Congratulations tiggerlover with being so close to goal. That is a wonderful accomplishment. I have been following South Beach for 6-1/2 months now and I love this way of eating! Even when I reach goal, I plan to pretty much eat this way because the "bad" carbs have done an awful job on me. I was plagued with sleepless nights, when I did sleep I had horrible horrible nightmares that my DH said I would wimper in my sleep, I had terible acid reflux and some other health problems that have all cleared up for me since I have changed my way of eating.
I know this program is not for everyone. I can't say if it's for you or not. I can only tell you about the success I have had. I work out with the FIRM video series 5 to 6 days per week and am on Phase 2 of South Beach. I have lost 64 pounds and over 50 inches off my body. Yes, the weight did start to come off my waistline first. It's been wonderful. And you should see my DH. The transformation in his body (without exercise I might add) has been astounding. He always had a giant beer belly and now it's almost completely gone. He looks so good!
Do I miss the french fries and white bread and stuff. This is the honest truth in my case -
not at all! I love everything I eat and vowed to only eat the foods I truly love or I knew I couldn't stick with this or any other plan. I hope when I get to maintenance levels I can occasionally have a bit of this or that but knowing how my body reacts to the bad carbs, I probably will not make it a habit. I think the key to any weight loss long term success is finding a program that you can live with for life. If WW has been working for you, then you might want to continue with it.
What do I like best about the program? It's flexibility. I can pretty much eat what I like without having to count fat, calories, carbs or anthing like that. I just have to make sure what I am eating is from the approved list of foods and once you're on the program for a while you pretty much know what you can and can't have. I also love having dessert every night.
The only thing I can think of that I don't like about the program is that eating this way is very expensive for my family. We never used to buy fresh fruits and veggies and lean cuts of meat. Cheat meat and starches are inexpensive but when you're buying steak, shrimp and as I said fresh fruit and veggies when you weren't before, it can get expensive. That's the only negative about this program for me.
I have heard that with modified carb programs, as soon as you go back to eating your "old" way that you can gain the weight back. That is something that you might want to consider. I know for me, I can't go back to the old way of eating because I like a good night's sleep too much!
Now, I'm not sure if my rambling post has helped you at all. Please let us know what you decide to do and congrats again with being so close to goal!
