Has anyone tried The South Beach Diet?

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FelixeLaFleur
FelixeLaFleur Posts: 3
in Food and Nutrition
I picked up the south beach diet book in a charity shop for 50p and read it last night. Just wondering if anyone has tried it?

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  • ppennington
    ppennington Posts: 54
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    My doctor is Amarillo raved about it. She lost over 75 lbs on that diet. I wish I knew more about it.
  • Panda86
    Panda86 Posts: 873
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    I've known people to lose weight on it, and its not quite as strict as some diets... But like most diets of similar nature, if you go back to eating "normal" you gain weight back. But if you plan to eat like they recommend for the foreseeable future, it might be worth looking into... In my opinion. :) Best of luck to you!
  • rockchick793
    rockchick793 Posts: 30 Member
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    I had a friend who did the diet and got some amazing results....the recipes were really good, I had to copy a few from the book
  • mem50
    mem50 Posts: 1,384 Member
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    I know a couple of people who I work with did it. They lost weight but as soon as they went back to eating normal they put it back on. I just follow a simple rule when eating now. Moderation. Plus when I do eat out (and I do) I do my best to make more sensible choices.
  • HeatherMatthys
    HeatherMatthys Posts: 2
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    I tried it - after a week I was tired, weak and light headed and after two weeks my husband BEGGED me to go off of it. (I guess it kinda changed my personality / attitude as well! )

    My parents however, have both used it with success. I guess I just don't do well with diets that remove entire food groups. I am loving this app, though! I have more success with this than anything before and I have no trouble sticking to it. It makes me more aware of what I am putting in my body and how much. And best of all - nothing off limits! :-) I just take smaller portions, keep "bad" things as special treats, or up the exercise to stay in my limits.
  • dragonfly__
    dragonfly__ Posts: 172 Member
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    My husband and I both did it several years ago. He lost close to 50pounds and I lost about 15 and when we went off of it we gained every one of them back. He tried it again a few years later and had no results at all.
  • ItsNatastic
    ItsNatastic Posts: 66 Member
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    I lost over 50 lbs on the South Beach diet. After I started eating carbohydrates again I gained back about 20. I think its a great diet for seeing noticeble results quickly, but its hard to maintain, just because it is so limited. I stayed on phase one for more than the recommended 2 weeks and the lbs melted off quickly. I think the most I lost in one week was 10 lbs. Looks good on paper but realistically I lost that weight by eating nothing but veggies and lean meats (not much of it either) and drinking A LOT of water. To have success you must cut fruit, milk, bread, potatoes, white rice, pasta, sauces, and add some of them back later in small amounts. I felt great when I was on SB but I found if I cheated, the scale knew IMMEDIATELY.
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
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    I picked up the south beach diet book in a charity shop for 50p and read it last night. Just wondering if anyone has tried it?

    I read the book, and followed some of the recipes. Since I didn't have too much weight to loose I went to phase 2 and skipped the first one. I stil eat based on the principle of low and high glycemic index foods. It works for me, and like another member posted some of the recipes are really good and not too hard to follow.

    I don't eat white pasta, white breads or white rice, and I eat sweet potato instead of regular potato. I do eat all fruits but the high glycemic one in moderation, and I mostly eat green salads and vegetables. As I said, it worked and still works for me.

    Just do what is better for you.
  • bsexton3
    bsexton3 Posts: 472 Member
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    When it first came out, I weighed 255 and went on it. Got down to 205 fairly easily. My wife was on it with me, but she didn't lose any weight. After coming off it, I gained 10 back in about 4 months. Kept it off until about a year ago when it went back to 220. So, for me it worked. I never got close to 255 again.

    Just watching calories and eating "normally" here, I am losing weight in a similar fashion. And, my wife has lost 10 pounds in the past two months. So, I think the basic calorie counting here is better overall.

    Take the South Beach for realizing how much carbs you are eating, and the wasted calories in much of what you eat. The recipes are good to be low calorie.

    Eat smart.
  • EDesq
    EDesq Posts: 1,527 Member
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    South Beach is NOT a "Diet" it's an Eating Plan to change your eating style. Many people fail because they are looking for a "diet," a quick fix for a short time then back to whatever got them searching in the first place. It's easy if you want to change your eating habits for LIFE. It's nothing new or different or amazing, it just teaches what is good food and you make the choices, it's basically "Clean" eating and drinking; whole grains ( that are high on the glycemic index), beans ( that are high on the glycemic index), veggies and fruit ( that are high on the glycemic index), dairy ( that are high on the glycemic index), lean meats/fish/poultry, and good fats. NOTHING is denied anyone to eat, it's up to you to make Good/Better/Best Choices. It also teaches about the release of insulin...this you have to research for yourself by getting the book or even going to the website. The first 2 weeks are difficult for some people, why, I don't know( You may eat a variety of Beans, a wide variety of veggies without limit, some dairy, lean proteins without limit, good fats, even some sugarless candy.) If you can't stick with that for 2 weeks, then you don't want to make a change.

    I have followed the SB eating plan for over 13 months and lost over 80 lbs. It's a LIFESTYLE CHANGE...NOT a "DIET" for those who are desiring and willing to work at it because it is NOT going to come over night. It will be trial and error and you need patience, but when you look up the wt will be moving down, and You WILL have major health benefits because of the changes!
  • HeatherMatthys
    HeatherMatthys Posts: 2
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    ValueMe, your sweeping generalization was hardly fair. In one sentence you state that you don't understand why the first two weeks are hard for some people, and then in the very next one you criticize and judge them by stating that if they can't handle that for two weeks they really "don't want to make a change." If you do not know or understand, do not criticize.

    SB works similarly to Atkins the first two weeks by throwing the body into ketosis. This makes the body burn fat because it is starved of carbohydrates. SB is the healthier of the two because it replaces the missing glucose with lean meats and eventually adds back healthy carbs. But it still relies on the same mechanism the first two weeks. Ketosis has quite a few known and notable side effects, and like side effects of anything - it affects different people differently. And those with less weight to lose often tolerate ketosis poorly. That is why many people do not handle the first two weeks well. It doesn't mean that they are weak-willed or not wanting to make changes - it simply means that they need to find a lifestyle that works better for their own individual body.

    I am glad that it has worked well for you.

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