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A Review of the South Beach Diet
Reviewing the popular South Beach Diet
The South Beach Diet has had so much press in recent years. It seems as though every celebrity has been on this diet at some point or another. Here I will look at what it’s about, how it works and whether it is effective.
What is the South Beach Diet?
The South Beach Diet was created in the early 90’s by a Doctor Agatston who was not very happy with the usual low fat diet that were being used all around him.
It is a diet that is based around eating the correct carbs and the correct fats as opposed to cutting them out altogether. The Doctor believed that this would result in more weight loss and better long term results after the diet had finished. It is broken down into three basic phases, each of which has a different goal and a different diet scheme.
Phase One
The first phase goes for two weeks and is the perdiod where you lose the most weight. This is the section where they teach you all the bits and pieces that you need to know about your diet and about what is going to happen with your body.
The first phase allows you to eat three big meals a day and some mandatory snacks and these will all consist of meats, eggs, cheese and vegetables. You cannot eat and bread, pasta, rice or fruit so phase one is essentially a low carb diet.
Phase Two
Phase two is simple. It basically reintroduces the correct carbs that are said to be good for you and your weight like fruit and some whole grain foods (bread, pasta). At first you only add these foods to one meal a day and if your body responds well then you can slowly introduce more.
Phase Three
The last phase is basically a label for the rest of your life. It is where they tell you to go off into the world armed with the knowledge you have learned during the first two stages. You are supposed to stick to those principles.
South Beach Diet.com lists the things you get when you join as:
1) Recipe Database: Search hundreds of delicious and healthy recipes designed to help you lose weight.
2) Meal Planner: Customized, easy meals that you’ll love every day of the week.
3) Shopping List Generator: Print out complete shopping lists from your meal planner.
4) Food Guides: From fast food to fine dining, The South Beach Diet has options for everyone.
5) Registered Dietitians: Dietitians online and on-call to answer all your diet questions.
6) Answers from Dr. Agatston: The renowned cardiologist and South Beach Diet author addresses topics from meal options to health concerns.
7) Beach Buddies Program: Get matched with a dieting partner! Teamwork makes for great success!
Community Message Boards: Join our online community thousands of members sharing support, success, and motivation.
9) Private Online Journal: Record your thoughts, struggles, and triumphs and read other members’ entries, too.
10) Daily Newsletter: Diet news, health tips, and inspiration delivered to your inbox every day.
11) Calendar Tool: Plan your diet day-by-day.
12) Weight Tracker: Monitor your weight-loss progress and work toward your target weight.
Does the diet work?
From what I have read and heard from other people it would seem the diet has had some really good results. I am always a little bit confused by these diets as they seem like just common sense rolled into an expensve package but if the support, plans, recipes and rules help people to lose weight then I am all for it.
The South Beach Diet isn’t as expensive as some of the other weight loss programs out there and it is probably a better option for most people who are busy and have a lot of things to do during the day as the diet isn’t all that restrictive.
The South Beach Diet is releasing other products as their original diet becomes less popular. It is not that it doesn’t work it is just that people lose interest quickly and need to try something new. Their latest weight loss program is for healthy hearts and is based at countering the massive amounts of deaths by heart disease in America.
They have also teamed up with Kraft foods to create a range of snacks and meals that are suitable for those people on the diet. This should take out some of the extra work like cooking and shopping for those extra busy people.
Conclusion
I like the South Beach Diet as it is about moderation and education. They don’t just tell you to cut out one type of food because it is so bad and evil - they teach you about why your body gains weight and what to do about it. As such, it shouldn’t really be called a diet because it is about a whole lifestyle.
Has anyone tried it?
Comments on this article:
| sue said: | i have tried the south beach diet and yes it does in fact work, but it's a lot harder than it sounds. it's pretty difficult to cut out all sweets and carbs to the extent that the diet requires, especially in certain situations. My situation was especially difficult considering that i am in college where my food selection is already limited. It does in fact work though and one who is motivated can easily do this diet, although i could barely make it through the strict phase, i took on the life style and have reduced the carbs and sugars in my diet |
| Maria said: | I have also tried the South beach diet. It does work but it takes alot of strength. Its really hard to just give up all your favorite food in one day. So, what i did was sort all the food in my kitchen, i put all the food i could eat in one pantry, and all the other foods like pasta, bread, chips, etc. in the other pantry so i wouldn't be tempted to eat them. I also distracted my mind on things i liked to do instead of thinking of the torture i was going through. It helps and i lost 5 pounds in about 10 days. Its a pretty effective diet but of course hard to stick with. |
| Emma said: | i've been on the south beach diet (except for a day here and there) for almost two years. i lost about seven pounds in the first two weeks, and continued to lose more weight. I lost a total of 15 pounds and have kept that 15 off for almost two years. I didn\'t gain weight when I went back to eating like a normal person because I took the south beach rules and only ate the good grains and things like that. So, now I want to lose another 15 and am hoping that going back on phase one will help me. If you\'re motivated this diet will help you greatly b/c it really does work! |
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