South Beach Dieters......... Unite

[famfab5]

MarthaB...

That recipe sounds wonderful! I am going to make it today...

I am also trudging away...playing around with two lbs up and down...trying not to get frustrated. I am concentrating on how my clothes are fitting and so forth. When I start to get crazy over the scale not moving I go and try on some clothes that haven't fit in years...really puts things into focus! This morning my scale STILL hadn't budged but then I got dressed and my jeans won't stay UP! Now that's incentive! One of these days I am just going to throw the scale away

ZerasPride...

I would really love that Alfredo recipe as well. I have some shrimp in the fridge just ready for it!

Have a wonderful day,

E.

 

[ZerasPride]

MarthaB - thanks for the recipe. I'm always looking for something different for breakfast.

Famfab - here's my shrimp alfredo recipe:

I modified it slightly from the lowcarbfriends site. I was hoping I could find "light" heavy whipping cream but I guess there is no such thing. This is absolutely delicious and I'm making it again this coming week!


SHRIMP ALFREDO
Ingredients:
1 Pint Heavy cream
1 Stick I can't believe it's not butter
2 Tablespoons Cream cheese
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon Garlic powder

How To Prepare: In a heavy saucepan, melt butter, add cream cheese and immer over low heat until melted, then add cream, parmesan cheese and garlic powder. Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Take 1 pound shrimp (frozen or fresh) and take the tails off. Wash thoroughly and then sautee in a frying pan with a little I can’t believe it’s not butter (spray or ½ stick of ICBINB) and garlic powder. Add sauteed shrimp to alfredo sauce while sauce continues to cook. While you are making the sauce, have water boiling for your pasta. Make whole wheat noodles either linguini or angel hair pasta. Serve shrimp alfredo sauce over pasta. Makes about 4 servings.

 

[JCJRSmith]

Originally posted by ZerasPride
Me first!

Exercise: I do the FIRM work outs. Monday, Wednesday and Friday it's cardio sculpt, Tuesday and Saturday it's body sculpt (upper body), Sunday it's ab sculpt and Thursday is a rest day.

Some of the things that keep me motivated: coming to a site like this one for encouragement; trying on smaller sized clothes in my closet; keeping a journal and my new one taking monthly measurements.

Okay, who's next?

I work out three times a week - Mon, Wed and Fri mornings. I am up between 5 and 5:30 and am done with my workout by 6:00. I do very little cardio (bad knees - makes it very painful). We have a Weider Crossbow Platinum that we got from Sears. Most exercises I do consist of 2 or 3 sets of 10 reps. My legs look pretty good - they never have lost their muscle tone from my college days. My workout consists of:
Incline bench press
Incline butterfly
Bicep curls
Tricep presses
Pullovers
Standing cable butterfly
Lat pulls
Back extensions
Side pulls
Torso twists
Ab crunches
Reverse crunches

I move from one exercise to another very quickly, which is easy with this machine, so my heart rate stays up.

We have a Nordic Trak skier, and I am going to try it and see if it is better for my knees than the treadmill. If so, I will be working cardio into the regimen on the days I don't lift.

I have found that my attitudes toward my health and fitness have taken a complete 180 degree turn from what they used to be. And I like this feeling

 

[ZerasPride]

Jerry - ! Very impressive work out schedule.
Good for you. Has the scale moved at all for you?

If not, I hope it does soon. You've got a great attitude about health, exercise and diet. I know the results will come soon for you!

 

[MarthaB]

I work out at Curves 2-3 x per week. Also do 100 sit-ups 2-3 x per week, lift 5 lb. free weights, and inner thigh exercises at home. I'm s-l-o-w-l-y losing inches and total body fat (according to Curves' measurements), but not much weight!!

I've been on SBD for 5 weeks now. Still on Phase 1, so haven't re-introduced any pasta, breads, potatoes, fruits, etc. I must be honest and say that I don't feel a whole lot bettter. I'm sure my blood and heart are doing better, but I don't have more energy than before SBD. Of course, I have 2 DDs ages 4 and 7 who suck the energy out of me, so that could be it.

How is everyone else's energy level?

 

[MarthaB]

I wanted to share another one of my favorite low carb recipes:

Easy Feta Chicken Bake

Prep: 10 min
Bake: 40+ min
Makes: 6 servings

6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 lbs.)
2 Tbsp lemon juice, divided
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 pkg (4 oz.) Athenos Traditional Crumbled Feta Cheese
1/4 cup diced red pepper (I substituted diced tomatoes)
1/4 cup diced fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350. Arrange chicken in 13x9 baking dish. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp of the lemon juice. Season with salt and black pepper. Top with feta cheese, red pepper (or tomatoes) and parsley; drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp lemon juice. Bake 40-45 min or until chicken is cooked through.

Calories: 220
Total fat: 6 g
Cholesterol: 95 mg
Sodium: 430 mg
Carbs: 2 g

I found this recipe in the coupon section of the newspaper, of all places. I'm not a big Feta cheese lover, but really enjoyed this! Of course, it can be cut in half, which I usually do. I'm making it tonight before my first Yoga class. That is, if this freaky snow ever stops!! My DD's school dismissed early at 11:45. Where is spring?!

 

[Cyndiu]

Hi everyone,

I'm feeling great today! I hope all of you are too. I love reading all the encouragement, and I've printed several recipes.

Thank you all!!!!

Cyndiu

 

[ZerasPride]

Martha you asked about our energy level since starting SBD. DH and I are both pleasantly surprised by all the energy we have. I am able to get up early each morning for a 30 minute work out; I don't need naps in the afternoon on the weekends anymore; I used to get so sleepy at work right after lunch and want to crawl under my desk, that feeling disappeared day 1 of SBD. It has just been great!

But I will say before SBD, we were pretty much sedentary. I did do some working out but I needed a nap after work and one on the weekends too. I tried to take a nap on Sunday and laid there for a few minutes and had to get up, I just wasn't tired enough for a nap. For us, increased energy is just one more benefit of this way of eating!

 

[MarthaB]

Lisa - Glad to hear it! Maybe more energy will come for me, along with some weight loss, please!!

If there are any snackers out there (like me), I've found some great low carb alternatives:

Klondike now sells lo carb chocolate icecream bars. Take the stick out and place them in a bowl, add 1-2 tsp lo fat peanutbutter, and top with lo fat whipped cream. Yum, yum!

Turkey Hill has also started to sell lo fat, no sugar added icecream. It's not too bad.

The sugar-free Jell-o is also pretty good, especially the black cherry, topped with lo fat whipped cream, of course!

If you're into the cremes from the SBD book, I've added every extract imaginable . . . orange, lemon, rootbeer, almond, vanilla, maple walnut. Use your imagination and you won't become bored.

 

[JulieK]

Hi everybody. Just thought I would check in. I had a couple of naughty days this past weekend. I went off the Beach for two days to celebrate my birthday. Big guilt. I had pizza one day and homemade chicken and dumplings the next; plus other contraband I would rather not confess to. Lets just say sugar was involved.
My husband and I had decided beforehand to have Saturday and Sunday to eat what we wanted and then to start phase 1 again on Monday. I must say that those two days weren't nearly as much fun as I thought they would be. Eating all that food just made me sick to my stomach and gave me heartburn. I had such a bad "food hangover" that I couldn't wait to get back on the Beach. So now I'm on day 3 of phase 1 and I'm glad to be back. I really don't mind being on phase 1 again because I hadn't really added many new carbs when I was on phase 2.
On a positive note, those two days reminded me how horrible I felt before I started SB and why I don't want to live that way anymore. Upset stomach and heartburn used to be a very common occurrence for me and now I feel so much healthier.
Anyway, I just felt like I needed to confess and I feel much better getting it off my chest.




Martha- The Feta Chicken recipe sounds so good. Thanks for posting it. I'll have to give it a try.

 

[MarthaB]

JulieK - please let me know how you liked it.

Don't feel guilty about your weekend slip-up. Today's another day. The nice thing about SB is that you can always go back to Phase 1.

 

[JCJRSmith]

Originally posted by MarthaB
Lisa - Glad to hear it! Maybe more energy will come for me, along with some weight loss, please!!

If there are any snackers out there (like me), I've found some great low carb alternatives:

Klondike now sells lo carb chocolate icecream bars. Take the stick out and place them in a bowl, add 1-2 tsp lo fat peanutbutter, and top with lo fat whipped cream. Yum, yum!

Turkey Hill has also started to sell lo fat, no sugar added icecream. It's not too bad.

The sugar-free Jell-o is also pretty good, especially the black cherry, topped with lo fat whipped cream, of course!

If you're into the cremes from the SBD book, I've added every extract imaginable . . . orange, lemon, rootbeer, almond, vanilla, maple walnut. Use your imagination and you won't become bored.

You may want to check out the nutritional information on the side of the box for the Klondike bars. They are EXTREMELY high in saturated fat - okay for Atkins, not okay for South Beach.

Just a reminder folks, South Beach is not LOW carb, it is GOOD carb. I find it is really easy to reach for the stuff marked low carb in the grocery store, only to find that it is high in saturated fat or trans fat. We must read the labels, lest we fall into trap.

Here is a quote from one of the nutritionists who works for Dr A at southbeachdiet.com:

"The SBD does not focus on net carbs. Some products that are low carb have increased amounts of high saturated fat ingredients and/or sugar alcohols. This is the drawback with many of the low carb products."

Hope this helps (and sorry if I ruined anyone's day)

 

[JCJRSmith]

Originally posted by JulieK
My husband and I had decided beforehand to have Saturday and Sunday to eat what we wanted and then to start phase 1 again on Monday. I must say that those two days weren't nearly as much fun as I thought they would be. Eating all that food just made me sick to my stomach and gave me heartburn. I had such a bad "food hangover" that I couldn't wait to get back on the Beach. So now I'm on day 3 of phase 1 and I'm glad to be back. I really don't mind being on phase 1 again because I hadn't really added many new carbs when I was on phase 2.
On a positive note, those two days reminded me how horrible I felt before I started SB and why I don't want to live that way anymore. Upset stomach and heartburn used to be a very common occurrence for me and now I feel so much healthier.
Anyway, I just felt like I needed to confess and I feel much better getting it off my chest.

Since SWMBO and I have started with South Beach, there have been a couple of days that we took off. We planned it in advance - for example, my wife gets together occasionally with some folks that she used to work with, and the get-togethers are usually held at our house. These are usually pot-lucks of one kind or another. We decided before hand that we were going to enjoy ourselves and not feel guilty about what we ate/drank, knowing that the next day we will be right back on South Beach. That way, we don't feel deprived, and we don't feel guilty (although I have felt an uspset stomach sometimes ). One thing that has been really positive is that we have gotten a number of folks to try South Beach. A good friend of mine is over 300 pounds and he started South Beach after he saw what it has done for Cindy and I.

 

[ZerasPride]

Thanks Jerry for your two most recent posts and the one where someone asked about fast food eating and SBD. I always thought it was okay to have a BK burger if you took the bun off and didn't have ketchup on it. Sometimes I do forget that SBD is not Atkins. I think that's what happens when you frequent an Atkins board as much as I do.

I'm not a fan of the lc products so that isn't a problem for me, but I do like my occasional 1/2 cup of no sugar added ice cream. I hope that's okay. Sheesh, I guess I should do some research and make sure my ice cream treat is alright for our plan.

Thanks again for the reminders!!

 

[MarthaB]

I checked the "Carb Smart Klondike Fudge Bar" box (sweetened with Splenda) and found the following:

Calories: 100
Total Fat: 7 g
Saturated Fat: 4.5 g
Cholesterol: 20 mg
Total Carb: 9 g
Dietary Fiber: 1 g
Sugars: 3 g
Sugar Alcohol: 5 g

I don't consider 4.5 g of saturated fat "extremely high", so I'd still say this snack is ok for SBD, as long as you watch other saturated fat throughout the day, wouldn't you?

I loaned by SBD book to a friend of mine, so I'm unable to check. Isn't it true you subtract the grams of sugar alcohol from total carbs?

 

[wovenwonder]

Lisa -- I was also wondering about your fast food trips? Also, is the pizza topping really SB friendly? I know it would have been okay for me on Atkins --- but I thought it was only LF cheese/meats for SB? I'm sure its one of those things where it is the lesser of two evils and I would choose this type fast food over some other things. I picked up a whopper/cheese meal for my DH for lunch today and I still haven't had anything. Off to make my salad now. I just wasn't sure if a bunless fast food burger was on plan or not?

What is terrific is the feeling of not even minding that he was eating this BK meal in front of me. Didn't bother me one bit!

 

[castlegazer]

Hi guys! I just wanted to check in to let you all know that I lost eight pounds in Phase 1

I now have to come clean and let you all know that I have left the diet, BUT, I need to tell everyone just starting that it is real and you will lose weight and feel great. I am now just eating healthy and if I spent some time would probably find out I am actually sticking to SB because I have cut out most bad carbs and am trying to eat less fats.

Phase 1 gave me a great start to my working out at a gym, allowing me to get a lower weight to begin to build back strength on top of.

Congrats to everyone doing so well.

 

[JulieK]

Martha- I'll be trying the chicken tomorrow night. We'll see how it goes. It certainly sounds easy enough. Thanks for the reminder that my food frenzy is in the past. I'm glad to be back on the Beach because I feel so much better then when I'm pigging out.


Jerry- SB being good carb and not low carb is something that I have to constantly remind myself when I'm grocery shopping. I've noticed that the low carb ice creams have a lot of fat in them, especially considering the sizes aren't that big. I'll stick to my fudgesicles instead.
It's nice to hear that we're not the only ones to go off the diet for special occasions. I feel better knowing that when I plan for such events that I now know what to do to get right back with the diet. But the next time I'm going to try not to go so overboard and try to eat in moderation. Moderation's the key.


Castlegazer- Congrats on your 8 lb. loss and I hope you have lots more success to reaching your goals. You have to do the diet plan that works best for you and it sounds like you've got a good start.

 

[JCJRSmith]

Originally posted by MarthaB
I checked the "Carb Smart Klondike Fudge Bar" box (sweetened with Splenda) and found the following:

Calories: 100
Total Fat: 7 g
Saturated Fat: 4.5 g
Cholesterol: 20 mg
Total Carb: 9 g
Dietary Fiber: 1 g
Sugars: 3 g
Sugar Alcohol: 5 g

I don't consider 4.5 g of saturated fat "extremely high", so I'd still say this snack is ok for SBD, as long as you watch other saturated fat throughout the day, wouldn't you?

I loaned by SBD book to a friend of mine, so I'm unable to check. Isn't it true you subtract the grams of sugar alcohol from total carbs?

The Fudge bars are a different story. They are okay on fat, but the 100 calories goes against the South Beach 75-calorie-a-day-for-treats rule. I was talking about the Carb Smart Ice Cream Bars - check this out (I nearly dropped the box the first time I saw this):
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 3 fl. oz.
Servings Per Container 1
Amount Per Serving
Calories 170
Calories from Fat 130
Total Fat 15g
Saturated Fat 11g
Cholesterol 15mg
Sodium 40mg
Total Carbohydrates 9g
Dietary Fiber 2g
Sugars 5g
Sugar Alcohol 2g
Protein 2g
Vitamin A 4% Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 40% Iron 2%

These things are South Beach no-no's. Pretty tasty though

 

[JCJRSmith]

Originally posted by MarthaB
I loaned by SBD book to a friend of mine, so I'm unable to check. Isn't it true you subtract the grams of sugar alcohol from total carbs?

This is from Dr Agatston on southbeachdiet.com - Called "What are sugar alcohols?"

Q: When I read food labels, I often see "sugar alcohols" listed. What are they, and are they South Beach Diet™-friendly?
—Jessica L.

A: I'm happy to hear you're taking the initiative to read food labels and educate yourself. You'll be running into sugar alcohols quite a bit, because they are used in many sugar-free and low-carb products. Here's what you need to know about them:

Sugar alcohols, which are derived from plant products, are used in foods to provide texture and a sweet flavor. Common sugar alcohols include maltitol, mannitol, sorbitol, and xylitol. You'll see them in mints, gum, candy, syrup, and the like, often with the words "sugar-free" or "no sugar added" on the labels. Sugar-free products that contain sugar alcohols are not calorie-free: Like sugar, sugar alcohols yield 4 calories per gram. The difference is that sugar alcohols evoke a low glycemic response. They are digested more slowly by the body and, therefore, do not cause rapid fluctuations in blood sugar levels.

Products that contain sugar alcohols have been incorporated into The South Beach Diet™under the "Sweet Treats" category. This is where you'll find items like no-sugar-added fudgesicles and Popsicles. Sweet Treats are restricted to 75 calories per day. As you know, The South Beach Diet™ is not a calorie-counting diet. The reason we restrict "Sweet Treats" is that excessive amounts of sugar alcohols can cause GI distress such as bloating, gas, and diarrhea. The 75-calorie limit will help make sure you don't overdo it. - Dr. Agatston