Hi Ladies,
It's me again! (I've been posting lots.. I love this place!) I'm two days away from starting phase two, and I've lost six pounds. I'm happy about this, but the book keeps mentioning that most people lose 8-12 pounds in phase 1. I just read the section on phase 2 in the book and he even states "Now that you've lost about a dozen pounds...". Should I stay on phase 1 longer? I'm hoping to move on but if six pounds isn't enough to keep me losing in phase 2, then I'll stick out longer. What do ya say?

I think some caveats I had in phase 1 that contributed to me not losing majorly were: 1) being too liberal with the nuts 2) maybe too many dairy servings and 3) a few nibbles here and there of SF dark chocolate. I'm anticipating that allowing fruit back into my diet will allow me to dismiss the nuts and "sweet" treats a lot, as I love fruit and think that even one serving a day will satiate a lot of the "need" for sweets. Anyways, I'm a little irritated because I didn't cheat other than maybe a few larger servings here and there (which I guess is cheating.. but cheating in my book is reaching for the candy or french fries or bread...) - BUT I have been exercising a lot, so I guess the water/muscle gain is a possibility as well.

I'd appreciate your opinions!

xxoxo

They should seriously rewrite that statement next revision of the book. The total amount of weight loss on phase 1 is dependent upon a couple things. It depends on how much total weight you have to lose to begin with. If you only have 20 pounds to lose, then the odds are you will lose about 5 pounds maybe. Over the last couple years of doing this, I normally see folks lose about 10% of their weight they want to lose. The other huge factor is if you came to South Beach from another diet, it is likely you have lost most your water weight which is a good chunk of that "10 pounds" people can lose in phase 1.

Losing 6 pounds is great. Staying in phase 1 longer will not make you lose any faster and isn't recommended unless you have 100 pounds or more to lose. It just leads to burning out on foods and lets face it, we need the nutrients from those fruits and grains.

I wolud totally agree with Ciarin. What a formulation in a book. Just skip that part and go on :-)

And I have noticed that I am doing the same as you are - too much nuts and dairy but I have to eat something :-))) I hope I will get better and lower nuts and dairy over the time...

Thanks, Ciaran and Add. I think you're right.. i FEEL that I've lost a bit, and the more I think about it ,the more I think I can eliminate some the phase 1 fats my body might be holding on to if I can substitute in fruit.

I agree. I only have about 17 lbs to lose, and only lost about 9 on P1. My husband on the other hand has about 30 lbs to lose and dropped about 15 on P1.

I agree, I wish Dr. A. would take that part out of the book. People tend to feel that they are "owed" a 12 lb. loss, but in reality it varies a lot. I have done Phase 1 several times and never lost more than 5 lbs. And that's having 100 lbs. to lose the first time I did it. It also depends on how you were eating prior to beginning. Most of that weight is water and if you are not carrying a lot of water weight you just won't see that big loss. Remember, the main point of Phase I is to get rid of cravings, so if you have not eaten off-plan foods (even if you've eaten a few too many nuts), and you aren't experiencing cravings, I'd go ahead and start Phase II. Be sure and read the stickies on Phase II, and introduce new foods gradually. The beginning of your Phase II should look just like Phase I with a grain or a fruit the first week, then another thing the next week, etc.

Popcorn, you should definitely move to Phase 2.

How much you lose in P1 is based mostly on:
1. How much weight you have to lose--the more you have to lose, the faster it comes off in the beginning.
2. How you were eating before you started SBD. If you were eating a lot of simple sugars and bad carbs, you will lose more weight in P1.

You have a loss to be proud of! Just keep it up and you'll do wonderful in Phase 2! Check out the FAQ for tons of great help with preparing for and moving in to Phase 2.

thanks ladies!! your comments make sense - I am one of those people that eats well but just stays fat (thanks genetics). I have fabulous cholesterol, healthy blood pressure and I eat a ton of veggies and fruits, so maybe I just don't carry a lot of water weight. I moved to phase 2 today with 1 slice of whole grain double fiber bread and a few strawberries and they were AMAZING!