No weight loss on Phase 1?

[mamamorgan]

Okay, so I got through Phase 1, it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be. Of course I had cravings, and there was ice cream and cookies in the house because of my spouse and I avoided it all. I was VERY proud of myself. After doing my two weeks, I haven't lost a pound. On top of it...I exercise religiously. I was doing a mixture of Jillian Michael's 30 day shred and jogging. I can tell that I am getting more in shape, exercising and other things are becoming less challenging. I can also tell that things are getting "tighter" with my body shape all around, which is nice but why isn't the weight coming off? Since starting Phase 2, 4 days ago, I have allowed myself one carb or sugar a day. I am starting off slowly because I am scared that I will binge or make a bad choice or that I will gain weight. I don't have much weight to lose, I thought, 20lbs but it seems its going to be so hard. I have even started counting calories, and I am not going about 1300 a day.

Can anyone offer any words of encouragement or advice? Anything would be appreciated.

[Kimboroni]

SB really isn't a quick fix, but a lifestyle change that gets you healthy. From your other post in this area, it sounds like you are reaping some of those benefits and that maybe you've lost a pound or two but can't tell for sure because of your scale. P1 is designed to cut the cravings so that you can eat better and more balanced. That's where p2 comes in, which is the real plan. You sounded much more determined in the other post, so more of that is good-- think longterm.

Since starting Phase 2, 4 days ago, I have allowed myself one carb or sugar a day. I am starting off slowly because I am scared that I will binge or make a bad choice or that I will gain weight.

It is recommended to start slow, so you can see how your body reacts-- setting off cravings, etc.-- so that sounds fine. Hopefully by "one carb or sugar," you mean an appropriate whole grain, starchy veggie, or fruit. It's better if it's the same food for a few days so you get a really good test.

The calorie counting might be counterproductive, as SB doesn't have calorie counts, so then you're taking the amount from some other plan and placing that restriction on SB. Plus it may make you avoid beneficial foods like good fats/oils and nuts/seeds, since they tend to be calorie dense. Those are important foods to include.

[mamamorgan]

Thanks for your reply. I am not really looking for a quick fix. I would like to reach my 20 lb goal in 6 to 8 months. I just heard such great success stories just starting in Phase 1 and of course, I was hoping for the same to really push me through to the next phase. My mother did SB and she said to give it a month and a half before I quit. In general, I don't think I will quit. I am making conscientious choices to eat healthier, and it makes me feel better about myself. I am also exercising and again, that makes me feel great that I am doing something good for me.

I do think I am adding in healthy choices, such as a banana, or a piece of whole wheat toast with sugar free jam. Simple things.

[Chris55]

It's possible that you're not eating enough, especially if you are doing intense workouts every day. Try posting your menu so we can make suggestions if necessary. This isn't a "diet" in terms of deprivation, but a healthy eating plan, so you should be eating a lot of food.

Also keep in mind that many of the stories you hear of people losing a lot in Phase 1 are from people who have much more weight to lose than you do and have been eating pretty badly before coming to SB. If you're only trying to lose 20 lb. and were eating relatively healthy, it will be slower.

[mamamorgan]

A monday-friday day looks like this because I work:

Breakfast - 2 hardboiled eggs with either celery and natural peanut butter or (now in phase 2) a banana or apple

Lunch - Salad and this can consist of alot of different things, it depends what I have in the house. (Romaine lettuce, mushroms, onions, peppers, snap peas, chopped turkey bacon, tomatoes, fat free ranch, etc. )

Snack - Usually nuts of some sort or string cheese

Dinner - Lean Protein of some sort and steamed veggies

[Quirquie]

You need to change your salad dressing, ff salad dressing is no good. I would suggest making your own. I use Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk Ranch packets with 1% buttermilk and Duke's mayo. The mayo you choose is very important, make sure it has no added sugars and is made with good oils like olive or canola. That is really the only bad thing I see, other than no mid morning snack. Maybe try some sf jello with fruit in it to take to work, you could get a little cooler to keep it if you have no place cool to keep it at work. String cheese keeps pretty good for a few hours as well, you could just stick one in your purse and eat it half way between breakfast and lunch. Or celery will also keep for a few hours.

[mamamorgan]

Making my own dressing sounds great actually. I will be going to the store today and doing that. I use mayo made with olive oil and it seems simple enough to make. I know I could probably add in a mid morning snack, and sometimes I do it just depends on the day. Some days I am hungry, sometimes I am not.

Thanks for all the responses!

[Kimboroni]

Then the dinner "Lean Protein of some sort and steamed veggies" has the same kind of problem as the lunch with the fat-free dressing-- no good fats, unless you're adding them somehow but not listing it, such as cooking the protein in oil or adding Smart Balance to the steamed veggies. SB isn't a low-fat (or low-carb, for that matter) diet.

There are lots of good commercially available salad dressings that taste good, provide good fats, and are low enough in sugar and other junk. You don't have to make it unless you want to.

Are you getting your dairy (milk and yogurt, not cheese, which is a protein) daily?

[mamamorgan]

I cook all my meats in a tad bit of olive oil and I drizzle it over my veggies when I roast them in the oven but alot of times I steam them.

As far as milk goes, no I am probably not getting enough milk. I eat one thing of yogurt of day, usually with my lunch or with my breakfast. But after that, no I don't have any milk in my diet. I don't like milk and its gets hard for me to find ways to use it.

I do understand the SB is not a low-fat, low carb diet, and when I am eating dinner, I usually "dip" my meat into homemade guacamole. My guacamole consists of avocado (of course), a little bit of lime juice, peppers, and onions. I would assume that helps with good fats because of the avocado, which I also eat in my salads.

[Quirquie]

You could add in steel cut oats next and cook them in milk, that way you get 1 serving of milk with 1 serving of a good grain. You could also turn a glass of milk into a treat by adding some vanilla extract and whatever SB friendly sweetener you are using or any sf syrup. You could even add your fruit to it and make a creamy smoothie type of drink! I hate milk too, but it is starting to grow on my a little, the smell is what really gets to me tho. Sometimes I have to add just a drop of sf chocolate syrup to it just to make it smell different! But I love the way warm milk smells, it smells so sweet!

[Kimboroni]

Yes, 1/3 of an avocado is one of the "good fat" options.

[mamamorgan]

Thank for the advice. I haven't started eating to much grain yet, but having some oatmeal (or steal cut oats) for breakfast tomorrow sounds great. I will take your advice and add some milk into it also while I cook it.

Quirquie - I see that you have lost a good amount of weight on the SB program. How long have you been doing it? How often do you exercise? I hope you don't mind me asking, because you started at a weight a tad higher than mind and want to end a bit lower than me, so seeing that you are doing it, makes me feel like I can too.

[Quirquie]

I started trying to do SB on 6/5 but I did not start eating enough food until 6/9 which is also when I started my journal. Almost every thing I do is posted there. Some time I forget to put a glass of milk or what my exercise might have been, but I am really only getting into the exercising now, I had a pretty hard time during P1. I have also been adding p2 foods a little faster than most do, because it just seems to be working better for me. I had to teach myself to eat those first few days once I started eating enough and that was when I started getting cravings, I ended up adding a week of p1 because my eating habits were that bad before I started SB.

[Kimboroni]

You didn't mention the avocado previously-- if you're using the full avocado portion on your salad, then using regular salad dressing as well would be too many good fats. They are heart healthy but calorie dense, which can be a diet buster when one is trying to lose weight.

What kind of yogurt are you eating? You didn't mention that before either.

[mamamorgan]

My days REALLY vary, with that being said, the outline I gave was really generalized so you could get an idea of how I eat. I actually make my own plain greek yogurt at home. The avocado, is something I use in my salads or make guacemole to dip my lean meat into at dinner time. I don't use it everyday because most of the time I buy them two at a time, and when I run out, I usually don't manage to get to the store again for two or three days. I eat yogurt though, ALMOST everyday. I had yogurt as my snack in the afternoon all week until yesterday, I ate some pitaschios and I was still hungry so I ate some celery.

In all honesty, I am thinking about about back to p1 for a week. These past 3 days have been hard on me craving wise....I messed up bad. The first day I messed up, I ate a handful of m&ms, then the next two days, I found myself eating a couple spoonfuls of homemade ice cream each day, ugh. During p1, my cravings weren't bad at all. It was until I started p2, about 3 days in that my cravings started for sweets.

But GOOD news, I got on the scale this morning for my weekly weigh in, and I went from 148 to a DEFINATE 145! Yes!