Sid - Journal SB since Jan 2006

[sidapco]

I just spent the weekend looking at before and after photos and reading thru a ton of journals on this forum. I got a copy of the SB book on Thursday and have almost finished it.

I am starting this diet because I don't recognize myself anymore when I look into the mirror. I sometimes catch a relection in a shiny window and I have to take a double take. I hate to excersize, and I don't have any self control when it comes to carbs. I decided to start SB because I need to get control of my life and put myself on the right track.

I have never been on a diet in my life. Before I was married (3 years ago) I lead a very active life. I walked to and from work daily and I played tennis. I got pregnant 5 months after our wedding, and since then I think I've played tennis three times. My husband has epilepsy and it's made it harder to have time to myself with our daughter (2 years old). He is not allowed to be alone with her for safety reasons, so until she goes to sleep, I'm busy with her or i'm cooking dinner. I've been neglecting myself for the last 2 years and finally after going on a vacation to a beach resort and seeing the photos of me in my swimsuit, I knew I had to do something.

I made my food lists and a bunch of chili. I baked a bunch of chicken breasts and stocked up on low fat cottage cheese.
I am excited to start this new direction in my life and have appreciated all the personal stories told on this forum and all those who have put photos (that sold me) which have encouraged me to begin on SB.

I want to keep my journal updated weekly at least and will try to get photos posted as soon as I notice a difference.

My food plan for the week is basically:
Breakfast: Glass of Tomato Juice and Eggs or Salmon Cheese wraps
Mid Morning Snack: Celery or Cucumber sticks
Lunch: Salad and Chili or Chicken Breast
Mid Day Snack: Nuts
Dinner: Chicken Breast or Chili (depending on what I had for lunch)

I love to drink water all day long so that's not a problem. I can't wait to make some of the recipes in the book and on this site.

Regards,
Sid

29 Year Old Female
Start: 198 (Jan 15, 2006)
Goal: 150

I know that I can do this - I know that I will succeed - I know that I am stronger than my cravings and it will be worth it!

[LibraMama]

welcome, sid! good luck!

[jewelshoes]

Good Luck!!! You and I both start today and hopefully in months to come we can compare skinny pictures
You sound like you have a winnig attitude to make this work!!!!
Good luck and you'll do great!!!

[maltaguy]

Welcome to the Beach Sid!

You have a positive attitude, and as you will see along the way, it is a crucial element for success! And when you feel like cheating .. or even if you do cheat ... don't worry .. just get back on track. the problem is when you cheat, loose hope, and start eating badly again. It's a vicious circle.

If you wanna take a look at my journal here you go http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=546431

[sidapco]

Thanks for all the encouraging words, I see that this forum is full of caring, supportive people and I really think that this is how we will all reach our goals. I made it thru the first day! It wasn't that hard, I snacked on celery and nuts between meals and I had a bowl of chili for dinner which filled me up. I made a ton of chili and froze it in portions so it's ready whenever I need it. Also, I feel good today and I can't wait to see the results!

I have been so encouraged by all of the people here and will continue to keep updated on your success too! I don't have a scale at home (never liked them) and will be at the gym twice a week and will keep my weight loss updated after those visits.

jewelshoes - I look forward to keeping track of eachother!

All the best.

Sid

[Smurlene]

Good luck Sid! I just finished day 9! I can tell you that it is the best thing I have ever done. I eat all day long. I never feel hungry, and I have lost 14 lbs! The food is terrific and I just feel so much better.

I will check up on you from time to time and can't wait to see your skinny pics!

[sidapco]

I'm still hanging in there - on day 5 of Phase 1
I was home with my sick daughter for 2 days and I have to say it's alot harder to try to keep on the diet when I'm at home because my DH has tons of food I am trying to avoid all over the place.
He is being very supportive though and will try to keep his bread hidden so I don't have to look at it.
I missed my Wed gym visit so I wasn't able to weigh myself, but i'll go tomorrow. I refuse to buy a scale - I hate them.

I can tell that i've lost some weight, because I can tell that my bras are not as tight. I can also tell in my tummy.

As soon as I start to notice a difference i'm going to post a photo on the before and after pages.

I'm not feeling so great myself, my throat hurts and I started to get a sinus headache. The weather just got really cold here and I usually get a sinus infection this time of year. I took some vicks sinus and it cleared up, but I think i'm going to loose my voice.

I've lost my appetite and I feel like I'm forcing myself to eat. I made a batch of split pea soup - sauteed some onions and garlic first then added the split peas and let it simmer for about 1 hour. It came out absolutely delish! I froze some for lunch next week and will try to have more options available which will keep me on track.

I am having a hard time eating all the veggies, so I usually just add a glass of V8 to my meal (mostly breakfast).

My plan for todays meals are:
B: 3 eggs scrambled, V8 juice, coffee
S: celery with natural pnut butter
L: Split Pea soup, 4 slices of low fat turkey, red peppers and cucumber slices
S: 8 Macadamia nuts (no salt) (my favorite nut in the whole world)
D: Lemon baked chicken breast, salad with lemon and olive oil dressing
S: Sugar free strawberry flavored jello

All the best,
Sid

[sidapco]

Ok, i'm on day 7 of Phase 1 and I lost my first pound.
From what I have read here on this forum, it's pretty normal for people who didn't change their diet that drastically to see a delay in the weight loss.
I only went to the gym yesterday for the first time in Phase 1 and was extremely dissapointed to see a 1 pound loss - but after I got home and read some more posts here, I knew that it shouldn't let me get down because after all, it's a pound lost!

I can't wait to see more results, this is going to change my life.

Has anyone else had problems eating so much food? It's kinda hard to get all the veggies in with each meal, so I just drink a huge glass of V8.

I made some salmon patties today for breakfast because I couldn't face the eggs. I really thought that I could eat tons of eggs, but after this week i'm really sick of them. The salmon patties were delish!

1 small can of salmon (drained)
2 eggs
1/4 onion chopped
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 large stalk of celery - diced
salt/pepper
garlic powder

Mixed all together and fried in olive oil - it gave them a nice flavor!
This made enough to eat for 2 meals. I had some tofu "sour cream" on the side and my V8 juice - it was so good.

Plan for the rest of the days meals:
Coffee (now I take it black and bitter - not that bad!)
Snack: Turkey slices - celery sticks
Lunch: Currey Chicken & Salad with lemon and olive oil dressing
Snack: Macadamia nuts - 8, tall glass of NF milk
Dinner: Turkey/Beef Chili (my new favorite) - tofu, cucumber and red pepper salad with lemon and olive oil
Snack: SF Strawberry flavored jello - SF LF whipped topping

I am not feeling well, and I think I have the SB flu! I am not eating enough dairy which seems to be the reason from what I read here. I am going to add a glass of NF milk to my morning snacks. This should help - and maybe add some veggies to my breakfast. I also need to eat more beans as suggested. I need to make more chilli.

I lost that one pound in 1 week - and who knows it might take me 1 year to reach my goal - but i'm sticking to it and can't wait to see the pounds fly off.

Have a great weekend!

[Smurlene]

A pound is a pound is pound! Good going on the loss. I know you wish it was more, but at least it wasn't a gain.

I did have trouble eating all of the food, but now that I am entering week three, I find that it is no big deal at all. And I am finding yummy new ways to get all of my veggies in.

You can do it, Sid. The salmon patties sound great! My grandma used to make them for me when I was kid, but they had crackers in them. I am going to try your recipe.

[sidapco]

It's Day 9 on Phase 1!
The weekend was a tough one for me, but I made it! I had to take off of work yesterday, because I felt really sick - I lost my voice, so I had lots of time to go online and avoid conversation on the phone. My biggest dissapointment was reading in many journals and threads that the reason I'm not loosing the weight quickly is that I ate healthy before.
I'm going to the gym tonight and will be weighed. The only thing that will help loose the weight is excersize - and I have to find a way to squeeze it in.

I was just told of a wedding we will go to this summer, so I am really excited to use it as a goal for serious weight loss. It would be great to finally go to an event where i'm not afraid to get up and dance at the reception because I fear everyone is looking at me.

My most craved foods are fading away and are becomming memories.
I managed to make a banana bread cake for my mom on Friday - and the only thing I did was take a nut off the top and taste it. I froze a few portions so that I can have some later on in phase 2!

My menu for today is:
B: scrambled eggs, coffee w/lf milk, V8
S: celery
L: Tuna on salad w/hard boiled egg
S: Macadamia nuts
D: Chili + Salad
S: Tofutti fudge pop (really yummy and creamy)

I made some really great chicken from a recipe that I adjusted to be SB friendly.
It's a currey chicken breast (or turkey)


olive oil in baking dish
approx. 1 TLB mustard
1 tsp. currey powder
mix above together to form paste
rub over 4 boneless chicken breast or
1 big turkey breast

Bake at 360 for about 1 hour (uncovered)

The original recipe calls for honey - but it was good without it!
it's very similar to a currey chicken recipe I found on this site - but just a little less ingredients.

I'm feeling much better today - finally over the SB flu! I have energy and no headache! My new favorite drink is club soda with lemon squeezed into it. I got one of those soda club machines that you make your own soda water and it's so handy. I think half of my water intake is carbonated - and it helps to fill me up between meals - atleast my stomach thinks so. My DH uses the soda club too - but he adds the syrup. Much more convienent for days when I don't have time to go to the store.

Hope to have good news to report tomorrow after my gym visit tonight!

[sidapco]

Well, it's phase 1 day 10!
I went to the gym last night and I was down 2 pounds since last week!
It's slow but steady so far.

I'm not able to make it to the gym today, but will try to get there on Friday. This week has been crazy for me so far. My DD had an evening event - with her daycare and a bunch of other daycares together - they are all 2, so it's really cute to see a ton of them running around.

We are moving in April and I have to start to pack up the house. I think that if I get a head start, then I won't be so overwhelmed when it comes time to move.

SB has been a good experience so far and I'm really excited to see more results. If I can loose 1-2 pounds each week that's great!

I am looking forward to adding fruit back into my diet next week! I miss my apples and tangelos!

hope everyone is having a nice week.

Menu for today:
B: eggs, coffee w/LF milk, V8
S: 2 slices of LF cheese, red peppers
L: grilled chicken breast salad w/veggies - lemon/olive oil dressing
S: nuts
D: not sure - either pea soup and salad or currey chicken and salad
S: SF strawberry jello

[Smurlene]

Moving....AAAGGGHHH! I had moving most of all. It does help if you pack up a little bit at a time. The last time I moved, I splurged and bought boxes online. They were a little expensive, but they were all uniform in shape and they had inventory checklists on the sides, which was really helpful in staying organized. My goal was to pack four boxes each night, stating in the basement. I was efficient enough to have time for a big yard sale right before we moved and made $800 off of our junk that we didn't ever remember having. Most of my moves were not that stressless.

Anyway, way to go on the loss this week. I have been walking with dh but just haven't made it to the gym. Perhaps you can be my inspiration.

[sidapco]

Day 12 Phase 1

Smurlene - thanks for your moving advice! Wow, $800 on a yard sale - that's great! My company is a high tech manufacturer and we have tons of boxes coming in and being given to the recycle company- so I'll just borrow them and take some home each week. I'm really looking forward to purging alot of junk that we've accumulated.

I have to say that my inspiration and little gently pushes for going to the gym come from my DH. He has been so supportive of this and goes with me twice a week. I try to get there 3 times a week, but my schedule is pretty hectic and our gym is 1/2 and hour drive away. It's a free membership - (a benifit that my husband gets), so I can't really complain and need to take advantage of it. I don't work on Fridays so my morning is spent at the gym. It's more like a civic center and they have a great brunch special that we sit down together and enjoy our weekly quality time together. They make eggs (yum) and offer different salads (veggies) and coffee - yum. I am looking forward to it tomorrow. I usually only get about 1 hour of resonable excersize in. I'm pretty out of shape and after being on the bike for 1/2 and hour I start to feel dizzy and need to take a break. I am going to start some weight lifting (not too heavy) to help tone my arms - they are very flabby- I never wear tank tops and I would love to get some definition in them.

My menu for today is:
B: eggs, V8, coffee w/LF milk
S: red peppers and cucumber sticks
L: Chicken breast grilled on salad - lemon and olive oil dressing
S: nuts
D: not sure - maybe chili or currey chicken with a salad
S: SF NF tofutti fudgesicle (really yummy)

It's about that time of the month coming up and I think i've put on a little water weight - I can go up 5 pounds a month sometimes.

Looking forward to deciding what to add to Phase 2 starting this Sunday!
I'm going to spend the weekend cooking for next weeks lunches/dinners.

[Smurlene]

It is wonderful that dh is so supportive. My dh is losing weight even though is only on SB part-time. He encourages us to go walking each night, which is really great to get us going in the right direction. It sounds like your gym is really great, but it would be hard to get to if it is a 1/2 an hour a way.

Have you tried the chicken parmesan? Dh hates parm cheese, but he really loved this recipe.

Good luck with the move. It is so freeing to ditch a bunch of junk from your house.

[Smurlene]

It is wonderful that dh is so supportive. My dh is losing weight even though is only on SB part-time. He encourages us to go walking each night, which is really great to get us going in the right direction. It sounds like your gym is really great, but it would be hard to get to if it is a 1/2 an hour a way.

Have you tried the chicken parmesan? Dh hates parm cheese, but he really loved this recipe.

Good luck with the move. It is so freeing to ditch a bunch of junk from your house.