Keto/South Beach/Atkins

#1

What would you say is the difference between South Beach/Atkins and Keto? When people hear low carb South Beach and Atkins seem to be the ones they think of. I am trying to differentiate it but they are similar.

(Vladaar Malane) #2

This isn’t the actual definition difference, but for me the only difference I care about is I did South Beach and Adkins when they first came out. Lost 40 pounds quick, then came off the diet and gained it back quicker and then some. Adkins and Beach didn’t stress eating a lot of fat.

Keto isn’t a diet its a lifestyle. A sustainable one, that I’m not hungry when I do it, because I’m eating fat to satiety. Also, find that I don’t miss anything. You can eat whatever your favorite foods used to be just in different ways to get that same taste you crave.

#3

I did Atkins many years ago and remember doing many of the same things I do now…eggs in the morning, burgers without bread, etc. I think all plans are shunning the word diet these days. I know South Beach has a phases and phase 3 is a maintenance phase. So like keto you can never go back to how you were eating and not gain a lot of weight. This is why I struggle explaining keto to people. The macros is the biggest thing. I do not recall the tracking being emphasized as much. It seems like it was just skip the carbs and you are good.

(Daisy) #4

I think high fat and long term lifestyle is the biggest difference, but I’m no expert. I’ve been trying and trying to talk my husband into going keto. He talked to his dr today and told him I’ve been trying to talk him into it. According to hubby, the dr rolled his eyes. When he asked if it was bad, he said it had its uses, but shouldn’t be used long term and that it was like Atkins and had its dangers too. Grrrr

#5

Interesting. I assume you are on the diet. How long have you been on it?

(Daisy) #6

I am. I did it for a few weeks back in April, switched to low carb for the next 3 months, thinking it was just as good (it so wasn’t… for me!), then went back keto at the end of August.

(Pete A) #7

For me, Keto is basically Atkins induction, permanently. I’ve done Atkins twice but gained the weight back when adding carbs back in. This go 'round with Keto (14 months) I’m not doing anythng like that.

I dont know much about South Beach but my understanding is certain carbs are encouraged i.e. brown rice and others…

(Daisy) #8

Just found this great article. Towards the end, it even directly compares the 2.

(less is more, more or less) #9

WHOA, let’s get definitions correctly first.

Firstly, as a diet regimen, Keto and Atkins heavily overlap each other. As research and trials grow, I expect the parameter to adjust accordingly.

South Beach is a prepackaging of the Ansil Key’s Seven Countries epidemiological – and fatally flawed – study, analysis and recommendations for diet. That SB likes EVOO is nice, but insufficient.

Now then, for my N=1

I did South Beach a year after Atkins. I lost 20 pounds in 6 moths, and gained 25 pounds the next 6 months. It is too carb-friendly, too anti-meat. The science behind SB is flawed, or, you can simply invert the acronym. SB focuses on Carbohydrates and their glycaemic index. It is anti-saturated fats. Again, the science behind SB is weak tea at best.

#10

Have you seen results? I ask because it seems like if you have it would be an easier sell to your husband. As for the doctor, I give my doctor credit for being open and honest about how little training they receive on the dietary side. He recommended a book to me. I am wondering if most doctors lack this training.

Interesting. You say with Atkins you gained it back when you added carbs. I suppose the same could happen if you add carbs following keto. So it would stand to reason that both require you to make permanent changes.

(Jane) #11

Of course. That’s the one thing that allows you to lose weight and not be hungry all the time, so adding them back to pre-keto levels will put you right back to where you started - eventually.

Because I am rarely hungry and love the food I can maintain my 30-lb loss with this lifestyle permanently. Doesn’t mean I have to stay under 20 carbs the rest of my life. But it means I need to do this the MAJORITY of the time and only eat carbs as an occasional treat.

I love the way I feel so staying under 20 carbs is a small price to pay for the health benefits alone.

(Jane) #12

And to answer your question - did Atkins in the 70’s when it became popular and also a couple of other times. Never could sustain it because I wasn’t eating enough fats and got sick of the regimen. Plus stalled out and didn’t know why. Can’t comment on South Beach because I never did it or read up on it.

(Vladaar Malane) #13

Google shows lots of results on definitions as well. As your goal is to explain the difference to others, you might want more technical info, instead of just what keto people think.

https://bodyspartan.com/keto-diet-vs-south-beach/

Also, I wouldn’t worry about explaining the differences. I’d simply tell them what Keto is and what is has done for you. They can google if they want. Some people just like to argue. While others may just be genuinely interested, but that’s just me.

(Daisy) #14

He will freely admit he’s seen some pretty remarkable results with me (chronic stomach pain gone, hypoglycemia gone, more energy, weight loss) but he wants no part of it. He said “there are other ways to get results, not just Daisy’s way” I said but can’t you just try daisy’s way once? Lol

#15

So you are staying under 20 indefinitely? I guess my understanding is you do it until you get down to your ideal weight and then you can increase carbs to a maintenance level. Under 20 would keep you in Ketosis and so I would assume you would eventually run out of fat to burn. Am I wrong?

Wow…tough customer you got there. The results sounds gret. Good job.

#16

Keto isn’t a diet. It isn’t a lifestyle. It isn’t a dogma. Keto is just an abbreviation of ketogenic. Ketosis is a physiological state. “Eating keto” means eating in a way that results in being in ketosis. There is no definitive amount of carbs. Some people choose to consume less than 20g of carbs. I choose to eat as many carbs as my body can handle and still be in a state ketosis. For me, that’s 50-75g. YMMV

South Beach and Atkins are both diets. As such they are prescriptive- eat this, don’t eat that. There is no such prescription with “keto”. You can eat whatever you want so long as you stay in ketosis. On a practical basis, that usually means limiting consumption of higher carb foods. But how much is very individualistic.

I don’t use general rule of thumbs, I listen to my body. I measure how my body responds to the food I eat. Macros are external, they mean nothing to me. I track my blood glucose and blood ketones levels and adjust my food intact accordingly. Though experimentation, I know that my body responds differently to beef vs fish. I know that having a berry smoothie is within my carb tolerance. I know what happens if I drink a cup of pure coconut oil- 2000 calories, 100% fat.

Unlike diets, “keto” has no rules. Only results- ketosis.

(Jane) #17

I want to stay in ketosis and as long as I have enough “plate fat” I won’t burn my body fat.

My husband has a much higher metabolism and he can eat 50-100 carbs a day w/o gaining. I don’t think I can - at least not on a daily basis. But I can do that occasionally if I want to. Most of the time I don’t.

(Jane) #18

I’m guessing you are trying to figure out why anyone would want to cut carbs so drastically and do that the rest of your life.

Most of us here have/had chronic pain and other health problems caused from the inflammation and insulin resistance of a high carb diet. In order to understand why someone would be willing to give up pizza, pasta, bread and sweets on a regular basis indefinitely you would need to experience the amazing transformation this WOE does to how you feel every day. Plus the carb cravings go away for most of us so it makes it easier to pass up the carbage.

(Carl Keller) #19

Nice! :smiley:

(Pete A) #20

Yes, this.

The scale hasnt moved for me since April when I reached my “goal”. I’ve been maintaining yet my residual belly fat/skin is tightening up.

As previous commenters say, the under 20 carbs isn’t a magic number, set in stone. But the idea of not restricting carbs isn’t in my future. In the past I couldn’t tolerate adding them back in, mainly because it increased my appetite and cravings! :grinning: