Atkins to South Beach
 

Hi all,
I recently decided to switch from Atkins to South Beach, mainly due to extreme fatigue from such a low carb diet. I really liked Atkins, I lost 10 lbs. the first month on it. I saw my doctor before I started the diet and the only concern he had was the carb level being so low and with me having Lupus and possibly triggering a flare up. Anyone with Lupus knows to avoid one at all costs. I also suffer from osteoarthritis in my joints and Raynaud's syndrome. The low carb way of eating helped my joint pain and also helped my R.S. not sure why maybe getting off grains, flour and sugar. I weaned myself slowly off the carbs like my doctor suggested before starting atkins so I only lost 2 lbs. the first week which was ok with me. I stopped losing after the first month and started to experience extreme fatigue, even started to take naps again during the day something I haven't done in ages. My doctor feels I need to up my carbs some and eat healthier fats, he actually suggested South Beach diet. He also suggested I start at phase 2 for a few weeks and then go to phase 1 for 2-4 weeks go then go back to phase 1. He would like me to try to eat 10-15 carbs at each meal and keep my snacks limited to 1 a day and about 7- 10 carbs. Does this sound doable on South Beach or will I regain my weight I lost ? I also do not eat pork or red meat anymore, just hate the taste, I mainly eat chicken,seafood ,eggs and dairy for my proteins. I didn't read anything in the book about this but is there anything that may stop me from doing this plan ? Thanks for reading and offering any suggestions.

Several years ago my doctor also suggested South Beach. I lost all my weight on it, so I think you'll be just fine.

Did your doctor mean 10-15 ADDITIONAL carbs? In other words, you should still have been consuming carbs in the form of vegetables on Atkins. Where does he want you to get the carbs from? Don't make the mistake of adding grains, sugar, or starch for this purpose. Extra green veg, a little fruit, maybe a little more dairy, and small portions of sweet potatoes, occasionally, would be ideal.

You almost certainly cured your joint pain by eliminating grains. When I did the same thing I went from a diagnosis of osteopenia to a diagnosis of low normal bone density. It also cured a lifetime rash and adult-onset asthma: all completely unexpected as I was only trying for weight-loss!

I think SB is a good plan, although if I were doing it these days I would never eat low fat or fake fat. Real butter, real eggs, heavy whipping cream and extra virgin olive oil are my choices now. I believe it's perfectly possible to eat those healthy fats and lose weight on SB.

Hi whofan,
Sorry if my post sounded confusing, no my dr. wants me omit grains, sugar and starches he just wants me to up my total carb limits above the Atkins induction level amount and try to eat 10-15 per meal by upping my veggies amounts while limiting the bad carbs. He just felt that when I was eating under 20 carbs a day I was stressing my body to much which could explain the recent flare up I'm having. From what he told me low carb is a great way to eat with my health problems, according to him a high carb low fat diet causes more problems for patients with autoimmune diseases.
I do eat a higher fat level with south beach.. just can't do low fat stuff. I use olive oil , coconut oil, full fat cottage cheese and full fat cheese. I don't use butter or trans free margarine just because I don't like the taste of either, so I just roast my veggies in the oven with olive oil. Yum I miss sweet potatoes, haven't eaten them since last Christmas. Anyway I'm going to stick with south beach it just seems more doable for me and healthier option. Thanks for the answer to my ?'s. I did try low fat cheese sticks when I first switched, yucky ! my dogs are now eating them as snacks hehe didn't want to just throw them away.