South Beach Diet
The South Beach Diet, designed by cardiologist Arthur Agatston and dietician Marie Almon, consists of three phases which attempt to regulate blood sugar and insulin.
The First Phase of the South Beach Diet, which lasts two weeks, allows you normal-sized helpings of lean meats, such as chicken, turkey, fish, and shellfish. Vegetables are also allowed, as are nuts, cheese, and eggs. A salad with olive oil dressing is fine. Coffee and tea are OK; but, lots and lots of water is essential.
The typical breakfast is two eggs and lean bacon. Lunch is salad greens with grilled chicken. A small amount of dry-roasted nuts makes up an afternoon snack. Dinner is lean meat again with fiber-rich vegetables. Cheese and low-fat yogurt are allowed, as is sugar-free gelatin for dessert.
The Second Phase is similar to the first phase, but you’ll start to reintroduce some of the banned foods. 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.
Forbidden in those first 14 days, however, are fruit, bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, or baked goods. No sugar, ice cream, cookies, or cake. And no alcoholic drinks of any kind (wine, fruit and whole-grain breads may be added back to the diet in subsequent phases).
The Third Phase of the diet is really all about weight maintenance, which Dr. Agatston describes as a “way of life.” Should your weight begin to climb, you simply repeat the South Beach diet process.
The Atkins Diet severely restricts all carbohydrates during the initial phase. South Beach diet, on the other hand, groups “good” and “bad” carbohydrates based on their glycemic index, a measure of how foods affect your blood sugar.
Go Home from the South Beach Diet.