South Beach Diet:

That Trendy South Beach Diet

The South Beach Diet was developed by cardiologist Arthur Agatston in order to help his patients lose weight and maintain a healthy diet for the rest of their lives. It is designed in phases, like the Atkins Diet, with different recommendations for eating in each phase, albeit all phases have the same underlying philosophy. Weight loss and maintenance depends on establishing a balanced diet that avoids so-called bad fats and carbohydrates.
 
Proponents of the South Beach diet claim you can lose weight and maintain weight loss without counting calories, weighing portions, or depriving yourself of hearty, satisfying foods. This is accomplished by cutting out empty, high-carbohydrate foods like sugars, potatoes, rice, and white bread. Each phase is designed to achieve a particular goal.
 
Phase I: Adjusting your Metabolism

In Phase I, you consume three meals and two snacks a day, eating until you are no longer hungry (editor's note: does this sound healthy). The phase lasts two weeks, during which time the diet claims your body will shed 8-13 pounds.
 
These food items are not allowed during Phase I: bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, baked goods, fruit, cake, candy, cookies, ice cream, sugar, or alcohol.
 
Phase II: Weight Loss

The goal during Phase II is to lose weight, with loss averaging 1-2 pounds per week. During this phase, you will gradually add the restricted foods from Phase I back into your diet, but you will eat less of them. The daily diet on Phase II should consist of:
 
All the protein you want
Minimum of 4 1/2 cups of vegetables
Up to 3 servings of fruit
Up to 3 portions of starch
1 1/2 cups of milk/dairy (including yogurt) (editor's note: read more about milk here)
3 Tbs of fat
 
In real terms, a typical menu for a meal on the South Beach Diet might look something like this:
 
1/2 grapefruit
2 scrambled eggs mixed with Monterey Jack cheese and salsa
1 slice of whole grain toast
Fresh orange juice
 
The eating plan recommended by the South Beach Diet emphasizes low carbohydrate foods, restriction of sweets, processed starches, white sugar, and so-called unhealthy fats, and all the protein you want.

A central concept in the South Beach diet is the Glycemic Index. Foods are ranked on a scale of 1-100 according to their Glycemic index -- the amount by which they raise blood sugar levels after meals. The focus of your diet should be on foods low on the GI level, such as yogurt, cucumbers, broccoli, and whole grain cereasl, while avoiding those high on the GI scale such as white bread, potatoes, and pretzels (of all things).
 
The South Beach Diet also offers the following guidelines:

• Drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water and other decaffeinated beverages per day (excluding fruit juices)
• Limit your intake of caffeine-containing beverages to 1 cup each day (editor's note: caffeine is a killer. Cut it out completely.)
• Take one multivitamin and mineral supplement daily
• Ingest between 500 and 1,000 mg of calcium daily

Phase III:

The "lifetime maintenance plan" is nearly identical to the weight loss phase, with more portions of foods allowed.

Editor's note: Here at Health and Beyond we DO NOT recommend trendy diets. Please click here to read about a lifestyle program that's designed for you to experience your best health.