What Is The South Beach Diet?

The South Beach Diet was founded by cardiologist Arthur Agatston to help his patients lose weight and maintain a healthy diet for the rest of their lives. It is structured into categories, such as the Atkins Diet, with different dietary recommendations for each category. All sections have the same basic philosophy, however. Weight loss and retention depend on the establishment of a balanced diet that avoids 'bad' fats and carbohydrates. Proponents of the South Beach diet claim that you can lose weight and maintain weight without counting calories, weighing portions, or cutting back on delicious, satisfying meals. This is achieved by cutting down on junk, high-carbohydrate foods such as sugar, potatoes, rice and white bread. Each phase is specifically designed to achieve a specific goal. Phase I: Adjusting Your Metabolism in Phase I, eat three meals and two snacks a day, and eat until you are hungry. The phase lasts for two weeks, during which your body will lose 8-13 pounds. These items are not allowed during Phase I: bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, baked goods, fruit, candy, cake, cookies, ice cream, sugar or alcohol losing an average of 1-2 pounds per week. During this phase, you will gradually increase the restricted foods from phase I to your diet, but you will eat less. The daily diet of Phase II should include: All protein you need At least 4 1/2 cups of vegetables Up to 3 servings of fruit Up to 3 portions of starch 1 1/2 cups of milk / milk (including yogurt) 3 tbs. Fat In fact, the typical South Beach Diet menu may include something like this: ½ grapefruit 2 boiled eggs mixed with Monterey Jack cheese and salsa 1 piece of whole grain toast Coffee or tea with caffeine, low-fat milk and sugar substitutes If you like The South Beach Diet Recommended Diet program emphasizes low-carbohydrate foods, limit sweets, ground starches, white sugar and 'unhealthy fats', and all the protein you need. Specifies the small amounts of low-carb diets that should be eaten daily, closely in line with the recommendations made by the USDA and the American Diabetes Association. An important concept in the South Beach diet is the Glycemic index. Meals are calculated at a rate of 1-100 according to your Glycemic index - the rate at which you raise blood sugar levels after a meal. The focus of your diet should be on low GI foods, such as yogurt, cucumber and broccoli and whole grain cereals, while avoiding high GI levels such as white bread, potatoes and pretzels. In addition to the above, the South Beach Diet offers the following guidelines: * Drink at least 8 glasses of water and other non-caffeinated beverages per day (excluding fruit juice) * Reduce your caffeinated beverage to 1 cup per day * Take one multivitamin supplement with minerals daily * Take between 500 and 1,000 mg of calcium daily Phase III: The health care system is almost the same as the weight loss phase, with most of the dietary restrictions allowed. Dr. Agatston warns that patients who are being treated for diabetes, kidney failure, pregnancy, or other chronic illness should consult their physician before starting any type of weight loss program.