South Beach Diet Day 3

I had my first lapse with only 3 days into the diet. My girlfriend came over for dinner last night and she brought over a bottle of red wine. I made chicken with a tomato sauce and lots of brocolli. I am going on holidays from next week so, I might lapse into phase 2 before I have even complete phase 1. At least when I am holiday I will be able to do a bit more exercise than usual.

I am getting use to the diet a little more now, and don't even think of eating bread or rice. I know I will be able to ease them back into my diet a little later, but in some ways it is easier to think that I will almost never eat these foods again.

One of the most important things about the diet is eating foods that have a low Glycemic Index. There is a lot of good information here about the Glycemic Index.

Basically the lower the index, the lower the food releases sugar into the blood. Eating foods with a low index will give you a feeling of fullness longer.

Day 2

I can't believe I am only on day 2 of this diet. Breakfast - 2 eggs, 2 strips of beacon. Lunch - salad, afternoon - yoghurt, dinner - chicken and some green beans.

I have been shopping and bought some cucumbers, eggs, yoghurt and some vegetable juice. I don't like vegetable juice much, but I thought I might be able to get used to it.

I can't cut back on the coffee as yet. I need to find some de-caf, but I am not even sure they sell it here in Japan.

South Beach Diet

I just bought my copy of The South Beach Diet. It is a very interesting read. It really seems to make sense, so I thought I would give it a try.

For the first two weeks, basically you can't eat:

- pasta
- bread
- rice
- alchohol
- fruit

You can basically eat as much meat, fish and vegetables as you like. Other things like low fat cheese, tea/coffee and yoghurt are also acceptable.

The thing I like is that you don't have to worry too much about portion sizes and so forth.

He also says that exercise isn't necessary, but of course it is recommended. I plan on keeping up going to the gym and riding my bike.

Anyone else tried this?

Slimming drug - Rimonabant

I would probably not take it myself but a new drug "Rimonabant" has been developed to combat the western world's obesity problem, as reported in the Times on Line.

"The new trial, carried out using more than 1,500 people who were overweight or obese, achieved actual weight losses averaging 6.6 kg (14.5 lbs), compared with 1.8 kg (4 lbs) for those taking a placebo. Both groups were on diets that aimed to provide them with 600 calories a day less than the minimum required to maintain bodyweight."

The article admits that there wasn't enough follow up to see if the participants in the survey were able to maintain the weight loss. Something which is a problem and probably the most important thing to dieting, nutrition and weight-loss.

Not a Good End to the Week

The week started off well with healthy eating and exercies on Monday and Tuesday, but then I went out for dinner Wednesday and went out drinking on Thursday. I am going to try and make up for it with some good exercise this weekend.

The weather is warming up and the cherry blossoms are out in full bloom.

I was just reading, "RESEARCH DETERMINES THAT A SINGLE DIET MIGHT NOT BE THE KEY TO FIGHTING OBESITY", and I thought it kind of fits in with what I would like to do - not sticking to just one particular diet, but trying a few different approaches - "one way to improve dietary adherence rates in clinical practice may be to use a broad spectrum of diet options, to better match individual patient food preferences, lifestyles, and cardiovascular risk profiles."

Tofu & Salad Diet

I think I will work on my own diet. Everyone is different so what works for one person may not work for another.

I like Tofu - it is made from soy beans. I eat it the Japanese way with a little minced ginger and soy-sauce poured on top. It is filling, has few calories and has lots of protein.

There is a lot of information on the web about different diets. One is the so called grapefruit diet. Take a look at this example: Grapefruit Diet Plan

I like what they write about the drawbacks: "Lacking sufficient iron, calcium, and many vitamins, this 'diet' is unhealthy as well as monotonous."

Varied and balanced is probably the best way to go with the occasional grapefruit thrown in!

Jogging and Salads

Just came back for a 40 minute jog. Tonight for dinner I have eaten a salad and some yoghurt. I am really motivated right now, but I know this won't last for long unless I really keep at it.

I am still looking around the net for good diet information, but there is just so much information out there it is difficult to know what to believe.

Here is an excerpt from an article from Centerdaily website: Healthy food choices will lead to weight loss

if a person wants to lose weight, he or she is recommended to decrease caloric intake to 1,800 calories a day. This person may eat 1,800 calories of doughnuts or 1,800 calories of fruits, vegetables, nuts and fish. Either way, the individual should lose weight because the caloric intake is less than the caloric needs, so the tape measure, scale and body fat calipers will look like their nutritional status is improving because of weight loss.

If this person loses weight by eating 1,800 calories of doughnuts each day, he or she actually may be increasing the likelihood of diabetes, heart disease and cancer even though the scale, the tape measure, and body fat measurements look positive.

Starting Out

In a study by The Journal of the American Medical Association:

- On average, those on the Atkins plan lost 4.6 pounds. 53% of participants stuck with the Atkins plan for one year.

- On average, those on the Weight Watchers plan lost 6.6 pounds. 65% of participants stuck with the Weight Watchers plan for one year.

- On average, those on the Zone plan lost 7.1 pounds. 65% of participants stuck with the Zone plan for one year.

- On average, those on the Ornish plan lost 7.3 pounds. 50% of participants stuck with the Ornish plan for one year.

I have heard of the Atkins diet and Weight Watchers, but I have never heard of the Ornish plan. It sounds interesting and I am going to see if I can find more information on it. I am not really keen on the Atkins diet, but I am prepared to give anything a try.

First Post

From today I am going on a diet! I can't believe how much weight I have gained recently. Drinking, easting, work, stress are all part of the problem. I decided today I want to do something about it and take action. Make some clear goals and stick to them.

I currently weigh an ugly 99 kilos. It is the most I have ever weighed and I have decided to do something about it and write about it here. I plan to eat less and exercise more and follow whatever advice I can find.