SBO

[jst]

Today is day 5 for me. I am finally starting to feel good. The first 4 days were a bit tough! I really feel that I am going to accomplish my wt loss goal this time. My stats are similar to several of you. I greatly appreciate all of you for posting. It helps so much to have support. Everyone have a greta day today!

[mammamea]

The crazy thing is that we ate closely to it except for breakfast was Kashi cereal with fresh fruit or a fruit smoothie with soy milk. lunch sometimes might be salad, leftoevers from the night before, an occaisional McD's, not even weekly, maybe monthly, soup etc and dinner is always some kind of protein, veggies/and/or salad and a starch like a potato or fresh sweet corn. It's the not making time for myself to exercise, the M & M's and ice cream every Tuesday night is our treat. I don't graze like my husband does. He eats all day long which is what I should do. I'm in sales and I am in my vehicle a lot. So, I just need to plan better. I love the snack of a piece of Romaine lettuce, spread a wedge of laughing cow light garlic/herb cheese on the lettuce, place a slice of ham or two on top of it with fresh slice of roma tomato and banana pepper rings and roll it up. I just wanted the list for 2 weeks to get me comfortable but I think I am better off just doing it on my own with the guidelines. I've lost 4 lbs as of yesterday since Monday. Peeing like crazy though!!! SHeesh! Thanks for the advice. It helped alot! Getting ready to go make a salad with some left over steak!

[Teacher Sue]

Hi Everyone!
Well, here we are on day four, and it sounds like everyone is doing pretty well!
I am getting a little sick of vegetables, so have been looking at the recipes on this site, and have really been impressed with them.
If you haven't tried the Mock Cinnabon yet, it's incredible! It uses cottage cheese for a base!
Also, I love kidney bean salad, so have been able to use that one too! I just spread it out over two or three meals.
Today I made the Egg Custard using Spenda, and it's pretty good too.
I have always been a carboholic, so I really thought I would have a rougher time with this, but so far, so good.
I'm a 59 year old Special Education Teacher, and will start back to school next week, which I think will make it easier in some ways. When I get bored, I eat, and usually, the last few weeks before school starts again, I'm bored and stuffing my face!
I also have a hard time fitting in exercise, but have found that water aerobics at the local health club is being held later in the evening, so I have plugged into that. It makes me feel good without putting too much stress on my joints.
My food plan for today is:
B- boiled egg, canadian bacon, V-8 juice
S- SF P-Nut Butter, celery
L- Kidney bean salad, custard
S- Cabbage leaves w cream cheese
D- Taco Salad
If I want dessert, I will have a SF jello with some SF Cool Whip.
Keep up the good work friends. We can do it!

[cindyt]

Ommani,

I have been trying to remember how long it did take me to lose last time ....I want to say at least 6 months. I was walking about 45 minutes to an hour every day and doing pilates. I am also very active in my daughter's life and do a lot of youth coaching (basketball, softball, soccer) which is so much easier to do when you are in shape yourself. There were a few times when I would maintain the same weight for a few weeks but I would usually just go back to Phase 1 for a couple of days and then I would start losing again.

So far this week I have been out walking when it is not raining. I should be getting out the treadmill for the days when it is raining but I haven't done it. I have doing really well but I'm concerned out this weekend. My daughter and I are going camping with a large group of people. Most of the food we are bringing I can eat. I will probably bring my own veggies, but the hard part is going to be staying away from the chips and dip and not drinking. If anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them. Here's to another day on SB and loving every minute.

[cjmeller]

Okay, just got back from the store. The lunchmeat section was downright depressing. Everything has sugar, maltodextrin, cornstarch, etc. Even (especially) the "natural" brands! Asked the lady at the deli counter where I could find the ingredients for the meats. She smarts off "what, so you know that turkey is turkey?!?" I just said "no, so that I know turkey is JUST turkey, and not turkey and sugar, turkey and cornstarch, turkey and all kinds of other crap." Ended up being a real eye opener for her and she was very cool about it.

It just really frustrates me that food can't just be food. It has to be food + other crap. Nevermind that I work for the federal agency that sets the policies that encourage it. *sigh*


Also had forgotten my lime for my salad, so ended up getting some lemons. Now enjoying a yummy salad of chinese spinach, red bell peppers, banana peppers, zuchhini, green onions, and roasted chicken breast, dressed with seasoned olive oil and lemon juice.

Need to work on my shopping list for the farmer's market on Saturday!

[mammamea]

what's chinese spinach? I've had chinese cabbage but not spinach. Sounds interesting.

[jst]

cjmeller,
I think it's great that you educated the deli lady about food additives. it is so surprising how many people have no clue about what's in the food we eat. That is why America is so FAT!!! Go Southbeachers! We are on our way to being healthy and happy. Why not educate some people along the way??

[cjmeller]

Thanks, JST! It is astounding how little most people know about what is in food, what is good food, etc. My mom thinks she eats a healthy breakfast... Carnation instant breakfast, followed up with Sunny-D and a couple poptarts. And she is a classic "apple" who's always complaining that she can't lose her belly fat. Told her last night I was on this diet and will be at her house for the last 2 days of phase 1. To which she blurts out, "but you have to have those potatoes you were going to make!" Should be quite the weekend.

@mammamea-- Chinese spinach was something I picked up at the farmer's market this weekend. It is a green that is a bit sweeter than regular spinach, that has a very thick stem. My goal for this year was to have as much of my produce as possible be locally grown and in season. So I've been shopping ALOT at the farmer's market (though, Kansas City is blessed with a few grocery chains that do contract with small-to-medium regional producers). The picture on this site is the closest I saw to what mine looks like: http://www.rokewood.co.uk/spinach.html. Because it is sweeter and less bitter, I've found it goes really well basic dressings such as oil and citrus juice. Plus, the stems, while bigger, are still very tender. They chop up really well in a salad. Apparently, it's good for you too. Wikipedia says:

Amaranth greens, also called Chinese spinach, hinn choy or yin tsoi (simplified Chinese: 苋菜; traditional Chinese: 莧菜; pinyin: xiàncài); callaloo, dhantinasoppu (Kannada); thotakura (Telugu); नाचणी (Marathi); முளைக் கீரை (Tamil), cheera ചീര (Malayalam); bayam (Indonesian); phak khom ผักโขม (Thai); tampala, or quelite, are a common leaf vegetable throughout the tropics and in many warm temperate regions. It is very popular in India. They are a very good source of vitamins including vitamin A, vitamin K, vitamin B6, vitamin C, riboflavin, and folate, and dietary minerals including calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, and manganese. Because of its valuable nutrition, some farmers grow amaranth today. However their moderately high content of oxalic acid inhibits the absorption of calcium and zinc, and also means that they should be avoided or eaten in moderation by people with kidney disorders, gout, or rheumatoid arthritis.[citation needed] Reheating cooked amaranth greens is often discouraged, particularly for consumption by small children, as the nitrates in the leaves can be converted to nitrites, similarly to spinach.

Probably wouldn't see it much in regular grocery stores, but I would bet that larger farmers markets and/or Asian markets carry it.

[PinkSari]

Hello fellow Phase 1'ers.
My name is Lynda. I have been struggling with weight my entire life, atleast since I was 12. I am now 27 yrs, just got married in January. I was 148lbs for my wedding and loved life and felt sooo amazing. Since then, the parties and going out to eat has crept up and now i am a wopping 170.4. I feel pathetic. I have tried every diet in the book and have tried this one a few yrs back. I neeeeed to lose weight badly. We are trying to get pregnant and the doctor suggested that I lose weight because it makes concieving easier. I checked my weight today and after being on phase 1 for 4 days, my weight is 170.1. It is important this time, expecially since I am not doing this only for myself, but for my husband and my future family.
CW: 170.1
Goal: 130 lbs.

[Irish04]

Day 4 and still going!!! Thanks cjmeller for the zuchini tip. I ran out and picked one up. So far I shredded some in my scrambled eggs and then in my salad! For dinner I am having beef, broccolli, peppers.
Keep up the good work everyone!

[PaulaB]

'afternoon all, I love this forumn thanks so much for posting. There is so much to learn about the SBD and so far I am pleased with the results. After Day 2 I had lost 2.75 pounds--just 37.25 more to go!
I'm a planner and this SBD fits me well. Start thinking about the weekend coming up and stock your fridge with 'good stuff'. I have a wedding to go to on Saturday and I'm gearing up my self control! (lets see if my signature and avitar work on this post

[cjmeller]

Hope everyone had a good, successful SBD day!

I did good on my food choices. As I mentioned before, I forgot my lunch protein at home, but was able to adapt by running to the store and grabbing some lunchmeat to replace my chicken breast. Before recommitting to SBD, I would have probably just grabbed chicken fingers and tater tots instead. Dinner was as planned-- leftover moroccan chicken, leftover eggplant/tomato mixture, and some roasted green beans with a glass of skim milk. Did learn an important lesson-- apparently, my kitchen circuit can't handle me running both the toaster oven AND the microwave. Blew a fuse and was REALLY worried for a bit when I learned my fridge and stove weren't working either. My house is mess, so I was trying to guess how long it would take to clean before I could call the landlord to come fix the problem. LOL. Thankfully, all was fixed with a check of the circuit box.

I did the coolwhip/ricotta experiment. I think it was successful. I had eaten 1/2 c. of the ricotta last night, which left me with about three 1/2 cup servings left. 1 serving of coolwhip is 2 Tbsp, so I folded in 6 (8?) Tbsp. of sf coolwhip. The gritty texture wasn't completely gone, but it was ALOT smoother, creamier, and lighter in texture. Added a little more sf coconut syrup and topped with about 1 Tbsp. sliced almonds. Still not my favorite, but definitely will be finishing the batch. Because the ricotta counts as a protein and not as a "sweet treat," I think that even with 4 Tbsp. sf coolwhip (50 calories) per serving, you're still okay.

The book I was referencing for "sneaking" veggies into recipes can be found here:

http://www.deceptivelydelicious.com/site/

Keep up the good work, everyone!

[doghouse]

Now on day 8, and it is so exciting. I feel different, mentally and physically. Good luck pink sari , i gather you are about to start now! you have a great motivator - planning on starting a family, that is exciting!

Yesterday.
B: oyster mushroom and tomato omlette , sprinkled with little bit of feta
MS: 3 tablespoons runny hummous (too much water in recipe - still yum!) and red pepper crudites
L: beef, fresh ginger, cauli, broc, mangetout, spring onion , red cabbage, spinach, oyster mushroom (would prefer normal believe me but at $2.80 a punnet I think too extravagent! I will treat myself once in a while though, i need to find one of those mushroom growing kits - that big sack of compost and fungi we used to keep in our farm kitchen!! hmmmmm maybe not)
AS: pecan nuts (i must go into general discussion to find out about my niggling question, I would love 30 halves but I have a feeling they mean 15 halves in the book as I am not sure you buy the whole nuts as a rule in the States??
D: trout, steamed spinach which I pureed with a little feta and remainder of pecan nuts and about a tbspn of fatfree milk , roasted cauli, broc, red pepper and garlic (i never thought to roast those vegs but they are yum) I just use olive oil - tiny bit.

So here is the naughty part and how I take my milk allowance! I have not given up tea or coffee but i only use fat free milk. I have about three cups of coffee a day and two cups of tea (maybe that is why I am not getting heachaches as I am still toxic ), one cup of black rooibos tea, one TAB. (which is caffeine and sugar free but totally bad for you I am sure!!, it is the only sweet fix I have though and it seems to be keeping me on track, we cannot get all those sweet popsicle thingies you talk of here) Now this is what I have in terms of drinks every day so I will not repeat it (unless I give up or reduce, or cheat) I also drink about 2 litres of water, maybe more. not less. Have happy weekends all.xx

[jeniren]

Hi girls jeniren here....been struggling on P1 for a few weeks now. Not struggling with the food just any weight loss. It's hard cause I've lost none and have been very good. # yrs ago the weight fell off me but this time is so different. However, my fellow slimseekers have informed me that my metabolism is probably readjusting after 3 yrs of basic starvation. I usually don't eat breakfast lunch aand nibble at food and drink wine at night. But I've been on Sb now for 4 weks and am sooo proud of myself. A)because i'm actually eating and B) because i'm off alcohol. Anyway girls it's been hard to stay positive seeing no weight loss. If any of you gals out there know anything about metabolism then maybe you can give me some advice or support. I'm happy to keep waiting I suppose I just want to believe that in the end weight loss WILL happen! jeniren

[doghouse]

hi jeniren, sorry to hear about the frustration of not losing. that can be demoralising. i hope the consolation is that you are feeling better. i have not read your other posts so this may have been covered. are you exercising because that should help give your metabolism a boost. even just moderate but regular exercise might tip the balance. has one of the moderators or experts so to speak advised you to go onto phase 2 yet? hope you see some results soon , i am sure you will!xxxx