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South Beach Diet
The South Beach Diet Book Review
The South Beach Diet, written by Dr. Arthur Agatston, M.D..
This diet was created by Dr. Agatston, not for the purpose of creating a diet plan, but a way for Dr. Agatston to help his heart patients into a better eating way of life. There are three phases in this diet. In the first phase the dieter cuts out carbohydrates including fruit for the first two weeks. Supposedly you lose 8-13 pounds during the first two weeks. Then you enter second phase where you start to introduce "good" carbohydrates into the diet. You stay on this phase until you have reached your ideal weight, which could take a year or more. During this phase, on average you lose 1-2 pounds per week. The last and third phase is what you are in for the rest of your life. Supposedly you know enough about the South Beach Diet to know what to eat and what not to eat. For some reason if you overindulge yourself, you get back in the diet and start at phase one or continue with phase three.
While this diet may work for some, realistically, this does not work for most. I actually followed this with a few of my friends, and after the first two weeks, we were still craving carbohydrates--especially pasta and fruit. We did not lose 8-13 pounds because even though we cut out carbohydrates, if we were hungry we ate, since the diet said we could. You have to understand that just cutting out carbohydrates is not the solution. Calories also play a role in weight loss. When you cut out carbs from your diet, you also lose water weight since carbs bring water to the body. So we felt that the weight that we had been losing was more from water loss. Also, if you are eating more calories than you burn off, you gain weight, even if you are not eating carbs.
I felt that this book did not go into enough depth for each of the phases. This book also seemed very disorganized in how the information was presented in the book. The different sections of the book seemed to hit some subjects in a very brief and superficial level and not in depth to a better understanding. If you are going to be using this for the rest of your life, you should know everything about the diet, how it works, and how it affects the body.
The South Beach Diet Resources
If you're interested in learning more about the South Beach Diet, check out these recommended resources:
South Beach Diet - the official website and online resource for the South Beach Diet.
South Beach Diet for Beginners - tips and tricks for losing weight on the South Beach diet, plus support forums and basic recipes.
The South Beach Diet Experience
If you are currently following The South Beach Diet or have followed it in the past, share your experience, both positive and negative, with us!
Disclaimer: This site and its services are for informational purposes only and are not a substitute for professional advice, examination, diagnosis or treatment. See full disclaimer.
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