Considering South Beach Diet
 

Wondering how difficult it is to eat on the go? I am on the Zone now which I love, but hte weight loss is just not fast enough. I am thinking of doing a few months of SBD then swithcing back to Zone because I do love the diet. I think they are similiar but I hear weight loss is quick on South Beach. How do you all feel on this diet? Are you satisfied? How hard is it to learn? I hate learning new diets ugh>

I have lost fourteen pounds in a month on the SB. Actually, I lost fourteen pounds in just about two and a half weeks. I think it has been really easy, especially since the weight just comes off so quickly and your clothes begin to fit better almost immediately. If you read over the recipes and make something different every day then it keeps you from getting bored.
I see that you are in CO, I am as well...the Denver area.

Good Luck!

Lindsay

Where are the recipes? Do I have to read the entire book? I bought it like a decade ago LOL but I do not have time to read it right now, with school and work. How difficult is it? I'm in Springs. =).

I think it is important to say that Lindsay's weight loss is atypical for this plan.

No healthy weight loss plan is going to melt the pounds off overnight. It takes a lot of hard work and determination to lose weight and keep it off.

Weight loss on Phase 1 (the first two weeks) can be relatively large, but the majority of it is water weight and the real fat loss comes later in Phase 2, which is slower (1-2 lbs./week).

Whenever I get discouraged with slow losses, I always think to myself "how long did it take me to put this weight on?"....and I can expect at LEAST that amount of time to take it off, and most likely quite a bit more time.

In the end, it is going to be your amount of work and determination -- not which plan you're on.

Do a search for South Beach recipes on the purple bar and it will bring them up.
There are some excellent and creative ideas on there to keep things interesting. I am a fairly busy person and am on the go quite a bit and take along things like nuts, cheese sticks or veggies to snack on. I also try to always have water or tea available.
I think the book is helpful but there is so much information on the internet that you can get a great deal of information right on the computer.

the recipes are at the top of the south beach subforum.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/sout...h-recipes-114/

I agree with Zeff. In my opinion, there is no quick fix for weight loss. And I have seen many studies that show over time, it is not the plan that matters, but sticking to it and a support network. And while many lose quickly initially, that may not happen for you since you are already eating a healthy diet.

I can't say how it would be on the go, since I don't work outside the house. But I can say that I found it very easy to learn. This forum is very helpful for that. I am satisfied. But I was one of those who was hungry the first two weeks and found those hard to get through. Not everyone feels that way, though. When I eat on plan, I feel great.

Good luck with whatever you decide:)

I played around with the Zone years ago, and some of it has still stuck. When I plan out what I consider to be good South Beach Diet days, my carbs/fat/protein ratio is almost always 40/30/30, which I assume is still the goal of the Zone.

South Beach doesn't specify the carb/fat/protein ratio for each meal and snack. Maybe there is something I am forgetting about the Zone but I never thought these diets are that different, except SBD required (for me) less work. I end up with the same ratio, but the up side of SBD is that I don't have to plan those ratios at all, and certainly not for every meal. If I get my protein, my 4.5 cups of veggies, my beans, nuts, olive oil, etc. it all works out.

If you decide to switch to SBD, check out the meal planning thread someone just posted. I had the same information put in an Excel spreadsheet when I started to help plan my meals.

Planning on the go takes some getting used to - it's certainly more difficult than straight calorie counting. But once you get a few choices in your mind, it's way easier to find stuff while you are out (like a Subway salad) or to throw stuff in your bag to eat (like a small bag of nuts, some cut up veggies with hummus, a hard-boiled egg...).

It's true, though, what the others have said about quick loss. My loss has been anything but that - BUT I don't have that much to lose. I was really looking for a way to eat healthy forever.

Good luck to you!

Thanx all. I think I'll give it a try, one more week of myZone diet because I Have the food, then switch. When I did MRC I lost 3-4 lbs a week so I know I can lose faster than I am on the Zone. I just need to get a good jumpstart to motivate me to continue, I have alot to lose and can't take 2 years to do it. a year I can handle, two no.

How long do you do Phase 1? That meal planner looks really simple I can do that.

Two weeks

I love SBD but most importantly, for me, it is a fit with my goals for a permanent lifestyle change. I agree with many of the points the others have made about quick weight loss. I'm 52 yrs old, and after trying many "diets" over the years I am more than content to find a healthy way of eating where I can lose weight, too. I have never followed the menus in the book, but rather learned the principles and made my own food plans.

I would really suggest reading the first part of the book where the philosophy and requirements are discussed. It seems you would have the opportunity to do that during this last week while you are staying on the Zone. Keep in mind that there have been changes to the food requirements since the first book was published. A clean Phase 1 is suggested for 2 weeks to rid your body of the cravings associated with sugar and white flour.

Best wishes!

So if I have been on the Zone without any sugar or white flour would I even need to do Phase 1? Probably should just to be safe huh?

SB has been really easy for me to stick to, even on the go. I travel as much as possible and always carry things like carrot sticks and ranch, grapes, or servings of nuts w/ me.

I also work some off-duty details, including SWAT, and it's easy for me to just take a snack w/ me and keep it on hand if needed since I never know how long I'll be out. The last detail I worked I made up some chicken caesar wraps (whole wheat tortillas, of course, which wouldn't be Phase I legal) to take w/ me as well as a couple of pickles, some carrot sticks w/ ranch dressing, and a bag of air-popped popcorn (I'll pop it and then put it in a zip-loc bag to carry w/ me). I was out there 8 hours total and was fine b/c I had snacks on hand to keep me going until I got home for dinner. The people planning the detail cooked hamburgers and hot dogs, but I stuck to my healthy meal and felt a lot better for it. ;) The detail before that (4th of July fireworks show w/ lots of fast food tents set up) I brought some turkey and chicken sandwiches on whole wheat bread and some carrots w/ hummus. I just freeze my water ahead of time and use it to keep my food cool during the day. Meanwhile the water is thawing out and ready to drink by the time I'm ready to eat. VOILA!!! :)

So it can definitely be done w/ just a little planning.

How long has it taken you to lose somuch weight?