Well, since Gen, my Diet Riot blog buddy, has recently become interested in  the SB diet, I thought I would write a bit about my strategy and experiences with this eating plan.  I apologize ahead of time because I know this is going to pale in comparison to some of the excellent summaries found on the South Beach forum.  Before any of you hard core SBers take offense, though,  when I mention my yogurt and bean obsession or my occasional consumption of full fat cheese and wine during Phase One, remember that this is my own personal interpretation.  It seems to be working for me and is definitely easier to stick to than other diets I've tried in the past.

I should mention that my first brush with a similar diet was with The Zone.  I followed this one on and off for over a year, and lost 20 pounds with it.  I find the Zone and South Beach are quite similar in lots of ways, so I think I keep the principles of both in mind when planning my meals.  Usually try to incorporate a 40:30:30 ratio (Good carb: protein:fat).

 While there seems to be a bit of controversy over whether Phase One is actually necessary to curb your carb cravings or whether it is merely there to sell books (lose 7 to 13 lbs in the first 2 weeks!), I don't really care because it is highly motivational to see those pounds fall off so quickly in the beginning.  I tend to agree, though, with those who say that Phase One should really be only followed for 2 to 3 weeks.  Any more than this, and experience tells me that I will lose control, pig out, and gain back half the weight I just lost.

While I won't go into an exhaustive list of foods I eat during the different phases, I will say what my staples and favorites are.  So here goes…

Phase One Breakfasts (each of these is meal):

  • 2 Eggs, scrambled or fried,minimal butter or oil with glass of V8
  • Low fat cottage cheese
  • 2 slices of Back Bacon or veggie sausages + V8
  • Smoked salmon + V8
  • My favorite:  Scrambled eggs with pinto beans, mozzarella cheese, and hot sauce

Phase One lunches:

  • Usually a rather large salad with a selection of delicious things, including:  Lettuce or spinach, bell pepper, mushrooms, tomatoes, chickpeas, cucumber, avocado or cheese (feta or blue),  some sort of protein (either a can of tuna, some lunch meat, or grilled chicken), and a low-fat, low carb dressing (usually just some balsamic vinegar).  The major problem with this is that it is time consuming to prepare every day, and requires very frequent trips to the supermarket.
  • If I don't have time to make lunch, I will usually buy pre-made salads from the supermarket.

Phase One dinners include:

  1. Usually, grilled meat or fish on the george foreman grill (chicken breast, lean ground beef, steak, pork loin, lamb, salmon).  I tend to have a larger portion than is probably allowed 6-8 oz rather than 4…
  2. Some sort of vegetable.  I like making roasted vegetables (eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, etc.  add a little olive oil and seasoning and bake in oven).  Also, I will sometimes have salad or steamed or boiled frozen veggies.  Broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, and zucchini are my favorites.  I also make green beans with Thyme and slivered almonds…very yummy.

Phase One snacks:

  • Low sugar yogurt, either plain with splenda and vanilla extract or another flavored one with less than 75 calories.  I have at least one yogurt a day.
  • Pistachios, usually 15-20.
  • Hard boiled egg
  • veggies and hummus.
  • Celery with Laughing cow cheese (the standard SB snack). 
  • A couple squares of dark chocolate or a fudgsicle (skinny cow brand in the UK)
  • Wine – I know this is technically not allowed, but I must say that I have always had at least a few glasses of wine per week during Phase one and have always lost at least 8 lbs in the two weeks. 

Well, this is already a rather long post, so I think I will save my Phase Two description for another time.