Today, I worked up a "first draft" of a little SBD site and would love if you would take a look sometime and let me know about other recipe places (and success stories) to add! Link to it is in my journal. (Put it there instead of here in case I have to change the link later--want to be able to edit it!)

Back later to catch up...hope you all are having an excellent day!!! :)

Hi folks, just wanted to add my 10c's into the thread.

I personally love SB, it's healthy, you can eat lots of great looking and tasting food, but above all - you lose weight and LOOK fabulous, and not only all that, but it's SIMPLE to do too!! What more could you ask?! :lol:

I was looking about some of you feeling apprehensive about adding in stuff - I was like this when I started out on Atkins, and actually, I never got above the induction phase of carbs for months - far too long for my body to cope with. Judy and I joke about my "carb phobia" but let me tell you - it's very easy to become carb phobic - so my advice to you guys is JUST GO FOR IT!!

As long as you don't add in too much too soon you'll be fine :D The most valuable lesson I learnt was that if you add too much too soon you end up in pickle because you don't know what food is reacting well and what foods are not. Make sure when you add fruit or friendly starches you do it very S L O W L Y - like a new item a week - and see how you go.

From this learning process I have found out that I can eat sweet potatoes, sweetcorn, butternut squash, parsnips, and some whole grains - but not wheat of any kind.

Good luck to all of you starting out, you'll be fine - and continued luck to those of you who are still going - the journey, no matter how tough it might seem is SO worth it! :thup:

Thanks for this info. I'll be starting phase II next Tuesday and wanted to have a plan in place so I didn't blow it. I'll be making a copy of this little gem. :read2:
Edited to add: Do you recommend sticking with the same fruit for the first week or could you have a different one each day?

You can have a different fruit each day if thats what you like. Some try to stick with berries first week just to keep it low as berries are the lowest in carbs. I know that there are wonderful pears out now and good apples too.

I love seasonal fruit. :yum: In the summer, I love it when cherries show up. :cool: and peaches too. :yum:

Glad to see more posts here.
We all have different issues to work thru to get to our goal. But the support here is just wonderful.

Sissy, Thanks I'm doing better each week with my knee. Have a follow up with my doc tomorrow. The damage is done no getting around that. But I do have less pain than before.
My biggest issue now is just how stiff it gets when I sit, and I still have swelling in my knee. Just wish I could rid of the extra fluid my entire body likes. :lol:

Have a good hump day everyone. :wave:

Grains is what did me in. I added too many, too fast and thought just because it's WW it would be fine. WRONG!

However, the first time I started out adding in fruit I think I did it too quickly because I was having two different fruits a day and I realise now that it kicked in cravings for other sweeter stuff. I then went back and added in just berries for a week and that was fine, but then adding in apples and berries made me crave again...so I tend to eat apples just on their own without another fruit that day - I think I pinpointed that it was them which made me crave sweet stuff. I can eat berries and oranges on the same ay and it doesn't do that - strange!

Obviously it's personal to you though, so you may find like Judy said you can mix them up!

Good luck!

South Beach Chat
 

I too added to much too soon and that did me in also the first time around.
I didn't know what was doing what. I'm very comfortable with SB and I now can see my loss. My dd gave me a shirt quite awhile ago and I couldn't even get it past my chest so now I can wear it and its a XL, My sizes ranged any
where from 1X-3X depending on style. I still have a ways to go but I see a
difference and so does my family. I love seasonal fruits too and eat them when
they come out. We cruise alot and one of my favorite fruits on board is papaya
the orange flesh kind. yummy. Yes,I have come a long way baby and will makemy goal this year. Don't you just love I can't make anything short,it always has to be a book :lol:

Skippie so glad you are doing so well,I'll have to come over to your journal and
gossip with you tomorrow.

Sissy :wave:

:thup: :agree: Yup!! You got it!! :cool:

Grains do me in every time!! I try over and over to try different ways of eating them, but the simple fact is - my body hates grains - especially wheat which makes me crave like a wild woman.

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories!!! So glad to get to know you.

I think I'm already carb-phobic! Didn't even know there was such a thing but I'm filled with trepidation at the thought of adding anything "back" in. Especially since I didn't lose anything this morning...

Know this is my Atkinsesque mindset playing games with me, but I really do feel petrified. I'm not surprised that so many people have had the same experience of increased cravings (and eventual tweaking) when adding back. It's confusing, IMHO, bc the SBD book, if you look at the original menu plan, just adds in a bunch of them right away on phase 2 with oatmeal AND two servings of strawberries on the first day! It just says to "gradually introduce" stuff. I am so happy to have all of your advice on this step because I'm petrified. This is one example of why I got so frustrated with the book and wouldn't commit to South Beach for a long time (seriously, it doesn't even have the charts, which to me are the golden backbone of the plan). Ok, end of fearful vent! Sorry!

Oh, and one quick question: how many times a week can we have tuna? I know we are supposed to watch it somewhat bc of mercury, but I LOVE tuna salad with celery sticks...had it a few days ago and have been dreaming about it ever since. :lol:

If it wasn't for Judy posting the food lists and meal plans I don't think I would have ever switched over from Atkins to SB (even though my weight wasn't budging no matter how I tweaked things). I knew if I added all those grains back in the way it is shown in the book I would never have lost any weight. This board has been a life saver for me in that regard. I am SOOOOO much happier eating the SB way than I ever was on Atkins.

As for the tuna: I eat it whenever the mood strikes. I can't say as I have ever really worried about the mercury content.

Thank you, Renee! Really appreciate your input on that. Clearly, it's working for you! (Wow, in fact.)

(What would we do without Judy? She is the South Beach Goddess!!)

Not a goddess Sass! :blush: but thanks!
I just really believe in this plan...or my modified version of it. ;)

I wrote this in my J today.....I've said this way too any times all over this site....the SB people got it wrong with pushing grains so fast. I do eat them a bit but not they way they suggest and I do think that for weight loss, if you are not doing heavy exercise, you can't lose and eat grain.

Starchy veggies and some fruit are fine....and it does get our carb level up so that we don't do damage to our thyroid...as some do when they stay on Induction too long. It helps our weight loss to keep playing around with the levels of starches and fruits that we eat as we lose.....staying at the same level for too long can cause stalls. Our bodies do adapt if we eat the same levels for too long. That is why there are those who do carb cycling....it keeps the body guessing.

For those of us with lots to lose, its important to have this awareness. As I was losing, I saw what others were doing staying at 20 carbs a day and stuck with no loss....I just kept doing my thing adding in and taking them back out every few days...and my weight kept going down. :cool:

This makes so much sense. Thanks for sharing that with us, Judy.

I am always looking for SBD success stories online, and it's hard to find big losses sustained, with a few notable exceptions. :)

I am wondering what you think of this...what if we used low-carb tortillas in Phase II instead of whole wheat to make pizzas or wraps occasionally? Most of the time I'm fine with no grains, but once in awhile I crave those two foods.

Ok, that raises a bunch of questions, actually. Like...

If we wanted to bake something, could we use Carb Quick?
Are sugarfree products always going to be ok?
And most pressing...what are the best yogurt choices (because all I keep finding are fat-free with TONS of sugar, blech)? I've heard Fage is good but I'll have to hike up to Whole Foods to get that. :)

Thanks, all. I'm sorry to have so many questions but am trying to build my little beach hut solidly. ;)