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South Beach Diet
The South Beach Diet plan was created by cardiologist Dr Arthur Agatston based at Mount Sinai Hospital – in South Florida. The diet was originally developed for overweight heart patients. The patients experienced excellent results, not only in their general health but also lost weight.
Since hitting the shelves, Agatston’s book The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss has remained a bestseller (despite a pretentious subtitle). The diet is becoming known as the “healthy” version of the Atkins diet. This diet is good – very good, and includes foods such as whole grains, healthy fats, fish, chicken, fruits and vegetables.
South Beach Diet Plan Overview
Three Phases
The South Beach Diet begins with a somewhat restricted two-week induction phase — generally producing weight loss of 8 to 13 pounds. In this phase most carbohydrates (such as rice, pasta, and breads) must be avoided. There are three meals a day and snacks — eating until your hunger is satisfied. Meats, shellfish, chicken, turkey, and fish are all on the menu – along with nuts, cheese (fat-free), eggs, salads, and vegetables.
There are two subsequent phases that include specific meal plans and recipes. The second phase reintroduces some of the foods avoided in Phase 1 – but only sparingly. In this phase weight loss should be in the region of 1-2 pounds per week.
The third phase is about living the lifestyle more than a phase – its about eating healthy foods, and maintaining weight.
This is NOT Atkins
Although the South Beach Diet may seem similar to the Atkins diet or the Zone diet, Dr Agatston stresses it is not a strictly low-carb diet. It’s all about balancing the good carbs against the “bad” carbs. Although when looking at the first 14-day phase – there is no doubt that this is a low-carb phase. However the South Beach Diet is based around the Glycemic Index, and carbs are chosen according to this index.
South Beach have an on-line program that includes an 800 recipe database, and options for vegetarians. (see top right).
South Beach Food brand fits in with the diet guidelines for snacking.
South Beach Diet Phase 1
| Breakfast Tomato juice, 6 oz Scrambled eggs with fresh herbs and mushrooms Canadian bacon, 2 slices Decaf coffee or decaf tea with fat-free milk and sugar substitute |
| Snack Part-skim mozzarella cheese stick |
| Lunch Chicken Caesar salad (no croutons) Prepared Caesar dressing, 2 Tbsp |
| Snack Low-fat cottage cheese (½ cup) with ½ cup chopped tomatoes and cucumbers |
| Dinner Mahi mahi Oven-Roasted Vegetables Arugula salad Low-sugar prepared dressing |
| Dessert Lemon Peel Ricotta Crème |
Phase 2
| Breakfast Berry smoothie (8 oz Dannon Light ‘n Fit fruit-flavored yogurt, ½ cup berries, ½ cup crushed ice, blended) Decaf coffee or decaf tea with fat-free milk and sugar substitute |
| Snack 1 hard-boiled egg |
| Lunch Lemon Couscous Chicken Tomato and cucumber slices |
| Snack Dannon Light ‘n Fit yogurt, 4 oz |
| Dinner Meat Loaf Steamed asparagus Mushrooms sautéed in olive oil Sliced Bermuda onion and tomato with drizzled olive oil |
| Dessert Sliced cantaloupe with 2 Tbsp ricotta cheese |
Phase 3
| Breakfast ½ grapefruit Tex-Mex eggs (2 eggs scrambled with shredded Monterey Jack cheese and salsa) Whole grain toast, 1 slice Decaf coffee or decaf tea with fat-free milk and sugar substitute |
| Lunch Roast Beef Wrap Nectarine |
| Dinner Grilled salmon with tomato salsa Tossed salad (mixed greens, cucumbers, green bell peppers, cherry tomatoes) Olive oil and vinegar to taste or 2 Tbsp low-sugar prepared dressing |
| Dessert Chocolate-Dipped Apricots |
Look for more high protein, low carb recipes here.
South Beach Diet Summary
The South Beach Diet is nutritionally sound, however the more expensive food items could make the cost difficult to meet for some. Unfortunately good nutritious foods do tend to cost more than their highly-processed counterparts.
The principles of eating in balance, little-and-often, low-GI carbs are all included in the South Beach. Despite some feeling that the diet is a fad, and has had a major positive impact on the eating habits of millions.
See the review of the updated version South Beach Diet Supercharged
I love the South beach. it has trully changed the way I eat and how I think of food. As a server I will working while regular people would be eating dinner. Sometimes I wouldn’t eat for 7to 8 hours. Then when I would get off work at 1 am and eat fast food b/c they were the only places open. South beach encouraged me to eat as a way to maintain energy and balanced, not starve myself to the point where I would binge on digusting food. The first two weeks took a little adjusting to( of course!) but then I started getting to the point where I wouldn’t crave the usual high carb high fat foods I lived off of before. Not to mention the benefits for my skin. With omitting fats, carbs, and sugars from my diet, my skin cleared and became more firm! I definitely recommend thus diet for someone who just dosen’t want to lose pounds but wants to make a lifetime change:)
I first tried this diet about 6 years ago. My mom and I did it together and were very successful in losing a lot of weight. I had two more pregnancies after that, as well as some stressful times when I overate and made bad health choices in general.
I got back on the wagon when my youngest child was one, back in 2007. At that time, I lost about 25 pounds over the course of 4 months. The most amazing thing to me is that, even though holidays came and went and I didn’t always make perfect choices, I still managed to keep the 20 pounds off for 2 years.
I restarted fresh just before Halloween 2009 on this diet, and even with cheating for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I’ve still managed to lose 13 pounds and keep it off in the last 3 months.
I”ve also upped my activity level a lot, “jazzercizing” about 4 times/week, so my muscle mass is increasing, and I realize the pounds are going to slip off slowly because of that.
I have about 60 pounds still to lose to be at my ideal weight with a healthy BMI, but: sticking with this diet, esp the intelligent Phase II part of it, along with regular exercise, and losing a modest 1.5 pounds per week… I’ll get there by the end of the year!
Good luck all you dieters out there! It can cost a bit more to start with, definitely requires more time chopping veggies and prepping ingredients, but it’s delicious and not really that hard to stick with, and the results can be permanent if you incorporate the principles into your daily life-time eating habits!
The cookbook that is available is excellent, as are the recipes in the diet. I have never followed the diet per say, but use the recipes often. I.e. try the Hummus in the South Beach Diet book (page 178). We added more lemon juice and spices and doubled the onion and it is amazing and low cal..served with sliced cucumber, tomatoes, green pepper. Stuffed mushroons are good too, if you add some onions and a bit of spices. Be creative and have fun and lose weight.
I recommend the South Beach and small variations to all my personal training clients. This will work for everyone who tries it. You need to look at all the similarities of each diet. Moderate to lower carbohydrates. Variety of foods. Moderate to lower fat sources, and Lean proteins. Each diet besides the tapeworm can be useful in some way as a whole. Not one is right, not all are wrong. Just like Bruce Lee said, “Absorb what is useful, Reject what is useless.”
I would recommend this diet for any one your diet needs 1500 to 1600 calories per day.
iam on south beach diet from 5 days with out doing any exercise, i have not lost even a single gram.can anyone advice me why it is so??????????IF I CAN do kapalbharti along with this diet?
I did this diet…. and lost 11lbs in just two weeks which was phase one… I need to get started on this diet again!
i’ve just finished the atkins induction. would it be any different if i pick up on south beach after that? the induction phase seems the same but i’m not sure.
It’s not too bad, I used it about 2 years ago and lost 15 lbs but found it a little expensive at times.
me and my friend natalie were doin a sereach project on this diet we both are ocnvinced and want to try this diet. will report results later.thanks evryone for thier comments byee
i love this diet, i lost 76 pounds!!!! its great
Dr. Agatston’s theory to explain overweight is that we eat too many sugars and starches. The detrimental carbohydrates are concentrated sugars—such as soft drinks, some fruits, and commercial fruit juices—and over-processed low-fiber starches, such as enriched white flour and white rice. These are his “bad carbs.”
According to his theory, bad carbs increase insulin levels sharply, leading to increased fat storage (especially abdominal fat) and increased cravings for carbohydrate as the insulin eventually causes abnormally low blood sugar levels a few hours after the carb intake. Then you eat more carbs to raise your sugar level back to normal. Dr. Agatston spends much time explaining the glycemic index, a measure of how rapid and high a spike in blood sugar is seen after ingestion of particular foods.
This “bad carb” theory is not original or exclusive to Dr. Agatston. Remember “Sugar Busters”? The “bad carb” theory has been popular since around the turn of the century, even though Dr. Robert C. Atkins and others wrote about it many years earlier.
Figuring less prominently in Dr. Agatston’s scheme are his “bad fats”—saturated fats and trans fats. Some of the “good fats” to eat are olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, and omega-3 fatty acids.
The author had intended to produce a diet with few rules, yet he tells you exactly what and when you will eat for 6 straight weeks. The recipes are prepared from readily available ingredients. How much do you eat? “The meals should be of normal size—enough to satisfy your hunger, but no more than that.” So the author never says how many calories you will eat. Although he says it is not a low-carb diet, it is. Especially the first four weeks.
Strongest points?
* The composition of South Beach is generally reasonable and would tend to improve health and longevity while controlling weight, compared to the usual Western developed-world diet.
* The recipes look tasty and relatively easy.
* High-fiber, minimally processed carbohydrates are indeed healthier than pure sugars and refined starches.
* Plenty of people say it has worked for them.
* Food variety.
* South Beach is an improvement over Atkins, especially to the extent that the author moves Atkins toward a Mediterranean-style diet. [By the way, Agatston never claims his diet is Mediterranean.]
Weakest points?
* Six weeks of prescribed eating, leaving no room for flexibility.
* Exercise is recommended—essentially a brisk walk for 20 minutes daily—but is not stressed nearly enough.
* There is certainly no scientific consensus that sugars and starches—“bad carbs”—have caused our obesity epidemic.
* There in no reference section and very few references are given. You cannot read for yourself the scientific journal articles, if any, that support the author’s opinions.
An improvement to South Beach would move it further away from Atkins and even closer to the time-honored healthy Mediterranean diet of the mid-20th century, in which more “good carbs” and fewer proteins would be encouraged. And myriad benefits of exercise should not be taken lightly.
Steve Parker, M.D.
my name is kaeli and im doing a health paper over this diet and would like everyones opinion please and thank you
how did this diet work for you?
Is it expensive?
would you recomend it to other people?
who is this diet ment for?
I tried this diet a while back and at the start i was over weight… i loved eating junk food until this diet.. this diet helped me loss so much weight… i love this diet… my husband didnt even notice me wen he got back from his business trip overseas… it was so funny…. he loves the new me better and i get alot more complicments then i use to… im so happy iwth the new me thanks to the south beach diet
I did this diet 4.5 yrs ago. It worked and I lost 25 lbs in about 3 mos time. Little exercise and I even cheated. I ate chocolate and drank a few beers each week. I’m sure the results would have been greater had I stuck to the diet plan word for word. But overall – fad diet or not. It work!
THIS DIET IS THE BEST AND I WOULDN’T TRY ANY OTHER DIET BUT THIS ONE. TRYY IT IF YOUR CRAZY YOUN AND WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT AND LOOK GOOD!!!
this diet is great! I lost close to 40 pounds on it!
not bad
it is not a fad diet you stupid idiot and i think it looks goood so i am gonna try it
I’ve done this before and I’ve done Atkins and each times I have lost about 12 pounds in two weeks. It helps to shrink the waistline in a short amount of time, but the weight can come back on just as fast as you lost it if you’re not careful. I would recomend it as a jump-start diet to a more normal, balanced diet (like WeightWatchers), or as a way to lose weight quickly for a formal affair, but not as a long term diet.
It’s CRAP fad diets dnt work
All of kinds of food you are allowed to eat it’s amazing!
My husband and I tried this. He lost 15 pounds and I lost 10 in a 2 week period. It works!!
good for you all!! lol im taking online health classes and i have to write a paragraph about this xD! 09!!!
i didnt think this diet wroked until my aunt and I tryed it she lost about 70lbs and I lost around 25
this diet was amazing
It is different from Atkins, especially following the two week induction phase.
I lost 55 pounds on this diet..be sure u use this diet its probably the best one i have ever trieddddd so do it if ur looking to loose weight
really good
this diet was so amazing it made me look better for all the guy out ther so all you other faggs out there try this diet
Beware Migraine Suffers. If you ever had a migraine Ask your Dr. before starting this diet!
this diet is great and it really works like really. ITS FANTABOULOUS