Phase 2 begins! I thought about staying on Phase 1 of the diet, but I wanted to avoid anything resembling compulsivity. I wanted to make sure I was creating an environment of lifestyle changes and not take the chance of getting burned out on Phase 1 and gorging myself or something like that.

To that end, I started letting myself have some whole grains. And lo, they were good. I had some fruit, and where before I never found them sweet and didn’t particularly like them, I found them very sweet now, and lo, they were good too!

I also started exercising, making use of a 1-hour "yogalates" DVD which combines Yoga and Pilates. I’d never used it before, but like it. It’s amazing what a great workout you can get while just laying down and sitting down! Wow! I managed to do it 3 times this week.

On Tuesday, EDH asked how my diet was going. With a white bag in his hand. I asked why, and found out he had gotten me something from the bakery. But while he got everyone else danishes, he got me a small European-style torte, filled with custard and topped with fresh fruit and a glaze that the person assured him was not sugar. Knowing how not-sweet European stuff is, I decided I would have it. I couldn’t believe how sweet it tasted! It was like heaven. I even had him take a bite, because I couldn’t imagine that my taste buds were so reformed. He said it was a little sweeter than authentic Euro pastries, but not too much. WOW! I couldn’t believe it.

I kept eyeing his danish, though. It was a cheese danish, but also with apples and apple-strudel-stuff on top. And I do love all of the above! And had never seen them all together like that! So, acting in moderation, I told him I’d like a taste. I took a small piece equaling about two bites. It was really good too. But then a few minutes later, whoa. Sugar rush. And lo, it was not good! It was a very bad high. I was running for the V8 stash I’ve got under my desk, and a piece of the light string cheese I keep in the fridge. Anything at all to taper off that surge.

But while it was awful, I was also loving it. Not because of the way it felt, I never want to feel that again! I loved it because it showed me that my body chemistry really had been reset! My body proved that it is functioning properly again, and is stable. And for that I am inexplicably grateful. And I now know just how evil those things are, that I thought were so harmless before. To imagine that just a couple weeks I would have downed a whole one of those things, and then washed it down with a Pepsi, and possibly soon have been snacking on something else still… it’s amazing how you can not even realize how lost you are sometimes.

I tried eating some Whole Wheat Ritz as a snack later in the week, but it just was not cutting it! I didn’t even like them anymore, and put them away for the kids after just a few, getting myself some V8.

Friday I had a Chicken Portobella sandwich on a whole wheat bun from Applebee’s for lunch. And then I had some dumpling soup made with whole wheat flour at night. I knew I pushed it too far and needed to cut back. But our After-Church potluck on Saturday was a potato bar. I managed to just have 1 (with butter and sour cream), but then also couldn’t resist the banana cream pie someone had brought. Or the mint chocolate chip pie. I knew that wasn’t good either. No surprise- I needed a long nap that afternoon. Thankfully, I started feeling right again last night. I was afraid I’d be in for another week of stabilizing again.

Whereas I had not lost anything the whole second week on the diet, I lost 2 pounds by the middle of this week. Unfortunately 1 of them came back after the inappropriate feasting of Friday and especially Saturday. But I’m grateful that it’s only 1, and am back on track today. I don’t want to feel that way. I don’t want to not feel that way! I don’t want to become so desensitized and dependent again on sugar. I want to feel it if I’ve gone too far. And I want to feel good. So this week I’m heading backwards a little bit. I may have some whole grains and fruits, especially going out today with my mom for Mother’s Day, but I’m going to make sure it is extremely little if I have any at all for this coming week.

If you recall, I forgot to measure myself last week. I was very pleasantly surprised with this week’s measurements.

Stats are as follows (I’m 5′9"):

I waited a long time to go on a diet. Forever, actually. And didn’t start until I found one that was going to focus on the important thing: Health. I’m a firm believer that if you get your body healthy (including starting with your digestive tract), then your weight will be well too. I don’t want to just be skinny again. It wasn’t all it is cracked up to be. But being healthy sure is! And I could stand to look a little better than I do.

So I started the South Beach Diet 15 days ago.

This morning I was treated by a co-worker to a small European-style torte with custard and fruit on top. They said the glaze was not even sugar (/icing), but some sort of other glaze. Cool. I couldn’t believe how sweet it tasted!! I was overwhelmed by it. Spying his cheese/apple-strudel danish, I took a small piece of it too. Just a taste. Holy cow! A couple minutes later I was in a mad dash for my V8 and a (light!) string cheese to chase all the sugar with!

Now, this might sound like a complaint or some sort of bad experience, but rest assured it is not! You see, just a couple weeks ago I was quite a serious sugar addict. And today, without even thinking I’d gone “too far”, I got to learn that the South Beach Diet indeed has reset my chemistry! Not only that, but I’ve learned a lesson on how easily my body responds to these chemicals and have only strengthened my resolve to avoid the bad habits and foods that got me to being addicted in the first place. No complaints here, I’m thrilled as can be!

Okay, so I flaked last Sunday and didn’t check in for week 2. I’m actually writing this on May 11, which is the day for my Week 3 check in. But thanks to the magical powers of blogging software, I will be taking the liberty of having this update reflect when the check in was due.

I only bother telling you all this, for anyone looking and wondering why I didn’t write down any measurements or anything like that. My measurements will be missing because I kept forgetting to take them, but I can tell you how it went, anyway.

I’ve finished Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet! Yay, me! I stuck with the diet! It went very well.

I had no soda, no sugar, no grains. I’m so proud of me! The thing was, though, it wasn’t even hard. As long as I made sure to eat soon enough, my sugar never got so low that I craved sugar or any other high-glycemic foods. Still no exercise, though, and I didn’t lose any weight. But I’m feeling better, and even having regular bowel movements!!

I love this diet. I’m so glad I waited for the right one. Now if only I could muster the strength to do that with men! LOL

Stats are as follows (I’m 5′9"):

I’ve finished my first week on the South Beach Diet! And I’m happy to report that it went well… in spite of everything!

I was majorly sick the whole time, which kept me from exercising. That was/is really disappointing, but I was really sick and it just wasn’t happening. But it did not keep me from eating! My appetite was quite healthy, and I kept with the diet itself, if not starting some exercise. I ate a lot! By the second and third day, I was just so tired of eating! I couldn’t stand the thought. But I kept doing it according to the diet.

And in spite of doing nothing but staying home from work and being laid up on the couch for a whole week, I lost 3 pounds! And I was seriously sedentary. DD1 cooked, and I think I only managed one shower the whole week. (More would have been good for my sinuses… and everyone else’s , but I was completely wiped out!)

So I was completely sedentary, but followed the eating plan and lost 3 pounds. Not too shabby!

Stats are as follows:

I did it. For the first time ever, I started a real diet! Now, let me back up…

(Forgive me, this intro post will take a while. But it will make updates a lot quicker for both of us!)

I’ve known I had something wrong with me for years. But nothing ever made sense. Two years ago I finally made it to a midwife who worked with an OB who both broke away from their allopathic practice they were a part of. She had started practicing more generally in Women’s Health, with a focus on Wilson’s Thyroid Syndrome, which she had become certified in. Well, it turned out that I didn’t have Wilson’s Thyroid Syndrome, I just had a plain ol’ under-functioning thyroid. That was a relief. At least that was proven and measurable, and would dispel the nay-sayers! (The biggest of which was my husband at the time!) Meanwhile, I’ve also known I had sugar issues. But I’m not diabetic. But there were issues, and I knew it, even if no one else did. You can’t unassisted birth without knowing your body!

So Midwife started me on medication, and it made me feel better very fast. My temps even went up to normal, and for quite a while, too! Only thing was that the pounds never started falling off. After about 18 months I started not feeling so good again, and my temps were way down again, and Midwife was out of practice. :(  I went to a General Practitioner to get a referral to an endocrinologist to get on some different medication. GP was aware of Midwife, and did not buy into the whole Wilson’s Syndrome thing. This didn’t phase me, and was to be expected. He gave me a referral, though, and suggested from my symptoms that it’s more likely that I was becoming insulin resistant. !?!?! I hadn’t even said anything about my sugar issues! He had my attention.

He started telling me about the South Beach Diet, and how it was founded by a doctor, blah blah blah. It’s all about getting healthy. He also said to exercise for a whole hour a day. I thought that sounded extreme, but have since heard that number said more often than not for weight loss. I’ve yet to start that amount. Indeed, I haven’t done any at all since my van broke 5 months ago and I haven’t been able to make it to the gym. And I never had the spare money for the book, but did finally get it a few weeks ago.

I opened the book, and straight from the introduction, I was hooked! I’ve always been naturally underweight (5′9" and 120#), but also believed a woman should have curves. And mama has always had some junk in her trunk, even at 118#! And though I don’t like my weight now, it’s not the number. It’s not even the clothes so much. I can still find cute stuff. It’s that I just feel so sloppy!! It’s disgusting, the way I feel. And it was better when I was working out regularly, but still not enough. And I’d resisted dieting before because half the stuff they tell you, you just know is crap (no salt??? no eggs?!?), and I wanted something real. Balanced. And as I read through the pages of The South Beach Diet, I couldn’t help but see how it all just made sense!! As I told EDH, "like unassisted birth!" lol.

I didn’t know how I’d fare without bread for 2 whole weeks. I know how I almost caved in during the Feast of Unleavened Bread last year. I had to call my Rabbi to stop myself from running to McDonald’s. But hey- That same feast was coming up! May as well kill two birds with one stone, eh? So I planned to start the first week with that.

And I did!

There are 3 phases to the South Beach Diet.

The Strict Phase: 2 weeks only!

It’s a buffet! Eat all the veggies as you want (besides the three exceptions below), and as much lean meat as you want, cooked in olive oil or canola oil. Eat a lot of these, 6 times a day. (Start with 2 cups veggies, and 3-4 ounces meat/protein. Have more as desired, but after a day or two, you won’t want to! You’ll be way too full!)

Have up to 2 cups of milk (& milk products) per day, and do have 1/2 cup of beans as your veggies (or a whole cup if in place of a protein during a meal).

For two weeks only, you can not have grains, oats, fruit, potatoes, carrots or corn. These foods all have a high glycemic index, which means they are pure sugar inside your body. And your body is already overwhelmed with sugars! And your body is possibly (definitely, in my case) becoming resistant! During these two weeks your body’s chemistry will correct itself, and by the end, you will be able to process sugars normally again. And you’ll have probably lost about 10 pounds, too.

The Weight Loss Phase: Until you reach your goal

You add back in some fruit and grains, but in specific amounts (and only whole grains). I’ll expound on the particulars as I reach this phase.

The Lifetime Phase: Until you die

And here is why I love this diet. It’s not a weight loss diet, even though it does that. It’s about health! It’s about training yourself. Which is exactly why, even though you can do Phase 1 for 4 weeks instead of just 2, it is actively discouraged. You are encouraged to move forward and not settle into the more ‘extreme’, harder-to-stick-with phase.

I’ve known certain things for a very long time now. But, how to get there?? And then what??? The South Beach Diet lays it all out for me. And it all makes sense, for the first time ever.

Ever. Do you know how big that is? Because even after running around in natural health circles for nearly a decade now, and having the local Health Food Stores calling me about stuff that people need help with (!), I still couldn’t get this whole diet thing together. This is HUGE.

Not only that, everyone knows I’m lacking cooking skills. Well, maybe not the skills, but certainly the knowledge! But the book comes with lots of recipes, too. So I’m even covered there. They haven’t left me hanging in any area. (And if you can afford the $5/week for the online membership, there are *thousands* of recipes there, with meal plans and printable shopping lists…)

And I’m thrilled to lose weight. I can’t wait to get back into those super-cute clothes that have been sitting in bins for a long time now. But I put on another 10 pounds this past year! Where does the insanity stop??? I’d like to be smaller, but I don’t want a quick fix. I want something that lasts. And with a lifetime plan, now I’ve got it.

This is huge. And I’m so grateful. And excited. And I guess I should go and do my one-week update now before the day is gone