Well hello everyone!! I started the SBD for the first time in July '05. I lost 15lbs (yay!). But I gained 5 of it back b/c I stopped doing the diet! I know I know...what a bummer, right? The best thing out of it is that i didn't gain ALL of my weight back. But now since we are going into the 2nd month of the year, I've decided to get a lot more serious and restart the SBD. For one reason is b/c I have PCO/IR...2ndly I lost weight on it before...w/o exercising!! Finally, I'm tired of wearing a size 16W (was 18-20W). Spring is coming up and soon after that is summer. I don't want to hide my body during the warm/hot months. I want to be able to shop in The Limited and New York & Co...even Old Navy, without feeling like I have to wear the largest size in the store. So if you're with me, I'm looking for buddy(ies) too. We can do this together. I've already got chicken, shrimp, veggies and I'm ready to get started. Good luck to you all and I hope we have a lot of fun on the beach!!!!

Redd

I did SBD in 2004, and then came HUrricane Ivan, Dennis and two holiday seasons. Today is my first day back on phase 1 as well.
Michele

Hi everyone! My name is Jessica and I'm a 26yo SAHM to two adorable little breastfed guys, Nikolai (2yo) and Nathaniel (6mo). My husband Marc is also starting Phase 1 on the Beach today. I have a lot of weight to lose (I'm at 229 and want to get down at least to 150) but Marc is only looking to drop 20 or so. I've read the book and the cookbook and think I have a pretty good grasp on this and I'm excited to start.

Food prep is going to be my biggest challenge with a 2yo and 6mo to chase after! Last night I chopped onions, red peppers, mushrooms and celery to prepare for breakfast (omelet) and snacks (celery w/ Laughing Cow Light). I also made Crustless Zesty Lemon Pie, which is what Marc took to work for breakfast. I'm anxious to see how he liked it since that's what I will probably eat for dessert tonight. Lunch will be a large salad w/chicken breast strips (which you could have found me cooking on the Geroge Foreman grill at 10:30 Saturday night!) It looks like my evenings will no longer be spent sitting on the couch but cooking in the kitchen! LOL Dinner is going to be beef stir-fry. I bought a sirloin cut on managers special and I'm going to cook it with lots of broccoli, onions, red and green peppers, snow peas and water chestnuts. It will be odd eating it without rice, though. Is sesame oil approved for use? I thought I would add a small amount to the canola oil for flavoring. And is soy sauce (the low sodium kind) a phase 1 friendly condiment or not? I can do without it but I know Marc would prefer to have some with his stir-fry.

I got a couple of bellydancing DVDs for excercise and we hope to buy a treadmill, but once again time will be my challenge. Every time I try to do the DVD my little one needs me. I'm looking forward to him taking longer naps so I can actually complete it!

I think the hardest part of this for me (besides time challenges because of the kids) will be not drinking soda (big time caffeine-free Pepsi drinker) and not eating crackers (love the triscuits!) and limiting my cheese intake (I love cheese a little too much!)

So introduce yourself, please! Tell us your goals and challenges and maybe we can keep each other OP. I look forward to meeting you all!

Welcome to The Beach, Jessica. I will merge your post with the January 30 (Re)Start Thread.

Jessica - Dr. A recommends starting in phase 2 if you are breastfeeding. Just make sure you eat enough beans and drink enough milk if you do phase 1. I think it is great that you still nurse your older child. My son was an older nurser too. low sodium soy is fine for phase 1. A little sesame oil should be fine. I know it is used in one of the cookbooks. Look in the Frequently Asked Question section at the phase 1 food lists and that should help.

Thanks Barbara! I'm certainly not going to do anything to compromise my supply. I'm definitely eating better than I have been, so even without the fruit and other carbs I think I'll do fine. This is a change of lifestyle for my husband and I, so I'm not stressing over how much I lose. I'm just going to focus on making myself healthier and modeling good choices for my sons.

It's nice to be in the company of others who have nursed a toddler. It's certainly a rarity around here. And to have nursed through my pregnancy and now be tandem nursing gets me some strange looks.

Congratulations on your loss! I have about the same amount to lose (although I have a higher SW and higher GW than you do.)

Thanks for pointing me in the FAQ direction. I have read it but didn't think to look there for sesame oil. I'll check it out now.

boo restarts!!
OK, well, I had started last week, but midway through we had a family tragedy that pretty much forced me to live on hospital, comfort, and "easy" food. Needless to say, I was not thinking SBD at that time. Luckily, things turned around this weekend and I can think about being healthy again. So, I'm starting this week! And, yes, I added more veggies and dairy this time around.

Well my first day went well. Let's hope it keeps going that way! Dinner was a beef stir-fry and Marc and I didn't miss the rice at all, which is fabulous! I used a tiny bit of sesame oil and ground ginger to season it and it was delicous!

The hardest time yesterday was between 8-9pm when I really wanted a snack, partially out of habit I guess. So around 9pm I ate some nonfat plain yogurt and was very satisfied. Much better for me than the cheese and crackers I would have picked previously. I'm not sure if I should be eating so late at night, but with dinner at 5:30pm in our house and breakfast at 8:30 or 9am it seemed wise. I can't imagine going 14-15 hours without food. How does everyone do it? Or maybe they don't? I probably should cut up some veggies for evening snacking, right?

Veggies would be good but I think the yoghurt is a better choice at bedtime. Calcium helps with sound sleep.

I did OK first day, too. I made the salisbury steak recipe that is on the 3FC south beachrecipe area. Except I used tomato paste to thicken the gravy instead of flour. DH likes beef and tomatoes together, so that was a hit. Only thing is, I really need a new stick blender. Mine died an untimely death, and youreally can't makemashed cauliflower with a hand potato masher! I know, I tried last night! It tasted OK, but looked more like rice - Jessica, you might want to bear that in mind next time you make stir-fry! Steam your cauliflower and then hack at it with a hand potato masher.
-Michele

Doing ok here still. Yesterday was really rough, though. I woke up feeling really, really ill. I almost couldn't get out of bed, made my husband late for work because I couldn't take care of the kids and had to wait for my mom to get here so he could leave. I scooted down the stairs on my butt because I was so shaky and weak feeling that I was almost certain I would fall and ate myself half of a banana, a slice of turkey breast and a wedge of laughing cow light. I felt better after 30 minutes or so and was feeling like myself by a few hours later. It was scary and yucky.....but you know what?! I am down 4.5 pounds from Monday and I feel fabulous this morning! Fabulous, fabulous! I'm eating the mock waffle for breakfast and it's really tasty, too. But I can't stand the thought of eating veggies with it so I'll munch on some for my morning snack.

Has anyone tried the Sonoma diet? It sounds like you could merge the components of the two. I haven't read the book or anything, though, I just saw it on The View yesterday. I would love to see the allowed food lists for it but the Sonoma website folks asked 3FC to take down the sticky with that info. Bummer!

How is everyone else doing? I didn't realize that about calcium, Ruth. Thanks for the info! Michele, I'll try that next time we have stir-fry! LOL

Looks like my grandma is here to play with the boys so I can get some actual cleaning accomplished so I have to run. See you chickies later!

Something else I tried. The other day I made the eggplant lasagna. I gave DH some real pasta, and I did something else. I had a hald head of cabbage in the fridge. I sliced it real thin and then steamed the shreds in chicken broth. That was my "pasta." I think when I get groceries this week I'll buy a bag of angel hair coleslaw (thinly shredded cabbage with no carrots). "Cabbage-etti" with bolognese sauce, perhaps?
Also,check for a spiral slicer, used in Oriental kitchens. It cuts zucchini and yellw squash into very thin shreds that look just like angel hair. You can steam these, the're a little too fragile to stire fry. You could use them raw, too, but if they sit they will release a LOT of moisture.