Heres a link to a new diet that's getting a lot of publicity lately. It is not a low-carb Atkins type diet, but people are confusing it with Atkins. It's focus is on "rebooting" the body's fat point and eating properly. Not to many food restrictions.

http://weightloss.about.com/cs/diets/a/aa060403a.htm

Welp, I lost eight pounds in my first two weeks (Phase 1) of the South Beach Diet. I think the biggest benefit of this diet is that it *teaches* you how to choose good food/ingredients from the bad stuff. It also emphasizes the importance of cutting down on sugars and increasing fiber in your diet (to slow down the metabolism of sugars). This diet was developed by a cardiologist (who's still alive, even), which gives it more credibitily.

A few surprising details make this an interesting diet...such as: Eggs are okay (contains good and bad cholesterol), so therefore mayohaise is okay as well -- as long as it is NOT low-fat mayonnaise. Ketchup is NO GOOD for you (too much sugar), as is most baked goods that are made with white flour (no fiber).

Recipes are pretty tasty, too. My favorite breakfast recipe is the Goat Cheese Omelette. And mahimahi for dinner is excellent (I make my own Furukaki Mahimahi -- Coat the mahimahi slab with a mixture of mayhonnaise, wasabi, and minced onions; sprinkle furukaki on it; and broil until done. VERY TASTY!)

But, yes, you need to make sure you develop a healthy lifestyle -- forget about McDonalds and other fatty convenience places!

Given that I put on a good 20 pounds in the last year (mostly due the 100s of Singhaaaas), I've begun SB. Not as a "diet" per se', but incorporating the tenets into my daily life and eating choices. I am adhering to phase 1, as I am a firm believer in detoxification stemming from my college days.

Results so far, 3 days in phase one-- 2.5 pounds gone. Feel pretty good too as a bonus. The hard part for me in phase 1, I love my pizza--arggg !!

You should go whole hog and try the Atkins diet. I grew up on pasta, potato and bread. Pizza was a regular part of my diet. I craved all of these on a regular basis. After cutting out the carbs for a few weeks, all cravings vanished. Carbs are really addictive, but you can beat it.

I'm on S.B because the tenets align with my understanding of nutrition and biology. I'm not looking for a weight loss panecia-- I'm looking to improve my awareness of what I eat, the impact of doing so, and make a consious choice thereafter. In short it is more of a lifestyle choice.


With that said, I PERSONALLY don't buy into Atkins unless it is for relatively brief amounts of time, BUT I have many friends who swear by it and have seen great results.

LOL, doesn't my philosophy ring a bell (think scorecard)...

awareness, the impact/risk, consious choice (cost vs. benefit).

If you really want to improve your awareness, you owe it to yourself to check out the paleolithic diet (a.k.a. neandethin). Once you learn how we really should be eating (i.e. the way we did in our prehistoric past), it puts a whole lot of thing into perspective.

thanks for the link-- I'm enjoying it now

I haven't done a rigorous side by side comparison, but other than the initial stage of Atkins (which you are only obliged under the diet to be on for 2 weeks) I suspect the Atkins diet in the later stages is able to morph into the South Beach diet. This is not to say that it automatically does (e.g., if you decide to eat alot of saturated fats, which the South Beach diet discourages) but I suspect if one takes into account the tenets of both diets, one can eat in a manner that satisfies both simultaneously, or, at least, nearly does. And it should be added, Atkins actually encourages eating certain fruits (but not in the induction stage) such as blueberries (and I suspect tomatoes, although I haven't gone back and checked this, i.e., tomatoes, specifically). Because both diets seem centered on prevention of blood sugar spikes both need to be sensitive to what new research reveals on this subject and therefore will need to be modified as new research dictates; I believe Atkins has recently seen some revisions as a result of new research.

(Message edited by LAguy on May 11, 2005)

While South Beach's popularity may have faded somewhat, I wanted to circle back and provide a 5 year update.

For the last 5 years, I have remained on it for the most part in terms of weaving the tenets into my overall lifestyle. That and a decent dose of mainly cardio workouts (some p90x type stuff, running, muay thai) has resulted in 20+ pounds that remained off since most of y'all saw me last. I think it is safe to say, I wasn't considered large before either.

In terms of other metrics:

2005 blood pressure - 128/80
2010 blood pressure - 108/68
pulse/bpm - 2005 - low-mid 70s
pulse/bpm - 2010 - low 60s


It's really not rocket science; eat good food spread out thru the day, cut out the junk (fats/sugars/bad cards), and work out an hour or so a day. Forget about the program names and fine details. It will work if you do the work.

DM,

nice stats, keep up the good work! Discipline is all that's required

CFK