A Dad's South Beach Diet Journal

Diet Reset...

2009-11-08T05:16:00.000-08:00

I will have to restart my South Beach diet starting this week. I have compromised it in the past 2 weeks and I didn't get the desired results. Two challenges I had were due to gatherings - and I couldn't help my food intake.

1. House Blessing - a friend's family bought their 1st house and we were there for the house blessing. I couldn't stay away from the desserts and I even had several glasses of soda.

2. Halloween Get-together - our family got together with friends from high school and spent the evening after treat-or-trick around the kitchen. The food was great while exchanging stories. I left the party bloated, and knowing my South Beach diet went down the drain.

STILL, I'm not giving up. I can only pick up myself and start over again. The good thing is that I am exercising now, going to the gym 3 times / week the past 2 weeks. I hope I can keep this up.

First 3 Days...

2009-10-17T04:29:00.000-07:00

I'm supposed to log my food intake as part of this journal. I'm on my 4th Day now so I'll try my best to remember what I had the first 3 days.

Day 3

Breakfast: Tuna and Eggs Omelet, Eggplant from Day 2 dinner
Lunch: Salad (w/ Mushroom, 2 types of greens, tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, cheese, 1 boiled egg); no dressing available so I used a half spoon of olive oil for the greens
Dinner: Misua with patola and meatballs. I tried to remove as much of the misua noodles as I could. Heck, I'll not be legalistic on this diet.
Snacks: String Cheese
Drinks: 1 cup of Coffee

Day 2

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with a vegetable (sorry, I forgot - I have amnesia already?)
Lunch: String beans and tofu from Day 1 dinner
Dinner: Eggplant cooked in olive oil, meat from my boys calderetta meal
Snacks: String Cheese

Day 1

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs, asparagus, spicy sardines with onions
Lunch: Corned beef and cucumber. Plus, around 4 pieces of garlic shrimp (YUM) from my lunch mates.
Dinner: String beans and tofu (YUM!)
Snacks: String Cheese

I'm starting to like string cheese, hahaha. I have to look for some nuts and pickles to have some variety in my snacks.

Initial Weigh In

2009-10-17T04:15:00.000-07:00

I weighed in at the office 2 days on Monday, Oct 12 - 2 days before my actual diet started. I had my office clothes on minus shoes, with belt, and nothing on my pockets. The weighing scale is digital - so it's a good thing.

My initial weight was at 178.6 lbs.

Height = 5 feet, 7 inches.
Weight = 178.6 pounds.

From a BMI calculator site, my calculated BMI is 28.0.

BMI Categories:

Normal weight = 18.5-24.9
Overweight = 25-29.9
Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

My target weight is 153 lbs with the same weigh in factors. That would put my BMI at 24 flat.

Start of Diet Delayed for 2 Days

2009-10-17T04:06:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to start my South Beach Diet on Mon, Oct 12. I ended up starting it on Wed, Oct 14. Some challenges I faced which caused the delay:

* WORKPLACE FOOD. A colleague who just arrived from India after a 2week vacation brought a box of Indian sweets. On Monday morning, that's what met me at the office. Waah - what to do? I remember that it was me who requested for him to do that. I did the right thing, I got a piece. It was great. On my way home for lunch, I stopped by his desk again and got 2 pieces.

* LEFTOVERS. The previous day, Sunday, we had a gathering at our place for the birthday of a friend. I thought that I could eat my "last supper" since the next day, I was starting on my diet anyway. So eat I did until I was bloated-ly full. What I didn't anticipate was the left-overs in the fridge. We ended up eating those on Monday and Tuesday.

* LACK OF PREPARATION. On Tuesday, we ran out of South Beach foods. My wife had to restock the fridge. This is no way to start a diet.

But, I'm writing this as I am on my Day 4. Not bad. It's the ending that counts.

Join a Weight Loss Group

2009-10-12T14:35:00.001-07:00

Joining a weight loss group makes losing weight a lot more fun than doing it on your own. I actually was motivated to start dieting again when I heard that in our workplace, there was a BIGGEST LOSER's group. Like the TV show, there would be an initial weigh in. After that, our weight loss is tracked on a weekly basis.

To motivate those in the group, there is a penalty if a certain weight loss is not achieved within a week. One is not required to pay anything if the weight loss is greater or equal to 3 lbs. If the weight loss is 2 lbs, the penalty is $1. If the weight loss is 1 lbs, the penalty is $2. If there is no weight loss, the penalty is $3. If there was a weight gain of 1 lb, the penalty is $4. And so forth...

The collected penalties go to an account. At the end of the 3 month period, the biggest loser gets 50% of the accumulated penalties, the 2nd biggest loser would get 30%, and the 3rd biggest loser gets 20%.

I intend to win the whole she-bang. I know some of my friends in the same group are not contented with placing 2nd so, I'm sure they want to win as well. Our competitive juices are now churning. Really hope that converts to weight loss as well...

South Beach Diet Plan for Beginner

2009-10-10T22:57:00.000-07:00

The South Beach Diet Plan for Beginner website at http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/ was the only resource I used when I first tried this diet earlier this year. The website is great because it has everything a beginner would need to start the diet.

Sections include: South Beach Diet | How Does It Work? | South Beach Diet Food List | South Beach Diet Recipe | SBD Recipe Collection | South Beach Diet Tips and Guides | Preparing For The Rest Of Your Life | South Beach Diet Book / Grocery Food Glycemic Index | Quick Shopping List.

I've also joined a forum in this website for this effort - something which I didn't do in my first South Beach diet attempt.

Why I Chose the South Beach Diet...

2009-10-10T22:39:00.000-07:00

On the last 2 weeks of May this year, I strictly followed the first phase of the South Beach diet and I cut my weight back from 180 lbs to 170 lbs. (So, I know that this diet works for me.) Then I stopped following the diet. I managed to go down to 168 lbs around July by exercising, and managing what I ate.

Then, I totally lost it. Starting July, a real hectic work load didn't allow me to do any workout for a month. Add some undisciplined eating habits and by early October, I have gained back some of the pounds I lost and now I stand at 175.

Nevertheless, it's October and I would like to start again. Here are my reasons why I am choosing the South Beach Diet to lose weight:

No additional expenses (unlike some diet programs)
It's healthy.
It didn't make me go hungry.
It's simple and easy to follow.
It works!
Because it works, my wife was encouraged to try it too. Then, we both lost weight together.

My Background...

2009-10-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

I'm a 33 year old Illinois resident, married, and father to 3 great boys. I've always been thin growing up - and I remember eating much in an attempt to gain weight to no avail.

Marriage and working in an office from my early 20s onwards have allowed me to gain weight. At my height, 5'7", my current weight of 175 lbs puts me in the OVERWEIGHT category. Per my BMI, my highest possible weight to be considered NORMAL is 155 lbs. I would like to go further and target a weight of 150 lbs.

My family has a history of heart disease - my dad died at the age of 48 when I was 8 years old. Relatives who have seen me gain weight in recent years have expressed concern about it. I do want to live long, enjoy time with my family, and as a Christian - be a good steward of the body God has given me.

Part of my commitment in achieving my target weight is to keep a journal while I go through the process. Hence this blog.