7/25 South Beach & Low Carb check-in

[essnce629]

Good afternoon ladies! I know some people checked in already on last week's thread, but I figured I better keep the weekly thread going.

I haven't weighed myself today. I'm thinking I'll wait 3 more days since I've only been drinking the dandelion root tea for 4 days now and you're supposed to notice a difference after a week. Even though I haven't worked out at all in years, I decided to go ahead and order the Personal Training with Jackie dvds that I mentioned in last weeks thread: Xtreme Timesaver Training and Crunch-Free Xtreme Abs. I also ordered a set of 2lb weights. The dvds get excellent reviews and I think getting my core stronger would help with my lower back that is always hurting and has been hurting since high school. I'm not sure when I'll start though since I still want to see how much weight I can lose with just the low carb eating. I got DBF the Power 90 dvd workout series (less intense P90X) for his birthday and he just started them 2 days ago. I figure if he's going to be excercising and getting in shape, I should beat him since he's not doing low-carb. I kind of want to start excercising when he's not around and not tell him and see if he notices a difference. I had to take measurements of his whole body at the start of his Power 90 program as well as pictures of his body. You take new pics and measurements every 30 days. So I had him take pics of me as well so I can compare to later. I wish I would have taken pics of myself 6 weeks ago though when I was 5lbs heavier and my stomach, waist, and hips were bigger.

So my advice for everyone is if you haven't already, take your measurements now and take pics so you can compare later. The measurements I took were of my natural waist, lower waist (pooch area about 1" below belly button), hips, and thigh. I didn't do my chest since that's already small and doesn't need to get smaller! The pictures I took were of my front, back, and side profile while I was in my bathing suit.

What's everyone making for dinner tonight? I really want to make the salmon chowder that's in my 15 minute low carb cookbook, but it's 87 degrees outside and that doesn't really seem like chowder weather!!!

[maestramommy]

I really want to take before and after pics, but I am so tired right now I don't know if I can handle it all by myself, and I'm too embarrassed to ask Dh to take them:p Okay, maybe I can squeeze it in tomorrow. I will definitely take measurements though. I just bought a swimsuit from LE and I'm definitely down in size, but I'm actually wondering if sizes are getting bigger these days? Esp. in the lower halves.

Tonight's dinner was steak and sauteed yellow squash and mushrooms. And dessert. I bought it yesterday to end my vacation, but it was so late by the time Dh and I got everything done we just tumbled into bed. So today wasn't a pure back to Phase 1. Onward!

One thing I noticed last week when on vacation is that carbs don't taste as good as they used to. Even stuff I usually crave, like chips, fries, buns. One of my cousins is a master baker and she made some taro buns. Obviously not allowed, but they sure were yummy! My aunt also made a very chewy pineapple nut cake with (I think) cream cheese frosting and seriously it was to die for! Maybe it's sweets? Neither were very sweet.

[essnce629]

I really want to take before and after pics, but I am so tired right now I don't know if I can handle it all by myself, and I'm too embarrassed to ask Dh to take them:p

Can Dora take them for you? Conner was pretty good at taking pics by that age!

I didn't end up making salmon chowder for dinner. I had spicy mahi mahi and creamed spinach. The creamed spinach was from my 15 minute low carb cookbook and was very good. You just heat up the frozen spinach in butter and after it's hot add in a package of Boursin cheese that has garlic and herbs. So good and super fast to make!

[Meatball Mommie]

I totally wish I had taken before pictures and measurements! I am noticeably thinner in my hips/pooch area. I have lost 5 pounds but I can now fit into pants that I haven't worn for a year! woohoo! I actually went to put on a skirt I bought a month ago (fattest point - skirt is a size 10) and it is so big that it now sits super low on my hips and I really can't wear it! Kind of a bummer because I just got it, but a good bummer ;) Also, my skin is so much nicer - DH even commented this morning that my skin on my face is clearer and he never notices anything!

Latia - I am going to have to try that creamed spinach recipe! Sounds delicious!!

Melinda - I noticed the same thing about carbs just not tasting as good. I had a couple of "tastes" of pasta/potatoes when I made them for my family, but after 1 bite, I really didn't want any more! I don't crave carbs either. When I'm hungry, I have a piece of cheese or some nuts and that fixes it. I used to eat tons of crackers and I don't want them at all now!

[azazela]

I am thinking about joining you ladies... I did South Beach very successfully pre-kids. I lost around 30 lbs and was at my thinnest ever. I kept it off for more than a year give or take a few pounds until I got pregnant with my daughter. Well, 5 years and 2 kids later I've been trying different things to lose weight and feel that I just need to go back to SB. I am more of a black/white person when it comes to food, as in I do better with restrictions vs. portion control. I think I am going to do some reading to remind myself of all the plan particulars and start it up. Maybe I'll shoot for Monday to start Phase 1.

Can any of you ladies point me to some good recipes? I think I lost my stash last time I changed computers. I do have a few of the cookbooks so I'll look through those as well. Off to find the list and plan my grocery shopping for this weekend. :love-retry:

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can :banana:

[nfowife]

Today is my last day of phase 1. Weighed myself this morning and I've lost 5 lbs.! Woohoo!! So excited. And we went out of town this weekend and I really did pretty good.
Start phase 2 tomorrow. I think this first week I will just add 1 fruit and 1 grain per day and see how that goes. My in-laws leave next Wednesday as well, so I will be getting back to the gym for sure.
:)

[goldenpig]

Reposting from another thread, I didn't realize you guys had moved to a new South Beach thread:

Has anyone ever done the South Beach diet while breastfeeding (a toddler)? I don't really need to do this to lose weight (although it would be nice to lose about 3-5 lb and a few inches off my belly!) but DH needs to go low-carb and lose some more weight and I would like to join him 1) for moral support and 2) it's hard to make separate meals for everyone. But I don't know how to juggle meals with the kids who are pretty much on high-carb diets (they love noodles & rice!), and me and DS on dairy-free diets because of his milk protein sensitivity, and not having a lot of time after work to prepare meals, and making sure I get enough nutrition to produce milk (he nurses about 3-4x/day). I am just feeling a little intimidated and don't know where to start. I guess I'll check out the book from the library, but how do you do South Beach with a family when everyone has such diverse nutritional needs & tastes?

ETA: I checked out the South Beach Supercharged from the library and am planning to go to the grocery to buy some phase 1 foods. But I'm thinking the kids and I will stick to phase 2.

[nfowife]

goldenpig, I'm doing SBD and I'm nursing my 7 month-old. I haven't noticed any change in my supply nor does she seem to be eating more. She has recently started solids and does get 1 bottle a day but nurses otherwise and overnight and no change as far as I can tell. He does recommend to start on phase 2 if you are nursing but I decided to try phase 1 and it was fine.

As for meals, I just always have made a salad, and then a protein, starch, and veggie. I just eat the protein, veggie, and salad and leave the rest for the others. For pasta dishes I eat a double salad portion and the protein seperate. For example tonight I made spaghetti and meatballs. I had double salad and meatballs and sauce (that I made from scratch so I knew it was SBD friendly). That kind of thing. It's really not too hard once you get in the swing of it. The other night I made pesto tortellini (super easy with premade pesto). I couldn't have any of that so made a big dinner salad with leftover chicken on top for myself.
It hasn't been a big deal.

[maestramommy]

For meals, I always make a simple meat, veggie, and starch. I just don't eat the starch. For example, Dh and I usually have rice, a meat and veggie. Now I only make rice for him, and I make sure to make PLENTY of veggie. I eat pretty much the same amount of meat as I always have. Tonight we had pan fried Tilapia. Too light for Dh so I added a Morningstar veggie burger for him. Sauteed patapan squash and mushrooms for the veggie. The kids had meatballs and sauce with leftover mac n cheese, and cantaloupe. Last night we had steak and salad. Unfortunately making meatballs from scratch is beyond my ken, so I buy packaged meatballs, which means I don't eat meatballs right now.

For me phase 1 has been easy because I have found a breakfast and lunch I don't mind eating over and over. Breakfast is always 2 eggs, a cup of frozen spinach and a slice of cheese. Lunch is either a ton of romaine, 6 cherry tomatoes and lunchmeat with a hummus and balsamic vinegarette, OR frozen broccoli topped with some lunchmeat, a slice of cheese, and about 2 tbsp of hummus. Usually I crave variety, but for the purpose of this diet it's actually been easier eating the same thing over because I know what it's going to be and don't have to plan so much. Phase 2 I find harder because after reading a dozen menu plans I can't generalize as easily as I could with Phase 2. I think nfowife has it right at 1 carb and 1 fruit per day.

[essnce629]

Has anyone ever done the South Beach diet while breastfeeding (a toddler)? I don't really need to do this to lose weight (although it would be nice to lose about 3-5 lb and a few inches off my belly!) but DH needs to go low-carb and lose some more weight and I would like to join him 1) for moral support and 2) it's hard to make separate meals for everyone. But I don't know how to juggle meals with the kids who are pretty much on high-carb diets (they love noodles & rice!), and me and DS on dairy-free diets because of his milk protein sensitivity, and not having a lot of time after work to prepare meals, and making sure I get enough nutrition to produce milk (he nurses about 3-4x/day). I am just feeling a little intimidated and don't know where to start.

I'm nursing a toddler! DS2 still nurses 2-3 times a day and is 26 months old. I haven't noticed any change in my supply or DS's nursing habits.

For quick, low carb meal ideas I'd recommend you get the "15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes" book by Dana Carpender: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001SARBY4
I've been making a recipe or two from the book every night for dinner and all have been good (although I have had to add a little salt). Even DS1 has liked everything, which says a lot! I'm not making a separate starch for the kids, but I do give them a piece of whole wheat bread with butter at dinner sometimes. In the book, there are several recipes for "rice" made with grated cauliflower. It's actually really good and the texture is so much like rice that DS1 thought it was the real thing! Tonight I made "saffron rice" from the book. All the "rice" recipes say to shred half a head of cauliflower with the shredding attachment on a food processor, but I only have a mini food processor that doesn't have separate attachments. I found that shredding the cauliflower works just as well using my salad shooter (cheese grating attachment). So now at dinner I'm usually having meat and two types of veggies. Tonight we had stir fried chicken, the saffron cauliflower rice, and roasted broccoli. The kids have a fruit with their dinner as well and are plenty full.

I like eating the same thing over and over again when it comes to lunch. I usually make a big batch of chinese chicken salad that will last me about 4 days. I make the dressing myself using xylitol instead of the brown sugar that's in the original recipe. I'll sometimes eat a chicken quesadilla using the low-carb tortillas from TJs, pepperjack cheese, chicken, and avocado and then I'll mix some salsa and sour cream together to dip it in. Very good and very filling.

Oh, and I definately don't have much to lose either, but have consistently lost a pound a week for the past 7 weeks. The only week I didn't lose anything was the week of my period. I also lost an inch on my waist, lower belly, hips, and thighs! And this is with ZERO exercise. I'm 5lbs away from my normal pre-pregnancy weight of 120lbs, but I'm thinking that may be too skinny so I may be upping my carbs soon if I lose much more.

[essnce629]

Oh and I wanted to share the 3 new cookbooks I just ordered! So excited to do some baking and try out some recipes using almond flour/meal. All get excellent reviews!

1001 Low-Carb Recipes: Hundreds of Delicious Recipes from Dinner to Dessert That Let You Live Your Low-Carb Lifestyle and Never Look Back (since I'm loving her other 15 minute cookbook)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1592334148

Low Carb Sinfully Delicious Desserts: More Than 100 Recipes for Cakes, Cookies, Ice Creams, and Other Mouthwatering Sweets
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578261996

The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/158761345X


Oh, and I mentioned in last week's thread about drinking the dandelion root tea. Well, I think it's doing something. I feel like it's making me more thirsty so I've been drinking a lot more water and peeing more. And this morning I stepped on the scale and was down 2lbs instead of my normal 1lb loss. Tomorrow is supposed to be my official weigh-in since that's when it will be one week of drinking the tea. I started drinking one cup a day, but the last two days I've been drinking two cups-- one in the morning and one at night. I think I'll stick with it since it's supposed to be super good for you anyways and helps detoxify the liver. Off to order some more on Amazon since it's way less there than at WF's ($2.96 a box vs $5.49)!

[maestramommy]

Latia, is the tea good to drink cold? I think some flavored water to drink throughout the day because it's hot, but lately plain water is kinda meh. Is there a particular brand you like?

[billysmommy]

I totally agree with the carbs not tasting as good now and I just don't want them. We just got back from vacation and I was surprised at how easy it was to stick with it. It helped that we were on Nantucket so lots of fresh fish, seafood and veggies. I did cheat twice ~ once at my absolute favorite sandwich place (avocado, cheddar and chutney on fresh oatmeal bread) and once at my fave breakfast place (whole wheat pancakes with bananas and coconut). They were totally worth it :)

I haven't weighed myself in ~2 weeks but I noticed a big difference in how I looked in my bathing suit and DH did too which was a little surprising since he never notices anything!! I feel better overall and have more energy too.

I'm going to pick up some of the dandelion root tea on my way home today as I'm looking for something new to drink. I've been drinking tons of the iced Tazo passion tea but am getting kind of bored of it.

Those cookbooks look awesome, I think I'm going to order the first one

[essnce629]

Regarding the dandelion root tea (copying and pasting from our last thread):


It's supposed to be great for weight loss and prevents bloating. It's also great for the liver (detoxing). I drank it daily the last few months of my pregnancy to get rid of my m/s (midwife's suggestion for m/s lasting past 1st trimester). I guess Jillian Michaels has a recipe using it that's supposed to make you lose 5lbs after drinking it for a week: http://www.nowloss.com/jillian-michaels-lose-5-pounds-in-7-days-diet-drink.htm

I'm not going to do Jillian's recipe, I'm just going to drink it like regular tea like I did when I was pregnant. Steep for 15 minutes then sweetened with xylitol and a little cream added. Some people say it kind of tastes like coffee and a lot of people drink it to get over their coffee addiction. I bought the Tradional Medicinals brand at WF's. This one: http://www.vitacost.com/Traditional-Medicinals-Organic-Roasted-Dandelion-Root-Herbal-Tea

You should be able to find it at any health food store. The Traditional Medicinals brand is pretty popular. It's on Amazon too for really cheap using subscribe and save.

I'm a tea, not coffee drinker normally-- white tea with honey (although not right now because I'm not eating honey). I don't like coffee plain and the only time I drink it is when I have a frappuccino when we're travelling usually. I don't think the tea tastes like coffee really but it does have an "earthy" taste. Kind of like soil or roots! It is from the roots of the dandelion. I have no problem drinking it though like some other medicinal teas-- I can't stand the taste of the Mother's Milk Tea for breastfeeding for instance. When I was pregnant I never put cream in the dandelion tea. I just drank it black and sweetened it with honey. I had no problem drinking a cup a day. Now I'm sweetening it with the xylitol and 2 drops of stevia and I find the cream mellows out the rooty taste. It wasn't till I started drinking 2 cups a day that I noticed the increased thirst and peeing a lot.

Melinda-- I haven't tried drinking the tea cold, but I did read several reviews where people said they like to drink it iced. Some said they added a little juice to it though. You'd just have to try and see if you like it.

[happy2bamom]

I'm still on board, which is amazing me b/c I've had a really hard time with self control for the past year! I've lost 6 pounds! I was on WW (the new program) for 3 months and couldn't lose more than 6 pounds. I'm really hoping/praying that the weight keeps coming off. At this point I've kind of switched over to WW old plan. I am eating old fashion oatmeal for breakfast, and then stay away from carbs for the rest of the day. I guess I don't really know what phase 2 of SB is, so maybe what I'm doing is consistent with phase 2????

Thanks for the support here ladies. I haven't posted much, but it helps me to know that I"m not alone. :)

I've seen posts for various low carb cookbooks. I was wondering if we could start a SB (Low carb) recipe thread. Ones that you've tried and really enjoyed. Any interest in that???

[goldenpig]

I made fajitas last night and served it with a multigrain quesadilla for DD and no tortilla for DH. This morning I made a omelette with ham, mushrooms, spinach, and leftover pepper/onion and served it with broccoli and tomatoes. DH gobbled it up!

[essnce629]

I've seen posts for various low carb cookbooks. I was wondering if we could start a SB (Low carb) recipe thread. Ones that you've tried and really enjoyed. Any interest in that???

That sounds like a good idea. I should be getting 2 new cookbooks today and a 3rd one soon. I've pretty much liked every recipe I've made from Dana Carpender's 15-Minute Low-Carb Recipes though so that may be a lot of recipes to post!

[echoesofspring]

Thought I'd jump in and say hi - I'm doing phase 1 of SB, about 5 days in, with a couple slips. I haven't seen the same drastic weight lost I saw the first time I did the SB (I guess maybe b/c my lifestyle was fairly low carb to beging with) I definitely am feeling better already though. I'm BFing, so I'm trying to take it slow, but I do have about 15-20 lbs I'd like to lose in the next few months, and need all the inspiration/camaraderie I can get

We had a total low Carb/primal dinner last night. Pretty good given that these days it's a wonder when we have dinner at all :), but we just started a CSA and got our first box of veggies, so I was inspired. Ratatouille, my low carb stand by, a salad with tomatoes, cuke, spinach, a bit of feta and avacado, and this recipe. It was the first time I've made it and it was quick, easy and yummy (even though I didn't have cooking twine and we had to improvise that part)

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/stuffed-cuban-pork-tenderloin-50400000114444/

[goldenpig]

So I haven't started the SB diet myself (I think I will stick to phase 2 but I haven't exactly started yet) but am doing my best to support DH on it. He didn't want to read the book, but I read it and explained the gist of it to him. I am trying to make him SB-compliant meals and adding starches like rice for the kids & me. This week he has been pretty much sticking to protein & veggies only and avoiding fruits & carbs & sugar (except for lunch today he went out with some friends for sushi, but he ate much less than everyone else). Tonight I made pork chops and sauteed kale, with a side of heirloom tomatoes with olive oil/balsalmic for DH (and applesauce and peaches for the kids & me). Previously, he had dropped 15 lb over about 6 months with exercising more and eating less, but he has been stuck at 200 for the last 3 months despite continuing to exercise. Well, starting the SB diet this week has really helped him break through the plateau and he has lost 5 lb already in the last 5 days! :cheerleader1: It seems like a lot to me--a pound a day? But I won't argue with the results. He is finally motivated again and hopefully this is the kickstart he needed to resume his weight loss. He is hoping to lose another 10-15 lb by the end of the year. I am so glad it's working because we had a scare with an elevated blood sugar and he really does not want to become a diabetic. That fear plus our dive trip being right around the corner, have really helped him get back on track. Yippee! :bighand: