7/25 South Beach & Low Carb check-in

[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-micha...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-...oot-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/stuf...0400000114444/

[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! 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!