The South Beach Diet Plan: The Best South Beach Diet Foods
You have to starve to lose weight, right? Wrong! I had always thought the only way to lose a few pounds was to starve myself until the weight was gone. Boy was I ever wrong.
When I first heard about the South Beach Diet, and watched the people around me eating all kinds of great foods, I figured this was just another fad diet that would disappear after everyone realized it didn’t work. But it does work. People are losing weight and eating too.
Completely flabbergasted at how much food my brother was eating on the program, I logged onto the South Beach Diet website to find out what it was all about. That’s when I learned the simple truth about dieting: not only do you not need to starve yourself to lose weight – you actually lose more weight if you eat!
Unlike a lot of other diets that make you count calories, count carbs and either eliminate all fats and protein, or gorge on them all day long, South Beach doesn’t require counting anything, and it lets you eat plenty of nutritious foods like all the other people around you.
Developed by a leading research cardiologist with Mount Sinai Medical Center, I found South Beach to be completely safe and heart healthy – a plus for someone like me in their 50s who’s worried about their cholesterol and what it’s doing to their heart.
Unable to completely give up food – even to lose a few pounds – I was thrilled to discover that the South Beach Diet would allow me to eat until I was satisfied, as long as I chose highly nutritious foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats and cheeses and low-sugar snacks.
Scrambled eggs for breakfast, all types of soups and salads for lunch, and plenty of grilled or sauteed fish, chicken, pork and even lean beef are all allowed in Phases II and III. Believe it or not, dessert isn’t even off limits with this diet.
So, how does South Beach work if you’re allowed to continue eating until you’re full? The answer is in Phase I, which by the way, is the hardest part of the program. During this first 2-week time period, the diet does severely restrict what you can eat, but not how much you can eat.
In the first two weeks of the South Beach Diet, followers are required to give up all sugars and carbohydrates in order to break their body’s unhealthy addiction to processed foods, starches and sugars.
Since you’re basically going “cold turkey” on sugar and carbs, you can expect to feel pretty lousy for the first several days. I personally experienced headaches, listlessness and severe crankiness. But, to be honest, it didn’t last long, and since I had plenty of other food choices to keep me feeling full, I wasn’t hungry at all.
Once my addiction to the junky foods was broken, and my body’s glucose levels were able to naturally even out and stay at the same levels throughout the day, I suddenly felt a burst of energy like I hadn’t had in years. No more ups and downs during the day depending on what snack food I was relying on to keep me going. Better yet, my cravings for sugar and carbohydrates were disappearing – a miracle!
Once my addiction was broken and my cravings subsided during Phase I, I was able to reintroduce some of those forbidden foods like breads, brown rice, fresh fruit, juices and even some desserts. Funny, though, with my carb addiction broken, I didn’t crave those foods like I once had, and a few bites of a baked potato along with a nice piece of chicken and some grilled vegetables straight from my garden now satisfied me.
Before long I was noticing that my pants were getting bigger and my waistline was getting smaller, all while I continued to eat as much as I wanted of the foods that were good for me.
I can honestly say that South Beach has been less of a diet for me and more of an awakening on how good I can feel eating the foods that my body most deserves. Try it. You’ll be surprised at how good you can feel – and look!
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Avoid Fad Diets That Promise Magic Cures And Miracle Weight Loss
Fad diets are appealing because they usually promise slim and trim figures with very little effort. Most fad diets work in the beginning, but diets that restrict certain food groups or promise unrealistic results are difficult and/or unhealthy to sustain over time. When you go back to your usual eating patterns, the weight comes back on and sometimes with extra pounds. This is called the “yo-yo effect” of losing and regaining weight.
The trick to losing weight and keeping it off is to find an everyday eating plan that takes and keeps the pounds off while providing a right balance of calories and nutrition. This combination requires a lifestyle change.
A fad diet that results in quick weight loss early on, if followed for a long period of time, may result in potential health problems. Losing weight effectively involves:
? Eating an appropriate number of calories from a balanced diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free dairy products
? Cutting back on nutrient-poor foods
? Physical activity
You will know it is a fad diet if it:
? Promises magic or miracle foods that burn fat
? Requires you to eat unusual quantities of only one food or food type
? Requires rigid menus of a limited selection of foods to be eaten at specific times and days
? Requires you to eat specific food combinations in certain sequences or combinations
? Promises rapid weight loss of more than two pounds per week
? Has no warning for those with diabetes or high blood pressure to seek medical advice before starting the diet
? Does not include increased physical activity as part of the plan
The best way to fight cardiovascular disease is a healthy diet with an exercise routine lifestyle.
Follow these simple steps as part of your healthy lifestyle:
? Burn at least as many calories as you take in: Keep a record of how many calories you should be eating and drinking to maintain your weight. Don’t eat more calories than you know you can burn up every day. Increase the intensity of your physical activity to match the number of calories you take in. Set a goal of at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days of the week. For best results, aim for at least 30 minutes every day.
? Eat a variety of nutritious foods from all the food groups: Even though you may eat plenty of food daily, if it is not a variety from all the food groups, your body still may not be getting the nutrients it needs to be healthy. To get the nutrients you need, choose foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole-grain products and fat-free or low-fat dairy products most often.
? Eat fish at least twice per week containing omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, trout and herring
? Eat less of the nutrient-poor foods: Limit foods and beverages that are high in calories but low in nutrients. Limit how much saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol and sodium you eat. Read food labels carefully. The food labels will tell you how much of those nutrients each food or beverage contains.
? Drink at least 8 eight-ounce glasses of water each day. Watch the food labels on bottled water. Some bottled water contains high amounts of sodium; others contain extra calories and sugar. Look for bottled water with “0″ calories, fat, sodium, and sugar.
Base your eating pattern on these recommendations daily:
? Choose lean meats and poultry without skin and prepare them without added saturated and trans fats
? Select fat-free, 1 percent fat, and low-fat dairy products
? Cut back on foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oils to reduce trans fat in your diet
? Cut back on beverages and foods with added sugar
? Choose and prepare foods with little or no salt. Keep sodium amounts at less than 2,300 milligrams per day
? If you drink alcohol, drink in moderation: One drink per day if you are a woman and two drinks per day if you are a man
? Don’t smoke tobacco and stay away from tobacco smoke
Source: American Heart Association
Disclaimer: *This article is not meant to diagnose, treat or cure any kind of a health problem. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Always consult with your health care provider about any kind of a health problem and especially before beginning any kind of an exercise routine.
This article is FREE to publish with the resource box. Article written 3-2007.
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