Diets with phases

[freddyboy]

Are there any benefits to diets with phases, like South Beach? I get how they can lead to weight loss, especially at the start, but in the long run don't these types of diets just lead to you regaining your weight because they're too limiting and the lifestyle is too much of nuisance to maintain?

[madscientist]

They can be good and bad, like any diet. One thing that seems to work well with a phase-style diet is that you feel like you're completing steps and typically the first phase is the hardest and then it gets better. That being said, I do think that a lot of phase diets are very restrictive, over all and this can make it harder for you to stick to this long term. Plus any diet that is only meant to be followed for the short term, doesn't typically help people with long-term weight loss.

[anne]

I don't think there are any benefits at all. I think the best thing to do with healthy and long-term weight loss is to start by not making massive changes to your diet (unless your doctor tells you to for health reasons), but to by decreasing the amount of calories you eat in a day. By tracking what you eat, you'll be able to figure out what you can and can't eat or how much of one thing you can eat. By doing this, you'll naturally start making substitutions to your diet without having to follow some wacky phases that starve you or make you consume an all liquid diet and all that dumb nonsense.

[ffviifan]

Of course there are benefits. There are drawbacks, too. But this can be said about ANY diet you follow. It really boils down to finding a style of diet that works best for you. If you're someone with a lot of willpower, it might be better to skip a phase-style diet. But, if you're someone who needs a lot of guidance, then a phase diet can help you get on track. I would recommended that if you are really interested in trying South Beach, then give it a try. The worse case is you don't like it and you try something else. Sometimes, we overthink dieting too much.

The only other tip I'd give is to remember that if you really want the best weight loss results, you need to commit long term. Therefore, don't think of any diet you do as a means to an end. It's a lifestyle change and one of the positive side effects of this lifestyle change is weight loss.

[freddyboy]

Of course there are benefits. There are drawbacks, too. But this can be said about ANY diet you follow. It really boils down to finding a style of diet that works best for you. If you're someone with a lot of willpower, it might be better to skip a phase-style diet. But, if you're someone who needs a lot of guidance, then a phase diet can help you get on track. I would recommended that if you are really interested in trying South Beach, then give it a try. The worse case is you don't like it and you try something else. Sometimes, we overthink dieting too much.

The only other tip I'd give is to remember that if you really want the best weight loss results, you need to commit long term. Therefore, don't think of any diet you do as a means to an end. It's a lifestyle change and one of the positive side effects of this lifestyle change is weight loss.

Yeah, I guess you're right ffviifan. Different things work for different people. If I really want to know if this is going to be beneficial for me, I should just try it. I mean, you're right, worse case is that it's going to fail and I can try something else. That said, I know that my biggest problem is going to be sticking to anything long term. Argh! Why is making health changes so difficult!!

[CuJo1992]

Yeah, I guess you're right ffviifan. Different things work for different people. If I really want to know if this is going to be beneficial for me, I should just try it. I mean, you're right, worse case is that it's going to fail and I can try something else. That said, I know that my biggest problem is going to be sticking to anything long term. Argh! Why is making health changes so difficult!!

It's difficult because we've spent years building habits that we're comfortable with. Breaking from these habits is really hard, especially when we like them. I think humans are naturally programmed to risk change...even if the change is a good one...