Diets & Weight Maintenance Support Group

nothing is easy. and nothing is cheap good quality fresh foods are expensive the good news is since your eating less the cost evens out.

I do find wants I got a grip on the idea that I wasn't going to starve to death, my grocery bill dropped. Your not buying as much so it comes out cheaper.

Your getting bad info on the SBD. You can have milk fruits and veggies. All dairy is low fat. Fruit only in phase two as long as you not having cravings. In the early days of the SBD you could not have a protein bar. Dr A said there was not any that fit the SBD until he came out with his own. The SBD is influenced by the Mediterranean Diet which is the diet I follow. There is a few differences in there is no phases in the Mediterranean Diet. Rather than just limiting meats to lean meats we limit all red meat to just once a month and even limit chicken to weekly. Fish is a few times a week. Because a lot of my meals are meat free it is cheaper for me. I know it is one of the Healthiest Diets you can be on. It has all the heart benifitts plus lower cancer and a 40% lower risk of Alzheimer's disease and jut over all longer life. It is not a fad diet and there is years of research behind it.

Think about your lifestyle change for your health for the rest of your life. Just make small changes toward a goal in a way you want to eat. It is about calories no matter what you eat when it comes to losing weight. Then what you eat will determine your health. Nobody makes these changes overnight.

Dear Dana,

You can eat whatever you want, but portions MUST be cut down to lose weight. Instead of eating an entire bag of chips, eat a "serving" size portion.

Most poeple find this difficult to do. For me, I avoid fats as much as possible since fat has the most concentrated calories. I avoid fast food like the plauge. I usually eat low-fat or no-fat equivalence of the foods I use to eat. For example, all dairy product are no-fat and milk is skim. I eat much less meat than I use to eat.

The only other way to burn fat is to exercise or take "diet pillls." You cannot possibly burn enough calories by exercise alone, unless you are a professional athlete. Diet pills take many forms from stimulants to fat-absortive types like Alli. The latter types work best if you have a fat rich diet. Each type of diet pill comes with its own set of risks. In moderation, they are OK, but you must cut calories along with them.

The best thing that works for me is to cut portions, avoid fat and added sugers, and eat "fibrous" foods like whole grains and vegetables.

Good luck,
Wayne-

I went on the South Beach Diet with my parents back when it first came out. I was in high school and started it not too long before prom. It was great... I lost 13 pounds in only 2 weeks. Of course, I coudn't drink milk, eat yogurt, cereal, fruit, etc. I pretty much survived on lean chicken breast and lettuce. I also noticed that I got tired more often and couldn't keep up in gym class.

As soon as prom was over I was fed up and has SERIOUS carb cravings. So I started added croutons to my salads (heaven forbid) and suddenly, I gained 20 pounds! I do NOT reccomend this diet to anyone. I'm still searching for the perfect weight loss program, but I know that South Beach is definitly NOT the one.

Eliminate HFCS, MSG, bleached flour, bleached sugar, aspartame, and Splenda. Eat unprocessed food, like raw fruits and vegetables. By doing this, you will crave less.

I would say Weight Watchers, Cause it's designed to not make you change your life. Doesn't put you on a "diet" changes how you eat, not necessarily what you eat...