Sorry for the lack of updates. Between work and family life with a two year old, time is limited. Also, I have decided since I have officially finished Phase One of the South Beach Diet I would stop charting my exact daily menus, etc… and focus on more general aspects of the diet and what Phase Two means to going forward.

Phase two has started but I am still sticking with the Phase One diet. For many its to restrictive but I am fine with it plus I now weight 151. I have dropped 13 pounds since I started this diet, but more importantly I have lost about two inches on my waist. My “tight” pants now feel fine and my old “loose” pants are now really loose.

Lilly has lost 5 pounds in the same time period. I think she is a little discouraged, but I try and tell her it’s actually a good sign. Here’s my logic. On the SBD they say the first fat to go is “Belly Fat”. She has very little and I had much more. My fat sits right on my waist. Her’s like many women goes to the thighs. So the fact that she has not lost as much as me means she had less Belly Fat to loose.

We will move to Phase Two probably in a day or two. Lilly and I spoke about phase three and we agreed that we would like to try and make this our life style. However we are adding one modification to the diet. Once we hit both our target weights then we will allow ourselves to have a “cheat day.” This will allow us to indulge once a while and curb our need to binge. The problem with all diets is they ask us to cut out the things we love to eat. It has been proven time and time again, from one diet to another; people will eventually fall off the wagon.

We plan on staying on the wagon by having a livable diet which in fact is life style choice. Diets in the long term do not work! In my eyes we should kill the diet and focus on a healthy life style.

We will include:
Follow the SBD mentality on good carbohydrates and sugar
Exercise
Portion moderation
Allow for cheat days.

Technorati Tags: South Beach Diet, Phase Two, Phase One diet, Belly Fat, healthy life style

Today I decide to stick with the rules of phase one, so I did not introduce any new carbs into my diet. I think I will stay on phase one for a couple more days and then start adding back the healthy carbs, as Dr. Agatston would reference it. My reason is I am doing so well on phase one and don’t really miss the carbs might as well take off a few more pounds and get with in a couple pounds of my maintenance weight.

I again missed my after noon snack so when I got home I was starving. Not good. I need to force my self into eating all my snacks.

Technorati Tags: phase one, new carbs, diet, healthy carbs, Dr. Agatston

Phase one is over!!!! I lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks. I am 4 pounds from my target weight. So we start phase two of the south beach diet, but we have decided to stick to the rules of phase one for a few more days in hopes of just skipping phase two all together.

Breakfast: Yogurt with Splenda and vanilla

Snack: Celery with Peanut butter

Lunch: Turkey burgers with no bun

Snack: none

Dinner: Chicken breast with herbs and bleu cheese

Technorati Tags: south beach diet, phase one, Splenda, Peanut butter

We are on our last day of phase one! We each have lost about 6% of our initial body weight in the 14 day period, so we think phase two will be a very short period of time. I am 6 pounds from my target weight.

The South Beach Diet has taught us about food and its value and how to feed your body the proper energy it needs to thrive. We are having loads of fun cooking together and trying new dishes. Looking back, we were really in a rut with our eating habits and the dishes we cooked.

On another note I had a Martini last night. I know it’s not allowed but I did it anyway!

We had a really great breakfast, Broccoli, Tomato and Basil Frittata
Here is the link:
Broccoli, Tomato and Basil Frittata

Technorati Tags: phase one, initial body weight, target weight., South Beach Diet, Martini, breakfast, Broccoli, Tomato and Basil Frittata

It was a busy day yesterday, with house chores so I am late posting on the blog. All is going well with the diet. We are enjoying a variety of different recipes. The South Beach Diet has forced us to be much more creative in our cooking. Rather than it being a diet, which is really a restriction, it has been a liberating taste experience. I will not lie we do miss fresh fruit! Starting Monday we can slowly add that back into our diet as we take on phase two.

Breakfast: Yogurt with Splenda and vanilla

Snack: none

Lunch: Chicken Satya

Snack: Jicama with lime and chili

Dinner: Steak with homemade Salsa Verde

The South Beach diet is going very well. I don’t have hunger and I don’t crave any types of foods. I am learning to “listen” to my body when it’s full. I think I got my self into the habit of just finishing what I was served. This leads to over eating, etc…

I am shedding about 1 pound to ½ a pound a day. At this rate by the time phase one is completed I will be a couple pounds from my target weight.

I think the 3 phase approach was really made for people who were 30, 50, and 100 pounds over weight. I really wanted to take of 15 pounds in total. To date, I have lost 10 pounds and about an inch and a half of the waist line.

We are really looking forward to phase one being over so we can start to enjoy some fresh fruit.

Breakfast: Yogurt with Splenda and vanilla

Snack: none

Lunch: Caesar Salad with chicken on top

Snack: none

Dinner: Chicken Satya

Technorati Tags: South Beach diet, phase one, Yogurt, Splenda, vanilla, Caesar Salad, Chicken Satya

So I had wine last night for our Valentines dinner. I know it is breaking the SBD golden rule of no alcohol during phase one. But I had to do it in the name of love…. Yeah right.

Anyway, I actually lost half a pound from the day before, so it doesn’t look like the wine affected my progress at all.

Breakfast: Yogurt with Splenda and vanilla

Snack: none

Lunch: Chicken, 1 thigh and leg plus steamed broccoli

Snack: pistachios

Dinner: filet Migon

Today is going to be tough because it’s Valentines Day. Not because of relationship issues but because of all the goodies I will have to avoid. At the office there will be piles of cookies, cakes and candies. My will power will have to kick in big time. For dinner I am cooking a nice meal for us. I will have one cheat today, wine with dinner. Some of the South Beach Diet purists will be very unhappy with me as I am only 2/3 of the way done with phase one of the diet plan. Lilly plans on having Valentines candy, and a small amount of ice cream.

To put things in perspective, I have lost over 8.5 pounds in nine days. I have lost 1.5 inches off my waist and I am really enjoying the healthy living. I don’t think a glass of wine will kill me. As for the candy and ice cream, that is another story….

Breakfast: 2 egg whites with cheese, tomatoes and hot peppers

Snack: none

Lunch: Ground Turkey patties with spices and tomato sauce

Snack: none.

Dinner: filet Migon

Technorati Tags: Valentines Day, relationship issues, cookies, cakes, candies, will power, wine, South Beach Diet purists, Valentines candy, ice cream

Sleeping is getting much better. I have really increased my water intake all day, but still wake up thirsty. I guess this is normal for phase one of the South beach Diet? If you guys have other experiences, please let us know.

The initial 7 pounds that came off in the first 5 days has slowed down dramatically. I am sure a lot was water weight. On average I think I am loosing about a ¼ pound or less a day. This is versus the 1 or two pound drops I saw at the start.

Again, I understand this to be normal for this diet. So I try not to focus on daily weigh loss and more on how I feel and how my clothes feel on me. The good news is I have lost about an inch off my waist so far so my pants fit a little bit less snug.

Lilly and I are actually eating better tasting meals. We go online and find meals and go shopping and prepare them together and so far we have been surprised how tasty everything is. I think we got our self into a rut of eating the same foods over and over again. So this part of SBD has been a nice awaking for our taste buds. More on team work and SBD later…

Breakfast: turkey sausage and tomato wedges with salt pepper

Snack: dried Edamame

Lunch: Salad with grilled chicken on top and balsamic vinaigrette

Snack: none. I know not good.

Dinner: Ground Turkey patties with spices and tomato sauce

Technorati Tags: Sleeping, water, South beach Diet, water weight, pound, diet, lost about an inch, pants, meals, SBD

I slept a lot better! I did still wake up thirsty, which tells me I am not drinking enough water through out the day. I should know this by now! I really have to make it a priority through the whole day. I also have lost any craving for “bad carbs.” Next step, add exercise into my daily routine.

I have not had any weight loss in the last two days. I am hovering at 157.5 pounds. I have a theory. I feel a little backed up so I think I am not getting enough fiber to help push things along. So tonight before dinner I will take a dose of Metamucil to see if that cleans out the plumbing.

Well off to work. I will post my South Beach Diet daily menu later today.

Breakfast: turkey sausage and tomato wedges with salt pepper

Snack: pistachios

Lunch: Tuna Fish and a diet coke

Snack: Cheese slices

Dinner: Shrimp Nacional

I am not a huge fan of shrimp but this was really good. The presentation was great and it smelled wonderful
You can check it out at the link below:
http://food.yahoo.com/recipes/rachael-ray/23798/prawns-nacional

Technorati Tags: water, weight loss, fiber, dinner, Metamucil, plumbing, South Beach Diet