I started Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet yesterday and so far, so good. I went grocery shopping on Saturday and stocked up on lots of veggies and am excited about the prospect of getting to know my kitchen again after a few weeks apart while I dined almost exclusively outside of the home. I have armed myself with a bunch of delectable Phase 1 recipes, mostly from compiled lists at Kalyn's Kitchen.
Last night for dinner I made lemon-dill salmon* and ricotta and herb stuffed mushrooms. If I had realized it was so easy to make stuffed mushrooms, one of my favorite hors d'oeuvres, I would have started making them years ago. The "herbs" in my mushrooms were chives and 3 kinds of basil (we grow a lot of basil in our home). I also started hydrating some garbanzo beans and shelled some edamame in preparation for making chick pea soup and edamame salad later this week.
Today I actually ate some fruit, which is forbidden, but I was at a work breakfast and it would have been very obvious if I had turned up my nose at everything. So I had a few strawberries and a couple chunks of melon, which are lower on the glycemic index, as fruits go. Look at me, talking the lingo.
In addition to the fruit, I ate some cottage cheese for breakfast. For lunch I had a salad of romaine, black beans, chicken, cheese and salsa with a side of steamed broccoli.
I think this is going to go more smoothly than the detox I did before, which did not allow me to eat beans. Beans have the high level of fiber that helps me feel full. On the other detox we just ate protein, fruits and vegetables. No grains, no dairy, no legumes. It was hard for me to stay full for more than 10 minutes at a time and I felt like I was constantly looking for something to eat so my stomach would stop growling.
I am rediscovering my deep and abiding love for ricotta cheese. I forgot how great it is. So sweet and creamy. Yesterday for lunch I ate a leftover chicken breast with leftover homemade tomato sauce and for kicks I threw some ricotta into the mix. Fabulous!
In between yesterday morning and this morning I lost 1.6 pounds. I know this is only because on Saturday I ate sushi and ice cream as a last hurrah for me and the simple carbohydrates. Still, it's encouraging.
One of the things that I know in my mind logically, but always seem to forget when presented with yummy, bad-for-me things is that I honestly feel better when I eat healthy. I look forward to tasty fresh vegetables. I never have mid-afternoon crashes, or crashes at any time of day for that matter.
I have noticed that my senses are more attuned to simple carbohydrates now that they're not allowed. The secretary in my office always has a turkey sandwich with a side of garlic Wheat Thins for lunch. Today when I walked by her desk, I could totally smell the carbs. I don't know how to desribe the smell, and I've been accused of having an overly sensitive nose so going off flour may not affect other people this way, but there was just this alluring scent to everything she was eating.
I was going to go swimming this morning, but I stayed up too late watching TV, which is a lame-o excuse, but it's all I've got. I just signed up for a swimming challenge in one of my SparkPeople groups so now I have points for motivation until I get back into the swing of exercising and actually want to get up and go every morning. Tomorrow morning I will be in the pool, earning my weekly points.
* Basically I saute a salmon fillet, squirt some lemon juice on top while it's cooking, and scatter some fresh dill on it right before it comes out of the pan. Voila!
No comments:
Post a Comment