I actually had the complete opposite effect. My energey levels immediately leveled out. I used to crash in the afternoon, and once I started the SBD, they became stabilized...and it was immediate. Now, that could have been simply from the fact that I went from having a glass or two of wine every other night, but once I stopped putting sugar into my system, I felt like I was physically better overall. In fact, having more even energy levels is probably a better result for me than the weight loss.

I've never heard of the South Beach diet. Since you don't eat potatoes, pasta, rice or bread, do you get all your calories from fats and protein?

Yes, you do. Although I *think* the South Beach Diet is a little lighter on the fats than the Atkins Diet (someone can probably confirm or dispute...). For instance, SBD recommends Canadian Bacon vs. regular bacon because it has lower fat; also, lean meats and fish, eggs, but also egg substitute. The breakfast part was always the hardest for me because the choices are fairly limited, but once I got used to having egg omelets with some Canadian bacon on the side, it wasn't so bad (I add veggies to the omelet). I used to always skip breakfast and be starving by lunch time and then I'd overload on the carbs and crash mid-afternoon. I'm definitely not as hungry during the day with less carbs.