Suw's Journal

[SuW]

Hello everyone...

I'm Su, I'm 53 and I began South Beaching for the first time on Monday. Like a lot of people I've tried just about every diet going and this is a last ditch attempt to get some weight off. I'm 5' 3" and on Monday I weighed 15st 10lb (yes I'm in the UK) or 220lbs if you prefer. This morning I weighed 15st 5lb (215lbs) which means 5lbs in three days - which has made me rather happy. The SB plan looks like the most healthy plan I've ever seen and I've seen a few. I love the whole protein and veggies thing and the fact that I get salad dressing is all I need really. I can't bear undressed salad!! Low fat eating has never worked for me, although I've tried it many times and pure carb diets like Atkins are very bad for my kidneys (I've had stones). I'm hoping the SB plan will give me the weight loss withough compromising my health.

I have a husband and a grown up daughter who lives at home so I have to work my meals around theirs - but they're being very supportive. I think we all know that it can't go on like this.

So far I've not noticed any side effects apart from after my evening meal I've been very grumpy and contentious. I've been reading all the other comments on here and I think that as far as phase one is concerned I have the worst to come - but I'm drinking loads of water and making sure I have the beans

As for the exercise, I'm more than unfit. Not so much sedentary as sessile. I work in computers so I'm sat down all day, I work too far from home (40 miles) to cycle or walk, I'm on the ground floor at work and we live in a house without stairs. However, I am currently developing my own exercise plan which I can do in 5 minute bursts whenever I get away from my desk.

So what do I want to achieve? Well I think I'll start with wanting to weigh under 200lbs, which is 14st 3lbs - that sounds like an achievable plan. Ultimately I'd like to weigh 11st (154lbs) which is still a bit overweight for my height but more realistic than trying to get back to what I weighed in my 30s.

I don't know if I'll keep the eating plan up, I don't know if I'll keep the journal up - but they do reckon that people are more successful if they work with others. So here I am - all fired up and enthusiastic like all newbies. Let's hope I can stay focused!

[SBMike]

Hello everyone........ I'm sessile!

Whether you call yourself Su or Cecil, we welcome you! You are off to a great start after three days! There are plenty of good folks here to make suggestions, give encouragement, and to share a shoulder with when the results slow down a bit. As for me, my role here is to serve as a bad example... at least for now. I am on vacation and not behaving. So I encourage you to read anyone else's journals except mine to start. May i suggest OnaMi as a good read. She is still active here and has had a great deal of success.

You'll find a lot of good recipes elsewhere in these forums that can be of help as well.

Enjoy the journey,

Mike

[Chris55]

Welcome, Su! Nice to see another 50-something on the journal board.

Phase 1 is challenging for everyone. Just do your best, focus on eating every 2-3 hours so you keep your blood sugar stable, and once you pass around day 4 or 5 it gets a bit easier.

I started on SB in 2009, got myself below 200, then down to a weight that I couldn't maintain and have inched up considerably by eating off-plan. But I'm still in much better shape in terms of weight and health, and my eating is so much better even when I cheat. I'm trying to get back on board eating well again, like many people here.

I cook for my family also. My general strategy is to make SB friendly meals with extra vegetables for myself and some kind of starch for the rest of the gang. I try and have a lot of vegetables on hand and cook extra to have for lunch the next day or as my second vegetable for dinner. That way I'm not always making so many dishes.

[JeffInJax]

Hello Su, Phase 1 is difficult for everyone like has already been said. You're eating beans, drinking plenty of water and eating veggies. Beans are like anti-phase1-headache cure lol. It helps tremendously and on phase 1 I get extremely grumpy and irritable for the first week, then it slowly recedes and starting phase 2 i feel perfectly fine. I fell off the wagon a bit myself and this week is my first week back to phase two. BIG BIG BIG piece of advice is ONCE, not if, you make it to phase 2, go slow. Add just 1 fruit or bread/starch in a day for the first week, then the second week add the one you didnt have. Gradual is SOOO important becuase your body otherwise will freak out and try to store all the extra carbs. Welcome though, its a friendly community in the journals so im sure you'll enjoy it.

[bethy]

Welcome, welcome, Sessile Sue.
I'm fifties, fat and sessile, too.

Best of luck to you. You can do it if you really want to. I thought it was going to kill me but decided at the rate I was moving, how much difference would that really make? So I stuck with it and I'm losing. Slowly, like I do everything else
I was snappish, among other things, in P1 and spent a lot of time alone in my room for the sake of my long-suffering family.
Then I joined this website and now I exercise my mood swings right here!
I used to work with a Doctor who treated alcoholics.
When they left the hospital he would always say "Don't pick up a drink even if your ass falls off".
I just kept repeating that, substituting "sandwich" to adapt it to my own addiction.
And a lot of it DID fall off, yay!

Congratulations on your 5lbs. Wonderful. Keep Beachy and Carry On.

[SuW]

Oh boy - was I in a filthy mood last night, or what? Craving sweet things was a nightmare so I mixed some 0% yoghurt with some sugar-free chocolate syrup and ate that, which settled things down a bit.

And I also had some trouble getting to sleep. This morning I'm quite low - but I can't decide whether that's the diet or whether I'm just generally a bit down.

On the other hand (and on a more positive note), that's another pound gone, so 6lbs since Monday. And I'm not starving - which is a bonus. And aren't you guys lovely. I think I'll keep coming in here just to read your inspirational journeys and for the wonderful tips that I'm getting from you. Inspired by this board, I had a ham and mushroom frittata for breakfast which was so delicious my daughter nicked the other half of it and took it to work. Guess I'll be finding something else for lunch then!!

Onwards and upwards (or perhaps that should be 'onwards and downwards')

[SuW]

Levelled off today. But it's still 6lbs since Monday, so I'm not altogether suprised.

Today has been much easier, I don't feel in any way grumpy and in fact, I'm feeling very energised. The exercise thing is working out pretty well too - so today everything is good.

I'm guessing the trick will be to store up these good times against the days when I want to give it all up.

[bethy]

Energized days are even better than losing lbs. I'm trying to psych myself into one right now.

[SuW]

Yesterday started well but by evening I was tearful and grouchy. I'm guessing this is the 'mood swings' that I've been reading about on other peoples' journals. Ah well - mood swings or not I've stuck at it. Much kudos to my poor husband who has had a lot to put up with but that's another lb gone today making half a stone (7lbs) since Monday.

This is quite extraordinary and makes me even more determined to stick at it and see where it takes me.

[SuW]

So here I am on Monday morning - a whole week from where I started and 7lbs lighter.

To be honest I'm finding it hard to believe but I'm trusting the plan and hoping that if I stick to it it'll all work out. Just a matter of keeping the faith I guess. I've not been hungry but I have had a few cranky moments which I'm hoping will settle down.

The little bits of exercise are helping and so it's all looking good.

So here we go with the 2nd week of Phase 1. I think I'll keep posting here because its helping to keep me focused. And I'm enjoying reading all your stories and I'm getting some good advice.

[SuW]

Ah real mayonnaise - how I've missed you. How could I ever have thought that huge quantities of over-processed gack could ever compare to a small quantity of your velvety loveliness.

Sigh!

[bethy]

Nice work! A week under your belt already. What did you put the yummy mayo on?

[SuW]

It was a really simple ham salad. Crisp lettuce, chopped tomatoes, a little sliced yellow pepper, 2oz chopped ham and a tablespoon (carefully measured) of real mayo.

And it was utterly superb. I'd honestly forgotten what real mayo tastes like and the low-fat stuff I have been eating tastes all chemically in comparison.

We've had a really sunny day here (ok remember this is Britain - sunny days are rarities!) and I sat in the sun with this wonderful salad. That was a very perfect lunch.

Tonight I'm making home-made burgers - I think I'm in love with this diet.

[SBMike]

Excellent effort! This isn't a diet, as you know, it's a way of eating. And those who can make the adjustment are not only lower weight but also healthier.

Good luck in week 2!

[bethy]

Yum! the real mayo on a real burger: Nirvana.