South Beach Diet

"The South Beach Diet is not low carb, nor is it low fat" - Dr Agatston

The South Beach Diet plan was created by cardiologist Dr Arthur Agatston based at Mount Sinai Hospital - in South Florida. The diet was originally developed for overweight heart patients. The patients experienced better health and weight loss. The South Beach Diet has come to be one of the most popular diets of all time.

The Book That Started It All

Since hitting the shelves, Agatstons book The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Fast and Healthy Weight Loss has remained a bestseller (despite a seemingly pretentious subtitle). This diet is good - very good, and includes foods such as whole grains, healthy fats, fish, chicken, fruits and vegetables.

Agatston offers a free diet profile (see left), along with over 800 recipes and meal plans. There are a huge amount of features; such as Ask Dr Agatston, Online Registered Dietitians, Journals, Message Boards, Food Guides, etc, etc. Well worth joining.

NOTE
If you are a vegetarian, there IS a vegetarian version of the diet, but Dr. Agatston has only made this available in the online program.

South Beach Diet Plan Overview

Phase 1

The South Beach Diet begins with a somewhat restricted two-week induction phase - which will result in weight loss in most people. In this phase most carbohydrates (such as rice, pasta, and breads) must be avoided. There are three meals a day and snacks -- eating until your hunger is satisfied. Meats, shellfish, chicken, turkey, and fish are all on the menu - along with nuts, cheese (fat-free), eggs, salads, and vegetables. See the South Beach Diet Food List for more.

Phase 2

This second phase includes specific meal plans and recipes. It reintroduces some of the foods avoided in Phase 1 - but only sparingly. In this phase weight loss should be in the region of 1-2 pounds per week. This length of time on this phase is indefinite (i.e. until a specific goal is reached).

Phase 3

The third phase is about living the lifestyle more than a phase - its about eating healthy foods, and maintaining weight.

This is NOT Atkins

Although the South Beach Diet may seem similar to the Atkins diet or the Zone diet, Dr Agatston stresses it is not a strictly low-carb diet. It's all about balancing the good carbs against the "bad" carbs. Note that the first 14-day phase is definitely a low-carb phase. However the South Beach Diet is based around the Glycemic Index, and carbs are chosen according to this index.

It is quite feasible to follow the principles in the diet from Phase 2 only (i.e. forgoing Phase 1) - they make good sense. The scientific backing for an 'induction' phase is unclear.

South Beach Diet Recipes and Meal Plans

You may already own the South Beach Diet book itself. Complete meal plans and simple recipes make up almost half the book. Or you may want to join the online program at www.southbeachdiet.com - this has over 800 recipes (that cannot be found in the book) and meal plans - more than 350,000 people are subscribed to this program!

Arthur Agatston has also written the South Beach Diet Cookbook - it has over 200 recipes, and 25 gourmet dishes from American restaurants. Also just released is the The South Beach Diet Good Fats/Good Carbs Counter.

Sample Meal Plan for the South Beach Diet

PHASE 1	PHASE 2	PHASE 3
Breakfast Tomato juice, 6 oz Scrambled eggs with fresh herbs and mushrooms Canadian bacon, 2 slices Decaf coffee or decaf tea with fat-free milk and sugar substitute Snack Part-skim mozzarella cheese stick Lunch Chicken Caesar salad (no croutons) Prepared Caesar dressing, 2 Tbsp Snack Low-fat cottage cheese (½ cup) with ½ cup chopped tomatoes and cucumbers Dinner Mahi mahi Oven-Roasted Vegetables Arugula salad Low-sugar prepared dressing Dessert Lemon Peel Ricotta Crème	Breakfast Berry smoothie (8 oz Dannon Light 'n Fit fruit-flavored yogurt, ½ cup berries, ½ cup crushed ice, blended) Decaf coffee or decaf tea with fat-free milk and sugar substitute Snack 1 hard-boiled egg Lunch Lemon Couscous Chicken Tomato and cucumber slices Snack Dannon Light 'n Fit yogurt, 4 oz Dinner Meat Loaf Steamed asparagus Mushrooms sautéed in olive oil Sliced Bermuda onion and tomato with drizzled olive oil Dessert Sliced cantaloupe with 2 Tbsp ricotta cheese	Breakfast ½ grapefruit Tex-Mex eggs (2 eggs scrambled with shredded Monterey Jack cheese and salsa) Whole grain toast, 1 slice Decaf coffee or decaf tea with fat-free milk and sugar substitute Lunch Roast Beef Wrap Nectarine Dinner Grilled salmon with tomato salsa Tossed salad (mixed greens, cucumbers, green bell peppers, cherry tomatoes) Olive oil and vinegar to taste or 2 Tbsp low-sugar prepared dressing Dessert Chocolate-Dipped Apricots

Any Negatives?

Virtually none.

The only thing we could think of is the potential food cost. If you look at the meal plan above you will see that some of the foods listed could get expensive. However it doesn't have to be that way. It is possible (not easy - but possible) to source the healthy foods required (lean proteins, quality carbs, etc) whilst on a budget.

See the South Beach Diet Online Program

Last updated 1 Nov 07