I am following a low carb diet without counting carb grams, and I'm really enjoying it.

I am curious about those following South Beach. Do any of you guys follow South Beach without the fat restrictions, using full fat products instead of low fat/fat free, but still following the basic structure? Thanks.

Hello and welcome to our little beach!!

You ask a contentious question. Fat levels (as in high fat)are a big topic in the community as a whole and SBD does offer us a way to control those levels.
I see that you are not following any structured plan and I wish you success with that.
I began my weight loss journey, this time, 7 yrs ago. I did and still do follow SBD as my plan of choice. What I've come to learn though, is that if/when we do eat a bit higher levels of good carbs, as SBD does encourage, we do need to keep our total fats down simply because we can't have it both ways.
So while I did eat full fat cottage cheese simply because of the taste, it was very high in total calories so I stopped eating it rather than eat a reduced fat version. I love a nice piece of brie cheese but it too, is very high in total calories due to its fat levels....so I have it once in a while as a total treat.

I hope that my answer is helping you to see that eating full fat dairy is not wise when following SBD if you want to see losses.
You mention the 'basic structure' of the SBD. Have you read the book?

Hi, Judy answered your question very well.
I just wanted to mention everyone is different and what I've found with SB is I can adjust it to suit me.

Some things I eat full fat like I use real butter. Not every day and I measure it and keep track that day to amount of fat I eat.
Also per personal taste I use regular/full fat salad dressing. But with that I use 1/2 the serving size that way I cut the fat count in half. Most serving sizes for salad dressing is 2T I try and use only 1.

Again I don't eat full fat foods everyday. As Judy stated if you are expecting to lose weight it all adds up at the end of the day. So during weight lose its best to limit full fat foods.

Good Luck.

Thank you very much for your responses. It is funny that I asked that question before I saw my doctor, who, without any prompting, and because of health issues I continue to have, suggested weight loss. And SOUTH BEACH. Kismet??

So I am starting tomorrow.

I have the book and I ordered some South Beach cookbooks from amazon. In doing my amazon search I see Dr. Agatston is coming out with a new book called The South Beach Wake-Up Call: Dr. Agatston's Revolutionary Program for Reversing our Toxic Lifestyle. It's coming out in September of this year.

I am excited, yet scared. To be honest, right now I depend on a lot of fat and protein to fill me up. It works. I'm so afraid I'll go hungry. Sometimes I eat 2 ounces of nuts in a day. I don't know if 10 little almonds will fill me up!

I know I'm sounding negative already, but I think it's just fear. But I have to get this fat off me. It is destroying my health.

Thank you for listening.

I hear you on the fear of feeling hunger....but truth is that we can eat well and not feel hunger on South Beach. A lot of it is about food combinations and the Glycemic index. Portion control will become your new best friend.
It is key to follow the meal plan guide and its portion control limits...IMO, thats the secret to success. Its located with the food lists in the SBD weighin thread.
The best book for you to read now would be SBD Supercharged.

ahh yes, the food combinations! don't be afraid of beans, remember 2 C of veggies is the suggested minimum, I found it much easier to eat more than that the first few days.

I can also suggest Kayln's Kitchen (a blog), she has some amazing recipes up her sleeve that she's adapted and taste great. I have eaten most of the phase I and it has expanded my horizons (roasting veggies is my new passion)

PS peanut butter and a sugar-free fudgesicle is an awesome dessert, there is a recipe somewhere for that.. I usually nuke the fudgesicle for 10 seconds, slide off the stick and add 1 TBL of peanut butter