Welcome, StashNY! I remember seeing you on the Atkins forum.

I've been using the fat free Half & Half, and quite honestly, I don't msis the full fat at all.

For cooking, I have a spray bottle I got from Pampered Chef that holds my olive oil, so I just spray that in the pan. I also have a can of the butter spray, and I use that sometimes (sparingly). As for real butter, I used the Smart Balance on my green beans last night and thought it was just fine.

And I'm LOVING having my beans back! And being able to drink 1% milk with dinner is a Godsend!

I just made the switch myself!(Atkins to SBD) I lost 30 lbs with Atkins. Been doing it since July. But felt it was time for a change.

I have to admit that I really miss my bacon! I know that it's recommended to eat canadian..but I miss the thick sliced ones...

oh well. Its just the transition that is going to be difficult. And I also feel like I'm eating too many carbs. I know Judy already mentioned that to not look at the carb count...but it's like ingrained in my memory!

How do I know if I'm eating too much? When there is a gain? a stall?

I'm on day 3 of Phase 1(felt strange not to say Induction) and I feel like I haven't been eating enough because I fear I'm going to be going over some imaginary limit.

Hi Jessica and Welcome to the Beach!!

Have you found the meal plan charts and food lists yet? They will tell you exactly how much you should be eating of all the food groups. You can find them in the pinned threads near the top of this forum. I suggest that you print them up and use them as reference as you learn this plan.

We are allowed to eat turkey bacon, 2 slices a day.

Phase I veggies are fairly unlimited, eat until full so try not to worry about the carb count, OK?

Eating good carbs while you are still in weight loss mode is excellent for your body's metabolism. Becoming carb phobic is not a wise thing and you were smart to find a way to eat more carbs and still see weight loss...this will help you to maintain your loss better.

I'm always available to answer your questions.

Good luck!!

Hey Jessica. Woohoo another Texan on the boards!!

Don't worry about eating too much. As long as you're eating the right foods, it's amazing that your body will lose the weight. But that means you do need to give up the really bad vices (bacon, chicken skin, coffee with 8oz of half n' half, etc). The cool thing is that many of the recipes are awesome on SBD. For chicken, I've found that I can still eat the dark meat, even without the skin and still feel happy.

And yeah it's going to be tough after atkins learning NOT to count carbs on everything you eat. Get some mushrooms, spinach, peppers, broccoli, etc and keep them in the fridge. They make great snacks, and are good dipped in hummuis and peanut butter. (ok not broccoli in peanut butter - that's just NASTY). :-)

hahahaha! I used to have a decaf breve 1 splenda latte every once in a while at work...lol.... no more for me! I will miss them.

where in Texas are you? I'm moving back to Houston in a month or so.

I read that in the SB book that a gentleman refused to give up his daily serving of ice cream and he still lost weight following SB. Is there any way that I can still eat my chicken skin and be ok? It is one of the only things that I don't want to give up! I've even said goodbye to my gristle on red meat. I haven't had red meat in 4 days actually..which is a miracle for me.

I don't eat it everyday. It's just every once in a while I get chicken with skin on it at Luby's or HEB...and it is like a lil treat for myself.

Hehehe - I know. My dad did Atkins a while ago and oh my god it made my stomach turn. Quad-breve lattes on a daily basis. Bacon cheese omelets cooked in the grease from the bacon. All kind of healthy stuff like that! Amazing thing is that he lost lots of weight!

I'm in Austin - not that far away I guess. It's a very fit city. I actually just got back from my first attempt at a running club. We ran a 5K around town lake. It was VERY painful, but a lot of fun too.

Yeah I think you can do ok with the chicken skin if you keep it limited, like maybe once a week. Even then, maybe only eat chicken skin on one piece of chicken (if you're eating two). And stay away from the chicken wing (I know I know - Sacrilege!).

You're doing great! Keep up the good work. Everyone has to adapt the plan a little to their own lives. But please.... if you're going to eat chicken with the skin, do it some place better than Lubys

lol. I know I've been living in Kerrville for too long when Luby's is considered gourmet cooking...haha
I'm looking forward to moving back to a real city that serves real food.
But I'm also terrified because Houston has a massive amount of restaurants and oh so many temptations!

I've heard that Austin is a fit city. I love going there and just taking in the view and environment. It really is a unique place. It still amazes me that it's our state capital...lol

Where's Kerrville? And how'd you end up out there :-) Anyway don't worry about moving to Houston. More temptations yes... but more options as well. Trust me, eating at barebecue places, it's hard to find healthy foods. I hate eating in Texas outside of the big cities.

I always say Austin is like an Oasis in the great state of Texas.

OMG! you are so right about the bbq place. there are like 8 of them here....along with 3 drive thru bevarage barns.

Kerrville is about an hour outside of San Antonio. I moved out here a year ago with my boyfriend(dave). His mom lives in Hunt(20mins outside of Kerrville) and she was needing some companionship up here.(she was going through a bad divorce)

So now we have to move back to Houston because of my dad is fighting colon cancer.

The fun never stops...does it?

Hahah I love the drive through beverage barns. I couldn't believe it the first time I saw it. How do you like living outside of San Antonio? I was a little disappointed with the city there, but I haven't spent much time there. That's nice that you moved to help with his mom. So sorry to hear about your dad though. I hope he makes it through... I hear they've gotten good at treating colon cancer. Please try not to let the stress get the better of you though.

I've been handling the stress pretty well...it's just my dad is seeking other methods first before letting the doctors actually treat him. (he is going to healers and witch doctors and shammans)
and that gets to me because it's frustrating!!!!

San Antonio is pretty fun to visit, but I can't see myself living there.


How long have you been doing South Beach?

Oh my god... I hope he knows what he's doing. Cancer's one of those things that needs to be treated quickly before it spreads. If his alternative treatments aren't working, make sure he see's a real doctore soon. Best of luck to him and you!!

I've been doing South Beach for 10 months almost to the day and I'm down about 65lbs. It's really amazing. I look better, feel a whole lot better, and can do stuff that I could never do before. It's also kind of cool that people stop be on a daily basis with their mouths hanging open, like "WOW how did you do it!" Even people who don't notice these kinds of things have noticed and stopped me. It's soo cool. So what made you decide to do this? I saw your pics, you look to be in pretty good shape as it is. What's your goal/motivation?

Hello everyone!!! Hey VPeach!! Fancy meeting you here!!

I've been doing Phase 1 for 2 days. I just switched from atkins. So I'm still learning how to eat this way. I think I'm going to high on the fat. I just need to go shopping and stock up on Low Fat stuff.......that feels so weird to say ;-) I'm excited to eat yogurt and beans!!!

I know how you feel Katie!!! I had to say goodbye to my gristle and chicken skin. It was a tearful moment...but it's best not to think about it....<sniff>
lol

Welcome to the Beach! And yes, eating yogurt and beans has proven to be so worth it!