Go through phase 1 of South Beach Diet

Day 1 went pretty well, so I’m looking forward to the weight coming off in the following weeks. Here’s what I ate today:

2 muffin-sized fritattas
1 pc chicken marbella w/ green salad with tomatoes
1 pc skim mozzarella string cheese
1 small bowl shrimp and corn chowder (avoided the potatoes)
basil pesto crusted skate wing w/ rocket salad with roquefort and walnuts

So the holidays are over, and I managed to put on the weight that I lost from a couple of months ago. The good news is I’m right back where I started, with no extra poundage despite all the fatty yummy treats that kept trying to fly into my mouth during Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Tomorrow I start again…Day One of Phase 1. Huge motivation is my upcoming trip at the end of January/beginning of February – I’ll be spending a week in Boracay and would like to look great on the beach.

Had no real problems during this first week – until the weekend; then it became evident that the no carb thing was difficult to maintain when dining out, even in healthy restaurants. Sugar crash occured on day two and three, with headache and malaise… and one should plan to include a “softener” in ones supplements. Aside from the weight loss, I really believe the sugar detox is a real eye opener… a needed one at that! Good luck to all.

so i started on monday and i haven’t thought it was that hard in general but last night and tonight i have had an unbelievable urge to snack, i usually eat popcorn when this happens but instead i ate pistachios, too many of them, i don’t think that was a good decision and i am afraid i will end up heavier!

5 pounds gone so far.

I told my sister (my number one grocery shopping buddy) that she should learn how to eat this way, and she says she already has the books ordered from Amazon. Good, now I won’t have to kidnap her and pummel her with CIA high pressure indoctrination tactics. Whew. That would have been exhausting.

Favorite recipes from the South Beach book so far:

Smoked salmon frittata with asparagus, onion, sun dried tomatoes, and fresh marjoram.

Hummus. The South Beach recipe calls for a 1/2 cup of tahini, and how can that be wrong.

Crab Cobb salad, I used fresh crab, crumbled Gorgonzola, and reduced fat bacon bits. Real bacon, but from a leaner part of the pig.

Some friends are starting Phase 1, so I had them over for a Phase 1 dinner last night. London broil, South Beach mashers, hummus on cucumber slices, and pesto on tomato slices. And salad of course. I like the South Beach hummus recipe. They use a lot of tahini!

Well, I’m down to the weight that I was last April at the end of ski season. Sitting on my butt all summer driving the shuttle and drawing sketchup models was not very healthy. My snowboard teaching job starts up again in two weeks, and I’m ready. Bring it on!

Okay, the diet works. I’m losing weight, I feel great, and the food is excellent. That said, I just have to call bullshit on a few things.

1. artificial sweetener. Do not put this in your food! Instead of one pack of sweetener, try one teaspoon of agave nectar. It’s sweet like honey, only it pours better, doesn’t crystallize during storage, tastes good, and is a real food from a real plant.

2. zero calorie Jello. Are you freakin’ kidding me? This stuff is repulsive! You’d have to be conditioned from birth to think this tastes good. It’s pure chemicals with no food added. Thumbs down!

3. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Spray. Believe it. It’s not butter. It’s soybean oil. The packaging is misleading. It says 0 calories, but that is only if you have a single serving, which is 1.25 sprays. Most people like to use 15 sprays. Of course it has calories! It’s oil. Do the math.

4. CoolWhip Free fat free whipped topping. Corn syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oil (coconut & palm kernel oils), and high fructose corn syrup. Isn’t the whole point of dieting to rid your body of this kind of crap? Oh, and how can it be fat free when the ingredients list two kinds of fat?

Those four things are complete hogwash and have no business being a part of anyone’s healthy lifestyle.

Only 2.5 lbs gone, but I feel great. I’m wide awake all day and I feel more coordinated in step aerobics class. I’ve started walking to work also, just because I feel like moving.

One thing I discovered the hard way… there is a lot of cheese and meat in this diet, way more than I used to eat. Know what I’m saying? Psyllium husks are your best friend. Learn about them. Use them. I would have known that in the beginning if I’d actually read the book.

Scales this morning have moved back down 0.7kg which is good…here’s what I had yesterday -

Broccoli/Mushroom/Sausage egg casserole (breakfast)
1/4 chicken (breast only) w/ cole slaw and bean salad (lunch)
Thinly shaved turkey breast w/ fat-free Swiss cheese (afternoon snack)
5 unsalted walnuts (late evening snack)
150g filet mignon, grilled
Arugula salad w/ gorgonzola