I wasn't scared about the weekend until today. I was at Barnes and Noble and a barista was walking my way with a tray of samples and I ran! Haha I knew I wouldn't be able to say no. So then I started to think, what am I going to do this weekend? I have lunch with a friend tomorrow, a wedding on Saturday with a dessert bar, food, and alcohol, and Sunday is Mother's Day!

I guess I'm wondering how you get through these tough weekends or weekends in general. I really appreciate any advice!!

Thanks!!

oh i hear you! i'm glad to see i'm not alone - - - to me, while I hope to continue to be as good as i HAVE been, my big plan is to make sure i get right back to it if i do give in to temptation - - all to often if i make a mistake i give up feeling like there's no point once i've messed up - but i'm not allowing myself to do that this time - check back monday let's see how we do! good luck (thank goodness weekends like this only come once in a while)

Lunch with a friend? PICK THE PLACE! Know where you are going before you go, look their menu up online and plan ahead! Let your friend know ahead of time and if she's really your friend she'll get that and not ask if you want some bread!

The dessert bar? Heck that's easy. Don't walk to it! Instead, hit the dance floor! Or, if you want to, go to it and pick some fruits. Even a piece or two of dark chocolate is ok if you think that you can stop at just one or two. Eat the salad, eat the chicken or beef. Ask your date (if you are going with one) to swap the potatoes for their veggies. It's totally doable.

And have a glass of wine if you like! Enjoy it. Don't deprive yourself too much. It's all about balance! Have fun.

Weekends are usually where I get myself into the most trouble. If I want to drink, I usually drink wine now, if I'm out and about with the girls. If we go out to eat, I try to have input on where we go, looking at their menus online (if available) to select some SBD friendly options.

Good luck and hang in there!

When I go somewhere I think I'll be tempted, I chew sugarless gum. I esp. like some kind of minty gum, then your breath feels fresh and you don't want to mess it up!

Yes, every restaurant around here has been peddling extra bad stuff for Mom's Day. I was having coffee with a friend this week at Starbucks. We used to do lunch but for calorie control, we are now opting for coffee. One of the baristas came out with big chunks of muffins and things on a tray.
We both declined. He asked, "what are you guys into--I will bring you anything we have." I told him Egg whites. LOL.

For the wedding. You could slip diet friendly snacks into your purse so when the cake really starts looking good eat one of your snacks, hit the dance floor and work out! If you really want some cake get a very small piece and eat it very slowly. You can also eat before you go so that you won't be as hungry to begin with.

Lunch with a friend. Ask for a to go box when you place your order and then when your food comes out immediately put half into the box. It's amazing how once it's off your plate you don't miss it and you still get full.

For the bread (if any), get one of those tiny little plastic containers and bring your own low cal butter if you just can't say no to the bread so that at least it lessens some of the calories.

I just got home and thought I would update about lunch. I followed your advice and it worked! I looked at the menu ahead of time and stuck to my guns. Grilled chicken tenders and a side salad. I got a to go box and put left overs in there, and right after lunch chewed on some gum so I wouldn't be tempted to pick at my friends plate of goodies. It was tough, but I think what helped the most is all of you saying that it's ok if you're not perfect, just do your best and that really took the pressure off the situation, so thank you for that! It's always nice to know you're not alone.

I think the hardest part was the peer pressure. She's my best friend and I love her, but I think she thought this was just another diet thing I'm doing and I don't blame her. So she kept trying to get me to drink, get french fries so "she didn't look so fat," and then kept bringing up ice cream. It was hard, but I think after saying no all day she finally get's that this isn't just another diet for me, so let's hope she's easier on me tomorrow at the wedding!

You know, one thing that I have FINALLY got through my head is that there is ALWAYS going to be a holiday or special occasion. With past diets, I would cheat and get right back on the bandwagon like everyone says. HOWEVER, that "special occasion" excuse turned into any "fun thing" I was doing. Like, going out with the girls on Saturday night drinking too much eating things I shouldn't. Then... it was the holidays.. thanksgiving.. halloween... mothers day... new years..easter... valentines day... And I was giving myself the excuse that.. It's a holiday.. Im not going to deprive myself of a holiday or good time just because Im on a diet... Ive been doing so good I deserve this. ... Sounds ok.. right? Well, think about it.. there is at least one holiday a month.. on top of the date nights w/ DH or going out with the girls.. or doing something special. And then it turned into cheating like at least once a week.. then twice until I wasn't really even dieting anymore. YOu know? SO... I had to REALIZE a couple things here since I have started South Beach ( 4 weeks ago ). First of all... I have lost 20 pounds in 4 weeks. And, when I started this diet.. I decided that I am not thinking of this as a "diet" like I have in the past. Diet was always a temporary thing to me. BUT.. I have chosen this LIFESTYLE because I can live it.. my family can live this way with me..be healthier and lose extra pounds. SO.. with all that said... There is ALWAYS going to be a special occasion, holiday, fun night out..etc. Just make this a lifestyle and think of it as a GOOD thing. You don't eat cake and ice cream... by CHOICE.. because it is bad for you... Not because you are on a "diet".. I know I have totally gone off on this.. And maybe I sound like I have brain washed myself a bit.. and that's true I HAVE. I have HAD to brain wash myself into a different form of thinking about FOOD. Food was here to nourish us and give us energy. Not to indulge ourselves in and make us FAT. There are still lots of treats on South Beach you can have without totally breaking south beach law. Like, sugar free/fat free fudgesicles... sugar free popsicles, sugar free candy, even in the south beach diet cookbooks you can find very yummy desserts and such to satisfy that sweet tooth. Keep plugging away and GOOD JOB on holding back from temptation. Give yourself a HUGE pat on the back because when you are feeling that way...and you actually pull through without cheating... THAT IS AWESOME!!!! Sorry for the rant.. just wanted to put in my two cents. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!! ...much luv.

So true! That's exactly the mindset you have to have to make South Beach a true lifestyle change. I always try to have sugar free gum or drinks around. I also try to have almonds or small packages of RF cheese in my purse. I carry small tupperware containers of salad dressing with me, or a baggie with deli turkey slices in it. I prescreen the restaurant menus online when planning to dine out. At weddings, I skip the cake and drinks and fill up on veggies, fruit, shrimp or the like. I even take WW bread with natural PB in a baggie in my purse when I'm afraid there will be nothing for me to eat.

Your rant was right on and I completely understand. For me it's always just been a diet. This is the first time that I look at it as a lifestyle change so I'm freaking out a bit because I want to do good. I thought yesterday that I picked the worst month EVER to start this because I have something going on EVERY weekend this month, but when is there ever a good time to start, right? LOL Yesterday went well, but today will be the challenge...wish me luck!

Thighs Be gone- Egg whites, that cracked me up!

Honestly, after you've been doing this a while, eating out and finding just the perfect meal will be second nature. You won't even think "Oh, I can't have this or I can't have that." When going out to eat, my eyes go right for "salads" and "grilled". I've only been to ONE restaurant in the last 2 years that had nothing I felt I could eat (a German restaurant)...I ended up eating a tiny "dinner" salad and left starving, but happy I didn't get those gravy covered potatoes everyone else was having.

Hello hello, Happy Mother's Day!!

So my update for the wedding. I wasn't perfect, I had a piece of cake and one alcoholic drink, but that's it! For dinner I had grilled chicken, a salad, a few bites of a roll, and I had water the rest of the night. So not great, but not near as bad as I thought. Now here's the kicker...

I weighed myself this morning and I was up 3 lbs!!?? Why would that be? I know I ate carbs, but that amount of carbs is NOTHING compared to what I used to eat! Ugh, that is frustrating, but I also noticed something. The old Jessica would have been like, "Oh well, let's just go hog wild today and get back on tomorrow," but instead this just makes me want to get right back on the beach today and work harder! So even though I'm able to use this as a positive, I'm still ticked lol.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend!!

Sounds like you're retaining water...I notice when I eat out I usually gain...I think it's the amount of salt/sodium used in prepared foods.

The alcohol might also have you dehydrated - once you start drinking water again, you'll probably see a gain (temporary)...

I have never been more excited for a weekend to be over LOL, but I survived. I had a few slips here and there, but over all I think I did really well. Yesterday we did the grilled KFC chicken and it was yummm-o! I ended up losing a decent amount of weight this week still and now I just need to add in some more exercise and I think I'll be going down even more!

Thank you all for your support, it meant a lot and really helped!