switching from atkins to SB

[fifitrix71]

Hi, I am on day 10 of the atkins induction diet. After finding this forum I believe the south beach diet to be a healthier option. Am I able to just switch to SB or do I need to start from day 1? I have been eating lean proteins on atkins, but have also been using cream and half and half instead of milk, and have had no other dairy except for cheese.
Many thanks, F.

[Jilly_Bean]

Welcome, F! The main purpose of Phase 1 is to stop the cravings. If you are not having cravings, I would think you could go to Phase 2. A word of caution - add fruit and grain back in very slowly. And, of course, it's important to eat lots of veggies (the reason I do not think Atkins is a healthy diet). Good luck!

[RedRox]

You should be able to move to P2 slowly as Jilly suggested. Be sure to check the P1 and P2 food lists here though and the meal models. Even in P1 on SB you can get 80+ gms of carbs a day from dairy (milk and yogurt), beans and veggies including tomatoes and onions. So you are likely going to go into P2 from a much lower point of carb intake than someone on P1 doing SB. You might even consider doing a short time of SB P1 with all of it's good carb sources just to kind of stair step the transition a little more. Also be aware that you might gain some water weight during the transition to SB as you replenish glycogen stores and get your body out of ketosis. It should be temporary and you just might need to "bite the bullet" on the scale weight at first as you move over! Good luck though! I agree with Jilly in that I think it is a much more mainstream, healthy and balanced way of eating.