| Dani
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For those of you lurking on these boards and trying to decide whether or not South Beach is for you, I wanted to offer my perspective/experience with regard to the meal plans and recipes in the book.
I think a major obstacle for people trying to decide if this diet suits their lifestyle is the somewhat complicated recipes. I have several friends who were reluctant to try South Beach because they are intimidated by the gourmet-ish recipes and the time-consuming prep time required for a lot of them. As a working mom, I freak out if dinner takes longer than 30 minutes - including prep AND cooking time! So what I do is just strip the recipes down to their lowest common denominator, which is lean meat of just about any kind, cooked any way you like (being careful with sauces), "allowable" veggies, and sometimes a salad. The variation is in what kind of meat or veggie we have.
I think I've tried maybe two recipes from the book and they ARE good, but other than that we've been winging it - trying to be creative and keeping the basic principles from the diet in mind. So far so good - I am in the maintenance phase now. My husband and I started Jan. 5th and I'm holding steady at 20 pounds lost, and my husband is down 27.
My skeptical friends have been relieved to know that you don't necessarily have to follow the recipes in order to see success! I thought maybe some of you would be happy to know that as well :). |
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Fri Apr 30, 2004 4:45 pm |
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| shishibeach
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I agree - in it's simplest form a dinner for me is chicken, fish or lean meat, a salad and a vegetable. Or last night just a salad, with garbanzo beans, sunflower seeds, hard boiled egg and tuna. It all sounds so healthy!
I've tried some of the recipes but I'm like you - after putting in a full day of work I don't want to chop and mix and cook and then have to wait for 30-60 minutes for dinner - want it simple, want it fast, want it healthy. I haven't followed one of their mealplans yet.
(6 weeks in, 10 lbs gone, 10 to go and my only serious craving is for a Dick's Deluxe - best greasy cheeseburger in the world for those living somewhere other than Seattle) maybe that'll be my treat for my birthday dinner? :D |
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Sat May 01, 2004 12:51 am |
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| hhnurse
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Here's what I found has helped me, I spend a few hours each week planning the next week's menu, shopping accordingly, & doing as much prep. as possible (chopping veggies for quick snacks, making jello/desserts, browning gr. turkey for casseroles, chili, etc. packaging in baggies & freezing until needed, making large bean & tuna salads for quick lunches)
I really wasn't ga-ga about the recipes in the green book, haven't checked out the new cookbook yet. |
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Sat May 01, 2004 1:10 am |
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| kevjanbrown
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hhnurse wrote: Here's what I found has helped me, I spend a few hours each week planning the next week's menu, shopping accordingly, & doing as much prep. as possible (chopping veggies for quick snacks, making jello/desserts, browning gr. turkey for casseroles, chili, etc. packaging in baggies & freezing until needed, making large bean & tuna salads for quick lunches)
I agree.....While my wife and I won't be starting till this coming weekend, part of our research has been planning menus for the entire 14 days of phase 1. We both work 6:00AM - 2:30PM, then it's off to the gym for a couple hours. When we get home the last thing we want to do is figure out what to have for dinner. I've also noticed that with a menu, we are less likely ot say "skip it" and go out for dinner. I've also made the investment in one of those Foodsaver systems so we can cook on the weekends and freeze for the rest of the week. |
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Tue May 04, 2004 4:53 pm |
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| CityGal
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I Completely agree... it was my downfall! I was apprehensive at first to start SBD because of the prep time and after 3 weeks I had to start all over again. One night I got sick of all the cooking so we just ordered a pizza - it went downhill from there. It's hard not to eat what my husband and kids are having. A wedding this weekend was the last straw.
I find that if I make the Breakfast Veggie Cups and a couple salad lunches for the week on Sunday it's not that bad. Frozen veggies make life a lot easier too since there's no cutting. For dinner I take some chopped up veggies and a small chicken breast and wrap it up in a tin foil packet. Leave it in the oven on 350 for about 15-20m and there's dinner. Clean up's easy too, so that means even less time in the kitchen.
I'm back to Ph I, day 2. Any other quick ideas for all us busy folks on the run? |
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Tue May 04, 2004 7:37 pm |
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| vickil
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| There is a great thread on the Recipe and Food Section called "Quick, Cheap Meals." There are a lot of great ideas in that thread! Aren't the people on this board amazing? |
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Wed May 05, 2004 2:26 pm |
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| CityGal
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| Thanks vickil those will probably help a lot (I hate cooking - ick)! And yeah... this board is great!!! I've been reading it for some time before I signed up. I fell off SB before... hoping this board will stop me again. There's another SBD board that looks just like this one, but I liked the contributors on this board and I think it's frequented more often! |
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Wed May 05, 2004 3:25 pm |
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| CSC
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I think I would be somewhat lost without my grill. I tend to just cut up lean meats and veggies, stick them on a skewer then grill them. No muss, no fuss. I also grill extra portions and freeze them for later. I've been eating this way for years, but with the addition of rice, pasta or potatoes. Now I've discovered portobello mushrooms. Yum.
CSC |
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Wed May 05, 2004 4:20 pm |
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| Wino
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I'm also a working Mom and on Sunday I BBQ up a bunch of chicken breasts and salmon steaks with a ton of veggies (peppers, asparagus, radiccio, green onions, eggplants, etc) that I've marinated in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper.
When I need something quick for dinner I just pull out some already cooked chiken, toss it into a salad then plate up some of the roasted veggies along side. Easy. |
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Thu May 06, 2004 5:15 pm |
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| pml
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| I have lost 27 pounds on the SB diet, 8 more to go. My husband has lost 30 pounds. We never made a single reciepe from the SB diet book or the cookbook. For dinner, we grill or broil lean meat or fish., mostly salmon. We steam a fresh vegetable and preface it all with a green salad, with lots of fresh vegetables ssprinkled on top. We also eat a lot of boiled shrimp. Preparing food this way requires next to no prep time and not much clean up. Good luck. |
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Thu May 06, 2004 5:28 pm |
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| davisju
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| This is Day 3 on SBD. I am also a working mom. It was my doctors orders to go on this plan. I am very overwieght. I would rather not use the O word. My struggle so far is the daily reciepes. Some of this stuff is way out there. My doctor instructed me that I must follow the first 2 weeks. But if I replace some of the reciepes with acceptable foods, is that o.k? I definatly feel I am getting enough food. I don't feel hungry. Although I never have eaten for hunger reasons. My favorite saying was I live to eat not eat to live. But I am trying. Thanks for listening |
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Thu May 06, 2004 6:01 pm |
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| RedRox
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| Did your doc mean that you had to follow each and every menu for the first 2 weeks or just follow the guidelines in the bood for the first 2 weeks? Even Dr. A, says the menus are just guidelines and for people who need or want some ideas of what is a good meal plan. But he designed it to be very flexible overall. I'd check with your doc and make sure he meant what you heard! And if he says to follow the menus exactly then ask him why he wants that since the book doesn't really require this. Maybe he is just concerned that you won't follow it correctly and he wants to ensure that you do. But docs are just people to and not infallible, not even Dr. A! Always question authority!!! |
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Thu May 06, 2004 8:10 pm |
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