South Beach Diet

Developed By Arthur Agatston, a cardiologist and Marie Almon, a dietitian, the South Beach diet has become a rage with people all over the world who want to lose or maintain their existing weight. The diet was specifically designed to prevent heart diseases but it was found out that heart patients started to lose weight as a “side effect”. This has made the diet extremely popular as a means to lose weight since early 2000s and has been adapted by all.

Benefits of South Beach Diet

South Beach diet is based on the simple principle of replacing “bad carbs” and “bad fats” with “good carbs” and “good fats”. Thus needless to say, this diet program involves eating the right foods containing the right nutrients.

Carbohydrates are a great source of energy but most carbohydrate rich foods like refined sugars and grains trigger hunger. So when more of these kinds of foods are taken in, excess carbs are stored as fat in the adipose tissues of our bodies. The South Beach Diet will replace these sources of carbohydrates by introducing unprocessed foods like vegetables beans and food grains.

Unlike carbohydrates dealing with fats is a complicated matter. Trans Fats obtained from fried foods and saturated fats from red meat and poultry, which are extremely hard to burn, add to LDL cholesterol and cause chronic heart problems over time. The South beach Diet replaces them with unsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids, which are contained in lean meat, oily fish and dry nuts.

A More Practical Approach

The South Beach Diet needs to be approached in three phases, which will become progressively liberal as you follow them.

Phase I lasts for two weeks and it involves eliminating all kinds of processed sugars and carbohydrates, fruits and high-glycemic vegetables. Hunger cycles will cease, as a result and you will undergo significant weight loss.

Phase II can be continued for as long as you need to lose weight. Most Fruits, vegetables and whole grains can be used during this phase.

Phase III is nothing but a maintenance phase and should last for life if you would want it to. This phase neither prescribes nor prohibits any kinds of foods buts will inspire you to live by the basic principles of a healthy and wholesome diet.

Other Aspects

The South Beach Diet is wholesome in the sense that it includes all major food groups. You won’t need to exclude carbohydrates from your diet or carefully measure them. The Diet is developed along the belief that food grains, fruits and vegetables should be near to their natural form while you consume them.

Since you will lose a lot of water weight during Phase I of the diet, you need to be careful and not overdo it otherwise you may have an electrolyte imbalance.

South beach diet is also available through a line of packaged food products developed by a food product multinational. These products are well designed to meet the basics of the diet.

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