South Beach Diet Recap

It's hard to believe that almost 9 weeks ago we started the South Beach Diet. Now that I actually set down and counted it out on a calendar, I'm like, "For real?! We've done it for that long?!" I have to admit, I'm pretty proud for sticking it out. Seeing a commitment to something for that long feels good, as I sometimes lack disciple.

Now that our vacation is oh so very close, I thought I would do a review for you to share a little bit of what we learned on the SBD. Here's the very first thing I will tell you: after reading this post, if it's something you're interested in, read the book. Seriously. It's got some really good stuff in it. I was just thinking this would be something where we gave up carbs for the rest of our life, but the book really explains the logic behind giving up carbs (for a certain period) and then working the good carbs back in.

In case you're wondering why we did the SBD, weight loss was only a tiny bit of it. After my grandfather faced two surgeries to have stints put it due to 80-100% blockage, his doctor suggested this as a really good heart healthy lifestyle plan. Because I deal with heart issues already, we wanted to go ahead and make good changes to our lifestyle to hopefully prevent major complications for me later.

So here's a simple break down of the SBD Phase 1 plan (again, read the book. It explains the reasoning, which I won't go into detail on!)

no carbs, sugars, fruit or starches. for two weeks.

Sounds like torture, huh?

You are cutting these items out to break your body of the cravings for them. After the two week period you can move onto Phase 2, where you can begin to have fruit again, some whole wheat items and sweet potatoes, though these last two are sparingly. Phase 2 is where you will still until you reach your desired weight goal, though they promote you can lost 8-12 pounds on Phase 1. Cody and I both lost about 6ish pounds on P1, which I was very happy with.

Here are some observations about Phase 1:

- It's not hard, but it's very time consuming.

Menu planning was very difficult for me when I lost the bread/fruit/starch option. Sweet potatoes and corn were a staple in our kitchen. Yeah, not any more. We had to wake up earlier to make eggs for breakfast. I had to cook more at dinner time to make sure we had leftovers for lunch. And going out to eat when you just want a real quick meal is almost impossible. Be prepared to put extra time into planning and making your meals.

- You will be satisfied, but you'll feel like the meal is missing something.
I did get hungry on P1, but there's no calorie limit so you're able to eat whenever you feel hungry. The problem is that after meals, it just feels like something is missing. We kept saying that we wanted something crunchy. A lot of the foods we were eating were very soft and I wanted a piece of toast to really have something to bite into, but not necessarily because I wanted the bread.
-The quick weight loss is a major motivator.
Seriously y'all. Losing like a pound a day certainly keeps you motivated to stay strong and resist the carbs. I lost the 6 pounds within the first week and then just maintained the second, which was a tad bit frustrating. The main thing that I noticed though was that I no longer felt bloated, which is something I struggle with. (This could be because I probably drastically cut down on the amount of sodium I take in!)
-I got hungry, but never shaky.
I dieted from January to April, with sadly very little loss to report. Any time I've been on a diet though, I struggle with getting dizzy and shaky whenever I get hungry. It gets to a point that I feel like I have to eat *right then* or I might pass out. Not good, I know. I really think it was a drop in my blood sugar. I never once experienced this on P1, which was a big deal for me. This was how I knew that the author really knew what he was talking about and it's made me much more conscious of what I'm eating.
-Use the resources out there for you.
3 Fat Chicks On A Diet was a lifesaver. I found some really good P1 friendly recipes that helped carry us through the two weeks, which I will be sharing in the next couple of days and which will continue to be staples in our house.
-You are much more mindful of what you put into your body.
Cody and I both agreed that losing the option of eating carbs, fruits and starches kept us from doing a lot of mindless eating. I remember our first Saturday on P1. We had a nice breakfast about 10:00 and then got to work on the house. At one point I thought a snack sounded good, but I wasn't actually hungry. We didn't end up eating until about 4:00 because that's when we were actually hungry enough to eat. We both stated that had we had the option of eating some of our snack food in the house, we would have taken in a lot of extra calories that day just because our mind told us to eat, not because we were actually hungry. I am still working on actually being hungry and not eating just because I want to. The past couple of weeks have been a struggle, as I've just wanted to eat sweets. Not because I was actually hungry, I was just craving the crunchy sweetness of a cookie. I've done a semi-decent job of resisting and I know I owe it to the fact that this has made me aware of the additional eating I do that I'm not really hungry for.


I'm sure I'll think of more things to share, but that's all I've got right now. All in all I have been very please with the SBD. We did 2 weeks of Phase 1, then about 5 weeks of Phase 2, and now I am on Phase 1 again right before our trip. Cody's determination has kind of fizzled out. He is at least eating whole grain bread now, but he's certainly not ready to jump back into Phase 1 any time soon. I'm going to go ahead and say I won the carb contest.  Depending on how much I gain on our trip {you better believe I will be enjoying myself on the trip!} I will probably do a week of Phase 1 again once we're back to get back to my pre-trip weight, and then I will transition into Phase 2 and 3. 

This diet may not be for everyone, but I really feel like it has been so good for me. I feel so good about myself right now, not only for my size and weight, but for the mental awareness I have about what I am putting into my body.  Lord knows I will always *love* bread, but this has helped to change my views on how often I should indulge.

I hope this recap helps. Feel free to email if you have any questions, but just remember: read the book!