A Brief Description of the South Beach Diet

The South Beach Diet was introduced by Dr. Arthur Agatston. He is a highly respected cardiologist and associate professor of medicine. Both his father and grandfather were doctors. As a young child Dr. Agatston knew that he wanted a career in the medical field. He introduced the South Beach Diet in the mid 1990's. He originally implemented this plan because of lack of response in some patients to the low fat American Heart Association Diet. Some of his patients weight and blood chemistries were not getting the desired results they should have on the low fat diet. Thus, the South Beach Diet was born. One of Dr. Agatston's goals is to educate people about disease prevention through living a healthy lifestyle. This diet lowers an individuals bad cholesterol and insulin levels. Dr. Agatston believes that by following this diet the risk of many illnesses can be lowered.

There is a good book to read when considering this diet. It was written by Dr. Agatston and entitled, The South Beach Diet Supercharged. It gives detailed information on the diet, meal plans (for the first two phases) and recipes. There are also a number of good cookbooks that contain recipes on South Beach cooking that can be purchased. Two of the latest are:The South Beach Diet Parties and Holidays Cookbook and The South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook. You can find a number of recipes, meal planner, a weight tracker and many other beneficial weight loss tools on line at the South Beach Diet web site. It would be advisable to check with your health care professional before starting a diet program.

Another important component of healthy weight loss and fitness is--exercise. South Beach has a DVD that provides an excellent workout plan. The first part of the program gets you moving. The second part helps you strengthen the muscles in your hips, abdomen and lower back. After an individual starts eating healthy foods, they feel better physically. This will motivate a person to feel like exercising.

The South Beach Diet tends to put less emphasis on counting carbs, calories or fats than some diet plans. Learning to make healthy eating choices are placed on a higher plateau. This diet plan allows for two healthy snacks and dessert on a daily basis. This helps to curb your food cravings. You can find a good selection of South Beach Diet approved foods and snacks in your local grocery or wholesale store.

There are three phases in this diet plan. Below is a brief overview of each phase.

Eliminate Cravings and Kick Start Weight Loss-This is a two week phase. You begin by removing unhealthy foods from your diet. Some of the main foods that are eliminated in this phase are refined starches and sugars. This phase is especially for people who need to loose a lot of weight or diabetics. Removing the sugars and starches is necessary for stabilizing a diabetics blood sugar levels. And for people who need to loose a lot of weight, it gives their system a jump start. You will enjoy high fiber vegetables, some fruits, fish, lean cuts of beef, skinless poultry (white meat), eggs and low fat dairy products in your diet. Olive or canola oils are used in cooking.

Lose Steadily-You stay in this phase for some time as you surely, but steadily loose those extra pounds. You can start in phase two if you have 10 or less pounds to loose. You will be able to enjoy brown rice, whole grain breads, whole wheat pastas and fruits. All while continuing to follow the eating habits you initiated in Phase One.

Maintain for Life-When you reach your weight goal, you move to the third and final phase of the program. You continue following the guidelines that you learned in Phases One and Two of the diet program. Some new foods are added in this phase. By now you know what and how to eat to keep your weight where it should be. You stay in this phase for life.

Good luck with your weight loss!