Losing weight with which phase?

[MyDestiny]

Reading through all the feeds here - I see a tonne of people saying they lost weight in Phase 1 - and a tonne of replies saying its actually Phase 1 that you are supposed to actually lose the weight.

I am looking over the Phase 2 stuff now (I am only on Day .. 9 I think of Phase 1) and since you can re-introduce foods into your diet now - then how is this supposed to be the phase that you lose the weight?

Can anyone clarify for me?

[paintedbliss]

You will be in this phase the longest so yes you will lose most of your weight here but slower. Phase 1 is basically to detox your body, get rid of your high sugar cravings and maintain a more even glycemic range. In turn with eating lower in fat and getting rid of bad carbs(I did not say low carb) you tend to lose alot of water with the toxins and water weight. I lost I believe 8lbs in phase 1, I'm in my 5th week of phase 2. I've been losing more the last two weeks than I did in phase 1, about 2-3lbs week. I must say that exercising plays a big key. Another thing you say you have 20lbs, not a lot to lose so it will be slower with the weight loss than someone like me that has 60 or so lbs to go.

[MyDestiny]

Well I am drinking as much as I can possibly drink. (well, ok that makes it sounds like I am a marathon drinker, but I try to drink 3 bottles of water between 9 - 12:30 and another 3 bottles between 1:30 - 5, then at night I drink what I can) I alternatate between 1 bottle water w/Crystal light and then 1 bottle plain water (yuck) No such thing as too much water right? The faster I can drop these pounds the better!

I need to boost my metabolism somehow!

So if I take 3 weeks of Phase 1 - will that slow my weight loss down? Is phase 2 the key to dropping pounds?

[Jilly_Bean]

My Destiny,

Do you want to lose the weight and then gain it all back again (plus maybe more)? I ask this because it sounds like you are really interested in how fast you can lose the weight. SB is MORE about a lifestyle change. And if you only have 20 pounds to lose, it will be slow, no matter what you do. (Unless you do something really extreme, in which case it will come right back on the minute you stop.)

My suggestion is to follow the recommendations of the author of the book. Do two weeks of Phase 1 and then begin Phase 2. Stop focusing so much on the weight and instead pay attention to how you feel. If you are eating healthily and getting some exercise, the weight will come off and you will get to the weight that you are meant to be at. (As I type this, I am realizing I need to hear this myself, so thanks for asking the questions.)
????: South Beach Diet Forums http://www.southbeachdietbulletinboard.com/south-beach-diet-forums-phase-1/2295-losing-weight-phase.html

As far as the water goes, yes, there is such a thing as too much water. I don't know the science behind it (maybe someone else can help with that?), but pushing a ton of water into your body is NOT going to make you lose weight faster. Yes, it's important to keep hydrated. Very important. But there is such a thing as too much.

Hope this helps.

[RedRox]

Phase 2 is the key to learning how to eat healthily for the rest of your life and what foods work well for you and which ones may not. If you add some level of increased activity in along the way, most people will continue to lose weight slowly in it over time, or maintain their goal weight if their body has settled out at a comfortable weight level given their average caloric intake and expenditure.
????: South Beach Diet Forums http://www.southbeachdietbulletinboard.com/showthread.php?t=2295

FWIW, I lost about 9 lbs in P1, and the other 35 in P2. One took 2 weeks, the other took about a year before I finally settled out at my current weight range, although I lost almost all my weight in the first 8 months. The last 5-10 just go very slowly for everyone, so if you only have the 20 lbs to lose, your rate of loss will be slower than someone who can lose the first 20 of 50 lets say fairly quickly, but then will slow way down the closer they get to their goal weight. Towards the end, I was happy with a pound a month, but I was eating well, living an active lifestyle and figured it would come off at some point and eventually it did.

Exercise is what boosts your metabolism!

Unknown how a 3rd week of P1 will affect your weight loss since you can't do P1 and P2 at the same time and everyone is different. Most do plateau for a few weeks as they enter P2 and many also plateau if they stay in P1 too, so I wouldn't necessarily go into either with the expectation of weight loss every week. There are a lot of weeks with no weight loss on this program. (well there were for me!) You likely didn't put it all on quickly, so it isn't going to come off quickly. Simply willing it away doesn't make it so!

[MyDestiny]

Jilly,

Ah yes - I am interested in how fast I can lose the weight. Partially curiousity, and partial natural human want to see results as quickly as possible. If I didn't want to see results quickly then there really WOULD be something wrong with me! *lol* I ask a million questions because I need to know - and I want to know, regardless of whether they work or are relevant to me.
????: South Beach Diet Forums http://www.southbeachdietbulletinboard.com/showthread.php?t=2295

I can follow a day by day routine. My whole life revolves around routine, so sticking with this is not nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be. In fact with the exception of one or two days that I REALLY wanted cookies or my Timmies, I have been fine.

And of course I feel better. Well .. I still feel like me, only now I have a tonne of energy!! (with the exception of this morning, I just cant seem to get going)

[MyDestiny]

Red,

WOW!! That must feel great!! I realize that because I have 20 pounds to go its going to go slowly, but I am just waiting to gte myself into some of my old clothes!! (as much as I love shopping, I HATE clothes shopping!!!)

I think just the fact that there is no sugar (pop!!!) or carbs (pasta fiend here) will do me a world of good alone without the extra water, healthy snacks etc!

Man if willing things just made things happen I would SO be rich!!!

[paintedbliss]

A question about the water, how much is enough? I work in a hospital and asked our nutrtionist "how much I should be drinking"?. It a intense calculation but basically he told me this "take what you weigh/ divide by 50% that is the minimum amount of water in ounces that you should be drinking. I try to shoot for a gallon a day, sometimes I get there sometimes no. You don't want to drink so much water that it can make you dizzy, space it out over your day. I start as soon as i get on the scale til right after dinner.

[MyDestiny]

Ok - now if I knew math this would make it easier! My first botch at math said I needed to drink 19 500ml bottles of water a day - that does NOT sound right does it?

[Laura-in-Missouri]

Well, I currently weigh 162 lbs. I divide that in half, and come up with 81. So, I should drink 81 ounces of water per day. In other words, I should have 10 glasses of water.

I believe that is correct, and it sounds reasonable to me.