[Sca-cooks] South Beach (was Re: Rice)

[Dragon]

>Helena wrote:
>>  We are doing South Beach as well...
>SNIP
>>  I am having real trouble with breakfast.  I don't like to eat eggs by
>>  themselves.
>SNIP
>>  Cereal is supposed to be out, English muffins are supposed to be out.
>>  What am I supposed to have in the morning?

I was going to stay out of this, I really feel these programmed diets 
are not the solution. Changing ones habits, portion control and 
exercise are the only things that really, truly work.

I've lost 50 pounds since I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, I am 
on the cusp of dropping below what I weighed when I graduated high 
school, I feel better for it and am looking better than I have in a 
long time (not that I am any model of good looks, all things are relative...)

I still eat rice and bread, I eat ice cream and chocolate and many 
other things that are supposed to be "verboten" for somebody with my 
condition, the difference is in both quantity and frequency, I eat 
less of these things than I used to less frequently. The point being, 
the equation is simple. Calories in must be less than calories out in 
order for weight loss to occur. It takes discipline, it has not been 
easy for me and I do sometimes fall off the wagon but I climb back on 
rather quick because I know what the potential consequences of me not 
doing so will be.

These strict weight loss diets like Atkins and South Beach are a 
quick fix, I really think that they should be avoided as the 
statistics show that vast majority of people do not achieve lasting 
results with them. They go on a roller coaster cycle of ups and 
downs, there have been suggestions that such a cycle is no better 
than remaining overweight.

Weight loss is hard. There is no way around that. The only thing that 
has been shown to work long term for the majority is change in habits 
and portion control coupled with regular exercise. Yes, I know there 
are exceptions to this due to metabolic issues but for most people, 
this applies.

Lilinah wrote:
>I don't understand why people in the US feel they must eat eggs or 
>cereal or bread for breakfast. In many other cultures breakfast is 
>not appreciably different from other meals.
>
>Eat anything you like and have time to prepare that the diet allows.
>
>If you have tight time constraints, eat already sliced lunch meat 
>(ham, turkey, whatever appeals to you), with the condiments you like 
>(mayo, mustard). You can spread the condiments on the meat and roll 
>the meat up, or you could put the meat on a large lettuce leaf and 
>roll it up...
>
>If you have time, cook something other than eggs. Sausage... 
>Hamburger patty without bread... with a side salad or some other 
>vegetable, or permitted fruit.

Agreed. I have never much liked the giant pile of starch, sugar and 
fat that many Americans consider to be breakfast. There are some 
individual "breakfast" items I like but I am inclined to eat them any 
time and not just in the morning. I'm likely to be a lot happier 
eating a bowl of soup, a steak, a bean burrito, or a slice of 
leftover pizza or some Chinese style stir fry for breakfast than I am 
sitting down to the traditional American idea of breakfast.

I have not had cold breakfast cereal in my house in years, I do eat 
oatmeal once in a while but it is not a regular thing. Most mornings, 
my breakfast is pretty small and simple due to both an elevated blood 
glucose response in the morning which I have to deal with and 
convenience on my way to work. I usually eat some sort of whole grain 
bread (about 30 g total carbohydrate) and some form of protein, 
usually in the form of about 2 to 3 ounces of cheese.

Later in the day I can up my per-meal carbohydrate consumption to as 
much as 60 to 80 g and be in control but that's after my insulin 
response gets kick-started.

I know this doesn't really help with somebody insisting on using one 
of these diets. I really don't have advice for anyone in that boat. 
I'm just saying what works for me to get my issues under control and 
as a consequence, I have managed to lose a lot of weight and continue 
to have a slow and steady weight loss.

Dragon

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