I am thinking of starting the South Beach diet tomorrow. I have over 50 lbs. to lose and just cannot stay on diets that make me count up numbers any more. That's no way to live.

I am looking over the South Beach list. Most of the proteins are ok, but I love dark meat chicken and can't get by just eating the white meat. Budget wise, I always buy the dark meat.

Also, coming off a low carb diet where I counted carb grams all day, I'm used to eating 2 oz. nuts a day. How careful are you guys with nuts? I'm not going to sit there and eat half a jar full, but I do like my 2 oz. of nuts a day! They REALLY fill me up for quite a while.

I can get by without eating fruit for two weeks as long as I can have my diet sodas.

I hate to sound picky, but I want to do this right. How exact are you with the "rules"? The chicken and nuts would be the only two I would break! Any feedback from successful South Beachers is very much appreciated.

Hi there,

It is important to follow the "rules" of SBD IMHO, especially in the first two weeks. If you can go without dark meat for 2 weeks and with only 1 oz of nuts, at least for Ph 1, I think you can be very successful.

Do a search of our FAQ threads and really prep yourself. YOU CAN DO IT!

Thanks for your reply.

I was under the impression that dark meat chicken was not allowed in phase 2 either?

Anyone else? I would love to hear success stories and your opinion on my approach. Can you still be successful with minor tweaking?

What I've been gathering in a very short time is that tweaking on phase 1 should really be avoided altogether....just be very strict for phase 1. If you're gonna do it, do it right. Then, possibly, start looking at how you work out phase 2 for yourself.

I've only been around a short time, so someone correct me if I'm wrong. You can do anything for two weeks, I promise!

As a tip, the roasted chickpeas are a really good replacement for nuts.

Thanks! I appreciate your replies.

I am going to start tomorrow. It will be a relief not to count up numbers all day anymore.

Welcome, bkofmatthew! In the original SB Diet book, there is a personal testimonial that Dr. A included from one of his patients who did the diet - it was an elderly gentleman who simply was not willing to give up his bowl of ice cream each night. Full fat, full creamy ice cream, every single night. But he followed the diet in all other respects and he still lost weight and improved his health.

Now, to be honest, I do second those opinions above that doing a "clean" phase 1 will be the most effective. I personally did not do a clean phase 1 - I allowed myself flavored creamer in my coffee, and any salad dressing I wanted. And I did not lose as much weight as I possibly could have during that period, but I still did lose and got rid of my carb cravings. It was a personal choice.

Bottom line is that the best diet is the one you'll actually stick to. If you need to include your dark meat chicken and 2 oz of nuts in order to do it, at least it's not full fat ice cream! =)

Furn, thank you so much! Amazon has great deals on used books, so I have the original South Beach Diet book on order from amazon, so I look forward to reading the "icecream" story!...and I ordered the South Beach Diet Supercharged as well. I saw a new South Beach book is coming out in October, so I'll get that as well.

I am very excited, because I feel this is an eating plan I can actually stick with. I love that there's no counting, but it is very structured, which is good for me.

Thanks for admitting to your tweaking. I don't mind having a slower weight loss in exchange for an eating plan I can finally stick to for the rest of my life.

This seems like a great forum.

Thanks again for your replies, everyone. I really appreciate it.

You can absolutely do this. I have any part of the chicken I want now, although the two weeks on Phase 1 I was very strict, Now, 40 pounds lighter, I know what I can "get away with" and what causes problems. The two weeks are designed to get your cravings under control, and then add things in slowly to get to know how your body reacts to different foods.

I have faith - i started at nearly 200 pounds, and cannot imagine living any other way now.

Be well -

I'll admit that I'm not a purist. Like... ketchup. *ducks head in shame* But I didn't stray much or often in PH1. It's only 2 weeks, after all. And the benefits last sooo much longer. Nuts are about the only thing I carefully measure. I know this plan is not about calories but nuts are very high in them so I am careful not to overdo.

You folks are just the best! Thank you for the encouragement. I started today. Why wait for tomorrow? I won't weigh in for two weeks. I get my books from amazon on Wednesday, but the phase 1 food list on this site is wonderful. Thank you, whoever posted it.

I am excited that I finally found a way of eating I can live with.

I was very strict with P1....I only wanted to do the 2 weeks once. I have not looked back. If I stray in a big way (and only for a few days) I go back to P1 for 2 or 3 days at the most.

I originally committed to 6 mos. totally OP. I did that and lost the majority of my SBD weight during that time. Now, as I find myself bending the rules a bit more I find the weight comes off slower. I'm OK with that. Since 2007 I have always weighed less on Jan. 1 than I did the previous Jan. 1.

I stick to the recommended nut servings and measure. If I'm going to eat dark meat chicken I try to have 1/2 be light. I buy whole organic chix, and am buying less because I'm leaning more towards vegetarian these days. (who knew??)

I love not having to count, but I've learned how to count and I sometimes do when I'm trying to re-lose 5 or 6 regained pounds or if I'm trying to find a new low.

Best wishes!

Thank you Debbie; wow; what success stories here!

It is so interesting to learn how everyone "works" the program.