I just saw this.... funny you should mention it... YES, I love this book!! It is what helped me break a 6-month plateau last fall, so now I am maintaining at 5-7 lbs less than I was before that. I recommend this book all the time. I'm just not so good at the planning part ... when I do everything she suggests, WOWZA I can go into uncharted territory. I only have a small amount of weight to lose so it has been a lengthy struggle to lose that last stinkin' 5-10 lbs ... I am basically maintaining but all the Beck tips are what got me to where I am now. If only I could keep implementing them regularly. IF ONLY

Mmckellen, thank you so much for this detailed explanation. I've decided to add fruit for week one (either berries, cherries or homemade apple sauce). I know it isn't one at a time but I figure they are all low on the glycemic index and I doubt they will cause cravings. I may do berries for two days, add cherries for two days and apples for two days just so I have a little time with each. Week 2 of 1.5 I'll add brown rice. And week 3 I'll just increase my fruit servings to 2/day. Then I'll transition to Phase 2 where I'll add one more serving of grain, probably oatmeal for a total of 2 fruit and 2 grain daily. Then I'll start varying the grains/fruit to see if any are triggers for me. I'll probably wait until phase 2 to try sweet potatoes too.

I have a few questions for you if you don't mind.

Is meat and dairy like yogurt and cheese considered a fat to help slow absorption? I know olive oil, avocado and nuts are.

What does SBD consider a serving size? I know the standard serving of fruit is one piece or 1 cup chopped. And for whole grains it is 1/2 a cup.

What about veggies like carrots during phase 1.5? They aren't my favorite so I can live without them but a few baby carrots would be good to add to my daily raw veggies.

Finally, I know for Phase 2 a glass or two of red wine is ok once in awhile. Do people doing phase 1.5 generally still avoid red wine?

Thanks so much for all your help, I hope to repay newbies one day on this site.

B: 1 cup of plain yogurt with cinnamon
S: Cheese String
L: Tex Mex Black Bean Salad
D: Cheese Omelet and Green Beans

Weight training and HITT

Hey Zeff...would love to see your before and after pics Hoping to show mine sometime too!! lol

Went shopping yesterday....finally!!! Bought LOADS of veggies, going to spend this weekend making big batches of stuff to freeze so I have things on hand. This weekend will be mostly phase 1 eating. I still need to get a few staples from the store. Then fresh start on Monday morning....why is it always Monday? lol

I'm back on the beach...woot, woot!!

I thought I'd jump in here. I've been on SB in the past and it's really the best diet I've ever been on. This past month and a half I've been dieting, eating mostly SB friendly foods but not totally on the plan. I've lost 13 pounds. Now I'm ready to get fully back on SB.

I'm going back on Phase one on Monday. I planned out my menu for the whole week and made a grocery list. Hopefully, since I've been eating mostly SB foods, the shock to my system wont be as bad. I'm sure I'll be hanging around here a bit in the future. Thanks.

Today is day 13 for me on my Phase 1 Redux, and since I know fruit isn't a trigger food for me, I started adding them in today. Yum!

B. veggie omelette and 1/2 cup of strawberries and honeydew melon
L. Green Monster smoothie
S. beans 'n greens, cucumbers in yogurt
D. NSA fudgesicle

@Scarlett - I'm right there with ya. South Beach seems to be the only thing that works for me, don't know why I ever doubt it and try anything else! So, here I am again...for the who knows how many'th time I'm starting clean on Monday too. I've been prepping stuff through out the day, will do some more tomorrow. That way I'll have plenty to get me through Phase 1 at least. Once I'm to Phase 2 it's usually smooth sailing since I can make something work in a pinch. It's the clean phase 1 I'm worried about. But WE CAN DO IT!!! I've done it before....so obviously I can do it again....sigh...wish I would have learned the first time!

I'm sure we'll both do great. I made myself a one week menu on the computer with little check boxes next to every food I'm supposed to eat. Therefore I can X the boxes off as I eat them. I also made my shopping list. I have a fair amount of SBD friendly food in the house, so I'm going shopping Monday morning. I haven't done a full clean 2 weeks of phase 1 since I first started SBD 3-4 years ago. I'm determined to make it happen. Once I get really going on SB I usually stay on it.

B: Plain yogurt with 1 tbsp peanut butter
S: String Cheese
L: Hard Boiled Eggs, Veggies and Hummus
D: Spicy BBQ Turkey Sausage, Salad and Green Beans

Well I'm on day 13 and I'm deciding to treat myself. DH and I are having some red wine and dark chocolate almonds. I think I got the hang of the SBD and I don't think a little indulgence will destroy all my efforts. Besides, I want this to be a lifestyle change and part of life is having treats once in awhile.

jyoyo, Welcome back on board! I dreaded re-doing Phase 1 again, but really needed it to detox, and it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. The key for me was to plan ahead and have most of my preps in the fridge, ready to go. It sounds like you're setting yourself up for success, too. Good luck, and I know you can do it!

Scarlett, nice to see you back, too! It's surprising how fast those 2 weeks fly by, and you start noticing results almost immediately. It makes it all worth it.

Last day of Phase 1 Redux for me (with the addition of fruit yesterday)!!!! I made it!

B. flax muffin w/yogurt and STRAWBERRIES!
L. weekend Glo kale salad
D. grilled portobello w/feta, weekend Glo kale salad
S. nsa fudgesicle

Thanks cottagebythesea I'm still dieting but the past 2-3 days I've been consuming a little more carbs and caffeine. I'm planning to go out today for an iced coffee. Eating as much as I can (without putting on weight), because I'm going to be without it for awhile. I'm probably making it much harder on myself though, because it'll just make the "flu" worse.

I'm just happy I'll be on phase 1 for 4th of July and therefore wont indulge and have a "lost week."

Yes cottage....going back to a clean Phase 1 is very daunting!! That's why it's taken me SO long to just DO IT! Thanks for the encouragement. I need it! And good job to you on the clean Phase 1, too!

Last day on Phase 1

B: Scrambled eggs with cheddar, sauteed veggies
S: Half a small sugar free chocolate latte
L: Tex Mex Grilled Chicken and Bean Salad with Guacamole
D: Chili and Green Beans

I'm finishing up day 2 phase one. I've been super OP these 2 days except I made a tiny mistake. I cooked up 3 days worth of chicken. I prepaired my menu from memory and thought all chicken was legal. Unfortunately it was boneless thighs, not breats. Oh well, I don't think it's that big of a deal. It's not like I ate cake, but I will be more careful in the future. I double checked my menu with the book and the rest of it is good.

Also, I'm not having too much of a "flu," just a small (barely noticable) headache and a little sluggishness. I think it's really helped that I'd been eating mostly SB type foods before I started. Hopefully I didn't jinx myself