South Beach Diet?

I've been at a standstill for a long time. I'm wanting to do something different to get things going again. How do you guys feel about the South Beach Diet? Has anyone done it with success? Was it worth it? It's saying you can lose anywhere between 8 and 12 pounds the first two weeks...any truth to that?

It's like any other diet... you will lose weight at first... but what happens when you go back to eating normally? You gain the weight back.

Following a specific diet plan is not good unless you plan to eat like that for the rest of your life.

I use South Beach whenever I need a "kick start", when I have been on a plateau for too long.

I agree with above poster. The only diet that will really work is something you can maintain, and the SBD is hard to stick to. If you want to lose weight in a hurry, try eating only raw fruits and veggies, with plenty of water, for a couple weeks, then to maintain, just eat a well balanced, healthy diet that incorporates tons of fruits and vegetables, and exercise.

The best thing I like about the SB plan is that phase one rids you of your sweet and starch cravings. The first time I followed SB about 7 years ago I lost 11 lbs the first two weeks and a total of 42 lbs. I kept it off for about 3 yrs then a bunch of things got me off track and I gained it back. I started again last Jan. but am not following it as strictly now, more like using it for a guideline. I think SB gives you a good combination of complex carbs, protein and healthy fats. It's not high fat as someone said and it's not low carb like many believe. There are a lot of great recipes available. I have a lot on my Pinterest page: www.pinterest.com/issypal.

I completely agree! Have been doing it almost 2 weeks and feel great! I now know much more about my body after doing much research about this diet and then implementing it. I have not missed any of the "forbidden" carbs and look forward to adding back in some fruit, whole grains, and some milk, but I am going to pay closer attention to how my body reacts to those foods now that I have been without them. I truly believe that this a lifestyle choice for me. I have found so many great alternatives and modifications to the things I loved to eat! I understand the first 2 weeks are very restrictive, but it has been worth it. I haven't been hungry, nor have I had any cravings for anything. My blood sugar has remained steady and I have more energy now than I did when I was just trying to make good choices and tracking my calories with MFP.

It sounds like mostly you would get a psychological boost out of it. That counts too, go give it a shot :-)

I'll preface this by stating that I'm far from a nutrition expert...if I was I probably wouldn't have ever gotten up to 318 pounds last year. But I'm having pretty good luck following the Eat To Live concepts proposed by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. If you look at my diary I definitely don't claim to follow ETL perfectly but I just try to eat more vegetables and fruit and a lot more things like beans. I'm also slowly converting over to a vegetarian lifestyle. And it's for life...I don't plan on eating Vegetarian until I reach my desired weight loss and then go back to eating meat. That's why diets don't work long term. Once you get off them the weight comes back on. I don't know if this helps but I wish you luck in your weight loss journey.

I did SBD a few years ago and had a lot of sucess with it. I actually try to eat very similarly to it now, with the exception of sugar - I eat waaaaaay more sugar than SBD calls for.

The initial two week loss might not happen for you as you are already eating fairly healthy - I think that the initial weight loss comes from losing water weight when you decrease your sodium intake. Also, for the first two weeks you're in Phase 1, where you eat very few carbs. That's the most strict phase and you eat mostly lean protien and veggies. No fruit, no starches, no sugars. If I remember correctly I ate mostly salad, nuts, cottage cheese, eggs, broccoli and chicken during those two weeks.

When you get to Phase 2 you add "healthy" carbs back in. Whole grain breads, fruit, the banned veggies, etc. That's the phase that you're supposed to keep up until you've reached your goal weight. Then you move to Phase 3, which is maintenance for life. Basic difference between Phase 2 and Phase 3 is that you allow yourself some "treats" on Phase 3 that you wouldn't in Phase 2

All in all, I think it's a good diet. Phase 2 is very similar to a diet that they would put you on if you have gestational diabetes during pregnancy. If I was doing it now I would still count calories just out of curiosity, but I bet I would be at or under my calorie goal as that's a lot of how I eat now anyway (like I said, with the exception of sweets!).

I've been at a standstill for a long time. I'm wanting to do something different to get things going again. How do you guys feel about the South Beach Diet? Has anyone done it with success? Was it worth it? It's saying you can lose anywhere between 8 and 12 pounds the first two weeks...any truth to that?

EDIT: I'm editing this to ask a better question. I've cut back on the calories (not too low, between 1300-1500) and I exercise pretty regularly. I need something to get me motivated again and to eat cleaner. My diary isn't open, but I can tell you it's not very clean. Typical day: breakfast-greek yogurt with a kashi granola bar, lunch-a sandwich with whole grain bread, turkey, 2% provolone, light mayo, a mini bag of popcorn, apple. Dinner-typically something like grilled chicken salad. I might throw in a pack of crackers somewhere. I guess I just don't know what to do differently.

i have been following it since april 2012 and i find its not a "diet" but a plan and a healthier way of eating.
for me, it has helped me cut out alot of sugar and i definetly dont have that same sweet tooth as i did before.
i had lost about 45 lbs so far (have plateaued recently but that is also because i have not incorported excercise into
my lifestyle..working on that now) but more importantly my blood work has come back normal as before i started
i was headed towards diabetes...

someone wrote "then what, when you go back to eating normal"?
i dont think we want to go back to eating what was normal for us...that is what got us over weight in the first place.!


i would suggest reading the book......take it in and see if its right for you..i found the book very informative and then
started on this journey using SB as a guide..

good luck and message me if you have any more questions..

Overall SB is a pretty solid way of eating once you get past P1. I used it years ago and it's pretty much the style of eating I use when I'm eating right. Phases 2 and 3 are quite sustainable long term.

Lost the weight really fast. A good chunk during the first few weeks is water though and probably a good deal of lean body mass. Put it all back on in the matter of a month or two (20 lbs or so) when I started eating carbs and not watching what I was eating.

It's also pretty restrictive, which was the worst for me as I'm a carb monster. And it takes a lot of prep if you want to do it in a reasonably healthy way.

I wouldn't suggest it.

My cardiologist recommended the South Beach Diet. He said ti was good for metabolic syndrome. It seems like a healthy diet to me.

Sbd success story here and its a lifestyle not a diet I wish it didnt have diet in the title, the first 2 weeks are the hardest, and then you reintroduce carbs and fruits. Im on phase 3 and thats maintenance and thats the point about it being a lifestyle change. You must read the book to understand it, i went with south beach supercharged, the new version as it incorperates exercise into the plan. Well good luck