Hello Everyone

I'm on holidays currently, so you will have to forgive me for my lack of posts for another week or so. However, since my holidays were so long I thought it was the perfect chance to clean house before I left and return to a clean slate...enter a family member handing me a SBD book.

I have previously done the south beach diet but due to my horrible diet before the last time I tried it I quickly feel on the wagon...and into a bag of chips welcoming arms. I have also dabbled in calorie counting (which doesn't quite work with my type a personality, as you know you have a problem why you are debating how many bites of...green beans for example...you ate to make sure your calories are too the letter correct -.-).

From what I've read here there are some that go into a phase 1.5, which has varying degrees of definitions to different people from what I've gathered, but overall I gather this to mean having one "okay on phase two" serving of a carb.

I'm a carb lover, I love bread (clearly to my demise) and fruit...because of how much it currently plays a roll in my day to day life...would it be completely haphazard to integrate one serving of berries or other ok fruit (example a serving of berries on approved phase 1 yogurt) or would that be okay for a couple days (like...a phase into phase one?)?

I am a carb lover too and I find that whenever I tell myself I can do PH1 with a tiny bit of fruit or whole grains, I slip up. From my experience, the best thing is to do the complete two weeks of PH1 to really help knock down those carb cravings then to veryyyyy slowwwwwlllly add things back in PH2. As hard as it is to go cold turkey on those foods you love, I think in the end it makes things much easier over time. And I also find it easier not to eat any than to try to moderate them when I am craving. But that is just me.

I think we all have to make an individual decision based on where we have been with our eating in the past weeks or months.

For me, if I'd been "totally" off plan, I would definitely go back to phase 1.

I have really been able to isolate my issues after following SBD for almost 2 years now. My "cravings" tend to be mental and not physical, if that makes sense. I find fruits and a very moderate amount of healthy grains to be healthy for my mindset. When it's time to reign things in I lean towards 1.5. I'll enjoy fruit and it doesn't cause any cravings with me. If I have any grain it will be in primary form and I'll eliminate the triscuits and bread.

I really believe my continuing success with SBD is due to my learning about myself and my habits. I did to a clean phase 1 the first time around, but any time I have tried since, I haven't made more than 3 or 4 days. It just doesn't jive with my lifestyle very well when I try for a full 2 weeks. For me when I do phase 1 I fail, when I do phase 1.5 I succeed.

I have 2 diabetic friends who started with 1.5 or phase 2 because their doctor recommended it, but if you don't have health issues I encourage you to try to do a clean phase 1.

For me phase 1 clears my head as well as my body. Sure it takes planning and self-discipline to avoid grains and fruits for 2 weeks but those are the skills needed for successful weight loss anyway. After 2 weeks of phase 1 a lot of foods just don't seem as appealing as they used to (at least to me). IMO, two tough weeks at the start when you're still highly motivated is the way to go.

Thanks ladies As is true for diets, no one size fits all :P I guess I'll have to just listen to my body (or at least try to :P...maybe start off at a clean phase 1 and go from there?).

I'm arriving late but I'd definitely recommend doing the full 2 week Phase 1 since you never successfully transitioned to Phase 2. It's well worth the two weeks to get those cravings taken care of. Phase 1.5 is more of a transitional phase than a starting phase unless you are diabetic, a nursing mom or have other health issues that make Phase 1 a bad idea. No reason you can't transition into the 2 weeks of Phase 1 though. Lots of people take a week or two to clean out the house and start getting ready before plunging into Phase 1. Let us know how it's going