Re: My second day on the SBD

[Guest guest]

Trish --

Include more vegetables in your daily meals; you should be getting 5

servings or more.

Watch eating out as even though it may SEEM like the food does not contain

added sugars, it generally does (for example, Mc's salads have sugar

in them) and the food you eat at restaurants tends to be even higher in

sodium than most processed foods.

From your last couple of posts, you're consuming quite a bit of diet drinks.

I understand that many choose to use diet drinks so they can still get the

sweet fix without the sugar but bear in mind that these drinks contain

artificial sweeteners that bring their own problems to the table and in some

cases consuming a large amount on a daily basis will cause problems as well.

You mention 1 snack but not the second. During P1, 2 snacks are mandatory

-- one is halfway between breakfast/lunch, the other is halfway between

lunch and dinner. Good to see that you're eating something nutritional

(turkey and mozzarella stick).

When eating salad, remember that lettuce does not a meal make. The

American idea of a salad while on a diet is usually lettuce, tomato, and

maybe some bacon bits and/or cheese followed by dressing. There is very

little actual nutrition there. When I make a salad, it has some lettuce (a

lettuce mix, preferably mesclun) but also it has spinach, garbanzo beans,

broccoli, cauliflower, bacon bits, cheese, a bit of egg, onion and who knows

what else.

In a previous post, you asked how many cheese sticks you can eat in a day.

Watch out for cheese -- eating in large amounts, it will be a diet

buster. I usually try to limit myself to maybe 3 in a day at any given

time, both so I won't go off the deep end and so I keep a measure of variety

in my daily run of foods.

When planning your meals, you'll want to use the Foods to Enjoy list for the

ingredients in what you prepare. You'll notice that each category gives the

" limit " of what you can have during the day (such as 1 serving of nuts, or 2

servings of dairy, and so forth). This is where the " limits " come from on

the SBD. You can have anything on the list, but there is a measure of

reasonable moderation that needs to be applied.

I've been formally doing the SBD for a bit over a year (15 months I suppose

it's been). Unlike some others, I have medications which adversely affect

weight loss. I popped that 200 pound marker about 7 or 8 years ago and held

steady at around 205 before having a pacemaker implanted in 2004. At that

point, my weight shot up a solid 40 pounds. Without formally moving to the

SBD (in other words, I followed the concepts but not the actual system) I

dropped about 25 pounds to settle in around 220. Then I moved strictly to

the SBD and dropped down to 205 again but could never break the plateau.

Much of the weight loss problems I'm having at this point clearly stem from

the meds and their effects -- something I've been working hard to overcome.

Recently, I've suffered a setback and weight gain that has me trying new

things to find just the right type of nutrition for my body. I've also

embarked on a new fitness plan to help get this weight off even more and

maybe, finally, break through the plateau I hit almost a year ago.

It's important to understand and listen to your body's cues. The body knows

what it needs and you need to learn how to interpret those needs. It ain't

easy either and knowing the world of nutrition doesn't necessarily help if

you can't figure out what's going on inside. At the same time, you need

to be able to identify a true NEED from a craving (as if it weren't

difficult enough).

We're addicted to fat, sodium, and sugar in our society -- no two ifs, and

or buts about it. Most of us suffer some form of food addiction and like

any addiction, breaking it is darn tough. Research is finding more and more

things in food that trigger actual biochemical changes in the brain -- just

like known drugs of abuse. If that isn't compelling, I don't know what is.

This is where nutritional knowledge and listening to one's body collide.

During the first week of P1, the body is screaming for sugar BUT you know it

doesn't really need it and you have to break the addiction cycle so you

disregard it (well, we try at least!). However, there are many times we

crave other things because our body is lacking in a nutrient (such as

potassium, calcium and so forth). A subtle balance there.

This is the battle I've been waging; trying to get to know my body as it is

now and knowing when I can reasonably say no vs when I need to say yes.

Case in point -- I know my body is a bit low in potassium at the moment and

I feel myself craving bananas. So, here I sit eating my first meal of the

day and what is it? A banana. This is typically a no-no on the SBD --

fruit in the morning sets up cravings throughout the day for a lot of folks.

Thankfully, I'm not one of them (sweet cravings are a non-issue for me -- I

don't have a sweet tooth ). Finishing my banana though, I realize

this is not ALL my body wants and now I'm faced with figuring out what the

other thing is that I'm craving (usually it's fat -- my personal bane).

Throughout the day, I'll listen to my body's needs and try to give it the

nutrients I feel it needs.

You asked if I had any secrets to success and the answer is -- not really.

I just listen to my body and study nutrition. With a solid foundation, any

structure can be built and that's my philosophy. Perhaps one other item of

a philosophical nature that helps me along -- I am not dieting. I do not

use the word " diet " in the modern, conventional sense. We all have a diet

-- it's what we eat. I choose to make mine healthier.

Hope that helps!

[Guest guest]

Congrats! The sugar free chocolate is fine as long as it doesn't

exceed 75 calories.

ann

>

> Hi

>

> I was going to post what happened yesterday. I want to show you

that

> I can do this after all.

>

> I started out breakfast with more of the Italian Spinach Pie. I

have

> 2 more servings of it left. I will probably finish it today.

Perhaps.

> Then for my snack I had turkey with a mozz cheese stick.

>

> Lunch included a salad from Subway.

>

> I had a piece of sugar free chocolate. Not a big piece, just a

small

> one, but I am sure that is a no-no on the SBD. So I am prepared for

> some people to give me a hard time about it here.

>

> Dinner included another large chicken salad at Applebees. It did

> have chicken so that made it really good. And, it was a big salad.

> It held me thru the night. I didn't get out of control cravings.

>

> I drank my Crystal Light yesterday.

>

> We went to a movie, and instead of popcorn and nachos I had a

single

> diet coke.

>

> I am doing ok here. I am choosing better foods. I have not had any

> cereals. Any breads. I am sticking to the right carbs as they say.

>

> One thing to note! I don't have to lay down after I eat and sleep!

> It is so nice. I can eat something like a big salad and my energy

> isn't drained. I love that! It inspires me to keep up with this and

> do better the next day. I do miss my bad carbs, but I welcome the

> new changes!

>

> Hope you are having a good day.

>

> Trish

>

> P.S. I can't wait for the inches and weight to fade away.

>

[Guest guest]

Trish, you are doing SO WELL!!! I'm really proud of you! You are

making good, healthy choices. Realize the hardest part of this way

of life is the first week. Dealing with cravings and making new

habits, while breaking old habits can be difficult.

Way to go!

Donna

>

> Hi

>

> I was going to post what happened yesterday. I want to show you

that

> I can do this after all.

>

> I started out breakfast with more of the Italian Spinach Pie. I

have

> 2 more servings of it left. I will probably finish it today.

Perhaps.

> Then for my snack I had turkey with a mozz cheese stick.

>

> Lunch included a salad from Subway.

>

> I had a piece of sugar free chocolate. Not a big piece, just a

small

> one, but I am sure that is a no-no on the SBD. So I am prepared for

> some people to give me a hard time about it here.

>

> Dinner included another large chicken salad at Applebees. It did

> have chicken so that made it really good. And, it was a big salad.

> It held me thru the night. I didn't get out of control cravings.

>

> I drank my Crystal Light yesterday.

>

> We went to a movie, and instead of popcorn and nachos I had a

single

> diet coke.

>

> I am doing ok here. I am choosing better foods. I have not had any

> cereals. Any breads. I am sticking to the right carbs as they say.

>

> One thing to note! I don't have to lay down after I eat and sleep!

> It is so nice. I can eat something like a big salad and my energy

> isn't drained. I love that! It inspires me to keep up with this and

> do better the next day. I do miss my bad carbs, but I welcome the

> new changes!

>

> Hope you are having a good day.

>

> Trish

>

> P.S. I can't wait for the inches and weight to fade away.

>