Differences btwn Atkins and South Beach

[Blondy876]

I have been looking at some different menus for Atkins and South Beach. It looks to me that they are very similar during the first two weeks. But it also looks to me like the SBD uses a lot of "regular" items that you can by at the grocery store as compared to Atkins which seems to have a lot of items that can only be bought at the health food store. What are the differences in these 2 diets? After looking into the SBD a little I feel like that one may be a better fit but I wanted to hear from others who knew more about them. Thanks!

Jennifer (on day 3 of the Atkins induction and I'm getting really tired of eatting eggs )

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

On South Beach Diet you can have beans--pretty much as much as you want. On Atkins you have to count them.

If you exercise--you will need carbs and not getting enough will leave you sluggish. I don't believe in carb counting, so SBD worked for me and being able to eat beans helped with the high lack of carbs from the Phase I restrictions.

On SBD--I would eat a whole tomato like it was a piece of fruit--and varied my breakfast by alternating between bean breakfasts and egg breakfasts. Things got better in phase II when I reintroduced fruit and whole grains--while you don't count carbs..you can add one new thing per day or two--so that you know how your body will process it and can figure out when it is best for you to eat it. For example, I can't eat canteloupe in the morning b/c my body processes it too fast and it leaves me hungry the rest of the day. But other fruits I was fine.

I think SBD is a more natural way to live--but that is my opinion only. It promotes the whole grain way of life and I am finding more and more 100% whole grain (particularly whole wheat) options in my local grocery store including English Muffins which I enjoy with Egg whites and bagels which I enjoy when I have a high level of activity planned (like those long runs in marathon training).

 

[johde]

Hi Jennifer
Like Lisa said, SBD allows more carbs (good carbs) even in Stage 1 (South Beach). Unlike Atkins, there is no need to test for Ketosis or to ever reach Ketosis. In exchange, you are supposed to limit the amount of saturated fats in your diet. Choosing lean cut of meat, healthy oils, and the like. I tend to follow SBD most of the time except when I eat out. Then, I lean more Atkins. The think I like about SBD is that there is no counting (or at least very little). You let your body tell you what works and doesn't work. Since you are doing Induction (Atkins), you can slide over to Phase 1 (SBD) fairly easily. I would count those 3 days towards your 2 weeks in phase 1. Good Luck on your endevor.