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Okay, I've Changed My Mind about the South Beach Diet

I recently tried the South Beach Diet again, and have now concluded that it doesn't really work for me. I've tried it several times now, and here is what happens:

  • I can master Phase 1, but I can never manage to master Phase 2. Phase 1 ends up feeling so restrictive, that each time it's over I react by going all out and eating whatever I want. Whenever I do lose weight on Phase 1, it's only in the first week, and it's only 3 pounds and no more. Eventually, I do gain that back again, just like with all the other fad diets.
  • Phase 1 puts me out of balance. I like that I get clean of sugar (I have a terrible sweet tooth). But this last time I was near the end of my second week of Phase 1, and my body was so out of balance with not having any grain products and related carbs, that I had horrible PMS symptoms for several days, putting my family through a mom-turned-witch. I was reading The Diet Code recently, which mentions that anyone who puts themselves on this kind of starvation-mode restriction, will experience mood extremes of this sort. It's just not healthy to trick your body into thinking it's starving--this will only backfire, and may be very harmful.
  • Lastly, one thing that has always bothered me about the SBD is its generous use of chemical-laden foods.

My friend and I are going to give Will Clower's Fat Fallacy another try. I tried this once, but had a hard time with reprogramming myself to eat slowly at each meal. It was so difficult, I finally gave up. But Clower now has a new book, which is easier to follow and apply. It's called The French Don't Diet Plan. The best things about learning to eat the French way are:

  • You eat only whole, natural foods. Basically, if a product has anything at all in it that you don't know readily what it is, then you don't eat it. It's all about getting back to the natural foods humans have eaten since the dawn of time--whole milk, fruits and veggies, natural meats, grains, yogurt, sugar, bread, etc.
  • The diet allows one to eat all the happy foods, so I am always in a very good mood and LOVE eating again: chocolate, cream, coffee, wine, bread, dessert!

 

Published Friday, March 09, 2007 10:48 AM by jer
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Shirley said:

Well, I will have to disagree with you on the SBD - not that I can argue about whateve

r reaction your body may have had...I think people give both Atkins and South Beach

an incredibly bad rap.  While I understand that it isn't for everyone (low carb diets) and

that some people do have a bad reaction, overall, the premise is to use up your existing

carb for a two-week period, which also breaks you (or should) of sugar & carb cravings.

After the two-week period, you begin to re-introduce carbs slowly - healthy carbs, so

that you actually balance your body with healthy carbs and other good eating.  

I went on Atkins about 5 years ago with great success and have mostly eaten with a

carb-conscious lifestyle since.  But after a couple of years I had definitelly gotten myself

back to having to many "splurges" and finally didn't care too much (stress-eating I think

is what that was called, and entering the peri-menopausal stage certainly didn't help

any.  I found myself rising to nearly 155 and decided I needed to do some serious

changing, so this time I decided to go South Beach - I liked their recipes.  I did not

notice any chemicals in the eating - quite the opposite - I was eating lots of great,

healthy foods.  (Those make-ahead little mini-quiche's were awesome.  I also discovered

the low-fat laughing cow cheese wedges on celery are a great afternoon snack!  Now in

phase II, the same with a couple of Ak Mak crackers (whole grain, low fat, low carb) and

it curbs my appetite very well!)  It's harder to keep weight off being older (I'm over 50

now) and it doesn't take much to put weight on (I used to go on "diets" to gain

weight when I was younger so it's a wierd place to be), but the low-carb diets seem

to suit me well.  If you notice, low-fat diets have LOTS of sodium AND carbs.  The

bottom line, as I see it, is that our bodies are all different and function differently, so

we have to experiment around to find what works for us.  To throw the baby out

with the bathwater isn't good, and I think we need to recognize that, while a partic-

ular diet may not be good for some people, it may be perfect for another!

March 10, 2007 11:08 PM

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