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  #1   ^
Old Wed, Feb-15-12, 10:59
Kerwee89's Avatar
Kerwee89 Kerwee89 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 162
 
Plan: Low Carb/Paleo/Primal
Stats: 193/184/130 Female 62 inches
BF:Too much/?/25
Progress: 14%
Location: East Bay Area California
Default South Beach verses Atkins

Hello, I am wondering about South Beach verses Atkins...I lost 12 pounds on SBD a few years ago, then I lost 20 pounds on Atkins last Spring before falling off the wagon. I restarted Atkins last month only to lose 4 pounds in 3 weeks on less than 20 gms of Carbs a day. I got very discouraged and fell off again. It seems like it works really well the first time and is much harder after that. I did best at around 60 gms of carbs a day last Spring. I'm wondering if I would do better on SBD since it is a little higher carbs and less restricting ? I'd like to lose another 35 pounds. I'd appreciate any advice
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  #2   ^
Old Wed, Feb-15-12, 11:09
lovemypets's Avatar
lovemypets lovemypets is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,739
 
Plan: low carb
Stats: 259/162.4/155 Female 5'1"
BF:
Progress: 93%
Default

This is really an individual thing
You need to look into them and figure out what will work best for you
your lifestyle.... exercise or not
your cravings and style of cooking you enjoy

Try and look at why you stop eating the style of what ever program you're following
and then figure out how you can work past that spot
whether it's checking in here for support or finding a buddy

good luck Kerwee89
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  #3   ^
Old Wed, Feb-15-12, 11:12
Liz53's Avatar
Liz53 Liz53 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 6,140
 
Plan: Mostly Fung/IDM
Stats: 165/138.4/135 Female 63
BF:???/better/???
Progress: 89%
Location: Washington state
Default

I did South Beach from early 2004 till fall 2007. I estimate that I ate in the range of 60-100 grams carbs per day (of course, per directions, I did not track them). I lost 22 lbs in about 4 months, then came to a standstill. I kept at it for some time, tried cutting back on carbs and eventually tried raising them, but could not lose any more, and eventually started regaining (with the extra carbs). I would have liked to have been another 15-20 lbs lighter.

I started Atkins (DANDR) in fall of 2007, having gained back maybe 10 lbs of the South Beach lost weight. I lost 4 lbs very quickly, could not go lower. Though I continued to eat lowish carb (avoiding sugar, bread, obvious sugars), I regained and kept gaining.

In fall of 2010, I started Atkins again, this time using NANY. I lost 16 lbs in 3 months, getting within 2 pounds of SBD low weight, never eating more than 28-30 Net Carbs per day. Through diligent adherence to Atkins, I went on to lose another 9 lbs over the next year. I'm now eating at DADR induction levels - ~20 total carbs/day. I'm not losing (still would like to lose another 8-12), but at those levels, I don't gain either.

So, based on my experience, I don't think raising carbs is going to improve your chances of losing. In fact, just the opposite. The science also supports keeping carbs lower for better weight loss. I'll be curious to see if anyone has found they lose better with more carbs. Good luck!
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  #4   ^
Old Wed, Feb-15-12, 14:20
0Angel0's Avatar
0Angel0 0Angel0 is offline
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Posts: 447
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 278/215/180 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: 64%
Default

I lost 30 lbs in about 4 months on the South Beach Diet years ago. I chose SBD because of misconceptions about Atkins. I though it was a eat bacon, cheese, and steak all you want diet. I never quite got rid of the carby cravings like I have since being on Atkins. I was really active when I was doing SBD so I think my body could handle more carbs. I mean like hours of hiking mountains 4 days a week in the forests while gathering data for my graduate work active. Nothing like what I am now.

I did learn a lot about which carbs affect my body but the way I look at it now is if carbs really aren't necessary then I really don't need them. From my experience on the south beach diet I do know that I can lose while eating legumes and a bowl of oatmeal in the morning. The difference is that now I'm losing 5 lbs a week instead of the 2 or 3 I did on SBD.

If you can handle the carbs and they don't make you crave it is a healthy diet. But so is Atkins. The real Atkins, not the false image of it so many have. Atkins works faster, the cravings are virtually nil, and it's healthy. So I choose it. I'm quite sure though that my maintainence program will resemble SBD very closely. Just far fewer grains.
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  #5   ^
Old Wed, Feb-15-12, 23:05
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

When I have the energy to respond to your question, I'll be back. Hopefully in the morning. I'm a bit unwell tonight, sorry!

For a quick repsonse, I modifed SBD to suit me as I do not do well havooing to count carbs. You need to fugre out why you fell off the wagon and make adjustments to your plan so that you make it your way of eating for life.

SBD has too many grain choices for weight loss. But I did and still do eat a small amount. I've kept all my 120 lbs loss off for 6 years now. I do that simply because the way I ate to lose it is still the way I eat now....and I still don't count carbs.
I think my basic style of eating is a mix of SBD and Atkins.
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  #6   ^
Old Thu, Feb-16-12, 04:24
askwhy456's Avatar
askwhy456 askwhy456 is offline
Every day is day 1.
Posts: 1,224
 
Plan: Atkins 1972
Stats: 249.0/220.6/160 Female 67 inches
BF:Yup. I know.
Progress: 32%
Location: SE Missouri
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by 0Angel0
I lost 30 lbs in about 4 months on the South Beach Diet years ago. I chose SBD because of misconceptions about Atkins. I though it was a eat bacon, cheese, and steak all you want diet. I never quite got rid of the carby cravings like I have since being on Atkins. I was really active when I was doing SBD so I think my body could handle more carbs. I mean like hours of hiking mountains 4 days a week in the forests while gathering data for my graduate work active. Nothing like what I am now.

I did learn a lot about which carbs affect my body but the way I look at it now is if carbs really aren't necessary then I really don't need them. From my experience on the south beach diet I do know that I can lose while eating legumes and a bowl of oatmeal in the morning. The difference is that now I'm losing 5 lbs a week instead of the 2 or 3 I did on SBD.

If you can handle the carbs and they don't make you crave it is a healthy diet. But so is Atkins. The real Atkins, not the false image of it so many have. Atkins works faster, the cravings are virtually nil, and it's healthy. So I choose it. I'm quite sure though that my maintainence program will resemble SBD very closely. Just far fewer grains.


I have to agree with Angel and Liz on this one. I, too, tried SBD and lost well in the summer of 2003. I lost the 20 extra lbs that I was carrying fairly quickly (2-3 months) and I credit SBD for my being able to finally get pregnant as DH and I had been trying for 1-2 years. I loved eating on SBD as it almost mirrored the way I cooked before I got married and started making 'meat and potatoes' at every meal. The main reason that I chose to try Atkins this time and not SBD was that after having failed at WW was that I realized that I would never be successful at losing the weight until I could control the cravings. SBD never did that for me. SBD was great at home when I could control seasonings, etc... but it was harder for me than Atkins to eat out or at least 'less satisfying'. (I think real dressings instead of FF make the difference as well as butter on veggies instead of 'plain'.) The high fat intake on Atkins makes all the difference for me but like Angel I suspect that maintenance for me will resemble SBD a great deal - except with more fat.
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  #7   ^
Old Thu, Feb-16-12, 07:01
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Liz53 Liz53 is offline
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Posts: 6,140
 
Plan: Mostly Fung/IDM
Stats: 165/138.4/135 Female 63
BF:???/better/???
Progress: 89%
Location: Washington state
Default

Just wanted to add that I think SBD is a healthy diet as well. For me, it was more fat than I was used to eating. I bought no fat free foods that I can recall, though I did buy lower fat dairy products. As for I can't believe it's not butter and that fake cream, I've always been a believer in Real Foods, so I simply substituted butter and 2% milk for the fake foods.

Actually, I found a disconnect between Agatson's advice in the front and the recipes in the back - sort of like the dietiticians got a hold of it. When in doubt, I followed his principles, not the recipes.

For me, it boils down to how many carbs can I eat and lose/maintain. That number continues to go down. SBD is simply too much for me now, but it is a very individual thing. Sigh....the aging female body.
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  #8   ^
Old Thu, Feb-16-12, 09:12
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

Yes, it is a very individual thing. While I don't follow every aspect of the way the nutritionists want people to follow SBD, I think that the way I follow it works for me.
Here are a few of the things that I do to modify it:
*I count cheese as those who follow Atkins do and not an unlimited source of protein as the SBD books says to do. I allow myself 2-3 ozs a day, maximum.
* I don't eat whole wheat or much of any other wheat or grain flour products. Pizza and pasta are a thing of my past life.
*While I don't go looking to increase my fats, I don't drink heavy cream nor do I buy the fattiest cuts of beef. I do some sat fats and include avocadoes in my day.

The Meal Plan Guide is the best tool on the SBD. It literally taught me how to eat this way with portion control. As far as I'm concerned, learning portion control has been a huge aspect to my long term success. Its located in the weighin thread with the food lists.

For those of you that regained weight after losing it on SBD, perhaps you didn't find a way to eat that truly worked for you. I have done that by combining apsects of Atkins into mine. Every day, as I eat my keep a mental count of how many servings of starch and fruit( 2-3 of each) I eat. I do not count carbs, per se.
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  #9   ^
Old Thu, Feb-16-12, 09:55
aamama's Avatar
aamama aamama is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 591
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 216/186/140 Female 62"
BF:
Progress: 39%
Location: Alberta, Canada
Default "Sexy Forever"

Quote:
Originally Posted by Judynyc
Yes, it is a very individual thing. While I don't follow every aspect of the way the nutritionists want people to follow SBD, I think that the way I follow it works for me.
Here are a few of the things that I do to modify it:
*I count cheese as those who follow Atkins do and not an unlimited source of protein as the SBD books says to do. I allow myself 2-3 ozs a day, maximum.
* I don't eat whole wheat or much of any other wheat or grain flour products. Pizza and pasta are a thing of my past life.
*While I don't go looking to increase my fats, I don't drink heavy cream nor do I buy the fattiest cuts of beef. I do some sat fats and include avocadoes in my day.

The Meal Plan Guide is the best tool on the SBD. It literally taught me how to eat this way with portion control. As far as I'm concerned, learning portion control has been a huge aspect to my long term success. Its located in the weighin thread with the food lists.

For those of you that regained weight after losing it on SBD, perhaps you didn't find a way to eat that truly worked for you. I have done that by combining apsects of Atkins into mine. Every day, as I eat my keep a mental count of how many servings of starch and fruit( 2-3 of each) I eat. I do not count carbs, per se.


Hi Judy! You are very inspiring - especially to someone just starting out on their weight-loss journey! I'm just wondering if you've ever read Suzanne Somers' book "Sexy Forver"? I just finished reading it. Her weight loss/eating plan sounds like it very closely mirrors your adapted SBD/Atkins plan. She recommends the first 30 days be sugar/carb/starch free in kind-of a detox phase, but as you move into later phases of weight loss and maintenance you can very slowly add back 2-3 servings of carbs (mostly in the form of fruit), with some healthy fats, protein, and lots of veg. She recommends you say goodbye to pizzas and pastas, allowing the occasional good quality whole-grain bread if your body can tolerate it, and even okays potatoes on a VERY infrequent basis (ie. she says a couple of times per YEAR), again, if your body seems to be able to process it without spiking cravings and digestive issues.

After reading this book I'm more open-minded to someday re-introducing some carbs once I reach the maintenance phases of my journey, and have to say that your experience re-affirms that feeling. Since starting this I've been treating all the foods I can't have as "POISON" mostly to avoid cheating and cravings, and that is in turn affecting my ability to accept someday consuming them again. Needless to say, I have a strange emotional relationship with my food. Regardless of that, Somers' logic makes sense to me, and I feel like, through reading it, I've been given an arsenal of more things to experiment with should I encounter a stall.
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  #10   ^
Old Thu, Feb-16-12, 11:58
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by aamama
Hi Judy! You are very inspiring - especially to someone just starting out on their weight-loss journey! I'm just wondering if you've ever read Suzanne Somers' book "Sexy Forver"? I just finished reading it. Her weight loss/eating plan sounds like it very closely mirrors your adapted SBD/Atkins plan. She recommends the first 30 days be sugar/carb/starch free in kind-of a detox phase, but as you move into later phases of weight loss and maintenance you can very slowly add back 2-3 servings of carbs (mostly in the form of fruit), with some healthy fats, protein, and lots of veg. She recommends you say goodbye to pizzas and pastas, allowing the occasional good quality whole-grain bread if your body can tolerate it, and even okays potatoes on a VERY infrequent basis (ie. she says a couple of times per YEAR), again, if your body seems to be able to process it without spiking cravings and digestive issues.

After reading this book I'm more open-minded to someday re-introducing some carbs once I reach the maintenance phases of my journey, and have to say that your experience re-affirms that feeling. Since starting this I've been treating all the foods I can't have as "POISON" mostly to avoid cheating and cravings, and that is in turn affecting my ability to accept someday consuming them again. Needless to say, I have a strange emotional relationship with my food. Regardless of that, Somers' logic makes sense to me, and I feel like, through reading it, I've been given an arsenal of more things to experiment with should I encounter a stall.

Hi and Thanks!
No, I haven't read or heard of her book. I'm glad that the way she eats is similar to my eating as it does work well for me. I was peri when I started out and hit menopause a few months in...and still managed to lose all my weight in spite of it.
Yes, experimenting to see what will work best for you is key!!
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  #11   ^
Old Thu, Feb-16-12, 19:52
AnaBee2222 AnaBee2222 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 178
 
Plan: Paleo/Atkins
Stats: 206/179/130 Female 5'5.5''
BF:
Progress: 36%
Default

A few years ago I lost about 20 pounds on SBD which for me was great as I'd always struggled losing and finally something worked (back then I would've considered Atkins one of those 'extreme fad diets'). But I found the carb levels on SBD were too high for me and once I got out of phase 1 I really struggled with hunger. It did teach me a lot about listening to your body though, for example I haven't eaten ketchup since, as I realised it really set me up for cravings. I think for me it was a good preparation for moving towards an even lower carb diet, and I think it's more 'acceptable' for people who follow the mainstream eating currently. I'd probably recommend SBD to people I'd never be able to convince to try Atkins or Protein Power, but down the track when they realised how starchy foods caused cravings, they could be more likely to encouraged to try Atkins which I think is far easier to stay on long term. That's how it worked for me, anyway.
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  #12   ^
Old Fri, Feb-17-12, 06:37
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

I'd like to mention that there is plenty of weight regained on Atkins also. I don't think that that is a good measure of why a plan doesn't work out for some. The only way that SBD is carby is if and when you eat all that it allows. You could eat the same carb level on Atkins, if you decide to in the OWL phase.

IMO, we all need to create a food plan that will work for you as an individual. Thats why I use things I pulled from Atkins and things I pulled from SBD. Its not a one or the other to me. But when I started out, it was easier for me to start out with SBD and modify as I went along. But interestingly enough, my modifications were not for more food but for less. So where SBD was to broad, I used Atkins to reign it in, ie: my 2-3 oz a day cheese intake or my minimal grain intake.
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  #13   ^
Old Fri, Feb-17-12, 16:55
W/Feathers W/Feathers is offline
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Posts: 9
 
Plan: SBD-modified
Stats: 179.6/167.8/142 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress: 31%
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Hi All, I find this thread very interesting, because I too was trying to figure out what the real differences are between the two programs and which is better for me -- I did SBD Phase 1 for two weeks and then entered Phase 2 where I started having fruit and nonfat plain yogurt (4oz) for breakfast the first week, my loss slowed but I still lost, then the second week of phase two I added in a second fruit some days with peanut butter. I stopped losing weight for about three weeks, having snooped around on the Atkins threads, I decided to cut out the yogurt and use a tablespoon of cream instead of the 2oz of milk I was using in my 3-4 cups of coffee a day -- I also tried limiting my fruits and nuts, and in a week I dropped three pounds. I realize this could just be coincidental but it seems like it was enough to break my stall. I also felt less hungry and with less cravings. Since, I've added back a fruit and the nuts so I will see if they are the real culprit, but I'm keeping an eye on dairy and will see what happens over the next few weeks. I don't eat too much cheese, as without a hunk of french bread, how much can you eat!
So, I too am pulling from SBD and Atkins and trying to find what works for my body. I will try the yogurt again in a week or two to see if I have the same reaction, as I realize there are a lot of different things that can affect weight loss. I may not eat it in the morning as I seemed to be hungrier during the day when I did. I have also learned that cashews make me feel like I want to nibble on something all day! I also want to thank Judy for suggesting adding in carbs based on Atkins owl ladder and to introduce them slowly to see how your body reacts to each one -- very good advice!
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  #14   ^
Old Sat, Feb-18-12, 13:26
Liz53's Avatar
Liz53 Liz53 is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 6,140
 
Plan: Mostly Fung/IDM
Stats: 165/138.4/135 Female 63
BF:???/better/???
Progress: 89%
Location: Washington state
Default

Judy is right in that SBD is only as carb-y as you make it. The book paints a rosy picture of adding carbs back in - something that I could do at the time without gaining, but within a year or two eating the same number of carbs was too much for me. I think one of the strengths of Atkins (and something missing from SBD) is the Carb Ladder - the recommendation to add carbs back 5 NC at a time, and in a fairly specific order. SBD is looser, which may work fine for some, but it probably was not enough structure for me. New Atkins paints a fairly rosy picture of adding carbs back in as well, but at least the structure of the Carb Ladder is there and you can catch yourself quickly if you've exceeded your threshold. I never really had cravings as I added stuff in SBD and my weight gain was so slow that I was never really able to correlate it with specific foods. I think the carb ladder would have been very helpful for me had I known about it. (I was still laboring under the illusion that sat fat and Atkins were unhealthy).

For me, I think Atkins is the best low carb plan, but SBD is a good second place.

As an aside, I wonder if Agatson will every come around on the lower fat and unsat fat ideas - there seems to be accumulating evidence that sat fat is NOT bad for you - how will he distinguish himself from Atkins then? - (he makes reference to SBD being a heart-healthier version of Atkins).
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  #15   ^
Old Sat, Feb-18-12, 13:59
Judynyc's Avatar
Judynyc Judynyc is offline
Attitude is a Choice
Posts: 30,111
 
Plan: No sugar, flour, wheat
Stats: 228.4/209.0/170 Female 5'6"
BF:stl/too/mch
Progress: 33%
Location: NYC
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by W/Feathers
Hi All, I find this thread very interesting, because I too was trying to figure out what the real differences are between the two programs and which is better for me -- I did SBD Phase 1 for two weeks and then entered Phase 2 where I started having fruit and nonfat plain yogurt (4oz) for breakfast the first week, my loss slowed but I still lost, then the second week of phase two I added in a second fruit some days with peanut butter. I stopped losing weight for about three weeks, having snooped around on the Atkins threads, I decided to cut out the yogurt and use a tablespoon of cream instead of the 2oz of milk I was using in my 3-4 cups of coffee a day -- I also tried limiting my fruits and nuts, and in a week I dropped three pounds. I realize this could just be coincidental but it seems like it was enough to break my stall. I also felt less hungry and with less cravings. Since, I've added back a fruit and the nuts so I will see if they are the real culprit, but I'm keeping an eye on dairy and will see what happens over the next few weeks. I don't eat too much cheese, as without a hunk of french bread, how much can you eat!
So, I too am pulling from SBD and Atkins and trying to find what works for my body. I will try the yogurt again in a week or two to see if I have the same reaction, as I realize there are a lot of different things that can affect weight loss. I may not eat it in the morning as I seemed to be hungrier during the day when I did. I have also learned that cashews make me feel like I want to nibble on something all day! I also want to thank Judy for suggesting adding in carbs based on Atkins owl ladder and to introduce them slowly to see how your body reacts to each one -- very good advice!

Hi,
If you would go look at the Meal Plan Guide in our weighin thread, you'll see that 1 oz of nuts and 2 cups of dairy daily,are an aspect of phase I. Not phase II.
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