Going to Start Phase II on Monday...Have Questions
OK I know you can add carbs back on Phase II, but was confuses me is how many? I certainly don't want to overdue it, and because my head is so geared from years of WW Brainwashing, I'm thinking how many points I need to have. I'm using the feather duster to clear those thoughts out of my head. But I did but some Phase II SBD products, such as the whole wheat 100 calorie crackers, SBD Whole Grain Cereal, but how many different kinds can I have in a day without going over and putting back those 13 lbs I just got rid of..... Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking forward to PHase II but scared to death at the same time if that makes any sense. I just don't want to screw up now.
Cann, there are a couple threads called Phase 2 Newbies back a page or two that will probably help you out a lot!
The one thing I felt the South Beach Diet book lacked was a clear explanation of how to make the transition to Phase 2, so this forum was quite helpful to me.
Add back one serving of grains or fruit at a time. Wait five days to a week before adding another serving. So, if you're starting Phase 2 on Monday and you're really looking forward to having a grain, have a bowl of cereal for breakfast and then the rest of your day should look like Phase 1. Same for Tuesday, Wednesday, and so on until you are sure that that bowl of cereal didn't set you off on any cravings or set your weight loss back at all. If you don't want to have cereal all of those days, that's fine, but keep it to one serving of a grain a day.
Personally, I added fruit back in first as I was really missing my summer fruits when I did Phase 1. It was more rewarding for me to have those than the grains. I found myself less attached to grains now than I was before I began eating Beachy.
I hope that makes sense. It's encouraging that you're so motivated to keep up your loss because that attitude will help you in the long run.
Oh, you don't have to have only South Beach labeled foods. Anything whole grain will work. Check out the dietary fiber and sugar contents on your foods. I believe on cereals it's recommended they have less than 6 g of sugar per serving and at least 8 g dietary fiber per serving? I might have that wrong, so someone please correct me if need be.
Yes, my friend on South Beach started with just one serving of fruits the first week of Phase 2 and only eat whole grain occasionally now (no more than 1 serving a day) after a few weeks on Phase 2. Haven't gained any back I think.
Everyone's body is different and beginning phase II lets you know what kinds of things "set you off" to crave stuff. For me it is rice. We used to have white rice nearly every night and to me it is a "comfort" food. I now know that even brown rice will set me off to want to eat more even though I'm not hungry..so I limit the amount of rice I eat to maybe once a week and "time" my eating of it so that I'm not standing in front of the fridge for the rest of the day/night grazing.
I found that I wanted fruit a lot more than I wanted grains. I also love bread and bake my own whole grain bread, but now within the last 3 weeks or so, I have not really wanted it as much as I did when first starting phase II. I've had a loaf sitting in the fridge for about a week now that I haven't even touched. I've never been a cereal eater...only occasionally when I don't know what I want and it ends up being a bowl of cereal in the evening.
So..you are going to have to kind of experiment and not beat yourself up over it if something you eat really sets you off craving stuff. Just remember to really limit yourself on that food. Then maybe down the road it may not cause cravings. Just take it slow at first and let your body tell you what to do (but if your body tells you to eat a cake, don't listen to it!!)
My advice:
Don't think of it as phase 2, think of it as phase 1.5. Gradually work your way into it by adding 1 thing a day maybe for about a week. That doesn't mean 1 thing each day so that by the end of the week you're eating 5 a day. (yes, I slightly overdid the beginnings of phase 2. Gee- wonder why I stalled?) For me it worked better to stick with my high protein phase 1 breakfast and then added something at lunch like 1/2 cup of brown rice. Then phase 1 for the rest of the day. I really had to pre-measure my carbs because it's so easy to over estimate how much you have on your plate. I love the little 1/2 cup Glad plastic bowls with lids. They are great for portion control.
I eventually started adding steal cut oatmeal or oat groats for breakfast with some fruit which was very good and stuck with me for several hours. They take a long time to cook so I'd cook up a big pot on the weekend and stick it in the fridge. If i had the space I'd go ahead and pre-portion it.
If you stick with one type of food added for a couple days then add something else you'll be able to tell what triggers cravings for you. Everyone is different. For me, bread is not a good choice and some super sweet fruits like really good ripe strawberries will trigger cravings.
Sarah, I totally agree. More like Phase 1.1!!! Eeeaaaassssseeeee into it! I felt that was completely unclear in the book, especially with regard to the suggested meal plans!
Dr A recently suggested adding some type of berries as your first Phase 2 food... apparently most people respond well to adding them.
I started with an apple and had some natural PB with it after reading that the PB would help offset any potential effects of the apple. Then I added berries.... I've found that I do well with almost all fruits. The only thing I have a problem with are sweet cherries... once I start eating them, I don't want to stop and they seem to set off cravings.
After quite a bit of research and taking into account how I believe my body would react, I decided to add brown rice, then oatmeal and sweet potatoes. I'm a little hesitant to add the WW products after finding that there are a lot of people that seem to have problems with them...
I think Kara's advice about adding 1 new food item every 5 days is a good one... pay attention to how each is making you feel and watch the scale to see how it's affecting you.
You may find that you can eat 2-3 fruits and only 1-2 grains a day and continue losing... everyone is different...
Take it really slow on adding your new foods and you'll be fine...
This forum was great for letting you know you can not jump into so many carbs like the book says for Phase 2. I slowly added in grains and fruits back in, but I started eating my grain and fruit in the evening meal making sure I had my protein and vegetables as well. I haven't really had any cravings with anything but I did have a few weeks where I overdid the grains and my weightloss stalled so I went back to 1 to 2 fruits and 2-3 grains and weightloss has resumed. Everyone is different so you will have to see how you react.
I agree, Cann, that you have to experiment with what will set off your cravings. For me, it was pretty much everything at first, until I figured out how to combine the foods so that I wouldn't go overboard.
Now I'm okay because I only do Phase 2 foods once a day, in small amounts and AFTER starting the meal with a salad. I was going back into the carby foods like I had eaten them before: eating solo things like crackers for a snack instead of celery with cheese, pizza (even though the crust was whole wheat), my much-beloved granola. The "blood sugar followed by insulin" spike-and-drop mechanism had me craving like a monster again.
I had to go back to Phase I and restart the whole process for a few days before learning how to work Phase 2 to suit my body chemistry. I finally tried fruit again yesterday as part of my dinner meal, and I did okay.
So I guess this was a long way of saying "everybody's different", "you'll have to see what works for you" and "whatever you do, START SLOW" to keep from undoing the great results you've had on Phase 1.
I'm back on phase 2 myself today and it feels so good to have my oatmeal for breakfast. Before I went on phase 2 I was eating my oatmeal with a sliced banana and blueberries. I plan on waiting a bit before bringing back bananas. When I started South Beach years ago, they were one of the things that was not allowed. And I LOVE bananas! I think I was okay having one with my oatmeal but I would start having one as a snack if I noticed they were getting too ripe. So for now, I am going to wait.
I personally think that adding berries in is one of the best fruits. I know that oatmeal doesn't set off cravings for me. However you choose, just take it slow.
Going to Start Phase II on Monday...Have Questions
