South Beach Diet

Today is Tuesday, my third week on South Beach, Phase 1. On South Beach you stay on Phase 1 for 2 week and can extend it up to 4 weeks if you have a lot tolose. My weight this morning was up 1 3/4 lbs from last week.

What I ate yesterday:

breakfast: plain unsweetened yogurt mixed with cinnamon and 2 packets stevia(would have used Splenda but ran out - stevia works OK)

lunch; 2 - 4 oz hamburgers plain with 6 oz glass tomato juice. Also afrozen chocolate popsicle (allowed on South Beach)

dinner - tossed salad consisting of mixed lettuce, bacon, cherry tomatoes,hard boiled eggs, sliced chicken breast, celery, broccoli, a couple of smallcarrots, onion - note: this is entire salad - I just had a serving with someKen’s blue cheese dressing.

I had 64 oz (or more) of water as well. Yet my weight went up..

For the next week, I am going to try a modified Phase 1 plan of my owninvention. I intend to have a breakfast shake consisting of frozen berries,cranberry juice, protein powder, psyllium fiber, flaxseed oil, and a dash of DaVinci syrup and otherwise stick to the South Beach plan. When I have the shake Iavoid constipation, feel more energetic and have found that it hasn’t caused myweight or blood sugar to go up in the non-Sough Beach past (at least a Bette - My grandmother once told me that she only ate 2 meals/day - if sheate more she gained too much weight. I think I must be the same way.

I don’t think I can tell anyone how to lose weight (although plenty ofpeople have tried to tell me and I wouldn’t be surprised if it is the same withyou) Perhaps I am an alien or a person born with an alien metabolism. I thinkthe only ataack plan for me is to observe what keeps my weight stable and tweakit and hope for the best.

My t’ai chi instructor describes t’ai chi as ‘meditation in motion’. Itconsists of concentrated slow practiced movements. We do a lot of standing inone place and practice deep breathing. It’s funny but you really get a work outfrom doing it.

If you are curious about the South Beach Diet go tohttp://www.southbeachdiet.com/login.asp The site has a tour and someinformation that doesn’t require logging in.

The South Beach diet was developed cardiologist Arthur Agatston. The diet distinguishes between good and bad carbohydrates, and good and bad fats. “Good carbs” are high in fiber or high in good fats, and have a low glycemic index, that is, they are digested and absorbed slowly. Other preferred carbohydrates are those with more nutritional value than the alternatives. For instance, brown rice is allowed in moderation, but white rice is discouraged. When eating any carbohydrates, Dr. Agatston recommends also eating fiber or fat to slow digestion of the carbohydrates. “Good fats” are polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, especially those with omega-3 fatty acids. Saturated and trans fats are bad fats. According to Agatston, at the end of two weeks, most participants on the South Beach Diet are 8 to 14 pounds lighter. He notes the weight loss does not happen because participants eat less, but rather because eliminating simple carbohydrates has broken a bad eating cycle. As a result, participants continue to lose weight after the initial two-week period.

Dawn Jackson, a dietitian and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, said the South Beach Diet is generally healthy - even for vegetarians - because it helps people make better food choices. Anne Collins writes about Phases of South Beach:

The diet is split into 3 phases. The first phase is most restricted and involves eating three normal-sized meals made up of a limited number of foods - lean meats, vegetables, nuts, cheese, and eggs. Beef, ham, milk, yogurt, all carbs with the exception of some vegetables and alcohol are excluded.

Phase 2 introduces some of these banned foods back into the diet, while Phase 3 is designed to include foods from all the food groups and lasts for life.

I am a type 2 diabetic. I am on medication for hypertension, underactivethyroid, chloresterol, and take insullin. I have been following Atkins andlo-carb for years now. I haven’t had success with weight loss but the lo-carb isgreat for health - i.e., lower blood pressure, lower blood sugar, greatchloresterol levels, etc. I have a yearly physical and have to see the Dr. every3-4 months for follow up visits due to the diabetes. I am 68 years old. I havebeen taking t’ai chi lessons for several years (recommended by my Dr. for thediabetes) which also works on other ailments - is great for relaxing and calmingdown. I also go to a stretch and bend exercise class a couple of times a week. Iplay bridge and am in a couple of choruses. Genealogy is a hobby of mine. I amretired - In general, life is good and I am contented.

As for my weight, I was OK until I became pregnant at age 32. After my daughterwas born, my excess weight didn’t come off but continued for the past 36 years.

Recently my husband and I went with a tour group on an overnight trip toTanglewood. When we got home I discovered I had gained 4 lbs. My weight had goneup to 256. The next day I signed up for the South Beach Diet on the web. Ifigured it was worth a shot since paying $5 a week would make me angry enough atmyself to force me into following the diet carefully and might work.

On South Beach you can stay in Phase 1 for 2 to 4 weeks. Tuesday I will havecompleted 3 weeks. So far my weight has gone from 256 to 250 1/4 lb. I have nothad any grains or fruit as the diet demands. I have had a few days of feelingexhausted as well. But, I have not craved fruit or sweets. We have been eating alot of salads. Last night I got tired of preparing rabbit food and we had aChinese take out of spicy string beans and Kung-pao chicken. It was good but Inoticed I ate one serving of each and didn’t want any seconds.

I have started experimenting. With diabetes you are told to eat 3 (or more)meals at regular times - that it is important for regulating your blood sugar. Iam testing this by having brunch and eating less when I feel not as hungry. Myblood sugar is as good or perhaps better than it was. What I suspect is that theold adage ‘the way to lose weight is to eat less’ is true especially as I getolder. Following the low glycemic index seems to be working as well. On theSouth Beach diet in Phase 1 you can have lima beans and kidney beans - both ofwhich I had been avoiding before. We have enjoyed chili (that I made with thekidney beans - not lima beans )

I don’t know if South Beach is the answer for me (or you) but I am encouraged. Ilike the fact that it does away (or lowers) the cravings and is relatively easyto follow. I have both the South Beach Diet book and the SB Diet cookbook torefer to as well as my daily e-mail message from South Beach recommending whatto eat and reminding me to exercise. Phase 1 is designed to train your system toadapt to a new way of eating. I’m beginning to hope.