I tried atkins about a year ago and the initial results were AMAZING, but i went on vacation right after induction and fell off the wagon. I keep trying to go back to induction, but I keep messing up (usually on the weekends). At this point breads, pasta and potatoes are basically gone from my diet, and aside from the major binges (emotionally triggered, I'm working on that), sugar is at least in moderation - mostly straight up as opposed to hidden and, miraculously for me, in reasonable portions (two small cookies instead of 8). I'm starting to freak out about all the Atkins allowed fat, and I really just want to get to a place where i'm eating reasonable amounts of protein, lots of veggies, some fruits, good fats and small amounts of whole grains.

So here's my question:

I'm so used to the Atkins state of mind that I'm afraid I'm still eating too much fat. I'm used to liberal mayo, full fat cheese, whatever meat I want... Can anyone help me out w/ some new rules aside from LF mayo and cheese? What meats can I have? Any creamy salad dressing? Are eggs limited? Do I need to really watch the olive oil? If I AM going to do it, is LC ice cream and such okay? is snacking on nuts okay? peanut butter?

Also, since I've conquered the starch craving, and some of the sugar craving, do you think it will work for me to jump right in with the occasional bowl of oatmeal or 1/2 slice of whole grain bread?

Thank you in advance for your thoughts! I've got an ex-boyfriend coming to town in about 6 months, so I need to get going on this

BTW, I did read the SBD book, but I can't keep that and Atkins straight in my head.

Since nobody else was able to answer your question, I thought I'd jump in. Unfortunately, I can't answer it either. I'm just not that familiar with South Beach--even though I did buy the book.

I would consider picking up a copy of South Beach "Good Fats/Good Carbs" reference guide. (see Amazon.com) and then going back through the SBD book and, as you see foods and amounts that you can have, make a notation of them in the book. It's small enough that you can keep in your purse and refer to it often.

I considered South Beach...and still might look at it as I move closer to maintenance. But I thought it too liberal (for me) in some food (breads, grains, fruits) and too restricting in others (meats, fats). I'm using Atkins and quite happy with it at the moment, but I can see how you'd be concerned about fats. According to FitDay.com, more than half of the calories in my diet is from fat!

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Melissa

heh heh.. probably why i will NEVER join in the CCC forum... i cant even IMAGINE what the calorie count is for what i eat..*L*
i would have a HELLUVA time switching from atkins...
although i admit i am more CALORIE aware now.. i dont go out of my way to eat fatty things... and other than my one sad attempt at mock danish yesterday.. i would NEVER think that dr. atkins had 3 oz of cream cheese and an egg a real healthy thing on a regular basis..*L*
heck.. come to think of it.. is a MOCK DANISH even LEGAL on induction? or is it 3 oz of cheese ? is cream cheese considered CHEESE?
holy cow.. i think i need to break out my book again... i could re read it this coming year...

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This webpage has a lot of info. Good luck!

http://www.southbeachdietguide.com/

Thanks for the link, and suggestions! I guess I'll figure it out, right now I'm just focusing on this holiday obstacle course of sweets and treats

We're having the same problem!! I'm trying to reseach SB before I jump into it, that way I have no excuses when I do start it!
It's very hard to *unlearn* atkins though :(