Haha sorry you people are probably so sick of me asking silly questions by now..
But this coming Monday I am starting SBD yay! I am very excited for it haha.
I had to take a week to clear out my cabinets and read the book and plan a shopping list and whatnot. Plus, on Sunday I have to go to a cookout/picnic with my grandmother and that would be a disastrous day to start a new plan..
Anyway..

1.) This is probably the stupidest question ever, but SBD brand foods, are they SBD friendly? I mean it just seems contradicting kind of, because I thought prepackaged foods were supposed to be steered clear of.
Also, today at the store I saw SBD meal bars and stuff. What is up with that? Again, it just seems contradicting to me.

2.) After carefully examining the meal plan for phase 1, I am probably going to stick very close to it. Is this the idea? Or are you supposed to come up with your own meal plans?
I will replace the beef recipes most likely because I am afraid of mad cow disease (haha not really but I try to steer clear of beef because I believe the industry is not regulated enough..blah blah).

So is it okay to stick to the meal plan? Or should I make my own?



Sorry for always asking questions that you guys are probably rolling your eyes about, haha. It's just I am starting on Monday and I want to get it right. I want to be very dedicated.

Thanks women!

I read the SBD books very closely and have done that a couple of times with success (but for me it was hard to stick with). The packaged foods are definitely not completely in line with the books/theory (especially the bars). I've eaten many of their frozen breakfasts and dinners and find them DISGUSTING - especially the meat ones. Their cookbooks are great, however, (especially those ricotta desserts) and once you get it down, you can find other frozen meals that fit the SBD plan (like Kashi - my new favorite - the coconut chicken was the best ever - but they also have veggie selections...)
Good luck!!

Ask away, Lucy! That's what we're here for.

Most of the prepackaged SBD meals and bars should be avoided, even though they claim to be South Beach friendly. If you look at the ingredients, you'll find a lot of preservatives and whatnot. I think Dr. Agatston sold out to Kraft, because they certainly go against the grain of what this diet is all about. You could probably use them once in a while as an emergency, but they shouldn't be included in your regular daily eating plan.

As far as staying on the Phase 1 meal plan that is in the book, that's up to you, or you can make up your own plan that includes your likes and dislikes. Just make sure you are including enough dairy, beans, protein and at least 4 1/2 cup vegetables each day.

I think the SBD frozen entrees are terrible. I do use the frozen pizzas on Phase II, when I don't have time to make my own whole wheat crust pizza. Especially when my family is eating pizza on the weekend. They are very tasty and filling. I did not care for any of the recipes in the book except for the mocha ricotta creme, which I love. The recipes here are the best. I printed off so many of them that I keep them in a folder in my kitchen.

I have a similiar folder I did not like the recipes in the book. I don't like ricotta cheese AT ALL. So, I was thrilled to find the awesome recipes here!

The SBD frozen pizzas are okay. I have thought about making my own. I used to find some low carb spaghetti sauce at Food City the first time I was on SBD, but now I can't find it anymore.

Now LucyFlicker, never ever hesitate to ask or apologize about questions. That's what we're here for. You may not like some of the answers but.....
It sounds like you are getting well-prepared for The Beach so !

Welcome!!

When I did Phase I, I didn't follow the book at all..then it's super restrictive (to me!!). I used several of the recipes, and especially snack suggestions. Lots of recipes from here too! I thought Phase I would be horrid, but it really wasn't bad! I'm on week...um...7? of Phase II. It has taught me a lot of creativity in ways to enjoy veggies and healthy meat cooking.

As for the bars, I bought them before I read the threads, when I was preparing for Phase II....since it's difficult preparing everything, even snacks, when you work full time. Since I read the threads, understand the diet better, and avoid most prepackaged foods... I left them at work. They came in handy one night when I was stuck fora long procedure at work, and didn't have supper (and they weren't very good...but did the job...). Otherwise, I don't buy anything prepackaged...

Good luck! This forum is what has helped me make it this far!

I followed the recommended foods out of the book...but found that when I followed the actual meal plans it was just too much food! I had a ton of leftovers that never were eaten. I ended up just finding recipes that were SBD friendly (the recipe database here is amazing) and planned those for the week.

It sounds like you are definitely on the road to success! Great job at planning ahead so much, it makes this diet much easier!

Good luck!!

I went with the phase 1 plan (except for breakfast) almost every day (cutting the salads in at least half). I really enjoyed a lot of the salads and will use them in my regular rotation today. For P2 I think I started making my own menus according to what was on sale and such.
Good luck coming on to the beach! You'll find a whole lot of great advice and support here. The ladies really know their stuff here. WELCOME!!!

The SB salad dressings are not so good, I've found. I just read the labels on the others I like and am sure to choose only those with low sugar content. I haven't tried much else in their product line and probably won't now considering some of the above posts

We started SB immediately and read the book while we were on the plan. So by default, we followed the Phase I plan pretty closely while learning. However, when I say that, I really mean we followed it pretty closely for the dinners. Lunch tended to be salads (and a lot of phase I lunches were salads) with dinner leftovers on them. I made a large batch of the egg cups (can't remember their real name offhand) and I ate them. DH, I believe, prepared eggs or omelettes for himself most mornings. As we went, we made substitutions, choosing veggies we preferred, or swapping meals from one to the next based on how long something would take to cook vs. time available. By the second week, we were following the basic plan, but with much more subbing - or plainer cooking. I made notes in the book as we went of what we really ate. It worked for us.

By the time we were on week three shifting to phase 2, we got further from the book. This is because the plan calls for you to add in one new item. The menus already had 2-3 fruits and 2-3 carbs per day. They were really written for someone well established in Phase 2, not just starting.

Thanks ladies! Your replies were all [and have been] very helpful!