South Beach Diet
 

They had a segment on this on our local news this evening; people who had tried this claim to have lost up to 14 pounds in two weeks, have a smaller waistline, and lower cholesterol levels. The good side, I guess, it is endorsed by the American Heart Association, and the plan is in three "phases"

Phase 1:

No starches, processed food, or fruits

Phase 2:

Some "good carbs" allowed

Phase 3:

Eat "normally"

Has anyone tried this diet, and what are your opinions about it?

Check out the low carb forum, there is a thread there for people on this plan.

Loranden...did you find out more about this diet?? I skimmed thru the low carb forum and didnt find one specifically concerning the South Beach Diet. I read about it in a magazine today and was also interested in learning more.

Miki

Never mind....5 min after my previous post, I found the thread about the South Beach Diet.:dizzy:

Miki

That ALWAYS happens to me!!! :lol:

I have yet to read the book - but did skim the Prevention article a few months back at the checkout line...looks to me like your basic low-carb diet, ya know? I've requested the book from my library - not that I want to try it but I want to be informed :) but not enough to actually go out and SPEND MONEY on the book.

There were 13 hold requests in our library system for the book!

I'm following this now :) It starts out low carb for the first 2 weeks, but then you gradually add carbs back to your diet each day. It ends up not being a low carb diet at all, but we still put it in the low carb section, lol.

The focus of the diet is to eat the good carbs and good fats, and avoid the bad carbs and bad fats. You don't have anything to count, like calories or points, and you can eat as much as you want as long as you avoid the above. Very few foods have specified portion sizes.

Unlike Atkins or some other low carb diets, the SBD diet doesn't encourage all the sat fats and unlimited meats, etc. You eat chicken breast, fish, and limit meat to lean cuts. Egg whites and egg substitutes are preferred over whole eggs. There are a lot of differences such as that which make it a much healthier option than many of the popular low carb diets, or even some low fat diets. But then again, since you get to add carbs back, it isn't a low carb diet. It really reminds me of the mediterranean diet in a way.

I hate the title of the book because it brings to mind various fad diets such as the Hollywood diet. It was really developed by the Mount Sinai Cardiac Prevention Center and they've been using it for years on heart patients.

If anyone is interested, we've created a whole South Beach forum called Fat Chicks on the Beach and you'll find it in the Low Carb category (even if it's not low carb :) )

You may lose a lot of weight in the first 2 weeks because the diet is very restrictive during this "Phase 1" period. Much of that weight loss will be water.

South Beach Diet
 

I just finished reading the SBD book. I am interested in trying this diet, but I don't really like the recipes that are listed in Phase 1 of the book. I looking for more and/or different recipes. Can anyone help?

Hi Judy!

Have you checked out the "Fat Chicks at the Beach" forum on 3fc- they are all on the South Beach Diet and have a forum for recipes and food ideas. They are a very helpful bunch if you have any questions :)

I found this to be true as well.

I think SouthBeach will be best for people who need a relatively big weight loss at the beginning to feel motivated to continue. I considered using it once I gave birth, but in the end decided that (for me, at least) the severe restrictions in the beginning are unnecessary, and the rest of the diet is not really different from what I've been doing all along anyway. (I follow sort of a modified SugarBusters! program; since even the newest edition of the book isn't completely up-to-date on the Glycemic Index.) But I still think it might be a good option for my husband, who could use a confidence-booster.