South Beach Diet Day 4 - Rewards - Grilled Steak on the BBQ

Day 4 Reward - steak grilled on the BBQ, but first a journey through the day.

Morning of Day 5 of the South Beach Diet and we’re still surviving, but how’s this for yesterday’s insanity.

After a very good morning – actually eating breakfast (veggie quiches, this time made with some chipotle chilis to add some oomph to it) at 7:30 a.m. I was working, but at least I was eating before 11 as is my usual way. I had a snack at 10:30 of cheese - I really did have to force myself because the book said it’s important for regulating the speed at which the body processes the food we eat, making us feel hungry – or not, later in the day.

I even did a great cardio work out Crunch Burn & Firm Pilates(second this week). What can I say, I’m an all-or-nothing girl. I was a sprinter in high school and still lead my life the same way – full of energy at the start and poop out(or get bored - same thing to me) early. Hopefully, I'm in for the long distance with the diet.

Then came lunch, the rest of the tuna and avocado dish from yesterday with a salad of vine ripened tomatoes (beautifully red, but not quite as delicious as in summer but okay), a small pickling cucumber because they’re so crunchy, with a drizzle of olive oil, white wine vinegar, chopped fresh basil and salt and pepper. I forgot to take a picture - sorry and it looked so pretty, too! Dessert - more green jello.

And now for the insane part…..guess what I was watching on TV while I was eating…the Barefoot Contessa making a delicious early Fall dinner. There was roast duck (fat enough protein for you?) with fresh corn off the cob and sautéed in gobs of butter, naturally. Oh, and don’t forget dessert – my all time personal favorite – classic apple crisp with home made vanilla ice cream. And if that wasn’t enough punishment, I stayed around for Michael Smith’s Chef at Home. He was making a gorgeous looking stew with short ribs (so much for lean meat), mashed potatoes with brown butter, no less. And dessert was scrumptious looking chocolate chip cookies. What was I thinking?!

That's when I decided it was best to head upstairs to my office and start writing. And of course, what was I working on...editing the cookbook, naturally. Today I'm revising the Marinated Flank Steak with Wild Mushrooms (not too hard to do, because everything is South Beach Friendly) and Chocolate Bark (not so friendly, since it's basically chocolate, crunchy cereal and nuts).

Afternoon snack was some hummus and celery. Again, I have to say, this is a chore for me to remember the mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks, because I'm really not hungry or interested.

And finally - dinner! Since my honey is forced to eat lunches he dislikes (naturally he's eating smaller portions than if he liked them, so maybe that's why he's losing more weight than I am, but I digress) I thought I'd treat him to grilled sirloin seasoned with cracked peppercorns. They were so juicy and tasty that we didn't need any steak sauce or mustard. I served them with steamed asparagus tossed with a little Land o' Lakes low fat margarine and sprinkled some toasted sliced almonds on top. Dessert - he had more of that ricotta cream left over from yesterday and I stuck to jello.

Normally we don't have "official" dessert here except for special occasions (guests over, dinner out...) but we snack on cookies and chocolate all evening in front of the TV. So this week, we've been eating South Beach Phase One desserts and, although I don't really like them, I have no desire for the rest of the stuff I would normally munch on. That's a good thing, but.....

Now I know you shouldn't weigh youself every day - and I don't, but my honey has been and this morning (Day 5) he said he lost 5 pounds!!! Hooray!!! So I had to see where I was in the process. Big Mistake!!! I've only lost 1 pound. Now I'm depressed and wondering why? Maybe his metabolism? missing some snacks? BIG sigh here and I'm shaking my head. That's not to say I'm discouraged in the diet (although I am in me not losing weight faster), but I will not be touching the scales for another week. I do feel better, so maybe the weight is because I'm exercising at least 3 times a week and muscle weighs more than fat....okay, stop rolling your eyes and smirking - I need some rationale to keep going!

No real recipes today, since lunch was basically leftovers served on a tomato rather than greens and dinner was simple as well -

Steak - season with pepper, grill 4 minutes per side, let sit on the plate for a couple of minutes to let the meat relax and form its own juices on the plate

Asparagus - steam just until they become a vibrant green ( 2 minutes in the microwave with 1 tbsp water in a dish covered with waxed paper), toss with 1 tsp margarine, sprinkle with toasted sliced almonds and you're done.

Related links: Food and Drink recipes South Beach Diet Low Carb Diet