Whether you are just starting out or on the home stretch for Phase I, this thread is for you to share ideas, menus and victories.

I started Phase I yesterday (20th) and am down .6 pounds so far.

I made this delicious portabello mushroom pizza. It takes like five minutes!
Just coat the mushrooms in olive oil and marinate them with salt and pepper. Sprinkle low-fat mozarella cheese all over them and top with tomatoes. Bake until the cheese melts.

It was so good! Does anyone have any fish recipes? I just bought some fresh bass.

Hi Thininspring and to The Beach. Check out our recipe section for fish recipes. The PortoPizza recipe is in the South BEach book. Isn't it yummy!

Hubby and I are making our menus as I type. Mom gave us a copy of one of the books. LOTS of great food ideas...

Hi I just started yesturday also. I was wondering how often everyone is going to weigh themselves is there a best day to do it so not to be discouraged?

I survived day 8, barely. I just want... something. Fruit juice even. I really wish my throat didn't swell up with all artificial sweetners I was looking at some no sugar/FF fudgsicle things today, they looked yummy, but I just don't want to get sick.

shadybabysmom - I weighed myself after 1 week, altho I did sneak a few peaks at the scale before then.. I didn't count them though. I'd try and hold out as much as you can - and do measurements! I wish I'd done some measurements just before I started.

-Aimee

I am also starting this week and am going to stay off the scales until the first 2 weeks are done. Then it's a wow all at one time rather than a daily worrying if the scales don't move....

I'm on day 5. I've already had the portobella mushroom pizza twice! It's so good you feel like you're cheating.
I did manage to make it through a day where my best friend came over and made chocolate chip cookies. I resisted!
I have to admit I can't make it an entire week without looking at the scale. But even if I have only lost 1 or 2 lbs it motivates me. Plus I already feel better!

I started on the 21st. Today I am down 1 lb. How could this be? I don't care! Its a great motivation to keep going.

I am not going to weigh in till Sunday.

Tonight I had dinner with my roommate. I ate a SB approved meal while she ate... very ANTI SB food! My willpower held though.

I wish you ALL good luck and weight loss!

I am on Day 8 of the program and down 9 whole pounds! It really does work, though it is very hard, requiring constant committment and daily planning. The amount of pounds I've lost in a week is atypical, so I suspect it's mostly water weight. The book says you should lose 8-13 pounds over two weeks.

What I like:

* Immediate results (1-2 pounds a day in my case.)
* You eat until you are full
* 3 meals + 3 snacks = you're never really too hungry
* Maximum veggie potential
* Cheese, eggs and nuts are allowed
* Can be applied in almost any restaurant. (Waiter, please hold the bread, rice & potatoes.)


What I don't like:

* No fruit
* I miss whole grain bread
* Too much reliance upon artificial sweeteners
* Carb cravings never really go away (no matter what they tell you)
* I wind up eating the same meat all the time (turkey, chicken, tuna, low fat beef, and repeat).
* Daily planning required

For me, the hardest part of this diet isn't giving up pasta or bread, which I do love but can live without. No, it's giving up fruit for two weeks that had me almost reject this diet out of hand. I am a big fruit eater. I have a real philosophical problem with a diet that emphasizes diet drinks and artificial sweeteners over natural fruit. I don't believe artificial sweeteners are healthy for you, so I limit my intake to a few diet soft drinks here and there. When I get a craving for something sweet, I munch on baby tomatoes which have some trace amounts of natural sugars. But giving up fruit is a real hardship for me. The first thing I'm going to have in Phase II is an orange. The second thing I'm going to have is a piece of whole grain bread with peanut butter. Mmm Mmm good.

Anyway, if I wasn't losing this much, I would have seriously considered giving up this diet in favor of the Best Life Diet or Whole Foods diet. I believe low-carb is the best way to go, but I could not live without fruit for very long.

That said, I'm very happy with the results. I am only one pound away from my January mini-goal!!!!

Good luck to all you ladies.

Day 9 for me - today it was too easy! Yesterday it was WAY too hard, thank goodness my bf made me a good dinner, I was just TOO tired from work to even think about food.

booklover's post gave me a thought - are you all having the artificial sweetners? I've had to 100% avoid them 100% of the time, I have a pretty nasty reaction to them (throat swells up, hard time breathing), I have been finding coffee sweet, and have been enjoying THAT quite a bit lately (1 per day). So whats been your staples with phase 1? BTW - GREAT weight loss booklover!!! and what other kind of meat is there besides the ones you've mentioned?

I think I am going to start exercising this week, I am missing it, but week 1 was too intense for me to think about going out for a run or swim. I miss how my body feels afterwards! I am going to the pool tonight, wish me luck with that!

-Aimee

Well, I posted a new topic introducing myself...missed this topic altogether! Ooops. Well, today Tuesday Jan 23 will be my first day on SBD. I wanted to start Monday, however the stomach flu kept me in bed all weekend and feeling like mush until today. I already have my first 3-4 days worth of meals planned out. It seems to me you really have to be prepared about meal planning on this diet. That is not a bad thing, just not the best for someone like me who tends to be unorganized at times. Perhaps I will lose weight AND learn to be more organized which will be a bonus. I am so excited to try out some of the recipes I have seen in the recipe threads. Alot of them look really good and it seems as if you aren't missing a whole lot.
I do have to say though, I will miss my potatoes and my bread...but am sure I will think differently in about two weeks :-) Anyway...looking forward to (hopefully) sharing my success and sharing all of yours with you as well as I read threads.
Good luck to everyone!!

I have always been a lover of v-8 juice. My question is this....I tend to drink v-8 3-4 times a day when I am on the run and feeling a little empty. This is great for helping me get through when I can't get something to eat. Especially now on Phase 1 when I may get stuck without a good snack at hand or be able to prepare something, how limited are we to v-8 juice a day on P1? I don't want to ruin it on day 1 by drinking too much. Any help appreciated!!

kozmickitty - I don't know the answer for that, sorry!

I'm on Day 11, I can't believe I've made it this far. Last time I didn't make it past day 5 or 6.. the headaches were just TOO much last time. I am pretty excited to make it this far, only 3 days left to phase 1!

-Aimee

SwimGirl, I answered teh V8 question on another thread. How's the headache? Gone, I hope.