A major in SBD with a minor in Points Plus - for anyone doing, or interested in doing
 

Hey all,
One year ago, I started SBD and completed a pretty clean Phase 1, then got a little lost as I tried to transition beyond that. I spent the rest of the year on/off plan. I'm now back on day 3 of a Phase 1 and I'm also using the new WW Points Plus tracking program to track portions. I'm not very good at portion control in general; and tend to eat higher fat foods. I'm hoping Points Plus can give me an education in calories/portions/balancing my food. I'm planning to transition through all the phases of SB eating only on plan foods, just using PP to get a sense of how much to eat to lose weight.

My friend picked up a packet for me at her meeting, and we calculated I should be on 29 points with 46 extra points for the week. Anyone else doing this? Want to share tips/questions?

I'm kind of doing it the other way around.. Doing Points Plus but wanting to really focus on doing things low-carb.. I'm a HUGE carb addict and I need to start eating more protein.

I'd love to share ideas with you. :)

I'm specifically looking for quick & easy breakfast tips. Something I can make ahead of time and eat quickly.. I have 2 young kids and I don't always have a lot of time in the morning. I'm burnt out on oatmeal, cereal, etc.

I also would love ideas for lunches.

I'm pretty open to most foods but don't eat any fish or seafood..

Today for breakfast I had a cup of plain low fat kefir (like a yogurt drink), 1/2 cup edamame, and a glass of v8 for 7 points. It kept me going until about 11am. For lunch I usually have a meat and some veggies - for instance you could have a salad with grilled chicken for just the points of the chicken and the dressing, also could add chick peas too. I don't know if you're open to it, but trying to do the two weeks on Phase 1 of South Beach will really cleanse your body of the bad carbs and your cravings will go way, way down. Then you can reintroduce them into your diet.

Sounds good!

I'm not totally familiar with SBD, so can you give me a low-down of what those 2 weeks would entail??

Everyone is going to tell you to buy the book, which is a good idea or you can check it out from the library. If you have issues with carbs, its a must read. You can go to southbeachdiet.com and get a lot of info there too. Essentially on phase 1 you remove all carbs including fruit and starchy vegetables. On a Phase 1 day you would want to get in all of the following:
4.5 cups of veggies
1/2 cup of beans
2 cups low fat dairy (including plain yogurt)
lean protein (not restricted, but avoid high fat foods like duck)
you can use 2 tbsp. additional healthy oils like olive for dressing your food and mayonnaise is fine too.

Transitioning into Phase 2 means slowly adding fruits and carbs back one at a time. Phase 3 is maintenance.

There are some good stickies up at the top of this forum that talk about Phase 1. If you start a thread asking about it, many will chime in.

Also, I am doing Phase 1 while counting PP right now so take a look at my food logs on the "on plan" thread for this week to get a sense of a Phase 1 day counting points.

Mmk- I signed up for the free week online so I can get a feel for it and then I am stopping the online. A friend at work is letting me borrow her starter pack and she is buying me a points calculator at her next meeting.

The site calculated my points at 31 daily and 40 extra weekly. It also tracks your activity points, you can swap them or just keep track of them. I am going to just keep track of them.

I learned my portions are way to big on SB, I am like you after I get of Phase 1 my weight loss stalls, so I am hoping by combining the two I am more successful.

Hi Pearlrose,
I don't think I'm eligible for the weekly trial, since I had done it on line before. Anyway, I was told everyone gets 49 additional points per week rather than 40 - regardless of weight. Do you know something different?

Oops posted that number wrong it should be 49 instead of 40. I already used some this week (that portion issue lol).

9 points makes a big difference!!!

I am doing just about the same thing! I have the Points Plus calculator and everything but if I don't keep the carbs WAY down and under control I just can't lose weight and keep it off. Plus, I can't take the cravings anymore! Of course, when I have had a big weight loss week it is weird to tell people at the weigh in "couldn't work WW without the SB principles."

I was all set to post last night and our internet died. I meant to get here sooner.

I've been following SBD for several years and have used calorie counting to keep my portions under control. I decided to experiment with P+ because I'm always looking for new tools. I signed up for the three month online trial out of curiosity. I definitely won't renew that but may just get myself a calculator.

So far I feel like I'm eating too much but not going off plan because of the flex points (29 points, 49 weekly). I'll wait to see how the weigh-ins go. I am not adding my exercise points back in because I know that would be a bad idea for me. Something about seeing those exercise points listed does get me moving though, so that's good :)

Cyndi, I am with you waiting to see how the weigh in goes. I am not adding the exercise points in because I think the extra 49 is enough.

I can tell you after almost a week, when I pulled my jeans on today they were definitely much easier to get on, so we will see what the scale says on Sunday.

I just knew I needed help with my portions.

I have started this as well, my WI was 3 days ago and I am also on day 3 of SB P1. I can't believe how many points I get now. I feel super satisfied with SB and WW combined. I can't imagine also using up all of my weekly on top of this! LOL :)

I had a wicked headache yesterday that I attributed to low carb/junk food detox. I did like many suggest and incorporated a large amount of beans into my diet, I made a big SB Chili (6 P+) last night and also some kinda-sorta-bean based SB Brownies (2 P+). They don't fool me but they taste good and are pretty healthy. That seemed to do the trick as it has been 24 hours and I feel great.

Down 2 lbs in 2 days, water weight no doubt, but I am feeling much more positive about SB today than I was yesterday.

Hey LuckyDVL,
Sounds great. I love that you posted the points for those recipes. I post my points for the day on the On plan thread. Do you post there?

I admit I'm surprised and impressed so far. I lost 3.8 lbs this week. Granted I was artificially high last week but I still count 1.3 as real loss. Considering I ate all my points and 2 exercise points :o, didn't exercise enough and don't have much to lose I'm really happy with that. Onward to another week.

The biggest impact I am seeing in counting points is that I need to be more careful about fats. Those points really add up. When I was not tracking points, I was being much more liberal about fat. I'm due to weigh in on Monday, so we'll see if I do as well as you Cyndi!

Well I weighed in today and I lost 5 lbs!!! Now granted I was on Tom so I will attribute some of that to water weight, but I am following Phase 2 and not Phase 1 so I was very happy. The real test will be this week, always seem to do well with the first week and then nothing.

I'm interested in trying this as well...are you both going to actual meetings, or just using online? I just started Phase I today, and my sister has been go ing to WW for several months (has lost 36 lbs.)...we're going to combine knowledge!

I am not going to meetings or doing it on the WW site. I'm very familiar with ww (having done it before) so I had my friend just buy me a kit of the new PP info and have been tracking that way.

I go to meetings. I had lost over 35 lbs about 1 year ago on WW alone. I gained some back and am now in the last leg. I did not know about SB until recently - I think this is going to be very successful for me!! Who knew the power carbs held over me :dizzy:

I was debating about doing this last part online and saving some money, but I really want to reach Lifetime with WW because it's a goal I had set from the very beginning. I don't think you can be Lifetime if you do it online.

Down 3.6 lbs!! I'm so happy. I've learned already, just in one week, how to make better choices. For instance, I love my breakfast of kefir and egg salad (9 points), but enjoy just as much and remain just as satisfied with a breakfast of kefir and edamame (5 points). I'm enjoying learning more about how to feel satisfied on less. Yahoo!

Great Job Mmck! I decided to do 3 months online since they have the free registration, I got the calculator but I really like that you can look up points for food real quick online versus having to put in the formula and you can save them as favorites so it is real easy to drag over to your meal. I will use the calculator at the grocery store and to take along with me.

I'm a bit late to this thread, but I am doing this, and so far, so good. I am basically on SBD P2 and Points Plus. I have been exercising like a fiend (like I used to do) and am looking forward to "date night" when I will slightly indulge with my flex points. It feels good to be doing both. I lost 4 lbs my first week :carrot:

This is an awesome thread. So glad I found you guys! I'm starting SBD phase 1 on Monday and have been going to WW. But I wanted to combine both because I lost 16 pounds on SBD last summer but gained back 8 of them.

I've been wondering if anyone combined the two and now I found some who have. That is giving me confidence that it can be done!

Dee

Welcome Dee! I post my menus every day on the on plan thread and post how many points each day is. I would love to get more people doing this! I'm really going to depend on point counting as I go into Phase 2.

Welcome Dee! I have been SB for a few years now but I really struggled and was backsliding all of 2010 and gained almost all of my weight loss back. I really love the food on SB but needed help with portions so combining the both seems to be working.

My first week of WW and SB P1 has been a success - down 3.6 at my WI this morning. I also feel really good in general. I mostly stuck to quick on-the-go carbs when I did WW previously, and I felt like crap a lot of the time and the scale never really budged more than 0.2-0.4. I think SB and WW will be my winning combination.

I went to a meeting today to check it out and get the materials. I did WW in the past, many years ago.

I am so torn now. What I love about SB is that we don't need to count anything! No measuring, no points.

And I can see myself overeating fruit. Not sure yet what I am going to do. Indecisive. Arrgh.

BTW - I first found 3fc when I did WW all those years ago. I only lurked but it was the greatest place for ideas for low-point foods and recipes:)

Hi Karen! I'm not committing to counting points forever. I've committed to doing it scrupulously for a month to get a handle on my portions and how to transition to Phase 2. For what it's worth, once I get to Phase 2 I only intend to eat one fruit a day. I'm still sticking to the South Beach plan and foods, just using the points temporarily to teach me more about portion control, and how to get the most and best food for my buck. I recommend you try doing Phase 1 and just following points for a week to see what you learn about yourself :-). No full commitment necessary.

OK, I rejoined Weight Watchers this afternoon. I have 29 available points to me daily.

It was a shock to see just how many points the little peanut butter pretzels that have been my crutch the last few days have in them. no more!

I like that fruit doesn't have many, if any points. I had two tiny clementines for a snack this afternoon and they were both 0 points. yay!

How is everyone enjoying it so far - any different from the original points system?

So far I love this and I am developing some better habits. There's pretty much no way around the fact that I am a nibbler. There are just certain times of the day that I nibble (late afternoon is a huge one). P+ has me going for an apple or a clementine or crunchy veggies instead of the protein I was reaching for. Truth is I don't actually need the protein, I just really want to nibble. Fruit has never been a problem for me. I love it but it doesn't spike cravings no matter how much I eat (I've tested that during PYO seasons).


I will probably just buy a calculator once my three months online is up. I don't really see any benefit to the rest of the plan because I already have a perfect support system right here.

I am learning SO much about portion control. I used to serve myself some food and think it was about a cup, and eat it all. Now I measure out a cup and it is waaaaay less than what I thought a cup looked like. But the amount satisfies me. I am so happy. Cyndi, there are some websites that have calculators that are based on the PP system. I don't think they are legal, so can't post about them here.

Cyndi, the benefit for me is that i'm paying to use the tools and the fact that i'm doling out 18 bucks a month is a pretty large motivator to me using it. i also like the fact that i can track for extended periods, so if i'm having a stall or something, i can go back through the past few weeks and see if there are any bad patterns emerging.

ok. night one of no snacking. what is wrong that i can't commit to this? i've been doing well with everything except this. annnooooooooooooooying.

I'm a relapsed lifetime member of WW. I've been intrigued by SBD -- have a couple of the books and was an online member for awhile -- but have a lot of difficulty with any food being forbidden during a phase.

That said, I do believe strongly in eating fewer carbs and eating healthier and I do think SBD is very healthy.

So -- I've been following WW (I eat my daily points, my conservatively counted activity points and try very hard not to eat more than about 5 to 10 weekly points...I lose better not eating most of my WP). At the same time I've set up custom nutrients at MyPlate (this requires a paid membership) and I've put in percentage goals for fats, carbs, protein, fiber, sugars and sodium.

The tension is to keep the carbs on the lower end while not having the fats get too high. So I'm eating much more protein than in the past. So far it is going really well.

zeffryn, maybe you just need to get out of the habit. Instead of trying to manage your snacking, have you tried to just get rid of out outright for a week? Make a rule - no snacks after 6pm (or after dinner)? Something like this could very easily just be a bad habit you need to unlearn. In my own experience, once I open my mouth to put something in after dinner, it stays open. Try switching to some spicy ginger tea with lemon and a little splenda. If you have a teapot, keep it near you and just keep pouring out the tea. This works for me, plus ginger tea is really really good for your body too.

I hear you Zeffryn...I am back to snacking at night now that I'm on SBD?! I just get really hungry - maybe not enough veggies at dinner? Also, my DH cooks, so there is often fattier meats at dinner so I try to have smaller portions which probably leaves me hungry :(

mmc - that is what i have to do and what i did last night. if i snack, even if it is on plan, it seems to not stop. i seem to do really well for a few weeks and then trip up and fall off the wagon again...i'm going to try for long term success this time.

i'm just happy that i can recognize that it is an issue before it gets too out of control, ya know?

I'm the same if I start snacking when I get home as I prepare dinner. It really adds up. Another benefit of tracking with the points.

and another benefit was seeing just how many points were in the foods i was snacking on. 4 points for a handful of pretzels? no thanks.

I am brand new to 3FC and just had to respond to this thread. I tried WW so many times through the years - LOVED the meetings, weigh-ins, etc ; but never got past losing 10 pounds or so because I would inevitably succumb to cravings. About 10 years ago found out I was PCOS, about 4 years ago tried SBD for the first time - I did great, felt great, lost 20+ pounds. Then fell off. Tried again 3 years ago, once again did great, lost maybe 20, started exercising and felt better than I ever had. The problem that I kept having was that I couldn't see NEVER eating a sweet again, I'd go great guns for a couple of months, have a sweet, feel so dismally guilty and craving filled that I'd never get back on the beach. Then surprise! found out I was preggers. My sweet little miracle is going on two now, but I still look 8 months along. I heard about the new WW program - revamped P+ taking into account fiber and carbs, etc. Decided that I would try to sort of eat the SBD way within the P+ plan.

I'm so happy to see others who are doing this!!!!

I started WW January 2nd - I determined the first week that my oil/nut portions were way too high and did REALLY great the first week - dropping 10.8 pounds! I was definitely up from all of the holiday bingeing, but still....

Weighed in again this morning and down another .6 ... not much but I expected that after the huge loss and also DH and I had the first opportunity in ages last night for a date. We had a GC to a restaurant and I ate within the P+, but certainly not on the beach, so I knew it would affect my weigh-in.

Thats OK, though - this is what I want - to live on the beach MOST (90-95%) of the time and to learn how to enjoy myself (every now and then) without sabotoging myself. I know that health wise w/pcos and insulin resistance the beach is the best for me. But I do want to be "normal", too and have a treat now and then. LOVE my WW meeting and leader - I think SBD & P+ may just be the combination I need :)

So 11.4 pounds down ... another 70 or so to go. I am just at the beginning but also very encouraged. I am thrilled to see the success others are having with this combination. I'm considering trying the Simply Filling plan, which I picked up today at WW. Less measuring of beans, etc (I'm also a vegetarian) but still having the P+ control with the oils, nuts and olives.

So glad to have found you guys :)