I am doing SB phase one but I don't agree with the reduced fat concept. So I am combining SB and Atkins principles. Is anyone else doing this? So mainly I am eating the foods allowed on SB phase one but ignoring the reduced fat component..I will be eating butter, and higher fat dairy and meats. Just wondering if anyone else is doing this. Also increasing my sea salt intake.

Hi,
I kinda do that but need to watch my total intake in calories so when I eat greek yogurt, I do eat the 2% or 0% fat variety. I do use a small amount of butter too.
I use sea salt and lite salts.....but I use very small amounts of them.
At your current weight, total calories will probably be meaningful to your weight loss efforts too.

Hope this helps!

I was very interested in both the question and Judy's response. The original book had words like "butter" and "bacon", and unless you'd been specifically told by your doctor not to at egg yolks, whole eggs were fine. I don't remember beans being stressed. Now it's all beans and turkey bacon.

I'm still trying to find a plan that works for me -- or that I can stick to -- and have been rereading South Beach books again. Turkey bacon and ground poultry isn't appealing to me, and beans, while good for digestion and potassium levels, are high in carbs. As for salt, I noticed that Atkins is now saying to have two 1/2 tsps of salt or cups of chicken or beef broth a day.

I was just about to relaunch another try at SB, based on the first book when, I saw mudley's post. (I have to say that one of the reasons I've been starting and restarting is that aren't a lot of Beachers around. Isn't that childish?

I'm still here and am willing to help and support!
I think that what SB gives us is portion control on calorie dense foods. That's what I've taken away from it. If you prefer real bacon and limit it to 2 slices d ay, why not? Ground poultry doesn't have to be your thing....lean grd beef is good too. I do eat a lot of fish....the fatty ones too like salmon. I happen to like chicken breasts and cook up 2 lbs regularly to keep handy for a fast mean or snack.
As for the beans, they are limited to 2 servings daily...1/3-1/2 cup is a serving. While I don't eat a lot of beans, I do enjoy hummus as one of my favorite snacks with raw veggies as a dip.

Questions? I'm happy to answer!!

I know Judy has answered your question but thought I'd weigh in also.

What I like about S\B is making choices that will work with my life style.
I personally use real butter, the salad dressing that I like which usually is full fat ones. But with that said I try and use 1/2 of the serving size. For salad dressing use 1 T, and limit the butter intake also.
This is personal choice for me as I don't like the taste of some things.

Hope you can find your balance.

Basically what I am doing is a blend of a lot of different low and monitored carb diets. I am following SB phase I right now, without the low-fat component. I am actually eating higher fat than normally (Paleo or Atkins diet), and at the end of the 2 weeks I'll be switching to the Phase II menu, adding in small amounts of fruit and small amounts of whole grain. At the same time, I will be following the guidelines of the Insulin Resistance diet, which is not so much about WHAT you eat as it is about balancing carbs/proteins in a two hour period. I had a lot of success on that diet, but felt I needed to kick start and get completely off carbs with this diet first. So, after another week I will be adding back in some carbs, but I will be linking them with protein and making sure I do not eat more than 15 grams of carbs at a time for a while.

Anyway, that is my plan. More complicated than following one simple plan, but I think this will work for me.

Judy, you have been wonderful about sticking around and being helpful! Skippie and Mudley, thank you for giving me the courage to tweak You're right. The point isn't following a plan to the letter, but working to find something that works for you. I'm working to adjust to that

The last time I did SB, I got incredibly moody. I think it's because I dropped my fat too low. I am restarting tomorrow, and I am going to moderate fat intake, but not go quite as low as suggested. I am not saying this is something everyone should do, but it's my experience with the plan.

I'd go on more of a low carb/high fat plan, but we're trying to save money. Normally, I buy organic/free range/higher welfare meat, but we've not been able to swing it. Rather than buy stuff I'd feel bad about eating, I have been eating mostly pescatarian for a while (and that's where I've been. Eating slightly carbier pescatarian/vegetarian stuff). Since I avoid soy most of the time, most of the other vegetarian based LC plans are out of the question for me.

I like your decision!
Can I help you in any way with this adaption?

Nope. Other than accidentally buying the wrong peanut butter (PB here generally doesn't have sugar in it, but I picked up a tub of Skippy at Costco forgetting that most American PB has sugar in it), it's been going okay. Another modification I am making is that I am going to be eating the lower carb Quorn products (such as the deli slices and mince). I can't eat too much soy because of a history of breast cancer in my family (including my sister). I am not sure if it would be included or not in the SB plan if Quorn was more popular in the States. It's a good source of protein, low in fat, and I like it. It's not carb free, and I think even the lowest carb ones have small amounts of things like barley or pea fibre in them, but I want to have another option for protein.

OK! I wish you great success!

With the grain ingredients in quorn, will you count it as a phase II starch in additon to protein?

Very interested in this thread and the original post because I've been wondering about SB and fat. I had great success on SB recently, lost 20lbs (a miracle for me) and then got all gung-ho about low carb generally. I broke a 6 week stall by adding fat (learned from a thread on this website) and was amazed by it. So....I went searching for all the articles and information I could lay my hands on about every lc plan I could find. The result: I'm utterly confused!

All that confusion and mixing and matching showed up this morning in a 2lb weight gain - the first actual gain since I started lc. I've read enough great advice on this website to know it's not necessary to panic. Therefore I am NOT going to give in to my first instinct which was to just stop eating altogether for a day or two (old habits stay to haunt us, sigh). But it has made me resolve to go back to where I was having success, SB, and start again - albeit 18lbs lighter this time, yea! Judy's journey and willingness to help others is tremendously inspirational to me, so at the risk of sounding like a Judy groupie, if she is adding fat to SB but watching the numbers, then I'm going to give that a try too.

Has anybody else gone off the deep end with mixing and matching lc plans and ended up gaining weight? What did you do to turn it around and start losing again?

Hi,
If you can post a few days of your food, I can help you figure it out.

'Judy groupie' I like that!

Hey, thanks! I want to be accurate so I'll have to check the handwritten log I keep at home when I get in tonight and then I'll post. Not quite savvy enough to do a journal/P.L.A.N. on line yet but I'll get there eventually.

Judy: Here are a few days from my food log prior to the 2lb weight gain. I'm 62 so TOM isn't an issue. I walk about an hour every day; lift weights every other day; drink tons of water all day long. According to my food log I was "very very tired" during this time, whereas I usually have good energy. Your insights are appreciated!
Sunday
Breakfast: Omelet (2 large eggs) cooked in coconut oil
1non-fat Greek yogurt
1 cup decaf coffee with heavy cream
Lunch: 6oz Cod sauted in coconut oil
1 cup each steamed broccoli/cauliflower w/ melted cheddar cheese on top
2 squares 90% chocolate
2 oz raspberries
1oz walnuts
Evening: Cup of homemade vegetable soup
2 decaf coffees with heavy cream
Monday
Breakfast: 1 cup half-caf with heavy cream
1 cup decaf with heavy cream (no time for breakfast)
Lunch: 3oz baked Cuttlefish
½ cup sauted vegetables
1.5 glasses of wine
Dinner: 3 slices bacon
2 large eggs fried in the bacon fat
6oz glass of almond milk
1 square 90% chocolate
1 string cheese
10 walnuts (apprx.)
Tuesday
Breakfast: 1 large egg, hard-boiled
1 cup half-caf with heavy cream
1 cup decaf with heavy cream
Snack: 1 large egg, hard-boiled
1 string cheese
3 or 4 strawberries
Lunch: 4 slices roast beef
1 cup grilled vegetables
1 non-fat Greek yogurt
3 or 4 strawberries
Snack: 1 string cheese
Dinner: 2 slices bacon
2 cups steamed cauliflower with melted cheddar cheese
mixed green salad with shredded cheddar cheese topping
Wednesday
Breakfast: 2 large eggs and 2 slices bacon
Lunch: 4oz hummus and 2 cups celery
Snack: 1 non-fat Greek yogurt
Dinner: 2 lamb chops
2 cups salad with shredded cheddar cheese
2 squares 90% chocolate
10 walnuts
Snack: 2 slices of bacon