The South Beach Diet Plan

This article should answer some of the main questions that are asked when discussing the South Beach Diet. Common questions are. Who came up with the south beach diet? What is the south beach diet? What are the south beach diet basics? What is the difference between the Atkins diet vs the South Beach Diet? What are the south beach diet guidelines? Where can I find South Beach Diet information? What are the south beach diet phases? what is south beach diet phase 1? What is south beach diet phase 2? Has there been any south beach diet success stories? How much weight can lose on south beach diet? What are the south beach diets pros and cons?

South Beach Diet Review & Where did the South Beach Diet Come From

The South Beach Diet Plan™ was developed by a cardiologist, Arthur Agatston, practicing in the Miami, Florida area while treating his patients for heart disease. In his now famous book that was a #1 New York Times bestseller, he states that he developed this diet for his own heart patients. His experience dealing with heart patients has been that his patients were unable to keep to low fat regimented diets that are recommended for heart disease, for lengthy periods of time. He set out to find an alternative method, a life long eating plan that his patients should be able to adhere to it for life.

In the process he noticed that in the first phase of his plan, drastic weight loss was achieved, and there was continued weight loss all the way through phase two. In phase three the patients remained at their healthy levels. Considering this, and knowing that the leading cause of death is heart disease, and one of the greatest risk factors for heart disease is being over weight, he decided to create a healthy diet for the general public, so he created the South Beach Diet™ plan.

The Theory Behind the South Beach Diet Plan

South Beach Diet™ tries to conform to, and consider, the positive and negative points of the high fat low carbohydrate diets such as Dr. Atkins, and the Low fat high carbohydrate diets such as Dr. Ornish and Pritikin.

Dr. Agastons solution is a formula that consists of "good carbohydrates", mainly ones that are high in fiber or nutrition, and typically low in glycemic index and the bad carbohydrates those that are low in fiber or nutrition and have a high glycomic index. And similarly the good fats such as the mono- and polyunsaturated fats, including Omega-3 oils, and the bad fats the saturated fats and the trans fats, The ideal diet consists of a diet that is high in low glycomic index carbohydrates, and high in the good essential fats.

The South Beach Diet Consists of Three Phases

South Beach Diet™ Phase One - the South Beach Diet Strict Phase

This phase is meant to wean the body off a craving for sugars and other unhealthy carbohydrates. During this phase no Cereal, grains, and even fruits are not to be eaten. The diet consists mainly of high protein foods and vegetables. This stage lasts two weeks, and is the most difficult part of the South Beach Diet™. According to the claims in the book, common weight loss during phase one is anywhere from 8 to 13 pounds.

The South Beach Diet™ PhaseTwo

This phase lasts till one reaches their ideal body weight. Gradually cereal, grains, and fruits are introduced back into the diet, but now they are basically whole grain and only the ones that have a low glycomic index. During this phase an emphasis is put on how our bodies react to various types of food interactions, and how are digestive system works absorbing the nutrients in our bodies.

Basically it works like this, good carbohydrates have a low glycemic index, and they are digested and absorbed slowly, giving you the feeling of being satiated for longer periods of time. And, eating fiber or fat with carbohydrates will slow their digestion.

Phase three

This is the phase of awareness, after being on the diet and reaching the ideal body weight, through this eating plan, one should have reduced the cravings for the bad foods, and learned how to eat healthy. No foods are restricted but ideally, the bad ones are not craved anymore. If there is a relapse and the cravings reoccur, phase one is reinstated, and so on and so forth.

The critics -The South Beach Diet Pros and Cons

The South Beach diet is frequently confusingly compared to the Atkins diet, stating that the south beach is just a low carbohydrate diet. Phase one is too strict. It's basically a fad diet, and the reason for the weight loss is that in phase one the diet is very low in calories. There is too much fat in the diet. It is a diet that does not emphasize exercise and physical activity. South Beach Diet™: Hundreds of recipes and 24-hour support!