This is first try at losing weight using the South Beach plan. Last spring I tried the Atkins plan and lost 34 lbs by hitting the treadmill 4 or 5 times a week and cutting way down on sweets and carbs. I guess I was doing pretty good....Feb. 11, 2004 I quit drinking (caused too many problems) and last fall (August 1) I quit smoking after 40 years!! I felt that I was on the right track...

I guess many of us use our dependency's on other addictions as a crutch to stop smoking, drinking, gambling, cheating, etc., and I'm afraid I'm guilty of using food. I've always considered myself to be an above average (quite good actually) cook and unfortunately the stuff I like is rich in calories, sugar, and carbs. I'm pretty proud of my quitting smoking and drinking but I guess replacing them with food is every bit as bad and I need to do something about it.......NOW.

As you might have guessed I picked back up the 34 lbs and an additional 10 lbs which brings me up to 244 lbs, by far the most I have ever weighed. I'm a guy 6' tall, average build, with the fat around my mid-section (belly), the worst place.

I'm starting the first phase today......any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks! Bill

Welcome to The Beach, Bill. You might consider joining the Thread called Phase I starters - May 6 to 9.
Our best advice is to read the book so you understand the rationale behind this plan and to peruse the FAQ Forum very thoroughly.
It's a smart lifestyle change.

Hi Bill My best advice is to join our exercise challenge, drink plenty of water and post here

Welcome, Bill! Congratulations on beating two very tough addictions!!! Food can be the wiliest of all...especially since it's socially acceptable and everywhere. It's impossible to quite cold turkey or avoid. I think it's often the last addiction people have to deal with. You might find good information at OA (www.oa.org) I've really been impressed with the program and it's helped me a lot.

I know that getting rid of the cravings helps a lot...Phase 1 will do that for you as long as you do it with NO cheats. The FAQs have lots of information, but you have to read the book to really get anywhere with this WOE, I believe. So read it, make sure all the garbage is out of your house, that you've stocked up on OP foods, and asked your family and friends to be supportive. Set yourself up for success and you'll do it!

Since you were on Atkins, you'll remember the headaches and flu-like feelings of detox...if you were eating a lot of carbs and sugar, you'll go through it again. 3-5 days and it's over, though. Make sure you eat lots of allowed good carbs (beans, peppers, tomatos, etc.) in Phase 1 to reduce these effects and drink lots of water.

You can do this!

Bill, welcome to the Beach! Congratulations on quitting smoking and drinking... those are huge hurdles!

Bill, Welcome to the Beach! This diet is easier for the people who love to cook because when you cook it, you know what goes in it. It's the ultimate control. There are great recipes here on the board and on a few other sites. I also bought some "homemade" cookbooks off eBay and I love them. PM me if you would like a link to the ladies' site. I'm not sure that she knows that I'm a huge advocate of hers, but I love her books!

Defintely keep posting here, it really helps. It's not always about support and mushiness (which this site is great for BTW ), but it's also about questions being answered by people who know and about great informational resources to make getting healthy easier!

See ya 'round!

Thanks for all the kind welcomes! Your caring and understanding attitudes and outlooks are a welcome change from other sites I've seen. God bless you all. Bill

Hi, Bill!

Welcome to the beach! i'm looking forward to getting to know you!

Thanks Aileen and Charlene! It's kind of funny...when you attempt to quit smoking everybody says, "Just carry some candy in your pocket and when you feel like a smoke, pop in a candy instead." And when I quit drinking I was told the same thing. Well, you know what......I'm retired now and can smoke and/or drink all day if I want to so I was eating a lot of junk to deaden the "pangs".

I guess if I've learned one thing over the last year and a half it's this......we are the only ones who can put limitations on ourselves. I was pretty addicted to the alcohol and nicotine and didn't think I'd ever be able to quit on my own and I don't want to preach here but I used the AA 12-step program to quit both terrible habits and to date have had no slips/relapses. The bottom line (for me, anyway) is to make losing this weight an important priority in my daily life. I just can't afford half-stepping anymore. This week has been a false-start for me, I'm afraid. Still had some pizza in the fridge...some homemade chicken and noodles....you catch my drift? I'll have the bad stuff all out of here by the weekend and I'll shop for the things I need to have on hand here to start anew. Hope everyone is fine........I look forward to hearing from you . Bill

Bill, could you eat it all today? I'm thinking of starting Phase I again tomorrow.

Ellis, you are incorrigible (and of course, I love you for it! ).

Bill, sounds like a great plan!!! Getting all the old food out of the house really helped me immensely. If it's here, it bothers me until I eat it all.

If the AA model worked for you, you may find OA a great companion to SBD. I'm doing both and they work well together. OA doesn't tell you a specific plan to follow...just asks that you have some kind of plan for your eating, whatever it may be. You can find more at www.oa.org (if I didn't post that already).

Bill, WTG for taking this next step. All I can say, is have lots of OP (on plan) food available and drinks lots of water. You can do this it's just one day at a time.

Thanks for the responses and support, Ladies. I'm "going down in flames" this weekend, prior to the beginning on "the Big Chill" next week . I'm making a pineapple upside-down cake (the kind baked in an cast iron skillet) and homemade ice cream for a little party Sunday afternoon. After that, it's gonna' be strictly business around here as far as items available from the menu.

Hope you all have a great weekend....I'm getting serious Monday. Bill

OMG! The man cooks too! Marry me!

Seriously, you sound really psyched for The Big Chill. Enoy your weekend and we'll see you Monday. We'll probably have a Phase I Start May 16 by then!