South Beach Diet
The South Beach Diet is a relatively new weight loss diet. It is
written by Dr. Arthur Agatston, director of the Mount Sinai
Cardiac Prevention Center in Miami Beach, Florida. Published by
Rodale ($24.95, hardcover, 310pp).
Agatston says he created the South Beach diet program after
becoming disillusioned with the low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet of
the American Heart Association and the high fat theories of Dr
Atkins. In the end, the South Beach Diet falls somewhere in
between.
South Beach Diet - Brief Explanation
Like the Atkins diet, the South Beach diet plan is divided into
phases.
Phase 1 - Lasts 14-days - The Strictest Phase of the Diet
In the first phase, you eat normal-sized helpings of lean meats,
such as chicken, turkey, fish, and shellfish. Vegetables are also
allowed, so are nuts, cheese, and eggs. The goal is to eat three
balanced meals a day, and to eat enough so that you don’t feel
hungry all the time. A typical South Beach diet breakfast is two
eggs and lean bacon. A mid-morning snack is Celery stuffed with 1
wedge Laughing Cow light cheese. Lunch might be salad greens with
grilled chicken. For an afternoon snack, 10 cherry tomatoes with
1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese. Dinner may be lean meat again with
fiber-rich vegetables.
Diet Foods to Enjoy: tenderloin, sirloin, or top round,
skinless chicken or turkey breasts, all types of fish and
shellfish, boiled ham, canadian bacon, turkey bacon, whole eggs,
fat-free cheeses, peanuts and pistachios, green vegetables,
legumes, canola and olive oils.
Diet Foods to Avoid: include, beef rib steaks, honey-baked ham,
breast of veal, all yogurt, ice cream, milk including whole,
low-fat, soy, and full fat cheeses, beets, carrots, corn, yams,
fruits and fruit juices, all alcohol, all starchy foods such as
bread, cereal, oatmeal, matzo, rice, pasta, pastries, baked goods,
crackers, etc.
Expected Weight Loss: 8-13 pounds.
Phase 2 - Lasts Until You Reach Your Weight Loss Goal - More
Liberal Phase
The second phase is similar to the first phase, but you
reintroduce some of the banned foods and eat from all the dietary
food groups. You can start eating high-fiber carbohydrates, such
as whole-grain breads, which raise your insulin levels in a much
milder way than do simple, starchy carbs.
Additional Diet Foods to Enjoy: most fruits, fat-free or
1 percent milk, other low-fat dairy foods, whole grain starches,
barley and pinto beans and red wine.
Diet foods to eat sparingly: refined wheat baked goods,
potatoes, beets, carrots, bananas, pineapple, watermelon and
honey.
Expected Weight Loss: 1-2 pounds per week.
Phase 3 - Weight Maintenance
This diet phase, which is an even more liberal version of the
initial diet plan, lasts the rest of your life. It should be used
to maintain your healthy weight. Agatston describes this phase as
a “way of life.” Should your weight begin to climb, you repeat the
diet plan.
South Beach Diet - Claims
Promotes rapid initial weight loss of 8-13 pounds in 14 days.
Thereafter, offers weight loss of about 1-2 pounds, per week.
Helps to improve eating habits and stabilize blood sugar levels.
Helps to improve good to bad cholesterol ratio and reduce
triglycerides.
South Beach Diet - Drawbacks
The South Beach Diet is subtitled The Delicious, Doctor-Designed,
Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss. Such a
description is bound to raise expectations to unrealistic levels.
The truth is, there is nothing especially new about this diet - or
any diet plan that cuts out unhealthy processed foods together
with excess sugar, and recommends less saturated fat.
Much of the initial 8-13 pounds weight-loss is likely to be
water-weight-loss caused by carbohydrate restriction. Such weight
loss is typically regained, as soon as carb-intake resumes.
Another drawback of the South Beach Diet is the lack of options
for people who don't like or can't eat dairy. Many snacks are
dairy-based, yet the diet bans soy in the first two weeks.
Although Dr. Agatston has concerns regarding the liberal intake of
saturated fats permitted on the Atkins diet plan, and offers sound
advice on the subject, he remains unreasonably unyielding on
complex carbs. Most of the world outside America thrives on
complex carbs and these foods do not keep us overweight, nor do
they warrant a 14-day ban. In this way, Dr Agatston is helping to
perpetuate the American fear of carbs.
Despite the many positive features of the South Beach Diet, it's
best to seek the advice of a registered dietitian or your doctor
before undertaking any diet plan that induces ketosis (as a result
of carb-restriction) because the body is shedding water and this
might cause an electrolyte imbalance without proper hydration. In
addition, low-carb diet plans are not generally recommended for
anyone with kidney problems.
South Beach Diet - Our Opinion
Although we do not agree with some of the anti-carb propositions
in the South Beach Diet, this diet is full of sensible advice
about (e.g.) fat, hunger, refined foods and balanced eating. Who
cares if it doesn't contain any new or ground-breaking dietary
advice? The South Beach Diet is a perfectly do-able diet plan with
a range of interesting recipes and diet ideas, and encourages
long-term eating from all food groups.
Diet Review
No diet review can be more than a reasoned opinion on a particular
diet plan or weight loss method. We don't have a monopoly of diet
wisdom, so we welcome all comments on
our Diet Reviews.
|
