Hello, I am at a path in the road with my weight loss, and am researching other options.

SB appeals to me because from what I've seen it promotes a very healthy lifestyle, with out propagating the idea that carbs are bad. I do have some questiions that I think are best answered by people who have done or who are doing SB..

1. I am a huge carb eater. My top foods are carbohydrates, and they are the first thing I think of when I'm hungry. Has anyone else gone from being like me to adopting the SB way of eating with out dying in the process? I am aware that its not like i will never eat these foods again, but I do know that how often I eat them and how much I eat will change. I am nervous about this..

2. My husband is not persuing this with me. Will it be difficult to make meals that are "good" for both of us ( something he can eat but I can eat, too, or eat with small alterations).

I haven't heard of people who have tried SB and not had success with it. ( trying as in following the plan relatively close, not trying as in one day and that's it.)

back in the day I did WW and it's just not cutting it. My belief is that it's no longer doing the thing because I can eat all my points in carbs and crap if I want to, rather than having some structure...

So, what do I want? Just advice and comments about how SBD has affected your life, how it has affected your family/shopping/ect..and how hard was it to get into it?

I really think that I can adopt this as a lifetime WOE because it does seem very healthy, not eliminating or ignoring food groups, but I just have to get started.

THank you much,
OG

I think that you will be surprised at what an impact the first two weeks make on your body. Its purpose is to cut those carb and sugar cravings. The first few days may be hard for you, but if you are determined to stick with it, it works! It really is a matter of retraining your brain.

As far as cooking- I have two kids and a husband. Because I refuse to be short order cook, they eat what I eat. My DH is now doing SBD, but before he started he just ate whatever meal I prepared. With my kids, all I do is make some type of grain side. I love to make those Lipton noodle or rice sides because they are good and easy. There are tons of good recipes on this forum to choose from.

Good luck!

I am totally a carb addict. The good thing about SBD, like Kiko said, the 1st 2 weeks is to help get rid of your cravings. It is working. The other fabulous thing is that if you really do want to eat something. That you're absolutely craving it...you can look into the recipe section and there is basically a SB friendly version of everything. There's even a SB friendly ice cream, lasagna, cookies, etc. This is why I am so amazed at this diet. There's no counting carbs, fat, calories or points. You have a list of what you can eat, and you can eat until you are satisfied. There's no depriving yourself. This is why SBD works! I have been back on SBD Phase 1 since July 29 and have already lost 7 lbs! Now if that's not proof it works, I don't know what is.

My husband and son have gotten used to the whole wheat breads and pastas. We eat Uncle Ben's original converted rice which is allowed for phase 2. Sometimes when I don't want to eat the rice, I fix it for them while I microwave some cabbage for me. It works just as well and requires very little additional work. The food is so good (check out recipes in our forum like Taco Bake) that my family loves most of them.

Often I make extra vegetables. The dinner may consist of a meat, rice, and two veggies or one veggie and a salad but I eat more veggies than anything else. What I like is my son now eats a lot healthier than he used to. He would prefer having vanilla yogurt over fruit.

Phase 1 may seem difficult since you love carbs so much but remember that you need to eat carbs like legumes/black beans are good and dairy. If you follow it for two weeks, you will lose your cravings (as Kiko mentioned so well). We normally have a thread that starts on Monday for people doing phase 1 and we have a daily thread that we all join in. You will find lots of support here.

Hey, Optical!

Sorry to get back to you so late...didn't see this until now.

I used to eat around 28-32 servings of carbs (almost entirely sugars and simple carbs) a day before I started SBD. I was the definition of a carb addict! As to whether you can do SBD without dying...I refer you to Moderator Sandi's sig quote: "If you want it, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse." I know that helped me a lot...I really wanted it, this time. But what made the real difference was that my cravings went away! It was the most amazing thing that's happened in my whole life. I had never gone through a day without being hungry 24/7 and eating carbs all day long. It's amazing to me! I think anyone who truly follows P1 and gets rid of their cravings can do this and without any pain, let alone death.

Like Barb said, lots of spouses aren't on the plan. My skinny-minny husband would have been dead by now if he'd stuck with my version! He eats what I eat, though, God bless him but he supplements it with other good carbs and more food. We can give you tons of other hints if you need them, but it's definitely possible to do this without your spouse on the same plan.

Hope you join us! :