Hello. i am new here. i wanted to post to hopefully get some advice. i've been doing south beach to lose 15 pounds. i'm 5'3 and 131, would feel healthier at 115. i have been on the south beach diet for exactly 6 days now. phase 1. vegetarian version. i have been following the diet to a T and have not cheated at all, other than the fact that i might have had a few more nuts than are allowed in the book on maybe 3 occasions. i also have worked out at the gym 5 days this week. my workouts include 45 mins of cardio and then either a weight lifting class or a yoga class. (1 hr 45 mins total). i am constantly hungry and generally feel crummy so far. the worst of it is that i have only lost ONE pound so far. ONE. UNO. i am kind of beside myself as this diet has not been easy and of course i totally bought what Doc A said in his book- about losing 8-13 lbs in the first two weeks. i am getting discouraged- almost feeling like there must be something really wrong with my metabolism or my body resisting this. i have started taking fiber supplements to help out. i did a search on this internet for "not losing any weight on the south beach diet' and got only glowing reviews. has anyone had a similar experience? does anyone have some sage advice for me? i don't want to quit, but it's been a hard week for one pound!

Boy, I understand your frustration and the only thing that I can tell you is that you should not, under any circumstances be feeling constantly hungry
So, if I were you, I would eat more, use fitday to track your food, and post a couple days of meals here so the experts can take a look. Welcome aboard. Glad you found us and joined

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270/233/170

Hi, Dulce.

That MUST be frustrating. I agree with Lynne. You should NOT be constantly hungry! You should not even let yourself get that hungry. That's not going to work at all. Why don't you write out exactly what, how much, & when you're eating? Also what & how much fluid you're drinking. Sometimes I think I'm following everything to a T, but there's something important I'm missing.

By the way, on what page does Dr. A say 8-13 pounds on Phase 1? Because I keep hearing him say the purpose of Phase 1 is to eliminate cravings, not to lose weight.

Hang in there. With all the great work you've done for 6 days, I bet you'll get a big payback once you make some tweaks.

Sunday:
Breakfast: 2 veggie sausage patties, 2 celery sticks with peanut butter
lunch: 2 celery sticks with laughing cow light spread and olives on top. 15 almonds. 2 cups of half caf coffee with splenda, lite unsweetened soy milk and a spoonful of unsweetened cocoa.
Snack: diet pepsi. sugar free fudgesicle
dinner: 6 oz halibut filet sauteed in olive oil, garlic, white wine (cooked) and capers. Cabbage salad (cabbabe, crushed peanuts, tomatos, dash hot sauce, splenda, lemon juice, and cumin seeds toasted in about a spoonful of sesame oil)
Snack: small bowl of sugar free vanilla pudding
Snack: fiber mixed with water (yum)

EXERCISE: 15 mile bike ride

Monday
Breakfast: 1 cup plain/fat free yogurt mixed with splenda and cinnamon. Cofee with splenda, unsweetened soymilk and a spoonful of unsweetened cocoa.
snack: small package of smoked almonds (under 1 gram sugar/carbs on package)
lunch: the rest of my cabbage salad

my plans for the rest of the day:
snack: a piece of string cheese or 2

dinner: chickpea stew (chick peas. onion, tomato, water, garlic, a little olive oil, indian spices)
snack- sugar free fudgesicle

If all you have to lose is 15 lbs, unfortunately expecting to lose 8-13 in a week is not realistic. Because you have such a small amount of weight to lose, it will come off slower. It took me 10 months to lose 26 lbs, and the last 10 took the longest. But it was worth the weight. Please don't think of this like a crash diet, think of it like a change of the way you eat. If you start the newer healthier eating habits that SB promotes, the weight will come off. It's worth the wait, trust me. A safe rate of weight loss on any plan is 1-2 lbs per week, so you are doing fine.

Also I think you should maybe add more protein to your menu (especially if you are exercising) how about more fish/tofu? Protein does help fill you. Your lunch was only celery and light cheese, you should probably have that for a snack and have a more substantial protein lunch. Tuna or salmon salad with lite mayo, or a tofu stirfry? Or do you eat eggs? they are an excellent and easy food as well.

I agree with what was said above, you really shouldn't be going hungry on this plan .

Besides the REQUIRED minimum amount of protein, why don't you also review & make sure you're getting the REQUIRED minimum amount of both good fats and also veggies. (Check out the Stickies at the top of the threads again.)

Also, are you having your 16 ounces of dairy per day? Dairy is in addition to cheeses. Are you having a snack or meal at least every 3 hours? Fiber & water isn't really a snack. Pudding isn't introduced until Phase 2. You might like something like the ricotta cremes. It's best to have a snack with at least 1 ounce of protein plus veggies, especially if you're feeling crummy. Whenever you start to get hungry, it's important to eat something. Of course, enough fluids are important to help you to not feel crummy or tired.

Based on your exercise, it sounds like you must be in good shape. Does your weight consist of plenty of lean muscle as opposed to fat? Maybe the weight you want to lose is cosmetic & you're at your medically ideal weight. In that case, it will not come off quickly.

Hello Everyone,
Thanks for all of the insight. I know I was sounding like "debbie downer" there for a minute, but I just needed some more opinions.. and probably a bit of a reality check. it makes sense that i would only lose 1-2 pounds a week. i weighed myself this morning (day 10) and I've lost another 2 pounds, so maybe it just took a little bit to start the ball rolling.

I was suprised to read that i should eat more protien and dairy- i feel like i am eating a lot of it. then again, i have no problem eating more food (LOL!) and with the pudding, i know i was pushing it there, but i was going by the "around 100 calories of a sugar free sweet treat allowed per day on phase 1 rule" and i suppose i justified that with the pudding. oops!

i checked out the fitday website and i love it. thanks again

Dulce, one more thing. When the book promised 8-13 pounds of loss,that is really targeting people who have eaten horrendously - usually high amounts of sugar and processed foods and most likely don't exercise.

When you take a never-ever and put them on a sugar detox diet, they drop weight quickly. The first two weeks is really just water weight loss, so that is the amount of water weight you've been storing in your system from your sugar load.

Now you have lost 3 pounds, which is already 20% of your goal. What diet have you ever been on where you lost 20% of your goal weight within the first 2 weeks?

You are actually doing really well. And the fact that you did not drop a bunch of pounds is testimony that you ate a reasonably good diet prior to coming on board!

Stick with it, shake the sugar habit and you will fall in love with what you are eating!:cloud:

hi. weighed 130 again today. start weight was 131, weighed 128 2 days ago, now 130. i know we aren't supposed to weigh ourselves too often because of water weight etc... but i can't help but feel like maybe this isn't the best diet for me. the diet itself was HARD- i've lost 2 lbs a week on other diets which, according to most of what i've heard, is the 'normal' and healthy weight loss to expect even if you do only have 15 pounds to lose. i am almost 2 weeks into this one, and i have lost one pound. IMO that would be pretty discouraging for anyone.

the quote on expecting to lose 8-14 lbs during phase 1 is on page 4 of the south beach diet book. i know i don't have a ton of weight to lose, but i am still very dissapointed with the results so far. especially considering my exercise, etc... i usually eat whole grains anyway, but cutting them out completely is very challenging

Oh, oh, Dulce. Are you needing another reality check? (I know I need those alot.)

You don't have that much weight to lose. Weight's naturally fluctuate, especially for women. Our bodies have ALOT of complicated stuff to balance & regulate through water balance.

Since you have so little to lose, you could start with Phase 2 & start eating grains & fruit. It doesn't sound like you have cravings.

P.S. I've done alot of study about weight loss, & I haven't read anything valid that says 2 lbs a week loss is healthy for someone doesn't have alot of weight to lose.

P.S.S. Oh, yes...I'd forgotten that it says that in the book. I hope he changes that in newer editions. On the official site, Dr. A. says over & over that how fast someone loses depends on how much they have to lose & on their prior eating habits.