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Top 10 to The South Beach diet
The South Beach Diet was invented by the Florida based cardiologist Dr Arthur Agatston, and was named after the popular southern Florida beach
hotspot. Dr Agatston claims that the diet is easy to stick to, stating that
"This diet works because it doesn't require a lot of self-control — you're not
hungry on it, and there's a great variety of foods to eat so you won't get bored
and go off it".
No major food groups are eliminated, plenty of fruit and
vegetables are recommended and generally the diet follows the basic
principles of
healthy eating with the result that it should provide plenty
of the
nutrients you need to stay healthy.
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Characteristics of The South Beach Diet
 The first principle was to permit
good
carbohydrates (fruits,
vegetables, and whole grains) and curtail the intake of bad carbohydrates (the
highly processed ones, for the most part, where all the fiber had been
stripped away during manufacturing). The South Beach Diet follows the
principles based on the
Glycaemic Index. When we've eaten, the
carbohydrates in food get broken down into sugars, which are then absorbed
into the blood causing a rise in blood sugar. In response, the hormone insulin
is released from the pancreas to remove the sugar from the blood.
Carbohydrate-rich foods with a high glycaemic index, like bagels, cornflakes,
white bread and jacket potatoes cause a rapid rise in
blood sugar, resulting
in the release of a large amount of insulin to deal with this. This causes
blood sugar levels to drop rapidly, leaving you lacking in energy, craving
more carbs and quickly feeling hungry so that you eat again. If this pattern
is frequently repeated, you're likely to gain weight as a result a constantly
overeating.
Carbs with low glycaemic index such as pasta, pulses and porridge slowly
release sugar into the blood, providing a steady supply of energy and leaving
you feeling satisfied for longer. This means you get fewer carb cravings,
don't constantly feel hungry and so are less likely to overeat. Plus there's
less chance that your body will become resistant to the effects of insulin
with the result that it continues to burn fat efficiently. Foods with a low GI
are therefore recommended if you want to lose weight.
 The diet permitted
animal
proteins -To make up for the
overall cut in carbohydrates The South Beach Diet permits intake of
lean beef, pork, veal, and lamb.According to the South Beach diet lean
meat does not have a harmful effect on blood chemistry. Even egg yolks are
considered good as, they're a source of natural
vitamin E and have a
neutral-to-favorable effect on our balance between good and bad
cholesterol.
Chicken, turkey, and fish (especially the oily ones such as salmon, tuna, and
mackerel) are recommended , along with nuts and low-fat cheeses and
yogurt.
  The diet permitted
ample fats- Plenty of healthy
mono- and
polyunsaturated fats, like the Mediterranean ones: olive oil, canola oil, and
peanut oil are allowed as these are the good
fats. According to Dr Agatston
they can actually reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke. In addition to
being beneficial, they make food more palatable. They're filling, too-a major
consideration for a diet that promises that you won't have to go hungry.
  Flexibility is a feature mentioned in this diet. It allows people
to eat the way they actually like to eat, while improving their blood
chemistry and helping them to
lose weight and maintain the loss over the long
run. This means a lifetime, not 3 months or a year. This plan allows dieters
to bend or break the
rules, so long as they understood exactly what damage
they've done and how to undo it. According to the author, if the cheating put
a few pounds on, or stalled the weight loss, the setback would be minimal and
easily repaired, rather than spelling doom.
  Simplicity- The diet is based on
dishes that are easy to make, with
ingredients that are commonly found in supermarkets or in most restaurants.
The plan requires snacks between meals, but the kind that can be thrown into a
briefcase or backpack in the morning and eaten on the run.
 No limits on portion sizes- The diet is distinguished by the
a bsence of
calorie counts; percentage
counts of fats, carbs, and
proteins; or
even rules about portion size. The major concern is that dieters should
eat good carbs and good fats. Once that's all under control, portions and
percentages take care of themselves. By choosing the right
carbs and the right
fats, you simply won't be hungry all the time. When you're eating the good
carbohydrates and good fat,
portion control tends to take care of itself, but
not always.
  Fast Weight loss- The South Beach diet claims you can lose up to a
staggering 13lb in just two weeks, it suggests you can also expect to lose
most of that weight from your tummy. However, the amount of weight loss
depends on the amount of weight you have to lose as well as several
metabolic
factors. Those who have had significant adult weight gain and/or who have a
family history of
diabetes and/or have predominant central
obesity, as well as
those with elevated triglycerides, have the most predictable and the
fastest
weight loss.
 The diet aims at
avoiding ketosis while still losing your
cravings, resulting in much less  water loss. On restricting all
carbohydrates, as done in the
Atkins diet, where you deplete your sugar
stores and begin to burn fat orenergy, you stand a strong chance of
developing ketosis, which is due to breakdown products of fat that are
associated with significant water loss. On the South Beach diet you include
the good vegetables and carbohydrates from the beginning, you avoid ketosis
while still losing your cravings, and this results in much less water loss.
 Losing weight on the South Beach diet
 consistently improves
blood chemistries. Clinical studies have shown that triglycerides fall
substantially while the good
cholesterol stays the same or increases. The
South Beach diet is the only diet that has been shown to increase the size of
the bad cholesterol molecules (LDL). This makes the bad cholesterol particles
less likely to enter the vessel wall and cause blockages.
  Effective regardless of exercise- The South Beach Diet
does not depend on
exercise in order to work. You'll lose more weight, faster,
if you are active on a regular basis. But you'll lose weight even if you're
not.
Following the diet:
the South Beach is divided into three phases. In Phase One, most
carbohydrates are banned to give your body a complete rest from fluctuating
blood sugar and insulin levels. The theory is this will help to resolve insulin
resistance.
-
 During Phase One, the banned foods list includes bread, rice, potatoes,
pasta, fruit, milk, sweets, cake, biscuits, ice cream, sugar and alcohol. A
few low GI veg such as broccoli and cabbage are allowed, but the focus is on
eating lean meat, chicken, fish, eggs, low-fat cheese, some nuts and olive
oil. You follow this phase for 14 days.
-
In Phase Two, low GI carbs including most fruits, Granary bread,
wholegrain cereals and pasta and low-fat milk are reintroduced. The idea is to
stay with this phase until you've reached your target weight.
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Finally, in Phase Three you introduce an even wider variety of foods. This
phase is aimed at keeping your weight steady and the diet recommends you stay
on this for life.
The South Beach Diet claims you can lose 8-13lb in the
first two weeks. Once you enter Phase Two, you can expect a more reasonable
loss of 1-2lb a week.
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For each phase, there are no limits on portion sizes - you simply eat enough
to satisfy your appetite - and you're encouraged to eat three meals and snacks
each day.
The cons?
The extreme carbohydrate restriction in the first two weeks requires serious
willpower and may leave you feeling weak and wobbly. Meanwhile, you won't be
getting your five fruit and veg each day during Phase One, which may leave you
missing out on some vitamins and minerals. Eliminating all carbohydrate-rich
foods during this phase also means you'll be cutting out some other good sources
of
fibre,
vitamins and
minerals. For example, wholegrain
breads and cereals are
packed with fibre,
B vitamins and
iron, while milk is an excellent source of
calcium and
zinc.
Most nutrition experts are not happy with the recommended weight loss.
General guidelines recommend losing no more than 2lb a week for good health and
so experts are concerned that this diet promotes such a large weight loss in the
first two weeks. They say this is unhealthy and is simply the result of a severe
calorie restriction caused by cutting out all carbs. As for losing weight
specifically from your midriff, most nutrition and fitness experts believe it's
impossible to lose fat from just one part of your body.
In the long term, this is one of the better diets - especially if you avoid
Phase One and start on Phase Two.
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