South Beach Diet

Have anyone try "The South Beach Diet" ?

While surfing www.prevention.com, I located the South Beach Diet
under weight loss. It's got my attention, I have a big probem with food cravings. The site gives sample meal plans for each phase.
Tomorrow, I'm starting this diet.

Naomi, I haven't heard of it, but please, I would love to hear more!!! Either here on site, or e-mail me; thx!! Jo

You can get info from Prevention Magazine website, which is wwwprevention.com. Once you are there, click on weightloss, then click on South Beach Diet. Also, there is a forum you can click on and get great tips. I don't have the South Beach diet book, I'm going to obtain the site information. Once you have surf the site, let me know what you think?

Hi Naomi,

I took a quick glance at it and it seems to share a lot of similarities with the Atkins Diet, which is a low-carb diet. I just taught a class on the pros and cons of Atkins so it's fresh in my head! Anyway, the difficulty will be lie in maintaining the plan after the initial weight loss that you will experience in the first couple of weeks, and if you stick to the diet for the first couple of weeks, you WILL lose weight.

But you'll need to be careful after those weeks not to get discouraged after the initial dramatic weight loss. And make sure that you get enough vitamins and minerals (didn't see if this diet recommends a multivitamin but you might want to look into it, esp. since fruit is banned for the 1st 2 weeks). Good luck!

Beth

Thanks Beth for the information.

I'm no longer following the South Beach Diet. I couldn't resist those wonderful carbs. I was at bible study and my church served lunch afterwards. Meat loaf, mash potatoes and gravy was on the menu. Yes, I went for it. However, I kept my portions small, which turned out to be a blessing. Ever since that day, I've been keeping my portions small at every meal, which allows me to have a little ice cream treat every now and then. I'm eating a well balance meal of carbs, protein, fruit, dairy, and veggies. Reduced my sodium intake and drinking lots of water. I lost a few inches of my body. I feel really great.

Most important, my stomach stays happy.

Way to go, Naomi! I do think portion control is the absolute best, my theory has always been "everything in moderation"! I'm so glad that you are feeling great. Stick to it, girlfriend!!

Beth

I notice that the South Beach Diet is endorsed by the American Heart Association, which Atkins is not. It seems, from the Prevention article, especially after the first phase, that it's more balanced, focusing more on being low glycemic than on high protein. And also caring about kind and amount of fats, which Atkins doesn't.

I have said all along that I think different people need different diets, but it looks as though the South Beach might be a better choice than Atkins, when looking for one of those type diets to try.

Naomi. I'm glad you found something that's working for you.

Just to clarify, I don't necessarily support Atkins or any other diet in particular. I'm with Trish, different diets work for different people. Atkins in particular draws fire for the high-fat aspect, and it hasn't been studied in detail, so the potential long-term negative effects of high-protein and high-fat diets are easy targets for criticism, with good reason. Two recent studies did show that this diet had no adverse effects on triglyceride and other lipid levels, but the design of these studies wasn't the greatest.

Nonetheless, if you are not diabetic it may be a viable option if you can maintain the low-carb component. I know I couldn't!

Beth

I have a neice who is doing the SBD.....she has lost 23 lbs and has 17 more lbs to go. It loks good. But I like my eDiets better.

Michelle A.

A friend of mine and her husband have been on South Beach since January. She has lost 35 lbs. while retaining her already awesome muscle mass (she's a trainer and fitness instructor). He has lost over 40 lbs.