Today is my first "official" day on the SB diet. I actually gained a little MORE weight last week (argh!). So my official starting wt. is 225. Darn! Nevertheless I am excited about starting the SB diet with all you wonderful people on the SB forum.

Today is my first day too!! Man I am so motivated today...I just love feeling this way. so far today:

B: leftover steak(tiny little piece) and scrambled eggs with chives. Coffee, sf half and half, equal.

L: Giant chef's salad w/ lite ranch dressing, tons of water.

D: don't know yet but will probably be a stir fry, with califlower rice.

Am going to run down to the med center today because hubby needs my car tomorrow and I really want my new weight in my stats because I know it is more than my starting weight last time. Isn't it a bear that when you lose weight and then regain you almost always gain back more than you started with! At least that always seems to be the case with me. Just have to stay motivated like Judynyc!
To Fluffybear, Congratulations on getting started with me. We can do this. Let's use each others menu's to help each other to keep from getting bored!

Later same day: Well, I was wrong!!! I weighed at the med center and came in at 337.4 so I guess I didn't gain back more than I stqrted with. But I'm going to change my stats anyway. I want them to reflect my new start.

Much later same day: Well, I have done pretty well so far today. But I am starting to have the carb cravings. I'm gonna get myself some cheese and a piece of smoked turkey. Funny, but nothing really tempted me today until I heard someone on TV mention hot chocolate. That tempted me but I won in the end.

Hey, folks, if you start your own journals I will be glad to post encouragement to them. Best Wishes.

Hey Jo!!

Just want you to know that I'm watching and rooting for you and everybody BIG TIME!!!!

I know that you can do this and that you will do it!!

What I've noticed about my motivation is that as time goes by, it becomes a non issue. As this is the way I eat now....I don't feel the struggle that I used to feel. I have made the switch permanent to have this be my Way Of Eating for Life...it aint about a diet for me any longer.

Heres another thing that I'm learning in maintenance...I can eat a whole lot of food each day and not gain!! I've never stayed at the same weight in my life...on purpose!! Its quite amazing to focus myself on staying the same weight.

While I was still losing, I kept telling myself that the longer it took me to lose it...the better I will have learned to eat this way for life!! I think I was onto something there.

I'm watching!!

Hi I understand that you have done the Atkins diet before and you are on South Beach now. I just have a question for you. Do you remember in which beginning phase; if it was Induction on Atkins or Phase 1 of SBD, did you feel the least cravings, or the fastest the cravings went away? Since Induction is a little bit more strict than phase 1, i would think that you would have less carb cravings in that phase. However, since it is more restricted, you might have more of a chance to mess up? I'd just like to hear what happened in your experience?

Pink It would probably be best to post in her journal or pm foxie...

I hope everyone survived the first day!!! good luck on day 2 everyone! Remember to take part on the south beach babes weigh in on monday!

I guess you're right Tim...why didn't i think of that?

Just wanted to know, what does everyone here do when they are really bored? When you have absolutely nothing to do. This happens a lot for me especially during the weekends when i am just sitting around at home doing nothing. Sometimes it gets hard to keep my mind off food when i'm so bored. What kind of things do you guys do to keep busy and away from eating?
For me, whenever a craving strikes, I usually try really hard to walk away, talk to somebody or other things, but 9 out of 10 times i'd still have the food in my head and i'd eventually give in later on...

Hi Pink, it's a little different for me because, having already been on Atkins, going over to SB, I didn't really have too many cravings - now, that could be because the Phase 1 of SB was kinder....but it could also be that I had no break between plans and therefore I was already through the craving part.

Thinking back Atkins induction was hell I was 'coming down' off of things like sugar etc, and I was a raging nightmare for a few weeks - I had headaches constantly, my mood was terrible, I even threw a cup at my DH because he upset me over some minor thing - but as I already stated, I feel that was because prior to atkins I had never been on a LC plan before. I did feel deprived on it though. I felt like I couldn't have any of the foods I liked (mainly lots of fruit and veggies) and so it was very difficult from that point of view. I also stayed on atkins induction for WAY longer than the recommeded time because I found that no matter how slowly I tired to up the carbs I simply put on weight, even 5g at a time was making my weight go up - so in the end I became carb phobic.

To be honest, I think you just have to go for whatever plan you want to and see how it works for you. I know I like SB much better than Atkins because I can eat so much more variety of food on it. Atkins for me was SO restricted on the things I truly love.

I hope that goes some way to answering your question.
Hazel

Hi, guys. I have to concur with Fox on the cravings issues. I have a particularly hard time when I'm coming off sugar. I tend to be ok until about day 3 and then I will get a raging headache. I also notice the first 3 or 4 days my body will flush toxins like crazy (sorry to be crass but I pee ALL THE TIME) but it's my body's way of getting rid of all the bloat and excess water. I haven't been able to figure it out yet, but I think I am sensitive to something that causes me to bloat like crazy when I'm not lo-carbing.

Thanks Judy! You are an inspiration to the rest of us. You have proved that we CAN do it. Always appreciate your encouragment, support and advice.

Well, day 2 is underway. So far I haven't had anything except coffee with splenda and lf milk. Still feels just to early to eat, but that is because I slept in today. I have to say, I spent the whole night "flushing toxins" too. (That is why I slept in, kept getting up to go last night!) My ankles haven't looked this thin in months. That is one of my favorite things about this woe. When I look down I see a young woman's ankles again, not the tree trunks of and old hag. I think brunch today will be a cheese omlet with sliced tomatoes. Boy I can't wait until our garden starts producing tomatoes. Those store ones just aren't the same. But I am thankful to have them anyway.

Congrats to everyone who got thru the first day. I can be such a struggle but well worth it.

As for the question of what to do when you get bored, well, I am a foodie in every sense. I love to cook, shop for food, I even volenteer at a food ministry. So when I am bored I start looking for new lc recipes. For instance. I just realized that we can have low carb jams. So I was thinking that I might try to do something with some kind of berry jam, thinned out with a little water and used as a light glaze for chicken. My thinking is that If I make sure there is a lot of variety of flavor in our meals, we will not tire so easily. OOOH! Maybe I'll get some lc orange marmalade, now that sounds like it would be great on grilled chicken breast.
Also, I get on this web site frequently. There are so many features here that I don't think I will ever completely exhaust it all.
Another Idea is to either start a journal here or grab a notebook and start recording you thoughts and concerns. It helps to keep your hands busy and sometimes you begin to notice patterns in your eating behavior that give you a clue as to why something you are eating is interfering with your weight loss.

I hope some of this has helped. I am a language person so I know that I will be adding to this as the day goes on. I hope you folks can put up with my constant babbling!

Breakfast: cheese omlet with tomatoe slices and coffee

snack: smoked turkey slice spread with cream cheese and wrapped around a pickle and some lettuce. Yum

Dinner: meat loaf with lots of hidden veggies inside,served on a bed of sweet and sour lightly steamed Chinese cabbage. Some other kind of veggie for bulk.

I had my breakfast after lunch time so I may have my lunch late this evening, or maybe just a snack. But so far today I am still on the lc trail.

Great plan, pink. We are going to get you past those 3-4 days. Just hang in here with us and you'll be in prime shape in no time. Your menu sounds delicious. Oh, and if you are not into cooking be sure to make extra every time you cook so it will be ready and waiting when you need it. We are all rooting for you!!

P.I.N.K. - I am lucky in that I don't seem to need to follow the STRICT low-carb induction recipes exactly. For example: I need to have an evening snack and it needs to be something sweet. I have discovered a really great low-fat (but NOT non-fat, no sugar) yogurt that I am loving. I feel like if I allow myself this little splurge I will be alot less likely to go out and buy a snickers bar! Also, I think your feeling really bad around day 3-4 has alot to do with sugar deprivation. Try and do some reading up on that (or internet research - e-mail me and I'll give you some links) because I think alot of our food these days contains hidden sugars...

Good Luck!