Old Diet Mentality and SBD, thoughts?

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2003
Old Diet Mentality and SBD, thoughts?
6
Fri, 09-12-2008 - 3:20pm

Hi there,


Firstly, thank you for posting the foods lists!  Thank you for all of the incredibly helpful information on this board.  I do have the book but just haven't the guts to read it again.  I do remember the premise and also went and bought the Good Fats Good Carbs Guide and that too has been helpful especially with respect to the changes in dairy and other foods. 


The problem I am having is that I have been so badly trained to look at restricting portion size and fat/calorie content to lose weight.  I equate weight loss with starvation and being miserable all the time (oh, and working out so much that I've got time for nothing else).  This self punishment has worked for me in the past however I've put it back on.  Big time!!!! 


This old school dieting really is hampering my efforts to switch to the SBD way of life.  I just can't get it out of my head that you don't have to starve and you don't have to work out until you drop and are unable to move the next day in order to see progress.  I have always been an all-or-nothing type of person so my thought process is "if you can't put 150% of yourself into something, it isn't worth doing until you can.".  The truth is, my life is so filled right now that this perspective has kept me from beginning and sticking with a new weight loss plan.  As a result, I have been walking around depressed, insecure, lonely, angry, and ashamed of myself for a long time.  My day begins at 4:40am and I don't walk in until 6pm (and it ends at around 11pm 2 nights a week when I get home from a full day at work, travelling, school, and travelling home).  I have a very decently equipped home gym in my attic, but always find myself so tired, too tired in fact, to even look at the stuff.  I think it's because I am so stressed from work and carrying around this extra weight.  I need to get over that.


Now, I am reading all of this information on the SBD and am thinking to myself "You've GOT to be kidding!  This is a piece of cake (no pun intended).  I can do this.".  I even think this with respect to Phase 1.  I love all of the foods.  My only problem was getting food fast.  My lifestyle is such that I am on the road and then at school, or at work, and when I get hungry I need food NOW.  I don't like having to spend some R&R time (it's limited for me) preparing food, and I find it hard to manage my kitchen.  But there are ways around it and I don't think I'll have a problem with the food because I love eating healthy.  Actually, I prefer it.  I love the "clean" taste.  I make my own homemade pasta sauce and I make it very healthy (I am Italian and learned quite early on how to make a killer marinara or meat sauce using stew-cut beef chunks).  I could easily substitute spagetti with spagetti squash.  In fact, I can eat spinach on it's own with some pepper and lemon, spagetti squash with a bit of the same, and give me egg whites with a cut up piece of Canadian Bacon anyday! 


So, do I have some really cool rose coloured glasses on?  Can someone who has BTDT with the SBD give me a reality check?  I don't want to find myself in the position of underestimating or not considering something outright only to have it derail my efforts.


Oh, I have two questions relating to permissable foods.  One of my all-time favorite nibbler snacks is whole hearts of palm out of the can.  I just love them and find that I get full off of one can of them.  I also mix them into my salads.  Are they permissable in all phases?  They're quite important in my diet.  Also, I make my own salad dressing using sea salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, and olive oil.  This is a throwback from my Mediterranean heritage. I sometimes use Apple Cider Vinegar or White Wine Vinegar as a substitute.  I see neither on the permitted foods, but see balsamic (I get sick of balsamic all of the time).  Are these vinegars allowed?  I tend to like my stuff homemade as much as possible just because I know what's in them and I find that using bottled dressings sometimes gives that processed taste that I really don't like. 


Thank you so much for reading and I would greatly appreciate any feedback and attitude adjustments you care to provide!


-PS

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-07-2007
Fri, 09-12-2008 - 4:15pm

I think that your attitude is great!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2004
Sat, 09-13-2008 - 4:10am

Hi,


Welcome!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2003
Mon, 09-15-2008 - 1:23pm
Thank you both so much!
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-04-2006
Mon, 09-15-2008 - 1:52pm

I have been eating this way for close to 4 years (since Jan 2005). I lost 70lbs the first year, and have maintained since.

Trust me, if starving, deprivation, misery, etc. were part of South Beach, I would NOT have been eating this way for 4 years. Like Jamie said, its a lifestyle. Its just about making healthy choices to take care of your body, make it strong, NOURISH it - its not about depriving it.

Basically, all things considered - yes, its kind of a piece of cake. I've gone through a lot while on South Beach: financial issues that caused our house to be in foreclosure, a move from CA to TX, remodeling a foreclosed house and not having a real home/kitchen for months, my dh losing his job, the death of my mother, transitioning from a stay at home mom to going back to college full time, etc. But I have never had any issues or problems staying on South Beach no matter what comes up.

So no, you don't have to punish yourself to succeed on South Beach, in fact, its just he opposite - you get to give yourself a great gift.

















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belizesig1
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iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2003
Mon, 09-15-2008 - 2:58pm

That was a beautiful post and really nice way of looking at this.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-07-2007
Mon, 09-15-2008 - 5:12pm
I am really glad that you have decided to go forward with SB.
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