I was on SBD a couple of years ago and had a lot of good things to say. This time it seems like i'm struggling to lose any weight. I believe I am eating pretty good and I am excercising 4-5 times a week for atleast 45 minutes. And I have enough extra weight that I know I should be losing SOMEthing. Could it be possible that I am not eating enough? It seems hard to believe being overweight that I would need to eat more but I am at a loss. I want to stick with SBD but i'm starting to doubt it since my weight just doesn't seem to be going anywhere.
Here is a basic idea of what I eat during a day. Breakfast - 1 egg plus 1 egg white (I add tomatoes some days) Snack - String Cheese Lunch - Usually a salad with grilled chicken and greek vinagrette dressing Snack - FF Cottage Cheese or veggies Dinner - Chicken w/ Veggies (most common dinner meal)
I might throw in a couple of sugar free chocolates in there too somedays.
Wow. That doesn't look like very much food at all. Have you tried adding up the calories and seeing how many cals you're getting from this?
I realize that the induction phase of SB is about cutting carbs for now, but you still need the additional cals. Maybe adding in more veggies? I'm not sure how else to get the cals up w/out adding fruit or complex carbs (or more protein, but you dont' really need more protein it looks like).
The South Beach Diet™ is designed so that you can easily swap meals and ingredients. If you don't like eggs for breakfast, have low-fat cottage cheese or lean meat instead. Not a fish lover? Then choose lean beef or poultry. In Phase 1 of the diet, you can eat as many proteins and vegetables as you like, plus fats like olive oil. Fruit and starches aren't allowed until Phase 2. Here's a look at some general eating guidelines. For specific food choices, check out the Phase 1 Foods to Enjoy & Avoid list.
BREAKFAST
Protein: Quantity is not limited.
Vegetables: Minimum 1/2 cup.
Fruit: None
Starch: None
Milk/Dairy: 2 cups allowed daily (including yogurt)
Fat: 1 tsp mayonnaise or oil (optional)
SNACK
Snacks are required. Choose a protein, vegetable, fat-free plain yogurt, or nuts/seeds.
LUNCH
Protein: Quantity is not limited.
Vegetables: Minimum 2 cups.
Fruit: None
Starch: None
Milk/Dairy: 2 cups allowed daily (including yogurt)
Fat: 1 Tbsp mayonnaise or oil
SNACK
Snacks are required. Choose a protein, vegetable, fat-free plain yogurt, or nuts/seeds.
DINNER
Protein: Quantity is not limited.
Vegetables: Minimum 2 cups.
Fruit: None
Starch: None
Milk/Dairy: 2 cups allowed daily (including yogurt)
Fat: 1 Tbsp mayonnaise or oil
DESSERT
Enjoy a Sweet Treat or any of the snack choices.
BEVERAGES
Diet, decaffeinated, sugar-free drinks are not limited. You can enjoy caffeinated coffee or diet sodas with caffeine added, but limit to 1 - 2 servings per day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How to adapt your meal plan - Phase 2
In Phase 2, you'll gradually begin to reintroduce healthy starches and carbohydrates into your diet, starting with low-glycemic index ones like oatmeal and couscous, and eventually moving on to high-glycemic ones like fruits and whole-grain bread. The goal is to eat healthy carbs while continuing to lose weight, so pay attention to how they affect you. If your weight loss stalls or cravings return, cut back or try some different carbs and monitor the results. Here's a look at general eating guidelines. Want specific food choices? You can now eat anything from the Phase 1 Foods to Enjoy list as well as items from the Phase 2 Foods to Reintroduce list.
BREAKFAST
Protein: Quantity is not limited.
Vegetables: Minimum 1/2 cup.
Fruit: 1 fruit serving allowed daily (with this meal or other). Gradually increase to 3 total servings for the day.
Starch: 1 starch serving allowed daily (with this meal or other). Gradually increase to 2 or 3 total servings for the day.
Milk/Dairy: 2 cups allowed daily (including yogurt)
Fat: 1 tsp mayonnaise or oil (optional)
LUNCH
Protein: Quantity is not limited.
Vegetables: Minimum 2 cups.
Fruit: 1 fruit serving allowed daily (with this meal or other). Gradually increase to 3 total servings for the day.
Starch: 1 starch serving allowed daily (with this meal or other). Gradually increase to 2 or 3 total servings for the day.
Milk/Dairy: 2 cups allowed daily (including yogurt)
Fat: 1 Tbsp mayonnaise or oil
DINNER
Protein: Quantity is not limited.
Vegetables: Minimum 2 cups.
Fruit: 1 fruit serving allowed daily (with this meal or other). Gradually increase to 3 total servings for the day.
Starch: 1 starch serving allowed daily (with this meal or other). Gradually increase to 2 or 3 total servings for the day.
Milk/Dairy: 2 cups allowed daily (including yogurt)
Fat: 1 Tbsp mayonnaise or oil
SNACKS AND DESSERT
Snacks and dessert are optional. Choose a protein, vegetable, fat-free plain yogurt, artificially sweetened non-fat flavored yogurt, nuts/seeds, or a Sweet Treat.
BEVERAGES
Diet, decaffeinated, sugar-free drinks are not limited. You can enjoy caffeinated coffee or diet sodas with caffeine added, but limit to 1 - 2 servings per day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How to adapt your meal plan - Phase 3
By the time you reach Phase 3, you'll know which starches and carbs you can eat without gaining weight, so you'll have already integrated them into your diet. You'll be eating normal foods in normal-size portions, sticking to the good carbs and good fats. There's no list of forbidden foods in Phase 3, however. In other words, if you want it, and it doesn't undo all your sacrifices, you should go ahead and enjoy it! Here's a look at general eating guidelines.
If you'd like to adapt some of your meals to exclude meat, simply choose protein sources such as beans, soy products, lower fat cheese, eggs and egg substitutes, and eat vegetables and nuts for snacks. You can also choose to receive vegetarian-only meal plans, complete with shopping lists, by selecting "vegetarian" in the Profile area.
BREAKFAST
Protein: Quantity is not limited.
Vegetables: Minimum 1/2 cup.
Fruit: 3 fruit servings allowed daily.
Starch: 3 to 4 starch servings allowed daily.
Milk/Dairy: 2 cups allowed daily (including yogurt)
Fat: 1 tsp mayonnaise or oil (optional)
LUNCH
Protein: Quantity is not limited.
Vegetables: Minimum 2 cups.
Fruit: 3 fruit servings allowed daily.
Starch: 3 to 4 starch servings allowed daily.
Milk/Dairy: 2 cups allowed daily (including yogurt)
Fat: 1 Tbsp mayonnaise or oil
DINNER
Protein: Quantity is not limited.
Vegetables: Minimum 2 cups.
Fruit: 3 fruit servings allowed daily.
Starch: 3 to 4 starch servings allowed daily.
Milk/Dairy: 2 cups allowed daily (including yogurt)
Fat: 1 Tbsp mayonnaise or oil
SNACKS AND DESSERT
Snacks and desserts are optional: Choose a protein, vegetable, fat-free plain yogurt, artificially sweetened non-fat flavored yogurt, nuts/seeds, or a Sweet Treat.
BEVERAGES
Diet, decaffeinated, sugar-free drinks are not limited. You can enjoy caffeinated coffee or diet sodas with caffeine added, but limit to 1 - 2 servings per day.
Yep...this seems very low on calories and to be honest, good fat-- especially if you are doing that much exercise...
Try some small changes to up the calories...
To your eggs add veggies: mushrooms, spinach, bell peppers, 1/2 c salsa (homemade or chunky style is very satisfying)...even some low fat cheese. Also you could add some Canadian Bacon or Lean Deli Meat.
As for the salad...make sure this is not just lettuce. Add veggies...tomatoes, bell peppers, cucs, celery, broc, cauliflower, avacado, zucchini, squash, and low fat cheese.
Low Carb Peanut Butter or some nuts would not only add protein, but some essential fats. "Good fat helps burn fat".
Also if you like fish, it has essential fats. Tuna can be eaten straight from the can...with a little lemon pepper or garlic salt. Those small 3 oz cans are great for this.
Try throwing your daily intake into fitday. www.fitday.com
You should be at at the very least 1200 calories. The days that I have less -- and still feel like I'm eating a lot -- I start to feel sluggish and my weightloss slows.
Thank you everyone for your input.
Yesterday I tried to eat more and added some pistachios in there and it showed on the scale. It actually dropped a little. So that's good. I hate counting calories but now I am trying to do that and still follow SBD.
I hope it works.
Thanks again.
You shouldn't have to count calories all the time, but it can be helpful to occasionally use FitDay or another calorie counting guide. I tend to use it for about 1-2 weeks at a time. I like the graphics, but it is time consuming.
I think the template that Nessa shared is a really good way to be on plan and not have to count calories.
I too use that template as my guideline of what to eat each day. I can honestly say that I eat way way more calories than any of you and as long as they are on this food plan, I do see a weight lose not gain. The key is "as long as they are on this food plan".
I know a lot of people are coming from very restricted diet plans to SBD but I honestly don't know how you can get all of the required foods in each day and not eat at least 1800 calories. If someone can eat less and still get all of the required foods in each day, please tell me, because I would like to know how you do that.
I am hungry when meal time comes around. I eat a mid morning and mid afternoon snack. My stomach lets me know when it is hungry. With eating lean meats, reduced fat cheeses, only 3 TB of good fats per day, skim milk, non fat or fat free cottage cheese or yogurt, no sugar and lots of vegetables......aren't you hungry?? This is a low fat, no sugar food plan. Remove those from your diet and you are going to lose weight. It's a given.
Oh, by the way, I've eaten 1200 calories by my evening meal! And, when my evening meal is cooked, I am ready to eat!
And contrary to what Dr. A. says, I am hungry on this diet. Yes, eating all of that protein for snacks too. The one thing that I am encountering on this plan is low blood sugar problems (probably explains the hunger). I need to keep my fruit way way down so I can lose and I am sure that has something to do with the hunger pangs as well.
Not eating enough??
So that's good. I hate counting calories but now I am trying to do that and still follow SBD.
I really feel like the odd person out around here
