The South Beach Diet in a Nutshell
The South Beach Diet was created by renowned Cardiologist Dr. Arthur Agatson in the mid 1990's over his disillusionment with the low fat, high carbohydrate diets that were being encouraged by the American Heart Association at the time. The South Beach diet is not considered a traditional low carbohydrate diet as it allows one to eat "the right kind of carbohydrates" such as whole grains, certain fruits and vegetables, healthy fats (olive and canola oils) and lean sources of protein.
Dr. Agatson says: "The real secret to the South Beach Diet is that it's not just a diet, it's a way to eat for life.
The South Beach Diet differs from many popular diets of the day because it allows you to lose weight while gradually learning how to eat healthy as you slowly add healthy carbohydrates back into your diet. This is a plan that is balanced and appears to be healthier in the long run than diets like the Adkins, where many people re-gain the weight when they return to their normal eating habits. Dr. Agatson shows you how to make healthy changes in your diet that will allow you to maintain a healthy lifestyle for the rest of your life.
In a study that was done on the South Beach Diet vs. the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP)'s low fat diet, the results showed that the participants of the South Beach Diet lost 13.5 more lbs. total than those who followed the NCEP diet.
The South Beach Diet Plan is broken into 3 phases:
PHASE 1
Phase 1 is for 2 weeks and starts you off with a plan to jump-start your weight loss while learning what foods to enjoy vs. avoid. You won't starve on this diet as the plan. It involves eating 3 balanced meals a day, plus snacks. The snacks are a mandatory part of the diet and you are required to eat them even if you are not hungry. The reason behind this is that they keep you satisfied, which helps you eat less or less likely to overeat at your next meal. During Phase 1 you will find your menu includes foods such as: lean meats, chicken, turkey, fish, shellfish, tofu, eggs, reduced fat cheeses, nuts, beans and plenty of vegetables.
The foods you will be avoiding during phase 1 are: bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, fruit, candy, cake, cookies, ice cream or sugar. Also beer and alcohol of any kind is to be avoided until phase 2 when you will be allowed to drink wine, which Dr. Agatson considers beneficial for many reasons.
PHASE 2
During Phase 2, you begin introducing the right carbs back into your diet very slowly. These include: fruit, whole grain breads and pastas. Some dieters may become concerned at this point that adding these carbs may reverse weight loss, but according to Dr. Agatson this diet was designed to be followed for life and therefore it is essential to learn how to work carbs back into your lifestyle.
The trick is to re-introduce these carbs very slowly. What you do is choose one carbohydrate food and add it to one meal daily for 1 week. You are to pay close attention to how your body responds for the next few days. If things are going well, you may add a 2nd choice and again monitor your reaction. You are to continue this process until you are able to eat 2-3 servings of "right" carbs a day. If you find that you are not losing weight or are feeling out of control it is recommended that you return to phase 1 for a few days until you are able to regain control. There is no time limit for Phase 2; you follow it until you reach your weight loss goal.
PHASE 3
"A diet for life" as Dr. Agatson calls it begins once you reach your weight loss goal. At this point you continue to follow the South Beach Diet that you learned in phases 1 and 2. You must continue to make "smart food choices" but are allowed to experiment with new recipes and ingredients while enjoying your weight loss and new lifestyle, knowing that this weight loss has improved your overall health.
The South Beach Diet website is a key part to learning how to successfully follow the diet and offers a great deal of benefits as well as a low cost membership. Some of these include:
• A section that allows you to ask Dr. Agatson and diet questions that you may have that he will directly respond to.
• A newsletter called "The Daily Dish", which includes recipes, tips, nutrition news, kitchen secrets, etc. delivered to you via email daily.
• An online quiz that allows you to see if the SB Diet is right for you.
• So. Beach Diet Recipes and meal plans.
• Weight loss tools.
• Support and motivation.
• An online store where you can buy the South Beach Diet Book and other helpful items.
• SB Diet updates.
• A directory of South Beach Diet foods available from Kraft foods.
• Membership for $5.00 a month with additional benefits (over 900 recipes, online dieticians and live support).
There is also an additional South Beach Diet Newsletter that is a free publication available to anyone who visits the site.
Over-all the South Beach Diet seems very sensible as an over all weight loss plan, which can be adopted to help one maintain a healthy life style for years to come. It is important to find a diet plan that one can continue to follow indefinitely to not only achieve your weight loss goals, but which improves your over all health. This diet appears to do both and we recommend it as a healthy choice to those seeking a weigh-loss program.
