Has anyone had experience with both these plans and found one easier than the other over the long term?

In my early twenties, I had moderate success with Protein Power, but I always gained back the weight lost after I went off the Intervention phase. Of course, as I look back, I see my failure more as a lack of knowledge about proper nutrition and how to ease back into eating carbs. I just went back to my old ways, and (shocker) regained almost immediately.

In 2006, I lost 35 pounds on South Beach, and it seemed an effective, albeit slow, way to lose my excess pounds. I did fall off the wagon eventually b/c of my own failures - got into a rut with menus and got sick of what I was eating. Also, I quit smoking and got pregnant within a few months, which derailed my plans for quite a while.

I've been on Phase 1 of South Beach for almost a week now, and I can't help but notice that most of the success stories on this board are from Atkins WOE followers. I'm also lusting after recipes high in saturated fat, like full-fat meats and dairy. Raspberries in heavy cream . . . mmmmm.

So, my question: Anyone have an opinion of one plan's long-term success over the other's? I'd love some guidance.

Thanks!

I don't know myself. I think that the success is that you stay with the program-whichever you do choose. I remember that in one of the atkins books I read he said that it isn't a diet, its a way of life.

It seems after reading many posts by people who have done atkins in the past, the second time around (or more) it takes so much longer to drop the lbs. You will drop the weight, or "stay" close to your maintence weight if you continue to eat the same way, and not drop back into your old eating habits.

My story is the same example. I did not reteach myself to eat properly when I did atkins the first time. I thought I had it all under control and could reintroduce carbs and life would be grand. It wasn't. I fell back into the carb he** and binged etc.

I feel looking back that I was so foolish. The atkins lifestyle is so much easier for me to stick with than the "starvation" type diets that I tried over the years with all the yo-yoing..those are the types you can't stick with.

You could adapt what works well for you and your own lifestyle and body type. I know my big mistake was to limit the types of foods. I also did not learn to introduce many new foods, so instead of craving those new "treats" I instead turned to those that I thought I was missing out on since I didn't replace them with healthy alternitives.

Would be interested in what others have to say about what sucess they have had. I had an aunt that swore by atkins. She was what started me on my own journey. Then she gained it all back and tried SB. That didn't do what she wanted either, think it was because like me the lbs didn't come off anymore. She had done years of WW and TOPS. She is now in search of her new magic bullet.

Good points, Mainecyn!

I think I'll stick to SB and just ignore the part about saturated fat. My P2 levels of grains and fruits are lower than most, anyway, which makes it pretty darn close to Protein Power.

Last time, on higher carb days I'd watch the fat intake, and on really low carb days I didn't worry about fat. Seems to work pretty well. I just have to stick to it!

In that spirit, I copied several recipes from this forum last night - I'm particularly psyched to try the cheesecake recipe I found. "Legal" treats are just as good, often better, than anything I can buy at the store or drive-thru. You are so right - making this a sustainable WOE is all about trying new foods and making replacements for sugary treats that don't do your bod any favors, internal or external!

Thanks for your input.

I don't know if I can help you.
I started off with Protein Power.
Over the years, I have read the other low carb books, South Beach included.
I don't think I ever tried it. I think my conclusion was that it was more complicated for me to meal-plan for the family.

I had to choose which one was easiest for me to stay on and figure out how to keep on for the rest of my life. PP is easier for me. (Only those darn pregnancies knocked me off my low carb life...and it takes awhile to get back on the horse again! It's OK...they were all worth it!)

Hey, lpioch.
Thanks for responding. I've actually switched to PP because of the trickiness of SB and carbs. Some people have great success with it, but even 1 or 2 grains a day sets off cravings for me, big time.

Good luck, Zilly...

If you have any questions, you know where I am...
And there's a Protein Power sub-category as well. It's pretty quiet in there...but if you post a question, it will be answered quickly.