Can you outline differences between Atkins and South Beach diets for me please?

[CarolynFH]

I know both are low-carb diets but was wondering what the basic differences were before I invest $ in one book or the other. I've had a lot of exposure to WW and to general low-cal diets and have friends on Atkins but no exposure to SBD.

TIA!

 

[JCJRSmith]

Atkins is a low carb diet. You severely cut your carbs on Atkins in order to force your body into a condition called ketosis -where it burns fat for energy because you don't give it any carbs to burn. When counting carbs on Atkins you pay attention to "net carbs" which are the total amount of carbs minus the carbs from fiber.

South Beach is not a low carb diet. SB is a diet that works on the glycemic index priniciple: the wrong carbohydrates cause your body to over-produce insulin, which burns up all the carbs available for energy. If there are no more carbs, you get cravings for more. SB also concentrates on the following two things: making sure that when you eat carbs they are the right carbs to eat (whole grain, high fiber stuff - no processed sugar or flour), and you make sure any fats you eat are the right kind as well (stay away from saturated fats, trans-fat and hydrogenated oils - eat mono- and poly-unsaturated fats).

For the first two weeks the diets are very similar. After two weeks on SB, you slowly start introducing good carbs back into your diet and monitoring how your body reacts. You can lose weight rapidly for the first two weeks, then you slow down to 1-2 pounds per week. You don't measure anything, you eat three full meals per day and 2 snacks, and you have a dessert each night after dinner. You never feel deprived or hungry and it works - I have dropped 23.5 pounds since Jan 05.

Hope this helps,

 

[ZerasPride]

I did a little research into Atkins before my attention was turned to South Beach but I can't comment too much on Atkins since I'm not on it. South Beach is not a low carb program but a "good carb" program. After the Phase 1 two week initial period you can add good carbs back to your diet slowly. Things like brown or long grain converted rice, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread, fruit and things like that. I like that SBD is flexible and there are so many choices but a lot of the recipes I make for my family are from the Atkins recipe site of lowcarbfriends.com. I like to look at Atkins and South Beach like kissing cousins. Some might disagree but that's my take on it.

You can find out more details on South Beach at www.prevention.com where they have a message board which explains SBD in full detail and you can do some researching before investing in the book. I also keep a journal on WISH if you want to take a look and see what some of my meals have been like during Phase 1 and now where I am in Phase 2. I hope you find the program that works for you! Let us know which one you decide to follow.

 

[Mom of Sleepy Bashful and BabyDoc]

Author, Jonny Bowden,M.A., C. N. S.
He is a certified nutritionist, personal trainer, resident nutrition and weight loss expert on ivillage.com, where he has his own message board, "Ask Jonny Bowden". He can also be reached at JonnyBowden.com............nuff said on credentials, right?

He talks about 14 different low carb diets (which Atkins and SBD are two of them. Sorry, but the author calls SBD low carb, not me)

THIS BOOK IS FASCINATING!! It gives you the brief synopsis of all the diets, pros and cons, and rates them on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. Atkins and SBD both get 5 stars.

He doesn't agree with SBD as far as saturated fats, but he is all for cutting carbs, especially the bad ones.

But what this book also has is the biography of the low carb diet through the past 140 years. Sounds boring?? IT'S NOT. I just got the book on Sat. and I can't put it down. And then there's the section on supplements, myths of low carb, frequently asked questions, tricks of the trade and a bunch of resources and websites.......whew...I'm out of breath!

Did I say you should get this book??

Anyway, both programs you cut back on carbs significantly, especially in the first two weeks. Then you slowly add carbs back into your diet (SBD is probably a little more liberal than Atkins but you could add more on Atkins if you wanted). SBD watches fats more. Like JCJRSmith said, saturated fats(which are Ok on Atkins,ex. butter) , trans fats (which are a no no on Atkins also) are all discouraged on SBD.

I suggest you do a little reading only because this is the Way Of Eating (we call it WOE around here) that will hopefully help you lose the weight, but also one TO MAINTAIN AND LIVE WITH WHEN YOU ARE DONE LOSING.

Sorry so long. Happy reading!

 

[CarolynFH]

Thank y'all soooo much! That was exactly the information I needed. Sounds like for long term lifestyle changing, the SBD would be better for me. I've been trying the old fashioned low calorie diet with attention paid to fat content as well as "bad" carbs, but I need some more specific guidelines. I was on the road the other day and was hungry for a snack, but couldn't bring myself to buy either nuts/jerky (low carbs, high fat) or candy (low fat, high carbs, but fewer calories!).

Leaving for WDW in the next few minutes (long trip to the airport from here) where I plan to eat lots of salads, generally get lots of exercise, and stay away from high fat and high sugar (diabetogenic) foods. Then next week I'll get a copy of the SBD and also look for Bowden's book.

Thanks again!
Carolyn