DOCTORS TELLING Patients not to follow SBD???

wenrn · Thu Sep 16, 2004 12:17 am

My doctor lost 90 lbs on SBD and is the one who first told me about it. But, also heard her tell a patient not to follow it while breast feeding. Has your doctor ever told you not to follow SBD, but you did so anyway? I think more and more doctors are being accepting of SBD, what do you think?

KristyW · Thu Sep 16, 2004 4:26 am

Wen,

Dr. A and other Drs. recommend that children, teens, preganant and nursing women start directly with Phase II if they want to start this way of eating. Phase I is too restrictive for them. Children and teens need the fruit & grains for their growing bodies and brains. Pregnant & nursing women need the them to support their babies.

There are times and people that SBD may not be the best choice for, but it's a great choice for many, many more!!

colliegirl · Thu Sep 16, 2004 10:07 pm

Our doctor is definitely impressed by the results in weight change and blood work.

RedRox · Fri Sep 17, 2004 12:01 am

I think the important qualifyier in the doctor's statement was "while breast feeding". Nutrtional needs are different in that situation than someone just trying to lose weight to get healthier. That same doctor might recommend SBD to another patient in a different situation. I see nothing wrong with that advice as it is probably the same as Dr. Agatston would give as well.

startingfresh · Fri Sep 17, 2004 5:27 am

I dunno -- I can't imagine anything better than eating healthy foods while you're breast feeding ... what, the baby needs pizza and ice cream? ;) Maybe the doctor didn't want her stressing out about getting back to pre-pregnancy weight while nursing, but eating healthy is never a bad idea.

KristyW · Fri Sep 17, 2004 6:42 pm

It has nothing to do with pizza and ice cream. A nursing mother should NOT be on phase I, her body needs nutrition from all food groups, so whole grains and fruits are important then. That's all. Phase II is perfectly acceptable. Fresh veggies, fresh fruits, whole grains, lean meat and lowfat dairy.

bebe/in/sc · Sun Sep 19, 2004 7:37 pm

I am a breast feeding mom, and I am just finishing up Phase 1. I have been eating way, way better in these 2 weeks then b4! All the fresh vegetables! All the beans! Dairy! What else could I need? Fresh fruit is lacking true, but I know i am getting the same vitamns in something else. I also eat a lot of tomatoes, aren't these close to fruit? Anyway my son is 17 months old so he is getting nutrition other places, but I would say any bf mom could safely do this! Only thing to be careful of , in my opinion, is losing to much to fast because I read antioxidants or something are in your stored fat and that can come through your milk.

peacefulpath · Sat Sep 25, 2004 4:49 pm

Remembering back to my days as a bf-ing mom, and trying to do WW at the same time, you are supposed to increase your dairy intake to avoid the calcium being leached out of your bones. I absolutely agree that eating the SB way, I am eating MUCH healthier than I have ever eaten in my life. But that calcium issue would definitely cause me to make inquiries, if my baby were still nursing (thank GOD she's not - she's 17!!!)

Sandi_K · Sun Sep 26, 2004 3:34 am

Hi, I'm brand new to the message board.

I was just diagnosed with high blood pressure and prediabetes.
My doctor recommended that I get on SBD right away. He said with both symptoms that I have this will definitely help reduce some of the situation.

:wink:

MS · Sat Oct 23, 2004 6:31 pm

Hi,
I am a first timer to this message board and a day1 of phase1 SBDer.
My hubby is also just starting the SBD...We are in our 40s and both overweight and have multiple family/genitic health risk factors such as diabeties and heart disease. Our family Dr. strongly recommended the SBD to be a positive life style change or we would be having the same problems as our parents.

traciemey · Mon Oct 25, 2004 3:48 pm

I was diagnosed with hypertension a week ago. Its been going on for about a month, but I finally went to see the Dr. I've gained 8# since June and she thinks that might be part of the problem. My body mass index is 23.8, but I'm heavier than I have ever been with the exception of during my 4 pregnancies. Doctor says I have till January to lose 10# and start exercising UGH. Well atleast I don't have to quit smoking, I did that years ago. So I'm going to try this, started Phase 1 this morning.

I am a Registered Dietitian so of course this diet was of interest to me. I think what impressed me was that although it is a high protein diet which I don't normally promote, it does emphasis eating low fat and lots of vegetables. The Kraft website has a lot of really great info on South Beach Diet too. I noticed quite a few moms BF and using the diet, doctors would probably say don't do it, but there are a couple of things you can do that make the diet safe for breast feeding moms.

1) Get a good calcium supplement and always take it. Citra-cal is one of the best. And most women should continue to take a prenatal as well while they are breast feeding.

2) Drink lots of water, as high protein is dehydrating and so is breast feeding. Drink 6-8 8 oz glasses every day.

3) And lastly don't lose more than 2# per week after that intial 5-7# you lose. This may involve adding an extra snack or just eating slightly bigger servings.

There is a point where losing weight while breast feeding is pretty difficult, but it usually when you are down to just having 10 extra pounds and you have BF for more than 6 months. If you didn't gain 50# while pregnant, like I did all 4 times, this will probably not be a big issue because you don't have as much totally to lose.

I'll let you know how I survive Phase One, I love CARB and I'm trying to eat less sodium which is even more difficult than dieting for me. Today I dust off the ol' Bowflex and start taking my health serious. Besides I have a whole closet of size 6 clothes and I'm going to get in them again.

My goal is 135# so I have 17 # to lose, but what really sucks is I am 33% body fat, I'd like to get that back down in the 23% range. I have gained most of the weight in my stomach so getting my 34" waist back to 26" is going to involve a lot of aerobic exercise. Being almost 38 I'm just tired so much of the time, and my asthma is occassionally an issue.
Of course I feel lucky though, I could be much worse off. My dad at 38 was having quadrupal bypass, so I guess I have other reasons for getting the weight off now.

Traicemey

LyndaB · Mon Oct 25, 2004 3:53 pm

wenrn wrote: My doctor lost 90 lbs on SBD and is the one who first told me about it. But, also heard her tell a patient not to follow it while breast feeding. Has your doctor ever told you not to follow SBD, but you did so anyway? I think more and more doctors are being accepting of SBD, what do you think?

All I can say is that I'm really glad that I'm not a patient in that doctor's office. What ever happened to doctor/patient confidentiality?

Just for the record, though... I was already on SB when I went to my doctor for the first time... and then found out that SB is the ONLY plan that he puts his patients on.

audreyh1 · Mon Oct 25, 2004 9:43 pm

Traciemey

After you become more familiar with SBD, I wonder if you will still consider it a high protein diet. I can see how Phase 1 would be high protein, but Phase 2 isn't necessarily high protein. Dr. Agatston does not specify target % of fat, protein or carbs in the diet, but he does emphasize working up to eating plenty of fruits, whole grains, and vegetables in Phase 2. So it seems that it is up to the individual how high protein their diet actually is.

Plus, I guess it depends on what you consider to be high protein!

Another note. Dr Agatston does absolutely emphasize minimizing saturated fat in the diet. But he does not seek a severe restriction on good fats, and it seems his diet is actually more a moderate fat than low fat diet. Again this depends on the individual and how low-fat they choose to make their diet. For me, I am eating a moderate fat diet - definitely higher in good fat than my previous low-fat/high-carb diet (which led to weight gain!).

Since you are an RD, I would be interested in your comments once you are familiar with real-life Phase 2 eating.

Audrey

traciemey · Tue Oct 26, 2004 1:48 am

I guess in my background more than 15% of daily calories is high protein. Some high pro diets aren't just high they are ridiculous. This isn't one of those diets, I have researched it enough to know that. When trying to maintain a lowfat diet, one less than 30% of calories from fat, there are basically three kinds of diets hi-pro, hi-carb or equal carb-pro. Looking at sample meal plans for South Beach Diet I found that the diet is close to being 30% fat 30% carb and 40% pro. Obviously this is during phase 1 and the protein % drops with each progression. What impressed me was that Phase 1 wasn't forever, now as to whether I can go back to eating fruit and potatoes and not gain weight we will see. I think I have to get my physical activity increased substantially in order to be able to eat carbohydrates. My metabolism as I approach 40 is slowing big time. And my propensity to gaining belly fat has only gotten worse. I have a strong family history for heart disease, my father had a heart attack at 31 and only lived to be 57. Both of my grandmothers had/have hypertension and so does my mom. I'm the thinnest female in my immediate family. In fact my oldest daughter, my mom and my sister were surprised to hear of my Dr asking me to lose 10# by the new year. I know my Dr. is motivated because she knows how much I hate taking routine medications. I do routinely go to the Dr though and monitor things like cholesterol, blood glucose and blood pressure. I'm just thankful my cholesterol is very good, I don't smoke, I'm not diabetic and I'm not pregnant. Life is good haha.

audreyh1 · Tue Oct 26, 2004 12:45 pm

Actually, I think most people report eating quite a bit higher than 30% fat in Phase 1 according to fitday.com - it's often closer to 50%. But since that's just for 2 weeks it doesn't really matter.

Again the amount of carbs and protein and fat eaten at each phase is truly up to the individual. There are no limits on veggies or legumes.

Personally, I would guess I have been eating 35% fat, 45% carbs, and then balance protein - 20%. To me 15% protein is pretty conservative. I think the 2005 proposed USDA dietary guidelines actually recommend 20-35% calories from fat, 45-65% from carbs, and 15-30% from protein. The emphasis is no longer on some exact, ideal percentage, but rather on the total calories in the diet.

I know Syndrome X experts recommend carb intake be limited to 40% of calories from carbs. And a low-fat diet is no longer considered to be helpful to someone with Syndrome X - not when insulin sensitivity is impaired.

Some leading nutrition and health research institutions like Harvard School of Public Health have implored health professionals to stop recommending that total dietary fat be limited. If "good fats" are replaced with carbs, it turns out to be detrimental to heart health. The important thing is to limit saturated fat.

I am not a dietician or health professional, but I have done a great deal of research and discovered that SB Phase 2 and 3 are a tremendously healthier way to eat than the traditional low-fat/high-carb diets that have been recommended for so long.

I'm sure you've heard of the DASH diet - a diet that directly targets hypertension? The main feature is 9 combined servings of fruits and veggies each day - this seems to really help reduce blood pressure. Other than that it's low-fat, etc. I was just curious why you didn't choose DASH instead of SBD. People have had blood pressure get back to normal on SBD, but it doesn't target blood pressure specifically. I mean it does target heart disease and insulin resistance (and obesity), and insulin resistance and obesity can cause high blood pressure.

Audrey


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