Too Lazy for Atkins - South Beach Diet?
 

As the title says, i'm too lazy for Atkins. I have never been one to make food, and Atkins is incredibly boring when you don't take time to create food that is delicious, it ends up being eggs, boring salads, etcetera, at least for me.

I need a diet that I can eat the lazy way, so I was wondering what kind of experiences people had with the South Beach Diet?

Atkins has enriched my life, really, I am not really sure if I will ever eat sugar or candy again, I don't think I need to. But I know one thing; I need to eat bread again, or I am going to go crazy.

I know both plans... having lived both for several years each. The biggest differences between them are...

Fat - On SB you eat reduced fat cheese, mayo, dressing. No butter. No bacon. No chicken skin. Reduced fat dairy. Limited added fats (1 TBS at lunch and dinner, 1 tsp at b'fast).

Protein - On SB you eat lean protein only (chicken breast only, fish, lean red meat cuts). The fattier cuts of meat are off limits.

Grains - On SB you get your grains/starches back starting in Phase 2 (week 3). They are limited, but you CAN have whole grains at this time... like whole grain bread, oatmeal, brown rice. Or, you can have sweet potato. Limited amounts. You start out with one serving... if you continue to lose, you try two servings a day... up to 3 servings of grain/starches per day.

Fruit - On SB you can have fruit in P2. It's limited, but you can have it.

Water - same

Exercise - same

So... to get your bread/starches back you'll have to give up the generous fat allowances and higher fat meats (like bacon, sausages, etc).

In the end, the two diets are almost identical. So how you get there (maintenance) is entirely up to you! Take the Atkins road... or take the SB road. Just don't try to mix them. It won't work. Do one or do the other.

If you decide to stick with Atkins, work your way up the carb ladder... you may find that with some adjustments you CAN have a bit of whole grain bread now and then. That's the goal of Atkins anyway... working your way up the carb ladder as you lose weight, learning along the way how to eat higher carb and still maintain your weight loss. It's all about finding that balance between carbs, fat and protein for YOUR body.

Let us know what you decide!!