Product Review - "The South Beach Diet"

I don’t normally get excited about a diet (especially since I’ve never really tried one) but the South Beach Diet is different.  My clothes were starting to get a little snug and if I was going to go shopping for a new wardrobe I certainly didn’t want to shop for a larger size.  Then I heard about the South Beach Diet.  So I decided to give the South Beach Diet a try and after 3 weeks I have lost 16 lbs.  The food I am eating is very tasty and I am feeling pretty good though my pants are getting awfully loose now.  The best thing about the South Beach Diet is there is no going hungry, no deprivation.  You will eat 3 meals a day and have a couple of snacks. 

Dr Agatston, who developed the diet, explains in his book “The South Beach Diet” how his cardiac patients would go on diets and lose weight but after a while they would stop the diet and then gain back any lost weight and sometimes more.  He wanted to develop a diet that would be easy to follow and one that would change their blood chemistry (cholesterol levels and triglycerides) for the better.  In the South Beach Diet there is no counting of calories or tricky rules to follow.  Just a few basic principles to follow and you are on your way to a healthier, slimmer you.  There are 3 phases of the diet and if you happen to slip it’s no problem.  You can just back up a step and continue on your way again.

In the first half of the book Dr Agatston goes through how he developed the diet and explains how certain foods work to add fat to our bodies and the types of food that help prevent this fat build up.  He goes into what are good fats and good carbs and which fats and carbs are bad for you.  In the second section he goes through some basic meal plans and what foods to eat and which to avoid during the 3 phases of the diet.  The last part of the book is full of great recipes for the different phases of the diet.  Every one of the recipes that I have tried so far is quite good.  He even has a South Beach Diet book of recipes due for release soon. 

I highly recommend this diet if you want to lose weight or improve your cholesterol levels and health.  The cost of the book (under $20 for The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss ) is money well-spent.  I think it was one of the wisest investments I have ever made.  The only problem you may have is the expense needed to buy the smaller size new clothes you will probably need.  Good luck and happy eating.

Diet Update - 1/23/04

I've got to be honest.  I have cheated a bit recently. After 2 months of holiday (Thanksgiving, Christmas and my birthday) eating (some big meals and way too many desserts) I have gained back 5 pounds from the 27 pounds that I lost. I believe it could have been much worse but I stuck to the breakfast and lunch South Beach Diet principles and I still am wearing my new pants with no problem. I am ready to tighten up my evening eating but the point is that it's no problem. This diet really works and it's flexible. If you cheat a little it's not a show stopper, just get back on track and continue on losing or keeping the weight off.

Additional Information:

by Renee Kennedy

To eat or not to eat carbohydrates. that is the question.   There are good carbs and there are bad carbs.  How can we tell the difference and how do we know

what to eat?

The old way of classifying carbohydrates:

Complex Carbohydrates provide fiber, vitamins, minerals and energy. Some foods that contain complex carbohydrates are whole grain bread, legumes like peas and beans, pasta, rice, and starchy vegetables.

Simple Carbohydrates are broken down quickly to provide energy. Simple carbohydrates are found naturally in milk, fruits and vegetables. Simple carbs

are also found in processed foods like syrup, soda, and refined sugar found in many processed baked goods. 

In this way of classifying carbs, it is recommended that we limit our intake of simple carbs and get most of our carbohydrates from complex carbs.

The new way of classifying carbohydrates:

The Glycemic Index (GI) measures how quickly blood sugar rises after ingesting a food with carbohydrates.  Eating a diet full of foods that have been rated with a

high GI may contribute to an increased risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Highly processed or highly refined carbohydrates have been found to have a high GI - foods like white bread, white rice, white pasta, french fries and refined

breakfast cereals.

Whole foods will have a lower GI - legumes, whole fruit, and whole grains like wheat, oats, barley, and brown rice.

However, there are exceptions to this rule. Many other factors influence the GI of a food. Fiber content, fat content, ripeness, and type of starch also affect the

GI. Thus some foods like potatoes and bananas have a high GI.

Diets that advise you to eat a low amount of carbohydrates have gone part of the way to increase awareness of the differences of carbs. The Glycemic Index has also helped us to determine that all carbs are not created equal. Some kinds of carbohydrates help promote health, but others actually increase the risk for

diseases like diabetes and coronary heart disease.

What should we eat?

The general rule is that highly processed carbs are not as good for us as natural carbs. How can we get away from highly refined foods - it's everywhere you look!

Here are some techniques for buying food:

1. Educate yourself. learn to read the backs of packages of food and know the difference between a processed food and a natural food. (However, if it's packaged in a box, bag, or can - chances are it's processed.)

2. Go to the store with a list.

3. Do not go to the store hungry.

4. Do not go to fast food restaurants. instead try out diners or restaurants that boast home cooked meals.  

5. Get your fruits and vegetables from farmers markets or farm stands whenever possible. Not only will you save money, you will also be getting better quality produce. 

Read more about The Glycemic Index:

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates.html 

Need help counting your carbs? http://www.NutriCounter.com The NutriCounter is the right device for helping you monitor your carbohydrate intake. It stores and tracks nine nutrients including calories, total fat, saturated fat, protein, carbohydrates, sodium, cholesterol, sugar, and fiber. It's available in Palm OS and Pocket PC software or as a hand held unit.