Surviving The South Beach Diet Phase One

The South Beach Diet isn't a short term diet or a "fad" diet where you'll see quick results and then gain all of your weight back. It's a way of changing how you eat for your entire life. However, as with any change there's a period of adjustment that will be hard for you. In the South Beach Diet, that period of adjustment is Phase One, in which you'll need to take two weeks to learn how to remove all of the harmful carbohydrates and fats from your diet. This will include a lot of foods that you love, such as fatty cuts of meat, whole milk, all alcohol, all sweets and just about any kind of starch that you've come to love! Phase One is hard, but once you're over it you'll be healthier (and thinner) for years to come. The key, of course, is surviving the hard part, Phase One. Here are some tips to get you through the South Beach Diet Phase One.

Start a Countdown: By the end of Phase One, you probably won't even crave bad carbohydrates or fats any longer, but during the first days or week, you will. Instead of thinking that this is how you'll be eating for the rest of your life, count the days down until the end of your two weeks. If you're thinking that the end of the two weeks means you can eat something that you love, it will be easier for you to put the candy bar down instead of eating it. And once you get to the end? You won't want that candy bar anyway!

Keep Bad Food Out of the House: Even if you're the only one in your house doing the South Beach Diet, everybody else will have to pitch in and help you out for the first two weeks by not having "bad" food there to tempt you. Before you start the South Beach Diet, get rid of ALL of the bad types of food from your house (particularly sweets, sodas and starches, which do the most damage). If you have a bag of candy in the cupboard, it will be a hundred times harder to resist eating it than if you have to leave your home and go to the grocery store to buy candy when you're starting to crave it. Set yourself up for success by having no sweets or any kinds of "forbidden" phase one foods in the house during the first two weeks.

Have a Support System: You're going to need help to survive Phase One. This doesn't just mean people who will make sure there's not bad food in the house. It also means people who will listen to you when you're struggling, and, most importantly, who will hold you accountable for what you eat each day. In a best case scenario, you'll have a buddy who you're doing the diet with and you can be each other's support system. If you're flying solo on your South Beach Diet, though, have a friend that you can call each night who will let you talk through what you ate that day and any struggles that you're having.

Once you make it through the South Beach Diet Phase One, you'll be on a smoother road to success. However, surviving Phase One is the biggest challenge of the diet! Follow our tips above, though, and you'll increase your chances of success not only for the first two weeks but in creating a healthier you for the rest of your life!