South Beach Dieters Group Meet Here!

[adoptmom]

Elaine- I have crohn's disease and also have problems with all the raw veggies on Phase one. Here are some things I can eat raw: Spinach, zucchini, celery, cucumbers, field greens, jicama, snow peas and turnips. More importantly I actively avoid raw: cabbage, bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, basil, mint, and worst of all iceberg lettuce. Most all of those I can eat cooked but if you have IBS tendencies avoid iceberg lettuce like the plague. Stick to the lettuces that look like you picked them out of your yard. :D Nutrition wise they're much better for you anyway.

If you decide to start Phase 1 again I would stick with mostly cooked veggies for the first 3-4 days and then add one raw serving at a time and see how you do. I can get away with a salad of field greens and other things on my "can eat" list once a day and that's it for me. Everyone's different though. Even with that limitation I managed to lose 30 pounds.

And now I'm back at it. Ugh! after 3 days of thanksgiving meals in a row I dread the scale tomorrow.

Tami

[irislady]

Hi, All. I hope everyone stayed safe, healthy and happy over the holiday.

Company just left late this afternoon. It was so quiet after their RV left that I told DH that we HAD to go to the movies or do something else so that the post-holiday letdown wouldn't get to me. This was my first holiday since my mom passed away in June. Having my sister and her family here meant a great deal to me. The original plans for this visit were made last winter, and my mom was going to drive out with them.

Thanksgiving meal and all the others went very well. B-I-L (professional chef) seemed to enjoy everything and said how lovely it was to be the one to just sit back and enjoy. He doesn't give compliments lightly, so I was flattered. By the time Thanksgiving dinner was on the table, I didn't have much of an appetite. Partly due to nerves, partly because I tend to snack on fresh veggies the whole time I'm in the kitchen. I did have some pumpkin bread and lemon cake this week, so I was so surprised to find that I had DROPPED 3 pounds since last weekend. Seemed strange since I've just been trying to maintain the previous loss. DS and I did take advantage of the lack of rain yesterday to take the dogs for a long walk.

Shelia, I had nearly forgotten about Red Velvet Cake til you mentioned it. That was a highlight of any gathering we ever went to when we lived in Memphis. So good! Thanks for sharing your recipe for it and for sweet potato pie.

Tami, your "cook-a-holic" line truly made me LOL. I knew exactly how you felt! I was in the kitchen til midnight on Wed. and back at it around 6 AM on Thanksgiving morning.

Sue, I was on the Grand Princess last month, and there was always at least one sugar free dessert on the menu each night. They were quite good, too. I found it harder to resist the sugary desserts in the buffet dining room. It seemed like they were deliberately placed to sabotage my good intentions... like right next to the fresh fruit, close to the salad bar, etc.

Elaine, I had IBS fairly severely before I started on SB. Now when I stick to SB I don't have any problems at all. I do add Benefiber to my morning tea nearly every day, and sometimes in the afternoon, too. I think my system is really sensitive to food preservatives and by avoiding most packaged foods that aren't SB friendly I also avoid those preservatives. I do get heartburn quite often, tho, whenever I have to do Phase 1 again to break the cravings cycle. I sent all the sweets I baked home with my kids and my sister but I'll have to go through my cabinets and pantry tomorrow and "detox" the kitchen. I know DS didn't take all the snackie foods she brought out with her.

I guess our next hurdle will be avoiding Christmas cookies....?
Shae

[ElaineB2]

Deb, were you asking me when my next cruise is? - We don't have one booked, yet. Thinking about next summer for my son's highschool graduation. Our last one was this past June - Celebrity Infinity to Alaska - it was incredible. How about you - anything booked?

Tami - I have a sister with crohn's. She seems to have it under control. Had surgery years ago and was on steroids for several years - I think she finally was able to wean off of them over the past couple of years though. Good luck to you. Your plan to introduce one raw serving a day after 3 or 4 days sounds like a great idea. I'll give it a try

Shae - It's good to hear that your IBS is under control after getting used to SB. I just need to get to that point.

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Will try the suggestions and see how it goes. Just need to get through the Holidays. :rolleyes: :)

[ColoradoJuli]

I have actually been pretty good all weekend. The worst thing I ate on Thursday was potatoes. I had made a pumkin pie with Splenda and fat free evaporated milk. It was really pretty SB friendly and it tasted great. I had many compliments and no one knew that it was not the 'real' thing.;)

Today was not a great day because there was a meeting that I was in charge of and we had pizza for lunch. I was starving and had 3 pieces. I promise to be good the rest of the day.

I have had bouts with IBS. I have found that being on SB I have not had one incident. I also have gagging problems where food gets stuck in my throat. Since being on SB that has also stopped. I really have found myself much more healthy since starting SB.

Anyone wanting to know about my cruises can look at my signature. I am getting more and more excited. I will start pulling clothes out in a couple of weeks and then I will really be excited! We are taking donations to CSI Roatan and have heard from Brad frequently. We can not wait to meet the children.

Everyone take care and I will check in tomorrow.

[adoptmom]

Hi all- Boy, I did nothing to day and it was WONDERFUL! Ok, I wasn't exactly an ooze of jelly on the couch. We went to Granddad's, I sorted through the kids' craft cabinet, that sort of thing but no real housework and no running 50 places. :D

Shae- Those 3 pounds you lost..... They're here along with another of their brothers! Oh well at least it shouldn't take too long to ditch them.

Elaine- I find it interesting that you have IBS and your sister has crohn's. I'm the only one in my mom's side that doesn't have IBS. The things that kill them, for the most part, I can eat. I'm the queen of pickled jalapenos. Just dont' ask me to eat bell peppers. I think they mostly give me acid reflux though, not crohn's type symptoms.

I've been extremely lucky. I presented with symptoms in 1986 and they perforated my colon when they went to do a biopsy. I've had an ileostomy since then. I had 2 bad reactions to prednisone and azulfadine, the only 2 drugs available in 1986, which required hospitalization. They decided to let me go and "see how I did." I'm extremely happy to say I've not taken any crohn's related meds, nor have I had any symptoms since. My only 2 hospitalizations since were due to gall bladder issues and a doc who screwed up my colonoscopy. I'm 2 for 2 on perfing now so I'll not be having another. Fortunately I've got a Gastroenterologist who agrees on doing a virtual scope next time! I like her!

Juli- it doesn't surprise me that your IBS and other GI issues have cleared up since starting SB. I've done alot of research into those types of things when we thought my DD had IBS last year. (It can effect children too but her issue was food allergies.) One of the best treatments for IBS is fiber in the diet and less processed junk. You just have to take it SLOW!

Talk to you all tomorrow!

Tami

[ColoradoJuli]

Tami-My father has had an illiostemy (sp?) since he was 26 (He is now 66). He had ulcerative colitis (another set of words that I might have spelled wrong.) He has done excellent. He does have to watch what he eats. Too much raw veggies and nuts stops his system up and he ends up in the hospital with an n-g tube. He has gotten to the point that he knows when he is stopped up enough go to the ER and his doctor knows that dad knows what is needed. It really works out great for him.

Good for not doing anything today. I have ended up more busy this weekend than I thought that I would be. I plan on staying home tomorrow and just doing laundry and work. Tuesday I will be picking my folks up from the train station and they will get to see my new car.:p Just hope the snow is gone so my car doesn't get dirty.:D

[chris2597]

The last few days have been the diet challange.....Of course there was the wonderful Thanksgiving meal.....I stayed pretty SB except for a serving of stuffing. I couldnt resist....and a small piece of pumpkin pie....I didnt eat the crust....So I felt pretty good about my control and food choices.....here come Fri....Dh and I went out to dinner.....to a great Mexican rest....We ordered very lean beef fahitas....the chips and hot sauce was on the table but i refrained....The beef and beans were great....I relented half way through the meal a took a bite of a soft and freshly made tortilla....To my surprise....It didnt hold the same taste appeal it had before I started SB....one bite was enough.....well then I decided to try the real challange of the nacho chip and sauce.....same thing...loved the flavor of the hot sauce but the chip didnt hold any taste appeal at all....Now onto Sat. night....we went to a wonderful party and the main course of the evening was a homemade Paella....It was wonderful.....The presentation of the meal was beautiful and I had a plate of this spanish/caribbean meal....a few glasses of merlot and a piece of one of the best cakes I had ever eaten....along the way I sampled a couple of the delicious appetizers.....This was a very special meal and occasion....I didnt go overboard or overeat but I did enjoy myself.....So far I dont feel the effects of the carb load.....but tomorrow it is back to phase 1 for a few days to clean out the bad stuff.....This is what I love about this diet....you can have special events.....eat all the specialties and then go back on phase 1 for a time and pick back up where you left off....I have determined that I feel much better when sticking to sb food.

[irislady]

Chris, I found the same thing happened to me with the chips and tortillas at a Mexican restaurant. We took my son to his favorite Mexican place on his birthday in late Oct. I nibbled on a few chips and had a cheese enchilada. I remember DH and I saying to each other afterwards that we didn't know why DS liked that place so much because the food didn't taste very good to us. Now I realize the restaurant was probably just fine, it was our "tastebuds" that have changed. We probably would have felt the same way about the food if we had gone to our old favorite Mexican place. I noticed that the stuffiing I made for Thanksgiving just didn't "taste the same" to me this year even tho' I made it the way I have for years. I had maybe 3 bites and decided I didn't want more. Everybody else (except for DH who's also on SB) gobbled it up, so I don't think there was anything wrong with it.
Shae

[adoptmom]

[quote name='ColoradoJuli']Tami-My father has had an illiostemy (sp?) since he was 26 (He is now 66). He had ulcerative colitis (another set of words that I might have spelled wrong.) He has done excellent. He does have to watch what he eats. Too much raw veggies and nuts stops his system up and he ends up in the hospital with an n-g tube. He has gotten to the point that he knows when he is stopped up enough go to the ER and his doctor knows that dad knows what is needed. It really works out great for him.

.:D[/QUOTE]

Juli- Yeah I learned my lesson with the raw veggies and nuts early on. When I went through a carrot stick phase I used to blanch them a bit and it made all the difference in the world. I've never had to go to the ER for a blockage but I have had to be on a totally liquid diet a few times waiting for one to pass. The worst was when someone brought back chocolate covered macaroons from Hawaii. Apparently coconut is an issue! I was in pain for quite a while with that one. :rolleyes:

Chris- I love taking jicama slices with me to mexican restaurants. The salsa is great on them.

Tami

[ColoradoJuli]

Chris - sounds like you did pretty good over the weekend. I have gotten into the low carb tortillas. They don't completely taste the same as the 'regular' kind, but I love tortillas with butter and salt so this satisfies my craving.

Tami - Dad gets so bad that liquids don't even stay down! Poor guy.

I am thinking about making stew for dinner tonight because it is very cold. Does anyone have any suggestions for replacing the potatoes and carrots? If I leave them out I am left with meat and peas. Stew sounds so good on a cold winter day, but I am not sure what to do with it.

[Deb in Cali]

Juli,

My SB cookbook has a phase 1 Beef soup recipe that has spinach, celery, green beans, diced tomatoes onion and cabbage in it. My suggestion would be zucchini instead of the spinach and it would taste like a "real" stew.


All
Does anyone know if turnips would be allowed? That might be a good replacement for potatoes.

I really blew the diet this weekend. I did okay on Thanksgiving, but ate some no-no leftovers on Friday and Saturday. The encouraging part of Thanksgiving is that I didn't even finish the food on my plate. I was over full with what I did eat. In years past I would have been able to polish off the amount of food I had on the plate and gone back for almost another one. So my need for food has decreased significantly. Also even with the no-no leftovers I ate, I did eat way below what I would have consumed in the past.

I am back on the wagon this morning. I did go to gym every day except Thanksgiving, so I negated some of the damage I did.


Deb

[adoptmom]

Yes, Turnips are allowed. (I slice them thin, sprinkle them with salt and dry them in the oven for "chips" if I know I'm going to a chips and dip situation.) I was also going to suggest beans, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, eggplant, and zucchini. Actually stew sounds really good. I might have to make some later in the week.

Juli- I feel bad for your dad. I've never gotten that bad. Ouch! I just can't imagine.

Tami

[WeirdEyes]

Hello everyone! I've been out of town so I haven't been reading the boards. I weighed this morning and gained 5 lbs over the holiday. I started back on Phase 1 this morning. Truth be told, I am sick of food! LOL

I'm glad that all of you have been doing so well. :D I hope most of you didn't eat too much pie and cake. ;)

[ColoradoJuli]

Tami - Dad ends up in the hospital about 2 times a year. Poor guy, I really feel sorry for him.

Well...I wimped out and just did leftovers last night. I had a great 10 bean soup. There is an organization here that helps abused and homeless women. They create bean and spice mixes and sell them at the local stores. It is called the Women's Bean Project. The mixes are very good and I like that I am supporting the group. The stores do not take any profit from the sale of the mixes. Really neat community project.

I have been really good since Thursday and even lost a couple pounds, but M&D came in today and dad wanted a Philly Cheese Sandwich. So we went to lunch together. The place has nothing, but sandwiches so I didn't have a choice. I did get the small size, but the white bread (roll) tasted so good that I ate the whole thing! Oh well, atleast it is just this one time and I am not going overboard.

[adoptmom]

Juli- would that be the same Dad who ends up in the hospital twice a year? :D I have to laugh because I do stuff like that to myself all the time. Like tonight I had some leftover cheeseball from thanksgiving. Unfortunately I've already gutted the inside if the cheeseball so all that's left is the outside which is covered in pecans. I really should eat nuts because of the blockage possibility but they were so good that I just can't bring myself to throw them to the goats. Dumb huh? :o

Tami

[WeirdEyes]

Tami, it is not dumb. There are just some things that are hard for us to give up even if they make us sick. I'm not suppose to eat Mexican food because it causes my stomach and esophogus to spasm (don't ask me why). I LOVE it and still eat it even though it makes me sick. I just take an anti-spasm pill afterwards. Now, if I didn't have those pills, I probably would stay away from it.

Juli, I hope your Dad is okay.

Hugs to all! :D

[adoptmom]

Shelia- I purposely left the cheeseball out of the fridge last night so now I have to throw it away. I still have the dried beef one which is legal but it doesn't have nuts on it. I have to get some cucumber today so I can use that as "crackers."

[WeirdEyes]

Tami, that's a good idea! Also, I've never thought of using a cucumber as a cracker. You are sooo smart! :D Thanks for the tip.

[ColoradoJuli]

Shelia - Dad is fine right now. He just gets blockages about 2x/year. He is beginning to act older and that is hard to see. Mom & I had a long talk about how dad is acting. She is getting concerned about being left alone. I had to give her a pep talk and tell her that she is a strong woman and that she will be able to live alone when dad passes on. Tough talk to have with your mom.

Tami - That is a wonderful idea. Do you put cheese on it and all? I had some cheese and wine last night and was craving some water crackers to go with it, but luckily didn't have any in the house so I just ate the cheese without anything. I'll have to try the cucumbers.

[WeirdEyes]

Juli, I can relate to you about our parents. I've had the "talk" with both of my parents. My Mom had a tumor in her heart about 1.5 years ago and I had to deal with my Dad then. My Dad is now in remission from cancer so I had to have that talk with Mom earlier. It is hard to watch our parents age. We always think they are going to be there. I'm very close to both of my parents and I know when they go, I'll have a hard time coping. My Mom will be 62 in January and my Dad will be 64 in March. We really just need to spend as much time with them as we can.

[ColoradoJuli]

Our parents are close to the same age. Mom will be 65 in February and Dad is 66. I agree with you that we need to spend as much time as possible with them. My folks live 2 1/2 hours away from us. I made a promise to myself to this year that I would see them at least once a month. I have managed to keep that promise except for the month of September. I will once again do that this coming year.

[WeirdEyes]

Juli, that is wonderful. Luckily, my parents moved to where my brother and I live about 4 years ago. They live about 2 miles from my house. It is so nice. Cherish your parents while you can. ;)

[irislady]

Such good advice to cherish your parents while you can. My mom died this past June 2 weeks after heart valve replacement surgery. She did so well after the first surgery that we just didn't expect that she wouldn't pull through this one. (She was 76.)

These days 62 and 64 is still quite young. I truly hope your parents have MANY happy, healthy years ahead of them.
Shae

[Deb in Cali]

Tami,

Did we have a mind meld about a week ago? I swear that we are thinking the same things and coming up with similar ideas about the same time. My son had to bring a relish tray to a Thanksgiving potluck and I was trying to come up with another item to balance out the tray. I thought of cucumber slices as the final item and included also them on Thanksgiving Day at our house. It was a big hit with the potluck crowd as well as at my house.

I want to try your turnip chips? My husband loves turnips so those should be a big hit with him.

All,

I lost my dad years ago, but we weren't that close. About 10 years ago my Mom moved across the state to where her only grandkids are, which is a few miles a few miles from me. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/images/smilies/eek.gif[/img] I am so close to my Mom I can't even think about losing my her. I talk to her at least twice a day.

I am hoping to go on a cruise to Hawaii with her in 06. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif[/img]

How come money has to be so expensive [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/images/smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img] that it gets in the way of the good things in life like cruising?

[WeirdEyes]

Deb, I totally agree with you about the money thing. If we had more of it, we'd cruise at least 3-4 times a year. As it is now, we are only cruising once a year. We won't even be able to cruise in 2006, but that is okay because we are going to Great Britain, which has been a lifelong dream of mine.

Shae, I'm sorry to hear you lost your mother. I know that must be really tough on you...especially around the holidays. I'm sure you Mom is looking down on you and smiling. Every time I think of my wonderful grandmother who passed away four years ago, I think about that. I visualize her looking down on me. I miss her terribly.

How did everybody do this week on weigh loss? I lost 3.5 lbs of the 5 I gained over Thanksgiving. We have two more parties this weekend so it will be tough. At the party Sat. night, I'm responsible for bread so I'm going to take some whole wheat rolls and a sour dough loaf. I figured that the people that don't like whole wheat can eat the sour dough. I'll stick with one whole wheat roll.