We'll see how this goes...

Hola! Long time no writey.

Due to recent doctors orders (and the results of routine blood testing being high cholesterol again, high triglycerides, etc...), Jonathan and I are going to be going on the South Beach Diet.

When Dr. Kim suggested this, my eyeballs fell out of my head. After I picked them up and replaced them, I asked her, "Wait. Isn't that a fad diet?" She responded that no, that's not what this is. She mentioned she'd never ask anyone she ever knew, patient or no, to go on an Atkins style no carb diet. I left armed with a big ol' packet of info on healthy weight and where to aim.

I came home, consulted with Jonathan, and he actually volunteered to do it with me. Which was surprising because he was less than thrilled anytime I brought up the concept of something like Weight Watchers, etc. BUT, I was really excited about it - because I think that for something like this to succeed, it's imperative that your partner supports you. For us, Jonathan does most of the cooking, and I will eat pretty much anything he puts in front of me. (with the exception of his chili... I am a spicy food wuss, and that stuff would melt the paint off walls)

Becky prompted me to get the book; she mentioned she'd had some success with this plan, so Jonathan went out to Half Price Books and picked up a copy of the South Beach Diet by Dr. Agatston. It took me a few days but I read it nearly cover to cover (skipping the recipes though - I figured I'd get to them later). The concept made sense on a scientific/biological level. You're basically retraining your body to process fiber/carbohydrates in a way that will ease your body's addiction to simple sugars.

One thing that Dr. Kim mentioned, that made me feel a bit better, was that women especially have a rough time processing refined carbohydrates (anything white flour, white rice, potatoes, etc.). That's got to be the most helpful thing anyone's ever said to me in regards to weight loss and healthy diet. People have said nightmarish things to me in the past about my body, and I always felt that it was strange that no doctor until now has ever said anything to me about my body weight/shape.

Yesterday, Jonathan and I got started. Day one was... well, it was hard. For me, anyway. We did eggs and turkey bacon for breakfast, which was good. I had some string cheese as my mid-morning break snack. For lunch, I had a Jimmy John's unwich (meat, cheese, veggies, sans bread). Then, by about 2:30/3:00pm I was pretty hungry again... I had some cottage cheese in our work fridge, so i spooned out about a half cup of that and went to town. by 5:30, I was feeling hungry again, so I dug out all of the soy nuts from my trail mix, tearfully tossed out the rest (m&m's, cheerios, etc.) and ate those. By dinner time, I was cranky as all get out and all I wanted to do was drown myself in a vat of buttercream frosting and Gummi Bears. Jonathan made up some "mock" mashed potatoes - Cauliflower steamed and mashed, and mixed with a bit of sour cream and smart balance spread, salt and pepper to taste - and grilled chicken breast, and we had dinner. Kind of ho-hum but it was tasty and filling. We made the trek to the grocery store and picked up the rest of our goodies. (We'd already cleaned out the cabinets of anything dangerous)

I went to bed that night but nearly cried... i wanted to indulge in something SO BADLY.

Today, Day two... much better. Eggs and Canadian bacon for breakfast, my coffee, lots of tea (as my throat and sinuses have been sore and scratchy since Sunday). For lunch I brought a nice salad with cucumber, tomato, mushrooms, and some leftover grilled steak on top. I also put a bit of peanut butter on some celery as a side. I had sugar free strawberry jello for dessert. I felt nice and satiated for a good portion of the rest of my afternoon. For my afternoon snack, I had about a half a cup of a mixture of soy nuts and almonds. Very satisfying. I'm feeling much better at this point. Tongiht for dinner was grilled chicken and steamed broccoli. I still want the CRAP out of those gummi bears, or something like that, but I don't feel like I'm going to claw mine, Jonathan's, or either of our animals' eyes out. victory, right?