Yesterday I decided to start phase 1 off the cuff so to speak. I didnt have any thing really planned out and by night fall I did just that. I fell and fell hard. I am so bummed. I have tried to start like 50 times this past year and I can't seem to get it past the first few days. I thought posting here would help keep me on and obviously it didnt. How did you guys cross the line into, "I can do this" or what made it finally "click" in your brain for the long haul.


andie

Do you keep the right foods in your house? I found that when I started SBD, I had to get rid of everything that was not good for me...That way there was no temptation lurking around the pantry door. Prepare your meals in advance, that way it is already done, and you sure don't want to waste the food that you already cooked by eating some junk.

I planned ahead for my start date about a month in advance. DH and I worked to get all the temptations (ie junk food) out of the house and worked to get a pantry stocked with lean meats and cheeses, nuts, veggies (lots of them), and other approved foods. I also spent time writing out a menu/meal plan for the first couple of weeks, just so we had something to go on and weren't resorting to or take-out because we didn't know what to do! I think that planning and support (either from family members, friends, or 3FC) is key! You can do this!

The key for me is menu planning and only grocery shopping once a week.

Also, if you can believe this, not carrying cash on me. I use my debit card for everything but fast food. I feel stupid for using a debit card at a fast food place so if I don't have any cash, I just won't go.

One more thing. Stop putting it off. If you make a poor eating choice (not "mistake" or "messed up") start over right then and right there. You WILL get there!

You do have to find the motivation within yourself to want to do this. In my case, my doctor was going to put me on cholesterol drugs in addition to the 3 blood pressure meds and I didn't want that. Now my cholesterol and blood pressure is normal without any drugs.

When you do decide that you want to do this, the key is in the planning. Get the foods that are off plan out of the house (use them up before you start, hide them if they would be okay in phase 2 but not in phase 1, whatever it takes to get the temptations out of the way). Sit down and plan a weeks worth of meals. Or at least several days at a time. Plan every meal including your snacks. Make sure you have more snacks with you than you need so you are never hungry. Normally I snack on raw zucchini for one snack and raw cauliflower or peppers for another (maybe with hummus) but during phase 1 I will bring a plain yogurt (with Splenda and cinnamon) or a deviled egg or hardboiled egg. Nuts just make me hungrier so I don't use those. If I don't eat three snacks then one will keep until the next day but I don't want to have an excuse for reaching for something just because I am hungry.

There are lots of recipes here as well as in the South Beach cookbook and the South Beach Quick and Easy Cookbook. You don't ever have to eat a salad if you don't want to. There are lots of other ways to get your veggies.

It also helped me in the beginning to tell everyone that I was on this diet (way of eating) and describe it to them. I was less tempted to sneak a Hershey's kiss if the people that might see me knew that I shouldn't be eating it. It also made it easier to refuse eating out or to make sure that we only ate out at places where I could stay on plan. The motivation has to come from you but we will be glad to try to help you come up with coping strategies.

Planning, planning and more planning are the key for me. Also getting rid of everything that was bad or a temptation from my pantry. Also it has to be the right time for you.

Every Saturday I make up a menu for the week and we go grocery shopping. Then Saturday night or Sunday afternoon we cook and do the prep work for the week. It really helps to have the veggies (the ones that you can) already cut up ready to use. We both love broccoli and have discovered that if we cut it up and put it in a bowl of water in the frig it will last all week.

My bad day each week is Wednesday. I come home so tired I can hardly move so I always plan something super simple for that night. I use the weekend to try new recipes and then we freeze the leftovers for lunch or Wednesday dinner.

Barb had a great idea this year and I just love it. She is planning her meals in a calendar. I have been using it and it is a wonderful tool. I can go back to other weeks and looks at what we had. She suggested writing the page number of the recipe in the calendar so you have everything right in one place to get what you need. It is working so well!! I just love it!! Has made things much simpler.

Hope this helps you and keep trying.

First of all, plan ahead. Get rid of all the no-no's in your house. Buy lots and lots of veggies, some string cheese, lean meat (if you eat meat), and so on. Read the book beforehand, if you haven't already. If you don't understand something - ask. Someone here will probably have an answer for you!

Once you've read the book, decided this is a lifestyle you want to embrace, purged your kitchen and pantry, and loaded up on good stuff, then you will be ready to start it in earnest.

Eat at least 4 1/2 cups of veggies each day, and drink at least 64 fl ozs of water (water, mind, not tea or coffee or Crystal Light) each day - believe me, it makes a difference! Prepare yourself mentally that you will have a few bad days - days in which the cravings will rear their ugly little cheeseburger- and chocolate chip cookie-shaped heads and tempt you to stray. Ignore them - they mean you no good! You may have headaches. You may feel tired and run down. You might be cranky and hard to live with. It'll pass. Detoxing IS NOT FUN, but it will make you feel a whole lot better in the end.

And if you fall off your horse, just get right back up there again! We're all rooting for you!

I agree with all of the above.
Have you considered maybe trying to start by going directly to P2? P1 is NOT a necessity on SB just a jump start to cleanse your sytem. I skipped P1 altogether and started with P2 and have lost 8 lbs so far. Granted it's slow (I'm 50 yrs of age) but it works. I just couldn't bring myself to do P1 again and have felt great since I started.

Doesn't Dr A consider it necessary, at least unless there is a medical reason to not? It's been a few months since I read the book, but that's the impression I carried away. Otherwise, you aren't really doing the SBD, you're just simply eating healthfully (not that there's anything wrong with that!).

SB IS about eating healthily.
In the book Dr A deemed it necessary for his patients to do P1 because they all were extremely overweight and had other medical problems that came with their obesity - high cholesterol, high blood pressure, blood sugar out of whack, etc. - because they were not eating healthy in the first place.
I don't have and never have had any of those problems and wasn't eating a lot of junk before SB. I don't have a sweet tooth and switched to whole grains and eating lots of chicken and fish years ago. But you can still eat healthy and overeat - hence my weight gain. I just needed to get my eating under control again.
P2 will do the same thing as P1 as far as leveling out your blood sugar levels and such. You will still lose your cravings and cleanse your system of the bad stuff. When SB made it's debut, myself and many others started with P2 and had the same success as those who started with P1. In fact I lose more steadily on P2.

rotten_bananas, that's an interesting point about carrying cash. I usually don't (but it's more because I lose track of it so easily), but I do feel pretty silly using a debit card for a $3.49 combo at a place. Also, it eliminates the possibility of indulging in a "vending machine picnic" (you know, Cheetos followed up with a Hershey bar, washed down with soda) at school!

Partyofsix, I know you can do this! There are plenty of wonderful people on 3FC to support you!

IMO -- if you really truly started 50 times then I think maybe this isn't the right plan for you. My mom lost a lot of weight years ago on Weight Watchers and kept it off, but I'm telling you, it drives me insane everything about it. I've joined it like five times and around the second month I start HATING the constant quantifying and journaling and meetings and everything...I find that having a little of some foods is really hard for me and not having them at all is easy, I love veggies and I love eggs and Southbeach has been really easy for me so far (I'm only on week 3 so far.)

So my advice is to consider another plan -- I don't believe there is a one-size-fits-all diet. My friend who is a strict vegan (no meat, eggs, dairy, sugar, etc etc etc) is in awesome shape but that is just not for me.

You CAN do it!!!! Believe in yourself...I know it's hard. I ate about 7 Oreos on Phase 1 , felt horrible, brushed it off and started over. Good luck and we believe in you!

Keep trying.. don't give up. Baby steps, when you fall off the wagon, just get right back on. You can do it!

Andie...the first three days for me was very rough , but I kept thinking about what it would mean for me to loose the weight. How much better I would feel-how easier things would be. Yes, my husband adores me the way I am and is in great shape, but I'm doing this for me. I've tried all the diets all my life-up down in weight, but nothing has worked till now. Maybe this way of eating(I do not call this a diet, but a change of menus) is a bit tough at first, but I think anyone can do it once they decide they are doing this for themselves.

I'm with the others and reading all you can before starting South beach. Heck I read for a week just on this website before starting SB because it's very helpful and listening to others who have done so great inspired me. Please don't give up unless of course YOU want to.