My husband and I started South Beach about 3 weeks ago, I am starting on my 4th week. When we started I was nervous as I am a carb-aholic! But I was excited and gung-ho. We actually stayed on Phase I for 3 weeks because we messed up and had some low carb whole wheat tortillas and it stopped our progress, so we cut them out and added an extra week to phase 1. We did well Hubby lost 17 lbs (he is a big and tall guy) and I lost 10. Now that we are on Phase II I am scared because 1.) I thought oh you can just add the healthy carbs back in, I didn't realize this was going to be experiment and see what you can add in and when. This is the part I am not enjoying. I like rules and I am wanting to keep losing and I don't like try this and see what it does. 2.) I am having hard days where I just want a piece of cake or something crunchy. Its not a craving its more that I love to bake and this diet has basically halted all baking. I just love cake. So there are days where I just feel frustrated, because the thing I love doing is cut out (baking) and I am fighting against my emotional eating. This past monday I didn't gain any and I didn't lose any. It was my first week on Phase II Well I lost 3 oz. I had brown rice one day (my only carbs that day) Then I added fiber one cereal with smart balance skim milk almost every day of last week. I would occasionally have the low carb whole wheat tortillas. I also added in strawberries with Truvia and sf cool whip. And I would have a bite of Peanut butter.

I am having a hard time with snacks as I am tired of cheese and sandwhich meat.

This week I have gone back to no carb breakfasts , Yesterday I ate a bubba burger turkey patty with cheese on top for breakfast, 1/3 cup of brown rice with beans and sausage, and I ate turkey sausage for lunch plus a few sf candies and strawberries and as a snack I age the smores South beach diet bar (I got on the scale this morning and I have lost 2 more lbs) I am not putting this on the weight tracker yet as the official day to weigh is Monday.(this diet is so confusing )

So I guess I am trying to figure out am I eating enough because I know if you don't eat enough it can cause you to start storing stuff back even though clearly I am not starving. Also I am fighting fear of eating too much or too many carbs because I want to lose weight I don't want to plateau for too long. And what are some things I can make that help satisfy my crunch snack needs and my cake desires?

I am very glad to be on this diet or new way of eating because I don't feel I can go back. I understand now what all that white flour and sugar and crap I was eating was doing to me and I don't want to ever subject my body to eating that way again. And I will say I have been reading lots of stuff on here and you guys are very encouraging and have lots of good tips.

The hubby and I plan to start incorporating more exercise starting tomorrow. I go to Zumba every Thursday night and we are going to start walking and doing wii fit. I also have to get better on my water, I do drink it but probably not as much as I should.

Any tips and encouragement or rules you can give me would be much appreciated!

Have you looked at the recipe section yet? There are lots of things that you can bake that are SB friendly, there is even a mock cake that everyone seems to like who has made ( I have not made yet). Just a quick thought for you.

I have not even looked at the recipes yet. I believe they could simplify a lot of things about my effort.

Hi! It sounds to me like you are doing great so far! Just a few observations...

1. I still bake! (well, not now 'cause I'm on Phase 1 but in general). I have all kinds of "alternative" flours/grains and seeds. I make a mean 100% whole wheat walnut bread, if I do say so myself. And I made the whole wheat banana bread in the recipe section - it was delicious! Of course these things are still high in calories and I often can't control myself around them, but that's another topic ... but the point is that you can find ways to bake that are healthier than white flour/sugar baking. Diabetic and gluten-free recipes can be your friend! You can tweak them to fit in with SBD.

2. Yes, try some of the "mock" cakes! I haven't ever made them but people seem to love them. Someday I will try them as well.

3. I don't eat sandwich meat, but other snacks I include are: cut up veggies (pepper strips, broccoli/cauliflower florets, celery, carrots on Phase 2) with hummus, 1 oz of raw almonds or walnuts, yogurt with nuts or tomatoes/peppers or berries (Phase 2), dried green beans (just beans, oil and salt - not too much fat in them), cucumber rounds with light cream cheese and smoked salmon, celery or apple (Phase 2) with peanut butter or almond butter, an orange or other fruit (Phase 2) with cottage cheese...

4. Yeah, most people add the carbs back slowly ... do a search on "Phase 1.5" to find out more about the transition phase. But basically everyone just has to do what feels right for them. For example, I am pretty much never going to eat 3 servings of grains per day again - but I am going to try to always include 1, with oats & quinoa being at the top of my list. But I want to actually increase fruit - in particular, berries, citrus fruits, kiwi, apples/pears and cantaloupe, ones often seen on "super foods" lists. I think I got scared of fruits the first time I did South Beach in 2007

5. I don't think the diet itself is complicated Once you get used to what you can't eat, it's just lean protein, small amounts of healthy fats, 4.5 cups of veggies/day. Of course, the planning of meals, etc is work, but I found the same amount of work when I was calorie-counting. But I was eating whole foods, etc. so either way the planning & food prep part is a lot of work. It definitely becomes more routine, though, so hang in there!

Hi Tinkerbobbie,

I'm a baker, too, and have actually enjoyed the challenge of learning to make things healthier by following SBD principles. My favorite all time cake is Carrot Cake, and I have posted a modified recipe. I do second Emma's comment that I do have issues with overeating my baking so I am very clear when I bake what MY portion is going to be and how I'm going to deal with the rest. I usually have 1 piece the day I bake, 1 piece the following day-then either give it away or freeze it for another occasion.

When you speak of "rules", one of the things I like about SBD is that I feel I can take the principles and come up with my own rules based on my lifestyle and food preferences. One rule I made for myself was to not eat ANYTHING OFF PLAN for 6 months, and I didn't. The reason I made that rule for me is because I was sick of being where I was at physically, and I wanted to see what kind of turnaround I could make in 6 months. Let me tell you, it was AMAZING! (Encouragement!)

I think I big reason for working things in slowly is that we truly react to certain foods, especially grains, in very different ways. There are many chicks who eat oatmeal every single morning for breakfast. Me-every time I eat oatmeal, I go into carb craving and eat stuff I don't normally touch. I even tried oatmeal for lunch and had the same response. My rule-No oatmeal. I'd just advise you to take it slow and easy. BTW-it is much less confusing as you get more familiar with the food lists.

I've got to say that I feel so much better than I used to. I would certainly encourage you to continue to strive to eat OP until you are to the point that you aren't just counting down numbers, but are chalking up "I feel great days!" and are to the point of being amazed at the progress you've made. For me, that 6 month stretch was long enough for me to be sold on this WOL.

Best Wishes!

I think these ladies have had excellent advice- I just want to add that you need more veggies! I don't see the 4c per day that we are supposed to eat?

I, myself, among a few others also calorie count, though not as strictly to the calorie but to track where we are and where we are going and so you can look back and see whats changed over time, etc...

Once I thought 2T of PB was a healthy snack , then realized my tablespoon was off by DOUBLE! LOL thats when I started weighing it with my digital food scale

Good Luck! Sounds like you are definitely heading in the right direction and you came to the right place for the BEST SBD support chickies around

I put a cheesecake recipe up and I've really enjoyed it. I also put up a recipe for a strawberry dessert topping that's super easy to make and goes fabulously w/ the cheesecake. Being on SB doesn't mean you have to completely give up baking, I promise.

More veggies.(Unless you just didn't list them) Stay away from the SB bars. Make your own healthy snacks since you love to bake. Also I don't see any dairy. Branch out and get more creative with your menu so you don't get bored. I absolutely love the recipes listed on this forum. You could never get tired of the endless variety and there is something for everyone. If something causes cravings or problems, skip it or maybe try it at a different time of day with other foods. The plan is open to variables because everyone has different needs/likes. I would add things in on Phase II very slowly. I only added one thing each week (1 fruit 1st week, then 1 grain the next week), not all at once.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all your encouragement and Ideas. I am definitely going to try to up my veggies. and I am working on adding more water to my day too! I do have dairy when I eat my fiber 1 cereal. My hubby and I started walking this week as well. I have seen more results. I have measured and lost an inch and a half on the hips, and two more lbs lost. I am definitely checking out the recipies. Thanks for all the support guys!

I think that day I posted I was just in an aggravated mood, I was tired, and I had just started phase II and stopped losing. I probably got too excited and added a few too many healthy carbs, I have scaled it back to just one a day of healthy carbs.

And Lexxiss, I agree I have felt so much better health wise and somewhat energy wise on this diet. I don't feel overly full ever and I just feel like I am treating my body right. Even though there are hard days where I struggle I am glad I am doing this. I have four kids and I want to be a healthy role model and be healthy to live a long life with them!

Emma D thanks for the yummy snack ideas. I would love to get some of your creative baking recipies. I know how to bake with flour, but all the soy and other grains baffle me as far as knowing what to bake with them.

Thank you so much guys, I appreciate all of you more than you know!

About the baking, I haven't actually done a whole lot of it, as I haven't met my weight goal and I was worried about introducing way too many extra calories.... so far, all I have really made was 100% ww walnut bread (in a bread machine - it was a recipe in my machine's owner's manual) and the ww banana bread from the recipes here - which was really good.

I would like to make my own ww tortillas (I have made white flour ones lots) and pita bread. I'll post recipes if I have luck with these.

So check out Kalyn's Kitchen Bread, Pitas, Pizza and Tortillas section and Low Sugar Desserts and Fruit. This is where I plan to start, in addition to the stuff posted on this forum's recipe section. I bought soy flour and haven't ever used it yet! I bought chickpea flour to try socca/farinata but haven't done that yet either.

Also, I saw something in a fancy grocery store yesterday, some kind of date "cake" imported from Spain. The ingredients: dates and walnuts. Some day in the future, I want to make something like this. The Lara Bars are pretty much those ingredients as well. I know dates would not be great to consume in large amounts, but as a small energy bar or snack, I would use this. But like I said, later. Phase 3, I guess. [ETA: I got distracted and was trying to find a recipe for that "Pan de Datil" and had no luck - everything had flour or eggs or sugar, or all. But I did find a recipe for Lara Bars. Yum! I will totally make these when I feel like I am ready...] [ETA again - I also came across this chocolate brownie power bar in the same blog]

[ETA AGAIN, OK I Have To STOP and do some work... but I just came across a whole wheat quinoa muffin recipe I will try ... can you tell I am on Phase 1 and lusting after things I can't have??]

Keep posting if you try some things!!