I just registered at this site and, first thing I did was look for a South Beach forum. Not finding one, I did a search and found this thread.

I started out doing Atkins and modified it to my tastes and found that I was still losing weight at about the same pace but with considerably more flexibility. I would occasionally take a day or a meal off, and then go to induction for a few days and any weight gain would come right off. I was also not really concerning myself w/ staying in ketosis but instead focusing on the right combinations and foods to avoid the "binges" which have caused me all the trouble. It worked for me, and I stuck with it. The key points of my plan were limiting carbs, and I tried to stick w/ low saturated fats (although I still had plenty of red meat).

I then read the South Beach diet and realized that the author was advocating pretty close to what I was doing. It differs from Atkins primarily by emphasizing fats that are generally considered healthier (none of the recent studies refute the notion that monosaturated fats are more heart healthy than saturated fats) As for treatment of carbs, it calls for substantially lower carbs than in a typical American diet and emphasizes avoidance of the low fiber, high glycemic stuff. Agaston may say it is not a low carb diet, but if it walks like a duck . . . . Anyway, I sure hear quacking.

BTW, I watched the food channel program. It is just amazing how much society's attitude has changed in just a couple of years. My parents and brother practically ridiculed me for doing this when I started. After I lost 40 pounds, they reconsidered. Now, they've lost over 100 pounds between them! (South Beach, btw). I've kind of been bouncing around for the last 6 months, but am recommitted to finishing what I started. Glad to find this support! Let's keep up the dialogue.

Dan