not2fat's Journal, 29 April 2009

i would love to have a partner to help me get fit too.. hope i can be a pal!? :) i'm in the pitts after trying to lose weight and gaining it all back!! :( 

Please...something is wrong if you are following SB faithfully and not losing. It is more important to find out what you're doing and correct it than it is to just keep plugging away wildly. I tried looking at your food diary to give you some input but you aren't keeping a diary? I would suggest doing that, then ask for input. I promise you that using your food diary makes HUGE difference! Dont just keep at phase 1 if you're not really losing...that is a big sign that something isn't right. What challenge are you in? Are you getting help from people that are familiar with SB and have gotten through the phases successfully? Dont give up, just ask and journal all your food. You can do it. 

I have not kept a foods diary.Soory I just get time to log on for a few minutes but thats it... BUt let me tell you what i eat. Breakfast 2 boiled eggs with 2 slices of bacon ( I fry it real crisp so get out the fat)( yes i ate this for 2 weeks everyday no time to cook fancy for myself. Kids eat cereal n husband takes cold cut sandwich) 10 am 2 sticks of Mozerella string cheese with Hummus( 2 tbsp) 12 one lanrge mixed salade with a tin of tuna n dressing dinner some grilled meat & vegetables the first 2 days I ate a lot of nuts ( like hand ful of nuts ) as i wa in the habit of snacking ever time I got hungry but by hte second day my craving was gone n I did not have to do that. I also have eaten a lot of jello ( sugar freee) n continue ot do so as I have a great sweet tooth but I figured its only 5 calories n no carbs so its safe.Also have eaten 1/2 cup skimmed ricotta cheese with 1/2 Tsp coco & splenda as desert. this I ate just one per day... but yes a lot of jellow & Ihave my beloved instant coffe ( its 1/2 cup 2% milk with water n instant coffe with splenda) Please tell me what am i doing wrong.. is it that I am 37 n my boday is reacting different. I had done this diet after having my son but lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks but that itme I like followed the book n did not eat so much jello plese plese help  

I appreciate your effort in giving me an example of an average day, but what helps me is to see the nutrition breakdown of how much fat to protien and sugars and carbs. You're supposed to limit nut intake. And Dont let your age make you think its that big a factor. It changes things for us, but not that drastically. I'm sure it's something else. It seems to me you might be getting too much fat from your protein sources and cheese. I think maybe you should look at the foods you're eating in the glycemic index and stick eth lower GI choices and fit in more veggies. It's really super hard to try to tell from one example without seeing the nutrition breakdown. Are your cheeses lowfat? There is so much more that goes into the nutrition breakdown that I can't see just form that example. Try writing down what you eat every day, at least in your journal and I'll take a look in another day and see if I can get anything off that for ya. You can do this, it's a matter of fine tuning.  

I cant reply to your post about going another 2 weeks but there are also many reasons for and against that depending on certain factors. Try sending me an email and let me know why you really want to go two more weeks and if you have or have not cheated in phase 1 and what your thoughts are and I'll try to give you the best input I can....only if you're interested because I don't want to be offering advice if your mind is already made up. 

The 'rule' I have heard quoted is that you should lose 15-20% of the total weight you want to lose in the first 2 weeks. You did that so maybe your body is happy right now. Also, were you doing lower carb before you started this? (in any form, watching them or a specific diet). A big part of the early loss in phase 1 is going to be that "glycogen store" loss--about 4-6 lbs for most people (3/4 of it is water). If you were already doing lower carb, that won't go anywhere. Are you getting enough fiber? In phase 1, those legumes are really important. I have IBS so I'm aware of doing anything that will set off a cycle so my nutritionist said 2 1/2 cup servings per day were very important. And, constipation is an obvious weight loss stall. Have you tried interval training to up your metabolism? It's in the newer South Beach book but it's also covered in the Fit or Fat books. It can really help. I was on the "official south beach site" for a week trial (paying for a nutritionist and that didn't make sense so I came here) and the recommendation I saw over and over there was no more than 2 weeks in Phase 1. It's better to add 1 serving of fruit and 1 serving of good carbs per day and stay there for a month or two while doing something else to up your metabolism. 

puffin902,well put! There are few reasons to stay on phase 1 longer than 2 weeks, one of which if your BMI is still VERY high. In my case my doctor advised me to stay on it another few days only, then to add one new carb in every few days. The problem many people have, is they think if they cheat even a tiny bit, they should re do phase 1. Thats like trying to redo being a virgin. You can't keep saying, "well I didn't do it perfectly, didnt lose as much as I'd like, so I'll "try" it again". There are many health factors as puffin pointed out that it is not good to stay in phase 1 for too long. If you are afraid of phase 2, do as I did (Again under my doctors watchful eye) add only having half a grapefruit for breakfast (or snack). Thats it. See how that goes. Then two days later add a "few bites" of oat meal or brown rice and see how that sets. Juts leave it at that for another 5 days and see how you feel. Your body needs the added benefit of fruit and grains but it doesnt have to be all at once. Let us know how you're doing. I'm so glad puffin took the time to really give you some solid facts. 

thank you both for responding. I will add half an apple & a slice of slat breat to my diet. I thought beans & legumes would have total carbs so I avoided them while doing phase one. but maybe for the next two weeks I can add those in too. My hight is 5.4 so I am assuming i need ot be 145lbs to be looking good! Will email you guys tomrrow in more detail. Have a 3 yrs old on my lap right now ... who is way past his bed time!!!