D Before and After

The first month of results are in on the South Beach Diet! And the score is:.......

-15 pounds!

I lost about 10-12 pounds the first two weeks during "phase 1"and have kept losing about 2 more each week since. This is my single largest weight loss in one YEAR, let alone one month, in my life. Even though I'm going to stay on "phase 2" of SB for a while, I'm really not worried about losing any more for now. I will just be happy to bounce a round a new 'decade' of weight for a while and prove I can keep this off. If more does happen to come off, great. I should also mention that I have been sick, flat in bed the last week and slightly ill the week before, so I have had very little exercise for two weeks and still lost weight.

In all these weight-loss commercials, they show before and after pictures, and I've learned there are several rules you have to follow in order to do it right. First, in the before picture you need to find your tightest, ugliest clothes possible.


It turns out that my fattest picture was NOT in my tightest clothes, but in my loosest with a fairly strong wind blowing.

I call it, Stay Puft Marshmallow Graduate. Yes, I work in the nutrition department now.

*shudder*








Here is the real before shot. I tuck in my chin to make it my chins, with a look of not-so-subtle dour misery, not to mention showing off the thinning of my hair, and the buttons that are straining to stay on. Not too bad.








Now, technically, for the After pose you wear something completely different, suck in your gut, smile big, and have better lighting and all the rest, but I did want something a little more comparison worthy. So here I am in the same shirt, trying to look as bad as before:

You will notice that the shirt actually has room to give now. The buttons aren't straining and there's no horrendous belly bulge.


But maybe you'd like a more sensible before and after comparison.



The results are more subtle. There's more definition to my chin and less of an angle on those buttons as they move down. It's kind of hard to see Toooo much dif though. Guess that's why they choose 35 pound losers instead of 15.



For a more objective measure:

I can get the top button to its hole, though I'm another couple pounds away from closing it. So my neck size is a good 1/2" - 1" smaller.

Now it just so happens that "My Fitness Coach" asks us to measure various parts of our body on a regular basis for comparison. Not only has my neck lost 1/2-1", my chest, waist, and hips all lost 1", and my thighs and biceps are slightly better toned as well.

This has convinced Joy to start in the SB Diet this week as well. Today is her fourth day. We are also pleased to note (if this is going to be a lifestyle for us) that Hyrum does NOT like white bread, but is happy to have his peanut butter on grainy whole wheat.




How do you do it? The rest of this post is just a short description of the South Beach Diet. For more info, I recommend the book above the website.

Phase 1 is the tough part. For two weeks:
You eat a LOT of fresh-as-possible vegetables.
Lean meats are good, as are low-fat dairy products and nuts.
You have a small snack before meals and a dessert, mostly ricotta cheese with sugar substitute and the extract of your choice (vanilla, almond, lemon, cocoa powder).

And that's about it. It's very Atkins-like, but with Atkins I only lost about 2 pounds a week, not 10 in two weeks. The advertisement says 8-14 pounds. The advertisement also claims you will have no more cravings for highly processed carbs, but this is silly. You don't undo 30 years of food training in 2 weeks. I will admit that my carb cravings have lessened.

In Phase 2, you add in fruits and whole grains because you really do need those in your diet (not to mention for your own sanity). Plus dark chocolate comes in. I have decided I really enjoying just sucking on a chunk of dark chocolate until it coats my mouth and throat so that I'm drowning in it. Just a dab'll do ya. The advertised weight loss is 1 pound a week until you reach your goal. Whole wheat pasta is better than I thought it would be, and I've always been a fan of nutty, grainy whole wheat bread (well, since Germany anyway). Sweet potatoes replace white.

In Phase 3, you add a few more unprocessed grains. Anytime you feel yourself gaining again (or just decide to enjoy Christmas), you go back to Phase 1, take it back off, and return. Refined sugars, white rice, white bread, white potatoes and pasta never return to your lifestyle, and you have less corn than the typical American. You can enjoy them occasionally, of course, just in moderation.

He has plenty of caveats in the book along the lines of, "look, you need to enjoy this and if you don't you won't stick with it, so if you just HAVE to have your 1/2 cup of ice cream every day, do it and follow the rest of the plan as best as you can. If you can make it 1/3 or a 1/4 cup, that's even better. Don't kill yourself."