South Beach Diet – Phase 2, End of Week 4 Checkpoint and A Milestone!
Before I get into my weekend SBD update, let me just share that this this is my 300th post! I’ve been blogging for about 750 odd days now. Do the math, quick! Yep, that comes down to 1 post every 2.5 days, a fact that completely baffles me! I am sitting here going like, what?? really??? I did that??? Me??? Oh well, it is a milestone, and a big achievement considering the life span of my other hobbies. I’d like to celebrate this joyous occasion with you, my dear reader, who made it all possible! Thank you!
Now, off to the weekly SBD update. Nothing special last week, except for the fact that the amount of carb intake was more than usual. But not to worry, all good carbs. I’ve finally made my peace with brown rice, I had it three nights this week for dinner as I didn’t get time to go grocery shopping this week and I was out of salad greens and vegetables. I also had to rely on breakfast cereals this week. I am still losing weight, so I guess it’s okay. I do feel guilty after having carbs though, I have to keep reminding myself that SBD is not a low carb diet, but a low Glycemic Index carbs aka good carbs diet.
Since phase 1 gave me better results, I still like to keep it pretty low carb in phase 2 till I get to my target weight. So normally whenever I get time, I make salads or vegetables with my protein for dinner instead of rice and bread. I have already shared a couple of my favorite quick fix salad dressing ideas before. If you are not into eating raw vegetables and leaves every night, the other option is a side of steamed, sauteed or roasted vegetables. My favorite technique for cooking vegetables is to oven-roast them. Roasting vegetables really transforms the taste to a different level, it brings out the natural sweetness of the vegetables.
Roasted Asparagus – Preheat the oven to 400F. Wash and dry the asparagus spears. Break off the tough edges. Place the prepared spears on a foil lined baking sheet. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle salt, freshly ground black pepper and minced garlic. Toss the asparagus to coat the spears evenly with the oil and seasonings. Arrange the spears evenly on the baking sheet, making sure the spears don’t touch each other. Roast for about 10 minutes, take the pan out and toss the asparagus, and place it back in the oven. Roast for 6 more minutes or till the spears start to brown. Take out and serve warm.
Most vegetables can be roasted the same way, cooking time and temperature may vary. Mushrooms, turnips, brussel sprouts, parsnips, carrots, onions and sweet potatoes are some of the other veggies which taste great roasted. Here a few handy tips for roasting vegetables.
- Cut the vegetables into same size to ensure even cooking.
- Use a good oil to coat. You can never go wrong with a high quality extra virgin olive oil/
- Season well – I almost always use just salt and freshly ground pepper on green vegetables. Chili and cumin powder mix goes well on sweet potatoes. Whatever seasoning you use, make sure to coat the veggies evenly.
- Garlic makes everything better. I usually mix in some cut garlic pieces along with salt and pepper for the seasoning.
- Don’t crowd the vegetables on the baking sheet. Leave enough space between the pieces, otherwise they tend to get steam cooked and turn wet and mushy instead of a crispy roasted exterior.
Finally, the stats. Another 1lb loss this week. 
| Target Weight Loss | 17.5lb |
| Days on Diet | 46 |
| lbs lost so far | 12.5 |
| lbs to go | 5 |
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Great going Sig!!..COngrats on the 300th post..:)
You have to post pics at the end of all this!!
Of you I mean
Congratulations, Sig!
All i can say is WOW! You rock, girl! And congratulations on the 300th post.
May be you should share tips on “how to cure carb addiction”-i feel so incomplete without bread and rice
.
Big hug,
musical.
Congrats Sig
. Wish you all the best for future.
.
I haven’t cooked much with asparagus, this looks great.
Congrats on sticking to SBD too
300th already? It feels like I read about your 200th post only recently. Wow, time flies!
Do post your brown rice recipes when you get a chance – I don’t make anything with it other than steamed rice or adai. Congrats on the lbs lost so far – great going.
good going, Sig!! congratulations on the 300th post and congrats on the lbs lost so far!!
I’m going to have to channel you, Sig! I’m stuck, stuck, stuck, even the inch loss is not making a difference to my figure.
Hey Sig,
Congrats!!! Im on Phase II but there’s no weight loss after week 2….Don’t know where iam going wrong,the scale doesn’t seem to move at all…I guess i just have to wait n see
Hi Kanchi, phase 2 weightloss is supposed to be really slow, so it will be slightly frustrating at first after the superfast weightloss on phase 1.That’s what I felt intitially. If things stay the same still, try and decrease the carbs intake a bit and see if that helps.
Impressive Sig both the blog milestone and the discipline to stick to your diet.
Love the bright green color of the asparagus.
Wow Sig a post every 2 days show a lot of hard work, congrats and keep it coming
Love asparagus, and feel lucky that my whole family love it as well. I admire anybody who can stick to the diet. Me, it’s utterly impossible!
Cheers,
Elra
Congrats on the 300th post and the SBD going so far…
sk
Wow & Wow One for the milestone and one for the SBD
300th Post ! Wow Congrats!
Love asparagus, love the pic & love it roasted:-)
Congratulations on your 300th post! That’s quite a feat, I must say.
Great going with the SBD too. We should totally celebrate the occasion!
WOW Sig, Double Congratulations !! I really wish I had this kind of will power to stick to a diet. I’ve tried various ones at various points in my life and never managed to see it thru…Hope reading all your SBD posts inspires me !!
Congratulations, Sig on both milestones.
Congragulations sig.
It is indeed a wonderful achievement in bloggin.
I think it will take me years and years and years
Congrats, Sig!! I am quite amazed at your persistence and perseverance! You know don’t you, that you can’t get away with not showing off an “After” photo after all the hard work…
I did Atkins a couple of times before the kids came along – hated it as there is no Phase 2 like in SBD where I can satisfy my cravings with low GI carbs… but, it worked wonderfully – got me down to my lowest weight I have ever been in my adult life in quite a short time!
I haven’t been following closely, so forgive me if I missed this, is Siv on the plan too? Or do you end up cooking these SBD foods for yourself alone? It gets hard for me to make different meals for me and the rest of the family, especially the kids, so, am just hoping the extra pounds will magically disappear one of these days
Hi Sheela, good to see you here.
. No, Siv is not on the plan, but as you can see most of the dishes I cook are not “diet food”. So he eats what I eat plus rice or bread. Once in a while he will skip the carbs and have salad, but always with protein. Since we eat lunch out every weekday, he gets to eat whatever he wants and when he gets cravings at home he will make stuff that he likes, which are normally stuff I can eat too. So no, I don’t make different meals. 
congrats on the 300th post
Well done Sig!! Congrats on both your achievements, especially for sticking to the diet
Congrats Sig…both for the success of ur blog and reaching the goal in weight loss…
I ve been following ur diet n its so inspiring – Congrats. i need to go another 10 pounds down to b anywhere near my fav jeans…. the day i do i m so gonna go on a shopping spree….
hey sig i noticed u ve tried out a lot of restaurants around seattle…. since i m a newbie around here is there any romantic spot around i cud take my hubby to for a valentine jaunt
Great recipe. Only thing I would change is, maybe not use EVOO for a 400F oven. The oil is too delicate and might produce carcinogens too quickly. You might not taste it but it still not good to consume oil which is close or over its smoking point. Maybe regular olive oil or almond/avacado/saffola are all great tasty alternatives.
Wow!! Sig, Way to go!!
If you are moving through phase two and into phase three of the South Beach diet, you might like to try the Kardea gourmet wellness bar. All natural, lower glycemic sweetening, 7g fiber, 7g protein and only 150 calories. Also contains recommended nutrients fournd in Dr Agatston South Beach Heart Program (including 1g of plant sterols and the soluble fiber (oats and psyllium) associated with cholesterol management. Almond base also provides the good fats. If you are interested in a sample, email customerservice@kardeanutrition.com.