Newbie with questions.
 

Hello everyone!
I am on my third day of Phase one and have lost 4 LBs!! I am very excited. I do have a question though. My book is pretty old and I am wondering if there are any differences between then and now? Is there someplace I can go to look?

I have been trying to follow the Atkins Plan for several years now and have had no significant weight loss. I finally decided that repeating the same thing over and over again was insane. I am still getting the same results. I have an old South Beach book but had never read it until last week.

I made the decision that this is what I should be doing and am feeling more comfortable with reducing the fats in my diet. In 1998 I lost over 50 pounds with a very strict low fat regimen. I like the way this plan is written and the fact that I am feeling more comfortable with the foods then the Atkins plan is making me work a little harder on this.

I love to cook and make most of my own food and there are many lovely recipes that I am dying to try. Yesterday I had horrible cravings and an absolutely horrid headache all day and was beginning to think I should switch over to phase two but the headache went away and after weighing myself I am ready to go on with one and try to make it the whole two weeks.

I have some questions about some of the newer products that I didn't see in my book.

Hood Calorie Countdown 2% milk it has 5 carbs and is lowfat.
Heinz one carb ketchup
Land O Lakes Fat Free half and Half

are these acceptable?

:welcome2: ladyred

At the top of this page is a frequently asked questions link an there is an updated food list for Phase 1 and 2. Your headache and cravings yesterday is something we call SB flu. Essentially is the effects of detoxing your body from bad carbs. It usually happens somewhere around day 2 or 3 and lasts 24-48 hours. I'm glad you're feeling better and didn't jump to Phase 2 or you might not have reaped the rewards of Phase 1. As far as the products go the kethup is a no. Doesn't matter about carb count it's all about the sugar and I have yet to find ketchup that doesn't have sugar, corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup in it. The fat free half and half should be fine, as well as, the milk. Hope this helps and good luk on your journey.

:welcome3: Ladyred! We're happy that you decided to join us! There are some changes from the old book, and you can check out the stickies in the FAQ section for the up-to-date revised approved food lists for Phase 1 and 2. Check out our recipe section, too. There are so many wonderful recipes to help you stay motivated and satisfied!
Since you are so aquainted with Atkins, make sure that you don't confuse it with South Beach. Don't worry about counting carbs, and make sure you only eat lowfat dairy and cheeses, etc.

The Heinz One Carb ketchup and the Fat Free 1/2 & 1/2 are both fine on Phase 1. The Hood's 2% milk is ok, but you should consider using the fat free milk instead. I'm not really in favor of the Hood's milk, because of all the extra added ingredients in it. We don't need all that.

Good luck to you and we're looking forward to getting to know you better! :)

You've gotten great advice already. I just wanted to chime in and say :welcome2:

Kara

:welcome3: ladyred! :wave:

You've gotten good advice from everyone. The big thing for you will be to make sure you pay no attention to grams of carbs. There are lots of things that are low in carbs and are not SBD-safe and things that are SBD-safe and high in carbs. It's hard to readjust your thinking, I know, but it's the one thing you'll need to watch for in switching from Atkins to SBD.

I started SBD after my doctor suggested it. She mentioned that, at the time (4 years ago), she had patients who were losing weight on SBD and on Atkins, but they were only maintaining the loss on SBD. They just couldn't stick with Atkins. :shrug: Seems like SBD can be more of a lifestyle change that you can continue even after you reach goal.

Just wanted to Weclome you to the beach.
And add don't forget your 4.5 cups of veggies a day.. The headache won't last too long.

Thank you so much for all the information and the nice welcome. I am happy to be here. You are right I am still having trouble adjusting my thinking however, I am looking for the fat in things now as opposed to the carbs. I will just keep the food list with me while I shop for groceries.
This diet is also making more sense to me as I am working on a Dietary Manager certification class. I had such a hard time with Atkins because I felt so deprived all of the time. I think that after four years of beating myself up because I couldn't follow the plan should have been enough.
I am realistic enough to know that I could go overboard if I let myself when I start adding things back so hopefully that will help me keep myself in check.
Right now I am just enjoying things like being able to eat beans again.