My South Beach Diet Journal

've never gone on a specific diet before. My forties have brought me a metabolism change.. uh oh! I guess I am just tired of complaining about my newly acquired Buddha belly and have decided to try and do something about it.

My first week on the South Beach Diet went by rather quickly. It required me to read the SBD book to better understand what foods were allowed and which were to be avoided. Moving along to week two...

Getting Feedback from my readers really helped me stay on task during my diet.

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.

Here I am at week four of the South Beach Diet. I haven't felt deprived of food these past three weeks. I'm never hungry, although there are times when I want to have some of the "outlawed" foods, especially Coke, candy, and cookies.

Diet Advice from a Reader - "I have had great success with these types of low-carb/higher protein diets, and although everyone works differently, here are some of my own tips that may help you."

After four weeks on the South Beach Diet and having reached a plateau for the past couple of weeks I've decided it is time for me to re-evaluate my initial goals for beginning this diet.

I've learned that cheating is an important part of being on a diet. It's a fact. I'm learning that is okay, everyone cheats. It is how you cheat that is important. Giving in to simple cravings now and again is okay, if you don't ever cheat then an all out binge is likely to happen somewhere around the corner.

Summaries for Weeks Seven Through Ten - This seems to be a period of tests and challenges. How do you celebrate your birthday while on this diet?

I survived Thanksgiving Day! I was wondering if Thanksgiving Day dinner would set me back a pound or two for the week. But as it turned out, nothing came of it.

Can you count to ten with me? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. 7, 8, 9.... I've lost 10 pounds! This week, more so than in recent weeks, I don't feel as if I'm on a diet any longer. I feel so much more relaxed than I have since I started this journey a few short weeks ago.

I stayed within the Phase II guidelines perfectly. I was very careful with my hand-to-mouth activities and managed to maintain my weight from last week. Since sitting just 3.5 pounds away from my original weight goal I've decided to go back to Phase I for two weeks.

I've met my weight goal!! My next challenge is maintaining my weight loss. I don't think it will be difficult at all as I've found that I really enjoy the foods I've been eating.

It's great to receive congratulatory emails from my readers due to my diet success. Plus, I feel privleged to being able to help others through sharing my own diet challenges and accomplishments.