South Beach Diet. Anybody tried it?

Hi everyone. I need some feedback. I have been trying to lose weight for quite sometime now. I tried weight watchers for awhile, but only lost a few pounds. I have recently joined an aerobics club and go to classes an hour a day, about five times a week. The exercise has felt great, but I'm not acheiving the weight loss yet. So, I started the South Beach diet 3 days ago. I am in the strict phase 1 part and am doing fine. I have already lost a few pounds. Has anyone here tried this diet? If so, how did you like it? And, are you able to keep the weight off in the maintanance stage? I would love advice! Thanks!

Arianne

Is South Beach a low carb diet? If so I have cut carbs very low and have lost tons of weight. I have never lost weight so easily. I have noticed if I eat more carbs than I need to I don't feel great, meaning energy wise. Now, when I think I'm tempted to eat carbs, I just asked myself ........how do you want to feel afterwards?? Maintaing a low carb diet is a medical condition for me but I wished I had done this a long time ago.

Good luck with your dieting.

Dee

Just a warning about low carb diets - don't use it if you're a woman either trying to get pregnant or going through menopause. When you don't get enough carbs, your body starts producing less progesterone, which is bad in both those situations. So far, studies about this have only been done on mice, but the experience of my mother (going through menopause and Atkins at the same time) confirms this - while on Atkins, she had way more hot flashes as well as other unfavorable symptoms. Many doctors believe that overall women should be much more careful about Atkins than men.

My mother seems to now really like the LA diet - it's basically like Jenny Craig except you don't have to buy their food but make you own - saves a ton of money.

That's probably the only diet I never tried. Heaven knows I tried everything else, lost 10 lbs. then gained it back and then some. And I was working with a trainer and lost about 2 lbs. Long story short, I finally decided that the SHUT YOUR MOUTH diet was the best option: eat less crap, switch to whole grains, eat smaller portions, avoid eating a lot of processed foods, drink a lot of water, add a TINY treat or two daily as a reward, work out every day. I lost about 43 lbs. totally on my own, went from busting out of size 14 to looking great in a size 6 (size 7 Juniors). I decided to be really honest with myself and asked myself daily if I truly did everything I could to live a healthy lifestyle and lose weight, and the pounds flew off in a few months.

RealtorGal said:

decided to be really honest with myself and asked myself daily if I truly did everything I could to live a healthy lifestyle and lose weight, and the pounds flew off in a few months.

Click to expand...

RealtorGal, that is just wonderful. I really think there is something to what you said about really being honest. Since I have cut my carbs down I feel so much better, I look at some foods in disgust. I hope I can keep it up. One of the men I work with must weigh 350 lbs or more. It's interesting that I find him at the vending machine buying candy and pastries. I have learned how to cook low carb too and I really feel so much better. I know when I was eating lots of carbs, it seemed like I had to keep eating them. I would actually crave them. I have had so much will power over the last 6 months. When I feel weak, I just look at donuts with big fat juicy green worms crawling all over the.

Dee

To be honest, I had a health scare (gallbladder removal) a few months ago, and it scared me into straightening myself out. I got to thinking what else could happen to me healthwise if I didn't change my ways. True, there are no guarantees that nothing else could happen, but I am determined to stack the odds in my favor. The most rewarding thing was hearing my daughter (age 11) tell me how proud she is of me! Nothing can beat that!

Honestly, when I look at "before" and "after" photos, I just cannot believe it's me! If you saw them, you wouldn't believe how much difference can happen in just a few short months with determination and desire. I'm turning 45 very soon and I don't mind at all! I've got a cute red bikini all ready for beach season!

My college roommate lost 50 pounds on South Beach. I don't recall how long she was doing it, but she also had a lot of family stress during the time period, too.

Another thing I suggest is moderating the exercise. It's an important part of the program, but you want to exercise at a level you can maintain. If you are excercising 5 hours a week and later cut back, you might see some of the weight come back. It's also important to include weight training in your program since that's what realy tones the muscles aerobics alone is not enough.

I resumed aerobics with weights at the beginning of March and lost a couple of pounds. Unfortunately, I had to skip the week before my vacation due to having to get something important done before, then one week of vacation (which conincided with the class being on spring break) and now I'm home, but sick. Just that month of excercise had me feeling good and now I'm starting to miss it. When it gets nice out, I'll walk the golf course as my 3rd day of aerobic activitiy.

I finally decided that the SHUT YOUR MOUTH diet was the best option: eat less crap, switch to whole grains, eat smaller portions, avoid eating a lot of processed foods, drink a lot of water, add a TINY treat or two daily as a reward, work out every day.

Click to expand...

RealtorGal well said!

You have to burn more calories then you consume, other wise it will be stored as fat. Good eating, exercise, and weight training are the three things that we all should be doing to be healthy.

dlkksk8fan said:

Good eating, exercise, and weight training are the three things that we all should be doing to be healthy.

Click to expand...

Weight training is especially important for women 40+, when our calcium levels begin to become reduced, putting our bones at risk for osteoporosis, breakage, etc.

Strength training is just as important for women as it is for men. With a regular strength training program, you can reduce your body fat, increase your lean muscle mass and help your body burn calories more efficiently.

Benefits of strength training: Stronger, leaner and healthier
Besides the obvious — that you'll become stronger — strength training has many positive side effects. With regular strength training, you can:

Develop strong bones. Strength training increases bone density and decreases your risk of osteoporosis. When bone is stressed appropriately through muscle movement, it gets stronger.

Control your body fat. As you lose muscle, your body becomes less efficient at burning calories, which can result in weight gain. The more muscle mass you have, the more quickly and efficiently your body burns calories. This makes it easier for you to control your weight.

Reduce your risk of injury. Building muscle protects your joints from injury during aerobic exercise and normal daily activity. For instance, strength training exercises to work your core — the muscles in your back and abdomen — help protect your lower back and keep it healthy.

Improve your sense of well-being. Strength training may give you more self-confidence and improve your overall body image.

Get a better night's sleep. When you exercise on a regular basis, you can improve the quality of your sleep.

If you don't use your muscles, you can lose them. Muscle mass diminishes with age, and your muscles can shrink if they're not used. Especially important for older women, strength training decreases your risk of falls and increases your stability. This may help you maintain your independence — reason enough to begin a strength training program.

I have no choice, I have to do strength training because I have osteoporosis and I am only 46 yrs old.

RealtorGal is absolutely correct.
What you really mean by 'losing weight' is actually 'losing fat' (muscles actually weigh more than fat...) or 'body shaping'.
Switching to a healthy diet, meaning carrots instead of doughnuts, grilled chicken breast (no sauce) instead of pizza, and much smaller portions (stop eating the minute you are full, most people don't....) will stop you from 'supersizing' yourself.
Aerobic exercise, like swimming, running, bike riding, even skating, will burn off the pounds you have collected over the years, moderate amounts of anaerobic exercise (weight training) will help shape the muscles hidden under all those pounds....

dlkksk8fan said:

Strength training is just as important for women as it is for men. With a regular strength training program, you can reduce your body fat, increase your lean muscle mass and help your body burn calories more efficiently..

Click to expand...

Is there a site that you could recommend that goes into more detail about this??


Dee

I did join an aerobics class a few weeks ago. I go about five times a week and it feels great. Unfortunately I didn't lose any weight (at least yet!) and I started to get discouraged. I am sticking with it though and think I will have to see results some time soon!

Dee-
there is a lot of good info out there on strength training. Check out books on the subject or search the internet. It is one of the best things that we can do especially as we get older. Here is some more info that I found on the internet:

Strength Training Adds Bone Mass
Until recently, it was thought that after the age of 30, exercise could only reduce the rate of bone loss. However, the latest research performed at the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University indicates that strength training at any age can actually add bone, not just slow its loss. Strength training works by applying a force to the bone that creates a stimulus for new bone formation.

In the study, women aged 50 to 70 strength trained twice a week for a year at which time the bone density of their hips and spine was measured. They added about 1%, while the sedentary group had lost about 2.5% bone density. As might be expected, the exercisers also significantly increased their muscle strength.

Strength training can be done anywhere using equipment as simple as dumbbells, rubber tubing and even your own body weight. The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) currently recommends strength-training exercise be a component of a well-rounded program for all healthy adults. The ACSM’s recommendation is to perform 8-10 exercises 2-3 times a week, with at least one day of rest between training. One set of 8-12 repetitions per exercise is recommended for general strength training benefits for people under age 50, which will take about 30 minutes to perform. One set of 10-15 reps (more reps performed at a decreased intensity) is recommended for people over 50 or for those with arthritis, previous injuries, or high blood pressure .(If you have any medical condition get your physician's approval before starting a strength training program.)

Remember, building strong bones, especially before the age of 20, can be the best defense against developing osteoporosis and that a healthy lifestyle can be critically important for keeping bones strong. Whatever your age, you need to make deposits into your health savings account today in order to prevent osteoporosis later in life and enjoy an active, physically independent lifestyle.

Never tried it. I read the book and go scared No carbs? I don't think so! All that mean? I REALLY don't think so!

Dlkk, thanks so much for taking the time to elaborate with all that excellent information.

dancindiva03 said:

Never tried it. I read the book and go scared No carbs? I don't think so! All that mean? I REALLY don't think so!

Click to expand...

Yeah I dn't wanna try it also even though lot's of people tried and wanted to try it! But for me I know what can make my self satisfied with my own natural way!

I like this site: http://www.shape.com I do strength training mainly because I dislocate very easily. I use rubber bands because I needed something small and lightweight that I could take with me to Hungary.

Arianne said:

I did join an aerobics class a few weeks ago. I go about five times a week and it feels great. Unfortunately I didn't lose any weight (at least yet!) and I started to get discouraged. I am sticking with it though and think I will have to see results some time soon!

Click to expand...

As another person mentioned, it is really that you wish to change fat to muscle. Perhaps that is what is happening now! After your muscles develop, then perhaps the pounds will drop too.

As another person mentioned, it is really that you wish to change fat to muscle.

Click to expand...

You cannot change fat to muscle. You can reduce fat and increase muscle mass, but never does fat turn into muscle.