South Beach Diet Day 1: I am my mom's policewoman

Wow, this whole diet thing seems to have sparked a lot of discussion. Yay!

First of all, I have no intention of completely cutting carboyhydrates out of my diet. I actually love the little guys (here.)

However, the main reason my mom decided to try the diet is not because she wanted to lose a ton of weight. The South Beach Diet was developed by cardiologists, and she mostly wants to drop her cholesterol and control her diabetes. I read the book. Granted, the way it's written, it isn't suitable as a college textbook on nutrition, but it explains easily enough how you want to train your body not to be dependent on refined sugars (that means pop, white bread, etc) anymore.

After the first two weeks (the first two weeks are quite strict), a person can have things like fruit, whole wheat bread and pasta, "good carbohydrates." Then after the second two weeks on the modified diet with added carbs, the idea is your daily diet and lifestyle should be changed enough where you can eat things like pastries and white pasta occasionally and still be healthy (occasionally means once or twice a week.) I guess, like vegetarianism, this South Beach Diet is a lifetime diet change. It worked for Tita Ding Ding. She lost twenty-two pounds and went from a size 12 to a size 8 (she's still not "skinny" by any means, at least, not in the super-model/equal-to-how-small-she-was-30-years-ago sense, but she's slimmer than she used to be.) She's recently went back to "Phase One" (the first two weeks of the diet) because she's gained some weight again.

So, to reiterate, I'm not cutting carbohydrates completely out of my diet. You can't cut carbohydrates completely out of anyone's diet. Not unless they live on water and cough drops. Today I did the diet for the whole day (with breaks for a leftover piece of chocolate cake and the animal crackers I'm eating now) because I know Mom probably wouldn't be able to start this by herself (she told me so herself). Tomorrow, I'll eat the same dinner Mom does (baked chicken breast, eggplant and green peppers and a tossed salad with low fat dressing) but I'll eat lunch with Dad, which will probably be at the chinese restaurant a couple blocks away. There or at Old Country Buffet. I'm not proud to say that my cholesterol is high for someone my age (it's...over 150 *shame* for someone my age and size, it should be closer to 100) and if this diet can help me lower it, it can't hurt to try, right? especially if it worked on a blood relative.

So, enough with the somber stuff. Here's some funny stuff Mom said yesterday and today. All of these end with me busting out into laughter.

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Mom: (After seeing she's not allowed to eat white rice for four weeks) I am going to die.

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Grocery clerk: That'll be $101.54.

Mom: That is an expensive diet.

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Mom: (with a sad look on her face as she tosses out a bunch of leftover carrots) Goodbye carrots. I cannot even eat you.

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Mom: (looking at the remains of her lunch of romaine lettuce and grilled chicken breast) I cannot finish this.

Laura: Yes you can.

Mom: I am full.

Laura: It's only a couple leaves. You can do it. (Mom finishes her lunch.)
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Mom: (three hours after lunch) Laura, how about we finish those french fries?

Laura: No, Mom!

Mom: Oh come on. There's just a little left. I don't want them to go bad.

Laura: They're frozen!

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