South Beach Dieters......... Unite

[sm4987]

Well. On my original post, I thought it might be good for a South Beach Diet support, weigh-in, menu's, receipes.....well everything group. So, let's do this.

Ihave been on SBD for 4 days now and so far have lost 5 pounds.

My starting weight was 179 and I hope to lose 45 pouinds which will put me at 134.

Let's post everything thing we can so that we can help each other with our weight loss goals.

 

[JCJRSmith]

I'm Jerry, 43 year old father of three and grandfather of 1, from Mechanicsburg, PA (orginally from Cleveland, Ohio). I have been on SBD since 1/5/04 and have dropped 20 pounds. Started at 253 pounds and my goal is 185, so I have about 50 to go. At 6 feet tall, 185 should look pretty good (it did, once upon a time ). So far, I would have to say that my favorite SBD recipes include the Phase 2 Fish in Cream Sauce (page 255 - this ROCKS!) and the Phase 1 Balsamic Chicken.

SWMBO* is also on SBD. She won't tell me what she weighs and I don't ask (I enjoy sleeping indoors). We are doing this because we both realized that we are significantly overweight. Plus, my family has a history of heart disease (on both sides). My dad had a heart attack in his early fifties, his dad died of a heart attack, both of his brothers and three of his sisters did too. My mother is in congestive heart failure and has type II diabetes at 82 and she is significantly overweight. This WILL NOT be me.

Something we have found that helps with meal prep is the George Forman grill. We love ours. I have even done a London Broil on it and it came out juicy and tender and delicious.

So what are some of your favorite recipes on SBD?

*SWMBO = She Who Must Be Obeyed (my wife) for the unitiated. You will also see me using LOML (Love Of My Life) and HMTQ (Her Majesty The Queen).

 

[Lisa F]

Well pull up a lounge chair on for me on "the beach."

I'm 29 and feel like I have been struggling with my weight all of my life when in retrospect I realize that in HS, I was NOT a big fat cow at a size 10 (oh how I'd love to be that size again). I've yoyo dieted my way up a tremendous amount and I'm tired of the cycle. My last attempt at WW was a dismal failure as I was on a neverending plateau. Nothing is more frustrating than having a whole other person to lose, following the rules, working out like crazy and not losing any weight OR inches. Doc says nothing is wrong with me and after a bunch of research I think (hope?) that maybe the refined carbs were the problem. I have already lost more on SBD in 5 days than I lost in my first MONTH on WW, so I am hopeful.

I also have the "family history" to contend with. My mom had a heart attack at age 43, but was LUCKY and had no heart damage (every time she goes in for her yearly echo stress the tech doesn't believe that she had a heart attack) and my dad had quintuple bypass surgery several years ago. Both smoked (which I do not, and thank god they listened to their wakeup call and quit) but like Jerry, I am determined to NOT repeat history. The hereditary thing is there but if I am no longer overweight, have never smoked, and am in good cardio health, have good BP and cholesterol (right now both are within the "good" range but on the high side of that, so room for improvement) hopefully I can avoid that problem.

Today I went back to curves after a several month break and it felt SOOO good to move my body. I was always active until I went to college, swimming until I hit puberty and got self conscious about my body and then playing whatever sport was in season. I KNOW that working out is a huge component to my success and I LOVE it once I am there but I have a hard time getting there (big challenge for me).

We don't have any kids yet but are planning to have some in the next 2-3 years and I really don't want to go through that whole "i'm such a fat mommy, i hate myself" stage that many women seem to go through. I figure if I can create new habits over the next few years, hopefully I can keep pregnancy weight gain to a minimum and actually enjoy the whole experience. I also do not want to pass down the bad eating habits and poor body image that has been passed on to me. Seeing so many obsese children really scares me and I do not want my kids to have to go through that. The only way to really avoid that is for us to live a healthy lifestyle even before the kids arrive so that when they do, they learn about good nutrition and have a healthy attitude about food rather than all of the hangups so many people (myself included) seem to have.

Okay, enough babbling, but it felt kind of good to get all of that out. I have come up with a few good recipes myself if anyone is interested... a fajita "stir fry" for when I am craving mexican with homemade guacamole (still on phase 1, no tortillas, but frankly you don't miss them!), and a chicken parmesean that has a little bit of a crunch to it so you don't miss the breading, plus a phase 1 chocolate "cheesecake" made out of ricotta (a little dry but nto bad!). If anyone wants those I will post them.

Lisa

 

[ZerasPride]

Hi there to my fellow Beach Buddies!

I am so excited about this thread! It's nice to have a place to talk SBD.

My name is Lisa and I am a wife and mom to a teen son. I have been on South Beach since December 1 and have lost 27 pounds! I have 1 more pound to reach my first goal of 10% of my body weight lost. I started this journey about 2 months ago, on 12/1/03, weighing 282.5 pounds and not being really sure what me and DH were doing. He is on the Beach with me. My goal is to weigh 145 pounds so I have a total of 110 pounds left to lose. I am going to tackle this in 10% increments so after I reach my first mini goal then I will work on the next 10% goal (25 pounds) and continue on until I reach goal. My husband has lost about the same amount as I have and enjoys eating this way and his results.

I love this program. It is the first thing that has ever really worked for me and what I love best is never feeling deprived! Today, I was in a meeting where they had the most delicious looking cookies. Fortunately, I knew in advance and I brought my afternoon snack with me (a peach light and fit yogurt). Everyone seemed amazed I wasn't tempted and most complimented me on my loss so far. I just kept in mind, first how yummy and refreshing my yogurt was, and I knew they would be half asleep and sluggish for the rest of the day and I would be bouncing around the office with loads of energy. I don't want to give up this light and energetic feeling for junk!

My favorite recipes include crustless pizza, parmesean crusted chicken breasts, fried fish (cooked in canola oil), mock french toast (yummy yum) and beef stroganoff over long grain converted rice. I have made cheesecake, brownies (both just okay) and gooey fudgey peanut butter no bakes (very good). I also just acquired recipes for buttermilk corn bread, pancake/waffle batter, and a cherry and apple pies. I love experimenting with new and different recipes as they are for the most part delicious. I don't miss the bad carbs at all.

I also exercise just about everyday. Either the FIRM videos or my exercise bike. I drink a ton of water or at least I try, it's hard on the weekends for me.

I look forward to getting to know everyone as we travel on this journey together.

LisaF- I notice you are a DVC member. Me too! My home resort is Hilton Head. We can't wait to go back in November. It's going to be nice having a kitchen on vacation to help us stick with our new way of eating.

One more question, does everyone exercise or plan to have some type of work out routine? Just curious what you guys do for exercise.

 

[Lisa F]

Lisa,

I'd LOVE some of those recipes. Maybe you can post them when you get a chance (or point me to where they are if they are already).

For exercise, I really love going to curves. I have a short attention span and about when I am thinking "i'm sick of this" I get to move to a different station. I like being around people who are not "gym bunnies" also, though there are definately women of all fitness levels there (some are in very good shape, so I have a goal to work toward!) I went tonite for the first time in months and I forgot how good it feels!

Hopefully this summer we will be able to go biking again. We are planning to move to NY as soon as we find a house (waiting for the right thing to come on the market is awful!) so we haven't checked out bike trails up there yet. I also LOVE swimming. My dream is to do a triathlon, swimming, biking and running. There is a danskin triathlon that is held at WDW every year... only women can enter and i believe the proceeds support breast cancer research. That is a distant goal, though, because I'd like to do it when I am light enough to not injure myself but in the meantime I am just working on building cardio health and muscle strength.

Yeah, we are DVC members, though we never cook in the room! I think SBD is pretty easy to do in restaurants too, with veggie sides, but we do tend to have breakfast in the room!

Lisa

 

[JCJRSmith]

Oh, I cannot wait until it is warm enough to ride my bike again. I am so sick of the temps in the teens. C'mon SPRING.

Somebody shoot that rodent before he sees his shadow on Monday.

 

[Miss Kelly]

Hello!

I'm Kelly and I am on Day 5 of the SBD. On Monday, Jan 26 I weighed in at 262.5. I am happy to report that I weighed in today at 256.5. 6 WHOLE POUNDS!!! AMAZING! Especially considering that my monthly visitor decided to check in today of all days. I'm not sure of what my ultimate goal will be but I just want to get down to ONEderland.

I feel like this is working for me and I'm actually liking it now. I can definately see me doing this the rest of my life.

 

[WeirdEyes]

Hey everyone!

My name is Shelia and I've been on South Beach for almost 4 weeks. I started Phase 2 on 1/18/04. My beginning weight was 168 and during Phase 1, I lost 6.5 lbs. Since starting Phase 2, I've gained back 2 lbs. I can't seem to figure out what I'm doing wrong.

I exercise 5 times a week doing 3.8 miles on my NordicTrack skier. I also do some strength training 3 times a week with a gym ball and hand weights.

I would love some new recipes and also see if anybody has any suggestions for me to get more weight off. My goal weight is 140 and I'm 5'5".

Thanks and if anybody has any suggestion, please post them.

 

[tlgoblue]

Hi Shelia!
If I had to guess, I'd say you are gaining muscle. Sounds like you have a pretty good exercise routine, and it's not uncommon for people who are trying to loose with SB and who are also exercising, to gain muscle. The best indicator is how your clothes fit. Though muscle weighs more than fat, it is leaner and you can tell in your clothes. As far as a suggestion, maybe go back to phase one and see how that works for you.



Now my Question: Please tell me I didn't cheat today. I went to my Co-op for lunch and had a tuna salad, which I know is fine, but I aslo had soup. It was chickpea curry. Only 8 g. of carbs. There was nothing in it except onion, that could account for the carbs. Even the chickpeas were few and far between. Anyone have an opinoin on this. I guess I should have just stuck with the salad. I feel like such a failure already!

Keep the Faith!
Tracy

 

[Lisa F]

Tracy,
Are you following the south beach diet? I ask because your sig says "exercise and portion control." Both chick peas and onions are "foods to enjoy" on south beach diet, on all phases. We don't count carbs, though in some cases we do look at sugar grams (not all though, for example, not in allowed dairy).

Sheila,
Sounds like you need to take measurements. Did you just start doing some strength training? I read that when you first start doing any kind of strength training, you get tiny microtears in your muscle that heal (and in that healing, you are building more muscle) but for the time being, your muscles may be retaining fluid. That can also account for the 2 lb gain, as well as ToM and a million other reasons. If you take measurements you will have a better idea of your progress. I do have a weight goal in mind but personally I wouldn't care if I weighed 200 lbs if I could fit into a size 8 (I know, that example is extreme, but you know what I mean!). I'd rather weigh more and have lots of fat burning muscle and good muscle tone than weigh less and be flabby and bigger. If you are working out that much you are probably getting all buff!

Checking in on Friday, I made it to curves again today! That's two days in a row! I started trying to talk myself into it this morning and ended up going this afternoon, but I made it!

I REALLY need to go shopping though, we are really low on food right now and that's dangerous. For breakfast I had some ricotta creme, for lunch (i had a late breakfast so no snack) i had a can of tuna with some lf mayo and dill relish and some raw veggies then for a snack before i went to curves I had 30 pistachios, a sugar free jello cup and then I realized I was really hungry and not just needing to take the edge off so I had a few slices of turkey breast with mustard. I feel like I cheated and like I "ate too much" but writing it all down I realize I didn't. Anyway, off to costco to stock up on chicken breast, salmon and whatever else strikes my fancy!

How is everyone else doing today?

 

[tlgoblue]

Lisa,
I am doing SB (just Day 2 for me), but my siggy is what I am really doing. That is to say that even after SB, I feel that exercise and portion control will be necessary, for me to be the person I want to be. SB is hopefully going to get me to my ideal weight faster than I have been able to manage on my own. (I have been maintaining for several months using my exercize and portion size method, but I have not had the ability to get to where I want to be, using that method.) I think SB has great ideas that parallell my own, and I think it is the push I need to get my metabolism reved up and my eventual success in motion.

Thanks for the info on the onoins and chick peas. I have the book, but often find it easier to just ask one of my WISH friends.
I feel so much better now.

It hasn't been so easy for me. I am hungry sometimes and just can't get my mind around it being OK to eat, which is no way to get my metabolism going, but I think for the most part, I'm doing OK. I guess I'll just have to see what next week brings.

Keep the Faith!
Tracy

 

[JCJRSmith]

RE: portion size - here is the answer that Dr. Agatston gave to a question regarding portion size on southbeachdiet.com:

"A: From Dr. Agatston: As far as portion control, you should not leave a meal hungry or feel restricted but should not finish a plate of food just because it is there. I would suggest smaller portions and then taking seconds if you are still hungry. Also, eating slowly is important so that your brain has adequate time to get the full signal from your stomach.

SBD does not recommend weighing food, counting point, calories, carbs, fat grams, etc. It is designed to be a change in the way of eating that will last a lifetime.The purpose of Phase 1 is to get your blood sugar levels regulated so your body is conditioned to eat only when you are hungry and to be able to tell the difference between true hunger and cravings. Counting and weighing is not a good way to achieve this.

If you eat according to the SBD guidelines and pay attention to your body, portion control will be automatic.

Allowed veggies and protein are unlimited on SBD. Eat slowly until you are full but not stuffed. It's best to take a small serving and if you are still hungry have more. Be sure to have 3 meals per day and 3 snacks. They are required to keep your blood glucose levels even. Always eat carbs (veggies) with protein, fiber, good fats, or something acidic to slow down their digestion. You should never be hungry on this plan. As you progress on the diet, the portion size will take care of itself."

Hope this helps,

 

[Obsessed w/Disney in OH]

This fall, I started back on my road of weight loss. I started off losing slowly on Atkins, after being on Atkins in the past. Someone told me about SBD and loaned me the book. I read the book in one day and was sold. I knew this would work for me. I joined Wishes shortly after I switched to SBD.

I love SBD. It works for me. I have lost 35 pounds total and I'm not sure what my goal is. I know I want to lose more, but I don't know how much total. Over the holidays, my goals was to maintain which I did. My goal at this time is to get back my willpower and discipline which I lost over the holidays. I sure haven't totally gone away from it, I just cheat more now than I did before and I am not back into my exercise routine. Therefore, I am stalled out. I'll get there, but I'm just not back at it yet.

We are having nasty weather here, and the temptations are all around me...so I did try some new recipes. I've included one of my new favorites. This is just a "regular" recipe, but that's one of my favorite thing about this "diet". I don't have to include "diet ingredients", I just use the right ingredients. I can go out to eat on the SBD, I can be full on the SBD, and the food tastes great!

Good Luck to all--let's help each other out!

Enjoy! Lisa

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1/2 cup chopped onions
3 boneless chicken breast(about 12 ounces), chopped
1 garlic clove or equivalent
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. cumin
2 cans(14 oz each) chicken broth
1 can(14 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can(4 oz.) chopped green chilis, undrained

Spray skillet, add chicken and cook/stir for 3 minutes. Add onion, garlic,
chili powder, and cumin. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Stir in broth, tomatoes,
and chilis. Bring to boil, simmer 10 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and
cheese if desired.

 

[WeirdEyes]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and help! I have actually taken my measurements. I measure once a week on Saturday morning. Here are my stats and tell me what you think.

12/6/03 (Somersizing diet)
Weight: 158 1/2
Bust: 38
Waist: 30
Hips: 39 1/2

Started South Beach on 1/4/04

1/10/04
Weight: 162
Bust: 39
Waist: 31 1/2
Hips: 40 1/4

1/17/04
Weight: 160.5
Bust 38 1/2
Waist: 31
Hips: 40

See, I've lost a small amount in inches. I weighed yesterday and I was at 162.5. I'll take my measurements in the morning to see if I've lost inches. My clothes are not as tight as they were so I know the diet is helping a little. I guess I'm just being very impatient!!

I did seem to do better on Somersizing, but I felt I was eating way too much fat.

 

[sm4987]

So glad to see so much support. I can now say that I am cheat free for 5 days. I really want to do well on this diet. I am looking for new receipes too. I am looking into getting a low carb cookbook. I need to expand what we eat. It is even great because DH who was making it so difficult about complaing what he couldn't eat, is not doing so much bettr and making my life easier by finding foods he likes. SO now, it's time to expand.

I wonder if we should pick a day to weigh in or measure. What do you all think?

 

[JCJRSmith]

Well, I can't say that I have been cheat free since I started on 1/5. My wife worked for Bookspan here in Mechanicsburg until they moved all the accounting functions for the company to NY. She and all the other accounting folks still get together now and again, usually at our house, for a casual party. Usually this is a pot luck, and there is so much food that no one gets to eat dessert. So, yesterday we had the group over (this has been planned for some time - before we started SB), and the plan was for everyone to bring an hor'dourve (did I spell that correctly?) or a dessert or both. We knew that it would be really hard to resist, so rather than deal with guilt feelings later we declared yesterday to be a day off. We still did our usualy SB breakfast, lunch and snacks, but at 4:30 we started our party. Between then and 10 pm, I had the following: Some beef and chicken teriyaki kabobs my wife and I made (we modified the recipe so it was SB friendly), one beer, one slice of chocolate cheescake, one slice of pecan pie, LOTS of raw veggies, and three bottles of water. Oh, and two cookies and four whole potato chips.

Not TOO bad - not nearly as bad as I would have been before starting SB. But I will tell you this as a word of warning: all those extra carbs hit me like a bomb. I had so much nervous energy last night that it was VERY difficult to fall asleep. I was awake at 4 a.m., and here it is 5:40 a.m., and I am still feeling some of the effects - including a headache.

Today, I have to work the registration desk for our local soccer association, and I will probably be wiped out before I get there. Hopefully I can get some more sleep before hand. Meanwhile, I am wide awake in PA.

 

[Miss Kelly]

ZerasPride(Lisa),

I wonder if you would care to share your recipe for the chocolate no bake cookies (not sure what to call them)? I've read about them somewhere on here but I don't know where to find the recipe.

Thanks!

 

[Lisa F]

Well it's officially been one week for me and my grand total is: 5.8 lbs down! I HAD been weighing myself daily, mostly because I am paranoid about this not working (the food tastes so good and I am not hungry, basically i'm not suffering enough, so it CAN'T be working!). The two days where I worked out, I stayed the same the next day (boohoo) so I was starting to get a LITTLE nervous. Yesterday I couldn't get to curves because of car trouble and today I was down another 1.4 lbs from where I was before I started working out. I think now that it really does seem to be working I can limit myself to weighing myself once a week. I have so much to lose, it really doesn't feel any different though. So go me! I'm so motivated to go work out tomorrow now (curves closed on sunday!).

One more week on phase 1, it would be great if i could say goodbye to my first 10 lbs in just two weeks, but I'll take whatever I can get. When I was on WW, it took me over a month to lose my first 10 lbs (and I was exercising more) so the progress has been astounding (I doubled my first week weight loss on WW by being on SBD).

Jerry, what you did was not "cheat." What you did was live. Cheating, to me, is when you are upset so you decide to eat whatever you want. It's when you're faced with donuts at work and you have them just because it's there. It's when you're bored and you reach for the doritos instead of a string cheese.

Planning to go off program for a special event is something that we ALL must learn to do and learn to deal with. You will probably do it less and less since it makes you feel yucky, but what you did I believe to be a natural part of the program and making this a way of eating for life instead of just a diet. Dr. A even gives you tools to deal with it (go back on phase 1 for a few days to detox again).

I dunno, maybe my view of what is "cheating" and what isn't is really liberal and different from others, but to me cheating is a mental state much more than the action that you take.

Lisa

 

[sm4987]

Lisa F- great advice. I agree that cheating is a state of mind. Intent is cheating, mistakes is just a mistake. You make amistake and then you get back up. Don't beat yourselves up anybody. We can do this!!!

I have had a good week. I'm now 8 pounds. What a hard road, but definately worth it.

 

[Miss Kelly]

Hello Everyone!

Today begins my 2nd week of the SBD. So far I've lost 7 pounds. I'm feeling rather awful this morning though. I allowed myself to have some chips & dip and chilli at the Super Bowl Party last night. Oh, and regular pop. Boy am I paying for it today. I didn't sleep well at all, I woke up with a headache and my stomach is rolling as I type. I won't make that mistake again. Its amazing how much my body had adjusted to this new way of eating already.

Hope everyone is doing better than me today.