South Beach

It’s been a week since my clumsy run-in with my bathroom door jamb and I am still much more bothered than I thought I’d still be at this point by my pesky toe. Never you mind that my new friend, the Orthopedic Surgeon (whom we’ll assume for the sake of argument knows a bit more about broken bones than I) assured me to expect a full six weeks’ time to allow the toe to properly heal. I like to push the envelope a bit. For now, I am contenting myself with having graduated from walking with crutches to gimping around with the help of this bit of glam footwear.

I’ve done alright, but am still in a fair bit of pain. Today the metatarsal which I broke back in 6th grade began plaguing me painfully; I attribute this new ache to the weird way I am walking on my injured foot.

But you don’t want to read all about my aches and pains…

I decided that if I couldn’t work out (envelope-pusher or not, that is absolutely out of the question for now) to help rid myself of these few pesky pounds I’ve acquired, I could do the next best thing: change my eating habits. And so after a bit of research into various diets which span the gamut from crazy fad diet all the way to the simple “Eat Less” (kudos to my awesome brother, Pete who has lost and kept off a significant amount of weight with this ground-breaking method!), I have settled on and begun the South Beach. Yes, ok it might sound a little “2003”, but it seems a fairly reasonable way to knock out a few pounds while still eating in a mostly balanced fashion. Being the smooth talker that I am, I have gotten my darling husband (who has, himself hinted at wanting to drop a few pounds) to jump on board with me, and so as of today we are two days into the first phase of South Beach, aptly termed “Phase 1”.

I won’t bore you with the science and chemistry behind what you are allowed to eat and not eat in the various phases of the diet; suffice to say I think it is sound for the most part, and it is centered around eating the right kinds of carbs and really minimizing sugar for the first couple of weeks. The hardest part of this is foregoing any and all starches which I LOVE LOVE LOVE. Not to mention saying goodbye to alcohol for a full two weeks.

Here is the one observation I have to share at this early stage: in spite of feeling somewhat hungry as I gaze longingly at the Wheat Thins, homemade granola that a sweet friend made us (M, I promise I enjoyed quite alot of it before succumbing to SB!), Cheetos, bread, cookies, ice cream, Triscuits, my wonderful friend Tia…

and so many more delicious things that are, for now, off limits….

That in spite of this, or maybe, because (I am starting to believe), because these things are off limits, I have had more energy yesterday and today than I can recall in a long time. A very, very very LOOOOOOOONG time.  And it has given me pause. I have read over and over about how refined carbs will ultimately lead to blood sugar crashing, and then inevitably, a craving for more of the same. I have never been a gluttonous eater, but I enjoy mostly what I want to enjoy, in moderation. Admittedly, along with the better carbs, there are a fair amount of the more refined variety in my regular diet. Which isn’t a bad thing. BUT….I have been truly amazed at the way my body has responded to the removal of starches. Two days is not nearly enough time to draw huge, sweeping conclusions, but let’s just say I am encouraged to stay the course through the end of Phase 1 and see how I feel after two weeks of eating this way.

For his part, Jay called me during his commute home today and begged me to have some sort of”South Beach approved” snack ready and waiting when he walked in the door or he vowed to eat his steering wheel right then and there. Despite his good-natured whining, my man has way more willpower than I do, so I believe he’ll be a perfect diet partner and either encourage me faithfully or drive me nuts with his ability to “be good”!

I have faithfully taken photos of our suppertime meals in addition to a couple of new recipes I’ve tried and I hope to post recipes and observations as we progress. So for now I will leave you with an iphone pic showing what we enjoyed for supper our first night “on the beach”: grilled pork loin chops, roasted broccoli, and a garden salad.

 

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *