Wednesday

And I promised last week that this would be the return of Weigh-In Wednesday. So here it is. I am sad to say that with all the work I did last year at losing a slight 4 pounds, thay have managed to creep back over the holidays. Or at least since I last weighed in. So I am back to square one. And I am okay with that. As I mentioned last time around, I am not in a "must lose weight" situation, but I would like to drop a size in clothing. I really have no one to impress, but by golly, I don't want to look like a "typical at-home Mom". You know the steroetype, running around in sweatpants, hair all disheveled, coffee in hand. (I do stray from that by at least getting dressed first thing every day- all the way down to my shoes. That way I'm ready to go out the door at a moment's notice.)

Anyway, Weigh-In Wednesday. Last week I mentioned that I would make some decisions regarding my plan and reveal them here. Unfortunately, I don't have a concrete plan in mind. I thought I had. I've been reading and observing over at , and she has me convinced that the South Beach Diet is a good thing. And by golly, she makes South Beach look easy and tempting! So I ordered the book, read it through, and I will say that I am completely impressed. I think the common misconception that it is a low-carb diet is a big misconsception. While it does start out low-carb, it is all about healthy carbs, and changing they way your body craves sugars. And what I didn't know was that Dr. Agatston is a renowned cardiologist, and the South Beach Diet was designed with heart patients in mind. He tried and tried again to find a diet that would help his patients with their cholesterol and heart problems to find a diet that they could live with. The side effect of this diet was weight loss. Of course, now it is billed as a weight-loss diet, but the fact remains that the intent was not weight-loss. Reading the book it is also obvious that this is not an unhealthy diet. Anyone could benefit from eating smarter.

So am I going to follow South Beach? I still don't know. I am certain that this diet is more than do-able. And given Andy's genetic predisposal towards high cholesterol, it certainly could benefit him greatly, but there are some aspects that I just am not convinced about. First of all is the two week induction phase. Realistically, I understand that what we are trying to do during the induction phase is change the way our bodies work. But when I look at that list of approved foods, I have a hard time convincing myself that I don't want to eat fruit for two full weeks. And then there's the issue of bread. We love bread, and I make plenty of it myself. And while I have been experimenting with more whole grains, I don't eliminate white flour completely. We don't have bread at every meal, but lunch for us is almost always sandwiches. Especially when Andy is working. He works construction, and usually has a working lunch, so lunch has to be able to be carried in his hand while he eats. A salad simply isn't going to cut it, and no matter how we pack it, soup is not going to be hot by lunch time during sub-zero temperatures.

I am glad I read the book though, and if we don't actually follow the South Beach plan for a while, we are at least going to apply a lot of what I've read. I wonder if I would benefit from skipping the induction phase, and just following phase two for a while in itself. I'm just unsure yet. So I will continue to think about it. And in the meantime, I will continue with including more whole grains into my cooking and less of the processed grains. Last night's experiment with white wheat flour turned out really good, so I'm going to stay on that path, while also attempting to reduce my sweet intake. I admit I've not been in the mood much for sweets since Christmas and all it's gluttony, so that is helpful. But then with the furnace not working yesterday, I baked a banana cake and some bread as well, so that cake is taunting me this morning. But I tell myself one step at a time. And that's the best I can hope for.