South Beach Diet Plan

Category: Weight Loss Plan+ Weight Loss Diet+ Weight Loss Program

The South Beach diet was developed by Arthur Agatston, a highly respected cardiologist based in South Florida. Agatston’s diet minimizes consumption of bad fats and bad carbs and it emphasizes the consumption of “good carbs” and “good fats”. Dr. Agatston developed this diet for his chronically overweight heart patients based upon his study of scientific dieting research. His goal was to improve the cholesterol and insulin levels of his patients, by developing a healthy eating plan.

Many people love this diet and are perfectly willing to swear by the good name of M.D. Arthur Agatston, while others find it hard to stick to the obligatory induction phase. The South Beach Diet belongs to the low-carbohydrates group of diets and has been derided as a fad diet, although its fans claim that it is not a fad diet and that it is, in any case, much more responsible and healthy than the Atkins Diet. Then again, not many diets manage to be less healthy than Atkins.
The South Beach Diet is divided into three different Phases, the first two for a specific timeframe and the third phase for life. For each phase, there are no limits on portion sizes, you simply eat enough to satisfy your appetite.

Phase 1 lasts for two weeks and is the strictest part of The South Beach Diet. Dieters who choose this Diet can expect to see their food intake restricted to seafood, lean meat (such as chicken, turkey, fish, and shellfish), eggs, low fat dairy products, nuts, vegetables (most of them, anyway), artificial sweeteners and a couple of carbohydrates of the low glycemic variety. During the first phase of this diet, the shock phase, most fruit and vegetables are still on the banned list, just like the rest of carbohydrates. Unfortunately, some people find it hard to cope with the low energy level, the fatigue and sometimes nausea that accompany this phase. However, it should be noted that not all dieters experience these symptoms. It’s all in our genetic make-up.

The best part of this diet is the focus on removing simple carbohydrates (sweets, pasta, bread) from the diet and replacing them with the healthier complex carbohydrates from wholegrains and vegetables. The worst part is the marketing jargon that makes it sound like a fad diet and the tough first phase of the diet, which sacrifices the long-term healthy eating approach for an instant gratification technique based on the catch-all slogan “lose weight fast”. Any such approach will have the dieter lose a lot of water and not that much fat.

On the other hand, the second phase of the diet is a bunch of quite sensible eating advice and the recipes provided by the author are very good. There are also pre-packaged South Beach foods for those who lack the time or the inclination to cook for themselves. And now you can start adding foods from the Phase 1 Foods to Avoid list. Whole grain foods and fruits are gradually returned to the diet, although in smaller amounts than were likely eaten before beginning the diet. The idea is to stay with this phase until you’ve reached your target weight.

Phase 3 is the final and least restrictive Phase of The South Beach Diet. Agatston describes this phase as a “way of life”. As long as you continue to follow some basic guidelines, the diet has become your way of life and you’ll continue to maintain your weight. All things considered, the South Beach Diet is not a bad idea if one could clear away the hype and marketing lingo and focus on the healthy eating part and the good food choices. This information is something that should stay with you through the years if you’re looking to keep that weight from returning.