Starting South Beach Diet today

[jambo101]

Last edited Mon Feb 11, 2013, 07:11 AM - Edit history (1)

Time to get serious,Diabetes is out of control,Blood Glucose levels 3 to 4 times normal ,Blood circulation problems starting to arise, doc says lose weight (About 80lbs).
Although i eat good food products i consume way too much of it, probably 4000 calories a day.
Never been on a diet before, any one got any tips or tricks for actually staying on the diet and any thoughts on the South Beach diet?
Thanks

[Denninmi]

1. I'm not intimately familiar with South Beach.

IIRC, it is a modified version of Atkins, high protein, lower carb, don't know about fat. But, from what I do know of it, I think it would be a reasonable approach for your needs, as long as you are careful to control blood sugar.

Really, as you know, no magic bullet. Just consistency, practice, and motivation. Frequent small meals, a lot of water, a lot of non-starchy vegetables, quality protein sources, as much exercise as possible.

If you fall off, get right back on again, but don't beat yourself up over it.

[handmade34]

2. good 1st step

we are all different and you will develop your way... I started by first doing a few days of cleansing and the resolved to cut out all processed food... some find it helpful to keep a journal

...and it's not a diet, it's a healthy way of life

[bike man]

3. As Handmade 34 said, it's a way of life. I use a computer food journal, and log every morsel.

My plan, and it works for me, is to keep intake at around 20% fat, 30% protein, and the rest carb. Gym five days a week using free weights and machines, bicycle on the road, total caloric intake of less than 1900/day.

Small meals, small plates, no sugary soft drinks.

On my visits to my health care provider, he refers to my "former diabetes", because my A1C readings (blood sugar) have been normal for nearly two years w/o medication.

I don't use fad/named/celebrity 'diets', but simply make an effort to eat sensibly. At age 70 with 16% body fat it seems to be working.

You can do this, but it does take some effort.

[ginnyinWI]

4. what got me going...

Back in 2005, after going on I don't know how many diets I said to myself, "If you can't stay on a diet, at least you can exercise." And so I did. I got into walking every day, and then eventually bought an indoor cycle, because it's there when it is too cold or too hot outside, and there's a TV in front of it. Being successful at regular exercise inspired me to do more.

Exercise can help curb your appetite. It really can. It helps you burn off your stress so you are less likely to stress-eat.

The other couple of things I'll say is
1) be sure to eat a lot of high fiber, bulky foods. There is no reason to go hungry when you can eat filling, high fiber vegetables and fruits. And
2) stay away from sugar, or at least cut way down on it. Sugar metabolizes in a way that keeps you hungry (inhibits Leptin, the hormone that tells you that you are full). All carbs are not equal: the ones with fructose in them (just about all sugars and syrups) will make you hungrier. Fructose in fruit is okay because you are getting fiber with it. Some people think that even artificial sweeteners can increase your appetite.

For more, watch the YouTube video called, "Sugar: The Bitter Truth". This doctor says that all successful diet have these two things in common: they are high in fiber and low in sugar.

Good Luck!

[jambo101]

5. Thanks for the advice.

Much i'm already doing like not eating sugar or high calorie foods, my one downfall is bread and other high gluten products,now terminated due to south beach diet.
I'm at the gymn every morning from 5am to 6 am, my routine is 20 minutes treadmill.20 minutes recumbent bike then 20 minutes weights.problem is i'm losing stamina and many times a 20 minute segment may turn into just 10 minute session due to leg and hip discomfort and also being out of breath, at 65yrs old and a life of heavy physical labor i'm wondering if i'm not just worn out..
Some good news.One day on the diet and my morning Blood sugar level reading is half what it normally is..

[bike man]

7. Have you considered sandwiching (pun intended) your resistance work between your

treadmill and bike segments. And if it's a 20 minute stamina issue, do 15 minute cardio segments, and fill in the middle portion with the resistance work.

[rox63]

6. South Beach is a low-glycemic index plan

So it's good for getting diabetes under control. I was on Nutrisystem (another low-glycemic index plan), and quite a few folks on their support group would substitute South Beach foods or recipes for Nutrisystem foods, since they were fairly similar.

More info glycemic index plans here:

http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/glycemic-index-diet

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-essentials-of-starting-a-lowglycemic-diet.html