Backsliding … and Recovery
It was inevitable. The human body may be a machine, but it’s run by a very fallible computer. Shortly after I last posted, I decided to proceed from Phase 1 to Phase 2 of South Beach. It was an occasion of weakness. I added back far too many bad carbs, grew lax about calories and portion size, etc. In other words, “Phase 2″ became a personal euphemism for “Diet Break.” Before I knew it, I had swung back to 175 pounds.
After this wake-up call — the whole project was in jeopardy — I managed to work all the weight off again and this morning reached a new low of 167 pounds. The typical approach after falling off the South Beach wagon is to return to Phase 1. But that’s not what I did. Instead, I tried to do Phase 2 right. The result: weight loss and the ability to eat macaroni, pizza, and chocolate. In moderation, of course. Therein lies the key.
Now we’re back on track.
I just started the SB diet on 2/2/06 and I did the same thing when I first entered Phase 2, added back way too many carbs at first and then just plain bad carbs. I luckily only gained about five pounds back but have been able to take that off by going back to Phase 1, but I keep having to restart Phase 1 because of cheating. I like your idea of trying Phase 2 correctly so I think I am going to try that. It is nice to hear that you can actually still lose weight in Phase 2. I have been a little afraid of it even though I know it is healthier to have some healthy carbs back. How did you re-enter it? My thought is to add one whole grain carb or fruit per week until I am up to 2-3 servings per day. When you eat pizza is it whole wheat - and chocolate is it sugar free?
Comment on March 27, 2006 @ 2:11 pm