The South Beach Diet

By Weight Loss Consultant • Related • Filed Under

The South Beach diet is one of the low-carbohydrate diet programs and has been brought to the public’s attention recently, having had a lot of coverage in the media and press. The South Beach diet is kind of derived from the Atkin’s diet, being a more evolved version – separating carbohydrates into “good carbs” and “bad carbs”, and separating fats into “good fats” and “bad fats”. Good carbs are high in fiber or high in good fats which refer to polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats (Saturated and trans fats are bad fats), and have a low glycemic index (GI). A lot of celebrities have been known to follow the South Beach diet, including Kim Cattrall (from Sex and the City), Nicole Kidman, and Bill and Hillary Clinton.

The South Beach diet was developed by a cardiologist in Miami, Dr. Arthur Agatston M.D., who wanted to create a diet for his own patients that would help them to lose weight as well as helping to reduce the chances of developing heart disease. The diet does not restrict food portion sizes – it allows you to eat as much as you are comfortable with, as long as you are eating the right foods. This makes it an easier diet to follow for people who have large appetites.

The glycemic index (GI) is a scientific term that measures the blood glucose response to intake of a certain carbohydrate. The higher the peak value in postprandial blood glucose levels, the higher the glycemic index value. The glycemic index concept has been used in low carbohydrate diets such as Sugar Busters, the South Beach Diet, and the Zone Diet. Low-carbohydrate diets allow carbohydrate food consumption as long as they have a low GI. Weight loss occurs in such diets because people restrict caloric intake on their diets, which produces a short-term negative energy balance that ultimately leads to fat loss. Some carbohydrates have a high glycemic index  and if you consume too much of this food, it can cause an ‘insulin resistance’, meaning that insulin in your body can no longer successful process sugars or fats. The carbs that have this high GI are those that are known as “bad carbs” by the South Beach diet. “Bad fats” are so called when foods are high in saturated fats – and therefore could increase the chance of a cardiovascular disease.

Unlike the Atkins diet, the South Beach program does not restrict carbohydrate intake. Instead, it advocates on eating the right carbohydrates and the right fats. The carbohydrates the diet are absorbed from whole grain foods (cereals, breads, and pastas) that are high in fiber content and low in glycemic index. The South Beach diet emphasises the importance of eating carbohydrates that are high in fiber – and that can digested more slowly, with a low GI. The diet program recommends dieters eating proper portion of high-fiber vegetables and nuts. Brown rice is good for this, but white rice has a high glycemic index, and is therefore no good on the South Beach diet. Polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats are also good, and the only type of fats that are allowed on the diet.

There are three stages to the South Beach diet. At every stage, the foods that are allowed are altered, and more carbohydrates are eventually introduced.

Phase one is the strictest stage of the diet. No candy, sugar, potatoes, bread, grains, cereals or fruits are allowed. Lean cuts of meat, low carb vegetables, low fat cheese and yoghurt, and fish all make up the main foods of this phase. In this phase, the dieter eat snack and three meals which include turkey, chicken, shellfish, lean meats, fish, nuts, eggs, reduced-fat cheese, and plenty of vegetables. This phase is attempted to lose the body’s insulin resistance and start to lose fat. Phase one should last around two weeks, until you are approaching your desired weight.

Phase two sees the introduction of whole grain and fruits. This phase is aimed to gradual lose weight by 1 to 2 pounds a week. Some healthy carbohydrate foods excluded in the earlier phase are reintroduced. Such foods include fruit, whole grain rice, whole wheat pasta, whole grain bread and sweet potatoes. Everything from phase one, along wish some fresh fruit, wholegrain pasta and rice, and high fiber cereals can now be eaten.

Phase three is called the maintenance phase where the South Beach diet is adapted to a long term plan. The phase encourages consumption of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids, and moderate dairy products. There are no “forbidden” foods as such – but phase three expects that you take what you have learnt to be “good” and “bad” foods, and stick to those outlines to maintain your weight.

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