Day 10...

So, I've made it to day ten, no carbs, no soda (South Beach). I can't believe how much more energy I have and how good I am feeling. I can certainly tell when I need to eat though - today I felt a grumpiness come on about the time I needed to have the PM 'snack'. It is interesting, I find myself more in tune with my body and have really slowed down while eating meals. What would've taken me 10 minutes to eat previously, is at least double that if not longer. I am looking forward to reintroducing some multigrain items into my diet next week - I'm getting a bit tired of eggs for breakfast every morning (although they are super easy to prepare, and I add various veggies to them, it's still egg!). Adding some carbs back in will allow me to bulk cook some side dishes that I can eat off of all week. I won't lie - the fresh food has been GREAT, but the preparation of it all is kicking my rear. I've gotten it down to about an hour to prep my food for the next day, dinners are going quicker now too. I've got gazpacho to make for tomorrow, but wanted to post my thoughts. I still don't have a scale, and I'm not too worried about it; I am approaching this as a lifestyle change. I just can't believe how ignorant I was about food - the amount of food (healthy) I can have for the same amount of calories as an unhealthy choice is just astounding to me. I want to make it into Phase II and introduce some exercise into the routine - my body seems to want it!

My time flies...

I set this up two years ago, and it promptly moved to the back of the stove. I've had a great two years in my chosen industry, but want to take another direction with this blog. I'm leaving the old posts, as I was actually pleasantly surprised by what I had written :) I'm working on weight loss right now, and need another outlet. All of my favorite blogs are food-related and that just isn't going to cut it! I figure I can spend some time posting my progress here instead of reading all of those gloriously photographed and descriptive blogs about foods I'm just not allowing in my diet right now.

I'm approaching my weight loss with the goal of changing my lifestyle - not dieting. I'm getting a jump start using the South Beach diet (recommended by two of my favorite doctors over the years), and I think it was a good route to take for me. I love carbs - cookies, pastas, breads... I started the first 14 day "Phase I" on Tuesday, January 19th, 2010. I've not even made it to a full week yet, but I feel successful and honestly just feel better than I have in years. The interesting thing to me is that I feel like I have found something that was missing - I've always loved vegetables and good food. The menu I have been following has allowed me to expand my view of food and food preparation - eating healthy is NOT hard, it just requires some planning.

Allowing myself to spend the time I usually would spend working on taking care of myself is also affecting a lifestyle change for me (we all struggle for balance). My brother and I always wonder why we are so able and willing to put everything we have into our work and not put the same effort into ourselves. I'm making that change now, and it feels great!

Many people do not like or agree with the protein-heavy portion of South Beach - it can be unhealthy for you if not monitored or applied in moderation. I do not expect to stay on the stricter Phase I portion longer than the initial 14 days. I may rotate back to Phase I after Phase II for a few months - we will see. I hope to track my progress and journey here (and hopefully this won't end up on the back burner any time soon).