Hey ladies,

I'm at my third and final week of Atkins Induction and about to start switching phases. All good so far.

I am thinking of, when I am in/around my goal weight and in lifetime maintenance, gradually changing gears to a more South Beach kind of arrangement by cutting/editing fat and adding whole-grain carbs so I'm a little more "balanced".

Does this seem like a good idea or am I risking things by switching gears? I'd like to hear your stories about post-low carb, etc.

Yes indeed--I was thinking of tipping things a little further, is all. I guess I'll find out if/when I do it, but I was wondering about people's higher-carb maintenance success, I suppose.

In terms of what people are actually eating - Atkins and South Beach can be nearly identical. One of the main differences is that in Atkins you continue to keep track of the number of carbs, where in South Beach there is no counting. The other significan difference is that South Beach is more restrictive on the type of fats eaten (leaner proteins and "heart healthy" oils).


I do think that for me, I will always need to "count" what I eat in some way. On South Beach, I didn't lose any weight beyond Phase I (didn't gain either, so it might be an option for maintenance - but then again not gaining at 350 lbs is a lot different than not gaining at 150 lbs - I might find at 150 that I do gain on South Beach and would have to go back to some type of counting).

Gotcha! That does help clear things up a lot, thank you.

"Does this seem like a good idea or am I risking things by switching gears?"

I would say try it and see. I always try new things at least once, if it doesn't workout oh well I tried. It wont hurt to try