Contrary to what you may think, the South Beach Diet was not created by a pack of overweight surfers. The diet is actually based on the idea that high-glycemic carbohydrates — those that rate higher than 55 on the glycemic scale — or bad carbs, such as white bread and white rice, lead to weight gain.
These types of simple carbohydrates are digested very quickly, cause a blood sugar spike, and then leave the body with an elevated insulin level. The excess of insulin then lowers your blood sugar levels, causing you to crave more simple carbs, resulting in an endless cycle of cravings and indulgence.
The South Beach Diet thus recommends that dieters consume more low-glycemic carbs, or good carbs, such as whole grains and vegetables, which take longer to break down, expend more energy as they break down, and don’t lead to empty cravings.
As mentioned, the South Beach Diet is unique, successful, easy, and works in a three-phase process. Unlike many other so-called diets, with the South Beach Diet, simply substitutes your bad carbohydrates and fats for good ones. After trying this, you will be amazed by how well and quickly it works.
Watching the glitzy ads you may be asking yourself, how does the south beach diet work? Is it for real, or just another scam? As usual, it’s not a black-and-white issue; you can make it work if you’re determined and dedicated enough, but it’s not a magic bullet.
What the South Beach Diet Is
The South Beach diet is similar to the Atkins diet in that it’s a low-carb, high-protein diet. One notable difference is that the emphasis is more on healthy fats than just any fat, such as bacon grease or heavily marbled beef, something Atkins has been criticized for in the past.
This part of the diet can be traced to its originator, Dr. Agatsons, who is a cardiologist. Naturally, with this background, heart health is a key consideration. This stance also translates to the carbohydrates you are allowed to eat on this diet, where high-GI carbs such as sugars and highly processed foods are eschewed in favor of high-fiber vegetables, nuts and so on.
How Does the South Beach Diet Work?
The South Beach diet is divided into phases, where the first phase–typically running two weeks–is designed to work like hitting the reset button for your body. Basically, the diet cuts out all sugars, dairy, alcohol, pasta, breads etc. so as to give your body a chance to purge the junk that messes with insulin resistance from your system, along with cravings and bad habits that may have grown quite hardy over the years.
As with Atkins, the diet relies heavily on the function of insulin, since excess insulin and poor use of said insulin (i.e. the body has built up resistance to it) directly promotes fat storage along with other nasty side effects. The first two weeks can be very tough, as they present a big shock if you’ve been leading a typical American life up until then, but there’s some merit to the idea of getting a clean start.
Furthermore, the South Beach diet is fairly humane in that it does not advocate starvation unlike other, similarly named and marketed diet scams. Instead, you get to have three square meals with snacks in-between; you can eat until you’re satisfied, you just have to eat the right kinds of stuff to get there.
The second phase is the down-to-business part where you chug along on the new diet until you hit your target weight. Moderate amounts of alcohol, dairy and whole grains are now carefully reintroduced into the diet. The idea here is that since they’re “good” and you’ve cut the ties with your old habits, you can now safely ease up a little on the anti-carb stance without awakening the now slumbering cravings.
Finally, the third phase is the maintenance regimen where you’re allowed decent amounts of carbs and other “normal” food every day. Still, whole grains, fiber, healthy fats and above all, moderation, remains the priority.
South Beach Diet Phase 1
South Beach Diet Phase 1 lasts for two weeks. During this first phase, you will eat normal meals of chicken, beef, turkey, fish, and shellfish, lots of vegetables, eggs, cheese, nuts, and garden salads using 100% olive oil for your salad dressing. Each day for 14 days, you will eat three, well-balanced meals. While eating until your hunger is satisfied may go against most diets, with the South Beach Diet, it is part of the plan.
Trying to lose weight and become healthy by depriving the body of food makes no sense. In addition to the three meals each day, you will also eat a snack between breakfast and lunch, and then again between lunch and dinner. Even if you do not feel like eating these snacks, for the South Beach Diet to work, you need to, and after dinner, you will even have dessert. Additionally, during this phase, you can drink all the coffee and tea you want and be sure to drink lots of water.
You may be thinking that this is a lot of food – it is! With most diets, you deprive your body, eating only small portions of foods that are unappealing. The change you will make during this phase is that you will cut out all bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, baked goods, fruit, candy, cake, cookies, ice cream, or sugar. Keep in mind that these eliminated foods will be added back into your diet, starting in Phase 2. In addition to taking these foods out of your diet temporarily, you will also need to avoid beer, or any kind of alcohol. Once you start Phase 2, reasonable amounts of wine can be added back in.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed about the foods that will be taken out of your diet during the first two weeks, stop and think about this for a minute. To achieve a life of health and lose unwanted weight, two weeks is a small investment to make. After all, you are worth it! The first two or three days will be somewhat challenging, but breaking any bad habit starts out a little bumpy. Once you pass this small hurdle, the rest of the time will go by quicker than you think. When you see the results that these changes bring, you will be glad you did not give up!
South Beach Diet Phase 2
South Beach Diet Phase 2 is different from the first in that it will last as long as it takes you to lose your desired weight. This phase will last different lengths of time depending on each individual person, how well they follow the diet, and how their body reacts.
Do not forget that by the time you start this phase, you will already be 8 to 13 pounds lighter! Other changes you will notice when starting Phase 2 is that your outlook on eating will be changed. During the past two weeks, the way in which your body was reacting to foods making you overweight was corrected. Those old, nagging cravings have been squelched and the bad eating habits of the past are gone.
The secret is not that you are eating less food, but eating fewer foods that start cravings and store excessive fat. Once the first phase ends, the weight will continue to come off by staying on the plan. Some of the indulgences you took out of your diet during Phase 1 will be added back in, but less often. When you want a piece of chocolate cake, you can have one, just not every night. If hot garlic bread sounds good, you can have this too, but not as often and with less enthusiasm.
As you go through phase 2, your weight loss will not be as dramatic, but it will be consistent. On average, you can expect to lose from one to two pounds. While these numbers are lower than what you achieved in the first phase, losing slowly is healthier and you will keep the weight off.
South Beach Diet Phase 3
South Beach Diet Phase 3 begins when you have hit your target weight. To help you maintain your new weight, you will be able to enjoy options that are more liberal. Once you get to this phase, you will stay there for the rest of your life. After completing Phase 1 and 2, this phase will feel like normal eating to you. Now you are eating differently – for life! If your weight starts creeping back up, modify the foods you are eating and the amounts.
Along with losing extra weight and changing the way your body responds to food, your blood chemistry is also changing, improving your cardiovascular system. With heart disease being a leading cause of death where the only symptom of heart attack is often death, improving your cardiovascular system will add quality years to your life. Although you may have started the South Beach Diet as a way to lose weight, when finished, you will see that you achieved so much more!
There’s a lot more details to be covered in a comprehensive answer to the question, How does the South Beach diet work, but the fundamentals are sound. Going cold turkey on the morning donut and Friday night beer can be a traumatizing event, but the cravings typically subside considerably once you’ve suffered through the initial withdrawal agony.
The good news is that you’ll likely see your weight drop several pounds in those first two weeks alone. The bad news is that it’s most likely just water, same as practically every other diet out there. Beyond that, there’s a good chance of success if you manage to stick to the program, especially in combination with regular exercise.
Be prepared for quite a bit of involvement, however. This isn’t one of those diets where you snap into autopilot; you have to put some thought into your menu, learn to cook your food and probably abstain from eating out more often than not. Also, the program is a bit of a one-size-fits-all solution. Naturally, an athletic 20-year old male has quite different metabolic needs than a sedentary 50-year old female. After a grueling workout, one of the best things the 20-year old can eat is actually a load of sugar, since this prevents his muscle tissue from cannibalizing itself and thus reduce his metabolism. The same amount of sugar would be downright hazardous for the sedentary woman, wreaking havoc on her blood sugar levels. In other words, you may have to improvise and bend the rules a little to adjust to your particular situation.
The bottom line is that the South Beach diet can be a good, common-sense system if you have the discipline, which has an edge over the competition in that it promotes healthy eating that is realistic for the long haul. Good luck!
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11. January 2010 at 1:59 am
I’ve tried doing the south beach diet. I almost completed the first phase when I said “This is BS. I’d rather eat intuitively and make healthy choices.” So quit the whole dieting thing and just started making healthier choices when it comes to food. In fact, taking into consideration the glycemic index of the food you eat is very important. Always stick to complex carbs, veggies, and fruits.