Grr! OK, after five weeks on the SBD, you'd think I'd have a good handle on what in the workd I am supposed to be doing here, but I keep looking to the book for more solid info. and I don't feel like I am getting it.

I know you all are experts, can you help me?

In Phase 2, HOW MANY phase two foods can you have?

How much artificial sweetner can you have?

Can you have sugar free candy (for example, Russel Stover's SF penut butter cups)?

Are you still restricted to 75 calories of sweets? What counts as sweets?

If something says it's a low-carb product, is it safe?

What ingredients should you look out for, specifically?

Can you tell that I am getting sick of just cheese sticks and salad, but don't understand the fundementals well enough to get anything but chicken breasts and green beans?

Thanks!!

lauren

Oh, Lauren, I'm sorry you are struggling. There is no hard and fast answer to how many phase 2 foods you can have. Basically, you can have as many as you can eat and still lose weight. That will vary from person to person and it varies for me based on how much I am exercising. I often have a starch at lunch and at dinner and do fine as long as I keep my portion of starch at a reasonable size. I can handle some fruit too. I might have leftovers with pasta or rice for lunch (with some protein and lots of veggies) and a tortilla or pita for dinner (again some protein and lots of veggies).

I don't believe there is any restriction on artificial sweetener but make sure that you are drinking your water and not just Crystal Light. You are still limited to 75 calories of sugar-free sweets. These are foods with limited or no nutritional value (fudgecicles, pudding - but the calories from the milk don't count in the 75, jello etc).

You can have sugar free hard candy. You would have to look at the ingredients in the peanut butter cups to see if they are okay. The peanut butter is probably regular peanut butter with lots of fat. This type of stuff does count in the 75 calorie limit.

Low carb doesn't matter. Look at the ingredients. Some are okay but many are not.

Stay away from partially hydrogenated and hydrogenated oils. You don't want the saturated and trans fats. Look for the good oils like olive oil and canola oil. Stay away from the sugars. Get the Good Fats/Good Carbs book if you don't have it. It really is a big help on what is allowed and what is limited and what you need to stay away from.

I eat lots of variety. Tonight will be parmesan crusted fish (recipe in the Phase 2 entrees) with green beans and zucchini patties (recipe in one of the recipe sections). Other meals this week include broccoli cheese soup, eggplant parmesan with whole wheat spaghetti, pita bread pizzas with lots of veggies and canadian bacon on top, pork roast from the cookbook, Spinach and black bean pasta and Hearty Pasta and bean soup.

Lunch for me is usually leftovers, breakfast is yogurt during the week and an egg with onions, mushroom and cheese in a whole wheat tortilla on the weekends. Snacks are red pepper and hummus or raw zucchini or raw cauliflower or Laughing Cow cheese on a pita or a ham and cheese rollup.

I rarely touch a cheese stick or a salad. Just experiment and there is a lot of good food you can have.

Lauren,

Phase 2 foods - You slowly introduce phase 2 foods into your diet, say 1 a day for 1 week, then 2 a day the next week. There is a limit, I don't know what it is because I don't eat more than 2 phase 2 foods a day.

Artificial sweetner - I would say use as much as you want as long as it doesn't trigger cravings for you.

You can have some sugar free candy, but you are limited to the 75 calories a day limit. I am not sure about the RS SF peanut butter cups because of the fat content though and maybe other stuff in them.

If a product is low carb, it is probably a general rule to stay away from it UNLESS you read the ingredients and it doesn't have any trans fats or stuff we aren't supposed to have (too processed). As someone has said before if it has an ingredient you can't pronounce, it is best to leave it alone.

You might want to look at some of the recipes under the Phase 1 and Phase 2 recipe sections to spice up your meals a bit and to get an idea of what different types of things you can have.

Nellie and Barb -- Thanks so much for this. I kinda know these things, but it's good to have them spelled out for me again. I guess I am feeling a little frustrated and probably just need to re-commit to trying more of the yummy new recipes on here. We had homemade hamburgers last night with salad and cauliflower with cheese sauce. It was a good dinner, but then I also had a pear with laughing cow cheese and DH had popcorn. AND then I had a few strawberries. Probably need to hold back on the fruits. I think I am just getting munchy and need to refocus. I didn't lose any weight this week, and so we are going back to a phase one for a week and see if that doesn't help (not just in weight loss, but mentally, too, to get back in the game.)

I WILL stick with this!! I WILLLLLLLL!!!

Lauren

Lauren, I know it's a drag and we should not have to count stuff but have you run a day's food through Fitday? www.fitday.com and it's free. It may show you where the problem is.

Lauren,

I too had difficulties transitioning into Phase II. I have only added one starch to the day and continue to lose (although I did hit a 3.5 week plateau). I was never a chip/pretxel junkie to begin with, but I do crave every now and then my candy and bakery goods. I have found a WONDERFUL hard candy that satisfies both my sweet tooth, plus the buttery flavor of baked items. Is is Life Savers Sugar Free Butter Toffee. Here are the nutrition facts from the package:

Serving size: 5 candies
Calories per serving: 45
Total Fat: 1.5g
Cholesterol: less than 5mg
Total Carbohydrate: 13g
Sugars: 0g

I find that I'm satisfied on 1 or 2 pieces only. Hang in there.

Ruth -- i think I will give it a try, and see what I come up with. THanks!

Ruffir -- Those candies sound great -- I will give them a try.

I am feeling better today and just trying to get back to the basics and I've got to add in the exercise. I MUST!!!! I am hoping to have a better week this week and to get encouraged again.

Lauren

Nelie, look at you flying past your goals! Good for you!!! You are in TWO hundred land, never to see a number starting with 3 again...YGG!

Lauren, I feel your pain, girl. But there are TONS of yummy things to eat! What everyone said so far is true. But go back and read the foods to enjoy and foods to avoid lists and see what you can make with them. Look for recipes...I love modifying the recipes from www.cookinglight.com (you have to register, but it is free and worth the time!). And try adding in your phase 2 foods slowly. No more than one a day for at least a week. If you are still losing, try something else. Give yourself at least a week each time you make a change to make sure that it isn't affecting you. I am stuck with one starch and one carb or I do not lose. Plus, an extra carb makes me a bit jittery and gives me IBS problems. But I had to figure that out the hard way.

I don't remember where I read this, but I believe we are allowed up to 3 starches and 4 fruit servings a day. But this can be different for every single person. Just like in the book, where some people eat no fruit and others eat no starch. Some people on here eat only one of them one or two times a week, and others can have several a day. It just depends on you. Getting in touch with your body and how it works is one of the side benefits of this WOE, IMHO.

Laurie -- I know you're right about exploring and expirementing and learning abou the way the program works for you, and I totally agree. But, some days, I just want someone to hand me the exact rules, ALONG with a weight-loss gaurantee, and say GO FOR IT! You CAN'T LOSE (or not lose, as may be the case!) But, I know it's not always that easy. Grr! So, I must take a step back and start trying some different things. I know I can do this! I know I can!!!!!

lauren

Ah, Lauren, I understand. Like this week, I wish someone could plan my meals and go shopping! I was gone all weekend, and just don't have the time to do what I would like to do plan-wise.

But the way I see it, this is how I'm going to be eating for the rest of my life. Really. So I'm making an investment in my future (and in my babies' futures, too), and I'm going to do whatever I need to in order to learn who I am, how my body works, and what I need to feed it to keep it healthy and strong. You know?

Yes, I know!! I know!! Why is it so hard to WANT to do this sometimes, though? You know? Like, I have gone after my career with a vengance, always working trying, learning, doing whatever it takes and when it comes to my health I have to force myself sometimes! Although I know the longer I stick with it the more of a habit it will become. I just KNOW it! And then I will be so knowleagle and smart about all of this it will then be second nature, and we can teach our kids the same things.

Lauren

I am with you Lauren. Wouldn't it be great if you could have your own private SBD certified chef and just eat whatever he/she put in front of you? Woo! I agree, it's tough sometimes to figure out the rules and plan the right meals and all that. A lot of times I get so stressed that I will make poor choices, that I put off eating... which is really crazy in itself and something I need to get over. I'm working on it. I am actually considering returning to WW for some support and doing the points system (for some structure) with SBD foods. I think I am just in a rut. I am going to fitday.com now. Hang in there!!

It's so funny, Kryss, that you say that about the personal chef b/c I just told DH the other night that's he's Oprah and I'm the guy the wrote the cookbook -- ha, ha! I mean, it's a lot of pressure -- planning and cooking for BOTH of us, and he's hit a plateau as well, and I was supposed to have been doing good this week w/o travelling, and I still didn't. Tonight is shripm stir-fry and CURVES. Even though I don't like that place, I gotta go. It's my only option besides walking. Maybe I'll just walk? Ugh. We'll see.

lauren

OK, so I went to fitday.com and I am wondering, what is a good calorie intake? I am at 488 so far for the day. I know I'll eat probably that and more tonight. Hmmmm...I guess I am not as great about this as I thought I was.

Lauren,
Make sure you tell that DH of yours how lucky he is. I am still trying to motivate myself to join Curves... Things are a little tight financially right now and I am out of work so I am majorly stressed out about spending money on anything right now -- especially if it's something I might blow off... I think I need to just do it and trust myself that I WILL GO. See, I joined a gym once before and I think I went twice so I am a little worried about history repeating itself. I was really intimidated at that gym though. And Curves seems to be a much better atmosphere for someone like me. Heck, that was then and this is now right? It's gettting much too cold to walk around here, so I think I do need to do something else besides my Gazelle. I am rambling now, I know...