I hope it's okay to bump this one up but I was looking for more info on the south beach diet, which I am going to be starting when I get back from my cruise (it would be dumb to start a diet the day before I go on a cruise!).
I tried Atkins and it didn't work for me either. I firmly believe that diets are not one size fits all and you don't need to feel like a failure because Atkins is not for you. I have had people tell me that I wasn't doing it correctly (I was) or that I hadn't read the book carefully enough (I had) but honestly after a few months of trying to live with that program, I realized that it just was not for me and there is nothing wrong with that.
I did learn a few things about myself that were useful, though, and it sounds like you might be able to look at your experience with Atkins and not have it be a TOTAL waste. I think for MOST people, cutting down (if not cutting out completely) refined carbs and processed foods is a good lesson no matter what program you are following (in fact, it really troubles me that there are so many processed foods coming out for the low carb plan now. In the SBD book, the author talks about how a low fat diet works very well in many areas of the world but that americans kind of messed with a good thing by creating tons of processed products that fit in to the low fat way of eating to the letter of the law but in fact are WORSE for us and we are now fatter than ever, but I digress.)
I also think the secret to making an eating plan liveable is substitution. Cutting out the pasta is a good first start to cutting out refined carbs, but how about making your own breadcrumbs out of whole grain bread? When I was following sugarbusters I started doing this and used my own breadcrumbs made out of 1 point/2 slice bread even when following weight watchers. I try not to think about my forays into various diets that didn't work out for me as "failures" but as learning experiences.
How about skipping the jar sauce and making a big pot of your own tomato sauce and freezing in portions for easy use during the week? A few cans of crushed tomatoes and tomato puree and whole tomatoes with some chopped onions and garlic sauteed in a little olive oil and spices, whatever you like, and you'll have a much better sauce than the stuff in a jar and you can control what is in it. As far as I can tell, a meal like I have described would fit perfectly into phase II of the south beach diet and without the breading on the chicken, would fit fine into phase I of the diet (sort of like induction on atkins).
As far as mexican/hispanic food goes, you need to make a compromise. Beans are OK on SBD as well (though pintos are not OK for phase I, they are OK for phase 2), as is cheese, lean meats, lots of veggies, tomatoes, guacamole etc. As you observed before, you have to cut out the chips on almost any diet you do (they fit in to WW with points but then you use a lot of points for not much food so they're not great for that either... if I could stop at 12 I wouldn't need to lose weight in the first place) but you can have fajitas without the tortillas but with lots of good veggies with a side of refried beans and a healthy serving of guacamole, cheese, all the good stuff at any mexican restaurant and still be on program under the south beach diet.
I found atkins to be too restrictive for me, but the SBD really seems to fit the way *I* eat. It is neither low fat NOR low carb but rather it focuses on eating the right kind of fats and the right kinds of carbs. You have to watch the saturated fats, which Atkins doesn't really care about, but on the upside things like beans and fruit are more easily incorporated into the plan. Maybe SBD is not for you, maybe it's not even for me, but I have high hopes for myself in that it makes a whole lot of sense to me. Still, even if you don't follow SBD perhaps you can learn some lessons and make some substitions that will help you have success in other programs you might try.
Here is a link to some info about it:
Prevention Article on South Beach Diet
