I am new to the south beach diet. i intended to do the diet a year or two back and read the book. now that i have started the diet i thought i was doing fine. i at first thought that this was a form of the atkins diet which went well for me. But i need hearth health as well. i havent dieted in years now and my girlfriend recently went to her cardiologist to get a checkup and was put on the south beach diet. Now i decided i needed the change too and here we are. The first week i lost 7 lbs. the second week i lost 3.8 lbs and now this week i gained 1.8 lbs. i started at 377 now i weigh 367.8.

i am pretty sure this weeks issue was that i went pretty crazy with peanuts. i got addicted after trying to add them in and ended up eating way too many. now i finished them all off and am not getting any more.

i have three of the books and they show what is good to eat and what is bad. but what can i eat unlimited? and what should i restrict. i now realize the peanuts and all forms of nuts are restricted. but how about salads? and salad dressings. and if i have a salad can i put some low fat meat and cheese on it ?

i like balsamic vinegrette but the kens light balsamic is on the bad list. the diet seems like a mystery to me after having lived with atkins i feel way out of my depth here. everything i thought southbeach was is out the window and i want to start fresh.

Hello and welcome!
I'm going to answer your questions but try to relax, take a deep breath and know that its going to all be OK.


Sounds great so far!!


Learning portion control on most foods will be key for you. We have food lists and meal plan charts here for you to copy and print up so that you can carry it aorund with you as you learn to eat this way. I'll get you a lino to it. We can have 1 oz of nuts or 2 tbs nut butters daily. If you can't control the peanuts, don't have them in your home...thats what I had to do with cashews.

All phase I veggies are unlimited...so eat what you want in this group....protein is to be eaten moderately and if you have your 5-6 oz portion and are still hungry afterwards, you can go back for seconds. In the book, he talks about eating slowly, waiting 20 minutes and then see if you are still hungry before you eat more. Salad dressing need to be without no added sugars....read all ingredient labels.
Of course you can put meat into your salad...and cheese too but not more than 1-2 ozs.



I use Good Seasons to make my own balsamic dressing with EVOO. Zesty Italian in my fav.

Here is a link to the phase I food lists and meal plan chart. It shows you which foods you can have as much as you want and which are tightly portion controlled.

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showpost...767&postcount=2

Here's a little recap for you, each day you can have:
*unlimited phase I veggies from the list
*enough lean protein to feel full
*good fats from the list at each meal
*2 servings of bean/legumes daily- 1/3-1/2 cup is a serving
*up to 2 cups dairy daily
*100 cals of a sweet treat daily...2 fudgsicles are good for this,the no sugar added variety
*1 serving nuts= 1 oz or 2 tbs nut butter daily

thank you i really appreciate the reply.
i am currently reading over all this information. i really like this forum!!

Portion control is something i need to deal with. it happens to be the main reason i am over weight. I read that you would lose a large amount of weight in phase 1 and that it wouldn't be healthy to lose the weight that fast... so far i haven't noticed such a fast weight loss. though 7lbs the first week was pretty extreme but it was water weight.

I plan to stick with this though and really give it everything i've got. i just need to learn more about the rules. i am going to read the book again for the third time it feels like i must have missed something important.

i have some recipes. i would like to make some turkey meatballs in tomato sauce and i am allowed to have tomatoes on phase 1, so i think that should be ok but i just am at a loss as to what i am watching for. since its not carbs i am avoiding it makes it tougher.

i will definitely take the time and read over all this information JudyNYC and i am glad there is someone here as knowledgeable as yourself to answer these kinds of dilemmas.

Reading the book over again is a great idea. No matter how many times I've read over those lists, etc. I always find something that I missed somehow.

Congrats on your progress so far! Nice to have a new member on the Beach!

You are doing very well....your loss should slow to about 2-3 lbs a week as men do lose faster than women. You are still a newbie so you will have to take my word for things like this.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes...we all do and its how we learn!


Again, either ask or read the food lists for allowable foods...or make your best guess and then see what, if anything, you did wrong.
I made a ton of mistakes at first as I didn't have all the food lists or meal plans for my first 5 months. Once I found these tools online, it all got very easy for me to follow. Thats why I make them easily available to newbies like yourself.


Your very welcome!!
I clearly recall how scary it was at first for me.....not knowing if I was doing it right, not knowing if I'd quit or stick it out. The more I learned about eating this way, the better it got for me. Its all a big process....and we will make mistakes...so relax. Relish in your errors as that is how we learn.

Hey Judy the only thing i am curious about is if anyone has a list of brand name foods that are acceptable for phase 1. i think that would be a huge help. what kind of canned food can i get like hormel turkey with beans can i eat a can of that. or anything of that nature.

I'm sorry ot say that I have learned that food in boxes or cans is not the best way to approach this type of eating.
I'd have to say no to Hormel turkey and beans in a can as I would put money on that there is sugar in them....and way too much soidum.

Once in a while, canned veggies as long as there is no sugar added...I do use canned tomatoes.

Whole and fresh is best!!...sorry I can't be of more help to you. We do have a long list of recipes pinned up top of this forum.