Hi All,

I have been slooooowly losing weight over the past few months and think I need to kick it up a notch. i am trying to decide what plan is best for me. I have never really followed any sort of plan, and to be honest, I think I am so afraid of failing that I don't want to start. I love bread, though I eat almost all whole wheat bread and I guess I am not looking forward to cutting that out.

How did you decide on SBD over something like Weight Watchers (which is my runner-up idea at this point.)?

Do you belong to the South Beach Diet website? Is it worth joining?

Most importantly for me, is this a diet that will be excruciatingly tough to stick to for a long period of time? Will everything come back on the moment I deviate? Do I have to do it for life?

Sorry for the very basic questions. Thanks for any advice you have.

Leslie

Weight Watchers was not effective anymore for me. I have used it in the past with great success. The thing I like about SBD is the fact that it is more a way of life, a permanent change for me. That doesn't mean I don't occasionally fall off the wagon or have treats. I just get right back on the plan. With WW flex I was always weighing and measuring and I was deathly afraid of fats--too many points. I was also hungry all the time and always thinking about food. On SBD I embrace the healthy fats. I am rarely starving and have to remind myself to eat sometimes. This is an amazing thing to me. I have more energy, have lost way more weight and am easily maintaining--something I could never do on WW.

I don't think many people subscribe to the website. You'll get so much information and support here that it isn't necessary.

Reading the book is essential to understanding the diet, but being on this forum has been essential in using the SB diet.

Hi Oak... This is a plan that teaches you to eat healthy and should not be considered for a short term "lose weight" sort of diet. a Diet is what we eat, wether it's one that is healthy, or one that will cause us obesity and/or bad blood chemistry!

So, do you want a plan that allows you to continue to eat the wrong foods (as WW does) or a plan that allows you to eat what often, but the right kind of foods.

I vote SB.

I tried WW. and lost a few pounds... after two months I lost five pounds, but was hungry all the time!

This is really great info from you guys. I am getting myself more confused the more research I do. Did any of you all look at Atkins? I have always been afraid that doing that would affect my heart health--my numbers for cholesterol etc are excellent and I don't want to jeopardize them.

However, I just saw that huge study that seemed to say that people who followed Atkins did not have higher cholesterol. I just don't know if I would be more likely to follow something that allowed me to eat sausage, etc.

Is South Beach kinda like a low-fat Atkins? Will it limit me more?

South beach is nothing like Atkins! I did a low carb diet, and yes, lost weight, but it came right back on because I didn't know how to keep my interest up long enough... and i wanted my carbs!

Your body needs the good carbs! South beach teaches what foods to get your carbs in, and you can have lean cuts of meat!

Leslie,
1. No need to give it up, ww bread is allowed on the plan.
2. I never tried WW but I tried SB and it worked and I love it.
3. No, I've found all the info I needed right here and in the book.
4. I've stuck to plan for 15 months now and it has been amazingly easy - most of the time! Any plan requires some commitment and willpower. The weight will always come back anytime you do a "diet" and then go back to "normal". It has to be a lifestyle change, or it's pointless. But SB is a great way of eating for life.
IMHO!

SB is not lowfat or low-carb, it is healthy fats and healthy carbs. If you are interested, you should get a copy of the book and take a read.

Also: Check out our FAQs, theres a part there that talks about atkins! http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=115

i would suggest getting a copy of the book


the first two weeks are hard for some with the no fruit no bread/grains/starches but i love it.

if you like veggies you will love south beach....

Hi,

I tried them all, I think. I did WW twice, Atkins twice. Lost a little, gained it all back.

SBD is the absolute best for me because it isn't that hard to follow and it is very healthy and fits into my natural/organic eating lifestyle. I love bread too! I eat sprouted whole grain bread now. It fills me up, and I don't eat as much bread as I used to before going on SBD.

SBD really isn't a diet after you are on P2 for a while. It's a lifestyle change that you can maintain forever.

I suggest you purchase the book, or borrow it if you must, but if you own it, you will always have to it refer back to.

I think that this forum has everything you need in addition to the book, and there's really no need to pay for the SBD site. There are tons of recipes right here, and support from novices and long time beachers alike.

Good luck!

I've got to say, the whole SBD idea is very intriguing!!! I especially am amazed by the people who say they don't go hungry and don't feel like they're depriving themselves. Part of me thinks HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? Any time I diet, I feel like I'm starving and thinking about food non-stop.


I really really want to go get this book and find out what it's all about. Is there anyone here doing SBD AND the Beck solution? I'm thinking about doing both....

CJ, It's possible because your always eating! (I am having a hard time eating rightnow). Your eating breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner, dessert! and if your hungry, go back for more! Just make sure to eat the alloted allowances for your fats, nuts, etc and not to go over those!

The key is veggies, veggies, and more veggies!

Beck and the Beach work perfectly together! yep I was doing beck and the beach and i have a friend who is doing it, completed the beck program and is doing very very well with it.

The volume of veggies, adequate protein (I don't think I was eating enough before SBD) and the good fats (Avoided these before) are the key for me. I tended to eat processed stuff when I was counting points because they were legal and within my points allotment (and they tasted good). But man, I was hungry all the time. That has been the biggest change for me. I used to crave carbs all the time. That's also why I avoided SBD when I heard about it. I didn't think I could do it. I'm glad I finally saw the light.

This is all getting me super excited to try it! I too always go for the processed foods (esp carbs) because they seem to be convenient, and it's really easy to find the calorie count for each one...it's right there on the package! But obviously none of these things were filling and/or healthy.

I've done weight watchers twice, and lost weight with it. The problem with me and weight watchers is that weight watchers does not address sugar cravings, carb cravings, and insulin resistance. I also felt that the flexibility with weight watchers was going to get me into trouble. I like the fact that SB has "guidelines" to eat, plus you don't have to count points.

Don't get me wrong, WW is a good plan. It just wasn't right for me. I still like sweets, but I don't eat them the way I used to. And I really don't miss the bread and other bad carbs too much.

And I'm not hungry I eat all day!

I also like the "reduction of processed foods" approach. Your numbers during a physical will definitely reflect the fact that you're not eating HFCS, bad fats, preservatives, and all the other icky stuff they put in food today.