On Plan Thread - 7/12 - 7/18
 

It's time for a new week of talking On-Plan!

* Anyone, from any South Beach phase (1, 1.5, 2, 3, etc.) can post, and those who are new to 3FC are especially encouraged to do so!
* This thread is for questions, sharing advice and strategies, and encouraging each other to stay on plan. It is not for chatting about daily life unrelated to this topic. Members have indicated that they would like to have chatting remain in the Daily Thread, so any posts that are off topic or chatty will be moved by the mods to the Daily.
* Because people from different parts of the plan are posting here, it'll help everyone if you indicate what phase you're in when you post. Thanks!
* While you may certainly find, from time to time, the need to ask for help after going off plan, remember that this thread is about staying on plan. When you share details of off plan foods you've eaten, it can upset, tempt, and otherwise frustrate other members, so please keep these details to a minimum.

So, share with us: How are you staying on plan this week?

B: 4 scrambled egg whites
S: 1 slice whole wheat toast, 1 tsp. peanut butter
L: tuna lettuce wraps with tomato; cucumbers and celery with laughing cow
D: smoothie (fresh berries, 2 handfuls of spinach, greens powder, kiwi, almond milk)

exercise: 25 min. C25K run/walk + 35 min. walk avg. 4.2 pace + 40% incline

Back from vacation. Back to needing to plan things!! Problem is I just got back last night so I don't have much stuff on hand until I have time to go to the store.

I'm going to try to do as close to Phase 1 as I can, but I know for sure there will be wine and dim sum in the next few days, so I can't count it for real.

Phase 1
Pre-workout - black tea with soy milk
40-min walk + 1-hour yoga
B/brunch - nonfat plain Greek yogurt with tomatoes, roasted red pepper, dill pickles, feta cheese and crushed garlic
L - cheddar cheese, dill pickle slices and arugula (from the garden!) rolled in Tofurkey slices, a glass of unsweetened soy milk
s- 1 oz almonds with a squirt of Bragg's liquid aminos, low sodium vegetable juice
D - vegetarian chili, tomato/cucumber salad with olive oil, mixed green salad

High fat - FitDay says 1047 cal, 27% carbs: 46% fat: 27% protein, 25 g fiber
NOT ENOUGH VEGGIES! ~ 2.5 cups, maybe 3 if I count the veggies in the chili

1) Smoothie: banana,fresh figs off the tree,spinach,carrot,whey,green powder,frozen blueberries and ice.
2) A piece of flax bread (from this recipe..it's awesome like cake!)
3) grilled almond talapia, spinach tomato feta w/vinegarette salad, asian veggies
4)either another smoothie or fruit sorbet.

after a so so weekend, back on plan

b - 2 eggs, slice of canadian back bacon
l - 2 slices lf turkey, radishes, tomato and cucumber
s - 10 almonds
s - left over roast beef with cauliflower and broccoli
s - almond butter

Yesterday's Phase 1

SF Slimfast Protein shake
100 calorie package almonds
SF Slimfast Protein shake
Peanut Curry Meatballs over a bed of broccoli & green onion
2 cups FF milk
******************************************

Today's Phase 1:

B- Cottage cheese/flax pancakes (lowfat cottage cheese, egg, milled flax seed, cinnamon) cooked in Smart Balance, with a little SF maple syrup

S- 2 cups FF milk

L- Leftover Curry Peanut Meatballs over broccoli

S- hunk 75% RF cheddar

D- Philly cheese-steaks with mushrooms, onions, and green peppers, topped with melted RF provolone.

Side salad with green goddess dressing

Dessert: SF fudgesicle

Phase II (maintenance for me)

B: 2 boiled eggs, V8
S: RF cheese stick
L: Huge salad, salmon, kidney beans, lite Italian dressing
S: Tall skinny hazelnut latte
D: Deep dish spaghetti squash pie
S: 1 oz dark chocolate, almond butter :drool:

Slept in and didn't get time for breakie.
L- Cucumber slices, glass of skim milk, deli ham slices rolled up with lf cream cheese and lots green onions and chilled (so good!)
S- Roasted pumpkin seeds
D- Green beans, mashed cauliflower, glass of skim milk and roast beef (I cheated and had a little gravy with it)
D- ff vanilla pudding
S- Cheese string & Celery

B: egg whites (1/2 cup), orange
workout
L: thai lettuce wraps dressed with plenty of veggies, half apple
S: half apple, 1 tsp. peanut butter
D: taco salad
workout? weigh-in is tomorrow.

Exercise: at least 60 mins. treadmill, c25k training, strength training: upper body/core

motivation is back today - maybe because I pushed through the dulldrums yesterday? or because weigh-in is tomorrow? I don't know but I'll take it.

Menu:
B: grilled veggie omelet, V8, buckets of coffee (tired day)
S: mozzarella cheese stick
L: leftover grilled veggies mixed with beans and salsa
S: skim latte
D: cedar plank grilled salmon, grilled eggplant, squash, and zukes
S: ricotta dessert

B - black tea with soy milk, 1 egg, sliced tomatoes, veggie sausage
L - veggie chili, mixed green salad
S- the last of the cocoa roasted almonds (never again will I buy these! I can't stop eating them...), 1 cup unsweetened soy milk
S2 - Tofurkey rolled around light cream cheese and green onions and sliced peppers (inspired by above post)
D - don't know yet, we have to meet friends for dinner, must include lots of veggies
dessert- Greek yogurt

b - fibre one with blueberriesw
l - 2 slices deli turkey with tomato,cucumber and radishes
s - yougurt
s - grilled wild pacific salmon with broccoli and cauliflower
s - lf baby bell, nectarine

Phase 1 (Actually I should be on Phase 1.5 but I need a few more days, I'm in the fear zone where I'm scared to start adding things back because I don't want to go overboard and have too many cravings.)

B- protein shake
S- LF cheddar
L- Almond 'cake'
S- celery and garlic hummus
D- Spaghetti Squash "spaghetti fake bake" (It was a take on the Deep Dish Pie recipe in the Recipe forum, and if someone hasn't already posted a similar Spaghetti Bake recipe, I'm going to post it.
)
Dessert: I'm way too full... but if I don't manage to eat a fudgesicle, I will have 2 cups of milk before bed

.......discovered tonight that I am in love with spaghetti squash, and DS and DH are too.

Phase 2:
Breakfast: Greek yogurt with almonds and blueberries, coffee
Lunch: 1/2 turkey sandwich on 12 grain bread--cheese and lettuce, 1 cup skim milk
Dinner: Ham (lean) with green beans
Snacks: peanut butter and a cup of skim milk

B: smoothie (whey protein, almond milk, mixed berries, spinach)
L: lunch was planned as tuna wraps, but ended up being a big fruit salad. too hot! cantaloupe, kiwi, half banana, strawberries and oranges made for a good "beat the heat" meal.
S: triscuits w/ half laughing cow wedge
D: Dinner out with MIL for her birthday. We were supposed to go to a seafood restaurant...but now plans have changed to pizza. argh. i had everything mapped out for seafood, not so much for pizza. I guess a veggie pizza for myself. argh again!

I managed to do a Phase 1.5 day.

B- leftover spaghetti squash bake
S- 2 cups milk
L- 2 slices deli turkey, 1 slice smoked RF provolone, 2 teaspoons mayo, few leaves of Romaine lettuce, on a whole wheat flatout.
D- leftover spaghetti squash
Dessert- cocoa ricotta creme

Morning plans derailed, not a complete disaster but not on plan (involved white flour tortillas)

Back on track, though - that's probably a first! Usually when I mess up, I just call it a loss and give myself permission to graze mindlessly for the rest of the day...

Looking like Phase 1 - [oh, except for the carrots]
L - giant salad with romaine lettuce and baby lettuce/arugula from the garden, red pepper, edamame, tomatoes and a tahini dressing
S - Tofurkey rolled around light cream cheese and green onions and sliced peppers
D- Salmon with cooked carrots & broccoli
dessert - nonfat Greek yogurt

Hey Everyone!
I'm new to South Beach and hope I'm doing it right. :D Those of you that have had success, can you please let me know if I'm eating the right things? Thank you!

B: 6oz V8, l/f cottage cheese with cinnamon and Splenda
S: l/f turkey slices with string cheese
L: Salad with walnuts and l/f dressing
S: cucumbers and garlic hummus
D: Baked chicken with baked stuffed tomatoes (mozzarella, parmesean, basil)
Dessert: S/F Jello

It has been interesting creating meals for myself... but I've discovered that preparing items early makes it a lot easier!

Thanks!

EmmaD,
I love the cream cheese mixed with gr. onions, rolled in ham (or turkey) ... its my new favourite for my lunch!

Welcom Sara81.... so far your menu looks fairly good, but you might want to some milk or yogurt in there (I believe now its 2 cups recommended daily) & also, I don't know the measurements for how large the veggie servings are, but make sure you are getting at least 4.5 cups daily (I really helps get the weight off!)

b - pumpernickel bread with slices of tomato and lf babybel
l - cottage cheese with cucumber and radishes
s - wheatberry salad with tomato, red onion, cucumber and feta cheese olives with greek dressing.
s - yogurt

B: fruit smoothie (whey, almond milk, banana, orange, pineapple, strawberry)
L: egg salad (2 eggs + half T. mayo) over 2 cups spinach

workout: at least 60 min. treadmill + 30 min. weight training
D: fruit salad, 1/2 cup greek yogurt with cinnamon, 15 almonds

HOLD UP! you can have slim fast shakes on phase 1?? i am sooo over eggs, i thought i LOVED them but that doesnt seem to be the case. im on day 10..and going strong. havent cheated(fingers crossed), and down 6lbs.

so i was just on the slim fast website, and i didnt see low sugar i did see low carb drinks...fat melanie is that what you were referring to?

Phase 1 today:
b- tbs pb(was running really late for work)
l- "rattatouille" red peppers, red onions, squash, mushrooms sauteed then simmered in lite ragu(with my own spices added) from last nites dinner, and a side salad with low sugar dressing.
s- black beans and salsa
s- 1/2 red pepper and lf mozz cheese
d- going to meet friends...wish me luck!

Phase 2:
Breakfast: WW toast with 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter, coffee
Snack: String cheese, water
Lunch: homemade chicken salad--chicken breast, olive oil mayo, grapes, celery, walnuts--on 1 slice ww bread, 1/2 apple, lots of water
Dinner: caprese salad (it was SOOO good), lean ham, lots of water
Snack: sf jello...yum.

Sara81, your plan is looking good! Like Rivergirl said, might want some more dairy (milk or something) and veggies (something I can't preach about 'cause I need to do the same).

Snackiejackie, I must caution, I have never read anything about Slimfast on the SBD, and I am probably the first here to be using those once in awhile, as far as I've read. I know a lot of people here however make protein shakes and stuff like that. I was in Walmart and discovered the low carb Slimfast, checked out the ingredients, and noted the high mount of protein and it seemed like a good option on those days when things are hectic. I personally think the low-carb (I noted the label, and they are low sugar) Slimfasts are really good protein-packed options for snacks or days when you have so much to do, and might otherwise cheat. Others may disagree. Of course, the regular Slimfasts are a definite no-no! :-) I hope that helps some. And great job on the 6lbs!!!

****************************

Hi everyone, hope everyone is doing great! I was not feeling well today and did not eat much, but what I did eat was OP, Phase 1.5.

B- Deli turkey, 1 slice RF provolone, 1 tablespoon mayo, and romaine lettuce on 1 whole grain flat out wrap.

L- Leftover Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti bake

D- Spinach-tomato beef 'stroganoff' over cauliflower

S- Almonds

b - oatmeal with blueberries and almond milk
l - 2 slices deli turkey, radishes, cucumber and tomato salad
s - yougurt
s - fajitas minus the tortilla
s - glass of wine and some blue cheese

jackie,
I don't know about the slimfast shakes - you'd have to check the ingredients, but I like to make the chocolate cheesecake smoothie for breakfast when I'm on phase I. There's a recipe posted here. Lots of times I have beans or dinner leftovers for breakfast. No need to eat eggs if you're tired of them.

SO glad the pizza and chicken spaghetti is out of the house. Talk about temptation. Big workout on plan today.

B: ff greek yogurt with cinnamon, almonds
workout: 60 min. treadmill, cardio circuit (20-ish mins), lower body weight circuit
L: tuna lettuce wraps, raw cauliflower
D: 3 oz. sirloin, panzanella salad made with sourdough bread
S: fresh blackberries

and YES to the chocolate cheesecake smoothie. I've been known to have it for dinner during "that time of the month"

The chocolate cheesecake smoothie sounds yummy.
************

Phase 1 (I noticed the flat out wraps were giving me cravings and making me hungry even though they were 100% whole wheat and sugar free, so I'm going to buy a bag of apples and have an apple a day for Phase 1.5. To be safe rather than sorry, I did a Phase 1 day today to kick the cravings.)

B- 2 eggs, 2 slices turkey bacon, in smart balance
S- almonds
L-
S- 2 slices RF provolone
D- Leftover Beef tomato-spinach stroganoff, a whole can of turnip greens, and lowfat cottage cheese. V8 juice also.
D- SF fudgesicle

I cannot remember for the life of me what I had for lunch, if anything! I don't know what is wrong with me today. I guess I just skipped it! Not good. Tomorrow I'm prescribing myself a HUGE romaine salad with garden veggies and green goddess dressing for lunch.

Today is day 3 of phase 1 for me. I didn't have any snacks today, but I woke up late.

Breakfast
3 hard boiled eggs
1 TBS mayo
two pieces of Canadian bacon
cucumbers with white wine vinegar and salt and pepper

Lunch
4 pieces of ham
2 pickles
1.5 TBS hummus

Dinner
beef fajitas from Chili's
2 TBS guacamole
lettuce
3 TBS fresh salsa
black beans

Hi it is my first day on this diet and I really hope that I do carry on with it as I am getting depressed about my weight. Today I have mackerel and lettuce salad. I am aiming to lose 2 pounds in the next 2 weeks. I am not so sure what to eat next and all that but I saw a lot of different recipes around. I am not a meat person as much but I can do eggs. I fear sugar withdrawals. I have been doing low carb for 2 months now... well no bread, pasta, rice, potato and processed sugars... but the amount of fruits I eat is omg. No wonder I am not losing the weight.

I am not sure if I can be strict with it because apparently I can't have chicken, can I? I am not sure...

:welcome2:, a hope for recovery! If you're seriously considering doing the South Beach Diet, we strongly recommend that you get a copy of the book and read it thoroughly before starting this plan. It's essential to know and understand the concepts and principles of this way of eating. We do have the current food lists for each phase of the plan in our FAQ's, but you'll need much more information than that to make this diet successful.
And, yes, you may have skinless chicken breast on this plan.

this and that all rolled into one response ;)

Melanie - You are really working the plan this time. It's good to see you take your health so seriously. How do you feel?

A reminder to the newbies - your goal is 4.5 cups of veggies every day :) There are some great tips for adding veggies and some yummy recipes in the upper section of the forum.

My take on the Slim Fast shakes:
The ingredients in the Vanilla low carb Slim Fast:
WATER, CALCIUM CASEINATE, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, CANOLA OIL, CELLULOSE GEL, POTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, CELLULOSE GUM, POTASSIUM CITRATE, MALTODEXTRIN, SOYBEAN LECITHIN, SALT, GUAR GUM, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, SUCRALOSE (A NONNUTRITIVE SWEETENER), CARRAGEENAN, SODIUM CITRATE, YELLOW 5, CITRIC ACID AND YELLOW 6. VITAMINS AND MINERALS: MAGNESIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM ASCORBATE, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, VITAMIN E ACETATE, ZINC GLUCONATE, FERRIC ORTHOPHOSPHATE, NIACINAMIDE, CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, MANGANESE SULFATE, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, RIBOFLAVIN, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, FOLIC ACID, CHROMIUM CHLORIDE, BIOTIN, SODIUM MOLYBDATE, POTASSIUM IODIDE, PHYLLOQUINONE (VITAMIN K1), SODIUM SELENITE, CYANOCOBALAMIN (VITAMIN B12) AND CHOLECALCIFEROL (VITAMIN D3). SWEETENED WITH A NONNUTRITIVE SWEETENER.


South Beach is about whole natural foods as much as good carbs and good fats. While these might be alright once in awhile in an emergency I wouldn't touch them on Phase 1. It's important to retrain your palate and develop new and healthier eating habits. OTOH as far as I can tell there's nothing in them that is not allowed though I'm having some trouble deciphering everything on that list.

When most people here mention protein shakes they include things like healthy natural protein powders (100% whey or hemp seed, for example), a "milk" and fruits and/or veggies. Fruits make these Phase 2 but they will give you more energy and nutritional value than those pre-packaged shakes.

Thank you for the support. I will try to find out more information as I am going along. I know I have been rather impulsive starting this way but I did reach another really depressing point last night as I was getting dressed to go out and I just felt fat really. So far I have done good today, I had another meal - green leaf salad with chicken, only 1 tomato in it. I snaked on celery dipped in soft cheese. I am a bit grumpy but I know I will go through withdrawals. What does worry me is how am I going to have something that contains eggs for breakfast every day and also all the low fat stuff. I don't like low fat milk and yogurt. I always get full fat one because I have been vegetarian for several years and this is my source of fat. I also eat a lot of nuts. I can't believe that it is now limited so much. But anyway I am taking it easy, just for today I have eaten well. Tomorrow is another day, scrambled eggs, grilled chicken with veg and maybe more celery sticks. Looking forward to learning new meals and experimenting in the kitchen and taking it easy.

Ah, the weekends are always the hardest time for me...but so far, so good.

B: egg whites, blackberries
workout
L: lebanese buffet (omg!) had lots of salad, tabbouleh, 6-ish ounces of gyro, a bite of kibbi and 1 pita + hummus...not incredibly friendly, but a LOT better than I could have done. progress, not perfection!
S: still felt really full and bloaty from lunch
D: szechwan shrimp (tons of veggies included in the stirfry)

Thanks Cyndi, I am feeling GREAT!!! This is my 3rd week OP and I've found that I'm able to resist no-no foods, I'm not really having cravings, and I've managed to decrease my portion sizes and feel full of a less amount of food. I was at Taco Bell today of all things (a huge weakness) and ate the filling out of a fresco taco, and never once thought about eating the wrapper. That's a really huge step for me! I'm enjoying it. That's great information about the Slimfast shakes. I haven't bought any more since, (there was only 4 in a pack) but they did help on really busy days and made me feel full, and didn't elicit any cravings. But that said, the ingredient list looks scary and I would like to get more into natural and whole foods and the homemade protein shakes sound like a much better option that I definitely plan on adopting (They also sound more budget friendly as well as more nutritious). No more Slimfast shakes for me.

Hope for recovery, you don't have to eat eggs for breakfast everyday, or even something with eggs in them everyday. Check out the recipe forum for great breakfast ideas! I hope that helps. You will have to use lowfat dairy and cheeses for this plan, so I hope that over time you'll get used to it. incorporating them into recipes is a great way to get your lowfat dairy and cheeses in. Also, you will get nutritive fat on this plan, by using heart-healthy oils and margarines. You can make chicken salad with some full fat mayo (a tablespoon), the kind with healthy oils. On Phase 2, you can 'butter' a slice of whole wheat toast with a margarine like Smart Balance for example, which is full of heart-healthy oils. You can use healthy sesame oil for stirfries and asian salad dressing. At lunchtime, you could have a big salad with chicken breast (I see you like chicken breast, it's a great option!) with 2 tablespoons of ranch dressing for example, (any dressing with 3g sugar or below that also has healthy oils in it.) So you will definitely be getting fat still, just not the saturated unhealthy kind you find in fatty meats or full-fat dairy and cheese products. I think the focus is on good carbs (such as beans and plenty of veggies, and fruits and whole grains, whole oats, and etc on Phase 2), good fats as described above, and lean proteins (such as chicken breast, lean ground beef or ground turkey, very lean steaks, fish, and so on.) A serving of nuts a day is an excellent thing, as nuts are healthy for you, but stick to the portion size. I have bought a box of nuts portioned into 100 calorie snacks. Or have a tablespoon of sugar free natural peanut butter, spread on celery, or toast in Phase 2. Hope this helps you. There are endless food possibilities on the SBD, you just have to do a lot of careful planning and research (it took me awhile to see that, and now that I have done this work, I am doing well on the plan.)

Hope the rest of you ladies are all doing well and finding it more and more easier to stay OP!

***********************

Phase 1.5 or 1

B- 2 slices turkey bacon, 2 eggs scrambled, 1 tablespoon EVOO
S- cocoa roasted almonds
L- filling out of the 'healthy' Fresco tacos at Taco Bell (seasoned ground beef, RF sour cream, lots of lettuce and fresh chopped tomato), and a side of pintos and cheese. My son enjoyed eating his taco and then my taco wrapper! lol.
S- Big garden salad with romaine, cherry tomatoes, fresh green beans from someone's garden, 2 TBS green goddess dressing
D- Tuna salad with tons of celery, onion, and hellman's. Had on whole wheat flat out wrap with lettuce.
1 cup milk
D- SF fudgesicle

Hi everyone! I made it through my 4th day on phase 1! yay! :) Today was the first day that I didn't have a melt-down. haha... I was seriously going crazy with the carb cravings. It was a good day. And I've already lost about 2 pounds. Pretty sweet!!

Breakfast
three pieces of boiled low sodium ham
small amount of pesto on each made with chicken broth rather than lots of oil
cucumbers with salt and pepper

Lunch
salmon with the same pesto, capers, and roasted tomatoes (I didn't actually eat one of the tomatoes)
broccoli with salt and pepper
salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar


Dinner
3 hard boiled eggs
1 TBS hummus

snack/ dessert
fat free greek yogurt with a little agave nectar, cinnamon, and a touch of unsweetened cocoa powder

Thank you for the descriptions and the support! I am willing to cut down the nuts, I had 20 peanuts yesterday and that was all! But I really don't want to go back to low fat yoghurt. The problem I had with it is that I used to eat the whole pot, which is half a kilo. And I used to eat a lot of other low fat food, which resulted in me eating huge portions so in order to cut down the portion, I put up the fat. My milk is semi-skimmed and yoghurt has about 3.5 fat and soft Philadelphia cheese is 11.5 fat. I will just try to limit them as much as I can. Remove the fat cheeses I eat because I do realise that I cannot expect to be slim and live slim if I eat so much fat cheese.

Today I had lovely scrambled eggs with cumin, chives and parsley and 2tbs of yoghurt. Then for lunch I had chicken salad with a lot of veg and avocado, instead of oil.

I am planning on making the bean muffins and the ricotta muffins with cimmanom some time soon. They seem delicious!

Still grumpy and dizzy, my pulse dropped to 49 but I know that it will pass. It is for my own good! I went clothes shopping today and I am down a bra size which is great and I bought new leggings and a top! Feeling slim already hehe!

Thank you for being here for me! Wishing you all a successful day!

B - two eggs, canadian back bacon and pumpernickel bread
l - greek salad
s - yogurt
s - broiled shrimp, mushrooms and a salad with variety of veggies
s - bbell lf cheese