I bought the South Beach diet book when it first came out several years ago and it had quite a bit of dust on it when I found it yesterday. My question is....since South Beach has begun I am seeing a lot of snack bars, meal replacement bars, chicken wraps (in the lunch meat isle), etc... Can these be used in phase 1?? or on maintenance phase 3??? Also any night shift workers out there, trying to figure out how to go from eating during the day/night when I work??

Thanks for everyone's insight!!

I don't think you can eat any of that processed stuff in PH 1 but am not sure what all is out there. Maybe there are SB salad dressings? But not the protein bars or wraps or anything else with grains or other non-ph1 foods. I am sure they are fine for PH3 but seems to me that Dr. A would always suggest non-processed stuff as much as possible. (I remember a big fuss when these foods started coming out and many thought he was selling out by allowing the name to be used this way.) Personally, I have sometimes eaten the protein bars on PH2 as an emergency snack when I am away from home or traveling. But I avoid them at home because I tend to overeat them. Good luck

rtmomma, !

As for all that pre-package stuff out there with the South Beach label on it, most of it is full of junk and we should really avoid eating it unless it's a dire emergency. We believe Dr. A sold out to Kraft on this one, as the entire concept of SBD is to get away from the packaged stuff and eat whole, freshly prepared foods without chemicals and flavor enhancers. In many cases, eating that stuff will only increase your cravings.
If you do find you want to try one of these packaged meals, most of them have what Phase they fit into listed on the packaging.

My hubby tried the breakfast bars and noticed they didn't sit well with his weight or his cravings. The tortillas seemed to be great except for the price. You can get whole wheat tortillas for much cheaper than the sbd ones.

Phase one can be painful because you're changing your whole way of eating and grocery shopping. Don't let that stop you. Remind yourself that it is only for two weeks and then you have larger choices available to you. One rule of thumb that helped me in phase one was the less ingredients the better (when shopping I mean, recipes that are P1 approved are a different matter). Stick with things that are straight up and think wholesome and old fashioned when in the kitchen.

I don't work nights but I do work 12 hour shifts in a hospital. Is your cafeteria open at night? Ours is and has a great salad bar. If not, try to take enough food to eat every 4 hours or so. I keep lots of snacks at work, eat one main meal in cafeteria and take another one from home to warm up. Good choices on Phase I would be boiled eggs, deli meat, RF cheese sticks, nut servings, cottage cheese, yogurt, raw veggies with hummus, V8 cans. I usually take in leftovers to reheat from whatever I served the day before & I usually cook in big batches like lots of chicken breasts or a big pot of chili. Large salads are a great way to get in your 4 1/2 servings of veggies. I sometimes use the SB salad dressings, but I wouldn't touch the SB bars or convenience foods. It's too easier to overeat them & too many processed ingredients. Phase I can be challenging, but so worth it. It passes quickly and really sets you up for success on this way of eating. Good luck!

Thank you Everyone!! After posting I did think about the bars and such and would only use them in an emergency such as not packing enough snacks, etc. Also thank you Anne for your tips and eating every 4 hours will be a happy challenge for me !! Although our cafeteria is closed at night and the vending machine is tempting but not for me anymore lol!

hi there,
Just to add to their thoughts
If you are used to hitting the vending machine every day, it may be easier to make sure you don't have any change with you . I developed a vending machine habit at my work and it was not easy to break. Though I wasn't on SBD at the time- my frugal self was fighting with my vending machine habit. LOL