What’s With All The Hype Regarding The South Beach Diet?

The South Beach Diet has it’s origins the North American cardiologist Arthur Agatston. South Beach comprises a mixture of healthy carbohydrates and fats, which are combined to create a healthy and balanced diet. The foods forbidden from this diet comprise foods Dr. Agatston believes to be bad carbs. Foods that include bad carbohydrates such as white rice and white potatoes are not part of, while foods such as yams and brown rice are acceptable for this diet.

The diet was created to treat his cardiac patients by keeping them from developing insulin resistance. This side effect of consuming too many bad carbohydrates can adversely affect the body’s ability to process fat and sugar. Ingesting these unhealthy carbohydrates can also make cardiovascular issues worse.

The South Beach Diet is comprised of three main phases. In phase, the South Beach dieter has to take in the approved foods and not eat the ones that contain bad fats. This initial step is the initial 14 days of the diet, when the new South Beach dieter will will lose the insulin reistance. The stores of fat will then have to be burned for energy, which can result in a weight loss of about 13 pounds. The dieter eats three meals every day, consisting of nuts, eggs, fish, meat, vegetables and cheese every day. These foods all contain some degree of heart-healthy fats. This leaves the South Beach dieter feeling full and free from cravings for sweets, because so many meals are eaten every day.

In this second phase, whole grain foods, fruit and dairy items are allowed on the South Beach Diet. The portions of these foods are kept small and the rest of the diet continues with proteins and healthy fats and carbohydrates. Red wine is allowed in moderation during this step. The overall goal in this phase is to lose a pound or two each week. Phase two continues until the goal weight has been reached.

Extra weight is permanently kept at bay during phase three. The dieter eats three servings of whole grain and three of fruit, as well as the other approved foods. The dieter is now eating six times, including snacks and full meals, every day of this phase. This last step is responsible for keeping the weight from returning, and can also result in a healthy heart

Unlike many diets, the South Beach Diet doesn’t require keeping track of calories or periods of hunger. The size of the meals are designed so that there is never a feeling of being unsatisfied. This prevents hunger from causing binges. The diet also recommends that the foods eaten be as natural as possible, rather than mainly foods that have been processed. Meats that are high in fat are also discouraged. There are foods available on the market, called South Beach Living, that have been designed with the South Beach approved foods as ingredients.

In the last few years, several studies have been done to figure out how effective this diet is. Studies published in 2004 and 2005 proved that the dieters involved in the studies did succeed in losing weight while sticking to the diet.