Day 3 on Phase 2

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-27-2005
Day 3 on Phase 2
4
Wed, 01-11-2006 - 8:23am

Good morning!! Even though I was a stubbornly reluctant, I heeded the board's advice and moved on to Phase 2 on Monday like I was supposed to. Phase 1 was good to me -- I lost a total of 9 pounds! Yee haa!

So my first two days on P2 probably weren't as great as they should have been. I worked VERY long hours on Monday and Tuesday and didn't plan my re-introduction of carbs very well. So consequently, I pretty much ate the Phase 1 way, and only got in one serving of starch each day -- but no fruit at all. I'm choosing to cautiously ease into P2 with one starch and one fruit per day this week, then increase to two of each next week, and finally 3 of each the following week. Anyway, the past two days went like this: I had a 1/2 cup of brown rice with my baked salmon and steamed veggies at dinner on Monday. On Tuesday I had 6 triscuits with a cheese stick as a snack in the afternoon. I did carry a small apple with me to work on both days but didn't eat it because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to pair it with something. That leads me to my questions....

1. Can I eat fruit alone, or do I need to eat some kind of "competitor" with it?

2. When I eat my fruit or starch each day, is it better to eat those in the morning, afternoon or evening? Seems like I should save it for the evening because if it happens to cause any cravings, I'll be asleep when it does. :-) Does it matter?

3. What is the MOST EFFECTIVE carb competitor? Would it be meat? Is cheese a good enough carb competitor (for triscuits or whole grain bread)?

Sorry to pepper you all with such specific questions. I just need to make sure I'm getting this right. I don't want to mess anything up here because I'm loving all of the great results of SBD (weight loss, increased energy, clearer skin, better overall mood and self esteem, etc.)!!

Thanks everyone!
Shannon

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-03-2005
Wed, 01-11-2006 - 10:02am

I'll do my best to answer your questions, but if one of the cl's gives you different info, by all means, go with what they say.

1. Can I eat fruit alone, or do I need to eat some kind of "competitor" with it?

Fruit can be eaten alone, but the competitor is to help slow down the digestion of the fruit. Try a piece of cheese or some natural PB.

2. When I eat my fruit or starch each day, is it better to eat those in the morning, afternoon or evening? Seems like I should save it for the evening because if it happens to cause any cravings, I'll be asleep when it does. :-) Does it matter?

I think this is more of a personal thing. You need to listen to your body when you eat the carbs, and then decide when the best time to eat them is. I, personally, agree with your logic about eating at night so blood sugar drops occur while sleeping.

3. What is the MOST EFFECTIVE carb competitor? Would it be meat? Is cheese a good enough carb competitor (for triscuits or whole grain bread)?

I'm not sure if there's a MOST EFFECTIVE competitor. I, personally again, would imagine that the "bulkier" the competitor the better, but I don't know if this is accurate. This may be one of those what-works-best-for-you things.

Hope this helps, and as I mentioned at the beginning, put any response from the cl's ahead of what I've said. I've got a pretty good handle on things, but they're are definitely the experts.

spr/smr 2010 siggy

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-26-2005
Wed, 01-11-2006 - 11:04am

You already got good answers - but this link should give you more information:

http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-fbsouthbeach&msg=17992.1

It explains about Carb Competitors, what they are and why they are important.

I think when to eat your fruit/grains is a personal thing. Some people prefer them later in the day so if they do stimulate cravings, you don't have to feel hungry all day. I never had true physiological "Carb cravings" like those discussed on SB - so I went ahead and had them in the morning usually. For me personally breakfast on phase 1 was a big struggle (I HATE HATE HATE eggs) so for me I really needed more breakfast options to keep me going, and grains/fruit were perfect.



















spring06sig2
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-27-2005
Wed, 01-11-2006 - 5:10pm

Sounds like good info to me, PraiseDancer. (love your name, by the way). And thanks for the link MichaelAnn. (hey, shouldn't you be packing right about now?) ;-) All very helpful. For now, I think I'll pair my fruit with peanut butter for afternoon snacks, and keep my grains at dinnertime when there will most certainly be a nice piece of lean protein on the plate. I'll definitely play it all safe and keep fruits/grains in the afternoon/evening until I get more comfortable on Phase 2.

Thanks again!
Shannon

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-26-2005
Wed, 01-11-2006 - 5:43pm

"And thanks for the link MichaelAnn. (hey, shouldn't you be packing right about now?) ;-)"

LOL! YES! I should be packing (or cleaning or organizing or *something*!) We move in 8 days! Yikes!



















spring06sig2