I agree with others who say that sticking to P1 and P2 is quite crucial....when you've lost the weight, allow yourself some freedom.
Also, my whole philosophy on this plan is that if modifications are made...it is no longer SBD.
I need structure in my diet, or it won't work...if I allow leniency, I get too lenient and everything falls to pieces. The "I'll just have a little...this one little thing won't hurt" mentality is really detrimental for me.
I struggle with this. When adhering to the plan precisely, I have difficulty losing without the additional strategy of portion control. While I don't seem to have a problem maintaining my weight following South Beach as directed, losing is another matter. I think I've dieted for so long (since I was 5 years old, and I'm now 42), that my metabolism and hunger signals are completely shot (if they ever worked right in the first place).
So, I do a modified exchange plan, with the added goal of making the vast majority of my choices based on South Beach principles. The closer I stick, the better I feel health-wise and the better I lose weight, but I have to have that portion control built in or I overeat even the lowest glycemic of carbs.
Corn, potatoes watermelon, and pineapple are not SB friendly, but I do include them occasionally without too much concern (counting the exchanges of course). As long as I don't exceed my starch or fruit alottments, I seem to do pretty well with them without significantly driving up hunger or cravings. Potatoes are the riskiest. If choose waxy potatoes (slightly lower starch content) and eat only one serving, it seems ok, but more than once serving every few days and it starts to act like bread (which I can't eat at all without making me hungry).
My biggest problem is the slippery slope. I can get cocky and start thinking that if one small potato fits well into my plan once a week, then two a week will be ok, or maybe even two in one day.... or maybe one whole wheat english muffin (and who am I kidding, I never stop at one piece of bread - even whole grain)... Or I decide that I don't have to "count" and will just make good SBD choices (which I never seem to gain when doing, but it's not enough to lose).
I think how strict a person has to be is a very individual thing. On one end of the spectrum are people who can get their weight and hunger under control just by eliminating only the most processed highest of glycemic carbs (like white flour and sugar). On the other end are people like me who have to not only follow the food choices pretty closely, but perhaps add in portion control as well (calorie, carb or exchange counting).
I used to think that I couldn't allow myself leniency, but I never stuck with overly strict plans either. I needed structure AND flexibility, so I had to do some tweaking. And I have tweaked to the point that I can't call my plan South Beach even though my daily menu could be exactly the same as many "true" South Beacher most days.
Which is why I generally say my plan is "inspired by South Beach," rather that South Beach.
However, I don't think that a tiny tweak is generally a problem for most people. If you can say "I could never follow a plan that didn't allow me to have x once in a while," then it's better to have x occasionally, than to decide that the plan is impossible. It's actually very compatible with the SBD plan outlined in the book, because most of the no-no lists aren't outright forbidden, but of the "avoid or limit" variety, which does allow some flexibility.
When does occasionally turn into frequently, specifically "too frequently?" I think that's fairly easy to determine as the scale will let you know.
things i include in the summer: fresh corn (about once a month) watermelon (several times this summer) occasional pineapple in fruit salad when out.
the thing that made this plan workable for me was the NON-STRICT part of the plan.. the mindset I had on WW years ago was "OMG I went off plan I'm done for"
with SBD I can 'go off plan' and yet NOT go off plan since it's written to allow the types of foods and be more flexible on the amounts...
so if i have too many carrots and too much hummus i'm over amounts but not off plan
and if i have cheesecake for my birthday I'm not eating SBD food but according to Dr. A. I'm not OFF plan because BIRTHDAY TREATS are allowed.
weekly treats are not.
daily treats are not.
that's where WW failed me. NO treats were scheduled in.
my take on this is that day by day it has to be as close to perfect as I can get it. (which allows for slips and extra SBD food obviously)
I do not plan to be off plan on a regular basis. and daily in my regular life I am not.
BUT I do plan off plan on the following days:
my birthday
my anniversary/new years eve (same day)
thanksgiving (my house, my food, i know what i'm eating)
all other treats are unplanned but forgiven
this is not about perfection
it's about being healthy and staying healthy
it's about doing the best we can daily and getting better all the time
who in the world 2 years ago thought I would LOOK FORWARD to getting on the bike and riding?
who in the world thought 2 years ago a grated apple in my oatmeal would be A TREAT... OMG...
a snack last night was A PEACH... a PEACH for goodness sake NOT an ice cream
not peanut butter and jelly on toast (after a full dinner)
not chips and dips or other stuff
a well thought out planned PEACH....
that's what the goal is... to get to the point where your life says
Phase I - I followed the plan exactly as written.
Phase II - started out well, went on vacation and that threw a monkey wrench in phase II! When I was on vacation, though, I didn't totally blow it - I enjoyed my food but made modifications to what I was eating. For example, I had a burger, but I didn't eat the bun. I loaded up on veggies with the burger and left the fries alone. When I got back from vacation, I did phase I for a week, to detox the stuff I shouldn't have eaten (or drank, lol) while I was on vacation. The result? For the month, I didn't lose any, but I didn't GAIN any either. I'm happy with that.
I've been on a phase 1.5 of sorts, eating a few phase II allowed foods here and there, but still watching what I eat and how it impacts my weight loss (or gain). I was also drinking too much alcohol on the weekends. I think that modification was blowing it for me and stalling my weight loss. The scale has started moving again since I stopped drinking on the weekend.
Even though this plan is a little strict, there are also modifications for LIFE. Life happens! There will be that unplanned event, banquet, party, celebration, vacation, whatever. After the event is over, go back to phase I and get back on track. And that, to me, is the part that makes this plan liveable, just as long as you're not waffling back to phase one weekly.
I think the "diet" mentality has been the death of many weight loss plans. We've been conditioned to demand perfection and to punish ourselves for "falling off the wagon." It's like in a short story I had published in the now defunct BBW magazine (I've got the story on my 3FC blog) in which "Beauty" breaks the spell of her "Slime-fasting powder" potion by forgetting to remove the skin from her 1 oz portion of dragon breast. The spell is broken and she regains all of the weight.
How many of us have followed a plan "perfectly" and punished ourself for every "slip," until we could stand the punishment no longer, and abandoned the plan entirely.
While I've never lost weight so slowly before, I've also NEVER EVER EVER been on a downward trend for so VERY long), and while I have found two very important physical factors to my weight loss (changing my bc and reducing carbs, especially high glycemic carbs), I think the more important difference is that for once I'm focusing on progress, not perfection. NO particular food or amount of food is "bad," or "cheating" - it's just an imperfect choice. By taking "bad" out of the equation, I've eliminated guilt, and without guilt - there's no guilt inspired binge. There's absolutely no reason to binge because I'm "starting over tomorrow," because there is no starting over.
It's such a subtle mental shift, that I can hardly believe it makes as much of a difference as it does. If I want something "off plan," because there really is no such thing (just a less than perfect choice), I ask myself if I want it badly enough to be content with the delay in weight loss the choice (or many like it) could make. Because I know I can have it (whatever "it" is) whenever I want it, it's a lot easier to pass up than if I convince myself this is my "last chance" to enjoy x, y, or z.
Many diets and weight loss plans focus on eating differently in some way, once a person reaches ideal weight. There's nothing inherently wrong with that, except that every change in behavior requires practice, sometimes a lot of practice. Because I am eating exactly as I see myself eating for the rest of my life, once I reach my ideal weight (which I might do several times, since only I get to decide what that is, and I may change my mind) there will be no "adjustment period" to my "new way of life" because there'll be no new way, it'll be the same way I've been doing it all along. Now there will be tweaks, as the number of exchanges I will plan for myself will be lower, and I will still exceed my plan on occasion (and that's ok), but the skills I learn and the plans I follow will be very much the same. It may even be possible at some point to follow SBD or something very much like it without the exchange system backup (but I'm not counting on it).
It's amazing how taking "bad" out of the equation has been a turning point for me. When the scale goes up, it's not a tragedy, because my weight is NOT the be-all-and-end-all of my existence. It's a "learning opportunity." Are my rings tight? Maybe it's water-retention. Have I had a salty meal? Did I follow my exchange plan and write in my journal? Did I eat a high glycemic carb food that made me hungrier? I can objectively look at my weight as both scientist and lab rat. Of course from the rat's perspective, frustration and fear can creep in, but the scientist reins that in.
I don't think I've realize exactly how much I have changed, until just this morning. Hubby and I just got back from a vacation with my folks to visit family and see the brand new nephew (my youngest sister just had son number three). I took my scale and food journal down, but the scale didn't survive the trip, and my parents' scale can't weigh me. Oh, well I still had the food journal, right? I journaled two days of the 12 we were there, and I "threw caution to the wind" and ate what I wanted to.
I was SURE that I had gained a large amount of weight in those two weeks. I was prepared to have gained so much, that I was preparing myself for the bad news and praying it was under 5 lbs. I would have been overjoyed if it was ONLY 5 lbs.
I weighed myself this morning, and I haven't even gained 1 full pound. Just about half a pound, and my ring is very tight (a sure sign of water retention) which makes sense because on Monday we went to a chinese mega buffet and I completely "pigged out," or so was my perception. Though looking back, what I pigged out on (sushi, seaweed salad, cold boiled shrimp, chicken skewers and milky a jello desert and a fried item or two) was very different than what I would have pigged out on in the past (fried wontons, crab rangoon, general tso's chicken, sweet and sour pork and other fried goodies).
I didn't even have one piece of the general tso's chicken (deep fried chicken in a sweet sauce - my absolute favorite chinese dish - or at least it always had been). I didn't even think of it, until I was eating the jello desert (instead of the pecan pie, which I know is amazing at this restaurant, but I didn't even consider it - ok I considered it, but I decided it was too heavy after all I'd already eaten).
I'm sitting here and thinking "who was that woman in my body at the restaurant, because it sure couldn't have been me, could it?" I can't tell you how much it is blowing me away as I'm sitting here realizing that my choices were such second nature that I didn't feel the tiniest deprived, in fact I was almost ready to beat myself up a bit (old habits are hard to break) for eating so much more than I "should" have.
But seriously, I am completely awed that I could have gone two weeks without watching what I was eating, and in fact feeling like I was completely splurging, and NOT gain a lot of weight. If I had gained 12 pounds instead of 1/2 lb (of real fat, not just water weight) , I wouldn't have been surprised. How can this dramatic a change in my viewpoint and behavior have occurred without my having noticed it? And here I was prepared to be quite depressed in the weeks following this vacation, and instead I'm quite psyched! So cool.
And despite not being a "real" South Beacher, the South Beach Diet really has been a large part of that success (enough that I'm considering buying the new book).
Kaplods, I have been wondering where you went to. I have missed reading your posts. And you have a 3fC blog? If it's not a private one, I would love to read it. I love the way that you write, reading your posts is like reading a book or an interesting article.
Hey, you guys, I didn't know about the birthday treats, so I am excited about Nov 1st, my 23rd birthday. Although right now I'm completely off the wagon with Ph 2 and need to do something to get back on track... I do plan to be back on track by then and for my birthday, I think I'll have BF take me to the chinese restaurant (I can wait 3 months if I know I will have a planned cheat! Yay!) and perhaps buy a cheesecake. Or, I could make a cheesecake with all the fattening ingredients yet use Splenda, so my planned cheat won't be too horrible.
Thanksgiving, I'll have a planned cheat. Christmas? Christmas Eve? Then too.
I don't think it's so bad to have special holidays where you enjoy some typical holiday fare, as long as your OP the rest of the time. (Something I need to work at before I can indulge in the special treats.)
Scarlett, what's the link to the pasta queen's blog? I would like to read it. I will probably be able to find it by googling, but just in case.
Last edited by Fat Melanie; 08-06-2008 at 01:54 PM.
Hey Melanie, thankyou for the kind completment. My blog isn't private so you should be able to find it easily. If not, PM me. The blog is titled Starting Over, Take 1,847
I picked the name based on an estimate of the number of diets I've probably "started" in my life (having begun dieting at age 5), and the fact that I never plan on "starting over" ever again.
Dr A specifically talks about how this is a lifestyle change and going off plan is not the end of the world, that getting right back on is the key. He talks about how holidays are special and it's ok to indulge as LONG AS YOU GET RIGHT BACK ON.
that means TO ME:
my birthday i eat cheesecake I don't go back to the old ways of life and have a bagel at breakfast (or 2 or 3 with donuts) but my egg and maybe my oatmeal and fruit and i have my salad at lunch (not mcdonalds or burger king)
and then dinner out will be salmon with steamed veggies and instead of skipping dessert i'll have cheesecake if it's at a place that makes GOOD cheesecake.
it means that thanksgiving day i'll get up and have my egg and v8 and start cooking
it means my lunch will be salad and light protein... and dinner will be thanksgiving food including mashed potatoes. but the rolls are whole wheat now... and the apple crisp uses whole wheat and splenda brown sugar...
LIFE IS FILLED WITH SPECIAL EVENTS. i do not indulge in all of them.
i'm losing very very very very very very very very very slowly... but as Kaplods said.. I'm losing and i've been losing since May 2006 and I will continue to lose till the day I die... (or get to goal which ever comes first)
do I do south beach? NOT by the letter of the law... but it's as close to what i'm doing as anything....
Note: This post is actually by Fat Melanie. I was trying to ban a spammer and her post at the same time I was trying to merge two posts and the Gods were against me! Sorry! Awesome! Love the title. Thanks for telling me the title, I look forward to reading.
Dr A specifically talks about how this is a lifestyle change and going off plan is not the end of the world, that getting right back on is the key. He talks about how holidays are special and it's ok to indulge as LONG AS YOU GET RIGHT BACK ON.
that means TO ME:
my birthday i eat cheesecake I don't go back to the old ways of life and have a bagel at breakfast (or 2 or 3 with donuts) but my egg and maybe my oatmeal and fruit and i have my salad at lunch (not mcdonalds or burger king)
and then dinner out will be salmon with steamed veggies and instead of skipping dessert i'll have cheesecake if it's at a place that makes GOOD cheesecake.
it means that thanksgiving day i'll get up and have my egg and v8 and start cooking
it means my lunch will be salad and light protein... and dinner will be thanksgiving food including mashed potatoes. but the rolls are whole wheat now... and the apple crisp uses whole wheat and splenda brown sugar...
I will do the same on thanksgiving, get up have my eggs and v-8 (I used to hate v8 and now I LOVE the taste of it, thanks to ph 1.) and then have thanksgiving foods. Good idea. I will be going to my grandma's and they don't serve breads and stuff with the meal, but there is a special sweet potato dish made with loads of brown sugar... I think I'll make my own version using splenda and bring it with, but definitely indulge in my grandma's special mashed potatoes. Turkey and gravy, mashed potatoes, broccoli with cheese (that's fine for Sbd anyway), stuffing, and Grandma always makes baked ziti as well. So I'll be indulging in the stuffing and ziti, but hmm, just got an idea, I'll bet I could make my own whole wheat stuffing?
I won't indulge on every special event though, but thanksgiving and christmas and my b-day will be one of those days.
Last edited by Ruthxxx; 08-06-2008 at 03:02 PM.
Reason: Removed a SPAM message that was in my buffer when I tried to merge posts.
I can't stress how much I think goals of "perfection" derail alot more of us than it helps. I think a much more practical approach is one of "tweaking" or being "reasonably compliant."
I consider South Beach more a theory of principles to be applied rather than specific lists of allowed and forbidden foods.
What I learned from South Beach is that high glycemic carbs make me ravenously hungry. To avoid being ravenously hungry, choosing the "good" carbs and fats allows me much more freedom than eating things that only make me hungrier. That being said, eating off plan has consequences, not so much that I was "bad" but that it can trigger cravings, so if I do make a "less than perfect choice," I have to be that much more vigilant. It doesn't "undo" anything, it just creates a bit of an extra challenge, and sometimes that's fine. I especially like that my exchange plan offers a bit of a back-up plan. The exchange plan reminds me that if I choose a less than perfect choice, I might find it that much harder to stick with my exchanges.
I'm not saying that most people need the back up, they may just be able to consciously adjust for a high glycemic food. There may be people who find it easier to stick religiously to the most perfect choices than to ever step outside those bounds, but I think those people are rare (probably just as rare as people like me who need a backup plan).
I think we need to stop looking at any diet as "the magic answer," but instead we need to see it as a "tool" we can use to reach a goal. The tools you use help you succeed, but they are not the "secret" to your success, just a component. You put the components together. The food plan you make, your compliance to your plans for success, the exercise you plan and do, the internal messages you tell yourself, the support group(s) to which you belong and contribute.... they're all part of this messy equation.
She lost close to 200 pounds following SBD and inspired me to try SBD. She lost the weight over the course of about 2 years. Sometimes when I'm getting derailed I reread some of her archives, it helps me get into the right mindset. She was very positive and has a good mentality about weight loss.
