Success Stories of the South Beach Diet: Phase 1 Experience & Tips"

[ginamkiely]

Has anyone here been successful with the South Beach Diet? I'm on my 3rd day in Phase 1 and already i'm bored. I don't care for eggs for breakfast (especially without ketchup) and i'm wondering what I got myself into.

Anyone else out there?

Thanks

 

[Jenelle]

I have not done South Beach, but have done low carb (no more than 30 per day) since April. I have lost almost 20 pounds since then. I think breakfast is the hardest meal on low carb. My husband and I usually try to do omelets. IE: 3 eggs, ham lunch meat chopped, mushroom, onion, green pepper, and cheese. Also, bacon or sausage links. It is really hard in the beginning, but now that I've been doing it for so long, I don't miss the old things like cereal. Now taht I'm almost down to my goal weight, I also enjoy Fiber One and I believe it is Special K Protein Plus with very little milk.

 

[Chef Kearns]

Oh man what am I missing?!! I would love to have the omelet you make for breakfast!! That sounds delicious!! My trouble is cooking for myself. Once I feed the kids and get them off to school then I do my breakfast. By that time I'm so hungry I just grab a box of cereal or worse (i will DRIVE to pick up breakfast tacos...my weakness).

I really need to lose weight! It sucks to go new doctors and have them tell you over and over that your weight is killing you (I don't have any weight related health issues, yet). I KNOW THAT!! I wish I could take a skinny pill. I didn't notice the weight coming on, but there it is! I'm trying, but I'm weak!

I might have to give the South Beach diet a try. Sounds good.

 

[ChefBeckyD]

I did the South Beach diet.....it didn't work well for me, but I have found out recently that is because of some other health issues that were going on, that were actually keeping me from losing weight......
Anyway, I LOVE eggs, but I had a hard time too with them every single day. I loved them best w. sauteed mushrooms, onions, garlic, and spinach.....but another thing that I found worked well for me was Leftovers! :love: I love leftovers for breakfast - so meat and veggies from the night before seemed to work well for me!:thumbup:
I still eat leftovers for breakfast.

 

[heat123]

I have done it before and lost 18lbs from it. I think my body plateaued though after doing phase 1 for like 2 months straight. I should try it again but do phase 2 and 3 and see how it works for me? Good luck, keep at it, it will work if you stick to i!

 

[Sherry Leigh]

I have recently fallen off the wagon, but South Beach is the only diet that has ever worked for me. It can be boring for the first week (phase 1) but hang in there, it will stop your cravings and get much easier!

 

[jenniferp417]

Heather, you did Phase 1 for two months? I can't imagine doing that!

My brother and sister-in-law are very happy with South Beach.

I follow Weight Watchers and prefer it, but the most important thing is finding a good diet that works for you.

 

[Tara1021]

Lost 60 lbs on South Beach. The first 14 days were agony, but i have really made a change. I don't buy white bread, pasta or rice anymore. Whole wheat only. I got tired of the eggs and would eat lunchmeat/cheese roll ups for breakfast.

 

[ljeffries]

Hang in there! I did South Beach and after about the first 2 weeks, it was great! The bad thing with the diet is that if you stop the weight will come back! The South Beach recipes are great - I make the Hummus all the time!

 

[tpchefrebecca]

I loved it but felt guilty if I didn't make fun stuff for the kids and I don't like to cook two meals in one sitting. However, it is a lifestyle. When you start you need to remember this is how you are going to eat for the rest of your life to keep the weight off. My MIL lost 40 lbs and went from a size 14 to 4! It has been 3 years and she looks great! She still eats her 1 cookie a day but allows little carbs in her diet.

Good luck!

 

[yummy4tummy]

My sister is on it now and has lost a total of 31 lbs...Her Hubby was on it with her and only made it 3 days into Phase 2, couldn't handle it but jumped to phase 3. I bought the book at a yard sale (hey, saved $14.70 LOL) and my DH is looking into it now. When I found out that you had to give up fresh fruit for 2 wks, I knew that I couldn't do that during the summer. Love my summer fruits!

 

[ginamkiely]

it's not so bad i just wish there was a few more options for phase 1.

every morning: 2 eggs, some shredded cheddar cheese
lunch: sandwich steaks with asparagus and grilled eggplant (i love that i can make all three of these things in the grill pan at one time.) and a salad
dinner: either 30 min chicken, grilled chicken or lentil soup.

any ideas for some new foods would be greatly appreciated.
p.s. i'm a bit of a picky eater! lol

 

[lisaterwilliger]

I am actually on day 4! haha! I have always done this diet when I have an important event coming up like a wedding (bridesmaid next Saturday) or have to wear a certain outfit for something. I really like the eggs part cuz I LOVE eggs! I also love the sugar free fudgesicles part! I've always thought that the 1st 2 days are the hardest but once you get past that its pretty smooth sailing. I eat a lot of veggies and turkey bacon, turkey dogs, and discovered turkey sausage..its turkey so it works right? I also really like the ricotta cheese dessert option..in fact I just ate the lemon one! Good luck w/ the rest of phase 1! Once next Saturday is over I'm probably done w/ the SB diet until May when I'm in another wedding!

 

[pcmissyfee]

Try this for breakfastDH & I did South Beach for a couple of months and I lost 22 lbs, he lost 30. When we were doing it, I googled for SB Phase I recipes and found this one :love: . http://www.recipezaar.com/128320 I was addicted to it for weeks, but instead of waffles I made pancakes. I usually ate the whole batch myself, but DS decided he liked them too, so I had to share (or make a double batch):blushing:. We ate them with sugar free syrup or sugar free jam. I also used Korintje cinnamon in them too. :thumbup:

 

[ginamkiely]

I am actually on day 4! haha! I have always done this diet when I have an important event coming up like a wedding (bridesmaid next Saturday) or have to wear a certain outfit for something. I really like the eggs part cuz I LOVE eggs! I also love the sugar free fudgesicles part! I've always thought that the 1st 2 days are the hardest but once you get past that its pretty smooth sailing. I eat a lot of veggies and turkey bacon, turkey dogs, and discovered turkey sausage..its turkey so it works right? I also really like the ricotta cheese dessert option..in fact I just ate the lemon one! Good luck w/ the rest of phase 1! Once next Saturday is over I'm probably done w/ the SB diet until May when I'm in another wedding!

i have a wedding coming up too that's why i started. too funny. i love the fudgesicles too. lol.

 

[ginamkiely]

DH & I did South Beach for a couple of months and I lost 22 lbs, he lost 30. When we were doing it, I googled for SB Phase I recipes and found this one :love: . http://www.recipezaar.com/128320 I was addicted to it for weeks, but instead of waffles I made pancakes. I usually ate the whole batch myself, but DS decided he liked them too, so I had to share (or make a double batch):blushing:. We ate them with sugar free syrup or sugar free jam. I also used Korintje cinnamon in them too. :thumbup:

thanks for the recipe!!! i just printed it out and i'm going to try it tomorrow. i'm desperate for new breakfast! thanks so much! I LOVE THIS WEBSITE!

 

[pcmissyfee]

Let me know how you like it.

 

[TwinGirlsMom]

I do South Beach on and off throughout the year as a cleanse and I love it!
The first time I did it after I had my twins I lost 8 lbs in the first WEEK and by the end of 2 months I had lost 20 lbs.
I ate 2 hard-boiled eggs for breakfast with salt & pepper; lunch consisted of a salad with fat-free raspberry vinagraitte topped with imitation krab. I seem to be a creature of habit, I noticed, so it was easy for me to fall into a routine with breakfast and lunch. Don't forget your 2 snacks that will keep your metabolism up! I kept nuts and string cheese on hand as my snacks in between b/l and l/d. Good luck! :thumbup:

 

[heat123]

I do South Beach on and off throughout the year as a cleanse and I love it!
The first time I did it after I had my twins I lost 8 lbs in the first WEEK and by the end of 2 months I had lost 20 lbs.
I ate 2 hard-boiled eggs for breakfast with salt & pepper; lunch consisted of a salad with fat-free raspberry vinagraitte topped with imitation krab. I seem to be a creature of habit, I noticed, so it was easy for me to fall into a routine with breakfast and lunch. Don't forget your 2 snacks that will keep your metabolism up! I kept nuts and string cheese on hand as my snacks in between b/l and l/d. Good luck! :thumbup:

You sound like me and not minding the scrambled eggs every day and my nuts and cheese for snacks. And I LOVED the ricotta cheese dessert, it reminded me of cheese cake!

 

[ginamkiely]

ok i need to know what is the ricotta cheese dessert? i want some now!! lol

 

[tpchefrebecca]

OOOHHHH! Now I am itching to go back on it since seeing you all doing so well. I am going to dig out my book and start reading it again. Maybe if I actually try some of the recipes in it for kid friendly versions where I can give them pasta but I have the salad then that might work. I don't own a scale but have tight fitting jeans that use to fit in Feb. so that will have be my scale for now

 

[pcmissyfee]

I really like the whole grain pasta, which you can have if you are doing phase 2 or phase 3. My youngest likes the whole grain pasta and if you use sauce (but look for a low sugar one) you cannot tell. My oldest doesn't like the whole grain, but he also doesn't like sauce on his, only butter and parm cheese.

 

[smarteez2]

I have tried so many different diets...And it has finally come down to this for me. I just do calories now. Period, plus I power walk for about 1 hour every other day and in between do band and ball exercises. A sample of my daily diet includes the following: 1 serving of oat meal or cream o wheat with fresh fruit, about 1 cup. Then 3 hours later I will have a 100 cal snack. Then 3 hours later I will have a 300 cal. lunch with fresh salad, 3 hours later 100 cal snack then 3 hours 300 cal. dinner with fresh salad, the 3 hours later 100 cal snack. It comes down to eating 6 times a day and exercise for me. I have lost 10 lbs in 3 weeks doing that and It is so much easier than anything I have ever done, i.e, Atkins, SB, 6WBM, etc. Good luck in your weight loss venture. )

 

[itsjustCarla]

I did low carb....a combo between Atkins and South Beach for several months. I lost 35 lbs. and felt/looked GREAT, but it just got soooo hard with my kids. Trying to find meals that they WOULD eat or just getting tired of making 2 meals, one for me and one for them. There are TONS of really good low carb recipes out there, just keep looking and experimenting. I found a "fried rice" recipe made out of cauliflower that was AMAZING. To this day, if my youngest even hears the word "cauliflower" he will NOT eat whatever it is I'm making. LOL. I created my own cheesy cauliflower soup - he LOVED it and when the other kids told him it was cauliflower, he refused to eat it anymore. Still won't. LOL.

 

[TwinGirlsMom]

ok i need to know what is the ricotta cheese dessert? i want some now!! lol

If you have the South Beach book, the recipe should be in there. I also love the Savory Chicken recipe. I tried most of them and they are very good. I also tried my best to cook a variety of meats for throughout the week; for example, Mon--chicken, Tues--steak, Wed--salmon, Thurs, ground turkey, Fri--ground beef. Inevitably though, I had chicken 2 or 3 times a week because I craved the protein.

 

[TwinGirlsMom]

I really like the whole grain pasta, which you can have if you are doing phase 2 or phase 3. My youngest likes the whole grain pasta and if you use sauce (but look for a low sugar one) you cannot tell. My oldest doesn't like the whole grain, but he also doesn't like sauce on his, only butter and parm cheese.

I love the whole grain pasta too, but DH didn't care for it. He still ate it, though.
I also cooked cous-cous quite a bit as a healthy alternative to carbs.