South Beach Diet

Slice cucumber and onion (I like Valdalia when I can get it)Place in bowl in layers and mix with sour cream. Add some pepper.Can be made in advance and kept for several days.

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I’m on my 2nd week of Phase 1 and I’ve reached a plateau. My plan isto stay in Phase 1 for another 2.5 weeks (until my yearly physical).I’ve been stuck at the same weight for a week. I recently startingwalking on my treadmill, but I haven’t started weight training yet,so I don’t think I’m building muscle yet.

Here is my basic eating plan:I don’t eat breakfast, I’ll usually just grab a slice a turkey breastand cheese as I run out the door in the morning. I’ll have a cup ofcoffee with Splenda.I may eat 15 almonds or a cup of SF jello.I eat lunch which consists meat/salad or meat/greenbean stir fry.Dinner: is basically the same as lunch.I snack again on a cup of SF jelloOh & I drink a lot of water and rarely drink diet soda

Am I doing anything wrong? What do I do to break the plateau and getback to losing?

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I know that sometimes medications we take can effect weight loss/gain.I have taken the depo shot for several years now and find out that itcauses an average of 16 pounds in extra weight for the number of yearsI’ve been on it! After discussing with my doctor, for other reasons, Ihave decided to go off of it. Has anyone heard of the weight gainreversing when stopping this medication?

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With mountingevidence that the low-carb crazeis leading many Americans to make unwisedecisions about the amount and types offoods they eat, a new coalition of consumer,nutrition and public health groupstoday issued this stern warning: low-carb dietsare unlikely to lead tosustained long term weight loss and they canincrease the risk for a number oflife-threatening medical conditions.

At a news conference in Washington, members ofthe newly formed Partnership forEssential Nutrition announced the findings of acomprehensive review of thescientific literature that will serve as thefoundation for the activities andadvocacy efforts of the coalition. Issued as anationwide call to action, thisreview concludes that losing weight on theseextreme low-carb diets can lead tosuch serious health problems as kidney stress,liver disorders and gout. Thesediets also increase the risk for coronary heartdisease, diabetes, stroke andseveral types of cancer. Moreover, the coalitionidentified a number ofshort-term side effects from low-carbohydratediets that although less serious,can affect a person’s quality of life. Theseinclude severe constipation,gastrointestinal problems, nausea, repeatedheadaches, difficulty inconcentrating and the loss of energy.

“low-carbohydrate diets conflict with decades ofsolid scientific research thatclearly encourages us to reduce saturated fat andboost fruit, vegetable andfiber intake,” said Barbara J. Moore, Ph.D.,president and CEO of Shape UpAmerica!, which founded the coalition.”Restricting carbohydrates stresses vitalorgans and alters brain metabolism while offeringno advantages in terms ofeither fat loss or long-term weight control.”

Comprising 11 leading non-profit consumer,nutrition and public healthorganizations, the members of the newly formedPartnership for EssentialNutrition are: Alliance for Aging Research,American Association of DiabetesEducators, American Institute for CancerResearch, American Obesity Association,National Consumers League, National Women’sHealth Resource Center, PenningtonBiomedical Research Center, Shape Up America!,Society for Women’s HealthResearch, University of California at Davis, andYale-Griffin PreventionResearch Center.

The coalition’s review also questions theeffectiveness of these extremelow-carbohydrate diets for sustained weight loss.Summarizing recent scientificstudies that find the rapid weight lossassociated with these diets is temporaryand often results in weight “snap back,” thecoalition voiced apprehension aboutthe processes by which people lose weight onthese diets. Specifically, the newgroup questioned the safety of diets that forcethe body into “ketosis,” aprocess that starves the brain of carbohydrates,forcing the metabolism ofprotein in the muscles followed by the metabolicbreakdown of fat. Of keyconcern is that extreme low-carb diets producedehydration, which can stress thekidneys and increase the potential for bone losscontributing to osteoporosis.

Besides raising these warnings, the Partnershipfor Essential Nutrition took aimat the proliferation of competing food andbeverage products now labeled as”low-carb,” “reduced carb, “carbohydrate free,”carb aware, “carb smart and”carb countdown, none of which are regulated bythe Food and Drug Administration(FDA). Citing new findings that consumers nowspend an average of $85 a month onthese products, the coalition called on FDA toquickly issue an interim policyabout the use of carbohydrate claims and thenenforce it. Currently, both theFood Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), partof the U.S. Department ofAgriculture, and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax andTrade Bureau (ATTB) have issuedinterim guidelines for how manufacturers can makecarbohydrate claims about meatand poultry products and alcoholic beveragesrespectively. These guidelines aremeant as a stopgap measure and will likely changeonce FDA issues final rules.

New Survey Shows Consequences of Low-Carb Hype

The coalition’s actions come in response to newsurvey data showing that theexplosive growth in the popularity of “low-carb”diets is affecting the Americandiet in unfortunate ways. Conducted by OpinionResearch Corporation (ORC), thissurvey of 1,017 adult Americans reveals that:

One in five (19 percent) adults who aretrying to lose weight are doing soprimarily by reducing the amount of carbohydratesthey consume; Compared to other Americans trying to loseweight, many of those followinglow- carb diets are making poor dietary choices.Of special concern, 50 percentare increasing their consumption of steak, 30percent are eating more bacon and43 percent are consuming less fruit; The hype over low-carb foods is alsoaffecting the rest of the population,many of whom are now consuming less fruits,vegetables, whole grains and low-fatdairy products. Compared to the five servings aday of fiber-rich fruits andvegetables recommended by the National CancerInstitute (NCI), the survey finds68 percent now eat two or less servings of fruita day and 63 percent consumetwo or less servings of vegetables. Moreover, 71percent of the public consumesless than the three recommended daily servings oflow-fat dairy products while15 percent say they have cut out dairy productsall together.

Compounding these findings, the survey revealsthat many consumers are beingmisled into believing that extreme low-carb dietsare healthy and thatcarbohydrates, not calories, are what contributesto weight gain and loss.According to the survey, 47 percent of Americansnow believe that low-carb dietscreate weight loss without cutting calories, aview that the overwhelming numberof credible scientific studies refutes. Equallytroubling, only 21 percent ofAmericans know that low-carb diets are notrecommended for people with diabetes,when in fact, the American Diabetes Associationalong with all the leadingnutrition and public health groups recommend thatfor optimal health as well asweight loss, people should consume a diet thatincludes a variety of foodsprimarily composed of carbohydrates, andespecially fruits, vegetables, wholegrains and low-fat dairy products.

At the same time, the survey finds very limitedunderstanding of the amount ofcarbohydrates needed each day for good health.Although the Institute ofMedicine (part of the National Academy ofSciences) issued a recommendation thatchildren and adults get a minimum of 130 grams ofcarbohydrate daily, only 19percent of those surveyed knew this fact. Instead51 percent believe that adultsneed significantly less, while 21 percent have noidea. Only 10 percent believethat adults need more.

New Initiative Focuses on Importance of VariedDiet Including Carbohydrates

To guide weight-conscious consumers who may betempted by the promises oflow-carb diets, the Partnership for EssentialNutrition will use multipleinformation channels to reach the public withspecific information about whatcarbohydrates are and what can happen when peopledon’t get enough. The goalwill be to raise awareness that carbohydratescontain essential nutrients thatprovide fuel for the brain and muscles, containthe fiber needed for proper gutfunction, help to control body weight and havebeen demonstrated throughnumerous scientific studies to lower the risk forcertain cancers, stroke, heartdisease and high blood pressure.

To drive home these messages, the coalition willconvey solutions-orientedinformation, including a series of television andprint public serviceadvertisements and a new Web site –www.essentialnutrition.org. Of specialsignificance is a new :30 television publicservice announcement that will airon television stations later this summer andfall. Produced by MarrinerMarketing Communications of Columbia, Maryland,the spot tells consumers “Losingweight should make you healthier…Get there in ahealthy way.”

The Partnership for Essential Nutrition is abroad-based group of non-profitconsumer, nutrition and public healthorganizations formed in 2004 to promoteprograms, policies and research that will advancepublic understanding about theessentials of a nutritionally balanced diet.Dedicated to providing guidanceregarding the important contribution that allthree macronutrients –carbohydrates, protein and fat — play inpromoting good health and successfulweight loss, the coalition was organized by ShapeUp America!, which raised thefunds to develop and implement this educationalcampaign.

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We hear so much about “metabolism” lately especially if our concern is health and wellness.But rarely is metabolism itself truly placed asthe center focus. Many people realize they have ametabolism (and are not happy one bit with itscurrent behavior), but aren’t sure what itactually is and how or why certain actions canprompt it to mend its ways.

Metabolism is the sum of the chemical reactionsof the body.

There I can go home now

Ok, I’ll add a bit more paint to the picture.Your fine form operates through a quadrillionchemical reactions that continue everynanosecond. Every single thing you do, think,feel, etc. is promoted via a chemical reaction.From chemistry class, you remember (they told youthere would be a test on this someday) thatchemical reactions require one major thing tomove forward energy. Energy is required forevery chemical reaction in the universe, eventhose that release energy as a result. Well,since none of us born with an electrical outletattached to our behinds, we ourselves, mustprovide our chemical reactions the necessaryenergy. The Law of Conservation of Energy statesthat energy can neither be created nor destroyed;it can only be converted from one form toanother. So, the energy required by our chemicalreactions has to come from somewhere and thatsomewhere is food.

Ultimately, that is why we eat to provide ourbodies with a form of energy that it can use tokeep our chemical reactions going. However, atany given time, your body only needs so muchenergy to keep its metabolism humming. At bareminimum, if you are doing squat-diddly foractivity (and I mean not even lifting a remotecontrol), you body still has to keep the heartbeating, brain functioning, making your pinealgland do whatever the pineal gland does, etc. Theamount of energy required to sustain this amountof activity reflects your Resting Metabolic Rateor RMR. This is the sparest amount of energy youneed to maintain your functional human status andthis varies based on genetics, age and physicalcondition. But, few of us actually are thislethargic in a day. Most of us engage in variousactivities and each second of activity calls formore chemical reactions, more work to be done,more energy required. Your metabolism has toprovide the energy for these additional dailyburdens. The more activity, the more energyrequired. Therefore, your daily energy needs areyour RMR + the energy for your daily activities.If you eat as many calories as your metabolismexpends to keep you going you stay status quofor weight. If you continue to eat the sameamount of calories (”calories” is actually ameasure of energy!), but increase activity, yourbody has to get the energy from your reservebank. Lowcarbers train their bodies to dip intothe fat reserves for this additional energy need.More activity, more dippin’, more fat use, lessweight. However, don’t start grinnin’ too muchyet the reverse is also true. When we consumemore energy than the body needs, it puts it awayfor later (an evolutionary response to the timeswhen it might be awhile before we found anothersaber tooth to barbeque). That means more fat andmore weight.

In the age where button-pushing was not a majorjob skill, people were naturally active.Nowadays, we must purposefully increase our levelof activity. Yes, I must use the “E” word exercise. The more intense the exercise themore energy required; the greater the duration,the more energy required. Think of the body asyour house’s heating system. You and your sweetiedon’t mind keeping the thermostat at 55 degreesall year long. Your heating system uses thenecessary amount of fuel to sustain thistemperature and you are billed accordingly. Now,imagine that aged Aunt Gladys comes to visit. Shemandates that the thermostat be reset to 75degrees as she is always cold you know howthose old people just whine and whineto keepthat old biddy satisfied, the heater has to workmuch harder to keep that temperature up and thisextra work demands more fuel. When she finallyleaves and you turn down the control, the systemdoes less work and your monthly bill’s energygraph shows the spike from her invasion and thedecline in energy use after her departure. Whenyou exercise, the body’s need for energyincreases and your fuel use goes up. If you don’tincrease your calorie consumption, you body getsthe energy from reserves blessed fat. The moreyou exercise, the more the fuel demand. Don’t gonutty, though. Too much exercise causes the bodyto say that something is wrong with you and itgoes into protective mode. It actually slows themetabolism to help preserve your reserves toweather you through your perceived infirmity.Stress and over exercise are not metabolism’sfriends.

WooHoo! Exercise gives you a way to use yourmetabolism to weight loss advantage. You beginscheming how can I increase the time that myfurnace stays hot? Exercise again smiles uponyou. One advantage of regular, vigorous exerciseis that it can raise your body’s normalmetabolism. After exercise, your metabolism stayshigh for awhile; your home furnace doesn’tautomatically go cold when you turn it to “off.”It takes awhile to cool down; your body does thesame thing. This after burn is another exercisebenefit. Many experts recommend exercising inseveral bouts raise the metabolism severaltimes during the day and then enjoy several afterburns, as a bonus. Eating small, frequent mealsis another metabolism-boosting tactic. Itactually takes energy to eat and digest food;each time you eat, the metabolism cranks up tohandle the digestion process. More noshing moremetabolic kick-starts. Keep your daily calorieneeds in mind, though, and spread them outaccordingly. Overdoing the chocolate-coveredcalories rather defeats the purpose of purposefulpicking.

But, let’s go for the whole enchilada. Can you upthat metabolism ALL DAY? EVERY DAY? Is itpossible? YES!!! Exercise is again the key, butwe must be more specific. Cardiovascular exerciseis a fantastic calorie burner, energy user. Andit does give you after burn effects. However,once the after burn is over, you are back at sealevel. What you need to do is actually engage instrength training (pumping iron) to enable thebody to keep its metabolism running hot. Here’swhy:

Remember that all activity requires chemicalreactions, which need energy. Well, this appliesdown to the level of the single cell. Some cellsare lay-abouts and don’t do much. Rather likeyour teenager, they spend most of their daythumbing through magazines and watching MTV. Fatcells, most connective tissue cells and the likedon’t require much energy. If your body is mostlycomposed of these cells, you lead a prettyinactive life, cellularly speaking, and don’thave a huge energy demand. However, muscle cellsare a different story. Muscle cells are more likeyour 5-year old and his friends. You need ropesand chains to keep them still. Muscle cells arewhat are doing your body’s activity work frompumping your blood, moving your food, raisingyour fork to your face, keeping the toes tappingwhen the radio plays. In order to do this, theyneed lots of energy and so, naturally use a lotof fuel. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon tofigure out that if you have more of these guysand less of the slackers, your body WITHOUT DOINGANYTHING EXTRA is going to continuously demandmore energy. The metabolism gets raised and staysthat way as long as you keep the dynamos. The wayto add more muscle and reduce the sluggards is tostrength train. Weight training builds muscle.You get the calorie burn from the actual workoutand, as muscle builds, your metabolism rises. Youburn more calories, even at rest, when you havemore muscle and less of the other tissue types.This is like Aunt Gladys selling her house andmoving into your spare room. That thermostat isgoing to stay cranked until the day she

Your metabolism is not your enemy. It keeps youalive. Love it, for that reason alone. But, it isnot the one in control you are. By taking theappropriate actions, you can use your metabolismto your advantage to achieve your weight lossgoals. Increase activity through the day takestairs, walk in the evenings, play with yourkids, go dancing: anything! Go further by addingpurposeful exercise for greater energy demand.Strength train to build muscle for the bigbonanza. Don’t be afraid of your metabolism itis your tool, your weapon, your own personalweight-loss product. And, unlike most things inlife, it’s free!

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I generally say “starches and sugars”. The eye-rolling, however, doesn’tbother me. I don’t argue with people. “No, thanks,” is good enough for meon most occasions. I agree with you, if you say you don’t eat starches andsugars, that makes it easy for most people to understand. My parents wereunder the impression that eating low carb meant I couldn’t have anything butmeat and cheese, and if I tried to explain things like net carbs, glycemicindex, etc., they’d be afraid to ever have me over again. If I say Idon’t eat starch or sugar, though, they understand perfectly and Mom’scomfortable cooking a nice variety of meats and vegetables.

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1 lb of ground beef or turkey or cooked chicken (I used cooked chicken)2 tbsp butter1/4 of a medium onion, minced1 tsp of minced garlic1/2 c salsa1 pkg taco seasoning (I used 2 tsp of homemade taco seasoning)2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese1 can eden black soy beanspam cooking spraysliced black olives (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a medium casserole dish with Pam and spread 1c of cheddar cheese on the bottom.

In a skillet: melt butter, add onions and garlic, brown meat and drain. Addsalsa, stir; add taco seasoning, stir; simmer for 15 minutes. Add beans, stirand simmer for 5 minutes. Pour into casserole dish on top of cheese. Sprinklethe other 1 c of cheddar on top. Bake in over on middle rack for 15-17 minutes.Sprinkle with olives, let stand for 5 minutes to give chance to set. Serve withsour ceam, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.

Makes about six average size servings.LC Tip: Don’t exercise first thing in the morning (before you’ve eaten). I don’tknow if it’s just me, but I find that when I exercise before I’ve eatenbreakfast, I feel really weak and fatigued. I feel I have a lot more energyonce I’ve eaten and digested breakfast.

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The recipe looks fine for P2. Even if you use the cauliflower inplace of the rice, it still be a P2 recipe because of the celerysoup.I would try this recipe next time with brown rice or the wild rice.I looks jummy. Thank you for sharing, I uploaded the the recipe toour files.

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One of the most common criticisms of a low carbdiet is that it can harm your performance in thegym. However, what’s not so well known is thatoverweight people burn less carbohydrate and morefat when they exercise.

In fact, a recent trial shows that during 60minutes of exercise, overweight men burn almost50% less carbohydrate than lean men. While a lowcarb diet might not be the best way for athletesto maximize their performance, it’s a perfectlyacceptable way to eat if you want to lose fat even if you’re exercising regularly.

Low carb dietThere are many different variations of the lowcarb diet, ranging from an extremely low carbdiet (such as the induction phase of The AtkinsDiet) to a moderately low carb diet (such as TheZone). What all types of the low carb diet havein common is the fact they reduce the amount ofcarbohydrate your body stores.

Carbohydrate is stored in the form of glycogen(pronounced gly-ka-jun) in your liver andmuscles. Glycogen molecules are linked togetherlike a chain of sausages. They can range in sizefrom a few hundred to several thousand glucosemolecules.

In total, your body can hold 400-500 grams ofglycogen (the equivalent of 1600-2000 calories).That’s the same amount of carbohydrate found in25 slices of bread. Of course, this does varyfrom person to person. The more muscle you have,the more glycogen you can store.

Your body has a remarkable ability to adapt towhat you eat. Follow a low carb diet for just afew days, and your body adapts by producing moreof the enzymes that convert stored fat intoenergy. Not only that, the fuel your body usesduring exercise also depends on how fat you are.Some evidence for this comes from a trialpublished in Obesity Research.

ExerciseSeven obese and seven lean middle-aged men with asimilar level of aerobic fitness exercised on abike for 60 minutes. Results showed that theoverweight men burned almost 40% more fatcalories than the lean men. The amount ofglycogen used was also 50% lower in the obesemen.

There are anecdotal reports of people performingbetter on a low carb diet. However, most trialsshow that exercise performance is enhanced whenyour glycogen stores are higher rather thanlower. The confusion in this area often stemsfrom the misleading comparison between absoluteand relative carbohydrate intake.

Absolute carbohydrate intake is usuallydescribed in grams relative to bodyweight.

Relative carbohydrate intake is usuallydescribed as a percentage of total calorieintake.

For example, if you were to consume 5,000calories, with 1600 of those calories coming fromcarbohydrate, then your diet derives 32% of itscalories from carbohydrate. That’s an example ofcarbohydrate intake expressed in relative terms.

If someone weighing 200 pounds ate two grams ofcarbohydrate per pound of bodyweight, they wouldalso be consuming 400 grams of carbohydrate. Thistime, however, carbohydrate intake is expressedin absolute terms.

For many people, 400 grams of carbohydrate wouldbe enough to keep their glycogen stores topped up despite the fact that the diet appears to below in carbohydrate when expressed in relativeterms. The difference between absolute andrelative nutrient intake is one reason why you’llsee conflicting reports about the effect ofcarbohydrate on exercise performance.

The bottom line is that for people who want tolose fat, keeping glycogen stores topped up isless important than for someone aiming to improveathletic performance.

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5 eggsAbout two tablespoons of DiVinci vanilla syrup1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

Heat up a small omelette pan to medium with some butter on thebottom. Combine the ingredients above and whisk. Pour half of themixture in the pan and cover it. When the whole thing is almostcooked through (but the top is still loose), flip. Cook for anotherminute and then remove and top with butter and splenda-based pancakesyrup.

LC Tip:

When I want something sweet after dinner, I make a soda withseltzer, half and half and my favorite Davinci syrup. It worksevery time to satisfy my sweet tooth and fills me up until bedtime.

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