South Beach Diet – End of Phase 1
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Yay, I did it! I have finished phase 1 successfully, with only very minor slips! Seattle got the biggest snow storm in more than a decade and we have been stuck at home since last Wednesday. I have to say this really helped me stay on my diet. As I mentioned before, South Beach Diet is easy to follow if you are preparing all the meals yourself, and this forced house arrest made sure that I got enough time to make all my meals. Also, I just realized that if I were not on a diet when we got stuck at home for so many days, I’d have been eating so much junk I’d have surely put on another pound or two.
Weight loss really slowed down in the second week. I lost 5.5lbs in the first week which was very encouraging, but this week some days scale didn’t show any change, and some other days even showed 1/2lb increase which made me really sad. This is precisely why the book advices not to weigh in every day and just go with weekly weigh in. But I look forward to getting on the scale every morning, it has become an obsession of sorts. I guess some of the fluctuations this week were due to the fact that it was that time of the month which comes with some bloating and water retention. This week’s total weight loss is only 1.5lbs, which makes it a total of 7lbs lost in two weeks. If I think about the total loss, it is still pretty good. So I am declaring Phase 1 a total success for me.
Apart from the weight loss, some other positive aspects of going on this diet were
- I started having breakfast every day.
- I’ve become very mindful about what I eat.
- I stopped adding sugar in my coffee, I don’t miss it at all.
- I am having regular servings of vegetables with all my meals, which I never used to do before.
If you do decide to take up the South Beach Diet, here are some helpful hints for phase 1.
- Keep some no-cooking needed veggies like cucumber and celery handy so that you have an instant snack, and even use it as a side for dinner/lunch when you are not in the mood to prepare a salad with your serving of protein.
- Same goes for salad leaves. Wash and keep the leaves in individual serving sized containers or bags.
- I pretty much use two different salad dressings, which are very easy to prepare and tastes great.
- For crunchy leaves and vegetables with high water content, I make a dressing by combining low fat yogurt, herbs, salt and pepper. This goes great with most types of lettuce and also with veggies like cucumber.
- For regular leaves like mixed greens and spinach, I make a dressing by combining crushed garlic, salt, freshly ground black pepper, balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice.
You don’t need to invent any new fancy recipes if you don’t want to. Chances are that a lot of your favorite recipes are already south beach friendly, if you skip the side of carbs or make minor substitutions. Here are a couple of dishes I successfully adapted for dinner in phase 1.
Lemon Garlic Trout – Just the trout, salad is not phase 1 friendly due to the fruits
There are many more recipes here which are South Beach Friendly, I will categorize the recipes soon to make these easy to find.
We went out for dinner on Sunday night, to celebrate a successful phase 1. Most places were closed due to snow, so went to our favorite Sushi place – Umi Sake House. I ordered couple of crunchy rolls which obviously had rice. I also had a glass of red wine, it felt great! Remember, it is okay to reward yourself once-in-a-while, but don’t go overboard!
End of Phase 1 Stats
| Target Weight Loss | 17.5lb |
| Days on Diet | 14 |
| lbs lost so far | 7 |
| lbs to go | 10.5 |
Click here to view all the posts in my South Beach Diet Experiment series.
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Category: Phase 1
Wow..you lost so much weight in 2 weeks…cool
.The Kerala fish curry looks very delicious.I will have to try that sometime…
Have great holidays dear.
Sig, it’s been so inspiring to read about your dieting regimen.kudos to you for keeping it up, I’m sure you’ll get where you want to be
I used to be a gym and pool regular, have been losing my motivation lately, and of course, the pounds are piling up around my belly
…will really have to do something about it 
Happy holidays to you and Siv
That’s a lot of weight to lose in just 2 weeks.. way to go! I like both the dressings you’ve suggested…
Sig, you’ve inspired me to get on with the SBD program.
I am all motivated now! Thanks and hope you achieve your next goal.
Hey Sig, I’ve been away and what do I come back and see – a slimming and trimming you! Congratulations, best of luck, send me some weight-loss vibes and post a before and after picture at the end.
Hey great going Sig. You’ve already started on those new year resolutions huh? I’ve been home too since Wednesday and unlike you, have been stuffing my face with all kinds of junk food
. I was actually rejoicing at the sight of rain today…never thought that would happen! Well have to try the fish curry-looks real good. For the diet what do you eat the curry with if you can’t have rice? Let me know. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Hi Naina, I totally skip rice and just have the fish curry as such with a side salad or sauteed veggies.
7 pounds is great
you’re well on your way there!
Hugs!
This is the best way to usher in the new year. merry x’mas and happy new year Sig.
Good going Sig..We are in the same boat ..only when talking about home arrest..I guess this Xmas day must have added a couple of extra pounds on me..gosh..
And sig pls post u’re pic after u’re target achieved! Congrats for u’re efforts!
awesome!! you may have just kickstarted many more “i need to lose weight” resolutions for the new year!! have a super one ahead… you & siv….hugs!!
Is this going to be the end of all those yummy dishes you cook up?
way to go sig! a diet is on my list too – i have to wait until all this merry making and christmas spirit with cookies and co. is over though. i am rooting for you friend.
wow, that big snow storm in seattle ?? that must be something… to be struck at home. Way to go with your dieting. Wishing you a very happy new year !
Sig,
I have been regularly reading your posts as I love your recipes and the pics are TRULY amazing. Many a day when thinking of what to make for dinner I go to your site to get ideas and then start drooling..
I decided to write to you now, more so for your inspiring notes on SBD. A friend suggested it recently and i am still not on board with it. I have reduced consumption of rice but otherwise, no. Your blog gives me inspiration. Will have to let u know how it goes. Thanks again.