[ClapekDodki]

does it? or does south beach diet work some other way. i was just wondering coz site said you can eat good carbs on SB diet. and limit bad fats. well, if we'll keep eating carbs, how will the body ever enter ketosis? is there a limit on amount of carbs on SB ??

[Sdzqerty]

I know this is an old post but the answer is you do not go into ketosis on the SBD. Way too many carbs for that. Also, you are eating low fat everything and low fat means high carb.

[lodsemelf]

I've never really figured out exactly how important Ketosis is. I'm in it all the time - but is that the cause of my weight loss, or merely another side effect? I don't know the answer.

If I had to sum up the most important concept I've learned across all of the low carb schools of thought it would be: Insulin Control.

[bs44MhUW]

John,
Don't you find that ketosis helps prevent you from feeling hunger and munchies all the time? I find that when on Atkins I'm much less hungry between meals. I always attributed that to ketosis.
Today, for example, I'm on day 4 of induction. I may have overdone it on.....broccoli! And I'm alll nervous that it'll mess up my ketosis! Is that nutso?

[TritteTouff]

JD, I completely agree with you ... it's about insulin control. Control your insulin and you control everything else! Your hunger, your cravings, your blood sugar, etc are directly related to how much insulin you're producing and using (for glucose usage and for fat storage). And how do you control your insulin production? By limiting your carbohydrate intake. Why diabetics aren't immediately placed on a low carb diet, I'll never figure out. Digestion of carbohydrate produces glucose... if diabetics have too much glucose that they can't use, doesn't it make all the sense in the world to stop doing what creates the glucose?!? I guess that's too simple. LOL Kinda like the old doctor joke... the one that goes, "Doctor, when I do this, it hurts." The doctor says, "Then stop doing that."

Is ketosis important? I think so. At least in the beginning. Ketosis is a state in which you're using ketones, not glucose, for your energy needs. If you have insulin/glucose issues (and I firmly believe that most if not all, obese people do) then putting yourself into ketosis can allow the body to adjust... to repair... to heal. And, remarkably enough, to lose weight.

Is ketosis necessary for continued weight loss? Not in my opinion. Once you're no longer insulin resistant (NOT talking about diabetics here!!!) I believe you can lose while burning glucose, not just ketones. I think Dr Atkins believed that, too. He wrote about late OWL and pre-maintenance as a time when you would be moving in and out of ketosis. Some time in pre-maintenance you would stop doing that... and be completely in a glucose burning state... as you slowly reach your goal weight. So he must have believed it was not only possible, but necessary, to no longer be in ketosis yet still losing or maintaining your loss.

Tril

[twinaircant]

John,
Don't you find that ketosis helps prevent you from feeling hunger and munchies all the time? I find that when on Atkins I'm much less hungry between meals. I always attributed that to ketosis.
Today, for example, I'm on day 4 of induction. I may have overdone it on.....broccoli! And I'm alll nervous that it'll mess up my ketosis! Is that nutso?

We're probably just splitting hairs, but I've always attributed the not being very hungry to the high fat part of the diet rather than ketosis itself. Fats kill my hunger, while carbs make me crave more.

As I understand it Southbeach works on similar principles to Atkins, but doesn't lower the carbs enough to enter Ketosis - but it seems to still have significant advantages over a high carb, low fat calorie restricted diet.

I also know someone who lost a lot of weight just by paying attention to the glycemic index of what he was eating (his doctor put him on this plan), while not really reducing calories that much, and he lost a lot of weight while never actually entering Ketosis.

To me, what they have in common is:

All calories are not created equal
The key to controlling weight is controlling insulin
The key to controlling insulin is to control carbohydrate intake

No matter what exact names we apply to the diets, I've come to the following two conclusions that I steadfastly believe in:

High fat/low carb results in a better outcome than high carb/low fat.

There are many people who will gain weight on a high carb/low fat diet that would lose weight on a high fat/low carb diet, even if the numbers of calories are held constant.

EDIT: When I refer to a 'diet' in the above post, I meant in the traditional sense, meaning a long-term thing, not a specific plan one enacts solely to lose weight as seems to be the more current modern usage.

[Yartonbler]

JD
The thing about South Beach is not only that you never go into ketosis because you eat a serious amount of veggies and also that you MUST eat very low fat. So you're never quite satiated. I remember doing SBD and eating 5 meals a day. I was constantly either eating or planning my next meal.

The beauty of this high fat plan, even on induction, is that I don't feel this constant hunger/whatever gnawing at me. I'm good for hours. But then I get ravenous LOL.

So, I guess it doesn't matter if it's the fat or the ketosis as long as it works, right? So maybe I don't have to commit hara kiri for eating a few extra broccoli florets

[r9tbayfC]

I seriously won't worry about it. If I remember properly, a whole cup of broccoli only has like 3.5 net carbs, you'll definitely stay in ketosis .

The real beauty of this WOE is not having to worry about small things like that! Relax, and enjoy the process!

[perhilzit]

I did SB for 3.5 years. The carbs are higher... but they're not empty carbs. They come from berries, fruit, whole grains, beans, sweet potato, etc and they ARE limited (no white bread and no white potatoes). Most people maintain on three servings a day and need to stick to only one serving a day of starches and one serving a day of fruit to continue losing. Much like Atkins' OWL carb ladder, in fact. Fats are limited on SB, but not severely... you can have EVOO and fats from lean meats, eggs, low fat dairy, low fat mayo, etc. SB has a supplemental book out called Good Fats Good Carbs, so there's some consideration regarding fats and carbs. I doubt the low fat people would consider SB a low fat diet, any more than WE consider SB a low carb diet. LOL

I'm not saying one is better than the other (SB or Atkins), because they're both very good plans... one might be better for me, while the other is better for someone else. I think any of the plans out there work (if you really do them), but some work better for your own body/situation. The key is finding the one that works for you.

[Creelaleps]

I seriously won't worry about it. If I remember properly, a whole cup of broccoli only has like 3.5 net carbs, you'll definitely stay in ketosis .

The real beauty of this WOE is not having to worry about small things like that! Relax, and enjoy the process!

Thanks. That actually helped. (and I AM enjoying the process)