South Beach Diet Review

The South Beach Diet may well be the most popular ‘good carb’ diet on the bookshelves today.

There have been many diets based on the glycemic index over the years, but the South Beach Diet made carbs cool.

The lifestyle we now know as the South Beach Diet was originally not a plan developed for weight loss purposes. Instead, it was developed to be a heart healthy way of eating for (creator) Dr Arthur Agatston’s patients. Weight loss turned out to be a really great side effect! The diet was commercialized and vamped up by a genious marketing firm and sold to the masses. However, since the South Beach Diet was not originally intended to be for weight loss, there were a few gray areas. The average cardiology patient will work this into their diet the best they can. The average dieter, though, wants to know exactly how many teaspoons of fat free half and half she/he can get away with and still lose weight.

Like many commercial diets, the South Beach Diet is in phases. There are 3 phases in the South Beach Diet.

Phase 1 of the South Beach Diet is a carbohydrate boot camp. It lasts for 2 weeks and is similar to a low carb diet. You’ll cut out all flour, sugar, fatty meats, fruit and fruit juices, dairy (except for some low fat cheeses) and alcohol. You’ll also be nixing certain starchy vegetables like potatoes, corn, carrots and most dried beans.

You’ll be able to eat lean meat, tofu, mozzarella cheese sticks, olive and canola oil, cottage and ricotta cheese, most non starchy vegetables, nuts, fish, and up to 75 calories a day of sugar substitute treats. Dr Agatston says you will lose up to 13 pounds in this phase, depending on your weight. This also depends, however, on if you are already a low carber. If you’ve been low carbing already, you aren’t going to lose as much weight up front on the South Beach Diet.

Phase 2 is the long haul, so fortunately you get to add some tasty carbs back into the plan. You’re going to start adding back in some fruit, sweet potatoes, whole grain bread, whole grain pasta, and brown rice. Your weight loss is going to slow down a bit when you do this, but it is important that you introduce these foods back to your plan for a balanced diet. Start by adding a serving a day, and continue as long as you are still losing weight. If you’ve quit losing, or begin to gain weight, you need to move back to Phase 1, or at least cut back on some of the carbs that you started.

Still out of bounds on South Beach are white flours and potatoes, carrots, corn, bananas, sugar, honey, cookies, cakes, etc. The key is low sugar, whole grains, and good fats. It can be hard to add in just the right amount of carbs. If you have problems with this, it is strongly recommended that you join an online menu service. eDiets has low glycemic menus, and you can also join online at The South beach Diet Online. (www.southbeachdiet.com) This can eliminate confusion, cut the distress from menu planning and looking up ingredients, and it can also calculate your portion size. Portion sizes are not very specific on the plan. Instead, you are to learn to eat until no longer hungry. Well if you could do that, would you be overweight? Makes an online plan look even better! You might be stumped on lunch, and are tired of a chicken breast, broccoli and brown rice. That might get old after a while, but if you have an online service, you might find tasty meals like Smoked Turkey Pitas with raspberries. Yum! That sounds like a diet that we can stick with.

South Beach Diet, Sample menu #1

Breakfast:
Scrambled Eggs
Monterey Jack cheese

Lunch:
Grilled chicken salad with oil and vinegar dressing

Dinner:
Broiled fish
Roasted vegetables

South Beach Diet, Sample menu #2

Breakfast:
Eggs and turkey bacon

Lunch:
Sliced turkey and spinach salad

Dinner:
Lean chopped steak with veggies and onions

Desert:
Ricotta Creme

As a side note, the South Beach Diet wants you to take a multi-vitamin daily, take calcium supplements, drink plenty of water, and cut caffeine down to a minimum.

Phase 3 is the rest of your life. Basically, you go back to ‘normal’ proportions, which is basically adding a handful to each phase 2 meal. You can splurge for dessert more often, or eat more bread, but you will need to watch your calories to see how it sneaks up on you. Again, an online service would supply you with shopping lists and menus so you don’t have to do the work.

The South Beach way of life is a very good choice for a diet. It is confusing until you get the hang of it, but the foods are very tasty and overall satisfying. The online services are recommended moreso for this plan than for most others. If you have problems understanding the regular book, try reading the cookbook, which has some clarifications, or see The Good Carb Good Fat book.

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