Hi everyone!

I am about to switch over from Atkins to South Beach, so I thought I'd drop by and say hi!

I found Atkins too extreme with the saturated fat and very low carb, but I need some kind of low GI plan to keep my blood sugar / cravings in check. I'm currently just free styling the healthy eating plan, until Sunday. On Sunday I'll start phase one of SB. However, I am thinking about just doing phase 1 Monday to Friday for the first week, because I'm going away for the weekend to somewhere where it'll be hard to stick to the plan... Worst case scenario will be to stick to plan Monday - Friday and restart on 28th Feb, when my boyfriend flies to the US for a month!

My goal is to lose a few pounds, until my stomach is flat. More importantly, however, I'd like a healthy eating plan I can stick with low term and keep my rollercoaster cravings and blood sugar under control. Obviously a bit of weight loss is always welcome though, especially because I'm running a half marathon in April.

I've ordered some callipers, so will measure my body fat, waist etc and weigh myself of Sunday and post them here!

In the meantime i'll be browsing the yummy recipes to prepare myself well!

Have a nice day

Welcome Claire! Hopefully this program will work for you - I did Atkins once and lost a ton of weight, but I could never seem to get back on it; all the fat made me pretty ill.

SB has been a really good choice for me - and yes, the belly fat does seem to be the first to go!

Hi!

I'm definitely hoping South Beach will be more manageable than Atkins, once I stopped Induction I couldn't keep to the rules...

I'm enjoying a generally low carb cheat week at the moment, and will defo start on Sunday!

Thanks for the welcome

Welcome! Other Beachers will probably chime in about Phase 1. Since P1 is about detoxing and getting rid of the cravings, two weeks interrupted is really highly suggested. Perhaps knowing that, you could figure what your P1 schedule is going to be. I really suggest getting through the two weeks totally clean (whenever you decide to start).

Best wishes! I am really happy following SBD as a WOL.

Hi!

Yeah I will definitely do 2 weeks uninterrupted. If I end up off plan next weekend, I will just tag another two weeks on to the end. Phase I doesn't phase me too much after Induction on Atkins, I'm happy if I can eat ff yogurt and nuts!

One question though, are protein shakes allowed on phase 1? I've taken to drinking one every morning for breakfast and it really fills me up. I drink it at 6:45, and very rarely am hungry before I finish teaching at 1:30pm. I have a few nuts in my break, but I think it's the shake that keeps me full. Can I still do that? My shake powder is made from whey, is low -carb and has no added sugar.

Thanks!

I've never used Whey (that I know of, at least) so I wasn't sure...but I googled it and found this:

Ah great thank you! I'll try not to have it every day but mine has no sugar in it at all so it should be ok for occasional use. Thanks for the info :-)

Welcome!