South Beach Diet - Phase 1

When I was pregnant with Jacob I gained a whole 14 pounds. That's what happens when you have a micro-preemie at 24 weeks. I think I lost 12 of that 14 pounds giving birth to him! For the next 4 months, I commuted back and forth to Boston daily (45 minutes each way) to visit him and I was pumping every three hours around the clock to keep my milk supply up for when he eventually came home. The lack of eating and sleep plus the combination of stress and pumping resulted in another 9 pound loss after his birth! I hadn't been that skinny since college and it was nice while it lasted.

Grace's pregnancy was a different story. Fueled by my nerves, and the possibility that I could have another micro-preemie, I ate anything and everything I wanted during that pregnancy. My excuse? If I go into pre-term labor I want to fatten my baby up so they have a better chance! Well, eating that box of Snackwell's Devil's Food Cake cookies every night worked! I gained a whopping 47 pounds during her pregnancy and I did NOT have a preemie. ::does a little happy dance:: Yes, some of that was retained fluid. In fact, it was determined at my last appointment that the last 7 pounds of weight gain was all fluid and it had taken up residence in my (c)ankles. I couldn't walk more than 10 feet without my feet throbbing, but I digress.

I had no problems dropping the first 30 pounds, but after that I only managed to drop another 5 leaving me +12 pounds today and it's all in my belly. I didn't think it was that noticeable until we were at the hospital for Jacob's broken leg and the nurse at Jacob's bedside said, "Are you expecting?" (Note to self: Burn fold-over waist gaucho pants) My response, more to be polite than anything, was, "No, I have a 12 month old daughter at home." I was quite taken aback when she added, "Oh, so you're still working that off." Yikes. She's lucky I am a nice girl. Let's just leave it at that.

So today begins Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet to rid my body of its sugar addiction. I may end up in rehab by weeks end for severe withdrawals, but it is worth a shot. I would like to have a third and I can't start 12 pounds above what I did for the other two pregnancies. That will just lead to a snowball effect which I am not comfortable with so off I go!

I attempted this diet once before right after I graduated from college when I was working full-time and it was a big, fat fail. It didn't help that I had no time to cook and was looking for convenience foods to pack in my lunch that didn't exist. I went to bed the first two nights in tears because I was starving! On day three, I quit. Looking back, I didn't have much to lose and probably would have benefited more from some exercise and toning, but this time I definitely need to lose 12 pounds. That is it! If I can accomplish this now it will save me from spiraling and ending up with a sugar/carb habit and needing to lose 20+ pounds down the road.

So far it has been relatively easy and I think being a SAHM has helped. I can cook the foods I need to eat as I go throughout the day so I don't have to worry about relying on easy, pre-packaged, convenience foods like I did the first time around.

My menu so far today has looked like this:

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs sprinkled with reduced-fat cheddar cheese, a turkey sausage patty and one cup of skim milk.

Snack 1: 15 dry roasted peanuts and a cup of tea.

Lunch: Salad loaded with lots of fresh veggies and grilled chicken topped with fat-free feta cheese and crystal light.

I will try and update the blog regularly since this is a good way to be held accountable and stick with this.

Guess when Phase 1 ends? Monday, November 1st. Someone keep the Halloween candy away from me!