I have been on Phase 1 for 2 weeks. Am sticking to it pretty well, no major cheats (except 1 granola bar today...). My daily calories have been 800-1100 and I've been eating allowed foods. I lost about 5-6 lbs at first. The past week my scale has been at 150.2 the entire time.
I don't know how I can be stuck while keeping my fat, calories and carbs in line the way I have been.
Daily calories seem pretty low to me - how many were you eating per day before starting SBD? Also, how are you doing on water? And are your clothes fitting better?
I too didn't lose anything my second week of Phase 1, but I still moved into phase 1.5 and then the weight did start dropping again. For me it was partly not enough water, partly time of the month, partly stress. Just keep chugging away and it will come.
Many beachers find that the scale stick the second week or significantly slows. IMO, it is just catching up to what was probably water weight loss initially. So hang in there.
But, you might actually be eating too little! Experts typically don't suggest less than 1200 calories a day because your body will think it is going into starvation mode and slows your metabolism.
Thanks for the replies. I'm wondering if I should go into Phase 2 at this point or try to stay in Phase 1. Right now I'm having a lunch of hummus with cucumbers and one Bible Bread (which has less than 1 gr fat, 45 cals and 7 carbs, its all natural but I realize it's Phase 2).
I guess I felt better a few days ago and now I feel a little more bloated and frustrated. Up until todays lunch I've been pretty strict on staying in Phase 1. Guess I just keep plugging along and hope my scale catches up!
My opinion is to move to Phase 2 (phase 1.5) - adding back in the Bible bread, fruits, etc. I don't remember who in this forum said it, but it stuck with me: "Phase 1 is for getting rid of cravings; Phase 2 is the weight loss phase". So, if you no longer have cravings, move to Phase 2, no matter how tempting the idea is that longer time on Phase 1 results in more rapid weight loss.
Once I add any carbs some of the water weight comes back and things need to rebalance. I agree your calories seem a bit low. I do like to track my calories etc on fitday and find I am losing about 1 lb a week keeping my calories between 1250 and 1450 per day. It varies. I do keep my eyes on the carbs and try to keep them around 100g per day. If I can go low, around 50g carb/day, I find I lose faster. Also gave up nuts for a few days and bam 2 pounds fell off. So that did stall me. Just my own experience, don't give up, it could be a simple thing masking your loss.
If you're eating granola bars and Bible bread, sounds like you are already eating Phase II. Adding some grains back in can cause you to retain water and plateau out on weight loss. How much veggies are you eating? Cucumbers for lunch isn't nearly enough. I lose weight best when I try to make my meals mostly veggies with a serving of protein on the side and some good fats. If you're getting in your 2 Tbs of good fats and your nut servings plus dairy and adequate protein your calorie count may be higher before you even start to add in fruits/grains.
Last edited by murphmitch; 06-29-2011 at 09:31 PM.
I agree, calories are too low. But I noticed first it was "on plan except for a granola bar today" and then there was bread mentioned...perhaps you're eating more off plan than you realize??? Try keeping a food diary to keep track of it. I would still say complete a full Phase I (a *clean* Phase I).
I'm curious what the ingredients and fiber content are in the Bible Bread... I'm not sure that it's actually South Beach friendly at all. I tried to look it up online to get the ingredients and more nutritional information, but it looks like there are several different kinds of Bible Bread and I don't know which variation you're eating.
I totally agree with the others... it really doesn't sound like you are eating everything you should be, you're definitely low on calories. Your meal plan should look like the template posted in this thread during Phase 1:
Those are the ingredients - I can't find anything in the SBD book that says those are not OK. I do see the corn but I'm on Phase 2 now so that should be OK as well, I think. These crackers are very thin - a total of 90 cals and 1gm of fat for two.
Still stuck at 150 lbs - I added in more calories and am now on Phase 2 so I've started with the Kashi Go Lean cereal or Brad Buds in the a.m. with my dairy serving. I feel better doing that (and no more constipation!).
Not saying this is why you are stuck @ 150 lbs, but just FYI if the flour does not specifically say "whole wheat" then it's not. It's sneaky. I have fallen for this many times.
The only thing that worked for me for breaking out of a plateau was to go grain-free for a while. And while I included fruits, I focused on berries and would only have 1/2 an apple or 1/2 a banana or a tiny orange each day; and only with protein/fat (cottage cheese, yogurt, nuts...)
Just an idea to experiment with if you find yourself stuck for a really long time.
oh and in the bread there is also corn starch surprisingly high up in the list of ingredients AND rice, which you can bet is white if it's not specified to be brown.
If you can find the Ezekiel bread, that is a good one. Very dense and filling. Here are the ingredients:
Is my scale stuck? :(
