[vetgirl]

Hi all, just introducing myself and asking all my questions (per the "sticky" note for instructions for newbies)

I'm Carrie, I'm 27 and my husband and I started the South Beach diet last week. (currently at the end of day 7, phase 1). I am a veterinarian in Baton Rouge, LA. Proud mother of 2 dogs (Beavis: Husky/Border collie; Sarge: German Shepherd Dog), 2 cats (Scout and Stella), and 2 guinea pigs (Opal and Mocha.)

I'm a stickler for details, so ironically the most difficult part of this diet so far has been the simplicity of it! By that I mean that there are a LOT of foods that are not on the "foods to enjoy" OR the "foods to avoid" lists of phase I, and I am afraid that we may be taking too many liberties.

Examples

cheeses that are not on the list of cheeses to enjoy (e.g. swiss, muenster, monterey jack, etc) I assume that they're ok since they are nothing like the cheeses on the "avoid" list.

steak sauce?
pine nuts?
how many eggs is ok to eat?
how much oil is ok to use?
Hubby is always finding stuff to challenge the program. Canned chili with kidney beans? Protein bars? "Low carb" snack crisps in a bag?

I just now saw in the book that "cream cheese SUBSTITUTE" was acceptable on phase 2 but not cream cheese. Oops. I've had that a couple of times. Strikes me as odd though, that cream cheese is a no-no but cottage cheese is fine.

The number one thing that is going to make it hard for my husband to stick with this is the beer. He can tough it out another week, but after that...no beer ever? does he have to switch to wine and if so does it HAVE to be red? is the "low carb" beer ok? I know he'd hate it but it'd be better than nothing.

RE: eating 6 times a day...that i haven't been able to do. I work straight through morning and don't have time to even think about food, and if I eat a breakfast with lots of protein I don't have any cravings at all. Is it ok to tailor your "snacks" to when you know you will need them? (e.g. I get very "munchy" at the end of the afternoon/early evening and don't usually eat til' later) is it ok to have breakfast/lunch/early afternoon snack/late afternoon snack/dinner/dessert?

Wow, this post is long. Sorry. Ok, no more questions.
Good to be here Will share my weigh-in results tomorrow (which may help me answer some of my "is this ok?" questions, hehehe)

[MissBehavin]

Welcome to the beach,
Im a newbie here as well and just about at the end of my first week and lovin it big time.
If you need some recipes or just want to chat,u know where to find me.

[Jennifer 3FC]

Hi Vetgirl, welcome to 3FC! I can't answer all of your questions, but I can handle a few of them:

Beer is a no-no because it is made with maltose (?) which is a sugar that is very high glycemic. Supposedly the Ultra Low Carb beer is the same, but in my own opinion, I don't see how so few carbs could cause much of a problem. I'm not the doctor, though!
I am not going to drink any until the end of the diet. I might drink an occasional one in the future if I plan an 'off plan' day, but other than that, I will drink wine if I really want a drink.

The phase 2 foods are in addition to the Phase 1 foods. If it is ok on Phase 1, it is still good on phase 2.

Steak sauce is limited to 1/2 Tablespoon. Not really worth it in my opinion, so we leave it out. It is limited because of the sugar in it.

Pine nuts are ok, limited to one ounce.

Eggs - no limit.

Cheeses are a tricky one because he says low fat cheese. That is a little hard to find. We (me and my husband) try to eat all low fat cheese, but if there is a recipe that calls for a cheese we cannot find low fat, we eat just a LITTLE. I think the low fat might be more for the heart health properties than the weight loss. These cheeses are on the 'ok list' - other than that, I am assuming we need to look for a low fat version - I am not totally clear on that, so if anybody else knows, jump right in! :

American
Cheddar
Cottage cheese, 1-2% or fat-free
Cream cheese substitute, dairy-free
Feta
Mozzarella
Parmesan
Provolone
Ricotta
String


As far as I know, snacks can be whenever. I bring string cheese, small cans of V8 and pre-counted baggies of nuts with me to work for my snacks.

I don't know about the cream cheese - that is a shock to me, too! I've been eating it.

Canned chili - just read the labels...probably not ok. Most of that canned stuff has starch, sugar or corn syrup added in. A shame, really!

The kidney beans are ok. I make our own chilli with low fat beef and eat that.

Eggs aren't limited.

Oils, I am not sure of the limit. We use sparingly in our house.

Good luck!

[sflake]

Welcome vetgirl....Not real sure what cream cheese sub. is I would think as long as its LF in moderation it should not be a problem, the same goes for the low carb beer. Other than that, I think Jen answered most of your questions

[Ruthxxx]

Welcome to the Beach, vetgirl. (I hope you realize you are going to be pestered with animal questions!) Re the cheese question, they are ALL the low fat versions as SBD wants us to cut the saturated fats.

Please be sure to join us in Just Chat where we get to know each other really well. No sand throwing is allowed, by the way.

[sflake]

Oh Ruth don't say that (I just pmed her about my poor blind cat)

[Deets]

Hi, Vetgirl!
Welcome to the Beach!!

I don't think I can add anything that my friends have not already covered. We learn from each other here, and have a lot of fun doing it.

Glad to share a beach towel with you. Watch Ellis...she kicks sand sometimes!

Talk soon,
~Sharon

[ellis]

Welcome, Vetgirl!

(how rude, Sharon. )