Good news--

5 pounds gone now.

I'm enjoy my morning omelet more and more (porker-- that's what I had for breakfast since you were curious).

Hard to find food while working on the road tho-- what are you guys that are on atkins eating while traveling?

bad news--

I stopped by a health food store today and checked out the low card frozen pizza- 2G of carbs/serving, but $10 for a 10" frozen cheese pizza. I'm going to have to get creative, DM needs his pizza eventually. I may have to make my own specialized dough or somethin'

I'm more or less on Atkins and when in Brazil pretty much stick with eggs, smoked salmon, and a bit of fruit in the mornings (when I get up in time for breakfast) and fish or beef along with a salad later on. The problem is when I'm on the run and need some fast food it is tough; for awhile I would order a cheeseburger and throw away the bun, but that gets old pretty quick (and the saturated fat does add up using that approach). I also tend to buy cheese and maybe heart of palms at the supermarket and keep some around the hotel, although eating alot of cheese also would mean high saturated fat intake (not a big problem according to Atkins, but not really allowed under South Beach). Also I keep peanuts, almonds (when I can find them in Brazil), and similar things around the hotel room and occassionally some fruit, generally not with a high glycemic index. And plenty of bottled water and Coca Cola Light to trick my stomach into thinking it is full.

Although I drift a bit, one thing I try to do religiously is avoid potatoes, bread, rice, and sugar drinks. I believe doing those things, by themselves, is a big improvement over my previous way of eating.

What Laguy, you didn´t gain any weight from eating two nites in a row all-you-can-eat buffets with me?

Probaly not, as you did eat accordingly to you. Not like me!

See ya next time at another favorite SP buffet, sf4dfish

Fish, Nobody eats like you, you're the champ.

LAguy, I see almonds in the supermarkets all the time (in Rio, at least). But my favorite is cashews, are they OK by your dietary standards?

Hunterman: I'm not aware of any problems with cashews, but almonds have some very good properties, I believe like lowering cholesterol and other good things that I can't remember clearly right now, as it is three in the morning and I just returned from Tivoly (in SP). Unfortunately, the supermarket I go to in SP did not have any almonds today, and usually don't stock them. Maybe I'll have to fly to Rio to buy some, and stop at a terma so long as I am there.

Sf4dfish: I may have gained a pound or two. Must have been the rice with the one or two pieces of sushi I ate at the last buffet.

Almonds don't have so many carbs, so they're mostly OK (in moderation!). Macadamia nuts have the least, followed by brazil nuts (of which we have plenty on this board ). Cashews have carbs, so don't overdue it (pastachios have fewer carbs).

If you really enjoy almonds and cashews, try 'em raw! A very different taste/texture. I much prefer cashews this way now.

Cheese is fine on south beach, long as it's made with part skin or lowfat milk. I've been eating low fat moz. sticks as snacks inbetween meals as suggested in the SB book. I'm also snacking on unsalted peanuts a lot while on the road.


potatoes, bread, rice, and sugar drinks


I've never liked sugar drinks, but the cutting out or redefining rice and bread intake is my major goal. SB poopoos on fruit in the morning also.


Can't say enough about it so far, this morning 6 pounds gone on the 1 week anniv, all with minimal effort and minimal exercise so far. 1 more week to go before phase 1 complete

The one thing you will be sorely tempted to do -- and therefor must not do -- is get to thinking that losing weight is that easy. You'll be tempted to go on a high-carb/calorie splurge thinking you'll just drop the weight later. It doesn't seem to work that way. The first bit of weight comes off easily, then you hit plateau after plateau with minimal loss. If you keep up your downward momentum, you can achieve dramatic results.

I read that brown rice is much better for your diet than white rice. Any comments?

Hunterman
All I know is brown bunnies are much better for my diet than white bunnies.

Hunterman--

rice, bread, etc is all on the bad list. After I finish this initial phase, I can consume what amounts to a serving of rice that is equal to the size of a tennis ball with dinner. Anything made of white four is history-- gonzo. 1 slice of whole wheat bread /day if I desire it.

As for your particular question:

In its natural state, compared to unfortified white rice, brown rice is a better source of several nutrients such as riboflavin, folate, iron and magnesium. It has three times the fiber of white rice.

However, because some important nutrients are stripped during the process of manufacturing white rice, many companies choose to put back what they took out. Often they overcompensate. Therefore, when you compare a package of fortified white rice to a package of brown rice, the white looks like a better choice. However brown rice has the advantage of having more fiber, which is probably a bigger health benefit than the fortified vitamins.

wombat--

great points. No, I am not unrealistic as far as this torrid loss pace continuing. My plan is to roll along and complete the rest of phase 1, expect loss to slow down a bit in phase 2, I'll kick in the exercise regimine full bore, and finalize the loss of the last 10 or so pounds over the next month or two.

After all, I only got 25 pounds to shed. Otherwise, I'll look like a skeleton