Hi all you beach babes! I have been doing Schwarzbien for a couple of weeks and have gained 6 lbs. I know she says that's normal but I just cannot keep this up, I feel like a blimp! So I am jumping ship and coming over to give SB a try. I know Judy has suggested to me in the past that I give it a try since high-fat, low-carb diets make me feel awful. I read most of the book so I think I'm ready to start it tomorrow. Gonna go shopping and get a bunch of the good food today. One question I have is what do you guys put in your coffee that is suitable for phase 1? I am coming from drinking heavy cream or half and half and I know that is not ok but is there something really creamy that would be? I have some unsweetened hemp milk in my cabinet that has 6 g of fat per cup, do you think that would be okay?

O one more question, is there any kind of sweet treat that doesn't have artificial sweetener in it, or stevia( )? Can you just go by the 75 cal thing and use a tiny bit of honey in your ricotta? I also would be willing to use xylitol, can you just add a bit of that instead of buying sugar free crap (no offense to anyone who eats sugar free crap ) I have been on paleo before and still carry around a fake food phobia, even the low-fat dairy gives me shivers but I think I'm over it if I can lose weight.

HI,
Glad to have you join us here!!

I use a little H&H in my 1 large mug of coffee daily...I hate to use milk or skimmed...blech. I also do use 1 splenda as I have no issues with it personally.
If you want to use xylitol in your ricotta, that is your choice. Stevia is way too sweet for my tastes too. But no honey until you reach your goal and are maintaining. By then, we have some sense of control over the sweet stuff.

Thanks for the welcome!
I went to the store today and got everything I need to start:

green veggies
chicken breast
2 % greek yogurt
low-fat cheese
ricotta
something called "Just Like Sugar" made from chicory root, it's zero calorie so it should be okay
romaine lettuce
garbanzos
black beans
salmon

I am so excited to start, I am really going to try to make this work for life. It just seems so right. As much as I believe low-carb is healthy it just never seemed natural to me to eat steak, bacon, lard, and chicken livers all the time. I feel better on lower fat so I hope this diet solves my problems. And I love that you can eat unlimited veggies cause I love eating and I love veggies!

Looks great!
Have you read the South Beach Diet book yet?
Did you find the food lists and meal plan guides?

Phase I veggies are the only ones that are unlimited. Everything else is portion controlled as listed on the meal plans and food lists.

Count all your dairy and cheeses together and keep it to 2 cups total daily.
Also, if you log your food into your journal, I'll be able to keep an eye on it for you and give you feedback if you need it.
Good Luck!!

Thanks Judy! I am going to start a journal right now.

ok I was gonna start a journal but I can't figure out how Can someone please tell me how

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=172775

This link will tell you all you need to know about starting your own journal.

Thanks Judy! I just started my journal if you wanna have a look at what I ate today!