Hello Ladies,
Did not have a good start today. Things got hetic and I skipped lunch, next thing you know i'm overeating. And to top off, it's TOM, so I'm having lots of cravings. Tomorrow is a new day and I'm committed to getting back on track.

Beachgal - Where did you get the recipe for the taco bake?

I am back to start Phase 1 again. I lost my wagon; so I had to get a new one to get back on. I recruited my dh, we started on the 8th (wonder how long he will last?). Good luck to all; send some wishes my way. I'll need all the help I can get

4 days down, 10 to go!!!
I can't believe I've made it this far. Suddenly, I'm not really all that hungry. I guess there really is something to that whole craving thing.

Hope everyone is having a great day!
Julie

Good going, Julie. You are definitely detoxing if the cravings are in abeyance.

So far so good, but...
 

I feel like I'm about 85% successful in keeping this phase 1 stuff going. I started on 5/4 - so I joined this group because I'm just getting my foots wet :)

Also, I assume its okay to do it for 3 weeks if I am just learning the ropes this time around, right? I guess what concerns me is the fat - after a lifetime of avoiding the fat grams, its really freaky to see how much fat I'm consuming in the reports of FitDay, where I'm tracking my consumption. I'm trying to develop some normal, realistic meal plans for myself, and learn to automatically make the right choices - by initially tracking each meal (in other words, I don't plan to do this forever!). So, seeing the fat percentage being so high is like - YIKES! But I'm eating what is okay'd in the book so I guess I just need to find more lower fat alternatives (ie., egg beaters more often instead of eggs). I've never had a sweet tooth - definitely more of a fat tooth - so I guess that is the challenge for me. Plus, I keep reminding myself that if my carbs are way down - where else can percentages stack up but fat and protein?

What is amazing to me is that I am still eating throughout the entire day, smaller meals, and more often - which is great. And I'm not having the horrendous cravings i used to get - the "get out of the way or i'll run you over for that chocolate" feeling :) I'm learning to actually recognize the feeling of hunger - real hunger - and its not something I've got a lot of experience with so its very interesting! I usually either had those crashes - or ate all the time so i'd never feel that way.

The other thing that is interesting is that in the past when I tried a new way of eating, I used FitDay also and could NEVER keep myself in the caloric range it suggested for weight loss without being ravenous. For my height and weight, to lose would be under 2,000 calories today. And with the SBD plan, I'm eating all day, not hungry at all - and usually barely breaking 1600 calories a day, most days. So I'm bound to lose weight. I definitely don't miss carbs - I miss fruit, and I worry about the fat but so far, it seems to be good. We'll see what my cloths and the scale say in a couple weeks :)

So I say - so far so good! My sweetheart is being very supportive, even though he kind of likes my round parts - he could stand to do with me but he's not really overweight (just a bit of a belly) but since he will eat anything I cook and we don't have kids, its working out very well.

5 days down, 9 to go! I can't believe I'm still doing this. I gave up cake and punch at my daughter's DARE graduation last night....

Hope all is well with you all, too. Don't get discouraged...you can do it!

Julie

So when are you going to weigh yourselves?
I'm not sure, should I weigh myself this friday, when the first week will be over, or should I wait until the end of phase 1?

Hello Ladies,
This is day 2 for me and going pretty good. Having a problem with drinking the water.

Bornconfused - I think the weighing is a matter of opinion. I think most dr's or even Ww programs say to weigh weekly cause you weight fluctuates so much. As for me, I like to see the numbers go down and that is a motivator for me, except when they up of course.

Mirabelly - WTG on skipping the cake and punch. Don't you just feel empowered knowing you skipped the cake. YOU GO GIRL!

Aimee - where are you?

Patty - I'm having issues.. infact, I haven't start phase 1 at all. I've been feeling pretty sick lately.. my body just doesn't feel balanced if that makes sense. So I'm trying to eat an all around balanced diet, but mainly just eating fruits and veggies with some lean protein. Thats why I've been away.. I'm over in miscellaneous clubs under "gettin' together May 2005". Keep up the great work with SB, I totally wish I could handle that right now.. soon I will :)

-Aimee

This is day 2 for me, too. This is really, really hard for me. I'm not big into sweets but I LOVE CEREAL! All kinds of cereal!! That's the hardest thing for me. But, I keep telling myself that in 12 more days I can have a small serving of high-fiber cereal. I feel pretty cranky and feel hungry most of the time. And, I'm eating a little more than what the phase 1 meal plans outline, I think. Here's what I ate today, maybe you guys can tell me if this is good?...

Breakfast: low fat cottage cheese, crystal light (not a big egg fan)
Snack: three green olives, 1/2 slice lowfat cheese
Snack #2 (because I was hungry an hour later!): 15 peanuts
Lunch: grilled salmon, mixed greens salad w/ olive oil vinaigrette
Snack: 4 pcs celery with natural peanut butter
Dinner: Broiled pork tenderloin, mashed cauliflower, steamed spinach, DCoke
Dessert: SF pudding cup

Why am I so hungry all the time!? When I look at it like that, it seems like plenty of food.

I do have a 2 year old daughter who I chase around most of the day... plus I workout almost every day, but rarely over 30 minutes. In fact, in the past 2 days, I've cut it back to 15 minutes because I don't want to make myself even hungrier!

Will the hunger pass? I keep hearing 3-5 days and you start to feel better.

Thanks in advance for any advice! :)

One Day, you can find the recipe for the taco bake here: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38592

There are dozens of amazing recipes in the recipe forum. Just click on "South Beach Diet" above, then click on "South Beach Recipes" you can browse through them by area.

Hello Ladies,

HoosierHeather - how much cottage cheese are you eating? I'm thinking you need to eat more. Maybe with your breakfast have a couple of turkey breast rolls. Instead of the 1/2 cheese, why not the whole slice? Have you tried the lowfat mozz cheest sticks? or add some veggies to your breakfast. I"m not very good with food ideas but i'm thinking you might need more. Are you drinking enough water. I saw the crystal light and the diet coke, but you need more then that. OH, if you don't get any more responses, ask a question to the ladies in the daily forums, they are very knowledgable, and very helpful.

Aimee - Your right the first thing you need to do is get your body to feeling healthy or right. No needs to make any changes til you get to feeling ok.

As for me, going on day 3 and it's going much better. Still have to work on drinking the water though.

Thanks for the ideas 1day! I'm not sure how much cottage cheese I'm eating... between 1/4 and 1/2 cup but I don't measure it so it's hard to tell.

I ended up not being able to sleep after an hour of tossing & turning last night, because my stomach was growling and I felt horrible, so I got up and made a reuben wrap/roll thing whatever they're called... they are so good! and ate about 10 nuts and came back to bed and was finally able to sleep. So, tonight I tried to wait until 8:30 to eat my dessert AND a snack so hopefully I won't be so hungry tonight.

I'm drinking lots of water, so much that I didn't include it because I really don't know when I drink it, but I drank at least three 24-oz bottles and a little more with that midnight snack.

Thanks for the input! I ate more today. I think it's taking me some time to figure out how much I need to eat.

Hi everyone!

Week One ACCOMPLISHED!!! WOO H OOOOO.....
I only had one slip up, and that was yesterday when I had to eat on the road and hadn't had time to plan ahead. I ate a wrap sandwich and an egg/sausage/english muffin. Two small bits of bread, but it didn't seem to make me crave worse today, so I think I'm alright.

I lost between 4 & 5 pounds last week....my husband lost 8! My hunger has subsided so much that I have to force myself to get enough calories so I don't go into "starvation mode" with my metabolism. YAY!

I treated myself to some bbq toys yesterday to celebrate. Got some pretty metal skewers and a special rack to put on the grill so you can do veggies and fish. (The holes are small so the pieces don't fall through) The grilled veggies I made were so yummy, I didn't even touch the meat!!! Gonna do shrimp tonight! I heartily recommend grilling your veggies if you're sick of the way you're cooking them now. It's amazing how totally different they taste.

Hoosier...You really need to eat more calories! If you're hungry, eat. Just chop up a bunch of celery and cucumbers and peppers and snack on them with some hummus or onion soup dip made with cottage cheese (blend the cc and soup mix in the blender...tastes just like the sour cream kind). Your body will think you're starving and completely shut down your metabolism if you don't eat enough calories. Really. It's unbelievably frustrating.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Julie

Hoosier, I agree with OneDay, I think you're hungry because you aren't eating enough. Make lunch look like dinner (which looks perfect, BTW! :bravo: ) and add more veggies to the morning snack along with more protein. Try some 3 Bean salad instead of just the olives. Add beans in there somewhere...not only do they fill you up, but their good carbs give you some energy and the protein keeps it going. Then the fiber helps you stay away from constipation. They are a major part of a comfortable Phase 1! :) Add veggies (tomatoes, cucumber, etc.) to your cottage cheese in the morning.

You also may feel hungry if you aren't getting enough water (but it sounds like you're doing well there!). Crystal Light and sodas don't count for your water amount (your body needs to process them to get the water out, so it doesn't work the same way). You need at least 64oz (2 liters) a day...but 96 oz is better.

You can use www.fitday.com to track what you are eating and get a feel for how many calories are coming from protein, fat, and carbs. Don't stress about the carbs right now, but think about how many of your calories are coming from protein. If you get too much protein, you can get sick. Make sure you are reaching for veggies AND protein together rather than just protein. I usually aim for about 3 times more veggies than protein...the difference between one wedge of Laughing Cow and one thin celery stick vs one wedge of Laughing Cow and four big celery sticks.

You can do this, girl! :D