Food

In case you didn't know, I'm in the middle of a "Biggest Loser" contest at an internet message board that I post at. Just like the t.v. program, the stakes are high. Everyone chipped in $20 at the beginning, bringing the pot to a whopping $300. Everyone sent in initial weights, and then we weigh in every Monday a.m. The person to lose the biggest percentage of their body weight by the end of the 12th week wins the pot.

I am currently in the lead at the end of the 6th week, but not by a wide margin! I have lost a little over 8.5%, and another woman is right behind me at almost 8%.

My strategy is simple. I eat according to the South Beach diet principles. And I don't cheat. Okay, I cheated one time in the past 6 weeks, so it's not even worth mentioning, right?

Here's what I eat: breakfast is always steel-cut oats cooked in water and skim milk, topped with splend, plus coffee with skim milk; lunch is a sandwich with cheddar cheese, avacado, tomato, lettuce, and peppers on either 1/2 bagel or 2 pieces of whole-grain bread, depending on what's for supper; supper is some sort of yummy protein (tonight is roast in the crock pot), a salad, a veggie, and a grain. I only eat the grain if it is brown rice, or whole-grain pasta. If I'm hungry in the afternoon, I'll eat a piece of whole-grain toast with peanut butter.

So, I'm basically limiting my grains to 2 or 3 servins/day, and avoiding all white flour. No potatoes, no white rice, and no grains alone. The idea behind SBD is that you want to keep your stomach busy digesting as long as possible. Adding a protein, like the peanut butter on the toast, slows down the digestion process considerably.

I'm eating lots of calories, and I'm not hungry. But I am losing weight...I've averaged 2 pounds/week during this contest. And I feel great. Cutting the refined sugars and flours helps you lose weight and feel better.

Wish me luck on the home stretch of my Biggest Loser contest! The money will come in very handy on this weekend.