South Beach Diet Fat Chicks on the Beach!

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Old 05-22-2014, 07:26 AM   #1  
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Unhappy Ready to Give Up...

Good morning!

Ok, so its been a whole month that I've been on the South Beach plan. I've also been taking Zumba classes... I'm so frustrated because I seem to be yo-yo'ing and now in a Month's time after all my hard work, I had another gain and I've only lost a total of 1.2 lbs. I do feel better, however the point of this diet for me was to lose weight and to lower my cholesterol and triglycerides which are dangerously high...

I'm getting so frustrated, I'm about to give up. I feel I've given this eating plan a fair shake too, I feel that a month is a fair amount of time to let something atleast start to work. I don't know, maybe I'm doing something wrong, I have no idea. All I know is im sick and tired of being overweight and unhealthy! I'm really putting in the effort this time, but it doesn't seem to be working. I'm just wondering if South Beach is a sustainable plan that works, or if I should switch to something more "livable", like weight watchers or something...

Any thoughts / advice is appreciated

Thanks!
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Old 05-22-2014, 08:19 AM   #2  
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Sorry this has been so frustrating for you. Maybe you should post some samplings of what you are eating each day so chicks can evaluate that as a starting point.

I have been on SBD for a few years now and for myself I find it much more sustainable than anything else I've tried. I did have success losing with WW several years ago (the old points plan before fruit was free) but regained. For me, I just can't count points anymore. I found it particularly frustrating when I had to calculate for recipes.

Everyone is different, both in what they find easier/harder to follow and how their body responds to different foods and ways of eating. It took me several years of yo-yo-ing to figure some things out about myself.
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Old 05-22-2014, 09:10 AM   #3  
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Sorry you were feeling so discouraged! One thing that I found in the year where's that I've followed South Beach diet is that it isn't all about the number on the scale. I've had significant drop in size without any movement on the scale. I also had significant drop in my triglycerides in the first three months that I've followed plan. In those first three months my triglycerides dropped from somewhere in the 300s 282, which is where they seem to stay now. My cholesterol numbers improved and they still continue to improve.
Getting back to the number on the scale, I think there's a significant possibility that is since you've added this pretty vigorous Zumba class that you're doing a lot of shifting and restructuring that isn't showing up on the scale since muscle weighs more than fat.
If you're feeling better, that certainly has to be a significant sign. I have never felt better in my life, and know from all the research that I've done that the choices that I making following South Beach diet are really healthy ones.
I started at a pretty highway two, and mice first six months on plan I had a pretty significant weight loss. Then I had a month to six weeks where I couldn't break that 200 barrier into onderland. My last 25 pounds since then has been extremely slow but my body has continued to change in major ways.. I have a few pieces of clothing that I had kept for years and the jeans I wear now fit me the last time around when I weighed 20 pounds less.. That tells me that I was physically larger at 1:58 then I am now at 175.

My suggestion would be to give it six months on plan retake your blood results and see where you are then.

Best wishes!
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Old 05-22-2014, 02:15 PM   #4  
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Longtime beacher here (since 2007). I haven't posted in this section recently because I have been having all kinds of food issues (different story, not related to the South Beach Diet...)

Here's what I know about SBD. It is a solid, healthy way of eating - but for weight loss, some people have to "tweak" it a bit.

For example, I have learned from experience that I have to go low carb(ish) to lose any weight. This appears to be a new development as I get older but it is what it is. I would gain weight on the Phase 2 SBD recommendations for grain and fruit servings. When I am "on plan", I mostly have 1 fruit serving and 0 grain servings in a day. This is often referred to as "Phase 1.5"

I don't track carbs per se but find that I have to keep them below 100ish to see scale movement. Something to consider. It seems like many people are carb-sensitive.

South Beach is easy to combine with other plans. Calorie-counting of course (that's what I do, but for me it's more about the macronutrient ratios than total calories - I never did figure out how many calories I need to eat to lose weight. I aimed for 1400, with exercise).

I have seen several people who combined SBD with Weight Watchers. Just make your food choices along the lines of what SBD would recommend (which I personally just think of as a "healthy diet".)

In the end almost everyone has to experiment anyway to see what works for them individually. You could stick with the main SBD structure and adjust one aspect of your diet, such as:
  • No grains
  • No artificial sweeteners
  • Lower carb choices
  • More protein (75g is a common amount)
  • More fiber
  • More fat (this one might be controversial and might stray too far from SBD, but there are many folks who swear by adding fat. I have added coconut oil to my diet but not regularly)
  • Track WW points
  • Track calories
  • Cycle carbs and/or calories (high days mixed with low days)
  • Look into intermittent fasting (I often do a very mild version of this, just holding off eating until later in the morning and ending eating at a set time in the early evening)
I haven't seen your diet posted but really I think if everyone (I am talking to myself here) absolutely focused on the 4.5 cups of veggies and the XXX amount of protein FIRST and didn't get sucked into the pit of nuts and cheeses and sweet delicious fruits and sugarfree "treats" (also talking to myself) it would be next to impossible NOT to lose weight.

If you feel like you do all this already, maybe consider having a medical evaluation that includes metabolic profile/insulin challenge/thyroid panel/hormone levels just to make sure there isn't something else going on.

I have found Dr. Mark Hyman's resources to be quite informative. I checked out his books from the library, but here are his websites. He has a list of blood tests on the Blood Sugar Solution website that might be of interest if you go to visit a doctor.
http://drhyman.com/
The Blood Sugar Solution (annoying pop-ups)

BTW - when I started running a few years ago (Couch to 5K - 9-week program) and was doing BodyPump, I did not lose a SINGLE pound during that time. There are a lot of threads around here about water retention when you begin an exercise routine. I don't pretend to understand much about it, but just know a LOT of people experience this frustration of feeling like they are putting out so much effort and not seeing any results on the scale. In my own experience, the only way I lost weight finally was to increase my daily activity level significantly (such as walking EVERYWHERE) and I lost around 15 lbs but it still took almost a year.

GOOD LUCK to you whatever you decide to do.
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Old 05-22-2014, 06:11 PM   #5  
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Oh don't give up! I started my newest attempt to lose this weight for good on April 11th, and for an entire month the scale did not move one iota. I am not on SBD, but I had been doing all whole foods, with limited grains such as steel cut oats and quinoa and brown rice. I realized I was on the lower end of my calories the entire time. I took a week " off" and upped my calories and exercised not quite so intensely, and lo and behold the scale started to cooperate. I saw a change within 2 days' time.
Now I have been otherwise occupied, so I have not been tracking very well, my diet has not been ideal, and my exercise has come to a halt, but I haven't regained anything, and as soon as I can get it together with my schedule, I am back on it!
You probably just need to give yourself a break and evaluate all of your hard work. If it turns out you are eating too much, cut back a little. If eating too little, up it by 100 or so calories. Just don't give up-it will get better!
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Old 05-26-2014, 06:37 AM   #6  
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I agree, don't give up! I have seen dramatic change in my cholesterol levels since being on SBD. At my last screening My total cholesterol has decreased from 243 to 160, and that was after only 6 weeks. South Beach does work, try not to fixate on the scale and focus on the fact that you do feel better
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Old 05-26-2014, 07:54 AM   #7  
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Thanks everyone for your support... I've decided to stay on South Beach
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Old 05-26-2014, 08:04 AM   #8  
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Correct me if i'm wrong, but on SBD you can eat as much as you want right? I think that's probably the thing that is causing you to not get the results you've been expecting.

But the main point here is, if you do not like eating this way, then the diet isn't right for you. I think its important to be following a diet plan where you feel good about the foods you are eating and you also feel good about the foods you are not eating. For me, i couldn't or wouldn't want to live without fruit but don't you only have to give that up for a very short period of time anyway on SBD?

So what is it about the food that's not working for you? If you are wanting to eat junk food, then nothing's really going to work for you in the long term.

Its great you are doing Zumba. Its good for both your mind and your body in ways that is not true of many other types of exercise. In fact i found it harder for my mind. And you are feeling better because you are fitter now. Treasure that feeling because feeling fit is fantastic.

That said, weightloss is 80% diet 20% exercise. Keep up with your zumba because its good for you and hopefully you enjoy it. But its your diet that needs more attention and care.

I don't like counting calories and i avoid it by food logging in detail and eating healthy foods. I count calories occasionally but not very often at all. Mostly at the beginning of my diet.
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