OK, so having been on SBD for 2 months now, I think I can safely say this is NOT WORKING FOR ME.

I have lost a total of 2 lbs., and that is certainly not even close to the results I had expected after this time, and after seriously sticking to the diet (give or take a few drinks -- zero carb, that is).

I started off at 173 lbs. on Jan. 5, lost next to nothing after a month (2 weeks of phase 1, two weeks of "phase 2" during which I barely included carbs: low-carb yogurt in the morning, and bran with blueberries on other mornings), went back to phase 1 about two weeks ago, and am down to a whopping 171 lbs. today. I don't care anymore whether during the week I may be down a few lbs, because when I weigh myself on my official weigh day (Monday), I am NEVER down as much. I understand that your weight fluctuates daily, but isn't it hilarious how this always seems to happen when I do my weekly official weigh? And isn't it even MORE hilarious, that my weight never seems to fluctuate DOWN?

A friend of mine has been doing the "traditional" way of losing weight, i.e. eating less fatty foods & sugar, and working out 6 days a week. Working out that often isn't for me, but she lost 13 lbs. in 8 weeks. Little more successful than lucky me on South Beach, wouldn't you say?

I feel like I could have lived on sushi for two months and lost just as much... but oh, the dangerous rice!!! Surely, that would've ruined all my efforts.

Sorry for being so sarcastic, but I am fed up with empty promises.

Trying to lose 20 lbs. in 3-4 months does not seem to be a completely unrealistic goal here, and after 2 months, I am back at scratch.

Bummer.

Sorry that you've lost confidence in the program, but allow me to venture a few comments:

1. You don't indicate whether to took body measurements over the course of the time you tried SB. It is certainly possible that you lost inches even though you didn't lose pounds.

2. Without looking at logs of your meals, its impossible to know whether your diet includes any "hidden" carbs or known trouble foods. So many food products are poorly and confusingly labelled that this is often a culprit for a prolonged stall.

3. It is possible that you have a low tolerance for carbohydrates, and that you might find more success with a "stricter" program such as Atkins.

4. While some disappointment is understandable, consider the positives of your experience. For example, you have been eating heathier in the last two months. That translates into better blood chemistry and reduced risk of disease.

5. Most importantly, it appears from your post that exercise has not been a priority for you. Unless you have a physical or medical condition that precludes you from even moderate exercise, I don't consider exercise to be an optional component of a true weight loss program. Comparing your situation with your friend is unfair. IMHO, it is far more likely that her weight loss is attributable to her exercise regimine than her diet.

Personally, I eat to be healthy and I exercise to lose weight. Your mileage may vary.

Best of luck in whatever course you choose.

Spellchek, thank you for your reaction. It seems that if one is really, really frustrated, people feel like it's useless to say anything anymore.

Now let me reply to the comments you gave:

1) Body measurements -- no, I have not been taking them, but my 33" jeans are usually a good indicator as to whether I have lost inches or not. I tried them on when I was as low as 167 lbs. (3 days ago, whatever happened in the meantime, but I've given up on rationalizing these fluctuations for now), and they fit standing up, but sitting down would be painful. I absolutely KNOW that I lost weight when I can wear these jeans comfortably, and that has yet to happen. In fact, quite a few pairs of 32" jeans are waiting to return to my general wardrobe...

2) I love to cook, so prepare 99% of my meals from scratch, i.e. fresh or frozen vegetables, lean meats and fish, I do not use prepackaged foods. This means, and I have said so previously, that I prepare all the meals in the book from scratch!!! I have not had potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, cereal, sweets or ANYTHING that could hide its carbs from me, as I do read labels....

3) I don't think Atkins is such a great idea, I chose SBD because it emphasizes a more normal way of eating and encourages choosing healthy fats as opposed to the bacon & egg fraction....

4) It is becoming increasingly harder to stay positive. I have always considered myself a fairly healthy eater; coming to think of it, even before starting on South Beach I would hardly ever eat pasta (even though I absolutely LOVE IT) or potatoes or even rice, simply because I am more of a salad, protein, veggie kinda gal. I eat salad almost every day, I love fish and vegetables. I was frankly surprised that I wasn't losing the way I was eating before the diet....

5) As for exercise: I play squash twice a week, go iceskating once a week and have just signed up for an aerobics class on Mondays. Interestingly enough, when I was with WeightWatchers, I worked out 6 days a week and lost NOTHING, even though I was, obviously, couting those silly points.

Same old story --- I will lose 5 lbs. for a bit, and then they come back almost literally over night. It just never seems to be consistent in going down.

I don't know who to talk to anymore. I am sick and tired of constantly being depressed about my weight and my looks, and everyone else seemingly doing fine on this plan and having absolutely NO SUCCESS WHATSOEVER myself.

one more thing, spellchek: If I had lost 20 lbs. since starting on SBD like you apparently have since the beginning of Jan, I'd most certainly be more positive about the whole diet ;-)

I'm sorry SB isn't working for you..I would be frustrated too, esp. since it appears you are doing everything right.. I know drinking alot of water and working out at least 4-5 (cardio) times a week for me has helped in my success..

I hope you find something that works for you soon..

I'm sorry you are so frustrated, when you hear success stories and the scale is not moving it makes it worse. Don't give up just yet, try something different. Some of my friends take a day "off" every week or two and swear it jump starts the process, don't go crazy but it may help. I was not losing very fast either..I was still having my evening cocktails...vodka and diet rite, I believe that may be the reason. I stopped all drinks six days ago and the weight is going down. Drinking was the ONLY thing I wasn't doing by the book. Also, there are a few supplements that help, if your still interested. Flaxseed,Carnitine, CoQ10 and one I just started today Oil of Oregano..there is a thread about it helping a stall in the supplements forum, check it out and best of luck.

I am sorry your are having such a hard time. I know I can't lose weight and eat cereal or bread but I can eat yams, brown rice and black beans which are low glycemic. I wonder if you weighed everyday and wrote down everything you eat you may find some foods that are keeping you from losing.
I also have to watch my portions. When I wasn't losing I was weighing once a week and in reality I was losing and gaining the same 3 to 4 pounds every week depending on what I was eating.
"Good Luck" to you, Pat S.

Tashinpa -

Thanks for your responses to my comments. Gosh, I can now understand more than before why you'd be so frustrated. You seem to be doing the program by the book, so I'm fresh out of suggestions. There are better experts than me on what to do when the program isn't working. (I just count my blessings that it does seem to work for me.)

I too was attracted to SB because of the greater variety of permitted foods. Having said that, and having done both, my weight loss on Atkins was undoubtedly faster, and my diet not hugely different. However, if you don't think its for you, then I'm not here to preach.

Sorry I don't have any further suggestions.

I had to laugh when you said about eating sushi and the "dangerous rice", as sushi always seemed like a perfectly reasonable and healthy food to me!
I have to say I am sceptical about this diet as well, having had minimal losses, and deeply browned off that the much taunted rapid 10 pound weight loss never happened for me.
At the moment I guess I am on my own sort of plan and just tend to eat carbs in the form of wholemeal breads, a bit of fruit, sweet potatoes and other foods with a slower absorbtion rate. I also will eat these foods in conjunction with protein so they digest slower (which brings us back to sushi - why is that not ok to eat?).
I guess I am sort of using the concept of 'being on a diet' to keep me on the straight and narrow.(a big ex-chocoholic)
I still like to come on here and have a read though.

One other thing that is bugging me is the high usage of artificial sweeteners. I am thinking of starting to flavour things like plain yogurt with some fruit or a little honey. I think I'd rather have slower weight loss than a brain tumor!

I am on Atkins and not South Beach but I am sorry to see you so discouraged. I have definitely learned from these boards that there is no perfect plan that works for everybody. Low-fat, low-cal dieting always worked well for me but I could not keep it up for so long. Hunger just does me in. I eat lots of vegetables and healthy foods on Atkins and it does the trick. Sadly, it does not work for everyone. Same with South Beach. I wish you the best of luck in finding something that works with your chemistry and lifestyle.

Orchid

I understand your thought process here, but you may be interested to know that recent research shows that saturated fats are only dangerous when consumed in conjunction with excessive carbohydrates. Most people on Atkins (including me) experience significant health benefits, such as lowered blood pressure, lowered cholesterol, higher energy level, etc. Anyway, the "bacon and egg" thing is vastly overplayed by the press; most Atkinsers eat more veggies now than they ever did before. Again, me included. And processed meat (such as bacon and sausage) is really not supposed to be eaten every day because of the nitrites. I'm just saying that you might want to read DANDR before you decide it's not for you.

So what can you tell us about your metabolism. I am on Atkins, which is a normal way of eating. Being on this board has helped me to understand that any lc diet is more than a weightloss mechanism. It is a way of telling you that you might have a metabolic or thyroid problem. You could be menopausal or all of the above. Also are your carbs and calories high enough? If not, your body might go into survival mode and hang on to body fat. Don't compare yourself to those around you and seek advice before declaring your woe a failure.

Thanks to ALL of you for your support, opinions, tips, etc.

I am less frustrated than yesterday (and I absolutely HATE how one step on the scale can ruin most of the day for me! as if that made me a loathesome person... why do we fall into these traps anyway? but that's a different thread altogether), because I have had time to collect myself and I tend not to stay depressed longer than necessary--

That said, I ate fairly "little" yesterday (low-carb yogurt, 2 eggs and 4 strips of bacon for lunch, rotisserie chicken and salad for dinner), and I had a step & sculpt class. All in all things that made me feel better about myself.

Of course, this morning I was down again to 168 lbs....... aaaaaarrrrrrrgggghhhh!!!!

You see, I should be happy about this, and I most certainly am compared to yesterday, but I never know how long it'll take to creep back up (usually a week), so I've decided to REALLY, REALLY watch my portions, drink more water than ever -- if that's possible --, and stick to some of the SBD principles.

I do look forward to having sushi for lunch today! I miss that so much, and despite the killer rice (hehehe), raw salmon and avocado can't be all that bad for you, eh? It's low cal, and it truly fills me up for the rest of the afternoon.

I will continue to stay clear of bread for a bit, although my husband has been whining about missing pizza (jeez, well, so do I, duh!), but I still want to wait with those crazy things!!! It's my hubby's b-day March 22, and I sooooooo want to be down to 160 or near there :-)

maybe then I'll fit into that schoolgirl costume from Halloween (wink wink)

Again, thanks for all your input, I really, really appreciated that. And I'll keep checking in and reporting on, hopefully, success.

Btw, anyone of yous interested in being my buddy? Anyone have the same stats?

5.7
168, 20 lbs. to lose???

Cheers,
Tash

I can understand your frustration. Perhaps another LC plan would be best. I do Atkins but I found a lot of usefull information in the book I list in my signature.

If you look around this forum you see results in almost all areas. It's hard to tell why it doesn't seem to work for some.

Good Luck... I'll be estatic when I can fit back into 33 Jeans...