any south beach dieters out there?

[scarlett873]

hey everyone!!! i have been away for quite awhile...things got VERY hectic for us but have since settled down again. we are in our brand new home finally!! i love our house...waaaaaaaay better than that apartment!!

DH and i have been curious about the south beach diet. is anyone here on that? can you give me some information about the plan? i plan to find the book, of course, but i just wondered if anyone could give me the reader's digest version of it...pretty please...

i began my workouts again...i am determined to stick with it this time! i have a great big house and lots of places do workout in private...we have a tv and dvd player in our bedroom...i can go in there and workout without worrying about DH watching me. i'm not embarassed to work out in front of him, i just prefer not to...unless, of course, he's working out with me. so, i've broken out the tae bo dvd...and i'm thinking about getting something else to alternate it with. maybe a denise austin hit the spot workout or something...any suggestions? i tried the belly dance workout, but my body just doesn't quite move the same way that theirs do

so...here we go again...

 

[ZerasPride]

Hi Brandie,

First congrats on your new house! You must be thrilled!

DH and I are on South Beach. We love it! I'll try to give you the condensed version. The program is based on eating good fats and good carbs. The first part of the diet is called Phase 1 and you would be on that for 2 weeks where you detox your body of all the carbs and sugar you are used to eating. You would basically eat protein and veggies. The program stresses 3 meals per day, 2 snacks and dessert. In the book it gives you a listing of foods that are acceptable and foods that are forbidden during that initial Phase 1 period.

Then once you complete Phase 1 you move onto Phase 2 of course. You then start adding back the good carbs slowly. You can have whole wheat pasta, fruit, whole wheat bread, brown rice and such. You would stay on Phase 2 until you reached your goal weight and then move to Phase 3, maintenance.

I like to explain it this way to people, I don't eat refined sugar or flour. I also don't eat a lot of saturated fat. The program is really big on watching the saturated and trans fats.

A typical Phase 1 day:
Breakfast - might be an omelette with veggies and low fat cheese or a couple of scrambled eggs and bacon;
Lunch - a salad with turkey or ham (not sugar cured or smoked) with low fat dressing (I like ranch)
Dinner - grilled chicken breast and broccoli with low fat cheese sauce with a fat free fudgesicle for dessert
Snacks: a cheese stick and nuts (I like almonds)

I hope this description doesn't make the program seem restrictive because it's really not. You can eat out at fast food places and sit down restaurants with ease. I went to Red Lobster Saturday afternoon with a girlfriend and had grilled shrimp, shrimp scampi and broiled flouder. It was delicious! And DH and I stopped at Burger King (out of necessity believe me) last night and even though I got a double whopper with bacon and cheese (no ketchup or mayo), I took it home and threw away the bread, added my own low fat mayo and was a happy camper! I probably should have gotten it without the bacon (it was disgusting) and without cheese and added my own low fat cheese but I was really hungry (the pitfall of not having an afternoon snack and eating dinner at 9:00 at night) but I'm still learning.

I hope this helps you out! Please let me know if you have any other questions. Oh, by the way, DH and I have EACH lost 25 pounds in 7 weeks. This program can work if you are willing to make the commitment!

 

[LisaTx]

I know what you mean about preferring to not have spectators while I work out.

I like pilates. Denise has a 40 minute Pilates for Every Body tape that I really enjoy.

 

[JCJRSmith]

SWMBO and I are doing South Beach. We started on January 5.

Lisa's description of the diet is spot on. The thing that amazes me about this diet is:

1. I never feel hungry
2. I don't have cravings
3. Initially the weight practically FALLS off. As of today, I am down 17.5 pounds from my starting weight of 253.

Get the book and read it - it is an easy read. Most of the recipes are delicious (LOVE the Balsamic Chicken). If you don't like the meal plan for the day, it is easy to substitue from the "Foods to Enjoy, Foods to Avoid" lists.

One caution: As with any diet where you begin by severly limiting your carbohydrate intake, you will probably go through withdrawl. This usually manifests itself in a headache and a general feeling of being "out of sorts." For me, it lasted for one day only, and I was able to stave off the headache with lots of water and a Diet Pepsi.

I was speaking with my sister, who is an O.R. scrub nurse at the Cleveland Clinic. She is doing the SBD as well, and she told me that many of the cardiologists at the Clinic and all the cardiologists at University Hospitals in Cleveland are reccommending SBD for their patients. It just makes sense if you, like me, agree that processed sugar and flour and other bad carbs and saturated fats are the main culprit in the fattening of our nation (well, that and being a couch potato - but I'm feeling MUCH better now).

Between LOML and me, we have dropped the equivalent weight of an average 4 year old.

Best of luck with whatever you choose. Lots of support is avaiable here and on the South Beach Diet web site.

 

[antmaril]

I'm on day 9 of Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet. I am doing very well. My cravings are almost gone and I feel like I am on my way to a healthier way of eating. The descriptions you have received are accurate. It is a good carb/good fat diet. Many people lump SBD and Atkins together and say they are low carb. That is not true - South Beach is good carbs and good fats. There is a supplement to the South Beach Diet Book called "Good Carbs/Good Fats Guide" which is a paperback and costs about $8.00. This would be a good book to buy because you can put it in your purse and keep it with you.

This diet makes a lot of sense. Obviously, nobody will be perfect all the time. However, if you make an effort to eat this way MOST of the time, I think it will work.

I am very optimistic. I joined Curves about two months and have been going 3x a week. I feel much better. I lose weight VERY slowly and so far I'm down eight pounds -- three of which I've lost since I started SBD. I haven't weighed in a few days, so I'm hoping by the time I'm done with Phase 1, I'll be down a couple more pounds. It's going to be slow and steady for me - I HOPE!

There is a SBD message board at prevention.com. A very active board and TONS of info there!

Good luck!

 

[sueg]

DH & I are both in Phase 3 of the SBD. I lost 50 lbs., on my own, before joining him, on SB, in June. I lost another 15 lbs. & he's lost over 40 lbs. We both feel great. MOST important, DH's cholesterol numbers have vastly improved. He's also breathing better, esp. in his sleep. We found SB to be a new way of life for us, esp. since we did it as a couple. Do we still miss sharing a lb. of pasta or having take-out pizza several times a month? YES We also still miss sweets, esp. home baked goods & chocolate. But we miss them emotionally, not physically. And Phase three has allowed the re-introduction of occasional treats.
We are big proponents of SB & almost every "potential-dieter" in our office, comes for a consult with us. Media hype aside, I say SB is well worth a try!

 

[scarlett873]

thanks so much for the info!!!

DH and i did atkins for awhile last year and we lost a bit with it, but we found it to so restrictive and felt guilty when we would splurge and have something that was not atkins friendly!!

as of right now, we're just trying to watch what we eat...i'm exercising, he's not...lol. i'm going to get the book and read up on the SBD very soon!!

 

[Obsessed w/Disney in OH]

I'm a believer and lover of the SBD.

Good luck and hang in there. You can do it!

 

[ADisneyMom]

Well W.I.S.H.ers you all have been busy posting.

I am a Tax Preparer and this is a busy time for me so I have been reading but I haven't posted much.

I had to get on this SBD post.

Last night here in Atlanta Dr. Agatston, author of SBD was here for a book signing and speech. The Northside Hospital sponsored it. They were lucky they booked him before his book made the best seller list. I got my book and the cover of my audio cassette tape signed.

One of the things he mentioned was planning. It is a lot easier if you plan for snacks and meals. While on vacation he did not plan snacks,while he and his boys ate snickers bars his friend on SBD was eating his bags of nuts that he brought.


He also mentioned that even he gets side tracked sometimes. Over the holidays his wife said to him you are the only one in America not on the SBD

I really enjoyed the speech. Afterwards there was a panel discussion that he participated in and answered questions from the audience.

The place was packed in fact standing room only in a huge ballroom at the Crown Ravina.

Overall it was a great event and I'm glad I went.

Like the the SBD groupies I am a believer of SBD.

I'm sure you have heard the saying "When the student is ready the teacher appears," SBD appeared at the right time for me.

Hopefully later I will start a thread with more information about the event.

ADisneyMom

 

[ZerasPride]

ADisneyMom - I (and I am sure all the other SBDers) would love to hear more details about Dr. A's interview. I think your statement of when the student is ready the teacher appears is so true in my case too. SBD appeared in my life quite by chance. It was a fluke really but one I am so glad of. Looking forward to hearing any other gems you care to share.