So I have lost ALOT of weight...basicly read the WDD book and stopped over-eating..I give all the credit to this book as setting my standard of eating every single day..no matter what plan I follow..the fundamentals of this book are the same..mentally. Although I did really great this summer and lost an additional 15 more..I have once again stopped losing..I have been at 265 for about six weeks now. Big Sigh.

Last night I drug out my old SBD book and came up with the idea to do 3 days Phase one..M, Tues., Wed. and 3 days Phase two..with ONE free day on the weekends?? I already eat healthier foods and low-carb..so I was wondering if this mix up would work.

I have also been reading alot on RAW diets...basicly Fruit only till noon..then RAW veggies and seeds/nuts, and then dinner is your main meal..protein and whole grains. The idea is to have the larger meal at the END of the day when your body does NOT need the energy for daily activities?? I thought about doing alos...Two days phase 1, Two days phase 2, and Two days raw diet..and ONE free day??

What do you guys think? Any advice is greatly appreciated as I sooooooo want to be at 249!!!! That would make me sooooo HAPPY! Thought about just staying in PHASE 1 until I get to 249????? But I have all kinds of crazy thoughts...LOL! I know I need to do it a way that I can stick with for forever.

I think if you want to try it, you should go for it, and see how it works for you. Some people find that they can undo a whole week's worth of work in one free day, other's say it's the only thing that has kept them from giving up after week 2. Consider it an experiment, and if you find out that it doesn't work for you, don't give up, just give up this particular experiment, and try a new one.

Well, all big diets generally stemmed from others, and yours seems to stem from a couple of others, plus it sounds way healthy, so I don't see why it wouldn't work. Good luck and keep us posted!

I'm all for doing what works best for you, being a modified Beach Watcher. Just make sure no matter what you do that you get enough calories. I'd fiddle around and try to see what works best for you, but maybe enter everything you eat into Fitday so you make sure you're eating enough.

Good luck to you, no matter what you decide!

Lisa

Whatever you decide to do, skinny4baby, just be sure that you are eating healthy, balanced meals and watching your calories. I think entering your food diary daily into Fitday will help you keep track of just what you are eating and the areas you need to work on. Good luck, and I hope you can find something that works for you.

I don't necessarily think that eating your biggest meal of the day for dinner is a good idea. I've always been told by doctors and nutritionists that my biggest meal of the day should be breakfast or lunch and dinner should be small. But if it works for you, go for it!

Newer research suggests that it doesn't matter which meal is you largest if you control calories, though it may be easier to eat less if you distribute your calories more evenly throughout the day.

I have to second what Colleen said a few days ago-As long as on your free day you don't go overboard. It's really easy to undo a week's worth of good eating patterns in one day. I know I sure can in a heart beat, maybe make it a special extra treat instead of a complete day.

It's best to find what works for you and your body. Tweak the diets until you can find the one that you're comfortable with and you can stay with for the rest of your life.

Good luck,
sarah in md

Hey, Skinny4Baby! Good for you on coming this far! I know how frustrating hitting a plateau can be, but don't let it drive you to think too many crazy thoughts, okay? Are you measuring yourself as well as weighing? Some people say that when they are on a plateau, they find that their body rearranges itself and their measurements change a lot. Remember, the information the scale can give you is minimal...it's only telling you how much you weigh, not what your body makeup is, what's happening, or how healthy you are. Okay? Using other forms of measurement, like how your clothes fit, how healthy you feel, and measuring the size of your waist, hips, bust, etc. are great ways to give you more information about what's happening.

If you are trying to follow the SBD idea, then with the plan you outlined, you'd have only three days free of cravivngs each week. That might make it really hard to lose. Plus, doing that much Phase 1 could be unhealthy. I'd run it by your doctor or a nutritionist to find out what he/she thinks. There's no reason not to try modifying Phase 2 so it works for you--some people do a Phase 1.5, which should still be healthy as long as you are getting your calories.

As the sisters often say (and they are so right!), it doesn't matter what plan you follow as long as it suits you--they all work. You just have to figure out what plan you can follow for the rest of your life and go with that.

As for the plateau, are you getting enough calories? Sometimes when we plateau we get scared and start cutting back, which makes our body think we are starving so it holds on to the fat even more. Entering your food into fitday (as our wise Beachies have suggested) is a great way to make sure you're getting enough calories. Try mixing up your food and exercise--eat different things at different times of day and do different kinds of exercise on different days. Do interval training if you haven't done it regularly. In time, the plateau will end and you'll see the pounds come off again. You'll hit plateaus many times in your diet journey...just don't let them freak you out! You might want to talk with the Maintainers to get their wise advice about how to handle plateaus.

Glad to have you with us!

Come and join us in the Phase I Thread. http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124754

Thanks so much ladies for all of your support! I really appreciate you all.

I have basicly been on Phase two...not intentially...that is just the way I have been eating...So I thought by being stricter four days out of seven, it may bump me over the edge. I sure hope so.

Ruth...I plan on starting on Monday..with Phase I..I will check that thread out..thanks so much!

For me, Phase 2 looks like Phase 1 for most of the day. By that I mean that I found that by adding back too many grains, even good ones, my cravings increased. I generally try to eat one or two whole grains a day and the rest of my diet is made up of loads of veggies, a good amount of protein, and some fruit.

Personally, and this is just me, I have found that when I allow myself a "free day" that I go overboard and that it leaks into the next day and so on until I realize I'm completely off track. Then I spend a good two weeks or more trying to get back on plan. It's a vicious cycle that I've gone through three times already since starting on South Beach. I think what I need to do is allow myself small, controlled amounts of treats on a more regular basis so that I don't splurge when I reach my breaking point and go off the deep end! I've heard that a lot of maintainers allow themselves a free meal a week, and I'm considering that as an option to keep me on track.

We used to eat our big meal at lunch time and then have a smaller meal for dinner. That worked for us well, until my husband was no longer able to come home for lunch. I liked not feeling so full at bed time. Actually, I started that because I was having bad heartburn with my second pregnancy and it completely alleviated that problem.

Regarding the raw foods idea, there's no reason you couldn't incorporate those things into your day. I like the idea of using them in the morning and for snacks. There are benefits of cooking foods, so by eating raw in the morning you get the benefit of the raw foods plus the cooked foods.

Good luck with whatever plan you choose! Let us know how it goes!

Kara