Monday Morning Weigh-In

I finished up week 1 with a 4.5 pound loss. I would be thrilled over that, but these are the same 5 pounds I've been losing and gaining for the last six months. I'm enjoying my food and feeling great. I am missing some of my sweets, but not a physical craving by any means. Will update at the end of this week with a final weight and measurement changes!

South Beach Update

I have been hesitant in adding anything here because I didn't want to get 2 days into the diet and have to say, "Well, I'm giving up on this too." Pride is a serious factor here. But, everything is going really well. Today is Saturday and I started on Tuesday. Thursday I was feeling really down. I was thinking of all the foods I will never be able to eat again if I continue on this path, so then I started wondering if it was even going to work for me. I talked to my sister and she really helped me out of that. We talked about alternatives to my favorite foods. For example, my caramel lattes that I love so much. Have it made with skim milk and sugar-free syrup. Duh. I had one yesterday. Naturally, not as good as the real deal, but close enough to keep me satisfied. And I will continue doing that. I went through my Allrecipes recipe box and put a ton of them into a South Beach Friendly folder and MAN is there a lot of things I can make with little or no alterations. I am very much inspired to continue.

I've been reading through The South Beach Diet book and was happy to read what Dr. Agatston has to say about Dr. Atkins.

"The major problem I have with the Atkins Diet is the liberal intake of saturated fats. There is evidence now that immediately following a meal of saturated fats, there is dysfunction in the arteries, including those that supply the heart muscle with blood. As a result, the lining of the arteries is predisposed to constriction and clotting. Imagine: Under the right (or rather, wrong) circumstances, ether a meal that's high in saturated fat can trigger a heart attack! In addition, after a high0fat meal certain elements in the blood, called remnant particles, persist for longer than is healthy. These particles contribute to the buildup of plaque in the vessel walls. None of this was know at the time Dr Atkins developed his diet. But we know it now.

I know and admire Dr. Atkins [and Dr. Ornish]. They have successfully fought conventional wisdom and have both contributed to the country's growing focus on heart attact prevention via improved diet and lifestyle. They have been criticized for the commercial success of their programs but have persevered. Unless someone popularizes the science of nutrition, American will never get its difficulties with obesity and heart disease under control."

Perfect. He's not trashing the Atkins plan, but he is also making it clear that he does not support it. I so badly wanted to believe that I could eat saturated fats and it was actually (gasp!) good for me.

The difference, as I make it out, is this: The Atkins plan calls for liberal amounts of protein and fats, and very, very few carbs. South Beach emphasizes the importance of lean meats, low amounts of carbs and lots of fresh vegetables. Much more balanced.

So, I will keep working on this thing, and update this blog as I go. If things continue to go along as well as they are currently then I'll probably start a new one, Everyday South Beach, lol!

This is definately a learning experience.

Hitting the beach tomorrow...

Well, I'm going to go ahead and dive into the South Beach diet tomorrow, using iVillage and my sister for support. Wish me luck!

Well this is an interesting turn of events

I definitely didn't see this coming.

On day two of my two-week induction I developed a very sore, achy back. On Saturday I had taken the kids to see Horton Hears a Who so I assumed it was from sitting in the uncomfortable theater chairs, but it persisted for days. It wasn't muscle aches, it wasn't spinal. I couldn't figure it out. I figured it was menstrual cramps gone awry. That is, until my husband began talking with some co-workers who also had experience with the Atkins plan. One of the had also had the same symptoms and learned that it was kidney stress. John was so alarmed that he called me from work and asked me to investigate. I hopped online and, surprise surprise, that's exactly what it was. I read dozens and dozens of accounts of people who had the exact same experience as me. Naturally, everything I found from the Atkins side of the matter said that there is 'no connection between the Atkins plan and kidney function." Hmm... can you really tell me that making drastic changes in your diet won't have an effect on every digestive organ in your body? I have no reason to believe that.

I consulted some Atkins followers online. I was told the same thing. I was told that there is no way that the pain I was experiencing could be from the Atkins plan B because it came on after only two days of the diet. It was suggested that I probably have a kidney infection (even though I'd had the pain for days and no fever?) or that I was constipated (I'm 30 years old and sure know what that feels like). I was also told that I should drink a lot of water and that it would probably pass after the two week induction (hmm... even though there is no way that the pain is related to the Atkins plan? Can we say contradiction?).

So I had to come to my own conclusion. Which was harder than it may sound. I was devastated. This was going to be my 'ticket' to health and weight loss. I so wanted to believe in this theory. I wanted to be smarter than the average bear. I was scared that the bottom of my last resort was falling out.

I quit. I had to. Maybe some people can stick it out. Me? I just can't do it. I have never (obviously) felt kidney pain before. The image of my internal body under stress just couldn't bypass my mind. It frightened me. It was hard to call it quits, but I had to. John and I talked it through, and I decided that the benefits did not out-weigh the risks. Not for me. Not for my comfort.

This is not the end of my journey towards lifestyle change. My sister has had great success with the South Beach plan. I am going to check it out. Part of me says to just chuck the whole idea of a diet change, but the other part just doesn't want to give up. I took the weekend 'off' and have read a brief synopsis (I already know the basic idea) of South Beach and am going to go ahead and dive in. Why not.

This blog... hmm. Well, the whole point of it was to record the everyday kind of person, so that's what I'll keep doing. I don't know if I will update everyday, but I will update. It's all part of the process.

Now, heading to the beach...

Induction Day 4 - quite hellish

Well, I finally ate something about 8:00. I felt hungry, but it still didn't set so great. Even now (next morning) I don't think I want any food. The comfort foods that I usually reach for when I'm a little sick are off limits. Toast, pb sandwich, crackers.

Breakfast

• omelet (2 eggs, 2 cooked turkey sausages w/casing removed), 1 oz. cheddar cheese)
• decaf w/cream

Snack

• lettuce roll-up (1 romaine leaf, 1 slice roast beef, 2 slices colby jack)

Praying that day 5 is better.

Induction Day 3 + "I Can Make You Thin"

Day 3 was just perfect. I tiny bit of headache, nothing major. I was tired and napped, then about 8:00 or so I totally perked up. The fog was gone.

Breakfast

• decaf w/cream
• omelet (2 eggs, 1/2 cup spinach, 2 tbsp. feta)
• 3 turkey sausages

Lunch

• salad (1 cup lettuce, 1 tbsp. feta, 1/4 tomato, olive oil & vinegar dressing)
• 1 can of tuna w/2 tsp. mayo and squirt of yellow mustard

Dinner

• grilled Beer Can Chicken
• 1 cup stir-fried spinach

Snacks

• sugar-free jello w/whipped cream (sweetened with Splenda)
• about 10 pepperoni slices
• 2 1/2 deviled eggs

Now, the chicken I mentioned for dinner? Yeah, uh... me and John's portions were under-cooked and we both got sick. Very dumb. Thankfully the kids had the drumsticks which were fully done. So day 4's food list is going to be very short. I had an omelet at about 10:00, thinking I was done, but nope. Not done Wish I wouldn't have eaten it. But you know us food addicts. We start freaking out if we can't eat.

I never want to see chicken in this house again.

Caught a really fun show on TLC last night called I Can Make You Thin. I almost turned it because I really hate motivational speakers, but I was ever so slightly intrigued. The first 4 Golden Rules that he talked about pretty much lined up with Judith Beck's philosophy in The Beck Diet Solution. Paul McKenna is really quite funny and entertaining to watch. So, if you want to check it out it looks like it's going to be on TLC on Sunday nights, though I do see that they will be repeating last nights episode several times this week.

Induction Day 2

Ok, I should've kept my big mouth shut about having no problems. Day 2 was rough. I had no energy whatsoever. I had a decent workout and after that it was all downhill after that. I came home the biggest crab and anyone in my way got yelled at. Took a nap hopeing to perk myself up, woke up just as tired and with a headache that lasted till bedtime. It wasn't a horrible headache, more like a dull, heavy, uncomfortable feeling that no amount of Motrin could touch.

But, par for the course.

Had a hard time getting 20g. of carbs in again. ARGH! I need to plan ahead a bit more I guess.

Breakfast

• 3 scrambled eggs
• 3 turkey sausages
• 1 cup decaf with about 3 tbsp. cram

Lunch

• 1 cup baby spinach
• about 2 tbsp. feta
• left over grilled chicken
• olive oil and vinegar dressing

Dinner

• 1/2 cup fresh broccoli
• 1/2 cup red pepper
• 1 lg. clove garlic
• rest of leftover grilled chicken
• (stir fried this in olive oil w/red pepper flakes)

Snacks

• omelet
• (2 eggs, feta, spinach)
• sugar-free jello
• fresh whipped cream sweetened w/ Splenda