South Beach Diet?

[Conway733]

I saw my doctor today and she suggested the south beach diet. Does anyone follow this plan?

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

DH & I have been on South Beach since April 5. I have lost almost 30 pounds, DH has lost 30 pounds. He's better about exercising than me though.

I will say that Phase I is very difficult. You really have to get siked up for it IMO. But you will jump start your weight loss, I lost 12 lbs & DH lost 13 lbs the first 2 weeks. You are in essance ridding your body of sugar, processed foods & all the garbage you don't need to eat anyway

Phase 2 can't begin soon enough. That's when you reintroduce whole grains & fruit back into your diet. We borrowed the book from a friend, I have totally relearned how to cook, love my veggies & use olive oil with wonderful spices to create & prepare meals that would be accepted in a restaurant (if I don't say so myself )

After Phase I, I won't say I NEVER crave junk food but I will say it's few & far between. I haven't eaten any fast food or junk since starting the diet. However, I have eaten out at steak houses & enjoy a little red wine on the week-ends. We're in this for the long haul as a life time adjustment and I think it's very doable. We've tweaked it into our own plan but we basically just don't eat enriched or bleached flours (white bread, white pasta, white instant rice, you get the idea) and we eat whole grains, fresh fruits, veggies, proteins & low fat dairy (except for cheese, I HAVE to have my fully loaded cheese)

Hope this helps! Good luck to you

 

[Conway733]

Thanks for the info! I bought the book last night...and I'm trying to put together a shopping list. Thankfully, we have a lot of good farmer's markets around here. It is hard to imagine not eating pasta and rice for two weeks...but then again, it is only two weeks.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

It helps to have the mindset of "it's only 2 weeks" that's for sure. I'm not going to kid you, Phase I is an obstacle if you're not 100% on board. But once you hit about day 9 & see some weight loss you feel like you can make it only 5 more days!

Our Phase I plan was a daily bfast of scrambled eggs with no sugar added deli ham with cheddar &/or pepper jack cheese scrambled in. Adding the items to the eggs made it easier for us to give up the toast. THen on the weekends we'd reward ourselves with 2-3 slices of no sugar added bacon. We always enjoyed coffee with b-fast.

Mid-morning snack would be those individual wrapped cheese sticks. Easy to pack in your lunch.

Lunch was hardest, we'd have "rolled" non-bread sandwiches. Roll some deli turkey or chicken in a slice of deli cheese. I'd usually make 2-4 of these. DH likes to add a boiled egg to his lunch. Then we'd add radishes, celery, califlower, brocolli or bell peppers - again, easy to pack for work.

AFternoon snack would be 15 cashews or almonds. I found taking a bottled water & adding crystal light helped make it more of a snack.

Then dinner was always a recipe out of the book. Our favorites were the balsamic chicken, marinated london broil, grilled salmon with rosemary, & florentine style T-bone (I was worried about grilling & then baking it but let me tell you, WOW is it D-licious). Oven roasted veggies was & still is one of our favorite sides.

Make sure you always have a good olive oil, garlic, onion & spices available. They do wonders for adding flavor to your meals.

Best of luck! Post back after you get started & let me know how you're doing

P.S. purchase a "PAM" type cooking spray that is olive oil & at the least, canola oil & always use that to spray you pans when you're cooking. No more butter/margarine, etc. to make it not stick.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Conway, if you check out post 34, you will see how we make breadless pizza. It really came in handy on the weekends when we felt like we needed a treat & we still enjoy it (hopefully I'll print the page address right):

www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2479429&page=3

Just a few more tips to help you get started, if you like mayo (I do) I've always used a low fat mayo even on phase I. To have a "BLT" use romaine lettuce to "wrap" up your bacon, tomatoe, mayo & cheese. Yummy.

Or for a "hamburger" we would use a thicker piece of head lettuce for the "bun" to hold the onion, tomatoe & mayo with melted cheese on our grilled or stove top cooked ground sirlion. Ground sirlion is more expensive but that's all we buy now. It has about 1/2 the fat of ground chuck. Ground round is also a good choice. Just be aware the less fat content it cooks up a little different than ground chuck or hamburger. This is messy to eat but not impossible & you can opt to add those "skinny" multi grain buns once you get to phase 2. We'll still sometimes eat our burgers phase 1 way.

Lastly, the "south beach" potatoes made with califlower, I've made them & they are great to serve with the steak recipes from the book.

 

[JenniBB]

Thanks for the info! I bought the book last night...and I'm trying to put together a shopping list. Thankfully, we have a lot of good farmer's markets around here. It is hard to imagine not eating pasta and rice for two weeks...but then again, it is only two weeks.

I started Phase one TODAY and began a WISH Journal (see sticky at top). I'd love to hear how you're doing!! I did fine without bread today, though I did think about it when I was making my meals! LOL!

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

I started Phase one TODAY and began a WISH Journal (see sticky at top). I'd love to hear how you're doing!! I did fine without bread today, though I did think about it when I was making my meals! LOL!

Good for you!!!!!!

 

[Tree]

I have been doing South Beach diet since the middle of May and have lost 8lbs. I haven't been perfect and am on phase 1.5-I have only added in very little fruit. I have little cravings except around pms time.

I have done it before about 5 years ago and lost much faster then than now. Honestly I wish I kept up with it.

My doc also recommended it to you since I have PCOS. I have also start tracking my progress at http://fitanfab40.blogspot.com/

 

[Tree]

Conway, if you check out post 34, you will see how we make breadless pizza. It really came in handy on the weekends when we felt like we needed a treat & we still enjoy it (hopefully I'll print the page address right):

www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2479429&page=3

My family has pizza every Saturday night-I simply do a pizza bowl. I get a decent size soup bowl. Spray the bottom with oil, put a bit of mozerella cheese, pick a couple of pepperonis from their pizzas, do some red onion, lots of tomatos and a bit of sauce and some mozerella cheese on top. It has really helped as I thought this would be the downfall of me.

 

[Conway733]

My dr recommened this diet because I need to lose some weight, and I've been having gastro issues since having my gallbladder out three years ago. I think we plan on starting on Sunday, and I'm glad to hear you all have had success with this diet! I think the hardest part is going to be planning out all these meals.

 

[Conway733]

Another question...after reading through things...what do you all eat for breakfast? Seems like a ton of eggs?

 

[Tree]

I am keeping it really simple at breakfast time-2 hard boiled eggs or an one of the veggie cups with simply eggs, spinanch, cheese and poured into muffin tins.

 

[JenniBB]

I am keeping it really simple at breakfast time-2 hard boiled eggs or an one of the veggie cups with simply eggs, spinanch, cheese and poured into muffin tins.

Oooh! The veggie cups sound great! You could even add in turkey bacon or sausage?

 

[jennz]

Great thread - you guys have great suggestions!

 

[Conway733]

I'm working on the meal plan for the week. This definitely takes time, but I'm sure it will be worth it. I'm stuck on snacks...not a big fan of nuts. Plus, I'm trying to figure out how to pack everything for lunch to take to work.

Someone mentioned balsamic chicken...do you have a recipe? I bought the supercharged book, and I didn't see that recipe. Thanks for all the great suggestions!

 

[JenniBB]

I'm working on the meal plan for the week. This definitely takes time, but I'm sure it will be worth it. I'm stuck on snacks...not a big fan of nuts. Plus, I'm trying to figure out how to pack everything for lunch to take to work.

Someone mentioned balsamic chicken...do you have a recipe? I bought the supercharged book, and I didn't see that recipe. Thanks for all the great suggestions!

I have the supercharged book too - some yummy stuff in there! NOt sure about the Balsamic chicken - I'll check around...

For Phase 1 I'm not varying my foods too much, except for dinner - just easier for me that way. Its only 2 weeks, after all.
Breakfast is eggs, tomatoes and feta (or turkey sausage and some other low fat cheese with the eggs)
Lunch is a giant salad with grilled chicken, chopped veggies and some low fat dressing.
Dinner is whatever the family is having (a lean meat), minus the bread/starch, and PLUS an extra couple of cups of VEGGIES.
Snacks - lowfat laughing cow cheese, V8, celery sticks, almonds....

 

[Tree]

yes the veggie cup is great. I have even done as a side for dinner with some chicken.

I am doing my recipe planning for the week and only of my favorite recipes is on my list to do called crackslaw because it is very addictive



1 lb ground turkey or beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, sliced or yellow or red onions
1 lb broccoli slaw or regular coleslaw
1 TBSP lite soy sauce
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
mushrooms (optional)


Add the meat, with the onions and mushrooms until brown
Add the cole slaw mixture
Add the soy sauce

Yummy!!

 

[jennz]

I'm working on the meal plan for the week. This definitely takes time, but I'm sure it will be worth it. I'm stuck on snacks...not a big fan of nuts. Plus, I'm trying to figure out how to pack everything for lunch to take to work.

Someone mentioned balsamic chicken...do you have a recipe? I bought the supercharged book, and I didn't see that recipe. Thanks for all the great suggestions!

I found some recipes for baked chickpeas and baked kale that might be good, I haven't tried them yet.

yes the veggie cup is great. I have even done as a side for dinner with some chicken.

I am doing my recipe planning for the week and only of my favorite recipes is on my list to do called crackslaw because it is very addictive



1 lb ground turkey or beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 green onions, sliced or yellow or red onions
1 lb broccoli slaw or regular coleslaw
1 TBSP lite soy sauce
Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
mushrooms (optional)


Add the meat, with the onions and mushrooms until brown
Add the cole slaw mixture
Add the soy sauce

Yummy!!

Your "crackslaw" sounds delicious!!

 

[Tree]

Does everyone have their food in place for the upcoming week. I like to plan out for the week what my family and I are eating. I will usually sometimes add some grains for the hubby and the boys.

South beach diet menu plan for July 19th

 

[Conway733]

Does everyone have their food in place for the upcoming week. I like to plan out for the week what my family and I are eating. I will usually sometimes add some grains for the hubby and the boys.

South beach diet menu plan for July 19th

So, is the crackslaw okay for phase one? It sounds really good!