The South Beach
Diet does not involve counting calories, fat grams, or portion sizes. You can
eat until your hunger is satisfied. If you feel hungry, grab a handful of nuts,
or a cheese snack. There are no special foods to buy, or package meals.
The South Beach
Diet was developed by Dr. Arthur Agatston, a cardiologist, to help his patients
eat more healthy and lose weight. The diet regards itself as teaching the difference
between good and bad carbohydrates, combinations of foods, and good and bad
fats. The diet first appeared in a book of the same name.
The diet encourages
three meals a day with a midmorning and a mid-afternoon snack. Even if you do
not feel like eating these snacks it is important you do for the diet to work.
The diet focuses
on a healthy balance between good carbs and good fats. By decreasing the bad
carbs you will metabolize what you eat more effectively and improve insulin
resistance. This leads to weight loss and the diet emphasizes making a permanent
change in one's way of eating.
The
diet has 3 phases:
South Beach
Diet Phase 1
In the first phase
dieter's banish their bad carb cravings and induce rapid weight loss. This phase
is similar to Atkins induction phase.
Do not eat:
Processed foods, bread, rice, pastas, potatoes, baked goods, soy milk yogurt,
and carrots, corn and all fruit are forbidden in the 14-day induction phase.
This includes all candy, cake, cookies, ice cream and sugar, plus meats that
are cured in sugar or molasses. You can drink all the coffee and tea you want.
Avoid beer and alcohol and foods with a high glycemic index in general.
Do eat:
Protein from high-quality meat sources as lean meat, fish, shellfish, eggs,
nuts, low-fat cheese, tofu, vegetables and garden salad with olive oil dressing.
By following the
specified plan in phase 1, you can correct the way your body reacts to food.
During the 14-day
induction period, Dr. Agatston predicts a weight loss of between eight and 13
pounds, with belly fat being the first to go.
South Beach
Diet Phase 2
Some of the
forbidden foods can be slowly reintroduced, sometimes in modified form in
the second phase of the diet. Bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, fruit, cookies,
ice cream, or sugar and even some wine will be slowly added back into your
diet.
Weight loss
is slower and you can expect to lose from one to two pounds each week as long
as you do not go overboard with the carb reintroduction. This slower weight
loss is much healthier.
Your former
bad eating habits of the past should be gone. You are not eating so much food
that starts cravings now, but plenty of food that is good for you.
The second phase
lasts until the dieter's goal weight is reached. After dieters reach their ideal
weight, they proceed on to their Diet for Life or maintenance diet, phase 3.
South Beach
Diet Phase 3
The final phase
is the "Diet for Life" phase. This is the maintenance diet and will
be followed for the rest of the dieter's life. You are eating differently
but but this feels as normal eating for you. The plan will feel less like
a diet and more like a lifestyle.
If at any time
the dieter begins to gain unwanted pounds, then he simply goes through the induction
and pre-maintenance phases again.
Focus on low glycemic index
Unlike Atkins,
the South Beach Diet is not a low carbohydrate diet. It is not a low-fat diet
either, and you can even have a dessert after dinner. The South Beach Diet follows
the same principles of other diets based on the glycemic index.
You combine carbohydrates,
proteins, and fats in every meal, but you have to focus on low glycemic index
(GI) foods.
The glycemic index
ranks carbohydrate foods based on the effect on blood sugar levels. Carbs with
a high glycemic index are rapidly digested and absorbed and contribute to obesity.
Most starchy foods,
refined grain products and potatoes, have a high GI, but
berries, grapefruit, high-fiber cereal, and whole grain breads have low glycemic index.
Other preferred
carbohydrates are ones that have more nutritional value than the alternatives
(i.e., brown rice is allowed in moderation, but white rice is discouraged).
Eating fiber or fat with carbohydrates will slow their digestion. Good fats
are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Saturated and trans fats are bad.
There is nothing
especially new about this diet but the South Beach Diet is a doable diet plan
and encourages long-term eating from all food groups. It has sensible advice
about balanced eating and foods. In the long term, this is one of the better
diets.
The reason most
diets don't work is because the diet only changes your eating habits for the
period that you’re losing weight. With South Beach you're actually learning
a healthier way of eating.
