Hi ,

I have read both SPI and SPII books and i really like the concept. I would like to follow this program if possible. BUT i am a chocoholic and i do not think i can leave without sweet stuff. With other LC plan, it is ok to me as i can use sweeteners i.e. splenda, stevia etc. I am very eager to join this program as i have the hormonal imbalance problem...my case would be adrenal burnout and insulin resistant

So for SP veteran, i have the following questions... can u help please

- do u use sweetener at all? which one do you use?
- is SP effective in weight-loss or more of the hormonal balance and optimal health?
- is it hard to follow the program? do u have problem eating out?
- what are your fav SP sweet treat???

hope to hear soon

Hi!

I do use stevia, mostly in protein bars,etc. I have not lost weight on SPII, rather have gained, but do feel my health is on the right track. It really is not hard to follow the program when eating out. I can't hardly resist pizza and fried cheese, tho, which are both no-no's. I am hoping her new book has some suggestions in re: to sweet treats. I do take natural PB, add vanilla-stevia sweetened protein powder, a little water, and a few drops of stevia to make what I consider a sweet treat. I really do like it. Funny the things you will eat when you have low-carbed for awhile and food naturally tastes sweeter. Hope this helped!

Tig

I use stevia in contexts where I don't mind the aftertaste, Splenda in others where I'm more sensitive to it, and DaVinci to sweeten coffee or tea. However, I don't eat a lot of "sweet treats" like I think you're talking about -- I sweeten the yogurt I eat every day, and will sometimes do cocoa cottage cheese or a sweet egg dish for weekend breakfasts, but I don't eat a desserty-type concoction very often. Sweet stuff just doesn't tend to fit into my meal plans very well, at least not without cutting back on protein/carbs from other, better foods. If you really feel you can't face life without dessert a few times a week, this may not be the best plan for you.

One of the few things I really don't like about SPII is that I feel like I can't do the LC baking and dessert-making any more. I never really baked more than once a month, since there's just me and DH to eat it; but I'd feel worse now about eating something quasi-junky for five or six days in a row than formerly, and I can't bring myself to either eat one serving and toss the rest of it, or eat one serving and watch DH eat the rest for the next 10 days. OTOH, I totally don't have a sugar alcohol habit any more, and I don't *ever* get that "more-ish" sweet craving after meals, and I'm really pleased about that.

Re weight loss, I've been on SPII about three weeks now, and have pretty much held steady weight-wise thus far. However, I've been maintaining at 130 for the last year anyway; I'd like to lose the 5 lbs I put on when I quit smoking, a couple weeks prior to switching, but since I'm at a very reasonable weight and bodyfat %, I wouldn't expect to lose quickly on any diet even without the healing issues. I'll mainly be happy if I don't gain anything significant, but if I do, then that's just life (although I reserve the right to whine about it)! I really do believe that healing my burnt-out adrenals is the only way out of my metabolic hole, and I feel so much healther already. I'm trying to convince myself that even another 5 lbs would be an acceptable price to pay, and to have faith in Dr. S's assertion that extra weight will come off once the healing phase is complete. Some days it's easier than others :/. But I wouldn't switch to SP I *or* II if you're looking for an immediate loss, or if you feel you can't handle a gain.

I eat out once a week, and it hasn't been too big a problem thus far. I tend to eat a more Atkins-style meal than true SP, though, since restaurants tend to be short on healthy carb sources, and I'd rather skip the carb altogether. Again, though, I've been doing the low-carb thing for two years now, so I'm pretty good at navigating restaurants already (SPII is actually an increase in carbs for me). I don't worry too much about it anyway since it's just the one meal, but I would be concerned about maintaining the proper balance of foods if I ate out three or four nights a week. Other than that, the hardest thing for me about following the program has been switching to eating five smaller meals a day -- I have always been a three-squares girl, so I've had to totally retrain my appetite. Eating five balanced meals a day is tricky in terms of planning and timing as well, and it took me a bit to get used to that. I also had trouble with eating veggies in the AM and with snacks at first -- I thought I was going to choke if I ate another piece of raw cauliflower -- but I've gotten used to it, and now it's just what I do. I'm lucky in that I really like veggies to begin with, and I could see it being more difficult if you are not a big veggie person.

My wife and I use stevia in all its forms for various receipes, etc. My wife also uses brown rice syrup in many recipes that require something thicker like honey. I would stay away from Splenda or any other artificial sweeteners or sugars out there because Schwarzbein says never to use them. Splenda is a modified sugar and thus not good for your body. The only sweetening alternative Schwarzbein would recommend is stevia.

I'd say both. I got into it for optimal health, but my wife lost 35 pounds on it, and she never had to starve herself or take any weird shakes. Just eat the right stuff in the right amounts.

It has been difficult for some of my friends and family because they don't want to give certain "bad foods" up. Or, they don't want to find alternatives (which is possible). After 2 years, my wife and I find it easy. You just have to figure out where to shop. That's the tricky part. It has also sometimes been challenging to come up with variety in terms of proteins, carbohydrates, etc. Yet, like many other things in life, it gets much easier with time. And you'll find that "Schwarzbein" food ends up tasting much better than the old stuff. And we do have a problem eating out sometimes. Fortunately, we found a fresh fish restaurant near our home where we like to go when we go out. But we usually like the stuff we make at home more than restaurants anyway. When you go to restaurants, it is hard to choose a dressing. I've ended up eating salad with no dressing - which actually doesn't taste too bad now. Also, they always have sugar in so much of their sauces and everything else. But we can usually manage to find something. Just don't get the bun on the burger, etc. It becomes easier.

I'm assuming you mean treats acceptable under Schwarzbein's plan. My wife makes chocolate chip cookies that I love (Sunspire grain-sweetened chocolate chips). We've also made ice cream using Rice Dream rice milk with brown rice syrup or stevia extract. My wife has made a fudge cake (I'm not kidding - nothing bad in it!), carrot cake, toffee, coconut cookies. You just have to experiment.
Schwarzbein is definitely worth it because you end up not desiring the bad stuff anymore and you know what's going in to your body is okay. Plus, you're always full and you get to eat lots of real, substantial foods. Mmm.

--Timothy

Wow Timothy!

Share some of those recipes with us less-knowledgeable cooks/bakers. They sound wonderful! Please!!!!!

Tig

yes timothy, is it possible to share the recipe pleaseee..

Sorry I haven't been able to post any recipes yet. I'll have to do it when I have the recipes near me and I'm online. Hopefully I'll get something on here soon.

--Timothy