South Beach
 

Hi Everyone!

Does anyone follow Southbeach while on Weight Watchers?

I just did a month of South Beach but switched back to WW this week. (I've always done WW) I still use a lot of the info I got from doing South Beach as it helps me control feelings of low blood sugar and I have a ton of delicious recipes! Are you following both or just entertaining the thought?

I was curious about this as well... I think it could be beneficial.

I tried following both awhile ago but found SB too restrictive. That said...I've read the SB books and feel it is overall a good way of eating and has a lot of value to it. So I keep it in mind when I eat particularly in terms of not eating too many of the empty carbs. I don't believe in the idea of saying any food is absolutely forbidden (even while losing weight) so I don't follow the specific rules. But I think that using those things as general guidelines is beneficial.

Hi, I haven't been on this forum in a while, but I'm back at it! I've done both WW and SB in the past, both with success as long as I'm on plan. This time I am looking more for lifelong sustainability, so I am doing WW but incorporating much of the SB principles to it. I almost never eat any refined carbs, and I do try and monitor my carb intake, but nowhere near as restrictive as SB. If I use some of my weekly points, they are generally for a non-SB-friendly treat.

I think this is something I can sustain for the long run, and so far it is working!

That's a great idea.

Hi, I'm new here and was glad to find your thread!

I am on WW (Online) but recently read both the South Beach and Atkins books, and have decided I want to try one (still haven't decided!). But I can't bring myself to cut the POINTS-counting cord. So maybe I will try doing what you're doing, stay on WW but cut the carbs. :)

I did Southbeach for about 6 months last year and lost 30 pounds. I then quit smoking and gained back 27. Soooo, I got back on SB, but had a lot of trouble controlling portions, and eating too much of even good foods can cause weight gain. This was not good, considering even after losing 30, I still had about 40 to go.

I am now doing WW points plus (although I haven't actually joined yet). But I am applying what I learned from SB to it. I think SB is excellent for teaching us the right foods to eat, but not as good at teaching us portion control, this is where WW shines.

I think combining the two is a great idea and will work very well. I don't think you have to necessarily be as restrictive as SB, but I think use SB as more of a guideline while doing WW. IOW, have a baked potato, but in moderation.

I have only been doing PP for a week, but have lost 2 pounds. It is very easy to follow and I am loving it! I am not positive that I am doing it perfectly because I don't have my materials yet, just been doing it based on what I have read online, using a points calc downloaded on my phone.

Have you done both plans? If so, how do they compare to you?

Maggie

I have always done the Momentum plan and when I did WW at home on my own, that's the material I used. I just recently switched over to the new PP. I went to a meeting just to buy a few things and bought a member kit for 20 bucks which has the Complete Food Companion in it, a 3 month journal and a dining out companion all in the new points. Well worth the money! I need something I can browse and hold in my hands, all online just isn't enough. So now I'm getting used to the new points and I love it! I don't think I'd switch back again to the old way...except I'd like a new points calculator.

That is what I plan to do as well, go to a meeting to buy the materials. I just can't afford the weekly fees right now, but I really wanted to do this new plan. Do you have a smart phone? If so there are a lot of points calculators that you can download. I downloaded one for my iphone and it works really well for calculating, won't track though, even though it is supposed to, oh well.

I am loving it too!

Maggie

Back in 2003 I did SB. Lost 60 pounds in 8 months. I believe it is an incredibly healthy way of eating. Highly recommended it. Was able to maintain that weight loss for 2 years following SB principles. Then I got pregnant and have been trying to lose the baby weight ever since. "Baby" is 4. I would try to get back on SB but I could never stick with it for more than 10 pounds because I felt like it was all or nothing. If I ate something with sugar I felt like I had blown it and just totally go off plan and quit. Now I am succeeding at Weight Watchers but doing it with a South Beach slant. WW gives me the portion control I did not have with SB. SB helps me make wise choices about how I use my points so that I feel full longer. I think they can definitely be done together, especially on Points Plus. I think reading the South Beach book has fantastic information on controlling hunger and blood sugars.

I agree it can totally be done.:)

From what I know about SBD, you couldn't do it and be OP with WW at the same time because SBD doesn't meet the grain requirement, has nuts as a good fat, etc.

I agree with what so many have said above. I've tried SB several times (I always gave up because my schedule would change and there was no time to cook; my fault, not SB's, of course). I learned a lot from SB; I'm trying to move to that way of eating. I'm restarting WW because I did find SB too restrictibve, but it wil always be in the back of my mind. I also love the cookbooks and recipes. I think several people on these boards have found a way to use SB principles yet count WW points (and meet WW's healthy guidelines; you can have whole grains on SB, btw).

I think it depends on what phase of South Beach. If you're looking at the first and 2nd phase, it definitely doesn't mesh, but phase 3 should definitely work.


Here's a link to an article on Yahoo: http://health.yahoo.net/articles/wei...ght-loss-diets


It talks about a lot of different diets, South Beach is not seen as a "sustainable" weight loss effort.


However...at the end of the day Kim...you have to do what is going to work best for YOU. Yes...it might not mesh in the guidelines of Weight Watchers...but if you're trying to get over a stall in weight loss, if it works for you, I would do it short term. Before I was pregnant, and you did the same, Momentum worked better for me, so I went back to it and took a break from Points Plus. While again, weight watchers will tell you that you need to follow the GHG's...it's up to YOU and only YOU what you put in your body and no one really has the right to tell you other wise.