So at the start of the year, my hubby and I made a pledge to start better eating habits and take a more active lifestyle. To do this, we turned to the South Beach Diet, which had worked for us in the past. The first time we did the diet, my husband lost over 40 pounds in a span of 6 months, while I lost 20 pounds. Of course at the time, I was also breastfeeding which may have contributed a LOT to my weight loss.
*A word of caution for South Beach Diet wannabees -- this diet is not designed for you to lose weight in a short time, but rather a lifestyle change for better eating habits and nutrition. The rapid weight loss in the first two weeks is a fringe benefit, but as my friend/physical therapist/nutritionist extraordinaire warned me, the diet can make you balloon up fast if you don't stick with it for the longterm. The South Beach diet is neither low-fat nor low-carb. Instead, it retrains your body to eat the good fats (aka good cholesterol) and the good carbs for longterm health goals.
Right now, we are on Phase I, the first of three phases in the South Beach Diet. It's also called "Strict Phase" - what I also call "LIVING HELL." This phase lasts for two weeks, in which, you must eliminate all sugar, all starchy, all fruit, soda and fatty cuts of meat. Only non-fat milk and fat-reduced cheese can be consumed, along with foods with sugar substitutes. My husband also calls this the "cleansing phase" of the diet because you are removing all the bad sugars and processed foods from your system, so you can start with a clean slate when you introduce other foods that will be allowed in Phase 2.
I bet you're wondering so what are we eating? Well, lots and lots of salad and vegetables -almost 3x more than what we use to eat, plus lean cuts of meat. So we've been grilling a lot more these days (thank GOD for our George Foreman grill!). We are also consuming lots of fish. The South Beach Diet book has a lot of great recipes and I modify them a lot to what ingredients we have. The other day, I made a ginger Tilapia, which was yummy...and a roasted eggplant which tomato, basil and low-fat mozzarella. It was basically a CPK pizza which had everything but the pizza crust.
And how do I feel so far? Well, yes I am lighter but for the first few days, I felt like I have less engergy to do things, and often find myself sleepy during the day. On Day 2, I took my usual 1 mile walk and it took me 30 minutes instead of the usual 15 minutes. I was soooo sluggish. My body is readjusting to the fact that I don't have a lot carbohydrates and sugar, which are ready to burn for energy. But after 5 days, I feel a little bit better already. One big plus I noticed is that my tummy already feels a little bit flatter. The reason for this is the scientific process of "ketosis," which means the the body fat is broken down for fuel.
So our official weigh in:
me (January 1) 133 lbs
(January 7) 129 lbs
hub (January 1) 185 lbs
(January 7) 179 lbs
Yippee!! I'm a LONG WAY OFF from my goal of 105 pounds but something about Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet gives you instant gratification that it's working and you see results immediately. After Phase 2 of course, the weight loss slows down to just one pound a week, which is considered healthier for long term weight loss but it's nice to just see the diet WORKING! Of course, the real test will come when I have my blood testing done next month and I'll see if I succeeded more in obtaining my primary goal, which is lowering my cholesterol.
I'll write more about our progress here. If you're interested in reading more about the South Beach Diet, check out the
official website here. Or you can just read the book
The South Beach Diet, like we did. I also found some great recipes at
this blog, check them out!
Good luck to us!
