South Beach Diet

[emmasmama]

This is another article reprinted from the NY Times that's very interesting...

http://www.mercola.com/2002/jul/24/carbs1.htm

[liya]

Definately....I WOULD LOVE A BUDDY OR BUDDIES!!! LOL Melissa you sneaky person you.....URRGGGHHHH i cant believe you never told me...LOL

[emmasmama]

Well, I'm just keeping you all updated... I lost 8 lbs in the first 2 weeks/Phase I of this diet, and I have to admit that I even cheated a little bit, but mostly I was pretty good. I am a very happy camper!

[mattysmom]

Congratulations! Your are inspiring me! How has your body changed with the 8 lb loss? How much weight are you aiming to lose? I still haven't decided if I'll go the south beach or atkins road, but I've given myself a target start date of Mon, Nov. 3 (there's no way I'd get through halloween without eating candy!)

[emmasmama]

I would say that I'm mostly losing in my midsection and butt - does it get any better?! I noticed the difference immediately in my clothes... shirts that I didn't want to wear before because they clung around my tummy are suddenly fitting great and my pants fit better... this is going to sound weird, but I even noticed that my underwear is looser ;), which to me means that I really am losing real weight and it's not some wacky diet where you lose water weight or something. My DH told me my butt really does look smaller to him!

I'm aiming to lose 40 lbs (including the 8 I've lost so far), so 32 left to go. This would put me at 12 lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight (and at close to my ideal weight for my height/build). We are planning on having children close together and ideally I'd like to start out the next pregnancy weighing a bit less than last time, because I felt like the extra weight I started with, plus my substantial weight gain during the pregnancy, was really hard on my body. We'll see what happens - I'll be happy if I at least make it back to my pre-preg weight though!

[mabuckles]

I just wanted to chime in that I have been on the South Beach diet for about two months. I have lost 12 pounds. I actually lost the 12 lbs in the first month and a half. I have cheated the last few weeks and have not lost but also not gained. I just have to say that I think this diet is great. I am not hungry all the time and I am still losing weight. I also have not been working out. I think if I start working out I could lose even more weight. I used to eat all low fat food and not that much of it and not lose any weight. It was so frustrating. I am now back to being strict and hope to lose 10 more lbs. If anyone has any questions about the diet, I would be happy to answer them. Also the ricotta desserts on the diet are great. I never used to eat dessert because of the calories. Now I eat dessert and lose weight. Gotta love it :)

[22tango]

Emmasmamma, my DH and I are starting on this diet (he started last week when I was sick and I just started it today!) My DH is like you -- a pescetarian. I can eat more foods and though I try to come up with possibilities, I think he's a little bored with the first stage. I think he can't get past what he CAN eat if it's not bread/pasta/rice/etc... He's already dropped 7-8 lbs but I think he was starving himself a bit last week. Can you tell me any good meal/snack ideas that would work well for a vegetarian/pescetarian??

I wish they had a greater variety of legal foods/vegetables listed. If it's not on the lists, I don't know if we can eat it or not! I found out online that Celery Root has a very low glycemic index so might make a good potato substitute. Also "pearled" barley is low (unlike regular barley or grains) -- it's actually lower than some of the vegetables. I'm tempted to use chickpea flour to make things like fritters or battered fish for him! I'm also keen to try making spaghetti squash "spaghetti"! :)

[emmasmama]

Well, that's kind of a tough one with Phase I - I basically just toughed it out for the first two weeks and ate a ridiculous amount of fish. I did also eat some garden burgers and tofu though to break up the monotony. I've made all of the recipes for phase 1 that were pescetarian friendly I think. I particularly liked the rosemary grilled salmon which is very easy and tasty, and the orange roughy with ginger and scallions. I like your idea about chickpea flour though, that's creative!

Roasted veggies are also my new favorite thing once I discovered how easy they are to make. I've been experimenting with different vegetables. I tried a combo of red, yellow and orange peppers and sliced portobello mushrooms, and one red onion. I think the key with the roasted veggies is that you can use whichever ones you want that are allowed, just make sure to have that red onion, which gives it a great flavor (just to mention that I HATE raw onions, but the cooked ones are totally fine and don't give you that nasty breath or indigestion if raw onions in salads and stuff normally bother you).

I have to say that my DH and I both really like the surprise south beach mashed potatoes as well, that you make with cauliflower (and I don't like cauliflower normally!).

Spaghetti squash is pretty good I have to say, but I already ate that before this diet and liked it. I'm just starting to research more low carb options. My mom made a low-carb lasagna that turned out great... let me know if you're interested and I'll see if I can get the recipe - I think she found it online and tweaked it a little.

For snacks I usually have the mozzarella cheese stick or almonds which I love.

HTH,

[emmasmama]

Well, I was a little bit of a cheater this past week, but nothing too out of control... mostly with red wine (why am I such a lush?!) and some fried calamari one night, which I just couldn't resist... but I still managed to lose one pound overall.

I'm back on the wagon this week and am aiming to be down 2 lbs at least... wish me luck ladies!

[mabuckles]

I agree that the "suprise" mashed potatoes are great. Madison loves them too and she will not touch most veggies.