South Beach Diet
Dr. Agaston teaches you how you can get a South Beach body.
BACKGROUND
If you're looking for a diet plan that has grown wildly popular over the past few years, gives your eating habits a dramatic makeover, and shares the name of one of the world's favorite beaches, then the South Beach Diet is for you. Dr. Arthur Agatston, a cardiologist, created this friendly contrast to other prohibitive weight-loss plans and offers a chance to achieve success where you might have previously failed.
The South Beach Diet differs from its low-carb competitor Atkins, in that it restricts saturated fats, which are linked with health problems like heart disease and high cholesterol. It promises that cravings for sugars, sweets and other carbohydrates will disappear as you go along because the diet is supposed to keep blood sugar levels maintained.
The South Beach Diet has three separate phases in which you'll wean yourself away from certain foods and incorporate other South Beach Diet "friendly" foods. The diet promises that you'll lose 8-12 pounds in the first two weeks as long as you adhere to the guidelines.
PRO
- The South Beach Diet supports a clean way of eating that is void of refined sugars and trans fats
- Its emphasis on fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and heart-healthy fats is an eating plan that is full of vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids
- Support from the medical science community
- Thousands of satisfied clients
- Updated its research in the 2008 release"South Beach Diet: Supercharged"
- Has a maintenance plan
CON
- Research shows that unless you're diabetic, sugar levels actually remain stable even if you eat a sugary candy bar
- Many South Beach Diet food products contain sugar-alcohols, which may hard to tolerate
- Not very vegetarian friendly
- Its elimination of sugars, certain fruits like bananas and other carbohydrates make it difficult to maintain
- Science behind Dr. Agastaton's assertions about certain foods and their ability to raise blood sugar levels or put on weight is inaccurate
- No exercise guidelines
DIET and NUTRITION
The first phase lasts for two weeks and has you remove starches like bread, pasta and rice, potatoes, fruits, milk, yogurt, honey and baked goods. Sugars are completely eliminated. During the first phase of South Beach, you'll enjoy three balanced meals and some snacks that should include lean meats and fish, eggs, low-fat cheese, fresh vegetables, beans and nuts.
Phase two of the South Beach Diet will allow you to slowly re-introduce fruits, whole-grain breads and pastas. You'll choose just one carbohydrate and include that in one meal each day for one week. You are encouraged to wait a few days and if there are no noticeable effects, introduce one more healthy carbohydrate. Continue this until you're able to successfully have two or three healthy carbohydrates each day. Phase two will continue until you meet your goal weight.
You'll begin the maintenance, or third, phase of South Beach once you've met your goal weight. It's here that you'll put to practice all that you learned in phases one and two.
The book and website offer many South Beach-friendly recipes. There is also a complete line of South Beach Diet foods that can be purchased in your grocery store from cereals to frozen meals. But many of the nutrition bars and snack items contain artificial sweeteners, which have been known to induce gastrointestinal problems.
EXERCISE
Even though exercise has been shown to be an effective and necessary component to losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, there are no specific exercise guidelines in the South Beach Diet.
CONCLUSION
You must wonder if the South Beach Diet is just another marketing attempt to motivate folks who are desperate to lose weight? With its strong assertions and its complete line of food products hitting grocery store shelves everywhere, makes you question how much of its appeal is fact or fiction? The truth is that any diet that cuts calories will help you lose weight. The South Beach Diet is no different.
It's encouragement of eating vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats is admirable. Its elimination of white sugar and refined carbohydrates is equally laudable albeit challenging to follow. And many people have had a lot luck losing weigh following the South Beach Diet. But the South Beach Diet itself has some scientific flaws and many nutritionists would argue that its promise of losing 8-12 pounds in 14 days is a bit aggressive and may not be able to stand up against the test of time.
But if you've got a lot of willpower and don't mind knowing that you might be buying into another fad diet, then this might be just the diet for you.
Common Misspellings
south beech diet, Southbeach diet, Sobe, SBD, South Beach, South Beech Diet, South Beach Deit, southbeach diet, southbeachdiet.com
Related Diets: Atkins Advantage, Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet Supercharged, Low-Carb Diet, Sugar Busters!
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Both my wife and I followed the diet with great success. My wife thought the first phase was a bit too strict however, it only lasts two weeks. Surely anybody can do anything for two weeks, for goodness sakes. What I really liked about this diet is that you don't need to measure or track anything once you get to phase 3. You simply need to make good choices, as much as possible. I wouldn't say that I follow the "diet" strictly, in that I pretty well eat what I want however, I tend to make healthier choices whenever the choice is available and I haven't put any weight back on. I do exercise regularly...which to me is common sense - you shouldn't rely on a diet to tell you that.
I love this way of eating. It's not a "diet", it really is a lifestyle change. For those saying that this is too strict - I just can't understand that. If you truly follow the plan the way it is meant to be followed, you won't have cravings. They completely disappear. Also, to those saying that this is low-carb - it's not. It may seem that way in phase 1, but you re-introduce good carbs in phase 2 and phase 3 is a continuation using the healthy eating habits you learned earlier on. Out of all the plans I've tried, this is the ONLY thing that helped me take off more than a few lbs.
It did everything it said it would do. 8-13 lbs in two weeks was right on the mark!!
I happen to love eating the SB way. Fresh veggies, whole grains, dairy, and dessert everyday? What's not to like. For those of you who say once you start eating like a normal person you'll gain it back, of course you'll gain it back if you eat a ton of FRIED, FATTY foods. Who wouldn't!!
Very good diet and better than the original...loosing .5lb a day!!
I Like It.
I lost 30 pounds on the South Beach Diet in 2006, and have kept the weight off. This plan really worked for me!
If you are doing this as a low carb diet altogether and not re-introducing fruits and vegetables in Phases 2 and 3 as the diet calls for, it is not healthy. That is like the Atkins, not the South Beach. The South Beach has you add back in the good carbs (fruits and vegetables) in phases two and three. It is only meant to do away with bad carbs forever such as chips, sugar, white flour, etc.
I tried South Beach when it first started a few years ago. I lost 20 pounds BUT gained it all back. Seriously, a low carb diet will never work. Proper nutrition is necessary in maintaining one's weight and that means eating sensibly and record-keeping, NOT eliminating important food groups from one's diet.
I don't like South Beach diet at all.
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This diet is great! I did it first of all about 3 years ago and lost 20 lbs. in the 1st three weeks. I am not a large person so this was actually a little more than my goal weight. I kept it off for 2 years and it was easy. I then started a business and ran like crazy and ate fast food alot and gained about 14 lbs back. I started back on this diet 8 days ago and have lost 9 lbs. I am going to add in walking a mile a day today, which is exactly what I did before and it worked great. I have my mother trying it with me and she had lost 5 lbs. already. Most diets have not worked for her in the past. I hope when we add in the walking today, she will see more results next week.
For all the people who say they love the diet, you will gain all that weight back and more as soon as you start eating like a normal person again.
Really awful. Phase 1 is ridiculously strict. Even on phase 3 people cannot eat normal foods and enjoy life. Don't try to tell that to people who are on it; they are obsessed with it (almost like a "religion.")
hi.....to everyone...
I did this diet and lost 40 pounds quickly!! it was easy and I also walked every day. I found food i could eat thst i liked
Love the south beach diet! need to get ready for south beach miami in feb :-)
I started South Beach on May 5, 2008. My husband's doctor said he had to loose weight and since I'm the cook, I decided to join him to support his effort.
The first two weeks I lost 14 lbs and he lost 8. Who in their right mind wouldn't continue??
To date he has lost 32 lbs and I have lost 67 lbs. I am elated with my new figure and my husband's new trim body.
I would have never thought I could do this and so easily.This diet really works! I have recommended this book to all who see me and say how awsome I look!
My medical doctor wasn't aware I had started the SBD and was blown away by my results. She thought I should be a spokes person for the plan!
To everyone who thinks this won't work you need to give it a chance. If you use your imagination with cooking you won't be bored with the lean meat and vegetables. This is the greatest discovery I have ever made.
I have changed my life.
Remember "nothing tastes as good as thin feels" And that's the truth!
I liked the results
I have tried this "lifestyle change" and it WORKS! It REALLY does work! All it takes is tons of self discipline. After only 7 months, I have lost a total of 30 pounds.
Didn't really knew much about this diet. I read here you can lose a lot of weight, and you can still eat snacks and chocolate. That's awesome.
This is my 10th day on the first phase. I have already lost 5 pounds as of last Wed. (which was only 4 days on the sbd) I actually saw that I'm not supposed to have yogurt or milk products. (I ordered the book from amazon last week and it's not here yet.) I had the book and tried this before..but gave up because I didnt' want to give up carbs. NOW...I'm determined. I work out approx 5 days a week and feel awesome. This has helped my perspective on food in general. I ate well before, but now I feel a little in control. I am a vegetarian, although i eat fish and cheese and eggs. This is for me....I love it....I do cheat and have a little vodka. I'm hoping to lose about 15 to 20 pounds.
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