthy, AND be free from cravings. If you are losing weight but you are craving, you probably won't be losing weight for long...it's hard to refrain from giving in to those powerful cravings! So, CinnabonK, if you can eat what you mentioned, lose weight and be free from cravings (you said you feel healthy, so that's taken care of! ), then you are doing fine! If any of those things isn't being met, consider eating either less starches/carbs or eating them at different times during the day. For instance, you might do fine having three servings as long as you have them at a snack, lunch, and dinner...or breakfast, a snack, and lunch. Or you might need to eat only 2 servings. Figuring this out takes time...so don't stress. Just try to track what you're eating and be aware of how you feel.
• I didn't count a single calorie for the first 2 years of SBD and I lost over 120 pounds. That might not be the normal situation, but I really don't think you need to stress too hard about calories unless you are following all the details of SBD to the tee and are stuck. Then you might want to use Fitday to help you make sense of what's going on with your body.
• Eating less than 1300 cals sends your body into starvation mode...but for some people, that number might be higher. I wouldn't try to restrict yourself to 1500 calories unless you've tried several other things first. I was on a pretty restrictive menu in terms of serving sizes and amounts when I finally gave in to counting calories, and I was getting 2200 a day! So I really think you'd have to give up good fats or important protein to get really low, and that's hardly the idea of SBD. I agree with Cottage...under 2500 is a good goal...each person's actual number is different.
• As to the online calculators that help measure your basal calorie needs, they are just approximations. There are so many variables that affect your caloric needs that nothing online can ever be totally accurate. But it does give you a general idea. If you are eating that much and you find you're gaining, you might want to take away 100 cals or so and see what happens...if you do this a couple times and still aren't losing, either post your menu here so we can see if something is sneaking in, and/or go see your doctor.
• I recently visited my local nutrition clinic and had a test done where they analyze your breath to see what's going on in your body in terms of calorie use, protein use, etc. What they found is that while they would expect someone of my size and activity level to burn at least 1800 calories a day, I was actually burning, on average, 1372. I'm 'hypometabolic,' which means that I'm burning less calories than I should. How that works, I don't know! I do know that they have me eating gigantic amounts of protein and doing massive amounts of cardio to get my metabolism back where it belongs. I'm saying this for two reasons--apparently one of the ways this happens is by restricting your calories for a while and then bingeing, then restricting, then bingeing...so try to find a caloric intake you are comfortable with and can maintain rather than going back and forth with an unrealistic one and your need to eat more. Secondly, if you are not losing at a really low caloric level, like anything under 2000, you might want to check with a doctor and find out what's going on. You might be hypometabolic like me, you might have PCOS, insulin resistance, or a thyroid problem. It's definitely worth checking out.

Hope this helps. I know traveling through P2 can seem scary, but it's really a GREAT place. Hope you find it to be that way for you, and soon!

Beachgal, thanks, I needed that input. I re-read my post above from last month about this time, when I was having a hungry week, and realized I had a hungry week again last week. Yup, TOM. So there is definitely a pattern there, and I ate about 1600 calories a day last week. I came up with the 1300 - 1500 calories/day by calculating the calorie deficit from maintenance in order to lose 2 lbs/wk. It's actually worked pretty well, my average loss has been 2.08 lbs/wk since I started SB.
I know you don't have to count calories on SB, that's one of the things that attracted me to the plan. I didn't think I would want to bother. But I wasn't losing at the beginning of Ph1 and somebody here suggested I track on Fitday. Once I got started it quickly became a habit. I think now it's a security blanket and I'm afraid to stop, things have been going so well. I eat if I'm hungry and have only had a little problem with hunger during that week of the month. I'm really having an argument with myself over upping the calories, I had decided to try eating more. Like tonight I planned to have some ricotta cheese, but realized I hadn't logged some nuts I ate earlier. Once I logged them, I was in target range for calories, so I decided to skip the ricotta.
I know you guys know what you are talking about. I think the solution for me may be to quit counting calories, and maybe that way I'll end up eating a little more each day. I just have to convince myself to do it. I don't want this to quit working!

I'm the same way - I start P2 tomorrow and just can't figure out how to do it right for me.

Angeline

Angeline, you'll want to read the Phase I Time Limit thread. Staying on P1 longer than 2 weeks just isn't a good idea. Starting P2 is very easy. With P2, you need to be careful to add just one thing at a time because if you add two, and you have cravings or gain, you won't know which one did it. So add one thing at a time, and eat that once a day for a while...a week works well...to make sure that you really can see how it affects you. A lot of chicks recommend eating berries as your first thing because they have a really low glycemic index (GI) and are very unlikely to set off cravings. But if you've been really mentally craving something lately (like apples), go for that! If it goes well, then add another thing (just one more) to the menu for the next week, and so on. It took me three weeks to figure out my combo. If you cheat while doing this, you're going to have a harder time...you won't know if gains or cravings come from the cheat or from the thing you're adding...so do your best not to do that, okay? Once you know what your combo is, a cheat here and there won't ruin you...especially if you plan ahead for it, okay?

Alright, here's what I do:
Fruit: I have a hard time eating fruit. I like berries (in season) in my mid-morning yogurt. I buy frozen berries, cherries, and peaches for smoothies. I can't really eat a whole apple or banana, so I share them with my 2 year old, who happily takes care of the other half. I usually have to remind myself to eat fruit, unless its summertime and I've bought every fresh berry there is!

Starches: bread is murder for me. I start out slow, with toast or something, and the next thing i know, i'm eating peanut butter and jelly's, 2 pieces of toast, etc... This time around I'm staying away as long as possible. I'm working on winter squashes and sweet potatoes first. also whole wheat pita does not seem to bother me.

I feel healthier and lose more weight when: I avoid excessive alcohol. I really like beer, but when i go a few weeks without having even one, or maybe just one with a meal, I feel better, get more rest, and am able to keep up with cooking and packing lunches, etc. and i tend to lose more. I also feel better when I eat regularly (at least every 3 hours). I never really give up the snacks in phase 2, and that seems to work for me.

I have to avoid: BREAD!!! also chocolate. and nuts - although I can control them pretty well, after a while I just dive in and polish off the can! I really just have to avoid sugar, period. the tiniest taste is enough to do me in.

When i go off the beach: Its for a special occasion. there's also the peer pressure, or a group situation with a special treat (birthday cake, pumpkin pie, etc). I try to stay very conscious of what i've eaten, and pay attention to how it makes me feel. The trick is to not turn "just one bite" into "just one more piece".

This is a great thread topic.
I've been on and off (more off, I'm afraid!) the Beach for about three years now, and just preparing to make another try of it, starting P1 later this month.
When I transitioned from P1 to P2 I found that oats, even the steel cut ones, at breakfast, gave me intense cravings. So bad in fact that both times I ended up falling off plan entirely. If I'd stayed aware of what I was eating I would have realised that eating oats at breakfast doesn't work for me.
This time I AM aware and I plan to continue with my P1 breakfast and eat berries after my lunch.

Bread's a real challenge for me too. Even the very grainy high fibre breads can be risky for me. One small slice of bread leads to me wanting to finish off the whole loaf.

When I first tried adding oats in the morning I had the same problem with cravings. For about 6 months I limited my grains to lunch and dinner, no more than 2 servings. Now I can eat oats in the morning without a problem. I think it just took my body a lot longer to get really cleaned out. The key is adding foods slowly and listening to your body. Sounds like you are ready to give it another chance

eta - For me brown rice was the easiest grain to add and the one I used most early on.

hello.

Well I have a couple of ?

How many portion of starch do you have in a meal?

I have been get 1 at breakfast (1 slice bread) , 1 at lunch (1/2 cup rice) and 1 at diner (1/2 cup rice). I have been doing Ok losing 1.2 a week since I star phase 2 . Now I am trying 1 more at my mid morning snack ( crackers ).Or can I add 2 servings at dinner (1 cup of rice).

Best time to have fruit?

Well I have try strawberries but I found they give me craving ....I am not a fruit lover but I want to have at least one a day .

Do you eat beans and you Grain together ?

thanks girls....

The most I ever eat is 2-3 grains per day to lose, but everyone is different. Everyone is different with fruit too, but it may help to eat it with some protein or with a meal to prevent cravings. Try apples if strawberries give you problems. If you're still nursing, you can usually eat more than the rest of us and still lose.