[Linsy]

I have been very successful on Atkins but I'm starting to feel that the food choices are TOO limited...at first I felt great, the eggs and bacon every morning was delicious, lots of hamburger patties, full fat cheese, etc...eventually you begin to crave lighter meals, lol. I really miss eating fruit, milk, healthy cereals, whole grains etc so I'm looking to South Beach.

I was wondering...
1. Since I have more than 100lbs to use, should I stay on phase one for 2 months or just move on as soon as I can? I feel like if I stay on phase 1 for too long then switching diets would be pointless, because the food choices are almost exactly what I eat now except adding beans and taking away fatty meats and cheeses.

2. I love Boca burgers, veggie burgers, etc and I was thinking about cutting out red meat (still eating ground turkey and chicken). Are soy meat substitutes allowed? EDIT: Funny enough 5 seconds after I posted this I looked at the Phase I Foods thread (it was open in another tab) and there it was--soy meat substitutes! Forget I asked this one.

3. How much fat/carbs/protein do you guys eat in a typical day?

4. Do you find it better to avoid all whole grains on phase 2, even though they are allowed? I know some people on Atkins maintenance choose to skip potatoes and whole grains even though they're allowed so they don't get out of hand.

5. What salad dressings do you typically use? I read that 2 tbsp of oil a day is good. I was wondering if 1-2 tbsp of Good Seasons Italian Dressing would be okay, if only used once a day. It's a dry vegetable and seasoning mix that you make yourself with oil and vinegar at home. On Amazon, the nutrition facts say that unprepared the dressing is 5 calories, 0 fat, 1 carb, and less than 1 gram of sugar. Prepared it's 130 calories, 14g fat, 2g carbs and 1g sugar. It's basically just seasoned oil and vinegar, all of the fat comes from the olive oil. Is this acceptable?

Thank you in advance for answering my questions, I read a few of the threads in the frequently asked questions board and I'm off to go research it a little bit more. Maybe I'll be able to answer some of my own questions.

[PinkHoodie]

Hey! Welcome. I LOVE SBD!!!!! As you can see I have lost 40+ pounds on it! I will try to answer what I know and have learned.
1. When I first started SBD I was on P1 for a month. I am glad I did it. But I think if you are already doing low carb you might now have as much of a loss as you would if you were starting low carb for the first time. I would see how you feel after 2 weeks, and if you feel you want to keep going stay on it longer, but about a month was my limit.
2. No worries!
3. I don't keep track of any of those things. Bad I know. But so far it has worked for me. I try to train myself what a TRUE portion is. But the few times I have tracked just to see my fat/protein was WAY above carbs. On P1 I personally was only averaging 70 or so gm of carbs a day.
4. When I moved on to P2, I limited my carbs still. Especially whole grain. Because I have a disease called PCOS, my body is very sensitive to carbs and sugars, and I feel way better if I limit these in my diet. How I usually do P2 is I start by adding 1 slice of bread every other day or every day. Then after I do that I add an apple. And to be honest that's really all that I change.
5. I would think it would be OK, as long as you use olive oil.
Good luck in your decision. As I said I love this diet/way of eating. It has made me feel healthier then I have in a long time.

[BellaLucia]

Good luck and I agree with PinkHoodie!

[Lexxiss]

Hi Linsy

Congratulations on your weightloss so far! While there are many who are really happy making Atkins their WOE on a long term basis, I was also one who was looking for a WOE which would focus on a combination of healthier fats, whole grains and fresh fruits/vegetables. I am also focusing on lowering my meat consumption.
I started SBD at 232 pounds, very close to your current weight. I decided personally, to complete a clean phase 1 and then move on to phase 2 and not eat anything off plan for 6 months. In those 6 months I successfully dropped 40+ pounds. Some weeks I would have no loss at all, but just stayed on course for the 6 months. I feel it was a good decision for me because I avoided panicking when the scale didn't move.
I moved into maintenance last October when I became less vigilant with off plan foods. I'm happy with that and intend to start again full force after my family leaves tomorrw. I know that all I need to do to get back into weightloss is to follow the plan to a tee.
1. Staying on P1 for an extended period of time is not recommended due to the boredom factor. Many beachers follow what we call phase 1.5 where we limit grains as we find what works for our own body.
2. We have lots of successful vegetarians here at the SBD forum. I am working towards that. For me, I read labels for the vegetarian substitutes and make sure the ingredients are SBD friendly. I avoid products which use potato or corn startch and make sure if rice is added that it is brown. I also find that some products are lower in sodium than others.
3. I personally don't count protein/fat/carbs. I concentrate on portion sizes and avoid overeating anything. I do measure nuts and cheeses because they are very easy to overeat which really bumps up calories.
4. I very rarely eat potatoes and I try to limit my breads to the sprouted varieties, Ezekial products being top on my list. I eat whole grains but watch my portion sizes there, too. I don't eat oatmeal at all because I've found it a trigger food for me. When I eat it, I just keep eating and eating. Many others eat it successfully every single day.
5. Your salad dressing sounds like a good choice. I have 4 or 5 dressings which I enjoy and again, I read labels. My criterion is that the dressing uses a healthy oil and does not have added sugar. I usually have 2 salads a day and add 1 to 2 T. of dressing to each.

The most important thing I do is check in here every single day. I find that I am more thoughtful of my choices when I communicate with other beachers every day.

Best wishes!

[BellaLucia]

Great post Debbie!

[Heidi58]

Hi Linsy, it's nice to meet you. Congratulations on the weight you've lost so far!

I've lost 60 pounds on South Beach and feel great eating this way. I can't imagine ever tuning back.

I did Atkins years ago, found it easy to follow and lost weight well but I knew I couldn't do Atkins forever and this time I was looking to change my eating habits forever so that I'd finally feel good again.The biggest change in my eating habits are the veggies and fruits. I've always liked them but always ate more fruit than vegetables and used to stick to the same few veggies most of the time. I eat less fruit now, but really enjoy it when I do eat it. And I've learned so many different ways to fix and serve vegetables in order to get my full servings of veggies in every day. I don't count or measure calories, fats, etc. but I do keep careful track of how many veggies I eat.

I did phase 1 for 3 weeks and that worked fine for me. I don't believe I lost any more than I would have if I'd just done it for 2 weeks though. After reading posts here for over a year, it seems that phase 1 works terrific the first 2 weeks but just about everyone stalls or slows down dramatically in weeks 3 & 4. I think adding things slowly (you'll see threads and posts here talking about phase 1.5 - that's what we call limited fruits and grains in phase 2) is just as successful as extending phase 1 and it's easy to stay motivated to eat on plan when you can have a bit more variety.

Salad dressings, I can't be of much help - I have a hard time finding dressings that I like. My favorite right now is a store brand fruit vinaigrette, but I often just put enough 'wet stuff' (cottage cheese or salsa or tuna with a little mayo) in my salads to skip the dressing.

Good luck to you!