I am roughly 12 pounds away from goal. Yay me! But.. I have been pondering sb for a while. I can't seem to stray though from my induction level carbs that Atkins suggest. Some days I do go as high as 25 ~ (whooppeee! LOL).

I have a deep seeded fear of adding any new things, any extra carbs. I thought maybe switching over to SB would help with that but I am confused. I am so used to counting carbs, and I don't see where sB gives you a "limit'. Something that says this is your cut off point.

So, if you have been an Atkineer, and have successful switched over to SB ~ please enlighten me.
Thanks!

Hi Sheila...Welcome!!
While I didn't switch, I've helped many who have switched.
I can tell you that the very best way to do it is to do SBD phase I for 2 weeks as this will raise your carb level substantially...
but you will need to get over the carb counting.

The food lists and meal plan charts are available for you to use in the SBD check in thread at the start of it. I highly rcommend that you eat according to the meal plan charts and work at eating snacks also.

Do you have any food intolerances?

All that I know of so far, is really corn. Anything corn ~ popcorn, corn, corn chips, cornmeal.. lol. Probably the HFC that I no longer consume.

Judy, to be honest I am TERRIFIED to switch! I am scared to gain, uhm, scared of tummy distress, just plain skered.

Scared of my tummy bloating, uhm, the list really can go on and on!

Ok...I hear you Sheila....but truth is, most who switch lose weight their first week...just from doing something a little bit different. Your fears will abate as you take a leap of faith and just do this.

Also, most who are now in maintenance don't struggle if they moved past Induction and onto OWL phase of Atkins.

This fear of carbs is what is holds most back from reaching their goals and maintaining well. The CCL is hard to find or figure out so most don't event try.
The reason that many do well on SB is because we don't count carbs and are forced into phase II...there is no lingering in phase I. But best of all, once anyone sees how to manipulate their carbs levels to thier advantage, maintaining gets very easy.
I do this by floating between the phases depending on what the scale is telling me. If I'm up a couple of pounds, I cut back to phase 1.5, which for me is + 1 fruit a day.
But if you never move into the advanced phases, you will never know what to add or cut out...see what I mean?

If you are more comfy counting carbs, why not try to find your CCL on Atkins OWL phase?
But its like the saying coined by Woody Allen about relationships....its like a shark..it has to keep moving forward or it will die.
I see it the same way with low /controlled carb weight loss...we need to keep moving forward, experimenting with carbier foods to find a more complete food plan that we can live with.

Thank you Judy! Your words mean alot, and I will be "thinking" about it... but I will tell you ~ just knowing I could have an apple w/ peanut butter ~ OH MY !LOL It's crazy, because I miss alot of the GOOD kind of carbs ~ but when I have what I call a "carb up day" I don't eat the right things anyway. Crazy. It's a pretty vicious cyle, and I want some balance. It seems like SB has a balance that I am searching for in a way. NOw... on to make the decision and go with it. I guess if I want to just "see" I can do the 2 week Phase 1, and see how my body reacts to that. (I truly would be excited to eat beans again!)

I am going to look over the list, and see if I have enough stuff in the house to possibly switch over tomorrow, if not it may have to wait until the weekend. I just may be asking a ton of silly questions, and get on your ever living nerve!

what would happen if i used 2 TBS of heavy whiipping cream in my coffee ( just for a few days until i can get to the store)?

Sheila - I'm gonna respond real quick. I COMPLETELY understand the scariness - but I think you'll find this a really nice balance between the two. Don't be scared. I switched from Atkins to Jenny Craig and lost 6 lbs. the first week! But I was terrified! You'll have to give up some substantial fat (if you were a high fatter on Atkins) -- but it's such a pleasure to add in fruits and some grains, etc. I wish you well - give it a try and most of all, have patience (I always need to tell myself that)..... Good luck with whatever you choose!

Sheila,

You will certainly need to 'get over' the carb counting when making the switch to SB. I did Atkins Induction for roughly 3 weeks, and while I see now that i wasn't doing it properly, I did make the switch over to South Beach. I am much more satisfied, not hungry and I don't have that "grease running through my veins", bogged down feeling. This is a VERY healthy diet. Without counting, my average daily carbs are anywhere between 40-60 grams and I have lost weight just fine. In fact, I'm into my third week (Sunday will be 3 full weeks), and I've lost 6 pounds - when NOTHING else worked.

Make the switch, I think you'll be very pleased.

I am stilll pondering. As the questions ( and fears) arise, I will come though, and ask away.

If whipped cream in your coffee the only thing you need to start out, then go for it. Just as long as you don't drink it all day long.

Leap of Faith here, Sheila!!!

I switched from Atkins to SB about a month ago.

Let me start off by saying that I do believe that if Atkins is done correctly, that it can be a great diet. But I find that most people, myself included, don't get past Phase 1 or 2. There are 4 phases in Atkins with the last 2 phases having you increase your carbs and lowering your fat intake. And having read the Atkins book twice, I felt there was some incredibly beneficial information that he wrote about, such as Understanding the Importance of Insulin, the Glycemic Index for foods, and how the Dept. of Agriculture had an affect on the food Pyriamid and the American diet.

That being said...I switched from Atkins to South Beach recently for a number of reasons. First, let me say that I will always be on a controlled carb diet/lifestyle. But I struggle with it at times. And on Atkins I found myself either being on Phase 1 Induction or falling off the wagon. There was never an in-between for me. After over 1 1/2 years of doing Atkins, I went from 230 lbs down to 214...but I kept cheating so I gained alot of it back. I just couldn't stick to the program.
So I had to find something that fit my needs. I didn't want to go the stricter route like Palieo. So I was willing to give South Beach a try because there was a little more flexibility and choices. I've always been a vegetable lover and I never felt like I was deprived of vegetables while doing Atkins. But my issue was with missing out on dairy, sweet treats, and nuts/seeds. I struggled with not having yogurt because I had always been told to eat it for the nutritional benefits of Acidophilus and Active Cultures. And in the first phase of South Beach you can have all of those things.

I use to count all my carbs every day. And when I switched to South Beach that was a little ackward for me to give up. I still look at the carb count of things before I purchase them at the store, but I'm not so hung up on just focusing on the carbs. There is so much more to consider like fat content and ingredients. Journaling all of my food really helps too.

I'm enjoying the switch so far. And my weight has dropped. I feel like I can enjoy some of the foods I was missing out on and still lose weight. I have a number of friends who have done SB and have been very successful at it. I will probably never go back to eatting white bread, white rice, white pasta, and pototoes. But I'm enjoying what I'm eatting now and I feel healthier.

This is a journey we are all on and there are many paths to take. Best wishes to you.

Renee, and all - there is some wicked information like this in the South Beach Diet Supercharged book, also. I know that a lot of people don't have a book. I wasn't sure that I was going to buy one in the beginning either, but, now I understand why the "vets" around here always stress the importance of the book. It not only outlines the diet, foods, menus and exercise...but it also EDUCATES you on WHY certain things are good, WHY certain things are bad. Any diet that doesn't EDUCATE you, so that you can be successful for life, is not a diet I would want to be on. So, go ahead! Pick up the book if you haven't already!




I do the same thing. I'll pick something up in the store and immediately check the carbs. I am also constantly reminding myself, now that I'm on SB, to check the fat, sat fat, sodium and INGREDIENTS. This has been tough...to move away from just looking at the carbs. Thanks to Judy, the all wonderful and wise wizzard of this forum , I have finally come to realize that if I'm restricting carbs - and still putting loads of other CRAP into my body, I'm still not doing myself any good. So, I do 'watch' my carb intake, still. If I'm choosing between 2 natural peanut butter jars, I will choose the one with less carbs...but I'm not obsessed with carb content anymore. Ingredients seem to be far more important.



I couldn't have said this better myself. I feel wonderful and hope you will take the leap of faith, Sheila, to come on over to the beach. I know you will feel wonderful too. But, it's a very personal decision and obviously we would all support you in whatever you decide. Best of luck.