South Beach Diet - What's the fuss?

South Beach Diet - What's the fuss?

The South Beach Diet is being touted as the next "big thing" amongst those trying to lose weight. But what's all the fuss about? Well, this site has been set up to fill you in on all the details of the SouthBeach Diet in a straight forward, no gimmick manner. After all, you want to get on with losing weight ready for summer, right?

A Quick Summary of the Idea Behind Low Carb Diets

The body uses sugar and glucose as a primary source of energy. Simple carbohydrates get absorbed into the bloodstream as sugar very rapidly. This is why "high energy" drinks such as Lucozade Sport will provide you with a temporary energy boost - they're very high in glucose. The basic idea behind low carb dieting, including the SouthBeach Diet, is that if there is a shortage of this primary energy source (the carbohydrates) then the body will, instead, begin to burn fat as a source of energy.

Where Did The SouthBeach Diet Come From?

South Beach Diet was created by Dr. Arthur Agatston after finding many of his patients were having little success with traditional low carb - high fat diet plans such as the Atkins diet. Being a cardiologist, Dr. Agatston's primary concern was to find a diet that resulted in a healthy heart. He couldn't find such a diet so decided to formulate his own diet plan which has become known as The South Beach Diet.

"In one 12-week study of 40 overweight people, those who followed the SouthBeach Diet lost an average of 13.6 lb, almost double the 7.5 lb lost by those on the strict "Step II" American Heart Association (AHA) diet. And the South Beach Diet group showed greater decreases in waist-to-hip ratio (belly fat) and triglycerides, and their good to bad cholesterol ratio improved more. Plus, only one person [in the SouthBeach Diet group] dropped out compared with five in the AHA group." - Dr. Agatston

So, Is the South Beach Diet Just Another Low Carbohydrate Diet?

In a word, no. The idea with the SouthBeach Diet is to lose weight in a manner that's healthy for the dieter. Unlike other low carb diets, it does this by having the dieter select between good and bad carb foods. For this reason a dieter on the South Beach Diet will often eat more fruit and even whole grain bread when compared to other low carb diets. The SouthBeach Diet is more balanced than many other low carb diets.

Instead of just selecting low carbohydrate foods the SouthBeach Diet focuses on how foods effect your blood sugar levels. This is measured by the glycemic index and this is what's used to differentiate between good and bad carb foods.

How Does The South Beach Diet Work?

The South Beach Diet is split into three phases. Each phase becomes more relaxed in terms of what you can and cannot eat. Because of this a person on the South Beach Diet will normally lose weight at a faster rate whilst at an earlier phase than a later phase. However, no one wants to be permanently on a strict diet and indeed this is often the reason why many diets fail. Because of this, only phase one is this "strict" and lasts only for two weeks. To maintain a healthy body weight the dieter may move between the different phases.