Phase I, Day 1

January 1, 2009

I'm a little anxious about starting the South Beach Diet today. Okay, a lot anxious. While I'm excited at the prospect of feeling as good as I did the last time I was on the Beach, I'm so nervous that I am not going to be able to maintain the good habits that this plan is supposed to impart. With all of the stress of taking care of a new baby, keeping house, and working from home, I worry that I don't have the structure or stamina to keep this going. I know that I need to take this one day at a time, one meal at a time, and try not to be such a perfectionist…and I'm going to try to do that. So here I am at day one of Phase I of the program.

For the record, so that I have them written down somewhere, here are a few things that worked for me last time:
1. DRINK WATER. I must squeeze in at LEAST eight glasses (64 oz) of water every day. I cannot have a cup of coffee until I have had my first full eight ounces of water for the day. I need to drink at least one eight-ounce glass with each meal. And I must have at least one eight-ounce glass before bed.
2. MEAL PLAN. Making a meal plan for the week will help me stay on track, both with grocery shopping and with getting motivated to cook. I know that if I don't have a plan for dinner come dinnertime, I will NOT want to figure something out at the last minute and will fall back on takeout.
3. BE PREPARED. I need to have a well-stocked fridge and pantry, so that I have plenty of options at my disposal at any given time. I also need to wash and prep all fresh vegetables as soon as I bring them into the house - again, if I have to do the work to prep the veggies at mealtime, I will be less inclined to do it.
4. CREATE VARIETY. If I have to eat eggs every day for breakfast…or grilled chicken every night at dinner, I will not last. I need to continuously look for new ideas for meals and snacks, and keep that information on hand in an easy-to-use format so that I always have them at my fingertips.

B: 1 poached egg, 2 pieces canadian bacon, 6oz V8, coffee

S: 15 almonds, red pepper slices with salsa

L: turkey roll-up, zucchini in tomato sauce, coffee

S: 1 oz laughing cow light on celery stalks; 1 oz lf cheddar cheese

D: spice-rubbed roasted pork tenderloin, fauxtatoes, green beans

S: chocolate espresso ricotta creme

Water: 8 glasses!
Exercise: 30 mins yoga

All in all, today went pretty well. I stayed right on track eating-wise, though I did have some cravings and felt a little crabby come dinnertime. My husband, who agreed to do a "modified" version of South Beach with me, snacked on three granola bars and some chocolate-filled cereal squares before I asked him to stop - it was more than a little insensitive, and certainly didn't help with my cravings. But we got past it (he felt bad, apologized, and promised to be more considerate). I feel good that I've gotten through my first day unscathed, especially for a day where I wasn't particularly active or busy (we basically just laid around watching TV; a good way to spend the first day of the new year). I think I'll make up one of those ricotta cremes for dessert - that should satisfy me nicely. Onward!