Atkins and South beach

Hello everyone! I posted this before but I guess it never showed. It's not in my forum posts. I'm curious what diet is working for every one? I'm thinking I want to try Atkins or South Beach but not exactly sure how they work. I looked Atkins up on web md and it sounds like something that will work great for me since it seems I eat mostly carbs and all my fat is mostly in the belly area. Any info you all have about what works for you and these two diets in particular would really help me out. Thanks!

the 17 Day diet is awesome...you will see good results as soon as day 2 if you follow it correctly. You don't starve on this diet and you eat lots of good for you foods. You can only buy the book online to be able to follow the diet but it's fairly cheap (I think I paid about $15 for it). Good Luck

I'm not sure why you'd want to choose Atkins, if you mostly eat carbs. Wouldn't this make you have to work even harder on your weight loss journey? In my opinion, the optimal weight loss journey is one that you can do with as little effort as possible, thus making it easier on your self and more accomplishable.
For me, it was calorie counting. For you, it might be something else. It might be atkins. I hope you find your journey.

like most things, dieting isn't "one size fits all." it can be trial & error to find what works for you.

I did Weight Watchers for several years & it didn't work for me. I was hungry all the time & had no energy. but I know people who did awesome on it & lost tons of weight.

Atkins has worked for me. I haven't missed the carbs. the added benefits of eliminating the processed foods has been as good as the lost weight. more energy, I'm not hungry, my sense of smell is better, the horrible dermatitis I had on my hands is gone, no more heartburn. I think between the sugar & the ultra-processed foods (anything that comes in a bag or box), was poisoning me. now that is gone from my body, I feel so much better.

so try one & see if it works for you. if it doesn't, try the other. you CAN do this. there are lots of great people here who'll encourage & help you along this journey.

good luck!

I had the opposite effect on Atkins as LightMage, Eventually, I had no energy and felt sick and weak all the time. Walking for exercise was impossible. Probably issues with ketosis. I did lose 25 lbs in a few months, which came right back on when I quit the diet (really fast). I had problems finding the proper foods when out, and really hated how people try to gouge you for cutting out carbs.

So I count calories now. I find it much easier for me, as I can eat virtually anything as long as I stay under my RDI, which is set to 1500 now. If I want to eat candy or junkfood, I sacrifice later. That is essentially how life works anyway. You learn to limit carbs and sugars, and eat a more balance diet. Hmm, this all sounds familiar.

Yes, if your a self proclaimed carb addict, Atkins is like quitting smoking, lol. My wife is like that with bread and pretzels!

At any rate, good luck! There are many options for weight loss, and what works for one may not work for others.

Thank you for all your responses. You guys are great. When I saw the pie chart of what I ate and carbs was most of it I figured well maybe that's my problem. So while I do like rice and french fries I like cheese and bacon more. lol. And I can have those on Atkins from what I understand. I've had 2 scrambled eggs with a little shredded cheese for breakfast and I like that better than cereal or a bagel so I guess it won't be so bad. I'll keep you all posted. Thanks again and good luck to you all.

I've done both. Atkins works better for me, I had a hard time reaching ketosis with South Beach. Right now I'm just counting calories, I've been having a hard time to stay away from carbs although when I do it works like magic! I do recommend you read the book as it is important to reintroduce the good carbs in your diet after 14 days. Raspberries are the best way to start. I might even eat a few during induction as they have so little NET carbs. As Little as a packet of slpenda if I'm correct.

Schweet! kira1ar, yeah, my mom has the atkins book and is bringing it over today. Will definately read up as the offical atkins site is kind of hard to navigate. The real challenge will be when I go to San Diego for a couple days in about 3 weeks. Have no clue what kind of foods to eat at resteraunts so any ideas on that would be great as well. Until now I knew nothing about carbs or what foods had them lol.

if you join the atkins community, all the rules of all the phases are on there. you can even download (pdf) and print them if you like. i have been on induction for 3 weeks now but moving on this weekend to phase 2 because i'm not losing much at all!

Atkins has worked very well for me, I have lost 55lbs since nov/11.But I must admit I do count my calories as well. I find that works best for me.We are all so different and have to tweek the program so that it works for us.I have had so much more energy,and a great improvement in my hair,nails and skin.Plus you get to eat all of the foods that you love and still lose the weight.Love the real cream in my coffee! Hope that you find what works best for you, all the best!

Atkins worked for me. I have many things, low calorie, low fat, portion control, nothing worked until atkins. I started just over 1 year ago at 210, size 15/16, I am now 165, in a size 9/10. I love it and couldn't be happier. I only felt bad for the first week. If you eat enough, you shouldn't feel sick. I agree we all are different,and you need to find what works best for you. Good Luck!