I have read many “diet” books, some I’ve liked, some I have not liked. My awesome next door neighbor (she is a runner) really likes the South Beach Diet and she went on it in order take off her baby weight she gained after her 2nd baby – she looks great, by the way.
So she let me borrow the book. I have not read it yet but at first glance it looks like another low carb, low fat, high protein eating plan. I think I might give it a try since I’d love to knock off another 10 pounds – preferably from around my middle – I can afford to, trust me, there’s lots of jiggle in the middle, and the book does say on the front “lose belly fat first“. Oh, wait a minute, does that mean I need to lose my belly fat before I start the South Beach Diet?
Have you ever tried South Beach? What have you heard about it from people who have tried it? I’m sure it’s like most sensible diets, if you stick with it, it will work for you. Lately I have been pretty sloppy about my eating habits and want to do better, I think better eating will help me to improve my running performance, too. But I’m in need of some fresh inspiration, good recipes, an easy plan to follow, you know, to increase my chances of success!
Tags: good recipes, running diet, South Beach Diet, weight loss
Hi Jenn,
I have enjoyed reading your blog lately–since I discovered it. I too aspire to be a lean, strong mom and enjoy discussions on the topic. I don’t know much about South Beach, but I’m curious about the soft-in-the-middle issues. Do you know anything about the abdominal muscles that separate during pregnancy? How long does it take for them to come back together–or do they ever? (or have those muscles always been that way and I just never noticed them before??) When I do crunches I can stick my fingers in between those muscles in my stomach and it feels really weird! Just curious if you knew anything about that.
BTW, I am so amazed that you run 9 miles all the time. I can run 1 or 2 and I now think of you as I finish up my 20 minutes and marvel at your strength and stamina. That’s awesome!
Georgia
Georgia! Thanks so much for visiting! I am honored that a friend and fellow runner is reading my blog. Didn’t you run a marathon last year? I know you have some running tips to share.
But seriously, I glanced back through old entries to find where I might have misled you to believe I run 9 miles every day – yikes, I’m sorry, that must have come across wrong – once a week I do a “long” run, this week it will be 11 miles (last week 10), but the other days I just run somewhere between 5 and 7, whatever I feel like (some days are weight or cross training in between). But, of course, I’m training for a half marathon so once I’m done I don’t know what my running schedule will look like, 1-2 miles sounds good to me!
I am not an expert on abdominal muscles, pre or post partum, but I seem to remember that if the muscles separate (or thin out) down the middle they can still be strengthened. Take a look at this article I found, see what you think, but for sure ask your doc about it. There are so many crazy “bodily rearrangements” that happen after a baby. I do know that it is so important for women to regain core strength after delivery. I really like some of the Yoga Booty Ballet workout dvd’s from BeachBody.com.
And here’s a link to an article I did on core strengthening, click here.