It’s a good question, because some do fail. We’re always looking at the reasons, trying to find ways to improve the program. Most people who go on it report that taking the plunge is surprisingly easy. That’s partly because the South Beach Diet doesn’t require you to give up everything you love. We strongly encourage you to eat until you’re no longer hungry, and to snack when you feel the need, even during the stringent first 2 weeks.
But we recognize that it’s also easy at the start because it’s human nature to be gung-ho at the beginning of any new health regimen. You’re feeling motivated, and so you’re optimistic and full of resolve and determination to get your life and your looks back on track. Before you know it, you’re watching the pounds begin to melt away. You see the numbers on your scale descend, and you dig out garments that were once uncomfortably snug or maybe even impossibly tight and suddenly they begin to seem possible again. Sticking with the program is easy with so much positive reinforcement.
Then what happens?
To a degree, failure comes because of the program’s success. People lose anywhere from 8 to 13 pounds during the first 2 weeks. At that point you switch from the strictest phase to Phase 2, when you begin reintroducing some of the carbs you cut completely in Phase 1. The purpose of adding them back, as I’ve said, is manifold: Some carbs are good for you, and we want you to be on a healthy diet that’s as close to “normal” eating as possible. That means you’re going to eat fruit, and bread or pasta once in a while, and even a dessert here and there.
You continue losing weight in Phase 2, but not at the same speed as you did in Phase 1. Depending on how much you want to lose, it may take up to a year or even longer.
For some dieters, that’s a disappointment. And they remember that Phase 1 wasn’t so restrictive. They couldn’t eat certain things they love, but they never went hungry or felt discomfort. So they decide to stay on Phase 1 indefinitely, until they reach their goal.
Now, I know plenty of dieters who have made that decision and succeeded. But I know plenty more who have failed. Here’s why they fail: Phase 1 isn’t meant to be a long-term eating plan. You’re limited to a fairly small palette of foods grilled or broiled lean meats and fish, vegetables, low-fat cheeses and salads, all either steamed or prepared using good fats such as olive oil and canola oil. For snacks, nuts and part-skim mozzarella sticks, and that’s about it.
From a culinary point of view, it’s a perfectly acceptable diet for 2 or 3 weeks. After that, it gets a little dull. That is where the trouble starts. That’s when dieters begin to improvise, only they do so improperly. They mix in their bad old habits just once in a while, mind you. They follow Phase 1 but they add in a handful of Oreo cookies every night. Even that’s not exactly it. They add in one cookie after dinner, realize it tasted pretty good and probably did no harm, and then increase it to three every night. Three cookies a night with no noticeable harm makes it easy to allow a small bag of corn chips at 4 o’clock one afternoon. If you’re doing all right with three cookies and corn chips, it doesn’t seem so unwise to indulge a craving for pizza and bear on the weekend.
Before long, you’re cheating more than dieting. When you realize how badly you’ve strayed, you may do what lots of our people have tried: You’ll revert at once to the strict Phase 1 plan. But when you do, it seems even more monotonous than it did the first time.
At that point, you may just surrender. Some people do. If you’re lucky, you won’t end up weighing more than you did before you started the diet, though backsliding has a way of sending you to a point even beyond where you began.
It’s a diet truism that you can’t lose in a day what took you years to put on. We all accept that, and yet it’s hard not to try the quick fix. Sometimes the end result is weight gain, not loss.
It’s important for people to like the food they eat. Eating is meant to bring pleasure, even when you’re trying to lose weight. That’s a sensible way to think about food, and it’s one of the basic principles of the South Beach Diet. Which is why we strongly urge all the people we counsel to switch to Phase 2 after the second week, no matter how tempting it is to remain on Phase 1. This is a long term diet, and the three phase approach s an important part of its success. It may take longer to lose the weight this way, but your chances of losing it and keeping it off are better.
See Also
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