South Beach Diet - Week 3

Now that I'm past the restrictive Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet I'm looking forward to being able to add a serving of fruit to my daily diet allowance. I'll also be able to have a serving of starch (choice of whole-grain bread, brown/wild rice, sweet potato or whole-wheat pasta) each day. Also, dairy such as low-fat milk and yogurt are added in. Semi-sweet chocolate and wine at suppertime are also allowed.

I've been referring to this diet as my low carb diet, however the book emphatically states that the SBD is NOT a low carb diet. It teaches about eating good carbs in place of bad carbs. Carbs that need to be avoided are choices that turn into sugar too quickly. Consuming fast sugars are what turn us into tubbies. The glycemic index on pages 70-74 of the SBD book is where a variety of foods are assigned numbers that show how high or low their glycemic levels are. This chart is helpful in choosing the best foods and combination of foods to include in my diet. I was happy to see that shortbread cookies fell just under the lowest graded cookie (oatmeal). I love Lorna Doone cookies. However, eating just two would be difficult. I'm not ready to put them on my grocery list just yet.

Truthfully, I'm almost nervous about moving along to Phase II, I had hoped to lose more than 6 pounds the first 14 days. The book brags about dieters losing 8 to 13 pounds afterall. My husband, who went on this diet with me lost 9 pounds. He ate larger portions than I did, and he didn't skip any of his snacks. A couple of times he ate extra snacks. He is currently only 1 pound from his goal of losing ten pounds. He could easily move directly to Phase III if he wanted to but will tag-a-log with me in Phase II for a little while.

DAY 15

Morning Weigh-in: no change
Breakfast - cantalope, oatmeal
Mid-Morning Snack - skip
Lunch - 2 cheese sticks
Mid-Afternoon Snack - Rye Crisp crackers w hummus spread
Supper - lentil soup
Dessert - Fudge Lite

Oatmeal - Yuck! I only ate part of my bowl of oatmeal. I forgot to buy milk at the store so I had to make it with water. Truthfully, I never cared much for oatmeal anyway. I love the taste and crunch of the Rye Crisp crackers!

DAY 16

Morning Weigh-in: +1
Breakfast - 2 fried eggs, 2 bacon strips, V8 juice, and cantalope
Mid-Morning Snack - Fudge Lite
Lunch - turkey breast roll-up, Rye Crisp crackers w hummus
Mid-Afternoon Snack - small bowl of Grapenuts
Supper - broiled beef steak (loin of round), steamed asparagus
Dessert - cherry Jello (sugarfree)

DAY 17

Morning Weigh-in: +1
Breakfast - one poached egg, white seedless grapes, V8 juice
Mid-Morning Snack - lite yogurt (Key Lime Pie flavored)
Lunch - green salad with chunks of chicken breast (Romaine lettuce, tomato, avocado, olives, and bean sprouts), cottage cheese
Mid-Afternoon Snack - blueberry sugarfree popsickle
Supper - broiled cod (lemon-peppered), butternut squash, and Rice Medley with Shrimp (see my recipe below), glass of hearty burgundy wine.
Dessert - Fudge Lite (sugarfree)

Rice Medley with Shrimp

Ingredients:

3/4 cup rice (use blend of brown and wild rices)
1 & 1/2 cup water
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup celery - diced
1/2 cup red onion - diced
3 cloves garlic - minced
1 4 ounce can medium shrimp - drained

Prepare rice and water with 1 to 2 ratio on stovetop or in rice cooker with a dash of salt and 1 tsp. of olive oil. In a skillet saute celery, garlic, and onion in 2 tablespoons of heated olive oil. Add in shrimp and heat. Stir in shrimp mixture to the cooked rice blend.

Next: SBD Phase II - Days 18-20