Hello everyone!

After being on and off atkins and losing 60 and gaining 40 back over the past 2 years I have decided to come on over to the South Beach side. I live in
Florida and saw on TV news that the schools in several districts are starting to serve healty lunches they are switching to South Beach lunches because its much healthier, when I saw that I decided to give it a try, for schools to switch it must be very healthy.

So with that I just ordered my book should be here in the next week. I have a lot to lose over 150lbs, its this or the weight loss surgery. I dont want to have that surgery but if I have to I will but I'm hoping I can manage to stay on South Beach easier than Atkins.

Maybe it's me but this is kind of a odd first post for someone. Most new people say hi and have a question about the LC diet they are doing or want to try. Most people don't imply that the Atkins diet is not healthy for you. What is your local Florida TV news call letters I would like to check out that story on line. Most tv news chanels will post the same story they broadcast. Any diet you go on and off will not work. They all have to be a lifestyle change to make it work in the long run.
Goodluck on whatever diet you choose and read as much as you can here. But I must say from what I've read I think there is nothing unhealthy with the Atkins diet.

Maybe I posted wrong I did not say Atkins was unhealthy at all, I said that I could not stay on atkins I got bored with it and after being on it for a while I would start to eat other things other than 20-25 carbs a day. Let me say again Atkins is NOT unhealthy I lost weight and went off high blood pressure meds and had good results I just wanted to eat some other things like fruits. The mistake I made was letting myself get bored with it, I stayed in the induction phase for over 4 months and I got tired of it.

When I saw the program about the South Beach Diet having a little bit more of variety of foods and how some of the schools here in Florida are serving them to students I decided to go ahead and do South Beach.

I hope I made it clear to you that I am not bashing Atkins and am not saying its unhealthy I just want to try something else and see how it goes.

Florida Schools Testing 'South Beach Diet' As Researchers Ask if Kids Will Eat Nutritious Food.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. Mar 7, 2005 ? Kelly Ferrer no longer gets the waffles, pancakes and sugar cereals that she loved eating for breakfast last year in her school cafeteria. This year, instead, she is served whole-wheat bread, lowfat cheese and fruit.

Does she like it? No.

"I want to go back to the old menu," said the fourth-grader at Mill Creek Elementary School. "We had better food last year."



Kelly's is one of six schools in this Orlando suburb taking part in a study by a research center founded by Dr. Arthur Agatston, the author of "The South Beach Diet."

The goal of the study is to figure out whether school cafeterias are capable of serving more nutritious food, whether kids will eat it and whether their health will improve.

The program underscores growing concerns across the nation about childhood obesity. Government data suggest about 15 percent of U.S. youngsters are severely overweight or obese, a problem that may lead to diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. Some state surveys indicate the obesity rate could be higher.

"We're not putting the children on the South Beach Diet," said Danielle Hollar, deputy director of research at the Agatston Research Institute. "We're trying to provide healthier options for these children, and in the long run we hope they learn to eat healthier and incorporate that into their daily living."

Although the 3,000 students in the study haven't been put on the low-carb diet per se, many of the diet's guiding principles have been incorporated into school menus.

White bread has been stricken and replaced with whole-wheat. White potatoes were subbed with sweet potatoes. French fries were abolished. Grilled chicken replaced breaded chicken. Fruits serve as dessert.

Students at the beginning of the school year were weighed, their height measured and their blood pressure and pulse recorded. Those same measurements will be taken in April. The institute has paid for the $10,000 extra cost. Hollar said the obesity rate at the school hadn't been calculated. The new menus were "a little bit slow catching on, but now the students seem to be enjoying the meals," said Jean Palmore, food service director for the Osceola County School District. Four of the schools have changed their menus and the other two are being used as controls with unchanged menus.

It was rough going at first. As many as half of the students at the test schools didn't eat their lunches at the beginning of the year. Now just 15 percent are in that category after tweaks to the menu and weeks of exposure.

"We tried a veggie burger, but that was not a popular thing," Palmore said. "We had some problems with breakfast because traditionally we have pancakes and waffles and bagels. Those kids can't have any of those now."

On a recent day, the difference in menus between a test school and control school was apparent. While Pleasant Hill Elementary School, a control school, served onion rings as a side dish with its choice of chicken or egg salad, Mill Creek Elementary School served veggie sticks with dip.

"They're trying some other foods that they haven't tried before," said Laurel Hagood, dean of Mill Creek Elementary School, where 65 percent of the 938 students get free or reduced-price lunches.

Besides initial student finickiness, the biggest obstacle has been access to healthier ingredients. The school district is part of a buying group with other districts that have a long-term contract with a food distributor. Most schools, for example, aren't ordering whole-wheat pasta.

In addition, the shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables is shorter than frozen or canned items, making it difficult sometimes to buy in bulk.

"Produce is more expensive, perishable and you don't get the yield on those items that you get from canned items," Palmore said.

Food distributors should respond to demand for fruits, vegetables and whole grains in school diets, said Lynn Parker, director of child nutrition programs at the Food Research and Action Center, a Washington-based public interest group.

Some school districts around the nation have started farm-to-school programs that rely on local growers. While many schools have been lowering the fat content and offering more fruits and vegetables, they still have a way to go, Parker said.

"There is a strong interest on the part of many schools to do better and I think that's because of pressure from parents," Parker said. "Many parents across the country are trying to make changes in their own meals at home and are concerned about childhood obesity and having well-nourished children and preventing chronic diseases later in life."

Welcome, Ang! And thanks for the article! (Next time, if you don't mind, please just post a link to the article. We don't re-print whole articles to avoid copyright issues.)

I think that's a great thing they're doing in that school. The current menu is such an improvement over standard school fare.

I wouldn't do well on South Beach, since I have blood sugar issues. I also tend to feel hungry if I limit fat. Even in maintenance, I have to be very careful with fruit and grain. I eat fruits, almost every day, but only low glycemic ones and in very small portions.

But it might be just the ticket for you.

Let us know how it goes for you!

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Yes, welcome! As we always say, it doesn't matter what works for someone else: what matters is what works for you!!!

I wish you every success on your new chosen way of eating! Read up on it as much as you can, and make yourself at home here.

Welcome ang360! We actually ended up switching over to SB too after we lost the weight that we'd wanted to lose on Atkins. (we probably in reality sort of do a combination of both, since there are still things that we like that we ate while on Atkins.) Hope it works well for you!

pianomom... how has south beach worked for you, compared to atkins? I don't know a whole lot about it, but it sounds like there are more choices. If I can lose a little more that would be fine, but basically, I just need more choices.. I'd be interested in your opinion...

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In the cookies of life, we are the chocolate chips.

Lou, we've really liked South Beach. Yes, I think you do have more choices. To me, it's a little easier because of that. But of course, you still have to be careful not to let the pounds creep back on again. We both gained 4-5 lbs over tax season but am now working on getting them back off. That's such a tiring time that you find yourself eating more than normal just for the extra energy. But, before that, we had gone around 8 months without gaining anything back, so that was good.

Pianomom, my daughter is way over weight, and says she can't handle atkins.. she tried for about a month or so doing her own version of a diet... tried to combine low fat and low carb, and she reached a stand still.. She got so discouraged, and I finally convinced her to at least read the south beach diet book. she is doing that now, and says she really feels it will work for her. I think I may go ahead and try it with her. I don't care if I lose any more weight or not, but I do feel I'd enjoy it more. thanks.

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In the cookies of life, we are the chocolate chips.

You're welcome!