There's a lot you can have!! I'm drinking sugar free kool-aid right now, you can have iced tea (Sweetened with Splenda), or they have minute maid light drinks in limeade, lemonade that are 15 calories a serving with no sugar. At work, I have the crystal light lemonade packs to go (dump them in a water bottle!) and also propel grape flavored drink mix (Again, dump them in a water bottle!). Both are sugar free and yummy! If you like water but just need to jazz it up, try adding cucumber slices. Sounds weird but tastes really crisp and refreshing. Good luck, I know how it gets redundant! It's good you're not too into diet soda, though I admit it.. I do like a diet sprite every now and then!

I love sun tea in the summertime. I also like the South Beach drink mixes. The tropical breeze flavor is very good.

Hi All,
I'm feeling a bit more optimistic than earlier in the week. I'm back down on the scale so while I've lost absolutely NOTHING this week, and 1/2 of last week, I'm still down and not starving, so I guess baby-steps are the rule. And, physically it's impossible to be eating this healthily and this "light" (approx 1400 cal/day) and NOT lose at some point. I have noticed that the older I get, the more sporadic my weight loss is. When I was young, if I was faithful, I'd lose 2# per week. Now, I tend to lose in larger chunks every few weeks. So, can I hold on until the scale drops? We'll see.

Today is day 21 so tomorrow I think I'm entering phase 1.5 and will have 2 fruits per day added to my repertoire. I've got a hankerin' for blueberries.

Happy Friday all!!

Hey everyone! I weighed this morning and my stall is officially over thank goodness. I am down 2 lbs. Not a lot, but atleast it's something. I think it helped that I worked out more this week. Now I just want to keep the momentum going. I hope all of you are having a good week. Tomorrow is my last graduation party and then no celebrations until the 4th of July, yay!

Hi everyone :) I'm on day 12 of phase 1 and feel that I'm doing quite well. My weight loss has slowed down from the first week, but I expected that. From here on out I'll be working on losing 1-2 lbs a week.

Like Mindy said, I can't be eating this well and walking regularly and not begin to lose weight.

Hi Girls! I will start today! I dont know all the FAQ yet but I hope I will find them here. I have some doubts about strawberries and tomatoes but I will hope I will resolve them.

The reason why I have choose this diet is because I have notices intuitively its the best for my body even before I knew that is called SB diet. I have noticed that the best for me is when I eat in that way and also If I eat carbs that they should be done separately from the proteins.

My body then does not collect excess liquids I have nice indigestion and feel great and not hungry. So because of that I think this is good choice and I would recommend it to everyone! Try it and go for it!

My goal is not to give up no matter what and no matter if I do some take offs from the wagon now and than. I think the persistence is the key to success.

So good luck to everyone! :-)

Day 1 on Phase 1 and my 1st post
 

Off to a great start :D For breakfast: I had a hard boiled egg and celery with low fat cream cheese spread (3 pepperocini - green pepper- spread mixed low fat cream cheese) 3 black olives and 2 cherry tomatoes. For lunch: Lean Cuisine Sirloin Tips w/ broccoli. For dinner: Salad w/lemon and EVOO and a stir fry of eggplant and lean ground pork. Snack: 15 Pistachios and maybe 15 more later and more celery w/ spread. i had one cup of coffee w/ splenda, 1 diet Dr. Pepper and treated myself to a San Pelligrino. I also weighed in at work for the weight loss challenge.

Hi everyone! I am on day twelve and have been strictly on plan until... last night I had a glass of wine at my nieces graduation party. I was so mad at myself and then thought OK-lifestyle change-not diet. So today and for the rest of phase one I will be whine and wine free. The good news is that I stayed on plan with my food while everyone else was eating lots of crap. Sooo. move on. I usually just say-oh I blew it and binge so....

Have a great OP day everyone. Kim

Been doing phase 1 since Thursday clean. Been working on it since Monday but had a friend leave so not a good time to start. I am finding it hard not to have that slice of bread or ww tortilla with breakfast. Spend most of the week at the pool with the kids so today is house cleaning and laundry.

tchermom,SmilesIowa- Hang in there and keep going.
curleegirl,ADDgirl-:wave: welcome and good luck
gypsyrose-2 more days! Have you thought how you will go into the next phase? I bought blueberries and froze them.
H2ODawg-Have you been on phase 1 for 21 days?

Hope everyone has a great day and a safe one.

Sunflower, I've been thinking very carefully about going into ph2. I'm planning to have once slice of sprouted whole grain toast with breakfast, and am planning to use some recipes this week that add brown rice and cooked apple to my menu. I want to do this very gradually and carefully.

The good thing is that this is the way I prefer to eat most of the time, except when cravings grab hold of me :dizzy: and I fall into old eating patterns. Right now I think I'm in a good place mentally and I'm working on staying there.

Hang in there, ph1 is only for two weeks, and then you can have that slice of bread of WW tortilla with breakfast :) Two weeks isn't that long!

tchrmom, you did good!:carrot: Even though you slipped up, you have the right attitude...just get back on track :)

Hi curleegirl :) I've never had eggplant before, I should try it.

ADD girl :welcome3: If you haven't yet, be sure to read the book. It's a great source of information and helps you understand the foundations of this way of eating. And yep, persistence is the key. :running:

Happy Saturday to y'all :flow2: I'm off to fix some breakfast and get my shopping list together for next week. I found some neat recipes here and am looking forward to trying them out.

Curleegirl, be careful with the frozen meals. Most of them have cornstarch and added sugars if you read the ingredients, which aren't allowed on South Beach. Not to mention all the sodium. Plus I find them not too filling and not nearly enough veggies.

Ladies... I am ALMOST to phase 2.. Monday is my last day.. I am down a total of six pounds today and have been fluctuating between a total of 3 pounds lost and 6 pounds, so I hope I finish up phase 1 with 6 lost or a little more.. Either way, I'll be glad to eat fruit again!!! Still going to take it very slow with the bread introduction.. as I now know that bready type things are major overeating triggers for me. I'm excited!

Hi everyone! Thank you for a great welcome :-)))

I have tried 2-3 day to be on SB but, in fact, my first day was yesterday. I did ate a little bit more then I should but I am concentrating on the content not quantity, I think that will come by time (I learned that).

I feed O.K. and I must say that I have a such a great indigestion for this few days that I
am tring that I cant beleave it. Everything have stared working
:-)

Popcorn, great, good for you! Dont think about 3 or 6 pounds, think about that how you did made it for 2 weeks, and that is a lot from my perspective :-) And I am sure you dont have the huge hunger that you used to have sometimes so...just keep on. And my advice - live out bread for 2 weeks more if you are the same type like I am, adoring bread. Eat potato, pasta e.t.c. but I am not sure that you will resist brad once you start eating it. I know I cant...

Hi Phxsunflowe,
Not exaclty. Other attempts at SB taught me that when I overdid the start into Phase 2, that everything stalled and I ended up both gaining a little back and fast-tracking my way to "normal" eating which derailed the whole thing!

This time around, I am inching my way into Phase 2. Today is day 23 for me and I consider this Phase 1.50. Last week I added one fruit per day to the regular Phase 1 regime (which was Phase 1.25, in my book), and this week am adding 2 fruits per day. I should also say that I am also eating Carb-Smart yogurt (Dannon) and smoothies (1 each per day) and SF Pudding at night, with the occasional square of dark chocolate. Last week I was THRILLED to add mandarins to my salad and this week am going to have strawberries and blueberries. Yippee.

That said, my loss was REAL fast at first, then stalled, now slowly creeping down. But, at 42, I can't expect (tho I do WISH!) the fast weight loss of my 20s and 30s.

Best of luck to you and I do think you need to LIVE. Don't beat yourself up about a wine. In Oprah's mag this month there's a great article by Martha Beck (I think that's her name) about being naturally thin - the focus on the brain and I know this is true - my brain is my worst enemy - that in the process of forgiving yourself for "slips" you take away the stress that causes more (bad) eating! Genius! Last night my DH and I went to Five Guys, never been before and won't make it a habit, but I had my first fries in 3+ weeks. Ate the burger w/o the bun. It was a nice treat but today is a new day and I am focusing on the great food in the house and the loss. Forgiving myself and moving on. THAT'S progress!

:carrot:

Good Morning!

This will be my first day in Phase 1, here is the menu I'd love some critiques:-

Brunch (got up late haha)
Scrambled eggs - 2 extra large omega eggs, 1/2 chopped green pepper, 1/2 chopped green onion, 1/2 chopped roma tomato, hot sauce, cup brewed black tea, 1/4 cup 1% milk

Lunch
Turkey Burger - 3oz ground turkey white meat (97/3), seasonings, topped with 0.5oz crumbled blue cheese, 2 slices beef tomato, 2 cups romaine salad, 1/2 cup sliced cucumber, balsamic vinegar

PM Snack
Turkey Roll Ups - 3 slices lean deli turkey breast, 1 laughing cow light cheese triangle, 1 medium green onion, can V8

Dinner
3oz beef pot roast, 1 cup sauteed kale in 1/2 tablespoon evoo, lots of garlic, 1 cup steamed broccoli

Water
At least 2 liters.

I have lost my food plan that I made out on Friday! I know I took it out of my purse but after that who knows lol! I have it saved on my computer but it's at work (naughty me). I think I can remember what I had planned for lunch Monday and Tuesday but that's still annoying.

just wanted to comment on your eating....personally i don't beleive lean cuisine is south beach friendly. low fat tends to have sugar added to replace the fat. not to mention all the salt in there meals will slow your weight loss. and you seem to be lacking in veggies...you should be getting 4.5 cups a day in.

hi all day 3 of clean phase one is on. Tonight is a bbq at brothers house so will really have to watch what goes in to keep it clean. He is planning smoked pork roast, brown rice, mashed potatoes for those that don't do rice, gravy, green beans, and a salad if anyone wants one, and cake. I know the cake will be the reduced sugar one but.....and brown rice....are going to be hard to pass up. He is trying!!! I think I am going to make a batch of black bean brownies and take some coolwhip with me!! good thought!!

Breakfast was 2 egg whites & 1 egg topped with 2Tbls of lf cheese and 1/4c salsa, 4 oz of v8, and 2 slices of crispy bacon.

The grocery store is calling my name and I do need to go get more produce, and canned beans are on sale this week.

H2ODawg- I understand now. I was thinking that I will need to do the end of phase 1 the same way. I just hope that I can clean up my eating and that losing weight starts again.

Potatoes aren't allowed on SB. Only sweet potatoes on Phase II. Pasta is only the 100% whole grain kind.

I think we're only supposed to have 4 oz. of this type of product daily. Sounds like you're getting more than that if you're consuming one of each of these daily.

From the sticky in the FAQs:

Yogurt - artificially sweetened non-fat flavored yogurt (limit to 4 ounces daily and avoid varieties that contain high fructose corn syrup).

made lasagna with zucchini strips instead of noodles and added fresh mushrooms. Very yummy and 2 of the 4 kids said they liked it better than the one with noodles I made for the rest of the family.

Pook - Great job getting those vegetables in! I'd suggest adding some beans in (I always suggest adding beans ;) ), maybe refried beans with breakfast or hummus and veggies for a snack. Remember you can also have a dessert, something like a ricotta thing or Greek yogurt. Do you feel satisfied with the amount of food?

Phxsunflower - that lasagna sounds great! I'm going to try mine that way when it's in season

Hi Cyndi :)

It's funny you should mention beans, I had home made hummus with veggies on my plan, and thought I had a can of chickpeas in the cupboard with which to make it however on checking the cupboard I don't. I'll be buying a can tomorrow as veggies + hummus sound so good. I have tuna salad planned for lunch tomorrow and Tuesday, I'm planning on adding black beans to it for some added fibre and protein.

Today wasn't the best day for feeling satisfied and I know I didn't eat enough. We got up late so I missed my morning snack and it's been roasting here so I didn't have much of an appetite anyway. I'm serving two veggies with my evening meal to make up for my missing starch, I usually have rice or sweet potato.

Oh and I found my meal plan I thought I'd lost, I had filed it away with some recipies I printed off. I really need to get some of those index cards.

Anne,
That could be right. I may have over estimated b/c as I think about it, I buy one 4-pk of yogurt and one 4-pk of smoothies to take me through the week, so that's definitely not 2 per day. :o I'm not going to battle over yogurt, though. I don't like beans and rarely eat them and eat an occasional string cheese stick, so I consider yogurt to be a good choice, even if on occasion I have more of it than I should. The yogurt cups are 45 cal and the smoothies 60 - how bad can they be? I didn't get fat eating yogurt!

Thanks for keeping in check. ;)
Mindy

Day 2 of Phase 1 for me today, I got a rotten night's sleep and woke up feeling hungry. Here is the menu for today:-

Breakfast - Turkey Bacon and Cheese Cup from SB Cookbook, 5.5fl oz can low sodium V8

A.M Snack - 1/2 cup 2% milk cottage cheese, 2 celery sticks cut up

Lunch - Tuna Pasta Salad, own creation - 3oz water packed tuna drained, 1/2 cup chopped celery, 1/2 cup chopped tomato, 1 tbls chopped onion, 1 tbls plain ff yoghurt, 1 tbls light mayo, 1 cup steamed broccoli

P.M Snack - Turkey Roll Up - 3 slices lean turkey deli breast, 1 laughing cow light cheese triangle, 5.5fl oz oz can low sodium V8

Dinner - 3oz pot roast, 1 cup sauteed kale, 1/2 tbls evoo, lots of garlic, 1 cup frozen green beans

I need to get to the supermarket today and buy some beans. I added up my calories from the breakfast meal and they are a little low so I think I'm going to add 1/2 cup refried beans to breakfast which sounds really good right now.

Pook - the beans will really help keep you full too

Ok. Something to admit - I had a pizza last night. Today I have started fresh. First day is behind me and I will not give up until 14 days in a row are finished. Feeling better already! Keep on everyone!

Good Morning

I've tweaked my menu a little and added some beans. I've been feeling satisfied after meals but overall throughout the day I know I'm not getting enough calories and am feeling a little tired and headachy. Here is today's plan:-

Breakfast - Turkey Bacon and Cheese cup (SB Cookbook), 5.5fl oz low sodium V8, 1/2 cup organic vegetarian refried beans, 8fl oz brewed tea, 1/4 cup 1% milk.

A.M. Snack - scant 1/2 cup home made hummus (chickpeas, parsley, lemon juice, garlic, spices), 1/2 sliced orange pepper, 5 sliced radishes

Lunch - going to Jason’s Deli to try out their salad bar.

P.M Snack - 1/2 cup cottage cheese

Dinner - 3oz baked salmon, roasted asparagus with 1 tbls evoo and lots of garlic

My lunch plan this week has fallen apart a little, mainly due to the fact that I can't stomach any more tuna and had made tuna salad for two days, have also eaten enough pot roast which I was hoping to bring a couple days too. I'm going to Jason's Deli to check out their salad bar which is supposed to be very very good. Tomorrow's lunch is who knows, I hate not planning. Next week's meal plans are going to have to be much smarter.

Pook, I see only 1/4 cup of dairy. That should be more. Can you add yogurt and more milk? Cheese is not considered dairy on this plan, by the way.

Abovethedin, planning is key to success on this plan, especially in Phase I. If you are eating outside the home, you need to ask the hostess what she is serving & work around it, bring food from home, scout restaurant menus online before leaving home. Yes the 7# is probably mostly water, but you need a clean Phase I before moving on, especially if you're having problems resisting the sweets and bad carbs.

I weighed this morning I have lost a total of 12 lbs in 5 weeks:carrot:

I pretty much stayed in phase 1 the first 4 weeks. the end of 4 weeks I had a little carbs and then right back to phase 1 yesterday. Still moving right along.

Good luck everyone

Hi all! I started Phase 1 yesterday. And usually my body rolls with anything I do it. I was expecting things to go easily. But I got the Phase 1 flu yesterday evening. Really surprised me. I ended up going to bed early. I'm still pretty wiped out today. I'm not hungry though.

I think I am doing everything right. I ate more veggies than required. I had some protein with every meal and ate all the snacks I was supposed to. I ran an analysis of calories and nutritional information on fit day and pretty much nailed my targets (had 100% of almost all nutrients, and the ones I didn't meet were 80% or higher). Though my carbs were lower than I've ever had them. That is probably what is wearing me out.

I have been doing Weight Watchers, and it worked fine with how I used to eat. But I started looking in PCOS and insulin resistance and realized I was making things worse by my low-fat high-carb diet. I found it impossible to stay satiated on WW. I had enough points to eat almost constantly, and that's what I did.

This diet goes against everything I have always believed about how to eat. In the past when I was trying to be healthy, I ate low-fat vegan. I have no great attachment to meat and still prefer not to eat it much. I have done a lot of research this time, and see how I have been going about things wrong.

I used to think that I wasn't really picky. But allowing things into my diet that I previously regarded as unhealthy is hard. I am only really comfortable with allowing what I perceive as "really healthy" versions of meats, eggs, and dairy. So I buy grass-fed beef, organic chicken, wild caught seafood, etc. Eggs and milk must be organic if at all possible. I have had poor luck finding organic cottage cheese and ricotta and the like (will probably have to take a 1/2 hour trip to Whole Foods). So I do have regular versions of those, but I will keep looking. I will not use artificial sweeteners. I prefer not to use any, but since some sort of sweeting seems to be required, I bought a stevia-based sweetener.

Is dessert absolutely required? I have never been a big sweets person and don't miss it when it isn't there. Usually if I want something sweet I eat some fruit. I see all these dessert recipes, but every one I looked at involved some sort of artificial sweetener. Even the popular ones like Peanut Butter Cup used Sugar-free fudge pops. And the peanut butter cookie used Splenda. I tried the Vanilla Ricotta dessert from the book (l/f ricotta, stevia packet, and vanilla), and I never want to eat that again. So can I just skip dessert?

Sorry this is so long. And I hope it doesn't sound like a long whine. I have abused my body for so long that I finally want to get it right. And I did a lot of research into the best things to eat. I am trying to follow everything. I don't care if I lose a bunch of weight anymore, I just want to be healthy. Anyway, thanks for reading this and for any help you can give.

:welcome3: to all you Newbies!

Qualera, you absolutely do not have to have a sweets treat if you don't feel the need for one. Getting enough veggies, protein and dairy are what's important in this eating plan. And try to include at least one serving of beans daily, too. That will really help stave off the flu-like symptoms you are experiencing, besides helping to keep you feeling full and satisfied.

Thanks for the response. I did have about 2/3 of a cup of black beans yesterday. I eat beans often anyway, so I didn't figure that would be any problem for my system. I'm hoping I do okay on less fiber. I got 23 g yesterday. Which is way under my normal 100+ (I eat a ton of veggies).

I'm sure feeling so bad is just temporary, so I'll stick with it. Planning on taco bake for dinner, so that has some beans in it (my husband is actually excited about it). Also going to make some lentil soup. Thanks again!

Well I made it over the weekend. I hope all of you had a good one. I went down a little, so let's hope that keeps up. I'm not doing that great with exercise, but I hope I pick back up on that this week!!

Have a great one!

Can't seem to keep it going
 

Hi All,

I'm again discouraged by the scale. Today it said minus 9 and not 11.4 as it was. I see it creep up every week in the beginning of the week and then go down again on w/ends. Could this be a (gulp) bathroom issue? :o I take about 5 psyillium each night but to no avail. I'm eating 1-2 big salads per day, plus other veggies if I don't do a salad. What the heck??

I know FOR A FACT that I cannot have gained 2.4 pounds of real weight in 3 days. My calories for the past three days have been: 1425, 1400, 1512.

I also don't have breads/grains in my diet yet. I'm thinking of adding one per day beginning this w/end. That usually stalls my weight loss so I'm afraid of it but I'll just have to keep an eye on the calories and swap it out with something else.