[cacikat]

Hi everyone! Happy Friday! Isn't it sad about Dr. Atkins, even though many people didn't care for his diet, it seems lots and lots of people actually lost quite a bit of weight on it.

If I can made it over Easter, I will have my two weeks done, but am not sure at this point if I want to go on to phase 2 or just stay at phase 1 for another week. Sandy, aren't you about through with your first 2 weeks? You and I have about the same amount to lose 40-45 lbs. Hope you all have a good weekend and are not too tempted by all the goodies. Caci

[snflwr]

hey caci,
Easter sunday is 2 weeks for me. i havent done as well this week, as i havent had all the "right" food in the house. no excuses, i know i've maintained my first weeks weight loss, but, have definitely eaten things( slice of pizza, sandwich, juice) that i should not have. i plan to extend phase 1 for an addl week, so i can do it RIGHT!!! my first week taught me how to eat, which things not to eat, so i know what to do. i'm going to slurge when i finally get to go to the store and buy steak. need to eat more veggies, and i slacked a little on my water. i'm still motivated, i know it works, and maybe sunday will give me a little surprise on the scale, if not, onward to week 3.
caci, keep up the great work. i'll be checkin in at least tomorrow, hopefully sunday too.
HAPPY EASTER to EVERYONE!!!!

[Ruthxxx]

I'm checking this out!
Here's the link:
http://www.prevention.com/cda/featur...0,5345,00.html

[Schwartzie]

Hi gals! Mind if I join you ladies? I am planning to start The South Beach Diet on Monday (have to have an Easter binge first ) I love carbs so this is going to be hard for me but I really need to do something already. I don't have a whole lot to lose 15 - 20 pounds but by the sounds of things about this diet is that you lose quickly the first two weeks. I think this is enough motivation for me to keep going with it (even though alot of it I'm sure is water weight and not actually "fat" weight! I did have a question about the book though. Once you get into Phase 2 and start re-introducing your carbs he doesn't really say how much. How many portions or grams?? Do you just reintroduce enough carbs to maintain your weight loss? I certainly don't want to reintroduce too many carbs because I will be right back to where I started - addicted to carbs!!! By the way, HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!

[bunnyblues]

Hey Schwartzie! Maybe you can be my buddy. I'm trying to lose about 25 (see previous post). Today (this is inflated due to serious last supper carb binge) is 152. I'm going for 127.

In other news, I'm about to eat the first cottage cheese I've had since high school, when one bite was enough to let me know I was extremely anti. Not a fan.

Alright, I'm going in. Wish me luck. <holding nose>

Jen

[julieboo3]

Hello everyone. I've decided to try the South Beach Diet for a couple of weeks. I have been following Schwartzbien, but wanted to give this a try to jump start my weightloss. You all seem to be doing real well.

[aleka]

Thank you for answering my question. This sounds like a very sound plan.

Aleka

[LindaBC]

Well, I'm one of those people who LOVED the Atkins Diet. WHen it first came out in the 70s and I was in my 30s I lost about 100 lb on it and felt wonderful. I'd never had so much energy in my life and I no longer had mood swings that took me from Cloud 9 to the depths of dispair. I just wish I'd never let the nay-sayers get to me and got me eating low fat again. Of course, I gained all my weight back plus more. Now I find that I just can't lose weight on Atkins, probably because of the prescriptions meds I'm on. I have over 100 lb to lose. Last year I lost 30 on Weight Watchers (what a long, difficult struggle it was too! I was hungry all the time and all I thought about was food!) Anyhow, I've since gained back about 10 and I've been yo-yoing for the past 9 months. I switched to South Beach because it's so similar to the Atkins plan but goes lighter on the fatty foods.
Somebody asked if you can substitute foods on the South Beach Plan. Well, of course you can! The author seems like a very reasonable person and doesn't seem like the type of guy who would tell you to eat fish if you hate fish. Why not substitute chicken or turkey? If the book's menu plan calls for brocolli but you hate brocolli, why not have asparagus instead? Or cabbage? Or green beans? I think he just wants you to avoid the foods higher in fat, starch and sugar such as potatoes, rice and fatty meats. I have to confess that I'm going to be cheating a bit this weekend. I have some lean turkey thighs in the freezer that I'm going to cook. I will just cut down on fat from another area of my menu. I don't believe in nit-picking and common sense should rule any diet.
Somebody else asked how much carbohydrate should be reintroduced to the diet in Phase 2. In Prevention Magazine he says "Here's where you begin to gradually reintroduce certain healthy carbs into your diet: fruit, sweet potatoes, whole grain bread, whole grain rice, whole wheat pasta. I recommend that you start with one piece of fruit a day for lunch or dinner and continue with some cereal or a piece of bread. Weight loss will slow a little. Stay on this phase until you hit your target weight. If you regain some weight, switch back to Phase 1 until you lose what you've gained, and get back on track."
He goes on to say "Focus on adding low-GI foods (apples, berries, grapefruit, high-fiber cereal, whole grain breads) to your diet instead of those with a high GI (cakes, cookies, crackers, pasta, white bread). For a list of low-GI foods, go to www.prevention.com/links.
The goal is to eat more carbs again while continuing to lose weight. If you add an apple and a slice of bread a day, and you're still dropping pounds, that's great. If you try an apple, two slices of bread, and a banana daily and notice that your weight loss has stalled, you've gone too far. Cut back, or try some different carbs.
You'll go on that cautious way as long as you're in Phase 2, eating the most beneficial carbs and paying attention to how they affect you. You should also be aware of foods that increase cravings. No two people will experience this phase the same way. Some dieters can have pasta once a week with no detrimental effects. Others have to avoid pasta but can eat sweet potatoes. You'll have to figure this dynamic out for yourself"
So, my friends, one small step at a time. Don't add in a whole bunch of high carb foods all at once.

[snflwr]

Thanks Linda- WOW, you answered a lot of everyones questions, mine included. WELCOME, and you have as much support here as you need. I like to chk in daily, others every few days. I had a great 1st week on sobe, but didnt give it my all the 2nd week. I have decided to go an extra week, due to my less than stellar efforts. good luck and I look fwd to seeing lots from you. You seem to have a lot of health/nutrition knowledge.
happy easter.

[ageoldie]

Okay girls, I'm Ageoldie and any new idea that comes along I have to jump on the wagon for a while, so here I am.

Seriously. I've been doing a lot of reading about this plan and it seems very similar to what I always try to do, so I decided to give it a try and follow it to the letter for a few weeks.

I'm always either way high or down low and my dh says being married to me is like a roller coaster ride. Oh well, he's helt on for 37 years so far, so I guess it's not too scary.

Anyway I'm off to the Prevention site and then off to the grocery store to get ready to start on Monday.

The only problem I have is what am I going to do with the years full of desserts I just won in a silent auction Monday?

[bunnyblues]

Barb,

What about making the local soup kitchen's day once a month? I'll bet they never get amazing treats like that!

Jen

[Schwartzie]

Maybe you ladies will know this. When he mentions in the book that you can have sugar-free popsicles or fudgsicles I am confused! My 8 year old daughter is a diabetic and we can let her have these but there are still carbs in them 13 - 15 grams usually depending on which brand. Can I have these still? They are sweetenend with aspartane and say sugar-free on the box BUT still carbs??? I am hoping I can - that would be my treat to myself everyday. I know not in the first two weeks but perhaps in Phase 2 or 3???? Thanks!

[bunnyblues]

Schwartzie -- I think what he's trying to say is that there are good carbs and bad carbs. Sugar is a carb but so is fiber. There's refined sugar but also fructose in fruit and lactose in milk. So, he wants you to eventually add back carbs, but the more complex the better. Table sugar is the least complex and the worst for you, also corn syrup (which is what would be in a fully sweetened popsicle). You can see the best and worst on that Prevention site that people have in their posts. Actually, I'm guessing your daighter's diet is probably a good guideline for maintenance. But I'm no doctor...

To everyone -- it's day three for me and I have had "the headaches" all three days. Can anyone tell me when they end? I feel like poopoo.

Jen

[Ruthxxx]

As this thread is very popular and is getting a bit long, I am going to split it and start the week on April 21. I'll call it SBDiet - Week of April 21. The other one will be locked when I do that.

(I have to earn my moderator salary somehow! )