South Beach Diet Review
The next in our series on diet reviews is the South Beach Diet. Developed by a cardiologist in search of a diet to improve heart function and blood flow, the South Beach Diet has become an overnight sensation in the weight loss community with its fast weight loss results.
The South Beach Diet assumes that the body does not know how to properly break down sugars and carbohydrates and they are the cause of most weight gain. South Beach consists of two phases, first a low carbohydrate “cleansing” phase that follows many of the principles of the Atkins Diet, and phase two allows you to re-introduce “good carbs” to your diet, and allows for more flexibility.
During phase one you are required to eliminate sugars and starches such as bread, cereal, sweets and fruits, replacing them with high protein foods like eggs, lean meats, fish, nuts high fiber vegetables and cheeses. Unlike the Atkins Diet, it is not recommended that you go overboard with high saturated fats as they contribute to heart disease. Phase one of the South Beach Diet lasts 14 days and will help you lose weight fast.
For those of us who crave sweets the South Beach Diet book recommends a number of cheesecake like deserts made custom for the diet! When you are completed with phase one, you will have broken your addiction to sugar and will be ready to re-introduce them to your body.
Phase two of the South Beach Diet allows you to re-introduce carbohydrates in to your diet, slowly. After the low carb phase, you can’t have all the sugars you want right away without ruining some of the effects, so start with a piece of fruit, or a slice of bread and gradually increase every day. No two people will have the same effects so it is important to monitor the effects of the carbs on your weight loss. Phase two continues until you reach your desired weight loss.
During this phase it is important to limit “bad carbs” like candy, sweets and ice cream. Notice however that you need to limit, not eliminate bad carbs so you are allowed an occasional treat, but just don’t go overboard. To get your carbohydrate fix, it is recommended that you eat fruits and high fiber products like old-fashioned oatmeal (not instant oatmeal), high fiber cereal and whole grain bread.
Much like the Atkins Diet and Weight Watchers Diet, the South Beach Diet has inspired an entire industry of South Beach Diet products , which can act as meal replacements of snacks for busy people who are always on the go.
The South Beach diet combines a lot of promising diet principles, most notably that foods high in sugars and starches are the leading cause of weight gain, and can help dieters lose weight quickly. Unlike the Atkins Diet, which eliminates carbohydrates entirely, and is almost impossible to follow long term, South Beach teaches you to make good healthy dieting choices for the rest of your life. Don’t forget to check out the rest of our diet reviews to see how the other diets stack up.
