| Peewee
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Hi All-
I'm new here, so hopefully I am not beating a topic into the ground!
My husband and I are on Day 10 of Phase 1. Neither of us seem to have shed any weight. We have not cheated at all and are wondering if it is common to have no weight loss during this phase. I keep reading about people who have numerous pounds melt away within the first few days. But which is "normal"?
Thanks so much! |
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Thu Feb 14, 2008 1:17 am |
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| RedRox
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| There is no "normal" really. The goal of P1 is to normalize/stabilize blood sugars, so weight loss, if it happens, is mostly a bonus and is often primarily water weight. P1 weight loss is dependent on a whole host of factors and situations. You can always post a few days of typical menus and see if anything sticks out to those who here who help folks out with that kind of thing. P2 is the "real" weight loss phase anyway, IMO. |
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Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:34 am |
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| rca19
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It's certainly easy to get discouraged. Hang in there a while longer and see if you can get things kick-started. Phase 1 gets your body ready for the lifestyle change. Make sure that you are getting some exercise to go along with the modified diet. Walking is a great way to start.
I was fortunate to lose quite a bit the *first* time I went through Phase I. However, I've been plateaued for about 15 months, and during this stagnant period, I have gone back to phase 1 on two different occasions and was not able to lose more than a couple of pounds during each of those phases. |
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Thu Feb 14, 2008 3:49 pm |
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| Peewee
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I don't understand why Agatston makes statements like "After 2 weeks of [Phase 1], you will be somewhere between 8 and 13 pounds lighter than you are today" if that is not "normal." He also claims a couple of times in the book that if you put on a few pounds, you can always go back to Phase 1 to lose the weight. He doesn't say you MAY, but that you WILL.
Between both my husband and myself, we have not even come CLOSE to cracking the 8 pound barrier. I have lost 1 pound and my husband has lost 3 pounds after 13 days in Phase 1. I'll admit it is discouraging, because I feel like I am less likely to believe anything other claims he makes in the book.
I am about 15 pounds overweight and exercise by running 3 miles once a week and walking the dog at least once a day for 20 minutes. We didn't eat too horribly prior to starting the diet, but my triglycerides were high and I have a family history of diabetes and cardiovascular problems. Those are the main reasons to get involved in South Beach. But I would also like to lose this extra weight that I picked up in graduate school that I have not been able to get rid of. I watched a few friends of mine melt away on this diet (none of them were more than 20 pounds overweight), so I was assuming the same would happen for me. I have not cheated one time, and have stayed strictly on the diet. No weight loss.
Has anyone else out there had this problem? If you don't mind, can you tell me how much weight you lost in Phase 1 and where you started? I am starting to lose faith in Dr. A.
Thanks!! |
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Sun Feb 17, 2008 12:40 am |
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| rca19
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I am not an expert on SBD .... just a believer. I was quite obese .. more than 75 pounds overweight. I lost 19 lbs in the first two weeks ... 40 pounds in 120 days. 60 lbs in 180 days. I'd still like to lose 25-30 lbs more .. and have been stuck for quite a while. But, with moderate exercise and a total change in diet, I've seen results. (I've gained back about 10-12 lbs over this winter that I've got to start to seriously address!)
In any case, I wonder if since you were already eating relatively healthy and since you did not have a tremendous amount of "excess" weight to lose, that the plan doesn't have the same immediate impact? |
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Sun Feb 17, 2008 1:34 am |
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| gb30
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Peewee wrote: I don't understand why Agatston makes statements like "After 2 weeks of [Phase 1], you will be somewhere between 8 and 13 pounds lighter than you are today" if that is not "normal." He also claims a couple of times in the book that if you put on a few pounds, you can always go back to Phase 1 to lose the weight. He doesn't say you MAY, but that you WILL.
Between both my husband and myself, we have not even come CLOSE to cracking the 8 pound barrier. I have lost 1 pound and my husband has lost 3 pounds after 13 days in Phase 1. I'll admit it is discouraging, because I feel like I am less likely to believe anything other claims he makes in the book.
I am about 15 pounds overweight and exercise by running 3 miles once a week and walking the dog at least once a day for 20 minutes. We didn't eat too horribly prior to starting the diet, but my triglycerides were high and I have a family history of diabetes and cardiovascular problems. Those are the main reasons to get involved in South Beach. But I would also like to lose this extra weight that I picked up in graduate school that I have not been able to get rid of. I watched a few friends of mine melt away on this diet (none of them were more than 20 pounds overweight), so I was assuming the same would happen for me. I have not cheated one time, and have stayed strictly on the diet. No weight loss.
Has anyone else out there had this problem? If you don't mind, can you tell me how much weight you lost in Phase 1 and where you started? I am starting to lose faith in Dr. A.
Thanks!!
peewee- I definitally know how you feel! I am on day 6 of phase I, and I have lost ONE whopping pound. I have not cheated at all. I am disapointed as well. I do know somewhere in the book- he says that most of the weight that comes off in phase I will be belly fat- not one of my problem areas. I am wondering if this is why I am not being as successful- my weight is all below the waist. I have 25 pounds I want to lose.
Another thing that makes me a little disappointed in Dr. A- is that I remember reading somewhere he said he doubts he will ever approve SB meal replacement bars, because they are not a healthy way to eat. Low and behold, when I was grocery shopping last week, in the healthfood ailse there were SB meal replacement bars right next to the slim fast ones. He also speaks against the prepackaged processed foods- but there are plenty of SB processed foods- even cookies!
Makes me say hmmmm...... |
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Tue Feb 19, 2008 3:18 pm |
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| RedRox
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FWIW, he made the statement based on a control group from his own medical practice. For the most part, they were all very overweight, had bad cholesterol and insulin resistance and ate like crap prior to starting his dietary program. If you have less to lose, ate even somewhat healthily prior to SBL, and carry your weight more in your hips than around your middle, then SBL usually does not hit those advertised numbers. Remember, that he just designed the program for heart health and the weight loss was a side effect. Rodale Publishing is also responsible for how it is marketed and their job is to sell books. No one would buy it if it said lose 1 lb in 2 weeks! ;)
All of that aside, weight loss is neither linear, predictable nor comparable and is a marathon event for the rest of your life, not a sprint to a short term event or goal. It works for most people who adopt a permanent lifestyle change and give it time to work. It often is not in the time frames that people hope for when they start. I agree those statements do create false hopes and false sets of expectations that tend to work against people staying with the program in the long term when those hopes and expectations are not met early. IME, the best thing to do is to change the expectations as the program is fairly sound in most regards as is.
And many of us have debated the "merits" of the SB branded foods marketed by Kraft ad nauseum and find no actual merit in them! The good news is the program existed before them and you don't actually have to buy them! There are usually better and less expensive options available in almost all categories of SBL branded items. |
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Tue Feb 19, 2008 4:53 pm |
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| SpringSlim
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| Hi Newbie here as well, are you eating every 2 to 3hours?? :D |
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Wed Feb 20, 2008 9:46 pm |
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| CAC
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| Don't lose faith in Dr. A! South Beach really works if you stick with the basic principles. I lost 4 pounds in P1 and was glad to take it! It took me 4 months to lose 23 pounds but I have kept it off for 3 years because following SB principles led to changing the way I think about food .... it is a healthy approach and it works - you need to give it a real chance ..... |
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Thu Feb 21, 2008 2:50 am |
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| Velma98
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I lost 5 lbs the first week and 3lbs the second week. I didn't exercise. I am 41 years old and I skipped phase 1. If I would have done phase 1 and worked out a few days at the gym, I might have lost more. I pretty much moved into phase 2 right away. I just bought some whole wheat bread, pasta, and brown rice. I cut out the white flour, sugar, and even added the metimucil into my diet everyday for more fiber. I have lost 16.2 lbs. in 7 weeks. I just added some exercise into the mix this week so I am excited to see if the scale moves a little more this week!
The less you have to lose, the harder it is to come off and age plays into it too. I was watching Oprah this week when she had Valerie Bertinelli on. She wears a vest when she walks that has pockets to add weights in which helped her lose the weight when she got close to her goal. I thought it looked kind of neat and I am going to look into it.
I don't think every program works the same for everybody. |
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Thu Feb 28, 2008 4:19 pm |
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| didi
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| How do you guys loss weight in phase 1? I have been on this phase for 5 days and have not lost an oz. I mostly eat chicken breast, eggs, lots of vegetables, beans (1/3 cup per day) , nuts (for snack) , 2 cups of tea/day with skim milk without any sugar. What is wrong with my deit? |
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Fri Feb 29, 2008 12:11 am |
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| RedRox
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Everyone is different and will experience different results in P1 and even in P2. That doesn't invalidate healthy balanced eating in appropriate portions and exercise as a tried and true method for slow and hopefully permanent weight loss and management. Often the problem is not with the program but with preconceived expectations that cause frustration and disillusionment when not met. Changing the expectations and lowering the frustration level would be my advice. YMMV.
If you want some help troubleshooting your menu planning, I'd suggest creating a new topic post in the P1 forum with a title like "Check my meal plans" and then list specifically what you are eating and drinking (include portions where possible) by Meal and Snack like this:
B:
S:
L:
S:
D:
S:
and include height, weight, age, any known medical conditions, starting and goal weights and any exercise you may or may not be doing. There are usually helpful folks here who will go through it and offer suggestions based on a more complete knowledge of your situation and what you are actually consuming. |
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Fri Feb 29, 2008 12:21 am |
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| TMCarson915
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| I'm in my first week of PH 1. My boyfriend is doing it with me and has lost 13 pounds in 5 days -- I lost 3. He's 6' 7" and weighed 335 when he started, so I kind of expected that he'd lose a bunch the first two weeks. He said he feels alot better too. I'm going to hang in there and I encourage you to do the same. People who have a large amount of weight to lose always lose faster so don't get discouraged!! Best of luck![ |
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Sun Mar 02, 2008 1:16 am |
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| RedRox
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And men typically lose more and more quickly than women. You can't compare yourself to others, esp. men. And the only semi-fair comparison is on a percentage basis, not a total lbs. lost basis.
Red's Rule #1463: Weight loss is neither linear, predictable, nor comparable! |
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Sun Mar 02, 2008 3:16 am |
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| Roccomur
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I have been on many diets and this one works for me because I am a person who holds all there weight in belly and rear end. That is where your body likes to store fat from all the extra carbs I have been known to consume.
I believe alot of it is genetics. My mother was 5'5 and weighed over 200 for most of her life. I would see her go years with eating less than 1000 calories a day and still had a huge stomach and rear. The problem was she had her white bread and her potato and other bad carbs as part of her 1000. Until SB I could never understand it.
It sounds to me like you are already a healty eater and your body already knows how to deal with the foods you eat.
I love this diet but it sounds like it may not be the right one for you.
Weight Watchers never worked for me. I would measure and weigh and follow it to the letter and gain or lose 1/4 and then be up the next week.
I hope you find the diet is right for you because I hear the commitment in your words. Best of luck to you!! |
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Sun Mar 02, 2008 1:56 pm |
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