I have been on Atkins for about 7 weeks, and have lost 20 lbs. with about 5 lbs. to go. I have enjoyed the diet because I get to eat the foods that I love. But I feel that SBD is a better way for me to maintain my target weight and is a more practical long-term approach. Question:

Atkins is nice because I can refer to the carb counter and know exactly how many carbs I eat during the day - it is a very convenient tool to have. But after perusing the SBD book, I saw no mention of counting carbs. I don't want to spend $400 at the grocery store buying all the ingredients in Dr. Agatston's menu plans, but would like to try the more carb/less fat approach, and not worry about getting knocked out of ketosis if I slip up and eat a peice of cake every now and then.

Any good references online for acceptable foods and choices? Thanks.

With SBD you don't count carbs...you won't need to be in kintosis. The whole premis is that there are good carbs and bad carbs...good fat and bad fat. Vegetable carbs (no starchy ones like corn or potatoes) are good. Oil olive, Canola oil, flax seed oil are good fats.
Please read the book. It gives all the info you will need. Remember if you stop losing weight just go back to Phase one of the SBD and you will get back on track. Eat slowly and stop eating when you are full. Good Luck...Remeber fiber is king!!!

Punch in,,,,"south beach diet for beginners"There is a forum there exactly like this one. There are people on recipe and support part that know all the tricks to save money on the diet.
You might also like the general chat area they have alot of fun there.. Send me a pm telling me how wonderful I am after you have been to the site...Hehe