South Beach Diet: Guidelines and Tips

Looking for the best way to lose weight and stay in shape? Yes, or no, you must agree that it isn’t easy especially for a starter. It doesn’t matter how intense the torture is. If you can’t stick to the plan, you are doing nothing less or more than hurting yourself. This is one thing that makes South Beach Diet quite intriguing. Unlike most diet plans, this one allows you to enjoy all your favorite foods but at different times; something most nutrition experts don’t recognize. The question is, does South Beach Diet work? Well, many of those who have tried it think it is one of the best weight loss diet remedies ever developed; thanks to Dr. Arthur Agatston. However, you don’t have to take my word for it. Here are some of the reasons you might want to give it a try.

SOUTH BEACH DIET PROVEN BENEFITS

The best remedy for fast weight loss

Maintains the required levels of Cholesterol and blood fat in your body

Lowers the risks of hypertension and diabetes

Reduces the risks of heart diseases and more

WHAT MAKES SOUTH BEACH DIET SO UNIQUE

South Beach Diet is a diet plan that was developed by Dr. Agatston; a cardiologist in Miami. The initial purpose of the diet was to help reduce the risks of heart disease, but as it was realized later, it was also one of the best diets for a person who wants to lose weight. One reason you might find these simple yet effective South Beach Diet rules quite interesting is that you don’t have to stay away from your favorite meals completely. The South Beach Diet requires you to stick to a particular plan that involves 3 phases.

PHASE 1

In this South Beach phase 1 meal plan, you are looking forward to stabilizing the levels of your blood sugar, meaning that you’ll have to try and stick to healthy lean proteins. You’ll have to eat normal portions of, lean meats, Chicken, Turkey, Fish, eggs, nuts, beans, and most importantly, lots of vegetables. You will also have to eat snacks. For better results, experts recommend that you eat snacks even if you are not hungry simply because it prevents you from eating too much the next time you have a meal.

 What you must not eat

As said earlier, South Beach Diet doesn’t tell you to stay away from the foods you crave for completely. However, for it to be successful, you must avoid some foods for some time, but not forever. In the first phase, it is recommended that you stay away from, Bread, Potatoes, rice, pasta, fruit, baked foods, candy, cookies, sugar, ice cream and lastly, alcoholic drinks. If you are fond of any of the foods mentioned here, don’t worry. You will reintroduce them later in the subsequent phases.

Phase I recipes

Meatloaf with oven fried chicken

Chicken Cacciatore: Includes tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions

Cauliflower mash

Asian Turkey meatballs placed inside the Lettuce Wraps

PHASE 2

If you are eager to lose weight you might not fully welcome this phase, but according to Dr. Agatston, there is no way better. South Beach phase 2 food list allows you to introduce some high-carb food, but the right ones. You will have to include, Whole grain bread and pasta and most importantly, fruits. The good news is, you also have a chance to incorporate your favorite treats.

How to eat

You are trying to reintroduce what you’ve been missing that is carbs, so, it is vital that you add it little by little. For example, add a single carb to your daily meal for the first week. Try and monitor how your body reacts to the carbs by checking on your weight. If it is okay, you can add a second carb so that they are two carbs per daily diet. Again check for positive results. However, it is highly recommended that you don’t lose control. If you can’t manage this, then it would be best that you go back to Phase 1. Fortunately, for phase two, time isn’t limited. You can stay there as long as you like. However, after you have obtained your targeted weight it is vital to move to Phase three. Here are some recipes you can choose from

Phase 2 recipes

Eggplant plus rice and Asian marinated Tofu

Sweet potato fries: baked

Green rice plus summer peas

Carne aside

PHASE 3

South Beach diet would be no better if you can’t maintain the weight you’ve achieved in the first two phases and this is where Phase 3 comes in handy. In this phase, you don’t have to torture yourself. What you are trying to do is to maintain the weight you had earlier achieved. At this phase you have your own opinion about Pros and Cons of South Beach Diet, so you have to make a wise choice of diet you can stick to for the rest of your life. You will still have to incorporate the diet plan for the first two phases, but this time, choose a diet plan that would be easier to manage. For better result, you can try to play with several combinations of recipes to avoid getting bored with one or two diets. Here are some recipes you can choose from.

Phase 3 recipes

Apricot glazed Cornish hens

Mexican lasagna

Grilled chicken: Moroccan style

Macaroni and cheese

If you can follow this plan, then it is a guarantee that you will achieve and maintain an ideal weight vital for healthy living. According to most health experts, the plan denies you some privileges, but all of them agrees on with the fact that sticking to South Beach diet is one of the best weight loss remedies for anyone. Here are some of the benefits.

SOUTH BEACH DIET PROVEN BENEFITS

The best remedy for weight loss: As we have seen above, the diet allows you to choose and stick to the right type and amounts of carbs, vegetables, and fruits required for an ideal body weight. The choice of food works best to maintain your metabolic functionality as well as help do away with the extra fats not needed by your body.

Maintains the required levels of Cholesterol and blood fat in your body: High cholesterol in your body isn’t good for your heart as well as your whole body simply because it will encourage the risks of heart diseases and stroke. South Beach diet allows you to eat the right amounts of cholesterol and at the right time.

Lowers the risks of hypertension and diabetes: High sugar levels in your blood and a bad diet will encourage diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. South Beach diet has been proven to prevent the risks, by helping you stay away from bad foods and to stick to the right diet.

As you can see, South Beach Diet has a lot to offer that is also vital for healthy living. Unfortunately, not everyone thinks so. Since the diet was introduced, there have been a few debates on whether it is the perfect choice for healthy living. However, there hasn’t proof that it isn’t the best either. Looking at the plan and the choice of foods you have to eat as well as the ones you don’t have to eat during a particular phase, it is quite clear that even those who are on a different diet don’t welcome it fully. Fortunately for users, there is no risk of sticking to the diet. Here are some of the pros and cons of South Beach diet.

PROS

Proven to be healthy: When the Diet was first introduced, its main purpose was to help reduce the risk of heart disease. However, as it later turned out, the patients who had chosen to stick to the plan, loss some weight. It also includes high-carb, low-fat diet, vegetables, fruits, lean proteins and more that makes it one of the healthiest diet plans you will ever come across.

The fastest way to lose weight: Studies show that the diet can help you lose up to 13 pounds if you stick to first phase only. This is quite high compared to other available weight loss options such as American Heart Association Diet. If you stick to phase 1, you will experience a significant reduction in the waist to hip ratio as well as the decrease in the levels of triglycerides.

The best way to deal with cravings: The diet discourages you from eating foods such as pasta, white bread, and cookies that are easier to digest. These aren’t the best choices of foods for a person trying to deal with craving. Instead, it encourages you to stick to healthy fat and lean protein that makes you feel like you are full all the time hence the best way to deal with craving.

Easy to follow and stick to: Unlike other available weight loss options, South Beach Diet doesn’t require you to torture yourself in trying to achieve and maintain your ideal weight. You don’t have wake up each morning to engage in a sweaty workout, no tracking points or counting of calories, and the best part is, you don’t have to measure the portions you take.

CONS

Expensive: According to most users, sticking to this diet is quite expensive for low earners. That’s one fact we can’t do away with simply because carbs are quite cheaper than proteins. However, this shouldn’t be one of the factors to discourage you simply because you don’t have to eat a whole factory of fish to get satisfied. There are more than enough cheap proteins you can still find on the list mentioned above.

Time-demanding recipes: There are also a few complaints that the recipes are complex and take lots of time to make. This shouldn’t be an issue at all. You can reduce the time you use to make your recipe by choosing a simpler one. What you need to do is find your way of doing it once you get the idea.

The workout plan is not mentioned anywhere: South Beach diet is categorized as a weight loss diet and according to experts, whether you are eating vegetables and fruits each and every day, you need to at least go out for a walk. One question is, must you be reminded to go out for a workout? Never forget that this is just a weight loss diet, not a workout’ diet, and most importantly, there is nowhere mentioned that you can’t go out for an exercise. Choose your own workout program and proceed with it.

WHAT DO OTHERS SAY ABOUT IT?

Sticking to South Beach diet is undoubtedly one of the best ways to lose weight as well as stay in shape. But as said earlier, not all users fully agree with that statement. There are those who find it quite convenient as well as those who think it could be much better if a few adjustments were made. According to most users, it is quite clear that it works for those looking to lose some pounds in a few days. There are also more claims that it is the easiest diet to follow and the best. Others are claiming that they were able to lose more than 13 pounds in the first phase which is more than the expected and more. Contrary to what the happier users are saying, there are those who think it is the most inconveniencing diet ever. Few individual think that it is time-consuming, expensive and lastly, hard to stick to. Summing up all the reviews, South Beach diet settles at a 4.2 rating after more than 1000 review that is more promising that other available options. I can conclude that it is one of the best weight loss diet simply because more users like it.

THE BOTTOMLINE

When South Beach diet was first introduced, a few didn’t welcome it with open hands simply because it seemed to go against what many thoughts was right. However as time went, it became clear that losing weight doesn’t really require you to stay away from your favorite foods, but to eat them at the right time. Dr. Agatston Introduced a diet that whose purpose was not only encourage healthy living but a diet that allows you to eat what you crave for. What you must understand is that advising you not to eat some foods in the first phase, isn’t meant to torture you in any way, but to allow your body to adjust itself so that you can effectively reintroduce the required amounts of particular foods in your body. Health experts recommend it, more than 80% of those who have tried it claim that it works, and the best part is, there are no reported health risks. Why not give it a try?