Diet Life

I made it through a work week on the most strict phase of South Beach Diet.  That's no small feat for someone who was really fighting the idea of restricting.  This morning I was supposed to weigh-in first thing but I took the dog out and the fog and birdsong enchanted me so much that I forgot about it until I'd already eaten and drank a bunch of water.  The scale said 187.8.  Not so much as a once of progress: I weigh today, the same amount as I weighed on Tuesday. 

There are half a dozen 'yeah-but's' I can mention and I did consider those, but I'm a little frustrated to say the least.  If you aren't familiar with SBD, the first 2 weeks are keto phase, really low-carb to help you break the sugar addiction.  Keto dieters claim all sorts of things that it helps with from relieving joint pain to clearer skin and eliminating brain fog, more energy etc.  First off, I was not prepared for how frequently I would be hungry.  Every 3 hours is typical but I'm definitely getting hungry sooner than that.  I know that means I'm not eating enough fats or maybe not enough calories so that's probably not too complicated of a fix.  My stomach has gone through a lot this week from heartburn to nausea to cramping feelings, and I have taken in about twice as much water as I typically do because without the carbs my body gets rid of the water really fast.  My joints feel so very bad this week.  I am not blaming that on the diet but it's also not the miracle cure everyone claims it is.  Yes, I do realize that a good portion of my lower body aches are from having weak muscles which has nothing to do with inflammation and I'm well aware that inflammation is bad news for the body...I guess I'm just frustrated.  My desires to eat chips or even have a little barbecue sauce on my chicken breast have not gone away and I feel deprived instead of excited about what the future of doing this will bring.  

The two things I have gained are the loss of the brain fog and the cravings for sweets.  I still want carbs just not donuts and chocolate.  So those are two positive things.  

To be really honest, I'm not sure if I will continue this strict phase another week.  I don't plan on going on to binge on carbs but even adding a serving of fruit in the morning would sure feel great.  I am on the fence though and trying not to let the scale sway my decision either way. 

Ah diet life.  Sigh.