Stacey's (a/k/a HealthyHopes) Journal

[HealthyHopes]

Hi everyone...welcome to my journal.

It really hit me that I needed to lose weight when on August 25, 2007 I had to be measured to be a bridesmaid in my friend Alison's wedding (which is not until September 2008). On 8/25/07, my measurements were: 36"/33"/46"--not quite the 36"/24"/36" measurements Sir MixAlot raps about!! Anyway, I came home crying my eyes out to my DBF and swore off food forever! Then, I started thinking rationally and on September 11, 2007 I had an appointment with my doctor to discuss my dramatic weight gain over the past year (30-35lbs). On 9/11/07 I weighed 174lbs at the doctor's office. I am female and only 5'2" so that is definitely on the chunky side! My doctor highly encouraged trying the South Beach diet and so I did. I started SB on September 14, 2007, weighing in on my scale at home at 171lbs (I pre-started SB right after my doctor appointment on the 11th, but officially started on the 14th after I was able to make a grocery store run.)

The first phase of SB went pretty well for me, though I secretly hoped I would lose more! I lost a total of 4lbs during those first two weeks, BUT that is a 10% weight loss since the total number of pounds I hope to lose is 41lbs. My goal weight is 130lbs and I HOPE I can reach it by July of 2008 because I am the maid of honor in my best friend's wedding! Sooner than July would be better, but I am not putting crazy expectations on myself because that would likely just be setting myself up for defeat!

Today is October 10th. I am in my second week of phase 2. I am a bit concerned because as of this morning, the scale has gone up about a pound and a half from my last weigh in which was Friday, October 7th. I'm not sure if I am eating too many beans (have to re-check the bean allowance in the FAQs) or if it is because I didn't eat dinner until almost 8pm last night, OR if it is because yesterday I added 1/2 cup of peaches, packed in their natural juices only and I just realized today that this is a very limited item according to my SBD Good Fats Good Carbs Guide. Probably will try to avoid those until I lose at least 10 pounds or so.

Starting today I am going to document (hopefully daily) what my menu is. I'll write for the day before. So, here goes:

Menu - 10/9/07
B - 2 hard boiled eggs, 2 boca sausage links & 1/2 cup canned peaches packed in only their natural juices AND homemade nonfat SF cafe latte (8oz 1/2% milk, 3Tbs SF coffee syrup and 1/2 cup strong coffee)
S - celery with 1 wedge laughing cow cheese
L - salad with chicken, chick peas, green onion, reduced fat feta, 1 hard boiled egg and topped with an olive oil vinagrette. Then I had 1/2 cup sf chocolate pudding
S - edamame and a nonfat, plain yogurt (around 2:30pm)
S - 1/4 cup soy nuts (around 5:30pm prior to going to jazzercise class at 6:15pm)
D - turkey burger (made from Extra Lean ground turkey meat), topped with a slice of 2% Kraft swiss cheese, red onion, lettuce and 1Tbs Ranch. Also, with dinner had 1 whole can of green beans (I was HUNGRY after my jazzercise workout!!)
D - PB Cup dessert (from Phase I recipe)

Exercise - 10/9/07
Jazzercise from 6:15-7:15pm

OK, I'll be back tomorrow...or at least I'll try to keep up with this daily--for my own good!!

[HealthyHopes]

Good morning! Well, it's 8:30ish am and I thought I'd journal before I got too busy at work. Not much to report but my menu, so that's what I'll do.

Menu - 10/10/07
B - SF,1/2% cafe latte; 2 hard boiled eggs; 2 boca sausages
S - 1/2 cup peaches (in their natural juices only)
L - salad with steak, feta, 1/4 cup black beans, 1/4 cup pinto beans, green onion and 2Tbs ranch; 1/2 cup SF chocolate pudding
S - cheese stick
D - parmesean crusted tilopia, cheesy baked mashed "potatos," and sugar snap peas.
D - PB cup dessert from Phase 1

Exercise - 10/10/07
None, unless you count grocery shopping and pushing a very heavy shopping cart that has wheels that barely work!!! haha!

[mots]

i'm no expert but it seems high in protein and light on the 4 1/2 cups of veggies a day............
Best!mots

[HealthyHopes]

Mots, you're right. I've been struggling with getting all my veggies in the past couple days--but as I'm typing this I'm enjoying an afternoon snack of celery--that "enjoying" was said with sarcasm by the way!! Thanks for checking out my menu and for your input. I appreciate it.

P.S. you lost enuf weight to qualify as an expert in my opinion!! Great job!

[jalper]

I totally agree with mots onthe veggies, but what about the 100 caloried per day of sweet treats. Is the pudding and the peanut butter cup more than that? Also, fruit should be canned, it's better fresh. Just my opinion! Good luck!

[HealthyHopes]

I already decided to ditch the canned fruit--esp. the peaches--I just ate them b/c I had them in the pantry. But I decided no more of those once I realized they're a limited item according to the SB book.

I do need some more veggies, but I'm not so sure that's really the problem.

And the sweet treat allowance--definitely not over 100 on that. The pudding counts as 25 cal (only eat 1/2 cup) and the PB Cup is 40 cal (for the NSA fudgcicle and 15 cal for the 2Tbs of Cool Whip Free.

[HealthyHopes]

Good morning. Yesterday was a terrible day--not beachwise, just emotional wise. I got into a fight with my mom last Saturday and we tried to talk it out yesterday which just escalated the fight and ended in disaster. We both said some pretty mean things to each other and are not speaking to each other now. I'm really upset about it. My mom and I used to be REALLY close, but lately we've been butting heads for some reason. Probably because we are A LOT alike--if that makes any sense...Well, hopefully some time and space will help us but sometimes that can also make things worse...ughghg...just bummin...

Menu - 10/11/07
B - SF, 1/2% cafe latte; 2 hard boiled eggs; 2 boca sausages
S - plaint, nonfat yogurt and a cheese stick
L - salad with 1/4 cup pinto beans, 1/4 cup black beans, RF feta cheese, green onion, baked chicken and topped with light olive oil vinagrette dressing; 1/2 cup chocolate SF/FF pudding.
S - celery with 1 wedge laughing cow cheese (3pm)
S - apple with 2Tbs natural PB (5pm--intended to be a pre-jazzercise snack, but the fight with my mom upset me too much and I skipped jazzercise)
D - (7:30pm not so hungry) Just 1/2 cup WW pasta shells. Then, on the stove I heated up 1/2 cup 1/2% milk with 2tbs of EVOO and a lot of basil and garlic. Poured that on my pasta but it was so runny it was gross. Also topped my pasta with a little parmesean cheese.
D - (9pm) 1/2 cup oatmeal

Exercise - 10/11/07
None today...

Weight on 10/12/07 = 165lbs...still...

[HealthyHopes]

OK, I am sitting here watching the Indians' game with my bf and some of his friends and thought I'd take this opportunity to jot down my menu for today and a few thoughts. First the thoughts...TURNS OUT, I'm an idiot. Part of my slooooow weight loss may have to do with the fact that #1 I thought brown sugar splenda was ok and have been using it on my oatmeal and #2 the freakin splenda I had was the kind for baking and was "made from real sugar" so it was NOT the no calorie sweetener I was supposed to be using!!! I figured this out today--almost an entire month after being on SB because I bought some more at the store today. The bag was SUPER light compared to the bag at home so I knew it was different, but I bought that first bag of splenda I have at home a looooong time ago so I just thought it was different packaging or something! Anyway, I get home, take a look at the splenda in my cupboard and found out I had been using the wrong darn one all along!!! OMG!!! Well, the error has been corrected--I tossed that bag, along with the brown sugar splenda bag in the garbage and replaced it with the correct, NO CALORIE Splenda sweetener!! Geeesh!!!

OK, now onto my menu for today...

Menu - 10/12/07
B - 2 hard boiled eggs, 2 boca sausages and a NF/SF cafe latte (made with 1 cup 1% milk)
S - none this morning
L - Salad with some steak and 1/4 cup black beans, 1/4 cup pinto beans, green onion, RF feta and topped with 2Tbs of HV ranch; 1/2 cup of SF/FF vanilla pudding.
S - cheesestick and 1/2 cup skim milk
D - Salad with 1 chopped hard boiled egg, 1/3 avacado, 1/4 cup onion and 1/4 cup green pepper and topped with vegetable oil (is veggie oil ok?) and some red wine vinegar. Also made a very, very yummy pizza. I used 1 WW pita (this was a 47g serving size, but I figure that should be ok b/c it was my only grain of the day, right??) and I topped it with about 1/2 cup of shredded part skim mozz cheese and 1/4 cup onion and 1/4 cup green peppers. OH and for sauce I just used about 1/4 or 1/2 cup of tomato sauce that I added some garlic, basil and oregeano to. God I hope this pizza was ok because it was the best thing I have eaten in a month--well, besides my good ol' reliable PB cup dessert from phase 1!! (Someone please let me know if it is not SB friendly!!)
D - I'm gonna try making that chocolate bean cake tonight and I may have a piece of it...

Type at ya'll tomorrow!! Beachy dreams to all and GOOOOOO TRIBE!!!

[nygirl22]

I was just peeking in and I wanted to chime in and say -- don't freak out about the splenda thing! The splenda for baking should be fine. Splenda actually is made from sugar, but it's fine for SB purposes. If you look at this: http://www.splenda.com/page.jhtml?id=sp ... s/main.inc

Is it the first picture that you are referring to? That one is fine. You can buy it in bulk or in packets.

As for the "Splenda Sugar Blend" and "Splenda Brown Sugar" - those have sugar and are to be avoided. Either way, live and learn!

As for the vegetable oil, I'm not sure. Check out the Phase 1 Food List - it lists a bunch of oils, but not "vegetable" specifically.

As for the pita, some will say you should split it in half and only eat half to make it more of a single serving (30g) grain. But... I don't know. I would say pay attention to how you feel. If it was 60g I'd probably say split it for sure... the problem is not really a "how many grains have I had today" thing - it's more of the effect of that much grain at one sitting. The more grain, the higher the GL (glycemic load) which is why we eat 30g servings of grains!

Yes the pizza is fine. Lots of people use pitas! You may be having too much fat in that meal though - the salad w/ avacado plus the oil (or other dressing). According to the Phase 1 Food List, 1/3 avacado = 1 T. oil and since we're allowed 1 T. oil per meal or 2 T. dressing you can have less of each or 1 or the other.

[HealthyHopes]

Hey NYgirl--thanks for getting back to me!! The splenda I was using was the second one--the one for baking so it was the bad not-SB friendly one! Oh well--like you say, live and learn, right?!

I read the ingredients on the veggie oil (there's a thought right?! ) and it says 100% soy bean oil, so I'm pretty sure its ok. I only have about a Tbs left in the bottle of it so I'll check the FAQ's before I go to the store to replace it--just to be sure!

I'm so glad the pizza is beachy--I think you're right about the avacado and oil--prolly went a little overboard there... --I just had this pesky avacado that was about to go bad so I really didn't want to waste it--shoulda chose a diff salad dressing though prolly!! Oh well, live and learn!!

Thanks again for stopping by nygirl and for responding to my post!

[nygirl22]

Oh then the oil is okay. Canola and olive are still the best choices and for good health are best consumed every day. The soybean oil is fine though.

[HealthyHopes]

So, I tried the chocolate bean cake yesterday--it wasn't DELICIOUS, but it was not bad either. I'm not sure if baking chocolate powder is the same as unsweetened cocoa powder...does anyone know? I think I'm going to try the cinnamon one next time...I did notice when I woke up this morning one more was missing so that means my bf tried it--if only he knew there were beans in it he would NEVER have even tried it--I just think that is so funny. I do not plan on telling him either! I have to remember to ask him what he thought of them...

So, I went to jazzercise this morning and had a piece of the bean cake for a pre-breakfast so I wouldn't be famished by the time I got home.

Menu - 10/13/07
Pre-B - piece of chocolate bean cake
B - scrambled up 2 eggs with 1/4 cup egg beaters and added some sauteed (how do you spell that?!) green peppers and onions as well as two chopped up boca sausage links. Oh and I added one slice of Kraft 2% swiss cheese. I put some of the egg mixture in a WW tortilla and ate the rest plain. OMG, this has to be the best egg combo I've tried--I loved it! MMMM!!!!
S - no snack
L - Boca burger with grilled onions and 1 slice 2% cheddar and lettuce. Also had some yummy asparagus.

I'll fill in the rest later. Today at 4 we're going to a pig roast that my boss is having. The plan is to go there just to mingle for a while (not eat--maybe just pick if there's somethin beachy that catches my eye) and then go to dinner afterwards. I'll probably have some better options available at a restaurant and me and my bf can have a nice dinner alone together--we haven't gone out to eat in a long time--trying to save money and because I've been SB'in and afraid to venture out to a restaurant! We'll see how it goes tonight!!

Exercise - 10/13/07
Jazzercise 8:30am-9:30am

[HealthyHopes]

Funniest thing...I asked my bf what he thought of the chocolate bean cake brownies...of course, without telling him there were beans in them. Well he said they were gross. I laughed and he said it tasted like I used a sponge to clean a bowl with some chocolate on it and then he ate the sponge! HAHAHA!! So, since he didn't like it anyway I told him the "secret ingredient" was black beans and he was so grossed out! He said they were moist though--and they really are. I am not super impressed with them but I do want to try the cinnamon or corn cake ones...I think I was just hoping these would be chocolatier...oh well, I'll always have my PB cup dessert!!!!

[HealthyHopes]

So I'm home from the pig roast and I survived...didn't eat anything at all!! I did have one glass of white wine though --oh well, I still say, I did good! We were planning on going to dinner after but that fell through. The Indians game started at 8 and I promised my bf we'd be home for it. Well, we woulda been but we got lost on the way home from the pig roast--ughghg!! Anyway, then anywhere we woulda went woulda taken way too long and it just wasn't worth it. So, we just came home. I made myself some fish...

Menu (continued) - 10/13/07
D - parmesean crusted tilapia; brussel sprouts and green beans
D - PB cup dessert

I made a Big Breakfast Cookie for the first time today and it looks so delicious! I can't wait to eat it! I plan on having it as my on the go breakfast tomorrow b/c my bf has a football game in the morning. Every Sunday morning/afternoon he plays in an adult flag football league (tho I swear it is more like tackle!!)...Tomorrow his game's at 9am--I like when they're earlier like that because then I get up early on a Sunday and have the whole day to enjoy! I found some SF banana cream pudding at the Walmart near my house today so I'll probably make that tomorrow--or maybe I'll search recipelover's thread for something creative to do with it!!

GO TRIBE!

[HealthyHopes]

Well, my bf's team won their football game!! AND the Tribe beat Boston!!! And the Big Breakfast Cookie was amazing...loved it!! I'm gonna make a double or triple batch today to have this week.

Menu - 10/14/07
B - SF/FF cafe latte (made with 1 cup ff milk); Big Breakfast Cookie
S - none
L - 2 eggs and 1 egg beater scrambled with 1/2 cup chopped onions, 1/2 cup chopped green peppers, 2 chopped up boca sausage links and two slices of 2% swiss cheese; also 1 chocolate bean cake brownie.
D - 1 cup of Five Bean Chili [posted by lesame] Phase 1 (which is technically 4-bean chili but with 2 cans of one type of the beans!) (I altered the recipe a bit, see below) I topped it with 1/4 cup of 2% shredded cheddar cheese; 15 trisquit thins
D - 1 No-Flour Mock Cinnamon Cake Muffins (so good!!). (I used Recipelover's version, only altered it a bit--see below) BTW, these were soooo good--MUCH better than the chocolate bean cake brownies!!

Exercise - 10/14/07
none today...

Stacey's Version of Five Bean Chili [posted by lesame] Phase 1:
I used 1lb of Xlean ground turkey meat and 1lb of Xlean ground sirloin (instead of the recommended 2 pounds very lean ground beef). I also used 2 cans of the dark red kidney beans (instead of 2 cans of the pinto beans). I also didn't use the recommended hot chili seasoning packets. I used 2 packets of McCormick's Slow Cookers Chili Seasoning. And next time I plan to only use 1/2 can of water instead of the whole can of water because with a whole can of water it turned out quite runny.

Stacey's Version of Recipelovers' Version of No-Flour Mock Cinnamon Cake Muffins:
I used 1/2 tsp nutmeg instead of grinds of fresh nutmeg like Recipelover used (only because I didn't have the fresh grinds).