Weight loss, dieting, exercise… These are words that to many of us don’t bring a smile to our face. As a business owner and mom, I didn’t feel like I had time to exercise. Since I work from home and spend a lot of my days in my pjs (yea, I really do and I love it!) I didn’t realize how poorly I was eating and that I was gaining weight. I spent the summer in comfy clothes and shorts. It wasn’t until I had to put on some slacks for a business appointment that I realized they were a little snug. Oh crap!
I soon realized that I needed to put myself and my health first. I started searching the Internet for weight loss plans that were geared for people who were gluten free. I then came across the South Beach diet. I had been on it before but never really gave it a chance. Since its philosophy is perfect for us who are gluten free, I decided to give it one more chance.
I found the book The South Beach Diet Supercharged: Faster Weight Loss and
Better Health for Life on Amazon so I decided to learn more about the plan and see if it was doable. As I previously knew, the plan has 3 phases. Phase 1 is the detox your body you aren’t getting any more carbs phase. During phase 2, you reintroduce fruits and good carbs and phase 3 is maintenance. The book stated that if you had to lose 10 pounds or less, then you could skip to phase 2. Based on the number on my scale which when I saw it, I thought my scale was broken, I needed to lose 25 pounds, so I started with phase 1. The book and corresponding website claimed that people could potentially lose 8 to 10 pounds during phase 1. Well, after the first week, I lost zero. There was a brief moment where I was ready to give up. I was following the diet exactly but why wasn’t I losing?
I decided to jump ahead to phase 2. The one thing I really missed during phase 1 was fruit. So now for the first week of phase 2 I could have 1 fruit and 1 carb. Yay!! After the first day, I was loving this diet plan. I could eat as many veggies as I wanted and enjoy meat as well. I didn’t even feel hungry. I realized that snack time was the hard part for me. If I didn’t have fresh veggies or fruit to snack on, I would be tempted to reach for the chips.
After a few days on phase 2, I started to feel better. I was actually “feeling” a difference in my body. I wasn’t going to weigh myself until the end of the week but to me it already seemed as though my tummy was decreasing.
So this morning was the moment of truth. I was actually nervous stepping onto the scale. I thought to myself, “What if I didn’t lose any weight? Could I possibly have a thyroid problem? (hypochondriac I know)” But good news! I didn’t have to schedule an appointment with the doctor. I had lost 3 pounds the first week on phase 2. I was so happy! I was happy because this diet didn’t feel like a diet and I was eating foods that tasted really good. Oh yea, I was making some of the recipes in the book and serving them to myself and my family.
Except for the brown rice my 14 year son sneered over, the family loved everything. Each week I will keep you up to date on how I’m doing on my weight loss plan. Oh, I forgot to mention that I’m also trying to get to the gym 2 to 3 times a week for some Zumba, power dance and weight training and going for a walking the other days. This morning, I took a 30 minute walk in the neighborhood and tonight I’m hoping to catch the power dance class at the gym. I will also share a few of delicious recipes with you as well.
Last night for dessert I had a banana covered with 1 tablespoon of sugar free caramel syrup and slivered almonds. OMG! It was delicious!