Healthy Options - South Beach Diet

(Your Information Guide from http://www.southbeach-diet.info)

The South Beach Diet is one of the most popular diets in history. The diet is incredibly effective because it differentiates between what are considered "good carbs" and "bad carbs". As the South Beach Diet is not your typical low carb diet, the selection of food that you are allowed to eat is vast. Because of this people on the South Beach Diet find it easy to stick to the diet, and they successfully lose weight as a result.

A Quick Summary of the Idea Behind Low Carb Diets

The body uses sugar and glucose as a primary source of energy. Simple carbohydrates get absorbed into the bloodstream as sugar very rapidly. This is why "high energy" drinks such as Lucozade Sport will provide you with a temporary energy boost - they're very high in glucose. The basic idea behind low carb dieting, including the SouthBeach Diet, is that if there is a shortage of this primary energy source (the carbohydrates) then the body will, instead, begin to burn fat as a source of energy.

Where Did The SouthBeach Diet Come From?

South Beach Diet was created by Dr. Arthur Agatston after finding many of his patients were having little success with traditional low carb - high fat diet plans such as the Atkins diet. Being a cardiologist, Dr. Agatston's primary concern was to find a diet that resulted in a healthy heart. He couldn't find such a diet so decided to formulate his own diet plan which has become known as The South Beach Diet.

"In one 12-week study of 40 overweight people, those who followed the SouthBeach Diet lost an average of 13.6 lb, almost double the 7.5 lb lost by those on the strict "Step II" American Heart Association (AHA) diet. And the South Beach Diet group showed greater decreases in waist-to-hip ratio (belly fat) and triglycerides, and their good to bad cholesterol ratio improved more. Plus, only one person [in the SouthBeach Diet group] dropped out compared with five in the AHA group." - Dr. Agatston

So, Is the South Beach Diet Just Another Low Carbohydrate Diet?

In a word, no. The idea with the SouthBeach Diet is to lose weight in a manner that's healthy for the dieter. Unlike other low carb diets, it does this by having the dieter select between good and bad carb foods. For this reason a dieter on the South Beach Diet will often eat more fruit and even whole grain bread when compared to other low carb diets. The SouthBeach Diet is more balanced than many other low carb diets.

Instead of just selecting low carbohydrate foods the SouthBeach Diet focuses on how foods effect your blood sugar levels. This is measured by the glycemic index and this is what's used to differentiate between good and bad carb foods.

How Does The South Beach Diet Work?

The South Beach Diet is split into three phases. Each phase becomes more relaxed in terms of what you can and cannot eat. Because of this a person on the South Beach Diet will normally lose weight at a faster rate whilst at an earlier phase than a later phase. However, no one wants to be permanently on a strict diet and indeed this is often the reason why many diets fail. Because of this, only phase one is this "strict" and lasts only for two weeks. To maintain a healthy body weight the dieter may move between the different phases. These phases are really the basis for the South Beach Diet.

The Three Phases of The Southbeach Diet

Southbeach diet phase 1: "Two Weeks of Restraint".

This is known as the "strict" phase of the diet. This may lead to the wrong idea though. The southbeach diet states that you should never be left hungry and actually includes six different times you can eat throughout the day. Whilst on the southbeach diet, you should eat normal size portions that satisfy your real hunger, but no more. However the food you do eat should be limited to "good fats" and foods with the lowest Glycemic Index needed for blood sugar control.

"For the next 14 days you won't be having any bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, or baked goods. No fruit, even. Before you panic: You'll begin adding those things back into your diet again in 2 weeks. But for right now, they're off-limits." - Dr Agatston.

This phase should only last for 2 weeks.

Southbeach diet phase 2: "More Liberal Meal Plans". This is where the healthy carbohydrates are slowly introduced, such as whole grain bread and fruit. The glycemic index should be used to pick foods that are low in carbohydrates in terms of how they effect your blood sugar levels (low glycemic index foods). Compared to the southbeach phase 1, you will find that your rate of weight loss will slow down a little as the aim is to continue losing weight whilst increasing your carbohydrate intake. This should not tempt you to simply stay on phase one. Remember, the aim of the southbeach diet is to focus on your health as well as your figure! However, if you do find you've put on some more weight whilst on phase 2 then it's fine to return to phase 1 for a short period of time to lose the extra weight.

This phase of the southbeach diet depends on your ability to monitor your weight and how you react to certain carbohydrate containing foods. In the southbeach book, it points out that no two dieters will react the same way.

Southbeach diet phase 3: "The Rest of Your Life".

This phase deals, as the title indicates, with the rest of your life. The southbeach diet phases or stages provide a plan that you can easily stick to in order to maintain a healthy weight. By this stage your cravings for bad foods will normally be minimal as you will have already settled into a eating plan that you're happy with. Again, as in the southbeach phase 2, if you find you're putting on weight, you can revert back to previous phases until you're back to your ideal weight. You can then return to Southbeach phase three again.

As you can see, south beach provides a system where by the dieter gets to know their own weight loss patterns and how they react to certain foods. Then, by switching between the different southbeach diet phases a dieter is able to maintain a healthy weight.