Hi Ladies;

I'm going into week 5 of phase 2, and was thinking about some things over the weekend, and wanted some thoughts and sugggestions from you all.

Do any of you journal every single day?
Do you count calories and try to stay below a certain range?
What about fat grams?
Do you have your fruit and grains at specific times?

I have been trying to journal, but find it difficult on a daily basis. I want to work harder at that though.

Thanks in advance

Ruby, when I first started out, I did journal, but got out of the habit and can do it mentally now..I really don't think about it much come to think of it!
Nope, don't count calories.
Nope, don't count fat grams. I only use olive oil, mayo and also sprinkle fresh ground flax seed on my food. No other fats.

As for fruit and grains. I know a lot of people can eat stuff like oatmeal and fruit for breakfast and be ok, but I am NOT one of those people. My body goes into "I'm starving!" mode and I feel awful till lunch. So, my breakfast when I am working is usually a turkey and spinach sandwich on either flat out bread or ezekial. (or leftover dinner!) Followed by a bannana. I can deal fine with grains later in the day Same with fruit, but not in the mornings. I don't get a break for a snack in the mornings, so my breakfast has to carry me over till lunch.

Great questions, Ruby!

If you have time, you may want to check out the stickied threads in our FAQ. There are several that you may find relevant to your questions.

I do journal every day--in terms of writing down what I eat and some other things. I use a book my nutritionist recommended called Weight Loss Confidential Journal and really find it helpful. I also share the journal with my nutritionist at my appointments which keeps me accountable. I didn't need to do this during the majority of my weight loss on SBD, but I found after a small relapse that I needed this to keep me going.

I do not regularly count calories, nor do the majority of people who choose SBD as a WOE. However, there's no reason you can't, and I think many of us do count them when we have a stall/plateau or want to know more about what's going on. A great tool for that is www.fitday.com, but there are other online places that may do the same thing. I'm sure there are many here who could advise you on this. However, you can certainly lose weight on SBD without every counting a single calorie if you stick to the guidelines in the book. I lost over 120 lbs without ever counting a single calorie.

There isn't really any need to count fat grams unless you are under a doctor's order to do so. If you follow the portion sizes of the SBD guidelines and ensure that you are eating mostly (if not all) healthy fats, you should be fine.

Everyone's body is different and some people may find that they have to eat their fruit and grains at specific times of day or at different times from each other (not sure which you mean). You can find out a lot more about that by reading the "What's Your P2 Combo?" thread in the FAQ.

Hope that helps!

Thanks ladies !

I will look through the stickies again I have been just following the book, but I think I was feeling a bit discouraged as I lost just 2 lbs at weigh in this morning. I think I had hoped for more because I had exercised more than ever last week and have not had any slip-ups with my eating since I began.

I know it will be a long and sometimes slow journey. I just began thinking that maybe there is something else I should be doing or could be doing differently.

I'll keep chugging along.

Thanks again!

Can I just say that I think it's so cool that SBD works so well for both Cat and I even though we work it differently. I love this program My inner geek wonders if this is connected to our histories - how overweight were we and for how long? I know my eating disorder issues play into my maintenance strategies. I need to monitor all the time.

I journal almost obsessively, still. I cannot be trusted with food, so I need to be accountable to myself. Journaling and measuring do that for me. I use FitDay PC so I have it with me wherever I go.

I added calorie counting after the first couple of month because, you guessed it, I'm not too good with food. It helps me keep things in perspective and reminds me that those little spoonfuls of PB really add up fast.

Being a vegetarian I actually really liked watching nutrients too. I found that I often didn't get enough Vit. d or E or iron. It's been a good reminder and has helped me learn to balance my diet better. I use the standard 30-40-30 balance but not too carefully. I do try to keep my fat under 30% but my carbs are often higher & protein lower because I eat a lot of vegetables and beans. I am tweaking the numbers again because I'm starting to work with weights. It's an ongoing experiment of 1

I'm really lucky with fruit and can eat it any time and just about any amount without any problems. Grains on the other hand, have been a challenge for me. I am just now able to eat hot cereal for breakfast but only with a T of PB. I'm not sure if it's the protein or the fat or both but that combination works really well. However if I leave the PB out I'm starving by mid-morning. It seems like the grain/fruit think is very individual.

HTH

Ruby- You've lost 20 pounds in a tad less than a month. Don't be discouraged! This is fantastic and your body is probably doing things just the way it needs to. If you are eating OP and exercising then you are doing the right things. Be happy!

I do remember my weight loss slowed a little bit just around 4-5 weeks. Just keep going you are headed in the right direction! My suggestion is to eat healthy and don't deprive yourself. As to exercise, do what is comfortable and don't burn yourself out. The ultimate goal is sticking with this WOL long term, and not giving up or burning out because you get discouraged. As much as we would like the magic genie to take our weight away now, it's a long term proposition and I want to enjoy the process. In the past every hungry day was a struggle.

For me, in the past 13 weeks I have often felt like my body isn't changing as fast as I want it to. The reality is that I am changing one or two pounds at a time.

To answer your questions:
Do any of you journal every single day? No
Do you count calories and try to stay below a certain range?No, I did use fit day a few times to find info when I started baking SB cakes
What about fat grams? No. I am very careful to only eat healthy fats
Do you have your fruit and grains at specific times? Grains, I only eat Ezekial bread/tortillas (lower glycemic ) 2 servings per day, and an occasional bowl of oatmeal. I eat fruit on an empty stomach. For me, it stirs things up when I eat fruit with other food.

I don't put anything in my mouth that isn't SB friendly. I'm averaging 2 pounds per week weight loss right now.

Best Wishes!

ETA-I'm goin' to get one. Today..so I can bounce up and down and be happy.

I don't journal or count calories/fat grams. I do watch and follow the limits on the fat servings according to the SB guidelines and I always eat lean meats and keep my nuts in the recommended allowances. I don't always get my two servings of milk in daily. I eat my cereal in the morning, then no grains until evening. I actually have WW bread or Ezekial bread with almond butter as a bedtime snack and eat so many veggies with lunch/supper that there's no room for starches. I eat fruit at lunch with my yogurt. I follow pretty close to the same formula every day for meals just substituting the proteins and fruits/veggies for variety, so I really don't need to track or journal. It really works for me. I got so tired of tracking exchanges and points on weight watchers. One of the things I love about SB!

Congrats on the weight loss so far. I think you're doing great!

The only thing I have done in the past is journal, I did it for quite some time and it really seemed to keep me more focused on what I was eating. Now that i'm saying it... I think I'll start journaling again.. thanks for the idea

Hi!

Do any of you journal every single day?

~ I blog every day (unless I'm having a really busy weekend day.) I also faithfully check 10-12 bloggers that I have developed friendships with. It's been instrumental in my success!

Do you count calories and try to stay below a certain range?

~ I try to stay between 1,200 and 1,400 calories. I don't count to the nitty gritty calorie, though. Just keep a running daily total in my head.

What about fat grams?

Nope. I eat low fat whenever I can. My meat: I eat my chicken skinless. Beef: it is what it is, come steaks and ribs and roasts. Ground meat is usually turkey and therefore naturally lower in fat than beef ground meat.

Do you have your fruit and grains at specific times.

~ The bulk of my grains are low fat Wheat Thins (about 16) at breakfast on weekdays, and sometimes with my salads. I eat very little starch beyond that. The occasional half bagel in lieu of the Wheat Thins. At my age, I have developed what I call (South Beach) Phase 1.5. Not totally devoid of carbs, but not as much allowed as SB's Phase 2.

Good luck!!!!!

Thanks again ladies for all your input and advice.

All of your suggestions and information is so helpful for me, and I really appreciate it.

It really helps that you are all in this too, and understand everything SB