Apr. 25, 2007 - Weight Loss
OK---for years I've heard that following a low carb diet can result in weight loss, I've just never tried giving up the carbs to see if it was true. A local friend of mine has lost 40 pounds following the South Beach Diet, said the weight just falls off and she does not go hungry or have to weigh, measure, or count anything, so I began looking into the diet online, checked-out the book from the library and hubby and I decided to give it a try.
I've been fairly sure for quite awhile that I'm a 'carb-addict'. I only wanted to eat breads, pastas, starchy vegetables, sugar, etc. Following this diet has confirmed it for me. In the six weeks since I began I have lost 18 pounds with very little effort. The first 2 weeks were the hardest, having to give up practically all carbs and sugar, but it is the only way to totally get rid of the carb cravings. After those 2 weeks I was allowed to add in some fresh fruit and whole-grain bread and pastas. I'm still limiting myself to one serving of grain and one serving of fruit per day because I have quite a bit of weight I need to lose. I cannot believe how different I feel! I don't have to measure any food and I can basically eat any time I'm hungry.....I just have to make sure I eat low-carb. I keep low-fat cheeses, cut low-carb veggies, hard-boiled eggs, etc. on have to snack on betweek meals. I purchased some sugar-free chocolate candy at the Dollar Store and when I have to have chocolate I eat one. My appetite has decreased dramatically. I am just amazed!
I recently read Jeannie Fulbrights blog about The Only Way to Lose Weight (link under 'friends') and discovered that the diet she recommends is basically what I'm following on South Beach. She also recommends one day of 'cheating', ie..eating anything you want, in order to keep your metabolism from stalling. We've found Sunday is a great day to do this as we often eat out after church. By doing this we can still have our Mexican, Italian, attend the church social, or eat in Amish country (!), etc. and still lose weight!
