Why do I think it's time to try South Beach. Well, for one thing I've been avoiding the camera lense for years. Another thing is that my big brother was recently diagnosed with adult onset diabetes. I've found life is pretty good if I pay attention to what's going on (healthwise) with my brother and try to avoid it in advance. I figure that's a good guideline as we share DNA and all.
Over the years, as I've heard about South Beach I've not given it much thought. Now that I've looked into it more I think the name is all wrong. Think about it, "South Beach" sounds trendy, but if you look at it it's very nutritional, logical, simple, and not at all trendy. It was just given a bad name.
So, how does it work. Well, the first two weeks (or more if you dare, but not much more) you "reset" your sugar cravings by not having any sugar. No sugar, no bread, no potatoes, no rice. It really seems rather brutal when you think about it. After the initial two week period you gradually reintroduce GOOD carbs (which means I don't get to go out to Olive Garden and have a ton of garlic bread and pasta on day 15).
Now, eating sugars is one thing that you can't do that might be a bit difficult. But let's look at all the other things you don't have to do ....
- You don't have to measure portions or count calories. You need to limit certain things during Phase I (like tomatoes, and nuts, you can't eat an entire jar of nuts) but you don't have to do math (like with Weight Watchers)
- You don't have to eat "pre packaged" food. Jenny Craig and Seattle Sutton work great for some people, since you're given your food. With South Beach, you go to the grocery store and get your own stuff, based on the allowed food list (which is quite extensive, even though I have to take a pass on chocolate for a bit). There's an old saying about giving a man a fish feeds him for a day but teaching a man to fish helps him feed himself for a lifetime. Well I wonder if the same can be said about food, with Jenny Craig or Seattle Sutton are they only feeding me properly when I'm eating the pre packaged foods?
- You don't have to spend a lot of money. I've joined South Beach online so I can get to the menu plans and the cool charts (I don't mind the math, as long as someone else does it), but the food can come from the local grocery store (but don't be surprised if later you find here special Trader Joe's/South Beach recipes - I'm just saying).
