Welcome to Phase II

Once you have completed your two weeks of Phase I, it's time to move on to Phase II. You will probably be tempted to stay on Phase I longer; I know I was. The rapid weight loss I experienced during those first two weeks caused the issue. I feared reversing the process and gaining my weight back. Forget that issue, resist the temptation and move on. It's time to start SLOWLY reintroducing 'good' carbohydrates to your diet.

So now you'll learn to reintroduce the right carbs, such as whole grains and most fruits. Some indulgences are allowed. This will probably be a fairly long phase of the diet for you. You will stay on Phase II until reaching your goal weight.

Some caution here: Introduce carbs back into your diet slowly. Don't just start eating everything in sight on your fifteenth day. Add a serving of fruit and see how your body reacts. Next, add a whole grain and see how that affects you. You are looking for things that cause cravings for more sugars. If you find anything that causes those cravings, stay away from it for awhile and try a different carb instead. This trial and error approach will help you to stay on track and still introduce those good carbs back into your diet safely.

There will be times that you really crave a certain food that isn't necessarily South Beach friendly. my experience is that you should have it and then go back to your diet at the next meal. I also found that I no longer forced myself to eat snacks and still did fine on meeting my goals. When I was hungry, I ate a healthy snack, but I never concerned myself with having missed them.

Those are some of the things I found that helped me stay "on" the diet. I didn't deprive myself and I didn't force myself. In short, I didn't turn this into a "religion" where failing to follow orders becomes a "sin". I simply modified a bit to meet my needs and kept on plan most of the time. I think this is the reason most people fail on diets - in my opinion it's NOT an all-or-nothing thing. Make your discretions, don't beat yourself up or give up on the diet, and then go back to the good stuff at your next meal.