Shannon’s hosting a themed “heathy eating” edition of WFMW today over at Rocks in My Dryer. Yep, we’re all in this together, trying to work off those pounds that crept on during the holidays.

The only way I could get through all the stress of shopping, decorating, and going to parties was by eating loads of chocolate, alternating salty/sweet snacks, and drinking coffee. It got me through it, and now my stress is showing up on my waistline.

But what to do? My family doesn’t need to eat low-fat; only I do! In fact, my husband doesn’t like ANY food that has “low fat” on the label. If you’re a mom with a house full of kids, you know how pasta, rice, bread, and potatoes can stretch your food budget and make everybody feel satisfied. Yet all those starchy foods are what OUR bodies don’t need, if we’re trying to slim down.

So I’m heading back to The South Beach Diet — actually not the strict phase 1, but more of a phase 2. If you’ve never read this book, it’s a good one, and I’m sure your library has it.

You basically cut out those things I mentioned above: pasta, rice, bread, potatoes — and anything with sugar in it. Even fruit, if you want to do the strict phase 1 (which lasts for two weeks). You still eat plenty of dairy products, protein-rich foods, and vegetables. If you follow this plan and increase your exercise, you will easily drop ten pounds in two weeks. (And weirdly, you won’t be hungry for junk food. It somehow, mysteriously works, after a couple days of withdrawal).

Here’s what I do when I’m South Beaching, yet feeding my family regular meals. I buy about five of those salad bags a week, and this is what I base my meals on for lunch and dinner. I fix myself a HUGE bowl of salad and toss in everything I can — beans, tuna, cheese, raw veggies, etc.

For example, if I’m feeding my family chicken and rice, then I’ll put chicken on my salad and skip the rice. If they’re eating spaghetti with meaty/tomato sauce, then I’ll put the sauce right on my lettuce with some cheese. It’s tastes pretty good. What’s even better is that my energy goes up, and the numbers on the scale go down.

It’s hard to do this alone, though. It’s so helpful to have an accountability partner. One thing I really picked up from reading The South Beach Diet is the obesity-diabetes-heart disease connection. Being overweight is often just an outward sign of the havoc that our poor diets and sedentary lifestyles are wreaking on our bodies: especially our vascualar systems.

Heart disease is the #1 killer of women, not cancer. Yet 80% of heart disease can be prevented. The South Beach Diet explains it all. I’m still trying to drop my last stubborn 20 postpartum pounds — and the reason why I haven’t is because I’m carrying around my junk food addictions stuck right around my middle.

Well, it’s a new month, a new year, and I’m going to keep on trying. The South Beach Diet has worked for millions. And it works for me!