The End of South Beach

It's such a relief to be finished! To be able to eat fruit and yummy food again. We're really enjoying my Dad's multigrain bread and we celebrated with a nice ripe pineapple.

We're deeming South Beach a total success, we had a couple goals we were hoping to achieve:
1. Learn to be satisfied with smaller portions
2. Eat dessert less often
3. Eat healthier
4. Lose some weight

We feel that we've reached all of them; we often eat less at dinner yet still leave the talbe feeling satisfied. We know we'll need a snack later but as long as it's a healthy snack then there's nothing wrong with that. Cutting out all sugar for two weeks has helped us realize that dessert is not always necessary so we'll cut back on how much we eat.

And the big one, the weight loss… so how much did I lose in two weeks? 12 pounds! I'm pretty excited about that, I did a little better than I expected.

I don't think I'll weigh myself for a bit because I want to carry this 12 pound high and not worry about gaining a couple back (which I'm sure I will).

So my concluding thoughts on South Beach… it's hard. Really hard but definitely worth the sacrifice, especially if we can stick with these healthy habits.
L

I Cheated

I didn't mean to, really! This is what happens when we're not prepared.
Brad and I didn't have any food for lunch to do so we figured, no big deal we'll get a salad from Wendy's. I was careful to make sure the chicken was grilled, not breaded and I gave away my croutons.

Well halfway through lunch it occurred to me to check the dressing and make sure it's okay to eat… it had way too much sugar and was in general terrible for me. The salad also had bacon finely shredded, not pick out able. I've officially cheated and I feel guilty about it.

The saddest part of the story is that I very nearly went to Sunterra to the salad bar where I could have had a perfectly acceptable South Beach salad.
L

Annoyed

Anyone watch So You Think You Can Dance last night?

Anyone else hate Twitch a whole lot after the really annoying 4 Real thing he keeps doing with his arm? They all do it but Twitch is the worst, please… show less Twitch!
L

A List of Sorts

Not the most interesting post but it will have to do for today.
Hopefully you'll learn something new you didn't know about me.

I am: happy
I know: lots about Microsoft Office programs. If you need help I probably know the answer (unless it's about Pivot Tables or Macros)
I want: a Crave Cupcake
I wish: we were ready to own a house
I hate: the green shag carpet in our apartment
I miss: Janine! and Chris and Irena and Dave and my family
I fear: that Brad won't get into UofC
I feel: lighter than I was a week ago
I hear: typing, all around me people are typing, and Steven is talking on the phone
I smell: office air, it doesn't really have a scent
I crave: dessert… cutting it all out for two weeks has been hard.
I search: for new blogs, ideally by people I know
I wonder: what my children will be like
I love: reading and should make time to do it more often
I ache: for my more time with my family and to see my newest nephew
I care: about how I make others feel
I always: put chocolate chips on my pancakes
I am not: always as nice as I should be
I dance: when I'm alone
I sing: in the car
I cry: often, it doesn't take much
I don't always: try as hard as I could
I write: on my blog and that's about it
I win: Carcassonne, especially when I play against Brad
I lose: Whenever I play a game with my brother Rob, though Carcassonne might be an exception
I never: take out the garbage, that's Brad's job
I listen: to music all the time. I'm always looking for a new artist I'll love
I can usually be found: in the kitchen
I need: family and friends around me
I am scared: I'll be forgettable
I am happy about: the end of Phase I on Sunday
I think: our week at the lake can't come soon enough
L

Time for Change

I figured after 3 1/2 years it was time to change the look of the blog. I'm not super happy with this yet but by the time I got this much done I was sick of playing with it. There will probably be more changes once I'm in the mood again.

There were a couple South Beach Free posts so I figure it's okay to share a few more thoughts. South Beach is hard. We went for dinner at my in-laws last night and there was so much yummy food that we couldn't eat. There was plenty that we could eat but we were left feeling unsatisfied and I was a little resentful towards those that got to enjoy the potato salad. Only one more week though, we can do it. It's definitely easier when we're at home and the temptation isn't there. I wonder if I'll initially feel guilty eating carbs again.

We decided to try going out for lunch this weekend and were really pleased with our food. We went to Red Lobster and both had some really yummy salmon, it was nice to go out and find food we could eat.

At the halfway point I'm feeling really good about things, I feel healthier and I definitely notice the weight loss, at the rate I'm going I think I'll be quite pleased with the results.
L

Big Foot

Here's one thing you probably don't know about me... I hate buying shoes.

There are two different reasons, the first being I'm really bad at it. I know that sounds silly but I often buy these shoes that I think are great and then after one wear realize they're so painful I'll probably never use them again. It's really frustrating and has made me really wary of buying any, I don't want to waste my money if I'm not going to wear them.

The second is even worse, I was cursed with big feet. Nothing makes me feel more fat then going in and asking for big shoes, and my feet happen to be wide as well, it's not a good combination.

When one of my few trusted pairs finally gives out I put off getting new ones as long as possible and I dread the shopping trip every time. It's finally come to a point where new ones really are a necessity thought. The soul in the shoes I most often wear to work have collapsed and as a temporary fix I've stuffed them with napkins.

This weekend Brad and I went down to Magrath and as a belated birthday present my Mom gave me some money to buy something for myself. This was a perfect opportunity for some new shoes so I set out with Brad (he's proven to be a

great help in determining whether or not they're going to hurt me) and found these really cute black shoes that I'm a little in love with. I'm mostly posting the picture

s so Mom can see what a great gift she got me.

Thanks Mom, Love you!

L

Jimmy Reprise

Brad and I got to see Jimmy Eat World in concert in October so we were suprised, but super excited when they came back to town so soon. They played at Flames Central which was a place neither Brad and I had ever been but it turned out to be a really great venue. There's lots of standing room on the main level but we were lucky to get a seat on a padded booth on the 1st level, we had a great view of the stage but got to be comfy and seated the whole time.

The concert was incredible. The music was just as good as expected and you could tell the band was having a great time, they even declared it the best night on the tour.

Go see them if you get a chance, it's definitely worth the cash.



They played with a band called The Midway State, they weren't great in concert but show some potential, they have a new album coming out that might be great.

L

Satisfied

Dear Red Lobster:

My husband and I have not been frequent visitors of your restaurant but in the recent past we’ve visited your Calgary NE location twice.

Both times we were so impressed with the service we received.

The first visit we were in a bit of a hurry so we let our server know this and she did everything she could to accommodate us. She brought our salad and appetizer together and our meal followed shortly after, the food came so quick and we had plenty of time to eat and enjoy the delicious food. She (we think maybe her name was Shauna) seemed to make a real effort to get us fed and out on our timetable.

Today we made a repeat visit. Trudy was especially friendly and made some great suggestions, including reviews from other customers on the specials. We informed her that we we’re on a carb free diet so she offered to take out the croutons from our salad. She showed a genuine interest in our satisfaction and since it wasn’t busy even took a few minutes to chat with us.

In a city like Calgary where there is a shortage of workers you often find employees who don’t care about the work they do, it was refreshing to have such wonderful service twice in a row. We’ll definitely be visiting the same location again.

Brad and Laura Wiebe

Something's Missing

So I promise not every post will be about South Beach for two weeks but here's one more.

It's interesting the way the body reacts to this diet. We're eating yummy food that we love yet it's hard to feel satisified because you're missing the carbs that normally make you feel full. Things are still going well but it's definitely hard.

Also we discovered that light feta isn't so great.
L

Cheating

We made a great discovery last night… sugar free pudding is allowed.

The white chocolate was so yummy! It tastes so good part of me think we're cheating.

I was most concerned about the lack of dessert in this diet since that's what I crave most, it's nice to be able to eat a few sweet things and not feel guilty about them. Brad also introduced my to Baskin Robins sugar free hard candy, the Cookies & Cream and Mint Chocolate Chip are super yummy!

Day three is going well
L