Well, I just wanted to introduce myself here (and hoping to keep myself motivated by doing so!). I have slowly been making changes to a healthier way of eating (more or less) - whole grain bread, more veggies and fruit, etc. and decided I was finally ready to start this diet after reading the book a week ago. I had tried Atkins a few years ago (before I got pregnant three years ago) but never got started again after my daughter was born (I attempted to at one point but gave up).

So, I am basically here for support and hope that by keeping myself accountable here I will stay on plan. I started doing Phase 1 on Friday but ended up with a horrible headache so I had a piece of fruit. The same on Saturday - I still had a headache so I had some fruit. Today we went out to eat with the ILs who were celebrating their anniversary so I didn't stay on plan totally - I had a roll (multigrain) with my chicken. BUT I had a salad instead of potato!

One question - How often should I weigh myself? Daily or weekly?

Welcome mama scrap! Nice to have you on the Beach with us! As far as weighing, I think it is a personal decision. There are those who weigh daily and those who weigh less often. It depends on your personality. Are you the kind of person who gets upset when you don't see a loss? Do you use the scale as just another tool to measure your success? Decide how you feel about the scale! Good luck on your journey here!

I agree w/charran, its a personal decision. I weigh weekly and measure monthly. Some ppl say weighing daily keeps them focused (it would drive me crazy!). Good luck to you on SB

WELCOME!!!!! I too have a young child.... he's 17 months old... and am also trying to lose weight! So we have somethings in common! I weigh weekly-ish. Sometimes I get on the scale another time or 2 a week, but not a "daily" thing at all.

I will say, that the VERY BEST thing I did for myself was a "clean induction" (as in very strict phase 1) And the headaches do go away. Make sure you are drinking a TON of water, to help flush that "stuff" out. I have been on South BEach for 6 months, and lost 60 pounds. I have a long ways to go... I'm here for the long haul!
Do check out the stickied posts at the top of this thread. There are the foods, and meal plans, they really are VERY HELPFUL! In fact I printed them, 3 copies, one for home, one for my purse and one for work. This really helps me when Im in a "OH NO, what COULD I eat???" situaiton.

I'm in the "weigh in once a week" camp and here's why:

Armed with the knowledge that it takes burning up 3500 calories to lose 1 lb of fat, it's obvious that you can't lose a lb of fat in a single day. Yet the scale will fluctuate more than a lb in a day. So you're seeing statistical noise (random daily changes in your body that don't equate to fat). If you weight in every day, be prepared to see the scale go both down and UP. Since I've been weighing in every week, I've never seen the scale go up yet, and I ride out some of the statistical noise.

Also, I know the first week is hard. In fact the first day, I was so grouchy and irritable, I had to say home by myself and avoid all people. But after you survive a week - it will be so much easier. Just think - for a week or two, you have to "diet". That means restrict yourself, and follow the plan. Make sure you're never hungry too. After that, things loosen up a bit, and you can start to eat like a normal person (sans the big Macs).

Good luck

I agree with those who say that it's a personal decision on whether you should weight daily, weekly or even monthly.

I weigh myself every day because I find that it helps to keep me focused and I can easily keep track my weight loss pattern.

However, some people can't handle the daily fluctuations, so they tend to weigh on a weekly basis.