Agirlthatgambles's Journal, 28 September 2008

just a thought...there really isnt a way to ease into phase 1 and if you have problems with cravings and sticking to a plan..you really should do phase 1 correctly...nobody who has done phase 1 has breezed threw it...and if your health truely needs it...than you can and will do it...welcome and feel free to ask any questions...there is a lot of support on this site... 

Cool! Thank you for being the first person to help me out... I guess I should elaborate...I meant that I'm easing into the diet full force starting with the October Carb Countdown...I'm allowing myself some wiggle room today...Only because I don't yet know what I am allowed to eat...How many carbs? How much fat? Calories, etc? I have never read the South Beach diet books...I have been on the Atkins diet with a lot of success...Is it safe to assume that the diets are similar except that the South Beach diet doesn't advocate so much saturated fat? If this is the case, I'll be fine...I eat in this manner already...I won't have a problem with the cravings at all if I stay focused...My craving for unhealthy food eventually goes away...I am truly giving this my all and I have no intention of letting myself down...I'm starting the diet strictly tomorrow; I just came back from the supermarket and am planning my week...I realize if you fail to plan then you are planning to fail...I am super excited that I found this site...I know it will help me change my life...I just need to research a few things before I get started...Any idea on how many carbs, fat & calories I should be shooting for? Thanks for your kind help; I really appreciate it!  

sending you a private email...the diets are similar with a few differences that are important to the diets...first on sb the first 2 weeks are very different and for that you really do need to read the book...i will send you a couple of links for this also...and with sb...it is not low carb...it is good carb vs bad carb after week 2...sb does not advocate weighing and measuring...using your judgement...the amount of carbs, fat and calories are not counted...when you are on phase 2 you can add that back in...but for phase 1 it is not recommended...let me know if i can anymore 

Well, you have definitely arrived at the correct place for realizing your dreams. :-) If it's 35 pounds you want to lose, it's a piece of cake. Follow the SBD and *watch your overall calorie intake* in a general way. *Weigh yourself often* and keep a positive, cheery disposition. ;-) With some effort you can safely reach your weight goal before next spring imho. If it is close to perfect health you are striving to attain, that is a little more difficult. We have experts of all kinds on Fatsecret which will be more than willing to help you along the way. The following site will give you a good background to SBD: http: //www.southbeach-diet-plan .com/ (the links are crippled in the posting area so you will have to put it back together in the address/location bar)I recommend the following book: The South Beach Diet: Good Fats, Good Carbs Guide ($7.95 new, probably immediately available at your local library) Best of luck to you Gambler!  

P.S. They call me the Moonlight Gambler. ;-)  

info...did not know that about you...wow 

hehe 

Wow! I will check out the links...I really didn't realize the diets were that different...It's very reassuring because I love healthy food and I already do a lot of things right...I'm finding it is just so much harder to lose the weight as I get older...I will definitely pick up the book and educate myself on how to do this properly... Hahahaha...They call you the moonlight gambler? That's cool! You really gamble? For a few years I played blackjack professionally... I'm a definite risk taker...I'm too busy for it now, but it was fun for a while...I really appreciate the information. I'm going to learn what I can until I get my hands on the book...Thank you for sharing the information with me :)  

Of course, you will want to do things at your own pace. But, I'm not sure that you need to wait for the book (at least not the original book which was called The South Beach Diet and has some minor modifications explained in the small book I recommended above). The site above is complemented by several others which should give you a clear understanding of the diet. As Veggies said feel free to ask questions and people will jump in to help you. Though I did the Atkins Diet when it first came out for a time, I don't remember the details. I can tell you that the SBD is quite down to earth and has tried to incorporate a lot of what we have learned over the years. Try not to get too particular about getting everything perfect and just use your common sense and previous experience to move you along. It is often recommended by the members that it is important to follow Phase 1 to the letter. It helps many people to control cravings and sensitizes one taste buds setting up the following two phases. The whole diet takes only a few minutes to understand. The Moonlight Gambler was a song which I heard as a very young man and really liked. I forget the name of the person it was that sang it so well. It was about a guy who called himself the Moonlight Gambler ("They call me the Moonlight Gambler...") and who said that he had gambled for money and he had gambled for gold, "but if you haven't gambled for love and lost, then you haven't gambled at all. No,if you haven't gambled for love in the moonlight then you haven't gambled at all." When I saw your nick, I remembered the song. Of course without the melody, it's hard to get. :-)