Help Please I don't know what I'm doing wrong

  • Hey Beachers.

    Ok So I am just going into phase 1 week2 and for week 1 I went from 200 down to 191.5 (yay) but then this week I've shot back up to 195 in 3 days. (I weigh on Sundays officially, but I weigh every morning after using the restroom and without anything on). Here's a sample of what I'm eating and I'll give you my exercise routine, maybe one of you can see something in my plan that isn't working or that I'm doing wrong. Thanks so much!!


    Week 1 I ate:

    b- Sausage and egg cup with 2 tsp salsa
    s- chicken breast with fresh veggies
    l- curry chicken salad (out of south beach diet book) with peas (I didn't know until yesterday that they weren't allowed on southbeach)
    s-black bean salad (lots of veggies, less than 1 serving cheese, 2tsp dressing)
    d-different recipes out of south beach diet book (usually 1-2 servings protein and 1 serving veggies)

    Also at some point during the day I would have 7-14 almonds and 3 of the days that week I had a serving of sugar free jello

    Week 2 I'm eating:

    b- protein packed cheesecake (from this site)
    s- chicken breast and fresh veggies
    l- kebab recipe from south beach phase 1 cookbook
    s - 3 bean salad (with splenda)
    d - different recipes out of south beach diet book (usually 1-2 servings protein and 1 serving veggies)

    I'm still eating almonds like I did last week and almost nightly have been eating a FF Fudgescile because I'm having these wild cravings for chocolate (which I never had when I wasn't dieting or even last week).

    As for workouts:
    I run/walk 1 hour 4 days a week (going 2.5 miles)
    I do strength training workouts 2 nights a week
    and I have one rest day where I don't do anything at all.



    I'm sure some of this is water weight but I can't tell if I'm gaining any real weight or if there are any flaws in what I'm doing so far. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

    blondie
  • Not real sure but it looks to me like you need more vegs. Make sure you are getting in your veg serving in the morning and at least 2 cups of vegs with lunch and dinner. Are you taking in enough calories for all the exercising you are doing?

    Are you weighing in at the same time each time you weigh? Your weight can vary throughout the day. Make sure you weigh first thing in the morning after using the restroom and preferably without anything on.

    Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
  • Thanks Vicki. I do weigh myself as you had directed (just forgot to mention it the first time around haha). I agree I need more veggies. I packed some extra today at least.
  • Blondiebear, there are a lot of factors that can make your weight fluctuate. Are you due to get your period soon? How about your salt intake? And although we don't usually count calories on SBD, make sure you aren't going overboard. You should be consuming anywhere between 1200 - 2000 a day, depending on your weight and height. That breakfast cheesecake is pretty high in calories, so be diligent about your portion size.

    Other than that, your menu looks pretty good. It's probably a temporary fluctuation and will be gone soon.
  • It's hard to tell what your portion sizes are from your list, so I agree with Cottage that you may want to check your calories for a few days. Since weight can fluctuate day to day, I wouldn't worry about it so much. Eventually the scale will drop again. If you eat your 2 cups of veggies at lunch and supper, you may not consume as much protein, etc. or your snacks might be smaller, so your caloric intake would be less. I don't see any dairy in your menu, just cheese, so don't forget your body needs the Calcium and Vitamin D.
  • Like the others wrote, your menus look fine but check on your portion sizes and add some dairy in. Are you having some good fats each day too?

    And, as others mentioned it could be water weight fluctuations. Those can vary widely from day to day and especially around your monthly time.

    Also (and this is important) when beginning a carb reduction/junk elimination type eating plan you lose a lot of water weight. Often in the second week or so your body is rebalancing its fluids and the scale may go up a bit or stay the same. Don't be alarmed.

    Quote: l- curry chicken salad (out of south beach diet book) with peas (I didn't know until yesterday that they weren't allowed on southbeach)
    1/2 c. of peas are allowed in PH2. I don't think that would contribute to the week 2 gain.

    Re: your exercise...it may be a little too much for PH1. Usually you need more carbs which you will get when you start PH2. Not saying you need to back off or change anything but maybe your body didn't get enough fuel?

    Sounds like you're doing great. Let us know how the continuing weeks are going.
  • Hi Blondiebear-

    As I was analyzing why I have not lost more weight in Wk 2, Phase 1, I recalled that the last time I tried to lose a significant % of BF and increase my lean muscle mass I was using The Daily Plate website. The site helped me determine that I needed to eat 1800 calories/day but as I tracked my meals, I found that I was only able to get in about 1300 which hindered my weight loss. Additionally, depending on your sensitivity to carbs, having peas, a 3 Bean Salad, and a FF Fudgecicle may be too much for your daily intake (e.g. 1 cup of peas has about 20g of carbs, a FF Fudgecicle has 14g of Carbs (try the SF Fudgecicles, and 1 oz. of a 3 Bean Salad has 4g ) and this is not including your almonds and salsa or any of the other recipes you are using that day. It is also important to remember that 64 oz of water is normal intake and those of us that are doing SB AND exercising need to at least double that amount. HTH!!
  • Remember that SBD is not a low carb plan. We eat good carbs and don't count them. The peas were the only food not on plan for phase 1 and, as others noted, are unlikely to have caused any weight gain.

    I do weigh every day and the one thing I have learned is that the scale is unreliable. I can fluctuate 3 lbs overnight with no change in food intake. Take it all with a grain of salt and look at the overall trend.

    The suggestion to track calories and portion size is a good one. Most people don't really know what one serving of anything looks like. Weighing and measuring for a little while is a good exercise, just to help you eyeball a serving size.

    Finally, Phase 1 is not a magic rapid weight loss trick. Some people lose a lot, some don't. either way it will all balance out as you move along in Phase 2. Sounds like you are making really healthy food choices so you are on the right track!
  • Thank you all so much for your suggestions. I seem to have leveled off at 195 (so I guess I'm stuck for the time being). The only thing I can think is that I've had too much fat or good carbs this week and I'm not losing.

    I'm going to try to keep monitoring portion sizes and logging my food and see what insights that brings me. Hopefully I can get that scale moving down again.
  • I really had a stall after starting Phase II, which was horribly discouraging after the great weight loss in phase I (and I only lost 6 lbs on phase I). Hopefully you're just having a bit of a plateau, and will go down again soon!

    Good luck!