South Beach Diet Diary - Day 5 and 6

Day Five was Labor Day. I made an omelet of egg substitute, diced red peppers and onions and a little reduced fat cheese. Then off to walk through a Corn Maze. Our gang of six walking friends had a fun time wandering through the maze, using trivia questions at critical junctions to guide us. That took less than an hour. I had a few peanuts for a snack. Then my friend Rachel and I took another 2 mile walk before I headed home

Lunch: Gazpacho soup and some Canadian bacon. The breakfast omelet had really kept me satisfied, as it was 12:30 or later before I could eat.

Dinner: Grilled mahi mahi marinated in Paul Newman's Caesar Dressing. An article from the Wall Street Journal says that almost all of Paul Newman's products are free of trans fat. It is our staple marinade for fish and chicken and shrimp, and darn good on salad, too! We had grilled vegetables and I boiled some sweet corn for my husband from the corn maze produce shop. I was tempted to have half an ear, but resisted. Mocha Ricotta again for dessert.

Results

After five days, I am down four pounds and I really notice where they came off. As the book said, I have lost a lot on my gut and breasts, and my face also looks thinner. The morning of Day 6 I really like how I look in my slacks - the protruding paunch is substantially reduced.

Cravings: I haven't had much problem with cravings.
Convenience: I like not having to chart everything I eat in order to calculate calories, portions, or points. I have adopted the rule of thumb for Phase 1: breakfast of 1 cup of veggies and unlimited lean protein. Lunch and dinner of 2 cups of veggies each meal and unlimited lean protein. Plus appropriate snacks.
Snack Trouble: The biggest challenge is what to take along walking as a snack. Most appropriate snacks require refrigeration - meats, cheese, vegetables. Those are hard to toss into a fanny pack. I need to research the book for snacks that don't require chilling. I have started using peanuts, but I know they should be somewhat limited in use.

Day Six

Weight: Down slightly, about 0.2 pounds a day the past couple of days.
Breakfast: Omelet with sweet peppers and onion. I can get used to that! Takes about the same time to make as toast.
Lunch: Gazpacho soup (the recipe makes four servings and it has kept very well) and some of the prepared grilled chicken. Snacks of string cheese and red sweet pepper.
Dinner: Mediterranean Salad from the book - delicious. My husband ate later and I whipped him up a variation of the South Beach Chopped Salad. His comment, "How come you never made this before, it's great!"
Energy: Perhaps I am finally recovering from the race a week ago, but I was not drowsy at all at any time during the day, which is unusual and welcome!

Day Seven

Weight: Down slightly, about 0.2 pounds
Breakfast: Omelet with sweet peppers and onion.
Lunch: Potluck Challenge! I made sure to bring something I could eat - Chinese barbecued pork. I made good choices as they arrived. Sauerkraut but not the sausages and buns. Pot roast. Salad with a bit of taco filling on top. I finally gave in to a small portion of a hot chocolate chip cookie. I figured the rest of the meal would take care of the glycemic index. I was able to navigate the potluck minefield with only cravings for that cookie.
Dinner: Salad with avocado, cheese, and lime juice as the only dressing. Then after 8 pm we grilled thick pork chops and my husband urged me to add a brown sugar and mustard coating to them. Again, I didn't think a bit of sugar on a huge pork portion would make my insulin go bonkers.
Energy: Once again, I was not drowsy at any time during the day. I hope this continues.

Final Weigh-in at One Week

Down 4.6 pounds - I dropped 0.6 in the last day, to a new low weight for the entire year.
Noticeable difference in my gut size, breasts, and face.
I am loving this diet.

Next: South Beach Diet Diary - Week 2
Week 3 - Starting Phase 2
Week 4 with Half-Marathons
Week 5