Is it working?
 

Ok I have been watching my intake for awhile and exercising as much as I have been able to ( I had knee surgery in May). I have lost about 20 lbs since January. I had bought the SBD book several months ago on the advice of my doctor (both hubby and I suffer from very high cholesterol) but never actually sat down and finished reading it. I have picked up the book again and feel ready to give this WOL a try, but my question to ya'll is...Is it working for ya'll, how well (weight loss wise and if you know cholesterol wise), how hard is it to adapt to the new way of eating, and how tough is the 2 week Phase 1 to get through for a carb-a-holic. I don't want to set myself up for failure but I also feel like I need to have a better eating plan than the one I have now and my doctor feels that this one would be best. so any help or advice is appreciated. Thanks so much.

This plan is working for both my husband and I. The 2 week phase wasn't that bad....the first 4 days were the hardest for us. I too am (was) carb crazy....I'd have some form of bread, pasta, rice for every meal....I wasn't sure I could do it. But I HAD to....I was to the point that I didn't want to live this way for the rest of my life. But back to the first 4 days. I had a headache, I was crabby....a friend of mine actually broke out (acne). BUT it passes. By the 5th day, I thought......I can really do this. I just had to decide to really jump in! I wish you the best of luck....if you have any other questions, feel free to PM me!

Yes, the first few days can be difficult BUT things are much easier if you include legumes and dairy. See the Revised Food List in the FAQ Section.
Please post your questions in this part of the forum to get the advantage of the expertise of the rest of the Beachers.
Good luck but rely on skill and planning.

Heather - I've been on South Beach for over two years now. When I started I weighed 214. I'm now at 144 so I still have a little ways to go but I'm not upset and my current weight either. I've gone from a size 20 to an 8.

The most important as far as I am concerned is that I have gone from a cholesterol of 246 to one of 178. My ratios are great now too. I also used to be on three different prescription drugs for my high blood pressure. I've been off of all blood pressure medicine for a few months now.

I feel so much better than I used to. And I love the food that I eat. Check out the recipe section. There are so many good things you can fix. Remember that phase 1 is only 2 weeks. Make sure you eat enough dairy and beans/legumes so that you have the healthy carbs for phase 1. We eat a lot of vegetables which is what makes this such a healthy diet.

Thank You all so much for the responses and the support. I went to the market today and did my shopping . Tomorrow is the start date. Here I go!

Good Luck!

First, it's great if you have someone to do the diet with. That will help you tremendously. Second, know that your first couple shopping experiences will be more costly than they will be in the future. Third, be sure to strip the house of anything Non-Beach. This was a great move by us and we donated the food to a shelter so it wasn't wasted.

Lastly, don't judge the South Beach Lifestyle by the first two weeks or even the first two months. It gets easier. On the flipside, don't try to cheat early. We had great success by playing it by the book and using the exact menus. It's a lot of initial work, but it does work! :)