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In which we begin again...
Nov. 28th, 2007 07:12 amFor those of you who have been part of my journal for the last 2 years or so, you may remember rather ceaseless blogging about changing my way of eating to lose weight and increase my health. In mid August of '05, the Viking and I started on the South Beach Diet. The motivator, for me, was getting back pictures we'd taken in Hawaii the previous early spring, and realizing that I didn't feel like the person in those pictures. That person was bloated, looked uncomfortable in her skin... That person was fat. I don't feel fat inside, and I don't want to look fat outside. I don't have any medical issues that complicated the matter or anything like that - I've just got a sweet tooth and a tendency to turn to sweets and convenience foods during times of stress, comfort, sorrow, happiness, activity, boredom... you get the picture. It all added up to a Technoboggan that had changed from "curvy" to "chubby" to "fat". So, I decided to do something about it.
After doing a lot of research, the Viking and I decided on the South Beach diet because it was, over the long term, a healthy and sustainable way of eating. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, you spend the first two weeks (Phase One) eating mostly veggies (but not starches-hiding-hiding-as-veggies, like corn/potatoes/sweet peas), lean meat, low-or-non-fat dairy (in moderation) and "good" fats (canola, olive, etc.) You also get 75 calories of "sweet treat" that you can use on whatever you want every day, allowing you to work in a dessert or some sweetened creamer in your coffee - whatever you want to use it on. You eat three meals and two mandatory snacks every day, without a great deal of measuring or counting - a serving of lean protein (eggs, chicken breast, lean beef, boiled ham, etc) with each meal, and basically all the non-starch veggies you want to eat. Snacks can be things like low fat cheese and veggies, hard boiled egg (and veggies) etc.
You stay on Phase One for two weeks. No more. It evens out your blood sugar (which is why you cut out fruits/juices, and watch the sugar levels in your dressings/condiments, etc.) and (for me) virtually kills my sweet cravings.
You also tend to lose a ton of weight. I'm 4 days into it and 7.5 pounds down. This weight will stay off as long as I eat sensibly (it doesn't yo-yo back like the Atkins weight tended to).
At Phase Two, you begin reintroducing whole grains and fruits (a serving at a time), continue with the 3meal/2 snack eating plan and generally eat a diet akin to what we learned in school was good for you (although not necessarily in the same proportions advocated by the 4/4/3/2 Mulligan Stew movies we watched in middle school.)
Anyway, I wanted to blog my commitment to begin on this again (As I said, I'm 4 days in and doing great so far.) I'll flesh out more about my past success on this eating plan and future plans (activity levels, etc.) when I've got more time.
After doing a lot of research, the Viking and I decided on the South Beach diet because it was, over the long term, a healthy and sustainable way of eating. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, you spend the first two weeks (Phase One) eating mostly veggies (but not starches-hiding-hiding-as-veggies, like corn/potatoes/sweet peas), lean meat, low-or-non-fat dairy (in moderation) and "good" fats (canola, olive, etc.) You also get 75 calories of "sweet treat" that you can use on whatever you want every day, allowing you to work in a dessert or some sweetened creamer in your coffee - whatever you want to use it on. You eat three meals and two mandatory snacks every day, without a great deal of measuring or counting - a serving of lean protein (eggs, chicken breast, lean beef, boiled ham, etc) with each meal, and basically all the non-starch veggies you want to eat. Snacks can be things like low fat cheese and veggies, hard boiled egg (and veggies) etc.
You stay on Phase One for two weeks. No more. It evens out your blood sugar (which is why you cut out fruits/juices, and watch the sugar levels in your dressings/condiments, etc.) and (for me) virtually kills my sweet cravings.
You also tend to lose a ton of weight. I'm 4 days into it and 7.5 pounds down. This weight will stay off as long as I eat sensibly (it doesn't yo-yo back like the Atkins weight tended to).
At Phase Two, you begin reintroducing whole grains and fruits (a serving at a time), continue with the 3meal/2 snack eating plan and generally eat a diet akin to what we learned in school was good for you (although not necessarily in the same proportions advocated by the 4/4/3/2 Mulligan Stew movies we watched in middle school.)
Anyway, I wanted to blog my commitment to begin on this again (As I said, I'm 4 days in and doing great so far.) I'll flesh out more about my past success on this eating plan and future plans (activity levels, etc.) when I've got more time.
