Starting over
On my first two weeks on phase one I lost 17 lbs. In the following 3 weeks on phase 2 I lost another 7 lbs. Then came Thanksgiving and Christmas and Valentines Day and marriage to a Mexican Food lover. I haven’t gained but I haven’t lost and I am once again addicted to carbs. So this AM I am starting over on phase one and going for my ultimate goal of 150 lbs lost (only 126 to go! hehe) low cholesterol and flexiblilty.
I know we all struggle with food issues and cravings. My 80 y.o. mom is living with us and is not a vegetarian, hates meals with only veggies and complains LOUDLY when there aren’t cookies and candy in the house. My husband, is a veggie but lives for Mexican food, a huge diet buster when eaten out. However, Mexican flavor is easy to create with dishes like Chili Relleno and this great bean stuffed zuchinni.
I was really giving up because I thought I couldn’t possibly resist the food I have to cook and/or provide for them but I feel strong today and I believe I can do it by just having my pecans and cheeze sticks handy for when I have to give mom tea and cookies or make chocolate chips for Richard. If I just make the subsitutes I know I can get back on this bus.
Another thing, I felt wonderful when on the diet, not too many aches, NO acid reflux, and ENERGY!!
I’m 53, hate exercise (but plan to ride my bike this time around) and love snacks but I really want to be able to enjoy my first grandson this spring and being thinner and more fit will really help.
Morgen SalasWe are each of us angels with only one wing,and we can only fly embracing each other.Luciano de Creschenzo
Morgen…….
Would it help to have mom keep her treats in her own room? Outta sight outta mind mentality?
I too love Mexican food. I could probably live on it forever. There are many SBD friendly convertible Mexican recipes. Burritos unfortunately are out. They were my “bread” with meals.
I feel for ya………hope the above suggestion helps!
I’m starting fresh again, but decided not to go back to Phase one. Theholidays are officially over for me– yesterday didn’t “count” since itwas a holiday, but today it does,
I didn’t do too bad, only gainedabout three pounds since Thanksgiving. But on the other hand, otherthan yesterday, and another day, I really didn’t change my habits much(namely no outrageous binges to account for the weight gain) , so its abigger concern overall. If I project the weight gain through the nextyear, I’ll weigh 15-20 lb in Dec. 2006, & be back at where I started.Ouch!
I’m on another list that’s pretty active, but its much too focused onmeat dishes, and could really use the support to go veggie. I read inthe paper that eating meat based diet, especially nitrite-processed meatsis much more likely to cause pancreatic cancer. I knew this already,but what astounded me, was the very small amounts of meat (not justprocess meats, but incl. red meats) that made it significant. AlthoughI don’t remember the exact amounts, it was less than a serving a day.
Goals for the year-1.Eat more of a plant based diet ( I’m not exclusivelyvegetarian) & lose the pesky three-five lbs that are creeping back. Thenmaintain forever! 2. Exercise more regularly–I go in spurts, so a bitof readjustment is in order here.
I went on South beach for the first time Nov 1, 05 - and i have since lost 12 lbs. I feel like my progress is slow. Every other non-veg doing this diet has had twice the sucess.I do believe that omitting the high protien meats really does make this diet a little tougher on the the vegetarians…BUT, i am very encouraged. This diet is the ONLY thing that has worked for me, and although the progress is slow - the results are definately longer lasting. I am back on phase 1 again - to day is my first day. the three lbs i gained from thanksgiving to new years kinda scared me when i read the email about that amount of weight gain over a yearI am eating a lot more salads ( I really find them refreshing after all that holiday food). and i have started mixing a little salsa with my dressing to make it go a longer way - the spicy-ness of the salsa tunes up the salad too. Last night i had a steamed artichoke with lemon and olive oil and spinach and “meatball” soup - it is quick and easy and the recipie follows: 8 oz vegetable stock (i like to use the ready made stuff in a box)1 small onion chopped1/2 bag of ready to use spinach1/2 pkg of Yves Vegetarian Soy-Meatballs2 oz chopped mushroomsred pepper flakessaltpepperitalian seasoning (McCormick or similar)2 TBSP olive oil Heat the olive oil in a pot, add onion and a pinch of salt on Med-Hi heat. Wait about 5 minutes until onions are somewhat translucent and add the mushrooms and Soy-Meatballs. Brown for about another 5 - 10 minutes. Add vegetable stock, about 4 oz first, then another 4 oz. Bring to a boil, add about a cup of water then reduce to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Add chopped spinach, red pepper flakes, pepper, and italian seasoning to taste.If you find it a little bland, you can reduce the water and increase the stock & seasonings.Hope you like it - i find it pretty satisfying for dinner ( and it heats pretty well for lunch the next day).
It seems to me that South Beach (especially Phase I) requires a biggeradjustment for vegetarians than for meat eaters. With South Beach’semphasis on vegetables you might not think this is the case, but it’sthe starches that make it a challenge. Meat eaters are asked toremove the high glycemic carbs from their diets but given the “luxury”of being able to make it up with additional lean meats. Manyvegetarians I know (myself included) replaced meats with “forbidden”starches (potatoes) or grain products (bread) and higher-fat or highersugar dairy (especially cheese and flavored yogurt). Being asked toremove the starches along with the meat we already cut out forces usto become even more creative and resourceful in the kitchen.
All in all, though, I think South Beach’s emphasis on vegetables andhealthy fruits puts the “veg” back in vegetarian. You can’t lean onthe “cheese pizza crutch” if you’re looking for a quick lunch. You’vegot to get to know and love your veggies.
I’m feeling pretty good at day 3 of my “restart.” Had a massivemigraine headache last night, but I don’t think it’s diet related.Did anyone else experience headaches early on in Phase I?
Also, are black-eyed peas and pinto beans (which are identifiedspecifically on the “avoid” list) the only dried legumes not permittedon Phase I? Can I safely have a black bean soup?
I too had some bad migraine days which I don’t normally get. Iattributed it to the fact that I stopped drinking soda for phase Iand was going through caffeine withdrawal. I’m debating doing PhaseI again but this time will still have a diet coke each day.
I agree about the starch thing, too - I’m a pretty lazy vegetarian bynature so my staples are definitely pizza and pasta.
When I did Phase 1 a long time ago, I didn’t have the “adjustmentproblem” that you are talking about. I found it was quite easy. Iate what I wanted when I wanted it and I think I lost about 9 lbs.Maybe it wasn’t that hard for me because I’m lactose intollerant so Ididn’t replace anything with “forbidden dairy”. I’ll admit I stilldid eat sweet corn (home grown..nothing better)and an ocasional plainbaked potato. I don’t think South Beach really addresses vegetariansand vegan diets well enough so I followed the general idea of thediet (cutting out the sugar, lowering the carbs, etc) but reallymodified it to suit my own needs. I have been losing weight steadilysince. I think my main problem was not so much diet but rather thefact that I had health issues that made me not able to exercise.Since I’m back to exercising, the weight has dropped even faster.
As far as the headache, when I first started Phase 1 I didn’t get amigraine but there was a day or two where I felt pretty strangelylight headed and sluggish. It went away after about 2 days and thenI felt amazing after detoxing all the sugar from my body.
I agree, for the first few days of both times I’ve done phase 1, Ihave felt both little headed and sluggish. I also found that I hadunusual sudden mood changes. But all of this only lasted for 5 daysat the most. After wards my body felt refreshed.
I have been reading up on GI numbers and phase 1 cross references - i like to get down to the math of how this diet really works. Funny you bring up the beans & legumes…Seems like they ask you to avoid those items with a GI of 35 and over (for the most part). Just from my reading on the internet - Black Eyed peas and Pintos have GI’s of nearly 39 - 44, however, black beans are around 30. Kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and of course soybeans (18) are among the lowest. By the way, as a comparison, sausage is rated 28. I too feel like we vegetarians have to be extra-creative when it comes to the strict phase one. And I have found that reading more about the ideas this diet is based on, gives me the knowledge to develop what works for me as a vegetarian. So maybe going by the book is not really what it is all about…and i am okay with that. I just have to realize that my progress is not going to be as quick as those who really go by the book. I feel that we can incorporate these lower GI beans in moderation - i enjoy black beans on my salads on phase 1, with relatively little setbacks.If you are interested in GI numbers - http://www.mendosa.com/gi.htm is a pretty informative site with lots of links.
I have to admit that I have not yet started over, but reading all of this is giving me the will power to get going again. I do think we have to try extra hard, as there are not many “convenience foods” that are both South Beach and vegetarian friendly. Thanks for getting this forum going, everyone!